#but yea i think i really had a good example of what people mean when they complain about white women weaponizing their own sensitivity

[jade-curtiss]

Awkward moment at work, again, but that one is like...😐

[kikitakite]

I saw your callout in the Gale tag for that one user (no comment on them, tho ty for the callout bc i'd seen them in the notes of my fics) and was curious if you could elaborate on some of the Mystra incidents you described towards the end of the post? I'm new to the lore of the setting and find it hard to research (which makes sense given its importance to dnd), so I've heard a lot of conflicting things about Mystra's portrayal in the wider series. No pressure, obviously!

No problem! And yea, I've seen her arguing in the posts of a few people I follow or just Gale-related posts I find interesting. Usually I don't get involved in stuff like this, but I noticed a constant pattern and then all the homophobic shit so I went off a little.

Unfortunately it's hard to find exact examples of the Mystra lore because certain modules aren't very popular or even free to access, but if you're interested the best way to learn about her is by reading the Elminster novels. There's twelve total, dating all the way back to 1994, and they detail Elminster's adventures. I'll be honest though, some of them are a hard read and written through the lens of a man who's admitted very creative, but also has a lot of problematic ideas.

In the first book Elminster is a child. His entire town gets wiped out by mages, thereby making him hostile toward magic. He sneaks into Mystra's temple to deface her statue one night, but she appears before him and basically gaslights him into learning magic and becoming her rare Chosen. He becomes a wizard and cleric basically overnight, until eventually he multiclasses into pretty much every class type in DnD. As you can imagine a lot of players aren't too fond of Elminster, as he's a well known self-insert of the author and pretty annoying to run into during campaigns. None of my dungeon masters like him anyway.

He also becomes one of Mystra's most loyal followers, but she fucks with him over and over, turning him into a woman to teach him a lesson and SLEEPING with him in that form, berating him when he struggles with the torture he endures when he gets stuck in the hells, making him reproduce without his knowledge and getting jealous when he gives his partners more attention. Because she's a very jealous goddess, which I think the game vaguely touches on but not really.

I wish I had the time to flip through all the novels and give exact citations but the best I can do is suggest them, because they're so eye opening. She's considered a neutral good goddess, but neutral gods often do terrible things for the sake of their domain. I think it needs to be noted that Mystra, as with all gods in the pantheon, only cares about her portfolio. She isn't wrong for that, but it doesn't mean she's blameless when she messes with people's lives. She's done a lot of good but she's also made horrible decisions, especially where her followers are concerned.

For example, Elminster having children he doesn't know about. He has a daughter named Narnra. Her conception was... pretty fucked up. Basically a song dragon named Ammaratha Cyndusk was an occasional lover of Elminster's (he has a lot of those because of course he does) and she wanted to bear his child, but since he's a Chosen of Mystra he can control his fertility. Magic birth control, basically. He didn't want a kid so Ammaratha went behind his back to learn a counterspell that would make him fertile during sex. The man she asked refused to teach her because...duh that's messed up, but then Mystra intervened and told him to teach her the spell because she wanted Elminster's "seed to spread". Ammaratha never told him and neither did Mystra. No matter what the reasons, that was NOT consensual on Elminster's part, and it happened two more times, resulting in two more daughters with different women. If I remember correctly Elminster did eventually find out waaaaay later when they were all adults, but it never amounted to anything.

The sisters I was taking about are the Seven Sisters, Mystra's "daughters". And I put "daughters" in quotations because Mystra possessed the body of a woman named Elué and impregnated her without her consent. She slept with the woman's husband (again, while possessing her body) and made them sire seven children. This of course lead to Elué's death because the constant flow of magic in her body was too much for her to handle. Her grieving husband broke after she died and eventually left, abandoning his daughters and earning Mystra's scorn...as if he was in the wrong. The sisters were then orphaned and raised by foster families.

That said, most of the awful things anyone can say about Mystra were the doings of her previous incarnations so ultimately it doesn't apply to the Mystra of BG3. In fact, this third Mystra is supposed to be a new and improved goddess who's nicer to her followers. So her portrayal in BG3 annoyed a lot of DnD fans. I should also point out that Mystra has two types of fans: ones who will defend everything she does, even when it's fucked up beyond all comprehension, and the ones who will tell you she's a true neutral goddess capable of good and bad. I'm the latter. There are plenty examples of Mystra sticking her neck out for innocents, but there's also examples of her doing the most horrendous shit imaginable.

A lot of veteran players, at least the ones I know, are upset with the portrayal of Mystra in BG3 because her plan to end the Absolute is, quite frankly, stupid. Your party is the best chance anyone has of ending the threat, but she asks Gale to nuke himself and possibly tens of thousands, which makes no sense because she could've just sent her mages/clerics to deal with the problem. And there was no guarantee the bomb would've worked anyway. She put all the responsibility on one man and it DEFINITELY comes off as vindictive. That isn't out if character for her but she's not SUPPOSED to be that bad anymore. For a lot of DnD players it felt like she was reverting back to her old habits.

I think there's also a part in the game where you can directly ask Gale why she doesn't just blip the Absolute out of existence and he says something like, "She could but Ao won't allow it." That was also really strange for a lot of veteran players to hear because Gale drops Ao's name like it's nothing. Most people (especially if they're new to the franchise) wouldn't know this but most people in Faerûn don't know who Ao is! Because he wiped people's memories of his existence! I suppose it does make sense for Gale to know that name, since Mystra probably explained the pantheon to him, but it's VERY unlikely tav would know it. So during that conversation all I could picture was tav tilting their head like, "Huh? Who? Whaaa?"

And on top of that......Ao absolutely WOULD allow it because the Absolute effects the Weave and every other god! It had the potential to ruin the balance of the universe, which makes Ao a very angry boy. Balance is one of the ONLY things he cares about. The Dead Three were stealing souls and worshippers, which gods needs to survive, and dying gods disrupts the balance. It's a whole circle of chaos. So the only conclusion left for me to extrapolate is this: Mystra just really, really wanted Gale to kill himself to prove his devotion to her. Which...isn't great. Bad look for her.

It's kind of like how Raphael thinks the Crown of Karsus is going to help him end the Blood War and take over the hells. DnD players laughed during his epilogue because...no it won't lol. He doesn't stand a chance even with the crown. He's arrogant and he's gonna get slapped by his daddy and all the other archdevils, the same way Gale gets slapped by Mystra if he ascends. Even the Absolute ending of the game wouldn't last long because the gods would go to war with the Dead Three, wipe them out and rebuild Faerûn, which has happened many times in past DnD campaigns. Mystra alone has torn worlds apart and glued them back together. The main crisis of BG3 is saving the world you live in or everybody dies. For the gods it's just a Tuesday. I mean look at how Withers owns the Dead Three with a wave of his hand at the end of the game. Mystra COULD'VE killed the Absolute, just as she could've removed the orb from Gale's chest the moment it happened. She just didn't WANT to. She wanted him to die. She wanted him to chastise himself. She wanted him to suffer and come crawling back to her as an obedient follower. She wanted him to learn a harsh and honestly unfair lesson, which is a terrible throwback to her previous incarnations.

[seuonji]

night shift ★彡 xu minghao

xu minghao x yn ln

彡when yn’s juniors finds trouble with some fellow college mates, yn goes through mountains just to get them justice, even if it means needing to infiltrate and make friends with the most intimidating clique on campus.

masterlist

#5 better days when?! | #6 a bittersweet encounter! | #7 7th chance!

#work count 0.6k

you trudged into icey milk with slow steps, immediately catching minghao’s attention.

he stood at the front counter, eyeing your every step.

you decided to place on your kindest face to make a good impression. you walked to minghao and with a sincere smile, you introduced yourself, “hi, i’m yn ln, the new part timer!”

his eyes went back to the registry as he spoke, not even sparing you a smile, “yea i know who you are.”

“really? from where?” you tilted your head staying oblivious to the fact that you were literally the vice of your college. but you couldn’t lie, you took pride in having that title and you liked hearing it from other people.

“we have social studies together?” he faced you with furrowed brows. he spoke with a tone that sounded as if he was losing his patience with you.

you had no idea.

you had to hold yourself back from blurting a ‘we do?’ instead, you had to play pretend. “woah! right we do, i’m shocked you noticed me,” you laughed.

he suddenly muttered, “kinda hard to not notice you.”

“and what may you mean by that?” you squinted your eyes.

“well, you’re kinda loud in class. i think you should tone it down, you’re not setting a good example to the students around you, you know?”

no one, not even seungkwan has spoken to with such disgrace and disrespect.

you took a breathe in and stayed understanding to his opinion, “sorry, i’ll tone it down.”

after he relished in your astonished expression, he placed his hands in his pockets and rested on the counter, “well the manager should be in the back, they’ll give you your uniform then we’ll get started here.”

did this boy never learn how to smile? your mouth was still opened from shock even after you turned around to walk to the employees only room.

this was not going to be an easy shift.

-

you changed into the uniform and mentally prepared yourself before walking back out.

he stood there, still leaning on the counter. there was another worker tending to the customers and just by judgement, they looked kinder than minghao. you wondered why couldn’t you have the other employee as your mentor.

as you stood by your mentor, he placed down his phone and pointed to the machine beside him, “soft serve is the easiest to prep up so i’ll teach you that first.”

“isn’t it literally just you placing a cup or cone in the holder then the ice cream swirls on its own?“ you crossed your arms.

“right, but i don’t know, manager is kinda strict about the way the swirls look. i’ll demonstrate so that you can tell her later on i did teach you something,” he shrugged his shoulders.

he placed the cone underneath the machine and simultaneously swirled the cone to create the instagrammble ice cream effect.

he smiled proudly while he showed the finished product.

so he can smile, you thought.

suddenly, he placed it upside down over your head making you duck. he chucked at your bewildered expression as your eye twitched from his antics.

“my bad, was just showing you how firm the ice cream is, it won’t fall at all, i mean not unless it’s at its melting point.”

he had some wit to him and it was kinda entertaining.

“okay, you try,” he passed you a cone as he ate the one he just prepared.

you followed as he did, focusing on the ice cream but sometimes your eyes drifted to him to see his expression. he was deadpanned most of the time but gosh would some reassurance save you right now.

you finished it up and placed it infront of his face.

“does it look good?“ you widened your eyes.

he closed his eyes and nodded, “looks fine.”

you decided to pull the same trick as he did earlier. you turned the ice cream upside down then placed it over his head. it’s soft serve, it shouldn’t fall out right?

but it did.

and it fell all over minghao’s hair.

suddenly it’s as if you’ve seen light.

funfact: minghao asked to take early leave after the incident. to yn’s weird luck, they ended up getting trained by the nicer employee that day.

taglist: @weird-bookworm @kissesfrmwonwoo @haecien @amxlia-stars @addyanm @anemoiant @kokoiinuts @leewonkyeom @silver-liner @zzenkha @buffhoshi @woozixo @porridgesblog @ilovehimyourhonour @koala-wonderland @bangantokchy @limbomoon @som1ig

send an ask to be added to taglist! (replies are fine but i may not see them!!) — please check your visibility before asking to be added to taglist! if your account is hidden it won’t allow you to be tagged on posts!🤍

[scremogirl]

HII i love ur nonchalant reader sm since i lowkey relate to them too much💀💀 I'm wondering if nonchalant reader w yandere nerd would cause the same reaction or worse?.. :'DD

Omg stop cause why did you open a whole Pandora’s box in my mind!? I also headcanon Nonchalant! Reader as a foodie idek. Original fic here! Nonchalant reader here! Enjoyyyy!!! -Love, Sosa❤️

Nonchalant! Reader with Yandere! Nerd would be sickininggggggg. He would take full advantage of their behavior and use it to get away with things that a normal person would have slapped him for. He is delulu and your attitude is not making it any better 😭. He knows you really don’t care about anyone or anything so that just makes it easier for him.

Before he became popular he would defo try and finesse his way around you.

“Hey… (Y/n)?”

“Yea?”

“Uhmmm.. I-I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go get something to eat after we finish this project? It’ll be on me!”

“Sure,”

As you two pull up to wherever you decided to eat you see kids from your school through the buildings windows. Everyone has had suspicions that you two were together; you really didn’t care. You knew Yandere! Nerd was just a friend, so why argue? Unbeknownst to you, Yandere! thought you didn’t deny anything because you were already together; playing further into his delusion. You expected people you know to be there and so did he, it’s the reason why he picked this spot.

“Hey, (Y/n)! What’re you doin here? Especially with this freak?” Jeez, this knucklehead again? How many times is he gonna pester you?! Yandere squeezes the drink in his hand, it is only till he here’s the popping of the lid that he stops.

“He isn’t a freak,”

“Really? Because all the freaks I know don’t spend their time working on building fucking Lego sculptures,” he and his goons laugh thinking their funny. You just sigh and give him the classical Kubrick Stare.

“I’m gonna give you the count of three to apologize and get out of my face,” he’s about to say something when he sees you, you have a reputation and he’s not gonna be added to your naughty list. With a quick murmur of an apology, he and his friends leave. You turn back to Yandere! Nerd with a quick head nod once you notice him staring and continue to munch on your food.

That’s ranch on his pants…don’t worry about it.

After he becomes popular, his confidence boosts. He’s too bold for his own good.

“Hey, honey! Did’ya miss me?” you ignore the nickname and continue scribbling on your notepad.

“No,”

“Oh how you wound me, darling,” with a dramatic sigh he flings his hand to his forehead and flops on you. He stays like that for a while before wrapping his arms around you, face buried in your neck. You continue your scribbling.

“Say, Darling,” he shifts his face around so he can see you. He pauses for a while breathing in your scent. Cucumber Melon; his second favorite to the Peach-Cherryblossom. How he knows that; well, let’s leave that up for interpretation. He sprays it on his pillows before he goes to bed at night, acting like you're there with him.

“There’s this festival after school, Townson Amour? I was wondering if you’d like to come with me,”

“Isn’t that for couples?”

“They’ll be food,”

“Okay,”

Another example would be:

Hmmm… I swear you just had that chapstick; it was literally right there. Ah hah! There it is! As you bend down you see the door open behind and the chapstick just so happens to roll away from you to that very same door. Dammit! You’re stuck!

“My, my, my. What a lovely surprise!” You look up amused. You don’t struggle, accepting your fate.

“Hey, you mind getting that chapstick for me?” He looks down and to no surprise there it is at his feet. He bends down to pick it up and smirks.

“You mean, this one?” He waves it around in his hands before popping the cap open and applying it to his lips.

“I don’t know, this flavors pretty good,” you just continue to stare blankly.

“What are you doing here anyways? Don’t you have a club meeting or something?”

“I finished early! I was looking all over for you; if I didn’t know any better,” he walks closer to you, bending his body over yours and whispering in your ear. You can smell the chapstick on his lips, that’s literally how close he is.

“I’d say you were waiting for me,” his hands come up to your waist as he gentley pulls you back to him, successfully pulling you out from where you were stuck.

“Thanks,” you say curlty; reaching for the chapstick in his hand.

“Uh uh uh, not so fast, darling. Don’t you think I deserve a reward?” He invades your space once again.

“Maybe… a kiss?” So you do.

“Keep the chapstick,” you say, gathering your things and walking out of the abandoned classroom.

Hey! How’d that ranch get here?!

[mickeym4ndy]

I only watched Shamless last year and I never seen any of the hall of shame episodes because everyone said they were terrible so I’ve only seen some of the gallavich clips. but I saw you talk about the 85% love thing which is an insane ooc thing they made ian say but I never see people talk about the thing mickey said about his bipolar? I was shocked it was such an asshole ooc move I can’t believe the writers thought it was ok?

Yea it was very fucked up by Mickey, hall of shame was the worst.

I don’t think it’s that ooc for either of them to lash out at each other when they’re hurt, but to sink that low was really fucked up, and yea very ooc given what they’ve been through. Seeing Mickey try to hit someone where it hurts when he feels cornered/hurt isn’t uncommon (eg: how he spoke to Svetlana at the baptism) but for him to actually make a comment like that to Ian about his bipolar after everything was imo really ooc for Mickey. And just a fucked up thing to say.

Going on a bit of a tangent here but I think one of the worst parts about Hall of Shame is that the writers were so close to getting it right, but they kept fucking it up so badly.

For example, the 87% comment was mean and unfair but not just for Mickey, for Ian also. Because the flashbacks implied Ian wasn’t talking about family & friends etc, he was talking about past “relationships.” Which Caleb and Trevor I can understand to an extent, but to include Kash and Ned and other men that took advantage of him in that “13%” is fucked up by the writers and imo does Ian a massive disservice. It’s like they’re treating these men like ex boyfriends, and not predators who groomed and took advantage of a teenager. It’s like they refuse to acknowledge that Ian was groomed.

And this ep/ Ned’s death, instead of being a way to make Gallavich fight over stupid shit, could’ve been a chance for Ian to actually realize that & come to terms with it. Mickey could’ve brought up how fucked it was too. They could’ve actually talked about and dealt with something real.

Even Mickey’s comment to Ian about leaving being his whole MO had validity based on their past tbh. It’s been talked about a lot recently how Mickey has abandonment issues with Ian because of everything that went down between them, and that could’ve been an opportunity for them to discuss that. Like actually discuss a massive element of their past that’s caused Mickey’s biggest insecurity in their relationship. Not visiting him in prison stuff, Mexico, etc.

But instead the writers made them lash out and say stupid shit to each other and make Mickey make that gross ableist comment.

Half the time in the later seasons it felt like the writers were just choosing things for them to say/do based on the idea like “what would someone say here” but not “what would Ian/Mickey say here.” If that makes sense. It’s like they barely knew the characters so they just wrote their own version of them? Idk

I’m sure there’s other stuff from the ep that could’ve been an opportunity to actually deal with stuff had it been handled differently, but I haven’t watched it in a long time so can’t remember.

I think s11 was flawed but there were things I liked, but hall of shame really was a mess. Only thing that was good were the kisses at the end lol.

[bones-of-a-rabbit]

infodumps abt a new au idea (the demon-familiars au, or the un-familiars au)

TL,DR: Reader is a witch/wizard hired by a town to handle a poltergeist/demon problem (Vanny has a cult and is trying to summon demons lol), but they aren't very good at being a witch/wizard and after a bunch of 'throwing things at the wall to see if anything sticks' and absolutely nothing working, they, in a panic, kind of accidentally summon Sun and Moon, who are equally shocked to see them and after a bunch of staring at each other like ?????????? reader ropes Sun and Moon into helping them and hides them in plain sight as their 'familiars' until they've taken care of the demonic cult problem, promising to send them home as soon as things are ok again. PLOT TWIST THEY GET ATTACHED TO EACH OTHER AND KISS PROBABLY HAHAHAAAAAA

(the long initial ramblings/brainstorming i did w the space aces in discord is copy-pasted below, if anyone wants only vaguely coherent ideas n concepts abt this au and ur willing to torture urself, go nuts w it ig lol)

taken directly from the space aces discord, i present: the reason all of my aus are barely coherent and somehow overly thought through and barebones all at once, as shown by the following example (unfamiliars au edition)

weird silly demons/familiars Sun Moon au where Reader is a (less than talented) amateur witch/wizard trying to lie themselves into a position of relative security (bc theyve had to move three different times bc towns shun n drive away witches/wizards that proves to be unhelpful) and they werent actually trying to summon sun n moon so they end up getting them involved in their scheme but oops there is some kind of other demonic threat that is actually a big problem and oops oops now we have to seriously work together to not get killed by the other eviller demon or the cult summoning it while also fooling the townsfolk into thinking that u r competent and have everything under control

Sun and Moon, a couple of demons just chilling when suddenly summoned to the material world: what in the heck Reader, having just performed a spell/ritual they've never read the instructions for backwards and facing the wrong cardinal direction: SHUT UP AND PRETEND TO BE MY FAMILIAR FOR A MINUTE OR WE ARE BOTH GONNA GET KILLED, BURNING-ON-A-CROSS STYLE

hhhgj i just had. a rlly sappy idea for the 'familiars' part

basically like. witches n wizards naturally end up casting their own 'summoning' spell for their familiar at some point, most of th time when they are really starting to understand and control their magic? so to see a witch or wizard without one it's like 'wow they're a beginner' or 'something is wrong with them, why dont they have a familiar??'

so Reader asks Sun n Moon to pretend to be their familiars partly bc 'uh oh i summoned two whole entire demons without even meaning to i have to make this look intentional' and 'if i have a familiar the people will assume im a Real Witch/Wizard and respect me more'

and at one point when they r getting to be like, actual friends instead of 'weird roommates', Sun gets curious bc ofc he does

Sun: Soooo,, we're your pretend-familiars? Reader: Yea Sun: Sooooooooo,, do u not have a familiar? I've never heard of a wizard with no familiar Reader, visibly upset/disappointed (in themselves): Yeah, well, it turns out it's only the witches and wizards with actual skills that can summon familiars. So. Couldn't tell you if I've got one or not, I've never managed a proper summoning spell. Sun, foot in his mouth: oh,, Reader: Yep.

and then later. It turns out. There are ways to make a demon into a familiar! Turns out in the distant past some wizards used to make demons they frequently summoned for spell/magic services into familiars bc it was way easier than just doing the entire summoning ritual every single time

but at this point, Reader and Sun n Moon are close enough to be good friends, and Reader doesnt want to force that kind of permanent connection on them, they probably just want to go home, theyre probably sick of being here and being around u, and,,, u get the idea

and Sun n Moon dont wanna force that kind of permanent connection on YOU bc what if ur sick of them, or ur tired of feeding and housing them or putting up with their jokes n bickering, or maybe after everything u really dont want anything to do with demons!!!

so there's a lot of sad pining that none of them know abt

bc ofc they r all idiots in this au sorry thems the rules

and then at some point there is some big threat/place they have to go to, or maybe Reader gets injured in a fight, idk take ur pick, anyway in a heat of the moment panic Moon is like 'HEY U WANT US TO BE UR FAMILIARS RIGHT??' and reader like barely conscious is like 'w??? yea??????' thinkin he means the pretend thing theyve had going on

anyway spur of the moment/'im doing this to save ur life bc i love u' familiar binding spell/ritual performed BAM now ur stuck together

and when everything is calm again n the fighting is over reader looks at Moon and is like 'so ur like,, my actual familiar now,,' and Moon, sweating bullets, unsure if this is rlly what u wanted or if u went with it out of fear of dying, is like 'yyyyyyyyyes?'

and reader starts bawling their eyes out and kisses him bc this is like. th dream scenario to u

anyway reader n sun n moon are th worlds least likely wizard/familiars combo but somehow they r absolutely unstoppable together thank u for coming to my tedtalk

[your-ne1ghbor]

My problems with Magnifico and Amaya and how I would rewrite them (TKoRaT AU)

GOD DAMN IT NOW I WISH MAGNIFICO AND AMAYA IN MY VERSION WERE GOOD PEOPLE AHHHHHHHHH-

Ahem..sorry..what was I gonna say?

Oh yea! Feeling like a long rant again, so prepare your eyes!!!💀

Sooo, I kinda have been off putting stuff again since I had school work and a bunch of ideas like this one, so I decided to just share it so I don't loose the idea (ik I can write it down but idk I felt like sharing it). Plus the fact that I've been more chatty lately lol.

Idk how to transition to my problems with Amaya and Magnifico so here.

--------------------------------

Magnifico and Amaya's Character in Wish 2023

Magnifico

Magnifico in the film is...well is a pretty stand up guy! Sure, he is paranoid most of the time and is pretty stubborn, but he is very selfless and a really generous person!

You can say he is more in line with the kings of original films that deeply care for their children, such as King Sefan from Sleeping Beauty, or King Frederic from Tangled.

In this case, he deeply cares for the people of Rosas. I mean yeah, it is weird that you forget what your goal is in life, but if I had nowhere to go and no roof over my head, of course I would go to Rosas to live there safely. Heck, in perspective, you have a chance of your wish getting granted, and don't have to pay rent to live there. It is a pretty fair deal, especially for families who want their kids to grow up out of harms way. Sure, he can't grant all of the wishes, but his reasoning is pretty valid. The only line I could get from the film that would support this would be when he commented on Asha's Grandfather's Wish (which is to inspire the next generation):

"To create what? A rebellious mob perhaps? Inspire them to...to do what? Uh, destroy Rosas, maybe?"

And a lot of people can argue that Saba's wish is very simple or isn't dangerous, but here is the thing. Simple things can have dangerous concequences no matter how small or big they are. Sure, you can start out small, like inspiring people, but it will cause a domino effect that can lead to something greater. Either for the better or worse. And example would actually be Walt Disney himself! He started out small, but without him, animation would not have gotten to where it is today. With his love and passion to art and story telling and taking risks, we WOULD NOT have gotten Puss in Boots, SpiderVerse, OR EVEN ANYTHING ANIMATION WISE. Walt Disney really pioneered animation and without those baby steps, there would not be an Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, ect. It would just be...well...live action I guess. Hate the Disney company or not, Walt helped get animation to where it is today, and it sucks that his company, even after death, wont try anymore to push the limits of animation except for companies that isn't Disney.

Plus, I don't even blame Magnifico for thinking this way! Although it is sort of annoying that his backstory was told instead of shown (not that there is nothing wrong with telling, but showing for me is a more effective way of story telling for me. You can take the little mermaid for example), I personally understood where he was coming from. In his backstory, his home was destroyed from thieves and barbarians, with his family and possibly everyone he knew being dead. Its honestly tragic, so him making a kingdom for people to not suffer that pain again is very selfless of him and just...feels good in a good way you know?

But as everything in this movie is, it takes the good things and beats it over with a 30 foot pole and leaves it to rot.

He is turned into the villain. And no, it isn't because of Asha not getting what she wanted, and no, it isn't because Amaya, his wife died (she never did btw)! OH NO IT IS MUCH WORSE.

He opens up a mAgIc bOoK oF dArK mAgIc and becomes the bad guy...

...What the fuck. Actually no, applauds to you Disney! This is such a effective way of telling a story. 10/10 forever and ever. Great job! :D

(I am being sarcastic, this is legit the worst way for a good guy becoming the villain, its so fucking stupid-)

He is just simply stripped of his good qualities and only lets his bad qualities shine through. It kind of feels like he was being held at gun point here.

"OH PLEASE BELIEVE THAT I AM ACTUALLY THE BAD GUY. OH PLEASE GOOD CIVILLAIN THEY ARE GOING TO PULL THE TRIGGER-"

Seriously, there was no other way of making him the bad guy? Like legit? Simply remove his backstory and make him evil at the begining. I guess it would be weird if he took the wishes without reasoning, but even then, why give him good qualities when he is supposed to be the bad guy? He became more of a tragic hero than a tragic "bad guy".

I will go more into my problems with him after I talk about Amaya for a bit since talking about her character is more shorter than Magnificos.

--------------------------------

Amaya

The best I can say for her character is that she is like Jimmy Cricket but fell in love with Pinnocio (I know that sounds weird pls spare me).

She is like the voice of reason for Magnifico, and it is best shown when Magnifico FIRST concidered on using the book for "his evil deeds". This scene specifically:

Other than that, she wasn't really a character in the film AT ALL. It sort of sucks concidering what the original concept was (WE WILL GET TO THAT) and instead degraded her character to...well...nothing.

I can't really say anything about her since she just was "I am loyal to my husband" to "actually fuck you I will believe a 17 year old instead of the man I trusted for the amount of years it took to get the kingdom to it's feet." I want to, but I can't. SHE HAS NOTHING.

I wish I can say more about her character, but it would just be me ranting about how trash her is character and was handled. Speaking of that, lets get into why I dislike how they were handled.

--------------------------------

Why does their character bother me so much?

Well it is sort of hard to explain, but I'll do my best.

Magnifico was supposed to be the return of the classic villains. You know, on the levels of Jafar, Ursala, Evil Queen, Malificant, ECT, he just...wasn't. Although he had a bunch of Evil Queen inspirations thrown into his character, it felt like more of refrences to a better film than being apart of his character. Plus, I feel like I sympathized with him way to much. I personally felt more emotion when he was on screen instead of the main character because I understood where he was coming from. Its honestly baffaling to me, since if he didn't have his backstory told to us, I still would not rooted against him. Even without his backstory, it just sounds like he was doing this at the bottom of his heart and empathizing with people who are doing far worse than what he is going through. Its honestly heartwarming seeing a person trying to do good in the world and provide a safe place for everyone to be free from the burden of this world. And want to know something? None of the classic villains had tragic backstories. They are evil for the sake of being evil. There probably was some with sympathetic traits, but from what I recall, there is none. So going with the sympathetic rout is not on par with classic villains.

However, there is nothing wrong with giving your villains sympathetic traits. It makes them feel more rounded as a person/character, and you can get a lot of emotion from that alone. I just think that Magnifico being the villain doesn't make sense since as I said, they made him so generous and kind in the begnining and only destroyed it since "oh wait, we need a villain, so why not make the good guy the villain" and threw in the dark magic book and called it a day. Not even that, but he is not threatening in any way. What I mean by that, is that his powers don't really get an upgrade at all. His magic just sort of turns green and thats it! I even bet that he can crush wishes even without the powers of the magic book.

Going off topic, but making plushie..COUGH... star...(plusie = wish 2023 star) less "stronger" to make the female lead stronger just makes Magnifico's reason for going after plushie's powers even more useless. Even with plushie's powers, HE IS JUST THE SAME. I guess he can now create vines? BUT IT JUST DOESNT WORK. It makes more sense for Magnifico going after plushie when it is powerful because he could see that power as a THREAT to his own powers and his kingdom.

Now for Amaya, her turning against Magnifico is just stupid. Haven't you went through a lot with him? Why the hell did you give up after "oh he can't be saved"? I feel like she could have done a "true loves kiss" sennario which breaks the spell it has on him. Not only that, she barely contributes to the plot at all. The only thing she contributes to the plot is just "getting the teens into the castle so they can free the wishes" then disappears, then reappears at the finally when Magnifico got a little too silly with his drugs-I MEAN wishes haha... Then she becomes the ruler of Rosas. It feels weird and out of place, especially concidering her character MOST LIKELY went through so much with Magnifico only to turn on him when he gets a little mad. It is so stupid. Also, if you just remove her, nothing would really change except the first scene where Magnifico has the book, only this time, no one is there to stop him. And as I said, HER CHARACTER IS NOTHING. But here is the thing...

When concidering the concept version of Amaya, she would have been the villain along side Magnifico. Not as a selfish love relationship or they are together at ones expense (gaining something from one another for only themselves) no, THEY WERE MADLY IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER. Something to note here is that there is barely ANY villain couple or ANY VILLAINS who are like this, let alone love each other for the sake of it instead of a "selfish love relationship and then one gets redeemed " situation (im looking at the mayor of paris from miraculous ladybug). So that, THAT RIGHT THERE, would have been a brilliant idea and brings something new and fresh to the table. Not only that, it is so brilliant that it would have respected all of the male/female antagonists we had for the past 100 years with the company. It is also A RISK. Walt was all about taking risks, even when his company would have floundered at the expense of making art. Snow White for example had a lot of money put into it that if it failed, well Disney would not exist in this timeline so to speak. So taking that risk is also RESPECTING Walt's legacy in a really good way.

I personally just see this as a fun way to explore their characters, especially when you can reflect their characters off of our main characters, Asha and Star (boy), if you want to of course. I can imagine Magnifico kinda be like Gaston from beauty and the beast with some Frollo flare to it (not the lust thing tho but yk what I'm getting at) and Amaya can be like Ursala or Gothal. Plus, it works as a power balance. In the original concept, Amaya was the potion maker while Magnifico does all of the magic. Its honestly a fun way to play with power set ups. Magnifico can just be for show and Amaya can just be a drug dealer (or basically Ursala).

But NOPE. WE HAD TO SHIT ON WALTS LEGACY TO GET THOSE SHINY DOLLAR SIGNS $$$$$$$$$$$$$

Here is the thing: I can get over Star Boy not being in the film, like I get it. We gotta have that girl power in Disney movies now, and they have to be emotionless people. But a Disney power couple? WHAT THE HELL??? LEGIT THE BEST IDEA YOU HAVE EVER HAD IN 100 YEARS. AND YOU GOT RID OF IT BECAUSE WE CAN'T TAKE RISKS ANYMORE??? BUT WALT WOULD HAVE TAKEN IT. YOU WANT TO RESPECT HIS LEGACY? THEN TAKE THE RISK TO DO SO YOU SELFISH, INSUFFERABLE, PIECES OF SHI-

(This section was removed because I went a little crazy there. Sorry about that. I'm not sure how I can transition into the rewrite section, again, soooooo here:)

--------------------------------

How I would rewrite the characters

There is no wrong or right way of rewriting a character, especially when a lot of people interpret them in different ways, and that is completely fine!

This will also fall into somewhat Asha's character and she will be mentioned to fit what I am going for with the characters. I will also leave out what they both do to the wishes since I am making a whole reimagined scene and it is going to include what they do to the wishes there. It will leave out some stuff I had with it here, but I will do my best interpritation of the characters the best I can, even when I can't really say much about it :)

Magnifico:

🌟 For starters, right off the bat, he does not have any of that sort of backstory they gave him for the original. For what I am going for, his backstory will not fit his reasonings for what I am going for, especially for his character.

🌟 He is more on par with the original personality from the original storyboard, specifically this one:

(This also goes for Amaya too personality wise)

🌟 Something that is very different from a lot of villains is that he has sympathetic traits. Although he has more negative traits than positive, he has more of a caring side. Mainly to Amaya, but Asha as well. When Amaya found Asha at their door steps (they aren't holding me hostage as I write out this specific part guys, I swear) at first he saw her as an opportunity to boost his and his wife's popularity that would have other people come more to their kingdom (its more of like they are seeing their "generosity" side and dismiss the problems the kingdom has). But as she continued to live with her adoptive parents, Magnifico became pretty close to Asha. Its mainly because of her passion to what she strives to be, to be like him. Probably feeding into his ego, but you know, nice to know he cares.

🌟 Just because he treats Amaya and Asha well, doesn't mean that the kingdom gets that same treatment. He doesn't care about the people at all. He actually has enjoyment when he hurts or breaks people's dreams. He gets all excited about it and you guys can ask him why he finds enjoyment out of it cause idk it would be more fun that way and gives you guys the chance to interact with him :D

🌟 The wishes boost his powers temporarily. It fades away after either a few days or hours. When his powers are boosted, he has more control over the people. And, to who he consumes the wishes of, can see through their perspective for a little while. It also makes civilians more compliment with him and not question his authority. This does not work with people who have not given up their wishes though. Only to people who have already given up their wishes. He can also make people forget certain memories (that might be Amaya's thing though but I'm not too sure) and can put on much more longer "light shows" (think on the level of: Playing with the Big Boys, but more flashy and crazier). He can also manipulate his surroundings with images, but not at a physical level. (Like hallucinations so to speak)

🌟 His powers without the wishes are more of what he uses to do simple things or put on small light shows. Not as flashy than ones when he has his powers boosted, but he puts on the smaller ones to "gain more people to comply when they have to give up their wishes", one might say, inspire them to do so. He also uses it to help Asha practice with magic (She can't even do magic STFU I KNOW.) It also can be used to take desires that you have deep in your heart.

🌟 If hair jell were to exist in his time period, he would eat it with no regrets (Amaya would make it so he can eat it without getting hurt)🔥

🌟 When he consumes a stars powers, he legit goes insane and can shape shift like one, but more corrupt with no consistancy to what he turns into since he legit gone insane. With a star, a star can shapeshift to whatever it wants or to express it's emotions. With him, it is all over the place. He can't control it.

🌟 Like Frollo, he tortures anyone who is against him, and will not hesitate to take it to the extreme if needed too (or that he wants to, to please himself).

🌟 What his wife says or does, he will willingly go through with it. After all, he loves her with all his heart.

🌟 He can't let Asha out of the castle often to make sure that the people will not take advantage of her generosity (thats what he thinks though, in reality everyone is just scared of the royals.. most of them at least) or learn-

Magnifico then breaks the forth dimention and destroys my house.

Ah...right...

🌟 He is such a silly goober!!1!11!1!11!1 o(*￣▽￣*)o

(He told me to write that or else he will kill my dog and cat. HELP ME PLEASE-)

Amaya

🌟 For starters, she is much more involved in the story than she is in the original. She doesn't have a backstory like what Magnifico had in the original, nor does she need too. Not sure how they would meet at the moment, but I'd like to think that they met and then were like: love at first sight and became more silly as time went on...including their insanity <3

🌟 As I said for Magnifico, she is more on par with the concept version personality wise. But she is more of an Ursala and likes to put herself as the victim to get more people to feel bad for her (MANIPULATION AT ITS FINEST 😜)

🌟 Just like Magnifico, she has sympathetic traits. And she only has it, because of our main character Asha! She just found her one day at the castle doors. She didn't understand why, but like Magnifico, only let her stay for as long as she did to post her popularity with the commoners, and grew closer to her as she became more of a mother figure to Asha. (Ruh Ro, anyone sensing Mother Gothal vibes?) Unlike Magnifico though, she uses her sympathetic traits to get people to comply with their ways better. Her main trait she is good at looking at the person's situation and understand it well, or aka being empathetic. She uses that to her advantage when manipulating them to do whatever she pleases.

🌟 She is more of a witch than anything. I imagine her somewhat like Ursala (yes a heavy load of Ursala), Evil Queen, and Yzma (Emperor's New Groove) when in terms to what they make. She does make a lot of poisons to use if anyone is getting a little too close to the close and they gotta...TAKE THEM OUT without anyone knowing. She can also use it for like a form of medicine too.

🌟 Some potions, like turning people into animals or certain poisons, requires people's desire. More so with turning people into animals as a form of punishment. She can also use her craft at potion making to have her wield magic for a certain amount of time WHEN NEEDED. (Gee I wonder what she will use that for). It can also be used like a drug, or to get someone to comply with what they want a little better than Magnifico. She can put on pretty shows too, but more smoke themed and is better at manipulating her surroundings.

🌟 Although Amaya would teach Asha how to make potions, she worries that the people of Rosas would take advantage of her kindness and use the skills that she would teach Asha to their advantage and form a revolt to take them down. (Which really, with them ruling, who can blame them?)

🌟 I would say she is more of a planner than Magnifico. She plans ahead and makes sure everything is in line with what they want and makes plan Bs or Cs even Ds in case anything would go wrong. Asha actually gained that trait from her believe it or not!

🌟 Magnifico is more reckless than his wife. Amaya is more so less confronting and tries to keep up their image. She actually have certain gestures that Magnifico would take notice too. And since he trusts her a lot, he complies and lets Amaya take lead in certain situations.

🌟 Yes...she also finds enjoyment of seeing people getting tortured. They actually made up a game on how they would torture a certain civilian 💀

🌟 When it comes to how she treats the people of Rosas, she is as I said, less confronting and puts on more of a fake smile and gaslights everyone that their kingdom is fine or whatever (It is not gaslighting when it is telling the truth. I feel so offended right know! DUDE LADY CHILL I AM CREATING YOU RN AND YOU ARE ALREADY TRYING TO GASLIGHT ME WTF😭)

🌟 When she has a star's powers, I feel like it would let her create whatever the fuck she wants at an insanity level. Wishing stars create items that would help users on their journey, so with her, she can use it to her advantage. Also she becomes just as insane as her husband. It also gives a difference in terms to what they would do when they have a star's powers. Magnifico would be able to shapeshift at a corrupt level, and Amaya can manipulate her surroundings that would become reality so to speak at an insane level. I chose this one since it fits her not being more confrontant while Magnifico is more so on that. She be lurking in the shadows like a cat :3

🌟 How she knows so much about the people, is by her cat! I think the cat would be called Custos. Idk the name yet, might go with the concept version of the name.

🌟 I learn more about my prey before I strike at their weakest point. (Nah that's very catnap of you. Unless you want to fall asleep for 100 years, I suggest you choose your words carefully. Bruh alright lady💀) And yes she wrote that in...

🌟 She is such a silly lil guy...AMAYA STOP LET ME BE SILLY U SON OF A BI-😡

Erm anyways...(she tried to eat my dog and steal my cat. GRRRR)

I feel like it would be fun if it is just expanding their empire for their main goal or taking over the world. Kind of like this song as their modivation:

I want this to be their goal since it kind of feels like some of the old Disney Villains, for me at least :3 (And I am having WAYYYY to much fun with their characters already hehe)

--------------------------------

Final Thoughts

On a final note, I will mention that there is a possibility that all of this wont make it into the final version. And in all honesty, I'm actually shocked I was able to compose all of this together without mentioning what they do with the wishes, like what- 😭

I also am still debating if Amaya and Magnifico made the kingdom or it was passed down through generations. Don't know yet tbh :^

Also, Amaya was sort of difficult for me to jot down since I didn't know how to get her into the story, and I think I am slowly, but surely getting there :D

I also really tried to make it different and fresh from the other versions and I am very excited to show that "I DECIDE WHAT EVERYONE DESERVES" when it is done (it is now We decide what everyone Deserves).

You can also ask both Amaya and Magnifico questions regarding the info you know about them now and about how they feel with the other versions of them if you want to of course (and I can show off their designs HEHHEH)

And yes...I had too much fun with writing out how they would interact with the post. DW, they wont interact here in the Final Thoughts section hehe ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I might also do a post on Asha since I have been pretty quiet on her character design/rewrite and another post about Star Boy since I wanna get more in depth with the ideas of Wishing Stars in my AU.

Speaking of Au...

what to call this AU of mine hmmmmm

I'll go with The Kingdom of Roses and Thorns, or TKoRaT. Feels fitting to me, at least for what I am going for story wise and character wise. Might change it since I can't stick with one thing, but rn it rolls off the tongue nicely.

Until then, I hope you have a great day and I hope Magnifico and Amaya don't steal your dreams 💀

@oh-shtars @annymation @chillwildwave @signed-sapphire

(They are thinking of working with your versions of Magnifico and Amaya oh boy not good 💀)

[psychicbergara]

personally, I felt like Ghost Files was a bit overproduced, and by that I mean it felt like they spent more time and energy on making all the graphics and explaining the fancy tech they've been using than actually, y'know, exploring haunted places*1. A part of the reason why I liked bfu so much and why I felt it stood out from other TV ghost-hunting shows was that it felt like it came from "normal" people who were more interested in exploring haunted places than producing a TV show, and although I know it's always been Watcher's intention to make quote-unquote "TV-caliber videos", it just doesn't work personally with what bfu stood for*2. This also doesn't have anything to do with over-producing, but I feel like they have a few times gone into the same trap that the Try Guys often have by adding too many unnecessary rules and details to their concepts. Like I never understood why they had to hide that walkie-talkie from each other, why couldn't they just do a solo tour of the house without having to find the walkie-talkie? that's essentially what they did anyway. In that same vein, I don't understand why they've insisted on adding that whole "is it still a mystery or is it solved" segment on mystery files because it doesn't really change much to the overall concept of the show

*1 I think some of their shows thrive on being "over-produced", like puppet history for example, but I just don't think that is a vibe that works well for a show like Ghost Files

*2 I also feel it's fair to compare bfu and ghost files because those expectations and the audience from bfu is what they've been banking on

i can see where you're coming from but the spending most of their time and energy on graphics and tech for ghost files is smth i don't agree with. like the graphics are the same blueprint graphics clip they repeat in every other episode. and some of those graphics are hand drawn by another person. it's in every episode but it doesn't seem like they recreate these graphics for every episode (unless its a graphic of the location) to intensely focus their time and energy on. and more recent episodes of ghost files literally has like.. the majority of the video of them ghost hunting. usually like 45 minutes out of the hour they ghost hunt. compared to bfu they explained the lore of the location for a good 15-20 min while also interviewing people from the location out of the 45-50 min episode. so it's kinda similar, but i personally think they ghost hunt more on ghost files.

also they can't copy the same exact design/format of bfu unless they want to get sued by buzzfeed. i think that's just the reality. and they're the same normal dudes ghost hunting but with better production. their job is ghost hunting, of course they want to improve in something that's most of their job. and just bc they want to experiment with some trippy tech doesn't necessarily make them overproduced imo. they just want to explore options which isn't a bad thing, and it's something buzzfeed never allowed them to do so of course they wanna go that route.

and tbh bfu was tv-caliber content imo. lesser quality compared to ghost files, yea, but it was def something worthy of being on tv (like it was put on hulu). the lesser quality has everything to do with buzzfeed not allowing them a bigger budget, restricting their creativity, overworking their crew, and laying off their staff (which ryan and shane complained about all the time back then) versus bfu standing for something less than tv caliber. but again, i really think this just comes down to taste rather than overproduced vs not overproduced. if you prefer bfu, that's totally fine!! if you prefer ghost files, that's also totally fine. i love gf but i get why people are nostalgic for bfu since thats the series we started out with. but some people (not you anon) outright hating on gf so suddenly is ridiculous when those same people were clamoring for gf live tickets and ask that they go international.

and to your second point- while i like those concepts they add in the show, it's okay if you don't! no big deal, everyone has their own interests. and i think the whole 'is it a mystery or is it solved' is more about the videos needing to have a 'motivation' or 'theme'. and i dont get what you mean by 'adding' this concept when it quite literally is the gist of the entire show from the show's conception/beginning.

anyways, all this to say, i get where you're coming from. but people suddenly thinking this is overproduced is kind of wild in my opinion

[ultimateplaylistmaker]

What's your thoughts on Makoto rebuilding hope's peak? Do you think it's a good idea, or is it the perfect set up for another tragedy? The tragedy was put into motion since Junko knew that they had all the Ultimates there. She just had to do some.... hardcore manipulation and such.

Oh I have THOUGHTS about this alright, I’ve even talked about it before. I think it’s a very stupid decision to rebuild hopes peak but ENTIRELY in character. Junko is such a fascinating character to me because just as much as she’s an important figure in starting the tragedy, she’s also it’s scapegoat. Without the literal human experimentation on children hopes peak was doing she would have been so much less successful, potentially unable to even do the tragedy. The parade doesn’t exist without the abuse of the reserve course, the ultimate tragic event truly started with the reserve course RIOTING over the fact their money was used to fuel human experimentation on THEMSELVES. You don’t need Junko for that, Junko pushed the riot to an extreme yea, but she wouldn’t have a riot without Izuru. Junko threw a match on a pile of rags soaked in oil, but she didn’t make the pile, and if she didn’t start that blaze, someone else would have.

However if everyone points at Junko they don’t need to think about how she only succeeded because hopes peak enabled her, how hopes peak set up a society of cruel hard castes, and suffering that let someone like Junko thrive. It’s easy to blame a single human person for everything when in reality, the fall of the talent system was inevitable. Which makes it easy to repeat history if you are someone directly traumatized by Junko. Makoto is also a Hopes Peak Fanboy, he idolizes the academy because society tells him that the academy and talent system is good and just and perfect, it tells him that the institute is hope and all its war crimes is just a Few Bad Eggs. He’s simply recreating the caste system that he was raised to admire, buying into the propaganda that his childhood and future foundation pushes. Plus he’s inherently privileged by being an ultimate, he knows basically nothing about the plight of those actually crushed under hope peak’s boot. Which from the reserve course and comments from Toko in UDG about Komaru’s lack of talent, and attitudes like Komaeda’s, the plight of the untalented is a very real one.

It’s easy for him to be optimistic and think “well if one Bad person ruined the system that was always inherently Good then a Good person can put it back” but he’s wrong, you can’t fix hopes peak, you can’t fix the talent system, the desperation for talent broke the warriors of hope, it broke the reserves, and it broke the world. I think he means so so well I think he genuinely believes this will work, but in reality its doomed, eventually it’ll fall again. It’s the perfect example of how Makoto Naegi believes so hard he can change the world, but unlike with the remnants, this change will not be a good one. Plus he’s like what, 21? And trying to run a school? Good fucking luck sir you’ll need it.

Tldr; it’s really in character for him to do it because of the fact he was raised around it, thinks it’s to be a force of hope like he was taught his entire life, and is himself the privileged cast a talent system supports. I doubt someone like Hajime, someone burned by the system, would support it so easily. It’s a bad idea that’s only going to hurt people because Makoto accepts Junko as a scapegoat and fails to truly grasp the atrocities hopes peak did before Junko, thus dooming them to be repeated in the future, maybe not by him, but in the future, when another headmaster goes “hey what if we made a new ultimate hope” or “what if we push a young child’s talent to the limit” and starts this whole damn thing over again. It’s so very Makoto Naegi, and it will be his biggest mistake.

[kirblovestopoyo]

I had all of (checks tumblr) 2 people interested in my Brian and Cathal stuff which is good enough for me! There's a bunch of text under the cut so I don't clog y'alls stuff but yea!! (PS. this does include headcannon stuff so keep that in mind when reading!!)

I've been leaning super hard into Brian and Cathal being a thing and I don't know what caused this sudden spur of the moment thing but they're just really silly in my brain together like you have this super smarty smart pants who's so egotistical about himself he loops back around to being kinda dumb (for example: his password is "password" because "no one would ever guess that because it's too obvious") and thinks everyone is kinda below him and and kinda cares too much about it?? And then you have this other guy who doesn't really care about much cause he's just too eepy!! including the fact that the only reason he got into the job he has now is because he's a nepo baby and can't be bothered to care too much about other people or himself for that matter

And they kinda go together in my mind like,,, idk how to explain it but like Cathal sort of helps Brian become less of a jerk towards other people essentially? And kinda soften up a bit and to not worry about "being the best" at everything and to think he's better than everyone else because he won't always be the smartest about everything or win all the time but that doesn't mean he's not good at what he does y'know And Brian would sort of do the same thing for Cathal in the sense of that Cathal doesn't really think they're good at a lot of things because of the fact they're so tired and kinda lay around all the time and because of the fact their dad is the VP of the company so y'know they didn't really have to try too hard? But Brian (in his very uh. oddly worded way) would comfort Cathal and tell him that despite the fact that sure he doesn't go around and do as much as the others, doesn't mean he isn't good at what he does. They (Cathal) are really, really good at fixing up other cogs, like even better than Brian himself (mainly because he's had to fix his dad so many times + reads cog manuals for fun), and good at a bunch of other little things, and Brian would tell him that

I imagine Brian going on these big rants about whatever and Cathal tells him something and it just. blows his mind (literally) he overthinks things so much that he skips over the simple things. Like I can imagine Brian trying to do this whole thing in figuring out why Cathal would love him (he has issues that we will not discuss today) and something something about his intellect and Cathal comes in and says something along the lines of "you make me happy, that's why" and Brian's brain explodes instantly

TLDR: Cares too much x cares too little, silly things ensue

[bathtub4rats]

Tagged by the fantastic @finniestoncrane

1) Are you named after anyone?

Yea, my mom worked at a post office and while she was sorting mail she saw my name on a package and said yea I’ll name my kid that.

2) When was the last time you cried?

Last week cause I got nervous about talking to someone

3) Do you have kids?

Does my numerous stuffed animals count?

4) Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Yea but I try not to use it too much online bc I’m terrified of people misinterpreting me and think I’m being mean

5) What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Their walk, then their clothes (the color so I can identify them without my glasses), then their speech patterns

6) What’s your eye color?

Grey maybe??? I’m not sure what’s going on in that eyeball of mine

7) Scary movie or happy ending?

A good ending, whatever that may be. I want to feel satisfied that all the loose ends of the story were tied up in a nice bow

8) Any special talents?

Idk drawing? All I do is draw. Cooking? Im a good cook when I have the energy for it

9) Where were you born?

[REDACTED]

10) What are your hobbies?

Getting into new crafts to make mediocre results then never picking up that craft again. Example: the shirt I sewed for my Crane outfit, and the clay riddler figures I made, and the sweater I crocheted, and the-

11) Do you have any pets?

No 😔

12) What sports do you/have you played?

I played tennis for the longest time. Really fucked up my knee. It’s a fun sport to play but so boring to watch

13) How tall are you?

5’6” I think

14) Favorite subject in school?

Chemistry, or any science class I love science any science there’s so much to learn and if I had a psychology class I Would Eat That UP, and oh marine biology my beloved little creatures in the sand at the ocean floor I loveee you sea stars and those big ass predatory snails that eat literally any living thing in its path

15) Dream job?

I wish to study things, anything. I want to look and observe without consequence. And no phone calls or video calls.

Uhh idk who to tag so if you’re a mutual just assume I’ve tagged you here

@ [your username here]

[purplesurveys]

1896

20 random people... Don't look at the questions beforehand! :D

Nina

Celeste

Hans

Lui

Kaye

Angela

Mom

Reena

Gabie

Kuya

Pau

Jo

Lei

Andi

Leigh

Marie

Dad

Dev

Sam

Pia

Ok, here we go...

How did you meet #4?: College org. I was an applicant at the time, they were already a member, and they seemed very friendly to all the newbies so I stuck around them. In time we became close and even got in the same friend group, which we're both still part of today.

How much does #9 mean to you?: She's a co-worker so while I wouldn't, like, die for her per se or can say that she's 'everything' to me, I'd look out for her nonetheless.

Describe #14 in 2 words.: Extremely intelligent.

What is your best memory with #5?: I loved when she came over to watch YTC Busan live with us! That was also such a random mix of friends to end up happening, so I was anxious they'd all be opposites – but it got really fun.

Do you know all of #2's secrets?: I know none of them seeing as we're only workmates and I like my boundaries.

When is the next time you're going to see #7?: In an hour or two, I'm guessing. She went out for a bit for errands.

When's the last time you saw #17?: 2 AM, Friday – dropped him off at the airport. From there, I won't be seeing him again until November.

How do you think #13 feels about you?: After trying to teach me one of her party card games last Sunday, I bet she now thinks I can get ditzy as all hell hahaha. But apart from that I don't know what else she thinks of me! We rarely see each other and are always shy when we do, lol.

Are #11 and #12 anything like each other?: Quite the contrary; they're a good example of how two people cannot be any more different.

Describe the relationship between #14 and #19.: They have a nonexistent relationship, but if we're gonna be extremely loose about degrees of separation – Hans went to the same school as Andi (#14); they both also were schoolmates with Gab, who used to date Sam (#19).

Is #10 single?: No. Has been engaged for a while now, too.

If you could tell #8 one thing right now, what would it be?: Let's go out soon and maybe we can try a new hobby together, too.

What is the funniest thing you've ever seen #16 do?: I haven't had many funny encounters with her tbh as she's kind of shy and doesn't really want to put herself out there – that, and we've always worked from home.

Can I name coolest instead? There was a time when my teammates and I each needed to make 10-slider decks about any topic (meant to be an exercise on public speaking); and she had what I thought was the most unique and personally relatable presentation – she covered her favorite lesbian media. Music, movies...and there's a bunch in there that I was able to relate to...just cause of my past, I guess. Haha. It felt pretty bittersweet, and I gave her some of my recs too.

How did you meet #15?: School. I can't remember when we got close, though. Maybe in high school if I had to guess – we stay friends these days, too, as she's with Andi.

What would you do if #4 died?: I'd be shocked to say the least. I'm imagining that'd bring the college friend group back together again.

What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen #3 do?: He had a brief stint as a camp...something (guide? counselor? idk terms) in the US a few years ago, so when he came back the first thing he did to me was share a bunch of camp songs he picked up from his time there. After he taught me, he proceeded to sing them all to entire time hahaha.

Are you friends with any of #19's friends?: Not with most of them. We only have a few mutual friends, all linked to Angela/Hans.

Who is #7 to you?: My mom.

What is one thing #13 is really good at?: I'm gonna go with biology and chemistry as she's literally a licensed pharmacist.

What would happen if #1 and #3 hated each other?: That would crush me, tbh. Hans is family at this point, and it'd be sad if he and my sister actively disliked one another.

Is #11 anything like #18?: I guess. Very surface-level similarities, but yeah. They're both leaders, their personalities are both pretty nonchalant...that's what I can think of now.

How much trust do you have in #12?: Lots, in the grand scheme of things. Jo is reliable and trustworthy.

If you fell off a bridge, who would you trust to catch you, #4 or #6? Why?: Angela, 100%. We're exponentially so much closer.

Who do you like the most?: It's a tie between my dad and Angela.

Who do you hate the most?: I didn't put in anyone I dislike.

How did you meet #1?: I would guess she was introduced as my little sister when I was 2.

What would you do if you never met #14?: I probably never would've gotten back into wrestling.

Would you date #20?: Hypothetically, in another universe – sure, why not? She's pretty and so so so SO ridiculously kind and has just such a warm personality.

Have you ever seen #8 cry?: Just once. We cried together at the time, but they were happy tears.

Would #5 and #13 make a good couple?: I've never thought of that. But I don't think so.

Describe #9.: I don't know her much outside of work, but from what I've seen she's hardworking; has a sensitive side in that she doesn't really like getting scolded; and she's a million times friendlier than I am – she gets along with everyone which makes her such an important part of the team. You gotta have an extrovert in PR, and she's that.

Do you like #16?: Yes.

Do you think #4 is attractive?: Personally not my type.

When's the last time you talked to #19?: Around two weeks ago.

Would you date #10?: Hard pass, that's my cousin.

What's the best thing about #15?: She has this innocent and pure aura around her that I adore very much. Like she can never get mad at anything and anyone.

Best thing about #7?: She's very resilient.

Have you ever kissed #11?: Nope.

Have you ever slapped #18?: I've never slapped any one person on the list.

When's the next time you're going to see #12?: I have no idea, our group rarely makes plans to see each other anymore. The last time I saw her was mid-2023 and we didn't even get to meet up after to talk about our Yoongi concert experiences like we planned.

Is #16 pretty?: Yes!

What was your first impression of #4?: Kind, approachable, helpful, reliable, older than me.

Is #13 your BFF?: No.

Have you seen #15 in the last month?: I haven't seen her in years actually lol. Andi and I hang out all the time and I always check in if Leigh will be tagging along...and she just doesn't.

Have you been to #20's house?: I have not. We're not that close.

Last time you saw #14?: April! We watched a wrestling gig. I'll be seeing them again later this month for trivia night – they added me to their team because two of the topics will be Friends and BTS, haha.

Next time you'll see #10?: Tomorrow, I'm guessing! We'll be coming over tomorrow and I think he'll by home.

Are you really close to #1?: Not heart-to-heart talk levels because we're a dysfunctional family and can't bear baring our souls to one another LOL – but it's a close-friend type of close for sure.

Would you give #20 a hug?: Sure. I'm sure I hugged her a few times when we saw each other 2 weeks ago at our surprise engagement party for Angela and Hans.

Tell me a secret about #5.: I don't know her enough to know her secrets.

Describe the relationship between #14 and #3: They were schoolmates in grade school until Andi moved.

What's your relationship with #5?: She's one of the school friendships I've been able to retain all these years. We're not best friends but we check in on one another from time to time.

Have you ever danced with #18?: I have not.

How do you know #13?: She's my closest cousin on my dad's side.

Does #2 have a boyfriend/girlfriend?: I don't think so. She had a dating phase early in the year, but I haven't heard much updates from her since.

Have you ever wanted to punch #6 in the face?: Maybe just once, heh.

Has #11 ever met your mother?: Nope.

Have you traveled anywhere with #12?: Nah. We could've, for Yoongi's tour! But I ended up in Thailand, she in Singapore.

If you gave #7 $100, what would they spend it on?: Probably on groceries.

Best memory of #2?: One of our events where we both ended up fairly tipsy.

What is one thing you most want #14 to know?: That I always feel bad for being the occasional terrible replier, but I hope they know that I always love it when they message and send me the most random questions or rants.

What's the last thing you did with #15?: I honestly have no clue. She's the one I've seen the least often.

When did you meet #8?: We first met around six years ago, when Angela brought us together for some drinks. We never talked again until 2021 when it was Angela (again) who put the three of us in the same chat since we all liked BTS. We got super close from there.

What do you wish for #17?: Good health is #1. It's something I find myself thinking about more often now; and for him not to feel lonely and sad when he's away.

[northwest-cryptid]

im sending a cute moth to cheer you on while you're high

Oh man I love moths, fun fact; in my Native language the word for moth roughly translates to "The Night Spirit Butterfly" and I unironically think that's such a great name for moths

I wanted to see about the credibility of this however since a lot of the time I've heard people say that "the Native american word for this is [generic mystical sounding animal thing]" and then I look it up and it's like "nah we just kinda call that a bird." So I did some digging and located the original text it's sourced from:

I've been learning Lakota since it's my Native language and I was forced to learn English directly after learning barely enough Lakota to be conversational; since I wasn't able to keep up in school when it came to learning English. This is why I will always say English is my second language, because I was literally taught Lakota first and it made learning English significantly harder.

As a quick aside, I think it's interesting that after learning Lakota I had much more trouble learning English; while my brother who did not learn Lakota had no trouble picking up English as a first language. I believe this is honestly because English uses a completely different sentence structure and since my brother didn't have anything to compare it with it became the first and only structure for sentences he knew; it was the only pronunciation he knew. Meanwhile I had learned that wášte is pronounced like "Wash-teh" with a very subtle "ee" after the h, so then I went to school and they said "okay here's the word "Waste" how do you say that?" Not to mention the word wášte basically means "good" so learning an entirely new concept of a word made no sense at a young age.

Regardless, now I'm older and have a better grasp on how language works since I've spent my life learning a good few now (memory problems be damned) translating everything from games to web comics and novels for fun. So I've picked up Lakota and boy I forgot just how much of a weird language this is.

Like okay I know we're on a tangent here, but hear me out right; I need to explain this because it baffles me why they would do this.

So the word tȟó means blue, the word zí means yellow, and the word šá means red.

So then if we know what Blue, Yellow, and Red are; what do you think the word tȟózi means? It means Green right? because Blue and Yellow make green! Alright so then what about tȟóša it's gotta be Purple right? Yea exactly! Because Blue and Red make Purple! Okay one more here, zíša You probably already know this is Orange because of how this has been working so far; and that's 100% correct! It's a really simple and effective system right?

Alright, so then if we look at Black which is sápA and White which is ská we should be able to discern Gray!

So then what would Gray be? Based on what we know; there are two possible answers right? So we all agree that it's ȟótA right?

...

...

...

Wait, oh no it had such a good system it can't just NOT use it...

SURELY Pink would just be Red and White right?! Skasa or Saska or something...

WHY IS IT šamná?! In fact why is it šamná / šásaŋ / šástaŋ?!

Yea so anyways color system was so cool until they decided to just not use it and I am forever baffled by why this is the case.

So knowing what I know let's look into our case of the Night Spirit Butterfly.

Well right off the bat we can see it uses the word for Butterfly, that being Kimimila and I happen to know very well the word Nagi or "Wanagi" means Shadow or Spirit. So that gives us Wanagi and Kimimila but we're still missing that bit in the middle, where does that Ta come in?

Well the only example of ta being used is in the word Tatanka, which is literally the word Tanka and the word Ta which is cited as making it possessive. My best guess is that in this case it's being used as some kind of particle but I don't necessarily see how it making the word Wanagi possessive would fit that translation. That would make it closer to The Spirit's Butterfly, or something of that sort.

Of course this source actually does know what their talking about upon further reading through the document they have a lot of translations that are perfectly accurate so I believe them on this one but personally the inclusion of the "ta" particle there makes me wonder if it was suppose to be something closer to seeing the night in a possessive sense.

As to say Butterflies are to the day what Moths are to the night, they are The Night's Butterfly. The only issue there is that we need to remember that Nagi and Wanagi don't really mean "Night-Spirit" like that they do mean Shadow or Spirit and in some cases even Soul or Ghost depending on the context so I see even "The Ghost Butterfly" as being more accurate than to say The Night-Spirit. However this might just be a case of it being context sensitive as it does get across the fact that they're nocturnal rather than just being a dark butterfly.

Bonus fun fact, Mothman is my favorite cryptid.

tl;dr

[beauleifu]

THAT ONE ANON IS BACK WITH THEIR HEADCANONS BABYYYYY

So I think syntax would secretly want plushies as gift LIKE buy him one and he'll keep it forever

I think syntax is kinda bad at cooking I mean he could do spaghetti n easy stuff like that. He would had a hard time making a soup while u are sick or he'll just buy it from somewhere idk?

I think when he was a child people would call him nerd 24/7 and people still do that anyways

I think he would listen podcast instead of songs...(nerd)

I HAVE A FEELING THAT HE USED TO HAVE A IGUANA NAMED "JOHNY" IDK WHY

I think when someone compliments him (especially u) he gets flustered easily

IMAGINE IF HIS S/O IS USING HIM AS A BODYPILLOW he wouldnt even move he would be like 🧍 because he is scared that he'll wake u up

YESSSSSS WELCOME BACK YOURE THE BEST

reaching out throughtumblr to give you a big fat hug dude (if you'll have one of course)

ANYWAYS, AHEM

YES. ANON. PLZ, YES. So first off, one of Syntax's love languages IS gifts to begin with, so he'll treasure anything you give him no matter what (take the friendship bracelet in Heartstrings for example. Tacky, isn't his style, but he wears it almost constantly). But secretly, in the deepest, darkest corners of his desires, he'd really like something like a plushie I suppose. I can also imagine him wanting programming tools or things that would help him in the technological aspects of his life. But yes, plushies would NOT be turned down.

And sure! I know in Heartstrings I've made it clear that Syntax can cook with INSTRUCTIONS, of course. He can cook food as long as there's a set list of how to prep it, just like there's a set procedure to program, and also set scientific variables. He's not good with going rogue, to put it blandly (unless it's USING those set variables to create something.) But yea, put him in the kitchen and ask him to create something, he won't JUST explode your toaster, no sir.

He's actually come to terms with the nerdy nicknames. It tells him that people know he's smart, that they're aware of his abilities. He actually wouldn't mind it if people underestimated him, because it's easier to impress and surpass them that way.

Take canon Syntax for example. In the Sleep Bug episode, he was keen on not fighting MK head on, instead using cleverly worded insults to give a punch, but not too much.

MK assumed that Syntax was just another spider demon, and also one who was unwilling to take him on. Assuming Syntax was scared.

But ho boy.

Syntax preferred it this way. He preferred to have MK underestimate him because now, when MK had to face off the spider gang, Syntax had already taken over half the city with HIS tech gadgets, HIS weaponized machinery. The people were rendered helpless zombies because of Syntax's creations, and it was only due to godly forces outside of Syntax's control that his operation went sideways.

He was the backbone of the entire operation.

He knows his self worth and will only doubt himself if the people he cares about make clear any complaints or faults in his character. Which normally never happens, but ever since you came along . . . well.

AND YES. PETS. Okay Syntax does neglect himself far too much to even consider the fact that he might be very adept at taking care of other people (turns out, he is, for the most part). But animals??

Dude's only companions back when he was a kid were animals (kids didn't want to hang out with someone who tested them on the table of elements and what an atomic bomb is composed of). I can totally imagine him having a pet iguana and naming it Johnny. Sure, his social skills were not the best, but having a pet at that age taught him how to properly nurture others and care for them. Also sensing if something is wrong (something that was only heightened by the spider venom). Cause like, how hard would it have been to tell if an iguana was sick or not. Syntax must've trained himself to notice the little things.

And YES. But like, only if it's someone he cares about or has feelings for.

If a random person or a coworker complimented his tech skills, he'd brush it off pompously like "Yes, I know. Now get back to work."

Inside, it's a little ego boost.

Said ego boost only increases if the compliment came from someone like you. Dude would easily get flustered and try to hide it, but you find it absolutely adorable!

DUDE DUDE DUDE. Syntax is TOUCHED STARVED. I REPEAT. Physical contact is foreign but he's secretly desperate for it. Sure it's strange and new and scary and he might shy away the first time, but if you're patient and take small steps, he'll learn to embrace it (like, full on sweep you off your feet, take you to the couch, and refuse to let you go for at least three minutes. He likes the things you talk about when it's quiet.)

THANK YOU FOR THESEEEE!! I'm sorry i spawned a bunch of headcanons here we are molding his past like clay

[faebriel]

For the fic asks 2 and 5 (Cause Some of Us Are Bitter)

hello anon who is definitely not paper plate anon.... ty for the questions hehehe. sorry this took so long i was busy Thinking about cwilbur

2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?

lol. lmao even

yea i do love some distinctly tragic hurt/comfort so that tracks. it can't be unilaterally comforting it has to still be extremely fucking sad

the "x character needs a hug" tag being present in basically All of my fics where relevant is actually a very long running and not massively funny joke with myself from when i very first started publishing my dsmp fics and people would say the tag was too silly. not too silly for me those guys need hugs

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about (cause most of us are bitter)? Answer it now!

okay this took a minute to think of... i love questions/talking about limited pov in my fics and it is very present in bitter!! so here's a question: what was going through wilbur's head in cause most of us are bitter over someone (because niki had absolutely no idea)?

i've spoken about this before but an extrapolation of wilbur and niki's dynamic that i like to incorporate into my fics is that wilbur values niki's thoughts and opinions very very highly. oh god no he doesn't always listen to them. in fact he rarely listens to them. but he sees niki as a very quintessential Good Person, a mild paragon of morality, puts her up on a pedestal that is a little too high. she's so good that she can be friends with eret and with l'manberg all at once and so good that she can withstand the horrors of manberg just a little bit longer and so good that tommy can't keep her name out of his mouth during pogtopia and so good that despite everything he has to save her from execution and so good that he can't let anything slip in front of her and so good that he has to rehearse his apology to her over and over and... (this is why i'm a bit disappointed wilbur didn't find out about niki attempting to murder tommy while he was in limbo - i think it's one of few things that could have shattered this view of her for him, and i think it would have made their relationship a lot more honest and equal, but i'm not getting into that now lol) (also for the record! i don't think niki is the only character who wilbur thinks of this way, but i think she is a very notable example of it)

this is still true after wilbur is revived, so when he hugs niki and he can sense that she is uncomfortable (because he is observant, more than she realises), he figures there must be something horribly wrong with him. if niki is always right, and niki sees something wrong with him, he must be wrong. so he pulls back.

He pulls away before she can figure out exactly what her hands are doing, taking two bouncing steps back against the fence. There are still smudgy bags under his eyes - he still looks like he hasn’t slept in years - but there’s a tight smile pulled against his face. Is that a good sign? She thinks it’s a good sign. She smiles back.

(no it is not a good sign!)

so he apologises immediately and rattles off the apology he thinks she wants - a very canned, rehearsed sorry i destroyed l'manberg even though he doesn't really mean it, because he's not really sorry that he died.

“You’re right,” he grins, and gets up off the fence - he leans towards her for a moment, but something in his expression closes off again and he rocks backwards on his heels. “I’ll head in. Better not keep the old man waiting, right?”

he wants to hug her again but he doesn't.

the next time we see wilbur is in a group setting, and after he's had some time to investigate and mull over the group dynamics - i don't think he was necessarily trying to stir shit by inviting tommy and tubbo to a dinner with the syndicate (to be fair, he probably just invited tommy and then assumed tubbo was also coming) but once he picks up on the tension, he is absolutely stirring shit. he's placed himself back into an antagonistic role, because in his mind that is the only one he's allowed. it doesn't help that the dynamic between all these people has shifted so staggeringly since he was alive, and no one wants to talk about it (not just to him, but it feels like they specifically don't want to tell him), so he resigns himself to finding out via causing problems at the dinner table. what's up with emduo vs clingyduo? (keep in mind, wilbur still thinks he is the only one who did all that damage to l'manberg.) what role does ranboo, this strange and non-confrontational newcomer, play in this? why is he so close to tubbo and tommy? what is tommy doing? how does dream, whose presence seems to touch almost everyone at this dinner table, the most powerful man on the server - now imprisoned - play into this? (someone wilbur feels kin with, built of the same horrible stuff, but indebted and knowing deep in his bones that he has done something to hurt wilbur's family?)

and yes, he knows he's twisting the knife, but he doesn't think himself good enough to dig for this kind of information any other way. he is a bad person, so he is doing bad things. as relevant to cause most of us are bitter specifically as a niki & wilbur relationship study - niki has given her opinion on him, that he is bad, so he is doing bad things. he is proving her wary judgement right through his own low expectations (and to some degree, standards) for himself.

Right. For Wil’s sake, who’s kicked back his chair and is leaning back, glass pressed against his lips. His eyes narrow contemplatively behind cracked glasses, surveying.

like, niki is being extremely judgmental in her thoughts, but he is surveying. techno revealing to the table that tubbo and ranboo are married and wilbur's response to that new information is very telling also lol

and then niki mentions the festival (shooting right through the complicated dinner table politics) and phil picks up on it and wilbur has to spill the beans about how manberg was a mess and tubbo died and he couldn't stop tubbo from dying. something to note when niki leaves the cabin as well that i'm not sure if many people picked up on:

The cold comes rushing back in, too slowly and then all at once - like being thrown into ice water. She’s not - she’s nowhere near the festival, she’s spaced out, again, at Techno’s dinner table - where Phil sits, concerned and horrified with every shaking word that falls out of Wilbur’s mouth, where the three teenagers across from her talk over one another and push and threaten to leave, where Techno sits, despondent, at the head of the table. She can’t stay. She’s going to suffocate if she does. She stands, almost knocking over the chair in her haste to go - there are eyes on her, a shaking voice calls out her name, but she ignores it.

haha lol lmao

aaaaand this kind of just makes things worse for wilbur! he's in a very bad headspace - well he was already in a very self-destructive headspace, purposely burning his reputation in the eyes of people he cares about because he's already cast himself as the villain and cannot bear to be seen as anything else, but bringing up the memories of pogtopia exacerbates things to an even greater degree. by the time he meets niki above the crater, he is more than ready to just absolutely shred that relationship. i mean she stormed out of dinner right? she can't stand to be around him. he definitely deserves that. and so on. so he swans around the crater making an effort to be upsetting (stomping on the glass, talking up dream, etc) to make niki uncomfortable, to set her off so the bridge between them is burnt, because he kind of can't bear to actually burn it himself. he doesn't want to hurt her by ditching her so he's trying to subconsciously goad her into ditching him. but it doesn't work so he just keeps pushing it.

Wilbur’s eyes finally drop back down to hers, and he shoots her a look that would be so heart-rendingly familiar, so sweet, if it wasn’t so saccharinely patronising. “Come on, Niki. It’s very admirable of you to put on a brave face, but it’s just the two of us now. I can tell you don’t want me around.”

the thing with wilbur here is that he thinks he is saying aloud what niki is thinking and thus releasing her from this burden of putting up with him, but given the context of how he (kiiiind of inadvertently) left her in manberg and thus she has some unresolved Issues about him leaving her behind, it just comes across as unspeakably cruel. he's just trying to be... well, kind of just a dick. he's spewing out a lot of big words and this illusion of him being some grand villain - of being more of an archetype than a person, more of an archetype than some guy niki's friend wilbur. he doesn't really realise that he's repeatedly hitting niki right where it hurts, because he doesn't realise that him leaving niki (through pogtopia or through death) could hurt her so much, because he doesn't think he's worth wanting.

what throws him off is when niki smacks back a little too hard and accidentally implies that she believes his hype - that she believes he's not just unlikeable and annoying and a burden, but a threat.

Wilbur goes quiet for a moment, simply watching. “You really don’t believe me, do you?” “You said it yourself, Wilbur,” Niki says quietly. The words don’t sound right in her mouth. “You’re the villain, aren’t you?” Wilbur’s dark eyes widen for a fraction of a second, something incomprehensible flickering across his face, before the mask slips back into place - this one, bitterly disappointed, almost upset. He takes a ragged breath, breath catching on - on something, Niki wouldn’t know what - before huffing out a hollow laugh, grin tugging at his lips.

boom. line crossed. if niki - always right, always good - truly believes that wilbur is dangerous, that wilbur could hurt someone (people he has called family, by the way) then there must be no hope left for him. and then niki starts ranting, and in her anger she lets her own hurt slip, and that's when wilbur goes no, wait because she's gone from saying things that he can accept are true (wilbur is a bad, bad person and he Cannot get better) to things he cannot accept are true (niki is gullible and stupid and was misled by him and he never cared about her). those things Cannot be true, so what the fuck is going on with all the other arguments that are coming out of niki's mouth?

and then niki pulls out the axe and wilbur is very quickly also now reckoning with his newfound mortality and the gripping fear that he cannot go back to limbo again so it's this fun game of escalate the situation until niki rightfully abandons him forever but deescalate things enough that he walks out of this one with his head still attached to his shoulders.

and then she says that none of this l'manberg shit is the point, the point is that she's hurt because he left her, and she starts fucking crying.

he softens immediately after this point because of course he does - no matter how hard he tries to push niki away he cares about her, he doesn't like to see her cry, and it is his fault but not in the way he was expecting and that is awkward and uncomfortable and he's just putting the whole grand persona away right now because niki is crying. and finally he computes that yes, niki is hurt by him and sad and upset and angry, but it's because he left her. it's not because of l'manberg, it's not because he was a bad leader, it's not because he rotted the country from the inside out. it's absolutely nothing that he has been blaming himself for ever since independance. the idea that he hurt niki because she cared about him and missed him had not even come close to crossing his mind.

and that kind of breaks him a bit? he's been operating on niki hates me so i must be worth hating. now he has to jump to niki cares very deeply about me actually? so much that it makes her this angry? it is confusing and scary and he doesn't have control over the story anymore and maybe he never did and he can't hold onto his narrative anymore!! in the face of niki's stubborn earnestness and his absolute trust in it he is forced to admit to himself that someone thinks he is worth caring for. and when that someone is a person whose opinion he trusts almost unilaterally...

he starts to come around to it.

i love cwilbur a lot he has exactly 0% of the story's limited perspective focus but that won't stop him from having So many thoughts offscreen anyways

ask game!! 🌠

[spacedlexi]

Hey lexi, was just reading into your profile cause Im bored as hell doing 50 different assignments, and noticed that you read someone's ao3 story, and now I'm not asking you to check my nonsense out (mainly because I write most of it at 4am living off an iced coffee I had 12 hours ago), but like what advice would you normally have for someone writing a twdg modern au? I did a first part from Lee's world, but I fear it'll be a bit different with an obv now teenage clem's side of things, mainly cause I felt like I was good at writing Lee, but that doesnt range with every character. I try to read different people's styles and that kinda stuff to navigate mine, as Ive only recently started. I think im writing too much I think so um yea, any advice? :D

when it comes to a modern au specifically i guess its really just about how dialed up on the trauma everyone is lol

the apocalypse has not happened and you as the writer get to decide what that means. people are shaped by their life experiences. what experiences have these characters endured and where has that put them emotionally? (are clems parents still dead? did lees wife still cheat on him? did anybody get sent to ericsons? etc)

although youve thrown them in a new setting, characters will still have general defining traits that make them recognizable And guide their actions (try to get at Least 3 traits because it gives them room to be influenced by each other Plus keeps them from being one note). be mindful of how these traits are balanced

going back to the source material is my only method for trying to nail down a characters voice/general vibes. why do they think and act and speak the way they do? what vocabulary do they use? whats their body language? unless youre talking about improving at descriptive text i wouldnt use other peoples fic for character inspiration (like example idk why people keep giving vi a southern drawl :/ i know shes from texas but she doesnt talk like ruby does... little things like that can make the character get lost in translation)

the fun part about modern aus is that you can do a lot with them since you decide which versions of these characters exist in that world :) really i just treat the source material like a character bible and have fun with it. all the info you need is right there