#and just poor Idis

[torchwood-99]

Theoden's Favourite

Going off the books, I'd say Theoden's kids are ranked accordingly;

Eomer

Merry

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Eowyn

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Theodred (kid dies and he says nothing about it)

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-

-

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Idis, the daughter cut from the first draft.

[orphiicheartd]

Cry laughing over Idia looking at the Cheese Tteokbokki like it personally offended him and killed his brother

[pomefioredove]

Can we have more of snuggles for hire please?! > <

YES always. I need more cuddle content

part one (leona, tweels, vil)

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ snuggles for hire (encore)

summary: first years try helping you out with your touch-starved problem type of post: blurbs characters: rook, idia, silver additional info: romantic or platonic, reader is gender neutral, reader is yuu, rook is rook as usual

"Really? That's it?" Ace scoffs.

"So, they haven't been hugged in a while. Okay? Neither has Deuce,"

Deuce glares. It's almost menacing. "That's not true, and you know it! I get lots of hugs every time I visit home!"

"I do, too. But that's just the thing, though, ain't it?" Epel says. "They don't have no home to get hugs from."

The huddle of first years goes quiet. Some days, you become such a part of their world, they forget you're really not from it.

"...Okay, point taken," Ace sighs. "But they have Grim! And he only stinks like, half the time!"

"If memory serves, Grim usually sleeps on the floor..." Epel says. "Poor prefect, all lonely. Now even their sleep is suffering 'cause of it!"

Jack rubs the back of his neck. "It must be tough, not having anything to look forward to,"

Another melancholy silence. Finally, Ace stands, hands on his hips.

"Well, let's do something about it, then. There are tons of boys at this school- one of them should be willing to help,"

You were slouched over your desk, dozing off over an essay you hadn't even started yet, when your door flies open.

"Prefect!" Epel shouts, his eyes wide with panic. Immediately, dread sets in. Had someone else overblotted? Was Grim in trouble?

"I'm sorry! I was looking for Vil, but he found me first!"

Huh? "What do you mean b-"

"Oh, Trickster~!"

That question answers itself. In a blink, Epel is gone, bolting before he could get dragged into this. Rook lets himself in, smiling as if he'd just won a million thaumarks.

"Ah, there you are~! I have been waiting for your call!"

You blink. "...Hi, Rook. What?"

He slides his hands under your arms, and lifts you like a cat. You remind yourself that he's much stronger than he looks.

"How my heart ached, watching you suffer! But I had to be patient- I had to wait for your call, Trickster! And when I heard Monsieur Pommette was looking for someone to come to your aid... I knew it had to be me!"

Rook sits you in his lap, squeezing you as if you were a small, cute animal. Which, to him, you sort of were. "Now, rest. I will comfort you!"

"Rook," you say, smothered in his arms, "This really isn't necessary."

"For your health, it is," he boops your nose. "Bonne nuit, mon ange."

With the way he's cooing and cuddling you so closely to him, you know there's no getting out of this.

...Not that you're complaining. He's right, after all. And you're really just grateful that he decided to break in while you were awake.

You're still going to have to kick Epel's butt for it, anyway.

"I already told you, I don't have a problem,"

Ortho Shroud beeps at you. "Incorrect. Your hormonal levels and kinesics indicate you've been sleeping poorly," he says. "...And the other first years were talking about it."

Of course, you sigh. Ace and Deuce. "It's not that bad,"

"Then perhaps you would be interested in solving another problem?"

He brings you down a long, cold hallway, and stops at a door. You hadn't been inside Ignihyde before, but with all the tech stuff, you figure there's some kind of freaky sleep machine in there.

You raise an eyebrow. "I dunno. The technology here is pretty weird,"

"Not that kind of problem!" Ortho opens the door with a giggle. "Idia, look who's here!"

To your surprise (horror? delight?) there's no sleep machine. Just one wide-eyed, blushing, terrified Idia Shroud.

By the look on his face, you can tell he knows just as much about this as you do. He and Ortho exchange glances, having an entire silent conversation while you awkwardly stand in the doorway.

Finally, Ortho looks at you: "Idy has been having similar troubles with sleeping,"

"Ortho-"

"I thought you might be able to help each other!"

Idia looks about ready to crawl under his bed and hide. You look between the two.

"Is he okay?"

"Oh, don't worry! He always gets nervous around pretty people!"

He makes a noise like a deflating balloon. Ortho giggles. "I'll see you later!"

He leaves, and a whir and a thump follow him. You stare. "He took the door knob,"

Despite all the awkward staring and blushing and groaning, you end up in the same bed, anyway, lost in a tangle of limbs that is somehow both awkward and comfortable. Idia is a lot warmer than he looks. And a very, very clingy sleeper.

You'll both lament about how terrible it was to Ortho in the morning, and you'll both leave out the fact that if it really were so terrible, one of you could've just slept on the floor.

But... you didn't. And you won't tomorrow night, either.

When you told your friends you'd been summoned to Diasomnia, they looked at you as if you'd just said your exact time and place of death.

Ace and Deuce whisper-shouted something about "not telling him", but you didn't ask. You weren't worried about Malleus, after all.

...Except that the person waiting for you in the lounge isn't Malleus.

"Oh... hey, Silver. Did you...?"

You hold up the summons, and he nods. The way he's avoiding your eyes is almost... shy. Bashful.

"Sebek came back from class yesterday yelling about you... he made it sound like you were dying," Silver says, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

"...But if it's just insomnia, I can help."

You blink. "Oh... I appreciate it, but..."

...You can't bring yourself to finish that sentence. He just looks... tense. This isn't exactly an offer he makes to most, after all.

You're just special.

And you need that.

You sit beside him in comfortable silence. The lights in the Diasomnia lounge are already dim, and it's as quiet and solemn as ever. Silver guides you into a soft position against him, your head on his shoulder, his head on yours, his arm around you, and he falls asleep.

Maybe it's just the exhaustion finally catching up to you, but it's surprisingly easy to follow his lead and fall asleep against him.

You dream of him that night.

[kalinara]

So as someone who immensely enjoys disliking Charles Xavier, I have to admit, I was utterly delighted when the X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic (in Krakoa age, one of the rare times it did not involve Nature Girl murdering people) decided to do what is, essentially, an "It's a Wonderful Life" plot for the guy.

So if even if you've never seen the original movie that the plot comes from, you've undoubtedly seen a parody or homage, (at least if you're American). Sitcoms particularly like to use the idea, but occasionally even serious shows will do it too. A character goes through some shit, is dreadfully unhappy, and is shown what life would be like without him.

Now the thing about X-Men, is that we did see what the world would be like without Charles Xavier in the Age of Apocalypse storyline. And admittedly, it's pretty bad. Scott has long hair. Enough said.

And of course, the gist of this story is that Xavier ends up in the Age of Apocalypse world (or maybe just dreaming about it), and introduces them to the Krakoa concept and gets a big ego boost.

It is what it is. The part that amuses me is what drives Xavier to the point of needing this ego boost. And it is an AMAZING level of petty.

Since there are a lot of scans, I'm going to put them behind a cut. Enjoy! (These are all from X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #62, by the way.)

So we start off with Xavier's daily schedule:

It's a pretty busy itinerary, admittedly. So now, let's see how Xavier's day actually goes.

We actually start off with Xavier waking up, disgruntled, at 6:00 AM. I'm not actually going to show this, because I am not a morning person either and can't make fun of him for it.

Also, he's shirtless, and not being named Max or Erik, I am not into that. Sorry.

But, let's look at the rest.

6:30's resurrection of Rusty Collins

Xavier was apparently a bit slow, and Hope decided to resurrect the dude without him. That happens. You can hardly blame a teenager for leaping at the chance at grown-up responsibility.

Also, she's a Summers. So it's pretty much inevitable.

--

So then we get the 7:45 meet and greet.

A small child adores Kitty. Kitty is a little meta here, but not wrong. After all, part of what the Marauders do, at this point, is rescue people.

Now, Xavier looks kind of neutral here, but given that this is part of the litany of disappointment, contextually, one must interpret this to mean he is disappointed.

But here's the thing, Chuck. You're not an "X-Man". You're the dude who sends them out from the shadows. You didn't even publicly admit to being a mutant for decades. And while, yes, you did have some physical issues that made being a field operative impossible, it's not like you're going out on rescue missions NOW.

Sorry, I shouldn't rant. There's more to mock.

--

So how does the 9:15 teaching session go? We don't actually know. Presumably it's not notable. Despite the fact that teaching is the one thing Xavier can claim he actually does.

Instead, we skip ahead to the 11:05 parole hearing:

I mean, you can't actually be surprised by this. I'm not even sure that Sabretooth is still IN there. But he's busy torturing people, if he is. So no, he's not getting out.

You could let the kids out though. Poor Idie.

--

This bit makes me laugh:

Got stood up by the guy whose mind you forcibly wiped. You can't be shocked by this, Chuck. That was a fucking dick move and you know it.

(Especially since you decide that Franklin isn't a mutant after all.)

--

How about the X-Corp Review?

Huh, who'd have thought that multi-millionaire business people would have the business shit handled?

I mean, to be fair to Charles, he does seem to never lack money, so he likely has business sense himself. But meh. I can't blame Warren and Monet for wanting to go off and canoodle or whatever.

--

I admit to some sympathy here, just a bit:

I've mentioned that I'm not a really a fan of the Arakko focus on Omega mutants, and how that kind of spoils my enjoyment of Storm basically being amazing up there. (I feel like it'd be more satisfying to have a non-Omega show them that sheer power isn't the only measure of awesome. I did like watching her use teamwork to kick Vulcan's ass though.)

That said, why did you not realize this would be a thing, Xavier? Arakkans make no secret of how their society works.

--

Now, sadly, we skip the legal conference about the X-Babies. Presumably it goes well and no one mocks Xavier, but I'm kind of fascinated by the idea.

But then we get the official Treehouse lighting ceremony:

...are you really feeling left out because your two former child soldiers are getting honored as "mutantkind's greatest heroes".

Fucking REALLY?

Are you living among humans and saving them from various threats? Heck, are you sticking around to help hand out meals, as the mayor mentions? Because you're not down there, and your itinerary says you'll be having a meeting about Orchis with Beast in like an hour.

It presumably goes well, because we skip ahead to sparring with Logan.

This goes pretty straightforward. They have a heart to heart, which I appreciate, because I'm still utterly boggled by that bit in X Lives of Wolverine where he claims that, despite their respective ages, Logan sees Chuck as a father figure.

By the way, Logan doesn't act like a "son" in this scene at all. He does give some legitimately good advice though and asks the question that's the point of all this:

And for FUCK'S SAKE, Xavier. The fact that this is apparently an armor piercing question, after a day where the WORST thing that happened to you was having a few appointments go on without you, getting stood up by a dude who's got every reason to dislike you, and seeing Kitty, Scott and Jean get SOME MEASURE of weak recognition.

THAT's what leads to the "It's a Wonderful Life" moment?

I mean, presumably, the interview with Trish Trilby which happens before the sparring match goes well. Meaning you're going to be on the fucking news as the face of Krakoa again. But that hardly matters because the Mayor of New York considers your SURROGATE CHILDREN to be the greatest heroes.

You couldn't even be HAPPY for them?!

(I also can't help but note that upon meeting AoA Cyclops, who assumes Xavier is an escaped clone and tries to kill him, we see no sign of the ACTUAL character's complexity or depth. He's just a random villain here. Because in the end, it's all about Xavier's ego.

He does refer to Scott as "the most pragmatic man I've ever known", which is a really interesting description that I'm not sure I agree with. But that's an analysis for another day.)

Anyway, as mentioned, the rest of the story is basically just fueling Xavier's ego. I mean, Age of Apocalypse IS a hellhole. (Though a friend of mine suggested once that possibly the only thing Age of Apocalypse proved that Xavier was necessary for is preventing Mr. Sinister from regaining control of Cyclops. I think I'd have to reread the story to see if I agree, but since I hate Xavier, I DO like that thought.) And he does bring them Krakoa and joy.

But I'm just going to bask in the fact that Xavier's deepest pain on Krakoa is that someone occasionally recognizes other people instead of him. I bet he hated Scott's Rolling Stone cover too. :-D

[sotwk]

I hear you are in a Theodred mood?👀 I was wondering if you have any headcanons you'd like to share about him? Or even what you enjoy about writing him?

6 SotWK AU Facts About Théodred

(that I'm looking forward to exploring in my upcoming Rohan WIP)

Théodred is not an only child. He had an older sister. That's right--Idis, daughter of Théoden, exists in the SotWK AU! She was the biggest influence in Théodred's life, the person he loved most. Sadly, Idis passed away from illness when he was just 11 years old, and this deeply affected him.

Théodred is a scholar first and a warrior second. He loves reading, and learned to write at a prodigiously early age. At the time of his death, he knew more about Rohan's histories than even the most experienced scholars in Edoras. He had to be forced by his father to dedicate more of his time to learning military skills.

Théodred is nearsighted, which makes him a poor marksman. As soon as he realized and accepted this deficiency, he focused his efforts on mastering close-quarter combat. He is considered one of the best swordsmen in Rohan.

Théodred values the tradition of shieldmaidens. He pushed for the training of his young cousin Eowyn despite the objections of both Théoden and Éomer. He is the patron and mentor of the shieldmaiden OC in my fic "Taken", and its WIP sequel.

Théodred was nearly betrothed to Lady Morwen, daughter of Hurin of Gondor, in a political match encouraged by their fathers. Ultimately, Théodred declined the engagement, unable to tolerate Morwen's condescension towards Rohan and her ideas (however well-intentioned) about "improving" Rohirrim culture.

Although he did wish to marry and have children, Théodred struggled to find the right woman to settle down with. He felt overwhelmed by his own high standards and the pressure of finding not just a wife, but a Queen who would love and serve Rohan as much he did.

In my head, Théodred is a magnificent character, and it would be a joy and honor to write more about him. (I say as I battle against this dreadful writers' block.)

Bonus headcanon: Théodred is HOT. (Thank you, Charlie Hunnam.)

I'm so happy to be receiving such great Asks from you again, Ace! <3 Thank you for the chance to gush about this man!

[lair-of-asmodeus]

♡ “Make Me Feel Heaven Tonight.” ♡

❥ Synopsis: After getting married, the couple find themselves in the bedroom unable to take their hands off of each other.

A/N: So... I became really horny and ended up writing out a rough draft (or at least what started as a rough draft) of Idia and Fawn (my oc) in their honeymoon after getting married.

⚠️ Minors DNI, will block on sight. ⚠️

“Idia...”

The poor guy couldn’t even look at her in the eye, or see how she gave his balls a little massage beforehand, or how her breasts felt around his hard cock... He could only cover his face while his hair went entirely pink, putting the lighting in the room into a somewhat soft hue. As she moved her breasts on his rod, he felt something warm and wet on his tip. When he managed to look around, he noticed that she was licking the head of his cock while it was between her breasts. He wanted to reach out and touch them so badly. He wanted to feel them, he wanted to--

“...Hehehe... Someone is eager~”

He didn’t realize it before, but it seemed like he was subconsciously thrusting up too.

“Y-y-y-you’re enjoying yourself... Aren’t you..?!”

“What can I say~?”

She gave a kiss on his tip.

“Your reactions are cute~”

He bit his lip while slowly removing his hands from his face. When he looked at her eye to eye, she smiled at him.

“Come on, Idy~ We both know it’s not a good thing to hold back~”

Her usual smug grin held a mischievous aura this time with a hint of lust. While she looked at him, she let out a small laugh.

“Would you like me to use my mouth inste--”

“aaAAAH!!”

Without letting her finish, he ended up shooting his load right onto her face and breasts...

After he caught his breath, he noticed that she was sitting right next to him with the same grin again. She was almost naked compared to him, only having her panties on her while he was butt naked. She shifted her hips and brought a hand on his cheek.

“Did it feel good..?”

Her question brought him back to reality. He was doing this... getting intimate with his wife... His hair immediately went pink again and he covered his face. He felt her caress his cheek.

“...Yeah...”

“Can we do more..?”

“Huh?!”

“Listen, I’m just doing the tamest things I saw in those hentai or mangas and.. I’m aware that not everything can be comfortable for some people... And I’m doing these to you, because... Well.. I love you...”

Heat pooled up on his face as well as other parts of him and he just sat there, looking at her with wide eyes while processing what she just said.

“I still don’t get why you even love me sometimes...”

“Well, no handsome men has called me their player two... Nobody but you...”

A small smile appeared on his lips while he sat up straight.

“I’m only showing you how much I love you... Your body and soul... Would you like me to continue though?”

He gulped while his joy turned to shock.

“I know I’m demanding a lot of things, but--”

He slammed his lips on hers while touching her soft chest and tugging on her nipples.

“Idia..~”

“Fawn...”

The way he pushed himself on Fawn, however, caused her to fall back and now she was the one laying down on the bed. It wasn’t before long that he went on top of her and kissed her while palming her breasts. He pinched her nipples, squeezed them, kneaded them and even broke off the kiss the suck on one while teasing the other.

“If you keep this up, I-I might just lose it...”

He heard her whisper. He secretly wanted it, but not yet... One of his hands went down to her clothed pussy while the other was pinching her nipple and his mouth was on her other breast.

“Idiaaa..!”

...He might be wanting her to lose control now though...

“Ahh... Fuck... If you keep this up, I might just.. ahh! C-cum too...”

He smirked.

“What’s holding you back~?”

“This.”

With that, she grabbed his dick that poking her thigh and started jerking him off, causing him to bite her nipple by accident.

“Argh..! I-Idy~!”

He kept rubbing her clit while her eyes were shut and she was panting loudly while biting her lip.

“Idia..! S-stop-- Fuck! ...I-I’m so.. close..!”

He sucked on her nipple harder while she closed her thighs together while he pinched her clit. As a result, she buried her head on her arms and tried to hold her moans back, but she ultimately failed, causing her to let out a loud moan. He slowly lifted her panties off and touched her wet cunt.

“Look at you, begging me to stop... Your cunt wants me in pretty badly though, fuheehee~!”

“Sh-shut up..!”

“Make me~”

He plunged two of his long fingers inside her, causing her to let out a loud whine as she covered her mouth.

“...I... Idy..!”

Wet and loud sounds were soon all over the room while he kept up a fast but steady rhythm. He glanced at her face for a moment while being jerked off and felt her going in same rhythm as him. Fawn’s legs started to tremble while she clung onto him with one hand while the other was jerking his cock off.

“You... close..?”

He nodded, because he was indeed close to cumming. His cock was also twitching in response, an obvious sign that he was close. And soon, they both did...

“Ahh! Idia! I-Idia! Idiaaaaa~~♡!"

“Mmh.. fuck..!”

...

And he collapsed next to her as they both panted with Idia’s cum having hit on her stomach. After they both caught their breath, Fawn went on top of him without missing a beat.

“Now we came to the best part, sweet cheeks..~”

And without letting him say anything, she practically slid to his still hard-on inside her...

.

.

.

.

“Haah~!! Idia..!”

[PLAP PLAP PLAP PLAP]

“Nngh! Mmph! Mm-- Ahh!”

He smirked at her while ramming his cock in her puffy cunt, causing more of their fluids to leak more onto their bedsheets. He held her chin and kissed her while hugging her waist from behind. Fawn, on the other hand, had become a babbling mess a few rounds ago. He wanted to rest, but the amount of horniness he has wasn’t letting him end this. He’s been wanting to do this more than anything, so... There he was, stuffing her like a turkey with his cum after they were finally married. His cute wifey...

———

As the morning sun rose, they were both cuddling and in each other’s embrace. Although they looked like a total mess with all the hickeys and marks, they were still happy that they had each other. To a new future and what’s to come...

[rei-ismyname]

Yung Cyke is big in Japan

While saving Cyclops' Ghosts from being gunned down by trigger-happy cops (in one of the most realistic portrayals of mutants as minority), Teen Scott gets in between them and the cops, delivering a pretty impressive speech. You'll notice a bunch of the cops have ambiguously dark skin, something Marvel generally does to cover its bases. Law enforcement are generally much more diverse than in IRL.

It feels like a weird thing to do in what is very obviously a stand in for police freely murdering black people, especially teenagers. Maybe there's something to be said for Scott being shielded by his whiteness here, and it does make Idie's unremarked upon presence and lack of opinion on the matter stick out more. Complicating the metaphor even further is Scott's very body being a lethal weapon - the populist lie about minorities made real. Anyway, his rhetoric (and probably the amount of people filming) convinces these cops not to gun down children - IMO a pretty unrealistic outcome. They walk away and Scott goes viral. His point is a good one though - cops should not just kill people at the drop of a hat. Profiling and lack of accountability plus poor training leads to state sanctioned murder of minorities. However most people in this situation don't get the opportunity to deescalate or give a speech.

Later, in Japan, the O5 get their first taste of parasocial relationships and internet fame. Scott is baffled and uncomfortable and bounces. Laura, who is not a digital native but is more familiar with the internet era, laps it up. She gives the crowd a demonstration of her healing factor and an explanation of her relationship with pain, tweezing out bullets while being filmed.

Warren is bothered for different reasons, though he and Laura's relationship dynamic is another subject entirely. Teen Scott's opinion of his dead older self is an interesting one. Revolutionary Cyke is a polarising figure at this point, but I'm not sure what he actually did that was so bad.

Many activists don't get close to the amount of attention Scott has here - it feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity. The X-Men were always a PR exercise and he stumbles onto a platform of people willing to listen. Someone get the X-Men some media training ASAP!

[lovelynim]

TickleTober2023/Day 10 - Cloak

Genshin Impact - Aether x Wanderer

P.S.: "Wanderer" is also called "Scara" in here because that's what I've called him if I played the game, ehe

“Hey,” Scara called out, his eyebrow twitching slightly in annoyance.

“Woah… it’s so warm…” Aether sighed pleased, finally managing to shield himself from Dragonspine’s ruthless cold wind. The blonde tightened his grip, pulling the cloak over his shoulders.

Scara sighed, deciding to try a nonviolent approach again - just like aunt Buer asked him. “Aether, seriously-”

“Hm? What is it, Scara?” The traveler asked, barely turning his head to the side and looking at the wanderer.

“You little- ahem, can’t you… get your own cloak?”

“Why?”

Scara clenched his hand into a fist. ‘Why?’, he thought, considering the idea of throwing Aether off one of those cliffs. “Because this is my cloak! You are going to stretch it out, you idi- I mean, I’m sure you brought one for yourself, right? You wouldn’t come to a place like this in that exposing outfit of yours, I imagine.”

Aether pouted, scrunching up his shoulders as he refused to let go. “But yours is extra warm… didn’t you say you used to wear it back in Snezhnaya? Mine isn’t as thick…”

Scara was really, really trying to stick to the lesser lord Kusanali’s request, but that dumb traveler was making it impossible. “Remember, breath in, breath out,” he remembered her saying, nudging Aether’s body underneath the cloak to try to push him away. “I don’t care, just let go of my cloak!”

“Hehey!” Aether giggled, using one hand to stop Scara from keep prodding at his stomach, “no tihickling, that’s unfair!”

“What?” Scara raised an eyebrow, confused. “I’m not playing around, let goHOH- AHaha, Ahahaether!” Before he could insist again, the wanderer felt a pair of hands squeezing up his sides, clawing at his lower ribs.

The blonde giggled along, continuing his assault underneath the cloak. “What? Can’t you take what you dish out?” He teased, taking one hand to tickle Scara’s stomach, making his giggles rise a pitch.

If the cloth was already way too small to protect both of them from the Dragonspine’s cold, as Scara squirmed and flailed his arms, it was even easier for short gusts of cold air to sneak through their protection.

“S-stop pushing! You’ll get us cold!” Aether stuttered, feeling a shiver run up his back as he felt the coldness on his skin. However, the traveler still refused to let go of Scara, his hands descending to his waist and making the poor wanderer thrash even harder.

“S-stahAHAhap it!!” Scara cackled, letting go of the cloak to hold Aether’s by his wrists. “LehEHEhet gohOHo, y-you jehEHErk!!” He whined through his laughter, involuntarily leaning into Aether to protect himself from the cold.

“So we can share the cloak?”

“No- ahAHa, f-fuhUHuck!” Scara cursed, regretting his words as he felt Aether’s thumbs digging a little harder on his waist. “FihiHIHine! Just stohOHOp!”

Glad with the positive answer, Aether quickly wrapped his hands around the wanderer’s body, pulling him into a hug while covering them both with the cloak. “Yay, thank you, Scara ~”

Catching up his breath, Scara rolled his eyes. “W-whatever…” He muttered, feeling his cheeks also getting a little warmer, but, this time, not thanks to the cloak.

A/N: Wahhh, sorry for the delay guys... let's say I'm not the best with scheduling stuff, ehe. Anyway, we are already 1/3 into TickleTober, what are you guys thinking so far? Anyway, hope you liked this one as well!

[positivelybeastly]

X-Men #4

On time for once!

Let's do this.

Hmm. Not quite sure how I feel about this? Admittedly, Illyana is a character about whom I know relatively little in the grand scheme of things, but given that she's been fighting for control of Limbo for a while, been a protege of Scott Summers, and was a War Captain on Krakoa, I would think her tactical skills would be up to snuff enough that she could be half decent at chess?

That being said, the trope that tactical ability can be measured by chess ability isn't one that I think has to be followed. It's as much a test of logic as it is of tactical planning and forethought, and between Illyana's more chaotic nature and her lack of formal schooling, maybe it's just the case that she would rather show you how good she is in the field than go on about chess ability. And I can think of a good reason why she would choose to play chess with the person she has blocked, rather than any other game.

Anyway!

Trevor Fitzroy isn't allowed his weird little gremlin bro-pal possible love interest guy Bantam anymore, because of woke. (I know fuckin' nothing about Fitzroy, incidentally, this is based off of their weird relationship in that one X-Men: TAS episode I watched.)

And yeah, what WAS Krakoa all about, huh? Where DID all those babies that got abandoned go?

. . . Well, anyway!

Hank, chairs are for sitting on, not perching on . . .

It's interesting that we're doing split team issues - clearly, this run is taking cues from New X-Men not just in terms of some of its plot points, but also some of its structure; there were multiple arcs that focused exclusively on Charles and Jean, or Logan, Scott and Fantomex, with the rest of the team in the ether. It's not a bad way to tackle a team of this size, and given the news that both Magik and Psylocke are getting ongoing solo series, I'm less worried about them getting focus in a team book now.

Where is the Marauder, incidentally? I can't imagine you need that for a psychic rescue? Unless Max is using it, I suppose. Something that'll come up in #5, I imagine.

It's a sign of just how poisoned the discourse about Hank McCoy is that I saw multiple comments on Reddit saying that this scene heralded a return to evil Beast, because he also didn't like to go out on field missions and would regard his work as more important.

That being said, this reaction was weird to me, given that this Hank comes from an era where he was at his most pro-active, heroic, and willing to fight for people he didn't know - until I read the Infinity Comics, which made it all make a good degree more sense.

Hank isn't being cowardly or showing a case of poor priorities; no, instead, he appears not to trust himself, and he'd rather not place what he perceives to be a volatile, potentially morally untrustworthy element (himself) into a live situation. Working on Magneto's illness is a cut and dry net good with no downsides, so it makes sense he'd want to keep working on that, especially if Hank has reason to believe a similar condition could affect any one of them at any time.

Not sure I love Illyana's antagonism towards Rogue here? Feels kinda like it came out of nowhere and is just being done to foreshadow the upcoming 4 part crossover where these two teams come to a head. Scott's frustration with Rogue's attack on Graymalkin in #3 felt a bit more naturalistic than this.

Idie icesliding like that really does make me wonder if MacKay also wanted Iceman for this team but he was earmarked for Eve Ewing's Exceptional book. I doubt it, just because MacKay's done some really good, pointed work with Idie, which continues in this issue, but the visual parallel is just hard to get out of my brain.

I missed this Hank, a lot.

Also, good time to note that we do have a different artist here! Netho Diaz's style isn't a million miles away from Ryan Stegman's, so it's not a very jarring shift, and I do like how Diaz renders a lot of these characters - less heavily stylised, but heavily styilised isn't always to everyone's taste, so I feel like this was a good pick of fill-in artist.

Man. Have I mentioned I missed this Hank, a LOT? That happy little smile on his face in the bottom right panel really does delight me.

Still not quite the bouncing effervescence of Defenders Hank, but this is still very solidly 90s Hank, who I do rather enjoy, especially when he's in the hands of a writer who knows when to really let his loquacious qualities out to play, and when to let brevity be the soul of wit.

Idie's really come a long way since Wolverine & the X-Men, and I'm really, honestly, very happy to see it. She's coming from a place of real experience and wisdom and the struggle of loving yourself in what can feel like a loveless world, and I hope MacKay continues to showcase her maturation and development. Considering how worried I was that she'd be wallpaper in this series, this is encouraging stuff.

If you had asked me which member of this team of X-Men I expected to give what amounts to a really popping Batman speech, I would not have picked Cain Marko, but this feels real and earned in light of his genuine Krakoan redemption. The elevation from avatar of destruction to protector, to bodyguard, to living target, is fucking awesome.

Yeah, work that pole, Hank.

That being said, this dialogue does still sound kinda weird for Hank. This feels a little more like X-Force Beast than anything else, so I'm wondering if this is a seed of something, or if Hank is just kinda frustrated that what feels like a side quest popped up just as he was about to progress the main quest and enter act 2. God knows that if I woke up in the morning and found out I had to tangle with Trevor Fitzroy and the Upstarts, I would also be a little annoyed - this feels a little bottom of the barrel for the X-Men.

The X-Men fandom at large just heaved a great sigh and said, in unison, "Oh, this fucker."

Not the AoA geneticist I would have wanted to see in this book, but I'll take it, I suppose. Hopefully we get an explanation about where this guy came from, because I was fairly certain he was dead? Not that that's ever stopped anyone before, but just, you know, so we can put it on the Wiki and all.

Laksa! Apparently a spicy noodle dish, usually made with thick rice noodles, with toppings such as chicken, straw, or fish - that being said, given we were told that Glob is a vegetarian and that he therefore only cooks vegetarian, I have to imagine this might be a coconut soup laksa that might include eggs, deep-fried tofu, beansprouts, and herbs, or some variation thereof.

Hank definitely seems to approve. :)

God, please tell me that Colossus is going to join the team, I would absolutely love for Jed MacKay to get to work on our beefy Russian lad, he deserves some TLC after the trauma conga line that was Krakoa and the years before that.

Interesting that he's a blocked number and yet they're still interacting, but then again, I have a browser extension that blocks Reddit on my computer, and I still go on Reddit, so maybe that rings truer than I'd like to admit.

This leads me to my guess as to the reason of why chess - it's playable long distance, and doesn't require any elaboration on moves. You just say the piece and where you're moving them to. Something easy to play with someone who doesn't feel communicative. A way of talking without really talking.

All in all, a decent issue, but it definitely feels more in line with #2 than #1 or #3 - I almost have to wonder if the edict to double ship issues came down, and MacKay felt more able to decompress things and spread them out across multiple issues as a result, especially since I think that, if this were paced more tightly, we'd be progressing through the plot fairly quickly.

If we're taking New X-Men as the blueprint, Morrison would absolutely have squished the last four issues into two - but they weren't double shipping, so.

If we're looking at odd numbers being the plot heavy, characterisation heavy issues, and the evens being action and a bit more 'filler' issues, then I don't think that's an awful structure - I just think that, in a world where single issues cost $3-4 a pop, people might start skipping the even numbered issues in an effort to save money. This might read better in trades, which feels A) bad to say, and also B) increasingly common about modern comics. Not sure how I feel about it.

[flores-desyatov]

new article with a mini interview with Bella and also N/M https://www.ice-dance.com/site/recap-2024-lake-placid-idi-senior/

«Isabella Flores & Ivan Desyatov (USA) (176.45) said that their performance was what they wanted because it was how they had been practicing it at home.

“We’ve been focusing on our skating skills this year and also pushing them together. It’s something that’s helped our skating,” Flores said. “When we began looking for the music for this season we knew that Kaitlyn Weaver was probably going to choreograph the free dance. We were looking for something contemporary. We had some ideas, but we asked her for a recommendation. She suggested the music from the award winning movie, Poor Things. We listened to the soundtrack and loved it. We started coming up with ideas. It was a really fun program to create. Our footwork has changed, but the majority of the choreography is still Kaitlyn Weaver’s. We’ve done a lot of touchups.”

The team skated first in the rhythm dance, so they watched the remaining 21 teams perform. They were happy with their skate except disappointed that the lift just wasn’t as spectacular as in practice.»

[return-to-twisted-wonderland]

🔆anon

(Hey Siri, play Money, Money, Money by ABBA.)

— —

Dusk: *sighs while looking at his phone* Why is everything so expensive?

Silver: You could ask Malleus or Father if you absolutely need something.

Dusk: Like Malleus would give me any of his royal mon- Why would I ask Dad?

Silver: Because he’s your father and if you needed something he would likely help…

Dusk: But saying him in the same sentence as Mr. Royal Treasury is weird.

Silver: He’s not as rich as Malleus, but he’s well off.

Dusk: …

Silver: He’s been traveling his whole life while getting a bunch of souvenirs. Have you seen his room?

Dusk: …

Silver: He was the top general of an army. The Royal Gaurd, to be specific. He’s a war hero.

Dusk: … I never made that connection before…

Silver: …

Dusk: …

Silver: …

Dusk: My dad’s rich?!

Silver: Sevens help me…

—

Toryn: Wait, I get to keep this money?

Azul: Why wouldn’t you?

Toryn: I don’t know, I just never had any of my own.

Jade: Toryn, was your adoptive family struggling?

Toryn: No. I mean, building the tanks I lived in cost a lot, so they weren’t rich with me living there, but they weren’t poor. It’s just I wouldn’t have any personal use for money, I didn’t want much.

Floyd: if you want to test it out, we can tell Mom and Dad, they’ll hook you up to go on a spending spree if we ask nicely.

Toryn: Am I from a rich family?!

Azul: Toryn, look at them. Then look at me. Do you think anyone here is hurting for money?

—

Dekker: I can get things for paper?!

Cater: That specific paper, yeah. Or digital versions of it.

Dekker: Huh?

Cater: I’ll introduce you to that later. Just don’t flash that money around I’ll help you learn to buy stuff.

Dekker: How much do we have?

Cater: Us personally? Not much. But our family is well off enough. Good luck getting in touch with dad though…

Dekker: How do I get my own then?

Cater: You can work for some, get a job.

Dekker: … This just sounds like an extra step. Like trading, but worse.

Cater: *sighs* It’s got its benefits, sometimes.

Dekker: You’re not making a good case for it.

—

Malynne: I’ve seen this method. Some humans in the village I watched used it alongside trade.

Lilia: You’re aware of money? That should make this easier.

Malynne: I’m aware of it yes. It’s been a bit interesting to me since I saw it, but the village used metal circles.

Lilia: Those are called coins. Each coin is worth a different amount same with different papers, but the paper is usually higher amounts.

Malynne: That seems backwards.

Lilia: It probably would seem that way, yeah. But I can show you how it works. I’ve got some good money stored. Let’s see it we can find you something nice.

Malynne: *eyes light up* Wonderful!

Lilia: I’m also got to teach you what’s expensive. I have a lot, but I’m not made of money… Ask your brother for that.

—

Skion: Idy!

Idia: What do you want?

Skion: Help me get this. *shows something on a tablet*

Idia: Just order it.

Skion: I don’t know how.

Idia: *takes the tablet* Fine. *gets to a place you can see the price*

Skion: Wow, that’s a big num-

Idia: *clicks order anyways* It should come soon. Happy?

Skion: That was a massive number! Does a single bill not get much here?

Idia: Huh? I mean it gets enough.

Skion: *signs of mischief instantly growing on his face* Are we RICH?!

Idia: Skia, if you do a dumb thing with money, Mom and Dad will kill you.

Skion: Or you for not teaching me. *takes his tablet and runs out of the room*

Idia: SKIA, YOU A**HOLE!

— —

(So many characters go from poor/no money to rich. Or even average to rich like Dusk.)

Learning that "FAMILY IS RICH!?" and "WE GOT THE MONEY!?" for this is the funniest thing.

[lestcat-de-lioncourt]

Because there's no IWTV, I'm both purposely and accidentally going through AMCs other stuff and here's my takes so far (not spoiler free, Mayfair Witches, Orphan Black Echoes, The Terror)

Mayfair Witches:

Okay, enjoyable. The Talamasca is also meant to be in IWTV and I was a lil shocked at how many people don't know that but they're not as obvious yet in the IWTV series as they have initially been in Mayfair. Some wild Stockholm Syndrome with a demon or demon has Stockholm Syndrome with a human, idfk. 😂 Big feels for her mother, poor woman. Awful family, she probably shouldn't have gone looking for them tbh.

It's cool, but half of it is just her eyes and b00bz, AND I'M SORRY PLEASE TELL ME THAT IS NOT JUST ME? If anything, I was more interested in learning about the secret abilities of the people within the Talamasca than anything, but that's not strange, considering I'm usually into that kinda mystery.

Orphan Black Echoes:

3D printed people, alrighty. Don't leave the artists alone with a 3D printer anymore ig 🤣 interesting concept I keep being used, and it is definitely a side effect of humanities need for control. Which doesn't work particularly, of course. I feel so hard for all these women. The creator woman I don't really feel for, but I understand where she's coming from. She really didn't need to make 2 clones of her wife, though ngl. This is definitely interesting, I'd recommend. It's unfair how these clones are being treated, even in "the positive" ways, as people are either trying to control them, or hate them, or have them for selfish reasons. Billionaires going wild and evil, and deciding to create an entourage of clone children, I wouldn't put it past Elmo doing something like this if he could ngl.

I feel so bad for the kindest old man who has a bounty on his head (?!) who gets caught up in this that hosted the addiction group meetings and was just trying to help people but ends up getting shot.

Also, all that pink gloop is kinda nice for a stim until it's like.. is that's what is inside them!? Ew. As I recently watched Margaux, which has the same 3D printed human concept going on except they were full of the same gloop but white, which just looked like cream spurting out of them if they got a wound.

Not a fan of all these fake set rooms to manipulate the clones, noooo way. That "grandfather" was a right cvnt.

The Terror:

Honestly, what the f tbh, but this whole thing is kinda funny even though it's supposed to be serious drama. Random glimpses of a Chernobyl looking "polar bear." The depictions of the initial hallucinations made me kinda laugh. It's a relatively standard take on life living on board a ship was like then, with nods towards sickness, mental health, and spoiled rations, which Hollywood tends to miss. I fortunately learned a decent chunk with my accurate piracy history obsession. It's not a fun life, not back then. I'm only on episode 4, but it's always leaving me wondering what's next, and I had 2 dreams about it last night which confused me about what actually happened and for some reason I was Hickey dressed up as King Arthur in them so obviously, that part wasn't real. I like the fact there's queer people. It very much was a thing.

I'm sorry it was sad but burying Sir John's leg in a fancy stocking and shoe was like, "Go gurlll be buried in your best dress," but him getting wedged into the bucket as it looked like a glitching puppet/robot that kept flashing back to his face and he was human again IM SORRY. Both the captains are kinda messed up but kindhearted in their own ways. Francis just doesn't seem as in touch with his emotions as much as he is in touch with his alcohol adoration. And WHY DUD THE CHERNOBYL BEAR THROWN HIM DOWN A HOLE. I'm pretty sure it's a person that's some animal getting revenge for the poor man who was shot and thrown down the hole unceremoniously at that point.

Dog screaming on board like : "SOME SH!T GONNA GO DOWN!!!!" and just gives up tbh because humans are idiotic when it comes to doing dangerous things/take on Chernobyl "bears. " That's my name for it until I know what it it.

-----

In the past, I've watched Breaking Bad, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a place I frequented often in my youth and is close to my heart. That was very entertaining. And then Killing Eve, which was acquired programming, and they're doing a spin-off of that. Very excited.

My next ones to watch in planning is:

NOS4A2

Comic Book Men

A Disovery of Witches

The Talamasca (when it airs)

Kevin Can F**k Himself

And probably more Walking Dead stuff.

[pargolettasworld]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BCUNztwhvU

There is a stereotype that Jewish music sounds “sad.”  The stereotype comes from a couple of sources -- several of the Jewish synagogue modes bear some resemblance to the Western minor mode, which we have (fairly recently) decided is the “sad” mode.  And, frankly, the Europeans who decided that Jewish music is “sad” were mostly looking at the Jews who lived near them, many of whom were, in fact, rather “sad,” in the sense of “very poor and subject to the constant risk of violent attack from the people who described them as being sad.”  So, yes, in Europe and North America, the idea that Jewish music sounds “sad” kind of lurks in the back of our minds.

And then there are the Abayudaya.

Now, the Abayudaya have only been Jewish since 1919, and in that relatively short time, they have gone through a lot of shit -- not all of it for being Jewish, but being Jewish certainly didn’t help them through the Idi Amin years. They’re still very poor, even within the context of living in a poor country, and the Israeli government is constantly jerking them around and trying to find excuses to keep them out of Israel (part of the reason is racism, but there’s a lot more going on than just the racism).  And yet, they make some of the most joyful Jewish music I have ever heard in my life.  There’s no one quite like the Abayudaya for music, and I am so glad that they are part of the worldwide mishpacha.

[kalinara]

(X-Men #6)

The fact that Idie's secret is that she had a crush on Teen Cyclops will never not amuse the hell out of me. Poor Idie.

And Illyana's "Disgusting" is just perfect. She really is his little sister, now.

[meltedbluecaterpillar]

Good evening Absy ^.^ can I call you Absy..i always think it in my head and refrain. I can't help my inner Cater sometimes..

But oh my gosh..a girl can only cross her fingers and pray it was Azul and Jamil on the boad...especially after Azul was in Jammys dream. Yess.. they can have a messy inky makeout. Would they,,bust in black...lol..? I don't know if they would be accostumed to each others preference,, they can figure it out. Ive seen fanart of them which is what struck the interest. Now i love jazul a lot.

I'm not too sure about mallekei..i just don't understand it. But i understand cater as a powerbottom,,teaching malleus all he needs to know because he's a professional! (He really isnt. He just likes being his fuckbuddy and getting recked by Malleus Draconia...even moreso when Malleus suddenly tops him. Why would he complain? If he can't get a selfie with him,,this wll suffice.)

Just for the fun of it I want to say Ruggie can swim. But he really isnt good. He can float and doggy paddle. Maybe Floyd gives him swimming lessons. Which Ruggie instantly regrets when Floyd tries to drag him under and tries to kiss him while he's hardly afloat. He probably panics a little. He can save himself from drowning yes,,just..not with the eels weight on him as well. He's too skinny. I feel like ruggie fits into the category of disordered eating with azul and vil..

But aahh..that sounds like such a cute au to write ugh. Pirate Rugs and Floyd being his helpful little eel (he doesnt know.) Floyd interacts with him for upfront slowly but surely, expecting something in return for his hard work. I can imagine Floyd evily shanking the poor fish,,

Lilidia though yes,,i see them more as good irl bffs if they met..but fwb is also so good. Let the old man show Idia how its properly done! He likes it! Its okay if he doesnt wanna date!! Just fuck him :(. His dating sims can only do so much, Mr. Lilia.

Cater and Idia though yes. They are such a silly duo..Cater would do his best to keep them on the dl..he probably likes to take photoshoots under idys led lights..hes probably invited idy to lm club and Ortho basically insists he go and not decline an invite from a bff!! (He knows)

Iam..talkingso much..my apologies "t.t - 🐍

Good afternoon Viper, I like Absy. I think it is cute and short. Also, forgive me. It has been a few days already.

I think it would be amusing to see an ink-based orgasm. Coating each other and staining their skin. It is oddly romantic as it is sensual. Cater is a professional. The known sleep around. And he is very proud of his skills and how he can bring pleasure and give it. Malleus is a shut in, lacking experience. So he is grateful to have such a bubbly teacher show him the ways of human pleasure. But Malleus getting excited and rutting into Cater is unexpected. But Cater feels happy. He's getting fucked by a future king, this is something he keeps close to his heart even if they end up separating some day. No one will ever give it to him the way Malleus did...

I think it would be a cute AU because Floyd wouldn't end up getting bored. Visiting parts of the world by hitching a ride on the back of the S.S. Savanaclaw. Seeing Ruggie fishing and telling stories about how he's positive he saw a hot mermaid... Merman? A hottie either way... And just for fun, during a late night drink... Ruggie wanders to the dock with a beer in hand. Swaying about before falling in. Where he should have drowned, he wakes up on the slimy chest of his little helper. Lilia is amazing at showing Idia a good time. But Idia thinks life and romance is just like a dating sim. I would like them best as a dramatic slow burn. I am a big fan. I do enjoy Cater x Idia a lot. Especially as boyfriends you don't expect to see as boyfriends. It makes me smile when I think of them getting each other into the things they like. Cater can teach Idia to skateboard, and they can do candy tasting videos together, and Idia can show Cater the wonders of multiplayer and co-op games.

I don't think you're talking too much. I appreciate you for chatting with me as always.

[post-it-notes7]

Can you tell us more about your Dragato and Falspar dynamic :0?

oh you poor soul, of course I will :)

(rambling under keep reading)

So, to begin! A lot of this will make the most sense if you read dumb luck first, the Dragato oneshot (also a part of the Heart and Soul timeline, just set in the past before MK was separated from the GSA) I wrote that dives much further into my interpretations of this borb and his idiot friend that have a grand total of 10 second of screen time. If you're caught up on In Your Dreams, then you'll have a vague idea of Dragato and Falspar's characters, but neither have had a chance for their personalities to really shine (they're also both... kinda upset too, so only one side of them has been shown)! You’ll even catch a glimpse of other GSA members (cough cough Jecra and Garlude cough cough) if you give “dumb luck” a look :0!

That said, I’ll still summarize what I can of Dragato and Falspar’s personalities and dynamic here! So, Dragato--outwardly, he appears very stict, very cold, and very no-nonsense. He glowers a lot, he’ll snap at those who spread around rumors and try to start fights, and he tries hard to keep the peace, even if it’s strained and you can tell things are two seconds from exploding into all-out chaos. 

To quote my own fic, “he’s the unofficial mediator of the GSA—he’s the one who listens to complaints and makes the changes needed to keep them in check, the one who kills off rumors that take on a malicious edge, the one who breaks up fights that go too far—and he has no idea if anyone ever even seems to realize it. Afterall, his technical role is only that of a pilot and an instructor. One of Arthur’s close confidantes. His domain is starships and space travel.” 

Basically, he does plenty of work from behind the scenes, and he overworks himself a lot. He shares a lot of similarities to Meta Knight, but while MK can and will push himself to the brink and somehow just keep going anyway--Dragato will pass out from the strain, even if he argues otherwise. He has a lot of grievances with what his nature as a star warrior demands of him, and what he’s actually physically capable of.

Important sidenote! *In the H&S series, star warriors are born as star warriors, it’s in their nature! You cannot become one (at least not through normal means) you simply are or you aren’t.* However--Dragato’s true personality is very different from what he purposely portrays to 90% of the GSA and for what has been shown in IYD. First and foremost, on the inside, he’s complete nerd and an honorary idiot in disguise. He has sass, he has attitude, and he wants nothing more than to show someone how capable he is by challenging them to a brawl at 2am and going absolute feral. Even though he’s constantly trying to put out fights and mediate, he’s a conflict gremlin and he absolutely wants to do nothing more than join in and start tearing things apart alongside everyone else. You might notice in dumb luck that he gets an evil little grin right before charging into a fight, too, and that he despises that. 

Once more I’ll steal a line from my fic, “he doesn’t crave bloodshed, but he revels in knowing that he can protect something.” Dragato cares way way too much (in a good way) for everyone in the GSA, and he’ll lay down his life for each of them any day. To him, the most important thing in any situation is that everyone makes it out alive (is his stand-point in IYD starting to make a little more sense :)?) and as you might imagine, constantly fighting with his personality and his nature to act like something he’s not 24/7 makes him very irritable and prone to spiraling over little things when he’s stressed. Star warriors are supposed to fight until their last breath, and Dragato has spent years in the GSA balancing that deep-seated need alongside the constant pressure he put on himself to maintain peace. Fun times. 

Does he every actually relax? How is he possibly still sane? Well--enter Falspar: the redeemable idiot.  

Falspar is, well, a redeemable idiot. He says stupid things, he does stupid things, he can be incredibly obvious, but he has a heart of gold beneath it all and you won’t find anyone who’s more stupidly loyal as friend. He wants to cheer others up and he’ll do increasingly impulsive things to do it. He’s the social one, he’s friendly, but beware, he knows how to fight and he won’t always just sit there and take it. Also, he has a knack for getting out of tricky situations by complete and utter dumb luck. Yes this relevant to the fic title.

(Another sidenote--this has not been mentioned in IYD and only lightly touched on in dumb luck, but physically, Falspar is incredibly strong. He has a form of high natural strength, which is kinda how he managed to break a mask visor with in a single punch, and he can lift heavy stuff somewhat easily. I straight up yoinked this idea from somewhere in the anime where they call him “the strong one” (possibly in sub of the snack attack episode maybe? I’m not entirely sure it’s been a while) but yeah. If he punched you it would hurt. It would probably break something and then some. Because of this, he also has to keep a close grip on how much strength he puts behind each of his actions, which has the potential to spawn its own kind of trouble) 

Falspar and Dragato have been friends for quite a while, Falspar most often addresses him by the nickname “Drago”, and Falspar was there to witness Dragato change from minor troublemaker and local star warrior menace to the overworked pilot instuctor and strict mediator he is now. He knows about how much of a nerd Dragato, is as well as how hard he’s constantly pushing himself to keep up a front--and to Dragato, that’s a lifeline to find comfort in. 

The two of them still clash over plenty of little things; Falspar tends to say pretty stupid stuff (some things that are just flat out nonsense arguments or that contradict each other) and Dragato, who’s stuck being constantly irritable almost all the time, tends to react to it all the same--but! They admit when they’re wrong at the end of the day, and they apologize, especially when they know they’ve messed up bad and that it’s hurt the other. “dumb luck” provides a prime example.

Falspar gets Dragato to open up and admit he needs a break every once in a while, and Dragato tends to defend Falspar in the bad situations he gets himself easily wound up in. They work well as a team once they get past any nonsense disagreements, and though it’s not explicitly stated in “dumb luck”, Dragato tends to meet with Falspar on random nights to de-stress and ramble on about one thing or another. They talk, they do little things for each other to make life just a bit easier, and they stick together. They’re close friends who are also idiots that roughhouse and call each other names all the time, but they care.

As a little bonus, I’ll go on to talk about how they are both currently doing in In Your Dreams, too.

It’s not great :)

As you might recall, Falspar was the one to first suggest the rumor of MK secretly being corrupted. Yep. That’s what started this. Now, Falspar is oblivious and does stupid things that he really shouldn’t all the time. That includes telling the overly-paranoid commander of the GSA who just won a war mere weeks ago something that coincidentally is very plausible because MK did a lot of things that could be marked as suspicious in the past and no one has seen him face to face in 10 years. Arthur is certainly still to blame for taking that idea and running with it, but Falspar also is not helping the situation by shrugging his shoulders and going “yeah MK is ambitions enough to do something like this” and then going about his day like that’s no big deal. 

Dragato on the other hand, is immediately distrustful of rumors to begin with. He didn’t take this news well. He wants solid evidence before he believes an accusation as harsh as MK (someone he thought was dead for a long time after the GSA was separated in the past and is secretly greatly relieved to learn isn't) could be a traitor, though he’s kept his mouth shut, and he’s been going through it now that the war is finally over. 

Dragato cared very strongly for those in the GSA and reaching their goal--he would have die for them and their cause--and now they’ve actually achieved it, but only a mere fraction of the entire GSA remains. He’s sick of losing people. He’s sick of hearing about Nightmare. Honestly, he really needs a break, and he knows that if MK is labeled a traitor with the potential to bring ruin to the galaxy again, then Arthur will stop at nothing to make sure that threat is destroyed for the greater good. 

Dragato feels like he’s the only one who still has faith in MK, aside from Sirica and Knuckle Joe, his only consolations, and he refuses to condemn him without blatant proof saying otherwise. The most important thing right now is that MK is alive. The most important thing is that he doesn’t turn his back on that.

Falspar is very contradictory in Ch23 when he argues that “MK would totally do this, but he totally wouldn’t lie about it.” Basically, he's doing a terrible job of saying “this is believable and really incriminating but I still have faith that MK is doing what’s best.” He wants to acknowledge the worst, but deep down, he doesn’t really think MK is trying to do anything that would put the galaxy at stake. He won't go against Arthur so easily, but he’s in a gray area between distrusting MK and still believing in him, and he bounces around it at random. 

Where does that put them both? well:

“That’s just your innate ability to test everyone’s patience,” Dragato muttered under his breath, still focused on the controls.

“Ay, what’s your problem today?” Falspar edged back, turning a bit snappish. “What’s gotten you so hung up over this ‘delusional’ myth?”

Unfortunately, when Dragato is very stressed and snaps at Falspar, Falspar’s first instinct is almost always to snap back, for better or for worse. They break into fights easily--and right now is a bad time to be fighting. There’s no time to resolving anything, and they’re seemingly on opposite sides. 

Falspar wants to support Dragato, but he thinks Dragato isn’t seeing the fact that no matter what, there’s still a chance MK could be corrupted, and they need to be prepared to accept that. He knows Dragato takes losing people badly, and he sees it as cushioning the blow ahead of time.

Dragato sees it as a betrayal of trust, and no matter how much he doesn’t want to be at odds with Falspar and the others and that despises in-fighting, he’ll chose the option that he believes will keep everyone alive until the end.

WOW that was long, well, hope that gave some insight! Thank you thank you for the ask anon, hope you all enjoyed my rambles <3