#and the dialogue is kinda all over the place because i dont think i'd be able to form a single coherent sentence

[kenmaiii]

MOOVEEE IM CURIOUS!! please do tell why you think each of the boys would flop in dating I'd love to hear an indepth! like as a huge levi fan I'm extremely patient with him as is because same hat with stuff he goes and struggles through but just know I have to put my foot down because he'll eventually be too much and won't accept we definitely got some unhealthy dynamic going on down the line

YOU'VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE ANON. kind of a coin toss here tho cuz I think every character in any property should have flaws to some degree! Even if they are a 'perfect' character bcuz no one can actually be entirely 'perfect', but its like. a double edged sword with OM cuz thats either admitting that the writers kind of did their thing for once OR is it just that they completely fumbled in approaching these flaws properly

and reminder this is not me saying they wouldnt have ANY good dateable qualities at all, just pointing out why you'd look at one of them and think Hm. This Is Kinda. Not As Fun As I Wouldve Thought.

BUT YEA. WHY I THINK CHARACTERS WOULD FLOP AT DATING U

LUCIFER: oh boy where do i start. I dont know about the rest of you but I fear that this old man is way TOO strict and domineering most of the time. (not always.................. of course. he has a silly side for sure but good lord...) 😒 like I am nawt trying to date a prison warden can you ease up off me a bit sir... I know the game has taken more care to editing his dialogue in a respectful way but my gawd does this guy demand things from you so much. Like VERY demanding in not tolerating certain things from you, literally it's his way or the highway and you have GOT to do it right too or else. he's like that with everyone sure but with the MC? dating? yeesh! I think if you are the type that doesn't like being told what to do or being talked over you'd get annoyed with him very quickly.

Like the writers unfortunately nailed having someone be so prideful to such blazing smoldering degrees that it ended up overshadowing a lot of his good parts. Getting him to admit things/wrongdoings is so very hard. He's VERY emotionally constipated as hell on top of that. I know he can actually set aside the time to say things to you while being genuine. occasionally. rarely. but he's way more likely to mainly ONLY be open while DRUNK. and while i think its kind of cute as a trait somewhat, are YOU willing to wait for him to be extremely real mainly when he's too drunk to possibly remember every time.

Speaking of getting drunk though he's also like- ridiculously horny a lot which?F?DSf is a bonus if you like that but it can come across as him being overly pushy in many many cases. but once again i can acknowledge the writers/translators have been better at adding in clear consent to choices. 👍🏿 Another thing is that you'd have to deal with him always being busy and overworking himself. and constantly. And as someone that also has very questionable sleeping/eating/overworking habits you are going to have a very hard time getting through to him about this bcuz he puts way too much responsibility on himself AND he has a tendency to forget that he hasnt slept/eaten. It would be a very nasty combo if youre ALSO like that (even if he would scold you for doing the same and take care of you)

Also he cares about them sure but he's most definitely always gonna be complaining about his brothers and Diavolo to you constantly. Are you ready to sit through that. More than usual that is.

Speaking of the brothers being a package deal they will most definitely interrupt any peace and quiet you and the eldest both rarely get, like the mood will just nawt be right im sorry.

Oh and if youre not a dog person I cannot imagine how you are even going to tackle time with him and a giant three-headed demon dog bcuz that would also have to be your baby by default. Walks must be absolutely something! Like I love dogs but really think about it. An actual life-sized Clifford. But a demon dog. I do not have the strength to deal with regularly sized dogs even

MAMMON: he was one of the slightly higher ones on that 'worst to date' poll (nowhere near Luci or Belphie ofc), but it was only people listing about money problems or going 'Ha. imagine sharing a bank account with that guy. it'd be drained so fast'. And yea sure I hear that. u-u All that guy really needs is someone to properly manage and limit his funds and advise him really (but I mentioned before that Mammon shouldnt just be limited to money or material valuable like the writers always do. His fatal flaw is his greed! and greed can encompass many things not just material (There's power, love, friendships, food etc).

His flop when dating you, I would think is being too overprotective and possessive of your time. As much as I love him he DOES overstep quite a bit with the 'being your first'. Sometimes he simply does not consider YOUR feelings on situations and schemes first. Though that's a flaw of most of the people in the devildom have by law of the Main Character Curse™. You must be put into situations I get that -w- But like I said yea he really does have a really big problem with possessiveness and always wanting your time and attention. Which- could get tiring if you're not in the frame of mind to deal with clinginess or possessiveness! Because I totally get that it's a lot for some people.

Harking back to the money thing though I genuinely dont think it'd actually be a SUPER DUPER MAJOR problem with your relationship? He's shown to be quite considerate on that aspect when it really comes down to it. Like he HAS worked a couple extra shifts at a job in canon just to save up and buy gifts before. And he's literally a highly sought after model! And surprisingly good at math when he has the opportunity (though it def still has to relate to him positively $$$) so he could stack his dough pretty normally. He just needs someone to keep an eye on his funds + other sources to balance out his Greed more! 😅

Somehow he manages to be both capable and completely hopeless also which is very impressive! You would have to help him out with a lot of things since he IS used to being spoiled, in a way. He does get treated very poorly by a lot of the characters BUT he clearly still has very lavish tastes and was both a very high-ranking angel AND demon so combined with greed he's used to the good stuff (thus me thinking he's fairly spoiled still- so he will expect a lot of you lowkey) Also I know I said he's well capable of finding his own source of income but he IS canonically bad at saving... and added with the thing above ^ well... If you've watched Abbott Elementary at all he WILL be the Tariq to your Janine, sorry!

TBH.. I cant really think of any other flaws atm besides over-asserting himself to your time and attention

LEVI: grabbing you by the shoulders- THATS IT THATS EXACTLY WHY ANON!!!! his flopping is mainly coming from the fact that he always puts himself down so very much!!! his head is literally his biggest enemy! its natural for people to have insecurities or doubts about things. and that can be especially heightened in relationships; whether platonic or romantic! but oh mein gottness does that guy put himself down so much.

I also struggle with the same things (believe it or not Levi was my wife for a good while like he used to make me teehee giggle like crazy so i get it i relate heavily). But at some point you ARE going to feel a bit drained or tired constantly hearing negative things about someone you care about and love! Supporting and providing reassurance or denying the negative stuff is a given, and can go on for as long as time would permit! But at some point you have got to start believing in yourself a little more and serve cuntress or something, Levi!

If levi was able to work on believing himself more and being more confident (which he has shown himself to do in quite a few cases) I think it can flop a little less!

His gaming time might cut quite a bit into your romantic time as well, especially if youre not the type thats super into gaming. Also considering that this is definitely his first real relationship (compared to the others) and not an ingame one I feel like there would need to be a serious chat at some point over ideals and expectations that he's picked up in game. Or how things possibly work irl. I must be honest, while it is cute for him to get so excited or irl achievements and progress with you he does unintentionally compare that to his gaming experiences quite a bit (even out loud in front of you). Not babying him or shaming him but it's still nice to talk about the things you expect or want relationship-wise and I know he'd be out of his depth with that.

his only other flaw (to some, not me 🤔) might be his avid infodumping and explaining of shows/anime/games/manga IF you arent interested in hearing about that a lot. What else do you guys have in common that you can relate with I suppose? A very minor thing though as I think many of us like a little infodumping nerd as long as they arent being pretentious about it! ^_^

<- she is not going into detail on Rurichan since there's too much debating on if its weird or simply his special interest/comfort character. them artists (especially in the anime) really keep trying to set him up tho..

SATAN: oooh boy. I recognize that Satan's character (ignoring Nightbringer) is for the most part stuck in a limbo of constantly having ties to Luci and his insecurities around that. Not necessarily a flop since I do believe that he would confide in you about it a fair amount buttttt he definitely loses points for constantly bringing up Lucifer. -100 EXP

People are always making him out to be extremely angry at the drop of a pin, which yea does get angry about things, but also he? don't be getting angry all that often? especially when he gets his little annual pockets of character development? angry and annoyed occasionally sure but its not his ONLY trait. now if he's raging 24/7 and could barely have a convo with anyone that'd be red flag dating flop city! but since he is not we can slide him further down the least to being less of a dating flop with you. (we're ignoring the NB version of him btw)

Now an actual flaw I can actually point out is he's also quite selfish... but he can surprisingly own up to it most of the time. sorta. kinda. well-

and to a degree he definitely seems to be lacking in awareness in certain social aspects. He's just a silly guy on the spectrum like most of his brothers tho: he gets a pass. Plus he's a socialite he's got a lot of fun connections, what does it matter that he can meow on command in the middle of this fancy dinner. Sure the other guests are looking at us weird and he's a little bit of a freak but he can meow-

His biggest flaw is being funny actually. That pisses me off stop making me laugh ✋🏿🙄 and if you hate him making cat puns i suppaws that would get under your skin too

ASMO: Asmo's insecurities are gonna get the better of him every now n again also, so while he's not quite in the same self-deprecating league as Levi, he definitely needs a lot of reassurance and compliments to stay grounded. So if that's not something you can keep up with it could prove to be a lot considering he's so obsessed with himself. Just like Mammon he has a lot of possessive tendencies, but it comes out in interesting ways unlike Mammon's ig. He's covertly silly with it since he'd say it with a cute smile on his face. He's a little insane also. I think it's just cuz the version of Asmo I have in my head is drenched in blood I hope you understand. Something isn't right up there (affectionate) so you would also have to get used to the most insane things being said with a smile. Not a flaw to most people of course but to ppl that are normal... well... it would be a lot

But Imagine youre dating him, you walk into his room and you see him quietly mumbling to himself in a ring of mirrors to cheer himself up. I'd be like hey um. Do we need to talk about this.

And to finish it off he does have a quite a bit of selfish moments considering he loves to put himself first (common theme with the ppl in the devildom hm...) and a lot of times where he gets unreasonably angry! But to be fair I love selfish angry characters IF they fit the right boxes, so I cheer whenever he gets like that bcuz I love studying him 🔍. Dealing with it in real life tho well... hm. who's to say how one would handle that! He's still my little sweetie tho and he would eat up the romancing and wining & dining and know HOW you need to be loved, there's just the other things to deal with when it comes to dating him!

BEEL: he's on the LEAST likely to flop while dating you scale honestly cuz he's literally just a chill sweet guy when he's trying his best. I think his only problem would be in not understanding you sometimes. Im sure he listens but will he really GET everything. Bcuz there are a few moments in game where Beel seems to be a lot more internally insightful even if he's not as vocal about his thoughts. And he's clearly very considerate abt the people he cares about, but ultimately there's a lot he just wouldn't get unless you sit down and clearly explain it to him. Bcuz otherwise it could come off as him not caring or being indifferent since he's pretty nonchalant. Blunt at times but still, easy-going and fairly perceptive.

And he's very much also a guy that just charges into things, though it's kind of a give-or-take thing. He is equally the guy that worries and stresses about something in silence if it's serious enough or he does not dwell on something for too long at all- which! could possibly be something that annoys you as once again, it could come off as him seeming too nonchalant or unintentionally dismissive. Or well. the things he charges into might have to be something you talk him out of. You're gonna hear shit like this on the regular and he's gonna wonder why youre staring at him funny

Another flaw is his sin i supposeeeeee but i'd rather not just dumb him down to guy who eats a lot cant stop eating food food food yknow -w- but well yknow. just how much WOULD his sin get in the way of things, bcuz it seems to consume him in a way thats wayyyy more intense than any of the other brothers sins interestingly enough

You'd have to deal with Belphie by extension too since they LOVE having the twins as a set that simply cannot be separated...... That also means having to always be dealing with Beel babying Belphie even though that man is very well GROWN. -100 EXP

he's crazy for saying this kinda thing all casual like also. do that in private man ☝🏿

Belphie: Sorry I have to bring it up again even tho i know ppl are dead tired of hearing about but i STILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL think there shouldve been an actual proper talk and the appropriate amount of time given abt the killing instead of them moving right past it and MC being like 'it was just a lil oopsie we all have our bad days teehee ^-^'. if i got into a relationship with someone that tried and SUCCEEDED in killing me in this little magicverse i'd be like um. can we idk. talk about this in depth. You're not gonna kill me again in the future somehow right. Right?

Also I see and understand people saying that quality time, words of affirmation and acts of service are very clearly things Belphie likes since he's constantly asking to be around you/hear our opinions on things and ask if you need help with things (even tho he can be kinda lousy at helping out honestly -_-) but he also has a problem with demanding things of the player.. not quite in the same way as Lucifer, but it's close. Like if I do not want you to head over to my room to sleep together (literal sleeping) then why are you inviting yourself over? 🗣️📣📣📣📣LISTEN TO MEEEEEEE & STAY IN YA ROOM❗ ❗ ❗❗

He's a spoiled brat also! Like actual brat! Youngest syndrome is so very real with him, so if you're alright with being the main. well. person that has to do nearly everything then good'onya. I cannot imagine getting this dude dressed AND lugging this dude to classes all bcuz he wants to sleep in a little more ☝🏿 GET UP but if youre into being the main caregiver then shrugs

-10 MILLION POINTS DEDUCTED for being funnier than me also. thats a mistake no one should ever make ☝🏿

DIAVOLO: well. you see. so. there's. well. so um.

I do think he has a bittttt of an issue with choosing to completely overlook things. Diavolo is on a very thin line to me as a character bcuz I do think he is silly and fun at times and not 'AS' quick to read the room... and really is just essentially like... experiencing things for the first time and causing unintentional chaos because he's been so tied to his duties all his life but he's also like? Still very grown, smart and capable of quiet observation of others. (gestures to NB currently)

I feel like he would be analyzing you all the time whether you realize it or not (for good or bad). He's just a lot more observant about things than you realize so while he WOULD use this for good to spoil you he would probably be reading into you as a person way too much. But in a lowkey manner. Not manipulatively per se just,,, I think you are still mainly like an intriguing pet to him at times, or something to study and take note of. Like he really just does whatever the hell he wants for his own pleasure. He made an entire fake beach and sun just cuz he wanted a beach day yknow what the hell. I get it but how did he do that. What other powers do you have

Impressing you could come off as belitting you unintentionally (not always but sometimes). OKAY WALK WITH ME HERE- for example. That one scene from Ouran High School when Tamaki is making a big show of trying 'commoners coffee'. I know what youre saying ur sayin 'But Carly that sounds more like something Mephisto would do' nonono I shake my head. Mephisto is not going to make a show of trying it he'll just outright be recommending YOU a specially made blend of his tastes to put YOU onto better things FIRST. Diavolo's DIVING IN first though. Dia would absolutely think it's some great big fun adventure to try 'normal' human world tea or coffee and comment on it. But like, if i was sitting across from this big hulking guy complimenting tea I drink normally in a 'Wow, so this is what humans drink. How inspiring.' I'd want to shake him since it unintentionally sounds like im being belittled -_-. Give me back my damn instant blend! ❗ ❗ He's thinking he's bonding with you and trying something from your culture (which yes he is), but does it warrant such grand showboating and amazement. It's just tea man. Just silently enjoy a cuppa instead of patting yourself on the back for being brave enough to try human tea </3

Or. Or. demanding your time on his schedule at the wrong times. He's The Prince why wouldn't you wanna drop everything and have dinner with him. 'Oh,,, you're busy 👉👈 oh what a shame.👉👈 we (Barbatos) prepared a nice lovely dinner! 👉👈 However, I suppose its quite alright if you do what you need to do. 👉👈 Eating alone tonight, be safe 👉👈' And then he sends a picture of the meal with eye emojis, do you get what im putting down

One big flop for certain tho is him always being oh so busy. Like sit there and really imagine it. Dating a royal is already something but a Prince? Soon to be King? thats a lot of responsibility to juggle I know it'd get crazy balancing attention and schedules.

Also lets be real yall he's so used to being babied quite a bit, mainly by Barbatos. Barbatos is tough on him at times for his own good sure but he more-so spoils him still (hypocrite that he is!). are you ready to unintentionally be compared to that in terms of being able to care for Diavolo. Barbatos won't technically be competing with you either but as his main caregiver he'll still be inserting a lot of himself between the two of you. Also, that man is lowkey needy and has some lingering childhood issues you will have to be very careful with talking abt and comforting him for once he gets to a point to actually open up about it- so be mindful of these things

Also he's insane. But if you're into insanity it's probably whatever.

BARBATOS: I know I am '''''''''barbatos ceo''''''''' so i have been very very very delusional about him but aside from being so very 'malewifecore' i'd place him on a scale of 1 -10 at a 8.5 (1 being worst mostl likely to flop partner ever, 10 being best). Looking at his character he's very much set on keeping a very decent distance between him and the player for quite some time so i think dating wise there's just so many things he'd never properly open up about. Or it'd take so very impossibly long.

I remember reading his wiki one day and seeing this ^ (which btw theres a lot going on there.) so I feel like, even if he did really like you, he would most definitely always prioritize his work to the royal family first so.... he might potentially? be on the fence about further pursuing things with you even at one point??? Not to say that he isn't caring and attentive but I think he would greatly struggle with balancing his openness and affection towards you. And we must keep in mind that just like Mammon he ALSO has the Greed sin. He is a lot less likely to show it around others but he is very secretly possessive and makes it known occasionally so if you have problems with that it'd be interesting finding a balance with him. Secretly he 'will he or wont he' dude internally. But yea I've always thought it's so interesting that he'd say he just gives up. Makes you wonder and think more... but yet he wants to be bound by his lover. Very conflicting right? Which explains his struggles with desires and duty very well!

More on his duties though he's gonna overwork himself like crazy and it would be so tricky making plans or spending time together. Also he lowkey has insecurities about ONLY being tied to the butler role, much like how Leviathan will always bring up being a shut in. Like you are more than that cmon -_- youre gonna make MC feel bad! He must still be reassured a fair amount!

Something is also terribly wrong with him. but if you are insane like me you find that fun. Like oh he's tortured people? God forbid women do anything in this economy 🙄

Actual in person dating though <- she would be perplexed by his mysterious unnerving ways

SIMEON: Simeon definitely high on the scale of being a good partner so he's A LOT less likely to flop on this list. BUT, he definitely seems to hold back on sharing his opinions or opening up about certain things with himself quite a bit. 😮 And I feel like he might be the type to try and keep the mood content and peaceful so it would be a bit hard to talk about the unpleasant things. He CAN talk about unpleasant things, dont get me wrong, but I get the feeling he'd be good at dodging certain things and saying what you feel like should be said. Especially if he isn't particularly ready to talk about something YET. Big emphasis on the YET. I imagine as his partner, if you are aware that he's constantly being a bit dodgy about certain topics constantly you would feel some way about it since it's easy to recognize when he's doing it. This isn't to say he's manipulative or a dishonest character, but I find that it would take a long time to really get to his core even if things are genuinely sweet and easygoing between you two.

Also its a genuine pet-peeve for some people to deal with others that arent all that tech savvy? If you show him a meme on your phone he's gonna grab the whole thing, not get it at all, say 'who is this?' in confusion, try to zoom in and when he taps the screen it's gonna switch to a different picture/app and he'll be like 'What happened to it :(' which I think is hilarious and cute; but once again, could be something that genuinely annoys ppl, and annoyances over little quirks DO build up over time! Still adore him tho mwah

SOLOMON: Something is wrong with him. 🚶🏿‍♀️ That's his flaw. 🚶🏿‍♀️ Like something is just deeply wrong with him and he's way too casual about it. 🚶🏿‍♀️ He's literally that post where it's like 'yea something happened to your boyfriend and he came back all wrong. yea. sorry. we don't know what happened.'

If you're the type that stresses about things or worries a lot or finds that very easy-going people annoy you then well... Solomon will annoy you.

Im not saying he's not going to be attentive to you because he's shown to be very active and forward in a lot of ways, but I'm talking more along the lines of unintentionally dismissing things. Like for me personally I need a bit of guidance and structure and direction and if I don't see that I will be forced to take the lead. Just depends on how you are as a person really!

Let's get the most obvious thing out of the way though he can never cook you a fancy meal. Not everyone can cook we all have our different strengths that is for certain but if you don't tell him straight up, or constantly You're Going To Have To Eat His Food.

He may or may not be the reason you constantly get into situations also, in between Levi's games and Diavolo's chaos, Solomon is pretty much the main reason so many situations happen in events!? fhskfs I think that would increase in dating him even if he does actually do his best to look out for you in his own way.

But he's also like. Just a guy to me. Which is crazy because besides the mental illness + genuinely being playful with the MC, there is surprisingly a lot to him that is just. not touched on writing wise. or not explored. so I can admit there are other things that aren't coming to mind really. He's just there to me.

Apparently he's very forgetful with important dates also so if thats something that bothers you then well </3

MEPHY: of course in comparison to the others we do not know AS much abt Mephisto but looking a mile away you know his elitism is his main flaw. He would be very uppity with you and not realize whats wrong with that per se, even though he's so quick to call out the rudeness or impoliteness of others

his main flop is that he's going to be dramatic as hell at some point whether intentionally or not. he is definitely the guy to tell you he's fine while he's visibly shaking fists clenched trying to act unbothered when he really wants to complain to someone. He may very well go running to Satan or Dia for advice regarding the two of you if he really needs a second opinion without directly consulting you. So yes, those guys will also be privy to your business by extension. I know Belphie's also in the anti-luci league but can we really count on him for advice when Satan is most definitely the more dependable choice? anyways

Mephisto is also literally the image of the boyfriend walking with his girlfriend looking back at another girl. But the other girl is Dia. He's looking back at Dia sorry... that's his childhood buddy. He's so obsessed with that guy.............. You're gonna hear him going woe is me a lot over losing his buddy to his duties and the Prince always having his attention on Luci.... it just is what it is :/ Me personally also I just feel like I would get into mini arguments with him a lot. he is my rival and my bestie in my mind that I want to strangle whenever he opens his mouth

Like he is a BRAGGER by nature. And if you do not like people that brag about the littlest things he is going to get on your nerves. And since he also seems to come from a royal/rich background he is most definitely spoiled and parades through life with the expectation that others will treat him with appropriate amounts of respect. And due to his riches he could indirectly insult you at some point no matter what your financial status is, he may unintentionally make a comment that's in poor taste. Like if you take him to your favorite hole in the wall restaurant for a chill date he's going to say things even if he doesn't actually mean to come off as prudish.

He'd make an effort at least if youre getting him to try new things and he's not necessarily THAT uptight. He gets involved with things and has fun still!.... sometimes! But in reference to what I mentioned about Dia earlier with the whole commoners coffee thing this is another example to compare. Dia trying a burger for the first time would be like: "Ah! So this is what it's like to enjoy something this simple. The taste is rather interesting but I quite like it! Perhaps I will ask Barbatos if he can add this homestyle method to our regular menu :D" Whereas Meph is taking bites with his knife and fork like: "Hm. They really ought to improve the production cost and quality for these things. Oh, No I never said i disliked it, I'm merely making a note of something. Not bad though."

RAPHAEL: once again in comparison to the others we do not know AS much about him compared to the 'main' group. so im going off the little that i have witnessed in game and trying my hardest not to confuse that with fanposts but... He's so terribly blunt and unaware of things. He's a bit similar to Beel in that regard that he dives first into things and seems rather uncaring or dismissive about something due to his bluntness. But he's like BLUNT blunt, like blunt to the max even. Like this is crazy to me. how is it that LUCIFER is saying you're too much for him.

So he would most definitely struggle with being way too blunt towards YOU... it would take awhile for him to ease up on that I believe.

I'll be honest he kinda just. Sits there quietly really. I imagine trying to talk to him can feel a little bit like dealing with a brick wall, because I think it would be hard to understand what's going on in his mind at times, not to mention being tied down with his strictness.

And not to mention his sense of justice and penchant for casually mentioning violence seems to completely overpower him at the flip of a switch. I mean if you're cool with him threatening to use his spear on people that annoy you then so be it.

I don't know really, he's just so neurodivergent to me so i cant really call him a flop for that he just exhibits so many of those traits, it's just something you'd have to work on with him or get accustomed to

-ONE BILLION TRILLION POINTS DEDUCTED FOR LIKING SOLOMONS FOOD THO 100000000000000 EXP

THIRTEEN: once again in comparison to the others we do not know AS much about her compared to the 'main' group.

but she is most def on the LEAST likely to flop at dating you end of the list, cuz she quite LITERALLY is upfront about liking the player a lot more quickly than the others. she's literally so cute and just minds her business until OTHER people bother her peace. She does have tsundere-like qualities sure, but if you're direct with her she does eventually come around to expressing why she does what she does. And I don't think she would ever mess with the length of your lifespan just bcuz the two of you have a little disagreement or something. To someone else though for fun, sure:

that aside tho i can't particularly point out any major flaws in the moment i love her so bad. someone would have to sell me on it, but also why arent you supporting womens wrongs hm? 🤨🤨🤨🤨

[short-and-ugly]

Really normal length Skoodge analysis

Gonna just start with the simple things. Things you can get from watching one time alone. Maybe. Probably not I don't think you people think about him enough to gather any of this. No. I'm sorry I love you all. I'm just a specific level of detached from average not-Skoodge viewers and don't know what all is expected. It's that one meme "Even when compensating, experts in any field will overestimate the average person's knowledge."

It's rough. Let's get into it.

Speech is probably an easy one! Yeah? Yeah.

A lot of the things he says are very literal... there's a lot of tacting things that are currently happening. A lot of stating the obvious.

("I'm afraid!")

Admittedly... this is probably a byproduct of him not being a "main character." His dialogue is a lot less important than that of characters like Zim and Dib. But it's still worth talking about! I'd like to think it's genuinely just his personality to be obvious and talk about things as if people aren't already aware of them. Maybe even have him be a bit tone-deaf. That's more headcanon territory though! So let's walk on past that before I confuse myself and all of you.

DOUBLE NEGATIVES...!

... only happen once. In the background. While he's being talked over by a bunch of teammates.

("Yeah; really that's actually good and more logical cause I don't really wanna make a chain or nothing like that.")

His speech is a lot more casual and, in transcripts for unfinished episode(s)(?) almost innocent!

frothing at the mouth at this one actually i dont like it. not good. this is just exposition. he would not fucking say that (probably wrong) (this was written by the shows writers) (it still makes me angry)

This one I just wanted to add because it's silly. Look at how silly he is. He's just a fun loving guy. Why does his mind go to dancing straight away? We'll never know... the inner machinations of his mind are an enigma.

Skoodge reads as... more impulsive than anything (and maybe a little anxiety-riddled but that might also just be me projecting). He doesn't strike me as a critical thinker who really tries to like... weigh the consequences of his actions. He just does shit and when it doesn't work out he does more. I imagine that's what most irkens are like, actually, now that I think about it...

His gut instinct must be controlling him because if it isn't then I honestly can't find any good explanation as to how he's survived for so long.

Which perfectly segways me into something a little more analyzing-like:

Skoodge is a cockroach.

He got shot out of a cannon and still comes back to the Empire. He... really does seem to believe that being here will help him out somehow. As if it hasn't already been proven that nothing he will do will satisfy the society he hails from.

Desperation can make you do desperate things; and Skoodge's entire character just reeks of desperation.

From apparently being considered to eat his own skin (before being deemed too much by the network) [no screenshot available because I don't even know how I'd begin to look for it] to the more canonical screaming-like-a-baby whenever something happens to him, it kinda makes you wonder how the hell he even got to where he is in the first place.

Now, this is more speculation than actual evidence, but I think it's a fair enough bet to say that Skoodge earned his title as an invader. He has no height to propel him forward in society, so whatever he did would've had to've involved sheer tenacity and an inclination for survival.

He is almost definitely, genuinely, afraid of death. And because of that, he just... doesn't die.

I know at an objective view, he doesn't die because it's funnier that way, and helps with jokes and gags, but like... c'mon. This is a deep analysis post. I'm allowed to get a little indulgent with it.

Treading into more theorization-territory here.

Irkens are raging Xenophobes.

And Zim fits this bill perfectly! He's slotted himself into this mindset without any issue, making up... unique slurs for humans and other things he comes by. Because he tries too hard to be a perfect irken. Maybe. That's a topic for someone that's insane about Zim, not me. This is about my guy.

If Zim is the perfect representation of an irken soldier (on a purely superficial level), then Skoodge is an outlier. Not in that he's good at his job; he's supposed to be! No, rather, his differences lie in his temperance. His composure, whatever you call it. He is far too complacent and even possibly a bit meek, if you wanna go ahead and call him that.

You see that? That right there is respect for a... honestly almost certainly, by irken standards, inferior species.

Now, this could either mean one of three things.

Either A) Skoodge is not space racist (best case scenario)

or B) Skoodge lacks self-confidence; not seeing himself as superior, and thus being compliant and respectful to the obvious figure of authority in front of him.

or C) Skoodge does not have respect for his Empire (very unlikely, seeing as the only reason he's still here is because he's trying to gain a promotion from said Empire)

Shooting down option A immediately with this dialogue here (Battle Of The Planets)

Sorry folks... he is very much so still space racist.

As for option B...

I'm going to be completely honest here. I think I've been interpreting this wrong in my series. I have a whole lot of complex reasons explaining why Skoodge doesn't have much confidence, but honestly, he reads as more... chill. And down-to-earth, than he does as self-loathing.

There is possibly evidence of him having a more quiet and subdued personality, instead of just him not being a xenophobe; and it comes from the very first episode!

Crying in front of the tallest at the Assigning. Admittedly, Larb cried too; but he at least had enough push in him to say something.

Skoodge doesn't. He's even disheartened by the Tallest's initial jeering of him! Which admittedly, might not be the best example of low self-esteem, because those are the literal Leaders of his fucking Empire... but it is definitely a shift from him being the proud, confident, short-and-ugly invader that he's shown to be in Battle Of The Planets. Invading Blorch must've really (rightfully) inflated his ego.

Which he normally lacks.

He lacks ego, but that doesn't mean he lacks confidence. He knows that he's good at things in spite of his flaws, and takes pride in it! Even though that pride ends up shooting him in his own foot. Sad.

And why is it that he lacks ego? Every other irken thus far (sans maybe Sizz-lorr) has demonstrated just how... important. It is for them to have one. How almost ingrained into their nature their egos are. Why does Skoodge not go on to boast about his glory when any other irken in his situation would? Again, it's going to be another one of those things that I just can't be too sure about, but I'm going to hazard to say that it's because he's so physically flawed. Short and ugly. (Probably the reason why his uniform is stained. Why put forth the effort to make your uniform look good if it's impossible for the rest of you?)

There is. Almost no doubt in my mind, that he's had to fight tooth and nail to get to where he is, claw his way to the top. And if he's done that, he knows the struggle of being lower? He knows because no matter how high he gets, he'll still always be that "lower"? augh. what the fuck.

Skoodge has been humbled by this because he's been reminded of it at almost every point in his life. He doesn't boast to inferiors because he knows that there is nothing to boast, that he is technically one of those inferiors. Because even despite his successes, someone will always go on to point out his flaws.

Which really brings attention to Battle Of The Planets, to the Tallest pointing out his flaws. He just had his greatest success. Purple gave him one flaw, he gave another. And he gave it proudly.

... SECRET FOURTH OPTION D YEAHHHH BABY!!!!

FAWN RESPONSE.

With his inclination towards survival it would make sense to reason that he's only polite in front of potentially-threatening company because it means that he's less likely to get pummeled for being. Anything else.

Being polite is just as credible a survival technique as anything else! We just don't get to see any other irkens using it.

Skoodge is. Competent. He conquered his planet first!

He's a good invader. And that's probably because he knows when to run.

He's very vocal about it, if he knows (or thinks) that there's someone around to assist him. Silent with his impending doom (ha) at the Assigning, but very very loud when being chased down in the canyon by the hogulus in Hobo 13.

Now, I don't know about you, but irkens don't really strike me as the kind of species to back down from anything. To me, they read as more of a "do it or die" kinda group. Again, this whole trait kiiiinda almost begging to be pegged as outlier. The only thing that makes me on the fence about this one is, again, the fact that it's a cartoon and Skoodge's fear might be for the sake of gags.

That doesn't really explain this though. He has literally no reason to be scared here. In this specific scenario (Day Of Da Spookies! unfinished episode) he's disguised as a human. Every person there is none the wiser to him and his alien nature. He's just... like this...? All the time? Apparently? Maybe?

Or maybe! There's other things at play here!

Skoodge is competent...

... but.

A friend put it into better words than I could:

His brain turns to mush whenever he's around Zim.

(Honestly, the volunteer line might actually add on to his possible lack of self-respect? Hard to say if it's that, or if he's just that desperate to give respect at the sign of any spare bit of authority, even if that authority comes from an irken shorter than him.)

It makes me wonder if most of what we've seen of him is just Zim's influence on him. Scared at the Assigning? He didn't know Zim was there, so that had to have been genuine. Saluting to an inferior species? He had to have known that Zim was there, because Zim introduced himself first (and very loudly at that), but I think it was also genuine because Zim wasn't directly influencing him?

Screaming because of the hogulus and running like a child from some humans? Those are almost definitely Zim's doing. I just. Don't know How.

Screaming is a weakness, I think; at least it should be (in the eyes of irkens), and when Skoodge does it he does it because he seems convinced that Zim will help him. And yet Zim never does! Skoodge has no reason to believe this!

But still, believe he does.

They had to have been... kind of close? At one point in their lives.

Potentially. I don't know how close a person can get to Zim, but Skoodge has just barely managed to do it, by virtue of the fact that he is quite possibly the only living thing in the universe that can tolerate being around Zim for more than five seconds.

And his cockroach-itude. That definitely helps. You can't be killed by Zim's passive destructive radius if you genuinely just can't fucking die at all.

But that explains nothing of his weird eagerness to do things for Zim. It borders on obsessive. It might actually be obsessive, since he's apparently been living in Zim's vents ever since the events of Hobo 13. Without telling him.

Skoodge is fucking deranged. Skoodge doesn't even register as a blip on Zim's radar of people-to-acknowledge, but he will still always just do things for him, and be excited to, too!

I don't know what's wrong with him. The less easy and definitely one too many steps detached from canon explanation would be that he views Zim as the ideal irken and strives to be like him. The easiest explanation would be that he just really likes Zim.

Gosh. Even that still raises the question of how or why he would. Zim is fucking terrible to not just him, but everyone. He is unbiased in whose life he ruins.

And Skoodge is perfectly content with just letting Zim ruin his.

man. i hate him. i really really do.

[whence-the-woody]

Not willing to rewatch coz s1 I'm not a huge fan of and s2 is too much emotion for me rn but trying to remember Colin's character through the show. Coz in this season he's definitely all over the place.

Like in s1 I guess you could characterise him as a bit hopeless romantic, quick to fall in love, impulsive, kinda goofy. Definitely a younger brother. You could say easily embarrassed then but honestly the way he acted was hella fucking embarrassing, I'd hide too. Could be a sweet son. Not a bad friend but incredibly oblivious. Held grudges for sure.

Then s2 he was undebatably INSUFFERABLE after his travels. Pretentious and annoying. Not understanding of boundaries or able to let things go (the Maria visits). An experimental drug dude, which yknow good for him. Still v little bro energy, mocking his brothers all the time. Not alot of empathy. Very privileged - I mean they all are but compared to Anthony's level of responsibility he clearly had none. Showed some positive protective instincts, helping out the featheringtons. So in some ways shown to be a better friend but in others WAY worse - talking shit on Pen: unforgivable. So still easily embarrassed. Kind of a little shit but not particularly funny I wouldn't say? That's bendict. Not very opinionated, that's Eloise. Francesca has passion he didn't. Idk just kinda nothing in terms of ways to describe him.

Then s3. Oh boy. Suddenly after yet more travels hes a chronic flirt - no hate just a weird 180. Discovered the joys of group sex at some point - again no hate but tells me nothing about who he is. He doesnt seem to be looking for marriage? Doesnt mention any goals or interests? He says he doesnt care what others think of him but that majorly contradicts everything that came before. Then he says hes been trying to be what society wants - so contradiction again. He considers himself a flirting expert out of nowhere? Okay dude. In a desperate attempt to make them compatible hes suddenly also a gossip? Sure. Also suddenly has a study and is a writer?? Other than writing letter to Pen, where the hell did that come from? Just everyone getting completely sick of hearing his stories? y'all had 2 previous seasons to make them seem compatible, why throw this stuff in now? He's not a romantic, doesnt seem to understand why Pen wants marriage - even though was so quick to get engaged two years ago. He still doesnt have a lot of empathy really. Still easily embarassed. Not much showing him to be a good brother. Still a pretty sweet son and obviously idealised his parents relationship, that's something. Absolutely impulsive - interrupting that dance, good god sir. You could argue he was jealous in s1 so that checks out. The romantic dialogue really paled in comparison to previous seasons but maybe that is in character?

But still I try to think of his personality and Im kinda like ??

Smug. Jealous. Pretty unserious. Privledged. Sometimes protective. A newfound gossip and writer. Self conscious most of the time but other times completely oblivious to peoples social cues. Impulsive for sure. A sweet son. Meh brother. No friends, goals or talents.

I just feel like Daphne and Anthony, by this point in their seasons, were really fleshed out characters and personalities. You knew who they were, their motivations, their histories, their huberis. Its been 3 years and I still feel like we dont know Colin. Maybe because the focus is on Pen? But even then I dont know if they've hugely expanded on her character thus far.

I guess I wonder that for the people who are huge fans of Colin - why? Who do you think he is? What is his character? Do you think its consistent? Does the inconsistency make sense to you somehow? I cant be invested in this dude when I still dont know who he is (also when the actor is okay at best lbr)

[bossyuri]

Ima put my random thoughts about SRV in here! It probably won't make much sense but wtv sdfsg

again I haven't placed the last building or conquered the whole map yet, as context, but i did finish the main story aside from that.

So ima start of with thoughts while disregarding how the bugs affected the experience!

Overall, I had a good time! I really enjoyed it. I love the new crew. I loved the focus on friendship. I'd say the story overall is nothing really special though, which I don't think is necesserily a bad thing. Sometimes a chill story packaged in a fun game is good ya know.

I loved finding out bits and pieces about our friends through dialogue, I think that was great, and I really liked that it felt like a solid friend group. Modern Yuri (as I like to colloqually call him lmao) is so much more mellow from having a good support system early on lol. But he's still got some Classic Yuri in him.

The rival gangs I think that thematically, visually, their music and stuff, they were great. I liked them a lot, they had good contrast, their music when you fight them rules. I do think that they were a little underused in the actual story though so they don't quite leave the impact that say, the Syndicate did. The threat they posed felt more theorical than anything you actually see. Again not the worst thing, but I feel like they could've used a bit more time to be more present. (I did like how the Panteros stuff ended because it tied in with other things later though!). Like I think in particular that the collective could have been used a lot more.

That said I did play with looong months-long break for the first quarter of the game so idk how that affected my impression. And the last few missions I think were really, really cool, I really liked them! But I felt like the middle parts after a certain point weren't quite as memorable.

But I don't think it was bad! And the game isn't quite over yet, so I'm looking forward to what's to come.

Also I did like how narratively the game tries to give you a nice fantasy release from a lot of real life issues. I'm sure many people at Volition had to face these frustrations in their lives and it felt like. relatable yknow.

Now though.....so I work in game QA, going on my 7th year, and the game released in....really an unnacceptable state, which was really a bummer and really harmed it. I don't blame the devs. Devs want to give us good games. But they don't control release dates.

and they did not control covid. I know a lot people see covid as an "excuse" to fuck up games but trust me as someone who was working in the industry through it all, it absolutely messed up a *lot* of stuff that you may never know about. My setup from home is still not ideal. And thats not even getting into employee burnout but anyway-

I've had crashes to desktop, blockers in missions (regularly), broken multiplayer (tho i havent had a chance to test it again after patches) needing full game restarts for a variety of reasons (clothes broken, face broken, world stopped populating, quest blocked...) the clothes system still breaks for me after so many months after release (thought its a lot better. i dont fear the stores as much anymore lol). I don't know if it's a quirk of the PC version, but it would have been so much more of a good experience if they had had the time to polish the game more before release. Lots of gamers don't have much patience for this kinda shit, and it's a shame for a game that has a lot of love put into it.

But they're still patching the game, and the QOL changes that they keep adding are really good. The game is a lot more stable for me too so I will definitely keep playing, and I'm hoping that my mental state will allow me to make some fun content from it. I'm still kinda hoping for a steam release sometime so I might get to replay the story again if that happens. Because taking screenshots on epic is a goddamn pain.

So huh anyway. I don't think anyone cares that much but if you've read that far thank you! And also thanks for sticking around with me for so long despite my dropping off the face of the earth in a depression spiral. But I'm still around and Yuri is still around. And Saints Row V is fun!

[malwarechips]

Tiso, and obligatory pk ask because he never leaves my brain

ok ok putting these under a cut bcz since theres two it'll probably b quite long

TISO . THE MOST CRINGEFAIL MAN . MY BELOVED

favorite thing about them - he's just sooo pathetic . i love him . why is he like that /complimentary

least favorite thing about them - he's dead :(

favorite line - HMM im gonna look at a list of his quotes here bcz i remember like NO dialogue from ANY characters . ok, ive returned from the hk wiki and the conclusion is: probably his dialogue at blue lake !!! "Garrgh. What a calm place. It's action I want, vicious and deadly battle. This serenity is a bore. So peaceful. So dull."

brOTP - him and cloth 100% . i used to think theyd hate each other but then i was like . no actually i think theyd be friends and totally encourage each other to do the most dangerous shit. quirrel has to stop them.

OTP - speaking of quirrel: him and quirrel <3 its so weird bcz w/ like any other characters w/ those two personalities id be like . no they hate each other. but i think they'd like . balance each other out if that makes sense. also honorable mention to him and god tamer bcz i think its funny. not personally smthn i ship tho bcz i myself think theyre both very gay and have 0 interest in each other's gender

nOTP - uhhhmm im not sure actually ? id say "any of the vessels" but that's kinda a blanket that applies to basically everyone by default for me.

random headcanon - hmmm... ok so the headcanon that he is an ant is pretty popular i think but: so his original concept art by the kickstarter backer who designed him mentions that his hood covers a horn on his head. and i wanted to include that while also still having him be an ant bcz i love ants sooo much. so. i took some creative liberties bcz i dont think there are any ants with spikes on their head BUT . there is streblognathus peetersi . which has a very prominent spike between it's thorax and its abdomen !! so i just kinda moved it to his head and called it a day. so i technically have a very specific species headcanon for him. ok short ramble abt spiky ants over

unpopular opinion - not sure i have one rlly?

song i associate with them - UHMMMM ... god im trying to think of one now . i SWEAR ive had some but i always forget song titles. probably this cover of Hit the Road Jack . im not entirely sure why but! it gives me tiso vibes

favorite picture of them - probably the little pose he pulls in the pantheon of hallownest. he looks so cool only to get crushed </3 utter cringefail man i love him

OK . PK . as a note i may not have all that much for him since i only recently started actually rthinking abt him more .

favorite thing about them - hmmm. id say his design is a big thing that i rlly enjoy !!!

least favorite thing about them - I HAVE NO IDEA . possibly the fact that he has so little dialogue but he's kinda dead so thats probably why.

favorite line - as said before he doesnt rlly have much dialogue but i'd have to say the iconic abyss dialogue. "No cost too great. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Born of God and Void. You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams. You are the Vessel. You are the Hollow Knight." like cmon . its very cool i think

brOTP - im not sure !! i personally dont really see him being close friends with basically anyone in hallownest or anything.

OTP - id probably have to say him and white lady. i think they really did care about each other, but i dont really have much to say outside of that since as i said before i only recently started actually thinking about pk more.

nOTP - once again i dont really have one outside of "any of the vessels". also including hornet this time bcz like . he's her dad. but yeah outside of the usuals like that i dont really have one

random headcanon - constant eyebags . he always looks like he hasnt slept in 5 weeks (and he probably hasnt) . sleep? never heard of her . whos that .

unpopular opinion - once again im not sure i have one really? i dont really know what would apply with the term unpopular when it comes to my headcanons

song i associate with them - GOODBYE MR A BY THE HOOSIERS. ABSOLUTELY. VIBRATES. i . dont think it fits fully but i am a master of editing songs in my brain to make them fit characters . so it does to me, OKAY ??? /silly

favorite picture of them - probably his silhouette for white defender's arena . idk what it is abt it but i enjoy it greatly i think its the wings.

actually either that or the statue/wishing well of him in ancient basin, if that counts? that statue look sooo cool

[asummersday]

@imdefnotvanessa

3. describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

starting off strong lmfao

uhm.

okay so for oneshots, i'll just come up with an idea and i just kinda go from there, no actual outline or plan. i prefer my fics to have a happy ending, so i do have the end in mind, and its basically just "it ends with comfort and/or cuddles".

honestly, i only come up with a vague idea of what i want to happen and let the fic do its own thing.

for some of my longer works (three-shots or oneshots that go over 10k and have a plot), i'll come up with a mental list of the things i want to happen, no real outlines to worry about there either.

regarding fics with more than 3 chapters: i havent written those since 2020 (which is. wild) so i only have one example for this (since my last longfic was zero outline, just a core concept, "fuck it we ball". i like the energy 16 y/o me brought to the table tbh). what i did for all the ashes in my wake was that i made an outline (just filled with the major plot points in the fic, bullet point style) just to have a general direction to take the fic in.

then i made a chapter by chapter outline (that i update everytime i veer off-track or introduce something i didnt originally intend to add in (*cough* big mama *cough*)). i just jot down the basic things that will happen, how its gonna end, plus some basic notes regarding the progress of the internal + external conflicts. stuff to keep in mind and the such.

(sorry if this one is a bit all over the place, it's hard to really describe my creative process other than just saying "chaos and dozens of sticky notes")

15. how do you write smut scenes? Do you get very visual or detailed? How important is it to be realistic?

i've never actually written any smut scene. first, i think i'd be very bad at it, but also i've just never really wanted to write anything smutty.

20. have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

i DO actually have a common setting for patrol scenes!! i like to set those in warehouses more often than not. not sure why, maybe because it's such a generic bad guy location, or because it's a location that doesn't require too much research. when in doubt on where to set your patrol/fight scene, put em in a warehouse!

other than that, i like to compare my characters feeling dizzy/about to pass out to feeling like they're underwater/everything feels muffled/murky

similarly, when a character wakes up after passing out/being knocked out, i like to write "it was like breaching the surface of a murky pond" or something like that

(i wish i could put more here, im just very bad at noticing my own writing patterns lmao.)

26. which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

my one and only crackfic ghosts? in front of MY salad? where duke thomas decides the best sibling bonding activity is trying to summon a ghost when he lives in gotham city. this was written in one sitting at 3 in the morning, and you can tell.

here's a little gem from this nonsensical fic:

“So,” Duke said nervously. “Does anyone know how to unsummon a ghost?” Another lamp was knocked off a cabinet and smashed on the ground. Alfred was really not gonna be happy.

55. of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

hm. for this fandom, my favorite to write for is Leo (i dont think ive been subtle about that LMFAO)

the choice wasn't really swayed by followers or readers, he's just so easy to write for me because i relate to him (and raph) the most, and we share a similar sense of humor which really makes writing internal dialogue and his pov chapters easy for me. and this is especially true for ataimw, but im the oldest and i saw a lot of myself in leo when he was arguing with raph in the movie and i quite literally went "oh so he is EXACTLY like me during arguments"

i do HC leo as the younger twin, so with me being the oldest sibling, you would THINK raph would be easier to write for me but nope!! apparently not!!

(maybe its bc i see leo as having adhd like me and going "i can write that. I CAN WRITE THAT")

thank you for the ask!! <33

get to know your fic writer

[lovehelpmewrite]

oof, I feel you. Could you write something for Warren x Non-binary reader, where reader is afraid to tell him that they identify as nb and he tries to comfort them? bonus if the reader is having a shit time with dysphoria (me rn) Thank you 💙

I stood in front of the mirror, dressed in a pair of underwear and a sports bra, curling my arms over my chest uncomfortably.

It was one of those days.

My hips pushed out from my waist unfairly far and my chest felt like it was a size triple Z. 

I sighed in frustration and shoved my hair out of my face, stepping away from the mirror and rifling through my clothes to pull out a thick sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.

I walked down the hall anxiously, a nervous pit in my stomach growing as I noticed the rather large group of other students gathered in the kitchen. When I saw Warren I immediately made a beeline for him, taking a deep breath and leaning my forehead into his shoulder when I finally did get to him.

“Hey, thought you’d never come down,” he joked, smiling at me kindly despite his teasing tone and slipping his hand into mine.

“Just having a moment to myself I guess,” I answered quietly, keeping one hand laced with his while the other reached across my body and held onto the crook of his elbow, practically hiding my body between him and his wing. The warmth of him surrounding me helped calm the racing of my heart at least a little bit.

Warren looked down at me quizzically.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?”

I closed my eyes at the pet name. Normally it would warm my heart, as it should, but something about it just felt… wrong.

I just nodded, opening my eyes again and trying to give him a bright smile.

He stared at me for a few more seconds before Ororo captured his attention. I just followed him around for a bit, listening and watching as he interacted with our different housemates. Even as anxious and uncomfortable as I felt, just being around Warren was helping calm me down at least some.

“Okay, well we were thinking of taking a little afternoon nap guys, sorry, excuse us,” Warren excused with a sheepish grin, laughing as Scott made a joke about him sleeping for most of the day anyway.

I held onto his arm tightly as he led us back out of the kitchen, watching everyone carefully part to give a wide birth for his wings. I pressed the side of my face into his shoulder as he led us down the hall and finally back upstairs to my room. 

We walked in and I felt the pit in my stomach deepen as he quietly shut the door behind him and turned so I was directly in front of him. Warren always knew when something was wrong.

Instead of speaking right away, he just pulled me forward gently by my upper arms, holding me tightly against his chest and nestling his head comfortably in between my shoulder and neck. We sighed at the feeling, both of us immediately calmed by the affectionate touch.

“So, what’s going on?” He asked quietly, words slightly muffled against my skin.

I took a slow deep breath, pressing my face further into his neck as a lump started to form in my throat. I wrapped my arms tighter around his waist, letting my fingers gently creep up to run over the short feathers on his wings where they began to turn to skin. Warren gave a little hum of content in response. I let the noise calm the thoughts pounding inside my head.

“Warren, I…” I paused, trying to put the feeling into words. “I don’t know.”

He pulled back slightly, brushing a small piece of hair off my forehead and leaning in to press a sweet kiss to my lips. 

“Baby, you can tell me anything, I just wanna help.”

I swallowed nervously and nodded toward the bed, letting my hands drift into his and gently lead him over to it to sit. Once there, he kept my hands in his, thumb gently rubbing over the back of my hand. I stared at the movement intensely, trying to order my thoughts and push them out into the air.

“Warren, I think I’m not really…” I squinted, recognizing the wording feeling wrong, off, not quite what I meant. 

“I just think maybe I could be…”

I pulled a hand out of Warren’s and ran it frustratedly over my face, trying to make the words come together coherently.

“I don’t think I’m completely a girl,” I blurted, my eyes peeking up at his quickly before staring back down to where his thumb has stopped moving. I glanced up at his face again to see his eyebrows furrowed.

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” I sucked in a breath through my nose and blew it out through my mouth. “Like today, for example. I don’t really feel… like a girl.”

“So… you’re a boy then? Or…?” he dropped off uncertainly.

I tilted my head to the side a little as if to say not quite.

“Well, I mean, I… I think sometimes yeah. Sometimes I still feel like a girl, but yeah. Sometimes, I feel like a boy. And then sometimes I just feel… like, somewhere in between?” I said unsurely. “Well, I mean, not really in between, more like… I don’t know? Separate? Like, I’m not a boy or a girl, I just kind of… am.”

Warren was staring off at the floor over my shoulder, eyes squinted a little as he took in my explanation. I forced my breath to remain steady, even as my anxiety wreaked havoc on my insides.

“So do you…” he paused, pulling his lip between his teeth nervously. “Do you want me to use different pronouns?”

I almost laughed in relief at the question.

“I… yeah maybe,” I answered, watching his eyes come back to mine slowly, my anxiety calming slightly.

“Okay, just…” Warren exhaled softly, looking down at where one of our hands was still intertwined. 

“Just let me know, okay? I don’t… I don’t really get it that well but you know I love you, and gender never really was an issue for me anyway,” he laughed a little, gripping my hand a little tighter in his, “I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with me. I… I felt uncomfortable around the people I loved long enough to know it sucks. So just… yeah, just let me know what pronouns to use for the day.”

By the time his eyes met mine again tears were quickly welling in my eyes. 

I nodded, the lump in my throat too tight to push out words as Warren pulled me into him again, rubbing my back gently.

“Oh, baby, don’t cry,” came his soft voice.

My tears soaked into the shoulder of his t-shirt easily, forming small darkened patches as I pulled back.

“Uh,” I sniffled, wiping my wet cheeks with the sleeve of my sweatshirt before laughing a little. “Could you use he-him today?”

“Of course,” he answered easily, pulling me back into his shoulder and rubbing my back while I sniffled my stuffy nose once more. “Anything for my baby boy.”

My heart swelled at the term of affection, my eyes closing as new tears darkened Warren’s shirt. 

—

I really hope this was okay anon, I spent a lot of time contemplating just how to write it, even though it’s pretty short. It really hit home for me because of how I personally identify and the fact that I still haven’t really come out to my friends. I cried a little while writing it so hopefully, I was able to convey the feeling just right and the body dysmorphia wasn’t too off for you because I just went with what I normally deal with. Anyway, this piece is pretty close to my heart so I really hope you liked it 

[joejoeba]

I am formally requesting more naramistrish bestie headcanons because I care about them a lot and all your headcanons are top tier

YOU GOT IT

They're all protective of one another, but Mista takes his role as oldest seriously, and Narancia is extra protective of Trish, but respects her strengths (supported by their dialogue together in EoH! Narancia both says he will protect Trish and acknowledges that she's strong enough that she might not even need it.)

Post-VA, Trish and Mista have a special bestie bond from swapping bodies. They're the kind of friends that don't talk for 6 months and slip right back into their friendship like nothing happened.

Post-VA-everyone-lives verse, Mista and Trish get an extra layer to their care for Narancia, because they've seen and felt what it's like if he dies, and they do not want to repeat it.

Narancia liberally borrows both their clothes, because they love reminders of friendships, and they can rock both styles (though Mistas clothes are way too big on them),

Not sure how to explain it, but Trish employs the Girl Protective of Her Boys attitude very much. World is cruel and unjust and no one has properly taught these boys that they deserve a lot better and they're too likely to just grin and bear it; Trish will fight the world and initiate self-care days and comfort.

They're probably the most social group? Like, Bruno is undoubtedly social but he doesnt use his downtime to chill out and have fun. Naramistrish DO like just chilling and having fun and they mostly have each other to do it with. Movies, concerts, spa nights, shopping, road trips, they have fun!

Post-VA-Everyone-lives verse, Bruno gets a do-over on telling Trish she can live with him. Narancia, of course, gets to keep living with him too. Abbacchio ends up moving in, and Fugos room is kept in case he comes back. Mista is a little out of the loop, but he does need space in his little bachelor pad apartment. Narancia bounces between places and sleeps where he wants, and Trish can be persuaded for sleepover if Mista cleans up first.

Rockstar Trish travels a lot and the boys are very active in keeping in contact, partially bc they worry lol.

Mista and Trish both lowkey have a crush on Narancia, but they're very content being besties and occasionally having an evening for just the two of them where they get drunk and lament their love life.

Mista likes to cook and often provides free food. It's not always appreciated though, because their tastes just DO not align. Much dinner table banter about what food is good and what's bad.

Trish isnt quite as touchy feely as the boys and needs a bit of warning before being climbed all over. Mista and Narancia remain Team No Physical Boundaries

Sometimes Spice Girl pops out and just kinda.....observes the boys. Sidenote ever think about how Spice Girl and Gold Experience are like, incredibly sentient Stands? Both can know and express things their users don't. Anyway Spice Girl is happy Trish has good friends in her life and freaks them out by just watching.

Oh no Sex Pistols and Spice Girl can have entire conversations oh no they're so obnoxious oh no

In my ideal world, Trish is a rock star and Narancia is her backup dancer / bodyguard and Mista is is a fulltime bodyguard for both of them. I'd love to write sth like that tbh

They work great together but dont leave them unsupervised on a mission they'll wreck everything

I thought I'd have more! Sorry this is short lol

Honestly I dont have much reason for this trio, I just love friendship and love them <3

[limonium-anemos]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

thanks for the ask @bluesundaycake !!! 💖 also thank you @cauldroncake for the tag!! i gib u smooches

i'm not much of a writer lmao but here they are in random order:

as flowers bloom (hidden wip) / hp, tomarry, same age au

There was something quite ethereal in that moment.

And he thinks, oh.

- started writing this wip back in june 2020; was supposed to be a hanahaki au, managed to write a draft until chapter 4 but i got so lost with it. it's a fave because this was the first work i've tried writing in a linear manner, with an outline and a plan (i'm more of a pantser) and went all out with descriptive writing. i was so happy with the feedback when i posted it. hopefully i can get back to it and rewrite 🌟

they will burn (oneshot) / hp, tomarry, soulmate au, fem!harry 

(Fire. A blaze steadily rising, a fervent whisper of—)

(–I know you.)

Harry suspected it within the week of keeping the diary. This Tom Riddle, Slytherin Prefect and Head Boy, too smart and too charming—

“You’re my soulmate.” she says.

And he is.

And you are mine, he knows.

- my first tomarry fic lmao; the amount of hits and kudos christ sdgasd i did not expect it at all??? i always reread this and try to remember like, wow there's something in here people like??? so whenever i end up with a new wip/idea i look at this fic and remind myself “you did great before!!! you’ll do well!!” while also lowkey suffering from too many ideas he he ehhe

we rattle this town, we rattle this scene (oneshot) / snk, ereri, modern setting

“You might’ve said no.” Levi says.

Eren scoffs.

“We’ve been dating, like, since high school Levi.”

- this fic was probably my first fluff??? fic?? idk i dont remember anymore. i wrote this back in 2017 while i was (procrastinating) studying for board exams lmao. this was practice for dialogue and i’m pretty happy about it?? my goal was to practice transition from one character to another and idk i think it kinda worked ashgdhasd

i remember printing out fic chapters from a couple of other snk fics, highlighting sections and lines of dialogue i really admire and loved!! and said i should try that

cam u kiss me (wip) / hp, tomarry, gamer au

"I'd say it was a pleasure, but—" TM started to say.

aintnosnitch Today at 1:28AM

get rekt u grimy peanut we won so fuck off

*

Online games, boys and hopefully, a goddamn kiss.

- writing this fic was...something...an experience...this was the first fic i ever had a beta? ??? (actually seagate didnt need to look this over but she did) and let me tell u like, i learned a lot ashdgasj i’ve never had someone look over my writing while im still writing it, and giving suggestions and pointing things out. this wouldnt come out as it is without help lmao. i would write a sentence and seagate would make it flow better; i translate my thoughts and seagate made sure it isnt whack (english is not my first language), checked that my tenses isn’t all over the place, that i dont get lost with characterization etc

would i get a beta again? probably. i’ll make sure to finish a draft first before letting them look it over 😄

dizzy on the comedown (oneshot) / hp, tomarry, same age au, fluff

Tom and Harry visit Hogwarts after the war.

- this is all my fluff powers!!! all of it!!!! i love the comments in this fic!!! instant smile on my face!! im just assuming the people who read this just went uwu and somft and squish 🤣

but also lmao, this fic was stressful to write! i remember struggling to finish this since this fic was pure “pantser“ fic. there is so much to improve on this one; i don’t think it’s my best writing but also not the worst??? idk it’s a so-so for me but im happy that people like it, so thank you!!!

again thank you for the tag and ask (pahn and dia)! tagging these lovely writers too!! (no pressure!)

@riddleandpottersittinginatree @cardio-vore @mishqua @phoenixmaiden-writing @literaryavalanche @hikarimeroperiddle @vestiges-of-light @penmanner @azuredreammira @exarite @vanillaghost @immxrtalbi @circleofplanets @marvolord @greenbriars @isleoffanfiction @childotkw

[ginjointsintheworld]

it just ocurred to me that we leyrens arent the only ones being let down. now i realize its not a matter of favorites or protagonists, its a matter of the writers being bad at making couples in general. aside from them cutting leyrens crucial dialogues and simply avoiding an earnest conversation about the bribe (dont get me started on the offscreen kiss i might as well pass out), we have sharpwin with a bunch of phone calls and everything being about max as usual, whatever the hell is going on with floyd, lyn and claude (rip evie) and the disservice they did to iggy and martin, who used to be the most stable pairing of the entire show. i kinda feel bad for sharpwins because i can feel the wedding will be all over the place (someone on twitter said helen might get married wearing a leather skirt lmao) and the fact that they exchanged a racist castle for a racist hospital rooftop is sad, helen did deserve something nice even if it was in ny. anyway, im happy/unhappy to realize that all couples in this show are equally built on unnecessary drama and crumbs of joy

there's a lot of inner peace and enjoyment to be found when we accept that new amsterdam is not a particularly well written show. like don't get me wrong, the writers definitely TRY their best but. the skill level is not there to execute the ideas they have sometimes lol (saved for my bias opinion of the stronger writers in the room but they're unfortunately relegated to story editors who only get to write one episode a season). but that honestly makes it easy to live with these storylines knowing that it's not out of malicious intent.

but yes, everyone's storyline and the overall cohesiveness of the show took a nose dive this season. of the main characters, helen taking the brunt of it since she went from her own individual identity to just being max's romantic interest and somehow London, which was suppose to be able her character backstory and development, was monopolized and then sidelined by max's story. Frankly I think of all the Bad Cards that were dealt out this season, lauren made it through decently. For as stupid as the donation plot and then the visa drama was, at least we saw some kind of consistency and end goal with what the writers had planned for her growth through this conflict. Tbh if the writers had allocated just a handful more scenes and screentime to lauren and leyla's story this season, it could've been a well done story. But the moments they chose to cut and be referenced in conversations instead (leyla coming to floyd about a rec letter, lauren tell leyla about her triggers, the additional money drop moments they had where lauren was more at ease) ended up making pacing feel rushed. Though I will say, I disagree about them avoiding earnest conversations about the donation because I think leyla said her piece in 4x10 and lauren said hers in 4x13. What's left and what I'd like to see is their conversation on how they move forward from it and I'm (probably foolishly) hopeful we'll get that in the finale.

ah well it is what it is. we've got one more episode left in the season and hopeful it's a good sign for better things to come in s5

[prince-liest]

So I love your genshin impact works, but I dont think I'm understanding the plot of the game in general? It's kinda hard for me to look up the lore and backstories of the characters, but I'd really like to understand more about the characters you're writing about. Do you mind giving a quick rundown if possible? Hope you have a good day!

AH, anon, thank you so much - I’ve been seriously enjoying Genshin a lot recently, and I’m so happy that you like what I’ve been writing for it! Unfortunately, you've landed upon the reason that I actually originally dropped Genshin Impact after I first started playing it! I got back into it because of the phenomenal character lore back in May, but, ah, tragically, I commisserate with you over the fact that it can be difficult to get into initially.

I'm also going to very gently and sadly reject giving rundowns of the characters, purely because there are many characters, I think that I would want to include a lot and tend to write my fics like they're love letters to what I enjoy about a particular character anyways, BUT I am going to give you some resources to find that information yourself!

Genshin Impact has a lot of lore that's scattered all over the place. It's in character stories, character quests, hangouts, limited time events, side quests, artifact and item descriptions, you name it. There's entire accounts dedicated to collating and speculating on Genshin Impact lore. Their team really did a good job making it feel like an immersive world with fascinating things to be found everywhere. That said, it makes it hard to get a grasp of everything! Especially because there are characters like Kaeya, who keep a lot of secrets that you don't learn unless you read into their backstories, or Albedo, who has most of his lore locked behind time-limited events.

The most important things, however, are usually found in character stories and voice lines! Whenever I write a fic, I tend to actually just go to the Genshin wiki and reread through the character backstories and flip through their voice lines to see how certain relationships are. Aside from that, there have been a few limited time events that have had significant lore and backstory dump and are unfortunately not accessibly in-game anymore - BUT are available on YouTube as "let's play"s and on the Genshin wiki as voiceovers you can read or even play the voice lines from. (The events to look for are The Chalk Prince and the Dragon, Unreconciled Stars, Shadows Amidst Snowstorms, and maybe the Golden Apple Archipelago one). I can't recommend the wiki enough, though, that thing is put together with a lot of love and has links to documented everything. It brings my organizationally-oriented information-hoarding heart SO much joy.

Since I've been writing a lot of Albedo, I'll link to his page as an example here. The overview tab is great, but the real gold mine is the lore tab. It has transcripts of all his friendship level unlockable character stories, links to pages for all the quests he's been in (which includes summaries and quest dialogue for all those quests), and even an outline of which other characters he's had interactions with, as well as a trivia section.

All that said, if you have more specific questions about particular characters, events, plot points, or my own stories, please let me know! I'm happy to talk about this stuff, I just can't really tackle something like an overall rundown, haha.

[itachikun]

maya i think you answered a while back the languages you spoke, but i don't remember if you said korean. if you do speak, could you please give some tips on it? i've been stuck on beginner level for months because it doesn't get into my brain :( anyways hope u had a good day! lov ya

Hello! Yes i do, and absolutely! Its gonna get long, sorry! First of all i think its important to be able to pinpoint whats the hardest part for you. Like for me with korean, pronunciation was fine, i had grammatical structures very clear in my head and i knew how things were supposed to be placed in sentences and etc but i lacked a lot of vocabulary so it was tricky for me to actually speak it. So i could say i was somewhat advanced when it came to grammar, but much of a beginner when it came to vocabulary. Something ive done with all the languages ive learnt so far once i find out whats my biggest difficulty (and its always vocab for some reason???? lmao) i start taking more notes of it! Now, i think this really depends on through what kind of method you think you absorb more info. I kinda tried a personal version of the kumon method (the very repetitive one, u kno? Where u keep doing things over and over until it gets engraved in your brain). So if you are more of a visual learner, or if you intake more info by listening, or if you actually need to get physical with it and get things handwritten and etc. For me it was important to know that about myself. So, for vocab, i would write down on notes any new korean word i came across, and read them outloud every day. Eventually id make sentences with them and later on try to build small dialogues... cause like, i speak to myself a lot when im alone, i never had a lot of people to practice the languages i learnt with, so i had to do it with myself.

it used to look like this btw heh. Id also like, make small sample sentences in korean next to that new word so I'd have a feeling of how it was used instead of assimilating only the translation because korean conveys a lot of nuances and meanings that we dont have in english, for instance. And if i felt i had already learnt how to use that word in different contexts, I would delete it.

There was a point where i had different notebooks for it. One for grammar, one for vocabulary and one for practicing/exercises but i eventually got busier and didnt have a lot of time to sit down and go through stuff so i adapted and used my phone and notes a lot just so i could continue studying it. I used a lot of the pdfs from Talk To Me In Korean, listened to a lot of their podcasts as well, i accompained their youtube channel and there always something new for me to learn. I hope this helps somewhat!

I did have a lovely day, hope u had one, too!

[thoughtfulpaperback]

Spoilers !!!! Stayed up so I could watch Charmed 02x01!!!! Spoilers

Non spoilers stuff first.

My reaction to pretty much the whole episode

Y'all!!!!!! Both good and bad! I was just super excited and glad for it to be back. And so shaken by all the changes and the mysteries!So in general I would give this episode 8/10. Only because I save my 9 and 10. But back to my normal format of these things. I'll start with 3 things I liked and 3 that I didnt although, I'd say it is less dislike and more on the fence.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

1. Hacy moments

For real's though, Macy's internal Harry has my theorizing mind going off and I loved all the double meanings in thier interactions (macy and real harry too) I mean the" I am not leaving you" was nice, but Delirious-Macy-mind-Harry saying "i am different do you like it?" And Macy being all like "yes".

I mean okay various meanings here

1. Obviously it isn't really Harry so of course mind harry is different

2. Macy's perspection of Harry is changing (level of attraction to Harry is growing)

3.But --I am putting on my theorizing cap on--I feel like since the poison hit Macy but had her trying to go home then 1) mind Harry (maybe possibly evil twin Harry hmmm..) may be trying to seduce Macy to the dark side or to fully embrace her demon side since he keeps telling her to come home or 2) mind Harry is death since she was poisoned and her attempts at following the voice almost got her run over by a car. So coming home is like death saying come back since you were technically dead.

Maybe evil twin Harry, mind harry, or Death as Mind Harry has only taken Harry's form because it is the best way to get to Macy, meaning the internal attraction is already strong). So it is also an ominous "I am different" in that realm.

Who knows? I love the mystery though!

And of course while the poison siphoning scene and the "macy please" is going to drive all us Hacy fans crazy for a bit. My favorite bit of dialogue is actually the last bit before they enter the house. When Macy tells harry there is nothing here and Harry all sexy over the shoulder looks at her and says " are you sure?" . . .

DOUBLE MEANING!!!! At least I took it both as the house, but also at thier relationship. Anyways moving on.....

2. Mel! Mel is queen. I am just gonna say that one of the things I didn't appreciate about the OG was that all the ladies (including super witch Prue) complained about thier jobs and wanted to have some normalcy. And listen I sympathized when it came to thier romantic lives (although most of it was thier own faults), sometimes it was just like "you are literally saving peoples lives, I get needing some me time but can you not act so flippantly over literal life or death of another person". So I really appreciated that Mel was ready to step up and was already acting as a leader. I know people like to compare her to Prue and for sure she shares some qualities, but Mel really is her own creature and has more openly embraced witchcraft and not complained about it (so far) unlike all the OG ladies and her sisters.

3. No powers. Okay? One of the primary issues in season 1 was that the girls were kinda over powered. I felt it was mostly Macy, but arguably Mel and Maggie as well. So now as they have to work to get them back and possibly discover new types of magic or avenues for magic, I think there is room for growth and character development as well as world building that wasnt there before. At first I was like, oh heck no! And no fair Macy is the only one powered! and obviously with either her demon side and/or evil twin Harry trying to get at her (sisters as well) she is going to have another big storyline. I just hope (and I feel confident in hoping this time) that these storylines will connect meaningfully and not just last minute. It feels like they are on a new tract and I am digging it so far

Now on to my on the fence list . . .

1) Witchness Protection. I dont mind the premise actually and think it is really clever. I just dont know how I feel about leaving Hilltown. While Hilltown wasnt really developed much the university was nice and I am sad that Lucy wont be a part of the story anymore given that Maggie cant go back and they basically are super far from home if michigan was 5 hours away. At least they get to keep the house and I assume Harry gets to live there now, unless he move into the base.

2) the Seattle setting. I think that it very much harkens to OG (which was set in san. Fran.). So I was just on the fence on how it was obviously cutting more ties to the OG and yet incorporating others. I think the san fran setting worked because since it is a real place that most people can imagine without ever visiting you can have broad shots do relatively little work trying to establish the setting. Not that it is easy, but creating fictional towns requires more work to be good. You have to establish the towns character the residents and general layout or else it might as well be any town. So in some ways the seattle base and constant travel will be easier than developing a town which will leave some more time to character and lore building. I will probably end up liking it but just on the fence while watching.

3. Evil Assassin's orbing. So I dont know if anyone noticed but it seemed to be a combination of Harry's new orbing effect and the old Dark Lighters smokey effect (arguably parker's shadow demon effect) The center was the orangy (from my screen) orb effect that Harry had (I like it better than the swirling in and out of last season). So obviously leaves lots of questions, and I an looking forward to that, but on the fence because of . . . Reasons. I'll just tell you. While I like the new orb effect better than probably the OG and the first season of the reboot, changing the effects always kind of takes me a moment to get used to. And now that the evil assassin has it's own type of orbing it is just more orbing effects and my brain is gonna take a moment to catch up.

How did y'all feel about it though? My fellow Hacy fans did I miss something? Please let me know what yall took away from it!

New to my reviewish lists (appreciation bullets). Things that I appreciated even though they are either small or not elaborated fully.

Harry still likes a good party! Nice to see Harry while getting more serious slice of the pie than the first half of the season is still funny. And I liked that he liked parties

Demon/witch war. So I mean I listed all the wars a war was the most realistic and natural course in previous posts and I cant believe I missed the one they seem to be going with. Elders offered protection as a government with them gone and whitelighters gone (arguably the hands and feet of the elders) witches are vulnerable to attacks. I new they would be and that demons would attack as the government fell but I was mostly thinking organization wise. I didnt think about the obvious omg witches didnt just lose a governing body they lost the built in protection that body provided which again should have been a DUH! Thing to realize but I miss it.

So the start of a rivalmance between Maggie and Jordan....definitely different from Parker if that is the direction they are heading. I am a sucker for a rivalmance

Love Triangle between dark Harry, Macy, and Harry. . .I didnt know I needed it until now

Wizard of oz reference. Nuff said.