#but until then I'd like to know if there are ways to help the VAs affected

[cluescorner]

Pay the fucking Genshin VAs wtf?? Like, they’re 1/2 the reason I like the game and the fact that Paimon’s VA (who has the most lines in the game BY FAR) hasn’t been paid in 6 months is ridiculous. In the meantime, does anyone know how we can help support Corina and Brandon until they get paid? 

[rh3maji]

Lil rant abt Caine

Caine is just a lil guy, despite it all. From a design standpoint I thought I was gonna absolutely fucking hate looking at him because those chattering teeth toys make my skin crawl- but the art direction really helps make him look more appealing and whimsical than a disembodied pair of talking dentures sounds on paper.

The thing with Caine is I didn't initially like him that much after the pilot. While his interactions with Bubble were quite funny, that one episode left me feeling like he'd just end up being kinda one note or at the very least one note in a way that'd get on my nerves. Then everything changed when Pomni Wake Up Time to Go On an Adventure! attacked

The comedic timing throughout that announcement video was so fucking funny and thanks to his line deliveries and animation/model [?] upgrades- CAINE LOOKED AND SOUNDED SO ADORABLE!!

Legit it wasn't until this came out that I realized I actually could be on board with Caine as a character and it's been uphill from there. Episode 2 was better than the pilot not only comedically and visually but also in terms of showcasing just how actually unsettling Caine can be as an antagonist. Not because he's vengeful or malicious, but because he's so oblivious to how people work. His mind's always buzzing with terrible ideas and he's so so eager about these adventures, but at the end of the day he really really doesn't get the circus crew. Try as he might to include them, keep them engaged [ZOOBLE WAIT!], or even give them what they want [Exit doors] he doesn't realize how traumatic and distressing their current situation can be. The very nature of being trapped in a digital world is bad enough but it's especially rough here bc not only does its god have limited capabilities, you also are very well acquainted with him, and he can't fully understand your pain nor can he truly save you from it. He won't mourn your abstraction. He will not attend your funeral. He will not understand the distress of your arrival, nor the weight of your departure.

This isn't just sad from the pov of the circus gang, it's also very sad for Caine- not because i think he'll ever feel sad about it himself necessarily, but instead because the situation is sad. New members appear over and over, you craft adventures and games and distractions like [i'm assuming] they'd asked you to, but over and over, one by one, they abstract. They stop laughing at your jokes. They don't like you. They want you to leave them alone. It's confusing and maybe even inconvenient.

Where I'm hoping the series takes Caine is that this dissonance between Caine's intentions and the distress of the circus gang gets worse and worse and worse until something's got to give. I'm hoping that maybe at some point a character will try to sit down and talk with him and for it to either sorta get through to him but completely backfire in some form because he misinterprets what the others want from him OR i'd also be down for him to listen, but not understand any of it and proceed as tho nothing happened. I don't want Caine to come around really, it'd be interesting to see how Goose would go about having him come around to being a better host that empathizes more with humans, but personally I do prefer him to keep on keepin' on being this oblivious and eager antagonist.

My favorite Caine lines/line deliveries so far:

"You, my friend, stumbled into an incredible world of wonders, where anything can happen!…e-except for swearing."

"And here we have THE GROUNDS! Drown yourself in the digital lake, or engage in ridery at the digital carnival!"

"What do you think of XDDCC? You're right, terrible, LET'S TRY THAT AGAIN!"

"Kaufmo abstracted? Why didn't anybody tell me?"

"Bubble you can't say that"

"-ZOOBLE WAIT!"

"Why are you all just standing there?! The- The Canyon- C-Candy Canyon Kingdom needs you now!" [according to his VA, this was an actual line flub but hoo boy am i glad they use it bc it's hilarious]

"I know you guys love your NPCs, but if I start losing track of who's a human and who's an NPC, who knows...what. could. happen..."

That last line there specifically surprised me the most because up until he said that I was under the impression Caine was linked to every single NPC. I even thought he could see through their eyes if he so chose thanks to his "hundreds of all seeing eyes" line in the pilot. Him saying this here implies lots of things. Has Caine forgotten before? Is someone in the circus secretly an NPC ooooooooh~

"Who knows what could happen..."

Honestly, when Caine first said this I did immediately theorize Jax as being an NPC but now that it's been *checks calendar* three months since I watched episode 2, I don't think this is the case anymore. Jax being an NPC would be...something. Jax not knowing he's an NPC would be interesting [i like it when ppl's realities get shattered], but honestly I think this line was a way to telegraph to the audience that no Caine isn't actually all knowing. He didn't know Gummigoo was coming through that portal until he saw him with his own two eyes. My theory is that Caine is only able to teleport, create, censor, transform, and destroy the world around him, but isn't able to see all of it at once unless he tries to. I think Caine's default state is one where he only knows what he sees directly in front of him/what he himself has left waiting for someone else. And rather than implying someone in the gang is an NPC, I think that line in episode 2 was mainly implying Caine can be tricked, that it's possible to hide something from him, to surprise him even. Though I'm not opposed to an NPC we haven't met trying to join under the guise of being human, it'd potentially create some fun tension assuming the audience was given enough reason to care about them.

Jax is actually my favorite character in tadc, but i couldn't fill an entire post with things to say abt him. Caine seems to be- at least as of right now- the easiest of all the characters to try and wrap my head around. I'll probably have a lot more to say about Jax as he exists in canon as the episodes come out [EPISODE 6 MY BELOVED]

but uhhhh yeah, that's all the things i had to say abt Caine. Pls go watch/listen to the fansong Digital Land bye!

[meanbossart]

I appreciate how you write Astarion so, SO much. I feel like way too many fic writers infantilize him to a point where I honestly start wondering if I'm the one who misinterpreted him so badly.

I'd love to know more about what you think of his character and his arc. Personally I saw him and immediately went "oh god this guy is gonna be the irritating tumblr sexyman of the year🙄" and it took me until Araj basically to warm up to him. What were your initial thoughts and did they change much while playing the game?

OH thank you so much!!! That's a shame if it's the case, and a little surprising to me, to be honest! While he's definitely written be an aloof jerk a lot of the time, I always found him to be surprisingly mature and introspective whenever he's not dishing out witty remarks. He comes off to me as the kind of person who learned to benefit from seeming dumber than he actually is, overall.

HAHA I had a VERY similar experience, not just towards Astarion but all the characters, really (I really disliked Shadowheart at the beginning, too). I had only seen pictures of him and pretty much expected a vapid character that was being carried to stardom because of a talented VA - and because people go nuts for anne rice style vampires lol.

While I was definitely enjoying his voice lines from the start (Again kudos to Neil) I definitely wasn't expecting much else. He piqued my interest after so devastatingly turning my character down at the tiefling party without me even having inquired, and that's when I, the gamer, was like "well, alright, I GOTTA fuck this guy now" (this is also where DU drow's personality began to come out as you can probably guess)

Obviously, if you have two neurons to rub together you can gather pretty quickly that he's not trying to woo you because you're so interesting and wonderful, so I started getting curious! With that dynamic being so different from what you usually expect of romances in these types of games, plus the charming way in which he is written, I started being won over.

I think what really did it was how gradually his attitude changed when responding to new, mostly trivial dialogue options and doing his greetings as you earned his trust, and ESPECIALLY with how he responds to your tav when you express any kind of fear or insecurity during his romance - which was with a lot of sincerity and confidence in his resolve to support you, and in you as a person, a complete 180 from his usual front - Which, again, makes me all the more surprised to hear that he's often painted with such an immature brush.

And obviously he has a DEEPLY ugly side to him (if you've read ANE, hopefully it's clear that I know this, and that I like to explore it just as much as anything else lmao) but it's very interesting to me how it seem to always come in the form of outbursts, rather than a constant evil-streak, usually followed by a glimpse of self-awareness. It feels very much in line with someone who's actually making a great deal of effort to manage their RAMPANT emotions and going through a lot of internal conflict in the process.

GAH. Yeah if you can't tell by this friggin' thesis I just wrote, I love the way they wrote this character a lot and I was definitely proven PROFOUNDLY wrong in my first impression of him - which, if that's not irony at it's finest I don't know what is.

And as an aside! I also very much appreciate that he's a "queer" coded character who's effeminate (in the Old Homo kind of way, but I digress) and flamboyant, but taken Dead Fucking Seriously. With as much progress as we've made in LGBT rep in media, I still often feel like gay men will only get that kind of treatment for as long as they "Aren't That Gay" (I know Astarion doesn't have a set sexuality - But lets not mince words: stereotypes exist, and he fits into most of them) and as a thin-wristed gay guy who's a little too found of linen shirts, I can honestly say that experiencing a character like that helped me with my own confidence.

[hypernova-writes]

*in sad orphaned Canadian child voice* please... please do the rest of the pregnancy reveals, I'd give you a Looney, but I am all out. 🥺

a/n: Of course you can have the rest~! also only reason pyro isn't on here is that I have a fic planned with them about adoption!

Mercs finding out their S/o is pregnant! Spy,Medic,Engineer,Heavy,Soldier

Spy

You already knew how Spy felt about kids. And normally you two were so so careful because of this. You knew that he was Scout's father and how he was absent from his life. And you desperately didn't want to lose the relationship you had with him.

So you hid it. Swore Medic that he wouldn't say a thing. But the doctor was concerned.

"Y/n. I know you do not vant to tell Zhe Spy..but it could be dangerous if you go out on that battle field, and respawn vhile vith child." "I can't let him figure out Medic. I have to make it seem like I am normal."

You began shying away from his touch, not allowing Spy to touch your stomach, you hid the medicines Medic gave you for morning Sickness, and went out on missions as little as possible.

To Spy, something was fishy from the beginning. He'd notice you frequenting Medic's office, changing the size of your clothes, not wearing the stuff he'd bought for you previously.

Then when you started shying away from his touch, he just assumed you were setting a new boundary at first. Until he saw that you allowed MEDIC of all people to touch your stomach.

So today, he invited you to his smoking room, he saw that you were hesitate to enter, so he puts out his cigarette. He turns to you, his mask was off as he walked up to you.

"Care to explain.." He shows you the ultrasound photos, and you felt your breath hitch. He walked over to you to caress your face.

"You rather put yourself in danger, zhan tell me zhat you are pregnant?" "Spy-" "Non. I am talking. Why would you do zhis?"

Spy says as he lowers his hand to caress your stomach. "You put our child in danger. You're to stop immediatly. anything you need, I will take care of. Zhis is our child."

"I..I was.."

"Afraid. and zhat is my fault. but. I do not want to possibly lose you both because Of how i used to feel."

Spy holds you, allowing you to finally relax in his arm.

"I will be a better dad. For our child. I will not repeat my mistakes.."

Medic

(This is a bold of you to assume that Medic doesnt ALREADY kno-)

"Oh mein schätzchen! something has come up as an anomaly in your system! I'm gonna run some tests!"

Medic knew EXACTLY what it was, but he wanted to make sure that was what it was before he got all giddy.

He walked over and gave you a kiss before collecting the sample from you.

Medic was a wonderful lover, he always made sure to take care of you. His aftercare was amazing and he would always make sure that you were alright.

He was also the type of person to track your ovulation cycle. Medic really wanted to have a kid (i head canon that he is really good with kids-). So he tracked it so he would know when the perfect time to get you pregnant.

"Ah! My My I vas correct!"

He returns to your side and grabs your hand. "Ve're going to be expecting! You are pregnant!"

You kinda had a feeling, because of the morning sickness, but the giddy and happy expression on Medic face as he started to ramble off about baby things and eveything he needed to get ready and how he needed Heavy's helping building a crib was adorable to you.

"You seem more happier than I am baby.." "I Just might be! I've always vanted to be a Vater!"

Engineer.

This man RADIATES father energy. He'd already like the dad of the group (alongside heavy).

The two of you weren't trying to have a kid, but Engineer surely wasn't wrapping it before he tapped that sweet ass of yours. So when you fell pregnant, you were excited.

You would make your way to his workshop, ultrasound photo in hand as you skipped up to him. "Dell babykins!"

Engineer turns you with a smile on his face. "Howdy love of my life~. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

You smile as you bring him away from his desk, and making him sit on the edge of the bed as you begin handing him things.

First you hand him a mug that says #1 Dad on it. Then you hand him a cute baby tool set you had found made all out of squishy toys, this makes him chuckle.

"Awe thanks sugarpie-" "That isn't all!" "Now what in tarnation do you have there"

You hand him the envelope and watch as he opens it while mumbles somethings to himself.

"Now sugarplum what is th-" He cuts himself off as he sees the picture, he tilts his head before he covers his mouth with his hand.

The two of you stand in silence for a bit before Engineer feels the tears start to run down his cheeks.

"Y-you're..W-we're..?"

You nod, making him him pull you into a hug, he rocks you back and forth pressing kisses all over your face.

You could tell he was excited, no more words needed to be spoken between the two of you.

Heavy

(Think of this as a continuation from his kinktober-)

Heavy noticed a change in your routine ever so slightly

At first it started with you stopping drinking after matches, it peeked his interests because usually you'd share a drink with them after a battle well done.

He could understand that, he barely drank as it is, so when you stopped he respected your wishes.

Then he would see that you stopped eating certain things, staying away from seafood in particular, usually you were first in line whenever they decided to get together and make a seafood boil or bake/fry fish. You were turn it down, sometimes the smell alone got you nauseous.

Now when you stopped fighting? Oh Heavy was worried now. So he took you to Medic.

"DOKTOR! SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH WIFE!"

Medic runs tests on you, and asks you simple questions before turning to Heavy.

"Vell..Congratulations! your vife is pregnant!"

Cue Heavy wanting to SMACK himself for not realizing the signs. He helped his mother around when she was pregnant with his sisters, so he was surprised he didn't realize that's what was wrong with you.

"I..should've known forgive me.."

You give him plenty of kisses and just ask for him to give you a massage.

Soldier

You would have to break it down for Soldier.

Because while he does understand that women can have children, and that you could possible bear his child. But his understanding stops there. Like he's not that stupid, it's just he just doesn't understand womans anatomy completely.

"Solly, Look!" You decide to sit him down on his bed, showing him a picture of an ultra sound that you'd gotten done.

"AND WHAT IS THIS A PICTURE OF?" "A baby Solly! Our baby!"

Soldier tilts his head, "OURS?" Soldier takes the photo and holds it close to his face. "BUT IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE OURS"

"That's because he's only a few months Solly, soon when he's born, he'll have our features."

"HE?" "Mhm. We're having a son!"

That'll make him excited.

He'll pick you up and twirl you around, kissing your cheek. He'll put you down and quickly ran out of the room.

"I AM GOING TO BE A FATHER!!!"

Pyro isn't in here because i have a seperate fanfic!!

[weebsinstash]

so the screenshots are kinda janky but I was rewatching the whole scene with Ozzie and Fizz's morning routine and I remembered there were those shots of like, the imp staff who work for Asmodeus and

is she helping do the laundry in platform thigh high boots, an apron, and a thong 😅 is that her UNIF0RM? Does she pick that out herself??? Is Lust just SO HORNY that it's totally normal that Ozzie's housekeeper is half-naked? Is he banging the housekeeper? Are Fizz and Ozzie exclusive or is it an open relationship? their other imp staff member was literally fully dressed so is this an optionally slutty, pro slut dress code idk

Like I'm sorry I'm just sitting here thinking of Reader who, Sinner or otherwise, is down in the Greed Ring as another performer for Mammon and Fizz is eventually like, "look, working this job is my dream, but it isn't yours. you shouldn't be attaching yourself to Mammon if all you need is a paycheck. I've got a... close friend who always needs extra hands; let me introduce you!!" and you have no idea that he's literally organizing a meeting with The Actually Fucking Cardinal Sin Of Lust until you're standing right in front of Asmodeus himself and he's just so goddamn CHARMING like he'd have me SWEATING AND GIGGLING I'd be straight up embarrassing myself like "o-oh that's not what I expected your voice to sound like hahaha 🥴"

Ozzie assures you the ultra sexy type uniforms are totally optional, and you could be bringing him papers in an oversized t-shirt and crocs and he'd still think you're as cute as can be. But. LORD if you ever decide, "I wanna feel sexy and confident and everyone else is having fun" and wear something sexy. It has him WEAK. Him? Them? Prolly both of them tbh. Like. Ugh I KNOW these two can go from having the freakiest loudest horniest sex imaginable to like giggling and tickling each other in bed and I can just SEE them being SO SOFT for a Reader darling. All your jokes make them laugh or affectionately roll their eyes. They DEVOUR your cooking (I think personal chef/PA Reader would be cute, the boys wake up and you have breakfast ready for them and everything), they're always sending you memes and things that made them think of you, they have a special group chat (of just them) SPECIFICALLY for sharing photos of you or things about you or just, talking about you period. Gosh. Would there be cameras suddenly installed where there wasn't previously just so they can see all the cute things you get up to when they're not around. All the little improv dances and songs... all the times you bend over...

Like the hilarity of Valentino getting absolutely fucking CUCKED when "his" Reader suddenly disappears, and it's because you can travel through the Rings and you work for Ozzie now and Valentino had no idea until he saw a trending photo of you and Ozzie where you guys did a HOT HOT photo shoot together to advertise something, where you're either almost completely naked OR actually ARE completely naked, and it's because Ozzie made you feel safe and protected and unlike Valentino, Asmodeus knows what an intimacy coordinator is-

You can actually go to clubs in those booty shorts with your ass hanging out and wearing whatever else makes you feel sexy and confident now because the second some creep is coming up to you and not taking 'no' for an answer, the creep suddenly has a massive looming shadow over them as an ancient demon turns to you and respectfully asks. "Is this guy bothering you queen?" and then steps on him. In a BAD way :)

GOD ALSO I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THIA INTERACTION UNTIL I SAW THIS GIF AND. Asmodeus' VA previously described his type as "everyone" and he has a BBW on that fountain like 😩❤️ now I'm thinking of chubby reader who's gotten bullied and bodyshamed by Valentino (who is negging you and is actually down SO BAD) and then you run off to Ozzie who's like. "Baby you are GORGEOUS and if anyone ever says or does anything like that to you again, just let me know and I'll break their legs ok ^w^"

((Also. Non yandere related thing im seeing. He's one of the Cardinal Sins and imps are considered the lowest Hellborns and Ozzie not only has an imp lover but TONS of imp staff, like he is a pro body positivity anti racism fucking 👏 K I N G 👏 BANISHED FROM HEAVEN'S DISCORD SERVER FOR BEING TOO HORNY ON MAIN. i bet he would DESPISE that Heaven is discriminating and choosing who's hot, just, ugh i want him carnally (edit: i noticed they're actually all succubi/incubi and not imps but the point still stands lol))

[rikeijo]

Hi! I've heard somewhere that some lines of Yuuri's speech at the press con in episode 5 were mistranslated and that because of this, the speech comes across as if Yuuri doesn't know what exactly he is feeling for Viktor. I can't tell if it's really mistranslated, but I always found the subs in this scene a bit confusing. So, I'd love to know: how would you translate his speech?

Hi! Thank you for the ask!

I must admit that I've never properly watched Eng sub or dub version, and even though I bought the US edition to someday discuss some translation choices (that's imo super fun thing to do ✨) my only laptop that had a built-in DVD player broke down >.<

Sooo, I searched online for his speech in subtitles, but I'm not sure if the subtitles I've found are official...

"My theme in this year's Grand Prix series is "love". I've been helped by many people in my competitive skating career thus far, but I've never thought about "love" until now. Though I was blessed with support, I couldn't take full advantage of it. I always felt like I was fighting alone. But since Victor has showed up to be my coach, I've seen something totally different. My "love" isn't something clear-cut like romantic love, but the more abstract feeling of my relationships with Victor, family and hometown... I was finally able to realize that something like love exists all around me. Victor is the first person I've ever wanted to hold on to. I don't really have a name for that emotion, but I've decided to call it love. Now that I know what love is and am stronger for it, I'll prove it myself with a Grand Prix Final gold medal!"

If this is the official translation, then well, the overall message is close, I'd say, but at the same time, hmm... If you wanted to base a ""deep"" character analysis on it, it could probably lead you in a wrong direction... Especially the end is just mistranslated.

今年のグランプリシリーズで僕がテーマにするのは〝愛〞です。My theme for this year's Grand Prix series is "love".

今までのスケート人生いろんな人に助けられながらやってきましたが、愛について考えたことは一度もありませんでした。In my life as a figure skater until now, I've come to the place, where I'm now, while being helped by a lot of different people, but I haven't even once thought/pondered about "love".

恵まれた環境にいながらそれを生かしきれず、１人で戦っているような気持ちでずっといました。けど、ヴィクトルコーチが現れて、僕の見ていた景色は一変しました。I've always been in a very favorable ["for me to be a figure skater" in this context] environment, but I wasn't able to make a full use of it and I always felt as if I had been fighting alone. But, Coach Victor appeared and the scenery I see [that is: the way I see the world around me] changed completely.

僕の愛。それは分かりやすい愛や恋ではなくて、ヴィクトルとの絆や家族や地元に対する微妙な気持ち。My love. It's not [general] love or romantic love that is easy to understand, but my bond with Victor, and the lukewarm way I feel about my family and my local community. [This sentence, imo, is often mistranslated, but you can also argue about how it should be interpreted in Jp. However, to do that you have to be able to notice nuance just from the intonation of the sentence... For example, imo, because of where the VA makes a pause in the sentence, it should be "general love or romantic love that is easy to understand" and not "general love that is easy to understand or romantic love", but grammatically both option are possible. "微妙", when you look for the definition in a dictionary, is often translated as "subtle" or something similar ("abstract" is just a mistranslation, tho), but, imo, from the context, it should be the more modern meaning of the world, which basically means nowadays "not bad, I guess, but I don't really know". That's why Yuuko was offended by Yuuri's word choice. Also, based on the intonation and grammar (no need to have two "や"s in one sentence when giving examples) "bond with Victor" and "feelings towards family and local community" are two separate issues.]

ようやく自分の周りにある愛のようなものに気づくことができました。At last I was able to notice the love-like thing that is around me.

初めて自分からつなぎ止めたいと思った人、それがヴィクトルです。The first person that I myself [the vector of the action starts from Yuuri, it's an allusion to what the Nishigoris talk about with Victor in ep. 2] wanted to tie to me [and don't let them go] is Victor.

その感情に名前はないけど、あえて愛と呼ぶことにしました。This feeling doesn't have a name, but I decided to dare to call it "love".

愛を知って強くなった僕をグランプリファイナルの金メダルで証明しますっ！ I'll prove myself, who got to know what love is and because of that became stronger by [winning] a gold medal in the Grand Prix Final. [The way it's worded suggests that Yuuri wants to prove his own "worth", not necessarily that what he says is true - it's not "I want to prove that...", but "I want to prove myself, who...".]

Oh, and by the way, if you read the speech carefully, Yuuri talks about "two loves" here - first, he explains that his theme is "love" and what that word "love" means to him - so "something like love, that is around him", and only then he starts talking about one more feeling - the feeling that doesn't have a name, but he decided to "dare to call love" - and that is what he feels for Victor. Because the word "あえて" is there, and it means "dare to", do something "daringly", to me it always felt as a variation/reference to the famous quote from Oscar Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas' poem "The love that dare not speak its name", but maybe that's just me ✨

[flightfoot]

Can you rec fics in which Gabriel isn't the main antagonist?

I mean there are plenty of fics where he isn't the main antagonist, where there's no antagonist at all (ML has a lot of fluff), but I'm assuming you mean fics where there IS a main antagonist but that antagonist isn't him, and probably a more epic sort of story with an antagonist on Gabriel's scale and not like, a high school bully kind of thing (not that there's a lot of those I'd rec anyway).

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Stitched Together by @nedjsmlfavs

Stitch Witch Marinette was just supposed to be having a nice, terrifying outing with her best friends. She never expected to find a magically trapped kitten, but here we are! Whatever happened to this poor little guy?

Poor Adrien, being transformed and chained up for ages, having no idea that he was gonna be rescued. But at least he got to have fun at Marinette’s place as a cat! 

Most of this fic is adorable, though with some dark undertones lying in wait. After all, SOMEONE chained up that poor little kitty…

---

In Direct Opposition by @generalluxun

Alya Cesaire is a brand new student to Francis Dupont, to Paris even. The first student she meets is one Chloé Bourgeois, and Alya is determined to make a friend. Things advance Chaotically. Her new 'friend' is definitely a handful, and suddenly Paris has a supervillain and two brand new superheroes! Alya finds herself balancing a lot of things, trying to live up to her ideals and those of her icons.

And then reality seems to contradict itself.

As time progresses it seems to happen more often. Becoming a hero, battling villains, staying alive, working through friendships. Something is lurking, tweaking events at times, changing them, and no one seems aware. Alya will need all her wits to get to the bottom of this. Her investigative mind can only get her so far though, and then she needs to rely on her friends. This is not a foe you can beat head on.

I betaed this entire fic, it’s really good! I adore the focus on Alya’s philosophy here, her determination to be a hero, to help people and defeat evil - and that defeating evil means trying to reform the people doing bad things when possible, to try to save EVERYONE, even the “villain”. I thought it was really clever the ways Alya would redirect Chloe and subtly encourage her to be a better person, while also trying to get the people around her to give her a second chance and keep an open mind. 

Also Alya and Chloe are an adorable sapphic couple XD.

---

The Rules of Engagement by @overworkedunderwhelmed

When tragedy sends Adrien Agreste racing back to Paris to run his father’s fashion house, Marinette doesn’t expect much from her very new, very rich boss. At least not until she is set up on a blind date with a very familiar face.

Much to her surprise, Adrien Agreste was hiding far more secrets behind his stoic business-like mask of temporary CEO. Maybe as many secrets as she had been trying to hide for years.

As they grow closer, Marinette fears her mask isn’t nearly as foolproof. Day after day, it gets harder for her to keep all her secrets well hidden from the surprisingly sweet man who insisted on staying by her side as often as possible.

Only she couldn’t afford to fail. Not when her biggest secret could spell the end of the job she’d dreamed about for years.

They might not be superheroes in this universe, but secret identities are still active here. Both Marinette and Adrien used to be involved with the Ladybug and Chat Noir movies, and both kept that a secret - Adrien especially, since if his father found out about it, there could be some bad repercussions, as he voiced Chat Noir without Gabriel’s permission. Marinette, meanwhile, is well known for making cosplay (calling herself “Ladybug” after the movie), and has been in contact with “Chat Noir” for quite some time before the story starts - not that she knows he’s the actual VA.

It’s mostly an Adrienette fic with the two of them getting to know each other after their unusual “first” meeting, where Marinette pretended to be Kagami in order to scupper the date with Adrien and get Tomoe off her back, with some intrigue and drama thrown in. Lila’s skulking around causing problems for the people around her, but she’s honestly not the main focus here. 

---

Kwami Magi Homura Magica by Crossoverpairinglover

After eighty-four loops in time, Homura Akemi takes a new path to Paris to save her friends.

The sixty-third loop after that, Homura arrived at the Agreste Mansion.

After clash after clash with the heroes of Paris and its greatest menace, events have reached a tipping point.

Ladybug faces someone verging on a second wish, a wish that endangers space and time to save a friend.

This was an absolutely AMAZING story that crossoverpairinglover dropped out of NOWHERE. Seriously, if you like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Miraculous Ladybug, this is a real treat - but be prepared to sit down and binge, because it’s over 100,000 words and only has three chapters. 

Anyway, I adore the care that’s taken with going through Homura’s mindset here, she gets a lot of character focus. And the lore! There’s some good explanations here for the history behind kwamis and Incubators’ interactions, and the Order of the Guardians normally treats Magical Girls, and why the Incubators are wrong in their assessment of the universe needing more energy to stave off entropy (hint: it involves Plagg), and just... there was a lot of love put into this.

And the action! Most Miraculous fics don’t have much in the way of fight scenes, and what they do have is mostly just functional. This is one of the rare exceptions. There’s some really long, detailed fight scenes in this (roughly the entire second half of the second chapter has one between Ladybug and Homura), which are a treat to read! 

We also get some glimpses into a variety of other universes here, other timelines, alternate ways things could have gone down - I’m especially partial to the rather detailed view we get of one where Homura sent a message asking for help to the Ladyblog on her third time loop, and how things progressed from there. 

The ending I also thought was really good, a happy ending that generally made sense and dealt with the issue of the Incubators. 

If you can’t tell I’m really happy with this fic, it was incredible and unexpected. The length of the individual chapters can be daunting, but if you’re up for the task, I highly recommend giving it a shot!

---

Dreams of You by @chocoluckchipz

Dreams had long been his only escape. Dreams of Ladybug, the girl who had always been there for him.

If only in his dreams. And only while she was also sleeping.

Because with the first rays of sunshine gliding over her skin, with the first fluttering of her eyelashes, from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, memories of Adrien would vanish from her mind.

She would go on living her life.

He would always be the only one who remembered.

At least until they meet in the real world and fall in love all over again, something that would’ve been easier to do if Adrien wasn't a prisoner in his own home.

Chocoluckchipz has some of the most beautifully executed lovesquare fics I’ve read, and this is no exception. Most of the fic is dedicated to Adrien wooing Marinette, spending time with her, with her own dream self acting as his wingman, giving her tips on how to get her to fall for him, all the while frustrated that she can’t share memories with her waking self, and that she and Adrien can’t share as much information as they’d like while asleep, due to limitations of the “curse” that allows Adrien to share dreams with his soulmate. 

It’s not all cute Adrienette fluff though. There’s a threat in the background waiting to erupt, as the weirdness of Gabriel’s ultimatum to Adrien about finding Ladybug or else being forced to marry Lila keeps on gnawing at him - and with good reason. This is a world with magic and kwamis still, and that fact makes itself very relevant in the last third of the story. 

It’s a well-written tale and very much worth a read!

---

[stuckyfingers]

I'm just thinking about autistic Steve...

(I'm not as well educated about autism as I'd like to be so do correct me if I'm wrong)

Like, he's always been 'weird' even apart from his physical disabilities. He's felt a kind of self hatred over how sensitive he is to little things that are wrong but he can't explain why.

He hated talking but also loved talking about one specific thing that noone had any idea why he liked. (If someone can headcanon his hyperfixation, that'd be great). Either way, it didn't make him very popular among his peers. As a child he'd get bullied for just about anything because of how many faux pas-es he made.

He'd try to get home as soon as possible from school and shut himself into his plywood cabin of a room and cry. Bucky theorized that he was a vampire because of how much he liked fabric lined dark places.

He never guessed it wasn't normal to hate wearing clothes, so he continued living in constant discomfort and caution. Sarah had caught on to the specificities of how he needed his food and tried her best to get his safe foods on the table despite being poor. (Yes, she even called it that.)

Did I mention he also starts crying when he can't predict his day. And when things get more and more uncertain with the Depression swinging in, he gets so stressed that his heart problems worsen.

But having Bucky as a friend helps them both survive the times. Bucky was the only person who seemed unconcerned and unjudgmental about Steve's 'moodiness' and 'fidgeting'. He tried to understand when Steve described sensory overloads to him, and though he couldn't relate he accommodated Steve as much as he could.

Steve was frighteningly smart and picked up on every social cue he found, organizing them into a mental flowchart, assuming that this was what everyone did. But for most of his childhood he saw himself as less smart because Bucky seemed to be able to tell him things that he somehow still missed.

"Well how the fuck am I supposed to know that if they don't give any indication of being sarcastic?"

"Because it's not sarcasm, Steve... It's just- talking shop. A fake nice word, just because."

"How am I supposed to tell the difference?"

"Well, you just do. I don't know how you could... consciously do it."

By the miracle of God (and Bucky) he pushes through Eugenics era until 1943.

The Serum brings color to his eyes and more sound to his bad ear.

And he hates it.

But what's new is how much more physical energy he has to mask it.

It feels comparatively better to be able to mask without getting exhausted so fast, so he assumes his 'weirdness' has been cured and goes to war. In his line of work, however, he never gets a day's rest for his brain that craved routine, and because of how he's now able to push the feeling deep down and cover it up, Bucky can hardly recognize him.

And when he's out of the ice, his brain is turned to mush at having to learn new cues along with being autistic but anyone in that situation would have found it as difficult, so he passes it off.

One day he sees one of the people at Sam's VA talked about how their autism shaped their experience of PTSD differently, and Steve did the customary google search to learn more about it.

It said 'can't make eye contact'. But he knew the correct ratio of eye contact / looking away and what part of the eye he could look at so that it wouldn't drive him mad.

It said 'sensory issues' and he felt bad for those who actually had it because that must be horrible.

'Black and White thinking' okay but that doesn't mean- but see, he did know that illegal things weren't necessarily bad, right? He was ready to accept the criminality of something if it was a means to a moral end. And maybe there were some things that he could not see any nuance in but there were so many things he could. He couldn't have believed in Bucky if his thinking was Black and White right?

'Lack of empathy' No. Steve didn't understand people's feelings immediately, but he always logically guessed when they needed help. He kept note of the things that people found comforting so that he could be of comfort when they were down. He was empathetic, right?

He knew he wasn't autistic. (spoiler alert, he's just reading the symptoms from an outside perspective)

It's when he starts following more and more autistic creators that he felt less wrong for those weird things he did as a kid. He chuckles nervously scrolling through the tiktoks like "Ha ha why are ya'll so relatable"

He's not immune to the stigma but comes to terms with it. It feels a lot like how he came to terms with being queer. He's even surprised when he realizes that he was also wrongly assuming that it was gone because of the serum when it just became more manageable (for others) when he did.

Bucky listens like he always did when Steve explains things to him. And after a long while of living his truth with Bucky, Steve gets more comfortable describing himself as autistic to other people as well.

He starts experimenting with stimming, which already feels MILES better than forcing himself into a 'calm' and steady Captain's body language. Once he retires after Endgame, he surrounds himself with comfort and accommodations in his apartment and builds a routine he can finally be at peace with.

[gameguy20100]

Why Alastor works where other's fail.

So anyone who follows my blog knows that I have a large distaste for the growing amount of characters who act like villains but always get sob stories in an attempt to make me feel sorry for them. The most glaring example being Felix Fathom from Miraculous Ladybug

I'm expected to feel bad for this character and feel sympathy for him but his actions are indistinguishable from the villains of the story.

Yet, I don't in fact, I hate him. And I was sure I'd hate this archetype until I watched Hazbin Hotel. And Alastor, despite being a similar type of character swiftly became my favourite.

So what makes Alastor a good character and Felix fail as a character for me? Well, a big part of it is Alastor is a lot more fun to watch.

Pretty much every scene he's in Alastor steals the show completely. With a combination of his VAs impeccable performance, the animation distorting in various ways to enhance his creepy effects, and of course that constant smile. Felix doesn't have anywhere near the level of charisma and charm to make it work.

Probably the biggest factor is who these characters direct their hatred and malice towards.

In Alastor's case, while he's clearly not a good person his actions do actually benefit Charlie and Vaggie. The protagonists of the show and ideally the characters you root for. Who does Alastor antagonise? Vox, a character who is depicted with every negative stereotype of CEO's ever, and Adam, the main villain of the story. While he does rile up Lucifer, the bitterness is mutual and hilarious.

Felix on the other hand? He claims to be against Gabriel, but his actions end up helping him and making the lives of two people who have done nothing to him, and in Adrien's case outright love him and do everything he can to help him, suffer. I'm sorry but if a character causes the hero to do this

They are a villain.

But another major factor is simple. Alastor isn't annoying. What do I mean by that? Well, despite Felix's claims to love Adrien he's caused him quite a lot of trouble. The main instances being gaslighting his friends by pretending to be him and insulting them, then betraying Ladybug making his life as Chat Noir much harder. Yet he's never punished for it and we have to listen to him whine about his daddy issues. Alastor does let slip that something else is going on but he never whines about his "Tragic past" If anything he seems to want to make sure nobody finds out, he even threatens Husk for even mentioning it.

Nobody likes seeing bad people go unpunished or go on about how hard they have it. Oh? You blew up a building because your child died? Cool motive, still terrorism.

Felix however never shuts up about how hard he has it, and make it everyone else's problem to the point where I lose all sympathy for him.

Yes Felix, your life is so hard and tragic. Now can we talk about the time you did this?

Or this

Or THIS?!

Sexual assault, giving a terrorist magical artefacts and betraying an innocent girl, framing your cousin in the process, and Genocide. But you know... he had a hard childhood.

So maybe I don't hate the archetype. Maybe it's just a bad idea to try and make a character's archetype go against everything they've shown.

In Alastor I see a monster who's taking down other monsters and the narrative shows him as that,

In Felix, while the story wants me to see a tragic anti-hero, all I see is a spoiled brat.

[kilfeur]

Voilà enfin fini mon nouveau comic Rayllum avec cette fois ci, un cauchemar de Rayla mais Callum est là pour veiller sur elle. A la base il y avait deux scènes que j'ai pas mit au final, la première est pendant la crise de panique de Rayla, Callum fait toujours le truc avec le pouls mais descend sa main vers sa coeur. Pour qu'elle puisse sentir ses battements puis l'allonger en lui demandant de se concentrer sur lui et sur sa voix. Au final j'ai opté pour autre chose qui on va dire plus réaliste même si je pourrais toujours placer ça ailleurs. La deuxième scène c'est qu'après la discussion du duo, Callum était censé jeter un coup d'oeil à l'arc de Rayla. Pensant aux dernières paroles de Claudia jusqu'à ce qu'il sente la main de Rayla et lui dise qu'il aime quand elle le touche s'en suit Rayla qui l'entoure dans ses bras pour se réchauffer. Je trouvais déjà que ça traînait en longueur et même si j'ai pu mettre le câlin, j'espère que je pourrais mettre la scène de l'arc sur un autre dessin ou bien un one shot par exemple.

At last I've finished my new Rayllum comic, this time featuring Rayla's nightmare, but Callum is there to watch over her. The first is during Rayla's panic attack. Callum still does the pulse thing, but lowers his hand to his heart. So she can feel his heartbeat, then lay her down and ask her to concentrate on him and his voice. In the end, I opted for something more realistic, even if I could always place it elsewhere. The second scene is that, after the duo's discussion, Callum was supposed to take a look at Rayla's bow. Thinking about Claudia's last words until he felt Rayla's hand and told her he liked it when she touched him, followed by Rayla wrapping her arms around him for warmth. I already felt it was dragging on and even though I was able to put in the hug, I hope I could put the bow scene in another drawing or a one-shot for example.

________________________

Page 1 and 2

Rayla : Where I am ?

Claudia : You're selfish, tell me why I don't have the right! All I want is to keep my father alive?! Everything I've done is for my family! To keep him with me! So why am I being robbed of what is rightfully mine?! So tell me you elf… Why should you be allowed to have yours back?

Rayla : Your father wanted to invade Xadia. He allowed a kingdom to be corrupted for his downfall. And you helped him, turning your back on your brother

Claudia : You know nothing! He did it for the good of mankind! Don't try to blame me for anything! When you've abandoned and hurt your loved ones. You came back like a flower, thinking you'd be welcomed. Nothing was going your way. You're no saint! So don't accuse me and see your own mistakes

Page 3

Viren : Tell me, elf, was my hunt really worth it?

Rayla : Ca... Callum. No... I beg you... Don't look at me. Outside, we'll be attacked! I've got to go! Otherwise we'll never reach the tower! Getting Nova's blade is the priority, we can't take a detour! I must protect you!

Page 4 and 5

Callum : Rayla, it's okay, you're not alone. You're here with me and Stella, remember. Can you feel my pulse and my touch? Rayla, relax. There you go, breathe just like me. Good again. We've eliminated the creatures that attacked us. And we've surveyed the area, haven't we?

Rayla : Yes, I remember.

Callum : That's good, Rayla, keep going.

Rayla : And the air dome you created at Umber Torr. You remade it for this cave.

Callum : See? Then breathe again. We're safe, you have nothing to fear. Do you want to talk about it ?

Claudia : You're selfish.

Rayla : Before that, I'd like to know… Why are you so intent on saving my family?

Callum : Eh… Well, why not? Recovering Nova's blade and saving them is like killing two birds with one stone!

Rayla : But...

Page 6

Callum : Rayla, in those two years, we created our own path. We've moved forward and sometimes lost our way, but we keep going. Because we want to achieve our goals. And we've done things for ourselves. Because we thought it was the right thing to do. But also for others, so that they can live in a better day. And finally, so that we can grieve properly. But you have the choice of reuniting with them. You shouldn't waste it when the opportunity is there. You could have continued your hunt. And yet you've come back to us.

Rayla : There are so many things I could have done better. So many things I haven't told you about my two years without you all. Even with Stella, I felt so alone. I was so cold and had nothing. I wish I could have stayed with all of you for those two years. I regret it but I'm here now and I want to stay by your side.

Callum : Rayla, you've always had a place with us. Even when you're reunited with them, that won't change. I promise!

Rayla : You always find the words to soothe me. They are magic! They make me feel able to face anything. You bewitched me and I've always been under your spell. So I can only love you more.

Rayla : I had a nightmare I thought I was going to die.

Callum : Really? And now you're thinking about it?

Rayla : Not so much now that you're here. Of course you do, Stella

[oneofthoseghoststories]

This is kind of long.

I find it really interesting how many people had super high expectations for hazbin. Not saying it's a bad thing to have high expectations for shows. It's just interesting because most of these people seem to be newer fans. cool, whatever. With this, I think people need to remember shows that start out on YouTube, at least in my experience, never are top quality and everything they say it'll be. With Hazbin is seems to be for a few reasons.

I know this has been talked about a fuck ton, but yeah the pacing kind of sucks. Maybe that's because of it being 8 episodes, maybe it's because animation is still not taken seriously, maybe it's just shitty writing. As a writer I don't think any of these are really great excuses. As a viewer, I'd rather have it end on a cliffhanger and not get a season two if it means we'd have a fleshed out plot line.

2. Vizi can't take constructive criticism to save her shows lives. I want to be clear that I've heard she's a shit person but don't actually know what the reasoning is behind it. But this seems to be a common occurrence with her works. It doesn't help that she's side lining her main character in favor for the men either.

3. This is tied in to pacing but the plot is kind of everywhere. There's countless characters introduced and then ignored like they aren't quite sure why they've been added. SHE SIDE LINES HER MAIN CHARACTER!! Charlie is in no way my favorite but we're supposed to empathize with her and root for her but her story is bland.

4. I know it seems crazy but the fandom tends to play a part in this as well. I can't even begin to count how many people in the fandom blatantly ignore canon sexualities and say they'll never recognize them just so they can write smut fics about the characters. I really don't care about the fanfic but it seems like erasure if you say you'll never accept it.

I will say there are some things the show does pretty well. The songs are catchy, and are done well. The VA's are putting their all in to it and you can really tell. The animation is good, I've seen people talk about wonky angles but I didn't really notice them. It's a good premise, it's unique and has the chance to be really, really well done, but it has yet to truly live up to the expectations the fans have had since the pilot.

That being said, I did like the show, it's good for what it is, an adult cartoon filled with crude humor, with so-so writing. There isn't anything inherently wrong with that either. But I feel like we've been tricked it trying to consume only "smart" shows when sometimes "trashy" shows are just as fun. Point is, yeah the shows not great, but it's not horrible either. If you liked it cool, if you didn't, also cool. You gotta accept that people's likes are subjective. Otherwise you may end up living a miserable life.

until whenever

-ghost

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

REMINDER: it's okay to rewatch a show you liked or a book you love as a young person and realise that, hey, nostalgia and the exact person you were when you first engaged also played a part

sometimes, they're just weird shitty shows or badly done books, but to you at the time you fell in love with them, they were perfect

and that's okay

accept that there's a thick layer of nostalgia on your memories, read/watch it again if you want to or not, it's alright to admit it's sily or awkward or just a strange plot now you think anbout it

you don't have to get defensive, or die on the hill for something you don't really love all that much now but you did once, etc

sometimes you have a story that hits you at the right time, no matter how weirdly scripted or awkward, or is now not like... great when you have the context that you missed as a kid...

and that's normal.

part of you can still love it, remember it fondly for what it was in that time, in that place, at that moment when you were a fan. but you don't have to defend it until you're a defeated husk of a human being hating everyone around you for questioning things you like(d) a dozen years ago. it's not an attack on your childhood or who you were to grow aup and realise things had subtxt, or were not the way you first read/saw them.

for example, we all liked the flinstones right?

you rewatch that recently? wilma and betty have to ask their husbands' permission to do a LOT of stuff, very religious onsense wrapped in caveman attire with the 1950s attitide.

does that mean the idea of dinosaurs also helping with everyday stuff wasn't fun? of ourse not. but you can see why it is uncomfortable to watch now, with the new lens / viewpoint of adulthood and current societal norms, right?

or land before time. Loved that shit so much, wanted to eat a treestar so bad because thy drew them delicious and the mother death scene hit a lot of kids right in the heart... was it the most fantastically scripted movie? OR the movies since? Nah. Especially the ones that seem to insist that singing and being friends will overturn racism and bullying, but you know what? That's baby's first step at these concepts.

You have a child who is sad about the triceratops being a cunt to the others and using a racial term (in the movie) you can use that as your go-to metaphor for explaining injustice, because it's a concept the kid gets and also is age appropriate.

would you spend 23hrs a day online defending Land before Time to people you don't know or those who are like "Wow man it sucks" or harassing the people making newer sequels of it because the 'uality is worse'

No, because it's a kids show. For kids. And while you loved it in your heart at one point, seething with anger over what is a singysongy fun dinosaur movie with increasingly limited plot... makes it weird. Fighting people online because it was a childhood memory is also weird.

And let's be real, there's a few fandoms that could stand to calm down in this way too.

No, Twilight was not the most fantastically written story ever made; but it hit a number of teenagers around the world in their Urban Fantasy horny hearts at the right time.

Was the Hunger Games quadrilogy (ovies) perfect in showing oppression and the plight of the children slaughtered while the world watches? No, I'd say they actually sailed right over it because the movies actually created a lens of the situation from the Capitol's perspective. Are some people still Fucking Furious about this? Yeah.

Why though? Will it help you do the dishes? To have a good sleep?

The Potter fans. I loved those books too, guys, but it is true a lot of things with context in place from an adult perspective come across as less 'yeah that's magic' or 'yeah bad lady gets taken away for punishment!' and more How Did I Miss That?

It would be a long essay on the things that are actually really upsetting when you think about it, but I am not typing that tonight. The blatant stereotypes, the racism, the weird Vamps are cool but WEres are code for AIDS thing, the wizard cops ending, gender nonsense, that no one seems to do maths but also can manage making potions, the slave race that loves it, and the centaur SA that was So Funny. Is there wizard child safety? I think there needs to be one. So Bad. Not the amreican system though.

There's a lot that slid over your head as a kid... (I thought they were going to ride off really fast and maybe chase her through the forest on threat of trampling if she's caught, not THAT). And also, if there's OSHA for wizards, someone needs to be looking into the lake full of homicidal mermaids and moving stairs, what if you fall, is there a safety spell or something?

I have thoughts about that series, about how the worldbuilding didn't need to go in any of those directions, it didn't really add anything. There were routes around them.

But to this day people will lose their minds if this is questioned, and sometimes I think they don't really want to. Not to that extent. IT's something they loved and is a part of their childhood they clung to for whatever reason (it's different for every person) and now they feel obligated to fight for it. To accept it without criticism.

Som really good examples of this are the Star Wars and Star Trek and Transformers franchises.

Have you watched th original star wars? They're FUN, they're DUMB, they're KOOKY and SCI-FI, and half the extras don't even get the action right but you got the intent. People were fucking foaming at the mouth because the fourth alien in the background's bandana was tilted the opposite way to the originals and then they put a GIRL in as lead?!?!?!? Chill.

REal criticism is saying 'yeah those last three were FUCKED, because all the growth in #1 of the new triology as imediately flipped around and written over in #2, and then again in #3, the narrative is a confusing slop of different writers and directors not working together.

Star Trek? Love the series. Do I cringe so hard my spine feels like it will eject like on of those weird multi-lead/eraser pencils we had in primary school back in the day? Sure. Do I like all iterations of the show? No, especially the one right after Voyager that decided Vulcans can fuck whenever and aliens are blue etc. Very confusing. But then on voyager the captain and pilot became lizards and fucked to make a new species on a planet in the delta quadrant and we never talked about it again. So like...

Do people still go fucking insane over any new iterations deviating from the last and defending it online? Yeah.

Transformers... fun kids show, fascinating use of special efects and CGI in the first one. Plot wise its a shitshow and if they span the camera any more times to make it an action sequence I think we would all vomit. But certain fans would rather chug petrol than accept it's not perfect because they had the toys. I had a knockoff one that was half-voltron somehow from an op shop as a kid. Loved it.

Won't go to war for it, unless I'm in a certain mood and need to just Word my way around a bendy issue because work or whatevs didn't stimulate that braining for the day.

Stargate? Love it. Not the best writing, cringy, but fun.

Steven Universe? It's a good show, there's fun and bright stuff and it dipped toes into deep topics in a way that made it easier to talk to kids about hard things. That's good. Was it perfect? Not at all. Songs were pretty good overall.

My Little Pony? This is a little napalm on the argument, but like... it wasn't a bad show. Cringey and blindingly bright, the plot seen from the opening credits but it was fine. Fun even. For young children or uni students whose brain is sizzling and wants shiny singing things to entertain them for two minutes after the assessments are finally uploaded and they are free. No thoughts required.

The important part there is that they were for kids. They continue toi BE for kids. You can like them. Any kids show that doesn't immediately make a parent want to vomit from their saccharine nonsense (you know the ones) is fine, same way there are occasional double entende in kids movies, so the adults can somewhat engage too.

Still to this day people are fighting WARS on the internet about how Great vs how SHIT the show was. (Any of the above really) and it's like...why? Which part of you feels so attacked when things like this, that you like, are riticised, that you go to Fight?

Which loosely circles back to my original point of.... its okay to like something, and recognise flaws. Its okay to still like something important to you in a nostalgia/retro/that haracter is half my teen personality way.

But you can let also choose to accept it does not match your memories of it, and let it go.

Just, think about it, okay?

You can pull a Marie Kondo with your nostalgia if you feel ready, or just move certan things to your mental attic until later.

No one needs to be sitting up all night emrbroiled in seething hatred and diatribe of an argument about a show you loved / may still be attached to, and feeling despair if you can't best the other person. Neither of you win if you didn't sleep, if you spent all that time fighting, if you leave angry even if you win, or you get nasty and namecall or dox.

These things can be very central and important to you but, think about what it is costing you to hold that level of love. IS it obsession? It is welded into who you are? Is it a past echo of who you were that you feel you need to defend? Did you just want to fuck the villain and people are like 'bruh???' Does one of the Not-Okay-Now things the characters or writer believe meld with your own beliefs and you feel attacked?

Find your why and think on how it makes you feel. Especially if it's a why that hurts yourself or others.

How can you move through that without finding yourself attacked or triggered or distressed and angry?

At the end of the day, it's your life.

You get just the one.

It's okay to admit that something you were obsessed with no longer meets with your level of enjoyment or love, or even with your ideals and beliefs. You can let them go.

A gentle burial under a mental seedling that grows into a new love for something similar but meets your interests now. Or a solmn viking boat down the mental river, alight in the twilight night with flames as you farewell it once and for all. Or perhaps you put it somewhere in the back of your mind to revisit another time, when you are ready, and can make a clear decision.

There isn't a wrong answer.

Almost all of life is about learning, growing and reflecting on yourself, your environment, the things you believe and take in, the things you reject, and the world itself.

I forgot where I was going, please assume something poignant was at the end about grief and loss for parasocial and fictional relationships (with a character or whole series or move / story itself) and how they can hurt like real ones. Depending on who you were at the time they meant so much to you, and how those characters likely wouldn't want you to build yourself into a narrow cage of anger and despair on their behalf, etc.

[footballfanficwriter]

Can I have some Kylian fluff where reader rests her feet on his lap, he knows she loves having her feet tickled so he always runs his fingers up and down her soles, tickling her arches and toes and always cooing at her tootsies and shes just always grateful for his touch pleaseee💗

Home alone

Summary:where the reader and Kylian are just enjoying each other's company

"Kylian" I shout through as I enter the house after a long day at work

"Cherie?" He responds from the other room

"Where are you?"

"Living room"

I walk to the living room and find him watching TV

"Ça va"

"Ça va ma cherie" he says pecking my lips

"How was you day" I ask sitting on the sofa

"Boring, just training and eating, then showering and then i came back home and made dinner"

"That doesn't really sound boring"

"Well it was, any way how was your day" he asks

"Tiring, my boss is an ass, that's for sure" I say and rest my feet on his lap

"What happened this time?

He starts removing my heels and starts rubbing my feet

"What are you doing"

"Trying to relax you"

"Weird, but ok"

"So, what happened" he asks and starts ticking my feet

" Kylian, stop ticking my feet" I say trying to stop laughing

"Shhhhh, I'm trying to relax you, tell me what your boss did"

"It's not even important, I don't wanna talk about her when I'm with you"

"Ok babe only if you say so, but are you sure you're ok"

"Yeah, just had a very stressful day, where are the kids?"

"Lizzy is having a sleepover at Roxy's house and Enzo is having a sleepover at Fernando's house"

"Was, that today?"

"Yeah, but don't worry I took care of everything"

"Merci beaucoup, mon Amour"

"De rien, ma cherie"

"That means, we have the house to ourselves"

"Yip"

"So, what do you want to do"

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm too tired to do anything naughty right now"

"Same"

"Let's just watch some movies"

"Ok, I'll go get my food and then we can find something"

"Nah uh Mrs. Mbappe, sit yourself down, I'm taking care of you for the rest of the night"

"Ok fine"

He walks to the kitchen, warms the food up and brings it to me

"Thank you"

"You're welcome"

He walks goes upstairs and walks our room

"Where are you going?" I ask

"I'll be back" he says

After some time he comes back with some of his clothes

"Here, I got you something to change into"

"Thank you"

"Here let me help you"

"I can do it myself"

"I know but I wanna help"

He starts helping strip down until I'm in my underwear and bra

"Can you help with my bra" I ask

"Yeah"

I then turn around

I feel him trace my healed scars on my back and his warm fingers trace them as I have my eyes closed feeling every single touch

"I can't believe, all this happened to you" he says

"Yeh, but it's all in the past now, ok"

"Ok "

He unclasps by bra and puts a shirt on me then a hoodie then his joggers that I have to fold because of how big they are

We eventually find a movie to watch, but after eating my food, I fall asleep cuddling Kylian

Kylian's POV

She's asleep now, and she looks peaceful

As I watch my wife sleep while cuddling me, I think about all the trama and abuse she went through only because she was born into the wrong family, the many times they hurt her and she'd still get up every time only to take their crap again

The amount of therapy she went to was a lot, flip a lot is an understatement

After some time I realize I'm crying, I try to be quiet,but seems unsuccessful as she sees my red eyes and tearful eyes

She looks at me and cups my cheek while wiping my tears

"Stop, ok you saved me from that horrid place, if it wasn't for you I don't know where I'd be , it's because of your love and our children that I healed and opened my eyes, Thank you"

"Don't thank me Amour, I was just protecting you, like you'd done for me before"

She looks at me and hugs me like this is our last hug

She then pulls back and says

"Merde mais je t'aime Kylian"

"Je t'aime aussi ma cherie, tes mon vie"

She kisses me and I deepen it and she pulls away and lays he head on my chest and I think of how lucky I am to have this woman in my life

[technowings]

So, while I've been dealing with my hand issues and fighting for unemployment, my dad and brother have had their house foreclosed on and are facing eviction. They have an active gofundme to try to raise some funds for relocation.

If anyone reading this could share it around, it would be most appreciated!

(My anxiety blogging about it under the cut)

I'm doing my best to not be anxious about it, because there's nothing that I can do. I can't give them money because I'm not getting anything in myself, and the little bit of inheritance I have is being drained for bills and necessities. If I give them $$ out of that, then we could easily end up in the same situation, and what good would that do? I feel guilty for thinking this way, but the logical part of my brain keeps reminding me thats its so. Tbh, we'd probably end up in a worse situation given that we're both queer af.

We can't put them up because our apartment is a small 1 bd with barely enough room for us and our two cats as it is. I can't even offer to let them camp in the parking lot/yard because it's not mine to do so and it's shared with the next door businesses.

I honestly didn't know that things had gotten so bad, because neither of them tell me much of anything until the 11th hour. I didn't know about the power bill, or the truck issues until I read the gofundme. Even now my dad tells me the bare minimum. He says he's applied for various assistances so all I can really do is believe him and hope for the best. He still very much has the marine mentality of 'do things yourself'. At least he's finally started to use VA resources (He didn't feel like he qualified for them, having not been in active combat).

I feel like a bad kid/sibling because I can't help them, but I also have to remember that I can't set myself on fire to keep others warm. I told my bro I'd share the link, but I have a very small online presence. There isn't anything else I can do, and it sucks. All I can do is hope that they'll be ok.

[randomnameless]

Rhea was an amazing villain in CF. She finally wasn't a hapless uwu victim waiting to be rescued, she took charge, kicked ass, showed her determination to take back control by burning a city down while she was in it, and went down fighting without any "mommy are you there?" nonsense like in SS. Also Cheremy turned in an epic performance showing all the rage and tragedy as her millenia of work collapsed in on itself. 10/10 female villain with agency, would experience again.

I'd say antagonist, rather than villain, but sure, the lack of uwu is surprising!

There's no "sad uwu" with sad music and violins and "choices" ending with a very meaningful "i wanted to walk with u" to a person she might only have talked to 3 times in the past 6 years!

CF!Rhea shows her determination, in a twisted way, as she loses more and more control and relieves her PTSD, doing everything she can to survive and failing - failing to survive (well duh she's killed), failing to reunite with her mother, failing to live with humans, etc etc.

Seeing her lose more and more and her ultimate breakdown when Flayn'n'Seteth is really something - I have already made my point known about the different VA directions - and while Cherami Leigh's anger is really well conveyed - Inoue's performance conveys how you litteraly broke her! There's anger yes, but also despair and sadness.

She wants to reunite with her mother, even at the end - that's all she wants, and it's Inoue's peak performance between anger, anguish and despair that really sells Rhea as a character.

I think I felt as bad when this was over as that moment in ToX1 where you defeat Muzét on Jude's route, and she begs Maxwell to help her, only for him to, uh, don't do a thing. Then she goes bananas, and the ultimate line to Gaius where she replies with anger to his "well think by yourself" with her own "I don't know how" is just - that awesome. It's the perfect blend of off-putting, to make you understand that this character is more than just angry, but this character is feeling "feelings" (duh!) and they're shovered in your face, and sometimes, those feelings are uncomfortable and you can't ignore them.

In ToX1, imo, we're supposed to think that yes, while Muzét is an ass a bit too happy to be a perfect tool, the second she is abandonned she's a complete mess - and why the old fart abandonned her? Well...

Ditto for Rhea - her actions grow and grow more desperate, culminating with Bernie's Firdhiad adventure - but that anger and pain? They can't be ignored.

Alas, where ToX1 ends Muzét's breakdown with Milla accepting to make a place for her by her side (as unsatisfying as it is!), CF ends with...

Well, nothing.

But back to your post (I disgress too much lol) :

Yep, CF!Rhea isn't brainwashed, lobotomised, randomly "berserk" or anything, nope. Now, we can have other discussions about a genocide victim being hunted again and forced to relieve her PTSD until she breaks down.

But for a female character with agency, who decides how she will go down and is fully on board with her own plans, I think Azure Moon's Edelgard takes the cake.

She will meet Dimitri and her enemies in her palace, even resort to transform in her Hegemon Husk form if it means killing them to make her ideal world see fruition. No uwu, no crest stones used as poke balls, nope, nothing. It's only her, her ideals and her vision of the world.

[nucarnivalmadness]

Hello~ It's been a while, how are you doing? I hope you're good ^^

Well, I only came here to say that, in the Nukani subreddit, they're speculating that this might be another event with a song 👀 Mostly because of the Chinese Characters in Eddie's unit name(?)

Winter themed (in comparison to the Summer Idol event), three characters, with all three V/As that can sing -and very good, for that matter! I haven't checked yet, but "Hypnotic Mic" may be a song or "unit" in which Garu's and Edmond's VA worked together.

I don't really know as to what extent keep my hopes up for another song-event but! I hope it is!! I'd love to hear Edmond, Garu/Karu and ESPECIALLY Quincy sing!!!

Also, couldn't help but notice that Edmond's unit has a straighter, non-slutty-back-breaking pose. Definetely looks very mature and composed, and one can only impatiently wait and imagine what the scenes could be like~♡ It totally shows Edmond's growth and personal development, imo. Y'know, with all his units posing either side profile, or 3/4 until now, getting one with a full front pose....... that body language, and the tweet about his willingness to confront and fully review and change (or "admit" ;) ) his views on essence, and more importantly, about the Grand Sorcerer............ :3c

but yeah, uh, sorry for the long ask (^-^)ゝ"

Hey! ❤ I'm doing well and editing the Dante/Edmond fic when I have time :'D

EDMOND SINGING 👀💦 THATD BE JUST TOO MUCH FOR ME OHGOD IM NOT SURE IF ITS REALLY GONNA HAPPEN BECAUSE WE DIDNT GET A TEASE ABOUT A SONG BUT ITS GOOD TO DREAM ( Quincy singing? thatd be out of this world. XD )

but honestly im already happy with Edmond, he looks so pretty in his winter unform asdfasdgadfgadfgadfh

also, yes probably he is on his way on his character development and im still saying he is terribly in love with Eiden and that changes him and it still hurts him because this love is just so intense for him 😌❤

so im looking forward on the intimacy rooms :D