#and done for Incredibly Specific purposes in general

[antirepurp]

help minecraft unfiction is seducing me it wants me to make some myself even though im mediocre at best at video editing and also have no particular story to tell with such medium

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

There always seems to be one kid who just screams like a tornado siren, all day long, at any given opportunity. Like, kid, I love you, you are precious and deserve all the happiness in the world; but please for the love of god shut up. There are people trying to learn here and you’re not helping them or yourself.

[msbigredmachine]

Butterscotch & Chocolate (Roman Reigns/OC/The Rock)

What’s better than a hunky, rich and powerful Samoan boyfriend? Why, two, of course! 😉🤤

Pairing: Roman Reigns/Black fem reader/The Rock

Warnings: Smut, Threesome

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N: I planned to post this as far back as April at the peak of the Final Boss arc. Sorry I'm late 😭. Based on the Jimmy Fallon interview before Wrestlemania 40.

Enjoy!

-----------------

It’s always amazing to witness your man’s ease in swapping personas for entertainment purposes. From the feral, bloodthirsty beast that rules the wrestling ring to the dapper, charming gentleman currently chatting it up with Jimmy Fallon on his late night talk show in Manhattan. Seeing up close how one of a kind Roman Reigns is, is something you never get tired of experiencing, whether it’s in the ring, in front of the media, or behind closed doors, specifically between the sheets…his favorite place to be with you. Now here you are, in a swanky dressing room in New York on a Wednesday night when you’d normally be at home, probably working. This is a welcome, more glamorous change of environment all thanks to your boyfriend.

He’s also made dinner plans for after the show, which is why you’re all dressed up in a daring little slip dress and a pair of open-toed stilettos, with your toenails painted white, his favorite color on your feet. The dress has a thigh-high slit, which is perfect because you want him to have full access to the goodies tonight. You wonder what he has planned afterwards. Are you fucking tonight? You’d better be. He’s been away from you for weeks, and FaceTime sex, as good as it is, is not sufficient for your horny little self. 

The door to the dressing room swings open and Roman walks in, a cute smile curving those lips you love to kiss. "All done! You ready, baby girl?" he asks.

The term of endearment coming from such a deep, whiskey-smooth tone like his always makes you shiver. You nod eagerly and get to your feet, smoothing out the sleek satin fabric of your dress. He makes his way to you, drinking in your appearance with smoldering eyes and a low whistle that warms your bronzed cheeks.

"I can’t get over how beautiful you look. Give Daddy a twirl, baby." He lifts your hand in the air, pleased as you oblige him, then tugs you close to meet his lips. You sigh softly as his free hand immediately finds your round derriere, giving it a generous squeeze. You love how you never seem to get enough of each other, always need to touch each other. 

And you’re not the only one who notices.

“Jesus Christ, get a room.”

Roman laughs softly against your mouth before turning his head with a happy grin. Your heart lurches inside your chest at the sound of the other deep voice, your cheeks growing warmer as your boyfriend's new partner in crime locks eyes with you from across the dressing room. You inwardly hope Roman cannot feel the shiver that caresses your skin.

Dwayne Johnson has more or less become part of your life since his Final Boss angle for Wrestlemania was signed off at the start of the year. The first time he showed up at Roman’s doorstep, you freaked out. It was The Rock, after all. You had a huge crush on him when you were younger and initially, you found his size and status intimidating. But he’s turned out to be a sweetheart, always checking up on you, providing support whenever you need it. He seems to genuinely care about you, and Roman thinks the world of him, too. But as your friendship deepens, so have your feelings. Though you’ve done a good job of keeping them at bay, it’s become more difficult each time he stares at you like he wants to fuck you where you stand, which is all the time now.

And secretly, you like it.

"We should get going guys, I'm getting pretty hungry…" Dwayne drawls. You don’t miss the heat in his eyes as they rake down your frame. You can’t help but stare back either; he looks incredible. The definition in his arms, chest and legs is on display through the silver satin of his garb. He and Roman are such babes; gorgeous, sophisticated older men that appeal highly to your tastes.

Your next destination is shrouded in mystery. You have no idea where you are going and Roman gives nothing away. Seated between the two huge men in the back of a sleek G63, you snuggle close to your boyfriend, sharing soft, sweet kisses with him and enjoying the comforting circles of his fingers on your hip. Dwayne seems to take the PDA in stride, accustomed to it. But feeling him so close makes you wish he can touch and caress you too. 

As Roman answers a phone call, you check on the other man, not wanting him to feel excluded. “You good, big guy? You’re quiet,” you say to Dwayne, resting your hand on his knee. You feel him tense at your touch, his eyes shutting for a brief moment.

“I’m fine, sweetheart. Don’t worry ‘bout lil ole me,” he simply answers, his hand brushing over the top of yours in a gesture intimate enough to send shivers of desire down your spine. If Roman notices the exchange, he doesn’t show it. 

The car eventually arrives at a harbor. The illuminated boardwalk welcomes you to a sizable boat and all its luxury. Roman’s much larger hand engulfs yours as he leads you onto the yacht, with Dwayne right behind you, most likely staring at your ass. A maitre'd guides you to an exquisite table set laden with the finest plates and cutlery that glint from the lanterns on the red tabletop. Soft music plays quietly in the background. The atmosphere reeks of opulence and romance. Your man knows how much you love the fancy, finer things, but this feels above and beyond, like a team effort pulled off specifically by the two men you're in the presence of.

Having an entire boat to oneself has its perks, particularly with the stellar service as well as not having to wait long for the food. Sat again between your boyfriend and your crush in the plush, booth-like seats, conversation flows easily among all three of you as you dine together. However, you observe that Dwayne sits much closer to you, on purpose too it seems, without the tight confines of a vehicle as a ready excuse. Roman is on your left, also pressed to your side. It’s not uncomfortable at all. You're in the middle of a very appetizing sandwich and you wonder, just for a second, if either man, or maybe both, would like a bite.

After your plates are taken away, Roman puts his arm around you, and you swoon when he links your fingers together and kisses the back of your hand. “You look so beautiful tonight, baby girl,” he gushes with a smile.

“Thank you, Daddy,” you respond. He’s been affectionate all evening, even more so than usual. He’s showered you with compliments, along with a bouquet of white roses and beautiful luxury jewelry, and you feel love-bombed in the best way. You wonder if there’s anything else in store tonight. Sex, you hope.

“I agree. Very beautiful,” Dwayne chimes in, surprising you. 

"I—" you stammer, looking at him, taken slightly aback by the intensity in his eyes. “Thank you.” 

Roman's hand moving down to squeeze your hip refocuses your attention on him. “So, babe…I know it’s been a long couple of months, and I’ve seen how hard you work at your job, yet you always manage to make time for me. Time for us. So I wanted to show you my appreciation by giving you something…extra special tonight." 

It's then that you feel it; a tension that was present before but has somehow heightened, a nagging feeling that you’re out of the loop on something, but it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is.

“Okay…” You glance back and forth between the two men, your eyes fixated on their Adam's Apples, fighting the urge to moan out loud at the sight of their strong throats working. You almost miss it, but Roman catches Dwayne’s eye, exchanging a knowing look. Something is definitely going on.

Then, in a move that totally stuns you, Dwayne reaches out to touch your cheek, running his thumb along your skin. Your body washes with heat at his unexpected caress, but common sense tries to prevail as your head snaps over to Roman, anticipating some kind of outburst at his cousin’s forwardness. But nothing comes. If anything, he looks…calm. Like he saw this coming.

"I know you want Dwayne, baby. I’ve known for a while,” Roman says softly, and your heart drops. Have you been that obvious? Did you do something or say something that gave you away? As you frantically wrack your brain for an answer, his next words catch you completely off guard, even more so when he smiles. “And it turns out, he wants you too.”

"W-what?" What is going on?! 

"It’s okay, my love," Roman shushes you gently, brushing his thumb back and forth across your lips. “I don't mind at all. It just shows that my cousin got good taste. And speaking of taste…”

“Roman and I talked, and we decided we want to give you exactly what you want,” Dwayne interjects. He’s smiling, making him even more attractive if that’s even possible. He puts his hand over your own, his light brown eyes piercing your soul. “We want to please you, sweetheart. Together. And not just tonight, but every other night.”

“We wanna take care of you, baby,” Roman continues. “We’re yours now, and you’re ours. You call on me, or him, or both of us, for anything you need, and we’ll be there.”

You’re at a loss for words. This has to be one of your wet dreams gone haywire. Now acutely aware that you’re firmly trapped between them, you gulp audibly, feeling nowhere near as brave as you usually do when you find yourself in this position in your fantasies. Flustered, you grab your glass of wine and knock it back in one go, almost coughing as the strong alcohol burns your throat in protest. “Are…are you sure?” 

“Positive. But only if you’re sure that this is what you want, too,” Roman assures you.

Dwayne nods in agreement, and you break into a slight sweat despite the outdoor sea breeze, blowing out a breath as you fan yourself. These last few minutes have honestly left you shook. But the fact that they’ve essentially confessed that they both want you is a huge turn-on. They’re the most beautiful men that you’ve ever laid eyes on, and you feel honored that they feel so strongly about you. 

Emboldened by this, along with the influx of alcohol in your system, you straighten in your seat and turn to the Great One with your most seductive expression. “Anything, huh? Well then, I just got one question, Mr Final Boss.” You trace your index finger from his torso along his broad chest, and stop at his bottom lip. “What dat mouth do?”

Dwayne smirks, purses his lips against your finger. “How ‘bout you come closer and find out?” he retorts.

Your eyes widen, your courage wavering. “Right here? Now? But what about…” You wave your hand around, reminding them that you’re not exactly alone on this boat.

“There’s a reason you ain’t seen nobody in a minute,” says Dwayne as Roman grins slyly, “They show up when we tell them to.” 

Power.

You glance over at your boyfriend again, seeking, needing his consent. As tantalizing as all this is, you can’t do this without him. He merely stares back at you, his eyes cloudy with that familiar look of lust you’ve seen so many times. “Go ahead,” he encourages. He seems mesmerized by what’s unfolding before him. 

Dwayne tilts your chin up, studying every little detail and emotion on your face, seeing right through the bravado. "I bet you taste incredible..." His hands span the length of your sides, holding you in place as he kisses your lips. His are surprisingly soft, moving gently against yours, taking his sweet time to enjoy your sweet taste. You press your body closer to his and run your hands up his smooth, shaven face, moaning into his mouth when his tongue whips skillfully against yours.

Behind you, Roman’s large hands are on your shoulders, massaging away the tension he knows is there. He knows your body so well. It helps you relax more and savor the firm pressure of Dwayne’s mouth. His kiss is different from Roman’s yet just as intoxicating. You gasp when his hands slides down your body, caressing your chest with care and attention. A sigh escapes you as Roman’s lips meet your shoulder. Right away your head lolls to the side, encouraging him to explore like he likes to. In the meantime, Dwayne has navigated underneath your dress and is parting your inner thighs, stroking the soft skin dangerously close to your apex. Warmth spreads throughout your body, ignited by their kisses, their touches, the knowledge that two beautiful, powerful men want you as much as they do. It’s an overwhelming feeling, scary even, yet it's all you want to feel from here on out. 

A startled moan bursts from you when Roman bites down on your skin. It’s a familiar, pleasurable pain, one that makes you squeeze your thighs together. But Dwayne is not having it, nudging them back apart with his big hand. Both men are in complete control and obviously aim to make you lose yours. As Roman makes out with your throat, Dwayne fingers the straps of your low cut dress, easing the material down your arms, exposing your ample bosom inch by inch. Instinctively, your hands rise to cover yourself, but he catches your wrists before you can and holds them down.

"Don't hide, baby, let him see how pretty you are," Roman rasps in your ear, nuzzling his beard against your cheek. You shift restlessly, the throbbing between your legs intensifying with every passing second. You’ve daydreamed about a moment like this more times than you can count, and now it’s actually happening, with more to come. 

What is life?

"Good girl," Roman smiles, watching Dwayne kiss on the swells of your heavy breasts spilling over your red lace bra. He drags your dress down further, resting it beneath your breasts. As you thank your lucky stars for opting to wear your prettiest bra tonight, Dwayne pinches your nipples through the lace, making you gasp out, your head tilting back with pleasure. He groans his approval as he pulls the bra cups down and kneads your naked breasts with firm, eager hands, the skin on skin contact sending shockwaves to your core. "Damn, girl. Look at them perfect titties," he praises.

"They nice, huh Uce," Roman purrs, his breath fanning your cheek, his hungry eyes affixed on your exposed chest with a growl that sends a flood of heat through your loins. Your back arches against your man's strong chest. You’re unbelievably wet, the lace of your panties already soaked through and clinging to your pussy lips. Roman takes over toying with your nipples while Dwayne descends, moving your dress up to your stomach as he comes face to face with your lace-covered treasure. 

"What do you want, sweetheart? Tell me," Dwayne kisses your belly, looking up at you from where he’s now crouched down on the floor. The view before you leaves you on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Dwayne fucking Johnson. On his knees. Asking you what you want. Good lord.

"I…I want you to eat my pussy," you manage to gasp.

The two men laugh, Roman’s deep chuckle vibrating through your half-naked body. "I think he can do that," he whispers, sucking your earlobe into his warm, wet mouth that has you panting out an expletive or two. Dwayne tugs at the waistband of your panties, prompting you to lift your hips so he can pull them off, rendering you open and exposed. You’re practically on Roman’s lap now, and you hear him moan as your ass wiggles directly on his crotch. Desperate for some kind of anchor, you reach up to grab his head, running your fingers through the silky locks of his hair, watching through heavy eyelids as Dwayne rubs two fingers along your slit. Roman refocuses on massaging your chest with those big hands of his. "So perfect," he mumbles into your hair, “The things I wanna do to you right now…”

Beneath you, Dwayne dips down to drag his tongue along your folds, tasting you for the first time. "Oh yeah, wayyy better than I imagined," he murmurs against your sensitive flesh, the small movements of his mouth making your pussy clench tight in anticipation. Not to be outdone, Roman gathers your breasts in his palms and grinds his hips against your ass. His thick, hardened length rubbing against your backside feels amazing. With a moan, you lift your head up for a kiss. He plunges his tongue in your mouth, dancing sloppily and noisily with yours, demanding the same energy you're receiving.

As you're caught up in Roman’s oral skills, the People’s champion decides to demonstrate his. He pushes his tongue deep inside of you, somehow managing to synchronize with Roman’s, filling both ends of your body. You find yourself also gripping the back of Dwayne’s head as he flicks his tongue against your folds rapidly, reminiscent of the way he utters his famous 'If You Smell...' catchphrase. The sensation has you crying out his name and your eyes rolling back. Then, he proceeds to trap your clit between his lips and suck heartily, then lap the protruding little nub and work it in circles.

"Oh my god," your voice cracks in a sob as he pushes your legs further back, spreading you wider, allowing him better access. The man is deep-diving in your pussy, feasting, as though the stuffed lobster he consumed just minutes ago was not satisfying enough. Your body is electric, your pussy spasming every few seconds as ecstasy beckons. His tongue is magical, and combined with the expert attention that Roman is providing, it’s almost too much to bear, so much so that you’re forced to tear your lips away from Roman's, moaning and panting heavily, your wide, hazy eyes staring up at him with a look of shock and almost helplessness from the barrage of pleasure.

The lust in the Tribal Chief's eyes as he stares right back reflects yours, and he keeps twisting your nipples, making you twitch and squirm in his arms. "You gon' come for us like a good girl," His voice is low and rough with desire, emphasizing his command with a particularly sharp pinch to your swollen, sensitive nipple that makes you squeal. "Come in his mouth, babe, make him taste every drop of that sweet ass pussy…"

On cue, Dwayne suddenly begins sucking you hard. Firm. His mouth wet and hungry, determined that you give them exactly what they want. He slips two long, thick fingers inside your dripping core, curling and twisting them, pumping them roughly inside you, and you’re gone. It knocks you silly, your nut, and your eyes squeeze shut as you scream, pussy clamping down on Dwayne's fingers, hips jerking on his face, Roman having to anchor you down as the pleasure ravages you. Dwayne never takes his eyes off the euphoria washing over your beautiful face, lapping up everything that pours from your weeping pussy. Roman lowers his hand between your thighs, swiping at your mess and bringing it to his mouth, groaning pleasurably at your taste he’s since known he can never get enough of. 

"Mmm. Good girl," he murmurs against your throat, hugging your waist as you float down from your incredible high. His kiss on your cheek is soothing, loving. Proud. “You did so good for us, my love.”

It takes you a good thirty seconds to open your eyes, and you’re met with the most amazingly erotic sight. Dwayne’s handsome face smeared with your essence, his tongue gathering the remnants of your orgasm into his mouth. "I think that’s all the dessert I need tonight. I can eat your pussy forever, baby," he smirks up at you.

You feel yourself blushing profusely, retreating to your shy ways. "That was…unbelievable," you breathe, amazed that you can even speak.

"That's what we like to hear," Dwayne smiles, standing up and sitting back next to you. He draws your dress back down and makes a show of tucking your discarded panties into his back pocket. “That’s mine now,” he announces with a haughty wink and a shit-eating grin, and you’re certain you’re wet all over again. He tugs your bra and the rest of your dress back into place, patting your breasts fondly before kissing you softly. You can taste yourself all over his mouth and it’s the hottest thing ever.

"Um, would you like me to return the favor, Daddy? I can," you ask, already rubbing on both their thighs, your voice small and hopeful.

Chuckling at your newfound neediness, Roman swoops down to steal a kiss, "No, baby. At least not yet. This was all about you."

Damn. It feels unfair to not reciprocate such a tremendous gift, so you insist. You’ll be damned if this ends here. "Fine, maybe not here. But when we’re back on dry land, I’m fucking the shit outta you," you tell Roman, grabbing his chin and sealing your promise with a sensual, breathless kiss to his lips. You do the exact same thing to Dwayne, determination shining through the lust in your eyes, “Both of you.”

THE END

-------------------

So how was it? Please leave comments! I love comments! 😁

🏷️: @jxtina-86 @wrestlingprincess80 @fame-ass-ers @southerngirl41 @alyyaanna @jstarr86 @murrylove @thewarlordsworld @mzv11 @nayys-world @harmshake @trippinsorrows @whatdoeseverybodywant @heauxvibez 

@hunnidmilly  @tribalhoochie @cyberdejos2 @papireigns-05  @niknakbucks92 @captainwithoutmakingitlove @sovereigngoth @aisharmi @kennedi0818 @alichesmi @thesamoanqueen @questionable-behaviour @tribalchiefreigns @joannasteez

@2-muchsauce @thatbxtchsblog @raya-hunter01  @marchi36753 @lovelysuccess @christinabae @wooahmiri @thatonecarebear @tabletheofhead @rheaanddamianfan @vebner37 @hanley1577 @princessesareforsuckers 

@joannasteez @bbygirlky18 @lilucey @theninthwonder @melaninsugababy @chocovibesonly @msbluehaz3 @shes2real @scarlettnoir01 @heerah34 @empressdede 

@tbmotw @darkangelchronicles @visionarymode @marasdeathnote @aintnorainbows @meggylynnloves @shantinextdoor @femdisa @harlemblipster  @trc-punzel @afterdarkprincess 

@nbanenefrmdao @sassginaswanmills @purplehairgawdess @holisticcoach @girlwhogaf @royalkay23 @heyitsnajabrinee @stoner2k @reci1996 @catxo @iamimanim @lookmais @ts1mp0ne @lizzyd1ish @m3llowww @skyesthebomb

@final1miya @kia1996 @randomuser0711 @yourtribalqueen @katymae12344 @that-one-anxious-mango @yana3sworld @caramelcleopatraa @truefant4sy @thetribalqueen @romansthrone

@bhjszsdxc @paigereeder @christinabae @justazzi @maknaehyucks @mindairy @headoftheetable @truefant4sy @mscarter213 @ariiaeltheedonn @sageispunk @xbriexx 

[zorosangell]

I’ll request for Cora then! I don’t really know what to request tho 🤔 but I love all your writing so I’m sure I’ll love whatever you write. how about just general headcanons? thank you! ❤️

⛥ﾟ・。corazon general and specific headcanons

synopsis: just some headcanons for the nine-foot tall blonde of my dreams

cw: none

a/n: this was so fun to write! thanks anon for the ask. i think i'm gonna open up my inbox for headcanons on other characters like kid or law or whatever

a/n 2: stay safe and rive carefully y'all. happy new year <3

general headcanons (you both are in a relationship)

— while i've seen others view cora as an overall shy, introverted person, i actually think the opposite, at least in some cases

— granted, he's not shouting from the mountain tops or actively going out of his way to talk to others, he is very extroverted with the people he knows and trusts

— like you, queen <3

— he likes to tell jokes and use his clumsiness to make you laugh, even if it isn't on purpose most of the time

— and when you do, he feels like he's on top of the world

— he's also very protective of you

— certain things in your relationship he likes to take a back seat on, but your safety is not one of them

— he's seen some things, and he'll be damned if something happens to you because of his negligence

— in a crowded room, he'll position himself behind you, acting as a guard dog as he keeps tabs on all possible threats

— in a bar, he'll keep a watchful eye on your drink and make sure an arm is around your waist at all times

— on the sidewalk, he will always, always make sure he's on the street side

— but that ties in with him being a perfect gentleman

— that being said... YOU NEVER HAVE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING

— actually gets offended if you try

— you're his lady; when you're with him, you don't lift a finger

— he may be on a marine's salary but when it comes to you he acts as if he has all the money in the world

— loves to splurge on you

"aw, baby, look! that necklace would look great on you, wouldn't it!"

"cora, honey, it's 90,000 berries... and you just got me a 70,000 berry bracelet last week"

"and?"

— honestly not very opinionated, doesn't really have many preferences when it comes to material things

— often has you order for him at restaurants, or pick out his clothes for the day

— hates arguing and fighting in general (though arguments are few and far between for you both anyway)

— if you don't like kids, that might be a bit of a deal breaker, seeing as law is a large part of his life

— not only that, but if you just are not a kind or decent person, this is not the man for you

— but trust, if you hit it off with law, you will have this man's heart forever (easier said than done tho)

specific headcanon (story-ish i guess)

— for the sake of whatever, let's say you're the nurse of doflamingo's crew (by circumstance, you're still a good person)

— when you first joined, cora was floored by your beauty; like actually, he fell flat on his face when doflamingo introduced you to the crew

— he was baffled that someone like you was a pirate, and even more so when you opened your mouth to reveal that you were incredibly kind and warm hearted

— (he would later learn that you had been blackmailed by his brother into joining the crew—the warlord promised no harm would come to your family if you joined him)

— initially, he was both enamored and suspicious, seeing as only those with cruel intentions joined his brother's crew

— but as time went by, he was quick to learn that it was quite the opposite, and quick to grow a certain fondness for you

— i imagine cora as a slow burner, so of course all of this happens over a decent amount of time

— but within that time you manage to weasel your way into his heart

— being the ship's nurse, you are always tasked with patching him up after his mishaps

— even though you do slip up and let out a chuckle or two, it never comes from a place of malice, unlike the others

— and even still, you scold and warn him about being careful around fires and hot liquids

— though, most of the time, it goes in one ear and out the other

— sometimes he's too preoccupied with your soft hands on him, or your pretty eyes locked with his

— sidebar: he blushes like a school girl because of his fair skin, i'm talking full on tomato

— anyway, it isn't long before you two become incredibly close

— communicating is a bit of a hassle given his silence, but he appreciates your constant effort

— he makes a point to keep you as far away from doflamingo as possible, often sending you on "errands" to avoid the two of you from interacting

— and when he can't do that, he floats around, not straying too far away as his brother pulls you aside for a chat or asks you to check a pain on his abdomen (barf)

— that doesn't just apply for his brother, btw

— he does that for everyone on the crew, executive or not

— no one gets you on your own without him knowing about it

— on the outside looking in it might sound stalker-ish, but in his mind he justified it as performing his duty as a marine

— all he was doing was protecting a helpless... sweet-smelling... adorably-laughing... angel-looking... young woman

— but in actuality, he was protecting his dream girl

— his dream girl who absolutely loves kids! (if you don't, then, once again, cora might not be the one for you)

— you always treat baby 5 and buffalo with such kindness, even when they act like little monsters; making sure they take their baths, making sure they eat, giving them their monthly check-ups

— it's one of the many things cora loves about your personality

— as well as nurse, you play the role of nanny to the kids onboard

— and your mothering only expands when law and dellinger join the crew

— fast forward to when cora is about to take law away, he comes to you first, severely surprising you by reciting a passionate dissertation as to why you should join him

— he couldn't imagine leaving you behind in the clutches of his brother; no protection, no one to shield you from the horrors of the family

— so it was only natural that his heart fell to his ass when you declined, but your reasoning was that doflamingo still had your family hostage

— though, on one particular night, when you had happened to walk past the door to his study, you overheard him talking to the other executives about how gullible you were, as he had killed your family years ago

— distraught, you ran away with cora and law that night

— and it was bbq chicken from there...

[pankielovesfan]

ii16 spoilers under cut

MORE talk about fan similar to the other post because there is still a lot to say. This is more about what fan means to mephone

Compared to most of the other contestants, Fan wasn't originally created to BE a contestant, which I find most interesting. Fan was quite literally created to be a fan of the show and randomly appears in season 1 (and he also delivers food I guess). Even if Mephone4 consciously made Fan or not, his appearance and creation obviously meant Mephone wanted appreciation for the things he was making, as is Fan's main purpose and service to Mephone. Fan is technically a manifestation of Mephone's love for the show itself, but he is also expressing vulnerable happiness of which Mephone feels like he could not express properly considering his issues with vulnerability. This might be why he is so outwardly dismissive of Fan's strong emotional enthusiasm for the show!!

So Fan technically is a support Mephone desperately wants, but he can't respond well to- but this definitely means Mephone appreciates Fan's dedication as he quite literally wished for Fan to exist as he is, being such an engaged Fan. He expresses passion for the show in a way Mephone couldn't do himself! Fan gives Mephone support as complete opposite to what Mephone feels Cobs would have! And you know what else Cobs does that Fan has an extreme well known trait of disliking and being scared of? Change. Cobs constantly reinvents, makes new things, discards old things, but Fan latches on. He observes patterns, he begs for predictability, structure and consistency.

Another notable trait of Fan is his defensiveness. Even if he's not good at it, he's incredibly stubborn to protect his passion and love to no end, being incredibly irrational about it. Cobs is well. Yeah. Massive Passion Disliker. He don't gaf about that. Fan might've looked up to cobs and meeple, but god if he's not possibly a parallel that's the opposite. I'm going to walk into the ocean. Im forever gonna think about how fan was created to be a support. like his entire goddam purpose is to love something so much!!!! and give it so much attention! and he is having so much fun doing it!!! IT IS MAKING ME CRAZY!!!!

I'm not sure if the characters are partly "extensions" of Mephone or if they're Mephone projecting specific parts of himself, I believe most of all they are created from his desire (like, wanting a specific thing and that thing just appears for him if this is done unintentionally,) but either way I enjoy thinking about what each trait that manifested for Fan's character specifically would resonate with Mephone's experiences and why he would create him with those traits. or something.

My working theory is that Mephone labeled each character in his mind as one thing, such as "the jerk" for Knife and nothing more, letting the contestants take their own shape and personality as they gain more experience on the show, which I feel is validated through Lightbulb saying "I don't think we were all there yet" once seeing the season 1 contestants in alternate reality show! They build more of their personality as it goes along. I think Mephone has minimal control of the contestants personality wise after he's generated them, but i do think he influences their memories or experience with time or something?? I dont know. guess we will all see. Also this somehow isn't about fan anymore wow that's weird actually who am i where am i

relevant drawing. Time to collapse to my knees over this shit again

[babybinko]

My second batch of venture bros genderbends are finally done! :D [first set here]

PLEASE LOOK UNDER THE CUT!!! I made all these nice drawings and doodles of them and I want people to see them without this post being super long! :') [My thoughts on the designs and doodles will be under the cut as well]

Okay NOW I'm going talk about my thought process on some of these:

Baby Rusty: I love the baby Rusty, the frilly socks and sleeves were a must. I actually drew her with the original set of genderbends but I turned off her layer and forgot about her 💀

Jonas Jr: not much to say about her, I tried to make her like Rosie the Riveter. Her little bandana has the Venture logo on it :)

Jonas Sr: I wanted her to be a hot bitch, her outfit is maybe a little scandalous for the time era they were in but I think it fits, canon Jonas is a whore. I think everybody would want her and that every celebrity, politician, and anybody with any power would chase after her so badly.

Blue Morpho: I made her so incredibly slay. I fucking love her outfit, I found the inspo for the outfit on Pinterest but I changed it up a bit. Also her gun has the bayonetta butterfly wings on it as a charm because I HAD TO.

Colonel Gentleman: Not a lot to say, I wanted to give her like horse riding esque boots and I gave her a purple flower cause she likes the ladies. I know generally WLW flowers are Violets and Lavender but I wanted to draw a rose so, Purple rose compromise <3

Dr.Boyfriend 2: With my last round Dr.Boyfriend was the only one people had complaints with. I think people wished he was more Masculine and I agree but if I switched up the design too much it wouldn't look like Dr.Girlfriend. I hope giving him armor and making him look like a knight helped him look more masc. I made the sheer wings cross over his chest to make it look like it was holding up the shoulder armor. Also his guild book is insanely high quality because I was procrastinating drawing his armor.

Goofy and Goober (Watch and Ward): I think they ended up really cute, I tried to make their hair colors close to Doc and Jacksons since I heard they are supposed to be like their "main" self inserts. With Ward I had a really specific idea for her hair, I kept thinking about this haircut from my sims and had to do it. It might be hard to see but her ponytail holders have skull charms on them. I also purposely gave them both some sort of ponytail hairstyle so they would match but be slightly different :) (They are absolutely prank calling or trolling their clients on that phone btw)

Shoreleave: OH MY GOD I LOVE SHORELEAVE. I kept turning her folder back on just to keep looking at her when I was drawing the other characters. She is so captivating to me, she looks so soft and human. I want to take a bite out of her thigh. My biggest inspo for her was Cammy from Street Fighter, I felt like her dressing a bit skimpy works for her since canon Shoreleave kinda does. The girls out for the girls.

Alchemist: I love her design so much too. I wanted her to look like some kind of nun or priestess. She looks like if a Zelda fire temple was a person. I kinda gave her like a weird little hime cut under the hood. Also I put the Triad logo on all three of their designs (+ Triana).

Jefferson: Had a lot of fun with her, I didnt change her design much from canon though so there's not much to say. I did give her more flared pants though. Drawing her hair was a really fun change of pace, I very rarely get to draw textured hair.

College Rusty and Monarch Drawing: I love this one, Monarch turned out so hot dude. You can tell what character I like more LMFAO. I made rusty very obnoxious 80s while keeping the colors of the original college rusty outfit. Monarch kind of looks like postal dude but its fine because shes slay.

Hereditary Venture Family Dinner Drawing: This was one of the first drawings I started but the second to last one I finished. I wanted to draw the family doing something together but I think I really truly just wanted to draw Dermott again. 😭 Nobody has said anything if they noticed but I did give hatred the shirt from these edits. (I believe the one on the left is from reddit and the one on the right is by SquashFold on Twitter)

Dermott piercing Dean's ears drawing: Even though its messy its in the top 3 favorites I did, It was also the last one I did. I just love the idea of Dermott giving goth Dean at home ear piercings. At first I didn't know if I wanted to make Dermott giving her piercings at the mall where she works or at home but the mall idea was too much work for a last minute sketch. Dermott is so mean older sister who shoplifts and works at the mall.

Drug bathroom drawing: Another one of my favorites, its based off a specific deleted scene from Invisible Hand of Fate where Pete and Rusty talk at the bar but Pete comes out of the bathroom sniffling at the start. I love the way I drew Pete pushing the hair out of her face and both of their expressions.

Bdsm 21 drawing: Okay first of all, The little devil Monarch was so cute I was screaming, crying, and throwing up while drawing her. I fucking love her, shes the smallest part of the image but my favorite. I also am quite fond of the bdsm 21.

Quizgirls Pete and Billy: I tried looking up Vanna White dresses to base Pete's outfit off of but I couldn't find one that Pete would actually wear so I just had to make shit up. Billy's design is really basic but the bow in her hair is actually from one of my rejected main Billy genderbends.

Me and The Bestie: I put a lot of effort into this one for no reason. Literally the moment I saw Jonas in the problem machine I thought he should be made of like blue slime. When I was working on this I kept thinking about Momopatchi's Hatsune Microbe drawing so this Jonas was definitely inspired by that. I gave Jonas makeup because she was having a party movie night on gargantua and I felt like she would still have makeup on thats like completely fucked up and deteriorating on her face after many many years. Vendata's outfit was partially based on Marguerite Chapman's from Flight to Mars, never seen it but I was looking up old sci-fi movie costumes to work with and I thought it would look good :)

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

What it should mean to support ALL survivors—Fandom discourse and the depiction of sexual assault in media.

So. Okay.

Below is a video that, in my opinion, is a very well thought out and respectful critique of the writing decisions surrounding Angel Dust’s character and purpose in Hazbin’s narrative.

The author of the video does a great job clearly stating their thoughts and opinions, and put a lot of effort into explaining their reasoning in a concise and easy to understand way.

I really recommend giving it a watch—(TW for discussions of rape, sexual assault and abuse. )

However, one of the most important things about this video though, is that the author, Limus, takes the time to specify that the video is only her opinion, and that she does not want to invalidate the feelings of other people or survivors who like or feel represented by Angel Dust. (More below)

In their conclusion, Limus states, “…If you enjoyed “Hazbin Hotel” and Angel Dust as a character, that’s fine. I don’t want you to walk away from this thinking your opinion is less than mine. People have their own reasons for liking media, and the discourse surrounding this show and the harassment that people receive just for liking it is unacceptable. You can have your reasons for disliking a show, but people can also have their reasons for liking it as well. Everything I have said in this video is in relation to my own personal life…”

I was REALLY glad and really relieved that Limus took the time to specify this, because one of my biggest grievances with the discourse regarding Hazbin’s depictions of sexual abuse, assault and rape, is that I see a LOT of people, both critics and fans, disregarding the experiences and feelings of survivors with opinions opposite to theirs.

Specifically, I saw a LOT of people talking about the portrayal of sexual abuse in Hazbin, and media in general, as if it was something that could be judged as being OBJECTIVELY “good” or “bad”.

And then proceeding to argue with people over their opinions and feelings as if they were in some sort of debate and the other person’s beliefs could be disproven.

This was really frustrating to me, because I’m hyper-aware of how media is extremely subjective especially when it comes to serious topics like sexual assault, violence, substance addiction, abuse, etc. etc.

So, I’m going to talk, in detail, about what I see as a lot of hypocrisy within fandom and critical spaces.

This really started in January of this year (2024) when a trailer (or maybe a leak? Sorry I can’t remember) for Hazbin came out, and a scene from Poison was shown.

There were a lot of people who were really concerned with the way Angel Dust’s abuse was shown in the preview, a good amount of them survivors of sexual abuse themselves, and from there the discourse got pretty out of hand.

Worst of all though, people, both fans and critics, allegedly started demanding “proof” of survivor’s assault from those they disagreed with.

This was very gross behavior, and I don’t care what your opinion on Hazbin Hotel is, NO ONE should have done that. It’s not only incredibly invalidating, but also potentially re-traumatizing.

Seriously. I hope ANYONE who engaged in this behavior, REGARDLESS of if they love Hazbin and think it’s the best thing in the world or if they hate it and think it’s the worst piece of media ever, were able to take a step back and realize how hurtful and inappropriate their actions were. And hopefully grow from that.

What disappointed me the most though was seeing Hazbin’s creator’s reaction to all of this. It was, in my opinion, very hypocritical and set the stage for the sort of harassment that is continuing in the fandom today.

A Disclaimer—this is going to be one of the ONLY TIMES I talk directly about the creator of Hazbin Hotel, Vivienne “Vivziepop” Medrano. I’m doing so because she was engaging directly and openly with this discourse when it was happening, and I think it’s important to talk about her actions and reactions because it provides some context for the background in regards to the ongoing conversations surrounding Hazbin’s SA depictions.

I generally do not like publicly talking about or making judgements on creators as people based on the art they create, because while a creator’s art is almost always influenced by their personality and experiences, it’s not a good way to judge someone’s ENTIRE character. All people are multi-faceted, and the art or media we create usually reflects only part of someone. Additionally, people use art, fiction, and media to explore all kinds of things, including things they would never do or want in real life, and that’s valid and normal. Obviously.

But when a creator publicly expresses an opinion in regards to ongoing discourse, of course people are allowed to discuss it and have their own opinions. Especially when that creator has a lot of fans who look to them as a role-model. Not saying that Vivziepop is responsible for actions of her fans, but when you are a public figure like she is, I do think it’s important to be as mindful as you can about your influence.

With all of that said. Yeah. I was. Incredibly disappointed by Vivziepop’s reaction to this. Because, I actually do agree with a lot of the things she was saying about supporting survivors—

I 100% agree with this. Everyone processes trauma differently, and that should be respected. We should not judge survivors for how they cope or process their trauma.

If this statement was made in response to the all judgement and struggles that survivors generally have to deal with, I would not have any issue with it whatsoever.

But. It wasn’t. Vivziepop said this because people were criticizing Hazbin Hotel—specifically there were survivors who were upset and triggered by scenes from the musical sequence “Poison” that leaked prior to Hazbin’s official release.

Now, obviously, I can’t know her true intent or beliefs. But her bringing all of this up after she had received criticism from survivors about her show leads me to believe that she doesn’t really care about supporting all survivors. Especially since after she said this, she proceeded to dismiss the concerns that several survivors brought to her because “the show hadn’t come out yet”.

To me, this is just hypocrisy.

Now, to be fair. Im also an artist. I understand feeling like your art or story is your baby, and feeling really protective of it. In some ways I was conflicted when all of this was happening back in January, because I get the frustration and hurt that comes with people not liking your art or not giving it a chance.

That can be very disheartening, and definitely feels unfair. I can empathize with Vivziepop in regard to that, because I don’t know how I would handle the amount of criticism her art gets. I’ve had my art criticized pretty harshly online, and it does really hurt. I really can’t imagine how emotionally taxing that is on such a large scale.

But with all of that said, at the end of the day, as creator, especially a creator making something for widespread international audiences, you have to learn how to be okay with the fact that your art, whether it’s music, visual arts, storytelling, or whatever, will not be universally loved. That’s pretty much impossible, and it’s also okay.

And while you obviously don’t have to listen to EVERY bit of criticism you receive, I do think it is vitally important to listen to criticism and concerns when they come from a whole group of people you are trying to represent.

This was Vivziepop’s response to survivors of sexual assault who asked to have their concerns about Angel Dust and the portrayal of his assault also taken seriously:

In my opinion, these replies are all really dismissive. I agree with everything Vivziepop said about survivors who felt represented being spoken over was also wrong. But these are survivors being open about how Vivziepop’s show has already affected them negatively, and the fear that their reactions to and opinions on the show will be, or in some cases—have already been, invalidated and called into question by the Hazbin fandom.

Vivzie’s response to them is that the show hasn’t come out yet, so they are getting upset “preemptively”. It really comes across like their concerns did not matter to Vivziepop, and like it didn’t matter to her that they had already been triggered or felt as if the handling of the scene was fetishistic based on what came out.

She states that her fans are “speaking out on their own experiences and reminding that the scene isn’t out yet”. I’m not denying that some fans do feel represented, but to me, it doesn’t, and didn’t matter if the show hadn’t come out yet.

The full episode can’t magically “take back” the fact that a lot of survivors saw this small clip on its own and it was enough to affect them. And that is just as valid of an experience as people who felt represented.

And listen. No group of people is a monolith and that includes survivors. People WILL have many differing opinions about the way sensitive topics are portrayed, especially when it’s as traumatic as sexual assault and abuse.

I am not saying Vivziepop should have somehow magically concocted a show that handles sexual assault objectively perfectly and pleases every survivor ever. That’s impossible, and I would NEVER ask or expect ANYONE to be able to do that.

But, it’s very clear to me in the interactions above that the people who were upset only wanted their opinions and experiences to be heard and respected as well, and they were essentially told that their feelings didn’t matter.

And to me, Vivziepop’s reaction to all of this was really giving Sia circa 2020:

I really think that, a lot of this could have been mitigated if someone from the Hazbin team, not even necessarily Vivziepop, had just acknowledged, “hey, you’re absolutely in your right to not like the scene and those feelings are valid”.

But there is a very strange sort of hypocrisy that is almost like. Tinted with virtue signaling*??? About listening to all survivors voices, while simultaneously dismissing the voices of survivors that are saying they have already been hurt.

THAT is what bothers me the most. It really seems like the only survivors that a lot of people involved in this discourse, including Vivziepop, were willing to listen to or validate were the ones that already agreed with them.

If you are going to support survivors you DO have to ACTUALLY SUPPORT ALL survivors. Even if they disagree with you.

If you’re still with me, I really really appreciate it. I felt I had to go over all of this to add context, because the concerns those survivors talked about over 10 months ago, foreshadowed the EXACT situation that some people in the Hazbin fandom have now put Limus in.

All because, after the episode came out, they expressed their honest opinions on the subject matter and the way Angel Dust was written in a way fans disagreed with.

I find it really disturbing that, the whole point of Vivziepop’s dismissal was that the show hadn’t come out, and that she said she would “respect” if people had concerns AFTER it came out. But I haven’t really seen any acknowledgment from her that survivors, who after seeing the whole scene, were still negatively affected.

The below is a tweet Vivziepop liked shortly after the episode came out in full.

I agree that any survivors who felt seen by Angel Dust and the show and were invalidated and had their experiences dismissed and questioned by others deserve apologies. But I can’t help but think about the fans who didn’t feel the same, who were hurt, and triggered by the depiction of SA before AND after the show released. I don’t want to read to much into likes, because people like shit for all sorts of reasons, but Vivziepop liking this tweet saying she deserves an apology too does rub me the wrong way, especially after she was told that survivors have ALREADY been hurt.

Don’t those people deserve apologies too? Or at the very least just an acknowledgment that their hurt and concern was valid?? It just comes off to me as a confirmation that Vivziepop doesn’t really want to listen to ALL survivors, just the ones that haven’t criticized her and praised her show.

To clarify—just as Limus did at the end of her video—I AM NOT SAYING THAT SA SURVIVORS WHO DIDNT LIKE THE SHOW’S HANDLING OF SA ARE THE “CORRECT” SURVIVORS AND THAT PEOPLE WHO FELT SEEN AND REPRESENTED BY ANGEL DUST AND THE SHOWS WRITING ARE “WRONG”.

The WHOLE POINT of me going over ALL of this is to take a look at the hypocrisy of many people both in the fandom and outside of it who SAY they care about ALL survivors feelings and experiences, but then call those experiences into question the MOMENT a survivor has an opinion different than their own.

And sadly, I personally believe the creator of Hazbin also contributed hugely to this hypocrisy.

When we look at what happened in January, it now feels weirdly prescient. People are treating Limus’ opinion as if she is personally attacking them, or saying that their experiences are invalid. She did not do that.

It also seems like a lot of people who like Angel Dust and feel he represents them are taking Limus’ critique of the character writing decisions made for Angel Dust, who is not a real person and does not exist, as personal attacks on their real lived experiences. She did not do that either. She was extremely clear that her opinions were in regards to the way Angel Dust was written as a character.

But because Limus critiqued Angel Dust, her experience with abuse has been called into question, just like the above survivors that were concerned about all of this way back in January. This is absolutely fucking unacceptable.

I am saying this to CRITICS AND FANS of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss, and fuck it, honestly ALL fandoms—If you have engaged in this sort of behavior, you have got to stop. I think the love and passion you have for the art that is important to you is beautiful and wonderful. But NOTHING justifies treating other people this way. It does not matter how much you love a certain character or how much they comfort you or what solace you find in them. There is NO EXCUSE for bullying and harassing someone over this shit.

I am saying this fully aware that it may cause people to get mad at me and want to send me hate. And honestly that’s fine. I will deal with it if it comes. But I couldn’t sit here and watch so many people shit on someone for talking about their experiences and opinions again.

Please, if you find the tweets/threads I referenced in this post, DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THEM OR HARASS THE POSTERS. This whole long massive post was all about why we should NOT do that.

When these conversations happen, I often see people just. Putting words into other’s mouths like it’s an Olympic sport. If someone says they don’t like the way Angel is written, they are not saying your experiences are invalid. If someone says they love the way Angel is written, they are not saying you have to love him and feel represented by him too.

Please. Please try to empathize with each other. Or at the very least, maybe just take some time to sit with your feelings instead of harassing others. I’m using Hazbin as an example because it’s a fandom I’ve had experience with recently, but this really does apply to all fandoms.

As I final note—if you love Angel Dust and think he’s the best written character and feel really represented and seen by him, that’s wonderful and I’m really happy to hear that the show was cathartic or comforting for you. Genuinely.

And if you hated the way Angel Dust was written and the show triggered you, I am so sorry that happened. It is so painful to re-live trauma like that, and I hope any that pain you felt from being reminded of what happened eased quickly and gently.

Both of your experiences and opinions are completely valid, and you have every right to express your opinions to others. Your trauma is real, and however you process it and cope with it should not be judged by anyone.

I just ask that we all be more respectful, and try to be curious about other’s perspectives regarding this stuff.

Thank you again for bearing with me through all of this. I hope you have a great day or night.

*I really really HATE the term “virtue signaling” because in MOST cases, I only ever see it being used to dismiss minorities and allies concerns about injustices. But, given the circumstances of this situation, I do think it’s actually appropriate here, given that survivors where expressing their concerns to Vivziepop and she was justifying her dismissal of them by saying the show hadn’t come out yet, and then went on to say that all survivors mattered. I don’t know whatever word I should have used, other than it just being hypocritical. Again I hate that term, and wouldn’t be using it here if I didn’t really believe it was appropriate and accurate.

[jinlin-at-the-moon]

Hi I'd LOVE to hear ur thoughts on transwoman shen qingqui

oh my god its actually happened. someone gave me an excuse to talk about this. holy shit lets go

the Thing with shen qingqiu is, as many of us know, that if anyone out there holds the crown of sheer denial, it is in fact the superior qing jing peak lord. shen qingqiu has a couple incredibly specific quirks to her internal monologue, and for the purposes of this mini essay (which will likely not go as in-depth as i'd like as i haven't had time to re-read the books recently and also don't have them physically with me right now so an actual essay-may-come this is not), i specifically note a few patterns with her thinking.

THE DENIAL, AS AFOREMENTIONED - we all know about this one. sqq, is, dear god, really good at being absolutely balls deep in denial about both her own feelings and also the feelings of others (especially when it comes to luo binghe, who i will also get into at some point in this).

RELATED, THE MENTAL GYMNASTICS - at surface level, it seems like the denial and the mental gymnastics are one and the same - however, i generally pose that they're not, exactly, but the mental gymnastics are still derivative of the denial; and by that i'm specifically counting 'mental gymnastics' to mean all those instances of thinking one thing that is actually true with her actually really good deduction skills not enough people give her credit for, then IMMEDIATELY following it up with a "haha but surely that cannot be true because i read pidw and i know better than my initial assumptions" (which is, in fact, precisely why people don't give her enough credit for those initial deduction skills. i love this woman's bullshit so much)

THE PROJECTION (wife edition) - in svsss, there are multiple, multiple instances of this one; it's specifically all those moments where sqq thinks about Luo Binghe's Many Wives™ when if you read past the 5 layers of self-bullshitting you immediately realise that she's just straight up talking about herself. she's awful, really.

THE PROJECTION (binghe edition). see i told you i'd get to him. this one is harder to explain without concrete examples actually, which is why i'd love for this to be a comprehensive essay after re-reading the books, but alas it is not. basically, shen qingqiu does this Thing (primarily after the kiss in book 2 happens and onwards, but it does show up earlier in smaller doses iirc) where she projects all of her wants onto binghe - particularly when it comes to sexual/romantic endeavours, but this happens just… in general? again really hard to tell you what exactly i mean without examples, so i gotta source: trust me bro on this even though i don't like doing that, but. trust me bro.

so, that's the foundation, right? where all of these patterns are used in the book is quite obvious - and that is, well… all over the place, really, but what immediately does come to mind is The Queerness - and specifically, its repression by shen qingqiu herself. in the story, The Queerness of it all is primarily taken to mean specifically homosexuality, and the values superimposed on sqq's psyche clashing with her own repressed sexuality and current situation, and also that she very undeniably loves binghe both like a child and a lover. (this is NOT about to turn into one of my freudian musings, but that's mostly because someone has already done that way better than me. shoutout to tshirt's svsss freud essay it's deeply important to all of my svsss beliefs btw it does also touch on the trans woman sqq thing which is fun. anyways.) …actually, no, the milf thing is relevant. we'll get to the milf thing. but back to talking about gay shit, shen qingqiu makes…. a lot. of references. to being a woman. and all of her thought patterns become Relevant while doing it- y'know, those same patterns she already uses for homosexuality, quite famously a queer thing to be, so it's like. The Queerness:

while the denial doesn't quite come into play directly, for obvious this-is-not-canon-and-i'm-just-insane-but-will-nonetheless-make-my-point reasons, it's present all throughout this reading - she's already really, really good at being in denial. it's not just a river in egypt to her, wait does egypt exist in svsss's specific setting actually? like this is a different can of worms but while mdzs does directly take place in china and tgcf is slightly less so but also implied to be in a very fantasy time period but still china i legit can't remember if any of those kinds of geographical references exist in svsss or if pidw was just straight up in the same sphere as The General Fantasy Setting is to western medieval fantasy? i'm getting way off topic here, it's a lifestyle. the mental gymnastics are relevant in that sqq is generally very prone to adjusting reality to her own mindset wherein she's self-assured that the reality she imagines is the true one, as well as her own dissociation from her own wants and needs covered up by But I Cannot Be Thinking That (most relevant example i can think of being her real grief over binghe she refused to acknowledge for fear of acknowledging her own feelings as a whole, while SPECIFICALLY also referring to herself as 'alike to a grieving widow', which is just further fuel for me) and her later projections of her own issues on binghe. that being said, i do think being post-canon will do her a lot of good. babygirl please get your brain out of survival mode and do some introspection. anyway, the projection (both kinds) is where Shen Qingqiu Is A Trans Woman is the most prevalent in its theory, because the projection allows for…. a lot of woman comparison that sqq may make. ESPECIALLY the wife thing. i've never counted how many times sqq either directly or indirectly compares herself to one of Luo Binghe's Many Wives™, and right now the only time that happens that comes to mind is during the dream demon arc - which, by the way, is absolutely full of sqq comparing herself to a woman, and it's also (iirc) the first 'maiden luo' comparison appearance, so it's just, like. the first scene i ask anyone who asks me about this headcanon to read while keeping "but what if she's trans" in mind, really.

speaking of the 'maiden luo' comparisons, that's the only concrete number in this essay i can give you, because i counted it a while ago. shen qingqiu refers to luo binghe as a 'maiden' 11-12 times across the four books. and while you'd THINK most of those would happen pre-abyss, a vast majority actually appear after the kiss in book 2, which is the moment where sqq imo honestly starts (admittedly still through 50 layers of self-bullshitting still) begrudgingly making the shift from the m to the f in milf. this is hilarious for a number of reasons, even transgenderism theory aside, but this post is not about putting transgenderism theory aside, so let's just. look at that. and think about it. really think about it. because maybe, deep down, what shen qingqiu might just really want, is a dedicated lesbian relationship with luo binghe. god bless. jokes (?) aside, the fact that sqq starts doing all the comparison of either herself or binghe to women way more often specifically after she is made to realise the true extent of binghe's feelings for her feels really important here. it's almost like, the second she begins letting up on her queer repression even a little bit, some other feelings escape. curious, isn't it. it's great.

now, am i going to address the perhaps-elephant in the room? as in, you know. the 'as long as she's a real woman' line? actually i am, but specifically because that line made me laugh and then immediately start considering this theory in the first place. i'm not kidding, that's where it started, and then i slowly went insane over time. it really does fit sqq's particular brand of repression, though. like damn girl, they gave you internalised homophobia AND internalised transphobia? how much shit do you have internalised? many shits, probably. god knows what else is there.

oh, and speaking of iconic lines. well. this whole essay, had i the ability to add in direct quotes, absolutely would include Every Single Time Shen Qingqiu Compares Herself To Su Xiyan, You Know, Famously Luo Binghe's Mother. THIS is where i talk about the milf thing, actually, because it's still absolutely INSANE to me that that shit is just, In The Text. like. wow. i both question my own sanity and keep being like it's mind boggling how much the text itself wants to prove me right. anyways, sqq and sxy have extremely deliberate set up parallels between them - in particular with the tlj/lbh parallel added in as well, but also with bingqiu themselves, which. hilarious. and freudian, again. go read the freud essay. sqq is compared to sxy a LOT, she both does it herself and other people do it - which does lead to the infamous 'i wouldn't have aborted you' line, which is just…. the quintessence. of why i love this book so fucking much. and also the milf thing is evidence for my crazed mumblings so whatever. i think you get my point here

(…and since we're talking about other people comparing sqq to a woman, because it's somewhat relevant. this happens. quite significantly. with one other character in particular. like most sqq woman references are mostly either from her own weird twisted mind with the "The Wives™" thing or with the su xiyan thing or the forlorn widow after binghe's nightmare road trip started thing. but there's. one person. who. weirdly consistently does this? and i truly don't know what to think about it but. hey airplane why do you forcefem cucumber-bro in your head so much. there is generally a lot of things wrong with airplane, but the '[peerless cucumber] is alike to a wife married to a disappointing husband' in regards to pidw readership line literally lives in my head rent free all the time forever and everything that's around it is just…. it's bad even with context. what. this isn't an airplane essay but with the knowledge that luo binghe was to some degree airplane's self-insert does make me feel some kind of way in addition. airplane. please. like airplane was trans(masc) in his past life in my head which is also an interpretation essay i wish to write one day but that doesn't make anything better. this whole paragraph is just an unrelated tangent. i'm sorry airplane-bro is my second favourite character and his sqq woman references are Numerous i can't do anything about it)

--anyways, so. this last point i'm going to make is one that is honestly less about the trans thing in general, and moreso a general take i have, so. here goes,

putting the trans in transmigration: i think there is a lot of merit to observing transmigration/isekai-type stories as a sort of allegory for queerness in general. while svsss is, on its level, already an exploration of this, i do wish to on my own terms also give a thought or two i've had about my reading. shen qingqiu is, in my honest opinion, sort of misrepresented in the fandom quite often. it's not even a case of blatant mischaracterisation (even if that also happens sometimes), but rather a case of 'what's in a name'; or rather, what's in an identity. i opened this post by calling shen qingqiu, as we know her, the main character of svsss, "the superior qing jing peak lord" -and while some would see it as a comedic jab to lighten the mood, it's really not such in the long run of this specific meta. becoming the peak lord of qing jing, becoming shen qingqiu, is the best thing that could have happened to peerless cucumber, internet critic, 'pretty-boy wasting his life away', IRL ID 'shen yuan'. see those air quotes thats right bitch this is going to be my hottest take in this essay: shen yuan is her deadname. i am both dead serious AND alive silly.

i actually wrote a post about this on my old account here, and to be quite honest i still stand by that my thoughts there - if you look closely, shen qingqiu never refers to herself as 'shen yuan' post-transmigration. she's fully locked in. she has accepted that courtesy name with grace and immediate acceptance, and in general doesn't… think much? about her old life and name? in fact the only other reference i can think of to the name 'shen yuan' is with the mushroom arc, where the mushroom body's appearance is based on her old body in part - and it's also particularly interesting to note that she doesn't feel one way or another about either of her appearances, which is food for thought no matter which way you take that! point is - shen qingqiu is shen qingqiu. she fucking LOVES being shen qingqiu. she goes from 'wasting away' in her old life to being a good teacher and finding joy in her work, having actual friends besides one weird guy online she had a parasocial hatred for, having a partner who cares for her, and a life she actually likes, and while i do think that angst may come from coming off survival mode and properly processing all those deaths she had, that angst is not going to be about 'impersonation' of any kind - because, well, shen qingqiu is shen qingqiu, and she's happy to be shen qingqiu and stay Shen Qingqiu Specifically forever. am i annoying with the emphasis on purpose, maybe? this goes beyond transgender interpretation thoughts this is just my hot take post right now - people love to give sqq name drama or transmigrator angst that just, in my take, doesn't actually work for her - she is no longer shen yuan, and she is not shen jiu (who, nota bene, she doesn't refer to as "the real sqq" ever), and while she feels momentary regret for getting all in sj's business, it's ultimately but a part of her experience in the world she lives in now; the world she's building a life in, the world which in spite of all of its contrivances she likes living in far more than her old one, the world she's been able to craft her own identity in. and that's really the core of it all, honestly- the point of this meta, i mean, though we got quite far away from it for a second there for the sake of my own grievance, so. sorry. this is a transgenderism essay, i promise. because shifting into a new name and identity without hesitation and finding yourself in a whole new reality you come to love far more than the depressing life you've left behind is, in my opinion, an EXTREMELY trans narrative, and in the end, that's the true point i wish to make-

(-well, that, and ALSO that people should stop a-yuaning her ass because thats her deadname that she hasn't thought about in years, but that's another one of my personal old man yells at mountain type fanon grievance-)

-so, in conclusion. my fun guy trait is dragging people in with memes then making it profound - and that's, hugely, why i adore svsss so much; because it really does the same thing. thank you for enabling my bullshit. if anyone wishes to argue with me about any of this you are Welcome To btw i love debating on the internet. cya around when i actually write a proper essay with quotations on this <3

("by the way, koi," you may ask, "by making shen qingqiu a trans woman, aren't you making bingqiu straight, and doesn't that impact/undermine the whole sexuality realisation sqq already canonically has?" to that i answer, no. sqq is right with all those maiden luo instances. because to me, too, luo binghe is a he/him lesbian*. thank you for coming to my ted talk)

[empydoc]

hush headcanons

because i haven't listened to a redacted audio in weeks and idk if i will

when he smiles it's gradual. you can see the progression of it on his face. he doesn't smile out of politeness or societal expectation, so there isn't a need for him to smile immediately or without purpose.

when learning something new he'll question why things are done the way they are. he'll test it himself and then, only when he understands why something is done the way it is, he'll settle. he's done this before when making a specific sort of food and it went horribly because he didn't follow most of the instructions.

he doesn't really notice when most people are looking at him- at least, when they pose no threat. however, when doc is looking his way, he seems to be incredibly aware of it, no matter where or when it is.

he prefers songs without lyrics in them. he hasn't really heard many songs in general, but there's something about a song with an added layer of lyrics that messes with him...

doc feels that maybe hush's eyes visibly soften when he looks at them, but they can't tell for what reason he'd knowingly- or, unknowingly- do this. when they asked once if he was aware of 'the way he looks at them', he sort of just avoided the subject.

finds great interest in what constitues an animal as 'pet worthy'. why dogs and cats, but not a raccoon? not a fox? hm.

hasn't fully recognised his own will yet. his wants, his desires... he doesn't realise them. he knows his 'responsibilities', but is he really responsible?

[creetchure]

one thing i really dislike about "claudia was fridged" is the fundamental lack of understanding of what fridging even means. ignoring entirely why iwtv was written.

fridging is a very specific thing, that denotes a lack of agency in the death (and in general). that death is wholly about someone else (a man), and not something she could have done anything about. It comes from a green lantern, where kyle rayner heads back to his place and finds his girlfriend murdered for the sole purpose of hurting him. It' also often offscreen and irrelevant to the narrative in an of itself, apart from "i need to find my wife's killer".

claudia's death isn't that. if there is one thing to remember about her, one trait about her character, is that she has a will to move, a will to do things, that drags louis forward. Her agency is the main driving force for leaving lestat, her wanting to be able to make her choices for herself. she's the one who makes them go to paris, she's the one who wants to join the coven, she's the one who wants to turn madeleine. claudia's death is something that she's earned, brought upon by enemies she has made. lestat goes along because she's the reason louis left him. the coven goes along and cheers because she's a cog in the machine, someone who wont let them turn her into something she's not. she won't settle for anything less than absolute freedom as a vampire, and that is the reason she dies. it's also an incredibly graphic scene. there is nothing forgettable about her death, about the very image of it. claudia goes out in a blaze of rage and fire.

to call it fridging is removing her agency, and her very active role as a driving force in the story. claudia's death cannot be fridging, because she's never been passive a day in her life, from the very moment we see her on screen to the very last. she's earned her death as a character, rather than as a woman

[triluvial]

There are whispers, stirrings.

There are rumours that Arrakis' control - for so long solidified in the pearlescent hands of the Harkonnen family - was wavering. That the emperor was already seeking out a replacement family.

Their first hint of this was Duke Leto reaching out and flat out telling them that the emperor had offered his family control over Arrakis and the entire imperial spice trade. While the Baron pretended very, very hard that this wasn't information that was blindsiding the entire family, Leto went onto explain that he didn't want to move off of safe, plentiful Caladan while the mother of his children was so, profoundly pregnant. Duke Leto doesn't want to start any shit with the Harkonnens either, so he wants them to hear the truth from him even though "I'm sure you're up to your ears in reports from your network of spies."

There was no network of spies. Who tf would risk their lives for a house that would be twice as likely to kill them themselves? Baron Vladimir successfully pretends otherwise for the rest of the video call.

However, that gives the Baron an idea of how to proceed. They can't trust the Atreides on their words, but they cannot ignore such a serious warning.

However, it would all be too suspicious - if the risk of losing the control of spice was real - for random Geidi Prime natives to show up at the Emperors home. He had a truthsayer, and they couldn't exactly blend into a crowd. But there was a better plan, they would join with a different house, one friendly with the Emperor and be invited alongside them to the Emperor's side. It would be an insult for the Bene Gesserit assistant to the crown to start questioning the staff of a beloved guest.

So Feyd joined a small battalion. Not even as the leader, though he could hear the other men shifting in anxiety whenever he sighed in a specific way over the general's decisions. And they were sent to bring that month's trading products from Pallosan III to Geidi Prime.

Feyd and his team arrive late on purpose. The ruling family had no choice but to offer to let them stay the night. They humbly accept, feigning the quiet servitude that Harkonnen servants are famous for.

Under the cover of darkness, they fake a break in. They fake an assassination attempt. Then the eight, perfectly normal Harkonnen servants fight off the attackers before the citadel's alarms are even raised.

Reader's family is overjoyed. Baron Harkonnen is even more overjoyed to receive and approve their request for the eight 'heroes' to stay on Pallosan Three until the reason and origin of the assassination attempt is found and eliminated. Vladimir is so glad that his people could be of use to such dear, treasured allies, and if his heir had been there Feyd could have probably fought off the assassins single handedly, but it's good that the relatively unskilled fighters managed on their own.

This bolsters the Harkonnen reputation, not only is their noble family incredibly dangerous but even normal servants sent to transport food are more skilled than most family's trained guards.

Feyd knew this would be a long mission. He'd never done anything like this, but a Harkonnen had to be present to make hard decisions and he was the least-recognisable of the three ruling members of the family.

Three weeks later there's a real break in. It probably wasn't an assassination attempt but as he is the only one alive when the guards and royal family come running in after the alarms go off, Feyd can tell whatever story he wants.

Later that day, the youngest princess comes and brings Feyd a drawing of him in thanks. He's monstrously tall, towering over a terrible depiction of the citadel. The sun is black, apparently the only thing the child knew about Geidi Prime.

Feyd looks over the shoulder of the child at where her older sister was standing. Then he feigns being moved by the drawing. He's rewarded by two smiles, one gap-toothed and the other as beautiful as the dawn. He feels his stomach flip awkwardly. He folds up the drawing and puts it inside his armour.

"You made her day, you know." Princess Irulan's closest friend says, sitting next to Feyd as he sharpens his sword later that afternoon. "She's right now bugging our captain of the guards so that he'll teach her swords so she can be a Harkonnen when she grows up."

"Uh..." Feyd manages.

"Of course, that's not how it works, but she's young." She allows, and she's sitting close enough that Feyd can tell her dress isn't just solid blue but actually embroidered in the same colour with shiny silk thread. "You're an amazing warrior, the Baron said only his na-Baron was skilled enough to fight an assassination team alone but you were barely sweating."

Reader runs a hand down his bare arm, as if to demonstrate where the sweat would be. Feyd has had sex with his harpies on his balcony, where any citizen could look up at them. Yet, somehow this makes him feel more exposed.

"I have to leave the citadel tomorrow and I know it's during the time that you normally train but I wanted to ask if you, or some of your friends would accompany me for safety. I cannot order you as you are all just guests here, but with two attempts on my life I am a little frightened." Reader either smooths her dress down, or wipes her sweaty palms on her skirt - Feyd isn't sure which.

"You know my training schedule?" Feyd asks, a grin on his face. He'd never seen her watching him train with his men but from the maroon flush on her cheeks he was now sure that she had.

Reader looks down, embarrassed. And that's when Feyd remembers he is not the Harkonnen heir right now, able to flirt and propose to any highborn woman he sets his heart on. He's a lowly servant and may as well be an earthworm pining after Shai-Hulud.

This is going to end in tears.

He agrees to go.

Ok this was supposed to be a quick idea where Feyd had to pretend to be a commoner while spying on Reader and her family, and Princess Reader fell for him while thinking they could never be together but the uhhhh political thriller explanation for why he was spying got a little out of hand. That's my bad. (also Political powerhouse Reader is maybe my fave trope atm as evidenced by 1, 2, 3 and now 4)

[sandyferal]

Admitting that Tootie and Timmy are the only version of the “girl is obsessed with boy and he doesn’t like her back but they end up together eventually” that I’ve seen done right was painful. I mean I think it’s the truth for the most part but it’s hard to give credit to FOP for writing anything well because they ruin basically all of that in the later seasons. Like they demolish it.

They literally just brought in a random weirdly designed pretty perfect new girl for Timmy to actually successfully woo… when it feels like the whole fucking point was that him disliking Tootie and being attracted to pretty perfect girls without considering their character was a symptom of his immaturity and superficial view of relationships. Also in general what was it with the fucking later seasons only letting girls be perfect or evil. (Except Wanda and Timmy’s mom. Who are literally just “nagging wife” and “mother.” Not much better.)

It’s incredibly funny to me too because I feel like they got so close to making Chloe from the later seasons an actually decent character (outside of her first ep.) Like she was kinda unhinged and flawed and it would’ve been so so easy to reveal that her outward “perfection” was the result of her holding herself to ridiculous standards that actually made her miserable. Crazy that even her saying “no one wants to be friends with me” when that was obviously false could’ve been good writing. Showing her perception was so warped that she thought her not being fully perfect meant she was an awful person and everyone secretly knew and hated her for it. They could’ve still portrayed her parents as good loving people who accidentally implied that they only loved Chloe because they didn’t see her flaws. But like no. The reason she’s “miserable” is just stupid, and she’s not a good enough character that the audience can overlook that.

That’s not even mentioning Trixie. Don’t get me started on Trixie. This show did a lot of character flip flopping even during the good seasons, but Trixie was just. Something else. Like the show really felt like it was actually trying to set up that she was a genuinely nice girl with good values that got buried when she was under the scrutiny of her popular friends, but then it did a turn and decided she was just shallow and/or crazy. And they continued to flip flop on whether Timmy pursuing her was even a good idea. Like man none of the characters actually GOT lasting character arcs but she specifically felt like she was in a position where it would’ve made the most sense to have one.

Insanely grateful character arcs are allowed to exist in A New Wish. I’ll admit, the girls still haven’t particularly benefited from them as much, but at the very least we have Dev. And at least Hazel is a likable character and not just slotted into one of the old “girl” stereotypes. Hell I’m glad ANY character is good. Like just. I cannot believe how bad the last seasons of FOP got. It was that serious man and the girls got it so bad. They really refused, like straight up didn’t try to bring back Trixie or Tootie for a love interest episode when that was Trixie’s entire purpose in the fucking show. But I guess they wanted to give him a win for once. Man.

And importantly, Wanda and Cosmo not only have a better relationship in New Wish, but Wanda is NOT a punching bag. Like it may be a slight exaggeration to call her that, but fuck man, some of the later season eps thought it was so fun to beat her up for literally no reason.

[utilitycaster]

I'm curious about your judgement of the success of the various format experimentations in Campaign 3. If you feel like saying a bit more, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on which are the most and least successful, and why.

Sure! So as I said earlier today, I think a big problem is that the format experimentation and the moon plot are directly at odds. Pulling off the moon plot, with all the NPCs from past campaigns and payoff of various canonical setups requires a pretty firm hand on what the current canon is, and also really did require a firmer hand in the character creation than there was. On the other hand, the point of experimentation is to let other people play in the space and introduce their ideas. This comes together in what I have referred to in the past as "Not Now." Like, the Crown Keepers showing up just as the party was grappling with FCG's death? Not bad as a concept, but Not Now. Abubakar playing Corellon? Incredible performance, but the fact that he was given free rein in a plot that's already shedding viewers left and right for its lack of direction? Not Now.

On an individual level:

I think EXU Prime either needed to be fully standalone, or Matt needed to provide a slightly more rigid direction to Aabria and therefore really couldn't play Dariax. If it's going to get woven into the main plot of Campaign 3 it needs to set that up (including giving Liam and Ashley a heads up beforehand). My personal vote would be for the former, to allow Aabria to tell her own story without it having to serve like 20 different functions, but what's done is done. If I recall, Liam and Ashley had the option to play different characters for Campaign 3 and I do wonder what would happen if they had decided differently, because you could still have Dorian pop up as a guest but I wonder if the Crown Keepers would have shown up in the same way.

Similarly, as stated, the general concept of the Crown Keepers interlude during the campaign as a means to bring in Dorian? I'm not opposed, though I think this is by far the hardest thing to coordinate generally and for a plot as demanding as Campaign 3 probably not a great idea. But it's hard to judge because the timing was truly the worst timing possible given the events of episode 91, and even delaying by like an episode or two would have at least solved that to the point that I don't understand why they didn't just...do that. (and, just to head off this particularly stupid argument at the pass, this would not have in any way affected Sam's ability to take time off for cancer treatment; it would have just shifted things around, and a lot of this experimentation was planned WELL in advance). [sidebar: I haven't listened to the WBN interlude yet but I do have thoughts because I think interludes from different GMs can be done, but the premise of Campaign 3 is particularly hostile towards them unless the main GM has a very heavy hand in their creation or unless they are light on things relevant to the core plot and mostly for the purpose of worldbuilding a la Song of the Lorelei.]

Solstice split was excellent and I think it's because it was not actually anything you wouldn't see in how people frequently play D&D at home. You have a few players who won't be available for a few sessions in a row? Great, find a reason to split the party, bring some other guest players in, and run some side quests!

Downfall was great because it was diagetic. It was a story within a story that Bells Hells was seeing and responding to, and because it took place so long ago with such specific characters, while it may bleed into how Laura, Taliesin, or Ashley feel in game (impossible to prevent, people bring their own feelings to the table), Matt still has room to decide how the Raven Queen, Wildmother, or Everlight feel a thousand years later. I also feel this had the most direction from Matt, which the other things really needed.

As said, bringing in Abubakar to DM as Corellon is something that again, this plot simply doesn't handle well. It makes for a fantastic scene, but within the 107-and-counting episodes of this story, giving the reins to someone else after you finally have a clear plan and letting them throw another curveball is a terrible idea narratively. I think this again would be fine in a story with a looser plot.

Echoes of the Solstice and presumably the upcoming Vox Machina Malleus Key/Mighty Nein Weave Mind concept is again pretty good. This also fits into things that D&D home games have been doing forever - run a one shot or mini campaign following different characters but DM-ed by the same person that have an impact on the current plot but aren't too closely interwoven. Basically this is like the solstice split in concept.

Essentially: I think playing around with the format within a campaign but having the same GM is pretty easy to do. Once you introduce other GMs acting within the world concurrently (rather than as a story with a foregone conclusion a la Downfall, or for that matter Calamity) you need to be extremely careful if you are trying to tell a specific story with a lot of moving parts, as Matt is with Campaign 3. It's one thing to improvise based on things your players do or say; it's another to do so based on improv by a major NPC or someone doing extensive worldbuilding mid-game that you now need to incorporate. This wouldn't be an issue in a more sandbox-style game; Campaign 2 might have been able to withstand it more gracefully, though I'm still not sure. But Campaign 3 was the wrong place to do it. Again, it's trying to converge in some places and diverge in the others and as a result it's just kind of flopping around in place.

[numberonetacostan]

hey guys welcome back to disney channel its shrimpy and-

sorry im going crazy hAHAHSHSH

au where taco wasn't actually programmed to betray anyone and/or steal the million or anything (just stay as her silly little s1 self) but uhh something something cobs meddling with mephone4 code something something pokes around with the contestants' code n'stuff and accidentally-on-purpose changing up some of their behaviours and one of which being the taco becomes evil and british thing

the whole thing is revealed 1. when knife & suitcase face cobs and he's like " of course im invested in inanimate insanity i literally edited like tacos and some of the other's code so it could get interesting because cmon mephone could never do that to his contestants he just cant think big " and theyre like What The Fuck 2. insert scene post-finale (after the Cobs Death Scene) where taco asks mephone why he made her this way (Evil and Traitorous) and he goes like ???? but i didnt ??????? and suitcase and/or knife (hes not.hesnot a ghost shut. if he was alive he'd do it lets be so real) are like sooo about that..... and she is Devastated. her entire life got ruined because of Corn

optional scene where mepad (you already know how i feel about him. shhh. i love tacopad. let me have this) and/or mic have to comfort her because She Can't Believe It

Hi Shrimpy!!^^ Welcome back, and thank you for sending in an ask!! :]

OUGH Cobs meddling with their code is such a neat one!!! Taco getting her code meddled with in general is super interesting, whether it's Cobs for added drama or Mephone because he wanted a twisty twist villain as whoever ended up taking 2nd place. I think it would be neat if Taco was chosen specifically because Cobs found her original personality obnoxious, echoing how Mephone4 would call her annoying when she survived eliminations during season 1.

Cobs using her as an example for Knife and Suitcase would be so fucked. I love it. Especially with Knife being close with Pickle and Mic, and having seen Taco fall apart quite recently. Mephone's response is pretty funny though ngl. "Why did you make me so awful?" "I didn't do that you were supposed to be silly I got no clue what went wrong." Knife and Suitcase awkwardly telling her and Taco's just. Silence. Okay. She will be jumping off the crappy cliff now no more of this shit girl is DONE. Yeah she would be incredibly upset, devastated, heartbroken, angry, so many fucking feelings. She had been so happy. She could've stayed so happy.

The comfort is NOT optional actually. I think Taco might need to be watched after this just in case she might hurt herself. Testy might be working on MeLife/Mepple stuff to try and create a new recovery system, I'm begging you to indulge in the angst of her trying to bring her old personality back. She at least knows a thing or two about tech, and if there's one thing we know about Taco it's that if she decides she wants something it's pretty dang hard to stop her from getting it. And there's so much potential here too!! She gets caught trying to more or less erase her current self? ANGST. She succeeds in doing so and now the Taco that Mic and Mepad knew and cared for deeply is gone, and Pickle is faced with the Taco who was his dumb, loyal friend again? Who doesn't remember anything that happened after she lost? *explodes*

[detective-dick-gumshoes-pot-room]

Reasons Why Akanidai is Perfect 😌

Making my long overdo ship essay because my friend finally coerced me.

Reason 1: Character compatibility

Akane is an incredibly energetic character who lacks a lot of emotional regulation and impulse control. Nekomaru is one of the only characters who can match her energy, but he's also a manager by trade. So, he winds up being the perfect fit to work with Akane's energy. They also tend to match each other's humor.

Where they really shine is Nekomaru's ability to be the only male character whom Akane doesn't feel the need to "Sell Herself" too. Which is something she has the tendency to do thanks to trauma. Nekomaru is one of the least perverted characters I would argue, and thus doesn't really give Akane the impression he's trying to get something out of her. Because he's not, his only motivation is to help Akane out in the long run. For someone like Akane, who has never been taken care of, that's a huge deal.

Reason 2: Their Canon Relationship

Akane has a very traumatic history. Without getting too far into it, she's pretty much been abused by every man (and people in general tbh) in her life up until this point. She doesn't trust people all the way. She doesn't bother learning names half the time because she's so used to people dying around her.

[That reflects in her time spent with Hajime. She forgets his name constantly in the freetime events. And even when they're working together (chapter 2) she's on edge around the guy. Preparing herself for the worst. ]

But not with Nekomaru. The two will spar anytime Akane runs into him. She never (to my knowledge) makes the same comments towards Nekomaru that she would to thr other guys. She feels actually safe about him. And that's further supportive by the whole "It" stick between the two. While the whole scene is played up for laughs as an innuendo, it's a big deal that Akane feels comfortable enough to let Nekomaru give her massages. Especially since she has trauma around that kind of touch specifically.

Akane is also very admiring of Nekomaru. Usually, when she's referring to him in dialog, it's comments about how he's the strongest guy she's ever seen. About how he motivates her and gets her excited to spar just from walking by. Which is incredibly sweet.

Meanwhile, for Nekomaru, Akane gives him a purpose. She's an athlete on the island who needs help in more ways than one, so he immediately takes responsibility over her. Taking care of her physical well-being, helping her train and develop her talents properly (something she never really learned to do because her skills were self-taught for survival). To the point where he insists he has to be the one to reign Akane in because he knows he's the only one who's going to get her to calm down.

So naturally, the two get closer and closer. Until Nekomaru steps in and takes the rocket hit for Akane. Something he does with absolutely no hesitance.

And boy, does Akane really shine in both instances where Nekomaru "dies". During the first incident, she's in a lot of shock and denial. Akane knows how bad she messed up and feels pretty guilty over it. But despite how quick she usually is to accept death, she doesn't here. She continues to insist that Nekomaru can't be taken down by something like that. She literally can't imagine a scenario where he dies in such a way (heavy denial and admiration at play). But Nekomaru? Assuming he's about to die, the only thing he can think of is to tell Akane to live.

When Nekomaru comes back as a robot, there's this air of awkwardness between them. Akane, for maybe one of the first times, feels incredibly guilty about what happened (despite her denial). Seeing Nekomaru in a completely new body must have been quite the shock. Knowing how badly hurt he was. But she buckles down and commits to paying him back for everything he's done for her.

During Chapter 4, however, when Nekomaru dies for real, Akane cries for the first (real time) in the game. Straight up wails when she finds out. And immediately goes to revenge as her only way to deal with the pain. Pain that other characters recognize as Chiaki encourages us to give Akane a moment alone with Nekomaru to mourn properly. Not to mention Gundham going out of his way to tell her that Nekomaru accepted his challenge and fought until the end (incredibly important for her to hear).

No one is really sure how Akane will react to this news, but they all acknowledge how much it hurts her. Which is saying a lot since Akane is constantly putting up a front to prevent looking weak.

Just looking at what the game tells us about the characters, Akane and Nekomaru are extremely close. Their relationship is built on a trust that's rare for Akane to give out. Nekomaru learns her boundaries and figures out ways to keep her mind off the situation, but more than that, he's constantly dedicated to keeping Akane safe. He takes two rocket shots for her and ultimately helps free the entire group from the funhouse.

Two incredibly close characters whose development in the story is tied into each other.

Reason 3: Despair Arc

This is a shorter note, but @monokuma-apologist pointed it out to me, and it is very important I think.

In the dreaded episode two of Despair arc, when Akane and Nekomaru feel the effects of the spiked soup, instead of going nuts like the rest of their classmates,

Nekomaru is just concerned about Akane at first, and the second she tells him to not touch her- He doesn't. Man respects her boundaries, and they both just end up staring at each other quietly for the rest of the time. Very much attracted, but very respectful still. It's so nice 🙂

Conclusion

Akane and Nekomaru make the perfect pair together. Akane has been hurt. Nekomaru knows that and adapts immediately. Akane trusts and opens up with Nekomaru on a level she just doesn't with the other characters. He helps her find her footing in the world and helps pull her from her survival instincts. And Akane gives Nekomaru motivation and purpose in an awful situation. As long as Akane is around, Nekomaru works his hardest to keep everyone's spirits light and make sure people are kept safe. As long as he's doing that, Akane can feel safe too.

But just on a basic chemistry level, it's hard to beat out a pair who match each other's energy so well. They're both loud, into roughhousing, can be a little dense, but both try their best to contribute. There's no real judgment between them. Just real, genuine affection and friendship.

And let's be real, the writers totally ship it. 😚

[Footnote: Me and my friend have the personal headcanon that the reason Nekomaru let's lose and trains so hard with Akane is because of his heart condition. It's always held him back, so once he gets put into a killing game where everyday could be his last he decides "fuck it" and tears up the beach with Akane because why not have some fun?]

[outnumberedsins]

Scripts: What are they, and what aren't they?

Unfortunately, scripts have been subject to major misinformation within certian OEA spaces. Examples are terms such as 'miniscripts', how many scripts a system can have, what media can be a script, etc. This post will cover all of that, as well as provide sources to the best of my ability. These sources contain material that can be triggering, so please tred carefully.

What are scripts?

The term 'script' itself is linked to svalispeaks, who is not a good source. However, the concept itself is documented and referenced to in other ways, so please keep that in mind.

Simply put, a 'script' is a piece of media used as an internal organization program to lay out a systems innerworld, hierarchy, and parts. When done properly, scripts will be a seen in almost everything in a systems internal parts. Those scripted in a particular media will have alters based on characters and a piece of the innerworld based on the universe, each serving a specifically programmed purpose.[1, chp 4 & 6][2 , pg 94]

Scripting will typically begin in infancy or very young age, as any programming does. [3][4][5] This is because the older the child is, the more difficult it is to implement programming, as possible dissociative responses and state of integration have already begun to develop. [6]

Groups that attempt scripting are typically large, sophisticated and organized, as they require a substantial amount of space and time (ex. Multiple rooms and prompts, ability to perform wide ranges of abuse, ability to have frequent access to child). [3][4][5][7 , chp 2 & 4]

Internal structures are common in those who have dealt with TBMC. However, not all of them are scripts. The difference between other structures and scripts are the addition of specific media, such as a religious book, to outline the system.

Scripts vs Forced Introjection

Programmed Introject =/= Script =/= Forced Introject

People often confuse forced introjection for scripts. Sometimes, survivors may even confuse a general introject for a part of a script. While scripts do involve forced introjection, not all forced introjection is scripting.

A script involves more than one alter, programmed around one another, as well as effects to the system structure, innerworlds, and applied programs. Forced introjection does not have to be a part of a script, or even part of OEA at all.

A common example of non-scripted forced introjects, that may themselves be programmed, are abuser introjects. These introjects can be programmed, but may not be a part of a script. [8 , pg 51]

Outside of that, systems may have forced introjects that aren't programmed, or involved in OEA at all. This could be possible from further abuse at a later date, where the perpetrator utilizes the persons CDD to try and get them to split a certian introject. This could be an example of conditioning, but not programming.

Myths and Misinformation:

1. Any piece of media can be a script.

1a. Viable media for scripting must be simple enough for a young child to understand, must have clear and reoccurring themes and morals, and has a consistent storyline. This is due to age of the victim. Media that has been around for a long time are more than likely able to fit these things, along with the fact that repeat adaptations and reoccurrence of the story is common. New, complicated, and long pieces of media make scripting extremely difficult or impossible. Groups that do have the resources to script victims are more likely to resort to tried and true methods, and media that reflects their values [ex. Religious documents], rather then making up an entirely new scripting method.

2. There is no limit on the number of scripts you can have.

2a. Due to the nature of scripts being the complete base of the system, or a major part of it, it would be incredibly difficult to implement more than one script without it failing and breaking down. The child would become very confused and internal structures wouldn't work as required. There is hardly any reason to have more than one script anyways, given the time and effort gone in to creating one.

3. 'Miniscripts.'

3a. 'Miniscripts' are the idea of a script that purposely only involves one layer, or only a couple of alters. While it is possible to have failed or broken programming that results in a broken script, the purpose of a script itself means that it will inhabit more than just a small area of the system. Like previously mentioned, the presence of multiple scripts can easily cause dysfunction and break down the system. Often, 'miniscripts' are just other organizational programming, forced introjection, or simply introjects by themselves.

4. Every TBMC survivor with a CDD has a script.

4a. This is completely false. In fact, it's likely less common to have a script, let alone a fully functioning/complete one, due to the time and effort it takes to implement. You can be programmed and not have a script. It's possible to not have a script yet have other organizational programming. You do not need one.

Specific Scripts:

There were a lot of sources on this matter that I've found but don't particularly trust, but have been sited by ones I do. For this reason I have left out mentions of specific scripts as I didn't have detailed references. However, for the sake of this post, I'd like to mention these following specific scripts I've seen mentioned, however brief, in reading:

The Wizard of Oz

Alice In Wonderland

Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales

Original Disney Princesses

Religious Texts

This is not to say these are the only scripts possible, ever. These are just ones I've seen referenced to in a clinical sense, and thus I assume are the most common.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, feel free to send an ask or reply to this post. A reminder that I am not a professional, I am flawed, and am just doing my best.