#and i DID it . i was actually Successful in that

[pomefioredove]

Imagine the overbloat gang as fathers or like proud/panicking that their s/o is having a child and they don't know what to do

Imagine the gang trying to give their kids a goid life and getting baby fever like who wouldn't because the kid is literally a mixed of him and you and they gush about how much they love their s/o and children like ???????

Overbload gang as fathers and i will start violently sob

I do have a weakness for familial headcanons :) future au time??

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ as fathers

type of post: headcanons characters: riddle, leona, azul, jamil, vil, idia, malleus additional info: romantic, reader is gender neutral (no mentions of the child's origins), reader is not specified to be yuu, obviously takes place in the future

I think Riddle is one of the most reluctant to have children

for years he was strictly against them. his excuses were always that children are messy, unruly, his career, his relationship with you... but he was mostly just afraid of turning into his mother

as he gets older and forms his own identity, though, he realizes that it takes a lot of intentional effort to fuck up a child like his mom did, and he changes his mind

I can see him with... maybe two kids

he would never want an only child. after all, the bonds he made with his peers are what kept him going

he is a pretty good parent overall. maybe a little to focused on bedtimes and table manners, but the kids don't seem to mind

Trey and Che'nya babysit often (and it's always disastrous)

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

talking Leona into the idea of fatherhood is like diffusing a bomb with a blindfold on. the guy won't even JOKE about it

if you do end up with a kid, it's unplanned, whether that be pregnancy or baby left on the doorstep

but he makes a surprisingly(?) good father. defo a girl dad, he would spoil a daughter rotten. lets her beat the daylights out of Neji because that's his little princess :)

parenting is really not as scary as he thought it was going to be

he has "I'm just resting my eyes" *falls asleep for 8 hours on the reclining chair in the living room* dad energy

the hardest part?

pretending to like vegetables in front of the kid to set a good example

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Azul would actually be an awesome dad idc. IDC!

he has a good relationship with his mom and stepdad (who definitely babysit all the time; they insist on it), so he has good role models

he's not even worried about how it'll affect his career! Azul has a "do it all" personality: businessman, entrepreneur, father, aspiring millionaire...

and he is so overprotective

he'd cover that kid in bubble wrap if you'd let him

but he's really more concerned about their feelings. sending them to school is much harder than closing a business deal

he's a little sensitive, but he knows he'll have to trust them eventually

P.S. the tweels are NOT allowed to babysit. bad influences

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Jamil. ohhh Jamil :(

kids were never on the table for him, even after he met you and fell in love, he just... couldn't imagine it

regardless of whether or not he and his family are in a better place. (for the sake of this story, let's pretend they are. I want him to be happy) he just has so much generational trauma that he knows the child will end up with some, anyway

when, if, he's ready, it will still be a tough process. but worth it

he's such a supportive dad. bragging about his child at any chance, definitely the kind of dad to show everyone the baby pictures without being asked

it gets embarrassing for them as they grow, but he doesn't care

he thinks they're the greatest thing ever, and people should know that!

he is so proud

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Vil had always wanted to play a father on screen, but once he hits that age, he starts thinking about real life, too

he's gotten where he wants to be, after all: he's still young, he's in love, and his career, as successful as it is, is starting to wind down. so, why not?

he is the most supportive partner you could ask for. despite his schedule, he's involved in everything (yes, even the messy stuff)

he's got a customized baby bjorn and everything

I can see him with... one. just one is enough for him. he also has girl dad energy. he's already looking forward to playing princesses and letting her do his makeup (terribly, of course)

he knows his child will grow to have their own wants and thoughts and personality, and he's supportive. besides, if he has another Epel on his hands, he'll know how to handle them

just... gentler, this time

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

for you, anon, I will enterain the idea that Idia may someday reproduce. but there's still a 50% chance that kid is a robot

joking (kind of)

I don't think he'd even really want kids. considering his own unhappy childhood and the whole curse of his bloodline thing. but, like the others, he can be convinced!

I think he'd make a pretty good father, tbh. neurotic, sure, but he's not too clingy, nor too distant

whatever kids he has will be smart, and he trusts them. he likes teaching them nerdy stuff, too (finally, someone he can infodump to!!!)

he probably ends up with more than he'd think. 2 or 3

as long as you never bring up how cringe he was in college, he's rather mature and prepared for anything

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

out of the whole lineup, Malleus is the the only one to have thought your future children while at NRC. daydreamed, really

I know, not surprising. look at the guy. he's practically kicking his legs back and forth while coming up with baby names in game

it was just a fantasy at first, then you became closer, graduated, got older, and...

Lilia began teasing him about getting grandkids, and Malleus took him quite seriously

he knows he's still young (though, at his age, Lilia was already general), but he doesn't want to wait forever. you both have many long talks on the matter

and end up with... as many children as you can handle, basically

Malleus is somewhat of an awkward father (having been raised by Lilia will do that to you)

but he cares. and he tries! very hard. plus, there's always Lilia, Silver, and Sebek around to lend a hand

[giuseppe-yuki]

anesthesia

kimi antonelli x tiger shapeshifter!reader

w.c.: 2.3k

warnings: none, really.

part of my shapeshifter!reader spinoff series

summary: kimi + anesthesia? not a good combo.

photo credits from pinterest :)

in the spacey kitchen of kimi‘s family house, you bustled around with your boyfriend‘s mother, preparing the night‘s dinner- homemade gnocchi. both of you chatted idly as you waited for the lightly salted water to boil on the stove- it had to reach a certain temperature to be considered hot enough to put the pain-stakingly hand rolled gnocchi in. 

however, your peaceful moment was ruined when kimi busted though the kitchen doorway with a thin piece of paper in his hand. 

he clears his throat, wrinkling the paper in nervousness. 

you wipe your floury hands on a wet rag and hurry over to kimi. you didn‘t want to assume the worst, but what if he was hurt? did something happen at the mercedes facilities? gently putting your hand on his arm to comfort him, you question kimi. “are you okay, baby? what’s wrong?” 

thrusting the paper onto the dirty counter so both you and his mother can see, he explains. ”so…i just went to my dentist and he said i might have to have my wisdom teeth removed- like tomorrow afternoon.“ 

you huff in exasperation, lightly shoving your boyfriend aside in a joking manner. ”kimi! you had me worried for a second!“ 

he rolls his eyes. 

his mother laughs, having just finished reading the appointment overview. ”no, mia cara, he‘s just scared because he has to be put under anesthesia!“

kimi’s eyes widen, and he hurriedly tries to stop his mother from saying anything else. ”mamma, no!”

kimi’s mother just bats her son‘s hands away. smiling at you as if sharing a secret, she continues on. “last time kimi had to be put under anesthesia was when he broke his arm in a kart crash, and let’s just say- he went a little crazy.“

you had never seen kimi so nervous before. not during your first date, not during the negotiations period with toto, and not even in the moments before doing fp1 in a formula 1 car for the first time ever!

kimi twiddled his thumbs and adjusted his seat every two seconds as you drove him to the dentist office in your custom mini cooper. 

keeping your eyes on the twisty roads of italy, you reach over with one hand to squeeze his hand. “it‘s alright, kimi,” you comfort, “i‘m sure the procedure will go fine! and, if you are scared of the anesthesia, don‘t be. everything will be okay.“

everything was actually not okay. 

it started when the dentist’s assistant had fetched you from the nicely decorated waiting room of the dentist office. 

“you are his… girlfriend, correct?” the assistant asks, flipping through a manila folder neatly labeled as ‘antonelli, andrea kimi’. 

you nod, trailing behind the woman in light blue scrubs through the maze-like hallways. 

“great!” she exclaims, opening a fancy white door and gesturing inside. “your boyfriend is here.”

when you walk in, kimi was slung over a dentist chair, eyes half closed and mouth stuffed to the brim with white gauze. his head lolled backwards and he was subconsciously twitching his fingers. even so, you applauded his ability to look so adorable under such conditions. you walk towards the chair, which was placed smack dab in the middle of the room next to some glistening metal tools and a big dental light that was shining directly into kimi’s face.

a lady in a white lab coat approaches you before you can talk to your boyfriend, hand out. “hello, you must be kimi’s girlfriend!” she says, beaming at you and enthusiastically shaking your hand. “i’m glad to say that the operation was a success!” letting go of your hand and scribbling something down on a piece of paper, she continues on. “i do have to say though, we did administer anesthesia in order to keep him comfortable for the procedure. he will be a little disoriented- ” 

before the doctor could finish her sentence, kimi roughly pushes himself up from the dentist chair, glaring at you. 

“WHO are YOU?!” he shouts, voice a little muffled by the gauze in his mouth. “get AWAY from me- i have a girlfriend!”

you look at him in disbelief. beside you, the doctor and the nurse muffle their laughter. 

“this is normal- usually the anesthesia lasts for a few hours, and he’ll be back to his regular self in no time!” the nurse explains.

you turn around to kimi aggressively punching the air around you, but missing every time.

“im warning you!” he slurs, “if you don’t get away from me, my girlfriend is gonna- is gonna eat you!” 

the dental assistant and dentist both raise a brow at kimi’s lowkey concerning words, but brush it off as another side effect of the anesthesia. 

“shut up, kimi!” you hiss in his ear, now trying your best to haul him out of the door in his disoriented state. 

he seems to cooperate with you momentarily from the operating room to the parking lot outside, until you reach your mini cooper.

“EWWWW!” he yells at the top of his lungs, causing several other people in the parking lot to look over. “I CANNOT BE SEEN IN A MINI COOPER! I HAVE A CONTRACT WITH MERCEDES.”

you slap your hand over his mouth, quickly mouthing sorrys to the people who probably had their eardrums explode from kimi’s screech. 

“kimi,” you reprimand. “you have to be quiet! we are in a public space and you are disrupting other people. now, you get inside the car right now.” 

he grumbles, but slowly stumbles his way into the passenger seat. 

you softly close his door and hop into your driver’s seat, sighing in exasperation. perhaps his mother was right. he did get a little crazy under anesthesia. maybe you should have called ollie for backup. 

after a bit of a struggle putting on kimi’s seatbelt, (he seemed to think it was a snake trying to strangle him) you back up from your parking spot and slowly make your way to the exit of the plaza. 

in the passenger seat, reclined all the way back with his feet on the dash like a passenger princess, kimi promptly bursts into tears. 

trying not to get hit by a random dude in a light blue vespa, you can only spare glances at kimi thrashing around in his seat like an eel, the only thing stopping him from flipping into the center console was the seat belt. 

“what??” you exclaim, head turning back and forth trying to see what’s possibly wrong with your boyfriend while also focusing on the road. “is there something wrong, kimi?”

“yes!!” he sniffles, wiping the streams of tears of his face. “you called me kimi and that’s not my name! my name is andrea. apologize right now!”

good god, you think, feeling peeved. you couldn’t wait until his anesthesia wore off.

putting on your best apologetic face, you quickly apologize. “okay, i am so sorry for that, andrea. how should i make it up to you?”

just like you flipped a switch, he immediately stops crying. “yay! thank you!” he says giddily, kicking his legs. “how about you get me ice cream??”

you don’t have to think twice before accepting his offer. the night before, you had researched a little bit about wisdom teeth surgery aftercare, and apparently ice cream was really good for you. besides, you felt like you deserved a treat after using so much energy to drag kimi out of the dental clinic.

you reroute to the nearest ice cream shop, and kimi thankfully stays silent for most of the car ride, but occasionally messed with the seat adjustment buttons a few more times than you thought was necessary. 

however, ten minutes to ice cream shop, at a stoplight,  kimi suddenly jolts from his position looking out the window. a shiny silver mercedes g-wagon sits glistening in the sun next to your tiny mini cooper. 

as if he just had neuron activation, he snaps his head towards you. “hey! you! did you know, i am a formula 1 driver for mercedes?”

the light turns green, so you step on it, the g wagon following at the same acceleration as you. 

“umm, yes! i do know that actually,” you say, navigating to the left-most lane. 

your boyfriend giggles mischievously, even though nothing was funny in the first place. “well,” he drawls out, holding up one finger. “i actually know how to drive very good. i can show you if you want?”

before you have a chance to react, your boyfriend grasps your steering wheel and yanks it aggressively to the right, almost running you into the expensive g-wagon. 

“kimi- i mean andrea! do not do that! ” you screech, prying his fingers off of the wheel and hurriedly correcting the car before it can cause any damage to any other vehicles on the road. 

he laughs and claps his hands at the g-wagon honking its horn at you, as if he didn’t just almost create a five car pileup in the middle of the road.

thankfully, the rest of time goes smoothly without any incidents. well that is, until you got into the shop. 

“what flavor do you want, andrea?” you question, putting emphasis on the ‘andrea’ part. you did not feel like dealing with a breakdown just because you called him by the nickname that literally everyone called him. 

“stracciatella!!” he trills, twirling in a circle. 

ignoring the strange looks from other customers in the store, you place your and kimi’s orders, collect them, and snatch a comfortable looking bench outside of the store to eat your ice cream. 

of course, half-way through shoveling his ice cream into his mouth, (he smeared at least a fourth of his ice cream on his shirt) he decides that his memories of you would disappear again like it did in the dentist office, and he starts yelling bloody murder.

“EEEEEEEE!” he announces to every passerby in a five mile radius, jumping up and down while waving his arms. “i do NOT know this woman! she is trying to kidnap me!” 

you place your ice cream down next to you, snatch his flailing arms and shove him a tad roughly back onto the bench. “so sorry!” you shout to onlookers. “he’s under anesthesia right now- wisdom teeth removal!” your line seems to work, as no bystanders call the police on you, but he still continues to yell. 

you try every possible method you can think of, like begging him to stop screaming, trying to bribe him, and attempting to drag him to your car, but none of the above work, and he kept insisting that he didn’t know you. 

having no choice but to use your last resort, you make sure assure kimi that you will be right back (not that he particularly cared in this mindset) and dashed into a side street.

padding quickly out of the alley by the ice cream shop, you approach kimi. he reacts exactly how you hoped he would- eyes widening in realization and a smile lighting up his face- a direct opposite of his suspicious glares and nasty side-eyes from before. 

“baby!” he shrieks, stumbling a bit towards you before clutching onto your fur. “i missed you soooo much!”

you wrap your tail around his body protectively to steady him, so he doesn’t fall.

“i’m glad you’re here,” he mumbles, petting you. “because a really weird lady literally tried to kidnap me! can you even believe that?”

you practically roll your eyes. he didn’t recognize you in your human form, but he did in your tiger form? unbelieveable.

carefully, you unwind your tail and softly nudge kimi onto your back. once you are sure he is secure on your back, you wind through several gaping tourists and an annoyed looking old nonna on the cobblestone street towards the parking lot. you purposely bow your head, trying your best to not look hostile to the passerbyers (it was kind of hard considering you were literally a tiger in the middle of a street in bologna, and with a groggy boy that looked suspiciously like the famed racing driver kimi antonelli sprawled on your back)

when you reach your hastily-parked mini cooper, you practically drag him off your back and use your teeth to yank him into the vehicle. double-checking to make sure no one was looking, you shift back into your human form, and speed back to kimi’s house in a record time that would probably make toto reassign you as the new merc formula one driver. 

kimi’s mother cackles in laughter when she sees your disheveled-looking self trudge through the front door, one hand towing a tired kimi behind you. 

“i hope kimi didn’t cause you too much trouble,” she laughs from her position at the kitchen island, one hand on her hip. 

your boyfriend slumps onto his living room couch, one hand still stubbornly clasped in yours. he falls asleep within seconds.

“it was… alright,” you reply, raking your free hand through his curls. “if kimi ever needs to be brought home under anesthesia again though, i will definitely be bringing backup,” you admit. 

his mother nods, smiling. “i’m just glad he has a girlfriend like you to take care of him,” she states before walking away. 

you blush a bit at her words. you were pretty lucky to have such an amazing future in-laws and talented boyfriend. honestly, dealing with 

daintily, you take a seat next to kimi, cooing when he subconsciously nuzzles his head into your lap. maybe kimi under anesthesia wasn’t so bad, after all.

“i love you, kimi!” you whisper to your boyfriend.

suddenly, his eyes snap open and he shoves himself off your lap. “my name is andrea!” he pouts, glaring at you.

 placing your head in your hands, you sigh defeatedly. you definitely take back your statement. 

a/n: sorry y'all i had the most shitty week (i failed my physics test 🥲) so i haven't been that active recently. i finally mustered up some energy tonight to type this one out lmao.

side note, i have reattached the taglist from my previous series just in case you guys would like to read the spinoff. feel free to let me know if you'd like to be removed or added to the taglist for this series! :)

taglist: @ilivbullyingjeongin@ale-522@formula1-motogpfan@aceyalonso@my0hmary

@mbappebby@madkohi@rakshatos@heartsforleclerc@papaya-twinks

[thomas-jefferson-miku-binder]

I hate Mel Medarda discourse because she’s an insanely well-written character with a lot of depth, but people almost always have only two things to say about her: 1) evil girlboss or 2) never did anything wrong. both make me want to krill myself 🦐

In front of you, there’s a female character born of war who rejects the physical brutality of her family’s name and the regime she was born under. except said violence never really goes away because if it ever does leave, nothing else would remain

This character can and will reproduce the hatred she has always known, just in more palpable ways, ways where she’s allowed to look away — or even better, ways where she’s so distanced from the action itself that where she “looks” doesn’t even matter

It’s also so interesting to think that maybe Mel doesn’t dislike physical violence because it’s “bad” but simply because she does not excel at it The thought that if Mel was maybe stronger or a more skilled fighter, she would be just like her mother tickles my brain. yaaaas Although, to me, that's a more "what-if" scenario than the actual characterization Arcane deceipts

By the way, I do not think Mel is a monster. She clearly does try to be what she considers a "good" person, but the violence she’s always known sometimes escapes (just like in the Viktor scene above — she does not like to be disagreed with).

Sooo insane that she’s a diplomat/politician because yes. what other job in the world would allow her to exercise that repressed violence while also giving her the sense of duty—of goodness.

Mel is stuck at the scene of the execution form her childhood. All she does is repeat the same scenario in her head with different outcomes: sometimes one where she saves the prisoner, another where she doesn’t hesitate (that being the keyword here) to kill her

This reverberation of the violence she suffered is just her manner of coping with that traumatic scene. a way of lessening the pain without actually confronting its cause.

I feel like I need to clarify that no, I do not think Mel is “evil”. I don’t even think she is intentionally manipulative (most of the time), I think she handles people the only way she knows how to, which is probably one of the only reasons she survived Noxus at all (as, to how I see it, there's only a certain extent your House will guarantee your protection in Noxus).

I know the fandom talks a lot about Viktor and Jayce being idealistic, but I rarely see people mention how Mel is just as romantic. Jesus- that’s literally a huge source of conflict with her mother: Ambessa thinks Mel is naive, which to her means weakness, which to her is unacceptable.

I hate that Mel Medarda is forced to be subjected to fandom spaces, because, no, she is not a small bean. no, she’s not an evil girlboss.

Do I believe she is a good person? I think she tries to be (even if her notion of goodness is so heavily aligned with honor, too), and that tells me a lot more about her character than how successful she is at it

[p1utofairy]

★ your next glow up?

note — i wasn't gonna post this now but i figured fuck it why not?! enjoy, my loves! this is for entertainment purposes only <3 take what resonates and leave what doesn’t. p.s. come in my ask box and tell me what you think!

PILE ONE.

pile mf ONE, you are really stepping into a new era! when i tell you this new you is gonna turn HEADS. tuh, you’re gonna be looking like new money. nicki minaj’s ‘new body’ verse is coming to mind lol “you ain’t fuck me, you fucked the old body. you ain’t fuck nicki, you fucked nicole body! ain’t no miles on this here new body, off with they heads these bitches is nobody’s.” OH YEAH OKAYYY, PILE 1. maybe you’ll be hitting the gym more, switching up your diet or possibly getting some cosmetic work done?

whatever you’re doing differently, it’s gonna be noticeable. people are gonna feel like something changed with you overnight like “um when did pile 1 get so bad?” and this isn’t to say you aren’t already attractive…there’s just something about your energy and confidence that just amplified x1000 and people are really gonna feel and see this change in you. you might start experimenting with your outfits a little more, giving off a more seductive vibe. it’s like you're breaking out of your comfort zone especially if you usually opt for baggier clothes or a more conservative look. wait cause why am i thinking of ‘pretty little liars’ when emily is talking to aria about hanna and she’s like “haven’t you heard? she’s the it girl now.” PERIOD, PILE ONE. giving serena page vibes from love island.

there will be a lot of talk about you and even if you don’t hear it directly, trust me, people are gonna try to keep tabs on you. i’m seeing people re-watch your instagram stories tryna figure out who took you that place and who you’re doing it with — oh these people are spiralingggg. this could very well be potential suitors tryna scope out the scenery, but they’re not sure if you’ll be interested in them. they might fear rejection because you just look so damn good and it looks like you’re in such a better space in life and got your shit together; whereas they feel like they lack the resources/finances to be with you. these potential love interests see you as high value, pile 1. they’re intimidated by your beauty and aura. you’ll be more so focused on attracting a partner that can actually make shit happen.

you don’t have time for the cat and mouse games. you want the real deal and i do see you getting the person that you want. you manifested this person into your life and i sense them feeling like they won the lottery with you! i’m hearing that you are sooo mesmerizing on the outside and your heart & personality makes you so much more beautiful. there’s layers to you and i think this next glow up will allow you to really shine and be yourself unapologetically – you’re leaning into the different aspects of yourself that makes you unique. if there’s anything you’ve got your mind set on or something specific you want to do, go for it! whatever you do, you’ll stand out effortlessly and be successful. ‘say yes’ by floetry is coming to mind. “see, i’ve been watching you for awhile…your smile and style. wanna know if i can be with you for the night, alright.” i meannnnn need i say more?!

how to tap into this energy?

listen closely to your intuition! work on your third eye because i’m hearing that you’re a powerful manifester and you don’t even truly know it. even if you do know this, you start doubting yourself and limiting your own thoughts. always think big and bigger because it’s in your reach. don’t get so caught up in the “how?” because your manifestations can appear in many different ways, not just one. you have a clear vision into the future – you just gotta adjust your lens and focus on what it is that YOU want. who cares if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else, as along as you see the vision then it’s a go! listen to ‘i want it all’ by sharpay evans lol you need to embody that song and its energy.

PILE TWO.

hey, pile 2! i’m hearing you’ve been putting up with the bullshit for wayyyy too long and this next glow up is gonna be a proper FUCK YOU to all your haters! i feel like people take your kindness for weakness and you feel like you don’t get the respect you deserve. you can deal with a lot of passive aggression in your relationships or friendships and people expect for you to suck it up and be okay with it. what i’m mainly picking up is that you like to keep the peace. you don’t want to ruffle anyone’s feather, but it just makes it worse for you because you’re not truly expressing yourself and your emotions. this keeps you up at night like “ugh! i should’ve said this or I should’ve stuck up for myself and finally cussed so and so tf out.” but you don’t because you know why, pile 2? you’re better than them, simple as that.

you wouldn’t treat anybody how some people treat you, and the reality is that it’s so much harder to be nice than it is to be mean. anybody can be mean and say hurtful shit if they really wanted to, but to always be graceful and kind in the face of adversity and ignorance? rare af. +10000 aura points! don’t let anybody make you feel less than or like you can’t speak up for yourself. this next glow up you’re going to use your voice and really make it known that you are not to be fucked with, okay?! you will be standing your ground and really popping your shit in the most calm and collected way possible & people are gonna be like “wait…did [y/n] really just clock me like that?!” and you’re gonna be standing 10 toes down on it as you should. they’ll have no choice but to respect you lol. you will start to realize what is worth your time & energy and what isn’t.

you might start cutting off people that don’t mean you any good and really start to focus on yourself and your energy. no more walking on egg shells and sparing peoples feelings, this is YOUR life and you have a voice just as much as they do – so use it! i think you’ll also be meeting new friends & a potential love interest during this next glow up. i’m hearing ‘how stella got her groove back’ lol so yeah some of you might be playing the field a little bit.

some of you might just want something casual and nothing more because you just want to focus on your own healing journey. you’ll start to understand why things had to happen the way that they did & why certain relationships didn’t work out the way that you thought they would. you’ll be able to decipher what you are and aren’t willing to put up with and honestly i just see you bossing tf up and advocating for yourself no matter who doesn’t like it. that tiktok “nobody loves you baby! you should only love yourself – ON MY SOUL!” just randomly came to me lmfaooo this is your ‘i’m focusing on what really matters aka me’ era and i think it’s exactly what you need pile 2.

how to tap into this energy?

i think you need to transmute the negative energy that people try to project on you into something positive. 12:12 on the clock, yeah. like look at this way, if people doubt you, don’t respect you or don’t feel like your capable of achieving great things then use that to your advantage. let them underestimate you all they want, and then BAM boss up on them and show them who tf you are. what they don’t know only makes you stronger. you have the power to make some powerful ass connections and make a name for yourself so be calculated & strategic with your moves. people will be eating their words when it comes to you, pile 2.

PILE THREE.

pile 3 your next glow up is gonna be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ngl, but very rewarding nonetheless. i’m hearing that one tiktok sound “you gotta take the good with the bad, smile with the sad. love what you got and remember what you had.” so yeah i think you’re really gonna be figuring out how to transmute your energy and create something from it – whether that be a job opportunity, a love offer, a trip, etc. there’s something that you really want and you’re doing the work to make it happen. you have the plan, you just need the platform lol.

for some of you, i see a major relationship coming to an end. this could be a lover or a best friend, but this person will be exposed because they’re not who you thought they were. this person has very sneaky/deceptive energy and you’ve been in the dark about this for way too long. this person/connection means a lot to you, so you will feel like this is a tough situation to completely walk away from; but my sweet pile 3’s you will be more than okay! you will be spectacular! 10:10 was just on the clock.

allow yourself to sort through your emotions and learn from the situation, don’t let it weigh you down. sometimes we get too caught up in how long we’ve been with somebody and all of the good memories we made with them, that makes us hesitant to move on. sometimes things just run its course and you’re no longer in alignment with that person. you can’t force anything or anyone in your life that doesn’t align with your highest self and that can be very hard to process when emotions are involved but i’m happy to let you know there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

i see some of you traveling to a place you’ve always wanted to go and possibly meeting a potential love interest. in this next glow up, you’ll be doing things that you’ve always wanted to do cause there’s no one holding you back. you’re stepping out of your comfort zone and just taking a leap of faith – high risk, high reward. you’re gonna be making time for yourself and also prioritizing your hobbies/interests. this is beautiful, pile 3. i see you really getting in touch with who you are at the core. be kind and gentle with yourself, because you are a precious gem that a lot of people value and care about.

how to tap into this energy?

stop giving your power away. work on your throat chakra, my loves. your voice is your power and it’s one of the major keys to your success. a closed mouth doesn’t get fed, so you need to speak up and communicate what it is that YOU want and not just say what people want to hear. this next glow up will really have you standing in your power. release is needed especially verbally cause you know that tight feeling you get in your throat when you’re tryna stop yourself from crying? yeah no more of that. no more walking on egg shells, pile 3. say what you feel and stand on it & watch how the tides turn in your favor. mwah!

PILE FOUR.

alright, pile 4! for this next glow up i see you moving. some of you might actually be moving into a new home or apartment and it’s gonna grant you so much peace and comfort. for others of you, this could be you moving on emotionally from a toxic relationship and/or familial bond and finally getting the clarity and peace you need to cut all ties and move onto something better. whatever the situation may be, it was weighing heavy on you and making you feel very down.

you’re gonna feel so free when you leave this situation behind, it’s not even funny. i’m hearing that you were a gilded bird in a cage. some of you could’ve been moving from place to place, not feeling quite settled or financially stable. if you feel lost right now and like you don’t know what to do with your life/where it’s taking you, i just wanna say keep going – W.A.Y.S. by jhené aiko is coming to mind. “if there's one thing that i learned while in those county lines, is that everything takes time. you have gotta lose your pride, you have gotta lose your mind just to find your peace of mind.” awww yeah that’s your theme song for this next glow up. things might not make sense right now, but please trust me when i say that everything is going to work out in your favor & things will be better than you could ever imagine.

you will be blessed with the tools you need to get to this next phase of your life. you are the source, pile 4. whatever you put your mind to, you can surely achieve! don’t let 3D circumstances throw you off, you are so abundant and prosperous you will see in this next glow up just how much of a powerful manifester you really are. you’re still trying to find yourself and figure out where you fit in in the world, but you don’t have to put yourself in a box, pile 4. pave your own way and once you do others will want to follow suit. no one can see your future the way that you do, so keep doing your thing because i’m seeing that you will come across people/friends that share similar interests and niches as you. awww pile 4 you’re going to find your soul tribe.

you have this flighty energy about you (air sign energy/esp gemini) like you’re from one thing to the next and you can’t figure out what you truly want to do. some of you might be in college or almost about to graduate and when people ask you “do you know what you want to do?” you’re like uhhhh….]>|>]^>.]€]€]£ like you truly don’t know but like that’s okay cause actually you do know! on a soul level, you know. what’s understood doesn’t have to be explained pile 4 lol people might not get it now but when you pop out living the life you’ve always dreamed of, TUH. they’ll understand then.

how to tap into this energy?

get out of your head so much and just vibe, pile 4. you can plan plan plan all you want but the reality is: shit happens! it might annoy you or make you feel incredibly frustrated when another problem or inconvenience pops up in your life, but there’s nothing you can’t overcome. it’s life. you will be greatful for these experiences in the long run because it will be another bridge that you’ve already crossed and dealt with, so you won’t fold under pressure – you’ll just already know what to do. you got this, pile 4. shit is about to get really good for you.

[lightsovermonaco]

an: first time for Oscar, feedback and requests always welcome!

wc: 1400

Summary: fluff. after Oscar's win, you're there to celebrate with him and share some banter.

“Holy shit- he did it- he actually did it!” The laugh that bubbles out of you when Oscar crosses the line in first is one of disbelief. Holding Charles off for so long is a feat in and of itself, but putting in multiple flawless laps one after another is something else entirely. 

Dating a racing driver isn't always easy, but moments like this make it worth it. Hearing the pride in Oscar's voice on the radio has your heart set to burst. You're grateful to the entire team for making this happen; every person standing in the garage (or rather, now in the pitlane), has contributed to his success in one way or another.

Oscar's mum is the one to grab your arm and lead you to the barrier. You cheer with the rest of those wearing orange around you when Oscar parks his car. Blinking furiously, you suppress your joyful tears. You want to soak up this moment. Etch it into your brain so you remember it always. 

“Oscar!” 

His head whips towards you, drawn to your voice like a siren even over the drone of the crowd. He grins, sweat dripping down his temple as he swallows the space between you in one nimble stride. “I'm so proud of you,” you shout as you take his face in your hands, sweaty cheeks and all. “So so proud-”

Oscar cuts you off with a kiss. His team cheers, and you laugh against his lips but happily return the kiss. “Thank you,” Oscar whispers for your ears only. Oscar's attention leaves you only long enough to hug his mum before he's grabbing your hand again. You're his anchor for now, keeping him attached to earth while the adrenaline threatens to take him sky high. 

“Go get your trophy pretty boy,” you murmur, relishing the bright smile that unfurls on his face. “Come find me when you're done with it all.” Oscar bends down for one more peck before he goes to find the steps leading up to the podium. The warmth in your chest comes to a head when the Australian anthem blares over the speakers. Oscar's bouncing on his heels the entire time, all too excited for the trophy to be in his hands. 

When he lifts the hunk of metal over his head, Oscar's eyes are firmly on you. You fear his cheeks will be sore from how wifely he's smiling. He blinks twice- your secret little signal for saying ‘I love you’ in situations when you can't say the words directly. You mimic the action, then follow up by blowing a kiss his way. He doesn't see the champagne coming and is soaked within seconds thanks to both Charles and George aiming for him. 

Oscar wipes his eyes and turns to survey the scene. His gaze sweeps over everything: the stands, the crowd that lingers, the pit lane, the track. Things seem to slow down for him, as if not even father time is immune to the gravity of this moment. Oscar drinks it in, eyes shut as his nostrils fill with traces of race fuel and rubber amongst the alcohol. From down below, you can see the moment it finally sinks in for him. His smile is like nothing you've ever seen, bolder and more brilliant than the setting sun. And that's it- that's your Oscar, the boy who ran away with your heart years ago and hasn't so much as thought of giving it back since. 

**********

Post-podiums are busy for Oscar, always are. The media team will want photos and probably a few videos to post. Team meetings are longer after a win. Not to mention how Oscar's unfailingly polite personality will have him thanking each and every person wearing a papaya polo before he dreams of taking a moment to himself. 

Wishing for Oscar to come find you sooner isn’t something you bother with. You're content to scroll through Twitter whilst you wait for Oscar to finish up, smiling to yourself seeing the overwhelmingly positive response to his drive today. Besides, his driver's room is comfortable enough, and thankfully loaded with snacks for you to munch on in the meantime. 

You're lying on the sofa when a sticky, ecstatic Oscar stumbles in. He still holds onto his trophy, which he carefully sets on the desk near the door before surprising you by flopping on top of you. 

“Oh- Oscar!” You laugh, shoving at his shoulder in a vain attempt to buy yourself some breathing room. “Babe, you're gonna crush me!”

“Well hello to you too,” Oscar says. “Here I thought you'd be happy to see me, considering I just won a race and all.” His arms wind around your middle, firmly encapsulating the two of you in a world of your own. 

You shake your head and tap his nose after wiggling your arm free. “You're lucky you're adorable, because this whole cocky, tough guy act isn't my favorite. Where’s my sweet, shy, bashful Oscar gone?” 

“Your sweet little Oscar just won a Formula1 race and wants to celebrate by kissing his girlfriend until she can't breathe-” 

“Oscarrrr-” 

“And besides, your favorite version of me is a race winner.” 

Seeing as that is an undeniable fact, your mouth remains shut. Which, apparently, is an invitation for Oscar to press a kiss to your lips. 

“Win number two,” he says when he pulls away. Rolling onto his side, Oscar props his head on his hand and cranes his neck to look at his trophy. “Best part is, this time there's no denying it. No one can argue that I don't deserve this one.”

“You deserved both wins babe.” A firm shake of your head prevents Oscar from opening his mouth to say otherwise. “You honestly deserve more than just these two wins- but we've gone over all that so many times. Right now, I just want to be happy that you've added another trophy to your collection. So let's focus on that, alright?”

“Alright,” Oscar murmurs. His eyes say what he doesn't, silently thanking you for keeping him on track. Without you, Oscar would undoubtedly fall down a rabbit hole of keyboard warriors and irrelevant opinions. Luckily, he has you to keep him straight and his eyes on the prize. 

“Now, why don't you walk me through that race?” You sit upright and pull him with you. Despite the champagne-sticky fireproof and lingering smell of sweat, you cuddle into him and welcome his arm around your shoulders. “Tell me what was going on in that pretty little head of yours while you held off Charles.”

“Honestly? You really want to know?” Oscar pauses for dramatic effect, only continuing when you roll your eyes and poke his side. “I was making a mental shopping list. You know, for when we're home next week? I was deciding what I wanted to meal prep.”

“You were not.” One glance at his straight face has you bursting into laughter. “Are you serious? Charles was on your ass for- I don't even know how many laps- and that's what was on your mind?”

“Mmhm. I figured we could do lasagna one night, maybe a chicken bake on Tuesday…” Oscar ticks off his choices on his fingers, clearly amused with himself. 

“Oh my god, Oscar! Are you ever serious for a moment in your life?” You’ll never understand how he remains so incredibly calm under pressure. It's a trait he's had since you were children; very little seems to phase him. 

Oscar shrugs. The smile playing on his lips is perfectly kissable. “Just another day on the job for me babe. It's instinct mostly, and reflex. It's not rocket science, it's just driving.”

“Just driving,” you mumble to yourself. “Said like you're driving a mini Cooper through the streets of London, not piloting a death machine going hundreds of kilometers an hour down a track with millimeters of room for error!” 

“Ah come on babe. I can't be scared, I trust myself! If I panic, that's when I'm in trouble. So I just… don’t do that?”

“Not a day goes by that you don't amaze me. I'd be absolutely shitting it if I was in that car, especially with Charles breathing down my neck.”

“Guess it's a good thing that I'm the professional driver and not you then, huh?”

Oscar yelps when you pinch his side. “You deserve that. Put me in the sim when we get home, I'll show you what I can do!”

[morningberriesao3]

“Listen, I’ll level with you. Corroded Coffin always sucked—”

“What?!”

“Here me out, man! It’s true! As a band, we’d never make it. Gareth can barely keep time on the drums, I can barely keep time with Gareth, Grant has always just been there to let the good times roll.”

“We didn’t suck,” Eddie insists. Because they could make a song… decent. It was always decent in the end, and the half-a-dozen patrons of The Hideout rarely had issues identifying what songs they were trying to play.

A success, Eddie thinks.

“Okay. Okay, we didn’t suck. For a high school band.” Jeff lowers his voice like he’s telling Eddie some big secret through the phone. “But you—you’re what made it not suck. I can strum a power chord, Eddie, but your solos could have brought in a crowd if the rest of us weren’t dragging you down.”

Eddie shakes his head, realizing after a few seconds that Jeff isn’t actually there to see it. Instead of arguing a case that his friend seems to be stuck on, Eddie just mumbles, “Don’t let Gare here to say that. He’ll flip his lid.”

Jeff snorts into the speaker. “Corroded Coffin will be a total legend one day. When everyone finds out you used to be the front man.”

There’s a thump from the outside hallway of Eddie’s building—probably the shithead neighbour kids trudging up the stairs. Eddie lets his eyes flick to the chain lock, just in case today is the day they decide to rob him blind—of the deli ham in his fridge and the three-day old bread to match it. His milk crate furniture. His pack of half-smoked camels.

“You sure are dishing out the compliments tonight, Jeffy.”

“Yeah. Well. It’s the holidays.” Jeff awkwardly clears his throat. “Don’t get used to it.”

“I’d rather it be a—” Eddie swallows his words whole, jumps about a foot in the air, too, as there’s three heavy knocks on his apartment’s door. He clutches at his heart as Jeff asks what happened. All he can do is mumble out a few curse words, and finally answer in a whisper, “I’m about to get mugged!”

“What?”

“The little shits from next door!” Eddie stands from his sofa, toes across the floor so as to not make it creak. His door doesn’t have a peephole—shouldn’t need one, either, because there’s an intercom that non-robbers would use. “They’re finally here to seal my fate!”

It sounds like Jeff rolls his eyes. “You’ve been too long without a campaign, man. All that psycho is getting bottled up, making you paranoid.”

“Who else would be banging at my door at nine at night on Christmas Eve,” Eddie whispers against the mouthpiece of his phone. The chord doesn’t stretch enough for him to reach the door, so he stands a few feet away, craning his neck like he might be able to peek around it.

Another thump of a fist against wood sends Eddie flying upwards, hackles raised like a spooked cat.

“Did you watch Black Christmas recently?” Jeff asks from the safety of his family home. Lucky bastard.

“Of course I fucking watched—That has nothing to do with this!” Eddie swallows hard. Maybe all the scary movies do affect him more now that he lives alone.

Just a little bit.

“Just answer the door, man. It’s probably some sweet old lady from downstairs who wants to borrow a cup of sugar.”

Eddie scoffs a little too loudly. He hopes he doesn’t clue the intruder—or maybe the axe murderer—in on the other side of the door to his presence. “Do I look like I’m the type of person to have ingredients inside my apartment?”

Jeff cackles lightheartedly as if Eddie’s life isn’t in imminent danger. “Tell her that!”

“I hope you feel bad when they make a documentary about this.” Eddie huffs out a breath, walks back to the phone’s cradle. “At least I’ll die pretty.”

“Hey—call me tomorrow to let me know whether you’ve perished, yeah?”

“If I’ve perished,” Eddie says dryly, “I won’t be able to call you.”

“Then I’ll have my answer.”

There’s another loud bang at the door—louder even than the others. Someone with big hands, then, ready to wring Eddie’s neck.

“Yeah, yeah. Off to my death, I guess.”

“I guess.” Jeff clicks his tongue. “Talk later. Or, you know. Not.”

“Fuck you, man.” Eddie hangs up the phone.

He feels extra alone now, more alone than before his phone conversation. More alone now that there’s someone waiting for him on the other side of some flimsy plywood and a rusted deadbolt.

But there’s a small part of him that’s curious, if not excited, to speak to a real person when he thought his only musings would be muttered in the form of curse words when he fingered a chord wrong or burnt his toast this holiday.

There’s a shadow under the door that shifts to the right, then the left. Then backwards, until it completely pulls away from the shining hallway light. Eddie steps forward like the shadow is a magnet, like it wills his body forward as it moves farther.

“Wait, I—” Eddie calls out to the shadow—to the little old lady who wants a cup of sugar, to the shithead neighbour kids, to the person who’ll make him a little less lonely.

The shadow returns as quickly as it backed away.

Eddie heaves a sigh and gets on with his murder, trudging towards the door. He undoes the chain lock, flicks the deadbolt to the left, unscrews the knob. And he yanks the door open.

He’s met with brown eyes. Brown eyes rimmed in green. Too warm for the chilly winter night.

“H—” Eddie coughs on the word, wrapping his ringed fingers around his own throat as if it might make him speak better. “Harrington? The fuck are you doing here?!”

Amusement flashes in the summer of Steve’s eyes—ones that look even wider with his chin hidden away by a thick navy-blue scarf and a matching winter hat. Little tufts of brown stick out from between them; a hair sandwich breaded by woven wool.

There are no gloves on Steve’s hands—wind-bitten and pink—as they tug down his scarf to reveal a sheepish grin. “What took you so long?”

I have 37K already posted on ao3 for the @steddiebang2024. Click here to keep reading! (18+ Only, Rated E)

From Chapter Three, Where the Love Light Gleams, of A Thousand Flowers Could Bloom

[dragonform]

Why did Jay's mother give him up?

So we know Jay's parents abandoned him, and Ed and Edna adopted him, but we don't know why. According to the Ninjago wiki, there's a scrapped concept that she was running away from someone when she left Jay at the junkyard, but even that's unconfirmed.

We do know though, that Jay says that "the gift of Jay" is what his mother used to call him. It's a throwaway joke, but I like to think that it's a clue. We also know that although Cliff Gordon was a successful movie star, he had a corner of his secret man-cave dedicated to Jay, meaning that he had been tracking the blue ninja's adventures. Tommy Andreason (Ninjago creator) also said that having a wife and child would get in the way of his womanising image.

That makes sense, but then why did the previous Elemental Master of Lightning (Libber Gordon) give up Jay? My personal headcanon was that she actually knew Ed and Edna, having helped them previously. Perhaps they dearly wanted a child of their own, but couldn't. We can see by the time the Ninja were teenagers that Jay's parents looked a lot older than Cole's, or Kai's. So they were of advanced age and were childless. Libber might have felt that she would be unable to give her son a normal childhood, thought she must have known that he would inherit her powers eventually. So she gave up her child to the couple she knew who loved children but couldn't have any, knowing they would dote on him. The gift of Jay.

Would Jay have been happier with Libber? We don't know, but I would guess not, given her unconventional relationship with Cliff. This way, Libber and Cliff Gordon gave Jay the happy normal childhood they wanted for him, and made an old couple very very happy indeed, and that is just beautiful.

[mythosidhesdollhouse]

Shibajuku Girls: The Return?

Soooooooooo I've been debating whether to post about this at all because I doubt anyone will find it very interesting, but doll gossip is thin on the ground these days and I'm not quite ready to go to bed yet, so eff it let's go--

Alright so, those of you who follow these things may remember back during this year's Toy Fair it was announced that for some inexplicable reason the Shibajuku Girls doll line was planning a comeback. For reference: These 13" dolls from the Australian toy company Hunter Products originally turned up on shelves in the US back in the mid-2010's, to a fairly lackluster reception. Between their unusually high price point ($30-$35, a good deal above the average for fashion dolls at the time) and the fact that they are a rather blatant knock-off of Pullips, no one seemed to be that into them. In a way with their hair play gimmick (a lot of charms and hair clips) meant to interest children in Japanese street fashion I suppose one could see them as a precursor of the Decora Girlz, albeit with far lazier and less successful execution. I did end up buying one--Yoko--for the big head collection, and she's...fine, if forgettable. I like having her in the mix for variety, but I could never quite work up the enthusiasm to get another. The demise of ToysRUs around the time of their release probably didn't help matters any, as it was one of the few places that stocked them. These dolls lingered on the shelves of my local Target seemingly forever, before quietly disappearing to absolutely no fanfare.

But to bring it back to Toy Fair 2024--

For reasons that NO ONE I've heard speak on the subject can quite understand, seemingly out of nowhere Hunter Toys showed up at Toy Fair this year with a display of older dolls from the first two waves of Shibajuku, plus a wall of these mock-ups for a projected third series of anime-inspired characters. If you look closely at the 'prototype photos' in the boxes--not actual dolls--they appear to literally just be restyled Pullips. A lot of people (myself included) speculated that they may have put the money into creating a new head sculpt that more closely replicated the doll this line was always made to emulate, and the lack of actual dolls in boxes was a sign that this Shibajuku 2.0 head had yet to go into production in time for the event.

Turns out--no. That's not what they did at all. So--

A few days ago through a series of random browsing encounters I stumbled across listings for two of the five proposed 'Shibajuku Anime' dolls on Walmart's website. They are showing up as out of stock, but if you put them on your wishlist you can add them to your cart from there (though not check out), which is a pretty sure indication that they're expected in stock online and in stores soon.

So...what to say about these. First of all they quite obviously have the same old Shibajuku face. The fashions have considerably less detail than the prototype photos, which in itself I'd be willing to forgive for reasons I'll get to in a minute, but the main thing that overwhelmingly stands out to me here is that Kiki, one of the two characters shown with a darker complexion in the mock-ups, has gone from having tan skin and white hair to pale skin and black hair. Which, yeah no fuck that. No way of knowing if this was the brand's decision or a specific request from Walmart, but whichever way you slice it, it sucks. Lack of diversity was a huge issue with the first iteration of this line, and after the promise of a course correct it looks like we're back to more of the same. I will definitely be bending a critical eye on them to see if the other dark-skinned character, Sakura, receives a similar whitewashing :/

Now, with that rant out of my system, is there anything good to say? Well, the price, for one. These are set to retail for $19.98, which is significantly below what they sold for originally. No doubt the lower quality fashions and lack of accessories have a lot to do with it, but on the whole I'd say it's a plus. Also...as much as as I would have loved to see the ensuing drama if they had had the audacity to churn out a more blatant Pullip clone, for continuity's sake if nothing else I'm glad they stuck with the old face. She's a weird little bird and despite it all she deserves her place in the wider family of Big Head dolls, however derivative that might be (I mean, if anything Pullip needs MORE clones, Blythe has such a start on her in that arena....).

And finally (FINALLY) to wrap things up--will I be buying one? Perhaps surprisingly--yes! I plan to order Akira when she becomes available to ship. I think she's decently cute--you all know my bias for green hair--and I have a purely academic curiosity to compare her to my 'classic' Shibajuku. Plus, despite all my dismissive snark, I would actually like to see this relaunch be successful. I'm always in favor of diversity in the doll market, and this particular type of doll has been sadly under-represented of late. There is plenty room on the shelves for more big head girlies! MGA is daily signing that real estate away at an increasingly rapid pace XD My hope is that they do well enough to warrant the release of the other three dolls from the proposed new line-up, and that maybe--MAYBE--if the Dolly Gods are kind we will see Sakura with her original dark skin tone, as intended.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee ok that's enough sleep-procrastinating for one night, I'm done. If anyone else cares about this at all I'm sincerely curious to hear your thoughts.

[cindersnows]

i think as viewers we find it easy to sit back and judge each character until their motivations are explained to us in detail like with purple and king and chosen. even with victim its fairly easy to guess a portion of why she is doing this. and that's partially because avam is just made to be like that so all audiences can understand it and why the characters do what they do, and also partially because it's a little difficult to do more subtle storytelling when you can only express character feelings through their body language (and the body language has to be fairly exaggerated so that everyone can understand how the character is feeling).

so then as a result when we see green falling deep into the hole of social media it's easy to scoff and judge and say come on green, do better. we see it as him just getting too cocky again- look at green with his ego and his need to seem cool, he's sucking up to people again so he can get validation. and people understand that, they're even comparing his arc to purple, but they're forgetting to actually see things from his point of view.

like yeah. green was mean to yellow! and that was a kind of assholey thing to do, agreeing with people when they say yellow didn't do much. but like people do stupid shit all the time, especially to get approval. green hearting mean comments wasn't him on his villain arc, he probably barely thought about it. haven't you ever done anything without thinking or made a joke in bad taste. honestly it's a little ironic how quick people were to jump on him when he did something kind of mean, it reminded me of actual cancel culture! fascinating shit. we really are a part of the story.

anyways green started off as the weakest. he tries his best to be good at other things, first building, then music, but for some reason whenever he does well in something his friends get jealous or upset. (he pours himself into that thing and unintentionally ignore s or snaps at his friends--- its a repeating pattern at this point). it's mostly because their competitive spirit, something which is seen in a lighthearted manner but has gotten them killed or hurt on multiple occasions and i feel like they're going to have to address that at some point. whenever green sets boundaries, they're ignored, even if cg think they're just acting in the greater good.

hell, even purple, we've barely seen them interact after s3- who's to say purple wouldn't just scoff at him as well? she's already not very experienced with actual friendships (based on the way they just expected green to brush the betrayal off in parkour, they acted more like it was a small disagreement than a full on issue), so he may just assume this is how friends are.

basically the point of this is to say, no one ever celebrates his success. obviously he's competitive with his friends too, but having been at the bottom of the group from the start, he's visibly very insecure about this stuff, and having people attempt to kick him down during every success he gets (which he works very hard for) will lead to him needing validation from elsewhere. clearly, social media is supposed to give him this.

but like someone in the community pointed out, now he's appealing to hundreds of thousands of people instead of just 5 or 6. the praise is awesome, but seeing that people still have criticism of him just makes him throw himself into his work even more. it also probably functions as a form of escapism for him; he's so busy working, editing, writing, he barely even notices that his friends are avoiding him. it's possible he's purposely using youtube as a way to ignore his gut. anyways, blue's still willing to hang out and record with him, so what's the issue? (it's not as if blue is the least confrontational of the cg lol)

i have. been in this exact position. the moment you make anything, you're looking straight at the numbers. it becomes what you think of in the morning and during the creation process. you're skimming comments for keywords--- good, bad, more, less, etc. you listen even when you don't mean to. yeah maybe the guy was a little mean about one of my friends but ultimately it's just constructive criticism! it's not like she'll see this anyway. it's fine.

and yeah green needs to stop being so obsessive but i think he deserves to break down first. like what ash said--- he expresses his negative emotions the least out of everyone, he barely takes breaks, it's going to come crashing down. and i think when cg confront him about his behaviour he deserves to yell at them for the way he gets treated. it really hurts when all you are is the butt of the joke even when they mean it in a lighthearted way. if the arc just ends with green being knocked down a peg as usual, i will be very fucking upset because he's literally already at the bottom of the ladder, what more do you want?

[agatharkn3ss]

Why is Agatha lying?

Some spoilers!

.

.

Ok, so it's getting more and more obvious that Agatha hasn't actually walked the Witches Road before. She always gives vague answers about it, almost like she recites them from memory (someone else told her these things?) and is surprised by the events and mechanics of the first trial.

Also, in one of the promos Teen asks Agatha why she allows people to believe these horrible things about her and she replies that the truth is far worse.

That makes me think that the rumour about Agatha trading her own child for a copy of Darkhold is also not true.

My theory is that her son must've been in some sort of danger and the only way to save him was for Agatha to walk the Road. She probably acquired the Darkhold by then - maybe she made some sort of deal with Rio, but my favourite theory is that Rio simply gifted her the book because they were an item back then. And/or maybe Rio wanted to trick her.

Either way, by the time Agatha's coven gathered, something went wrong. She got greedy/angry with the witches and instead drained their power (we see that scene in another promo). Alone, she could not summon the road so she failed and her son died/was gone forever.

To her this truth would be worse to Agatha for many reasons:

1) it would mean she failed at something and wasn't powerful enough. But she likes people to think that she's "exceptional" (this is the reason she gives Teen when explaining how she supposedly survived the Road) and she seems to derive her own worth from having the power and being "formidable". So in her eyes failure is not acceptable and something to be deeply ashamed for. Maybe that's why she craves more and more power, hoping it would fix her/make her feel better.

2) it would mean Agatha's own greed/temper/arrogance costed the life of someone she loved. We know Darkhold corrupts the mind, so she might be blaming Rio for giving her the book that affected her behaviour. But deep down she knows that Darkhold or not, she probably would've reacted the same way and she's ashamed of it

3) it makes her psychologically vulnerable and it scares her. She took the effort to point out to Rio that she's only "physically" vulnerable, but that's not what we saw in her "Agnes O'Conner' persona. Agatha likely never allowed herself to process the grief and doesn't know how to, probably still hanging on to the hope that one day she'll bring him back.

So rather than exposing the shame of all of the above, she chose to lie and tell everyone she did walk the Road and that the child was gone because she traded him for the Darkhold. She probably was telling this lie for so long - hundreds of years - that a part of her actually believes it.

Saying all of that, I don't like that theory and that the writers seem to be making Agatha's story all about her child. Because... doesn't that sound too familiar? Not being able to process the grief? Yearning for power to bring back her child? It feels like we're seeing just a re-write of Wanda, quickly falling into a trope that "every successful lady cop [witch] cannot have a healthy personal life" and must be longing for the fulfillment of motherhood...

So I really really hope that the writers don't go in that direction and that they stop making Agatha's entire arch all about child loss because that would just be so lazy and offensive - she's so much more colourful and deserves so much better.

I hope that all of that is just a bit of baiting to make us believe Teen is her son, when in fact he's someone else (Billy?). I mean it's Agatha's series and not Teen's or Wanda's!!! So maybe at one point the Road will make Agatha choose and she will give up the locket with (her son's?) hair and with that also the hope that she will ever bring him back. So it would stop holding her back and we can see her in all of her glory.

....And also so that she could shift all of her attention to a certain Green Witch.... *Pretty please*

[firinnie]

Erichthonius of Athens

(Before the main post I wanted to say that I want to add some more animal attributes to my gods. When I found out that Hephaestus has a donkey under his patronage I couldn't resist lol. Of course, they are gods so they can change their appearance or hide something in it but for now let's give them a little shine.)

So, since we're sticking with interesting Greek myths, I have a story for you today that involves Athena's (short) motherhood, still as a virgin goddess.

Safe part: So Athena canonically decided to adopt Hephaestus' son, Erichthonius, who according to one version was half boy and half snake. The goddess left him to be raised in Athens where he grew up, proved his power and wisdom, and later became a legendary king. Wow, happy ending! Now you can move on to the less happy part. 🙂

Mentioning attempted rpe: I remember what a big wtf I had the first time I read this myth but Erichthonius' birthday is much more complicated. You see, Hephaestus and Athena were supposed to have a friendly relationship, platonic on her side but not on his. One day Poseidon told his nephew that the goddess of wisdom was making advances on him. So he tried to seduce her and when she didn't want to - tride to rped her. You don't have to guess that the goddess experienced in fighting defended herself but despite everything, Hephaestus' "seeds" dirty her thigh, she pushed it on the earth in disgust and because of that Gaia (personification of the Earth) gave life, which literally came out of a crack in the same earth. Athena decided to adopt child even though SHE IS NOT BIOLOGICALLY CONNECTED TO HIM, which is important since she is still one of the 3 virgin goddesses. (with Artemis and Hestia) I once read a version where she was supposed to clean her thigh with a lock of her cut hair, but most definitely it is a piece of wood, so we can safely say that the child was born of Hephaestus and Gaia only.

Mentioning successful s*icide: It is worth adding that Athena gave the boy to the three daughters of Cecrops, current king of Athens, to raise. The child was in a basket that they were not supposed to open, but because they did, they went crazy and threw themselves off a cliff. Here too, there are two versions, one says that it was because Erichthonius was actually half a snake, the other that in the basket, apart from boy, there was also a snake that attacked the princess.

I hope you like this interesting facts. It shows how thin the ice of decency of Greek myths is, but it also gives a very interesting perspective on this. I still prefer the myth of Pallas tho.

[fionaapplerocks]

The Long and Winding Road That Leads to Fiona Apple

By Tyler Coates 2012-05-31

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” So goes the oft-quoted line from William Faulkner’s Requiem for a Nun. Time is circular, and our relationship with our own personal histories is ever changing. This is a concept with which the enigmatic Fiona Apple is deeply familiar.

The 34-year-old singer-songwriter is about to release her fourth album—the first in seven years—aptly titled The Idler Wheel is wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will serve you more than Ropes will ever do. The spinning wheel of time cranks back and forth for Apple, who continues to re-examine her past while trying to keep up with the present. Like most artists, however, Apple finds that her fans cherish the past more than she does.

In 2000, a 16-year-old fan named Bill Magee approached Apple after a show in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania with a request: he told her he was a member of his high school’s gay-straight alliance and hoped that Apple could write a few words of support. “[I] was much more interested in interacting with a celebrity than building an alliance between gays and straights,” he admitted on his blog 12 years later where he posted a scanned image of the letter he received less than a week after requesting her response.

Apple wrote: “All I know is I want my friends to be good people, and when my friends fall in love, I want them to fall in love with other good people. How can you go wrong with two people in love? If a good boy loves a good girl, good. If a good boy loves another good boy, good. And if a good girl loves the goodness in good boys and good girls, then all you have is more goodness, and goodness has nothing to do with sexual orientation.”

“My brother was the one who told me about it,” Apple tells me just weeks after Magee posted the letter on his Tumblr, which was then picked up by various sites like Jezebel and Pitchfork. “I was like, ‘A letter I wrote to someone when I was 22 has made its way online?’ That’s the scariest thing I could possibly hear in my life. And the subject matter was so important—I know how I’ve always felt so I knew it wasn’t going to be a bad letter, but I was like, ‘What did I say?!’”

The letter’s sudden popularity online is indicative of how much has changed since Apple released her debut album, Tidal, in 1996.

For starters, she was then a 19-year-old singer-songwriter signed to a major record label and churning out emotional and dark odes at a time when her contemporaries were singing bubblegum-pop love songs.

She made headlines after appearing in the video for “Criminal.” Shot in a seedy apartment, the video featured a scantily clad and emaciated Apple, sparking criticisms of the exploitive quality of the images (and suggesting that she had an eating disorder). In 1997, when accepting her award for Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, Apple infamously shouted into the microphone, “This world is bullshit, and you shouldn’t model your life on what we think is cool, and what we’re wearing and what we’re saying.”

While the speech was replayed and parodied on TV for years following, Apple was lucky enough to have said those words before the days of blogging and YouTube; had she given the speech 15 years later, it may have turned into a career-damaging viral video and sparked a few thousand snarky tweets.

She also has the luxury of being a successful artist who doesn’t need to promote herself online. “They want me to tweet now, but I don’t,” Apple tells me of her label reps. “It doesn’t feel natural to me. But I do find it actually more interesting to see people posting ridiculously mundane shit. I like to hear about what people had for breakfast or what they did all day. It’s interesting because I don’t know how other people live.”

While Apple is hardly a recluse, she’s made few public appearances in the seven years since the release of her third album, Extraordinary Machine. The excitement following the announcement by Epic Records of the late-June release of The Idler Wheel speaks to the loyalty of her fan base. (And as for that long-winded title, it’s a callback to the much-maligned 90-word title of her acclaimed sophomore effort, universally shortened to When the Pawn…)

The Idler Wheel does not deviate from the familiar sounds of Apple’s earlier records; the songs are still layered with complex instrumentation, and her reverberant voice still takes center stage in each tune.

The album was produced nearly in secret over the last few years—a surprising move from an established artist with the resources of a major label at her disposal. But Apple explains that her experience with the label system is what allowed her to feel free to work on her own. “It was very casual, and I wasn’t fully admitting that I was making an album,” she says. “I got to use the time in the studio to inspire me to finish other things rather than feel like I was finishing homework to hand in. It wasn’t a lot of pressure. And the record company didn’t know I was doing it, so nobody was looking over my shoulder.”

Most might take that mentality as a reaction to the restrictions of her record label, especially after the drama surrounding the release of Extraordinary Machine. After collaborating with Jon Brion (who produced When the Pawn) to create an early version of the third album in 2002, Apple then decided to rework all but two of the songs with producer Mike Elizondo.

The original version of the album leaked online, and Brion suggested in interviews that Apple’s label had rejected the demo and forced her to rerecord the songs (a claim that Apple later denied). Still, it incited an uproar among her fans. An online-based movement called Free Fiona organized demonstrations outside of the Sony headquarters in New York, and protestors sent apples to the label’s executives.

The final version of the album was released in 2005 and received positive reviews and earned Apple a Grammy nomination. “I ran into the guy who started Free Fiona after a show in Chicago,” she tells me. “He apologized to me! They didn’t get the story quite right, but they did help me get my album out. I felt so bad that he had spent all this time thinking I was pissed at him—I had a physical urge to get down on the floor and kiss his shoes!”

It’s an intense reaction (she admits she didn’t bow to her fan because “it would be weird if I did that”), but Apple is still a very intense person. Dressed in a flowing skirt paired with several layers of spaghetti-strapped tank tops that reveal her slender frame (which seems healthier than in her early days, giving the impression that she must spend most of her downtime on a yoga mat), Apple fidgets in her seat during our conversation, often giving off an infectious giggle.

But she is surprisingly comfortable to talk to, not much like the somber young woman who sang of heartbreak and disappointment. “I don’t think I’ll ever have an idea of what I look like to the rest of the world,” she replies when I ask if she ever worries that her lyrics, which are sometimes in stark contrast to the up-tempo, progressive sounds of her songs’ instrumentations, give off the wrong impression of her personality. “It’s all your own perception. I could easily be concerned with how I’m taken and then have all the good stuff filtered through to me and choose to believe that. For the rest of my life it’d be the truth for me, but not the whole truth.”

Born Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart in New York City to Brandon Maggart and Diane McAfee, Apple’s musical destiny was settled at birth. The McAfee-Maggarts are, while not reaching Barrymore-level name recognition, an entertainment family; Apple’s father was nominated for a Tony for his performance in the Broadway musical Applause, both her mother and sister are singers, and her half-brothers work in the film industry—one an actor and the other a director.

She’s a third-generation performer, as her grandmother was a dancer in musical revues and her grandfather a Big Band-era musician. While Apple’s auspicious introduction to the pop world had critics calling her a prodigy, she crafted her early songs as a cathartic necessity. (“Sullen Girl” from Tidal, in particular, is about her rape at the age of 12.) “Over the years it’s transferred more into a craft,” she says. “I use myself as material because that’s what I’ve got. But these days I write less than half of my songs to get myself through things. I have to find other things to be meaningful— otherwise I’d just be miserable all the time.”

Her songs are still extremely autobiographical, which is perhaps their charm. Following in the footsteps of other singer-songwriters, especially women who emerged in the early ’90s and expressed their emotions in particularly vulnerable ways, Apple’s openness has always had an empowering appeal. Her songs seem to suggest that feeling a variety of emotions—sadness, glee, despair, insanity—is not only normal, but, like those self-reflective musicians before her, she also gives permission to her listeners to feel the same way.

Even for Apple, her older songs are relics of another time, and she now makes them applicable to her life in the present. “They all kind of become poems after a while,” she says. “You can take your own meaning out of them. It’s been a very long time [since my first albums], and I can apply those songs to other situations that are more current in my life.” She admits she has changed greatly since she started writing songs in her late teenage years, especially when it comes to how she portrays herself. “I don’t feel comfortable singing the songs that I wrote. I used to blame other people and not take responsibility. I thought I was a total victim trying to look strong.”

And she is much harder on herself in the songs on The Idler Wheel than she ever was before. Sure, she admitted to being “careless with a delicate man” in “Criminal,” arguably her most famous song, and in When the Pawn’s “Mistake” she sang, “Do I wanna do right, of course but / Do I really wanna feel I’m forced to / Answer you, hell no.”

On The Idler Wheel, Apple examines her own solitude and neuroses as well as their effect on her relationships with others. “I can love the same man, in the same bed, in the same city,” she sings on “Left Alone,” “But not in the same room, it’s a pity.” On “Jonathan,” a somber love song layered with robotic, mechanical sounds that’s presumably about her ex-boyfriend, author and Bored to Death creator Jonathan Ames, she urges, “Don’t make me explain / Just tolerate my little fist / Tugging at your forest-chest / I don’t want to talk about anything.”

But performing, as a central requirement of her career, still takes precedence. “Some nights I’m very, very nervous, and some nights I’m not at all,” she tells me. “I think, ‘This is ridiculous. I’m not a person who does a show, I’m a person who should be on a couch watching TV.’ But then it’s like I get knocked into another state of consciousness, and then I’m left behind, and the person that’s doing the show is there and there’s nothing else in the world existing other than the note she’s singing. It’s such a joy to do, but I forget about it until I’m on the stage.”

Apple has lived in los Angeles since Tidal’s release in 1996, although she admits that she’s “not an L.A. girl.” “I was supposed to stay in New York,” she tells me. “I remember being 17 and asking if I could record in New York. How did I end up here? It’s 15 years later… How did that happen?” Apple doesn’t seem to process time like other people. When I ask when she began recording The Idler Wheel and when she knew it was ready, she has a complicated answer. “It must have started in 2008. Or 2009. I don’t know! I have no idea. It’s weird to think that there was 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.” Her big blue eyes suddenly look to her right as she furrows her brow. “Where’ve I been? What was I doing? What was that year about?”

Maybe the solitary nature of living in L.A. contributes to her aloof tendencies. “I’m not a social creature,” she says, “I don’t go to parties all the time because I’d probably just wonder why I’m there in the first place.” Her preference for being alone may also stem from the kind of personal criticisms that people tend to throw at female musicians. “I’ve gotten so used to being misunderstood. Nobody’s ever really said anything bad about my music, but when I’ve had albums come out there are always people making fun of me. ‘Oh, she’s back?’” She didn’t even expect the comments (mostly online) when the full title of The Idler Wheel was announced. “I didn’t stop to think that anyone would call it ridiculous, but people did. I thought, ‘Ahhh. My old friends.’ I’m not sure what’s ridiculous about it, but that’s what they’ve got to say.”

I cautiously mention the infamous acceptance speech from the VMAs, a moment early in her career that defined the public persona of Fiona Apple as an angry, ungracious woman. “I’ve never been ashamed of that,” she replies immediately. It was the first moment, she says, in which she felt like she could speak up—to break free from the shyness that defined her childhood and early teenage years. “I genuinely, naïvely thought that I was going to put out a record and that was going to make me have friends. I expected to give it to people and they would understand me; no one would say to me, ‘We don’t want to be your friend because you’re too intense or too sad all the time.’” It wasn’t necessarily the case.

“Do you still think the world is bullshit?” I ask when we talk about the VMAs. She laughs. “It’s not the world!” she exclaims. “Of course people think that ‘the world’ is the whole world. I felt that I had finally gotten into the popular crowd, and I thought, ‘Is this what I’ve been doing this for?’ I felt like I was back in the cafeteria in high school and still couldn’t speak up for myself.”

These days, Apple spends more time focusing on her own art rather than the reactions to it. With age has come calm and decreasing desire to pay attention to her detractors. “I’ve decided it takes too much energy to try to avoid it,” she tells me, brushing aside her freshly dyed crimson hair. “I’m not going to hide from the world.”

Source Archive.org:

https://web.archive.org/web/20120603033544/http://www.blackbookmag.com/music/the-long-and-winding-road-that-leads-to-fiona-apple-1.49114

[sandyferal]

LET’S GO Perirep “play” vs. real dynamic essay. And I’m going to actually go in depth on this. Like actually. It’s going to be long. With references to other media and shit. (I’m gonna be real there’s like a few paragraphs talking about Megamind but I promise it’s VERY RELEVANT.) Only read if you’re interested in that!!

But anyway uh. Very opinions, don’t take this as me trying to make an objective statement. Cause it’s really not. Please Perirep fandom don’t get mad at me for trying to dictate their dynamic I’m really not trying to do that especially since I’m mostly talking about my au

It also very much states things I’m trying to convey more subtlety in my fanfic so if you don’t like that don’t read 👍

NOW. To start off, what is a play dynamic? It’s entirely possible there’s an established word/phrase describing what I mean, but if there is, I’m unaware. So for now that’s what I’ll call it. And what a play dynamic is, is a performative dynamic between two characters that does not reflect how they would interact genuinely, or how they really feel. You could think of bedroom roleplay/dynamics as an example, but it definitely applies in non-sexual settings. Case in point! The movie Megamind.

Now, in the movie, Megamind has two relevant play dynamics. His interactions with Metro Man, and his interactions with Roxanne. His interactions with MetroMan are relevant when talking about Perirep for the rivalry aspect, and for how it affects the “villain’s” sense of identity. His interactions with Roxanne are relevant when talking about how it affects the development of romantic relationships.

First off, Megamind defined his own identity through his rivalry with Metroman. This is extremely relevant to Irep! From young ages they were presented with a “good guy” who was more loved and more successful than them. And for the majority (or all in Irep’s case) of their lives, the only goal they strived towards was “defeating” that enemy. But I think Megamind shows that in reality, accomplishing that goal would eventually leave Irep somewhat depressed and empty. Because that’s not how he really feels. And because he doesn’t truly know who he is outside of his rival. So that play dynamic isn’t something that can work if played out to its natural conclusion.

Then there’s Megamind’s dynamic with Roxanne. Many people have noticed that even when Roxanne was the “damsel” and Megamind the “villain” there was a little bit of banter. Maybe even flirty banter. Or tension. Because that can often arise from play dynamics. But in reality, that dynamic was performance. It’s implied Megamind was not used to her being so unaffected, meaning she may have played along in the past, but it’s clear that she had gotten used to it a long time ago. No real danger. And even being tied up, there barely even felt like a true power imbalance.

Despite all this, their romantic relationship only really worked when they moved past that dynamic. Truthfully, they couldn’t have created a real relationship with that play dynamic, because it didn’t reflect the reality of who they were, and because Roxanne clearly did not want Megamind when she viewed his villainy as a genuine threat. And I think Perirep is very similar.

At the beginning of my au, Peri and Irep haven’t gotten past their play dynamic. They were in this performative mindset of “scary evil domineering anti-fairy” and “soft goody two shoes fairy” that only truly existed for public perception. They have some sort of real feelings for each other, but they’re so so so buried that there was no possible way they would be acted upon genuinely. So the way their feelings eventually came out was through sexual tension via their play dynamic. And that’s how the pregnancy happened.

That causes a layer of insincerity and awkwardness, specifically on Peri’s part. Because their relationship was started because of that play dynamic. Something that Peri understands is performative and not accurate to who they really are. In which case he questions whether they are capable of a real relationship, because he doesn’t know what their genuine relationship is at all, or if they even have one. Meanwhile, Irep literally defines himself through it. It’s how he sees himself, and all he’s ever been told to be.

In reality, Peri is not soft. He’s irritable, and tired and sassy. He’s occasionally sweet or anxious or pathetic or over-dramatically upset, but he’s not truly vulnerable to Irep. And in reality, Irep is not that domineering. He’s failed almost constantly from birth, and has never actually overpowered Peri. He’s a silly little over dramatic loser who tries too hard.

Does that mean he isn’t possessive or protective? No. Irep is those things I think. Or he tries to be. But there’s not a definitive power imbalance in his favor. At least not once they’re in a relationship. No matter how many times he says Peri is “his” or “belongs to him,” Peri could easily leave. Any time. Not even an issue. And Irep would be sobbing and wailing and begging him to come back.

Now do neither of them enjoy or play into the play dynamic? I don’t think so. I personally think they find it kinda fun. And Peri can get flustered by it (although sometimes Irep is too lol). But they have to realize how performative it is if they want to stay together. Because in my mind, if Irep takes his act too seriously and tries to genuinely enforce that dynamic on Peri in a romantic relationship… Peri would straight up just leave. Like no he would not take that.

In regards to what I think their genuine dynamic would be like. I think Peri struggles to be affectionate and express his feelings. Sometimes he will get anxious or flustered or be a little pathetic. He can also be very confident, stubborn, and independent in the relationship. He wants to have the assurance that he’s capable without Irep. He can get a bit distant or snappy at times, but deep down he cares a lot.

Irep on the other hand can get very needy and clingy. Things can set him off, making him insecure, possessive and jealous. He’s very protective during the pregnancy but less so afterwards. Deep down though, I think he wants someone he can be mushy and sappy with. To the point that he might develop codependency issues. Over time he starts to think of himself as scary and evil and powerful like a dog does. In the sense that he likes it when Peri pats him on the head and tells him he is.

Now!!! All of this is very much my personal opinion! I will clarify, this is obviously not the only way to think about their dynamics. This is how I write them but ppl who write them differently are super cool and awesome!! I just. Think of them like this myself. As a reminder, I am also writing them for an au! So I expect them to not be fully canon accurate. Especially since I’m pretty sure their canon rivalry is meant to be genuine to some degree.

[dippedinmelancholy]

It might be because I'm relatively "new" to the Dragon Age fandom (the last few years) but it feels like people are actually losing their minds over the choices and world state revealed about Dragon Age Veilguard. Hear me out. Does it kind of suck? Sure. Carving out your own "canon" is cool. But if you craft a story around each choice someone could have made, you have to change your development and story planning for each of those possible choices. It's been 10 years since Tresspassor was released.

It's been 15 years since Origins was released. Real years, not in game years. Only Inquisition had the more "open world", widely stretching plot, and even that was barely held together by strings, hopes, and dreams. None of the games have thus far reached into Northern Thedas beyond having characters come from there. This could very well feel like a whole new world for Rook. Without the super nostalgic feeling, why would 99% of what happened in southern Thedas matter at all at this point, for this game? Who in northern Thedas would even know about it? These people? Sure, Morrigan can have a son (she did in my default world state for Inquisition anyways), but at this point he's fully grown? Why would she ever talk about him to Rook, to reveal that about herself? As far as I could tell, the Inquisitor only meets him because his mother is working at Skyhold and he's a child that needs to be cared for. The Well of Sorrows kind of blows, but again, 10 years later and they're finally able to give us a game. Not only are they giving us a game, they're clearly making some space for the unresolved issues between the Inquisitor and Solas (regardless of romance), all the while needing to get new people involved in the game for it to be truly successful. The choice with the Grey Wardens could have been cool, but again, it was in southern Thedas. I have a hard time believing every single Grey Warden was either doomed or saved by the Inquisitor.

I just think maybe people are taking it a bit too harshly, some of the comments make me think people really need a breath of fresh air and maybe to touch some grass. Do I want everyone to have fun in every single Dragon Age game? To feel all of the emotions and pride for what happens in those games? To love and cry for their OCs???? Of course I do. But based off of the fact that Leliana could have died????? But no matter what she's a face in Inquisition???? That tells me Dragon Age DOES have a default world setting with some things being set in stone regardless of what choices you make. But I also think it's a little unfair to call a game a failure, cruel, uncaring for their canons just because it doesn't have 10-15 in game and out of game years of choices perfectly represented. This is Rook's story, and honestly, nothing that happened in southern Thedas matters to their story. To any Rook, the Inquisitor is probably this legend like figure who may or may not have been touched by god(s). Or seduced a god. Who knows.

[changingplumbob]

Foster Household: Chapter 9, Part 10

Darwin: Are we going to game or what

Carson: Just let me send this selfie first

William grabs the seat by Onyx while Carson and Darwin get the spots in front of the screen.

Darwin: I can’t believe we have to have more classes with Mrs H

William: She is the senior teacher

Onyx: And the senior grump

Carson: I’m always worried she’ll give me detention again

William: I thought you were getting help for the OCD

Onyx: Don’t need to have OCD to be worried about her, I’m worried about her. Darwin you’ve got to try curb your antics when she’s teaching us

Darwin: Now where would be the fun in that

Carson: How about not getting your friends sentenced with detention by association

Darwin: Fair point. Oh come on, who threw that banana?

Onyx bursts in to laughter and Darwin throws a cushion at them.

William: Good game folks. See you all at school tomorrow

Onyx: Yeah I better see if my parents are ready to go

Carson: Any headway with Anya lately

Darwin: *sighs* I wish, she’s left me on read for two days now. How about your girl

Carson: *laughs* She’s not my girl

Darwin: She’s pretty, maybe she should be you know? It doesn’t matter that she’s younger if you like her, that's what I tell myself about Anya

Harvey: I think that dinner was a success

Kayleigh: So do I! Oh Reece called while you were doing the dishes and he and Samir are fine to come stay. Plus I let him know Carson and Charlie know about the werewolf business

Harvey: Did Carson faint with shock

Kayleigh: *laughs* No so I guess we were wrong about that

Harvey: We’ll have to keep an eye on him during the visit. Make sure he doesn’t get stressed about a werewolf being under the same roof

Kayleigh: Will you be stressed

Harvey: Not if he gives me grandbabies

After his normal morning routine Carson was delighted to see a text from Ariadne pop up on his phone.

Ariadne: Great news! They’ve opened the rink at school

Carson: How is that great news

Ariadne: Because I’ve been dying to go ice skating so bring your skates

Carson: They weigh a lot

Ariadne: Never let a little weight put you off! I like things with a little weight to them

Carson: Okay, okay, I concede

At school the news of the rink opening had gotten around and several kids had brought their skates. Carson found Ariadne at the edge of the rink looking at them with awe.

Carson: Have you ever actually skated before?

Ariadne: Carson, you're here! When I was little my grandmother took me a few times but... it has been a while

Carson: Maybe it’ll be like riding a bike and you’ll remember

Ariadne: I hope so. I'd rather not fall on my butt in front of everyone

Carson: So... got a sparkly costume hiding under the coat

Ariadne: *giggling* Do you

Carson: Drat. You told me to bring skates, not my leotard, it's back home

Ariadne: Always good to leave something for next time

Carson: *laughs* I mean you’d look much nicer in a sparkly outfit than I would

Ariadne: I think you look nice anyway

Carson: Oh, really?

Ariadne: We ah- we better get on the ice or we’ll be talking until class starts

Carson: Ladies first

Ariadne was first on the ice out of the pair with Carson close behind. He may be asthmatic but he didn’t mind something slow like ice skating. He did his best to keep up with Ariadne but he did slip over once or twice. Luckily he was behind her so felt pretty confident that she’d missed it. As the bell rang and he headed off the rink to class he missed her also wiping out.

In art class Carson was glad to see Mrs T back. She was always much calmer and knew a bunch about art. As she gave a rather detailed analysis of perspective in art he felt his skill grow.

Down the hall in social studies it was a different story.

Artemisia: *whispers* Hey Roger, yo mamas so lazy she has a stay at home job and is still late to work

Roger: Shut up Emi, you know she’s a social worker. I’m not getting suspended again because you can’t control yourself

Artemisia: Only my friends get to call me Emi. Hey Roger, yo mamas so old she was a waitress at the Last Supper

Roger: Don’t think being a girl will stop me from punching you

Artemisia: Go ahead. My Pa will sue you until yo mama is so poor the ducks throw bread at her, oh wait, she already is

Previous ... Next

[harzilla]

Ortho Shroud and Love.

I feel like a lot of people miss out on the opportunity to really deep dive into Ortho's psychology. I'd like to see a story that focuses on Ortho figuring out what love is. Like not him just downloading the definition or watching a bunch of cheesy romance movies. But him genuinely trying to actually understand what LOVE is.

Let him think and contemplate his relationship with Idia. He understands why he was built, but perhaps he gets to a point where he truly starts to think more on it. When did his programming stop just him taking care of his brother and when did it come to be actual affection?(I actually need to read through book 7 so yeah....)

Can you program love or can a robot learn to love? Can he love if his robotic parts are granted a soul? Is he still just a robot if he has a soul?

Him learning about how his family loves him. Not for being a replacement but for being HIM.

Deep dive into him learning how the others perceive him as more then just a robot. How he's not just "a robot, or Idia's brother" he's Ortho. Their Ortho. Ortho their friend. Feeling he finally understands what a friend actually is. He has actual friends! His friends.

Let him actually ponder on the nature of romantic love and whether or not it's something he can learn. Would his programming eventually allow him to mature mentally? Can he be programmed to mentally mature? Can zeros and ones act like the chemicals in a human's brain? Would it eventually allow him to really "feel" any kind of "this person is more special then the others?" like he understands that he loves Idia as a brother. But for the first time maybe Ortho finds somebody who he wants attention from.

Maybe he begins to wonder why he wants to take something his brother has. He's usually happy if somebody is giving Idia positive attention but it's the first time he finds that he wants it for himself. He's never felt that way towards anybody. Maybe he thinks at first it's because he sees them in a familia way, but then he noticed how it doesn't feel the same as with them. He doesn't feel the way he does for Idia.

He searches through his memory banks but nothing seems to really match and he's certain it's not a programming flaw, Idia is very meticulous with his diagnostics. So why does he "feel off?" Why does he "feel off" more often whenever this person is around?

And then maybe one day he's in club and they're watching romance movies and of course the film club is doing an analysis about them and it's during this that Ortho thinks.

"Was what I felt love?"

And now you've got Ortho doing a deep dive of different kind of romances and maybe he's trying to figure out why exactly the characters are falling in love. What is it that drew one character to another? Why do these two happy together but yet they refuse to say they're together?"

Just him trying to actually understand how romance between people work. Him watching movies, reading romance stories, him just researching. He spends his time analyzing genres, archetypes, popular tropes based on different demographics. Historical couples that were happy vs those who did poorly. Different books and articles that talk about successful relationships vs. ones that fail. Reviewing anything he has on his parent's relationship. They seem to be happy together. The info he finds would say they're behavior could be romantic. All this time he's trying to understand.

"What is love? What is love that can be considered romantic? Can he love somebody? Can he love them enough that he is IN love with them?"

"Can he love somebody in a way that isn't platonic?"

"Can a robot fall in love?"

"Can he fall in love?

Give me more stories about Ortho exploring his nature as a robot and him evolving feelings as a realized being.