#but he isn’t a main member of the crew… so it doesn’t really work

[cynicalmusings]

ah, yes, a ‘wind sack which controls windiness’. my eloquence truly knows no bounds.

[anqueerism]

Aarghghjhhhh

People being dumb about mouthwashing again waergh

“Why didn’t anyone do any—“ SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT <333 UP <333

I swear some people played this game with their eyes closed.

Daisuke (to the extent that we see him in-game at least) was not aware of what happened. There’s no evidence to suggest he knew, considering how chipper and trusting of Jimmy he is.

But between Curly, Anya and Swansea? They couldn’t do anything, even though I’m sure they’d wanted to.

One of the main themes of Mouthwashing that I see missed with infuriating frequency is the criticism of toxic work environments (Which ties into a wider criticism of capitalism).

We see it several times that if any one of the crew members fucks up or does something wrong, everyone gets punished. As evidenced by the 4k pay reduction when Jimmy crashed the ship, and the warning of pay reduction if the cargo is breached “unnecessarily” (and who do you think gets to decide ultimately if it was really necessary? Think about it.). Pony Express as a company has a culture of collective punishment. If anything goes wrong, everyone suffers.

Anya doesn’t have any savings and barely got through PE nursing. If her already undoubtedly meagre pay is affected, how do you think that’s going to affect her? Swansea has a wife to take care of and a home to maintain, and he is already an older worker. He can't afford to take a pay cut, because he doesn't exactly have much time left on the clock as it is.

But what about Curly, you might ask.

Simple: Curly is in an abusive relationship with Jimmy.

Now before anyone accuses me of shipping and gets their pitchforks out, just hold on. I’m not necessarily talking in a romantic sense. Friendships can also be abusive, and theirs very much is. It’s not even subtle!

The way that Jimmy makes his envy and disdain clear, all because Curly is just doing better than him. The way that he lashes out at Curly on his own birthday and Curly doesn’t think this the least bit strange. The way that Curly tells Anya he’s “known Jimmy for a long time,” which implies their relationship had been long-lasting, the way that Anya tells Curly "you know who." Because Curly knows who Jimmy is, really. This isn’t just Some Guy to him. This is his best friend, who has been emotionally abusing him for (what’s implied to be) years. He wants to believe Jimmy is capable of good, is capable of better, so he waves it off as something that he can just “talk to him” about. He can’t bring himself to make any move against Jimmy, because he cares so much about him.

He says it himself.

He always believed in him. Back on Earth, and on the ship.

And it's that belief that leads directly to his downfall and the deaths of everyone he loves. Including Jimmy himself.

Something to be said there about the nature of abuse, too, but I've poked the hornet's nest enough, I think.

[training-trio-irl]

Fusions have returned! And this time, I’m here with my hand-picked V3 fusions. I’ve been developing a Fusion AU for all three main game casts, and hopefully one day I’ll get to share my designs for the 1st and 2nd game as well!

— Below are some descriptions of each character. They’re a bit longer than I hoped for, but I would really appreciate if you took a quick read through them if you are at all interested in this AU! —

—===—

Kaeki Harumatsu => While in the foster care system, Kaeki has had to help care for many siblings, and her main method was to create and preform stories for them to be relaxed and entertained by. Her stories were very engaging and imagination-sparking for kids, and word of her talent quickly got around, leading to her publishing books and reading her fairytales at children’s events! She is soft spoken, but compassionate and resilient, and very much a leader. Despite her anxieties, she is always striving to achieve a bright future, not just for herself, but for the next generation too.

Shutaro Amahara => One day, Shutaro accidentally got caught up in an expedition through a rarely traversed jungle, lead by his uncle and his archaeology team. After single-handedly coming across never before seen ruins from an ancient civilization, however, he promptly received his ultimate talent. Now he continues to accompany his uncle, and with his exceptional observational skills, survival tactics, and adaptability, has made many profound discoveries. At the end of the day, however, Shutaro would much prefer to be back home, spending time with his three little sisters and stepping out of the spotlight.

Kaikichi Oumota => Kaikichi claims to be the captain of a crew comprised of thousands of members, dispersed all over the world helping those in need. Whether that is true or not, one can not deny that his never ending sea of anecdotes from their travels seem too detailed to be entirely fiction. He is relentlessly positive and strives to maintain a happy atmosphere, to the point where he’ll lie about the reality of a given situation in order to avoid fear and conflict. He calls the seven seas his home, but they believe that they can one day reach the stars as well!

Kiibu Irubashi => Coming from a family of engineers, Kiibu was no stranger to creating little machines with whatever materials were available to them. They always had a knack for robotics, but her incredible abilities were proven when, after a horrible car accident that resulted in the amputation of their right arm, he constructed the world’s first ever working cybernetic arm. Ever since their recognition as an ultimate, her ego has intensified tenfold. While their confidence has proved useful in presenting prototypes and giving speeches, it seems to drive away any potential friends he hopes to make. So for now, this eccentric will stick to building bots to pass the time.

Gorumi Tokuhara => Gorumi got taken in by a very affluent family at a young age after supposedly being separated from his real family in a hiking trip, although the whereabouts of his parents were never uncovered. Growing up, he was tasked with many chores around his adoptive family’s estate, and now serves many members of the upper class around Japan. He is very caring and calculated in nature, but he has also successfully and willingly taken on many assignments that involved physical altercations. Gorumi will do anything to keep peace and order among his friends, but isn’t stingy when it comes to them having some childish fun!

Ryokiyo Shinoshi => It is certainly bizarre that this world famous cricket prodigy turned convicted serial killer got accepted into Hope’s Peak Academy, but that seems to be more common than you’d think for this government-funded high school. Despite his enrollment, there is now doubt that his life has forever been ruined by his actions, but Ryokiyo doesn’t seem to care all that much. Nowadays, forces like “the rules” and “consequences” don’t seem to phase him. Handcuffs are ready on one of his wrists in case anything gets too out of hand.

Himugi Shiromeno => Himugi is, simply put, unhappy with her talent. It is true that she has assisted many impressive magicians and illusionists, helping them pull off many tricky stunts, but she recognizes that, compared to other talents at Hope’s Peak, hers is underwhelming. Of course, she can’t deny that she is grateful to attend such a prestigious academy, but she wished it would be for something cooler. Regardless, she does her best to focus on what’s important to her: following the rules, getting good grades, and making new talented friends! She still can’t help but be a little cynical, though…

Angko Chabanaga => Coming from a small but tight-knit community, she put her home on the map after joining a famous aerial arts troupe and quickly becoming the star of the show. Angko is always on the move, both physically and metaphorically, and her chaotic lifestyle can be hard for others to keep up with. Her larger-than-life aura may seem a bit standoffish at first, but in reality she is very outgoing and kind, always doing what she can to support others.

As always, if anyone has any suggestions, fun ideas, or ways to incorporate better the aspects of either component in a fusion, feel free to send an ask or leave it in the tags!

[dolphin1812]

The nice thing about reading a chapter a day for Les Mis Letters has been that the impact of each chapter doesn’t get lost in the amount of words in the book, and I think this chapter has been one of the most notable instances of that. I’ve read this book before, but given the intense sadness of the last few chapters, I think I’ve always skimmed this one to try to get back to “the main plot” with Valjean.

But honestly, this chapter is actually good?

I love that it starts with, “A man overboard!” It’s so dramatic - I was automatically engaged by that line (for a moment, I forgot that it was metaphorical and was wondering when Valjean got on a boat). And the metaphor itself is so effective. I find the fact that the ship is in a “hurricane” especially interesting - it conveys how the sailors don’t ignore the “fallen” man out of malice, but out of their own need to survive. If they stop attending to the ship to help this one man, who knows what will happen to them? Similarly, other people around Valjean may not have wished him ill, but how could they have gone out of their way to help him and his family when they were consumed by their own immediate needs? How could they hear Valjean’s pleas for help over the cries of their own poverty, the cries of the storm? And of course, there are the “passengers,” who aren’t working on the ship (and could, therefore, help him) but are still oblivious to his plight.

Hugo is, of course, a strong proponent of compassion. But compassion isn’t possible when the problem isn’t known, and it’s much harder to notice that one specific person is struggling so intensely when everyone else is suffering as well. And by the time someone does discover that something is wrong (that the crew member is missing, that Valjean has been imprisoned), what can be done? 

I also like how Hugo stresses that there is “no support” in the ocean. The problem with falling overboard isn’t just that it’s exhausting to swim and that it’s scary to be isolated in the unknown, but that there’s no respite. The drowning sailor can no more take a break to regain his strength to swim than Valjean can take a moment to recuperate from his years in prison. Alone in the ocean, they swim until they inevitably no longer can.

While the chapter itself is sad, the ending is somewhat funny. Hugo really couldn’t risk someone missing his metaphor, so he had to dramatically add:

“Oh, implacable march of human societies! Oh, losses of men and of souls on the way! Ocean into which falls all that the law lets slip! Disastrous absence of help! Oh, moral death!

The sea is the inexorable social night into which the penal laws fling their condemned. The sea is the immensity of wretchedness.“

Just in case anyone missed the connection. And he had to explain it twice, because if “ocean into which falls all that the law lets slip” wasn’t enough, the second part must be. I just think it’s hilarious that the second paragraph is so matter-of-fact, too. The first one at least keeps with the dramatic tone of the rest of the chapter and really only includes a few key words to help the reader make the connection, but the second one blatantly states his idea. The digressions are definitely the main reason for the book’s length, but Hugo analyzing his own writing is a major contributor as well.

[louisisalarrie]

Can you explain what you mean about Louis team not trying anymore? Do you mean in terms of promo of him/his tour?

Louis is on a break at the moment so not sure what we’re expecting his team to be doing? I’ve got to say I’m not that keen on them either. I mean I like his band members but the management crew do seem lazy and disinterested. Not sure if it bothers L or not. He’s so laid back it’s hard to tell!

Heya anon! Thanks for the inbox, and welcome to the show.

Look… yes, he’s on a break. That’s fine, and while Harry and zayn are currently getting press, there could be concern for over-saturation in the market due to the overlap of fans, and therefore could even be Agreements between H/L/Z’s managers to space out the promo a bit so fans can absorb one thing at a time. Niall’s on tour with consistent promo social media posts (not too many headlines though), so he’s not to worry, and Liam isn’t getting really any press, even though he is being more active with fans. However…

Just because Louis is on break, that doesn’t mean his team needs to be. They should be gearing up with promo for the LATAM tour that starts in 2 weeks. They’ve always been lazy with trying to reach GP and having substantial press/working with interviewers or industry professionals that will connect him to a larger demographic, and have relied on a very dedicated fanbase as their main source of income/Louis’ success. The problem with that, is by forming such a special connection between Louis and the fans, he (his team) need to be creating content and delivering to the fans so it doesn’t feel so one sided. It frustrates me to no end because even though they are doing well with the relationship between louis and fans, sometimes they don’t even know that demographic as well as they think they do.

Louis 100% deserves a break. I don’t expect him to be posting every day or doing livestreams or twitter chats, but his team need to at least be posting on Insta/twitter once or twice a week for him. Theyve been really MIA a little too long in my opinion, and the whole point of this promo is to sell tickets to the upcoming LATAM tour. It is crucial promo time, ya know?

So anyway, again this is just in my opinion and experience and analysing the marketing strategies/timelines of Louis’ past tours/album drops etc., they just aren’t delivering that promo, and haven’t actively tried to reach a larger demographic with the GP like… ever. Could he have done a couple of pre recorded interviews while he wasn’t MIA to drop over this time? He should have. Maybe a few pre written press articles about his tour ready to drop on a specific date? Hopefully. There should be content available to post whenever necessary. And hell, I’m sure there will be some level of promo before the tour, but leaving it til last minute doesn’t really do him any favours.

His team come off as lazy and often rely on us to do the work for him, which like… fine, fans literally keep an artist’s career alive so there is obviously a level of fans promoting said artist, but it feels like it’s a lot of us giving and hanging around and a lot of them taking and too much reliance on just his already established fans selling out shows, not new fans who could grow his numbers substantially.

Again, I’m 100% not advocating for him to not have a break, I’m saying his team are barely doing the bare minimum at the moment, and it’s not doing him and his tour any favours. I’m not saying Louis is lazy, and I’m not saying that he doesn’t care, this is strictly to do with his team and their strategies.

And yes, he does come across as very laid back and yes, he loves what he does and works hard. But I feel there may be a level of complacency with his team right now. Like “oh well, you’re not ever gonna be as big as Harry, so we won’t even bother with this strategy even if it worked for him” kinda thing. But, for the hell of it, let’s say that Louis doesn’t really wanna do more promo. He’s happy at the level he’s at, doing just enough of what his team wants him to do, and he doesn’t want to strive to be any more successful. He knows he’s at a good place, so why bother? But… Matt Vines needs to make money. He’d be on a commission rate of an industry standard around 20%, but might be more depending on their Agreement. It wouldn’t be any less. So… if Louis isn’t making more money, Matt isn’t making more money (he would be making a certain amount with the other artists he manages, but overall Louis would be making the most out of that roster, his commission on smaller bands may lead closer to 15% standard). Obviously money is still coming in to them, but you get me. So, even if Louis is chilling and happy, it’s weird to see such a little amount of promo leading up to a very exciting and hopefully successful tour in LATAM.

You can read in this interview from 2022 with Matt, about his ideas on management. Notably, the below about previous data from 1d and their activations and campaigns and I haven’t really seen too many elements of that in his current promo (obv gonna be at a different scale because 1d was one of the biggest bands in the world for a hot minute there, but there’s been little to no elements of these strategies in his current promo season):

So i truly haven’t seen much of those marketing techniques employed within his promo these days. And here, he talks about the relationship he has with his artists and why his company stands out from others:

Which, yes, I agree that a manager-artist relationship should be different from what it’s traditionally known. And I can see that they do have a different relationship, with the lack of stunting and louis taking the reins a lot more. We see more authenticity, and less show, which is great. Louis is serious and has actively worked to understand the business and how different streams and parts of the industry work.

But his team aren’t working to grow the fanbase. Matt Vines has been in this industry long enough to understand marketing and promo and demographics more so than Louis, but it feels like he’s not even helping him grow bigger. Idk, it feels disappointing that for a hot minute he was on a roll and gaining a lot of traction and it seems to have stagnated a little bit and his reach has only gone so far, where it should be further out to the GP too.

Anyway, look, again this is just my opinion. I’m incredibly proud of him and his team have done a lot for him, but they can always do more. And yet, they haven’t. I don’t want to see Louis exhausted and a wreck from touring like the 1d days, but promo comes in so many different forms and it’s not just about stunting and clothing lines and social media. There’s more his team could do for him, without him working 100% of the time.

[my-random-thoughts-take-13]

Nadakhan is such an enigma to me

WARNING!! 

long post

Like, reeaaally long

Lotsa reading. 

In 6.1 he gets released from his teapot by Clouse. He then goes on to grant wishes for Clouse. He then causes massive indiscribable pain for clouse. We don’t care because it is Clouse. (Over the past month I realised this isn’t true but the draft is old so stay with me.) He then goes out to the city, learns about his crew being stranded (and Delara being dead, I’ll get to that) and goes after the Ninja to get the realm crystal that public service AI so stupidly informed him of. Big whoopity doo, pretty decent introduction. 

In 6.2 he gets the crystal and doesn’t do much.

Then we get to  6.3 however, where he frees his crew and the celebrate now having the realm crystal by getting drunk on their ship together while singing shanties and dancing drunkenly, it looks like a vibe good for them. He then tells them to basically retire since pirates aren’t really a thing anymore. He tells them that he got them back because as captain he couldn’t leave his crew marooned and specifically states that, as they are now safe, he is returning to his homerealm where he was banished/exiled from for unkown reasons (or just hated, works too I guess). The crew then, out of their own free will, follows him. ALL of them. And he looks genuinly surprised and happy about it. They then ask about the realm, he explains with pure joy yadayada. BUT THEN we all remember this. They get there and Djinjago is falling apart because the Cursed realm died. He sees his father who explains it.  Nadakhan the OFFERS TO SAVE ALL OF THEIR PEOPLE WITH THE CRYSTAL but in a honestly touching scene his father gives him the sword before dying. The crew gets Nadakhan out of there and they get back. When they get home he vows to take revenge on the ninja while assuring the crew he has a plan. 

So to recap, we have an incredibly devoted main antagonist who deeply cares about his underlings, who has some kind of tragic backstory which seemingly ended bittersweet involving his fatehr, who was struck by unfathomable tragedy ÁND who has every reason ever to target the ninja? HELL YEAH SIGN ME UP! That sound like just about the clsoest you can get to a sympathetic and ruthless villain, I’m here for it. I also wanna mention how devoted the enitre crew was to him, which might surprise you if you’ve seen the tall tales shorts. I guess it just means he’s a really kind captain or something, I really don’t know. EIther that or some brainwashing/stockholm syndrome is in play here. I dunno, I’m not a psychiatrist. 

Back in track in 6.4, the Misfortune’s Keep flies now and he finds Nya and Jay. He gets Jay to make his first wish and gets the lower members of the old crew back. Then it ends with his trapping Kai. Pretty tame all things considered.

In 6.5 we get Flinlocke’s first questioning of Nadakhan. Unlike most lackies in shows however he directly confronts Nadakhan about it without beating around the bush. Yet he also stays respectful ánd states exactly what his expectations are, implying that those to are on almost equal footing with each other. Nadakhan stays calm and shows the crew the new Djinjago. He also specifically states that he cannot do this alone and he needs his crew with his. They then follow and everything is good. Nadakhan does say, and I quote, “This is what you sacrifice(d) for, not some girl.  A home.” Implying that he kinda misses his ex, but he has gotten over her. We also saw this very briefly in 6.3 All good and dandy. Moving on from dead people is good (I say that as if that isn’t the most ironic thing I’ve ever said). Nadakhan then takes Zane and Jay at the end of the episode. Whoopity doo change of the satus quo.

6.6 starts of with Nadakhan starting his Jay torture (mildy for now, it’ll pick up later) since he has that grudge against the ninja and since Jay hasn’t made his 3rd wish. Clancee also mentions how Nadakhan ahs brought them together and made them whole. Then we get to the dinner, where they sart talking about Nya.  Nadakhan tells him about his wedding plans and infinite wishes with Jay then claiming He does not care about a new world Nor about Nya’s heart. Jay says he never loved Delara and just wanted what she could give him in a marriage. Then Jay needs to fight in the pirate gang fight and tries to start a coup which fails painfully.

To dwell on that dinner scene a little longer, it still made (enough) sense. One should always expect that he missis his homeland, and the people, instead of just the land. The cheap remake wouldn’t have fixed it. He’s doing the floating islands thing for the sake of the ceremony working. He also however mentions that he just needs to marry someone, anyone, and doesn’t really care about winning Nya’s heart. By this logic, couldn’t he just take any random person who would be to terrified to say no instead of someone who would flee overseas to avoid his just so we could have some ‘damsel in distress’ finale? If the problem is that he wants someone who looks like Delara he could also just use those infinite wishes to wish for the historically most drastic plastic surgery ever. And if it was that he wanted Delare, why didn’t he deny Jay’s claims? In fact, why has he seen mostly indifferent to that point except for seeing Nya in the newspaper and in the city at lunch? Is is just that he doesn’t care what Jay thinks? I mean, kudos to him for not being sensitive enough to let it get to him but still. And if he wants infinite wishes, why not tell his crew? Sure they might turn on him, but with their loyalty I doubt he’d have any sort of trouble convincing them that he’s use the wishes for them as well to make a new and better world. And honestly, at this point I still mostly believed that to be the case.

6.7. Aside from him having some (pretty cute) interactions with Flintlocke and Clancee about some idiots and taking a cloak outside, he also takes the ninja prisoner after a failed rescue attempt and takes Nya back to his quarters, He tries to make a deal about bargaining her friends lives which leades to the “fuck around and find out: wishing edition” scene. He grants the wishes like he has to, twisting them jsut enough to keep the scene going. It isn’t until the end where in pure rage he forces Clancee to make a wish to get rid of Lloyd and Cole (even though he could have just struck them with the blade, but I guess That Would Have Spoiled the finale. Then something interesting? confusing? happens; for the first time (as far as I can tell) he is really taing his anger out on the crew, Flintlocke in this case, as he tells him he can;t come back until he’s found the escaped duo. He also threatens him with Zane’s second wish (clever) to make sure no harm comes to Nya. 

6.8. He becomes reckless/agressive and just orders to basically take everyone prisoner. He learns about the tiger widow venom and starts to think about how the duo might use it. This is where Flinlocke starts his coup, after telling the captain to forget about the girl, as it was never about her but about building a home for all of them. Again, if Nadakhan had just mentioned the wedding thing like he does later to the others, this would have easily been avoided. But no, he lashes out on not just Flintlocke but the entire crew after FLintlocke tells him that he’s won and that it’s enough (positively). And he now does come clean about the infinite wishes, but it’s too late for Flintlocke. Again, no problem if he’d been upfront. I still don’t get why he wasn’t, since he truly treasured and appericiated (or seemed to) that crew in the firest half of the season. His lashing out is so stupid and screws him over here. But okay, after FLinlocke’s coup he now just scares the others into following him, which is about the first plan of action when you’ve got a group of followers, a group of friends, thát loyal. But no, he makes Clancee use another wish to find the couple, they all raid the lighthouse and then take Nya. Great, onto the finale. 

6.9 He goes over the wedding ceremony wirh Clancee (who states that her objecting would not matter to the ceremony, once again implying that he could have taken literally anyone else to marry) He then lashes uot when a scout informs him of the ninja, orders literally everyone to be guarding the place and leaves to prepare. When he gets to Nya she plays into the Delare bit (blegh) but to absolutely EVERYONE’S suprise. HE ACTUALLY SEEMS HAPPY ABOUT IT SO WHAT THE HECK. He then says how he and Delara had dreamed of this moment but never accomplished it, which also AGAIN CONTRADICTS EVERYTHING ELSE WE HAVE SEEN ABOUT HIS FEELINGS TOWARDS HIS DEAD EX GIRLFRIEND. Yet inspite of that (temporary jump to 6.10) he doesn’t actually seem to want to posses Nya’s body with Delara’s spirit until she ‘betrays him’, implying that he didn’t care so much after all??? BUt he goes with her with all the pet names and bullshittery and puts down his sword for her (after she plays the daddy’s boy card) . Sure, be more stupid Ig. 

6.10 So finally last episode. So The other main crewmembers are the only audience (implying they are still relatively happy to follow Nadakhan since they don’t seem scared of this ceremony) and... Flintlocke? Sure- I guess he’s harmless now and all but... whatever, I’m tired. The wedding continues with Clancee reading it (which seems stupid as balls since Dogshank is literally RIGHT THERE) and Nadakhan calling Nya out for being distancy. She makes her say yes, ceremony is official because with Djinn law you aparently don’t need to course and he becomes all powerful. He fights the ninja, puts Nya to sleep, then beats the ninja and then... here it comes.... BRINGS BACK DELARA??? OKAY WHY??? This is probably the main reason I’ve made this post, becasue I need someone to explain this to me. Yes we have seen small parts of him maybe caring about her, but just as often, if not more often, we have seen him actively deny any importance she had! FLINLOCKE had more of a reaction to seeing Nya! Why?! 

But then- Clancee starts with his big speech. And in it- he- I can’t. I literally can’t. He starts of saying that he “Never liked the way he treated people”. *breathes in*.  WHAT THE ACTUAL EVERLOVING FUCK? This goes against LITERALLY EVERYTHING we have EVER seen about Nadakhan ánd the relation with his crew this season! SO unless they’re all somehow 20x as talented actors as Harumi was to all pretend to like Nadakhan that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! And after Clancee’s speech he gets rid of him, Monkey wretch and Doubloon, leaving Flintlocke and Dogshank to go help the ninja. But fine, cut to him and Delara acting... truly in love? After he had gotten his wishes no less! Just saying, If I had infinite wishes and loved someone as much as he seems to love and desire her I would have done so from the get-go and never evern entertained Nya’s play becasue how dare she act like my deceased beloved! But no, now that he has infinite wishes he just makes statues instead of wishing the ninja to be tortured or his entire fucking homerealm - you know, the thing that strated all of this? - to be brough back, cause fuck that I wana poof excessive statues for my new wife whom I technically didn’t marry and my enemies to be turned into statues through instead of wish so I can show her How Cool I Am. Well, at least the couple seems to share the tyrannic and deranged part so they bond over that. 

Someone, for the love of whatever holy figure you or anyone might believe in please PLEASE explain this character to me. 

Does he care about his crew? Did he suddenly stop caring?

Does he care about his homeworld? Did he ever really care or did he just want to find a replacement wife there? Unlikely, since that would have been the smart thing to do in Ninjago too. 

Did he care about Delara? Did he get over her only for the feelings to come back? Those feeling seemed too strong too poof into existence. And then why would he follow Nya’s honestly offensive roleplay if that was the case?

The part of the crew honestly bothers me a little more than it should, just because of teh inconsistencies. Especially if you’ve read the Splinter series (which isn’t actually canon but could technically be considered as such) you read again about how much the crew cared about Nadakhan. So why would Clancee say that he ated the way he spoke to them?? I just--- Someone save me, please...

[strangestcase]

what do the members of the crew think of each other? are there any good relationships or do some folks dislike/hate each other?

You and @kraftbrekker have both asked this so here it goes!

The League as a whole see themselves as strictly coworkers, but they actually are more like a disjointed adult friend group in theory; I wouldn’t exactly call them a found family but they find comfort in knowing they’re not alone in the world. Mina’s team, which is the “main” body of the League, goes from bickering and being disorganized to… liking each other to a point and still being disorganized.

As for individual relationships:

Mina Murray Harker originally butted heads with Irene Adler. A lot. She saw her as a capricious artist type, an upper class that that doesn’t understand what ACTUAL duty is. Irene meanwhile thought Mina was a stick in the mud with a complex. They’re both right, really, but eventually they become friends.

Alice Byrd is a bit like a baby niece to the rest of the team, particularly Irene and Mina. She sees them as THE female role models of all time. Particularly Mina, but Irene has more faith in her abilities and is more of a cool aunt to her. She also deeply respects the Captain. Her view of Griffin and Hyde is… far more cynical, and she’s rather disgusted by -and scared of- Hyde. Though, she thinks Griffin can be funny.

Mina and the Captain are co-leaders on practice, basically, and they have to put their prejudices aside to make it work. They don’t talk much but their relationship comes to be one of mutual respect and admiration.

The Captain, meanwhile, thinks of Alice as a daughter, of Irene as a talented coworker, of Griffin as a nuisance, and of Jekyll/Hyde as the only person that can understand what it is like to do horrible things and live with them- live within them. The Captain doesn’t like people much, and much less the British- and also the Captain is a strictly professional person. The team isn’t friends, it’s WORK.

Dr. Jekyll has a biiiiiiit of a crush on Nemo and Mina. Mr. Hyde shows it more, like WAY MORE, taking it to awkward levels, but funnily enough those two are the only people that he will listen to, obey, or pay any worthwhile attention to. They and Nemo make a well balanced duo, and Mina basically has domesticated him. Mina, on her part? She respects him but the second he steps out of line they’re getting skewered. Also, Hyde enjoys scaring Alice. Irene doesn’t take any of their crap but she is legit spooked by him and is always on edge when he’s around. Jekyll is often treated as a bit of a ticking time bomb due to that- but his form makes people more comfortable.

Jekyll/Hyde and Griffin are CONSTANTLY fighting, bickering, and sometimes it gets physical. They don’t like each other at all. If they have to work together, things get tense.

Speaking of that, it’s no mystery that Harlow Griffin isn’t well liked. He’s the Venn diagram intersection of Grumpy and Cocky. And he would 100% betray any of his teammates for a corn chip. He thinks they’re useful, but UUUUGH THEYRE ANNOYING! And it’s mutual. Nemo sneers at him, Irene thinks he’s an idiot, Mina scolds him ALL THE TIME. Basically what ties him to the team is a promise of legal and financial security and he has to be dragged EVERYWHERE. The only person that humors him at all is Alice.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Spiderwebs, Pt. 3: Looking Out for the Little Guy

So this one is pretty straightforward but timely. Franky’s the one who really sells this idea, but the Tontatta are the main vehicle Dressrosa has to invest the Straw Hats in the nation’s story. Incidentally, you could argue this is where Rebecca subtly is taken off the table. If we were just going to stick to Law’s plan she’d have more reason to run and less time to see the chance to go back. She gets to, because Dressrosa’s past was worth going back to in a way Wano’s wasn’t. Leo and the Tontatta by extension though fill a very basic structural role like Kiku and I’d argue Chiffon in Totland as well. The Tontatta are very fundamentally symbolic here; as Luffy’s star rises the crew needs to think about collateral damage. How what you do affects the little guy. Kiku’s story is one of being hurt by that same damage. We could have done this without Dressrosa reduced to rubble.

What we see in this scene is also something we’ll see with Franky and it plays into Robin’s growth that, like Usopp’s, will blossom more come Wano. If anyone ends up in that orator/organizer combo Usopp is showing why he’s volatile in that role. He doesn’t have the tact to do that at the level we need. It’s just like Chopper serving as Helmsman in a pinch earlier or even Usopp the de facto shipwright. It was fun, but he’s a sniper. His big feats first with the Tontatta in beating Sugar and then with awakening haki this arc set that in motion. The first contributes to earning Izo’s recognition in Wano which is huge for him; that’s a marksman on the same tier as his dad. Franky, if you’re wondering, has a good moment for this early on. It’s the shakedown, he and Luffy try to interrogate a guy and it’s the right idea but he just isn’t the guy for that. Same with Nami & co. and their failed diversion with Giolla. I’m also counting Donquixote Kin’flamingo. That gets us back to Leo.

Bahahahahahahahahaha! I love this gag of Leo & Mansherry. Cindry-grade lack of chill. Mansherry & Giolla, don’t let it slip that’s pretty damn similar to Holdem & Tama. But seriously, we mentioned this with Cavendish. The Grand Fleet captains have a shard of what’s missing, but they aren’t quite right for a full member on the main ship. One of those things I’d really look at in Kiku or someone like her stepping into a Quartermaster role defined by working with the Grand Fleet is that potential dynamic. Someone with that archetype threads the needle well. In Leo’s case? He’s the driven, ambitious arguable prodigy. The standout of his people. Quite capable and very noble but humble. Also love the bit about him going whole hog into the pirate aesthetic, I’ve mentioned if it’s Kiku I think she’ll do that. But he’s a little too naive and lacks tact. Leo’s lovely, but he can’t do the diplomat/negotiator side.

If my hunch is right by the way, cool in hindsight we introduce Kiku as this cover serial is wrapping up. These two shots line up with Luffytaro Returns the Favor & The Ruins of Oden Castle. This kind of stuff is why I don’t mind daring to dream, the potential for it to all fit together so beautifully. Since the Tontatta are easy, let’s just lay this out:

Cavendish could fill this position but he’s too vain, too much his own captain, and can’t control his demon side.

Barto could as well, but someone like Kiku can do more than just provoke and Barto’s earnest admiration is a little too much. Sorta the same logic as why Boa wouldn’t fit but the Kuja under Luffy’s banner would.

Leo as said is too naive and lacks tact. He has the spirit but needs guidance or his trusting nature becomes a liability. 

Orlumbus is the opposite. He has the poise and skills to do this, but needs to develop that scoundrel side. Too stuffy.

Don Sai is a tricky one. His example has a lot more to do with Baby 5. There’s a lot to be said about the hyper-people pleaser and a marriage happening here on the battlefield. It’s not as much of a problem for Cavendish the exiled noble, but Sai’s position with Kano is also a relevant hurdle here. It’s why Kiku’s the only Akazaya this would work with, right? Because she does have the wiggle room to be dissatisfied with that role. Sai isn’t.

Hajrudin & Ideo were the least developed but they do have relevant elements. They have the combat prowess but they’re still young and full of potential. We just need more than that for the main officers. Hajrudin has the national pride and honor angle & Ideo’s cover story shows a little diplomatic skill but they need room to grow. You could also argue these two are reminding you how great Jinbei is. I don’t think the Captains are supposed to be equal; Cabbage & Barto are in a different class. Worth noting from my angle at least once too, Kiku does outshine all of them in terms of battle prowess. I’d say Stussy as well but Vivi would have to be full on field marshal. Which would work just fine. Either way, it’s an ensemble who’d all play nice with this type of character in a dispatch/command capacity.

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.156 thoughts

[Negator Times in Space]

WOW am I late to this one! Guess that’s what happens if I do Cipher Academy first. Sorry about that

Though it also doesn’t help that I don’t feel like I have a lot to say about this chapter. Not that there’s nothing worth talking about, it’s just not as dense a chapter as we’ve been getting lately

I really appreciate that Fuuko didn’t just forgive Gina and Sean; she’s legitimately upset that they disobeyed her, and she has so many reasons to be! Not only was coming along like this extremely dangerous for them as they hadn’t been properly trained, it also jeopardizes the entire crew, as even the slightest change in weight, cargo space, oxygen expenditure, etc. can drastically change a manned mission’s requirements, and not being able to account for two extra people ahead of time when the plan is already to bring aboard two more people whose weight they can only estimate is extremely unsafe

It also sets a bad precedent; Fuuko didn’t make the decision of who to bring along lightly, she put a lot of thought into it and even sought outside opinions, so to have her leadership disregarded like that by Gina, her number two, could also damage her reputation as the leader. Of course she moves on from it quickly as Gina’s presence does in fact resolve an unforeseen issue, but much like in the battle with Stain in early Hero Academy, just because it worked out doesn’t make it alright. As I said, there were any number of ways this could have gone wrong and still could going forward, so while now isn’t a good time to punish Gina and Sean (they’re stuck in space for the moment after all), they will need to face some kind of repercussions later

We get a nice little bit of further development for Sean; the fact that he’s calling Gina one of his “brothers” suggests that he’s not just following Fuuko, he actually does identify as a member of the Union as a whole, and I hope to see that this level of camaraderie extends to the rest of the group as well. Here’s hoping we get a scene between Sean and Creed, especially when you consider that Creed’s short stint as an antagonist last arc was what allowed Sean to grow so much in the first place. Perhaps an apology for calling him miscast?

Fuuko noting that this is her second time in space was a subtle moment, but I think it’s going to be a significant one in the grand scheme of things, even if only thematically. She says that space is beautiful and desolate, leading her thoughts towards Phil who has only ever known this void for his entire life, to illustrate to us that he’s likely led a lonely life up to this point. The thing is, this line doesn’t only apply to Phil, there are two other characters who have experienced exactly the same kind of lonesome existence for much, much longer: Luna and Sun

I’ve actually been meaning to make a post dedicated to this for a while, but now seems like a good opportunity. When Fuuko first met Gina on the bank of Lake Baikal, she painted the moon to be surrounded by stars, as she figured that the sun and moon would be lonely in space with only each other and no friends. Undead Unluck is a series all about relationships, whether they’re familial, platonic, romantic, etc., so for Fuuko to suggest that the sun and moon, our main antagonists, are lonely most likely implies that her conjecture was perfectly accurate. Sol and Luna have been in competition for hundreds of billions of years, with minimal contact with their creations. The UMA have no memories of Sun except to cause humanity to suffer, leading some like Burn to pine for Sun’s attention. Luna only talks to whoever has the most points for but a few minutes at a time at most, suggesting that she spends the rest of her time just sitting alone on the moon sipping tea. She can see what’s happening on Earth, and she can take delight in it, but she’s isolated, not even able to communicate with her only equal in the universe

The void of space is the perfect visual representation of the sort of loneliness we could expect to have explored for Luna and/or Sun; even surrounded by stars, even looking upon each other from either side of the Earth, the two are in actuality completely alone. Therefore, defeating them will likely not be as simple as killing or destroying them, but rather finding some way to alleviate the loneliness in their hearts. “Humans can love UMA” after all, so it’s not hard to imagine Fuuko managing to befriend the two of them or bridge whatever gap exists between them

I could also probably make some parallel between Fuuko/Andy and Luna/Sun, but I’m going to hold off on that analysis for now since we don’t know much about Sun and Luna’s relationship yet. Once we know more, I imagine I’ll be able to make a huge write-up about it, but for now, it’s all conjecture

The final major note for the chapter is Phil’s sudden and terrifying appearance aboard the space station. Seeing him standing in the middle of a dark hallway, surrounded by floating debris and completely devoid of oxygen, is a chilling image. It raises a ton of questions, though

Fuuko told us that Phil couldn’t talk because of Unfeel in the previous loop; is this because he hasn’t developed his interpretation of Unfeel yet, or has he developed beyond Phil 100′s interpretation?

Why doesn’t he need to breathe? Is this actually Phil and his current interpretation makes him immune to oxygen deprivation somehow, or is this something like an astral projection, and the real body is elsewhere?

If he’s Unfeel, why does he care what happens to his mother? I’m glad he does, as having him discard his mother would be exceptionally cruel, but it doesn’t seem congruent with what we know so far. For now, I’m going to assume that he has a unique interpretation of Unfeel that allows him to at least care about his priorities

Was Phil somehow related to the thing that hacked  the ship and helped it to navigate and dock on the space station, and if so, was that also because of Unfeel? It doesn’t seem like something a UMA would do, but I don’t see any clear relationship between hacking and being unfeeling

I’m sure Tozuka will answer all of these questions satisfyingly, but unfortunately, we won’t know for at least another week, as Golden Week is coming up, and that always means all of Jump goes on break. Hooray....I feel like i might as well have waited until the next chapter was going to come out to write this review, but I didn’t want anyone to think I’d forgotten about this week’s UU

Like I said, it’s a good, solid chapter, it just doesn’t quite live up to the level of hype that a lot of the more recent chapters have had. It’s always good to have a breather, and while there was still a threat to the crew in this chapter, it was ultimately set up for something much bigger and scarier to come. Place your bets now on if it’s a UMA, Galaxy’s Juniors the Acks, straight up aliens, or somehow another Negator that made their way to space. Personally I’m going with a UMA, so obviously it’s going to be a Negator

Only one more week till we find out, though, so I guess in a way it’s good that I accidentally put it off, as now we don’t have to wait as long!

See y’all next week!

[nathsolkyoako]

Some thoughts for my alphonze design in New cause I actually thought abt this a lot for some reason

Alright so first and foremost his initial discription was :

(Episode 44. timestamp is in video)

Barber bowl hat (???????) with goggles on it (mostly for decoration I don’t think he’d need them, meaning a lot of him was designed more for looks than being functional)

Metal face with ‘gentle gaze’ (which is why I draw his eyes like that lmao) which leads me to believe that he wasn’t originally made as a body guard (probably a performer of some kind seeing the rest of the discription) because the main point of a body guard is to look intimidating. Maybe him and his partner at the time were supposed to be a kinda good cop bad cop type beat idk. As well as his stupid ass mustache that’s like described as twirly?? I’m not doing that shit as you’ve seen with my other drawings I’m keeping it simple he’s metal who gives a shit

“Clothes are all buckles and straps” (he has guns /j. (Unless the other option-)) probably just trying to fit the steampunk theme that was Edison kingdom I don’t see people mention the Trenchcoat a lot but hey bros never mentioned anyways. Regardless I’m guessing it’s either for insulation (like it’s rlly cold there or smth) to cover his not so fitting clothes which are..

“1920s accapella quartet member” tbh I have no fucking idea I just imagined that guy from dark picture anthrology and went with that. So like kinda fancy clothes? Iguess? With like a vest maybe bowtie and like collared shirt underneath. I just gave him some, Idk basic ass pants and boots cause why not those weren’t really described

I hate his stupid ass official art so I’m not gonna talk abt that. And also the fic isn’t at that part yet so I’m gonna keep with his first description for now

Anyways I’m thinking because blossom isn’t working in the law, alphonze was probably repurposed from like a singer/performer (also probably why he had so many accent and language options) and had added in programming for being able to. Idk do body guard stuff. So fighting and. Idk other, things. Also because client confidentiality is a thing that exists I think (literally just me thinking this I have no proof) he was wiped of previous knowledge of other clients only having basic information about the things he’s done/people he’d met. I also apply this later you’ll see (:

Anyways both of those “jobs” he’s had most likely didn’t include being able to ‘drive a boat’ or whatever it’s called so because I also don’t know how boats work (especially not pirate ships. I mean who does the jrwi crew doesn’t either) I decided to just let him figure it out! Kinda simple I guess! Also I don’t think Edison kingdom would have many things that aren’t mechanical/magical so a completely wooden boat would feel very foreign to him

I think that because of the repurpose (from whatever he was before to body guard or wtvr) was what caused him to ‘malfunction’ into being more sentient. I wrote a whole thing abt this before with jrpwi alphonze (who I also play lmao) but I think this is also a thing that happens frequently in Edison when making war forged so there’s precautions set up in their constructs so they don’t break out and not want to follow orders. Because war forged were made to be workers I don’t think they’d (the creators) would want them wanting to have rights and opinions and stuff

Sorry for this comparison but I’m imagining it as like. Yk how in fnaf help wanted in the vr there was that one mini game where you make the drink recipes for the soda machine and you have to give the work bits or wtvr they’re called like breaks and shit and if they want to revolt they’re shut down. I imagine it as kinda like that

Here’s my doodles for it have fun reading (please read it it’s so neat)

Shit wait I almost forgot dude was described as like constantly expelling steam and stuff so he’s probably have a bunch of vents and fans and stuff. So he’s probably not that quiet (I hc that he’d make different sounds depending on how he’s feeling thus starting the “robopurrs” and “catgirl alphonze” lmaooooo)

[papaparr]

Name: Robert "Bob" Parr Age: Forty-Six Occupation: Accountant <3 / Order Member / Superhero for Hire Powers: Super strength Sexuality: Heterosexual Pronouns: He/him Currently Playing: the entirety of the "dad grilling songs" playlist on spotify Big Three: Ok bob parr does not care about this and neither do i  

Headcanons:

Bob Parr wasn’t called Mr. Incredible for no reason. Back in the day, he really was just that: incredible. He was the main super in Echo Isle, leading a crew of other superhumans to keep the city safe. It was the best time of his life: he was in the best shape, dating around with any woman he wanted, and had the best job in the world.

His pride got the best of him when he caused a catastrophe that led to superheroes being banned on the Isle. It was a huge train that was about to be run off the tracks, and Bob refused the help of his friends, claiming that he could stop the whole thing himself, but he’d underestimated the weight of the train. He’d successfully saved all the people on it, but an entire bridge collapsed, causing the destruction of a bunch of buildings. It was humiliating, and it caused the entire community of superheroes to have to go into hiding.

Bob met Helen when he was in "college", which was really just a four year excursion to become a frat boy, earn some easy degree, and go on with his life as a super. They met at one of his fraternity's parties, and Bob was pretty instantly in love. No other woman had challenged him the way she had--she wanted to get to know him for him, not Mr. Incredible. She accidentally figured him out as his alter-ego when she found a piece of his costume in his apartment, which was what led her to share her abilities with him. They were a match made in super heaven, and Bob didn't want to let her go. Even without her parents' permission, he proposed, and she accepted.

The accident happened right after they found out that Helen was pregnant. It was devastating, the way that he caused the destruction of his career and so many others, but it resulted in marrying Helen and having Violet, and he wouldn’t have changed that for the world. Once his superhero days were over, he began to focus on his family and doing what was best for them. Bob went to college, for real this time, and decided to study accounting, the only thing that would guarantee him a job after graduating.

Being stuck in a gray cubicle all day was definitely not what Bob had planned for himself, but it paid the bills for a while. One day, he just snapped, too prideful to admit that he’d made a mistake, and wound up punching his boss in the face, which got him immediately fired. Bob couldn’t tell Helen, though, that he’d lost his job; he was too embarrassed to admit it. Instead, Bob started taking side jobs doing private investigative work to make side money while he lied to Helen about keeping his job.

Bob is going to have to tell Helen the truth someday, but that would mean having to go back to an office job for the sake of his family, and he just isn’t ready to do that. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, and he’s making even more money doing private super work than he ever could as an accountant. It’s not the ideal way to make a living, but it’s the closest Bob has come to his glory days, and he hasn’t given up his dream of returning to Mr. Incredible just yet.

Bob did not want the Parrs to be associated with the Order, especially after they asked his wife to be involved first. He thought that being magical and being a superhuman were two very different things: superheroes didn't need protecting. But, as much as he tried to protest, Helen went for it, anyway, and Bob stayed back to start taking on more responsibility with Jack Jack after Violet and Dash got old enough to begin to take care of themselves. Bob eventually joined as a member once he saw how the organization could protect his children before they went off to college themselves.

It's technically illegal to be doing what he's doing with his PI work as an Order member, but what they don't know won't hurt them. He's kind of hired an investigator of his own, Kim Possible, to help him keep his secret from both his family and the Order.

It’s not that he isn’t close to Violet and Dash, but that he spent too much of their childhoods mourning what could have been with his career to be as present as he could for them. He's trying to make up for it now that he's happier than he has been in a long time given that he's doing what he loves again.

[princesserii]

Hey Inazuma Eleven fandom! This might be a bit of a long shot but would anyone want to beta read a fanfic I’m currently working on?

It’s a fantasy pirate AU set in a world I’ve made up. There’s magic and fantasy races — merpeople, selkies and sylphs (sky spirits), as well as regular humans.

I’ll be using using the OG and GO characters (not Ares/Orion or VROH). The main ships are established, married Tatsumido/Hiromido and angst-ridden TakuRan (ngl TakuRan might not get a happy ending), with some background established Endou x Natsumi which doesn’t really factor into the story. I might also include background Fudou x Kazemaru but that isn’t decided yet. I’m very easygoing with ships and can write basically anything.

The fic is split between three main stories — Kariya, the Inazuma Pirates, and Shindou. All three plotlines interweave into one another and will eventually come together:

Kariya is a lonely boy who lives on the furthest outskirts of the town of Shaleworth. The son of a fisherman, his neglectful father up and left one night, never to be seen again. Ever since, Kariya has been alone, carving out a career for himself as a fisherman at the age of 14. By now, he’s accepted his fate. He’s used to it. He doesn’t care if people pity him or think he’s a nuisance. One day though, he has a chance encounter with two wayward pirates, Tatsuya and Midorikawa, who have lost their ship and their crew. The pirates start using Kariya’s home as a hideaway until they can regain enough strength and resources to return to their ship. Kariya ends up realising he doesn’t want them to leave, meanwhile Tatsuya and Midorikawa realise that this lonely boy doesn’t have to be so alone forever. Family bonding shenanigans ensue.

The crew of the Inazuma, led by captain Endou Mamoru, are among the most feared and respected pirates on the seven seas. Due to the mysterious and powerful Hand of God, wielded only by the strongest pirate on the ocean, the Inazuma Pirates have garnered a high reputation even among the navy and port governors. After losing two of their crew mates, Tatsuya and Midorikawa, during a storm, they’re desperately trying to find them. Captain Endou has faith that they aren’t dead. Members of the crew such as the young gunner Kirino Ranmaru, however, are less confident, especially because if Tatsuya and Midorikawa are still alive, they would have run ashore in one of the most anti-pirate areas of the whole archipelago — Shaleworth.

Shindou, a baron’s son, hates pirates with every ounce of his being. Four years before the present, pirates attacked his hometown and kidnapped his personal servant and best friend, Kirino, thinking Kirino was actually the baron’s son. It was later revealed that a different pirate crew, the Inazuma Pirates, had pillaged and destroyed the trafficking den where Kirino would have been taken. There were no survivors. Shindou now swears revenge for the ‘death’ of his best friend. Having been sent to the town of Shaleworth to study under Governor Kudou, he makes it his mission to capture and execute any pirates who come through the nearby waters. Even his new personal servant, Ibuki Munemasa, thinks he’s going a bit too far. But Shindou sees it as justified. If he can’t have his best friend back, then what’s the point in being merciful? (Little does he know that Kirino is very much still alive)

If anyone is interested, please let me know, either by replying to this post or dming me! I haven’t written much more than the first chapter yet but the chapters are quite long, in the range of 4000-5000 words per chapter. Chapter 1 is fully written already. I write pretty quickly too, so expect new chapters every week/two weeks.

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: A Week in the Life of Dan and Phil!

Date video was published: 04/22/2018 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 376

A DITL-style video! The first one of those since Australia (unless you count Dan and Phil AND DOGS! which you could).

0:00 - love the crew member standing there to help but DNP just going too fast, lol

0:05 - what is Dan doing, lol

0:09 - “d-don’t do that” Dan had immediate regrets

0:15 - floppy Phil quiff 🥺

0:51 - aww at the pastel plushies in the background

1:02 - the “good vibes” shirt! sad that Phil doesn’t wear this one anymore because it shrunk. especially now that we know that DNP are always sending “vibes” to each other. Phil also even wore that red jacket for his passport photo at this time...the II branding was strong

1:16 - extreme shaky-cam. filming while walking does not work that well

1:40 - ahahaha “I’ve already done enough yoga with you” reference to the yoga challenge bit of Giving The People What They Want

1:53 - “this is literally pornography” 😳 for Dan at least I guess... I am impressed with Phil’s all-in-one-motion stand there

2:01 - Dan once again with a strange sitting position

2:22 - they would see the real set for the first time a few days after this video was posted

2:27 - awww at Dan’s soft voice for the “for you, Phil”

2:41 - I mean...that is probably a 6-foot tall door which isn’t that short

2:47 - Dan smile 🥺

2:59 - <surreal meme appears fullscreen> of course

3:18 - even while rehearsing together all day...still having lunch together too 😭 wanting to spend that much time with another person is really something

3:25 - not even close with that throw from Dan 😂

3:40 - Phil getting so high-pitched with nervousness there. and I love most of the crew in the background not even caring what is happening, lol

4:01 - “it’s actually nice” what was Phil expecting, lol

4:06 - “stop doing that” as he zooms in on it more ...alright

4:27 - well then.

4:33 - “hello nips” wtf. also the banter back and forth on it afterwards is great

4:52 - “pigeon fest” was what they did for April Fool’s Day in 2018. also, Phil with matching socks! that plant does survive and thrive

5:07 - still shocked they filmed basically in bed and then put it in the video. 2018...so loud

5:28 - also jesus christ Dan’s hands are huge. how does he even type on that laptop

5:46 - I know this is a meme reference (right?) but Dan saying “six me” in that voice is um. something.

5:52 - that sweatshirt looks like it would be very hot to rehearse in

6:10 - LMAO at Phil desperately covering his dick. and the crew laughing in the background throughout this clip

6:18 - and Phil telling Dan “cover your balls, it does hurt” but Dan choosing to protect his face instead 😂 I guess we know what’s important to each of them, ahahaha

6:34 - they are having fun with this

7:05 - love that Dan is so anti-props while Phil has an entire props chest at home

7:13 - that is...quite the selection especially before seeing the show at all

7:43 - nice dodge there from Phil, and then straight to the banana eating, lol. which Phil did not have to include in the video but did even after saying not to film it

7:51 - god I love this casual clip that doesn’t even have anything to do with the show 😭 like...Dan just spending time in the lounge while Phil plays a video game. a regular evening.

8:12 - Dan’s red patch is out. also, I love that we found out in one of the stereo shows that Phil is the one who encouraged Dan to play piano for part of the show

8:33 - fond teasing

8:35 - again, before knowing where this falls in the show...this was quite the teaser, haha

8:52 - and now we have to live with the knowledge that these came from a sex shop...thanks stereo era

9:18 - oh Phil...that was an easy one!

9:39 - love that Dan does not approve of that question. and that in typical little-brother fashion, Phil just shocks him again 😂

9:52 - love the random things scrolling across the screen in the background

10:04 - so much detailed planning

10:20 - and implying that without it, they would just stand next to each other the whole time

10:25 - haircut time! both of their hair was very long in the previous clips. also, having someone come and give you a haircut in your own bedroom sounds quite convenient. also the haircut guy wearing a very Dan-esque shirt

10:35 - awww at encouraging Dan 🥺

10:45 - another clip they really didn’t have to include but chose to

10:51 - Dan had posted pictures of that and some of the concept art previously

11:16 - lol at the different accent Phil is putting on for each of them

11:51 - Dan really wants to put meaning on things

12:02 - the merch was released just a few days after this video

12:22 - so much back and forth between the living flat and filming flat in this video

12:29 - “you’re not naked, are you?” wtf Phil

12:50 - “you’re pulling it off” Phil is used to Dan’s ...unique...fashion choices at this point I think. Dan liked it enough to post photos in it that day too

13:03 - lots of social media content from this warm day...a Phil tweet and Instagram photo (posted a couple days later) too

13:29 - Dan was not enjoying the wasps that came out in the warm weather

14:12 - it does look so dystopian compared to all the other buildings

14:37 - how even. so lucky

14:45 - Phil’s got the same shirt on but Dan’s changed out of the romper

15:08 - Phil sticking to the “everything is improved with a bit of glitter” bit, haha

15:29 - “foot content”. also, still have all the TATINOF cubes left in teh background as decoration from the Easter baking video

15:38 - now Phil has changed into comfy pjs. also, sitting right next to each other on the couch, again after spending the whole day together already... and more “foot content” although Phil’s in this case

16:10 - love Phil filming Dan like this. same vibe as him filming Dan directing the trailer in The Making Of ‘The Amazing Book is Not on Fire’

16:26 - this must have been the very last day of rehearsals. don’t know about that singing...

16:48 - Phil watching Dan talk in this car clip 🥺

17:23 - Dan must have won...we never see Phil wearing those sunglasses

17:26 - Phil had posted a photo with the cherry blossom back in early April when it was blooming

17:55 - they really did start posting insta stories in the days right after this (1, 2)

18:49 - literally almost entirely fried things and dips there

Unlike Giving The People What They Want, this probably does make a “top 10″ list of joint videos for me. I love it so much. I think I just like the casual style a lot.

Phil posted this less than a week before their first II show in Brighton. They also hung out with PJ and Sophie while they were there. Also these (1, 2) stories. 👀 And this one.

[bodhrancomedy]

This series has been going on for a year, so there's a lot of characters (and with the attention spans on TikTok, similar ideas which upsets me as an actor).

Under the cut is a masterlist of every franchise and character created!

(Warning, it's long)

ACD Sherlock Holmes: Doric speaking cab driver who fears being sent back to his Deaf school & very posh magician who actually believes in magic.

Addams Family: Victor Addams, enthusiastic medical student and complete madman. Triplet with Atticus Islay (Indiana Jones) and Teddy (the Mummy). (He/they)

Bridgerton: Lord Barnaby Lackless, a very eccentric, autistic bachelor.

DnD Honor Among Thieves: New member of the crew, hopeful tempest cleric.

Doctor Who: Odhrán Catton, a nonbinary Irish history student

Ghosts (BBC): Stubborn 1920s ghost who died after he “saw the first diesel motorcar, briefly”. Obsessed with Poirot and silent movies.

Good Omens: Clueless angel that got a body with non-working ears.

Harry Dresden:  Wizard apprentice who doesn’t take any of Harry’s misogyny shit.

His Dark Materials: Servant with a bat daemon working against the Magisterium as a spy, occasionally alongside Lord Asriel using ableism as his shield.

House of the Dragon: Very snarky BSL/SSE using servant.

How to Train Your Dragon: Pipsqueak Peerie, a squeaky-voiced childish Viking with three hearing dragons called Incus, Malleus, and Stapes.

Indiana Jones: Atticus Islay, very tired teaching assistant to Indiana Jones. Triplet with Victor Addams (Addams family) and Teddy Islay-Addams (the Mummy).

James Bond: Nigel, a low-ranking MI6 agent temporarily standing in for the 007 designation.

Jurassic Park: Paleontologist with weird priorities (bring him the big bugs!)

Kung Fu Panda: A sarcastic kung fu bat.

Merlin: Sly knight from a family of mages attempting to hide his deafness with Merlin’s help.

Mummy 1 & 2: Theodore “Teddy” Islay-Addams, an archeology student who lied his way onto the dig of the first movie and studying for his PHD in the attacked museum of the second.

Narnia: Logical Northern Irish Pevensie cousin. (Does not like the British Imperialism and really want to hug Aslan).

Our Flag Means Death: You/Sweetheart (renamed by audience), bloodthirsty pirate fleeing his murder of an ableist teacher in Edinburgh.

Outlander: Doric-speaking (but mostly signing) minor clansman who DOES NOT LIKE the main character's 1940s views on D/deaf people.

Owl House: Florestan, a student forced into the healing track to “fix” his ears who just wanted to be a bard.

Rings of Power: Insecure BSL/SSE using elf wanting to prove himself against the dark forces.

Star Trek: Unnamed science officer who isn’t allowed to collect rocks anymore.

Star Wars: Pilot whose twin brother was taken to be a Jedi (and likely died during Order 66)

Stranger Things: Cowardly new arrival to Hawkins with an interest in animals.

Supernatural: Cassidy, a cocky Irish hunter.

Tangled, the Series: Albany, a cartographer with a murderous grudge against Rapunzel and her father.

Umbrella Academy: Another child of the 43 pregnancies born in Ireland. Is immune to all poisons and mildly antagonistic (in a non-personal way) towards the Hardgreeves.

What We Do in the Shadows: Timothy, a sweet and earnest vampire (who crashes into things as a bat).

Witcher: Radek Solkov, alchemist, explorer, and failed mage. Very loud, very flamboyant.

X-Men: Cassidy O’Conner, a nervous mutant student at Xavier’s School who can transform into a bat and just wants to be an illustrator.

[fandomwriterstuff]

“We’re a well-oiled team of military-grade kindergarteners,” his best friend, and the only other human on the ship who would understand what kindergarten was, continued chastising him and his companions. “The level of education and training among the three of you eclipses that of the entire rest of the members of this operation,” Annabeth continued, pointing her finger individually at himself, his pilot Jason, and his Chief Science Officer Nico. “You know, I’m not that surprised with you, Percy, but you are our XO so you should really be more responsible,” he winced at that, still feeling a bit of imposter syndrome at being the Commander of the USS Olympus. “Jason, shouldn’t you be piloting a ship or something?” At that, he saluted her and did an about face before scampering off to get into more trouble. “And you, you’re definitely way too responsible to have gotten mixed up with this Seaweed Brain and Sparky, so what’s in this tomfoolery for you?”

Nico, the only Neptunian on the ship, shifted his large black wings self consciously under the scrutiny of their Chief of Operations. Percy, as the Commander of the vessel, felt obligated to protect his usually stoic and well-behaved… acquaintance? Di Angelo was reserved, almost standoffish, and resented anyone who tried to stick up for him for some reason, but that didn’t stop Percy’s stupid seaweed brain from doing so. Hence the acquaintance. Percy was 99% sure Di Angelo didn’t consider him a friend. But he was nice to Percy and a great officer, so Percy considered him his friend.

“It was my fault, Annie,” he used her childhood nickname carefully, not knowing whether it would soften her up or piss her off more. He was hoping for softening. “It was just another one of Jason and my dumb ideas that we thought we would need a scientist to help with, and we didn’t want to piss off Leo by involving him in it. You know how he is about his engineer and warp cores and whatnot,” Percy held his hands up placatingly. “Leave Di Angelo out of this, he has sciencey things to do, isn’t that right?” Percy side-eyed his companion who (not surprisingly) rolled his eyes.

“I try not to get involved with human pranks or even Jovian mischief, but Officer Grace and First Officer Jackson were about to be meddling with my linguistics team. It isn’t my duty to tell my superiors what to do, so I sought out the next best option, supervising and ensuring no lasting damage was done to the physical or emotional state of the linguistics team. Now,” Here Percy held in a smirk as Di Angelo shrugged. “If they caused interference with the machinery of the ship, that wouldn’t be my expertise, so I allowed it to happen and-” Percy held back a laugh as the other male started speaking even faster to get everything out as Annabeth turned redder and redder. “I’m very sorry about that, truly, but I had no control over the situation.”

“No control over the situation? You three broke our LIT machine and now we have to go back to Earth as soon as we pass close enough to fix it. Soon enough nobody on this ship will understand each other,” the woman across from them crossed her arms and Percy shrunk back a bit.

“I want to make a joke about a machine being called “LIT,” but I feel like it isn’t the right time,” he muttered. “I know the Linguistic Inhibition Technology is important, but most of us have a working understanding of at least one other language, so it shouldn’t be a huge issue, right?”

“You know it works by connecting to the implant technology in our brains, so as it shuts down one by one, members of this ship from spaces stations and planets far and wide will have no clue why they suddenly can’t understand their XO, or their Chief Officer, or their best friend. So you better explain this. And you have to tell them that we’re going straight back to Earth to fix it because no nearby planets have the same brain implant tech as us. Damn Terrans and their brand name technology copyrights,” Annabeth grumbled and finally turned around to walk off.

“Hey, you’re Terran, too!” Percy shouted after her, but she just flipped him the bird.

“She can do that?” Di Angelo asked, side-eyeing Percy.

“Yeah, she’s been my best friend since we were twelve. As long as she doesn’t undermine my authority in front of everyone else, I don’t really care. I’ve done way worse to her,” Percy laughed at the other man’s frown. “Nothing bad, just pranks and things of that sort. Maybe when we get back to Earth we can show you where we’re from. You never set foot off of the training grounds while you were in school.”

“I would… like that,” Di Angelo paused and gave Percy a soft smile.

“Great,” Percy patted the younger male on the shoulder and made his way to the Command Center.

Percy sat himself down in the rotating chair and pressed on the comms device.

“Gooooood evening crew of the USS Olympus, this is your Commanding Officer, Percy Jackson, speaking,” he smiled at the engineering crew that was scuttling by, only for one of them to pause and look at him like he was speaking a different language… Whoops.

“There was a malfunction with the Linguistic Inhibition Technology and we will be returning to Earth henceforth to repair it before the damage becomes problematic. You may experience glitches with your implant technology and may revert to only understanding your first language and those you have studied extensively. If somebody looks like they’re not understanding what I’m saying right now, please escort them to the linguistics team in Science Bay 3. Carry on. Jackson, out.” He clicked again and the mic turned off.

He sighed, this would be one of his bigger mistakes. They were supposed to be exploring, but they couldn’t do that if nobody could speak to one another. One trip home couldn’t hurt him, and he was sure Annabeth would be happy to see her father.

It wasn’t until later after the Chief Officer meeting when someone finally asked Percy about Earth. For many of the non-humans on the ship, Earth was a place to get education and training to go out in the star fleet, and they never set foot outside the campus grounds, just like Di Angelo. But people had stopped asking him questions because Earth was basically “Space Australia,” as Annabeth had explained to him. The adaptability of humans and their need to pack bond astounded many and horrified many others. So, he stopped talking about home.

It was a new member of their ship, Novax (a Vulcan who was a part of Leo’s engineering team), who asked him about it first.

“I hear Earth is 75% made of pure salt water, and is filled with animals of all kinds. Do you have a favorite water animal?” he asked Percy excitedly.

“Definitely dolphins, though they aren’t underwater creatures. Like humans they need oxygen to breathe, and come up for air very often. My favorite actual underwater species would have to be a hippocampus from Neptune. I’ve always wanted to go and see one, but my human anatomy prevents me from going on-planet,” Percy explained and sipped on his hot tea.

“There are a million creatures in the ocean and you pick one that doesn’t breathe underwater?” Clarisse grunted. His Chief Tactical Officer was a brutish Martian, but very specialized in weapons. “And your second favorite isn’t even Terran.”

“What else do you know about the ‘ocean’?” Novax breathed, leaning forward.

“Eh, not much,” Percy shrugged.

“I’m not sure I heard that correctly, maybe my LIT unit isn’t functioning well,” another member of engineering asked, Nyssa. “Your planet is 75% water and you don’t even know what is inside it?”

“I could tell you about the people who spend their life learning about what survives in the deep depths,” Percy looked up, knowing he had all of the non-Terrans hooked on every word. Even Di Angelo had paused in his note taking and was staring wide-eyed at Percy. “But I don’t know if you’d want to know.”

“No we do!” Nyssa exclaimed. “There are people who dedicate their lives to a place that’s literally not navigable by humans, the main inhabitants of the planet?”

“Well as you said, most of the planet is water. Which means that coastal communities are filled with fisherman, whalers, swimmers, and more. I could tell you about some of those. I could also tell you about the scientists that spend years of their lives building bots that can’t even come close to withstanding the pressure at the deepest depths without imploding, or I could tell you about those that do come close,” he shrugged.

“What happened to those?”

“The video feed cut out after only seeing multiple rows of sharp, jagged teeth,” Annabeth answered, her sharp grin frightening those who hadn’t noticed her. Some forgot that she was Terran, because she was also half Minervan.

“I could tell you about whales. Beautiful, they come in black and white or grey or blue. But they can be as big as almost 100 feet long. That’s as long as most pirate ships. And they could fit about 400 average sized humans in their mouths. You don’t want to cross one of them. And they only live on the surface. The things that live in the deep,” Percy shuddered for effect. There were no Neptunians on the ship, so there were no natural water dwellers there, so all of his rapt listeners were shocked by this information. “There’s the anglerfish. They light up the dark with an antenna on top of their heads, and the light lures in prey. But it’s so dim elsewhere that you don’t see their big sharp teeth until you’re right up against them,” he murmured. “Giant squids are almost as big as whales but not nearly as peaceful and beautiful. They have eight arms and two tentacles that could wrap around any boat and crush it.”

“Ten limbs?” Nyssa whispered, clearly disturbed.

“Plus, the Portuguese Man o’ War,” Percy shrugged nonchalantly. “Also known as the floating terror. It’s like a big blue jellyfish that sits innocently on top of the water with huge blue tentacles that sit just underneath with a sting strong enough to kill a full grown human.”

“Don’t worry,” Annabeth grinned that shark grin again. “Percy won’t tell you about the stories of the old days. He doesn’t want to scare you.”

“That was the not scary part?” Novax gulped.

“Anyway, I just got notified that we’ll be back on Earth in a few days, so brace yourselves,” and with that, she stood and left them all staring after her. When the door clicked shut, Percy had all eyes back on him. He shrugged.

“Don’t look at me. I wasn’t going to tell you about the kr- nevermind,” he stood. “Di Angelo, with me,” the younger officer stood, back to business and was at Percy’s side again in a moment. “Clear your schedule, you’re spending shore leave with me, pal.”

“Great,” came the deadpan reply.

“Don’t sound so somber,” Percy rolled his eyes. “I’m just going to show you the beach and maybe a good gay bar. You need to let off some steam my dude.”

The other male reddened.

“That is so… That is…” he huffed. “Highly inappropriate.” he glared down at the ground and Percy felt a little bad, maybe the guy wasn’t out? But it was clear he had a preference for males. Oh well, that foot was already in Percy’s mouth.

“Fine. But I will be attending and I am a great dancer so you’re missing out,” he winked at the flustered officer and made his way back to his cabin. It would be an interesting few days.

He made a plan with Annabeth. Day one before shore leave, Percy would spread a rumor to Novax about the kraken. Bigger than a giant squid and meaner. Known to crush entire pirate ships in the olden days.

Day two, Annabeth would mention sirens to Nyssa. Hideous creatures that could lure you in with their voices and lead you to believe you were bringing your ship in to everything you ever wanted, when in reality you would crash your ships and then drown.

Day three, Percy would tell Leo about the Megalodon. A definitely very real shark so big you couldn’t even imagine it. Percy shuddered at that one.

“But, there are some good things,” Percy was speaking to Nico Di Angelo from his Commander chair, in ear shot of some of the participants of the conversation a few nights prior. “Mermaids, the siren’s nicer cousin species. And the lost city of Atlantis. Known to be a great and bountiful city, lost to the sea and cursed by the gods to be stuck down there forever. Some believe it still exists, but it’s within the Bermuda Triangle.”

“What, pray tell, is the Bermuda Triangle,” Clarisse sighed.

“Hard to explain. Ships just… go in… and they never come out,” Annabeth shrugged. “Planes go down. Ships wreck. People who go in don’t come back out, so we don’t know if Atlantis is really there or not.”

“That’s… terrifying,” Novax whispered as he walked by.

Percy was sure he had created a healthy fear of Earth’s oceans in his crew. And he meant to, because while he loved the beach and swimming, he did want to make them shy away from the depths. They wouldn’t do well to explore it.

[xsamsharons]

moi tsarevich - n. lantsov

pairing: nikolai lantsov x reader.

genre/warning: fluff!.

words: 2.1k.

summary: in which you are forced to share co-captaincy with nikolai and you really can't stand him, or can you?

The alliance had been a practical decision, really. Your ship had been destroyed by an enemy that had happened to be an enemy of Nikolai as well, so (against your better wishes) you’d decided that joining forces until the issue was taken care of and you could take the time to rebuild your ship was the smartest choice. However, now, having been living on the same ship for about two weeks, you were starting to think that maybe smart wasn’t exactly the word you would use. You’d never had anything against the privateer, but you also didn’t necessarily want to be sharing the co-captaincy of a crew with someone you only saw as an arrogant and entitled royal.

“Just because we agreed to join forces, it doesn’t mean you can enter my quarters whenever you please.” the prince’s voice rang through the room as he stood by the door, holding it open in hopes of getting you to leave.

“Well, I asked where the captain’s quarters were located and I was directed here.” you responded, spinning around in his desk chair, just to further aggravate him.

“Exactly, and as far as I'm concerned I'm the captain of this ship.” he continued, still holding the door open and standing next to it.

“So, which is it? Prince or captain?” you asked. At that, he shut the door and walked over to where you were sitting, placing both hands on the sides of the chair you were spinning on, effectively making it halt.

“Listen, lapushka,” he began, your faces centimetres away and your eyes locked on each other's. “I know you must be dying to spend time with me just like everyone, but you’re on my ship now. My ship, my rules.” he finished, a shit eating grin on his lips.

“Our agreement clearly stated co-captaincy.” you said, getting up and forcing him to detach himself from the chair he still had his arms on. “But if I threaten your authority that much, you can keep your quarters, moi tsarevich.”

✦

The next morning brought sunlight for the first time since you’d been aboard Nikolai’s ship, and with sunlight came sparring sessions on the main deck between the joined crews.

The sun was high in the sky, the water clear for miles and the sounds of swords clashing could be heard from any part of the ship.

“Good morning, lapushka.” you immediately rolled your eyes at the sound of the voice you didn’t even have to turn around to know who it belonged to. “How did your non-captain-quarters treat you last night?” he asked, coming to stand beside you while you leaned against the railing, facing off to sea.

“Same as they’ve been treating me for the past fortnight, your highness.” he rolled his eyes at the mention of his title, which brought a smirk out on your face. “Do you need anything else?”

“Never needed anything in the first place, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t missing my face too much.” he winked, you snorted.

“As if.”

“Admit it, that’s why you want the captain’s quarters, you want to have the chance to stare at me more.” he continued, moving closer to your side on the railing.

“‘More’? I don’t even even stare at you to begin with.” you lied.

“You know you do, darling.” he stated, and now you were the one rolling your eyes.

“What’s with the pet names? Treat every member of your crew like this?” you questioned, still not looking at him. “Pretty unprofessional if you ask me.”

“I’m pretty unprofessional?” he asked, making an emphasis on ‘pretty’. “I knew you thought I was pretty.” he finished, a smirk appearing on his face once again. You were starting to think he actually might have that stupid look tattooed on his face.

“You need my confirmation? Yesterday with your authority and today with your attractiveness?” you looked at him expecting for him to be offended, but instead being met with an even bigger smirk than before.

“So you’re not denying it?” he asked.

“Get lost, Nikolai.” you answered, and turned your head to stare at the ocean once again. As you did so, you heard his laugh echo while he did exactly what you told him to and began to walk away.

“I’m never letting that go.” he shouted over his shoulder at you, turning some heads while you tried to hide your smile. As if his ego needed any more boosting.

✦

As the sun started to set, the sounds of sailors drunk on rum and clashing swords started to go down as well. The ship had been anchored someplace near the south Ravkan coast, and everyone had started to turn in for the night as the orange of the sky started to turn black.

Once the sun had settled and the sound disappeared, you remained the only person on the main deck, enjoying the quiet as the light pull of the sea swayed the boat.

“I get you want my room, but that doesn’t mean you need to sleep out here if you don’t get it.” you heard his voice from behind you, and wondered if the talent for interrupting quiet moments ran in his family.

“I just don’t see the point of sleeping at all if it isn’t there.” your voice was dripping with sarcasm, and as you turned around to look at him, you found his ever present side smile planted on his lips, as well as two swords - one in each hand.

“I think you mean you don’t see the point of sleeping at all if it’s not beside me.” he responded, and you chose to ignore the comment in favor of asking about the two swords he was carrying with him.

“Are you trying to kill me? I know you are aware of the fact you can’t beat me in a fight but choosing the middle of the night to attack me is kind of a low blow.” you teased, knowing that wasn’t the case. “I’d expect better manners from a prince.”

“First of all,” he started, “if I wanted to kill you I wouldn't need to attack in the middle of the night when you were alone. Second, we are the only ones who didn’t spar today and I thought it’d be a great co-captain bonding exercise.” he finished and you laughed, grabbing the sword from the arm he extended for you.

“Co-captain bonding exercise?” you asked.

“I’m still working on the name, point still stands.” he answered.

“Fine.” you agreed, and took a high guard with your sword in one hand.

Nikolai offered a mock salute which you returned with a smile, and soon you were both circling each other waiting for the other to leap towards them. He lunged first, and you avoided your sword smoothly, smirking at him in the process.

“Did you pick the night because you didn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of your crew?” you asked with a smirk.

“I’d wait until I win to start sounding so confident.” he winked, and threw an overhand cut at you. You didn’t manage to evade it this time and instead blocked it quickly, reflexively.

“What do I get when I win?” you asked, as you both kept cutting at each other.

“If you win, you can sleep in my quarters for a week.” he answered and brushed the fake edge of his sword against your cheek softly.

As time passed, it started to become less about the fighting and more about the taunting - or flirting, you supposed was a more accurate word. The smooth words of the prince in front of you made you want to blush and lunge at him at the same time. Nikolai cut lazily at you, and as your swords clashed, you both raised your arms to move your swords high above your face, now with nothing in between you but a few inches.

“Now would be a good time to admit you like my handsome face and kiss me.” Nikolai smirked, with both your arms still raised above your head, the distance between you becoming smaller with each passing second.

“I bet you’d like that.” you answered, and instead of closing the distance between the both of you, you settled for disarming him and throwing his sword to the side, moving quickly to have his back pressed up against the railing and the edge of your sword against his neck.

“I wouldn’t be against this kissing position either.” he shrugged, “Might cut my throat if I move too quickly but i’m willing to take the risk.” he finished, and you snorted.

“Tell me I won and I can have your quarters for a week first.” you demanded, raising your eyebrows.

“You can have whatever you want, lapushka.” he whispered.

You lowered your sword down after his words, throwing it aside much like you’d done with his, and pulled him in by the collar of his shirt. Your lips moved against each other as his hands traveled from the railing to your back. “I think I'll make you sleep in my room while i sleep in yours tonight, just as payback for the last couple of nights.” you said against his mouth, your hands wrapped around his neck and his still placed on your back, an illusion of a distance between the two of you.

“If you recall my words, I said that if you won you could sleep in my room for a week.” he quoted himself - of course he did. “But I never said anything about me not sleeping there.” he finished and you smirked, looking up at him with your mouth agape.

“You knew this would happen.” you said, slightly slapping his chest.

“I was hoping it would.” he shrugged. “Been hoping for a while actually, don’t know what took you so long. I’m extremely irresistible.” he stated as a matter of fact, making you roll your eyes.

“I’ll make you pay for this, moi tsarevich” you warned.

“I’m counting on it.” he winked, and leaned down to kiss you again.

ravkan glossary: tsarevich - prince, son of tsar (direct address: moi tsarevich). lapushka - darling, honey, sweetie.