#and i just. I've realized that its not reciprocated the way it used to be

[kurthorton-moving]

.

[dwaekkicidal]

Curly Hair Routine with Changbin

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ summary: Teaching Changbin how to take care of his curls. based off this post/request!

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ word count: 1k (how did i do this.. i thought it was like 500)

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ warnings: none really :3 just fluff and mentioned that reader has longish, curly hair

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ notes: i saw a few moots repost that prompt and i have curly hair (like 3A/3B?) that i've been learning to take care of the last few years so :3 thought this was cyuuute!!! also probably gonna write chris' later today/tomorrow! (my insomnia came back so.. we'll see when it gets done LMFAO)

@chaeryred (also @httpdwaekki cause hehe) i hope you guys like it >< thought it came off a little messy but i still think its pretty cute

DO NOT republish or translate+post my work!

"YAH! IT'S TOO COLD"

"SIT STILL! I JUST HAVE TO WASH IT OUT-"

"NO!!!! MOM!!! HEEEEEEELP-"

After wrestling your boyfriend like a cat taking a bath, you managed to wash the rest of the conditioner out of his hair and wrap his head up in a towel. You sent him to sit on the floor in the living room while you went to grab all your products from your bedroom. Once you returned, you were met with the biggest pout you've ever seen mixed with the nastiest side eye known to man. His head is almost completely wrapped up in a towel, minus the big circle where part of his face peeks out, and his arms are crossed sassily.

You couldn't help but smile and chuckle, shaking your head as you dropped the products and tools on the couch. You sit directly behind him, putting your legs on either side of his shoulders and leaning him into you. He shivers and your heart pangs a little, but you lean forward and wrap your arms around him and rub them soothingly. A quiet 'hmph!' comes from him and you laugh again.

"I'm sorry, baby. You said you wanted to do my hair routine just like me. And I always end it off with rinsing with cold water." Your fingers sneak into the hole in the towel and pull it back some, exposing his cheeks more as well as some of his wet hair. He makes the angry noise again and throws a small fit, turning away from you and tugging the towel back to its previous position in defiance.

You peck his cheek a few times and combine it with a mumbled apology. Then a small smile forms on his face and you start ruffing the towel, rubbing your hands back and forth and using it to poke fun at him while also starting to dry his hair off. Giggles erupt from the both of you as he drops the tough act and reacts to the ticklish feeling, his distinct giggle ringing through your ears in the best way possible.

Once you both have calmed down, and he's no longer feigning distress, you start to gently dry his hair. "I brought a mirror too." His hair is mostly dry and you grab your brush before realizing that Changbin's eyes have been glued to the show on TV. This was supposed to be a learning experience so you wanted him to watch, but it was also endearing to see him trust you so blindly that he resorts to iPad-baby tendencies.

"Are you gonna watch me do it so you can learn, or was this just an excuse for you to get pampered?" You tease, tilting his head back gently so he can look you in the eyes. He smiles apologetically and reaches for the mirror, "Sorry, Bunny. Got a little distracted hehe. I am your apprentice tonight! Teach away, Jagi." You smile widely and lean down again to place a kiss on his lips. One he reciprocates it before fixing his posture and placing the mirror in position.

He then lowers the television down and sits there patiently, allowing you to take him through the steps and using the mirror to peek at what your hands are doing. You start it off by showing him the products and explaining what they do and then tell him how you're supposed to use them, using a strand of his hair as an example.

Each step doesn't take long, thanks to the fact that he memorized the first few steps of your routine; the brushing and cream application. What you did explain was the styling techniques. He could have just left it as is and not done anything, or he could do what you do and finger-coil each strand.

He had seen how you slaved over your hair for over an hour each time you finger-coiled it and was dreading his experience to be similar to that. But thanks to how short his hair was compared to yours, it was a cakewalk. However, when he tried to coil one strand himself, his fingers did manage to get tangled in each other a few times... but you have to experience something to really learn from it! And the texture of the gel you used seemed to drive him crazy, but he got used to it eventually.

Then it was onto drying! You had brought out the diffuser attachment- or.. what Changbin called the "claws of death," for your hair dryer. He had seen you use it countless times before, but it looked like a jumbled mess of things from the outside and he never knew if there was a technique to it or if it was just random movements.

After teaching him the tips and tricks you used for extra volume and just how to diffuse his hair in general on a small section of his hair, you watched proudly as he dried the rest of his hair on his own with little to no problems. You did a dramatic reveal, wiggling your fingers and adding a "Tada~" when he looked into the mirror for the final time.

He stared for a while, eyes tracing the unfamiliar, defined curls on his head. They were pretty, and you have literally never seen his hair like that before. But what really made it worth it was his reaction. A big smile grew on his face and he turned to you, crawling up the couch to give you a big kiss. "Thank you, Bunny."

"Of course, baby. You look good like this." You smiled and admired your handiwork for a while until you remembered that today was supposed to be your wash day in the first place.

"Okay!! Time for me to wash my hair now." You peck him on the lips and playfully shove him onto the couch, running away after. The pitter-patter of his steps chases after you and he wraps his hands around you once the water is turned back on.

"Wait. I want to do it!" He smiles widely despite the unsure face you make. But he's your Binnie, so it's kind of hard not to cave in. You agree and resume the same position he had earlier, sitting on the tile with your neck resting on the edge and your head hovering over the big bowl of the tub. He steals another kiss before gathering your hair products and directing the water to your head.

"Don't worry, Bunny. I'm a professional at this~"

Taglist:

@valkyriexo @lunearta @jabmastersupriseee @rylea08

@yaorzu-blog @amararosesblog @jiminssluttyminx @clemissleepy

@miss-daisy04 @kittyxnoa @dwaekkiiracha

@bubblerizz

[sohyxn]

UNSPOKEN LONGING⠀───⠀minatozaki sana.

TAGS : fluff, angst, friends to lovers, oblivious sana, pining, reader can't take it anymore 💔, college au

SYPNOSIS : constant rejection makes you decide to avoid sana at any cost. what will happen if sana realizes your absence and confronts you for it?

NOTES : happy belated birthday to our sana, i was supposed to post this yesterday but something comes up. anyway this is really shitty but pls enjoy <3

it was another ordinary day at college, but for yn, it felt anything but ordinary. the weight of unrequited love had become a burden she could no longer bear. countless times, she had confessed her feelings to her friend — sana, only to be met with rejection. but today, yet again yn determine to confess her feelings towards the latter.

yn's heart pounded in her chest as she stood in front of sana's class, waiting for the beauty to finish her class, her hands trembling with anticipation. she had gathered all her courage to confess her feelings once again, hoping that maybe — just maybe this time sana would finally reciprocate it.

after what feels like years, sana's figure finally appeared and yn approached her. "hey sana, there's something i need to tell you," yn began, her voice filled with nervousness. "oh, hey yn, what is it?"

"i've been carrying these feelings for you for a long time, and i can't keep them to myself any longer. i... i like you, sana."

sana's eyes widened slightly, her brows furrowing as she processed yn's words. she let out a soft chuckle, assuming it was another lighthearted moment between friends. "oh, yn, you're always so sweet. i really like you too! you're an amazing friend."

yn's heart sank, the weight of sana's continuous obliviousness hitting her hard. she tried to hide her disappointment, forcing a smile to mask her true feelings. "haha... yeah. anyway, i've got to go, see you sana."

with mixed emotions, yn turned and walked away, her heart aching from the unrequited feelings. yn was exhausted, tired of pouring her heart out and yet again receiving nothing in return. so she had made a difficult decision to finally move on from sana, which is by — distancing herself from sana. and so the process of moving on started.

in the days that followed, yn focused on avoiding minatozaki sana at all cost. from ignoring sana's hellos to avoiding eyes contact with sana.

as yn walked through the bustling hallways, her eyes caught a glimpse of sana chatting and laughing with their mutual friends — myoui mina and hirai momo. the ache in her chest grew stronger. she missed the warmth of sana's presence, the way her smile could brighten even the darkest of days. but yn remind herself that she couldn't continue living in a cycle of heartache anymore.

days turned into weeks, and yn's absence did not go unnoticed by sana. her heart felt heavy and her mind felt confused with yn's sudden distance.

"did i do something wrong?" sana huffed. "quit complaining and just confront her about it sana" mina said. "yeah, you should do that instead of whining about it to us every damn time." momo complained.

the trio are currently in mina's apartment — having a study session that quickly turned into sana pouring her life problem session.

"you don't get it, its just so sudden you know? did she find out about my feelings towards her?. is that why she started avoiding me? she won't even look at me anymore. guys please help me." sana continued rambling. "like i said sana, confront her about it. you won't know what happens to her if you keep complaining and do nothing about it." mina said frustrated with sana's whining.

"fine ugh, i guess i will." sana rolled her eyes as her mind kept wandering about yn.

the next day, sana mustered her courage to confront yn. she found the latter sitting alone in the campus library, her gaze fixed on a book but her mind clearly elsewhere.

"sana?" yn looked up, surprise evident in her eyes.

sana took a deep breath, her voice laced with vulnerability. "yn, why do you keep avoiding me? did i do something wrong to you? please tell me if i did something wrong to you. i miss you yn."

yn couldn't ignore the longing in sana's voice, but her heart was guarded. "sana, you did nothing wrong. i've been busy with assignments and projects, that's all. "

sana's brows furrowed, her eyes searching yn's face for any signs of deception. "yn, i know you well enough to sense when something is bothering you. it feels like there's a wall between us, and i don't know why so please, be honest with me."

yn's gaze faltered, her heart feeling heavy with the weight of unspoken emotions. she took a deep breath, gathering her courage to share her true feelings.

"sana, i can't bear this distance between us any longer," yn confessed, her voice filled with a mix of nervousness and determination. "the truth is, i have feelings for you. more than just friendship. every time we're apart, i feel a void in my heart, and i miss you more than words can express."

"and i've been avoiding you because i thought we couldn't be more than friend, with your constant rejection, moving on is the only thing i could do."

sana's eyes widened in surprise, her heart skipping a beat. she hadn't expected yn to have the same feelings. a sense of relief filled her chest.

"y-yn, i didn't know... i didn't think you'd felt the same way," sana stammered, her voice filled with a mix of astonishment and joy. " and i'm so sorry, i've been rejecting you because i never thought you would like me back, its just too good to be true."

sana took a step closer, her eyes shining with sincerity. "yn if you're willing, please let me take you out on a date."

yn's guarded heart melted, her voice filled with a newfound happiness. "sana, i'd be crazy if i said I don't want to."

a smile spread across sana's face, her hand reaching out to gently touch yn's cheek. "i'm glad we're on the same page, yn. i promise i will take you on the best ever date you've ever had in your life."

and so, in the quiet corners of the college library, yn and sana embarked on a new chapter of their relationship. and in each other's presence, yn and sana found solace, blissfully content in the knowledge that their unspoken longing had finally found its voice — a love that would flourish and endure for a lifetime.

[gafurtle]

Let's talk about how similar ART & Miki are

Yes, ART is a super-intelligent space ship and Miki is a humanform bot that uses emojis in chat, but they actually have a lot in common.

It started when I was thinking about how both ART & Miki lay claim to friendship with MB long before it's willing to reciprocate--and in a manner MB finds inherently repulsive.

Like, ART threatens MB with its overpoweringly superior processing power, then they watch TV together, and then ART is like, "We're friends now. I don't understand why you won't let me help you," a sentiment MB responds to with the equivalent of "?!??!" because since when were they friends???

Meanwhile Miki IMMEDIATELY decides that it and MB are friends because Miki is friends with everyone--its humans, the random construct who starting talking to it out of nowhere...it's all the same to Miki (so far as MB knows). Again, this sentiment deeply bothers MB, as of course they aren't friends and could never be friends.

So that's the similarity I started with, but then I kept thinking.

ART & Miki both have a much different relationship with humans than MB has ever had. ART loves its crew and in fact, loves them so much that it can barely watch fictional media that depicts harm coming to space ships or their crew. ART at least knows that humans *can* be cruel, because it knows corporates, but I've never had the sense that ART itself has ever been mistreated by its crew or even forced to do something it doesn't want to do. Miki has never been mistreated or lied to by humans, and so has an inherent love and trust for humans. MB, of course, has always been ignored, feared, or tortured by humans and so resists the idea of humans being its "crew" or its "friends" the way ART & Miki claim is possible.

Also, ART & Miki both love their function. ART loves exploring space and protecting its crew, and finds it hard to believe that a construct like MB could dislike its function. Miki likes exploring and helping and hanging out with humans. MB is at best able to say that it likes "parts" of its functions. Of course, one difference is that MB agrees that ART's function is awesome, whereas MB thinks of Miki as just a "pet bot." But even so, ART & Miki both love their day jobs and MB is both baffled and jealous.

And of course, both ART & Miki end up betraying MB. When MB realizes that ART deliberately got it and its humans kidnapped, MB is furious and hurt and tries real hard to give ART the silent treatment. When Miki tells Don Abene that MB is "Rin," MB refuses to talk to Miki for the rest of their time together. ART & Miki both do the thing that MB is always afraid of--they let what the humans want or need take precedence and don't care what the effect on MB will be.

MB eventually forgives ART. Do we think it would have forgiven Miki, if they had had longer?

[beforetimes]

feel like this gets overshadowed by the fact that ekko saved jinx at her very lowest, but i think that their relationship 100% works both ways when it comes to helping the other. and the way jinx helps ekko would be in helping him to loosen up / free him of this massive sense of guilt and responsibility he carries himself with.

we see this thematically in s2ep7 and s2ep9 mostly. when ekko goes to the alternate timeline we get the line that it was his tip that lead to vi's death. which i've mentioned in a previous post as something that i think the og ekko would carry as a source of guilt that guided him to throwing himself into helping the people of zaun, a way to work through his remorse.

and in that deleted scene where ekko goes after powder only for her to say she doesn't want to be saved and that she's jinx now, i feel ekko would have blamed himself for that and internalized it both by using it to fuel his guilt complex but also by painting her as someone past saving. in essence he thinks he killed powder and created jinx. someone who only hurts the undercity by working as silco.

but after his dive into the alternate timeline where he sees and connects with powder and realizes all the potential she has when she grows up, i think he realizes that there is still someone to save back in his original world. that jinx couldn't possibly erase everything that made alternate timeline powder who she is because powder reminds him of their childhood and things left unsaid and how things could be different if they both chose forgiveness (sort of elaborated on here).

anyway, i think jinx's role in accepting ekko's proposal to help out with the war on piltover/zaun would be to show ekko a) that he didn't kill powder completely and that jinx was never truly 100% metamorphosized by this job that he sent them on that indirectly 'killed' her and b) shows that she (in his minds eye) chooses to forgive him, relieving a large part of his guilt, and build something better. which is what ekko has been all about. not necessarily forgiving, but building something better. its what he does with the firelights and their commune.

now, how is freeing him communicated in the show?

i think that they show the way jinx's character allows him to be more free in expressing himself through the change in wardrobe. it is more visually vibrant in comparison to his large jackets in the first season when we see him, but there's also less smoke-screening and secrecy. no more masks, no more gloves, no more large jackets that hide the form. everything is on display now! abdomen and face, skin exposed. and jinx's impact on this change from the first season is visually marked by the x on his shirt. she is directly involved in his evolution into this freer, unburdened self.

i felt in this, the artists were showing how jinx's refusal to stay within the lines would affect ekko in making him freer as well. not just physically revealing himself but also maybe through the way her acceptance of his offer to save her again (after the failed deleted scene mentioned) frees him of the guilt of failing the first time + guilt over what led to him thinking he killed powder.

so while timebomb does feel skewed in showcasing ekko primarly as her saviour and jinx as someone who needed saving, i think that there is a reciprocal nature to the type of healing they can offer each other. ekko through his belief that jinx can be good without needing her to be the way she was before and jinx through her relieving ekko of guilt that has ruled his life since he was a child.

[koimethehorizon]

Adventure Time and Fionna and Cake Theory: The Victimhood of Simon + How the Series Might End

Prerequisite Watching for this Theory:

Adventure Time: Temple of Mars, Betty, Come Along With Me, Broke His Crown, I Remember You, Holly Jolly Secrets Part II

Gonna start this loaded theory with a bit of a hot take. I’ve never liked how Simon and Betty’s stories concluded in Come Along With Me.

For Simon, I’ve always had trouble considering Simon and the Ice King as the same person. Holly Jolly Secrets and I Remember You, the pinnacle of depicting the dichotomy of the two characters is built on us seeing Simon as suffering irreversible memory loss and how his loved ones can grow to accept that. The context is most apt when viewed as a metaphor for dementia, Alzheimer’s, or simply old age.

The scenes in which Ice King reacts so superfluously to characters desperately wishing for his old self to return are striking because of the cruel finality of his condition. Alternatively, the ones in which his loved ones hang around with him despite his condition are sweet in their own right.

One of my favorite Ice King scenes is in Broke His Crown where Marceline invites her girlfriend to meet her surrogate father.

Bubblegum: What's this?

Ice King: It's a present, to bribe you for coming over!

Marceline: You don't have to bribe us silly, we're here because we WANT to hang out with you.

Ice King: No one has ever said that to me before.

*snatches present*

Ice King: You didn't say no takebacks.

There was a real poignancy to depicting an old man with memory-loss slowly having people come to accept him and realize that he’s still a swell guy to hang around. It may be depressing to see this good person who was once so unconditionally caring into a buffoon who could forget your name so easily and turn on you in the flip of a coin.

But even he deserved love from others. And in time, as a result of that love, he did improve.

Which is why, even in Fionna and Cake, I find myself still disturbed seeing Simon in his normal state and Ice King completely erased from Ooo. It kills me that Betty and in extension, the show itself could not accept Ice King as he was and felt that his best course was to undo it all.

All of his experiences for 1000+ years all of a sudden no longer matter, and the acceptance of his peers no longer mattered as well. He's just back to who he used to be in a world where everything he's known is gone.

Happily ever after

Even worse, however, is remembering the wish that allowed Simon to be cured. The person who sacrificed her individuality to get that good person back, because she couldn’t accept reality as it was.

And I’m going to put a second hot take. A spicy one. Simon needs to take the fault in Betty's fate and Fionna and Cake (the show not the characters) seems aware of this.

Throughout Adventure Time, Simon Petrikov was never developed as a character. As far as the audience and the characters within Adventure Time knew, the only traits about Simon that mattered were: that he was intelligent, he was a kind man, and he loved Betty.

This wouldn’t really be a compelling character on its own, but when juxtaposed with the Ice King it’s a tragedy that he lost these traits. The compelling part of Simon was his victimhood to the ice crown and not really him as a person.

It’s why Obsidian’s version of Simon feels somewhat empty, he’s back to his intelligent, kind self but there’s no real hints to how he’s mentally adjusting other than that brief glimpse in Ice King’s robes again.

And he looks really weird in this special too. Color me surprised when Simon Petrikov reads out the problems I've had for years about his ending while also making Simon into his own person. In many ways it just completely redos what we see of him in Obsidian.

He's still a kind man but even he can't handle being so maladjusted to a world so beyond his time. He's still intelligent but his passions aren't reciprocated, and that seems to have always been the case even in the past. Rather than a guy who doesn't take shit from guys like Marceline's ex or a first responder to his daughter's problems, he's a normal guy unable to handle the threats of Ooo's world even after 12 years of living in it. Rather than singing to large communities in bliss, he's a lonely alcoholic who can't even relate to his fellow humans anymore. He loves his adopted daughter but there are even some days he can't muster the courage to be honest with her. And most importantly, he doesn't seem to know how to live beyond his curse or his loneliness.

His mutual obsession with Betty is the only character trait of his that's ever had some distinct flaw and with this new show, the writers must have finally found a way to tackle the subject further. Betty is ultimately a greater victim than Simon. She ends up in a far worse fate than Simon has ever been in. Perhaps more disturbingly, she willingly chose to strip herself of her individuality.

Fionna and Cake brings a contradiction to light about Simon and Betty’s seemingly perfect relationship. Simon and Betty's love is real and they do make each other happy. But there does exist a co-dependency that has worsened throughout the series as a result of their insecurity of letting a bad memory conclude their relationship. Betty's patterns are pretty clear throughout her tenure as Magic Woman but not too much with Simon. Not until now.

In Jerry, Simon stops Betty from pursuing her dreams because he didn’t want her goodbye to be his last memory with her.

In Betty, Simon rewrites history and inadvertently summons her to Ooo because he didn’t want Betty’s look of contempt to be his last memory of her.

And through all of Fionna and Cake, Simon has turned into a suicidal man willing to resummon GOLBetty regardless of the reasons she can’t see him again. All because he didn’t want her sacrifice to be his last memory of her. Despite the fact that Betty’s final wish was to keep Simon safe.

There's also this uneven power dynamic between the two. Simon was far more accomplished as a professor with PhDs even if no one took him seriously. Betty was just a student offering some help, knowing she wouldn't take any credit for helping.

I’ll preface that Betty is a consenting adult in the relationship and made many self-determined rash choices that Simon would never approve of with full context. We’ve enough scenes to show that Simon actively refuses Betty’s help if it means endangering her.

However, Simon’s perception of Betty and his own inadequacy did influence her personality for the worse. Fionna questions Simon on two occasions about how strange it was for “someone she just met to drop everything to go with you”. Even within the flashbacks Betty verbally describes her internal conflict between her individuality vs. her infatuation with Simon and the guy never picks up on it.

Whether he’s aware of it or not, Simon always ends up becoming the center of attention during Betty’s greatest life-changing events because he’s always suffering in some way. And sadly in-character, Betty always prioritizes him first because of how sorry she feels for him.

Simon: Just hold my hand to your face, this will be my… last sensation.

Betty: Don’t be a wimp, Simon!

I don’t want to be too hard on Simon, his suffering is cosmologically depressing. An undeniable tragedy that no one deserves to be alone on. It would be unfair to say he’s being dramatic about something most if not any human would ever go through. He’s not a leech for desiring help, especially from his significant other.

But I do think it’s important to point out that he does have a major flaw in not reflecting on the consequences of Betty’s choices.

Fionna: Damn, that’s romantic. So, you got on the bus with her?

Simon: Yup. Uh what? No. No. Why would I-

This is the reason this post exists. This is the show explicitly telling us that Simon has never really thought about what Betty lost because he thinks his love was greater than the passion Betty once had.

Let's go back to Betty once again for what is honestly the most justifiable takedown you could make of Simon's character prior to the miniseries.

As stated earlier, Simon opens a portal to ask for Betty's forgiveness with a few seconds on the clock. And in that time, he essentially just unloads a giant drama bomb, trauma dump of his suffering leading Betty to ask what she can even do without him. And if the plan went as it was, Simon would've just left her a hundred questions that she'd never have answered for the rest of her life.

Simon: Just know that I love you and I forgive you for leaving me. Author's Note: I dunno, isn't there something a bit off about how he worded this?

Now Simon didn't ask for Betty to jump into the portal, but he certainly was asking for it subconsciously. How else would he have expected a person who loves him dearly to act after this?

Taking any measures necessary and finding a way back together obviously. That's what he's doing too!

And reiterating again, this is the reason why Betty goes on her ego-suicidal quest. This is Simon's greatest mistake, his greatest moral failing as a person and he doesn't seem aware of this.

He’s not wrong that Betty lived happily with him. In spite of losing her dreams, Betty and Simon did love each other unconditionally. But he’s missing the bigger picture about how he could’ve been self-centered in deciding Betty’s fate for himself.

And maybe to stretch somewhat, I think even the quest to become Ice King again is somewhat motivated by his inability to live as anything more than a victim. Some of it is because the citizens of Ooo were being a bit inconsiderate about how much they liked Ice King yes, but Simon should be perfectly aware that Marceline, Betty, and now Fionna would be extremely concerned about him for doing this. Yet, he doesn’t really consider their feelings too much on the matter. He’s too used to the suffering.

Please have one scene with Marceline, I'd be sad if we don't get to see at least one.

This leads me to how I believe Fionna and Cake may rewrite Simon’s ending.

The key is in the episode Temple of Mars.

Upon rewatching the episode, I’m convinced that the Adventure Time cast had a greater plan with the Betty and Simon arc that just never came to be due to production constraints. A lot of Betty’s history and the deconstruction of her relationship with Simon in Jerry are surprisingly details that have already been told.

I thought it was an animation error that Betty’s glasses were different in Jerry but it turns out the continuity director is just that good.

The trip in six months, Simon stopping her, and the realization that Simon superseded her identity. Seeking independence from Simon is the lesson that Normal Man was trying failed to teach her.

Betty: I’ve spent so much time dedicated on Simon that I’m not even sure if there’s any “me” left anymore.

But the most telling detail is how Betty passes Normal Man’s test.

Finn: Even if you are a lost cause, she is not!

Betty: No, Finn’s right. You’ll thank me for this later past Betty.

In an alternate pocket reality, she changes her trip to the day before, preventing Simon from stopping her. And I think Simon will have to change fate once again to do the same.

If Simon comes to realize that he was the one who set Betty to her terrible fate, that all this time his rose-colored lens of their relationship had been detrimental then he could give her identity back. But it can’t be as simple as changing the moment Betty turns into GOLB or Magic Woman or even bringing her through the portal in Betty.

He needs to let Betty go on the bus. Alone.

It’s the only way for Betty to have her life back. If not for his Betty, maybe at least to save one in the multiverse doomed to the same fate.

They both need to cherish their time on the Enchiridion trip back when it wasn’t too late for Betty to go on the trip. Back when they were both equals and not tied to Simon’s needs.

Jerry is absolutely setting up something big with Simon and Betty’s relationship for next week and now that we’re going to the GOLB dimension, we’ll see how he remembers these moments again.

Personally, as someone who has been skeptical about Simon's peace for years, Fionna and Cake's second episode was like a sigh of relief. Simon hasn't found his ending yet, and my hope is that this epilogue will help me see the man happy without having to relive Betty's sacrifice for the rest of his life. Just like the rest of Adventure Time, it'll have to end with him cherishing the time he had with Betty regardless of the inevitability of losing that relationship.

PS. Isn’t quite strange that at one point in time, Simon sought after magic objects that ostracized him from the normal world and now, he lives in a house full of 1980s-1990s objects that ostracized him from the magical world? Maybe he was never really satisfied with where he was in the present.

PSS. I really wanted to write something on Fionna for the Ep 3-6 releases, and I still have the idea, but I couldn’t make it coherent due to how much my brain overthinks everything to the point of cognitive collapse. If there’s enough interest, I’ll go back to write it again.

[mxlti-fand0m-imaginess]

No Control* // Chad Meeks Martin x Reader x Ethan Landry

request: none!

prompts: none!

summary: things are awkward after your boyfriend, chad, walked in on you with his best friend, ethan. you’re terrified that you’ve ruined everything, but chad has other ideas.

warnings: language, smut, threesome, switch!chad, switch!reader, switch!ethan, use of the pet name “good boy” once, p in v, masturbation, hand job, being caught the morning after

word count: 3.3k

a/n: reader has female anatomy, but gender neutral pronouns are used. also im relatively new to writing smut, so apologies of its not the best!

part one part two

Stained coffee cup

Just a fingerprint of lipstick's not enough

Sweet, where you lay

Still a trace of innocence on the pillow case

Chad sat up straight on his bed, staring blankly at the wall. His mind racing with the image of you and Ethan together. His girlfriend and his best friend. He should be furious. Right? So why wasn’t he? Maybe he was a little sad, the thought that you don’t love him anymore staying in the back of his mind. But he knew you better than that. You loved him. You still do. Things were perfect between the two of you, there was no way you suddenly got tired of him overnight.

Realistically? Chad figured that you somehow found out about Ethan’s little crush on you, which he wasn’t that good at hiding, and that you had reciprocated the feelings. You had somehow found yourself falling in love with someone else, while still loving Chad all the same. And Chad couldn’t even blame you. After all, it was Ethan. Chad would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about his roommate in that way more than a few times. 

Still, he wished you had just talked to him about all this. Everything would’ve been so much easier. But he knew why you didn’t. You felt like you were betraying him. And in a way, you had. You went behind his back and slept with someone else. But if he was being honest with himself, had he been in the same situation with Ethan, he probably would’ve done the same exact thing you had. 

Waking up beside you, I'm a loaded gun

I can't contain this anymore

I'm all yours, I've got no control, no control

“Chad? You here?” Ethan asked, shutting the door to their dorm behind him as he walked inside. 

Chad’s head perked up slightly at the sound of Ethan’s voice, but he didn’t make a move to respond. He heard footsteps coming closer, and then the door to his bedroom slowly creaked open. Ethan poked his head in, and Chad turned to face him.

“Hey,” Ethan said, tugging awkwardly at the collar of his shirt. 

“Hi,” Chad replied, not quite meeting Ethan’s eyes.

After waiting a few moments, Ethan realized Chad wasn’t going to speak again, so he took that as permission to enter the room. Ethan walked over and sat down next to Chad on his bed. Chad went back to staring at the wall, and Ethan looked over at Chad nervously.

“Look man, I can’t even begin to explain how sorry I am. I never should’ve-”

“Do you love them?” Chad asked, cutting Ethan off.

“What…?” Ethan asked, taken aback by the question. 

Chad finally turned his head to look at Ethan, and he repeated the question.

“Do you love them?”

After a pause, Ethan nodded. “Well, uhm, yeah. I- I think I do. No, I- I definitely do. I love them.”

Chad hummed in response, looking away again. The tension between the two of them was palpable, but it wasn’t for the reason that Ethan assumed it was.

“Do you love me?” Chad asked, too nervous to take his gaze off the floor.

“Huh?” Ethan replied, almost sounding confused by the question.

“You heard me. Do you?”

“Well, I mean of course I do. You’re my best friend,” Ethan answered, not sure what to make of the question.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” Chad said, his voice shaking. He finally forced himself to face Ethan. 

“Oh. OH,” Ethan said, the true meaning of Chad’s question finally clicking in his head. “Uhm, yeah. I- I do.”

The look of pure terror slowly faded from Chad’s face. “Why did you never say anything?”

“Well, you were with y/n. And- well I’ve never felt like this for a guy before, I didn’t know what to make of it. I guess I was just… scared.” Ethan’s cheeks turned pink as he met Chad’s eyes. “Wait, does that mean you feel the same way?”

“Does this answer your question?”

Chad leaned in and kissed him, his hand resting on the side of Ethan’s face. Ethan’s eyes widened, and he froze, his brain short-circuiting by the sudden affection. Once his mind caught up with his body, he started to kiss Chad back. They both felt dizzy, months of unspoken feelings all pouring out within a few moments. It felt magical. And even more than that, it felt right.

Powerless, and I don't care it's obvious

I just can't get enough of you

The pedal's down, my eyes are closed, no control

You laid on your bed, staring up at your ceiling, tears staining your face. Your roommate, Anika, was out on a date with Mindy, so you didn’t even bother trying to keep quiet as you sobbed. You ruined things with Chad, and consequently, you might’ve ruined things with Ethan as well. You felt like you were living in hell, and the worst part was that it was a hell of your own making. Why couldn’t you have just been honest? Or better yet, you should’ve just made a decision. 

But even attempting to do that would’ve been pointless, and you knew that. You wouldn’t be able to choose. You loved Chad, and over the course of your blossoming relationship with Ethan, you felt yourself beginning to fall in love with him too. You couldn’t choose because you loved them both. You didn’t have a favorite, or a preference. You wanted them both. But realistically, that wasn’t going to be possible. 

You felt yourself finally beginning to drift off to the blissful relief of sleep, when a loud knocking at your front door jolted you awake. Groaning, you forced yourself out of bed. It was probably just Anika, who somehow always forgot her keys. You trudged over to the door and pulled it open, preparing to poke fun at your roommate for her forgetfulness, when you saw Chad and Ethan standing outside your door. 

“Oh, uhm. Hi?” you said, inwardly cringing at how awkward you sounded.

“Can we come in? We need to talk to you,” Chad said, Ethan nodding in agreement.

You felt your stomach twisting in knots as you nodded and moved aside to let them in. They were probably here to tell you that they both wanted to break it off with you. That you were selfish and disgusting, and that they wanted to move on and find someone better than you. But when you looked back up at their faces, neither of them seemed upset. In fact, they almost seemed… giddy? That was the only word you could think of to describe it. And that just confused you even more.

They walked inside, and you shut the door behind them. Chad walked into your open bedroom, with Ethan following right behind him. You went in after them, sitting down on your bed, feeling a slight bit confused as they did the same. 

“What’s going on?” you asked.

Taste on my tongue

I don't want to wash away the night before

In the heat, where you lay 

I could stay right here and burn in it all day

“Do you still love me?” Chad asked, even though he already knew the answer.

You scrunched your eyebrows up in confusion, nodding anyway. “Of course I do. Did you really have to ask me that?”

“What about me?” Ethan asked, turning your attention towards him.

You nodded again, not quite following. “Uh, yeah. I do.”

Ethan smiled, and you felt your heart skip a beat at the sight. How had it taken you so long to realize how breathtakingly gorgeous he was?

“So, we have something to ask you,” Chad said.

“Which is?” you replied, feeling more confused as time went on. It didn’t seem like either of them were dumping you. So what was going on?

“Would you be interested in being with both of us? Like officially?” Chad asked.

Your eyes widened in shock. He wasn’t being serious, right? He looked so upset when he caught you with Ethan a few hours ago. Why was he suddenly in support of it?

“Are you serious? You would be okay with that?”

“Well, yeah,” Chad answered.

“It wouldn’t be like you just dating the both of us. It would be all three of us, together,” Ethan chimed in.

The puzzle pieces clicked in your head. Finally, you understood what was going on. Not only did they both want you, but they also wanted each other. That’s why Chad wasn’t angry when he saw you and Ethan together. That weird expression on his face finally made sense. He thought it was hot. You felt all your nerves disappear, and a smile grew on your face.

You turned to Chad. “You liar! I knew you had feelings for Ethan! You’re not as discreet as you think.”

Ethan laughed, a smile on his face. “Wait, you knew he liked me?”

“Are you kidding? That one time we all went to the beach, he almost choked on his smoothie when you took your shirt off!”

Chad smiled awkwardly, feeling slightly embarrassed by the current conversation. “Okay, okay. We don’t need to talk about all of that…”

“Oh, but I think we do,” you smiled mischievously.

Chad waved dismissively, trying to change the subject. “You still never gave us an answer. Do you-”

You cut him off, “Yes, obviously!”

Waking up beside you, I'm a loaded gun

I can't contain this anymore

I'm all yours, I've got no control, no control

“Oh my god!”

You groaned slightly, being stirred from your sleep by the sound of shouting coming from somewhere near your bedroom door. You rubbed the sleep from your eyes, and your sight came into focus. Anika and Mindy were standing on the other side of your open door, wide eyed.

“My eyes!” Mindy shouted, her hands flying up to shield her face. 

“Mindy, grow up,” Anika said, laughing softly at her girlfriend’s theatrics.

Why were they freaking out? What’s going on? Oh. That was why. Chad and Ethan were asleep on either side of you, all of your clothes scattered across your bedroom floor. The only thing protecting your decency was the comforter pulled over the three of you. But it wasn’t very hard to figure out what happened. Which judging by their reactions, Anika and Mindy already had.

“What’s all the yelling about?” Chad mumbled, slowly waking up.

He looked around, his eyes meeting Mindy, and he dove under the blanket instantly in a panic. You giggled as you watched Chad freak out, finding his panic to be quite hilarious. 

“So, when did this happen?” Anika asked, a teasing smile on her face.

You shrugged, feeling quite awkward about being caught in this position. “Uh… last night?”

“Is it safe to look now?” Mindy asked, her hands still over her eyes.

“Chad’s hiding under the blanket if that’s what you’re worried about,” you replied, pulling the blanket tighter around you.

Slowly, Mindy lowered her hands, feeling less nauseated once Chad was out of view. “I know you and my brother are together, but I never want to have to deal with that image ever again.”

“Wait, so was this like a hookup, or…?” Anika asked, still very invested in this whole situation.

“No. We’re together. Like, all of us,” you replied, smiling awkwardly.

“Can we please finish this conversation after we have our clothes back on?” Chad asked, his voice muffled by the blanket over his head.

Powerless, and I don't care it's obvious

I just can't get enough of you

The pedal's down, my eyes are closed, no control

You, Chad, and Ethan have been together for almost a month now. Everything was perfect. It was everything you had ever dreamed of and more. You had two boyfriends, who you loved unconditionally, and who felt the same about you. Sure, there were still some issues, but every relationship has them. But getting to be with both of them was worth any problem that came your way.

Soon, Anika moved out of your shared apartment to live with Mindy, and your boyfriends moved in. It took a while to get your living situation sorted out, but soon it felt perfect. Everything was so domestic. You had never felt happier, and Chad and Ethan felt the same way. Having two boyfriends just made your life more exciting. You couldn’t even begin to describe all of the feelings this relationship gave you. And your sex life got a hell of a lot more exciting too.

Lost my senses, I'm defenseless

Her perfume's holding me ransom

Sweet and sour, heart devoured

Lying here, I count the hours

“What is it? What do you want, baby?” you asked Ethan, gripping his jaw tightly to keep his eyes trained on you. 

Ethan whined and reached out towards you, only for Chad to slap his hand away.

“Use your words baby. How are we supposed to give you what you want if you don’t tell us?” Chad said, his tone condescending.

“I- I want you to touch me. Please, touch me,” Ethan begged, desperation in his voice.

“What do you think Chad? Has he been good enough?” 

“I think so baby. He’s always such a good boy for us. Isn’t that right, Ethan?”

Ethan nodded eagerly, or nodded as best as he could, your hand still gripping his jaw tightly.

“Alright then. How do you want us to touch you baby…?” you let go of Ethan’s jaw, your hand sliding down his bare chest instead.

“I- I don’t care. However you want. Just touch me please,” Ethan whimpered, sounding even more desperate for anything you and Chad decided to give him.

You lightly pushed on Ethan’s shoulders, making him lie down on your bed. You moved to straddle his boxer-clad waist, eliciting a soft moan from Ethan at the small bit of friction. You were dressed in nothing but your bra and panties, a lilac set that Ethan gifted you. The sight of you in it always made his head spin.

Chad kneeled beside you, resting back on his heels. He palmed himself through his boxers, sighing in relief at the feeling. You looked over at Chad, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Did I say you could touch yourself?”

Chad sighed, “No.”

“You know you’re not allowed to unless I give you permission.”

“I- I know,” he said, looking a bit upset at having been caught.

Waking up, beside you I'm a loaded gun

I can't contain this anymore

I'm all yours, I've got no control, no control

You went to say something else, when Ethan flipped you over, straddling your hips and keeping you pinned to the bed. Chad raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. He shifted closer to the two of you, intrigued by the change in the situation.

“Whatcha doing baby?” you asked, looking up at Ethan, seeming completely unfazed. Almost as if you had expected this.

Ethan smiled down at you. “You were taking too long. Need you too bad to wait. I think Chad can agree with me on that.”

“Oh, definitely,” Chad said, moving to kneel by your head.

“So what’re you gonna do about it?” you taunted, knowing full well what they intended to do. 

“We’re just gonna take what we want,” Ethan said, leaning down to kiss you.

You kissed him back, your hands getting tangled in his hair. You tugged lightly, causing him to whimper. You smirked against his lips, before biting down on his bottom lip. Just hard enough to hurt, without causing any damage. Chad whined slightly, causing you and Ethan to let out a laugh at his neediness.

“Aww, you want some attention too baby?” you asked, sitting up slightly, pulling Chad into a kiss.

He kissed you hungrily, seeming utterly desperate for your touch. You felt Chad being pulled off of you, and you were confused for a moment, until you saw Ethan pull Chad in to meet his lips. You grinned up at the sight, watching your boyfriends make out above you. You could never get over how hot they were, especially when they were together. 

Powerless, and I don't care it's obvious

I just can't get enough of you

The pedal's down, my eyes are closed, no control

“Fuck! Just like that baby. You’re doing so good,” Ethan said as he pounded into you mercilessly. 

You moaned and babbled unintelligibly, your ability to form words long gone from the immense pleasure you were feeling. Ethan had your legs up over his shoulders, his thumb working intently on your clit, as he pistoned in and out of your dripping heat. Chad kneeled above you, jerking himself off above your face, his precum dripping down to coat your lips. 

You were a mess, falling apart at their hands. You reached out to Chad, pushing his hand away and replacing it with your own. He let out a strangled moan, his hips bucking forward into your touch. 

“Fuck, baby. You’re so fucking good at that,” Chad said, breathless and dizzy with pleasure.

“They’re absolute heaven,” Ethan added, his hips stuttering as he spilled his load into the condom. 

You whined at the feeling, speeding up your hand on Chad’s throbbing cock. Ethan sped up his movements on your clit, throwing you over the edge as you came with a cry. Chad followed soon after, his cum painting your face. You let your hand fall, utterly exhausted and out of breath.

Ethan pulled out, causing you to wince slightly from the sensitivity. He pulled the condom off and tied it, tossing it in the trash can. You were still out of it, mind floating in a state of pure bliss. Chad smiled down at you, in awe of your beauty. Ethan returned before you even realized he had left, a warm cloth in his hand which he used to clean you off. 

You felt yourself slowly come back to reality when you felt yourself being tucked into bed between your boyfriends, new sheets on the bed, and a comfy pair of pajamas on your body. 

No control

No control

You rolled over to face Ethan, an annoyed (but not really) smile on your face. “You asshole! I was supposed to be in charge tonight!” 

You shoved his shoulder playfully, trying to appear angry. But he could see right through you. He simply smiled and pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“Sorry baby. You just looked so good I couldn’t resist. You’ll be in charge next time, I promise. Absolutely no overthrowing.”

He laughed softly at the pout on your face. You both knew you weren’t really upset, with the way he had just made you feel that would be impossible. Still, you felt like keeping up this act for a little longer. You flipped over to face Chad.

“And you! You just went along with it! What, do I just not get any respect around here?”

Chad smiled, kissing your cheek. “Oh come on. You were practically asking for it. You know how impatient Ethan gets. He can only take so much of your teasing before he snaps and flips you over.”

You rolled your eyes, but smiled nonetheless. You turned to lay on your back, Chad and Ethan cuddling up to you. You were always the big spoon, even when you weren’t in charge during your little excursions. You held them close, the warm blanket enveloping the three of you. You smiled to yourself, overwhelmed with happiness and love for your boyfriends. Slowly, you drifted off to sleep, excited to wake up and start the next day with the loves of your life. 

Powerless, and I don't care it's obvious

I just can't get enough of you

The pedal's down, my eyes are closed, no control

tags: @wenvierismycomfort @hyeyulove @afro-hispwriter

if your user is crossed out, it means i can't tag you!

[lintwriting]

Disney’s Comphet Episode

girl meets world's legacy will most likely be its total flop as a sequel to boy meets world, as well as the worst autism rep ever lol but I'll personally always remember it for how much it FUMBLED THE BAG because it introduced a stupid love triangle.

why were there so many shows in the late 'aughts dedicated to RUINING their shows with pointless ship wars? star vs the forces of evil, danny phantom, and girl meets world are just off the top of my head.

we have these two perfect best friend characters. surprisingly perfect friendship. okay, more like, veering on homoromantic.

(via @forbescaroline)

and then you know what they do with it? They insert the MOST WHITE BREAD ass love interest ever in the form of Lucas.

his defining characteristic is that he's a dreamy goodboy, and there's nothing wrong with that except that he's EXTREMELY boring compared to the oddballs of the rest of the cast, like Farkle or Maya or Riley.

The one thing that subsidizes his bore factor is that all his love triangle ship drama fuels conflict in the show.

he's the straight man--ha, get it? kys

he's dreamy enough to have these perfect friends in conflict over him.

and it kind of ruins the fun of the show.

like, i don't want to see Riley and Maya fight. and they don't even want to fight either. so they're just sighing sadly at each other, meanwhile im over here WHY WOULD YOU EVEN WANT TO DATE LUCAS??

it's giving "she was a girl, he was a boy, can I make it anymore obvious"

like i appreciate a show that demonstrates that girls in competition over a guy DO NOT need to be catty or mean (from what I can remember), but like, this should have been a 1 episode plot AT MOST GOD

they expand on the plot in the most bizarre ways possible too. like i havent watched this show in years, but i still remember this shit.

The premise of the show is that Riley falls into Lucas's lap on a bus in ep 1, so they're basically an end game couple from the beginning. But they have to introduce a shitty love triangle.

So they then have an episode where Maya "acts" as Riley for a day, and while she's acting as Riley, she realizes that Riley doesn't love Lucas and most likely sees him as a brother. which, first of all, is the craziest shit ive ever heard, and second of all

COULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST BEAUTIFUL scene about comphet EVER in a disney kids show.

the DRAMA. the PROJECTION. "she's confused" "feelings you don't understand"

the contrast between what Riley THINKS she feels for Lucas and what Maya feels for Riley. Riley ASKING MAYA "how do I feel, then, maya?" and MAYA's "just tell me what to say" !!! It's the "Good Luck, Babe" of it all!!!!!!!!

it astounds me that this exists in the show! i remembered nothing else about the show EXCEPT for this scene and the terrible autism PSA farkle episode lol.

they use this to fan maya x lucas flames and some drama about maya becoming riley in the last season, which I have zero clue about because all that exists to me is that one crystal clear moment of comphet.

so yeah, while I don't care for sabrina carpenter's music, im extremely happy that she covered chappell roan's "Good Luck, Babe" because it led to this amazing edit that compiles all these moments lol

what a moment. everything, it all has led up to this 67 views edit.

last thing I gotta say, I feel like the drama of "are you becoming me" would've ATE as drama, especially in a sapphic context. like some jennifer's body type shit. instead, it's poorly executed, one-sided, and does harm to both of their characters, from what I've read. BUT LIKE, there's no way it was one-sided. The envy/self-projection thing nor the love!! THEY HAD TO HAVE BEEN RECIPROCAL oh my god i can't Disney was SO CLOSE to greatness WHYYYYYYYYYYY

[fadeling]

helia week ✨ 05

day one | day two | day three | day four

🌻 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 🌻

21. Did the Warden romance anyone from their group? If so, what attracted them to their partner?

Alistair, of course, which i've already more than alluded to a few times and i already accidentally answered the second question in the previous post. i'll just talk about their romance in general here

despite both having warm and intimate feelings for each other, it took awhile for their relationship to begin in any capacity. this is because helia is a little bit stupid when it comes to realizing her own attractions and romantic feelings, and is even less aware of when that attention is directed towards her. she just didnt really think about it, assuming that the hope she'll get to spend the rest of her time as a warden with him is Totally Platonic and that there's no deeper feelings to analyze there. just utterly clueless.

Alistair was the more emotionally aware one. at least he has the capacity to know and acknowledge when he feels something for someone. i think he's utterly fascinated by helia, never has he known someone so poised and yet so. weird. i think he wants to study her. how could he not want to fuck her. there's a nervousness too, she seems better than him and considering her lack of flirtations he might just be an asshole for presenting his feelings

funnily enough, it's actually helia who encourages him into sharing his attraction for her. he calls her beautiful and then retracts it, then even asks what she'd think if he really did call her that. and so she says she'd love to have an answer but she can't know until he commits to it. which like fair enough, so he does!

the rose conversation happens ( jsyk redcliffe is one of the last things i do before the landsmeet arc) and helia reciprocates deeply. it's extremely kind and fuck, of course she feels the same way? however. and im not bullshitting you. she is COMPLETELY unaware that this conversation is romantic in any way. and he doesn't know she doesnt know. so imagine her surprise when later on, during another romantically charged conversation, he kisses her. helia is completely fucking blindsided its awesome

... which he realized after and oh my god he can't believe it! this woman can read an assassin out of a throne room, how can she have not figured it out by now ? it's very very funny. it's very cute and he's super lucky she said that it's fine because she liked it.

another fave moment is that i usually do things in a way where after his personal quest i get the sex cutscene, and then immediately after THAT one i get the post-hardened "i think from now on im going to do whatever i want that makes me feel happy" like um. yeah man. i can tell. <3

22. Which gifts would raise the Warden's approval, if they were a companion?

These questions are always really hard for me to answer umm. She’s not a very picky person but she appreciates things she can use more than appreciates aesthetic. if you give her expensive jewellery she'll end up selling it unless you clarify extreme sentimentality, for example. she doesn't want for very much.

i can imagine that she's interested in books. of all kinds. geography, history, biography, even magical tomes, she hungers for Lore. she'll even enjoy a random tattered journal you found in a well. i think she also enjoys candles.

also it's cliche but she fucking loooves blades and weapons, not just because shes a sicko but because she's also a geek about the craft. she appreciates a well-designed weapon, and enjoys clever add-ons. She actually perked up when she heard her betrothed has ties to blacksmithing. I think its a special interest of hers :) if you gave her starmetal to craft starfang with it would change her life

23. If Dog is in the party, what did the Warden name him and why?

Bloodkin because he also drank darkspawn blood, lived, experienced ostagar, and then lived from that too. just like her and alistair did. ^_^ there's a deep companionship found in the events that brought them all together and helia finds that deeply important. He's A Part Of Them. he's called bloody for short btw

24. Did the Warden complete the companions quests?

yeah, i very rarely ever have a character who will skip out on optional questlines and companions because I simply Just Dont Want To so my rpg protags will sometimes have through-line similarities. but in different flavours i do still try and think about it.

im pretty sure i said before that helia considers her relationships to be a part of her duty, so going out of her way to do extra things for her comrades, i mean... how could she not?

25. Did the Warden focus more on their objective or did they do side quests?

She likes helping people and stealing from nobles. And delivering justice. so hell yes

[aihoshiino]

I had an idea for a time loop Oshi no Ko fic.

Start with the breakup conversation between Ai and Kamiki. Ai can tell that Kamiki's taking it badly, but what's done is done. For time loop reasons, Kamiki immediately tells a jealous stalker about Ai's pregnancy and home address, and she gets murdered within the week.

Ai gets booted back to some time before the breakup. Once she figures out what's going on, she has two goals: Take advantage of the time loop to find a better way to break up with Kamiki, and don't get murdered. (Obviously, she does not realize that there is a connection between these goals.)

As one of Tumblr's premier Ai Hoshino fans, do you think this idea sounds interesting or—? Well, if you don't, I doubt you'd actually post this ask.

genuinely unironically and with ten thousand percent sincerity i fucking love that the legacy of my online presence is '#1 hoshino ai wife guy'. this is what i was put on this earth to do.

Joking aside tho… Godddddd I've always loved the idea of an OnK timeloop fic!!!! I actually think the story lends itself really well to that kind of premise - the story revolves around this central tragedy as its axis and has just enough soft magic supernatural elements that you can so easily bullshit up a natural feeling reason for this to be happening. I also think this idea works surprisingly well in a thematic sense, too? OnK is about cycles, at least in the sense of generational echoes, but it's also about narratives, those created by and about us, and about moving on from past trauma to reclaim your right to the future. Timeloop stories are really natural and well suited vehicles for those sorts of themes.

I also think it would be super fun to play with in like, a metanarrative sense as well? Idr if this particular thought ever made its way onto tumblr, but I love rolling the idea in my brain of Ai being 'narratively cursed' in a sense. Because Ai as a character in a story is kind of defined by her fate - her role in OnK and any of its derivatives is defined by the question of whether or not she lives and even in stories where she survives, it still echoes. The idea of making that something the characters in the story have to tangibly grapple with me is super compelling to me. Like, maybe it's a KagePro sort of thing where, even if her death at Ryosuke's hands is prevented, her death on that day is 'fated'.

I think this could be a really cool reflection of something in the original text the story doesn't really get as much time to go into, that Ai's tragedy is simultaneously preventable and avoidable & inevitable and unstoppable, purely because of the way the deck was stacked against her. Even if there was no Ryosuke, there would have been a hundred other men with knives in their hands. Her "fate" is inevitable because it's the end result of a whole Rude Goldberg machine of systematic and individual choices made to exploit her for her whole life. Ai can't ever escape the narrative because she has no control over it. Her one act of rebellion against it - her decision to become Aqua and Ruby's mother - is the thing that cements her doom.

Because of this, I don't think I would actually want Ai herself to be the center of a loop story focused on saving her? Like, her being the POV character would be interesting but I think another character would need to be the main looper. This is because, for me… I actually don't think Ai can ever 'save' herself.

Not in the sense that she is incapable of doing so, but because saving herself would destroy any chance of her salvation in the first place. Her entire life, she has been failed by every single person who had the responsibility to love and protect her and she is forced to uplift herself as a result. Ai saving herself is the final proof to her that nobody was ever going to help her, that she cannot be authentically loved or accepted as she is. Kindness was always conditional. Her love was never reciprocated.

This is why she has to be saved by someone else - because her salvation is someone seeing both Hoshino Ai and Ai of B-Komachi and choosing Hoshino Ai. That's why her fate is inevitable. Because everyone else will always choose "Ai of B-Komachi". She can only be saved by a person who sees all of her and decides to unconditionally love and accept Hoshino Ai with the full understanding of everything that she is.

Because of that… I think Kamiki would be the ideal looper in a scenario like this. Not only does it provide salvation for Ai, but I also think it creates a really interesting route to salvation/redemption for Kamiki; presenting him with not just the opportunity but the necessity to undo his mistakes and repair the damage he caused and. in the process, come to finally, truly understand Ai as a person, not as his savior. And in doing so, Kamiki saves himself, too.

That's just how I'd do it, anyway…! I don't know that I'd ever have the energy or drive to write this sort of thing myself, but people are free to mine this for ideas for their own fics/AUs/etc.

[mintywolf]

A Long Road Home - Page 93 Author's Notes

Page 93

(Sorry Imogen Laudna is very much A Creature.)

When I started drawing this I realized that the pages I cut around 82 (the alternate script is here) to avoid conflict with What Doesn’t Break actually had the function of showing her using Wither and Bloom to defend herself for the first time, and therefore went into greater detail of how it manifests. (Like in Remember Us it takes the form of shadowy vines that leech the color from the target and causes flowers to bloom on Laudna or whomever she wants to heal.) Now without that introduction it just kind of . . . happens without explanation, haha.

There was also, as I mentioned earlier, a scene I cut that would have taken place right before they went to the Gloating Goat for dinner. (Hence the library books Imogen is carrying.)

Page 92

Panel 1: In the little town library, they're situated at a table with several books open between them (and a few hovering by telekinesis). Imogen is frowning over a book while Laudna is reading hers with interest, taking notes. Panel 2: A closer look at what Imogen is reading. It's a book on Tal'Dorei history, open to a section about Whitestone. A brief paragraph mentions the occupation of the city by a Sylas and Delilah Briarwood between the years of 805-810 PD before its liberation by Vox Machina, but details are sparse. Panel 3: Closing the book, she Mage Hands it over into their growing discard pile and stretches. Imogen: We really gotta find a way to get into that academy in Jrusar. Not a damn thing on red storms, psychic powers, or necromancy in this whole library. Laudna: That's not really surprising. I think the last is illegal on most continents. Why are you researching necromancy, anyway? Looking for more dead friends in your life? Panel 4: Outline of a woman amid the shelves and books. Imogen: No! I was just curious about your whole . . . (gestures) you. And that woman in your head, if I'm bein' honest. Laudna: Well, if you really want to know about her, I could probably arrange an interview . . . Panel 5: She leans towards Laudna, who reciprocates with a smile. Imogen: And also . . . well, I was thinkin', after what you told me the other day. Laudna: Oh, about how I was murdered, hung from a tree, and then poorly resurrected? Imogen: No, not that . . . Laudna: Or is this about the time I fell out of the tree as a child and cracked my head open, died, and then un-died? Do you want to see the scar? Imogen: No, that's . . . Panel 6: Imogen starts fidgeting with her pencil. Laudna: You know, for having the constitution of a wet rag, I'm surprisingly hard to kill. It was very upsetting for my parents at times, as you might imagine. But children have surprisingly malleable skulls. Imogen: Actually . . . I was wonderin' if maybe you'd want to finish your schoolin'? Laudna: . . . Me?

Page 93

Panel 1: Discomfited, Laudna starts building a fort for Pâté and Calamari with the discarded library books. Laudna: No, no. If either of us goes, it should be you, Imogen. You're so bright, and so talented, and you have so much potential. And like I said, I was never very good at school. It really was for the best that my parents kept me home. Imogen: Don't say that about yourself. You're smart, Laudna! Laudna: Oh, I've always loved to learn! It was just . . . everything else about school that I had a hard time with. Panel 2: We see a school-aged Matilda looking dreamily out the classroom window. Her slate on the desk before her contains part of an arithmetic lesson before dwindling into a doodle of a dragon. Laudna: (VO) You know, all the sitting still, paying attention, turning in assignments on time . . . Panel 3: She startles as the teacher, looming over her suddenly, slaps the back of her hand with a ruler. The laughter of other students erupts around her. Teacher: Miss Bradbury! Laudna: (VO) Never really got the hang of all that.  Panel 4: Back in the library. Imogen reaches over and takes her hand, rubbing her thumb over the same place that was struck.  Imogen: We don't have to enroll. But just think of how much you could learn in a library like that, at your own pace, studyin' what you wanted to. Imogen: (internally) And also when you're not bein' drugged out of your mind. Laudna: That does sound like fun. There are a great many things I've been curious about, but I've never had the means to find answers. Panel 5: Imogen starts setting aside the books and putting away her notes. Laudna notices one of the books she was reading. Imogen: Well, I'm ready to head out if you are. Laudna: Oh! That's a book on Tal'Dorei history. Imogen: Um. Yeah, I . . . Laudna: You were . . . fact-checking me? Panel 6: Imogen hurries to reassure her. Laudna brushes off her own unease with a laugh. Imogen: It wasn't like I didn't believe you! I was just curious about the history you lived through, that's all. Laudna: Oh, well. If that's all! I suppose I'm a little foggy on the details too. It's been so long, after all.

I cut it for a few reasons, primarily pacing, but it was also a remnant of an angle I decided against taking in this chapter where Imogen was not entirely sure whether Delilah is real. She would have believed she existed, historically, but thought that her presence in Laudna’s mind might have been like Pâté, a personality she made up to help herself cope with what happened to her. Ultimately I decided against it and instead made the main conflict between them that Imogen doesn’t realize at first that Delilah, Laudna’s invisible protector and the source of her power, and Lady Briarwood, her murderer, are the same person.

I did like Imogen’s suggestion though that Laudna finish her education in Jrusar because it made it seem less like Laudna is just along for the ride, only interested in going there for Imogen’s sake. As far as I know Matilda having been pulled out of school early is unique to the backstory I’ve given her here, but the possibility is hinted at briefly in the very first episode when they’re considering enrolling in the Starpoint Conservatory as students in order to have access to the library and Laudna considers going “back to school.” Back in Ye Olden Times (before the early 20th century) the school-leaving age was around 14 and it wasn’t uncommon for children, especially of working-class or farming families, to finish their education with the eighth grade and then go to work to help support the family or manage the farm or family business. High school and college level education was for the upper classes rather than the norm. This is what she meant a few pages back when she told Imogen that she was nearly of an age when she’d be allowed to leave — at 12 she was expecting to have only a year or so more of education to complete (since the wizard on whom she pinned her hopes as a prospective teacher for her unique magical skills hadn’t arrived in town yet). It’s unclear from Laudna’s dialogue in that episode if by “back to school” she means the higher education she never had a chance at before, or the basic education she didn’t get to finish, but she goes on an interesting face journey considering it.

Also I felt like it was maybe a little too unsubtle with the “Laudna is neurodivergent” subtext, but I mean. It’s not very subtle on the show either!

[the-peak-tmnt]

Hey there! 👋 I just finished reading the latest chapter of Reciprocity and (hope I'm not bothering you) but I wanted to say all of this while it was still fresh in my mind!

Firstly: I love love LOVE how you lightly touched on Splinter and Raph's relationship pre-losing Leo before things got tense between them. It was just SUCH a nice breath of fresh air from how things currently are with them 😭 (hope they'll have that father & son relationship again someday).

Secondly: Love how you're giving us a glimpse into Leo's anxiety. As someone with crippling anxiety myself, I HEAVILY RELATE TO OUR BOY. And did he almost tell Raph about his spiritual connection!? (I forgot exactly what you called/described it as in your fic, but I noticed it!!)

Thirdly: Your overall world building and real-life references are always such a delight to read. You really make the story and characters FEEL believable, like the film was aiming to do! So reading about them receiving fan-mail and art from kids is SO SWEET.

I know this is already long (sorry); but there's one thing I'd like to ask. The part with the little girl wearing the armbrace and bandanna in Raph's colours WARMED MY HEART. So, this may be a silly question to ask, but will that girl ever make an appearance again?

I understand the point was so that Raph realized the importance of them being "heroes" and inspiring people. I just can't help but imagine a scenario where he randomly runs into her again after everything that's happened. (Not saying you have to put this in your story - pls don't do that omw this YOUR baby!!). It's just something I've been thinking about for HOURS - it really stuck with me.

Again, sorry this was quite long! 🙈 Keep up the great work, take your time, and stay amazing! ✨️

Ahhhhh you are SPOILING ME today! First the fan art on Twitter, now this wonderful comment 😭 And it's never a bother to hear from someone!!!

Firstly: I love love LOVE how you lightly touched on Splinter and Raph's relationship pre-losing Leo before things got tense between them.

Glad you liked that! I really wanted to give everyone a glimpse of "the good old days" (if only to make the current state of things even more painful lol)

Secondly: Love how you're giving us a glimpse into Leo's anxiety. As someone with crippling anxiety myself, I HEAVILY RELATE TO OUR BOY.

On the one hand, I am really sorry to hear that. But on the other, I'm glad that more than a few people have said the way the boys are written feels authentic and relatable. The things the boys are struggling with are delicate subjects, and I'm trying my best handle them appropriately and do them justice.

And did he almost tell Raph about his spiritual connection!? (I forgot exactly what you called/described it as in your fic, but I noticed it!!)

Leo was trying to tell Raph about it! At that point, everyone thinks Leo is just a really sensitive and empathetic guy. I don't want to give too much away, but at that point, Leo was beginning to realize that what he was feeling was something more than that. It's freaking him out though, and Raph was the only person he felt comfortable enough telling back then 😭

I haven't actually given it a "name" per se, because Raph still isn't really aware of it when he's awake. I've been using a few different words interchangeably like connection, bond, link, etc. As things progress and we learn more, my plan is to have one of the characters give it an "official" name.

Thirdly: Your overall world building and real-life references are always such a delight to read. You really make the story and characters FEEL believable, like the film was aiming to do! So reading about them receiving fan-mail and art from kids is SO SWEET.

THANK YOU! I just really really love world building, and I especially love the world building of Mutant Mayhem. It feels real and believable. Its just really fun to sit here and think about how this would play out in the real world (even the boring and logistical parts like having to go to the post office or how they're able to pay for things lol).

I know this is already long (sorry); but there's one thing I'd like to ask. The part with the little girl wearing the armbrace and bandanna in Raph's colours WARMED MY HEART. So, this may be a silly question to ask, but will that girl ever make an appearance again?

akjshfgaksdfhdsaf I can't tell you but...!!!! Sort of! Kind of! Not her specifically, but there will be another Raph and "little kid looking up to him as a hero" moment that's very important and a huge turning point in the whole story and it is taking EVERYTHING I have not to give too much away!!!!!!! WHY CAN'T I WRITE FASTER?!?!

Thanks again so much, I love comments and asks!

[system-of-a-feather]

(Content Warning: XIV just rambling / bitching aimlessly cause FUCK man)

I find it incredibly hard to understand how it is so difficult for some people to really fathom that someone would genuinely care and want to help someone that they don't know and may never know. I think its common sense and just... inherent moral common fucking sense?

I don't really know if its driven by people with normal / functioning empathy (as in "feeling what others feel" definition) and becoming dependent / structuring their values and view of morality off of the heightened award for 'helping someone' that empathy gives or what not but.... I don't get the presumed requirement that someone would have to know someone or have any personal stakes in their wellbeing to want that person to be able to get by and live.

If it's possible for me to sustainably do... why wouldn't I do something nice for anyone who needs it? Why do I need to know someone to care, be there, and support others?

I mean I GUESS someone I know would be more likely to reciprocate should I need it, but like... fuck man maybe if everyone looked out for everyone, we wouldn't need all this "okay but whose going to return the favor" cause like man, if your entire social group and society agrees that everyone should support one another, then maybe you don't need to worry about if the person you are helping will be the exact person who helps you when you need it cause you just get to know that the overall society will support and back you.

I dunno man, I really don't see how any of this is that complicated. Nothing here is personal, if I have excess and I see someone who needs, I give my excess to those who need beccause what in the loving hell am I going to do with excess and why the hell would I leave it to sit when someone needs it.

How the fuck is socialism / communism a confusing / complicated / hard concept for some people to get?

Jesus christ.

I think it just boggles me how a lot of people get their moral compass from how they feel in the moment and don't really think about what exactly is important to them and the principles they both want to see in the world and what they want to bring into their life and its just mind boggling.

Since working at our current job and helping run ACT groups (ACT is focused a lot on values) I've really begun to rapidly understand why our previous therapist wanted to try ACT and then when talking with me, realized I already have it down so hard without even going through it to the point we changed to CPT instead.

Like... even in the therapist community / professional community, the amount of people who have a strong and deep understanding of the values and principles and standards they live in and a dedication to actually stay within them is so fucking small and I just think its absolutely INSANE to operate.... not regularly checking those in?

Like... how the fuck do you navigate the world and make sense of your actions if you don't clearly know what principles and values you live by??? Like at least since I fused into XIV 2.0, I've had such a clear "bill of rights" as ACT would put it and after sitting in too many ACT groups like...

I'm pretty fucking sure thats why I have an insane and absurd level of self confidence, self esteem, and security in myself. I know exactly what matters to me, what is important to me, what I want to see, what I will and will not tolerate, what I want to be and I use that to guide basically almost everything I do. If I do something not in line with that, I make amends not because I "feel bad" in the dramatic way, but because I don't want to disrespect myself by not living according to The Principles that I've established.

It's so fucking insane to think that most people never think about it until its brought up and that even those that do, they don't have those things really cemented and a large part of how they navigate.

But genuinely like.... fucking its insane that "if someone needs help and you can easily / sustainably help them / have the resources to ease their struggles, then you should" is just not inherently in everyone's books

[furiousgoldfish]

Damn i was not expecting the "#tw extreme abuse", thank you very much for your words though

I might be able to help the person who asked about healthy relationships though, ive made a lot of good relationships despite my family:

Communication

•above all else, communicate. Tell them about yourself. Learn about them. Get to know eachother! Likes, dislikes. Boundaries especially! Check in on them. Just a quick hi once in a while can do wonders (lots of relationships fail due to lack of communication or miscommunication)

•listen to eachother

Arguements

•if something happens you can always walk away, make sure the other person understands that they can as well. Take time to collect yourselves and explain later why your upset

•be clear and ask for clarification where you need it

•fights can be scary but dont think that someone will leave you after one

•try to steer clear of insults/threats/blackmail if your angry, thats hard to repair after

Trust

•i know its hard to trust and you can take all the time you need to learn how, but making healthy relationships is a good way to learn trust.

•Dont lie to them or you will get caught up in trying to keep it under wraps (unless its to protect your safety, in that case maybe being around this person is not a good idea), not only will they not trust you but you wont give yourself the opportunity to trust them

Kindness

•be nice. Its simple. Good people, the people that will make for great friends/support/family will be kind back! Go out and meet people! Youll make friends! Just give yourself a chance!

•treat other how you deserve to be treated, with all the love and kindess you should have gotten! They will pay it back, they will love you!

Other notes

•express interest in their interests. You dont have to be a big fan, people will want to show you what they like when they like you. They're sharing something special to them. So ask about it! You dont have to engage much with it, but show them their interests have value. It will make them really happy, and they should be open to yours as well.

•do fun shit together! Something you both enjoy! If there isnt anything that overlaps you can do your own stuff in eachothers company. Just hanging out with them is enough.

•being able to love someone else, is to love yourself. You're filled with so much compassion and care for this person, and they will feel the same. They will be their to love you when life hits the fan.

•again take your time, it can be hard to get right. If it doesn't work out thats an experience you can carry into the next relationship, something to learn from.

Caution:

-make sure they actually make you happy and treat you well, not that theyre just the first person you could latch onto

-make sure you both have personal freedoms, your loyalty to eachother should not come at that cost

-keep yourself safe, safety comes first

Finding good people is a very important one as well, if anyone needs i could try explaining that too. Hope this helps.

Hey thank you for sending this manual!

Yeah your situation is extreme, I'm thinking about you and hoping that you get to experience freedom.

Your manual sounds really nice and is filled with common sense, and I've been following these types of guidelines for most of my life, but still had absolutely no luck. The thing is, this would work if you're surrounded with kind, understanding, non-abusive, friendly people who also just wanted to be friends with you and reciprocate and earn your trust and keep you in your life.

However a lot of people will see your friendly, kind, compassionate and communicative nature and decide to make use of it. It's been the hardest thing for me to realize when the other person is just pretending to be friendly back, in order to exploit me. It's really difficult to take distance from someone when they make you feel guilty for it and attack you for it, and it's hard to not feel guilty and betrayed when it happens. Manipulative people make great use of trust and communication you give them! Treating them with love and kindness will often get you in a situation where love and kindness will be expected, or demanded out of you, while you find yourself unable to ask even for some patience and space for yourself. And I'm worried that this is the situation for most abused people, we're often trying so hard to be kind, communicative, trusting, interested, loyal, patient, giving, caring, compassionate, and they zero in on that and eat it up, taking some time to make us let our guard down, before they start banking on us being in their service.

I have been trying to find good people all of my life, and fell unsuccessful, and I've tried hundreds of people, created a system of red flags that make me drop them, and had to drop pretty much everyone. And it's not as if this manual is generally bad, or I've just sucked so much at communicating and building boundaries, it's just, really difficult after abuse to feel okay around people, and to not be bothered by some of their manipulative nature - it hurts us more than it hurts others.

So even as I'm really bad with people, I can't recommend being very kind, trusting or communicative, of course it's nice if you can be that and not get hurt for it, but I absolutely cannot. It never happened once in my life, that someone returned the same kindness, love and care I gave them, and it often broke my heart. I would have to be very naive to still believe that I just haven't done it for the right person - hundreds of people reacted similarly, took what they could, then either turned on me, hurt me and pretended it was okay and I should stop being sensitive, or abandoned me altogether if I ever stood up to them.

This all is not your fault, and I can completely understand how you sent in these instructions with best of intentions, sincerely believing that this is the key to healthy relationships. It seemed like that to me too, when I was younger! I fully believed this would work, kind people would see me and return the kindness, it would be okay. The only thing I can recommend is the stuff you have under caution - if someone fails to reciprocate, or reciprocates at first and then stops reciprocating, get distance. If your freedom around this person is limited, get away, get distance. If they start treating you worse at any point, get distance. It's not worth ending up in another abusive, neglected or scary situation just for the hope of human connection. And it's also really difficult for an abused person tell when they're being neglected, treated badly or their kindness is not reciprocated, just because we've already been used to so much worse, so anyone not outright threatening to kill us seems like a nice enough person who deserves our whole heart. They often do not.

[rosalind-hawkins]

Euroshipping Musings

Footnotes are below the cut because my parentheses were starting to look ridiculous.

I have this headcanon/recurring trope in my fics(1) of Ryou being Mokuba's not-babysitter. I've figured out where this came from. When Mokuba gets his soul back in Pegasus' castle, Ryou is the one holding him when he wakes up, and I guess I always imagined our Baby Kaiba imprints on Ryou like a duckling. Kaiba doesn't want his brother spending so much time alone only with KC employees or household staff, but Mokuba's a little old for a babysitter(2). Kids his own age aren't too much of an option for one reason or other(3) and most of the dweeb patrol are insufferable to Kaiba, but Ryou is one that's never once tried to lecture him or expressly criticized him, so Kaiba picks him as a companion/caretaker for Mokuba. Ryou thinks of it as being a nanny, but would never use that word around either Kaiba.

Ryou starts spending a lot of time at the Kaiba Mansion, and since he reports directly to Kaiba, he gets a peek at his more personal side, and all of his bad habits: insomnia, caffeine addiction, workaholism. He starts out by doing little things for him, like sneakily switching out his coffee for decaf in the evenings. The more comfortable he gets with Kaiba (who acts unexpectedly chill when he's not in a combative situation and feeling threatened), and this comfort results in him actually scolding Kaiba for his bad habits, trying to correct them and save him from himself. In his mind, he's taking care of both Kaibas now.

Seto starts to really take notice of Ryou a little while after this starts, and he tries asking him why Ryou is doing these thigs for him. It's not part of his job. He gets to the heart of the issue and asks why Ryou is acting like he cares, and Ryou says it's because he does care. Seto just asks why(4) and Ryou struggles to explain. Confessions for these two are never easy or smooth, it takes a little awkwardness and discomfort to be completely honest about feelings and say what they're really trying to say. Kaiba doesn't necessarily reciprocate right away, not externally, but they do get together because Ryou is a calming, caring presence in a home that didn't see a lot of that for a long time, and because Seto realizes how nice it can be to let yourself be cared for, and that he'd miss Ryou if he ever left.

It's not a fiery passionate love (though they do grow into the passionate stuff) but it starts out as something very domestic, very simple. It's two hurt people recognizing each other and approaching with caution and care, and finding a way to fit into each other's lives. Learning how to lean on each other, just a little bit at a time, until one day they wake up and realize they can't imagine a life without the other person there. It's Seto realizing how cold his life would be without giving Ryou's bedhead a goodbye kiss in the morning and the scent of his tea in his office and a lint-roller full of long white hairs dusted off his suits sitting on the bathroom counter. It's Ryou realizing that he's found a new family for himself and how dear it is to him, and how he hopes this never ends because he found a place where he feels safe and loved and doesn't know if he could do this all over again.

My very first Euroshipping story(5) was based around this whole idea of Ryou babysitting Mokuba, and it just snuck its way into my other stories too.

I even put this trope in Rock Bottom where Ryou is Mokuba's babysitter, though the circumstances there are wildly different

or not, I play with the age difference for the Kaibros sometimes

either Mokuba is homeschooled, or he's just as suspicious of friendship as his older brother is, or he just gets into fights at school anytime people talk shit about his big bro (that's another trope of mine), so true friends are a little hard to come by

I swear I have three different scenes for two different fics (one is a deleted scene) of someone confessing their feelings to Kaiba and him asking them why because this boy can't understand why someone would like him on a personal level. It comes with the territory of being generally bad at emotions; it also comes with the territory of every version of Kaiba I write being traumatized to some degree, but that's gonna get its own post.

That fic is only posted on FFN, where all my oldest stuff is. I didn't think it was good enough to cross-post to AO3.

[sexysilverstrider]

reading the japanese and english takukamu S supports im just getting really emotional over the japanese version

when i reread the official english version, i realize they kinda water down how takumi really felt. that explains why i got REALLY emotional reading the japanese version. some of the changes were:

english: there is something else I wanted to talk about… japanese: will you listen to my request?

while this doesnt seem much, the eng version makes takumi sound calmer while jpn version makes him sound nervous. it was a bit odd when takumi says request but then

english: So…does this change anything? About your feelings toward us, I mean. japanese: Hey. Earlier... you said you would listen to my request. So, will you... forgive me for this?

apparently after confessing his feelings n telling the truth, jpn takumi clearly felt disgusted and horrified that he has romantic feelings for someone he was supposed to call sister. eng takumi once again makes him feel calmer and chill as if he had enough time to think and ponder--almost as if the big truth wasnt all that much--while jpn takumi is implied to have rued and suffered through his feelings, fearing that kamui will hate or be disgusted with him. after alls said and done, all takumi ever wanted was for kamui to accept him even if she doesnt love him

english: Avatar: When you said that you liked me, my heart started racing. But I didn't want it to show because I didn't know about Father. Everything is so confusing. Takumi: That's right. But in a confusing world, we must cling to the few fragments of truth we share. And the truth is that I love you, Avatar, and you love me. Let's build a future on that. Avatar: Y-yes. I think you're right. Let's give it a shot. What's the worst that could happen? japanese: Kamui: When you said that you liked me earlier, I was really happy. Because we're siblings, I've avoided saying such a thing... Takumi: Kamui-neesan... Kamui: ... But you came straight out and said you liked me. You showed me that it was okay to love you. Thank you, Takumi. I also want to stay by your side... Takumi: Nee-san...!! For you to have the same feelings as me, I've never been this happy in my life. So... I'll give you this ring. ... I'll protect you with my whole life. Kamui: ... I'm so happy, Takumi! From now on, please take care of me! Takumi: Okay...!

once again this ending!!!! while i do like the eng version the fact that it feels......less emotional than the japanese one. yes takumi is more assured of his feelings now that its reciprocated. i hate that the english version doesnt wanna highlight the 'i cant romantically love you coz i thought we were siblings' like cowards. apply the brocon/siscon themes in this game as its supposed to be. but yeah i still do appreciate takumi being more confident and kamui still being hesitant but they both embraced their feelings nicely

but the japanese one

oooohhh OOOHHH kamui straight up saying she loves takumi too but didnt act out coz she thought they were related. takumi preparing A RING eventho he was 70% sure she wont love him the same way. takumi saying he will protect her with his own life which brings the whole conquest story 10x more painful.

english: If you were aiming for my heart, you've struck true. This was meant to be…

cheesy cute S support dialogue. 10/10. adorable. the last sentence is my otp tag for them after all

japanese: Thank you, sister. I'm so very happy. No matter what people think...these feelings won't change. I love you.

HEARTBREAKING HONEST S SUPPORT. 12/10 MAKING ME CRY. LOVE THAT HE PROMISES NO MATTER WHAT HE WILL ALWAYS LOVE HER. GOOD GOD

and my personal favourite difference of them all?

english: I'm sorry. I struggled with whether or not to tell you any of this. After all, now that you know, we can never go back to being siblings. But I couldn't simply pretend to be your brother for the rest of my life. Especially not with the way I felt about you. It is shameful, I know.

again takumi is being calm and somewhat professional. he knows its weird and tbfh i hate that the localization want to highlight how weird it is. we get it i know. but they make takumi level-headed which when i think back is kind of off for him but i appreciate the maturity of his behaviour here

japanese: I'm sorry... Nee-san. I was really at a loss as to whether I should tell you this or not. Now that I have, we can't go back to being siblings. But I... couldn't have beared living my whole life acting as your brother. I would have rather died...

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK OHHH MY GOOOOD FUCK FUCK FUCK AAAAAAAAAA!!!! i can hear his pain. his sorrow. his guilt. there is no voice acting in the supports but i can HEAR takumis emotions. the very fact that he loves her so so much and he cant bear pretending to be her brother anymore. the very fact that seeing kamui with another man might n will kill him. the very fact that he would rather die than pretending to be someone hes not. this is what im eating. this is what ive been robbed. this very line made me cry THE SECOND I READ IT im about to cry now!!! that very last line is just a big Fuck You to his fate in conquest GOD AAAAAAAAAA