#and the type of dynamic that only comes from knowing someone 8+ years

[catmaidetho]

if the pairing appears on multiple servers w a different dynamic, feel free to specify which one u think u'd be in the tags :)

[merowkittie]

Sugar Baby — Capt. John Price . Epilogue

summary: after a breakup with an ex, you end up on dating apps looking for someone to bring you some fun; entertainment. you happen to meet a military man, who’s looking for the same thing, but to spoil. who are you to decline his message asking if you wanted to be his sugar baby and tend to some of his needs?

warnings: abusive toxic ex / age gap (reader is like 24 in my head, price is late 30’s) / sugar daddy/baby dynamics / r calls john daddy / nsfw this get nastyyy (later on)

note: hi sweets, i’m officially writing again and i’m so excited to start this mini series with a little backstory/epilogue. i will say the reader is written gender neutral (do note that i use fem images to layout settings/tones for my fics!!) and i do write my reader as black presenting esp feature wise :). i may slip up and use some feminine elements here and there but it will be overall neutral.

enjoy sweets ( ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ഒ

“No Cass, you don’t understand, he sat there and played in my face for 2 years! There’s nothing to be calm about.” An aggravated sigh left your mouth as the hand holding your phone shook in anger. Your knuckles were white from the grip you were holding the poor thing in. Your free hand held the bridge of your nose as you tilted your head back, resting against the tub.

Sat in your bathtub inside of the small apartment, you thought taking a nice soothing rose water bath would relax you. It did everything but that. Even with the dim lights, candles for aromatherapy, and the oils that were infused with the bath water, your nerves were high and everything was telling you to do something!

Luckily your great friend Cass was here to save the day. She was on the phone telling you to look for other options, people come and go, live life and have fun.

“There’s no use getting hung up on a man that wants nothing to do with you, babe.” she said on the other end of the phone. Cass was always the type to forget about a man the next day and fuck one the next morning and she was trying to convert you to do the same thing.

You were never like that. Simply reserved and let things come to you. One thing Cass always applauded you on was your patience but she’s seeing now how little you have left.

“I swear i should’ve listened to my gut before. You know i’m always right!”

“Always. You’re like my own personal 8 ball!” Cass giggled on the other end. “Is your gut telling you to do something specific right now?”

For a moment you stopped and tried to see if your gut was tingling and it was. Your eyes drifted to a wine bottle by your side, pink moscato.

With a hum you looked down at the bath water and thought to yourself about different things to do.

“My gut is telling me to get drunk and break this bottle over his head.” You smiled to yourself as you placed the phone on the floor, putting it on speaker and grabbing the wine bottle.

Cass laughed at the idea. Knowing her, she’d be down for that and way more. A night out with the two of you meant hangovers, no regrets, and pleasure for the whole night and maybe the morning after. “I’m down but not tonight. Mom’s over and she’s gonna go nuts if she sees me in my club outfit.” She groaned at the thought.

You chuckled at that and sighed, back to square one of figuring out what to do with a wasted night.

It was silent between the two of you for a minute, you casually sipped on the wine, thinking about how you could’ve fucked up, why he didn’t tell you how he was feeling, and who the bitch was that he cheated on you with. As far as you were aware, he had an affair with someone for a year while you two were together.

You only found out because he came home smelling like perfume that wasn’t yours and drunk talking about how he fucked someone on your last anniversary. What a loser.

“Listen, you know he was like borderline abusive to you right?” She pointed out. Reminding you on what type of person he really was. “He wouldn’t even let you hang out with me half the time. Rarely let you go out by yourself, and let’s not talk about that time i caught him hitting you during the spring party at work..”

Shaking your head, you gently massaged your temples.

When she walked in on that, you had to beg her not to call anyone or the police, in fear of what he could do to you after the fact. That day was the first time he hit you, and for some reason it continued randomly but rarely after.

Sometimes he’d pull you into him, loving you and telling you he’d always be there, then you’d do something like break a dish, hangout with Cass, or get catcalled when you’re minding your business and then the whole relationship is ruined and he’s angry. He never could control his anger properly.

“Yea.. You’re right and I only put myself through that because I thought he meant how he felt for me.. but Cass this is hard.” You took a long sip of your moscato, thinking back to how he treated you.

“I just don’t want you going through that again. I know you’re a strong girl on your own, you could totally whoop my ass.” She joked, “But let’s get over this piece of shit? I mean he really wasn’t worth it anyways. We can go clubbing soon and get hot men to buy us drinks.”

You both giggled at the idea. That was how most of your nights went. It didn’t help you two befriended like half the bouncers in the area.

“Hey babe are you down for idea time?” Cass asked.

“Yea, what’s up?”

“Ok, so I think you should get on a dating app. Don’t hate yet!—” she cut off your loud obnoxious sigh, knowing you have a disdain for those apps. “I’ll help you set your account up right now. You know what the men look like on some of these?? HOT!”

At this point you felt a tad desperate but hey, it was worth a try right? Who knows, maybe you could find someone who will treat you right for once.

“Oh god. Ok Cass.. let me prepare myself though.” You whined as you took one last big swing of your wine before picking your phone back up and downloading one of the dreaded dating apps she sent you.

She began to instruct you on how to set your account up, specific pictures to put, a bio describing yourself and etc. It was relatively easy and by the time you finished you left your bath and sat in your bedroom wrapped in a silk robe smelling like coconuts and vanilla, a night outfit, and a bonnet to hold your locs.

You bickered about some of the people you came across, who was cute, ugly, who looked like they had money, and just browsed through different options both male and female.

Cass wasn’t feeling half of the people who matched you and you weren’t really either. They either didn’t meet your tastes, not pretty in the face, or just gave bad vibes.

Until after giving up for half an hour and playing imessage games, your phone went off with a message reading.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

At first you were confused and talked it over with Cass, trying to remember who this John was and how he looked before your horny ass must’ve fast matched him.

“Wait isn’t this the dilf we were screaming over??” She said over the phone, you could tell she was getting excited.

Your eyes lit up and the gears turned in your head. While waiting for interesting people you came across a man named John Price, and his bio said how he was a man in the military looking for a potential sugar baby to talk to when he was home.

This obviously piqued your interests because the one photo he provided that showed his muscled body in a dress suit and looking away made your mouth drool in seconds.

He was a sight to take in and if he needed someone to just talk to him, you were ready.

“Oh Shit! Ok, Cass I need to lock in. I will call you back when i’m done with an update.” You promised into the mic of your phone.

She giggled and said her goodbyes before hanging up.

Now alone with this sexy man texting you, you were a bit nervous but so so excited for a possibility.

Opening the dm, you began to type.

“Hey Handsome.”

You bit your lip anticipating his incoming reply. He was quite the mystery man from the singular photo on his account and little information in his bio.

“What’s a pretty thing like you doing swiping on my profile?”

A giggle left your lips like a school girl with a crush when you read the compliment. A ‘pretty thing’. It’s good to know he finds you attractive.

Y: “I liked what I saw.

It’s nice to know you think i’m pretty. <3”

J: “More than. You’re beautiful, darling.

Tell me a bit about yourself, yea?”

Y: “What do you want to know? I’m pretty much an open book. ;)”

J: “That’s good to know.

What’re you interested in?”

You began to tell John about your interests, even asking about his. The way he spoke through these messages held a tone of authority, dominance. He guided the conversation and you didn’t feel bored at all throughout your talking. He was also constantly complimenting you, praising you on things you’ve accomplished. John was pulling you in quickly, you knew you’d have to keep him around.

You learned that he’s a captain in the military and that’s it about his work life. He didn’t seem to like to speak about it too much, rather more interested in your work and social life instead. In the back of your mind was still his little comment in his bio mentioning how he was looking for a sugar baby.

And It’s like he read your mind because after a while of talking about each other he finally asked,

J: “Sweetheart, you’re really piquing my interest. You don’t got a boyfriend at home?”

Y: “Nope. Why? Interested in filling that spot?”

J: “Haha. You don’t want me, lovie.”

Y: “But what if i do?

We don’t have to be in a relationship.. We can be fuck buddies. ;)”

J: “Dirty girl.

You wanna be my sugar baby? I need a sweet naughty thing like you.”

To say you were gagged would be an understatement. You sat for a minute or two looking over the text and thinking through your head. What would this entitle? You’ve never done something somewhat scandalous like this. Though you didn’t want to make him wait and think over this way too long. So you went with that gut feeling and replied with your yes.

Y: “Only if i’m going to be spoiled with the best?”

J: “Nothing but the best and more. You don’t deserve anything less.”

Y: “Then yes. When’s our first meeting then daddy? 💋”

J: “I can take you to a bar tomorrow night. Nothing shabby, it’s fancy and I’ll say they have the best Margarita’s and Manhattan’s I’ve ever tasted.

And we can talk about some rules to establish here?”

Y: “Rules? Why not talk about them now?”

J: “I’d rather discuss all of that in person. Don’t worry your pretty head though.

Only one rule. Shouldn’t be hard yea?”

Y: “Hmm so i have to wait until tmrw?”

J: “Precisely. You should love the bar though.”

Y: “Should i get dolled up then? ;)”

J: “Yes. I’ll pick you up around 9. Send me your address and your number?”

Y: “You’re not gonna kidnap me are you captain military man?”

J: “No darling. Not looking to scare away a pretty lady.”

Y: “Hmm. Ok then. Here’s my number and address xx-xxxx xxxx.

Don’t stand me up. And don’t kidnap me!!!”

J: “Wouldn’t dream of it.

Goodnight, Baby.”

Y: “Goodnight, Handsome.”

With that you turned your phone off and closed your eyes, inhaling deeply to register the events that have just occurred. So many questions were running through your mind though so much thrill and excitement was replacing it quickly.

Was this man a blessing after such distressing weeks? Maybe this was your fun and entertainment you were looking for.

You’d have to figure that out tomorrow night.

Taglist: @joufrance @muddy-rat @iluvyvonne @scnee @s-a-v-a-n-a-34 @vkeyy @somewhatfantasticalreality @starriestarlight @blues-of-neptune @ohdrey89 @serialkillerattracterhopefully

(lmk if you want to be added for future parts!)

[anxious-witch]

I think the reason why there are so many amazing ships in Dead Boy Detectives is because the show manages to show different versions of love/lust/devotion through different relationships all characters have.

Like, love triangles have been doing the whole "a girl has to choose between two guys who each being out a different side of her" for over a decade in popular media, some more, some less successfully. But the pitfall they often fall into is that those differences seem very shallow and often ignore the other aspect of the main person who have to choose between the love interests.

Dead Boy Detectives makes sure to not do that.

When we look at how Charles is with Crystal vs how he is with Edwin, we can clearly see the difference. In the beginning of his and Crystal's dynamic, he is flirtier and puts more if a bravado, but he pretty quickly opens up to her. Because he sees that she very quickly sees past his facade he puts up with his constant happy-go-lucky persona. Only when he starts opening up to her and showing his emotions does their relationship progress. Because after David, Crystal needs someone who can be emotionally vulnerable with her and in turn, Charles offers her the same, and offers her a safe space.

In contrast, we see that Charles is more at ease around Edwin. They know each other deeply, and are also woven into each other at this point. It's easy, like breathing. One thing it doesn't do is challenge either of them from the status quo they have built over the years. But there is a sense of ease there, and such devotion. There is no question about what they would do for each other because the answer is everything.

That said, while they both bring out different sides of Charles, those sides of him feel intricately linked to one another! Which is why Crystal coming into the pictures begins changing Charles' relationship with Edwin as well! It brings to light things they have ignored. And in turn, Charles' clear and unwavering devotion and loyalty to Edwin prompts Crystal to learn it herself. To quote Jenny in ep 8, "you were about to leave and never see these boys again, but now you are going to save them"? And yes, she does exactly that.

This even has influence on Edwin and Crystal's rs directly, which I can't recall ever seeing in a love triangle before, at least not in a positive sense. But it's so clear that Charles loves both of them that the other learns to love them too, and they realize their own similarities through it, too!

As for Edwin and his many love interests, well. I know there has been a lot of debate, especially around Cat King vs Charles dyankics with Edwin, but the thing is-you are comparing apples ajd oranges here.

The Cat King is enamored, fascinated by Edwin, and yeah above all, attracted to him. This dynamic serves to challenge both of their characters' beliefs and shake up the power dynamics between them. Whenever you like the Cat King or not Edwin clearly reciprocates the attraction part, at the very least.

Charles loves Edwin and is devoted to him and Edwin to him turn, as discussed above. What is difficult about their relationship is that it became stagnant due to lack of communication, which is why they needed other relationships to shake up that dynamic.

But to address the most prominent comparison I saw, which is the Cat King saying he'll wait for Edwin vs Charles going to Hell to save him.

Both are types of devotion, is the thing. A profession of love, if you will. To this day, we consider Penelope a faithful, loving and devoted wife for waiting for Odyssey for 20 years. Cat King saying he'd wait for Edwin isn't any small confession, given he is aware it could take decades, if not more.

Don't get me wrong, Charles going to literal Hell to save Edwin and succeeding where Orpheus and Eurydice failed is an enormous success and a way to show you love someone. I am not minimalizing that at all.

I am just saying that, for who these characters are and given their rs with Edwin, they did exactly what they were supposed to. They expressed in which ways Edwin had influenced them and what they can offer him if that dynamic becomes romantic.

Cat King represents experience, patience. As an immortal he has all the time in the world to wait for Edwin to return from hell, because he believes Edwin is strong enough to return on his own.

Charles represents love that breaks all obstacles in their way. He goes to save Edwin because he believes Edwin deserves to be helped in the way he helps others. He deserves to be saved.

My point is, there is no better of worse way of loving someone. The character in the love triangle choose the person that better alignes with who they are and who they wish to be as a person. So yes, you are absolutely allowed to say "I think this character would choose person a because it alignes better with their character development" but comparing the two as one being superior is kinda pointless imo? Exploring different dynamic of a character is the goal here, right? Either through canon or fanon.

...I was gonna talk about Crystal/Niko and Edwin/Monty too but this post got away from me to uhh. Might do another one if anyone is interested but in their way! I adore the way DBDA explores different sides of characters while still making them feel like a fully rounded person and doesn't shy away from letting one rs influence other rs character has.

[straycalamities]

Hello, how are you

Why do you Like Entre and Swag?

i’ve been sick almost the entire past week but i think im getting better

do you mean as a relationship? ho boy. well, first of all, seeing as a lot of ships ive gotten into after it end up sharing a lot of similarities, i think its safe to say it became one of my favorite ship dynamics period

this got long fast

enemies/rivals-to-lovers isn’t anything new for me seeing as i dedicated, on-and-off, 8+ years to naruto and sasuke as one of my first hardcore ships that i still enjoy

and in general i just really like ships between characters who bicker and banter a lot (vash and wolfwood from trigun being a perfect example of this) but still being something more significant to each other than either of them truly realize until it sinks in either slowly or forcefully

and especially as i’ve grown older, i’ve gotten more and more and more interested in the intricacies and complications of having two very…hmmm damaged? i guess? personalities trying to find something that works because they need it to

which the other two ships have as well, but in a more “toxic yaoi” way, ya feel? LMAO like! hannibal and will graham from the hit show :) which that came after swagtre but it still stands as it got me to appreciate that aspect of their relationship even more than i did

swagtre is in no way synonymous to hannigram. hannigram is on a different level of delicious toxic yaoi, BUT it goes to show what ive opened up my ship palate to voraciously

even so, that’s moreso the early stage of their relationship, which is fun! but also not the whole story

i guess the main thing that initially drew me in was that i’ve always had a weakness for characters like swag. he’s so full of bravado, performative self-interest, defusing every little thing with a joke, and all the while coming off as a destructive idiotic selfish little brat. meanwhile the truth that resides is much deeper than that. that he does care, he just doesn’t know how, so he does his best which…is easily overlooked because he’s uncomfortable with being seen for being genuine in any way because it makes him feel vulnerable and blah blah this ain’t a swag study

but anyways truffula flu made me like him a normal amount! :)

then there’s entre who wears his heart on his sleeve moreso. he’s always been more honestly reactive, that’s why his mainverse it’s so fun to pick on him, and it didn’t get numbed by the apocalypse all that much. entres also a guy who takes things for face value at first. then there’s also the fact he used to have such a hero/senpai-crush on swag before the whole thing even happened and they’d even became pretty friendly acquaintances

and now he’s having to wrestle with the fact everyone who used to like him, hates him, except dave and bitter. and anyone else that might? probably dead. and of course! why wouldn’t they? his big mistake that cost the world

and swag is the loudest reminder of them all. forcibly inching and digging and clawing his way into entres psyche and mind until he finds himself using all of swags same words at himself during moments of self-hatred. self-hatred that’s been there all his life but now it has a burning world to reference. and swags voice mingling with his mother’s.

and entre may get defensive and bite back and try to turn things around on swag, but he can never truly say swags wrong. because he’s not! entre fucked up everyone else’s lives over a deeply selfish and shallowly thought-through decision. and even if swag is also a capitalist self-serving asshole, well he only destroyed his own environment, he didn’t end civilization as they know it

and that just makes it worse than the preachy “hippie” types that used to nag at him before. someone who’s in his same ilk is now berating him

and while entres never Not risen to rage-bait. he absolutely never took the phrase “don’t feed the trolls” to heart, he also has deeper reasons why with swag he always throws himself at the opportunity to try and defend or twist things, because it’s hitting him so much harder than everyone else (besides 72)

so yes, when swag keeps saying entres obsessed with him, he’s actually right! entre IS and has been since swag forced the jester hat on him and paraded him around camp as a spectacle. one that he can never truly deny that he deserves

i also think we should go back to entres pre-apocalypse feelings about swag because it’s important to note that entre wanted to Be swag. he looked at swag and saw the man he wanted to grow into. maybe less childish and gross, but the charisma behind it all, the way that even despite that, he had so many wrapped around his finger and every word

and the thing with early entre, is he always directly compared himself with other oncelers. sizing himself up against them and like…really it just makes sense right? to him, they were all iterations of himself, achieving and accomplishing or even failing different things. and even if at first the multiverse unnerved him, he started to use it to his advantage. i mean he got 72 to mentor him, he was lifting tips n tricks off others like swag, and he was directly taking notes on how Not to be off others (One, Bitter, Strangecase, Stone (sorry man ilu) and more bc this list is longer than the idol list LMAO)

so thats just more to really hammer in how intrinsic to entres identity swag became and it became more palpable in the worst way in truffula flu

this is all as an aside to the crushing guilt of his giant mistake itself but we all know how he feels abt that

and for swag, i mean don’t take my word here as word of god because i don’t THINK my theory here is confirmed to be canon, but im pretty sure he saw himself in entre as well. like it went both ways. and swag felt fear AND i guess relief? if that makes sense that it was entre instead of him. like this guy is very much Like him and any of them coulda done this, but it was entre, not swag. and that’s why swag is very insistent on not letting entre forget it, because deep down he’s terrified that it could’ve been him if entre hadn’t done it first

and so he looks down on him and beats him even further down as a way to kinda uhhh make himself feel better? except it doesnt. it never makes him feel better but it DOES make him feel not as worse as he could, or thinks he could if he just let the guy go after daring to make such a fool of himself in front of everyone

i think, as much as entre sees himself and how he wants himself to be in swag, swag sees himself in entre and what he doesn't want to be. and entre changes it to him seeing all the stuff he doesn't like about swag, the pieces of him he doesn't want to mimic because he refuses to continue to admit to himself that he still envies and looks up to the man swag is, because even at the end of the world, he's one of the few who seems to have something figured out that works for him. he actually seems to enjoy himself in this hell. he seems to feel free to find happiness and entre couldnt be more envious of that

but then as more and more people crowd into their camp, and they get to a baseline and learn the uhhh capabilities of their survival companions, they also learn to realize that they operate on the same wavelength the most even if neither of them admit it. obviously everyone wants out of this hell, but i dont think any of them tenaciously chase after that ambition as much as swag and entre do, for their own reasons

most of the rest of the camp has taken a sort of acceptance to the situation either in a pragmatic or pessimistic way. and of course nobody wants this to stay the way it is, but they don't have that sort of...all-encompassing fire to find a way to reverse their situations as much as swag and entre. i mean we did have bitter's optimism for a bit there, but he was doomed so like...what other option did he have other than believing in entre, but it was absolutely rooted in nothing. even entre knew that.entre especially knew that. bitter was deteriorating the fastest he'd ever seen it and if he hadn't been able to find a way to slow it down in the other ppl who took weeks to turn, then what was he going to do for the guy taking days?

so all bitter's optimism did was make entre feel sicker with guilt for everything and completely drove the little grip he had on hope into the ground. especially by making him take his first un-turned life. especially because, i think we have to address this here to fully understand why entre goes the way he does afterwards: bitter was never truly bitter to entre. bitter was himself. bitter was the likely future entre saw himself walking towards. out of every other onceler further ahead along from him, successful or aftermath or otherwise, bitter felt the most real for him

bitter was always his own failure even before it happened literally and live right before his eyes. that's always what he meant to entre even in mainverse/pre-truffula flu. that's why he made such a dedication to trying to butt his way into bitter's life. that's why he spoiled him and wormed his way into his heart, because he was trying to put that energy out there that one day, if this were to become literally his fate, someone would do this for him as well. or maybe he'd put enough good karma out there with doing this for bitter, that this wouldn't even become him at all!

that is exactly why entre was so stricken after his death. that's why it hurt and broke him so hard. he didn't know bitter long enough for his cries of "he's my best friend!" to fully be true. if anyone was entre's best friend at the time, it was 72, or dave, or his own mother. it was not bitter, bitter was his pet project. bitter was the poisoned dart that seared in striking him, and slowly ate at him after he was gone. bitter was him fully being unable to run from the consequences and culpability of his own actions. because now this was something that was clearly, unignorably, happening right in front of his eyes and now the blood was directly on his hands

bitter was his future self and his sealed demise that came with it. bitter was his destroyed future. bitter was his own mortality.

entre does come to realize something akin to this later on, but i guess i didn't make it understandable enough because i think a lot of people missed that this was the true narrative going on underneath the surface. which is my bad and on me, i could've done a better job, but ya. this was always my intention and it's a very key part in understanding why entre is the way he becomes and does what he does afterwards

which, back to swag, is his doing to entre. because swag does strong-arm him into and making him believe there was no alternative to entre killing bitter who swag DID, as anyone else did at the time, believe entre's statement that entre saw him as his best friend, but that also meant that was even more entre's problem to solve to him. and it's something entre finds hard to forgive swag for for a while after, even as his own guilt berates him for his own involvement in creating this fate for bitter, there's always that part of him that blames swag for forcing him to actually face the consequences of his actions. because, as most oncelers, entre doesnt like that very much LMAO

and yet despite it all, it still, in its own twisted way, makes him feel the most seen by swag. if that makes sense?? especially as 72 made it abundantly clear he was disappointed in him and didn't even seem to know who entre really was anymore. the survival needs and guilt had warped entre towards a vitriolic survivalist away from that bright eyed young man that he had taken in.

and then of course, nobody else really seemed to want to push a deeper connection with him at the time for this or that reason. so he had dave, who he personally saw as still just an employee so of course dave was with him and on his side, he had that employee loyalty. dave became his right hand, but that also meant that entre felt that he couldnt confide as much in dave because it's hard to explain but it's like...since dave was working FOR him, he didn't want to muddle it up with personal feelings to keep dave sharp. that's what entre thought at the time anyways

and so, for better or worse (mainly worse) who stuck around and kept nosing endlessly into entre's business and his life and burying himself in his side like a thorn he couldnt remove and absolutely couldnt forget. well that was swag.

in this sort of fucked up whirlwind...swag became the most emotionally significant person in entre's life. especially as swag started to show that he DID gave at least half a shit. and after their shouting matches that got swag to admit this little tip of the iceberg or that. entre did get to wondering what else there was going on underneath that. it became something he wanted to dig at to find out.

despite how they bickered and butted heads, entre always felt more comfy telling swag things he wouldnt or would no longer tell anyone else. swag's little bits of sympathy or lightheartedness became little crumbs of something that entre subsisted off of to keep going, because, despite everything, he still looked up to him. he still admired him and what he was capable of and what he could do. and how he didnt seem to let anything that was going on bring him down. he kept his shine.

and for swag (again not word of god here) i think he liked that entre DID butt against him. obviously he had fun with rocky and one. but (and this IS word of god/confirmed canon) they weren't as much his friends as he touted they were. swag struggles creating (and especially maintaining) close relationships. they make him vulnerable and they come with stakes and things to lose. so swag always kept his relationships fair-weathered and shallow. (aside from just not knowing how to be genuinely real and vulnerable with people in a way that COULD cultivate a close relationship) he sure did say and shallowly BELIEVED they were deeper than what they were, but deep down...he had an idea that were push come to shove...he wouldnt mourn anyone as much as your normal guy would mourn his true friends and he felt that it was mutual.

so as much as he ran away from it, swag felt very alone. swag always has issues with loneliness and that's why he throws himself from person to person and has to be the loudest and brightest and funniest in the room. and hey even if you hate what youre hearing and seeing, he's still got your attention. and that can be good enough when it comes down to it. (end of word of god/confirmed canon swag stuff)

but yeah i think that...not that rocky or one were yes-men or anything, but i mean they kinda just worked with his antics and like okay yeah here we go, swag stuff again yay(or nay) but entre always was fighting it. he didnt just accept swag entirely for this way or that, he was always critiquing, always challenging, always prodding back as strongly as swag prodded him. and i think that change of pace is what kept swag coming back over and over beyond the other stuff i said earlier

and like...as the guy at the center of it all, i think even swag said it himself at some point, if anyone knew how to get them back out of this mess it was him. and as swag said: he saw entre as a way better leader than him. even if it personally irked and annoyed him, himself when it happened to him. entre clearly had figured out his stuff and what he'd say had merit (just not with swag who always knew better for himself)

so if entre saw swag as the better leader for his charisma and weird optimism, then swag saw entre as the better one for his pragmatism and his knack for staying rational most of the time. i think that's also why entre's slip in lucidity bothered swag a whole lot because...if entre couldn't be the rational one, they were screwed. he'd gotten used to entre being a kinda...logical pillar to bounce off of, so if he was losing his touch with reality, that was going to doom the lot of them (even him). it's also with (word of god) swag's deep deep fear of abandonment so...if entre abandons his own senses, he's abandoning Swag and that Cannot Happen

this is a whole lot but its really hard for me to explain the why FULLY without dragging out all the nuances and complexities to their relationship because THAT'S WHY!!! it's SOOO complex and there's so many layers and nuances to everything that had to keep working in a certain way to go in a positive direction or else it all fell apart, as we saw, over and over

they both have so many issues that hold them back in ways and then theyre both so damn stubborn that it ended up making them even getting along as FRIENDS a damn slow-burn (and i am, always, a sucker for a slow-burn. one of my main weaknesses in a ship)

you can see they both end up wanting that, even if neither of them would admit it. but they both, as businessmen, saw their cooperation as fruitful for the success of themselves and the camp. it was just all this other baggage going on making it hard

so then we get the hospital. where rocky gets his harsh taste of the reality of their situation and he gets HIS humble pie of his own mortality, pushing him away from swag who remains reckless. and then entre, feeling ostracized from literally everyone and even having a hard conversation with 72 in the elevator, when it all comes down to it, and they seem doomed. he lets himself be weak and falls a bit into swag. and this is where it changes a lot of things for entre. this moment of weakness he was pushed into by fearing it was this or never.

because obviously they get saved and then it's swag losing his foot or getting left behind for zombie-chow and OBVIOUSLY the latter isnt an option so...entre makes that call and then cant go through with it because swag's fear is shaking him to his core in a way he never thought would happen. like he let himself get weak and it's immediately striking him in a soft spot that changes him for the rest of the story

i think it's here where he gets that kinda "oh..." deep deep down. that wow. yeah. swag is much more significant to him than previously believed. that leads into the hardware store where slowly and surely, swag becomes his precious possession. swag's the only one that believes in him. swag's the only one that understands him. swag's the only one he wants to be around. nobody can touch or harm swag but him. swag is his responsibility. swag is his, his, his.

and this is very very poisoned by entre's deteriorating state of mind and emotional health. the man is a long-coming disaster finally starting to collapse on himself. and the centerpin of it all is keeping swag safe and to himself because swag's the only good he sees right now in this hell of a world. swag's words become law in his mind. if swag says he has to be more of a leader, more assertive, he'll take that and run marathons with it. anything to make swag proud of him

because that's another thing is entre has just...always chased someone being proud of him or happy with him. or that he was doing good or whatever. a common onceler problem with the way that Once-ler Mama just Is but yes...it's always been a big deal for entre. he's terrified of failure. and he's terrified of disappointing people who mean something to him. so he'll do whatever it takes to make swag proud and it's not like the rest of thee camp know better than Him what's the Greater Good for them, of course. he's the leader. he's the one who created all this. this is his world and he knows everything about it better than anyone.

meanwhile swag's too fucked up on having his wings finally clipped after leaving off the high of true and total freedom for so long. that he has to stew with no escapism and let the reality of his life as it is now sink in. old ghosts start to catch up to him and new horrors start to sink in. that and the pain meds of course, but through it all, he's still operating on that trust he's placed in entre. entre's a weirdo, but he always takes care of him and spoils him as much as he can. and it makes swag not wanna question, not that he has a leg to stand on (ha) currently anyways when it comes to that. he doesnt know anything going on outside his door. and to be honest, i think that's the part of this shitty situation that he likes. he's clearly tired and been tired of feeling responsible for other people, but he also cant help himself because of his deep need to try and keep as many people in his life as possible because that means the ones that leave have a lot more replacements

but yeah obviously when he gets out and suddenly everyone is his responsibility again and it's up to him to be the hero (in his perspective) he puts entre in his place in the only way he knows how, but at this point...he's reached an understanding of entre and entre HAS become more significant to him than just a business partner. and he's starting to act on the parts of entre he can see in himself and so despite entre fucking up (yet again) he sees it as entre just trying to do what he was guided to in the best way he could manage and swag has little issue just being like ok you fucked up but who cares about that anymore

he has a better understanding on how entre thinks and what he wants (not a great one but a better one) and i think he knows that to endlessly punish entre and leave him alone would just make him way worse and so he decides to stick with him himself (i also think this is also swag's abandonment issues)

i don't think has very recognizable romantic feelings for entre at this point, but entre very much does for swag. so this keeps entre on his feet as much as it can despite the whole spectacle of it being something that'd drive him, any other time, to a long walk off a short pier. but it had to be a spectacle for swag because he had to show to everyone that hey hes here and hes the one fixing things! youre welcome!

but it's still a harrowing experience that strip entre down to the bone and he might be at his lowest he's been since bitter. maybe even lower, but then the prisma event happens and, if entre's event stripped entre to the bone, swag's stripped swag to the marrow

and if there's one thing about entre, it's fixing problems that aren't his own is one of the best ways to keep him moving. even if to anyone else, what swag's been doing this entire time for entre is the Absolute Bare Minimum, in entre's persective, with what he knows and observes from swag, it's worlds and worlds. so when the tables turn, entre feels like it's his turn to give back. and maybe the tables didnt entirely turn on their own, but entre pushed them to. he spun it.

swag was already knocked down a peg by losing his foot, but losing his emotional stability, his comfort, his optimism in this hopeless world. being abandoned by someone that was more dear to him than the others. that slammed him rockbottom. he stopped caring about if people liked him or not because why bother? they're all going to die or leave anyways. i think he knew sooner than we think that rocky was infected, and one was always him being purposefully obtuse. he knew what his fate was. everyone was going to leave him now. and he refused to care about it anymore

shoving everyone away and hermitting in himself. the same careful practices he berated and mocked entre for are things he'd come up with on his own. he was there to be useful now in a direct way. with practical ideas, survivalism, and physical labor. if there was no more joy or optimism, whatever. they were alive. and his joy didn't get to smile anymore so no one deserved to

i think it was the one-two combo of prisma and rocky that really did swag in because, even if i said he doesnt get Actually close to people, he still considered them his. like those are his people and he's going to lose them all. they're all going to leave him behind on this earth that he's been knew for a while fucking sucked shit, but as long as he got to have fun it hadn't mattered, but now he can't

and entre kinda...accidentally did the best thing he could've for swag at this time. he also felt alone, discarded, from the queen piece on the board to a pawn. and so he clung to the only thing he'd found reliability in over and over for better or worse: swag

in general, in this arc, i was working on him taking this giant blow to his ego as a humbling moment to have him kinda try to make amends and create meaningful relationships (or repair the existing ones) with the others in the camp, but being that he thought none of them wanted anything to do with him, his main focus was always swag. swag was the only one besides dave that he thought without a doubt, wanted him around in some capacity beyond being useful

and it's not that entre is a stranger to only being seen for his usefulness, so he bared down into that otherwise, but having tasted the high life...that's why he stuck to swag. he was back to eating those crumbs like addictive delicacies and they tasted even sweeter this time. they end up becoming very, very codependent on each other. they were before a bit too but here, especially so,

but with entre's tanked self-esteem (and it was already pretty bad before) and his sense of duty and taking responsibility, he takes to his role like a duck to water. but it's kinda...funny bc they both become both roles in a codependent relationship??? so it's like...codependency in its most truest realized form lmao

it's starts especially one way but then entre gets sick and it flips the other way, but entre's still trying to maintain the original set-up. this is also where their relationship becomes physical. from affections kept away from others' eyes, to deeper kinds of intimacy. i think with all that they've lost and are doomed to lose, they find their old coping mechanisms (which were never healthy or actually worked either tbqh lmao) just weren't cutting it anymore so then they turned to other things

with like...needing a more direct and physical and raw way to show each other they're still alive, still here, still significant to each other. swag initiates it more, i think, because while they're both on the asexual spectrum. swag's is demi. so this goes to show just how emotionally important entre's become to him, but also i think it's because of yknow...how he was raised. and for him it's more comfortable to do bedroom stuff with entre than kiss him or rub his shoulders. that stuff's "for girls" (too emotionally vulnerable)

and swag starts to show his care as more of...like a direct invasive thing. where he's not going to let entre abandon him too. he's going to somehow make him better and keep him here as long as he can. and entre's taken to rolling over for nearly everyone because he doesnt feel like he's allowed to stand up for himself and this includes swag because it's clear he's doing it because he cares so it's fine right?

and that's kinda where everyone's idea of them leaves off because we never got to go past that. so i get where people, especially those who aren't a fan of toxicity in their ships, would be confused why people like swagtre so much and even for me, as much as i love a good conflict in my ships, i think if this is all it was, i wouldn't be quite as obsessed as i am. because i'll be honest!! it made me sad quite a lot LMAO but i always did it for the bit (story) above all else. because while i wanted entre to say the magic words or do the magic thing or have the magic realization that would fix it all, that's not a good story

but it really is for the later story that i've gotten so caught up. even before we confirmed the Continued story i was always caught up and daydreaming of where this could go

and i just really really love the growth they've had with each other and how many like...jumps in their characters and stuff they've made with and because of each other. entre would not be who he is today in any iteration without some of the realizations i've made through swagtre and same with swag i know with good authority

and it's just like...it takes so long to get even where we ended it. and they have all these weird labyrinthine bullshit things to work through and against and with to get anywhere. and it goes back and forth. forward and two steps backwards so much. but it's just very interesting to study and even reread or reminisce on. and even think about ways it coulda gone differently idk...i just like ships that give me multiple multiple things to chew on and think about. i like to have a full course meal. no shade to people who like other stuff but yea..that's what i personally enjoy. the more complicated, the more difficulty and personal baggage and issues they have to work through to make it work, the better

and i can't say too much on where it's confirmed to go, because that's yet to be seen (smile emoji) but yes...it gets better and idfk i just eat up to people becoming super significant to each other in an apocalypse especially if they started off hating each other?? damn

and it's addictive seeing swag start to come more and more out of his shell. i say his moments of being genuine, vulnerable, real, and raw and caring were addictive crumbs for entre BUT BITCH ME TOO TF!!!

it drives me NUTS (SLASH HUGE POSITIVE!!!!) i love being a driving force to get to see aspects of a character we wouldnt see otherwise. knowing i had a hand in swag learning things about himself and revealing things about himself he would never in other situations...yum...that's the good shit

but yes so concludes my novel on why i like swagtre including i guess an impromptu summary of their relationship

if you made it all the way to the end god damn man...love ya

[ashipiko]

NOW INTRODUCING...

—ASHI TAMADAI! ☆

Ashi Tamadai, part of the reborn Terugumi troupe! Often known as the youngest and most excitable member, the 14 year old always comes in with a splash!

TABLE OF CONTENTS—

1. Basic Info

2. Backstory/Introduction Writing

3. Trivia

4. Relationships (More may be added in future!)

5. Gallery

MORE UNDER CUT!

BASIC INFO:

Ashi Tamadai (アシ たまだい)

Troupe: Terugumi

Age: 14 (as of year 1 of Terugumi, year 2 of MANKAI)

Height: 157cm

Birthday: June 5

Blood Type: AB

Occupation: 3rd Year at Kazunari’s Junior High (1st Year at Ouka High in Act 3)

Motif rock: Floral Agate

Color: Salmon #FF9175

Hobbies: Drawing, rapping, doing whatever she feels like

Favorite Food: Spam Masubi

Least favorite food: Beans of any kind

Family: Father, Mother, Older Sister (11 Years Older), Older Brother (8 Years Older)

Strengths: Energetic, multitalented, charismatic

Weaknesses: Stubborn, worries too much on if she’s being annoying

CV: Sato Hinata

BACKSTORY:

Ashi’s always been the younger sister. Always at least 8 years younger than her immediate family, babied by all her cousins, and often treated as the youngest in school friend groups. Due to her age, of course. A birthday like June 5th didn’t help, finally catching up to other kids at the end of the school year. Everyone around her was older, and that always set her in the role of the youngest.

It was like tradition. Something you’re unable to break— “Would you mind babysitting Ashi while I’m gone?”, “Are you sure you can stay home by yourself?”, “Here, let me get this for you.”— An unbreakable curse. No matter what she did, how she tried to prove herself, it would just result in her being seen as stupid or incompetent, and she’d be back in the high chair.

It gets old at some point.

One day, she visited her cousin Kazunari Miyoshi, and heard of his debut in the new MANKAI company. Ashi wanted to show all her support to her favorite cousin, of course, so she bought a ticket as soon as she could. She sat in her seat, within in the sea of observers, and didn’t expect much except an outstanding performance. But that play— seeing Kazunari as Aladdin, alongside Tenma Sumeragi as Alibaba— it opened her eyes.

Seeing the star actor, known for his cool roles, acting in a comedy was such a breath of fresh air. Seeing her cousin, who she knew was more that what met the eye, say his thanks to the audience in such a genuine tone...

It helped her realize that acting was a way to escape from your usual persona and try something new. To branch out to different aspects. To be someone other than yourself. A chance to prove that you were more than what met the eye.

Ashi wanted that. More than anything.

Once she left the theater, she immediately started on her new journey. To find people who accepted her for who she truly is, and to see past what she seems to be. To find people who want to know her, to find a group where she feels she really belongs.

She found that auditioning for troupes around her area was the best way to go about it. If Kazunari can do it, why can’t she? So every week she visited a new troupe, giving her best, most dynamic audition to the directors. Sometimes she’d make the cut, but it didn’t matter anyways. Because again and again, she was merely casted as the background comedy character. The one you kill off, laugh over, and don’t bother to think about.

But MANKAI’s Summer Troupe plays helped her through all the failures, and every play and character she admired grew her passion for acting more and more. Seeing every actor’s happy face as they bowed and said heartfelt thanks for their standing ovation only made her dreams more powerful.

One day, she wishes she can become the shining star who blows everyone away.

One day, she wishes she can be something other than just a kid.

One day, she wishes she can prove herself to the world.

“Excuse me, I’d like to audition!”

TRIVIA:

—Ashi’s cousins to Kazunari! She’s the second youngest within her two families, with Futaba trailing behind just a little.

—She’s bilingual, knowing both Japanese and English (due to English being her first, she writes her name in English for her signature, left of her name on the introduction page).

—Ashi was born and raised in North America. However, her mom’s side of the family lived in Japan, so they would visit Japan every Summer for a long period, allowing her keep in touch with both areas. At age 12, she decided to stay in Japan permanently with her brother, who decided to stay for business reasons. She wanted to stay so that she could seek out more theater troupes along Veludo Way. In the story, her family is often mentioned as being overseas, so her older brother acts as her guardian. When she moves into the troupe, he enlists Kazunari to keep an eye on her when he can’t.

—Ashi’s two catchphrases are “Super Hype!/Hypesies!” and “Tehepero!” (referenced to in her doodle, top right of the introduction page).

—Ashi’s a part of a troupe called “Terugumi”, a reborn troupe (much like MANKAI) that’s one of the many acting troupes along Veludo. When the Terugumi story begins, it takes place after Act 2, before Act 3.

—She genuinely can’t stay awake past 12. Ashi becomes a completely different version of herself and loses all her energy, always having to hold onto someone. Kazunari brings up the memory of when they were younger, when Ashi survived off a churro at a theme park, confident she was going to make it till closing, before she passed out an hour before the park closed.

—She’s often the “little sister” with everyone she hangs out with. Ashi mainly hangs out with Kazunari, Tenma, Banri, and Azami. They all see a part of themselves in her, which leads to them getting attached easily.

—In Year 1 of MANKAI, Azami actually saved Ashi from getting jumped when she ended up lost, going the wrong way. Ever since he saved her and simply gave her his name, she always has an eye open for her “knight in shining armor”, asking around for a guy who she calls “Azami, the dark haired cutie”. She eventually gives up once she can’t find him at her junior high, but has a small sliver of hope.

—When she finds Azami again, she immediately wants to befriend him and get to know him, causing them to become fast friends and besties.

—She’s a hopeless romantic (runs in the family!)

—She raps often with Homare and Azami. They have a group chat that they barely use, and every once in a while she pops in to ask for a rhyme.

—Ashi is hilariously bad at freestyle, and runs out of rhymes quickly, but when given a solid set of lyrics she sings them super smooth.

—Ashi uses Kazunari’s nicknames for almost all of the members. The only weird exception is Juza, who she refers to as “Hyodo”. No one knows why, but it’s assumed by most that it’s due to Banri’s influence. She switches between nicknames and not-nicknames for Kazu, Tenten and Azamin. Banri’s the only one who she calls fully by name.

—She’s terrified of Chikage.

—Being called a “kid” is the biggest insult and middle finger you can give her. In her mind, being called a kid is like being called stupid, incompetent, pathetic, and everything in between. She thinks this because it was often used as a derogatory term when growing up.

—Despite being straight, she happens to attract a LOT of girls. She has a fan club a short while after she starts attending Terugumi (which is mostly girls), and girls at school have tried to pursue her at school as well. She dreads having to let them down, and feels like her charisma can be a curse at times. (“Ehh... Sometimes I wish the chocolates I get on V-Day were given by a bunch of guys instead...”)

RELATIONSHIPS (WITH MANKAI):

KAZUNARI

“Ashi, your latest inste post was super adorbs! ♪”

“Thanks Kazu! Learnt all my tricks from the expert~”

From a first glance, the cousin relationship seems more like a twin one, as they’re both excitable inste obsessed artists who can’t stop talking. But overtime, it becomes apparent that Kazunari watches over Ashi with a careful eye— They’re awfully close. It’s due to the fact that Kazunari sees a part of him in his little cousin, when they draw together in his dorm room, or when they have late night talks over the phone. His older brother instincts can’t help but kick in when he interacts with her.

He enjoys watching her grow and experience new things, especially since he can see her so much more now due to them being in local troupes. Kazunari can’t help but get a little overprotective at times, though. She’s his favorite little cuz, after all!

“Kazu! Mind hanging out with me at the mall today?”

“Bet, let’s do it! Hey, it’ll really help with my charming older bro image, don’tcha think?!”

TENMA

“Tenma… Would you mind buying this kpop album for me…? I’ll promise I’ll pay you back!”

“Sigh, what else should I expect from you at this point…”

The relationship between the two cocky O-High kids doesn’t really bloom (get it) until Kazunari mentions a resemblance between the two. At first, Tenma’s insanely confused. How could you compare him, a worldwide actor, to some 14 year old?! It takes a little clearing up to make him nod his head and quietly agree.

Kazunari notes that both of them are people who put up a strong and tough front, but in reality are just a couple of scaredy cat sheltered kids without a good idea of fun. After a couple indirect conversations, Kazunari decides to get them to start hanging out. Tenma at first is absolutely bewildered at her hyperness (more than Natsugumi, somehow) and finds it hard to talk to “kids these days”, and Ashi freaks over hanging with a celeb, but Tenma loosens up after she shares her admiration for the actor.

At some point, Tenma has to agree and say that he does see a little bit of himself in her too. He doesn’t know when— but the initial annoying feeling she gives turns into something sweet. Watching horror movies with her becomes comforting, and hiding in the blankets doesn’t feel so lonely anymore.

”O-Oi, Ashi, who turned off the lights?!”

“I-I dunno! But I’m totally fighting whoever it is! For more banger movies from Tenma Sumeragi to come! COME AT ME!”

BANRI

”Hey Ashi, you think you’re finally old enough to fist fight me?”

“Oh-Ho! You are ON!”

At first meet, Banri calls Ashi a little kid. It ends up in a fistfight in the MANKAI lounge, which has to be broken up by both Natsugumi and Akigumi. A great way to start a friendship, isn’t it?

It’s through riling up Ashi that Banri finds out she’s also a thrill seeker who’s looking for something new. Not to mention, multi-talented, just like him. It’s rare that you ever find a kid like that, and even rarer that you find a kid as fun as Ashi. Through this little banter relationship, Banri starts taking Ashi out to do different activities— Wood carving, arcades, shooting arrows— Anything new in attempts to give them a thrill. It’s through all the challenges that the yells of “YOU SUCK!” turn into laughs, even if insults still trail behind.

It’s refreshing to meet someone with the same struggles who’s willing to solve them with you. Banri doesn’t know when, but at some point it feels like he has two sisters instead of one. And Ashi can’t help but feel like she’s gained another older brother. NEO finally has a secret weapon to rival Taruchi.

“...Ashi, did you notice that Itaru’s streams have been mentioning someone named ‘Lil NEO’?”

“NOOOO! Don’t tell me I have to be associated with you on social media now...!”

AZAMI

“Hey Azamin, I found this unused eyeshadow palette at my house! You think you can use it?”

“Pfft. Is this your way of trying to get me to do your makeup again?”

Azami and Ashi are both the youngest members within their companies, and it’s definitely something they bond over often. They both have issues and hate being referred to as a kid, so during their makeup sessions, where Azami, the pro makeup artist, happily does makeup for Ashi, the pretty one who doesn’t know anything outside of skin care, they often rant and talk about annoyances within their troupes. Ashi finds it comforting that someone’s willing to listen to her seriously, and Azami finds it comforting that there’s someone else who feels the same way as him. Due to this, Ashi often comes by for Azami to test out new makeup products, since she always trusts in him and his magical skills.

Especially when they reconnect a year or two after Azami saves Ashi, Ashi can’t help but admire and fawn over Azami. “You’re so cool, Azamin! You can fight, do makeup, AND slay in every way?! You’re amazing!”, are things she says often. Azami gets a little flustered at how touchy and affectionate she is, but he can’t help but soften up after a while. Hugs are okay. Hugs are good. It feels nice gaining one from someone who looks up to you so much.

Despite their different aesthetics, the two really aren’t that different. As they hang out more and more, walking home from school, hanging out at the dorms, going to cafes, they quickly become best friends and always enjoy each others company. Ah, well, maybe they enjoy each others company a little more than they’d like to admit.

“Azami, your skills are for REAL magic! Like, you’re insane when you’re holding a brush like that...!”

“...Magic, huh? Heh. Thanks, Ashi.”

GALLERY:

[nczaversnick]

OC Name Origins Tag

Thanks to @honeybewrites for the tag :)8

Rules: I want to know how you came up with your original character’s names and personalities. Are they based on people in your real life? Are they straight from your brain? Are they a mix of several people?

The one is a little hard. There have been many names within Project Gemini and for the most part I don’t remember why I picked any of the names. It’s just been too many years. That being said, I will share instead what their names were originally and what they were changed to.

Adrian Jackson became Adrian Harlowe. He was the only one who got to keep his first name. And the only one who got a last name in the very first draft. I think. As for personality he comes from the part of me that’s still angry. Angry at my family. Angry at society. He’s the part of me that thinks I could be a revolutionary. Which is why he is one.

Raine became Caspian Álvarez. He wasn’t originally the protagonist yknow and like way more confident. Now his personality comes from the idea of being the calm to Adrians storm

Lily became Athena. She actually was the main protagonist. So obsessed with P!ATD. Athena now tho is also a compliment to Adrian but in an entirely different way. She’s an activist and meeting her was how Adrian became a rebel in the first place

Rose became Aurelia. My high school friend Aurora Rose always thought this was because of her. It wasn’t. It was because I lived near a street called Aurelius. Aurelia has always been the sweet nurturing type. Now she’s Adrian’s sister and it brings a whole new depth to their dynamic of healer and destruction that I adore so much

Luna became Iris. She went from pale leather jacket punk to badass mechanic with all the braincells. Luna started out being uncertain and easily manipulated but when I started writing Cas and Adrian, they didn’t get along like at all so someone had to be the voice of reason

Leo became Quinn. He lost his gender but they got actually be alive as part of the story. Originally Leo was dead and occasionally was a ghost. Honestly, they’ve always been a crackhead. Based on every enby I know(including myself)

Mason….didnt exist. Sorry. He’s a middle aged man who has his entire worldview dumped upside down by a bunch of queer people half his age in the span of like one afternoon. He’s confused but he’s got the spirit

Oh one more worth mentioning. The main antagonist Lucia Atore, was originally named Gene. Probably because she conducts genetic experiments. Subtle I know

Tagging: @marlowethelibrarian @moltenwrites @wyked-ao3 @fractured-shield +open tag

[orangeoctopi7]

New season of Ninjago! I'm currently six episodes in.

(also I'm writing this the morning after I watched these episodes so my thoughts might be out of order)

Awkward teenage Riyu design is cute, but in that awkward, mid-stage pokemon evolution way.

"Intelligent George" is just every adult Ninjago fan on YouTube throwing around theories over the last year.

Sorry Lloyd, prophetic dreams of doom run in the family.

Hey, wait a sec. You know who else has prophetic dreams? Why are you not going to Zane with this?

Please give Arin a "you don't need powers to be powerful" arc.

All this talk of shattering all the good inside someone is reminding me of a certain other spell used to remove all the goodness from Garmadon back in season 8, but I doubt they're actually meant to be connected.

Slightly disappointed that the pink Serpentine isn't Skales' wife.

Euphrasia couldn't take on the master of Smoke, the elemental master she probably has the best type match up against? I don't wanna sound like one of those fans, but jeez, Morro would have destroyed this guy.

The Kai-Nya siblings dynamic continues to be on point.

Wyldfyre continues to be the best character.

I was honestly expecting Sora's fear dream to be more of the same insecurities we saw from her last season, but she actually has moved past that and now she's afraid of having to go back to Imperium. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Oof, Nya's dream is giving me so many feels. This is foreshadowing, isn't it?

"Jay would never forget me. And even if he somehow did, he'd never be this calm and collected about a stranger coming up and hugging him."

Oh. Oh, we're not seeing Wyldfyre 's fear dream? Oh, she doesn't want to talk about it? *Rubbing hands together* I think we're gonna get some backstory and lore here!

*Bonzle to Cole and Geo* "You are my da-ads. You're my dad's. Boogie Woogie Woogie."

Suddenly Basketball

Ah, the dragon masters. The fact that dragons can learn spinjitzu honestly makes sense to me, all the way back in the pilot, I thought the way the dragons spun around in order to travel to the other realms was obviously related to Spinjitzu.

I like that Rontu is basically just a typical gym coach in dragon form.

Egalt, on the other hand... Well, I do really like his design. But man, he's just every bad "teaching" method from Wu rolled into an even grumpier old man. Talking down to his students, constantly being negative instead of giving positive reinforcement, no clear instructions, giving no answers or even hints to Arin's question, nothing! Maybe I care about this more than other people because I've worked as a teacher on and off for years, but even when I first started watching the show, back when I was still in college, I was already noticing these things about Wu and they already bothered me.

Anyway, calling it now, the students from "last time" Egalt keeps vague-ing were Wu and Garmadon, and Wu learned all his bad "teaching" methods from this guy.

Bonzle being a living spell is weird, but honestly not that out of the question for a crazy fantasy world like Ninjago.

Ok, so I'm going to break the first rule of enjoying Ninjago and think about the timeline. Judging by what Wu said, I'm guessing Bonzle ran into him some time early in season 2? And when did all this with the Forbidden Five happen?

Anyway, very excited to see where this is going, if only I didn't have to work today.

[onlyswan]

hi art 💓 so im rereading iw couples breakup drabble as one would do everytime shes on her period (its a canon event i think ppl would relate) and i have a few questions!!! 🥹🦋

1. what were the iw couple doing before they were in the car? like did they spend the day only to then break up? i rmb reading that jk was on tour, did he came back and break up w them right away? did he at least get them a present???!

2. what events led him to the decision? we know that prob he’s overwhelmed, the uncertainty of his career and the drabble from where he saw how draining it is on oc. but is there a bigger thing that happened?

3. u wrote that he “practiced” breaking up with oc. like is this true? how long has he thought of breaking up w oc before he actually did it? and how did oc not expect anything??? ☹️☹️

4. who is this “not married yet” girl that jk was teasing tae about? that sounds so saucYY a drabble for that would be super fun!! its gonna be super angsty too!!! hahahahhaha

5. we know jk regretted it right away after breaking up w oc, but why didn’t he backtrack and take it back? i know oc must’ve thought hes crazy but he didnt even call or text first? us reading is comforted by knowing that jk is also having the worst time, but oc doesn’t. yet theyre brave enough to be the one who reached out first, bc for all they know, jk could be with some other people right now, alr over them. did oc know that he’s not that kind of person or deep down they’re just being as brave as they can asking for what they wants which is him?

6. can we pleaseeeee have more drabbles where we can see how much the boys adore oc? or just their dynamic i would say. also do they have a special connection with each of the boys on different things? like maybe a drabble where jk & oc pack a homemade lunch to bring when visiting jin hobi or yoongi 🥹🥹

7. after the initial breakup, were things ever awkward? were there times when oc had to get used to him being in their life again or something less dramatic? did he ever see doubts or worry in oc’s eyes and is the even when he gave u reasons to drabble, the first time they had to address the traumatic event in their relationship? do they ever talk about it now? or laugh about it?

8. what happened with the “someone else i met in a bar turned out to be a jerk”??? when was this?! HAHAHHA jk must’ve lost his fucking mind after learning about this

9. kinda curious has there been a time when jk really needs quality time w oc and just brings her on tour? my dream is becoming a tour wifey so this would hit all the right spot:( esp w how easy he handled the situation from the last drabble of just inviting her to come w him. cutest ☹️

thank you so much for providing one of my comfort fics!! i hope ure having a great day🌷🥹

oh!! also!! i think we’ve never seen iw couple be on a date date, like fancy super dressed up date. is that just not them? can we see more of their date nights??

heyyy beloved i missed you 🥺🥺🥺 omg???

there are two types of onlyswan readers: one - those who reread the period drabbles then they’re on their period / two - those who reread the breakup drabble when they’re on their period 😭😭😭

ALRIGHT [cracks knuckles]

1. he broke up with oc as soon as he arrived back from tour 🥲 like literally. our guy was still jetlagged. he just wasn’t in his right mind at the time honestly. oc hopped in the car thinking they were going to spend time together someplace else but… yk what happened… ofc he got oc lotssss of presents though </3 including those gifts he talked about in the video oc watched before they called him :(

2. at the time they were already making plans about what will happen in the next few years of their career including the m word ehem ehem so. yeah he was overwhelmed and tired and he felt guilty of having to always leave oc + we know how oc is so empathetic so he also felt guilty that they have to carry his burdens as well ☹️

3. probably a month 🤨 but he didn’t actually want to break up with oc yk? it felt more like a thing that he had to do </3 so oc never suspected anything because the way he was acting towards them never changed. he wanted to hold on.

4. LMAOOOOO maybe in the future i’ll get around to that 🤞🏼 but tae was going through it for reaaaaal

5. he didn’t jump out the car to chase oc because him immediately changing his mind would’ve pissed oc off thinking that he was just playing a joke on their feelings and that would earn him a slap on the face 😭 he thought of that. and oc said they wanted to decide for theirself too :( so he wanted to respect that but he ended up becoming too much of a coward to reach out first after that bcs what if oc already decided that the breakup was for the best too 🥲 what if they hate him now 🥲 but he should’ve thought about it more from oc’s pov bcs they were suffering thinking that he alr gave up frfr </3

hmmm joon did talk to them about jk having a hard time, but during the breakup they did ask if he cheated so we know that they have this anxiety :( oc is just our bravest soldier who knows what they want and always tries their best to get it (him) 🫡

6. omg yessss more soon i’ve been thinking about one with jimin too specifically !! oc definitely bonds with each of the tannies about different things 🥺

7. yea, the even when he gave u reasons to drabble was the first time they brought it up again :( after they got back together jk really made efforts to reassure oc and that’s partly because he did see how they became kind of timid when he expresses affection. (i.e., jk saying “i didn’t love you any less and you know that.” and oc not saying anything and walking away instead) (this shit still kills me today sorry)

8. this was oc’s bf before jungkook aka guy with the dirty nails aka the ex who cursed them out like crazy when oc broke up with him (called them a slut) AND ALMOST made oc delete jungkook’s first ever texts to them bcs they lowkey started believing him. (he makes me mad sorry)

9. heeee wanted to but oc has only tried flying out for the ptd la and vegas shows bc the circumstances before then were different :( they were balancing school and multiple jobs. and we know how hard oc studied. they were so committed 😭 but now they live together and oc has a stable job and everything’s just more flexible overall so going with him overseas when he has work there is easy and not a problem at all 🥺

oh ofccc they’ve been on fancy dates esp that oc loves feeling pretty <3 but someone take me on a fancy date first so i can write about it 🤧

this is the first time someone called the giving up drabble a comfort fic lmaoooo this made my day i love you 😭 i hope i answered your questions and thank you soooo much for reading my works 🥺💕

[bldrdsh]

MUNDAY: GETTING TO KNOW YOU

respond to the following prompts out of character, then tag others you’d like to get to know a little bit better.

ROLEPLAYER NAME: Joey :]

ROLEPLAYER PRONOUNS: he/him

MUSE NAME: LOL a series ocs & canons from this blog

PREFERRED COMMUNICATION: Honestly, 100% discord.

EXPERIENCE: God like 8 years now LOL, almost 9.

PREFERRED ROLEPLAY TYPE: i do prefer longer/more plotted things, winging it only really tends to work for me if I've already got an established dynamic or if I've gotten to a point with someone where I know them well enough to be able to comfortably wing it.

PET PEEVES & DEALBREAKERS: I'm a firm believer in understanding and listening to someone when they talk about their muse. I have more than a few ocs as well as whole canons that aren't really what they seem at face value, and while I understand sometimes reading isn't feasible, do not come to me expecting to write with a certain character or in a certain verse and when I warn you about the actual nature of said character / verse, pretend like you can handle it if you can't. I can't count on one hand the number of times I've explained to someone how a certain character/verse works and then I'm effectively met with shock & frustration when the character behaves EXACTLY how I explained they would. Be realistic with your own expectations man, it saves a lot of time and frustration in the long run.

PLOTS OR MEMES: Honestly I'm always going to prefer plotting as it makes long term interactions easier, but winging it with memes every now and then isn't bad, it really just depends on my mood.

LONG REPLIES OR SHORT REPLIES: It really depends on the person/thread/plot. Sometimes little short back & forths are nice, but more often than not I prefer threads with a little more substance!

BEST TIME TO WRITE: Frankly, when I'm freshly free from work, or if I get up early enough on weekends.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSES: I think it depends on the character, I try to put a little bit of myself into each character to make them feel more real but I don't really fully identify with one character.

TAGGED BY: borrowed from @spiritcrown TAGGING: anyone who wants to !

[thesinglesjukebox]

CHUNG HA FT. HONGJOONG OF ATEEZ - "EENIE MEENIE"

Catch an idol by the toe...

[6.56]

Kayla Beardslee: Chung Ha knows how to sell glitzy seriousness, but a goofy hook that unironically uses the phrase "eenie meenie" isn’t really her forte, and the YG party chorus at the end doesn’t do anything to redeem it. The pre-chorus is the best part because it briefly allows her voice to soar instead of holding back. If only there was another more show-stopping, dynamic track that could have taken "Eenie Meenie"'s place... imagine an explosive dance-pop number with a blistering vocal performance and voguing and waacking galore... if only such a thing exis-why was "I’m Ready" not the single??? [4]

Isabel Cole: As a concept, “sexie eenie meenie miney moe,” played absolutely straight, sounds like a chapter from Jenna Maroney’s music career on 30 Rock (perhaps a Woggles collab?), but somehow I actually kind of love this? That bass line hooks me at the start, and every time I start to worry the song’s not going to live up to it something different starts happening. Despite taking the silly hook dead seriously, to my mostly monolingual ears, Chung Ha sounds like she’s having so much fun it’s infectious, spreading to both the featured rap and to me; when I put it on while washing dishes last night, I found myself dancing along unconsciously, hands covered in suds. [8]

Ian Mathers: Yes, pop music has a rich history of repurposing nursery rhymes and the like but I have a rich personal history of not living it when it happens. I do like that bass sound though — sumptuous! [6]

Taylor Alatorre: I enjoy the way that this starts off sounding like a mid-2000s Pharrell beat given an exfoliating spa treatment, and ends up sounding like a mid-2000s Pharrell beat that someone pushed down the Odessa Steps. [7]

Katherine St. Asaph: Bratz: Genie Magic type beat. [6]

Danilo Bortoli: It's 2024, and the horrors of the world have almost obliterated my ability to grasp pop and my sensitivity to it. Maybe it's for the best. Which brings me to say that I see "Eenie Meenie" as an act of extreme competence. A neatly packaged deal made from the finest sound engineering - the best and most obvious picks at hand combined and arranged to form a pretty pricey toy. I'm not complaining. Quite the opposite: I'm just a happy cynic. [7]

Nortey Dowuona: you can rap that fast wtf is this man a sorcerer or a missing member of freestyle fellowship wtf wtf wtf also how are people calling themselves billen ted involved in this and why is this so good [10]

Mark Sinker: The burden of the lyric is so much about not caring to connect -- you the audience and you the love interest just so many randoms to her -- and the chorus is so divinely glidingly self-involved and then all the mounting quirks and squirks to the building weave of the backing, and the build too of the voices behind her many voices, likely a perfectly blank porcelain-eggshell-candy palace of serene diffidence, all so much that I can’t even locate what comes after the modal verb, because look, she’s just looking the other way anyway… [7]

Will Adams: Fourteen years later is enough time for the following theory to be confirmed: you cannot base a pop song on the nursery rhyme "eenie meenie miney moe" that isn't laughably silly. [4]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[lady-sci-fi]

salty 1 and 8 for star trek?

Salty Ask List

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

Q/Picard and Quark/Odo. They have similar dynamics of chaotic gremlin troublemaker/uptight authority person, so the reasoning is the same.

I can accept that Q and Quark have unresolved sexual feelings for them. So I'll accept these as one-sided on their parts. But it feels very out of character to me for Picard and Odo to feel that back for those two specifically and then want to return it.

With Odo, we see how intense it is for him wanting something past basic friendship with Kira. He does everything he can to hide it from her. It takes an extreme situation for him to even admit it. When she does find out, he doesn't do anything about it until a year later, and that's only because of outside help.

And the one time we see Odo do a "one-off" romance, it still takes him a lot to actually do anything about it. He's not the type to "fool around" with intimacy. To do so with Quark? Forget it.

While Picard isn't as uptight about sex and romance, I still can't see him getting involved with Q like that. Like Odo, he's too selective.

Have you received anon hate? What about?

Only one comes to mind, in all my 12 years on tumblr. I wouldn't call it "hate" but certainly misguided idiocy trying to "educate" me. It's from a year and a half ago about two of my fanarts of Sisko and Geordi. You can see my response here.

I did have a great laugh about it and explaining to someone, presumably another digital artist, how COLOR and LIGHT works. 😆 (I'm 95% sure I know who sent it).

[valersia]

my thoughts on Hazbin Hotel (so far) as someone who has been waiting for 5 years :

episode 1 :

- i was a bit shocked at the microphone quality for vaggie especially (negative) and the voice change for angel dust hit me like a truck but i actually do like the new va !!!

- the camera angles and scene changes were a bit goofy but i think the trailers and advertising made them out to be worse than expected

- the angel dude being as evil as the demons was a bit confusing but learning he is meant to be Adam makes it make more sense tbh he’s like a spoiled youngest child

- the music was pretty good and it sets the scene very well for the rest of the episodes especially for new viewers

- 7/10 overall

episode 2 :

- the music again was awesome i love the range of voices and types of music, all the songs were very theatrical which i love (as a theatre kid lol)

- it was cool to see Vox and his rivalry with Alastor, seeing a bit of Alastors past was much needed but i do feel like Alastor should be more characterised and i hope they do that more in the coming episodes because rn he’s very 1D

- meeting the Vees was very entertaining and getting to know them more was cool, i like how we got to see Valentino’s character more because it made my hate for him more justified lol

- 8/10 overall

episode 3 :

- sir pentious redemption arc was much needed because he fr is just a silly little guy so i’m happy they did that

- i liked how we stemmed off from the main cast whilst also showing them doing the trust excersises. meeting the overlords and focusing on one of them was pretty cool to see the stance of the ones in power in hell. i like how we got the reveal and reminder of the dead angel.

- music slapped as usual, i love vaggie and the overlords song duet type beat because it went so hard

- and seeing more of vaggies dynamic with charlie was very interesting

- 8/10

episode 4 :

- MY FAV EPISODE. I’m so glad all the episodes got better and better as we go on

- seeing the build up to this angel dust episode was super cool, the fact husk and him have their little moment together through this song meant everything to me. they’re soulmates and i’ve thought that since 2019 !!!

- poison slaps aswell as revealing angels thoughts about his work

- seeing the darker side of hell was much needed, and seeing angel dust take down his walls was so nice to see and i’m glad we already got a angel focused episode.

- it progresses angels story as well as husks and shows charlie’s overprotective tendencies of her friends.

- 9/10 !!!

all in all, for the first 4 episodes this show is living up to what i hoped it’d be ! i’m hoping we get more alastor focused content and more angel and husk and valentino stuff because i feel like there’s a lot they can do with those characters. i won’t lie charlie is a bit annoying and as of now i feel like vaggies only character trait is being protective of charlie but i hope that changes with the next 4 episodes. anyways let me know your opinions on the show so far because i’d love to hear them :]

[starkstruck27]

Tag game: Stranger Things Edition!!

I was tagged by my bestie @oopsiedaisiesbaby. Love you!!💚💚

1. Ride or die ship (your otp): Harringrove

2. Most annoying ship: Mileven

3. Second favorite ship: probably mungrove (bonus points if I get the best of both worlds and it ends up as harringroveson)

4. Favorite platonic relationship: Either stobin or elmax. They're both amazing <3

5. Underrated ship: gonna go with elmax again for this one. Or Keg Boys. I feel like they don't get as much love as they deserve.

6. Overrated ship: normally I would say steddie, but I also love them, too, so I'm gonna say ronance. I can see it, but at the same time... meh?

7. One thing I would change in canon: a lot of the random, unneeded deaths. Bob, Billy, Alexei, Benny, Barb, Chrissy? I feel like none of those needed to happen for the plot to move along, and even if they did, like they didn't have to make them like an "Oh well, they're dead :/" thing. Like, they didn't deserve that. And even if they didn't do that, the way the other characters reacted to the deaths was kinda shallow, too. Like Nancy losing Barb would broken my heart a lot more if they didn't use her mourning as a plot device to make her lose Steve and hook up with Jonathan.

8. Something canon did right: the character dynamics. The way they had the kids fighting over petty shit while bad things were happening, how Dustin didn't have a dad so he latched onto Steve as an older brother type positive influence, the way Hopper had to get used to being a dad again and ask Joyce for help? All of that was just beautifully done.

9. A thing I'm proud of creating for the Fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: All of my works on Ao3, but probably my favorite (at the moment) is my fic So Give Him Inches and Feed Him Well or my six fic series Cool To Hate.

10. A character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Max, Lucas, Dustin and Will. They're all so sweet and funny and I love them.

11. The character I relate to the most and why: normally I would say Billy, but lately it's been more Max. She's stuck in a house with a jerk of an older brother who goes off like a volcano over the littlest things, though most of the time he's dormant unless he wants to annoy her, and she has to witness him and the only father figure she has fighting all the time. Getting into screaming matches, sometimes getting physical, and while in my situation it's more the son causing problems for the father, it's still bad. The only reprieve I get is when I'm out with my friends, and even though I still care about both of them, I'm starting to lose that love for one of them (in her case Neil, in my case my brother) because of how they treat everyone else and acts like everything is normal afterwards.

12. The character I hate the most and why: Karen Fucking Wheeler. How she can go from being a concerned, doting mother in season one to pretty much a sexual predator in the span of a few seasons, I'll never know. I could understand if she cheated on Ted and went after someone her own age, but the fact that she went after a boy no older than her daughter just makes me sick. And yes, Billy flirted with her, too, but come on. He's a misguided 17-18 year old abused kid looking for any kind of affection wherever he can get it. And Karen is the adult. She should fucking know better.

13. Something I've learned from the fandom: How to politely disagree with people and kill them with kindness. That's why I have an anti's ask pinned to the top of my blog, because I want people to know that I don't care who or what they like, so I'll respect them, but if they come onto my blog actively trying to start shit, I will not fucking stand for it :)

14. Three tags I seek out on Ao3: hurt/comfort, Fluff and Angst, and enemies to lovers.

15. A song I strongly associate with my otp/favorite characters: I made a whole playlist dedicated to Billy, so.... but if I had to pick -

For harringrove: In The Woods Somewhere by Hozier or Don't You Dare (Make Me Fall In Love With You) by Kaden MacKay

For Billy: Far Too Young To Die by Panic! At The Disco, Beautiful Girls by Van Halen, Bella by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Cherry Pie by Warrant. Also pretty much Guns N Roses' entire discography.

So, everyone I usually tag for these has already done it (I think), but on the off chance you didn't, I'll tag @thissortofsorcery and @half-oz-eddie , as well as anyone else who wants to participate!

[bigsnzstanacct]

I would love to hear more about the Slab and Tiny characters or the dad sneeze couple!

Wellllllll first off, randomly I stumbled across the tweet that inspired Dad Sneeze Dads (they gotta eventually become dads, right? I am sort of thinking they foster and eventually adopt older siblings, like maybe 4 and 8 when they come into each others lives, and also maybe one of them was in foster care and/or adopted at some point? But the non-horny story points are admittedly fuzzy).

Anyway, I saw someone tweet this:

and that has lived rent free in my head ever since until it eventually manifested as the Dad Sneezes (eventual) Dads. In the little drabble I wrote about them (“Nap”) I think I called them Paul and Marcus but in honor of this random poster who inspired this perhaps I will call them Paul and James. Definitely sticking with the idea that Paul has these horrible tormenting buildups and false starts that culminate into a sneeze well-worth all the preceding drama (and the worse allergies of the two) while James has these sudden eruption sneezes that are so vocal and harsh and almost yelled (like HEYYYY-SSHHHHAAAWW!!) and while he’s generally somewhat sneezy/sensitive nose, besides a few triggers and getting generally sneezier when he pollen count is high, he doesn’t have allergies like Paul’s that can have him sneezing in fits on and off until he gets away from whatever’s making him sneeze. He does however catch at least one or two horrendously sneezy colds a year, that feel like the tickle doesn’t leave his nose for three to four days straight, he feels like he’s on the verge of a sneeze the whole time but only occasionally does it sharpen to a red-hot point and instantly catapults two to five sneezes in a row from him (and his rare cold sneeze fits get louder and stronger and harsher with each sneeze, like he’s intentionally leaning into it to blast the sneeze out.) Haven’t settled on how they look yet but I imagine both are pretty big and stocky and hairy, James probably Black and more of a classic bear type with more fat all over and Paul somewhat more of an “otter” type. But all that is subject to change, just kind of what I’m loosely envisioning now.

I gotta think about more options for Tiny and Slab, I really do like their dynamic but I kind of haven’t fleshed out their world/setting yet so it’s tough to figure out their contexts. I do find the idea of them covering for each other’s allergies/sneezes VERY hot. Like Slab is having a bad allergy day and he’s barely holding it together and everywhere they go all day Tiny goes in first and does a sweep for anything that will set him off. Or like Tiny signals to Slab across the room he’s having nose troubles, maybe at some big fancy fundraiser (what if they throw fancy fundraisers?? Honestly what if Jamie and Paul do too??) and Slab just smoothly takes Tiny’s place in whatever conversation he was having while Tiny disappears to deal with his itchy nose that was ready to blow the whole party down… yeah. Something about the transfer of responsibility that is both eroticized in a d/s-ish way AND performed in a simple emotional caring way really gets to me. I may have exaggerated their d/s dynamic, or at least how common it is, a bit. But it’s definitely a game they play, and sometimes even on purpose on days when they know one or both of them in going to have an itchy, sneezy day. Also, haven’t decided what makes Tiny sneeze most often but slab DEFINITELY has pet allergies. The tinier and cuter the dog/cat/whatever, the more allergic Slab is to it, just because I loooooooove the idea of a huge man absolutely reduced to an itchy watery sneezy mess by the tiniest lil creature. Slab’s also the more sensitive to scents/perfumes of the too, while as I mentioned Tiny is pretty sensitive to spices, including pepper. Maybe he’s also one who sneezes when he eats spicy food (which, of course, he loves to eat).

[enneamage]

continuing with the whole pet name/nickname argument, i think i'm kind of an anomaly in that i think the usage of petnames when it comes to crimeboys isn't as far off from real-life as people make it out to be. i'm the youngest (with a large age gap like wilbur & tommy) and i have an older brother & two older sisters, all of which frequently call me nicknames like baby or baby girl, which might sound kinda weird to an outsider but that's just how the dynamic is and there isn't anything inherently wrong with it. i don't think the issue is with the nicknames, i think it's because 1. they're real people and obviously not actually related, so it'd be like friends* calling each other darling & that's obviously gonna raise some eyebrows. people don't realize that though because the family dynamic was sowed into their friendship from the very beginning. *two people who met online with an 8-year age difference 2. the way they're written (again talking about crimeboys bc that's what i'm most familiar with) has a LOT of romantically(?) charged subtext. wilbur's often portrayed as weirdly possessive over tommy, almost like you would be in a relationship, and as you said they take any chance for intimacy & pass it off as platonic, especially when it comes to the whole animal shifter type fics. that's where the main issue comes from, not really from the nicknames themselves. just my two cents though

I agree that nicknames aren’t the source of the issue as much as a symptom of it. I know I’ve seen “sunshine” around, and that’s pretty much a fandom nickname for Tommy, so as a fanon thing it’s kind of at a crossroads. The thing I keep an eye on is if the nickname is used to create some of the power dynamics I talked about in the kink post, if it’s an act of possessiveness or it’s intended to make him seem unnecessarily small compared to other people. It’s better to think of them as tools and look at what atmosphere they’re used to create, if it either seems romantic or very charged in a steep uncanny power dynamic way.

The thing is that the fic author also has control over how old he is in a fic, so they can just say ‘of course they’re babying him he’s a seven year old’ as though that was not also a choice made by the author. Fic that is now keeping him small/young or freezing him in place to keep the ‘family’ dynamic going is in the danger zone for me recently. In a world where trends come and go and people naturally get bored or move on to different dynamics, it’s kind of telling when someone chooses to ignore what him being a young adult brings about and focuses on aging him back down or even younger to create the most extreme possessive/caregiver dynamics possible. Everyone in SBI kind of takes turns being a self-insert depending on what the author wants and there is still some innocence in young people thinking that they want to read about an ideal family, but they’re mixed in with people who have different desires as well.

It can be really hard to point to a scene and objectively say ‘this is romantic’ so I’m just working from the clues I can point to. I know I’ve always been sensitive to when stories paint two characters as each others one-and-only, like it’s very clear that their life at it’s core will revolve around and prioritise this partnership, and even that’s not completely unrealistic for a platonic partnership. The thing is, I think that’s the loophole. People can dress things up as uplifting familial/platonic relationships and come down on others for calling things into question because it seems progressive to ‘normalise’ non romantic connection and intimacy (even physical initmacy,) they’ve seized the moral high ground. Now that they have a strategy they can do what they want with the strategy, and it becomes telling what they choose to do with it.

[gehenna-calling]

2,8,10 & 18 for any of your oc’s!!

oo let's go! i'll probably pick and choose who to answer for which one

this got Long, so i'll put it under the cut!

2. Does your oc have any nicknames? How did they get these nicknames?

i think lyssa is the only one of my characters who has any nicknames? unless you count "des" for desdemona, but that's just a shortening i use because it takes so long to type her name regular malk lyssa gets called "lyssie" by mars, her primogen/semi-sibling/closest remaining friend, which i think is very cute. tremere lyssa also has nicknames - lizzie, for obvious reasons (which is funny because she's definitely gone by that name before but the player who came up with the nickname doesn't know), "queen of the blood-fuelled arts", and ooc "starscream lyssa" because that's basically her whole character archetype in this au.

8. What is your oc’s relationship status? Are they content with this?

all of my ocs are currently single because i have no idea how to get my characters into relationships with other people's characters 😔 but the in character reasons for this vary: lyssa (in both iterations) is aroace and very happy to be single! actually, not entirely true - og lyssa is aware she's aroace and is perfectly fulfilled without romantic relationships, as she has plenty of other close friends and a found-family dynamic with the other malks. tremyssa is, of course, weird and fucked up about this as she is about all things, and thinks she's morally superior for not being "weighed down" by romantic and sexual attraction. hellebore is single... kind of by choice? they've been in relationships before, and was in love in a relationship for a pretty long time until they were forced to break things off for the good of their partner. (it's a whole tragic story, i will elaborate on this at some point) working for the ivory tower does not do many favours for your interpersonal relationships. hellebore will claim to themself and others that they made the right choice, but... they're still lonely. desdemona's whole THING is that she is deeply unfortunately single. she's still not over her ex, who broke up with her thirty years ago, and hopes desperately that one day they'll be together again. while waiting for miranda to come back into her unlife, she's not really interested in a new relationship. ever has spent the last couple of months living a nightmare and is not really in a position to be dating. honestly at this point contact with ANYONE who isn't their sire or a mortal they're about to feed from would be good for them. maybe i should set them up with someone, i say, like an overly-involved mother

10. What’s your oc’s greatest weakness?

ooo this is a fun one. it's hard to pinpoint Just One weakness for lyssa bc her motivations are so all over the place (and i play her quite inconsistently) but i'd say it's her aversion to conflict and unwillingness to pick a side - she wants everyone to get along and to smooth everything over, so she's not willing to step out of line. tremyssa's weakness is her lack of control of her temper - the fact she's constantly on the verge of snapping and trying to pull all of the blood out of someone's body. the fact she thinks she has great self-control is just the funny cherry on top. hellebore's weakness is their utter inability to open up to or trust anyone else. nobody trusts them because they're so guarded and suspicious, they're guarded and suspicious because nobody trusts them, so on and so forth. des' is that she's generally a soft and decadent creature - she doesn't want anything to be difficult, so she's easily manipulated by what she wants. ever is. a troubled beast. i would identify their need for people to like them as their biggest weakness - they're so much a people pleaser, they don't really have a concept of their own identity any more.

18. What’s your oc’s relationship like with their family?

hmm this is a fun one because families are one of the things i tend to neglect in a character's backstory, despite how important it is. lyssa's mortal family is all dead now, but she was reasonably close with them when she was alive - she looks back on them with fondness. tremyssa is Solidly Neutral on her pre-embrace life... however i do think she maybe killed her husband shortly after being embraced. that would make sense i have Nothing for hellebore's family - all i know is that they were a pickpocket on their own when they were embraced at some point in their late teens, so maybe their family were already dead or they ran away from home. des was pretty close with her family i think? but she did leave them to go travelling with her sire without much of a second thought, so not that close. not sure about ever yet. they're the one most likely to encounter their family again, as their parents are probably still alive, so i'll see what i can come up with to really twist the knife there.

okay that ended up being way more than expected. thank you for asking!!