#and i just haven't expanded on it bc i didn't know how. but now i do :) so i can work on it

[incesthemes]

heyy! thank you for the tag--i did this one last week but i am SO excited to see some of your wips!! 🧸 and 🤨 for the ask game, please! <3 -lizzy

(honestly they all sound so good i will take any/all you're willing to share!!)

omg two of them!! thank you so much, i appreciate you 🥰🥰🥰

brother, father, son:

“I’m okay with this, you know.” And this, too, is a repetition, a broken record stuck on loop until it’s just white noise in the background of Sam’s nonstop panic. He tries to remember how many times Dean has tried to reassure him, in some sort of twisted self-flagellation, but he loses count sometime after fourteen because then he looks over at Dean again and it’s all so uncomfortable. He’s at least a head shorter than Sam—sitting down, at least—and a hell of a lot thinner. “We can’t hunt like this,” he says, and when Dean rolls his eyes it’s a clench in Sam’s gut instead of a familiar, brotherly ribbing. “We’re not on a hunt,” Dean says with well-worn patience. “We’re going home. And when we’re there, we’ll figure it the hell out. Okay?” Sam blows out a thick, heavy breath and doesn’t respond, and after about fifteen minutes of insufferable silence, Dean drops the needle on his record player and starts all over again.

sam is weird about his brother:

Dean’s aim has always been better than his. It’s no secret, and it’s no wonder, either—Dad keeps him locked up in motel rooms flipping through thousand-page tomes while he and Dean actually gets to go out and kill the thing they’re hunting. Sam might even envy Dean, if that weren’t drowned out by his fatigue and frustration. As it is, it’s just a detached observation that only really serves to explain why Sam is bleeding right now and Dean isn’t. Sam missed his shot, and Dean had to save his ass again: a typical Saturday night for the Winchester freaks. “I gotcha,” Dean says, throwing himself onto the floor where Sam is clutching his arm and groaning miserably—loud enough for the ghost to hear his complaints, wherever the hell it ended up—and pulling him into his arms. “How bad is it?” Sam stifles a groan and slows his exhale in an attempt to control the pain. “We’re talking Black Knight, at least.” “Well, at least you’re a trooper.” Dean rolls his eyes and pushes Sam off of him again. “‘Tis but a scratch, dude. Get up already.” It hurts considerably more than he’s letting on, but he’ll be damned if he’s gonna let Dean coddle him when he was the one who practically begged to come on this hunt.

✨️ send me an emoji and i will write 5 sentences of that fic ✨️

[waddleonmywaywardducks]

Something I would just like to get off my chest...

Literally I just want to talk my shit. This is just SOME of the shit I'm tired of seeing in my community.

I grew up in a extremely god-fearing Christian home. Most of my childhood years where spent in a church or with my nose stuck into a Bible. It was horrible. When I was 10, I was opened to the world of magic and slowly I realized that what I was reading could be true. I began to research as much as I could and now here we are. But anyways, as I began to expand my craft, I start to find myself with people who also practice!

My first experience with the shit talk in my community was from a witch who came from a long line of witches and claimed they were more powerful then me bc of that....I've never seen them practice or even attempt to practice....and their mother is a wiccan....ok yeah sure ☠️ like first off, literally I don't care, I don't care if your mother is a witch, I don't care that "you are the granddaughter of the witches they didn't burn" ☠️☠️ you can miss me with that. Second off, because they claimed to be a more powerful witch they said they could "mentor" me and teach me the "right ways" and when I said no they then told me I would never be powerful and that they would curse me....where's that curse at girlie???? I do not care for power. I do not care for control. I just want to find harmony with myself and the world.

The second experience I had, AND I KNOW EVERYONE. EVERYONE. HAD THIS HAPPEN TO THEM, was the "I've been practicing for x amount of years so....Im actually better then you" I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I do not give a fuck how long you have been practicing. Here's a real question, why do you, a "experienced" witch, feel the need to invalidate new witches, when your practice is all your own? Are you really practicing if you feel the need to scare and fearmonger newer witches? Why not help them?I remember I was at such and loss starting out because no one would tell me, they would be like "how could you not know that?!?!" Or "I would NEVER make that mistake" it's ok to make mistakes, fuck man 8 years later and I still make mistakes. Also, Witchcraft communities have always been about communicating, when looking for where to began, young witches would TURN TO THEIR ELDERS. Why have we driven away from that? Idk I just feel like if you feel the need to invalidate newer witches, you aren't actually secure in your own practice. So are you really better then me? Or are you just worried I'll become more "powerful" then you?

And I know we've all gone through the "I have the most expensive herbs so my spells are way more powerful" just say you love capitalism ☠️☠️ LMFAOOO the witches I see on tiktok are like the over consumption final boss like holy shit. I literally get everything I need from the forest outside my house, I literally haven't bought anything for my practice in like months because I put my time and energy into what I create for my deities, spells, and rituals. And honestly, Ive had way better results because of it. You don't need all this big fancy stuff, just get started with what you have. Make it your own.

Instead of doing all this, mind your business, stay to YOUR craft, and if someone asks for help you can give them what you can. Literally just be a nice person Jesus fucking Christ. Just be a nice person. The entire reason I made this blog was for witches who needed someone to push them in the right direction. This post was me talking shit, if you feel called out....then consider this a sign to try to be better, there's always a chance to start again. And also, in no way am I bashing witches who come from a long line of witches, that shit is cool as hell, I'm just saying when you use it just to be cool and not practice, bc i hate to break it to you but if you don't practice like at all, not even attempt to start, then you aren't a witch my guy im sorry being born into a witch family doesn't automatically make you a witch, you have to carve that shit out for yourself. But anyways it's 1am I'm tired I honestly have no idea why I wrote this. Ok bye.

[invisiblequeen]

Didn't even know this existed until one of my faves posted...

@pamsimmerstories : I've been obsessed with their landgraab gen 2 story since i stumbled upon it a couple of months ago. I'm constantly checking for updates and the one day I don't is when they upload a whole handful of posts! But I've been with them since this one couple I won't name was in teenager mode, and now that couple has three darn kids and one of them is already in child mode. I'm not ready to see time move on! I'm not ready to see their parents meet the grim reaper! I've gotten too attached!

@samssims : Yes, my contestant for the Mildred BC didn't stay long, but I love the concept of a Challenge like this for an elder sim who used to be a star back in the day looking for love after two divorces. I'm eager to see who wins!

@lindyloosims : Let's just say I'm lovestruck over luka, his personality, his rosy cheeks, his quirks and his interactions with the contestants here to win his heart. Lindyloo is great with the dialogue and narration--it keeps me engaged as hell. Also her simself is the host of the BC and I just love that detail!

@saruin : One of the first cc creators I found when i discovered cc at all. Her creativity knows no bounds, and the presets she's created have helped expand my own creativity when it comes to making sims. More often than not you'll find at least one thing of hers in any post I make. Hell, she made a set of teeth with color swatches for the TONGUE. How can I not "stan?"

@cinamun : Things Fall Apart, but not my commitment to this woman's story. I wasn't there when it first started all those years ago, but dammit, i'm here now (since dira's graduation arc) and i'm not going anywhere. From the dialogue, to the characters, to the style of shots themselves, she literally has me in a chokehold. And she's the one who was wheezing and screaming over Kendrick performing Not Like Us fifty times on Juneteenth! If that doesn't cement her as an icon IDK what does! (ironic that hers was the first tumblr faves post I saw that led to my own lol)

@cawthorntales : You all know I live for BC challenges. This man right here never, ever, EVER stops delivering on those. EVER. He always has an established storyline for the character he provides us to make a sim for, as well as a funny dialogue between said sim and the "cameraman" to start it off. I need for more people to know who he is so we can get MORE contestant for his challenges so I can witness MORE of my sims in his gameplay!!!

@akitasimblr : Found her during the Dreadful BC Challenge and haven't looked back since. She is VERY serious about this gameplay BC Challenge business. She gives you CLIPS formatted as live streams with "chat" on the side reacting to what they see. She has a leaderboard with a system to rank all contestants on friendship and romance and etc. And she's currently doing a crossover of the bachelor and SURVIVOR! go check it out!

@novapark : This one right here is a COZY Bachelor Challenge gameplay. Their shots are so deliciously saturated and warmly lit that it makes me wanna get a cup of tea and a snuggie to watch it. I like the style of a narrator popping in to watch all the ways Izan (the bachelor) wins and fails with his contestants (sims are so weird when it comes to their mood switch-ups i swear). And yours truly has a sim in there, too, so that's an added benefit for me, but just off the way they shot this challenge I'd still be checking it out regardless!

@jayveesim : You. YOUUUUUUUUUU. You have ruined me. You have ensared me. You have cost me my former life before I knew of your gameplay. You and that DAMNED BLAKE PARSONS! You've snatched my wig. You've dragged me across the floor by my eyelashes. You've scorched my edges! I have rarely been so fired up and passionate about a pixel baby the way I have been about YOURS and their DECISIONS! I won't even try to explain it to y'all, you gotta go check it out yourselves, and then we can scream about it together in this evil genius's comment section! LMFAO

This is a great chance for us all to big up fellow simblrs, so I hope to see more of these posts!

[midnight-mourning]

Good morning, mourning! is it possible for you to show us how you make an outline for writing a chapter sometime in the future? like what does your first rough rough draft look like?🤔

also whats your favorite vine/meme at the moment?🫣

Hi pip!!

I can actually show you RIGHT NOW as I keep all my outlines (for the most part) saved in their respective chapters

*added a read more post-answering bc this got LONG lol*

So, it's sometimes a bit dependent on the fic, what I'm writing at the time, and where I'm at in the process. I usually have two different methods I stick to and typically combine in some manner:

bulleted list of important scenes/ideas to expand out upon from there (typically how I start out ideas for oneshots)

big blurb paragraph of a flow of ideas from start to finish (typically how I start out chapter-based fics, and what I do for Confused Spirit)

From there, I'll then combine the two methods in some way if it's a oneshot, and if I'm struggling to get the words flowing for a chapter-based fic, I'll use the list to expand out upon things I wrote originally. For example, this was ch. 34's outline (spoilers for those who haven't read it yet):

and then the list I added once I got started properly, which I crosssed out as I went along. Fun fact, you can see where I hit a moment of greatness in that last bullet and the chapter came together as a whole from there:

the blacked out is things I've pushed back for later (or just general spoiler stuff), so you can see that inital plans and even those I make WHILE writing the chapter are still subject to change as I go into actually writing it. Another good example would be from ch. 32:

in this case, I went back and added to the original outline (I think you can tell where lmao) and didn't utilize a list

I'd love to find chekov's gun, bc that one was REALLY good if I'm remembering correctly but I think it's buried somewhere in the Dialogue Dump unfortunately 😔

Adding on to that, I write a lot of scene ideas/mainly dialogue for things that happen in the future as the ideas don't typically come to me in chronological order. the party from 33? like a month into writing the story. the team meeting Michael? mid-arc 2. Chekov's gun? the start to midway point in the first couple days of writing and then basically finished within by the middle of august (started in July for those that don't know)

My point being that there's a lot of things that I have saved for certain arcs/plot points that I then insert into their proper place in the story once I find where that is. For arc 3 in particular I took the approach of gathering all the dialogue i KNOW was going to be in the arc, wrote my lil blurbs for all the chapters, and then started placing them accordingly. stuff has (and probably will continue to) gotten shuffled around, but for the most part has stayed in their original places.

a rough rough draft beyond that is basically adding to those base scene ideas (sometimes in order, sometimes not) typically writing dialogue and then filling in the blanks from there! sometimes if I'm lucky I can write a chapter from (mostly) start to finish in a span of four hours or so but that's only when i'm REALLY cookin'

Sorry for the super long winded response, didn't realize how much I wrote until I did it 😅

TL;DR, blurb of ideas, organize those ideas/add to them or adjust, full send it from there (with the potential help of some dialogue along the way)

As for my fav vine/meme currently? Probably the lump fish guy, everytime someone says 'very mindful, very demure' (I am not on tiktok so I do NOT understand this one) I instantly think 'very beautiful, very powerful'

thanks so much for the lovely ask!!! <3 <3 <3

[jrueships]

Ted's omegaverse alignments but not really horny, i just think collabing concepts is neat.

READ ABOVE if u haven't the lore of the world. It's long like this so i can summarize a reminder of some of the terms real quick before we start the list:

ROIDing: can be used by omegas, betas, or alphas to change your status into either an omega, beta, or alpha. Can be a combination, like taking hard rut inducers and hard heat suppressors for an omega to go to a beta status, and can be doubled for an omega to even go as an alpha, although that jump is rare as it's quite the turmoil psychologically and not all minds might be up for the task or temper. Heat inducers and rut suppressors can turn a beta or an alpha into the categories listed below itself on the hierarchy. Anybody can use anything, and anybody can be anything.

WHICH MEANS.. anybody can top or bottom anybody. Omegas can top Alphas, betas, etc. Betas can top Alphas, Alphas can top Alphas. Omega does NOT equal bottom, and it doesn't equal Small either. Although different players take the dynamics differently though. It's Very rare for an alpha to Admit being in a relationship with an omega or beta if they feel like it goes against the usual Alpha relationship grain. There's a certain tension that always follows with freedom

Anyways, let's get right to it. PART 1 because i don't have the time to include EVERYONE rn and i probably won't bcs i don't know know everyone and don't wanna get stuff wrong so. Use ur own interpretation! This is a very open assignment that let's you be the judge in the end! Have fun! Ask questions or give feedback, im happy to hear it! I just love concepts tbh, that's all i rlly wanna do with this. The most will be little stories to go with this world. I'll reblog with more ppl LATER!!!

Michael Jordan: an ALPHA who (supposedly) PRESENTED very, very LATE. No one is exactly sure when he presented. Even Michael's story changes from before getting cut in highschool to after to college to the 'flu' game. But Everyone, at one point, thought he was going to be a beta. ( His siblings laugh at this. ) And then he wasn't. And then he won. And then he became a dictator. After Dennis announced being an omega who ROIDed to even an alpha status, distrust spread to every alignment, no matter how high. An omega becoming an alpha was rare, but now possible thanks to Dennis's admittance. It takes a certain strength, dedication, and insanity to undergo all the medicine, but someone competitive and desperate enough to do it could. Someone like Michael Jordan. Michael merely smirks whenever asked, which is quite Often. Those around him gag at his powerful cigar smoke scent, enough to overwhelm any alpha to their knees. Before his fame, he was quieter, more contained. He did his own laundry, knitted his own clothes, because no one wants a man without a secondary nature. When his alpha nature was finally announced, he stopped smiling and started smirking.

Allen Iverson, an ALPHA who was known to take protecting and providing for the pack a little too seriously. Like Isiah, his status as an alpha was highly doubted due to size. Unlike Isiah, his independent dominance humbled the doubting media time and time again, ultimately trailblazing in the NBA and expanding the game's personal freedom through his refusal to cave into other's wants or needs if he found disagreement. Unfortunately, his hard-headed strengths would also serve as some of his weaknesses, giving some alpha traditionalists confidence to nag on his struggles with finances and championships, always bringing up how a Real alpha would never. For a select few, no matter what Iverson did or didn't, he would never be ‘alpha enough’ to them all over something as silly as height. AI just finds the thought comical, he's probably taller than 50% of those alpha Truist freaks, and he knows for damn sure that he's 101% cooler than all those motherfuckers combined. He doesn't care if they don't think he's an alpha with all of their highly-opinionated evidence, people have hated on him out of basic bitch jealousy his whole damn life. Other people have never changed his mind, and other people never will. If he says he's wearing cornrows, he's wearing cornrows. If he says he's buying everyone everything, shieet, he's buying everyone everything! If he says he's getting a tattoo, he's getting a tattoo. If he says he's an alpha, he's a Fucking alpha. Argue with the wall.

Charles Barkley: ALPHA. hilarious and prickly, perhaps too prickly at times, can be his own downfall from either sheer laziness or stubbornness. Example of how just being an alpha isn't an automatic win in life like some alpha fanboys or egoists might try to persuade

Wilt Chamberlain: ALPHA. was a great player, but personality-wise? .... other alphas like Kareem butted heads with him..

Kareem: ALPHA. Even betas like Magic would then butt heads with Kareem. Standoffish, he tries to keep his distance even from his team due to the stigma of alphas being violent always following him especially because of his height and looks. Even in childhood. Distrustworthy of everyone because of deep-rooted trauma

Isiah Thomas: ALPHA. defends his team and their troubles like a bull, oftentimes a hypocritical.. near-sighted bull. Alpha status is often questioned because of his height. Many think Bill is the real alpha and Isiah is the beta. Those that have the pleasure (or displeasure, as Michael would say), stand firm on their stance that Yes, Isiah is an alpha. Unfortunately, you can really tell. Very protective of his team, especially of Dennis Rodman/omegas in general. Thinks the Bulls are bad for Dennis and doubts Michael’s way of ruling. The Bulls, in his opinion, are too hands-off and don't feel like the kind of loving pack a team is meant to be. Very maternal to his team, which doesn't help his beta questioning case, but everyone close to him vouches his alpha assurance with an annoyed strength. Rumored to have been heard asking if Magic took too much of a specific, unnamed medicine during his sickness, which sprung a lot of people into a panic of whether or not Magic Really is a beta or a ROIDed beta. Isiah firmly denies ever saying this, but Magic believes otherwise even though he’s forgiven him. When questioned about Michael’s status (is he Really an alpha who presented late, or is there ROIDing in the case), Isiah huffed, narrowed thick angry brows, and stated in a high and mighty voice how that's really none of his business, no matter how annoying Michael may be to him.

Larry Bird: ALPHA. Competitive. And fucking Rude. Left baseball even though he was good at it because he was bored with the minutes he was getting. Needs the ball and will clutch the most unexpected games as his form of thanking the coach. Magic is his favorite teasing victim. A famous quote

A reporter rooting around for drama: so, Larry, with all this ROIDing and SUPPRESSOR stuff going around thanks to that weirdo, Rodman, is there anyone you know is using? Like, anyone.. you're close with? Magic’s been under the weather, I heard. Could be a bad side effect of ROIDing.. he smell funny to you?

Larry, cracking open a beer by squeezing the sides until it popped: Magic is Magic.

And refused to elaborate, as he casually turned away and started to play basketball. The camera crew left out of fear for their equipments’ safety when Bird ‘accidentally’ let the ball rebound into a lens.

Bill Laimbeer: BETA who will beat the breaks off anyone. People are surprised for his violence, except for Isiah, who lovingly regales it as Bill's best job. Notably not a big peacemaker for a beta. Just a guy who comes in and plays hard. Not here to be a coddler like other betas were brought on to do or a media darling like Alphas. “I'm here to play basketball and piss people off. Speaking off, hey, Larry” “fuck you, Bill.” Known as The Odd Couple whenever him and Isiah are together, which they often are. In Dennis's book, he regards Bill to be surprisingly cold for a beta, and that Isiah would always be the one to tutor him instead. He only learned from Bill by watching Bill rather than asking, perhaps intimidated. If you want consolation or coddling, go to Isiah, not Bill.

Scottie Pippen: BETA. would try to middleman Jordan's frustrations with his team, especially the rups (rookie 'pups', men playfully called pups because they're new to the sport). Grew envious of Jordan, mainly disturbed by his frequent Sidekick sidelining. Switches up on his stories to whatever he thinks will boost his image best. Sometimes that's siding with Jordan, sometimes it's not. It's not easy being Michael's beta, the enigma. Wafted his calming scent around like febreeze from all the arguments and heated moments he had to calm down regarding Jordan and his competitive temper. Pippen’s scent grew the strongest during Michael’s …flu game. When questioned about Michael’s status, Pippen hummed and turned away, looking conflicted and guilty.

Shaq: BETA. Magic and him both have humorous charms that make them Feel like alphas.. but they needed more to get a ring. They needed alpha teammates, ultimately. no matter how big or bad or good a Beta may be, they are always Second. But they should never, never be considered first. That's an alpha's job. Orlando made that mistake drafting a beta to win them a ring, a beta that would eventually leave to ringchase with any alpha he could. Shaq's a bit shameless for a beta, but being shameless is maybe the only path to 'fame' (becoming a simple shtick to an easy-to-remember title, either being Sidekick, Dumb, Helpful, Funny, Enforcer, etc) for the life of a beta. At least in that time. People wonder if Shaq ever ROIDed into an alpha during key games only, to increase his dominance. He says that would be too much effort. He's just a big ass beta <- his words

Magic Johnson: BETA. Or Was he really? People RUMOR, after Rodman's reveal and especially after Magic's scare, if he was actually a self-conscious, self-compensating omega who craved the lure of feeling needed? And then even went an extra step with the rut inducers to make him a Shiny beta, charismatic enough to peacock? Or was he just that magic to be a really flashy beta? OR OR.. is Magic all of that all at once? Maybe, if he did do it, he needed to? What is known is that he grew up with an alpha mother and an omega father. He yearns to impress and lead people, and showing off gives him a high satisfaction. Because of his beta hierarchy, he had a bigger barrel to fish out of with less scrutiny, so to speak. And man, did he like fishing.

Dennis Rodman: OMEGA. one of the first in the NBA to openly admit to ROIDing so he can change hierarchies. First, he used amplified rut inducers and heat suppressors to hide his omega nature into a beta, just to make the nba transition with less pitfalls and drama, as (out there) omegas were virtually nonexistent due to prejudice. Being a beta on the pistons was phenomenal, he played whatever role was needed, and what happened to be needed was his favorite kind of role: defensive agitator. But, he ended up having to play another role afterwards.. one he found far less amicable. After getting traded, he took more and more of the ROID medicine, not caring for the symptoms of overdoing it. He became an alpha on the Bulls, and his behavior became worrisome for Isiah, but the Bulls had championships to worry about, not teammates. His behavior continued until, after one wild night, Michael Jordan, the mysterious apathetic alpha when it came to worry or kindness, dumped all his ROIDs down the toilet. That was the turnaround, that was the moment that Dennis decided to come clean and tell the world that he was an Omega from the start. And he would be an omega in the end, refusing to go back to ROIDing to become something he knew others only wanted. While he admitted how ROIDing wasn’t for him, he also elaborated how it's really a personal decision, he knows some guys consider it a positive part of their life and he loves that for them. But for him, personally, his decision to ROID was not for himself, in the end, it was for others. And Dennis was notorious for not listening to others; he watched. He watched and realized that he refused to allow others to saddle him, the mustang, so why saddle himself? He was going to play as omega this time, a completely uncovered omega. And the Bulls went on to win. And Dennis became one of the first unROIDed Omegas to win a championship, while being one of the top three pieces-no, Players involved to do so. His decision changed the game for future hierarchies, bridging the option of omegas openly playing sport. But he still stands firm on his flexibility of whether or not to ROID, laughing over how it's ultimately a matter of the self, not the sayers. For him, he felt more true to himself without the medicine, for others, they may say the opposite and that's okay. He knows many like that already. But it's up to the person to deem what is true to himself.. and what is true to the people, that's the hard part: ego.

There's plenty of other older figures to assign, but these guys above are mainly the best for lore-building purposes. To sum the rest up, back then there were mainly alphas and betas. Omegas were either considered too useless or too weak. Alphas would lead, betas would follow. That is.. until LeBron.

LeBron : a BETA who presented late. Everyone thought/wanted him to be an alpha. The highschool phenom was such a hot topic, the truly invasive reporters would go as far as trying to sniff out a deciding scent just so they could be the ones who'd release the giant unveiling first. He was following Michael's Stardom, and everyone wanted him to be the same or larger. When he happily announced his hierarchy reveal after shaking The Cavs hands, the media turned, the team turned, and LeBron realized telling an adult the truth doesn't always grant the clemency family cartoons wished you to believe. His team hated him, refusing to pass or cheer when he was winning. Betas Don't Lead. That's how it’s Always been. His white wine scent tried to soothe their tempers, but it only made them nauseous. Through talent, effort, and unfortunate youthful uphill battle experience, LeBron managed to carve out a name for himself and for other hierarchies to breach the mold besides simply Alphas. The tide was starting to turn. Now, he has fans who prefer him over Michael, an alpha, because he feels more believable, more attainable to them. His beta nature made him more all-around, less competitively daggered than Jordan's rule. But those that hated him then still do with a ruthless vigor. They dislike the change, and they Detest his outspoken advocacy for allowing Omegas into the league. Of any kind. Because of LeBron, Steph was inspired. Reporters asked Michael if he had any strong disagreements with what LeBron's doing to the game. He smirked, “the flopping is funny.” And then smiled, just a bit. Just a touch soft. The cigar smell fades. “Everything else? I could give less of a damn.”

Kyrie Irving: ALPHA who eventually couldn't stand being in a beta's shadow, especially when the dynamics started flipping from the media because of it

Russell Westbrook: OMEGA famous (and infamous) for 'Playing like an alpha'. Giannis's idol. His security and power in his status drives alphas away. Doesn't care for the alignment system because that's what he's always been fighting against (banking against). Criticized for playing so hard that it makes his own teammates wary, Russ just rolls his big shoulders and snaps back, matter-of-fact like a rubber band's elastic response, “then get out of the kitchen.”

KD: ALPHA. His only pack is a gold bust of himself now. Cares about the alignment system because that's what he's always been fighting for (banking on)

James Harden: ALPHA. Known for being more carefree than most alphas. This annoys hard-core alpha basketball elitists. Because of his own traditional condemnation, he holds a not-so discreet disdain toward omegas.

Giannis: OMEGA. People confuse him and his brother's statuses often. Believe it or not, though, Thanasis is an alpha and Giannis is an omega. The bucks were a doubted organization for a Long time due to their strange and rare lack of a strong alpha presence. Giannis is a heavily criticized super star, mainly by alphas, but even some disgruntled betas join the scorn. Some audiences don't consider him a real superstar, merely an omega who got lucky with a superstar body blessing. Giannis grins, his sugary sweet cotton candy scent making Khris cough next to him, and chirps how he wishes he could be blessed with a good 3-point-shot too then, since he's just such a talentless miracle

Thanasis: ALPHA. Dedicates 99.99999% of his life to helping his family. Laughing stock of the NBA fans for Giannis feeling more like the alpha and him feeling like the omega. That's when Giannis gets mad.

Jrue: BETA. Always stands up for his team, while still humbling them. Was brought on as the perfect systematic beta, started to become something more before he was eventually traded for a systematic Alpha after the bucks caved into the idea of there not being enough

Khris Middleton: BETA. Found giannis's attempts to be seen as a Westbrook-like leader annoying at first. They balanced each other out later

Damian Lillard: ALPHA. Quiet, let's his game tell you what he is. If that's not enough, he'll butt heads with other alphas to dig the point. Notably more withdrawn and teasing to packs than classically alpha protective. Rumored to have been a beta who ROIDed into an alpha out of pressure to win. Dislikes Giannis instantly accepting him as the bucks new leader. Uncomfortable by the thought of never being enough

CJ McCollum: BETA. Starting to branch into more leader-like positions after being inspired by LeBron

Steven Adams: BETA. Casually admitted to originally having been an Alpha, but hard dosed rut suppressants because he simply didn't feel like dealing with all the complications and ruckus of being an alpha. Friends with Russ because they hold similar ideologies about not really caring about alignments, they just want to play ball the way they like best

Kawhi Leonard: BETA. Once dropped in an interview that he was an omega who ROIDed into a beta because he didn't like attention and high needs, and he knew he'd be swamped with it if he went into the NBA as one. Then laughed his weird little Kawhi Leonard laugh and left like he just told a silly little dad joke and not an atomic bomb of information. Paul George choked on his water

Paul George: ALPHA who, at first, tried to play the original alpha role by buying into The Savior hype he received after being drafted. LeBron's playoff showdown helped widen his eyes about other hierarchy skill, so when being the packs dependable alpha that didn't work out the way he planned, he tried to play it diluted. Then he tried the beta role. Then the omega role. .. then Kawhi made that monotone announcement and.. he got embarrassed. And confused. And now he's just confused. Like most alphas, he grew leaning into the alignment system that favored him for his high status. Like most alphas now, he doesn't know what to think of it. It's all kind of muddled now. (dammit George! HOW do you keep letting OMEGAS or.. ex-omegas? TOP you?? HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE PAUL GEORGE LEGACY ?!?? ..ugh, he just won't think about it..)

Joel Embiid: ALPHA. WAS an Undisclosed: Beta who ROIDed into an alpha to contribute to The Process. Now too afraid to go back because it failed. Tries hard to be an alpha when others want him to, until he's too tired to when they actually need him to. Known as one of 'The Lazy Alphas' now

Ben Simmons: ALPHA whose anxieties got too high from the pressures of The Process

Markelle Fultz: ALPHA who was pushed to PRESENT EARLY as one by The Process. Was going to present as an alpha anyways, but the sixers needed him to be revealed as one on Their time

Tobias Harris: BETA disliked by the originally alpha heavy sixers organization for not being dominant enough

Boban: ALPHA, given a lot of leeway for both his status and his size

Tyrese Maxey: ALPHA. Praised as the golden alpha sixers child, although they're not used to his low-aggression levels for an alpha. They're not exactly opposed, though, his sweetness is captivating. Slowly, Maxey is softening the once toxic city

Jokic: ALPHA who once hated not being seen as one due to incorrect aesthetics (alphas are supposed to be strong, so eventually he got strong enough to match their idealization), but now hates being seen as one. Dislikes attention and attraction. He's apparently 'accepted' as an alpha, but STILL not a Complete one for other opinionated reasons. Whatever (similar plight of Allen Iverson + Isiah Thomas, responds like AI by not responding)

DeMar DeRozan: BETA who PRESENTED LATE. It's always a gamble to draft an unpresented pick. When the raptors realized their potential alpha Savior wasn't what they expected him to be, they were blatantly disappointed.. but because of LeBron.. gave him a chance. Maybe he could be like Him? They already had similar stories and hardships? Maybe Toronto had their own LeBron? But DeMar wasn't LeBron. DeMar was DeMar. Toronto deemed him unfit for his playoff struggles. They traded him not for an alpha, but a beta who could at least dominate like one. But the hardest blow was his split with Kyle.

Kyle Lowry: ALPHA. Rough around the edges, smiling at you one second, scowling the next. His turbulent past consisted of personality conflicts the most. He was bristly, suffering from the lone alpha wolf syndrome teams disliked where, instead of leading the team toward him, the alpha pushed them away out of some form of pride. But the Raptors were known for their big culture of chances. Maybe it was thanks to Canadian clemency that Kyle found the one beta who wasn't afraid to step in and calm him, who didn't tire of his temper, whose scent never tried to overwhelm him out of desperate, and was just lowkey enough to extend a comfort enough for Kyle to settle down and calm down in. Maybe it was just a happy coincidence. And then another beta came, one who smelled of mystery and not like the movies. And His beta was sent away. And so was Kyle's secret dreams to settle with their rups and start something he'd be otherwise afraid to do alone. …then an alpha swept in.

Jimmy Butler: ALPHA who PRESENTED LATE. Smells like freshly brewed coffee. Lauded as the next Michael, or at least very similar, he tries Very hard to keep the kind of athletic aggression alphas are typically known for alive. He says it's for himself, working on what he does best, but saying you're not influenced by something (or someone) is always easier than committing to the actual practice of abstention.

OG Anunoby: BETA who refuses to coddle anyone's feelings, yet, despite his best efforts at apathy, still somehow draws in disgusting extroverts to be his friends. He doesn't know why. Likes to subtly stir things up rather than calm them down. Kyle finds him very funny. Their unique Raptor squad was a real unique charm.

Norman Powell: BETA who just craves to be involved, worried about being invisible

Serge Ibaka: a fussy ALPHA with peculiar tastes. Considered to have a very intriguing behavior for an alpha, which allures omegas and betas toward him (usually so they can tease him for being funny, but he does a certain charm to him, admittedly)

De’aaron Fox: ALPHA. Bubbly, welcoming, and teasing, he attracts everyone with his confidence, most particularly other alphas seeking his sunlight

Tyrese Haliburton: a beta who ROIDed into an ALPHA out of desire to help the pacers. Calmer than most alphas, but will hold competitive grudges like the worst of them. Tired of being a loser

Jalen Smith: OMEGA, beloved by locals but barely recognized by outside nba fans for being an omega center/forward. While omegas are actually allowed to show themselves in the league now, that doesn't mean they're allowed to do so without some words by unwarranted audiences.

Buddy Hield: omega who ROIDed into a BETA. Switches from polite to petty on a dime

Steph Curry: OMEGA. Inspired by those that expanded the game before him, he's taking the handle through his moves on and off the court to increase the league’s talent and prosperity for everyone. Those that dislike him disparage him for not being physical enough, which is the only reason why he, an omega, has been so successful. Proving them wrong by going in the paint. Now, they're focusing on whether he can carry a team with a crumbling alpha..

Klay Thompson: a beta who ROIDed into an ALPHA for his team. The injury has left him feeling hopeless, a ghost of his former self. Worst of all, he can't ROID any further to help

Draymond Green: Omega who ROIDed into a BETA and is suffering some of the personal side effects.

Andrew Wiggins: OMEGA who USED to be a ROIDed beta and only stopped when he went to the warriors and Curry consoled him Only because it was hurting him more than helping him

Jordan Poole: ALPHA under constant pressure

Jabari Smith Jr: stuffy ALPHA whose father was a beta. Distrusts the use of ROIDing because, according to his father, it's not playing Fair.

Jalen Green: ALPHA. People like to doubt his hierarchy because he likes to preen and doesn’t hold the same kind of aggressiveness or possessiveness most people perceive alphas to have. Jalen just minds his business and enjoys what he enjoys

Alperen Şengün: beta who ROIDed into an ALPHA. New to the effects, but doesn't mind them. Likes protecting his pack but also keeping the peace. ROIDed to bring more prosperity back to his family through his fame

Aaron Holiday: OMEGA. Jrue likes to tease him since he's the youngest, but the middle Holiday brother will Not let Anyone hurt his little brother or his feelings. Aaron works hard on defense so he can win a ring like his brothers

Justin Holiday: ALPHA who gets confused for a beta at times for his peaceful and placated personality. ‘Blames’ it on being the eldest brother

Anthony Edwards: no known status of any kind as he has YET TO PRESENT. Still. Has to tell reporters to stop sniffing him all the time. Another MJ comparison player. Everyone, including himself, is Hoping for an Alpha reveal, lord knows The Timberwolves need it. Got in trouble for posting a video making fun of omegas, and why would he make fun of something he is? See? Everyone can stop worrying now! It's all gonna be okay!! He swears! ..he hopes. Well, at least he has his charm. If people aren't bored with it yet…

Karl-Anthony Towns: beta who ROIDed into an ALPHA and thinks no one knows but, trust me, everyone does .

Anthony Davis: alpha who ROIDed into a BETA. Heavily hated for this decision, but doesn't care because he says he's more comfortable as a beta, so he's being a beta whether people like it or not. LeBron says he supports it, but people like to stir that he really thinks otherwise

JA morant: ALPHA who PRESENTED LATE. Actively argues against his ROIDing rumors, taking them as a blow to his pride. Hates whenever people confuse Jaren and his hierarchies, then acts out to try and prove them wrong. When he's not obsessed with outside opinion on himself, he's a protective and kind alpha, especially to his pack. Very close to his attracted crowds.. no matter what kind they may be

Jaren Jackson Jr: BETA. His alphas’ number one hype man. May or may not have an (unfortunate) thing for alphas or betas who act like alphas. Thought to be an alpha for his height, but his family and friends quickly disregard that possibility regarding his personality. While it's very difficult to get him actually mad, it's quite easy to get him upset or huffy. For a beta, Jaren’s usually the one who needs calming down rather than the vice-versa of his hierarchy’s original talents. Seeks constant validation because of this, worried he's not the best beta

Desmond Bane: BETA. Withdrawn and would rather stay back to let people fight things out than intervene. He's here to work out, then work. Unfortunately attracts self-conscious crowds with his quiet confidence. Often confused as an alpha.

Dillon Brooks: BETA who ROIDed DOWN from an alpha. If you thought he’s bad as a beta, you should’ve seen him when he was originally an alpha. Oh, he's a Saint now. He only ROIDed because Houston was worried they had too many alphas on the team, an error proven to be bad back in the 80s.

Zion Williamson: a nervous ALPHA who ROIDED from beta to alpha to try and appease his college hype. It's not exactly working..

RJ Barrett: ALPHA who was being pressured into ROIDing into a beta but didn't only because he got trades before the process could really start. Keeps to himself. Known for being charismatic, chirpy, and a bit controlling to those he trusts. Which is fewer than some.

Keldon Johnson: OMEGA. Instantly adopted by older betas and alphas for his happy-go-lucky ( and airheaded ) glee, but secretly yearns for rups of his own to tease and protect. More than willing to step up and be a leader and a shoulder his new rups can lean on when needed, but secretly growing more worried with each passing criticism that he can't be as strong for his rups as his mentor figures were for him

[mirror-imaged]

idont think anybody understands sheffbrien the way I do (insane) I'm sorry they're literally so bad for each other (affectionate) I could go on and on forever. I will actually. sheffbrien post be upon ye. thanks to ashe for talking about this w me on discord. this is a kinda obrien centric post bc of that loll but I'm obvi getting into sheffields whole deal too

having reread tc22 again and done some literary analysis a few days ago on a plane at 2 in the morning (I'm out of the country rn helloo ^_^) I picked up on a lot of thematics for them I find very interesting. long post ahead!

1 - the dynamics in their relationship are so wildly interesting. I think their characterization in tc22 does wonders for them. firstly, there are a lot of false differences id say? they seem so different, but when you boil it down they have a lot in common. sheffield is affluent and intelligent but has a spiteful and hotheaded side, obrien is seen as angry or rude but is taken for granted with his intelligence quite often by others. he got into an ivy league school at 17. there's also how sheffield seems so charismatic while obrien is abrasive and lonely, but they both really have no other friends when you get down to it? and last example for now, sheffield sees himself as divine while obrien seems to have renounced religion, but he really hasn't done the work of removing his mindset from a catholic(?) framework. expanding on that,

2 - obrien has religious trauma and this is heavily established. he doesn't actually ever move past religion as a concept though, he just moves on from God. he replaces his concept of God with his concept of his sister. more on this later. sheffield also has a relationship with religion, but more in the sense that he inherently sees himself as something unlike humanity, something greater and to be revered. he refers to himself as an angel in a way that doesn't strike me as being ingenuine the way he does in other places. I need to draw art about this it makes me abnormal

3 - for obrien specifically, there are some insanely interesting threads left about his trauma creating a savior complex within him. obviously shown at the start of the story with professor harris, but there are also the times he mentions going into genetics due to his guilt and wanting to entirely eliminate the disease that disabled his sister and when he says he feels an involuntary sympathy for stella when he found out she didn't mean to kill harris. it also makes me wonder if that plays into his protectiveness of sera later on.

4 - obrien has some severe internalized ableism going on that I wish more people actually picked apart. I know tc22 is a small scale story and a lot of people haven't read it, but it's fascinating stuff. he obviously grew up with the mindset that his sister was somehow contagious and describes how he felt he would somehow fall ill because of this, and that sort of mindset does a lot to dehumanize somebody in a person's mind. after eventually passing on an illness to her that results in her death, he is driven entirely by guilt as a character. he becomes certain that if God were fair and true, he would have died instead of her. but, like I mentioned before, he never really renounces religion in any specific way aside from this. he even mentions how he now prays to his sister instead of God, which I think is so fascinating. he never saw his sister as a person, and by elevating her to this status of somebody he needs to grovel to or even just uses as a holy figure in his life, he continues to see her as inhuman. he recognizes his past ableism, but he never does anything to deconstruct and rebuild from it. much like with his relationship with religion!

5 - obrien is treated by dds2 as the morally virtuous character, but he's really not (if you get the context from tc22). my boyfriend put it as him being just on the right side of history, which I absolutely agree with. I know tc22 was probably written after dds2 and doesn't necessarily inform the writing decisions for the games, but it definitely adds juicy layers to me. obrien is seemingly not motivated by any true desire to help sera or the nameless sufferers of CATCH22, he is motivated by the guilt from his sisters death hanging over him like a shadow. not to say he doesn't care at all, but it seems more like a quest to make up for his sins in the eyes of his sister than a desire to do good, which seems awfully catholic to me. this is absolutely the most interesting part of his character presented by the narrative. God I wish they did this better in the games.

6 - moving on to sheffield, sheffield is actually one of the most interesting and real depictions of a character with NPD traits I've ever seen, hands down. I know I talk about this frequently, but it's especially strongly done in tc22 and one of my favorite parts of his character. to start, he's mostly presented with extremely minor and often-masked aspects of the disorder a lot of people don't really pick up on. vouching personally. he quickly becomes passive aggressive and seemingly personally offended when challenged, like by inspector Harvey for instance. he is a practiced and seemingly compulsive liar, able to make things up on the spot that nobody but obrien questions due to his confidence. he seems to get along swimmingly with people he doesn't know well, charismatic and understanding. he pays exceptionally close attention to other people's emotions, expressions, and demeanors to adjust and match theirs. he also is debatably depicted with real delusions of grandeur. he only seems to be able to let his guard down around obrien, actually. and my absolute favorite moment of his, really relatable for me, is that when he stops masking he does not become dangerous. he does not go into a rage, he just goes blank. entirely and visibly unable to express emotion "normally", and obrien is initially scared, but realizes he just doesn't understand sheffield as well as he thinks he does. this is incredibly accurate to real life for me. it's actually insanely well depicted. and what I really appreciate is that sheffield is never presented as truly malicious [IN THIS STORY]. with dds2 context, he can be seen that way for sure, but he isn't actually shown being morally reprehensible. he's dubious and seems to have trouble understanding where he crosses a line, but that's also very true to real life for me. he isn't necessarily trying to be evil, he's just nosy and invasive of boundaries on occasion. they also never actually label him as or call him a narcissist, which is so good?? props to tadashi for once?? I think he is one because I have the disorder and can more accurately assess this sort of thing, but labeling every character who's like Abusive as a narcissist is so tacky and distasteful to me. it diminishes the harm they inflict on other people as being something born of mental illness, which isn't necessarily true. he is definitely abusive to sera, but that is not related to his narcissism.

7 - sheffield is just such a good character in this. I raved already about his npd stuff but I want to get into other things a little too. firstly, he does seem to genuinely view himself as inhuman, which is something I also believe contrasts obrien a little. obrien has this deep internalized self hatred, while sheffield has this genuine belief he is on a different level from other people. despite this, he sees obrien as being his Equal in some way. as being worthy of his presence, his assistance, his friendship. the pizza scene really really drives this home for me. (that's another subtle npd ass trait but I've said enough). in addition, sheffield tries so desperately to present himself as worthy of something more, maybe backed by doubt, or maybe even just true belief. he tries to appear intimidating, has knowledge of how to get into people's heads, etc. maybe this is because he's young and people see him differently for being so ahead of his grade, but I also see it as a display of insecurity in an implicit way. his delusions of grandeur also play into this characterization, because delusions of grandeur are often born from extreme and severe self doubt (at least in those with mental health disorders, which I've already mentioned I believe he strongly aligns with). him coming from a wealthy background in Portland of all places would not help any of that kind of thing.

8 - i don't even know what else I could say about them. they make me so abnormal. not even a toxic romantic relationship between them (which I do like think about but obviously post tc22 I don't like their age gap) but simply their dynamic as two characters. sera is a figurehead for their conflict, really. all the things we learn about both of these characters really makes me question how much BOTH of them care for sera, not just sheffield's two-faced lies. she is representative of their ideological dispute. she is a small child who has the potential to save the world, but obrien is too scared of letting another child die as a result of his inaction and sheffield is too focused on his end goal of getting what he believes he deserves, divinity and becoming a revered savior of the world, no matter who falls along the way. they are built to contrast each other. you even see this through heat and serph to a degree, with how sera mixed them up. heat declares he is on the same level as God during the jp text of the vritra fight, while serph inevitably sacrifices his own life for the sake of sera.

9 - what happened between tc22 and the dds2 flashbacks? I actually need to know what caused their relationship to split so heavily. I'm fucking obsessed with them. post over please join my sheffbrien Island there's like 2 other people here

[papatundespainknife]

based on the backstory and personalities of the Mikalesons, do you have any headcannons about Mikaelsons + religion?

oh HECKIE YEAH

i think it's honestly SUCH an interesting topic and concept seeing as how their all you know immortals n shit and magics real and etc etc. unlike say, btvs where Willow literally invokes Osiris, tvd doesn't really make any solid references or claims about the whole Deity Situation until apparently legacies but I haven't watched it yet and sounds Kinda Dumb so I'm ignoring that lol. But the rule of thumb with shows like these seems to be that once you say draculas and witches are Super Real then it's open season for Zeus enter stage right like it's an episode of Xena. Which when you look at the Mikaelsons....... Wild.

I think that Freya, Finn and Rebekah are the most unironically straight-forwardly religious and I think they've stuck to the norse/scandinavian beliefs they grew up with. Freya both because of the 1,000 years of Napping Nonsense but also because she's a witch and that's the school she was taught in so she's sticking with it. Finn for similar naptime reasons and also because he doesn't see a reason to change and didn't even when they were in France and hanging out with christians. For Rebekah it's like pure sentimentality. She likes a lot of the aesthetics of mainly catholicism (the swagiest of sects) but at the end of the day she's still out here making offerings to Freya (the goddess not the sister fdjkgdfsdfs) because she's a sappy little sentimental bitch and that's what brings her comfort. I don't think she's particularly religious which I think Freya and Finn are but she enjoys the celebrations and finds comfort in the actions/words/rituals/prayers/etc.

Kol and Elijah are more wiggly in their beliefs. Kol still calls back to his roots a LOT but he's also expanded out over the years since he's still a witch at heart and a curious cat. He's less interested in following any one religion and more in what resonates with him. So his believe system is very eclectic. What he believes in he believes in 10000% and is dead serious about. He's also experimented and educated himself about world religions the most out of all of them. Dude could probably teach a clss tbh.

Elijah is the one who's actually been the closest you can be to an atheist in a world like this. He's had periods of like, religious nihilism and periods were he's a little more hopeful about it. He's just spent so much of his life trying to be the Good Reliable Son and like Niklaus praying for divine intervention both with their father and with Niklaus only to get shit in return that it broke him and he just stopped and abandoned all religion/spirituality and focused only on the tangible. Hope's birth fucking shakes him to the core lol. Generally tho even after her he's still more in the like, "not my scene but i do love a good festivity" camp.

Niklaus is an evangelical's idea of an atheist where it's not "i don't believe in god" but instead "i feel god personally slighted me at my bday party so now i'll hurl rocks at him for the rest of my life out of pure spite". his sense of abandonment, unwantedness and paranoia doesn't stop at the threshold of religion. Ofc, he's old as dirt and literally has his own coven that bitches KEEP FORGETTING HE HAS so he's not in doubt that the divine exists. But Thor didn't protect him from his father's abuse so fuck that guy and jesus didn't fix SHIT for him so equally fuck him.

Wouldn't be shocked tho to see him "ironically" do rites/sacrifices to Odin via shit like the death of an enemy/creatively using old school practices for physical/psychological torture bc he's Like That. Does he also end up carving a mjolnir into Hope's crib and giving her a little one on a necklace? yes but this ain't about that hush.

Kol and Niklaus are also the most likely to have an affinity for gods like Loki and his children for reasons I feel are obvious lol. The holiday arguments this creates between them and Finn are unhinged.

[misc-obeyme]

CC 😭😭😭 lesson 30 was a rollercoaster huh. Tbh as a Beel lover, I wasn’t happy w how Belphie was acting here. I asked Beel what he thought of the Angel's Trial and Belphie just cuts him off!! And he made Beel sad and that is unacceptable to me 😤 (he says not to make him mad but no spoilers for og lesson 16 could make me choose not to be a petty bitch when I can) Beel is his own person and too sweet for this shit

Telling Sol his cooking sucks was :((( 0/10 I would've gently reminded him ratios are important especially in baking and just make sure he's not putting anything inedible in there. Or tell him to focus his creativity solely on the plating/presentation bc you eat w your eyes too or smt idk

I kinda found it funny when Sim basically told Luke he was an ugly crier. Poor baby, I hope the egg grants him that wish

I get this was setup for Levi's Little D arc but teasing the truth again makes me wanna bang my head on a wall. I know Lucifer suspects smt abt us. We know Barb knows something

Speaking of Barb, I choose to believe that the Little Ds are gonna be important later and that Beel did eat Number 6 but Barb uh, made sure that didn't happen actually

AHH anon, this lesson KILLED ME. I'm so sorry to everyone who had to read the unhinged post I wrote last night lol.

Okay, see, I was so wrapped up in the Solomon debacle that I forgot about the whole Beel & Belphie thing.

I get that Belphie is being protective, but I also felt like he wasn't really taking Beel's feelings into consideration! I think there's a fine line between being protective and being controlling. And Belphie was right on the edge of that line, imo. When you're being protective to the point that you're ignoring the needs of the person you're supposedly protecting well... it kinda defeats the purpose there, buddy.

I wonder if they're going to kind of expand on that at some point. Have the twins hash it out with each other. Because I think Belphie isn't normally like this, but I think he's still wary of humans. And his concern is overriding his usual consideration of Beel's feelings.

OKAY LET'S TALK SOLOMON AGAIN.

Listen, I've had a little time to calm down, but I am still UPSET.

Now, of course, it's best to remember that this is fiction and nothing in fiction happens the way it would irl. BUT if I had a friend (or romantic interest/boyfriend/etc) who really enjoyed cooking, but for some reason always made gross food, I probably wouldn't lie to them directly. I would do exactly as you suggest, gently remind them of how to follow a recipe and so on. I can't imagine that Solomon has spent all his life trying to learn how to cook and somehow keeps screwing it up? Like considering how much he does it, he should be getting better at it?

And apparently someone told him his cooking tasted bad in season 3 of the OG, but I don't remember that lol. If it's in the hard lessons, that's why I don't remember... I haven't actually finished all the hard lessons of the OG... oops I keep forgetting they exist my bad.

Anyway, my point here is that it doesn't make sense that someone doing something they enjoy all the time wouldn't get better at what they're doing at some point. I get that this is fictional and maybe they have a reason for it, but they need to tell us what it is because I can't take HIS SAD FACE. Normally I'd be like listen sometimes you gotta be honest or whatever, but not like this!! I would've been like what exactly did you do to make the cake taste this way, let's figure it out together... I would help him, not just be all sorry this is gross and leave it at that!

Sorry sorry I'm ranting again. I just love that silly sorcerer so much and his reaction just made me so sad.

I'm so curious about what Luke is finally gonna wish for lol. I feel like Simeon teases him the most out of everybody, he's just so chill and nice about it that it doesn't register as teasing.

I just don't understand why hiding the egg's existence was a good lie while telling Solomon his cake was good wasn't??? Ugh my heart.

AND OH YES LEVI.

I was very upset about that, too!! Like, no you don't understand!! I do need to leave, but I need to get back to you!!

I want to go back, but I don't want to go back! The stress of this is getting to me. Can we please hurry up and be done with this timeline nonsense?! Barb definitely knows something. I just want him to fix things! I think I'd have confronted him about it by now. I don't care what Sol says about not telling people we're from the future, I'd be like Barbatos, my true love, I know you already know, so let's hear it!! What is going on!?!?

I definitely think the Little Ds are going to be important later, too! Something about the fairies seems like it's going to matter as well, but I'm not entirely sure how yet.

Oh no poor Number 6! Even if Barb saved him, I would think being eaten would be rather traumatic lol.

[sugar-omi]

do you have any hc for mc's who are blind or deaf? I'd send a request but I don't wanna pile up your already full inbox.

don't worry about stuffing my inbox!! i love seeing how many of you like to share your thoughts or have smth you wanna talk abt, or want me to expand on something you're thinking about, all that stuff, i love it its great

Fluff ofc, headcanons, blind or deaf mc/reader

i'm assuming you wanna ask on how the boys are with a blind or deaf mc

n they're all so sweet, n so helpful so i know it goes without saying if you need help bc of your blindness he'll help you walk through say a crowded place

and if needed, they'd help communicate for you

like I've seen deaf/HOH people say they struggle to communicate their wants at the nail salon (this one girl says she mostly gestures or shows pictures of what she wants, n in one video she said the nail tech misunderstood what she wanted)

so if you're worried about messing up, or being a bother, or anything like that, he'll come join you n help you communicate what you want

(yes he's right next to you getting his nails/toes done, ends up looking forward to the trip every time)

but omg i started thinking abt step 1 and... yk cove was going through it, and he can be stand offish or selfish (for lack of better word)

but i imagine if you, despite your blindness/deafness and whatever struggles that brings you- (especially if its a hurdle in trying to befriend cove)

- you try to accommodate and include your new neighbor in your summer activities

ofc he warms up to you, and he starts accommodating you too

i can see him writing or signing for you if needed (if you use sign to communicate, i'm sure he'd try to learn sign, even if its just the basics)

now this applies to any of the boys, but assuming you are totally blind, or have any form of impairment that blocks part of your vision or shrinks it

(i'm thinking abt this youtube couple where 1 of the husbands can only see through a very small hole in his vision, can't think of their name rn, and when i figure out their name or the name of his blindness i will come back!!!)

*found the channell!! "matthew and paul official"

*FIGURED OUT THE NAME OF HIS BLINDNESS!!! its retinitis pigmentosa

whatever type of blindness you have, won't stop them from showing you stuff or doing stuff with you

i can see him putting something in your hand or bringing your hand up to touch something so you can get the feel of it.

or if it's something he has he wants to show you, of course he patiently waits for you to analyze it n get the full visage like Paul does in this video here, where his husband asks if he's seen his face

or he'll describe it to you..

baxter would use such fancy, big, and/or poetic words that it's easy to imagine it, and you can't help but imagine it being better than it is but you have to laugh bc of his grandeur, its quite funny

(no matter what he saw, he'd definitely floof something up, you being blind or not. he's funny like that)

cove would feel pretty awkward bc he's shy, yknow how he is. but he always does his best to tell you how something looks and tries to share the sight, especially if it's something beautiful

derek is very animated, moving his hands and even moving your hands to help you envision it if it's something really grand. he's so excited to share what he saw (would also do this even if you aren't blind, i think he's very excited to share his sights n memories)

omg i didn't think about this until i found that channel i was talking about, but i can see the boys pulling breaks on you like how matthew does to paul (paul is the blind husband, just for those who haven't seen their videos)

very harmless pranks of course, like this one: where matthew switches his chips n dip, or this one where matthew puts pengroom plushies in the fridge

i love them they are so cute

now if you think your blindness is stopping baxter from asking you to dance, you are very wrong

he won't do elaborate spins n dips if you don't want to, won't do anything you don't want of course.

but he'd be very willing to slow dance or do the salsa or whatever you want depending on your comfort

could totally see him, when you're reconnected n dating (or friends ofc), putting on music n a song comes on he rlly likes n he pulls you into a little dance

takes your hand n ask if you wanna dance, or he'll be badly singing and he'll shake his hips n wave your intertwined hands in the air... jfc just imagine his big smile. pls he's so cute

ohhh cove showing you his shell collection, letting you touch every shell and carefully puts them in your hands, tells you the lovely colors they're in if you can't see em

or pulling you into the ocean, doesn't have to be far, just enough to get your feet wet. and he'll walk w you down the shore and he enjoys it as always

now I just looked it up. n there's several sports blind ppl can play in, and football n soccer is one of em (not sure the details)

so if you wanna play ball with derek, he's very happy to find out you can play together

again, depending on your type of blindness/impairment, he's happy to go to the amusement park with you n get face painting

no matter what, it thrills him I just know it

especially since you're probably holding hands/locking arms, the place is crowded and even more so at certain times and days

step 2 derek is very flustered to be so close, bc he's still holding his crushes hand/locked arms, even if he's helping you go through the park safely, he can't help being a bit happy about the proximity

jfc this spiraled so bad LOL i didn't think i had much to say but this stuff is actually so cute, just imagine it <333

[chirpsythismorning]

You can't expect people to take you seriously if you're not providing any proof? If Will and El are twins and Joyce and Hopper are their bio parents, why don't any of them know about it and why haven't there been any hints about it? I'm not even trying to be rude here I just haven't seen any evidence. Let alone strong evidence

I've gotten a few confused asks about this theory and how it just doesn't make any sense..?

I'm not saying that I completely understand the ins and outs of how it works, in fact I'm still completely immersed in theorizing and not being certain of anything! Quite frankly, I don't understand it (how time works/the rules of the game), though I think that's necessary because otherwise everyone and their mother would have guessed this surprise by now if it was any more obvious than it already is.

I also just feel kind of bad about spoiling what could possibly be going down, especially bc this would clearly be a series long surprise.

I've been theorizing for months now with @shippingfangirl013 about this. It started with us sharing thoughts about Twelvegate and just sort of piecing together s4 lab scenes and then eventually going back to the beginning to see what we might have missed from this new lens, that being the possibility that Will is Twelve. And that's when we realized A LOT of stuff has been overlooked from the very beginning, which provides not only answers to certain questions we had, but also brings forth even more questions that we wouldn't have come up with, had we not looked back further into the details in the first place.

She has a bunch of posts that are severely underrated in regards to this whole theory, so I urge you all to check those out:

Twelvegate Theory: Drowning in the Quarry and Will & El (Part 1)

Twelve Actor Resemblance to Young Will Byers

Stranger Things S5 Conglomerate Twelvegate Theory (Part 1)

Conglomerate ST S5 Theory Parallels

Also be sure to keep an eye out because she has some really big brain analysis in the works that you dont want to miss. I can honestly say she plays a big role in why I feel fairly confident about this theory, because I myself didn't really believe it at first. But now, after everything I've seen, it's kind of hard not to.

Even if you don't like this the idea of this theory or just simply don't believe the evidence presented that you've seen thus far, at the very least looking at this could expand your ability to look further at other details on the show and even pick up on evidence of your own. I find that more often than not, knowing about the existence of certain overlooked details allows you to find even more overlooked details that others missed.

For the sake of your doubtful ask, and for anyone else who isn't even considering this theory because it seems too far fetched, I'm going to share some of my favorite unhinged evidence for whatever the hell gate we're calling this...

But first, here is some basic context for the chaos that follows.

Something important to note, is that we don't meet Hopper, El or the Byers the night that Will went missing. We only met Will and the party. Instead they saved the rest of the main character's introductions (his family, mind you) for the following day, after Will had gone missing. This also means they saved their introductions for AFTER the big power outage that happened that night right before he disappeared.

I find this interesting because this choice allowed them to make those introductions feel arguably 'starting point'/reset-like (like in a video game).

You'll also note there is a 'Pizza One' box in that first scene when the party is in Mike's basement playing their campaign, moments before that power outage. This could have been a hint that the very start of the pilot episode at the Wheelers may very well be the OG timeline, that we've been straying from ever since. And so let's say hypothetically, if we had met Hopper, El and the Byers BEFORE that power outage, whose to say their lives wouldn't have looked slightly different...?

The first time we are introduced to Hopper is in the scene directly after the opening credits, which was right after the scene of Will disappearing in the shed. Hopper is sleeping on the couch in his trailer, wearing both his daughter's blue bracelet and his watch. We also get 3 references to keys in this scene (a 2 ft long key decal in the literal opening shot). And if that's not enough, what follows is Hopper getting ready for work, putting a yellow pen in his pocket near a painting of an owl, before grabbing his keys and walking out the door.

The first time we are introduced to Joyce (the Byers), follows directly after the scene with Hopper, where Joyce just so happens to be looking everywhere for her keys, Where the hell are they?, followed by finding them on the couch, despite already looking there previously with no luck (interesting Hopper was sleeping on the couch with Willel symbols on his wrists only moments before this hmm). We then get a shot of Joyce showing concern over Will not eating breakfast, followed by scolding Jonathan for forgetting to wake Will up, adding I've told you this a thousand times, before she walks past an owl on the wall in the hallway and opens the door to another owl on the wall in Will's (unoccupied) room...

Let me just say, for the sake of this fictional family, I hope to god they haven't been through this thousands of times. Though I fear they might have. At least more than once...

There are a lot, A LOT of scenes that go down like this. As the show progresses, we get a lot of references to time passing and confusion and impatience and it almost feels like they themselves know deep down this isn't their first rodeo, and yet they're still playing along bc how exactly can one question their reality?.

The problem right now for me, is that I don't understand the rules of the game. How does time work? What even is the goal of the game (to win, I presume?)? Maybe Vecna's having to keep reseting the time loop, to get the results he wants, and over time he's getting closer and closer to the results he wants, but it will ultimately (predictably) lead to him failing once and for all in the final season, when all is inevitably revealed?

Hypothetically, if this is all some game/pocket universe Vecna has thrown our core characters into, essentially surrounding them with 'fakers', then how do we know what is/isn't real? Or I guess whether or not we're in a timeline/loop either closest to, or furthest away from the original timeline? That's why it's hard for me to go further in terms of definitively piecing everything together time wise. Not only that, but we also don't even know for sure what Vecna wants from Will and El, truly.

But I do think that a lot of the answers to the truth are hidden in plain sight.

If you're genuinely curious, I encourage you to rewatch the show for yourself to see if you can pick up on things! Be sure to keep an eye out for keys and owls in particular. Also, El's flashbacks of Mama/the rainbow room might prove to be important... like, literally slowing down and pausing and screenshooting every single frame level important...

Who knows, you might even stumble upon a completely different undiscovered theory in the process!

On that note, here is just a slice of my favorite evidence in regards to this theory, that will hopefully open your mind to the possibility:

When Hopper asks about Lonnie's whereabouts, Joyce insists TRUST ME HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. They made sure to keep the keys on the wall OUT of the frame in those shots referencing Lonnie by name specifically. However, when the conversation circles back to Will, and then follows after with Joyce telling Hopper to find her son, the keys are once again visible in both of their shots.

This scene right here is pretty epic. We all interpret Hopper's investigative skills throughout the series as him just being good at his job. But I would argue this scene in particular gives off very intense deja vu. It's as if Hopper knows where to look, because he's done this before. It's as if he's getting a gut feeling in certain areas that actually could be close to the truth, because this is his thousandth time doing this (Jesus, for their sake, I hope that's not the case).

Still, Hopper showcases a lot of unbelievable detective work throughout the show, and I think it could very well be hinting at him drifting in and out of awareness over the fact that he has done this before, which allows him to make such incredible guesses that lead him to the answer sooner than he would have in any normal situation (and yet, never too close...)

Has this always been here? That's what Hopper asks about a dent in the wall. We interpret it as maybe Hopper trying to figure out if this could be connected to Will's disappearance. But what if it's more than that? What if it hasn't always been there? What if this is a glitch in the matrix of sorts, and he noticed that glitch, bc this isn't his first time doing this? (Also peep the owl that shows up at the very last second in the shot directly below, with Joyce and Hopper in the frame, just as he gets the urge to check the backyard...)

This scene... This fucking scene ya'll. It just doesn't make any sense. This is one of several scenes throughout the show that have so many unanswered questions. I think it's because something else is going on that weren't not supposed to understand yet. That shot with Hopper encased in a rainbow is cool and probably means something... Hopper intensely walking into the frame as he steps towards the shed, with the upside down horseshoe above the door also probably means something...

Hopper literally walks up straight to where Will was in the shed the night previous, bc he's just that good of a detective. Yeah, okay... Suddenly the light overhead is blinking dramatically, only to switch off completely, which leads Hopper's eyes to catch this makeshift fort in the corner of the shed. Before he even gets a good look at what he's seeing, he's interrupted by Callahan, pulling him out of his deja vu state, followed by the light switching back on instantly, as if the occurrence was all in his head.

This also happens a lot, where our main characters are being interrupted by other characters, only seconds before they were close to solving something. And I just find that interesting...

This one is kind of peak comedy because, all it's doing on the surface is implying that Joyce and Hopper have a romantic history, but it also sneakily involves Will in the joke, as evidence that they have been intimate... The Chief and her, they've screwed before huh? ...WILL! That a 'yeah' or did they...

To be honest, I was really doubtful about Joyce and Hopper being El and Will's biological parents at first, even despite believing twelvegate and the possibility of them being twins. And this doubt mostly came from the scenes we get with Terry aka El's 'Mama'.

Initially, I had convinced myself it would be too sad, considering how much backstory we got about Terry. But @shippingfangirl013 made me realize that there is something very off about these scenes with Terry, that I think kind of went over all of our heads.

First of all, Mama is essentially the equivalent to the name Papa, and so we should start by unpacking that. Why didn't the writers have El distance herself from that exact association she links to Brenner, by just having her call Terry 'mom' like most kids call their mother? It doesn't seem that serious on the surface, but again this is a choice the writers made... Maybe it's because they wanted the audience to subconsciously associate those two with each other (Papa/Mama)? Also peep Jim giving Will Byers vibes, all lit up by the sun like Jesus (or I guess... God?) below!

The main thing I want to talk about though, is that despite Terry's vegetative state, she's still managing to give us hints about how she feels and what she thinks, with very subtle micro-expressions.

When she meets Hopper and Joyce in s1, Terry looks completely unsurprised. You could say she looks the same all of the time, because of her vegetative state, and while I mostly agree, there are some outliers in the mix.

When Joyce mentions El being her daughter, what we get is a reaction shot of Terry dramatically closing her eyes for an extended period of time, almost like she's experiencing frustration over them woefully misunderstanding the truth behind what's going on.

And I think that's kind of the whole point of the vegetative state here, that perhaps if Terry could say what she wanted to say, it would give away the truth that has been hidden all along, AKA Joyce and Hopper are El and Will's true parents. When Joyce then mentions her missing son, showing Terry a picture of him, this woman LITERALLY turns her head to the right, looking straight up annoyed... Why? Why would she do that unless this is her ?/? time meeting them, hearing this same old silly charade?..

But then here... THIS moment when Hopper asks about Brenner and Terry's relationship with him, that's when it gets interesting. Terry doesn't look exhausted over their ignorance anymore like she seemed to be in the moments previous. Now, she's back to her stare of nothing, and yet seeing this in contrast to her micro-expressions, almost adds a new layer to what this could possibly mean... Perhaps this could be hinting that Hopper is a lot closer to the truth than he realizes, warranting a knowing look from Terry, with her almost impressed, thinking Damn Jim, maybe you'll figure it out this time and I can finally be released from this hell...

This might seem like a reach to assume Brenner and Terry had any sort of relation beyond her being a lab volunteer, but something I think you might be interested in knowing, is that Terry has a little collection of Bonsai tree books beside her chair... Bonsai... does that remind you of anyone...? (If you check out those posts by @shippingfangirl013, you might know what i'm referring to...)

The fact that Hopper even mentions Brenner and Terry's presumed connection to him is just one other example of Hopper subconsciously picking up on things he discovered in previous loops that are close to the TRUE truth, allowing him to narrow things down quicker this time around, without needing to take all the steps to get to that point.

An owl behind both Joyce and Hopper here, while they talk about what allegedly happened to Terry and her daughter Jane.

And there you have it folks, the acknowledgment that the truth could have been covered up, the moment Hopper stands in front of the owl artwork (literally covering it up). Owls, which have been tied more than anyone else to Hopper, Joyce, Will and El (tying them together?).? Also the crib between them... Nothing to see here.

This one is pretty self explanatory. We even get a parallel to this in s4 with El AND Will, though next time they'll confirm Hopper's role in the equation. So, be ready for that...

These scenes are so important to this theory because despite them all being separated (who knows how many times now), they have this epic finale of coming together. We get these really heartfelt scenes with El and Joyce and Hopper, Will and El, and then Will and Joyce and Hopper, and it's all very emotional and just so much deeper knowing that the truth could be that they're all tied to each other more than we (or even them) realize.

11 & 12 between the two hands on the clock, in a moment that parallels X-Men and also the lab massacre (which presumably had both 11 and 12 in attendance...). Mike calling out to El emotionally the moment that Joyce and Hopper are reunited with Will. My heart can't take it!!!

Someone actually noticed this shot of Hopper recently, I can't remember who! But it made me want to go back to see what shot is right before it. And low and behold, it follows directly after a shot of the Byers family reuniting. Kind of interesting they made the choice to have this shot right afterwards, of Hopper sitting next to Ted (aka a dad), while looking lost in thought as he stressfully bites his nails, with his arm sporting his daughter's blue bracelet...

Not suspicious at all. That creepy shadow behind Owens as he makes an almost knowing comment about Joyce and Hopper being 'Mom and Pop', followed by Hopper looking like he's missing something...

And for this scene to follow shortly after? Hopper literally acknowledging Owens whose waving at him politely, and yet choosing to not wave back at him?... He KNOWS something is off, but he just can't quite put his finger on it...

As you probably know, most of the scenes with the birthday mug in Mike's basement involve either El (in s1) or Will (in s2-3), which is interesting considering the other few notable birthday references we get in the show, including this really cryptic sequence above, involve Joyce and Hopper...

Now, if you still didn't believe me about Terry's behavior being off, I think this piece of evidence might help support our claims a little bit more for you to consider. Because, why, WHY when El approaches Terry in the void and says I'm home, is Terry's response No..? Why would that even make any sense? Why would El's biological mom say No to her missing daughter implying that she is her family? Unless, she's not of course...?

Something interesting about the flashbacks that Terry shows El, is that they're very sporadic and hard to understand. Not only that, but we STILL get callbacks to these memories heavily even in s4, which tells me there is still something there that has yet to be picked up on, by both the audience and El herself, which is why they keep resurfacing in different forms. My favorite moment out of the s2 flashbacks though is probably this moment where it looks like a baby is born, only for Brenner to look back, like there's more to come (another baby?? TWINS?). But this type of twin imagery, only gets stronger in s3-4...

After 2 seasons of building up this meeting of these two characters who have been mirroring each other since the very beginning, here we are... Also, why even hold back for so long in introducing them? Maybe because them finally interacting properly is going to cause some things to resurface... And you definitely don't want to overlook these shots of Hopper and Joyce in Melvald's with two baby's in between them, followed by a shot of keys... Hmmmm.

Remember when I said to pay attention to the Terry/Lab flashbacks El experiences over the seasons?

Well this particular flashback below comes from 3x06: E Plurbius Unum aka the episode that was originally titled The Birthday, might prove to be important...

Jonathan and Will in a scene prior to El's flashback, has them situated interestingly between this Lucky Charms box and this Spill & Spell game, which is then followed by this scene with El experiencing flashbacks... And...

Rainbow? Lucky (Upside down horse shoe...) Enter flashback

I'm not going to be able to show each frame of this flashback, because in total there are over 30 different quick images shown and repeated...

And so, If you want to find out why this is the strongest piece of evidence for Willel twins in my opinion (brought to you by @shippingfangirl013's big brain), go back and rewatch to see how many times they show the image of baby El and young El in the rainbow room... Also take note of how shots of Kali (008) are interspersed consistently within this flashback, aka a character that is known for having powers to make people invisible, and to also make people see things that aren't actually happening...

Here's that parallel I mentioned earlier making a return, but instead tying El (and arguably Will) to Hopper being their biological father. Also peep El's bracelet and Will's watch being prominent in a lot of their shots together throughout s4, now that they share the screen a lot more.

The Wright Bros...

No, but seriously, Willel's bracelet and watch mirroring each other often in their scenes together, and by association also paralleling Hopper wearing one of each, dramatically showcased in his introduction to the series, can be something so personal to me...

THEY'RE TWINS YOUR HONOR!

This one really goes off. A car passes by a couple times during this flashback El has (IN S4), causing a shadow to cast behind Will, almost creating this duplicate-like effect... This is literally happening while El is having a flashback to her 'birth mother', while staring at a family (with their faces warn out/blurred) on a billboard, with an arrow pointing towards where Will, aka her twin, is standing to the right of her...

This one below has gotta be my favorite though. And it's because I literally remember watching this scene the first time and being confused?

Tbh, that's when you know something is more complex than it appears. Whenever something feels off within the context provided in the moment, it's probably because there's something deeper going on and there are multiple meanings at play. This means they're using this small moment as an opportunity to provide dual meaning in plain sight, that we wont understand the dual meaning of until later on down the line.

Are you ready..

Hmmm. I wonder what this could possibly be alluding to? Could it perhaps be the writers hinting at Hopper unintentionally projecting his own situation onto Dmitri? Is it possible who Hopper believes to be his child (daughter... son(s?)?) and his (ex)wife, are not actually who he and everyone thinks they are...?

Well. There you have it! These are just some of the many, many hints hiding in the details that point to the possibility of the Byers actually all being, Hoppers...?

For now, this is just a theory! So even though it's cool and there is a serious amount of evidence pointing to it, it will most definitely continue to transform and look different over time, the more we look deeper and discover more. Nothing is set in stone, for now it's all just theories and speculation.

Again, if you're curious about what else there is out there in regards to this theory and other possibilities surrounding it, please follow and check out @shippingfangirl013 posts! She was way more on board with this theory than me in the beginning and arguably still is, because I do still experience occasional doubt about it, for sure.! And so without her I would not have come to half of these conclusions! I look forward to you guys seeing other stuff she's discovered bc seriously... Her poor storage ya'll.

And also, if you're interested in the time-loop aspect specifically in regards to this, I encourage you to check out two recent posts I did about this. Part I actually starts with those first scenes introducing Hopper and the Byers and how other scenes later in the show parallel it. VERY VERY cool stuff, and tbh if you've made it this far, I think you'll be intrigued...

Time Loop Fuckery in Stranger Things Part I

Time Loop Fuckery in Stranger Things Part II

[bolithesenate]

BOLI I'M HERE FOR YOU BOSS 7 for Sifo, 15, and 23 please :D

MY MOST TRUSTED SOLDIER

7: is there piece of clothing I think Sifo is very fond of

Uhhh, honestly, I haven't really thought about that at all. The low handing fruit would be to say some sort of shirt he stole from Dooku, but that's too easy.

both for me and for Sy.

So imma lean out on a branch here and say he actually has a pair of Jocasta's archivist tabards. She does NOT know he has them and he DEFINITELY wants to keep it that way. there's no way of telling what her revenge would be if she ever found out, but that's what makes having them all the more fun and interesting.

It's about the thrill of the unknown.

15: have you noticed your style change over time

HA

SURE

i mean, especially my drawing style changes with the stand of the sun, the constellation of the planets and with the way the neighbor's cat looks at me.

i think consistent style change is most evident in how I draw manga, actually. Something you lot here on tumblr might actually have not seen ever, now that i think about it. lol. there my style actually is rather consistent throughout mediums by now, something i cannot say about my style when i draw outside of that setting :P

But also with writing I think there was some progress. at least I like to call it progress (the main thing that comes to mind is that i've started using less brackets and more indents, but whether or not thats a good thing is up in the air lol)

23: has my favorite character/ship changed over time

changes with the moon, the sun, the way the wind blows.... most of the time I don't actually have a fixed favorite (shocking, I know)

like,I will say that Sifo and Rael are blorbos supreme, but that doesn't necessarily make them my favorite characters.

my favorite is whatever character works nicest for whatever shenanigans i am planning for my current project. I think that has always been like that.

same with ships, i actually need to change things up once in a while bc too much of the same thing grows boring to me and then I lose interest. (which is why my most recent fad is to just expand existing ships i am fond of into continuously growing poly circles XD It is turning into a bit of a problem) (yes, this is mud-fic relevant TT)

I think another thing worth mentioning here tho is that in regards to ships the most notable change is that I ship things at all. Initially when I started out I was very much a Gen baby and wanted more stories that didn't hinge on some romance for plot-furthering. Which is why my older stories also are all Gen.

I still think that a good story doesn't rely on romance, but I've since come to appreciate the character studies that come with romantic/sexual relationships and how they influence people. Also sometimes I just look at two (or more) characters and thin "ho, ho, wouldn't it be HORRIBLE if they fucked?"

[songmingisthighs]

atinytwt is so stupid and toxic oh my god i just saw someone "shading" kq for jongho ???? like okay let me put down my points

a. we don't actually know how they decide to let or allow jongho to only receive injections and medication. jongho's condition was explained by an indonesian orthopedic surgeon who said that NORMALLY injection and medication COULD aid and alleviate the pain but considering jongho's occupation and activity (i.e. dancing), recurrence is expected and it needed a more permanent solution. also, jongho is a grown ass adult, let's not baby him too much (despite me wanna go goochie goochie goo and tuck him into bed with warm milk and cookies) and think that jongho is incapable of making a huge decision for his own health no matter the consequence

b. "kq put them in crazy schedules" it's literally the pitfalls of being idols my ghawd do you want them to not tour and expand their reach and just sit pretty with one comeback a year ??? sure, they could do that but they'll need money to get better production quality like you buying one album per comeback or one album per version is not enough to even cover the shoe budget, do you think those things are cheap ??? considering album sales are not pure as it's separated as distributor and company and from the company's cuts, it's further broken down and ateez will only get a sliver if any, they have to depend on miscelaneous schedules like radio, tv shows, joint concerts, festivals, etc. And no it's not unfair because there are calculations put in place and no matter what you do, the cuts will never be enough but at least from what we see, ateez is living rather well

c. compared to the big 4 (ion even wanna get into TS, cube, mld, mbk, etc. bc yuck) kq is a far better situation for ateez and xikers. like we haven't heard much from xikers, but we know that ateez praises kq. hongjoong even said that kq's ceo goes everywhere with them on tour (hj said this on the singapore concert) except for the show in manila bc he had a prior engagement. and dude, the gifts the ceo gave ateez and the fact that kq didn't put ateez on diets they don't want and how the staff interacts with ateez and ateez with the staff. idk, i've only been seeing green flags so far. ofc no one is perfect but again, compared to jyp who made momo eat only ice cubes to achieve her target weight so she can debut, or shoving all of seventeen in one tiny ass dorm that didn't seem like there were any blankets around during pre-debut, or putting the members on a leash and treating them like dogs like infinite, i actually love kq. I've liked kpop for over a decade now, since i was like in 5th grade and i've truly never seen a happier group than ateez.

is there a way to not read stupid ass posts on twt or x or wtv and just save pictures from there ??? really i have low tolerance in stupidity bc i have to deal with my own on a daily basis

[rawliverandgoronspice]

"And I genuinely don’t think either of you understand HOW Zelda turns back to a Hylian at the end of the game.

I’m sorry but these are exceptionally poor analysis and criticisms of the game and it’s cut scenes." As the anon who wrote the ask who started this, I'll just say... nah. Also, pro-tip, don’t be angry, eat a banany. 🍌 You say that all the elements give a lot of insight into Zelda, her relationship, and all that… and then just explain it in the most barebones accusatory way possible, instead of just giving a polite counter and constructively explaining WHY you disagree. Since you apparently just wanna be angy that someone doesn’t like what you likes, and explains why they criticise it, I don’t think there really is a point to argue.   Honestly, my best tip is: Eat nanner, shhhhhhh, touch grass, go sleep. Move on. Ps: Banana’s are the worst.

Also, lemme add, add some spice to your salt: “It reveals Zelda’s feelings for Link which have clearly significantly changed since Breath of the Wild.” I did not feel like they changed much at all, Zelda still feels like she’s simping for Link hard, it's just a few years later now. 😜 Extra bonus: Yeah we know why Zelda got turned back into a Hylian with no repercussions. Bc it had to happen, bc reasons-McGuffin.

Hey!

Yeah, sorry this thing escalated on your ask anon. It got significantly worse after that, so I did block the person because at some point it becomes clear they were having an argument with someone who was simply not in this virtual room and might probably not exist at all anywhere, so there was no point in engaging with a brick wall who was hurling insults based on half a paragraph taken out of context. Pretty sad way to use your free time or deploy love for the media you enjoy, but! To each their own I suppose.

But yeah, I did look it over to see if I missed something, because somebody's tone being inacceptable doesn't mean their arguments also are, but. Yeah. Zelda had her arc of going from being cold and angry with Link to learning to rely on him in Breath of the Wild already, and then literally holds the fort for a hundred years just holding on to the desperate trust that he will arise and become a hero and be capable of defeating the scourge if only she can buy him as much time as she can, which is *crazy* devotion-wise (and also active! in TotK she mostly talks about how much she trusts Link --I guess she turns into a dragon to restore the Master Sword for him, but again I don't believe she really has any other choice and it's not a struggle she must maintain over a hundred years always relying on her own resolve all the way through, so it doesn't translate as hard in my opinion). It's literally her affection for Link and her urge to protect him that awakens her powers! This arc worked great in Breath of the Wild! But TotK loves nothing more than to rethread every character's arc, except again, but less compelling and complicated and without emotional rises or character changes.

Also: a kind tumblr user out there who did not play any game but TotK, believing the marketing that you could basically jump in blind, pointed out to me that there is *no way* to catch onto any of that complexity of their relationship if you haven't played BotW (not that I think it particularly helps). Same deal with the parental thing: they did not bring up the relationship between Zelda and her dad at any point, which makes it a non-information for newcomers. While it is fine to lose some degree of nuance and be a little confused if you jump in a second videogame after the first videogame, you still need to provide something for people to hang onto, and, as I feared, the refusals to expand on BotW backstory didn't seem to help the newcomers familiarize themselves with Hyrule particularly well. Even in extremely well known IPs, it is important to re-establish the bases: jedis are sensitive with the Force, the Ring corrupts its bearer, etc etc. And this was not particularly well done here (for example: it is never explained that Ganondorf is a sorcerer on top of being a Huge Guy that will break your spine with a punch, which makes the appearance of Puppet Zelda *before* he grabs the stone extremely confusing --this relies on pre-assumptions about Ganondorf and a familiarity with the series and its tropes to make any sense, and this is yet another example of what I mean by: this game is awfully self-referential while not really standing on its own two feet).

As for the argument that Zelda was returned to a hylian because of Rauru's arm, Rauru again but ghost (??? hello again?) and Sonia (??? WHY are you here) are actually using recall on the Secret Stone? It's a cool headcanon, and honestly that would have been great and made sense (I mean, a little empty thematically again but at least a cool setup and payoff), but I see nothing that supports that in practice beyond that the power deployed is the color of gold, which, yes, is the color of Recall, buuuut it's also the color of Light and good things and the Triforce and divinity and a billion other things.

If this was what we were meant to take away, then: 1) the actual particles and sound effect of Recall should have been used instead of a vague halo of magical sparkles and 2) the Secret Stone should have hovered and glowed above her chest Laputa-style (thinking of Sheeta from Castle in the Sky, which I'm 99,9% sure was the visual inspiration anyway).

This does not happen. If them using Recall was the intent, then it's badly conveyed. But I see no textual reason to believe this is what's going on.

[kyuohki]

Break Point/To Be Remade in general

11 What was the most challenging aspect of writing it?

22 What is something you learned about yourself as a writer from the experience?

Any story-

25 Share your favorite line

26 Share your favorite detail

>:3

11 What was the most challenging aspect of writing it?

Trying to figure out where all their goddamn *limbs* were at any given time during the smut, so it didn't feel stiff. Also trying to figure out if the bondage was reasonable for what I was attempting (the chained to the dais by collar and manacles made me wonder if it was actually possible with the positions Zale was in). It got to the point where some of the scenes didn't feel sexy anymore as I wrote/edited.

Writing "Wilted Flower for a Broken Pet" was challenging, bc I needed it to fit what I alluded to in "Break Point," while also hitting all the beats I wanted (like expanding on what Chapter 8 briefly touched on, from Zale's broken POV). I remember complaining once about how authors with already established stories can sometimes contradict themselves in works further down the line, but now I have a *much* bigger appreciation of how *difficult* writing in the same verse is without massively upending previous plots/characterizations.

Right now it's challenging on how to get Zale on his path to healing, on how fast or slow it should go, and how long is reasonable for a time-skip to a Zale that is more healed. (I also want there to be happy sexy times for him, but it can't happen too soon! No healing dick/sex! *sighs* Doesn't help that my brain just wants more whump.)

.

22 What is something you learned about yourself as a writer from the experience?

I apparently like the kinks more than I originally thought. *blushes*

Also, that I have a lot more fun writing on the antagonists' side than I do on the protagonists' (I still only have a rough outline of what Valere and Co were doing up to the rescue, and haven't written anything fully). But it's so *fun* to plan and explore how these bad characters tick, and how/why they're doing the things they are.

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25 Share your favorite line(s)

From Kintsugi (wip Ch.2; though I posted it in a WIP Wednesday):

"Pet is useful to me. And proof that those ‘vermin’ can be tamed. Freed even,” Master murmured between his gentle kisses. “Is that not what our bases were? Failures for the Archivist, perhaps, but willing to sacrifice themselves to become something greater? To serve our Master willingly, instead of being a weapon to be tossed aside when their puppet master was through with them?”

I love this bit from Barma'thazël. The idea that Brugaves and Erlina made the "correct" choice in serving Aephorul, and why this Demon would think that, when we know that what they've become is actually a terrible thing. Trying to see how these two view their reality, and their justification in what they're doing is "right," makes for some twisted lines. Fun to write and explore, tho.

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26 Share your favorite detail

The recurring theme of Zale squeaking in Bloodlines. I giggle at it every time.

Also, this whole scene from Scorched Earth:

The windows and door to the balcony faced the east, and rattled as the wind picked up. Two turned just in time to see the black cloud rise up in the distance. It surged up in a pillar not unlike smoke, then roiled across the sky at incredible speed. For a moment, the shriek of the wind and the rattle and shattering of glass about the Manor was all that could be heard— —then the cloud reached them, and all went black. The very air felt thick, a dark presence in it that pressed heavily down all around her. Two smiled as it rejuvenated her, the very essence of the darkness coiling about her like an affectionate pet.

Ahh, I just love the imagery of this scene! Two is succeeding in her goals, and is absolutely enjoying the moment. I also loved writing how the magic took over Lucent. I was imagining it like a merger of how Madoka Magica animated how witches transformed (with a dash of Gainax explosions thrown in), as well as how in Sleeping Beauty Maleficent sent her spell to surround the castle and create the thorn barrier.

(OH. *That's* why I love writing the bad guys the way I do. I'm channeling Maleficent. Ooookay, themes I absorbed as a child through my favorite Disney movie, you really like coming out in everything I write now, huh?)

[isfjmel-phleg]

@brown-little-robin replied to your post: last song listened to: "Extraordinary Machine" by...

Extraordinary machine!! Elystan!!! you will HAVE to expand on that at some point bc I know the song but am too 100% tired to grasp why it's a him song right now

Okay, so this is Book 3 Elystan.

I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes And I certainly haven't been spreading myself around

After the disastrous attempted coup he got mixed up in toward the end of Book 2, resulting in his narrowly escaping implication and his father being executed, he has retreated to his house in the country and basically become a shut-in. He stays in his room, stays in his bed, sees no one.

I still only travel by foot and by foot it's a slow climb But I'm good at being uncomfortable so I can't stop changing all the time

Not literally traveling by foot, but he has physical limitations that make navigating life difficult, but he's used to that and thereby used to adapting. He thinks he's adapting well here.

I noticed that my opponent is always on the go And won't go slow, so 's not to focus, and I notice He'll hitch a ride with any guide, as long as They go fast from whence he came

This is Delclis, whom Elystan currently regards as his mortal enemy. From Elystan's perspective, Delclis has been keeping himself so busy with the responsibilities of being king that he has no time to focus on anything that he has left behind since taking that role. And although Elystan would probably rather die than admit to himself, that would include his relationship with Elystan. Not that Delclis ever had much time to bond with Elystan even before becoming now, but now there's nothing whatsoever between them, as far as Elystan can see, and that hurts.

"Any guide" is Delclis's Prime Minister, Sir Jowan Mitchett-Scorbrook. Elystan hates this man after a traumatic thing that Sir Jowan put him through, and he thinks that Delclis both approved that incident and is on board with Sir Jowan's agenda. Which, as far as Elystan is concerned is to completely change Delclis into a ruthless king.

But he's no good at being uncomfortable, so He can't stop staying exactly the same

Elystan knows that Delclis doesn't handle pressure well, and he believes his brother is always going to retain his worst traits. He's not adaptable, not like Elystan.

If there was a better way to go then it would find me I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me

Elystan considers his response to his situation the best and most reasonable one. He is surviving, where his father tragically didn't.

Be kind to me, or treat me mean I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

And he tells himself that he doesn't care how his family treats him. He will emerge victorious. He always has.

I seem to you to seek a new disaster every day You deem me due to clean my view and be at peace and lay

The family is getting frustrated with him for stunts like the Infamous Lamplight Letter. They want him to keep his head down and stay out of the political picture, where he can't cause any trouble.

I mean to prove I mean to move in my own way and say I've been getting along for long before you came into the play

But Elystan will not be told what to do. As far as he's concerned, he's been doing this longer than Delclis (he was heir to the throne from birth, Delclis was a nobody who got the throne suddently foisted upon him).

I am the baby of the family, it happens So, everybody cares and wears the sheep's clothes While they chaperone

But because he is the youngest, the family treats him like a child (...which he still is, but don't tell him that), trying to look after him and express what he considers false concern.

Curious, you looking down your nose at me, while you appease Courteous, to try and help But let me set your mind at ease

Again, from his perspective, the family puts on a show of solicitude while holding him in contempt for what he and his father tried to do. So he sarcastically addresses them, trying to get them off his back.

Do I so worry you, you need to hurry to my side? It's very kind

This is what his mother does in "A Visit from the Murderess." He is sarcastic about what he believes is false kindness--this woman allowed his father to die, after all.

But it's to no avail; and I don't want the bail I promise you, everything will be just fine

He thinks being sent to school is his alternative to prison, and he's not on board with the idea. He has his own plans, and he can look after himself "just fine" without the family's help.

...or at least that's where my brain goes. Could be a stretch! I tend to be too prone to fit songs to whoever's been on the brain recently.

[x-pair-o-dice-x]

Any more thoughts on the bench trios backstories?

What are the mentalities of the toys? How do they variate?

who are some of the other toys?

still haven't thought much about bench trio's backstories yet,,,, i might expand on them, i might not? who knows! for tubbo,, thinking either schlatt and/or some nameless oc(s) are his parents. considering he's now an orphan, well– you can see that didn't work out well. ranboo's pretty much the same.

for the toy's mentalities... well, most of them are pretty passive, not actively out to harm anyone — they were made with love, after all! i haven't created too many toys yet, not enough for me to be satisfied with yet,, so– that's about the most i can say about them. i was playing with the thought of there being a little group of toys that are just, like... little shits (affectionate)? not actively malicious, but just... rascals. haven't thought farther than that.

i do have some toys that aren't, like– major characters or creatures. more like npcs to fill the place with life, so to speak?

i've shown the fish one off(imagining there's a whole school of them, all with different colors),, but here's some more! the only other one here (so far) that have multiples of them are the wooden wolves,,,, creating a whole pack — like techno's army of dogs!

the anteater acts a bit like a janitor of sorts, using it's tail as a broom. wilbur is scared of hates the damn thing. immensely. the anteater does not care. it's chill.

right now i wanna get more, like. Actually Big creatures into the mix,,, ones like techno and wilbur. tried sketching puffy out,, can't get her to look right yet. also tried figuring out sam, and it was. Hard. i made a sketch and i didn't like it too much, so i did what i did for twinsduo and went to the dragon site and. broooooo it was so hard to get something that looked right for him. i think i spent almost two hours trying out different aberration genes and colors(sam's a hydra of sorts) and by the end i STILL wasn't satisfied.

i wanted him to look a bit like a clockwork dragon/creation, i think– so i switched over to the sandsurge bc i knew that one had a gene that sort of fit, and– i'm more happy with it than i was the aberration, so. that's good? these were the ones i settled on. still could be better? don't want him looking exactly like this, but like– it's a starting point.

(btw here's sam and puffy's og sketches if you were curious. also ft. connor the jack-in-the-box.)