#but yeah a lot of this is rooted in my personal preferences

[bragganhyl]

regarding that josh tweet you just reblogged. how much experience do you think aloth has, just in general? he's obviously not very social and he notes the watcher as being one of the first people he's ever been really close to. the banessa stuff initially made me think he had some game, but i'm curious about your opinion.

I'd like to think he's had *some* experience but... yeah not a whole lot. In addition to what you said, Aloth also spent quite some time working undercover/using an alias and he really doesn't strike me as someone who would pursue people sexually/romantically while lying about his identity. But yeah, we do know that Iselmyr liked to urge him to get a partner and he had time during the timeskip between PoE 1 and 2 (and we do know that he had people crushing on him during his academy years too, no matter how asocial he was there). So yeah, that's my 2 cents, Anon.

[celestialmancer]

...Highkey was not. Expecting this one ramble I wrote of Ishtar to end up digging into some really personal vulnerabilities around my own.

...But. After several months of wanting to start opening the doors to rambling on these things (& chickening out) I finally. Got things down.

[rotagnus]

who are you, and how can you accentuate that --- 🪲

. .... . .. .. . . .. . .. . .. .. .... . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .

as promised, i'm on spring break and said that i'd release more self-related readings (and after these, the eyecontactship reading), so here you are. this will focus on who you are as a person, and what habits you can develop in order to better yourself and grow.

pile 1.

you're already a very ambitious and determined person, so i'm hearing that if you want growth? baby, that all comes to you as you simply exist. you're good at manifesting things, some of you may like listening to subliminals if you're bored, or write things down when you want something. you guys are the type of person to have many different things you wanna be--different aesthetics, different personalities, different hobbies, etc. oftentimes, you get lost because you try to force yourself into a single box, taking these labels with you to the grave. my advice? stop. be free. do you think that a horse on a field labels itself a long-haired, draft palomino? that was very cheesy of me 😭 but you guys get the point. you don't always need to be aware of WHAT you are, you're meant to be aware of BEING. of simply existing. a lot of you rush through life and need to find the charm in simple things.

things you can do to accentuate who you are:

-travel!! i'm hearing that you guys are a free spirit and it would largely benefit you to walk, go on a day-trip, etc, preferably by yourself to get your thoughts sorted out. you're the kind of person who is able to think things through when there's some kind of movement.

-learn a new recipe/find a new favorite kind of food.

-dust up your house, vacuum! you're deeply rooted in your environment, so take care of it.

-develop your hobbies. instead of focusing on so many of them, choose one that you want to refine.

-stop trying to fit different kinds of niches. focus on attuning to your own specific vibe. you don't always have to be like everybody else ;)

-get some sunlight. i'm hearing that it'd be very beneficial for you guys, or warm lighting.

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pile 2.

whyy have my feminine energies been in their masculine energies for so longgg?!? goodness. you guys truly don't allow yourself to rest, you're always hustlin' and bustlin' and that's crazy to me. you're also deeply disconnected from your body, kind of similar to pile 3 (i had a feeling to do this pile last). you're truly always having an out of body experience, probably due to anxiety or a fear of feeling too much. you're very observant and you feel others' energies very easily, and you prefer to be by yourself with your music, or by yourself with another energy that doesn't drain you. a lot of you have been quiet recently, and focusing on working on yourself and the connections/hobbies/etc that matter to you. you're realizing your power and how amazing you are, and you're trying to bring your energy back to yourself because you WANT to be a better person, because you know there's good things coming but only after you do the work to open up to them (pile 3 may have similar messages, check it out!).

things you can do to prepare to open up:

-hype yourself up!! things will be working out for you romantically/relationship wise, take that as it resonates, and you gotta know you're a bad b and that you deserve this.

-listen to good music that brings you vibration higher. no aggressive music, but music that makes you feel good about yourself.

-stop focusing on people who don't want you to flourish. your person (a friend you've been wanting to make, a romantic partner, whatever/whoever you're thinking of) is gonna stick with you regardless. that other person? baby, they're in the dark. wish them well and move on.

-WOWW so yeah, for a lot of you, you need to step into your feminine energy. what i'm getting is spending time in nature, get a routine where you drink your favorite tea and converse with the universe, let yourself feel pretty, don't hide yourself.

-like pile 3, focus on your vulnerability. there's a specific connection from which you're trying to run away but also make it work--listen, this is worth it, so work on being open and vulnerable, open that solar plexus UP!!

-pay no mind to people who are from the past. you may feel anger, sadness, etc, but the truth is that this is a new slate. fresh and clean. so leave the past, acknowledge that there's good things in the present, and LEAVE!!!

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pile 3.

woww you guys have been on the grind recently! my intellectual diva. i think a lot of you have been nurturing your relationship with spirit recently, or whatever belief system that you have. this spring has brought you a well-needed and well-deserved rebirth, and you've been enjoying the luxuries of that, basking in your own soft beauty. a lot of you may have started to fix your insecurities, finding yourself, and you remind me of a newborn calf, kind of figuring out what to do with your legs. a main message i'm getting is to take it slow. you guys have a mindset of needing to break through walls, but guys...sometimes there are doors! you don't always have to endure pain and trauma to get good things in life. focus on taking it slow. this is a cycle that will keep continuing until you finallyyy decide to take it slow and not rush for answers regarding your specific situation--you know what i'm talking about.

things you can do to grow:

-some of you need to focus on self love, so i would highly suggest affirmations, and starting to treat yourself like the beautiful being you are. start to unwork those little patterns that tell you that you're not good enough. good things are coming for you, but you have to start to realize that you truly deserve them.

-spend some time with yourself. journal, is what i'm getting. think about who YOU are--what do you like, what are your pillars?

-harmony and happiness are coming as long as you take away fake friendships and connections that were draining you. there's a long line of people who truly want good for you, as long as you finally realized where you're WANTED and not needed.

-go into hermit mode for a bit. a lot of you have a deep fear of being alone which has led to fake friendships/relationships, as mentioned above; you must find peace in your own company before you can find it in others.

-treat yourself! take a hot bath, watch your favorite tv show, do some mirror work; i know i say this in a LAWTTT of my readings but it truly does work wonders. use some essential oils, shea butter, worship your own body. you're absolutely gorgeous--i'm getting a lot of you have self-esteem issues, and this is my message that you're breathtaking. really. so start acting like it, baby!

-learn to be vulnerable, my bleeding heart. your emotions and your desire for joy for everyone are your powers. don't be accessible, but be ready to develop deep relationships as soon as you work on what i've said. in order to connect, though, you must open your heart for the right people.

[paradise-vine]

Hey, can I request a Seth lowell or Wise x reader? Like, them introducing you to their family/siblings

im so sorry i didn’t see your ask sooner, yes ofc!!

i havent played zzz in a while though since i had my first exam sesh of the year but ill do my best!

Introducing you to their families

cw: mostly fluff, seth doesn’t get along with his brother and he’s not exactly happy about it, that’s about it

Seth Lowell

(I couldn’t find out if his brother had an actual name or not so I gave him one, if anything I’ll just change it later. also might be a little ooc considering i havent played a whole lot of the game so far)

So we know that he isn’t on good terms with his brother right?

So I imagine you meeting him would be an accident mostly

You’re both hanging out, walking down the street together, maybe having a coffee or something

When you hear a voice from behind you

“Hey there Seth, it’s been a while hasn’t it?”

You can hear your boyfriend groan before turning around to face a man you don’t recognize but who does look somewhat similar to him

“What do you want?”

The man’s gaze jumps from Seth to you, eyeing you up and down and smiling slightly

“I didn’t know you had a partner!”

Seth seems even less thrilled than he was before, an unusual look on him

“Yeah well there’s a lot you don’t know, and I’d honestly prefer to keep it that way”

“Aww come on little, aren’t you even gonna introduce me?”

The man turns to you, grinning, a stark contrast to your boyfriend’s current mood

“I’m Tyson, Seth’s brother, pleased to meet you!”

He extends his hand towards you, which you awkwardly shake

And this is the moment Seth decides he’s had enough of this and grabs your hand

“Yeah sorry but we have stuff to do.”

And without saying anything else, he drags you further down the street and away from him

He’s more embarrassed than actually frustrated however, embarrassed that you where forced to meet someone he doesn’t really want in his life at the moment

But it’s all good, he just hates that it wasn’t on his own terms that you got to meet his brother

Just give him a lot of affection to make him feel better because you know he’s not gonna feel super great after that happened

Wise

I feel like you’d get to meet Belle pretty early in the relationship

Since they’re pretty close, are co-owners and let’s be honest there’s a high chance you two met either because you wanted to rent a movie or because you’re a hollow raider and in both cases Belle would probably be aware of your existence since day 1 or so

In any case, I think Wise wouldn’t do a proper introduction per say iykwim

I think you two would be hanging out in his room or in the store and Belle would just walk in and ask who is this?

And Wise just casually says “this is my partner (name)”, no fancy talk or anything

Just plain and simple

Belle would adore you though

You’re nervous at first, the usual ‘well what if she doesn’t like me, what if she doesn’t think im good enough for her bother’, shit like that

But she’s just genuinely happy her brother found someone

And if (what I personally think is more likely to happen) you and Wise aren’t dating yet when you meet, she’s giving Wise the Look™

She’s his number 1 wingwoman, rooting for you both as soon as she’s aware of your existence

Belle is a really chill person in general, you’re anxious for exactly two seconds before you realize there’s nothing to worry about

Overall Wise’s family is wayyy easier to meet than Seth’s lmao

hope this is good, it’s my first time actually writin x reader stuff so i hope you like it <3

[ckret2]

Answering the second half of this ask now.

Yeah, I'm interested in Jack/Aku. It's not my favorite ship in the fandom*, but it's up there.

(*My favorite ship in the fandom is Aku/Scaramouche and I won't derail this post by talking about it but please. Somebody ask me. Give me the excuse I need.)

For reference here's my Does Aku Is Gay? post (the ultimate conclusion is "my god, I think he is does gay") and a post of a few random headcanons about Jack & Aku's relationship in a general/platonic sense.

When it comes to shipping I think "could that work out?" is the wrong/less interesting question. Like, in this case, no, in canon I don't think it could work out.

The more interesting question is "what would it take for it to work out?

The first step is you have to decide that, if there were no dealbreakers, each would find what the other one has going on sexy and/or romantically attractive. And that's a matter of pure headcanon. Personally I prefer headcanoning that a ship's compatibility is rooted in being drawn to each other's personalities rather than physical traits, but that's a matter of taste.

Jack seems pretty exclusively into babes but you could go "well maybe he ISN'T. Maybe he's bi and into redheads." Or you could go "Aku's half-seduced Jack as a hot babe so many times that those emotions just kind of eventually transferred over to Aku in his real form." Or "due to some extremely complicated plot reasons and/or a genderbend AU, Aku is now long-term disguised as a hot babe and/or is a hot babe." Or "Jack's sexually attracted to women but romantically attracted to whatever."

We have no hints about what, if anything, Aku is into. What we know is that until he meets Ashi, he's pretty damn sure he hadn't done anything that would give him kids, but that could mean a LOT of things. So you can go ham. Make up any bullshit you want. "He's into the strong silent stoic type." "The reason Aku calls himself 'shogun of sorrow' is because he actually thinks samurai are SUPER sexy and likes fantasizing about getting to order around thousands of them." "When he gained sentience his sexual preferences imprinted upon the first living thing he saw, and like,, Jack is the emperor's son." "Aku can't get off unless his life is in danger and he's spent decades trying to prevent Jack from catching on during their battles." "Aku is a Thing Of Evil that has Never Known Kindness so if he's on the receiving end of Jack's endless sympathy & generosity ONE TIME he's done for." Anything. Go wild.

The second step is getting past the dealbreakers.

This is the hard part.

"Jack is trying to kill Aku" and "Aku destroyed Jack's home, has tormented him for years, and is actively oppressing the whole planet" are dealbreakers. But even if they didn't have that history and were meeting for the first time with none of that going on, "Jack is a heroic do-gooder" is probably a dealbreaker for Aku (unless you wanna headcanon "Aku has an embarrassing kink for heroes" or something) and "Aku is, like, just evil, and his life goal is to be as evil as possible" is DEFINITELY a dealbreaker for Jack.

If you don't wanna make it a ROMANTIC ship you could get around it by giving them reasons to be attracted to each other, skip over giving them reasons to like each other, and just make it hate sex. Combine "Aku gets off to being imperiled" with something like "spending his puberty in combat training made Jack get turned on by subjugating an opponent" and end up with something like "after an hour-long battle Jack's got his sword to Aku's throat, You Won't Guess What Happens Next (it isn't Aku dying)." Or go for the traditional "the villain has captured the hero and is now torturing him (erotically)." There's a billion variations for hate sex.

But if you DO want it romantic—or even just platonically friendly with benefits—you gotta deal with those dealbreakers.

Various options I can think of, in no particular order:

1. Instead of "Aku is made out of Pure Evil" make it "Aku is made out of Pure Darkness, which everybody just assumed is evil," and since Aku was treated like some sort of arch-villain from his creation he just took it for granted that yes he is evil and never bucked against that role. Taking this route opens up the possibility that: 1) Aku could realize he's not inherently evil (or maybe something could cause Jack to realize it and go "hey what gives?" so Aku realizes it next), 2) Aku has an identity crisis as he realizes his entire life is built around the belief that he's something he never was, 3) *insert some reason to motivate Aku to change instead of just go "oh well, who cares about nature vs nurture, I embrace being evil ✌️"*, 4) shove Aku down a redemption arc, perhaps with assistance from Jack who's cautiously sympathetic now that he knows Aku's somewhat of a victim here of being unnecessarily pigeonholed into a life of villainy, and 5) maybe seal the deal by going back to the past to undo all the evil from the start so that now bam Aku's never actually done anything bad and Jack doesn't have to feel guilty about liking him now, if you want a nice tidy uncomplicated happy ending.

I'm not a fan of this because I prefer for Aku to be actually (and joyfully) inherently evil, but that's a matter of personal taste. You can make a compelling plot out of this scenario, and who doesn't enjoy taking the most irredeemable villain character possible and trying to finagle a redemption arc anyway?

2. Go with "Aku isn't inherently pure evil, everyone just sorta assumed it" except Aku knows and he just likes being evil, then insert a reason to force him to change and take the redemption arc. Like "there's a BIGGER threat that's gonna DESTROY THE EARTH and Jack & Aku have to TEAM UP to STOP it—and OH NO, it turns out THE ONLY THING THAT CAN SAVE EARTH is Aku doing something GOOD and POSSIBLY SELFLESSLY SELF-SACRIFICIAL! I hope making this choice doesn't irrevocably change his personality from now on!"

Again, not my taste because I prefer the challenge of imagining him actually Pure Evil; but also again, that's just my personal taste and the story could work.

3. say Aku's still pure evil, but for some reason for the greater good greater evil? his own self-interest, Aku has to ACT in ways that are good, against his own nature, and then contrive the plot such that making the change a permanent part of his behavior is mandatory. This'll take effort to pull off convincingly, but that's what would make it impressive if it was done right. Maybe allow him some "acceptable" avenues to do evil. ("yeah you can torture these guys, they're serial killers. Sure you can burn down the ruthless bandits' camp.")

4. Keep the hate and keep the dealbreakers but force them in some kinda situation where they each see in the other the traits that you've decided they each personally find attractive. Maybe stick them in a situation where they CAN'T continue their mutual murder attempts and thus it's temporarily irrelevant (Aku's powers are being suppressed + Jack's lost his sword—AND THEY'RE SNOWED IN TOGETHER and there's ONE BED and it'll be ALL NIGHT before the weather clears up enough for them to travel to the town where Jack's sword was left in the lost & found and Aku dropped the antidote to this power-suppressing curse), and so as long as they can't do anything about their hate, why not pretend for a few hours that it doesn't exist, and pretend... It's probably gonna have a tragic ending, most likely they go back to the canon status quo—but YOU know there's secret yearning for A Love That Can Never Be underneath, and isn't that what's really important?

5. Say they've been fighting for like ten thousand years and they're both so worn down from this battle that they no longer have nor care about their ancient morals anymore and the only constant in each other's lives are each other and aren't they tired of fighting, wouldn't they rather just lay down the sword and eye lasers and collapse together into the uncomfortably comforting familiarity of each other's company? Give up. Give in. Rest now. There's only one bed.

6. Brainwash Jack! Make him evil! Maybe a partial resurgence of the Aku Infection, maybe some kind of magic, maybe future science brainwashing lasers, whatever! Bad ending for Jack but good ending for Jack/Aku! Would take some finesse to make evil Jack still seem like Jack rather than like some brand new evil character that we're told is Jack but doesn't actually seem like him in anything but appearance—like,, the evil Jack we see in canon isn't actually Jacklike in personality, y'know?

7. Brainwash Aku! Force him into the path of some god's divine soul-purification beam and turn him good against his will! Come up with a ritual to forcibly alter his nature to make it good! Smack him real hard on the head and when he comes to and asks where he is and who he is go "you're my noble shadow sidekick and definitely NOT evil and we fight crime together." Again, would take some finesse to make Aku still feel like himself.

8. Brainwash them both! Aliens are mind controlling them for their own sick amusement! They both got hit with a magic spell that gave them amnesia and now they're bumbling around the wilderness assuming they're besties because otherwise why would they have been hanging out together! Whatever!

And in any of the brainwashing cases, if you want you can later reverse the brainwashing and have them go "I got in too deep while I was brainwashed/while you were brainwashed, I don't think I can go back to the old status quo anymore, what now"

9. I think Jack is the kind of guy who couldn't possibly develop romantic feelings toward some villain who's ravaged the world but I don't necessarily think Aku absolutely couldn't develop romantic feelings toward some hero trying to kill him. If you went "but well maybe he could develop feelings?" I'd go "All right, it's unlikely but not necessarily flat OOC."

Aku pulls the ol' "pretend to be a hot chick to get close to Jack" routine, realizes with horror that he's actually falling for Jack, and then has to decide what to do about it—break it off and run (but ah! the feelings linger, perhaps triggering a redemption arc, certainly making him hold back during future battles with Jack), or maintain the ruse and just sorta alternate between going back to his castle to be a villain and fight Jack and then taking a break to resume the disguise to travel with Jack (perhaps resulting in... character growth??), or maybe maintain the ruse long term until Jack figures it out and/or dies. And what if Jack reciprocates the feelings for Aku's hot chick disguise. What then.

Likely a tragic ending, and most happy endings would be unconvincing, but you could finagle a happy ending into working with some effort—it would likely require either major effort to give Aku a redemption arc, or MAAAJOR effort to persuade the audience that, when Jack finds out about the disguise, he's already so in love with this side of Aku he's never seen/imagined before that he's willing to overlook, you know, all that.

But tragic ending is easiest. Keep it romantic by keeping them both infatuated but TORMENTED by the fact that IT CANNOT BE because Aku will never change and Jack will never surrender, AND YET THE LONGING FOR SOMETHING IMPOSSIBLE REMAINS. You can wring a lot of choice angst out of that. even if the relationship isn't there, the feelings are there, and that's like the ship succeeding.

10. Just keep it simple by sticking them in an AU where none of that drama is a problem. Any AU. Make up whatever the hell you want. Aku's a demonic barista at the local coffee shop and Jack has been coming in every morning for the last two weeks going "do you serve tea? :)" and Aku says "for the last time NO" and Jack goes ":(" and on the fifteenth day Aku slaps down a box of tea bags he bought himself and goes "here's a cup of hot water make your own damn tea." Aku goes "yes, I am pure evil down to my core, but it's because I'm a barista and I have to take orders from customers, who do shit like try to order tea from a coffee shop" and Jack goes "honestly completely understandable, I don't hold this against you at all" and Aku goes "so now I plan to take over the world and burn everything to the ground" and Jack goes "I am given to understand that's a common reaction to working in the food service industry." I got too into this joke. Anyway: AU.

11. Not alternate universe but alternate timeline where they never became enemies.

Just like, go back to the moment Aku was set on a course for evil and instead maybe Jack's dad goes "WOW you're a big scary fucker, wanna come back to my kingdom and be our personal army and kill invaders?" and Aku's like "killing people?? sure I'm in" and now Jack grows up going like "dear diary today I again had a distant glimpse of the dark god who guards our kingdom fighting off invaders, I wish he would visit the palace more often so I can appreciate his strange shadowy physique from up close who wrote that"

or say Aku did kill the emperor the first time they fought and the newborn prince was smuggled out of the devastated kingdom and grew up in a rough demonic-war-torn region so that by the time he meets Aku as an adult he's like "oh you need soldiers to help you conquer the world faster? I've killed like seventeen people for money and food and I'm decent with a sword, is that good enough? why no I don't know anything about the emperor you killed or his family, why do you ask?"

12. Groundhog Day plot where Jack finds a time portal but decides to use it to prevent ANY of Aku's evil from EVER happening and keeps trying again when he doesn't succeed, and after 200 loops he goes "wow there are hidden sides to Aku I never imagined" and "I know now what I must do to ensure Aku never harms or has harmed ANYONE... seduce him to the side of good."

Some of the above options are kind of cheats. Some are kinda cheesy, some are kinda cliche, and all of them are very subject to personal taste—what would work for some audience members wouldn't work for others, any of them could get someone to go "well what's the POINT if you're using XYZ trope, that basically doesn't count" or go "characterizing them that specific way simply seems OOC to me" or "I can accept Aku being turned on by almost being killed but I draw the line at Jack being attracted to redheads." Whatever! I don't like all the above ideas myself.

But like... they're stories that would work for somebody. It's up to you what you'd like or what you think "makes sense" or what you think would "count" as doing it "right."

so conclusion: Jack/Aku couldn't work out... but you could MAKE it work out. And on top of that there are so many beautiful, interesting, yearning-filled, grief-filled, angsty ways it could fail to work out—and for some people "they both acknowledge they FEEL something, even if they can't get it to work out" is enough to say that the ship happened.

[tinycurlyfry]

Can you help me to understand why Sakura is so nervous here to ask for his favourite food? Does this has root in his childhood?

Yeah! I can give my insight on it at least! So this scene happens immediately after Sakura's talk with Kaji and Umemiya. During which, they drove home that everyone at Furin doesn't conditionally love Sakura because of his fighting ability or that they think he's going to be this strong, unshakeable captain. They love Sakura because of *who* he is. Which is a very hard thing for Sakura to understand because he doesn't feel like he knows himself very well. Up until this point he really did think the only thing about himself that was of value was his physical strength/fighting ability. (We're going to get this scene next week too btw ;;v;; I'm going to sob at this coming episode I swear)

It's not specifically about asking for Omurice that is making Sakura so nervous I don't think, but what happened in the scene leading up to him saying what food he wants. Sakura made this big apology/announcement to class 1-1 that he's sorry that he is a failure of a captain and he is probably going to screw up in the future trying to lead and protect them. He calls himself weak again, and says he's just going to be a disappointment to them. In response to which, his classmates affectionately/angrily attack him and everyone expresses in their own ways that they're insulted Sakura would think their care for him is so conditional.

Insulted that Sakura assumes they expect Sakura to be this perfect leader and that they don't already know that he's just starting out learning how to look out for others and be a good leader. Yes, just as Kaji told him already, they KNOW he doesn't know what he's doing. They KNOW he's going to make dumb mistakes and "Be a lameass" (Anzai ily, you're so fucking funny). They KNOW he's navigating unknown territory and he's scared. But all the same, does Sakura really think they're the kind of people who would just reject him immediately after a single mistake? Does he think they don't love him for how hard he's TRYING to do good, for how hard he wants to fight for them and to protect the same things that are important to them as well? That they would think less of him because he freaked out when he saw them getting hurt, and then was beating himself so much over the fact that he "let them" get hurt???

Well, clearly that means he doesn't understand them at all, and that needs to be amended immediately. So how do people in Wind Breaker go about connecting to each other, and solidifying their status as a family/community? THEY GO OUT AND GET A MEAL TOGETHER!!! (to bring it back to my food is community theme post on my WBK blog~)

(Again, Anzai Ily so so much gjsdkflg) But yeah! Basically they all start arguing about where to eat after school when they ask Sakura to be the person to decide for them. He's nervous partially because he's still processing everything that they've been saying to him this scene, but also because expressing what HE wants (to eat) and HIS preferences is the first step of putting himself out there for them. It's not a fact about him that's related to his strength or fighting ability or ability to lead, it's just what his favorite food is. And that, in a way, is a first step towards letting them get to know who he really is. As Suo had just said-

(Which, Also, YEAH OKAY *SUO*, how about taking some of your own advice and opening up to the class about yourself too??? He literally tries to bullshit his answers to their classmates when asked at Pothos what he's scared of most and Nirei has to call Suo's ass out.) But anyways! Yeah, the tension of the scene is finally released because Class 1-1 is more than happy to agree to go to Pothos for Omurice/fried onigiri etc and Sakura had had to build up a LOT of courage to talk to them so honestly and vulnerably. They're moving on as if nothing has changed between them BECAUSE nothing has changed and they now just know that they have to take a little more direct of an approach to assure Sakura that he is allowed to make mistakes and be himself and they will never reject him or even think less of him for it.

[ponett]

Whenever I complain about graphic or dark content in media I watch, I keep hearing people retort with this apparently very popular opinion that people who enjoy comfy, wholesome things are actually more likely to be raging assholes than people who love things like death metal and gore. As someone who seems to enjoy comfy, wholesome things yourself and likely met many others who enjoy similar such things, do you agree with this opinion? If so, why do you think this happens?

So I've been sitting on this ask for like a week, not knowing whether or not I wanted to touch it because it kind of feels like being handed a live grenade

For one, I don't like being pigeonholed as someone who just likes "comfy" or "wholesome" things. Yeah, I enjoy My Little Pony and Animal Crossing. I made a game with cute furry characters and lots of bright colors. I also enjoy things like Berserk and Chainsaw Man and Doom and violent crime dramas and punk rock with vulgar lyrics and porn. Variety is the spice of life

Anyway: I generally don't think it's a good idea to make sweeping statements about peoples' moral or intellectual character based on what genres of story they enjoy, regardless of what direction you're coming at it from. But this is a very leading question that kind of skirts around the root problems

There's frequent (perhaps a bit exaggerated) pushback these days against people who prefer their fiction to be a warm blanket, a form of escapism meant to distract you from the real world. In particular, the dreaded "person who only watches kids' cartoons" is a form of this that gets brought up a lot. I don't think the root problem here is what media people enjoy or don't personally enjoy - taste is subjective, and I don't think it's a moral obligation for everyone to have diverse tastes in TV shows - but I do think some folks should try to get out of their comfort zone a bit more. Sometimes stuff that seems like it won't be for you on a surface level will really end up speaking to you, but you won't know until you give it a shot. Trust me, I've been there many times

It becomes a problem when people demand that media ONLY cater to that "warm blanket" attitude. And I think that's part of the reason why that stereotype you mentioned about fans of ""wholesome""" media being assholes exists. People who view dark or violent content as an inherent flaw because it's not what they like. People who yell at creators when they make bad things happen in their stories, because how dare you do this to my comfort characters? People who say movies should never have sex scenes. People who want "problematic" moral complexity stripped out in favor of black and white moral instruction. People who seem to hate any sort of interpersonal conflict in fiction at all

These attitudes can be the result of many different cultural factors, factors that can't all be traced back to Tumblr or what shows you like, but sometimes it's definitely because of that lack of broader perspective on media. You can tell when someone's opinions on The Right And Wrong Ways To Write Fiction were shaped almost entirely by, like, Steven Universe discourse. (Yes, this is a jab at Lily Orchard.) And when these people are very loud about their opinions, well, it becomes a trend people notice

Like. I don't know you. You sent this anonymously. But when you say you "complain about graphic or dark content in media you watch"... that could mean a few wildly different things! Maybe you're just venting about something that unexpectedly triggered you, and that's totally fine. But the wording could also imply that, like, you take issue with these things being present at all, and that you expect a person who likes "death metal and gore" to be more of a "raging asshole" than someone who likes the "wholesome" things you like. So... well, maybe you're more dismissive or judgmental of things outside your comfort zone than you realize?

Unfortunately, in case it's not already obvious, on the internet this shit quickly becomes a proxy battle over dozens of intersecting cultural issues at once where everyone is kinda just talking past each other. So it gets messy

For example, I have no reason to believe that the people who run the "Wholesome Games" showcases have anything against games that are dark or violent or contain adult themes. (They've outright said they don't. Many times!) But when you see people going "why is Spiritfarer allowed in the showcase? That's a game about DEATH and that's NOT WHOLESOME, why would you make me think about death?" or "Ugh, why does Disco Elysium have to be about a cop? Why can't we apply these systems to a game about a young witch who's trying to find a lost cat in an idyllic village instead?" it... Well, it makes me sympathetic towards the indies who don't feel comfortable with the "Wholesome Games" label and consider it limiting. But it also doesn't make me think that devs catering to a demand for more chill, nonviolent video games are categorically facilitating fascist censorship from the Christian right

It's complicated! The written word is imprecise and the internet is a nightmare

I've kind of gone off on multiple tangents here. Basically: I do think that people can kinda turn fans of "comfy" media or "adults who only watch Bluey" into an overblown boogeyman these days. I think people online generally have a habit of swinging too hard in one direction or another in their stances on certain things, overcompensating based on what group of people online are currently annoying them the most and turning said group into like The Main Problem With Society Today. But I also think that boogeyman only exists because of very real examples of people demanding that everything cater to their narrow comfort zone. Go like what you like, but also, y'know. Don't be that person

[muontron]

(Click for better quality)

TTTTRRRRRIPLE THREAT!!! Finally got around to drawing in Charles as well, so head-canons and nationalities are below the cut ^^ it’s really long so brace yourself if you choose to read it!!!!

HENRY. Oh boy. The main guy. The dude. The sometimes brawn n the sometimes brain. The most of the time neither. Best protagonist for having the : “fuck around and find out” mentality.

I was, honestly kinda sick of the fandom white twink Henry (no hate I also depicted him as the fandom white twink) so he took a !! WOKE TURNAROUND !! N became a goth/punk Filipino-American unlabeled queer dude. I feel like he’d play around with labels and pronouns and never really stick with any—same with sexual orientations. (He/him, yeah who cares? She/her? Yes please.)

I feel like they’d be very free flowing with their identity and Henry doesn’t seem like he’d have a strict definition of who he is or who he wants to be. Having ambiguous morals and ideas too, makes sense. He doesn’t really have too much of a defined canon personality, so this fits in well enough.

Henry also has ADHD, potentially OCD in my interpretation. (I would also clarify kleptomania but that is pretty much canon :/)

He struggles with both impulsive and intrusive thoughts. this is projection from my experience with OCD.

Henry also LOVES flavor extremes—sweet, sour, spicy—doesn’t matter as long as it’s as strong as his cologne (/lhj) plus The puffer jacket he wears more or less is the inter-dimensional one-hole to all the shit he randomly can pull out seemingly out of NOWHERE. Henry stands at a handsome 5’9, making him the shortest of the group.

ELLIE!!! ELLIE!!! Everyone cheer for our favorite girl ever PLEASE

I put so much love into her design because I feel like she really deserves it. Unfortunately being one of the few female characters in the series made her subjected to not only a lot of ignorance from the fandom but also a lot of blatant misogyny—but that is an essay for another time. I wanted Ellie’s design to kind of … highlight the balance between her strength and her traditional femininity. (Her makeup for instance.) I didn’t want to make her ENTIRELY tomboyish nor did I want to make her totally feminine—not that either interpretations are wrong, but they’re not personally how I see her. So, I took inspiration from the tech wear aesthetic—a fashion style that has many variations and is generally androgynous. I took inspiration from some sort of wraparound skirt worn with pants for her bottoms, and a simple tank top for her top. This allowed me to play around with her muscles and scarring (I tried to replicate lightning strikes more dramatically kshjsgjsv) anyways sorry for the looooooong ramble about her appearance I’m just so SO happy with how it turned out.

Anywho, Ellie to me is Japanese American, and she’s a transgender woman. I’m not entirely sure if I see her as a sapphic or a lesbian, but she’s definitely more girl-inclined when it comes to romance, imo. I gave her a few moles n freckles because I find it really cute on characters and people. I also like to think her hair is dyed, and her hair is black, so I chose to show her roots in. She has a bit of a tan and a jade bracelet that she wears as well.

As for Ellie’s powers—I really don’t know. I like to think she’s just talented like that or some sort of psychic superhero.

I like to imagine that Ellie’s favorite genre’s in media are psychological/cosmic horror and comedy action. Her watch history on Netflix is absurd because she’d have a movie with the rock as its lead like jumanji on her top ten with like…. The grudge. I don’t know. I also like to imagine that Ellie LOVES world history and that traveling is one of her favorite hobbies. She’s a linguist of sorts and enjoys learning languages and cultures. Her favorite types of foods are salty or sweet, but she prefers more milder flavors and is more picky with her food. Though, she does enjoy the more refined palate and knows her way around wines and Chardonnays. Also her dad is a girl dad I don’t know how else to describe it.

Ellie graduated from a decent college with a degree in economics. She has no idea why she chose this degree and absolutely regrets it.

CHARLES CALVIN!!! CHARLIE!! Don’t lie to me I know you guys were WAITING for this one!!

I know, out of the whole entire fandom, that this guy has the most INCONSISTENT fandom design. None of us know how he looks like. I myself have like . 15. Theyre all correct and I love love love seeing your guys’ charles interpretations. But for me, right now, this guy fits the face of Charles. Inspired off of the current Canadian NASA Artemis astronaut Jeremy Hansen, I feel like Charles really suits his face and energy and such. Of course I changed some stuff around but yeah. Classic oversimplified Air Force military uniform and the whole getup.

I imagine him to have like very light blonde hair . He has a lot of facial and body hair if you zoom in it’s just light and clear ahaksgjsg AND FRECKLES!!!! THE MANS FULL OF IT!!!

Ohhhhhgggghh I love Charles so much. He’s so full of joy. To me I feel like he’s the cis guy who thinks he’s also het but he isn’t. He’s more like, bi, with a female lean. To me, at least—I’m not entirely sure. I don’t think he’d necessarily think about romance often but he wouldn’t MIND being in a relationship either. I feel like maybe he’d casually date (not hookup btw that is different) but nothing would really ever stick. I never really headcanon religions on characters but for some unknown reason he is Christian to me and I have NO idea why. (I know these are headcanons and I don’t have to justify myself but I feel like I do svjsvjsgixhidh)

Uhhhh he’s a biker. He likes extreme sports…. He forgot how to drive a car. Heres screenshots below with my friend because I don’t wanna retype everything

Charles is the tallest of the group at 6’1. His boots do make him slightly taller though

He Is. Such an adrenaline junkie I can’t even emphasize this enough.

Also he’s CANADIAN AMERICAN!! I feel like he grew up in Vancouver for a bit :) moved back n forth between the states n so I believe

Anywho I think that’s it I’ll edit and add more if so thanks goodbye

[onthewaytosomewhere]

HAPPY SUNDAY LUVS!!!!

thanks for the tags @firstprincehornyramblings @tailsbeth-writes @thighzp @sophie1973 & @suseagull5914

well i had planned to be saying oh that photog alex fic is posted but then I made the mistake of scrolling tumblr and this happened - who’da thunk a cigarette would lead to a bi speedrun? - so if ya want a quick read of alex having a bi speedrun bcuz he sees henry smoking well here ya go - so photog alex will go up 2moro i think as my last @safe-smuttin submission (saved as a draft and ready to go)

and words today will be from photog alex i guess cuz well a lot of my other words are secret right now - under the cut - for kinda smut i guess lolz (and cuz there is no way i'm bothering counting so it's a lot

“So, what you’re saying is we’ve been edging each other slowly in an attempt not to rush this?” “That sounds about right, yeah.” Henry crawls up the bed between Alex’s legs. They spread wider to accommodate him almost of their own volition, and the anticipation makes Alex’s skin prickle. Henry nips at his hips, and Alex squirms. “Any preferences for how we do this?” Alex feels his thighs flex under Henry’s attention and can’t help the sigh that slips from him. “As long as I finally get your cock in me, I’m easy for the rest.” He’s amazed he got that much of a sentence out, as his thoughts seem to be anything but coherent. His head lolls back into the pillow, and he fists a hand into the sheet beneath him. “Easy is not the word I would use to describe you.” Henry chuckles darkly against his skin, and the vibration sends a shiver up Alex’s spine. “It’s been anything but, trying to keep from ravaging you.” Henry runs his finger up the underside of Alex’s cock and he shudders. “Or suggesting a bit of phone sex at the very least so I could hear you come apart.” Alex whimpers and his hips buck up into Henry’s touch. “Fuck, Henry.” Henry hums, as if he’s pleased he’s got Alex so worked up with so little really, and leans to press a soft kiss to the root of Alex’s cock. “Though I am glad that the first time I get to see this beautiful thing is in person.” Alex sits up the best he can, arms around Henry to hold him up, to kiss him. Their lips meet in a clash of want and heat, and Alex barely manages to gasp out, “You’re one to talk about beautiful, I could write sonnets about how tempting that cock of yours is. Getting my mouth on it at some point is going to be fucking amazing.”

OPEN TAG TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PLAY and some no pressure tags flinging ur way @adreama-writes @alasse9 @anincompletelist @basil-bird @bitbybitwrites @blueeyedgrlwrites @cactusdragon517 @catdadacd @caterpills @cha-melodius @cricketnationrise @dragonflylady77 @duchessdepolignaca03 @emmalostinwonderland @eusuntgratie @everwitch-magiks @faketrex @firenati0n @firstsprinces @lfg1986-2 @iboatedhere @inexplicablymine @jmagnabo92 @judasofsuburbia @kiwiana-writes @miharaikko @myheartalivewrites @ninzied @orchidscript @porcelainmortal @priincebutt @run-for-chamo-miles @seths-rogens @softboynick @sparklepocalypse @stellarmeadow @stratocumulusperlucidus @taste-thewaste @theprinceandagcd @thedramasummer @typicalopposite @thesleepyskipper @tinyarmedtrex @zwiazdziarka

[koifly]

Toby headcanons

These are just some quick notes from my AU so I'm not going into too much detail with each headcanon!

-German, no not just German roots but he actually lives in Germany

-complex relationship with physical contact/affection

-talks a lot, but not very often. Either he's talking with no red string or is as silent as an owl's flight

-can't stand having a beard/stubble, HAS to shave or else he'll remind himself a bit too much of his dad

-fucked up hands through biting, picking and scratching

-freckles and moles everywhere, pale skin, eyebags

-dark brown hair+eyes, thick eyebrows, slightly hooked nose

-either dresses midwestern emo or how the marauders fandom portrays Remus Lupin since he thrifts his clothes because of the lack of money

-does the hand-flapping thing when he excitedly talks about something/someone that interests him

-DESPISES raw tomatoes

-pretty distant towards most of the creeps, only exceptions are Natalie, EJ, Kate and James (in that order btw, first is the person he's the closest to, last is the one he is, compared to the other three, most 'distant' to)

-prefers sweet snacks over salty snacks

-does the thumbs up+awkward smile thing whenever he didn't listen to what another person was saying to pretend that he did. Or when he's slightly weirded out by someone

-comparable to dogs, racoons and deers in a way

-prefers dogs over cats

-when stressed in the woods he usually sits down near flowers and rips them out before tearing them into smaller pieces

-that guy does NOT know how to properly take care of himself (forgets to eat, doesn't know how to cook etc...)

-unlabelled sexuality, if he likes someone he likes someone and doesn't really care about gender nor appearance

-still sometimes chews on his cheek which leads to his gash not properly healing

-secretly tries to befriend every damn animal he encounters but quickly gets frustrated and gives up when it ignores him/walks away from him

-gets forced to be Nina's makeup/fashion model sometimes (usually James is Nina's first victim but not always)

-Kate and him have a sibling relationship

-admires EJ in a lot of ways but has too much of a thick skull to actually admit that out loud

-sometimes leaves small handmade gifts and/or things he found in the woods in front of Nat's cabin such as bracelets, necklaces, knifes and all kinds of trinkets

-will instantly accuse others of taking his stuff when he doesn't find it just to find it 2 minutes later

-struggles to comfort others when they are crying/ having a breakdown/ etc......So he usually just awkwardly pats their back or sit beside them in silence

-huge Spiderman fanboy, has a lego Spiderman keychain on him at all times

-5'8 or 5'9 idk tho

-will try to get on peoples nerves just to see how they'll react

-hates authorities and people who act like their the boss/better than him

-will bark and bite (not literally, metaphorically)

-will see a rock and instantly compares it to someone's eyecolor/ haircolor (cough cough Nat cough cough...)

uhhhh yeah, that's some of them I guess

[thefanficmonster]

Piss off your parents pt.3 (finale)

PART 1

PART 2

Colby Brock x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Drinking, Swearing

Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Time wasted can only be compensated with time well spent.

"You wasted us so much time."

Y/N's reply is so far from anything he could've expected, he nearly sprains his neck when his head snaps up. To find a small smile on her face, of all things.

"What?"

There's a note of deep-rooted anger in the laugh that deflates her lungs, "How long?"

"Huh?"

"How long have you felt that way?" She doubles down, her gaze now stiffened into a glare piercing right through him.

"Since we fucking met, ok?!" He'd be less nervous answering questions in front of the FBI. He doesn't know how the script flipped to her being the angry one but it's clear she's gonna let him have it. And he's gonna have to take it, he owes it to her.

"I can't fucking believe you." She shakes her head, shifting to back further away from him and lean her back against the cold mirror behind her. She'd rather hop off the counter and run off - that's what sober her would do, anyway. But, for one, her drunk alter ego is a lot more confrontational, and for two - she physically can't do that. Somewhere along the past ten minutes, Colby somehow ended up standing between her parted legs, blocking her the ability to run away without even meaning to. "You've kept me at arm's length for a whole fucking decade! Treating me like a child, a porcelain doll you feel obligated to look out for! You broke my heart so ignorantly by sleeping around with half the damn town and bragged to me about it! You pushed me into brainwashing myself in love with someone else, led me to believe he felt the same way and now you have the gull to say you were in love with me all along! Bullshit!"

Hellfire, she's showering him with utter hellfire. Each thing she listed got worse than the previous just when he expected it couldn't. It unlocked so many memories he made a vow to never again visit. That was such a low point in his life he didn't notice he had dragged one of his best friends into it as well. Well she's spelling it out for him right here, right now. Loud and fucking clear.

"And to think I was in love with you throughout all of that...fuck, I'm stupid..." She adds in a whisper, highly contrasting the rain of bullets she unleashed seconds prior. It was meant more for herself than him yet it was the final blow for him. His heart is officially down for the count.

"Was? Past tense?" Colby's eyes widen immediately. He didn't hear the words in his brain, they were as news to his ears as they were to hers. He doesn't know where the audacity came from. It's as if he's asking to get smacked. At this point, he'd prefer that to whatever venom she might spew at him. All well within her right.

To his luck, Y/N's gotten tired. Physically and emotionally. And she can't keep the grudge flame alive. Not with Colby at least. She can't help the soft spot on her heart for him. A spot so bruised and sore she can't believe it hasn't turned stiff as stone. It can't, not when her heart starts racing within his proximity every damn time. Not when a smile spreads across her face every time she looks at him. It hurts, yeah, but she doubts it'll ever go away.

"Like it fucking matters." She whispers, again with the same bitterness from earlier.

"Yes it fucking does, Y/N." It's like his brain has been shut off, all rationality has gone out the window. "You said I wasted us so much time. Don't waste more just because you're angry."

She's quick to bite back, "How can I not be? You deserve it, Colby!"

"I know that!" He might not be rational, bordering on desperate, but he's still self aware enough to see and admit to the error of his ways. But he'll be damned if he lets go of this last string of hope. He's clinging onto it like a twig in a flood. "I know I deserve it. But we don't. What we could be, that doesn't deserve more time down the drain, Y/N."

Sudden banging on the door startles them both, reminding them they're in a very peculiar location. A public bathroom. The ladies' bathroom on top of all.

"One second!" Contrasting the deer-in-headlights panic on Colby's face, Y/N takes it upon herself to handle the situation. The sound has scared him into backing away from her, giving her the required space to hop down. She turns to him, poking a finger to his chest, "Act normal. Nothing happened."

With that said, she leads the way out, unlocking the door and slipping out, giving the two girls waiting outside an apologetic smile. They return two knowing smirks when they see Colby emerge from the bathroom right behind her.

"Sorry, girl. Didn't mean to interrupt." The brunette slurs, winking at them both before following after her friend.

"You're good." Y/N replies politely, muttering after the door closed, "You helped."

The pang in Colby's chest cannot be put into words. Before he's had time to recalibrate, she's already gone, having made her way back into the party, disappearing into the crowd.

And just like that, he feels that last string of hope break.

* * * * *

"Hey, I'm so sorry about what I said earlier." Nate shakes the strands of hair away from his eyes so can properly look down at his semi-sober companion who's currently carrying him towards the elevator.

Y/N can't help but smile at him. It hurts like hell but at this point it's like the twentieth blow to the heart tonight. She's become used to it.

"It's ok, Nate. Thanks for being honest and not leading me on." She's aware she's thanking him for the bare minimum but that little conversation with Colby earlier proved to her she should be grateful for that even. Hey, he could've lied. He could've stringed her along, had his fun and then pulled the 'nothing serious' card.

But that's not Nate. He could never.

You thought Colby would never lie to you either. Now here we are

"No, that's not what I mean. I got scared, you know? Friend groups don't survive romance. But I don't care now that I think about it. We should give it a shot. It could be great. Fuck what they think." His words are slurred and his eyes are glazed over, but each syllable is drowning in sincerity. Drunk words are sober thoughts and all that but she'd rather take it as complete nonsense right now.

"Nate, sweetie..." She readjusts the hold she has on her heels so she can grab hold of his hand, "I doubt you know what you're thinking right now. Let's talk in the morning, ok? Get some sleep, sober up, and then we'll figure it out. Sounds good?" She says gently, as if explaining to a three-year-old that Santa isn't real.

He gives her one of those smiles that were the initial reason she (thought she) fell for him, "Yeah." They stop at the door to his shared hotel room with Sam and Colby. Before she can reach for the doorknob, Nate turns to her, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. She momentarily lets herself play along and leans into his touch, knowing how wrong it actually is. "You're the best, Y/N." Their faces, almost instinctively, inch closer and she doesn't do anything to stop it. Fuck all rationality. This night can't get much worse, how bad could a kiss shared between friends be?

She never gets to find out though because the door to the room is thrown open, forcing them apart in an instant. The person standing on the doorstep makes it ten time worse - because of-fucking-course it's Colby.

Y/N immediately starts regretting what almost just happened, semi-glad it didn't. She shouldn't have let it get that far. She's doing to Nate what she was thankful he didn't do to her - stringing him along. She can barely recognize herself - almost kissing one of her best friends while being completely in love with another.

"Oh, um....sorry. I wanted to come help carry Nate up but.....guess you got that covered." He speaks up, trying to cut the awkwardness him and Y/N are currently drowning in. Nate is none the wiser, waving off his friend's apology with a quick 'don't worry about it'. He gives one last squeeze to her hand before going inside, leaving the two staring at each other.

"Is Sam ok?" Y/N asks, cocking her head to the side to take a peek inside the room where she can see Sam's shoes at the foot of the bed. "That fall was pretty bad."

"Yeah, he's fine." Colby sighs heavily, looking over his shoulder at the blonde in question, "Should've stopped climbing on tables like he has nine lives long ago. This might be the lesson he needed."

"Hey!" She frowns at him, "Have some compassion!"

He chuckles, opening his mouth to respond when a sudden yell cuts him off.

"Y/N? That you? Come in!" It's Sam, his voice conveying the pain he's currently in.

She knows she should be heading back down to the front desk to grab her key and go to her own room. But she can't just leave her friend on 'read' in real life and at such a dire time.

So, despite her better judgement, she goes inside to find Nate already out like a light and Sam laying flat on his bed with an arm over his eyes.

"Hi Sammy. Partied a little too hard there, dude." Y/N smiles softly at him, sitting on the edge of his bed.

Sam removes his arm from his face, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes, "Am I gonna die?"

Simultaneously both her and Colby snort out a laugh, sharing a look of mutual understanding and amusement before she returns her attention to the wounded soldier, "You won't. I promise. Just go to sleep." She replies reassuringly, readjusting the ice pack Colby had placed on his knee, causing him to hiss but still nod.

"Stay here for the night?" He asks, almost pleadingly. This interaction is a good insight on the siblingship they have. Colby and Nate have always been variables to her, but luckily she has Sam to be her constant.

"Where am I gonna sleep, Sam?" She asks lightheartedly, looking around the room at the two already occupied beds and the couch by the window.

"There." Sam points at said couch where Y/N can see some trademark Colby clothes splayed around. That's his little nook, clearly.

"And where's Colby gonna sleep?" She laughs, shooting Colby a soft look to find him already staring at her with the same gentleness she's always felt emanating from his eyes.

"The floor." Sam says with no hesitation, causing you both to laugh.

Colby is quick to flip him off, "Fuck you, man."

All he gets in response is a soft snore, alerting them that Sam too has drifted off. Probably for the best cause that scrape on his knee doesn't look pleasant.

And suddenly, they feel like they're alone. Sure, there are two other people present but a canon firing wouldn't be efficient in waking them up. So, they're practically alone.

Neither of them is happy about it.

"Really though, you should stay. What are you gonna do alone in your room?" Colby breaks the brief silence as he awkwardly struts across the room to subtly clean up the mess he's made on the couch.

Y/N shrugs, "Watch TV, drink some more, snack on something, pass out. The usual." She shrugs, carefully getting up so she doesn't nudge Sam out of his slumber.

"You can do all that here....with some company." He offers, cautious about every word that comes out of his mouth. "We don't have to talk about anything. Just raid the minibar and snack tray."

They should talk, they both know it. They're aware that they're at an age where they are considered adults. And adults talk about difficult shit even when they don't want to. They do what should be done.

Not Y/N and Colby, though.

They've cracked open a bottle of rosé and a bag of Cheetos and are currently sitting in silence. A comfortable one, for a change. They've quietly agreed to have this moment be outside the realm of everything else that occurred tonight. Like an island in a stormy sea. There will come a time when they'll have to talk about it, but most definitely not tonight.

Unless...

"Remember the first time we got drunk together?" She asks, watching the pink liquid splashing around in her glass.

Colby snorts at the memory, or whatever he can recall of it. "Barely."

"Yeah, same." She laughs, downing the rest of her wine, "I remember you disappearing for a good portion of the night. Sam and I found you bruised and bloodied hours later."

He joins her in the reminiscing, "That rose bush really did a number on me."

She takes a moment to look him in the eyes. She stays quiet, analyzing him in a way that heats up his skin as though her gaze were a physical force, "You didn't actually fall in a rose bush, did you?"

Ah, there's another lie. A small one in comparison to the first but still a lie. And since it's a night of confessions..."Remember Austin?"

He just unlocked a forgotten part of her brain, "Oh shit yeah! Whatever happened to that guy?"

A dry chuckle rattles his chest, his hand coming up to rub his face, "Well, in short, he liked you a little too much for my liking. So he found out what happens when I'm jealous and drunk."

Y/N can't help but smile. She's a simple girl, of course she finds it hot. But she'll be damned if she lets him notice. She quickly masks it with a joke, "Oh my God, you killed him!"

He laughs, shaking his head before leaning towards her a bit as if he's about to spill some government secrets, "Full disclosure, between you and me..." His eyebrows lift, waiting for her to nod a vow of silence before continuing, "I got my ass kicked."

She busts out laughing, undermining all concern for her two sleeping friends, "I'm not surprised." She teases him, reaching for the bottle for a refill.

Colby doesn't let that happen though. He quickly snatches the bottle, keeping it out of her reach, "Excuse you?!"

"You can't be salty after admitting it yourself." For caution purposes, she sets down the glass before getting up on her knees, extending her arm in a futile attempt at retrieving the stolen item. To her dismay, he just stretches his arm further, making it that much harder. "Oh, fuck you..." she mutters, hovering herself over his lap precariously, putting them in a pretty compromising position.

Colby kicks it into high gear, freeing his hand by setting the bottle down so he can sit her in his lap with a slight tug, earning him a small gasp from her. She settles into him just perfectly, like this is far from the first time they've found each other in such predicament.

Their faces are inches apart. His hands are on her sides, hers are on his shoulders. The proximity is more intoxicating than the alcohol they've consumed throughout the night. They are high on each other and are just now realizing it. Or just now admitting it.

"I thought we weren't gonna talk about it." She whispers, afraid of breaking the thin veil of tranquility currently surrounding them.

"We're not talking about it." His tone mimics hers as though he's afraid he'll scare her off. His grip on her is gentle but firm. It'll physically hurt if he tries to force himself to let go of her.

Luckily he doesn't have to because, before either of them know it, their lips collide.

The innocence of the kiss is brief and gone within seconds. Hands start roaming, breaths are shared, lines are crossed. And, technically, they aren't talking about it. But still, plenty is being said. A decade of pent up emotion is coming to fruition. It's nothing short of passionate, desperate almost.

Right on-brand for them.

* * * * *

"Hi."

"Hi."

They're fully clothed, cuddled up on the couch and alone in the room. Not all lines were crossed last night of fear they might regret it in the morning. However, if their smiles are anything to go by, nothing is being regretted.

Neither of them attempts to move from their comfortable little bubble. Neither of them cares that Nate and Sam probably witnessed this sight when they woke up. Neither of them tries checking the time. It's their way of trying to make the moment last longer into infinity.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Colby breaks the silence, threading his fingers through her hair.

Her ear is directly over his heart, listening to its steady rhythm she finds so much comfort in, "Just that I can't even lie right. I tell my mom one lie and it ends up becoming true."

Laughter vibrates throughout his chest, sending waves through her body as well, "Is this you asking me out?"

"Do you want it to be?" Y/N shrugs, tilting her head to look up at him.

He smirks down at her, "So much for rebelling, huh?"

"Shut up."

Knowing he won't do so on his own, she tends to the matter herself by pressing her lips to his, effectively shutting him up.

Tagging: @benbarnesprettygurl @beanredacted @m1tsk1l0v3er

[crystalandparrot]

Rottmnt x Reader

Chapter 1

Please don’t steal or use ideas without permission :)

This is an AU! The reason will be explained in later chapters, but in this AU, the yokai and mutants are fully integrated with humans. The hidden city mainly consists of Yokai and mutants with the occasional human visitor or partner.

Donatello is an independent scientist who still goes by Othello Von Ryan. He found out through trial and error that he was not made for a group laboratory. Now Donatello mainly confides himself in his lab at the lair, he's expanded of course, a man of his caliber shouldn't have to deal with such a small area. He's made great strives in the scientific community, solving some of the world's leading problems. Having won numerous awards, he still finds himself unfulfilled somehow.

Michelangelo is a successful artist, both on paper and in the kitchen. He records himself on the internet, hoping to inspire young minds to fulfill their dreams, no matter how they may look. He prefers to try anything and everything he can, gaining many new skills and discovering new things about himself. Although his desserts were delicious, the feeling of being alone only left a sour taste in his mouth.

Neon Leon. Successful actor, known for being one of the first openly Yokai actor. He inspired other Yokai's and mutants to remove their disguises and embrace what makes them unique. Leon made the world laugh with his one liners and his comical timing. His range is crazy, going from musicals to action, his talent knows no bounds. Although he has romance on the screen, he couldn't hope for something a little more...real.

Raphael (and don't skin me for this), the sweet turtle, became a guidance counselor for trouble youths. You know those kids that throw chairs? Yeah, Raph helps them. More often than not, Raphael recommends the wrestling team, which Raph just so happens to coach. Raph's helped a lot of kids figure out how to reel in their anger and get to the root of their problems. Raph's even managed to give a few select students permission to cut class and go to the weight room if they felt too angry. But no matter how many people Raph's saved (and no matter how much Raph spoke in the third person), Raph couldn't help but feel like there was one more person he needed to help.

April O' Neal. Some say she's the greatest hands on reporter of all time. With Sunita as her partner and camerawoman, the two get dirty, discovering the real problems that people won't report. April's most successful and controversial paper, "Yokai, Mutants, and Humans, oh my!" gained incredible popularity after people read just how many Yokai and Mutants were feeling neglected. Due to April's paper, the government passed a law, allowing Yokai and Mutants to come up to the surface and reveal themselves with no prejudice. It's still an ongoing battle to give everyone the fairness they deserve, but April and Sunita O'Neil fight for justice.

(Y/n) (L/n). Oh wait! That's you! You're a kind hearted soul who's just gotten a job at the School's library. You must really love the Dewey Decimal System...oh you have a nickname for it? Wonderful...You're a creative soul with a passion for helping. You have a myriad of skills, all of which may not have helped in getting this job, but they might help in getting something else. Your day starts off, relatively normally...

Having just moved back to New York after living in the Hidden City for five years was...different, to say the least. Saying goodbye to the nice old tortoise Yokai you had been staying with, you headed out, bags in hand. "Bye, Mrs. Shapiro! Call me if you need someone to water your plants!" You said, waving to the wrinkly tortoise.

"Oh, goodbye dear. I'm gonna miss you. Oh! Drop by Erin's on your way out!" The tortoise Yokai, Mrs. Shapiro, waved a long clawed hand at the you.

You nod with a smile and shut the door behind you. Heading down the street, you waved to friendly Yokai and mutants that walked past. After seeing the street clear a bit, you pulled your phone and headphones out of your pocket. Popping in the earbuds, you played your favorite playlist you found on Spotify. It was titled, 'Jammy Jams', the description being 'Songs for elite music listeners'. The playlist and many more like it, all with a theme of some sort, Studying, Building, (crime fighting?) Jogging, all came from one account by the name of Othello.

As you scrolled through the playlist, you saw the little notification. 'Othello is listening to Weird Science'. With a shrug, you tapped the notification, the song blasting through your headphones as you matched where Othello was in the song. Definitely an oldie, but it fit him...or her...or them—it fit the vibe! As you continued scrolling, adding some of the songs to your own playlists, you didn't hear the three voices yelling nor the shocked gasps of the onlookers that quickly moved out of the way.

A sudden PUSH and you were on the ground, groaning next to a stranger as Technologic blasted through your headphones.

"C'mon, Dee! He's getting away!" A turtle Yokai with dark hair in a half up, half down bun, ran in place and pointed to the direction that they needed to go. He wore an orange mask, had stickers and paint all over his shell, and in his hands sat a Kusari-fundo.

"No, no, I'm fine, Michael." The turtle Yokai next to you, (Dee?), stood up so suddenly, you thought he teleported. He wore a purple mask that wrapped around his head, his-tech goggles sitting on top. On his arms were multiple hi-tech screens and buttons that wrapped around his arms on large bands. Looking on the ground, he spotted his phone and your own, both faced down. He quickly swiped one up, and tucked it in his pocket, "May this be a lesson never to text while running!" The turtle pointed up at the sky almost heroically.

"You crashed into me!" You said defensively.

The turtle Yokai made a noise of surprise and looked down at you, as if suddenly noticing you for the first time. "I was actually referring to me." He muttered, coughing awkwardly. Without warning, two metal arms came out of his...shell? It had to be a shell, right? But it was more purple and armor like. The cold metal of the arms shook you out of your thoughts as they lifted you onto your feet.

"Oh, uh, thanks." You said, now just as awkward as the Yokai in front of you. "Don't you have to—" you pointed your thumb behind you, where the other turtle was freaking out.

"Donnie!" The orange clad turtle whined.

"Right." With a bit of showmanship, the purple clad turtle picked up your unlocked phone off the ground and handed it to you. As you took it, you noticed how he made sure your fingers did not touch. "Adieu, madam." He gave a slight bow and left, joining his accomplice in their efforts.

You giggled as he left, the whole interaction being odd. You looked down at your phone, the screen dimming. You tapped it to ensure it stayed unlocked and reopened Spotify...except, why were the apps in a different format? And your headphones were cutting out, and the background is different, and...what's the use? You know the truth, you switched your phone.

[lych33dragoncookie]

So, like... Anyone mind telling me when this fanbase gaslit themselves into believing all the psychological manipulation stuff Shadow Milk did in his main 2 Beast Yeast episodes was done purely out of loneliness or longing or whatever? Sure he started getting weird about it near the later half and DEFINITELY strange about it near the end there but...

Come on, don't genuinely try to look me in the eyes and tell me he did any of that because he felt like he had to or because he was lonely. In part, yes; that's why he was so damn happy to see Pure Vanilla start seemingly seeing things his way, and start acting more like Shadow Milk himself, but... that's not it. That's not JUST it. There's more. Of course, there's more. Do you lot not get it by now? He loves... LOVES, suffering. He. Loves. It.

"Oh but he doesn't-" What? Doesn't enjoy this? Doesn't like it? Isn't on board with it? Wrong again.

He loves every little bit of it. He's totally on board, and seems to consider this its own fun little form of art. "Oh but that's not manipulation" yeah, this instance isn't. He's just here to mess a little with Wind Archer. It's here to show just how sadistic he is, and how he draws absolutely no lines in the sand whatsoever so long as it's entertaining. Now, if you want to see him toy with someone else for his own amusement and sheer desire to inflict harm on a psychological and emotional level...

This last instance in particular is really amusing to me. We see him pull this exact little gambit again, on Pure Vanilla Cookie... I suppose he has his own preferred little methods of getting what he wants, hm~? He has quite a good read on them both, too. He knows they're each other's rocks; just as well as they are each other's weakspots. Such is the nature of trust and a tight-knit bond, isn't it? Something he'll gladly take advantage of... And, the best part is, HE LEFT HIS MARK ON HER! Oh, he did...

Though, that's not too hard to do, is it? It's more like... tearing at holes in already-torn fabric. Honestly, I cannot imagine how much restraint it must have taken to pull them away from each other at the spire... though, he probably got a chuckle out of watching them fall right into his little trick; playing at each's sense of doing what must be done no matter what, their little obsession with fate... and, besides, they probably expected to get separated sooner or later, anyways, right? It's just such an obvious, beautifully obvious little bit of bait... and they took it hook line and sinker, just like he wanted them to. There is no way he didn't get at least a little bit of amusement out of that.

Ah, but, we really haven't gotten to the most severe example of what he's really capable of, have we? It's an example people barely ever explore, frankly. And, I can't blame them! The focus is on someone else for just about the entire chapter, and at first glance she can just sort of be disregarded as a bit of a trope ball, but... trust me, she's the biggest example I could possibly provide. Not White Lily, not Pure Vanilla...

Her.

Oh, but she's so happy obeying his every whim! Serving him with her whole life! Doing absolutely everything to earn even the slightest of his affections, no matter what! Yes, exactly, my dear strawman; and that's exactly what's wrong here.

Allow me to let you in on a little secret. Most of the time, people aren't created a certain way. What someone is comes as a result of how they're molded, be it by themselves or their environment. The shape a person takes is not determined by their creation, but rather their experiences thereafter. Now, dear reader, think for a moment;

Could this possibly, possibly be natural? Could this possibly be the result of anything other than hard, cold, deep-rooted conditioning? He threatened to kill her. He. Threatened. To. Kill her. And she didn't flinch. Not for a moment. As a matter of fact, she went right back to adoring him, ceaselessly, without any hesitation in her heart. Eager, as always.

You can't tell me she was made like this. You can't tell me this comes from a sincere place of love, care and affection; a nurturing of any kind. If it were, how could she take a death threat so lightly, act like it never happened, not even act at all scared as a result? No, my dear reader, no... She wasn't made like this. This isn't natural. Why would it be? How could it be? Remember...

The act of Shadow Milk turning to deceit, deciding to make the world his', turn it into his stage; that act was what created Candy Apple Cookie. He was set in his goals, already, by the time she was made. Now, with the previous information about his character given... What do you think happened?

Here you are, having decided you're the one above all. That the world shall be yours, all yours, and only yours. And, now having embraced the power to do exactly that, you've been given something interesting. A blank slate. Someone who didn't have a life before you. Someone who was never given the chance to be their own person. Someone who only knows that they were created as a result of your actions. Someone who, with very little effort, could be whatever you want them to be.

Is it any wonder her obsession runs so deep? Is it any wonder she won't flinch at the threat of him ending her life? Is it any wonder the possibility of any, any kind of attention from him is all that fuels her every action? No. It's all she's ever known. He's all she's ever known. And, chances are, he made sure of that.

It really doesn't feel like his neglect of her is exactly something he doesn't realize he's doing, either. He treats Black Sapphire Cookie so much better, with so much more respect, calls upon him constantly... and yet, little Candy Apple Cookie is left there on the sidelines. Waiting. Hoping that eventually, maybe, someday, her devotion and efforts will be rewarded. And, I ask you, dear reader; why would she do this, if she didn't know what she was looking for? What she wanted?

Do you not see the picture forming, here? He knows what he's doing. He was given a blank slate, someone he could mold however he wanted. He had to make her like this. The praise he gives to Black Sapphire Cookie; who's to say Candy Apple Cookie's never known it? That, when she had been more recently created, the two weren't more actively involved with each other? That Shadow Milk didn't recognize her efforts, didn't praise her, didn't give her the kind of attention he currently gives his other underling... Only to stop doing that. Slowly. Slowly, but surely. Leave her hungry. Leave her wanting more. Make sure she dedicates her every living breath to trying to get it back. To getting back the only thing she's ever known. To keep trying and trying to please the very reason she exists, the only one she's ever had, no matter what.

Now, I know this isn't exactly in the text, but... are these really farfetched assumptions to make, knowing him? No. No they aren't. Specially considering just how deeply ingrained all of this seems to be for poor little Candy Apple Cookie. Is it any surprise? The whole damn world is supposed to be in his hands, anyways. She belongs to him, as far as he's concerned. He couldn't care less. And she'll likely never realize that, because this is all she's ever known.

... Candy Apple Cookie's whole existence is just miserable, isn't it?

Ahem.

I hope I've made my point. Never once was all that stuff he did in Beast Yeast 7 & 8 just about Pure Vanilla Cookie. I feel like I've proven demonstrably enough that this is all him. He loves inflicting pain. He loves tearing his little playthings apart bit by bit. He's powerful, extremely so, but he'd rather put in the effort to make sure he breaks those he takes an interest in, instead of just destroying them outright. He holds no regard for anyone but himself, and he knows damn well how to make someone feel despair crushing their very being, slowly and painfully. He's not misunderstood. He's not just weird and unable to carry out his desires normally. He's an enormous sadist who loves taking control and playing with his food as much as he can, delighting in every single moment of suffering; knowing just what heartstrings to pull at to break someone.

He may be lonely, but that's a mere byproduct. He did this to himself. None of this is a facade. It's not a farce. It never was.

You're not looking at a victim. You're looking at a monster. He knows damn well what he is. And he loves being who he is. No matter how deeply unfulfilling it may be. It's all he could ever want to be.

... And I love that about him. Oh, how utterly so. <3

[utilitycaster]

This question is entirely in good faith: I’m currently watching campaign 2 for the first time, and you’ve said multiple times that you are a mighty nein girlie above all else. I am enjoying it, I think it’s fun and characters are great. But I find myself preferring campaign 1 more. I know this is a minority opinion as everyone loves campaign 2, but I just can’t really find myself embracing it the same way. What is it that draws you about the MN?

So I do want to preface this with the statement that I think it’s extremely valid to prefer Campaign 1 to Campaign 2. Plenty of people whom I respect do! The Mighty Nein happen to appeal to a lot of my sensibilities specifically but I don’t expect it to appeal to everyone else in the same way.

I also want to note that while it's true Campaign 2 is the fan favorite, firstly, the correct response if you prefer something that isn't the fan favorite is to commend yourself on rarified taste, and secondly, statistics are a funny thing. It's worth remembering that what you see as the Critical Role Active Fandom mostly doesn't include people who dearly loved Campaign 1, didn't like Campaign 2, and drifted away entirely in 2018; whereas people who loved C2 and didn't click with C3 are a little more likely to be around just because it's been less time and because there's more non-main-campaign stuff to hang around for (ie, people who haven't kept up with C3 might still have watched EXU Calamity or Downfall, or might be interested in Midst or Candela stuff, or are hanging out for TLOVM/Nein Animated reasons). You are not seeing Every Person Who Ever Liked Critical Role; you're seeing this segment in time.

ANYWAY. Getting to the actual point, I think Campaign 2 is my favorite because I think I take a fairly holistic view of fiction. I have my favorite characters and ships and themes and all that, but it is difficult for me to enjoy something if I don't enjoy a significant portion of it. I can't just watch for one blorbo, because the character should feel deeply rooted in a world, and have a plot that engages with who they are. This is what drew me to D&D and actual play in the first place!

Campaign 2 is the CR campaign that, in my opinion, achieves this to the highest degree. Hilariously, if you see the campaigns as a trilogy, while usually the middle of a trilogy gets slammed for being all moving pieces and no resolution, that actually works out great for a D&D game. Campaign 1 had the responsibility of introducing an entire world that was being built as the game went on (and introducing the players to TTRPGs); Campaign 3 is the realization of all that plot set up. Campaign 2 gets to explore, build out the world, and delve into characters who are inextricable from their setting, and that's what I love.

I started with Campaign 2, but decided to start catching up on Campaign 1 concurrently as I watched C2 week to week, and I started this quite early and finished C1 in about 4-5 months, and I happen to remember that I watched C2 episode 12 and an early Briarwoods Arc C1 episode back to back, and at the time, I preferred Campaign 1. Campaign 1 has its rocky starts, but the cast had already found their characters (even if the mechanics were being ironed out still) and there were very clear tasks. Early Campaign 2, while I still enjoy it, has a lot of milling about and aimless fucking around, and, understandably, the cast is still figuring a lot out. If you put, say, the Nein in Alfield next to Vox Machina at the Briarwoods Banquet? Yeah, one of these is stronger.

The thing is, that aimless fucking around led to character moments, which is the absolute heart of why the Nein are my favorites, and why I think many others love them as well. Without a clear mission or benefactor, this party had to figure out an identity and what they wanted to do, and in doing so, we got incredible moments between pretty much every party member. Vox Machina has no shortage of incredible conversations, but, for example, Keyleth and Scanlan just straight up don't interact one-on-one very much. You can't point to something like that in the Nein. I also think the fact that none of the characters knew each other terribly well helped with this. I've brought that up to contrast with the bonds in Campaign 3; it's not a bad thing to have a person your character comes in with and knows well, but much as I adore a twins conversation, the reason those conversations are so good are because Vex and Vax both spend a lot of time with other people as well. With the Mighty Nein, everyone has to do that because really, with Yasha gone half the time and then with Molly's death early on, we've got Fjord and Jester (have known each other like a month longer than anyone else) and Caleb and Nott (six-ish months and they're both hiding a lot.)

I really do get if people prefer that Vox Machina has two clear missions (with plenty of fuck around time built in) to start, the show-stopping Briarwoods arc next, and then the Chroma Conclave, especially watching after the fact - I am not sure how C2 is if you binge it vs. watch week to week, and it may suffer from a binge watch whereas C1 honestly might benefit. But the payoff is so great; you do not get the interpersonal relationships the Nein eventually have with each other without that early need for them to set their own direction.

Moving on from there, I love the setting of Wildemount and how much slow travel there is (which, to be fair, Vox Machina didn't have because that was all pre-stream; the Nein started teleporting at level 9 and Campaign 1 starts with the party at level 8). I love, as I mentioned, how tied to the continent everyone is and how relevant that is to most of their stories. I do think Molly's abrupt and unfair death early in the story is a crucial part of who the Nein are, and serves as a defining moment that is impossible to replicate but is very meaningful to me.

Also, and this is getting into some very idiosyncratic stuff: I love wizards and clerics and paladins and we get all those. I like gruff or overly formal characters with tragic backstories and good hearts and that's most of the party (unsurprisingly, Vex and Percy, in that order, are my favorite VM members). As someone who is constantly fighting the "Dump WIS not INT" fight, the fact that the Mighty Nein is fairly smart and has multiple characters specifically interested in history and politics and lore is right up my alley (the twins and Percy and Scanlan in C1 serve a similar purpose, and the fact that C3 doesn't have anyone really like this...shows).

I also like that the Mighty Nein are never famous, and I think some people don't like that. For all they are heroes of the Dynasty and end up with connections in the Empire, they aren't council members or tied to anyone specific, and this floating mercenary nature means they are setting their own pace. The only part where I think things get frustrating after some of the rockier early days is when they're hunting down Obann, and that's only a few episodes. While Molly's death is a defining moment, what is honestly a more defining moment is a few episodes earlier, when they decide against the multiple institutionally-backed job offers and decide to take a couple of jobs that will get them out of the city. I think it was jarring for people used to Vox Machina, with their duties to the council of Tal'Dorei, who dedicated a third of their campaign to saving the continent from dragons; but the Mighty Nein's greatest duty is always to each other and to becoming better people. The focus is always on them. Yes there are fetch quests, yes there are NPCs who give them some unavoidable tasks, and yes people use the term "player agency" in weird ways all the time; but the Mighty Nein are, I think, the zenith of what a player agency driven campaign can be. The story is, above all else, theirs and theirs alone.

I don't know if there will be a Campaign 4 - I'm a bit more sanguine about the prospect than I was earlier in C3 - but for what it's worth I don't think Campaign 2 is irreplicable. Or rather, it can't be replicated, obviously, but I think they could do another campaign that is deeply tied to its setting and lets the party choose their own adventure in the same way. It just takes a little more prep up front, and a little more flexibility once it actually starts. If there is a campaign 4, I really hope they do it in that same style.

[mutelunacy]

What’s your opinion on the Pikmin 4 Koppaites.

Or as most people call them.

“Bootleg Alph, Britanny & Charlie.

this might be a little unpopular but personally, I like them. given how p4 is... all over the place in terms of timeline, I'm glad we got their relatives instead of the actual p3 koppaites.

they add to the worldbuilding of koppai pretty well and they also confirm that p4 is a prequel to 3 (thank god the timeline at least got confirmed in THAT way. now fix the rest) and overall i like the lore they give for the p3 cast.

that being saidddd. i do prefer yorke and nelle. they make sense; both alph and brittany comment on their family members. don however... i feel like if don was someone else without any connection to charlie these three would've come across as less "bootleg." he kind of sticks out and doesn't really contribute much to the overall narrative which really does make his character read as existing only to reference charlie and nothing else.

but i still do like him, even if there's the least to go off for him. personally, i like to write him as being really bitter and jealous over charlie and being a really unreliable source about him. he seems to blame everything about their relationship on charlie so i just think it'd be interesting if it was projection. i mean, most of the times characters in this series complain about other characters they've got something going on (cough cough, brittany's fruit notes and olimar arguing with his damn car, cough.) so i just think it'd be interesting. i honestly ship him with charlie in an inverted way, being purely interested in how their relationship ended and how they had to learn to put up with one another as their lives remained entwined. i have a playlist for them with far too much fall out boy in it, mostly songs from infinity on high, so that should probably explain it to those who know what the fuck i'm talking about.

yorke is pretty solid. making one of alphs many siblings into a character with some degree of plot relevance is neat. given how it's established that their grandfather inspired alph it makes sense that he'd have other siblings in the same profession. iirc, he has a line (or one of them anyway) where he says that alph is better than him at the trade, which i also find pretty silly. as a younger sibling who beat their older sibling's exam results... yeah, the topic still comes up to this day. they're neat.

nelle is also again pretty neat. her being noted to not like talking about her family aligns pretty well with brittany's notes where she only elaborates on her homesickness in writing and only ever mentions her aunt. it adds another layer of depth to both of them; why don't they like to talk about family much? very interesting to speculate about. i also find their differing reactions pretty interesting. brittany despising louie and nelle essentially asking the player directly to not hate him. vets and botanists are both rooted in biology, too.

so yeah. those are my thoughts. i like them a lot, though don leaves... much to be desired. i can change that for myself by headcanoning him as a major fucking prick, though.

[specialagentartemis]

Trick or treat! Tell me about your ace cavemen

hell yeah

the question of “what does sexuality look like in Paleolithic times, when the population was very low and dispersed, and it’s unlikely that property ownership or inheritance are factors to be concerned about?” is one that’s of interest to a lot of people, but there’s little imagination given to queerness that I’ve seen. What does being queer look like in this very, very different social setting?

Landownership is an incoherent concept here, and there’s very little distinction in material wealth to be kept private, and what clan you belong to is far more important than who your parents are directly. (I’ve also given my Ice Age community a consensus-based egalitarian decision-making system, so descent isn’t important in leadership either.) What are sexual norms in such a society?

So I’m thinking about Pendíkhia as ace-spectrum, though of course the language doesn’t exist and they don’t really conceptualize sexuality in terms of attraction and identity. There must always have been people who just… weren’t that interested in having sex, didn’t really desire it that much and preferred other types of relationships.

The “standard” normative relationship in this culture are committed pairs or small groups. You are born into one of three clans, and your whole clan is your family. Having sex with anyone born into the same clan you were is taboo, it’s incestuous. The clans are matrilocal; men move to join and live with their wives’ clan. Same-sex partners, meanwhile, are accepted as valuable alloparents; every adult in the clan helps raise the children, so having childless adults at any given time is valuable to help distribute the caretaking duty and make sure there are people to look after children and people to go off on hunting or gathering parties. Same-sex partners choose whose clan they live with based on 1) who has a pregnant sister, or a sister with an infant, who needs more support; or, if both or neither do, 2) the one with lower status within their own clan will tend to move to live with the partner of higher status within their clan. Women are encouraged to be trained as religious and medical specialists rather than men, to reduce the chance of these specialists leaving the clan. Some men may choose not to take a committed partner at all, in order to stay with their birth clan, if that is something they consider valuable to them. Summer is a time when all three clans get together and live together along the coast, a time of abundance and freedom, and unpartnered young adults are encouraged to have whatever sex they want (that doesn’t break incest taboos ofc) as a way of determining if they want to settle down and commit to any of them. (Nobody really conceptualizes romance as the root of partnership. Desire, affection, love, sure yeah absolutely. But romance as a category is just not… a thing they have.) Pendíkhia is an unpartnered adult who tried that the first summer she reached adulthood and realized she… doesn’t actually. Care. Or want to spend her time doing that, or committed to another person like that.

Kurrat meanwhile is expendable for human sacrifice partially because he isn’t interested in fucking and therefore unhelpful in preventing Neanderthal population collapse. What use are you then.

(Also partially my interest in sexuality and asexuality is a pointed refutation of a kind of baffling concept I’ve seen in MULTIPLE places—that people in the Ice Age didn’t know that sex led to babies. That they believed that pregnancy just Happened when the time was right. I find this… hard to believe.)

Also, writing asexual characters just kinda comes most naturally to me lol. I am not that interested in writing about sex. However the refutation of romance as a timeless and universal understanding IS intentional.