#and remembering that at some point it goes downhill

[mikimeiko]

The Expanse | Season 3 (2018), Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby

[enlightenedfeline]

Tips for writing toddlers:

Here's a few things that have helped me write toddlers more accurately!

1- Questions. Toddlers (2-4) and children (5 and 6) ask a LOT of questions, so many that it becomes insufferable. It's easy to fall into the trap of making their questions seem annoying or uneccesary, but this is not an accurate deception of a toddler.

Toddlers show one of humans most natural traits, which is curiousity. We are always curious, we always have been, that's how we've come this far, and how we'll keep going.

Toddlers don't ask questions to annoy you, while this may be the case for older kids, toddlers have not yet developed the emotional maturity to actively want to bother people.

So while yes, you can and should make the toddler character's questions ridiculous, never make them downright stupid. Always make sure that there is some thought process behind why a question is asked, that there is something the toddler wants to understand, no matter how insignificant it seems.

The questions are insignificant to adult characters, but to toddlers they are great scientific discoveries they are embarking on.

2- Speaking. Your average toddler will not be forming full coherent sentences, so absolutely do not leave it up to them to make important revelations in your story.

Unless you are willing to take up a page or two of an adult character deciphering what they're saying.

Another important detail for writing how toddlers speak is that they are still learning how naming works, they will generally refer to things and people by their most distinguishable trait, no matter how rude it may come off.

3- Sharing information. A continuation to my 2nd point, toddlers are simply not good at sharing information. Even if they are more developed than others their age when it comes to speaking, they just don't know what information is and isn't necessary for telling a story.

Think of yourself telling your friend a story, you generally want to give your friend an overview of where you were, your mood, who you were with, and what happened. You probably wouldn't bring up what you had for breakfast that morning unless it's relevant to the story.

Toddlers don't yet have the ability to know what is and isn't relevant, so again, don't have your toddler innocently remember details that will change a character's perspective on life.

4- Attention. If my ten year old sister can't focus when I'm scolding her for more than 5 minutes, your toddler character certainly cannot focus for more than two.

This point supports my 3rd, toddlers don't know what information is and isn't relevant, this applies to sharing and receiving information. You have their full attention for a few seconds, and it gradually goes downhill after that until they're throwing a temper tantrum to be let go.

5- Personality. I like to think that babies have distinct interests, and when they're toddlers they build personalities based off of those interests.

Your toddler is not gonna be able to distinguish personalities, they will assume that everyone thinks the way they think, and feels the way they feel.

This applies to humans in general imo, but it's especially true in toddlers.

6- Empathy and sympathy. For this next point I will refer to empathy as simply feeling what others are feeling, and sympathy as being able to apply that feeling into comforting people.

There are few conditions where a human doesn't feel empathy, psychopathy being one of them, but generally your toddler will feel empathy for others.

Not just other humans, but animals and maybe objects as well.

Empathy is a strong feeling, and you need to learn (yes, learn) sympathy to know how to deal with it. Toddlers are empathetic, as humans are naturally, but not sympathetic.

If one of their parents is crying or stubs their toe, the toddler will feel upset and not understand why, which could result in a tantrum. I will dive deeper into tantrums a little later in this post.

But keep in mind that our empathy develops as we age and mature, so toddlers are not fully empathetic, they just have the stepping stones to empathy. Which is essentially just: this person got hurt, if that happened to me i would feel sad, now i feel sad because that person is hurt.

Toddlers will generally only feel empathy for pains that they have felt, because they can not yet comprehend hypothetical scenarios. So if a toddler is dealing with a pregnant woman for example, they may seem apathetic, only because they don't understand what that feels like.

7- Intelligence. It's not unlikely for a toddler to show high levels of intelligence, but remember that an intelligent toddler is still a toddler at the end of the day.

Their intelligence may inflate their little ego, but it won't make them act more mature.

8- Tantrums. Toddlers are known for throwing temper tantrums, and you likely won't be able to avoid writing one if your toddler character appears frequently in your work.

Unlike tantrums babies throw, toddler temper tantrums aren't done out of necessity. Well, they kind of are, but they are done out of a necessity that adults can't comprehend.

Babies really only cry when they feel something bad, something that is unlike their natural blob-like state. Hunger, thirst, tiredness, a full diaper, or a need to burp, you get my point.

Toddlers are similar to babies in this, except what they view as a necessity is not always necessary for their survival. A toddler probably wouldn't cry for any of the above reasons, they wouldn't cry to alert you, because they will probably have a better method of communicating those basic needs to you.

Unlike babies, toddlers have emotions that they can kind of decipher, your average toddler will be able to connect a reason for their emotion, unlike a baby who is only crying out of instinct.

So essentially, toddlers are seasoned babies. They do cry out of necessity just like babies, but their reasons are much more personal to them rather than to evolution.

Your toddler will tell you when their hungry, but if you offend them with the wrong colored plate they will scream at you to change it.

Because in their mind, this isn't the plate I wanted, I'm sad because this isn't the plate I wanted, I want the plate I wanted not this plate.

That's their thought process for most temper tantrums.

Another common reason for tantrums is just that they have no control of their life, and to an extent they're aware of it. Normally the parent chooses when they sleep, when they wake up, what they eat, when they drink, when they go out, what they wear. And these are all completely normal things, but it does get overwhelming, especially for mini humans who just discovered that there are emotions and feelings aside from the ones they need for survival.

So toddlers, like babies, only cry when they feel something bad. But the difference is they have more complex emotions, so a lot can feel bad, sometimes all at once, and they are yet to learn how to handle their emotions aside from crying.

So, don't make your toddler character's temper tantrums random, there is always a reason behind it, there is always a reason behind misbehavior.

I'll end this post off by stating that toddler behavior is almost never random, they are about as random as your average adult, what makes them seem random is the fact that their thought process is disguised beneath layers of tantrums and endless questions.

The most accurate way to write a toddler character is to just try to think as a toddler for a few seconds, it's much simpler than it sounds, and will give you a more realistic deception of a toddler. And you should always aim for realistic deceptions of age groups, especially when it comes to younger children, because this adds a layer of depth to your story.

The final thing I'll leave you with is advice. There are parents everywhere, if you want to understand how to better describe toddlers, just ask mothers and fathers who have/had toddlers, they'll likely offer you a perspective you never considered before.

Something I personally love to do when I write toddlers is read the scene to my mother, this helps me point out dialouge and internal monologue that is too complex for a toddler.

This turned into an information sharing post rather than a tip post, but that's mainly because I can't tell you exactly how to write a toddler, but I sure as hell can tell you what to avoid when writing one.

I'm in no way a psychologist or a child specialist, a lot of the tips I've given are observations I've made from remembering when my younger sister was a toddler, and just interacting with toddlers in other enviroments, as well as writing toddlers myself.

Expect more posts regarding writing children in the future ^^

Maybe some of this advice will help, maybe it won't, either way, I hope this feline has enlightened you!

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @corrodedcoffinfest May Mayhem Bingo event.

What Happened, Happened

Prompt: Time Travel Break-It Worse | Word Count: 1586 | Rating: M | CW: Canon Character Death, Other Temporary Character Deaths | POV: Steve | Relationship(s): Multiple Mentioned | Tags: Post S4, Time Travel/Time Loop, Eddie Died and Gareth Blames Steve, Steve Tries to Fix It, It Only Goes Downhill From There, Angst, Guilt, Bargaining, Regret, Acceptance

"He's dead because of you."

The words slap Steve, right in the goddamn face. He wants to take a step forward, refuses to look back, because what good could come from that? Nothing. None. 

He flinches, muscles twitching as he urges his body to just move. To get away from this. He lifts his foot—

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" 

Steve squeezes his eyes shut, stilling, and doesn't even have to turn around to know who's standing behind him. Barking hatred at his back.

"I know," Steve says quietly, folding his arms over his chest, as if that can protect him from the wrath of Gareth Jones.

This isn't the first time they've had a run in, and Steve's sure it won't be the last. He deserves it. He does. Eddie didn't listen, Eddie ran into danger after promising he wouldn't, but it's still Steve's fault for leaving him in that position in the first place. He should have known better.

Done better.

"It's my fault," Steve says, lowering his head, chin pointing towards his chest, trying to will the tears filling his eyes not to fall.

Gareth shoves him, and that's all the momentum he needs.

Steve runs.

The book is old, dusty and musty. The lady in the used bookstore pulled it out from under the desk, and then had to remove it from a lockbox. He's still not convinced it's actually capable of doing anything. Of changing anything. But he lays on his bed and thumbs through it. Looking. He's not so good with the Latin pronunciations, but he tries his best.

His best?

Clearly not good enough.

He wakes up in a world where Eddie still dies, but so did Dustin. It's worse. It's so much worse. Sitting on Claudia's couch, crying, trying to explain himself. The words are broken, and nonsensical, but he promises to fix it.

The book is in his desk drawer, and he tries again.

It jerks him back to 1983. 

That's not so bad. He supposes. He could start over, run it back to the beginning, fix things from the jump. Sure, back here he's not friends with Robin, nor Henderson, but Barb didn't die. 

Unfortunately, Will Byers did.

And listening to Nancy cry, wrapped up in Barb's arms, he figures out that while doing their sleuthing to uncover what happened to him, Lucas, Mike and Dustin all disappeared. 

Steve knows they're dead. He can feel it. Knows they were dragged down there, just like Barb had been. Like Will.

He digs in his desk, and the book is there, so he tries again.

In the next world, Eddie's some sort of monster serving at the side of Vecna. Not dead, finally. But all sharp teeth and claws. At least when he rips out Steve's neck, Steve thinks, thank god, this is over.

It's not over.

He's back on the sidewalk, and his hand instinctively reaches up to his neck. It's fine. He's fine. Everything's fine. 

Except it's not. 

"He's dead because of you."

"He is," Steve admits, and just walks away. He's got work to do it. Again.

Eddie's in a hospital bed, machines beeping, whirring. His friends, his uncle, sitting at his side.

He did it. He fucking did it. 

"Hey, Harrington," Gareth says, and Steve nods. "We hear we have you to thank for getting him here."

Steve nods. But he doesn't know. Doesn't remember.

That doesn't matter, he cannot believe it worked. Fucking finally.

"So, thanks. We owe you."

They don't owe him shit. 

"We're really sorry about Robin," Jeff says.

"And Nancy," Goodie adds.

Steve hangs his head, and nods. Of course. Of course this didn't work. It never does.

He takes a step closer to the bed, and picks up Eddie's hand, the one Gareth isn't holding.

Steve squeezes it, and leans close, whispering, "I'm sorry."

And then he turns and leaves.

He has to try again.

That goddamn book just keeps making things worse. None of the fixes are fixes at all. He needs to just get back to their regular baseline version of shitty, and then he'll destroy it. 

He needs help. 

Scaling the side of Nancy Wheeler's house was easier at seventeen than it is at twenty, that's for damn sure. Back before his body had been put through hell, repeatedly. He taps on her window, and she jumps in the air, clutching her chest. 

"The front door broken?" she asks through the glass.

He holds up the old, ratty book, pressing it against the window.

"This book is ruining my life. Help me."

Nancy is reading while he lays on her bed. Every time he tries to say anything she shushes him.

"You've time traveled, like really time traveled, and not just like we did going back in time by slipping into the Upside Down?"

"Yes. Really time traveled. I keep making things worse."

"Well, yes, Steve. That's what fucking around with things usually does, have we not learned that yet?"

"This is Gareth's fault," he huffs.

"Who's Gareth?" she asks, turning to look at him.

"Grade below you. Drummer. You know, Mike's friend. Eddie's friend."

She looks upward as if she's asking for help from above, "Gareth Jones. That little twerp is somehow responsible for…this?" 

Steve sighs, and flops over face first into her pillow. It still smells like her shampoo. He squeezes his eyes shut. If he just lays here and breathes, it can be before. Before Eddie died. Before Barb died.

Just.

Before.

"Steve. Tell me," she insists and he can't avoid her forever.

"He's dead because of me," Steve explains.

"Gareth?"

"No, Nance, Eddie!" he snaps, burying his face again. 

"That wasn't your fault. If he'd just listened—"

"—don't blame him," Steve interrupts. They aren't blaming Eddie. Steve can't do that. And if it's not Eddie's fault, it's Steve's.

"Well it sure as hell isn't your fault," she says, "and if that little shit says so again, I'll make him regret it."

Steve smiles, maybe for the first time since all this started. She would, too. She'd eat him for lunch. "Thanks, Nance."

She nods curtly. 

"Have you told Robin?" she asks, and Steve shakes his head. He hadn't wanted to involve her. What if something happens to her? He can't risk it.

She sits there, thinking, putting the unspoken pieces together, then asks, "What's wrong with this world?"

"Jonathan's gone," he says. The whole Byers family, just gone. He doesn't know what that means for the Upside Down, but he can feel it under his feet. Angry. Bubbling. 

Unfinished business.

"Who's Jonathan?" she asks, meeting his eyes.

Exactly.

"Your boyfriend," he says, and she tightens her grip on the book.

"How progressive of you," she says, holding up her hand. Flashing him a diamond ring. Teasing him. They're engaged. Fuck. 

Six nuggets and an RV.

He shakes his head, "Just read it, Nance. Figure it out. Please."

She translated, parsed, and then made him practice what he was supposed to say over and over. Nancy wasn't sure it'd work, and Steve could tell she didn't even believe him, not totally.

He holds the book in his hands, and recites it as close to perfect as he can. 

Steve's back on the sidewalk.

"He's dead because of you."

Steve's not doing this again, he wheels around, and Gareth takes a big step back. He must look pissed off, feral, something, because Gareth has never remotely backed down from him once since he was thrust into his life. 

"He's dead because this town is eating us from the inside out," Steve snaps, "and I'll feed you to it next, if you keep it up."

Jeff and Goodie appear behind him, coming out of the drug store, ice cream in hand. 

"Whoa, uh, we all good here?" Jeff asks, handing Gareth a cone that's already melting. It has dripped down Jeff's hand, and Jeff wipes it on his jeans.

"I don't know," Steve says, "I don't know anything. I did what I could. I did what I could," he repeats, and he can't cry. "I tried my best."

"We know that," Jeff says, looking around at his friends, "Don't we?"

Goodie nods, but Gareth just glares. 

"We know that. Right, Gare?" Jeff probes.

"I'm sorry it wasn't enough," Steve says, because he knows Gareth Jones is never gonna agree that he isn't responsible. And that's fair. It is.

He's not gonna try to make him.

And he doesn't. He just turns and walks away, needing to make the rounds, makes sure everybody is where they're supposed to be. Make sure this world isn't all fucked up, too.

Robin's home, and doesn't question why he's driving all over town, spying on their friends. Just hops in with him, and they see that Jonathan's car is in front of the Wheeler's. Henderson is with his friends, as he should be.

Max is blind, but alive. El is painting her fingernails out on the porch, but stops to wave at him, big and bright. The weight lifted off her shoulders. It's over, here.

Eddie's headstone is still in the cemetery. 

It's covered in spray paint, again.

"The stuff still in the trunk?" Robin asks, and Steve nods.

He can't fix what happened. 

What happened, happened.

But he can fix this.

He squats in front of the stone. He takes the spray bottle from her, and wets the stone, rivulets darkening the granite. Then he takes the brush and scrubs. Hard. 

Cleaning up the only mess that he can.

And if you want to write your own, or see more entries in this pop-up, check out @corrodedcoffinfest to see other entries for the May Mayhem Bingo Event!

Notes: I've already tried my hand at a time travel fix-it with All Across the Universe, so with this one, it was interesting to have Steve not be able to change things. Even if that is much sadder.

What happened, happened. 😭

[honeyvettel5]

peck/alex #43: fake dating!!!

43. fake dating | pecco/alex; crack treated seriously, bisexual disaster pecco bagnaia, set in 2025. [1/?]; [900 words]

(from this prompt list here)

it’s not really pecco’s fault if people keep misinterpreting his words. he’s not trying to be difficult; it’s just that things come out wrong sometimes, especially first thing thursday morning, still half-asleep and halfway through his espresso, when he discovers he’s been unceremoniously added to a whatsapp group called '5B reunion'. it takes him a second to clock it—5B, as in his old high school class from the liceo scientifico. apparently, after nearly a decade, his former classmates have decided to organize a reunion. a dinner, no less; and a proper one, booked at a sleek overpriced restaurant in the center of turin. pecco scrolls through the chat, watching a steady stream of enthusiastic messages roll in like a tsunami. people are confirming left and right; some still live nearby, others are flying in just for the night. the group seems disturbingly united in their excitement. he hovers over his keyboard, unsure. high school hadn’t exactly been a highlight for him. more like a long, awkward phase where he mostly kept his head down, stayed in his shell, and avoided eye contact. making actual friends had seemed wildly ambitious, back then. before he can figure out what, if anything, to reply, laura swoops in with another message: ‘bring your girlfriends if you’d like! and boyfriends of course 😊’ pecco reads the message twice, then frowns. it’s well-meaning, sure. very inclusive. but he thought this was supposed to be about them bonding over mutual academic trauma, not speed-dating over tiramisu. he just— doesn’t see the point. that’s when things begin to go downhill. 

pecco sees the name of alessandro popping up to the left corner of his screen, and his jaw tightens instinctively, some old, well-worn irritation curling at the edge. he and alessandro were never exactly friends—not enemies either, but always stuck in that tense, unspoken rivalry that happens when one person walks around like you owe them. alessandro had that effortless, inherited arrogance that money tends to manufacture—the kind that comes from being the only son of turin’s most successful car dealership family, and knowing it. in the message, he tags pecco directly, with the forced breeziness of someone who thinks they’re being funny: ‘@peccobagnaia so now we can finally meet pecchino’s woman, then 😏.’ it’s childish, and slightly misogynistic. pecco remembers, suddenly and very clearly, why he never liked the guy. and maybe it’s just that special brand of teenage resentment that has never quite dissolved, still tucked somewhere under his skin like an old bruise. or maybe it’s just the sharp thrill of pissing people off—alessandro in particular—enough to feel momentarily alive. either way, pecco doesn’t think for long. he types quickly: ‘actually im bisexual,’ and leaves at that.

the group goes dead for five full minutes after it—just pure, uninterrupted, blissful silence. pecco isn’t embarrassed. if anything, he feels startlingly clear. he’s spent enough time wading through that thick, familiar swamp of shame and forced normalcy to know better than to guilt-trip himself over one semi-accidental, typo-ridden message. it’s all still fairly new, of course—the liking-boys part. not the knowing, necessarily. that had arrived one night, quiet and strange, with him leaning against the wall of some club in barcelona watching a tall, blonde guy laugh into his drink with a little too much focus to be casual. and luca—sharp-eyed, maddeningly perceptive luca—had leaned into his space, looked at him looking at the guy, and said, tone casual, ‘you know you can like both, right?’ pecco had turned his head like an owl, stunned. he had blinked against luca’s easy smile, and nodded, slowly, like something was clicking into place. since then, the world has tilted just slightly on its axis. things make more sense now; feel lighter, a little less tangled. and to his surprise, pecco doesn’t hate it.

his phone buzzes again against the table. eventually, laura has replied, ever gracious. ‘well, we can’t wait to meet your boyfriend then!’ she’s bolded the word boyfriend like something to get excited about. pecco stares at the screen; he didn’t say he had a boyfriend; he didn’t even imply it. all he said—all he said—was that he’s bisexual. and now, evidently, he’s been assigned a whole relationship he doesn’t even have. pecco puts the phone down, face-first, and lets his head fall back against the chair. this was supposed to be simple. show up, maybe have a drink, prove to himself he could walk back into that part of his life and not flinch. but now? now there’s a spotlight on him, and a vacant boyfriend-shaped silhouette where a person is supposed to be. he presses the heels of his hands against his eyes, resisting the urge to spiral into a full-blown pit of endless self-loathing. he thinks about jerez coming up, how he still needs to find his passport he painfully negotiated back from carola after he’d insisted that he was a grown adult capable of keeping track of his own documents. he needs to fold his team gear, pack his underwear. there’s a whole race weekend ahead; one thing, at least, he knows how to do.

[endofradio]

oliver mellors one shot where reader is a schoolteacher, and he and the reader make their first public appearance in tevershall after months of rumors and the gossip goes crazy 😵😵

CRYINGGG IM SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT I’VE NEVER DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE 😭😭😭 especially since Oliver is a new character for me. but I tried at least! Decided to go for something a little cute and silly

writing is below the cut

As it turns out, word gets around town pretty easily, especially in a village as small as Tevershall. In Tevershall, everybody knew everyone. The people were guaranteed to know at least a thing or two about you. Your birthday? Yeah, at least a few people knew that. Some couple was blessed with a child? Well, that was very important information. The entire village might as well hold a celebration!

One thing about Tevershall, though, was that the villagers, especially the women, took gossip very seriously. It didn’t take much for some news to spread around like wildfire, after all. You got to experience this first-hand as of recently.

That was because, well, the latest gossip involved you. Not just you, but also the recently-returned army man, Oliver Mellors, and Tevershall knew him very well.

As a young boy, Oliver had grown up on Wragby. He went to school in Tevershall, where he quickly became known and well-liked amongst the teachers for his cleverness. When you had first gotten a job in the village, you learned of the man’s past as a smart young boy fairly quickly, especially when the news came around that he was to return from the war. The older teachers were quite eager about it. They had a bit of a maternal sense of pride about seeing him all grown up now.

Unfortunately, when Oliver returned, it wasn’t as exciting as they’d expected. His wife, Bertha, had left him to mess with other men. Evidently, he wasn’t the same person. He was gruff, more reserved, and somewhat unfriendly and intimidating. What on earth had happened to the poor boy?

He’d gotten a job as Wragby’s new gamekeeper, living in a secluded cottage far away from the activity in Tevershall. He needed to get away. He needed a chance to forget about all he had endured.

Surprisingly, you’d been the first person so far to finally break through Oliver’s rough exterior. You met him after being invited to Wragby as a bit of a warm welcome. While you were outside, exploring the grounds, you spotted a man carrying a rifle, a dog walking by his side. You’d always had a reputation for being a little social, so you figured you’d might as well say hello to him.

The two of you thought that brief encounter would be your only one… but it wasn’t. You liked going for walks in the woods, and Oliver also happened to be there almost every single time.

Eventually, the two of you had developed a bit of a friendship, and somehow, the villagers of Tevershall caught on to it. You thought the curiosity would be brief, but then a day of some whispers around the village turned into weeks… and then, those weeks turned into months. At this point, it was nearly impossible for you to step outside without hearing a rumor or two about your friendship with Oliver. You’d heard rumors about the two of you screwing around, for one. Since you’d not made a public appearance with him, of course much had to be left to the imagination.

Everything went downhill once you both were finally seen together in public.

Oliver had decided to pay you a visit at Tevershall, which was surprising enough for him. The village was such a miserable place after all, and he wanted nothing to do with it, especially because of all the people, but the pheasants at Wragby had laid some eggs. You’d previously mentioned to him that you’d like to have some, and he remembered! Here he was, walking towards your house with a basket of pheasant eggs. You were flattered that he’d remembered. You hadn’t expected him to actually bring you some.

When you were greeted by a knock on the door and opened to see him standing there with a basket full of pheasant eggs, you couldn’t deny that your heart had skipped a beat just a little.

“Good day, (y/n),” he said, giving a respectful nod as he handed the basket to you. The both of you were already getting a couple curious glances.

“You… remembered the eggs?” You asked, chuckling in surprise. “I… didn’t think you’d actually take what I said seriously.”

Oliver smiled, a typical small, shy one of his, but it was slightly wider this time. He nodded again. “Aye, I did.”

Really, you weren’t used to people thinking of you, especially somebody like Oliver.

After you took the egg basket inside, you stepped out to talk to Oliver more. You hadn’t considered how this would probably influence even more rumors from the Tevershall folk.

The next day, the gossip seemed somehow even more prevalent than it had been before.

“Did you see how he smiled at her?” One lady asked. “Smiled! Even as a lad, he’d rarely smile.”

“Not only that,” another woman added, “but he brought her a gift!”

“The way he even bothered to come here in the first place says enough.” The first lady continued. “You reckon he fancies her?”

“Perhaps. He looked a little lovesick to me, I must say!”

Throughout the rest of the day, there seemed to be gossip wherever you went. It was overwhelming and nerve-wracking, very much so. It was just relationship rumor after relationship rumor. You didn’t have feelings for the man! After months, you still didn’t know that much about him.

Unless… maybe you did have feelings for him, and were yet to realize it? No, that couldn’t be possible. You hadn’t had feelings for a man in years, anyway.

But, the more you saw him during your daily walks in the woods near Wragby, the more you were beginning to second-guess yourself.

[jackie-mae]

with your outfit drawings for the mystreet character. im so curious about with vylad having outfits for s2-s6, if you want can you expand upon on that?

I WOULD LOVE TOO >:3c

Long and Short of it is I've always hated how Vylad was there in Mystreet S1, PDH S1 and then he just... dropped off the face of the earth after that. It always irked me a bit when it would show Garroth and Zane having brotherly bonding moments (and trauma) and always having the thought of (Man wasn't there a third brother in all this?) there in the back of my mind.

I'm now going to do some little bullet points of my Vylads role in S2-6 but this is a great time to mention I've never seen past S4 so I'm running on Wiki Lore and the gospel of AO3 and @catzgam3rz; who collaborates (Read: Infodump and Ramble) on a hypothetical rewrite with me so it gets vague and murky for the later seasons.

S1:

Basically the same as canon (as in S1 is kinda just slice of life) but instead of Vylad just travelling around the world he is an off the grid hunter that wanders the wilderness all the time (The freak)

This is based on my very fuzzy memories of MCD Vylad always kinda just being in trees as he watched Lady Aphmau in the early seasons so I just put Mystreet Vylad in trees for fun this time

Has a vaguely similar relationship to his brothers as in MCD. in the sense it's better with Garroth and more strained with Zane

S2:

Goes to LLP with the rest of the main cast (which consists of the 11 big designs I made) because season 2 is not when you should be writing out characters Jessica

He wears little rainboots and unlike Laurance (Who FYI wears cowboy boots a majority of the time) the rest of the cast did not get him into flip flops before he went trudging into the ocean (again a freak)

I like to imagine that if any drama is going on in the story you could always see him floating around on an inner tube off in the distance

S3:

Again back to slice of life so he does a lot of shenanigans with the cast here

This is the season where the shadow knights feature but for the life of me, I cannot remember if Vylad was officially a part of them or not (And his Wikia is not even a paragraph~) But if it turns out he was there'll probably be more shenanigans around that.

He ends up leaving mid-season (Fall ish?) to go on a hunting expedition

S4:

Oh hey look Vylad is back because we don't believe in writing characters off with little rhyme or reason Jessica

Vylads hunting expedition ends up being in the same area as the lodge. and we all know nothing bad happens there!

there's now a little ski village downhill from the lodge which is where Vylad is staying at seasons start. He's good friends with a lot of the people there.

He's a werewolf now... Don't worry about it!

Oh, what's this? Is that relationship building between him and Zane on the horizon? Well, that won't hurt at all, will it?

AY:

A not-alone buddy comforts his not-alone buddy (I do not know much about Aphmau's Year but know it's short so that's all I got)

S5:

As he is a part of the Lodge crew he gets to go to Starlight!

Possibly is involved in a certain shenanigan with his brothers I'll be posting a comic about that in a few days

Get's lost constantly. Figures Starlight being an island means he can't really get lost since he'll hit ocean eventually and refuses to acknowledge how big said island is.

Doesn't float around like in S2 but you can still find him wading on the shore in his boots

being a hyperattentive freak, he get's some bad vibes from the island sooner than most

S6

Gonna be honest, me and Catz have not watched all of When angels fall but are planning to soon so I'll just leave you with the fun fact that all of my season 6 designs are supposed echo my MCD's designs for the characters (Since S6 is when it was decided hey maybe Diaries is really important here now)

TLDR: Vylad was shafted in Mystreet so I'm fix it

[ihopesocomicask]

HELLOOOO! I actually wanted to send this ask a week before but ig tumblr decided it was the best time to shadowban the blog :( Anyways before I say something I love love LOVE your comic and the character writing, it actually helped a lot on writing my characters too! I’m currently trying to put up a webcomic script that also tackles ableism and abuse with those characters, but I was worried about something you guys pointed out in the MP analysis video. Specifically, the idea that the way Nothing is literally rigged against the narrative and gets tossed at in every direction is not at all empowerment for disabled characters, and is what can be most likely summarized into “trauma/suffering pxrn for plot”. The fact that you guys are VERY RIGHT makes me kinda worried because I also have a disabled character who is abused by their family in their childhood, but is shown to be perfectly capable and does overcome the influence of their abusive family eventually. The REAL problem would be that after all that character development, I’m…killing them. Yeah. I can’t even remove it bc this will act as a point of an “everything goes downhill from here” moment and is CRUCIAL to the plot. I’d been thinking about it ever since I saw your analysis and if this event will just, quote on quote, “…a message that - regardless of your limitations - you can achieve just as much as anyone else and, for the majority of its run, it repeatedly rams the counterargument down your throat.” Not repeatedly, I suppose, since you can’t kill someone twice, but still, I do think killing a character after all that development might not be good. The fact that I AM partially doing this for the plot does not make it better, and now I’m wondering if this will end up conveying a message that is Not Very Good like how MP did. I’ve been thinking about this for a while and it would be a honor for me to get your points of view about this. Sorry for the long-ass question, and I wish both of you the best of luck. Love you two!

Oh hey, I remember your ask and yes, Tumblr did indeed eat it. That's another symptom of the shadowban, I'm afraid. Tumblr shall render any asks in your inbox invisible and therefore you cannot answer them. We sincerely apologise for that. oof First of all, thank you so so much for your kind words concerning the comic and our characters. That's super sweet to hear. Now to your question. An important thing to point out - and what we shall keep pointing out until we're blue in the face - is that My Pride was sold as an inspirational, empowering story to the disabled and promised a story where the disabled main rises above her oppressive society.

Which... never happens.

The narrative kinda tries to do that with story beats such as Nothing fighting Quickmane despite only being a kid, her 'chosen one' subplot and - more infamously - Feather's speech.

But it very much feels like it's going through the motions that all "pro-disability" media that has been criticised in the past goes through. Whatever progress Nothing makes always has to be undone by the plot kicking her in the groin. Her final battle against Fire is a major example of this: not only does the plot demand she lose her brother - one of the few characters that truly cared for her - but it also demands she get her ass kicked, even though there was no reason for her to have lost the fight aside from her being disabled.

And that's one of my major issues with My Pride: it reels you in with its seemingly empowering plot and some choice quotes that do not reflect the full script and then it ultimately offers nothing but a depressing ride. Now, to the secondary issue of 'is it bad to depict ableism in your story'? Despite what people of a certain online persuasion might try and say, our issues with My Pride is NOT because the show has ableism in it and no, Tribble is not automatically an ableist because she has ableism in her story. She is an ableist because she put on a front of being an ally to physically disabled individuals and then presumed to know better than us whenever criticism was given while writing ableist tripe and presenting it as empowering.

That's literally it.

So, no, having ableism by itself in your story is not a bad thing on its own. It's how you ultimately handle the topic and present it that plays a part. I'd have a lot to say if you were presenting this story as a form of escapism for disabled readers, but that doesn't appear to be the case. As for the subject of your disabled character being killed off: I think you really need to stop and ask yourself what kind of story you wish to tell.

Naturally, this also depends on the type of story you wish to tell. For example, is it a tragedy where everybody in the cast is treated the same and they all encounter hardship or is this just specific to your disabled character? You need to be straightforward with your genre.

Why does this disabled character have to overcome all obstacles just to die in the end? You mentioned it's 'for the sake of the plot' and acknowledge that this on its own isn't really a good reason for making such a decision.

I agree with you. It just sounds like a bit of a letdown and actually very soap opera-esque to do this purely for plot reasons. And I don't mean 'soap opera-esque' in the essence that it's cheap or lowbrow. I mean that this is the kind of thing that soap operas do when an actor doesn't renew their contract, has no intention of returning and they therefore have to kill off their character.

It's just very obvious and on-the-nose, if that makes sense? And it's something that disabled people have seen many times in media.

And what's more, it's done because there's often no choice outside of replacing the actor. Whereas you do have the opportunity to explore other options and ways to tweak your plot, especially when you already sound uncomfortable with this development anyway. Not just because of what we say but because you personally see a point in what we say. I don't know the ins and outs of your story and you shouldn't have to share it for me to get it but, from what little you've told me, I'd personally be rooting for this character to not have their struggles be all for nothing as an audience member. And this actually reminds me of a trick that Richard Adams pulled when it came to the ending of The Plague Dogs. Snitter and Rowf were destined to die. However, because we as the reader naturally willed them to live as we followed their journey and bonded with them: Adams decided to have the dogs fished out of the water and have their happy ending. Because we as the audience willed that into existence without us even realising because of how real Adams made these characters.

What I'm saying is that - sometimes - going for the most obvious and 'cliche' ending can often be the most creative choice, depending on the type of audience you're trying to appeal to and the type of characters you write and how exactly you write them. You're already writing about real issues that affect real people, so your writing shall evoke a deep connection from your audience. Take advantage of that but also reward your audience for their perseverance rather than trying to make your audience feel a certain way through cheap means (i.e. through shocking moments that seemingly come out of nowhere). You don't need to fall back on a shocking twist to make your plot interesting. You're already there with the abuse storyline, in my honest opinion. I appreciate that the depiction of abuse has been watered down by media but - trust me - it is still a topic that - if handled correctly - can evoke certain emotions that a character death often cannot. Anyway, I'm very sorry this got extremely long. I really hope my rambling was helpful to you, anon, and I wish you the best of luck with your story! c: - RJ

[fledgeheart]

OMG i js saw your ask on @seriouslycalamitous acct i genuinely recommend with my whole heart to read some of their other fics! They are genuinely my favorite author on Ao3 and i love their other fics, if your looking for a short one their NYE one is really good (i can’t remember the name)and if your looking for a longer fic i absolutely love Change With The Tides!

Hello Anon you read my mind!! I was just planning on binge reading all their fics >:3

Now it’s time for my favourite thing!! Live reacting! Get prepared for the rambles

Currently reading change with the tides and I have no idea how Cal writes birds so well LIKE HOW?? Maybe they’re secretly a bird who knows /silly

The characteristics of all of them are so on point too!! Bamboozelers they can never make me hate you even if your pirates <3

Honestly this is written like a professional fantasy novel the quality is incredible I want to never stop reading it

My heartttttttttt scar cares so much can I like, steal him and make him my friend? Please? No? Dammit…

“I’ve been referring to you in my head as my ‘dream guy,’ which is uncomfortable for so many reasons.”LMAOOOOO BEST BIT SO FAR XD

I’m giggling and kicking my feet like a girl at a sleepover scar picking him up AHHH their so cute I love them dearly

Oh I don’t think I mentioned but scars dreams sound horrible and I feel so bad for him :((

Awww scars in loveeeee

“Wow, Scar. That’s a lot. See a therapist.” I CHOCKED ON MY RICECAKE LMAO-

I’m not close to crying you are wdym the last scar heard of his family was screams :((((

Im so captivated in this story this might be the best fanfiction I have ever read

“I should’ve known,” Scar whispered, more to himself than anyone else. “That a pretty bird like you would have an even prettier owner.” SCREAMING GIGGLING DANCING AROUND THE ROOM HEHEHEHHEHEHEE I LOVE THAT

UGGHHHH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

I would like to remind everyone scar opted to kill Grian at first, isnt he glad he didn’t

“Grian felt his entire form become paralyzed as soft lips pressed against the top of his head.” ISNT HE GLAD HE DIDNT KILL GRIAN!! OHHH MY GODDDDDEDD

I might cry their so stinkin cute Grian playing with scars hair KDJWKWNJSJSJS

“In a couple of days, we’ll dock, and we’ll see exactly how the Captain reacts.” That seems like foreshadowing, I’m joining Joel’s bet and I bet four gold pieces grians gonna leave at the dock then come back cuz he can’t bear to leave scar (spoiler I was wrong)

NOT THE CAGE AGIAN

Ohhhhh no this isn’t good…. I really hope the reveal goes well or I’m chucking myself out of the taxi I’m reading this in /j

Why…. Is there a warning for violence and death…. Okay I’m officially scared for this chapter

YKNOW sometimes I wish I didn’t have empathy cuz I really feel Grian terror rn this is such scary situation for him to be in and I am anxious for him 😭

Ohhhhh the powers are written so well…. Poor grian :(

VEX TATOO VEX TATTOO

Oh wait scar isn’t human- I should’ve guessed but that means Grian doesn’t have to worry abt him hating magical beings yay

Ohhhhhhh nooooo this is going downhill very quickly, how much do I have to pay to have permission to punch the drunk dudes?

YALL HOW DID I NOT GUESS LIZZIE WASNT HUMAN I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD’VE ASSUMED THAT

Okay prediction, the crystal is gonna reveal Grian (I’m so smart ik ik) (spoiler I was wrong again)

LETSGO SCAR KICK THEIR ASS

The market is… disgusting my god

I need Grian to use his powers Idc if it reveals his identity I need them not to die

DRAGON GRIAN OMG?!

Silence settled over them, heavy and full. For a second, the Captain’s gaze slipped down to Grian’s lips. He was so close. Ohhhhh gay mf

Grian tipped his chin up just an inch more, and their lips brushed. Scar almost died at that very same moment. SCREAMING OMG I- this is the best thing ever I can die peacfully

What? No! No, Jimmy,” Scar stammered, scoffing. “I didn’t fall for him when he was a bird–!” I love them so much it’s not even funny the interactions are so funny

That’s was the best thing ever oh my god I need like, a whole series on these two that was incredible Thank you for the recommendation this is all I’m gonna be thinking abt for the foreseeable future

[adashulaz]

A new AU because I'm a loser who desperately wants a tft relationship despite being cupioromantic, this one is silly I promise though

Leola lives because she isn't accused of teaching humans magic

There is no border so there are elves within the human kingdoms and humans within elven towns/villages

Callum, Ezran, and Rayla still meet because of Rayla, Runaan, and the other elves from the first episode going to Katolis(have yet to decided why)

Soren is still sick in this AU, this is due to his lungs not being permanently healed/fixed with dark magic, his spine is also a little messed up because he was doing some trick and fell on it weird

Soren is commonly seen with Mukho(Mushroom Mage) and the mushroom critters because they are his main caretakers as they help ensure he can still breathe properly and that his spine doesn't get worse

Viren and Lissa don't get a divorce since she doesn't end up seeing Viren as a monster

Claudia and Terry still end up together, they meet earlier though

Leola, Claudia, and Soren are all friends/siblings due to Aaravos and Viren being close, it's very hard to tell if they kiss romantically or not

Corvus and Soren do kiss romantically though, they also hold hands romantically, no one knows how or when it happened but it's a thing now and no one is questioning it

Harrow and Sarai live happily, along with Aanyas moms(I can't remember their names)

There is conflict but only because Sol Regam believes that Aaravos and Leola will end up teaching humans magic

This comes to a head when Callum ends up doing magic

It all goes downhill from here, Sol Regam is going after that boy because of it

That dragon will end up dead at some point but it will take a bit

Janai and Amaya end up together still, they meet while Sol Regam is trying to remove Callum from life

Kazi and Gren as well perhaps

Thats all I fear, this will seem much more interesting as a fic I swear

[wednesdays-buck]

. . . a 9-1-1 abc fic rec!

🚒❤️🚒❤️🚒

Buck is Trying by brownbananas (nickel710)

“What’s with Chim?” Eddie asked quietly as he presented Hen with a mug of coffee, which they both knew was a bribe to get information.

She gave him an unamused look, but accepted the coffee and leaned onto the counter. “He’s got some plan to break the LAFD record for the annual blood drive competition between houses,” she answered.

“Exactly,” Chim’s voice chimed in, and Eddie groaned as he looked over his shoulder to find the man himself grinning from ear to ear as he caught Hen and Eddie chatting about the blood drive. “Do you remember that YouTuber I met a year and a half ago?”

Hen squinted her eyes thoughtfully. “That really tall guy?” she asked after a moment, her face lighting up as she remembered.

“That’s him! His channel is called ‘Buck is Trying.’”

The Long Road Home by inkinmyheartandonthepage

“Hey! I’m Buck,” he had said as he held the bathroom door open for the boy to pass through. “You’re on the bus with me.”

Chris had squinted up at Buck. “Yeah! You’re reading the book on – on space!”

Buck hadn’t realised that the boy had taken any notice of him. “Yeah, I am. And you’re reading Percy Jackson, right?”

Chris had looked delighted that Buck knew about his book. “Yeah! I’m Christopher.”

“Nice to meet you, Christopher,” Buck said.

I’ll Take You All The Way, Boy Just Come Along by fruitsdoesnotknow

Sighing, Eddie checks the desk again, about to abandon the cause when sees something wedged in the back. Trying to get a hold of the paper stuck behind a book, Eddie tugs at it forcefully and steps back with a yelp. He looks down and sees his finger’s got a fine line of blood emerging, and he sucks it into his mouth as he opens up the paper.

“Chris? Is this what you’re looking for?” He hands the paper over, and Chris snatches it while he reads it over, squinting, before gasping and shoving it into his bag.

“Yes! Let’s go, I’m late!” He grabs his crutches and speeds out of there, and Eddie slumps his shoulders before chasing after him with a curse as he glances at his watch.

That’s how his day starts. It only goes downhill from there.

***

The Diaz boys are having a rough day. Lucky for them, they meet a firefighter at the 118 who's determined to do anything he can to make them smile. It works, it really, really works.

Browsing by helloimgh

Firefighter Eddie Diaz and his son Christopher walk into Buck’s bookshop and let him change their lives.

The Tooth Fairy by snowflake194

Eddie sighed, turning back to Christopher. “Mijo, look,” he deadpanned, pointing to the guy. “The Tooth Fairy decided to sit next to us.” “You’re the Tooth Fairy?” Christopher asked, looking at him like he was Santa Claus and a superhero all rolled into one. “Of course,” the man said, straightening up and puffing out his chest a little. “But you can call me Buck.”

OR: Christopher loses his first tooth on a plane to LA, and a random stranger is there to save the day.

(A collection of semi-connected oneshots. AKA: My happy bubble)

Baby, You Can Drive My Car by serenelystrange

“Oh, I am going to murder the new guy,” Buck hisses under his breath.

In which Buck hates the new salesman at work with a burning passion, but Eddie doesn't even know they're fighting.

Suffice to say, they fall in love.

The Weight of it All by serenelystrange

“You want a husband?” Buck asks, still giggling lightly to himself. “I can make dad jokes if I’m a step-dad, right?”

Eddie just shakes his head in amusement and flips on the radio, letting Buck get wrapped up into singing along to a bubblegum pop song.

He never does answer the question

(In which Eddie is Obviously Straight. The fact that he can’t stop thinking about his new gym buddy is irrelevant.)

power forward by circuslife

Maddie fiddles around on her phone for a moment. “March 29th is the Kings game?” she asks, and Eddie nods. “I can get you rinkside.” Eddie almost chokes on his drink. “And how much is that going to cost?” he asks, considering the cheapest ticket he’s seen is pushing $350 and even then they weren’t rinkside. Eddie feels faint at the thought of it. But Maddie giggles and says, “Nothing, they’d be free.” Eddie goes to argue, tries to tell Maddie he absolutely cannot take tickets worth probably $500 off her hands for nothing but she shakes her head some more. “My brother plays for the Leafs,” she explains, “the tickets are free for me to get, Eddie.”

Or, Chris has really gotten into hockey lately. Good thing Maddie's brother plays for Chris's favourite team.

Red Solo Cup by 7ate9

Eddie was less than thrilled when Chris came home with a red solo cup full of dirt. He was so happy to tell Eddie about the class speaker they had, a botanist—“plant guy,” he called him—who helped them plant a flower. Eddie was used to Chris dumping all of his latest endeavors on him, and it would certainly disappoint the kid when his plant died because Eddie couldn’t care for it.

But Chris took care of it. He took care of Queen and loved her, but of course, she started to wilt. So, what else could Eddie do but pack up his son and the plant, drive over to the botanist that came to speak to their class, and find out what was wrong with the plant? And maybe drool over the guy, just a little bit? No harm, right?

On the Light Up Floor by Mooeyeddie (mooeyeddie)

[EXPLICIT]

But standing before him, was without question, the hottest man he had ever met and, if the lime slice Shannon threw at his head was anything to go by, he had been staring for far too long.

“Hi,” he blurted, the lime doing its job at pulling him back out of his thoughts.

“Hey,” the guy grinned crookedly and leaned against the bar, curly hair flopping across his forehead in a way that threatened Eddie’s mind to bluescreen again.

“Hello!” Shannon chimed in with an evil grin, pointedly ignoring Eddie’s glare, elbow on the bartop, head resting on her palm.

Or:

In which Buck is a firefighter and Eddie is the worst bartender the world has ever seen

Thank You, Alaska by serenelystrange

[EXPLICIT]

Oh, Eddie thinks as several of the mom’s grins turn sharp and interested, he is going to murder this man. Or fuck him into the mattress. The jury is still out.

(In which Buck is the nurse at Chris's school, and Eddie is immediately down bad crying at the gym.)

Five-Dollar Fridays by serenelystrange

[EXPLICIT]

“I am literally popping corn,” Buck says, “What more do you…” he trails off as he finally looks up and sees the man by the entrance that Taylor was eyeing. “Holy shit.”

In which Buck crushes on the hot firefighter dad that comes in for the $5 movie nights, and then they fall in love about it.

lucky streak by 2manyboys

[EXPLICIT]

A massive tsunami hits the Santa Monica Pier; Eddie has an instant connection with a firefighter from another station.

keep me as your finish line by thatbuddie (talktothesky)

[EXPLICIT]

“Oh no, we’re not doing this.” Chimney pops a bubble with the gum he’s been chewing as he moves one of his fingers back and forth to point between The-Man-who-isn’t-Buck’s-man-he’s-just-The-Man and Buck. “You didn’t drag me to the gym just so you can ditch me to fuck some guy in the showers."

Buck lowers his voice, leaning forward as if trying to make the words’s journey shorter between him and Chimney so they can’t escape and reach anyone else’s ears,“I wouldn’t fuck him in the showers.”

Chimney’s response is wordless in the form of an eyebrow raise.

“Not anymore, okay?” Buck clarifies, rolling his eyes. “That’s not who I am now."

(spoiler alert: Buck does fuck the guy in the showers. but that comes after nicknaming him Big Beautiful Brown Eyes, finding out his name is actually Eddie, becoming his best friend, and falling madly in love with him.)

I built a home for you, for me by staticsilencee

“You know,” Bobby said, looking thoughtful, “I might have a solution for you. There’s a childcare center near here called Save the Day. They aren’t open overnight, of course, but they are open until 9 with the option to stay a bit late if a shift runs long.”

Eddie stared at Bobby in wonder. “Holy shit. I should have told you about Chris during my interview for the station, that’s perfect! Wait– How much does it cost? I know childcare isn’t exactly cheap, and LA is already kind of expensive–”

“Everyone at the 118 gets a discount. Perks of having an in at the daycare.”

-or- After the ladder truck crushed his leg, Buck is unable to return to work and left permanently disabled. One of Maddie's friends at dispatch gets him a job working at a childcare center geared towards shift workers.

[xxhanachanxx]

🐦🍃🦔❤️Act II: Old School Crushes ft. Pedro, Buck, and Shadow

Welcome again as we head into the second act of this art aspect for Project 08.10.25 - enter “Old School Crushes”!

Let's go over my choice of characters, and what they mean to me (click on the "Keep reading" tab to go further):

Pedro (Rio) - Honestly, when it comes to Nico and Pedro, the majority of people would talk about how they had a crush on Nico while I don’t think there wasn’t the same kind of talk regarding having a crush on Pedro; though for me to have a crush on Pedro was due to how funny and adorable he was! He’s actually my second favorite character in Rio while my number one favorite is Jewel! It was the following year after the release of the first film that my Rio obsession started to get bigger, and I remember during the first couple of months in 2012, I would look up Rio fanart on deviantArt (this was a year before I made an account over there) and when it came to the fanart for Nico and Pedro, that was where I was starting to have a crush on Pedro more! No matter how cringey and embarrassing my Rio obsession was to anyone that I know, I’m at least grateful that it happened and came to me during a rough period in my life!

Buck (Ice Age) - I think you and I can agree that Buck is carrying the weight of the Ice Age franchise on his back at this point (ugh, pray for him-); I’ve seen the first film during my childhood, and it was the fourth film (Continental Drift, 2012) that got me hyperfixated with the Ice Age franchise and it’s fandom more (and same period during my Rio hyperfixation lol) despite being a film that was considered by most that it was where the franchise went downhill. I was watching a few clips from some of the previous films on YouTube and when watching some clips from the third film (Dawn of the Dinosaurs, 2009), it was where I started to become more intrigued with Buck - interestingly enough, I have seen the third film at my cousin’s house during Thanksgiving 2009, and I remember thinking that Buck was stupid (derogatory) and his backstory on how he lost his eye was what I remembered the most regarding the film (oh, and the plant scene where he rescues Manny and Diego)! So when I revisited the third film for a bit in 2012, I started to warm up to Buck more and even started having a crush on him (I really love funny men) - and for him to be a fan-favorite character of the franchise and highlight of that film is a complete understatement! Even during my early days in the Ice Age fandom, my love for Buck would become my strong suit in the fandom, and I even got to meet up and interact with some Buck fans on dA! If anything, him appearing in Collision Course was one of the highlights of that film, his spinoff film was garbage (I remember wanting him to be given the Puss in Boots treatment in getting his own spinoff film, but yeah this ain’t it chief; thank god for the 2022 miracle that was The Last Wish-), and I don’t have any hype for Ice Age 6 but maybe I should watch it for Buck - everyone, let’s pour one for Buck! 😭

Shadow (Sonic; also, knowing I might get a complaint or two telling me that's not Sonic bc his name is in a drawing that revolves Shadow and not Sonic, the reason why Sonic's name is there is to base off the piece of media/fandom where the character originates from, and this goes to the previous pieces with this kind of stylistic choice and a couple of future pieces for this project - I don't feel the need to write and explain this, but I'm kinda not looking forward in getting bombarded by complaints either so there you go-) - Admittedly, I remember not liking Shadow at first as a kid, but all of that changed once I was deep into my Sonic phase during the early 2010s, especially during 2013! While I won’t elaborate too much on my cringey Shadow fangirl phase during that period, to say that he put 12-year-old me on a chokehold would be an understatement; on a more serious note though, when it comes to his character arc in most of the games, and as years went on, it was where I started to appreciate and empathize with him as a character the most! Still kinda blows my mind that I ended up with Sonic/Shadow brainrot in the end of 2024/the beginning of 2025-

Anyway, I do hope you enjoy - be safe, be kind to each other, and have an amazing weekend~ ♡♡♡

[echo-bleu]

Noldor hair headcanons (2/4)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | On AO3

By the time they’re settled in Beleriand, the Nolofinwëans have largely switched from elaborate styles done by someone else to (slightly) simpler self-braided styles. They’re at war now, so they turn toward practical braids that keep their hair out of their face during combat. There’s more and more of a gap between everyday styles and ceremonial styles.

The Fëanorians however are still doing things the old way. Maedhros is very unhappy that he can no longer braid people’s hair properly (especially Fingon’s) (he learns to do it one-handed eventually, but it’s never as perfect) (Fingon doesn’t mind).

The Sindar wear their hair half-up or even loose. However, they like to play with each other’s hair, and it’s not reserved for family, which is Very Weird for the Noldor to see. Galadriel has a hard time getting used to it and doesn’t let anyone touch her hair beside Celeborn, but she eventually figures out that her hair dazzles people even more when it’s loose, so she starts leaving it down.

It’s even harder to untangle as a result, and Celeborn suffers. (Galadriel is not not into hair pulling.)

Melian and Lúthien’s hair is so silky that braids just undo themselves. Elrond and Elros partly inherit that, and Elrond spends his whole life mourning that fact (he wants to do his hair like Maedhros, okay?).

Finrod is the first elf to let a Man touch his hair. He’s travelling alone and he’s touch-deprived, can you blame him? (It’s Bëor. It results in several uncomfortable conversations.)

Curufin makes himself and his brothers sharpened hairpins and various other weapons disguised as hair jewellery.

Hairstyles mingle during the Siege until, in the more cosmopolitan realms, Noldor and Sindar are no longer identifiable at first sight. Some Noldor elect to keep their hair mostly loose (though almost never entirely) while many Sindar learn the Battle Braids. They are very convenient, after all.

Avari hair customs are very different. It’s mostly about hair brushing/care being very intimate. They usually wear hairdresses or hair covering of some kind, depending on the tribe they belong to.

Gondolin has stayed highly conservative about hair, with hairstyles almost as complex as Tirion in its noontide.

Maeglin hates having his hair touched even more than his mother.

I’m tempted to make Eöl an asshole on this too, who cuts Aredhel’s hair or something, but I think she just never lets him touch her and he doesn’t care enough to try.

Maeglin grows up with his hair loose up until Aredhel takes them to Gondolin, where she remembers how Turgon is about hair, and braids Maeglin’s and her own in hopes of Looking Natural.

Maeglin’s first impression of Gondolin is that Hair Braiding Hurts (though not as much as adar’s hands). It goes downhill from there.

He’s still jealous when he catches Idril doing Tuor’s hair. Tuor doesn’t even have the decency of having beautiful Noldor hair, so it doesn’t even look that good. The next day, Idril’s braids are very wonky and Maeglin, upon seeing her, completely messes up the hair clip he was making her.

Eärendil has Tuor’s hair. It’s fine, because Elwing refuses to do Noldor braids.

Glorfindel is a Vanya and wears his hair completely loose.

We all know how that ends.

Maglor’s hair is partly burned off in Dagor Bragollach. He spends an uncomfortable few years growing it back and recovering from smoke inhalation. He revives some ridiculous hair-related ditties from his youth as voice therapy and they’re soon heard throughout Beleriand.

Finrod, badly injured and with no bodies of his brothers to bury, makes up a self-braided version of the Mourning Braids (It involves only braiding the hair from the shoulders down. That’s largely because he couldn’t raise his arms at that point, but it becomes a feature of all Mourning Braids—except Maglor’s style—for two ages to come.)

For the first time since the Ice, Fingolfin asks Fingon to do his hair, the morning after they hear of Morgoth’s victory.

He braids Rochallor’s mane and tail before setting out.

Rochallor walks back into Hithlum some days after the Eagle comes, his hair still braided. He lies down and dies with his head in Fingon’s arms.

Turgon braids his father’s hair before burying him, as he did with Elenwë, as he did with Aredhel. There is a custom that’s been developing among the Noldor of Beleriand to only give the dead a single, simple braid, so that they don’t risk being too attached to their body and miss the call from Mandos, but Turgon doesn’t know of it. No one has died in Gondolin since it was built, aside from Aredhel and Eöl.

Finrod and his Ten braid each other’s hair the night after they leave Nargothrond. Beren watches them with no understanding of the custom.

They later find out that werewolves spit out the hair when they devour someone.

It’s not a nice sight.

Beren and Lúthien do their best to clean Finrod’s beautiful golden braids of blood before they bury him, even though neither of them quite get what the braids mean to the Noldor.

Fingon’s golden ribbons are marred with blood when they find his body on the battlefield. His braids are the only way to identify him for certain.

Maedhros revives Maglor’s Mourning Braids. Mostly because Maglor does them for him. Maedhros would be fine with No One Ever Touching His Hair Again, but he’s close to catatonic.

Then the Oath awakes once more.

Celegorm’s white hunting braids and Dior’s black silky hair mingle on the blood-stained floor of Doriath’s throne room.

It takes Maglor longer to find Caranthir and Curufin. He carefully braids their hair into a single plait before they burn the bodies, in case it could help them find Mandos.

Maybe they are for the Void, but at least he feels like he’s done something.

The years up to the Third Kinslaying are awful. Maedhros and Maglor are codependent to an unhealthy degree, while the twins will barely speak to them, or each other. Maglor still does Maedhros’s hair. Maedhros doesn’t return the favour. They scream at each other daily.

Sirion is unthinkable. They attack anyway. Maedhros and Ambarussa’s braids look like bloodstains in the twilight.

Elwing’s hair floats around her as she falls.

To be continued

[colourstreakgryffin]

Can you do vaggie x rainbow dash-like reader plantoic headcanons?

Haha! Aww! I like this mix as well. Rainbow Dash is really a good pairing for Vaggie, isn’t she? Well. We had Charlie and Pinkie as besties, Alastor and Rarity as a couple, Husk and Fluttershy as a married couple! Let’s check this out! This is the first time I’ve written for Vaggie too! Once again, short~!

Vaggie- Bolt Spear

Now. Vaggie doesn’t trust people that easily, she doesn’t and with her big… holy secret, she especially doesn’t open up or try be friendly with anybody, except her beloved girlfriend, Charlie. She hasn’t even told Charlie her secret. Though, she is willing to tolerate people for Charlie’s sake

Vaggie, at first, didn’t like you at all. You were so loud and cocky and spunky and overconfident, you reminded her of Alastor in a weird way but due to Charlie’s pushing, she had begun to try tolerate and befriend you

It wasn’t something she enjoyed, Vaggie disliked how you behaved. Kinda arrogant, always flying that she almost asked why you even have legs. Whilst, she respected your great athleticism and your interesting ability to produce a rainbow-coloured sonic boom wave through flying. She didn’t give you any compliments

However. Vaggie ends up further befriending you, the more she holds you in the Hotel, originally at Charlie’s wish but gradually. Getting to know you goes from her just wanting to please Charlie to genuinely finding you unique and interesting

But. Vaggie isn’t good at making friends so the way she approaches you to befriend you includes a lot of trail and error, passive-aggressiveness, her throwing friendship signs like Charlie’s suggested matching bracelets at you and thinking it will work

What’s Vaggie like as a bestie? Actually. She’s a very good open ear, she listens quietly then she tries to offer support or advice to help you. She remembers a lot about you, remembers your flying habits and she doesn’t mind attending your sport tournaments. She is still tough but is willing to be a bit more gentle and understanding

Vaggie does express any annoyance she has with you, even as your closest friend. If you’re being too difficult for her, too bold and prideful. She’ll simmer you down. She’s the rationality of your friendship and the one keeping you anchored so you don’t do something stupid or reckless, out of your own extreme confidence

Yes, Vaggie comes to you during the relationship halter she has with Charlie, when everything begins to go downhill and she is revealed to be an Angel from Heaven… well. You kinda thought she was different but you didn’t really point it out. Now, that you know the truth, you aren’t as mad as everybody else is… like, at least, she isn’t a killer anymore

Vaggie is shocked that you even gave her chance but that you did, not only does she feel more comfortable with trying to confide to you… when she can, she just needs some time and she is honestly quite surprised that you’re willing to back off and wait for her

Vaggie is loyal to her girlfriend and now her best friend so trust me when I say that you reciprocating her loyalty, but to an even bigger degree. She’s grateful that she has a reliable friend and that she knows you won’t cross her, and that she has chose the right person to try be close with

Vaggie is also kinda like your manager. She takes care of you, she makes sure you don’t push yourself too far. She isn’t as intense with her care as she is with Charlie but you’re very important to her so don’t worry, you aren’t forgotten. You’re still her bestie

You two help each other. Believe it or not, you help her understand emotions and express them more whilst she teaches you to always be honest and not be fearful of disappointing your friends

Are you helping Vaggie grow? Yes. Piece by piece, hence why she prefers to be around you when she isn’t with Charlie and for that, the contrasting yet somewhat similar personalities you both share, makes you two very close and you’ve managed to break through this golden-heart angelic toughie!

By the way, she is your Applejack, the one you playfully compete with but is very close friends with~!

“Wait… you’re… still here? But. I thought you’d just— this is very dangerous. You want to stay here with us? Hehee, I guess I shouldn’t suspect anything less from you”

[pilot-boi]

This just occurred to me, when we get to Rusted Knight Jaune is he going to be older like in volume 9 or will look the same age? Because if he's older I'm really imagine him looking all Majestic like some kind of forest deity to Team Rwby.

He still ages. And yes he gets REAL forest spirit looking

Sort of regresses back into Creature Mode what with spending twenty years alone. He’s not entirely feral and animal brain like he was in Mistral, cause he does still have Afterans to talk to, but without Juniper he’s MUCH more isolated than in canon

He REALLY goes downhill after Alyx and Lewis happen, it’s a breaking point for him. He was holding on to his humanity by his fingernails, but getting poisoned and almost dying triggers a sort of hard reset in his psyche. Especially since there’s no Juniper to take him to the Paper Pleasers

So he’s FULL feral by the time RWBY arrive. He’s not as malnourished as he was in Mistral, because the Afterans have no reason to be afraid of him. He’s their Knight, they take care of him. But he doesn’t really remember who he is or why he’s here. He just roams the Acres searching for SOMETHING (RWBY), ending up as an opposite positive force to the Jabberwalker

CC is also much less manipulative towards Jaune, because he’s so broken that he’s not very useful to the cat. Also, CC didn’t really start being bitter and destructive to Jaune until after Alyx and Lewis, so with Jaune’s mind broken the disdain doesn’t really build up

[neonficlist]

Johnlock Fluff List 4!

Fluff 1, Fluff 2, Fluff 3

Sixth Time's the Charm by Schattengestalt 6.4k words

Five times Sherlock receives a gift he doesn't like and the one time he receives one that he loves.

notes: love confessions, promises of forever

Of Men and Things by Mazarin221b 4.7k words

"John never reads the Index. He’s had to look things up before, and the few items he’s skimmed through are enough to give him nightmares on their own, so he doesn’t touch it if he doesn’t have to." Sherlock keeps an Index, and John discovers that Sherlock's unique way of learning about people isn't as unusual as it seems.

notes: coming together, touching hands as a signal to each other, domestic

Like I’m Drowning, and You’re My Air by FinAmour 2.2k words

How is it that Sherlock Holmes, who knows an awful lot, has never known something as simple as a kiss?

How is it that nobody has ever taken him by the collar of his ridiculous coat, pressed him against a wall, and kissed him, firmly and soundly? How is it that nobody in the universe has learned the flavour of his tongue, or felt the soft hum of his enthusiasm against their lips?

It’s quite the injustice, and it’s driving John mad.

notes: jealous john, first kiss

Succulent by FinAmour  8.8k words

“You look nice tonight,” John says, and it all goes downhill from there.

notes: flirty John, overwhelmed Sherlock, unique gifts, love confessions

Moonlight by ConsultingPurplePants 2.2k

Sherlock is standing near the door, wearing, for what John thinks may be the first time in their acquaintance, jeans and a jumper. John drags his eyes away from the way the jeans cling to Sherlock’s just-muscled-enough legs to notice that Sherlock is wearing his own backpack, and is also carrying a collapsed tent.

John’s jaw drops open. Is he about to go camping with Sherlock Holmes!?

notes: skinny dipping and kissing and some smut

Smoke by lifeonmars 4.8k words

Sometimes time and space collide to show you something you've been missing. Sherlock's pipe helps.

notes: John has a hard evening, Sherlock is a good friend, they get a little high together

The Refractive Index by NoStraightLine 10.3k words

AKA: Five times John and Sherlock fuck in a bolt-hole, and one time they don't.

notes: it's about sex, until its about so much more. “You said mine, in Chelsea. You said love, in Harrow, in the rain.”

The Adventure of the Swinging Hips by susandwrites 14.8k

John has impeccable taste in music and Sherlock has a habit of swinging his hips without notice. So John decides to conduct his own experiment on those hips with the use of a carefully-curated playlist.

notes: flirty fun, est relationship, john watching sherlock adoringly

Apologies by Sherlock Holmes by ad0rably_0rdinary 1.5k words

Sherlock sends John off with harsh words, and Sally points out that if he keeps it up, John could leave him. Worried Sherlock ensues, and he blunders his way into a cuddly apology.

notes: gen, could be pre/slash

The Quiet Moments by belovedmuerto 4k words

Cuddling. Lots of it.

notes: getting together slowly and softly, gen-ish, seeking each other for comfort

in the interest of honesty by svpportive 1.8k words

"Why, Watson,” he began, somewhat muffled by his head buried as it was by the pillows, “do people not merely trust their spouses?”

on open communication and good sense.

notes: ACD

Acceptable Behaviour by bbcatemysoul 3.4k words

Sherlock isn't really sure why John wants to shag him, but he's certain that if he's careful to behave properly about it, John can be persuaded to keep doing it.

In other news, John is a good boyfriend and Sherlock is an idiot.

notes: insecure sherlock

Objectivity by EmmyAngua 2.5k words

The first thing John remembers is that he talked a great deal about Sherlock’s eyes last night. What he doesn’t remember is that he said a great deal more about them on camera.

notes: drunk ramblings lead to first kiss in the morning

[windvexer]

Hi, I hope you are not too busy lately. May I ask for advice ? When it comes to hexing, I heard someone advising to but the remains of the ritual as far away as possible from the house (I can't but the remains of the spell near the targets house but I can put it away). But I also remember reading that one should keep the remains of the spell in case something goes wrong. Is it dangerous to keep the remains of a hex inside my house or would it better to keep it ?

Ooo! Resolving conflicting magical information, are we? :D Love it.

Short answer:

Longer answer:

IMO, both of these plans of action are predicated on some assumptions.

Taking the remains of a hex very far away from the home (and sometimes, as you mention, ideally near the target) is, from what I've seen, generally done by witches who are pretty much fuckin' done and are washing their hands of the situation.

Hex-casting is often an intensely emotional experience and can feel like a deep 'purge' on the part of the practitioner, a bloodletting of the poison within the practitioner to flow downhill to the person who, as far as the witch is concerned, ought to host it instead.

When the experience of the hexcasting is one of purification of rage, a practitioner may just want to get the fuck rid of the spellcasting remnants and get on with their life.

This is not an amagical action. Inasmuch as your magic probably should make you feel really good about the world you live in, your life, and your actions, deciding to be completely over it and get rid of spell remnants can be deeply magical, both in the personal and metaphysical sense.

Another reason people like to get rid of hex remnants is because they can reek of that nasty soul stank you've just bled out all over into the world, and hanging out with them can be uncomfortable and bring up unwanted emotions.

Fortunately, witches gonna witch, and if you desire to keep spell remnants without them leaking all over your nice life, there are many methods to contain and control magical objects.

All that being said, do I find that keeping hex remnants is actually dangerous? Well, no. I find it to be uncomfortable. They remind of of anger and injustice and all the bad things I felt that made me want to do it in the first place. "Negative vibes" spilling out into your environment isn't dangerous so much as it is a bit icky.

If we take a moment here, we should consider that most probably, the average hex should not be so dangerous that the spent spell remnants are actively generating danger for any random person who comes into contact with them.

I mean... do what you want to other people, I suppose. But if you are casting spells in such a way that they are so powerful and tumultuous that the little blob of burned candle wax or whatever is constantly generating harmful, dangerous effects even within a magically protected household, idk. Probably do just get rid of it at that point. Or try new spellcasting methods. Etc.

On the topic of needing to keep spell remnants so you can continually work over the spell, it's a decent option, but also:

On a personal level I'm not sure why you'd go out of your way to try and harm someone with magic, and then keep the remnants to make sure it's doing the exact kind of harm you want in foreseeable ways. Either get after 'em or don't, you know?

You can still influence and control prior spells you've cast even if you do not have the spell remnants.

Overall I really think that you should just do what makes you comfortable. I don't think you should feel obligated to hold on to hex remnants just because something hypothetically might happen down the road. If things can go to far you can do a reverse uno on your own magic and cast new spells to help.

On the other hand, if you feel like it's a good idea to keep the remnants around, set up a magical situation that safely holds these remnants in "jail" so you don't have to worry about the vibes leaking out into your house.

[None of this takes into account spells that dictate something specific must happen to materia magica, etc.]