#could it be that i actually wrote a short starter?! :O

[historiestold-a]

@everythingheard​ (for lucas)

     “you know, if you wanted me in a blind-fold there were less creepy and more fun ways to go about it.” words emit in an effort to calm her uneasiness as almost-silence continues to permeate the flat; in the wake of her voice only sounds of the other’s soft footfalls and the rainfall outside hitting the windows with a tap tap tap are heard. it’s too quiet, teeth biting at her lip as she feels cloth pulled into a knot against her hair. to be honest, he’s lucky she even allowed it considering siobhan isn’t fully sure why she trusted him so firmly to begin with. she supposed it had something to do with him being cassie’s friend for what else could explain it? 

     “what exactly is this blindfold meant to achieve? i merely see the dead, it’s not as if i can do what you do.” mild frustration emits in tone, fingers beginning to fidget with the long-sleeves she so loved to wear. this wasn’t a role where she stepped into a character’s life and then stepped out of it. this was her life. her abilities. her senses and the man who had just tied the blindfold was still a relative stranger.. well, acquaintance.. no, friend of a friend. he was something! a something that she had no business allowing to blindly blindfold her in his apartment. wasn’t this how horror movies began?! (she hadn’t even been cast in one yet!) “--and how is this going to help us catch a killer? i swear, if you murder me i will haunt you.” she doesn’t like feeling so exposed even if it was only her eyesight which was temporarily obscured.

[tunedtostatic]

Back in August, I posted a big wordy essay about how I think the handling of disability in the season two finale of Starship Iris came as close as a work of fiction can get to misinfo with the potential to cause harm. Given the nature of the internet, I geared up for what I thought was every possible outcome: disagreement, agreement, some of each. Maybe inevitably, the outcome for the first couple of months still managed to catch me by surprise by being something I hadn’t thought to expect, signs of reading but not much verbal response. (This past month, it did get three responses from people saying they were glad they’d read it, which decreased my worry that I’d screwed up big time in a way that I and my initial beta reader, who participates in fandoms but not this one, hadn’t realized.)

Originally, I wrote about these issues because I think they’re important to talk about and because I wanted to rip off the bandaid of an initial conversation. After neither of those things happened, I want to push these issues a little again, mostly for the boring and somewhat selfish reason that I think a conversation about them is going to come up sooner or later, whether because what I wrote is out on the internet for new listeners to run into or because new listeners get to the season two finale and go “WTF,” and I keep fretting that the initial rip off the bandaid starter conversation will pop up at the most awkward possible time, like the middle of the Yuletide fandom exchange or the beginning of season three.

In an earlier draft of this post, I followed the previous paragraph with a paragraph that boiled down to “Can we start a conversation about this?” But it was kindly and correctly pointed out to me that since “conversations” online are often contentious and painful, it might be helpful to say why I want to start a conversation, beyond a general “I think it’s important to talk about this, and that conversation hasn’t started yet.”

I have several answers to What are you looking for out of this? I’m interested in hearing from other people. I think conversations about disability are important. I’m not immune to the desire to do some good old-fashioned complaining. And I wanted to find ways to talk, without pressuring anyone, about ways to be aware of this stuff when creating fanworks. But at the end of the day, the problem I had with the work was its potential to spread misinfo, so what I most want is to spread accurate info. Even if people reading this are all over the place when it comes to agreeing, disagreeing, or having other thoughts on the parts that are subjective fiction crit, I hope the real world statistics I included here can provide information on issues that can come up for anyone.

The essay I wrote this summer was very long, so for this post I wrote a summary. These issues are complicated, and while the essay isn’t perfect I think the long form at least let me try to address them with more nuance than is possible in a shorter version, which is why I’m keeping it metaphorically linked (and actually linked, but in the notes so Tumblr doesn’t eat the post LMAO).

Thanks again to L for beta reading the original post and Sanvi (windywords123) for beta reading this one!

[Couple of edits, Nov 28: I’m kicking myself a little for including the thing about timing, since I don’t want anyone who runs across this later to feel like I was giving this post an expiration date. I still wish this stuff was a little more widely known and discussed and am happy to do so Whenever.

Added a TL;DR below. I realized this is still kind of long, which is in and of itself an accessibility issue. Also, a family member and possibly a friend are about to start listening to season two, and I wanted to come up with something actually short that I could adapt and send to them.]

• The scene where Arkady tries to kill Krejjh, and describes herself with apparent accuracy as a time bomb who will inevitably hurt the people she loves, is a cliché half-century-old trope about combat PTSD that doesn’t match closely to reality. In reality, any kind of violence or aggression due to PTSD is rare (between 8% to percentages in the 30s, with the variation coming from differences between studies and definitions, like whether screaming at people was included), and within that small percentage, violent/aggressive actions due to anger, stress, irritability, or a startle response are much more common than violence/aggressive actions due to losing touch with reality during a flashback.

• For both anger/stress or a flashback, the violence/aggression is more likely to be someone screaming, throwing/hitting an inanimate object, or shoving or hitting someone who startles them or gets in their space—lethal violence due to someone losing touch with reality and thinking they’re somewhere else or a person is someone/something else is possible but extremely rare. Yet so often in fiction, people with PTSD are portrayed as automatically lethally dangerous.

• I’m one of the small fraction of people with PTSD who have lost control and done something violent/aggressive. It isn’t that I don’t think we should ever write about that in fiction. The problem is seeing something painful and horrible reduced to an inaccurate, cliché fifty-year-old trope, in a context that gives its inaccuracies credibility.

• When I looked up PTSD and violence to find citations for the essay, several articles talked about the trope: “Most of us are familiar with the classic movie trope — a character with PTSD doesn’t recognize that he’s no longer at war and violently lashes out at the people around him,” as a 5 Myths About PTSD article put it. You can feel everyone’s exhaustion with it.

• In real life, the false belief that people with PTSD and other stigmatized mental health conditions are automatically severely dangerous leads to and exacerbates stigma and what is presumed to be “justified” violence against people with mental illnesses, a vulnerable minority who are statistically more likely to become victims of violence than to harm others.

• This podcast’s realism around other serious real world topics, with Violet’s anxiety and Sana’s depression being portrayed in a realistic way, seems to at least loosely imply that its portrayal of PTSD is accurate as well (and the fifty-year-old inaccurate lethal violence PTSD trope scene is indeed content warned as a “PTSD episode.”) This adds to the degree to which this trope is part of a harmful pattern.

• Because “harmful,” as compared to “unpleasant,” “benignly inaccurate” or “I didn’t like it,” is such a heavy thing to say about a story, I think that when using The H Word in fiction criticism, it’s important to untangle the different things people can mean when they use it:

1. “This was a trauma trigger for me.” Neutral, not a value judgement (and shouldn’t be used as one, IMO).

2. “This story is part of a harmful pattern.” This is my central criticism of the Arkady strangling Krejjh section of the scene, which is part of a longstanding pattern of fiction portraying PTSD inaccurately. This pattern as a whole contributes to real life false beliefs about PTSD, which contribute to negative consequences for people with PTSD.

3. “This story harmed me [by being published] [by my experience of reading it].” I think this one is slung around a little too much on the internet. If it isn’t something like creative nonfiction that exploits real people, a work written by a stranger probably isn’t “harming” a reader through their experience of reading it. There’s a grey area—I don’t want to imply that no one should ever conceptualize, for example, reading something deliberately bigoted against a group of people you belong to as “harm.” But I don’t think saying a work of fiction “harmed me/harmed readers” is often a fair, or harmless, thing to say.

4. “This story on its own has the potential to cause harm.” This is the really complicated one. Like “harmed me [past tense],” it’s an intense thing to say, and like “harmed me [past tense],” it tends to get slung around on fandom social media about any work people think is part of a harmful pattern. I don’t think fictional stories have anything close to the amount of power that the news or a scientific journal has to transmit misinformation that impacts people’s ability to understand and react to real situations; however, I think that fictional stories, especially in some contexts, do have the power to do so.

• I think the second part of this scene, where RJ resolves the situation by overpowering Arkady with a gun, falls under the category of stories that have the potential to cause harm.

• Harking back to Arkady’s lesser of two evils speech, I know RJ threatening to shoot Arkady was not being presented as a good thing, more of a “problematic but endearing way of showing they care about her.” But it’s written as the successful resolution of the scene. “People with PTSD might become lethally dangerous at any time, and a way to solve that is to involve someone who can overpower them with a gun” is a…not-good combination. While things happening in a story doesn’t mean people will act them out in reality in a 1:1 way—I don’t think one podcast scene is going to single-handedly influence someone to replicate it in reality—putting that combination of ideas in a podcast that usually portrays not only mental health conditions but also the consequences of various ways of dealing with those conditions in a realistic way gives that combination of ideas a credibility that it should not be given.

• “Mental health crisis” and “Someone else has a gun” is a very dangerous combination, and there are many real life tragedies resulting from people assuming it’s a good combination. More than fifty percent of people who are killed by police in the US have a disability. Given the number of people harmed and killed by police during mental health crises, I do know for sure that we need to stop automatically seeing “Involve people with guns” as being the “safest” choice.

• In real life, when someone’s mental illness is causing them to act in a way that is immediately dangerous to themself or others, calling 911, choosing to intervene yourself, and choosing to do nothing each create different types and amounts of risk, which vary depending on the situation. If you don’t live somewhere with actual good psychological first aid services or other nonviolent public safety response, or within calling distance of anyone trained to help, it’s usually a matter of picking the least-bad choice.

• In my own life, there have been times when I chose to call 911. Sometimes it’s necessary (for example, co-occurring medical emergency), or it’s the least-bad option. So, I’m not going to tell anyone they should never call 911 in a mental health crisis. But a lot of people die every year because “Involve someone who can overpower the person in crisis with a gun or other type of potentially lethal force” (in my current city, emergency medical responders sometimes kill people or use unnecessary sedatives or force against them, sometimes because police tell them to and sometimes on their own) is seen as a good and safe option.

• I hadn’t expected a scene like that in this podcast, since it’s typically thoughtful and realistic about other serious real world topics, from other mental health conditions to characters’ LGBTQIA+ identities. There’s only one thing I sometimes give a heads up for when recommending the podcast to friends, Violet’s relief at Arkady killing that guy in 1.05/6 so that he wouldn’t live with the disabling injury Arkady had inflicted on him. Speaking of nightmare ableist tropes—but the idea of “killing/letting a disabled person die as an act of mercy,” while horrific, is very present in our culture and something that a lot of people have never been put in a position to question, so it seemed like less an endorsement of “It’s better to be dead than disabled” and more of an example of you don’t know what you don’t know.

• In the later scene in the season two finale when Brian tells Krejjh he can’t stay on Telemachus because he’s wiped from their last mission and needs a steady supply of oxygen, I was initially ready to be enthused about a scene where Brian’s crew supports him in making the right choice for himself. But with Brian's What if you have to choose between getting me an oxygen tank and saving someone else question, Brian’s hypothetical presence on the ship is reduced to the pros and cons of how his disability would potentially impact those around him, a viewpoint from which people with disabilities are seen too often in fiction and in life.

• Being physically disabled is more complex than a binary slider bar going from less to more of a burden to the people around you. In a more three-dimensional view, non-negotiably seeing disabled people as people reveals the networked importance of accessibility and inclusion (in this example, how might taking a step back and finding a way for Brian to travel safely with Krejjh in their aid work make it more likely that they and the ship will be ready to respond dynamically to the needs of disabled passengers?)

• As a less heavy comment on the Arkady-Krejjh scene, back in the realm of just finding the experience of reading the scene unpleasant (I’m a sometimes reader/sometimes listener, which is why I keep talking about reading this episode rather than listening to it!), another reason I had that punched in the gut, caving in on yourself feeling when I read the first part of the scene was because of how it was used as melodramatic entertainment in a work that usually draws a line against using other heavy real world topics that way. (I don’t think stories using serious real life stuff as entertainment is inherently bad—I mean, that’s how fiction works. In this instance, I don’t think any of those three things would have felt as viscerally crappy to read if it wasn’t for the context of the three of them together: the inaccurate fifty-year-old trope, it being lovingly described for the audience’s entertainment, and that coming out of left field in a work that was typically more tasteful about other mental health conditions.)

• I don't think we should be trying so hard to be careful about “avoiding ableist tropes” that every work is as interesting as a saltine—mentally ill people enjoy twisty mental illness horror for a reason!—and I don’t want us to worry so much about “Not portraying people with mental illness as ableist stereotypes about being dangerous” that we ignore the fact that sometimes some mental illnesses do cause people to act in ways that are dangerous or, sometimes, lethal, most often to themselves but sometimes to others as well. “Accuracy” and “tastefulness” aren’t important across the board. But I think the context of when tastefulness and (actual) accuracy are important matters.

• In the longer essay I wrote, I also talked about how problems with portraying disability are not limited to this audio drama, and many audio dramas are not great at portraying disability (and while stories are just stories, it’s hard to feel like the audio drama community’s frequent ways of viewing fictional disability are completely separate from the ways the community often sees real audience members’ disabilities as a burden...lack of accessibility, &c).

• I also wrote about a lot of other connected topics (BTW, still looking for more people interested in talking about or potentially working together on future pretentious writing on audio and accessibility and on ‘How to audio drama fandom??’, so let me know if you’re interested! Okay, end commercial break) but I’m focusing back on disability in Starship Iris season two for this post.

• Back to TSCOSI, I also wrote more in the longer essay about potential ways that fans (who are interested; I’m not trying to guilt trip anyone who isn’t) can make the fandom more welcoming to people with PTSD and other mental health conditions after season two was Like That, with the disclaimer that obviously I don’t speak for everyone with PTSD. I can summarize it kind of easily since I’m representation checklist averse: If you’re thinking about ways to avoid taking the tropes in these scenes at face value, whether through “Let’s pretend that never happened,” engaging with them in a researched way, having a disclaimer that you’re writing inaccurately for fun, or any other thoughtful approach, that’s the solid opposite of unknowingly echoing the ableist stuff.

• I originally took the long essay approach because of how complicated all of this is, so I’m metaphorically linking the longer essay again here for More Nuance. But, hopefully, this gets at the context I most wanted to talk about, and covers the real world information that I wanted to share with those who don’t have prior knowledge about this stuff. Thanks for reading this.

TL;DR: The scene where Arkady tries to kill Krejjh is a half-century-old cliché trope. In reality, any kind of violence or aggression due to PTSD is rare (between 8% to percentages in the 30s) and much more likely to be caused by anger, stress, or a startle response than a flashback. For either cause, it’s much more likely to be something like screaming, hitting an object, or shoving or hitting someone who gets in their space.

This cliché in a show usually realistic in its mental health representation is part of a pattern of people with PTSD and other stigmatized mental health conditions being portrayed as automatically severely dangerous, which contributes to real life false beliefs that exacerbate violence against a group of people statistically more likely to become victims of violence than to harm others.

In this context, the successful resolution of the scene being RJ overpowering Arkady with a gun is a harmful combination of ideas. More than fifty percent of people killed by police in the US have a disability.

What if you have to choose between getting me an oxygen tank and saving someone else reduces Brian’s potential presence on Krejjh’s ship to how his disability would potentially burden those around him.

[fairymint]

There is perhaps, a reason both meta and ic, that overall, Volo here has multiple routes. Possibilities, so to speak. He himself is wildly....indecisive, due to having ADHD, which Felix (muse, mun) shares. Moreover that he’s probably considered all of the paths, and the one he takes for the current thread verse is the path that he chooses to walk....for whatever reason. His ultimate goals remain the same....at least in the abstract. He never loses. point out what you will, but he will make excuses, adapt, or even....’accept’ some things, but mind you that he is still persistent and to be dealt with. He will never come close to seeing himself as ‘the villain who gave up and turned hero.’ Regret doesn’t suit him, only remorse. He feels guilty, but he is not sorry. Big difference there.

So, how he’d feel about other Volos of course would depend on exact timeline and circumstances; I write the canon ‘loss’, and the win.

You could really say that he takes ownership of what he does.

The short version of his God Verse is that he is on his worst behaviour because nothing goes wrong for him in that one. He gets endless little successes, positive feedback for all that he’s doing....justified....and absolutely no discipline. The only thing that may not go his way is hypothetically people treating him worse; his self-defence is legitimized, his plan works all through, he even gets to win against the protag/Felix. (and poor Felix indeed, who gets kidnapped at bare minimum. It gets worse from there, best worst case scenario.), and win against Arceus’s Fragment, in a way. Everything happens the way he planned...though, after such a remake of the world, it’s still not.....infallible, or perfect. Things do start to go wrong, but the guy gets a long-ass time of intial high to keep him riding.

Now as for the good verse, the canon end....that is a bit more complicated. I obviously need to plot outcome shit. But as I’ve slowly come to realize, to my own confusion, that......Volo is not so much forced to pick this end, it’s actually not likely. It’s more that he chooses it. His motivations could vary wildly, which is where the questions start; this probably depends even on ship verse. Because.....presumably........he changes gears. Decides for himself, that this is better???? than what he was doing??? Godverse could reasonably stretch for a long, long time of opportunity post canon, I do realize, as he only needs to win against Arceus once. But. presume he doesn’t go with that, and lets the timeline continue. Why????

I’m going to jokingly say that this muse here is too busy being bisexual to be the Most Volo. (just kidding, that is an awful kind of thing to say;;;)

But, while I did set up the idea of ‘lol Volo PVP’ in the starter I wrote, there’s actually a reason outside of paranoia that I didn’t clarify ‘spoiler’ wise, he doesn’t just ‘hate’ other Volos for just the sake of it, mistrust (although there is a bit of that, too.) His first theory and concern is that he’s interacting with himself from another point in the timeline- that he might fuck himself up. Perhaps his duplicate would spoil something yet to be known, or be blissfully unaware of what he knows- He’s scared of his past and future self. If it is established that this is indeed ‘another’ Volo, not of he persé....then yes, he clings jealously to his world. If their views are different, they may try to take what’s rightfully his, after all. From the new world thing, down to...his people. Yes, he hates them, but they are his people. To play with, mostly, as prey and clay like a cat with a mouse, or, To Keep, for those more worthy, they should consider themselves very lucky.

However! muse wise and such, his default motivations are probably.....his children and s/o. Definitely a theme I write often, but Volo here does have storywise and IC stakes on this. I do think something like his blood, and their future perhaps, could be powerful enough to make him switch gears, that seems to be what he’s giving me for the most part. Perhaps even positive feelings with the protagonist, but of course this all comes with a catch.

It is less ‘guess i won’t be god anymore haha i am just a man’, than Fine, Sure, Yes, I will be the ‘god’ of this world instead. His devotion doesn’t come buckling, it comes with conditions.  Exact scenario tbh, can vary even with the same muses involved- this is where I can trip up with this shipping wise. So many potential first confessions, revelations, and milestones hit in different ways, with how their paths happen to cross.

Basically, even ‘good guy Volo’ is domineering, makes demands, takes the reins. He’s the one who changed his mind, nobody else. The man will deny any sense of agency for the influences that he gets from others, it’s his idea. Even if it’s ‘just’ because he likes somebody, be it Arceus themself, the protag, his s/o, and more.

[k1ng-for-a-day]

Could you possibly do some fluff/nsfw Headcanons for The Shape x Killer! S/O? Like maybe his s/o gets stuck in the entity’s world too? Thank you!

:000 Oh my god thank you so much for this request!! I honestly never thought I would get one I feel really flustered just by looking at this.

A Michael Myers and killer S/O... how would that go...

❤️SFW❤️

🔪🖤 When Michael first saw you, he thought of you as another killer who landed into the entities arms. In short he never had much of a heart for you. At all.

🔪🖤 After a couple of rounds and seeing your tactics, he immediately became invested. He was intrigued by this seemingly new found power a killer like you would have. Whether it was your weapon that was sharp yet pristine, or the way your body shapeshifted into many directions. It was very amusing in his eyes.

🔪🖤 The thing that really kicked it off was how you would ask Michael for some advice. He found it oddly adorable, but he would never admit it. He would say things very bluntly, or write it down for a more in depth explanation. (Down side to that was his somewhat horrendous hand writing). At first you could barely understand it at all, and ask what he meant on a certain sentence or paragraph, which would cause him to demonstrate it. In his mind he believes that his handwriting is decent in a way.

🔪🖤 When he discovered that you couldn’t read it fully, he was somewhat shocked at this. He tried to make it a little bit better, which worked mostly. You could finally read his notes properly, and studying his handwriting really did help you a lot. (Keep this is mind)...

🔪🖤 After you two started talking more and more, he became a bit more close to you, and showed you things he wouldn’t with anyone else. Hell, he wouldn’t even show Danny these at all. (Or Ghostface. He’s really close with him).

🔪🖤 What he presented to you was this:

A picture of his family. It was wholesome, sweet, and his cute little blonde hair made you smile. This was something he showed Danny.

A key to his house in Hadonfield. This was something that was somewhat special to him due to the nostalgia of his old family, even though he did kill Judith. He definitely didn’t show Ghostface this place. (Knowing Danny he would trash it in an instant).

His favorite blade- A kitchen knife. It’s vertical simple, but to him it’s like an artifact. It’s like a painting at a museum, or some beautiful necklace at an expensive jewelry store. He enjoys it very much. Danny has seen this one too many times.

His face.

🔪🖤Once Michael finally revealed his face to you, it felt like your goal was achieved. Something inside you felt complete; you were finally whole. His beautiful eyes gleamed at you softly, but somewhat shyly. He was kind of blushing. It was weird to see this man seem so defeated, but satisfying nonetheless.

🔪🖤At first when he revealed his face, he felt a bit insecure about it. After you quickly examined his face, he covered it up instantly. He was scared that you wouldn’t like it, however that was false.

🔪🖤You would attempt to ask him if he would take it off, but he shook his head no. Course you were sad about this and ask why. He would shrug. He just doesn’t want to. If you annoy him enough, or give him a small gift, he might slip a small peak. However, he’ll quickly put it back on afterwards.

🔪🖤Later on he started to gain a bit more trust, and take off his mask for a little more time. (This phenomenon was only when you two were alone). At first it was only for a quick second, but slowly grew on to be a bit longer. A minute, five minutes, fifteen, and the longest was an hour.

🔪🖤This ‘special hour’ of mask-less Myers was a glorious site. His hair was so fluffy, his eyes were so soft, and his skin was surprisingly smooth. Everything was amazing. You two would talk about your past lives, feelings for certain killers, and just deep conversations in general. Sometimes you would even lay on his shoulder. It was soft as well.

🔪🖤After a while, Michael starts to lighten up to you about stuff that swirls around his mind. Not only does he talks about the survivors, but he talks about his day in general. (Most of it is written on a paper though). Even though Myers doesn’t feel emotion, his writing almost seems like something from a Shakespeare play. It’s somewhat sweet, but very talented.

🔪🖤You complemented Michael every time he wrote these things to you, but he seemingly shrugged it off. It seemed like you were ignored. It was kind of strange.

🔪🖤Months later you were mainly focused on hunting down survivors, and attempting to talk to Michael. Even though you tried to talk to him before a match, he became a bit more distant to you. It was to the point you thought he wasn’t fond of you anymore. You almost felt used.

🔪🖤When you confronted Michael about this, he just stared at you blankly and didn’t say anything. He didn’t even write anything at all. The reason for this was because he was scared. He was paralyzed. You didn’t catch onto this, and just walked away thinking that he didn’t actually care about you. Then again he isn’t suppose to feel emotion.

🔪🖤The next day he wrote you a small note explaining why he was distant. It was mainly due to the harshness of the entity and how displeased he was. He became so distracted by you that he started killing less and less victims. It was to the point no one was hurt at all. He was very sincere about his apology, and even brought you a small gift; an Ebony Mori.

🔪🖤Was he this crazy to give this to you..? This has to be a mistake. He didn’t need to do this!

🔪🖤The next day Michael tapped you on the shoulder, and lead you back to his house, but in a secluded area. This place was empty, but slightly warm. It was welcoming.

🔪🖤He handed you a small piece of paper, and rubbed his arm nervously. He stared at you, blushing underneath the mask.

🔪🖤You read the note, carefully: “My dearest, S/O, I wanted to know if you’ve had these odd feelings before. These stimulants that react in your brain that seemingly damage your heart once it all crumbles. This void then replaces those crumbling bits that fell through your heart. It’s like a burning passion that your to afraid to leave. I never understood these feelings of grief, pain, happiness even. I only knew hatred, death, and seemingly nothing more. I was only a prodigy made to enforce pain, but once you came to me, my eyes opened into newer possibilities. I was seemingly morphed into this new being that could finally see what others saw with my own eyes. I could finally feel. So I have to ask, do you truly love me? Would you take my hand and hold it close to yours?”

🔪🖤You looked back at him and blushed in shock. You never thought that he would do something like this, let alone to you. He stared right back at you with his mask off, awaiting your answer.

🔪🖤”Michael,” you spoke, “of course I love you!”

❤️NSFW❤️

🔪🖤Later that night, Michael stared at you with a soft smile. He thought about how beautiful you were, and how your body was perfectly made. It made him feel something much more interesting; lust. He longed for that smooth touch of your body near his, and was somewhat needy,

🔪🖤When he writes his notes, he’ll sometimes ask if you want to do something ‘strange’ with him. You didn’t realize what it was, but he’ll elaborate onwards about it.

🔪🖤If you do consent to this ‘strange’ thing, he’ll show you what he means by using his own collection of “tools”.

🔪🖤When you saw this ‘collection’ you were immediately shocked. Michael was into collecting.. sex toys? What the fuck..? You stared at him blankly, just merely in disbelief. He simply twitches his head to the side. ‘Was it not normal to collect things like this?’ He ponders for a bit.

🔪🖤You just shook your head, and decided to follow through with this ‘strange idea’ of his.

🔪🖤The first thing Michael wanted/needed was to be loved. To be kissed specifically. He likes affection before the actual event begins.

🔪🖤He took off his mask and stared at you with his widened eyes. He observed you like an a diamond, and slowly pulled you towards his lips. He kissed you on the cheek for starters, since he was inexperienced at the time.

🔪🖤He slowly started to go near your lips, and peck them gently in order to assert some form of neediness. Sometimes he would bite you lip on purpose in order to hear you squeal quietly. It was adorable, but he’ll never admit it.

🔪🖤As he kissed your lips, he finally advanced to something much more enticing; he inserted his tongue.

🔪🖤As he entered your mouth, you were in a bit of shock, but hypnotized by this taste. It was addicting to feel his mouth, and the soft but tough texture complemented both of you perfectly.

🔪🖤The next thing he would do was slowly take off his jumpsuit, (or whatever tf it’s called), and tease you a bit. He wouldn’t fully take off his clothes, and leave you there to beg for more.

🔪🖤And honey, you really did beg. You begged so badly that you were practically on your knees at this point. And he was amused by it. Definitely amused if you know what I mean.

🔪🖤You slowly crawled towards him, and pull it fully down to reveal his trousers. You could tell he was hard in an instant. You weren’t to sure how big it was at first, but once his boxers was off it was revealed in its entirety.

🔪🖤It seemed like a horse cock in your eyes. It was pretty thick, and was about 8 maybe 9 or 10 inches. No matter the size, you were still intrigued. You placed your hands on it in order to give him a good start. You just stroked it gently. Since it was your first time, you were very nervous. Extremely scared about this.

🔪🖤After stroking it softly, Michael was about to cum. He slowly grabbed your delicate head, and rammed it on his snake! He would then proceed to pull your hair while you were sucking it so delicately. When he was at his full release, he would cum inside your mouth and pull out. His last bit of white was all over your face. Just like he showed you.

🔪🖤From then on, when Michael was horny, he would bring you into his ‘sex dungeon’ of sorts. What you both discovered was that he was big into knife play. He enjoyed bringing your/his weapon up against your throat, and slowly licking your neck.

🔪🖤What you also found out was when Michael had extreme urges, he would deadass break into your match and fuck you in a bush or a closed off area. Sometimes you would ask, “what about the entity? What about the survivors?” But he didn’t care. All he wanted was you, and he was able to cum inside you. He didn’t give a flying fuck if someone like Jake Park saw this shit with his own eyes. Hell, he wouldn’t mind if he joined in! (Actually he definitely would).

🔪🖤Before you two would complete his desires, Michael would give you a piece of paper asking if you would partake in his acts, (even if you really wanted to for the whole day).

🔪🖤He also uses his sex toys during these phenomenons when the time comes. He also likes to put marks around you, add a collar on you, and degrade you when he’s really in an enraged mood.

🔪🖤Sometimes he’ll threaten to record a session on Danny’s camera if you don’t behave. Of course he wouldn’t do it since he doesn’t know how it works, but that usually gets you to behave in an instant.

🔪🖤Aftercare with Mikey is actually quite wholesome. After you use the bathroom, eat something sweet, or some other thing he’ll ask if your ok. If you say ‘yes’ then he’ll kiss you on the cheek and tell you how much he loves you. If you say ‘no’, he’ll start to feel bad and tell you how much he actually cares for you, and positive things to brighten your mood. He’ll even take you to Sally if you’re not feeling well.

Well I hope you enjoyed this headcannon I guess. I know it’s probably not up to your expectations, but I tried. And again thank you so much for requesting this. I was just shocked when someone finally said something! Thank you so much!

(Also please don’t mind the weird spaces! I copied and pasted this from my notes, so that’s the reason why the spacing is weird. I can’t stop it from doing that..)

[uponrightful]

It is so hard for me to choose just one! Just one part of a fic you wrote when there is so much to love.... But I will sent you this quote from your latest chapter to Coriolis: "You are doing it on purpose… devious little thing. I should be all over you for pulling a stunt like this and getting away with it for so long. Too bad I’m the only one falling for your tricks pretty girl." So please share all kinds of information/thoughts etcetera you had while writing this chapter.

Commentary Track for "Coriolis Effect"

Hi doll 🤍 I can't wait for you to hear allll about jealous!Crosshair

***

The theme for the start of this chapter is "show, don't tell".

From the start, I knew Duchess was going to show the Batch just how well trained she is. For starters, Duchess is very unwilling to talk about Phantom Squad. (And that will be covered in chapter 14 😅... So until then, I have to pick my words carefully.) She's afraid they're going to think bad of her if they know the whole story, and although that isn't true, it's a really harsh point to explain over a drink during a mission. I gave Duchess and Echo's conversation sitting at the table a double meaning; Not only are they being vague to keep cover, but Duchess is able to use that as an excuse to give them background on her without getting into specifics she's too uncomfortable to mention outright.

Now for Crosshair, I really struggled. Not going to lie. It's almost impossible to refrain from making Cross out to be a total fucking creep. 😂 He's just so overprotective -for good reasons normally- and it can come off really slimy if I don't get the tone right. As I said before, Crosshair is best experienced in-person. And although we can't do that... I try my best to get his character across clearly, but keep as much of his intimate feelings unlimited. After all, no one is perfect, and I don't think Crosshair getting angry when Dutch is in danger is something he should be punished for. That's what any normal person would do.

To keep up with the "show, don't tell" theme, Crosshair giving her his shirt before he leave for the mission is a huge action that I'm not sure many people caught. Or if you did, I couldn't hear your thoughts.

We all know by now that Crosshair is almost always painfully awkward with words. His default is sarcasm and brashness. That doesn't bode well when you're trying to feel out the complexity of emotions, and how to explain them to someone you love. That's hard for anyone. But for Crosshair that's extra difficult because he thinks that makes him weak. That if someone sees that in him, it's going to get used against him, and it will hurt someone like Duchess or his brothers.

Even though Dutch doesn't see him the entire time he's on the ship, it's clear he's watching her all the time. Not out of hate or anger, but just simply keeping check on her like he always does. That's habit at this point. But knowing that she's out of clean clothes? That is new to Crosshair, but it comes naturally to act instead of speak. (To be honest with you, I thought about having a spicy scene here... But it felt super forced, and that's because Crosshair wouldn't do it. Not that he can't barge in and have some jealousy sex, but it wasn't the right time, and that wasn't his headspace.) In leaving his shirt, that's kinda his apology for acting like he did. I know, I know, terrible way of saying "hey you did a good job and I didn't tell you when I should have." BUT. What can you expect from a man who bullies as a form of flirting? Exactly, nothing.

Now for what you all hate me for... THE SHITTY PART.

THIS HAD TO HAPPEN. No other way around it, it had to. There were a million ideas worse than Crosshair getting his shit kicked in. (I thought of an explosion gone wrong, thermite melting his armor, and a bunch of other shit that you actually would have killed me for. Those examples are actually pretty mild. I didn't want to put you through the same thing Wolffe did during O-66. It isn't that deep.) Nevertheless, this is the first time Duchess gets to experience Crosshair being the one who's unwillingly vulnerable. It's scary -for many reasons- and there are a lot of things going on that she can't process. (I can't say too much because a lot is happening in chapter 14.)

What I would like to mention is Echo and Dutch's scene in the storage bay. I know it's short, but I packed a lot in there. Remember how Echo said Crosshair wouldn't stop talking about her? You'll find out exactly what our resident ram'ser was saying soon!

Also, this is Echo and Dutch's big turning point. Not only is Echo extending a comfort by calling her vodka (like the Phantoms) but he's expressing what Crosshair can't. That might be a little cheating to speak for Cross, but Echo knows him well enough to be truthful. Not to mention Dutch is freaking the fuck out, and there needs to be some substantial support. Because none of the Batch are going to give her that in a way that is relatable. Remember: Echo knows what it's like to lose brothers. This moment is terrifying for both of them because it's a hallmark of how easy death can come.

The two of them are facing this fear with each other because they're the only two who get it. And that's really important considering Echo doesn't have to do it. He could ignore Dutch and take care of Crosshair like everyone else. But instead, he sees that pain and panic and addresses it in a way that he feels will ease that response he recognizes in Duchess. I consider this a turn in their relationship, and from here on out, things with Echo and Dutch are going to be different. (Don't worry. I don't vibe with PolyAm stuff, so it's strictly platonic.) But you'll see just how close Duchess and Echo get after that moment in the storage room.

The key moment here being how Duchess isn't willing to let anyone near her or Crosshair, save for Echo.

[oikawasbliss]

dance with me

feeling alone at prom, good thing for you another person was left alone also.

⇢ Hi, Can I also request 46 with Kita? If you're not comfortable with writing him can you do it with Suna? Thank u and have a nice day! – @maitenight

⇢ prom!au — kita x reader

⇢ warning: mentioned reader wearing a dress.

⇢ wc: 1k | prompt: “ dance with me ” (the title hehe)

⇢ a/n: probably the longest one i wrote hehe. sorry for taking this so long!! I was abt to make this a royal!au but then realized i'm not good at writing at that kind of concept yet so i redone it as a prom!au . forgive me !!

you sit down on a vacant seat next to a table with the consumables, while everyone dances and has their romantic moments with their dates.

you? oh you're just quietly eating biscuits that you got from the table beside you. you never wanted to be in this event, the only reason you attended are: your dress. you don't want it to be a waste and not wear it so you just go. two, the food.

no one asked you out as their dates, they were flabbergasted that you actually came and yet none had the chance to ask you out as their partners, bummer. you really want to have one, but for now, you're just a display at the corner.

a display at the corner watching beef happening not so far from where you are, even so you could be able to hear them.

this isn't eavesdropping, you thought while listening to the pair argue.

a handsome lad with white hair and black highlights, the guy's same as your year but cooler. and a pretty woman who you don't care of, but seems like one of the people in your class.

” shinsuke.. i'm so sorry.. goodbye. ” the latter then walks out of the school gym.

” bland. ” you murmured beneath your breath before taking a bite of your biscuit, describing what had just happened. for what it seems like kita shinsuke getting dumped.

you shrugged and murmured once more, ” sucks for him. ” as you were about to eat the last piece of biscuit you took.

he then started walking to where you're sitting, you furrowed your eyes examining the figure getting nearer and nearer. his expression is gloomy, you felt the melancholic air surrounding him. sucks for him, you thought of again. you didn't bother him coming to you, after all you are beside the table with foods.

he just stood there, looking blankly at the stuff on the table, you felt bad for the man but also you wanted more biscuits since those are the only thing keeping you alive in this event.

you hand reached to a tray, grabbing 6 in your whole hand. your eyes widen in happiness, you took a glance at the man once more and caught him immediately looking away.

he just stood there, not even grabbing food or anything, he was a bit distant but he was the nearest person to you so you felt awkward, both of you do.

you didn't want the silence to keep going for you two, it's already making you uncomfy, so you decided to break it by speaking first. “ so.. your date? ”

kita darted his eyes, backing him out of his trance, “ o-oh.. uhm.. yes. ” he hesitated. “i mean, what happened to your date? ”

“ oh that? Let's just say something happened and now I'm alone. ”

without kita getting no food from the table, he walked to the vacant seat beside you, but before he sits he wants to make sure you're okay with it, so he whispers “ may i? ” you turned your dull face at him and slightly nodded, you're a little weary because of someone you don't fully know is sitting beside you, also after eating almost half of the biscuits on the table.

your face opposed him, you're getting uncomfy a second passes, but you didn't want to seem rude to the man, so you just sat there.

“ so, your date? ” kita asked sheepishly, continuing a conversation between the two of you.

“ oh.. well.. i don't have one— ” you replied, ending it with a chuckle of embarrassment. his hues immediately turned to you but you were unaware, considering you are faced the opposite as him. “ —I mean, i wasn't asked out. ”

before kita could speak you added “ I said i wasn't going but i did. ” once more.

you heard his response to your answer and it was just a simple, boring “ ahh.. ”

you also asked the same thing to the other, he let out a slow hum before answering.

“ did she dump you? ”

“ well.. no? i mean.. something urgent to her came up. i said she could go since that's more important than some dumb school event, so she left. ”

you replied the same thing that kita did earlier. “ ahh… ”

another segment of silence filled between the small area, not both of you can even think of a new conversation starter. the two of you are just awkwardly sitting beside each other, you barely even hear the music playing in the background, both of you are just mentally hearing cricket noises.

you looked at the students with stunning fits at the middle of the gym, having their own good time, “ aren't we just… lonely? ” you giggled by the end of your sentence, kita let out a short laugh. “ it is indeed. ”

some time later you and kita have been talking to each other for almost all the time, coming up with unfunny jokes here and there, introduced to each other also, of course. both of you were comfortable with each other even though you two met the very same night.

kita stood up and faced in front of you.

“ dance with me? ” his open hand slowly facing in front of you. because of this sudden action of his, you found not only what he did, but he himself attractive. your heart starting beating fast like it was in competitive racing. you unawaringly lift both the edge of your lip. you smiled blissfully, laid your hand on his, joyfully saying “ yes. yes you may. ”

a genuine smile plastered on his face. you couldn't describe how attractive his visage was, then again, you couldn't get it off your brain that everything about him became attractive.

he pulled you up and placed both his arms on your waist, wrapping both of your hands around his neck.

“ don't you want to dance in the middle? ” you asked, as the two of you started, slowly moved your feet.

the captain shrugged, “ i do not. i'm not the type of person to be in the spotlight. ”

though you two just met the very same night.

you would never forget how you two made one another, have the best night.

i hope we'd still act like this if ever we'd stumble upon each other again.

© howluvish 2020. please do not modify, edit, copy or reproduce any of the works published.

[gameimagines]

In that case! I was wondering if I could request hcs for Raihan, Piers & Leon with an s/o they met during the tournament? The s/o being an idol(who's theme gravitates around their shiny Charizard) from another region, participating with special endorsement from Rose(for mutual exposure), earning them some scorn from locals? But then proving they actually deserve said endorsement and even manage to snatch a draw against the Champion's Gigantamax Charizard with their own Mega Charizard X! 💖💖💖

Requested by: Shiny Charizard Anon!

Fandom: Pokémon SWSH

Notes: thank you for your patience! This is been in my inbox for around a month, sorryyy. I went with Kanto for the foreign region (gen 1 needs more love by someone who isn’t gamefreak lol). Also wasn’t sure if you wanted s/o to be participating in the gym challenge or just there for some tournament so I wrote both. Up next is a Leon request by Cooking Anon!

.

.

.

Raihan

Chances are Raihan already followed the Kanto idol on social media long before they came to Galar.

He probably found out about you because of your shiny Charizard. He’s low key kinda jealous - a shiny Charizard would look really cool on his team.

He’s pumped to meet you. Raihan wants at least three selfies with you. He’d probably love an idol s/o. He’s also a bit of a celebrity who likes being in the public eye, so Raihan would enjoy dating someone with similar popularity status (he’s not trying to social climb, he just likes the relatability) (plus y’all would be a power couple).

Despite his internal excitement, he tries to play it cool (keyword: tries). Raihan accidentally lets it slip that he’s been a follower for quite a while (like bringing up some small detail only a long time fan would know).

Raihan’s pretty irritated with the mixed reviews on a foreign idol participating in some Galar exhibition matches and tournaments. Raihan feels like the Galar trainer scene should be open to anyone, especially if it’s some strong competition.

Types up a couple of posts expressing his enthusiasm that a Kanto superstar is participating and that any opposition can shut up about it.

Raihan likes intense battles. So if your fighting style is dramatic, Raihan will be captivated by it.

Obviously, Raihan wants to win any battle he’s in. But if you beat him (he finds himself oddly more attracted to you because of it) or he doesn’t get matched up against you - Raihan’s rooting for ya.

But he’s a little torn when you fight Leon. The applin of his eye against his greatest rival? Raihan isn’t sure who he’s rooting for but he’s on the edge of his seat.

When your battle against Leon ends in a draw, Raihan is floored. Raihan will rewatch the fight several times (mostly because he’s smitten by you but also he’s trying to pick up tactics to beat Leon with).

If you have to return back to your home region, Raihan visits you at least once a month. He’s your biggest fan after all.

Piers

Piers might have no idea who you are. Despite being a gym leader, Piers has big hermit vibes. He’s from a somewhat unknown and rundown town, he doesn’t follow the status quo, and occasionally he misses big events. In short - Piers does his own thing

So unless your music is grunge or rock, Piers probably hasn’t heard of you.

That’s not to say he isn’t interested! But the first thing that catches his eye is your use of mega evolutions. Piers doesn’t dynamax, so when he watches a trainer send out a mega evolution to fight a Gigantamax Pokémon, he’s intrigued and a little impressed.

From then on out he tries to get some info on you. Piers asks Marnie and some Team Yell members if they’ve heard of you.

If you sing, Piers downloads a few of your albums. He’d love to talk about music with you. If you offer to do a duet with him, Piers will be become uncharacteristically bashful. But then he’ll tell you he’d like to.

Compliments you on your aesthetic. Piers appreciates trainer fashion that mimics the Pokémon they train.

Piers won’t publically get involved with negative press you receive for being an “outsider” (mostly because the press don’t really talk to him) but he will do his best to comfort you. Piers is used to negative critiques and had built up a thick skin because of it. Piers tells you not to worry about it and shut them up by taking down the other gym leaders.

If you take the gym challenge and make it to Piers’ gym, he’s a little embarrassed of his gym “arena”. He knows as an idol you probably spend your days in glamorous venues and hopes you don’t critique his dingy little town.

Despite budding romantic feelings, Piers won’t take it easy on you. He’s eager to see if your Charizard is just for show or if it’s as strong as it looks.

Piers seems like he isn’t the biggest fan of Leon, so it’s easy for him to root for your victory over Leon.

“Stick it to him, Y/N.”

He’s slightly pessimistic so he isn’t too certain you’ll win but when the battle results in a tie (your mega Charizard X evenly matched with Leon’s famous Gigantamax Charizard no less), Piers is so proud of you.

Leon

Love at first sight

Just kidding! But from the moment he watches you battle, Leon is ready to meet you.

In fact, you probably piqued Leon’s interest before that. A challenger sponsored by Chairman Rose must be good.

He loves the Charizard aesthetic. He’ll ask if you think he’d look good in a similar get up.

Leon looks forward to fighting you. He’s especially excited to test his own Charizard’s strength against your shiny Charizard.

Puts to rest any arguments about a Kanto idol competing in Galar. Leon wants Galar trainers to be the strongest in the world, what better way to test that then with some friendly foreign competition?

Because you and Leon have matching starters, some fans start shipping you two. Leon acts oblivious to this information, but the fan art makes his heart swell. He hoped your fan base would like him. It gives him even more confidence to make a move.

Leon’s a lot more flirtatious with you than he is the other challengers and it does NOT go unnoticed.

Nevertheless, Leon isn’t going to go easy on you. For his title, Galar pride, and perhaps in hopes to impress you - he holds nothing back.

Leon coyly asks you out before you fight him. He tells you winner buys dinner.

So when the dust settles and both Charizards faint? He later chuckles and offers to split the bill.

But in moment? Leon’s stunned. He can see why you have such a large following. Going toe to toe with Leon’s Charizard is no small feat. But to whip out a Mega Charizard X against Leon’s Gigantamax Charizard? Unprecedented.

Leon’s completely engrossed in the battle and dazzled by your style and tactics.

Afterwards, he asks you to stay for a while in Galar. Leon knows you probably have responsibilities to return back to in Kanto, but he wants to keep you to himself for a little bit longer.

[luckynatured]

HC - vs Ghetsis

Remember when I wrote that headcanon post that was a play-by-play of Hilbert’s battle with Drayden? And how it was one of only two battles that I actually took notes on in the run? 

Well, the other battle I took notes on was the one with Ghetsis. This was so I could have that battle thread with Knight months ago, but I thought it’d be fun to put it all into this post. So let’s get to that, shall we?

Round 1 - Garfield vs Cofagrigus

Fun fact; the reason I put Garfield in the final team in the first place was specifically to counter N’s Zekrom. Because, you know, Ground-type. I hadn’t taken the fact that Cofagrigus could use Toxic into consideration until the battle with Shauntal, but the fact that Garfield was also immune to poison moves was definitely a bonus.

This round was honestly kinda short. Garfield was able to set up a Sandstorm as Cofagrigus used Shadow Ball. Cofagrigus used Protect twice; the first time was as Garfield used Swords Dance, and the second Protect failed as Garfield used Earthquake. Maybe it was overkill (because Garfield’s Ability was Sand Force), but I wanted the Cofagrigus gone ASAP.

Round 2 - Michelle vs Hydreigon

The thing about Ghetsis’ Hydreigon that I realized as I was grinding - Ghetsis’ Hydreigon had an answer for nearly everyone in my team. Surf would’ve taken down Belle, Focus Blast would have destroyed Roger and Garfield, and Fire Blast would have completely decimated Dodger (and Garfield as well. Looking at it now, I can see why Hydreigon was sent out immediately after Garfield beat Cofagrigus). And while I was wrong in assuming it had a move like Dark Pulse, its Dark typing wasn’t doing Merlot any favors.

The only Pokemon in the team that Hydreigon wasn’t super-effective against was Michelle, so she was the only one I could send out. Plus, she had Revenge, which was a super-effective move on Hydreigon, and I figured her Expert Belt would help give her an edge.

 Dragon Pulse took out more than half HP on Michelle, and Revenge does the same to Hydreigon. Both sides healed the next turn, and it’s the same song and dance.

At this point, I knew Michelle was probably going to die. Dragon Pulse took out too much health for me to heal it back up again, and while I could keep healing and hope to stall out Dragon Pulse’s PP, a critical hit would OHKO me anyway so that would be a waste. So, I clicked Aqua Jet. At the very least, that would guarantee that she would deal a little more damage before she went down.

I was prepared for Hilbert to lose his starter, but Michelle surprised me by landing a critical hit on the Aqua Jet, and that did enough damage to take Hydreigon down. 

You can’t convince me that crit didn’t matter, because Hydreigon was completely immune to whatever Merlot had to offer, and had a move that could have OHKO’d everyone else in my team.

Round 3 - Roger vs Bouffalant

After taking about five minutes to recover from the emotional rollercoaster of Michelle being an absolute MVP, I sent Roger out to face Bouffalant. Who doesn’t love a battle between two Normal-types, right?

Between Roger’s Intimidate lowering Bouffalant’s attack and the fact that Roger’s nature gives him a DEF buff, Bouffalant didn’t do too much damage to him. Add the fact that Roger was holding a Rocky Helmet, and...well, I’ll let you do the math.

Roger used Ice Fang to freeze Bouffalant. Bouffalant thawed out immediately after to deliver a Head Charge, as Roger used Work Up. Roger then used Crunch as Bouffalant delivered a second Head Charge, and then Bouffalant went down to Roger’s Last Resort.

Round 4 - Merlot vs Seismitoad

Honestly, I’m not sure why I sent Merlot out to face Seismitoad. I think maybe I wanted to make it so that each one of Hilbert’s Pokemon would face each one of Ghetsis’ Pokemon? Michelle and Roger were at half health at this point, and Seismitoad was super-effective against Garfield and Belle. I thought it was also super-effective against Dodger(because Ground-type) but I had forgotten at that point that Dodger’s bug-typing made Ground-attacks neutral.

My point is, it was Merlot. Merlot’s attacks wouldn’t be super-effective against Seismitoad, but the same applied in reverse. Seismitoad used Earthquake a total of two times, and they did less than half.

Merlot used Calm Mind to set up after the first Earthquake, and Seismitoad then used Rain Dance as Merlot used Psychic. Another exchange of Earthquake and Psychic, and Seismitoad was down.

Round 5 - Garfield vs Bisharp

If the plan was to get each of Hilbert’s Pokemon a chance to shine against Ghetsis, it was dashed when I remembered that this Bisharp had Stone Edge. I remember that being the cause of a casualty in my previous Black Nuzlocke, so I wasn’t gonna let Dodger fall.

I let Garfield out instead, and oh my god was this the right decision. An Earthquake was enough to OHKO Bisharp without even needing to set up.

And, tbh...since there’s an absence of a Bisharp in Ghetsis’ BW2 team, I’m inclined to have it that Bisharp did not survive that battle.

(rip Bisharp)

Round 6 - Belle vs Eelektross

I sent out Belle, because Eelektross had Levitate for its ability which rendered Garfield’s Earthquake completely useless. And I had a feeling that it had some kind of Fire-type move waiting in the wings, so I was hesitant to send Dodger out. 

I had forgotten that said Electric-type had Crunch, but I thought ahead and started with Will-O-Wisp. I think the attack drop from the burn definitely helped, because it did less than half even with the defense drop from the first Crunch. I had to heal Belle up after the second Crunch brought her to yellow, but two Flame Bursts was enough to bring Eelektross down.

TLDR: Hilbert beat Ghetsis without losing a single one of his party.

[blueberryrock]

This is a short story I wrote with my week off from my main series, hope y'all enjoy, it's just a lot of bellow diamond, so enjoy <3

(Blue's first ball and blue's pov)

I nervously drum my fingers on my arm, today is a very very big day for me and the entire gem race.

Not only is today my first ball, but today White and Yellow diamond will announce that a new diamond has emerged, me, then they'll want me to walk across the ballroom and sit on a throne.

It sounds simple enough, it really is simple, but I have a feeling that something will go terribly wrong today. I pace back and forth in the hallway that connects to the ballroom.

The more I pace the more I get anxious and excited. I walk over to a full-length mirror that White diamond had put for me to look at. Both White and Yellow decided it would be a grand idea to look nice, so Yellow had her pearl brush and braid my long dark blue hair, and White helped me pick out a gorgeous gown.

The gown its self is fairly simple, but the design is gorgeous. For starters, the neckline is low enough to show my entire gem and a bit of breast, and there is a slit by my legs that goes from the bottom of my dress (covering my feet) almost to my hip, this time instead of my normal one strap robe, the straps go all the way to my wrists and the gown is a beautiful dark blue. It's also very sparkly.

But White diamond allowed me to go barefoot, because I accidentally broke the heel part of one of White diamond's heel shoe. Although Yellow wasn't too happy about that, but if White diamond allows it, I will do it.

I go back to nervously pacing down the small cold hallway, my hand starts to shake from sheer nervousness, my hand instantly stops when I get interrupted by the door opening at the end of the hallway and the older diamonds step into the cramped hallway.

My eyes get immediately pulled towards White diamond. She has almost the exact same dress, except it ends at her mid-calf, her dress only has straps instead of a full sleeve, her dress is a grayish-white, and she is wearing her normal heels/sandals.

"Ah moonlight you look so beautiful, are you ready?" White diamond asks me. I blush from a new compliment. I nod as look over at Yellow diamond.

When I first emerged a few months ago, the first thing I noticed about Yellow diamond was how gorgeous she was. With her golden eyes, her short and golden seemingly soft hair, and her beautiful skinny but muscular frame. This time, since it's supposed to be formal, Yellow diamond had her golden armor polished so well, I can see my face in the reflection.

"Blue?" Yellow diamond says to get my attention, I quickly snap back to reality.

"Wha-" I blink a few times.

"You were staring at me again" Yellow diamond crosses her arms behind her back.

"Well nothing else is worth looking, besides you" I smirk, as Yellow diamond's entire face gets darker.

"Well..I.." Flustered, Yellow diamond's face just gets darker and darker by the second, she tries to say something but White diamond interrupts.

"Hey, let's get this ball over with quickly" White diamond pulls a still blushing Yellow diamond by the arm towards the ballroom door. I follow behind them, but I move to the side when Yellow diamond walks out.

I take a shaky unneeded breath in, okay Blue, as long as you stick to what White diamond showed you you'll be fine, just like we practiced. White diamond turns and puts her hands on my shoulders.

"Relax, if you do everything I told you to do, you will do just fine" White diamond reassures me.

I nod. The ballroom doors open again and beautiful music fills the room, White diamond removes her arms from my shoulders exits the room and as soon as the doors close again, I eagerly move in front of the doors.

From what I can hear, they turned down the music and White diamond has already gotten halfway through her "speech". Anxiety starts creeping into me as White diamond almost finishes the speech.

"And now, introducing your new diamond" I feel myself deflate as I let out the breath I was holding "Blue Diamond" White diamond finishes.

The big doors in front of my open and I slowly walk into the room. All gems from each court is here, and all of them stare at me. I nervously freeze where I stand, I look up to where White and Yellow diamond are sitting, right next to Yellow diamond's throne is my similar blue one.

Yellow diamond notices that I haven't move an inch, she gives me a reassuring smile and motions with her head to come closer.

I take a shaky breath in, I break off all the ice that was on my feet, luckily my dress covers the ice, I nervously cross the cold ballroom floor. Once I get to my seat, I make sure my dress is covering my bare feet, and I put my shaky hands in my lap.

I start to relax a bit as the music starts up again, and everyone is focused on dancing and not me. Watching all the little gems dance on the floor is making me want to try and do it. I glance over at Yellow diamond, she has one knee on her leg and is resting her head on her hand.

She looks rather bored, maybe she'd like to join me. I then look up at White diamond, she is watching all the other gems dance, I wonder if she'd let me and Yellow diamond join them.

I smile and blush a little at the thought of me and Yellow diamond dancing, I don't really know how to dance very well, I look back at Yellow diamond, but I bet she knows how to.

I poke White diamond in the legs to get her attention. "What?" She says annoyed.

"I wanted to know if you would allow me and Yellow diamond to dance with the other gems" I cheerfully ask.

"I suppose so, but if you cause to much commotion, you will have to sit back on your throne" White Diamond looks back at the dancing gems.

I excitedly look back at Yellow diamond, this time she shoots a confused look. I excitedly jump out of my seat and run to Yellow diamond's throne.

"W-wait" She tries to say to stop me, but I grab her by the wrist and drag her to the ballroom floor. I shiver slightly when my bare feet hit the tiled floor.

A group of what I think is hessonites quickly move out of our way, I let go of a shocked Yellow diamond and I quickly whip around to face her so quickly, that the end of my braid hits me in the face.

I move my braid over my shoulder, and I quickly put one arm on her shoulder and one arm around Yellow diamond's slim waist. She nervously does the same.

"So, Yellow diamond" I say gently.

"Umm, y-you can just call me Yellow" Yellow answers nervously.

"Okay then, Yellow" her name gently rolls off my tongue "do you know how to dance?" I calmly ask.

Yellow shakes her head no "White, never taught me how to"

I smile "I can try to show you if you'd like" I give her a flirty smile, and she blushes "i'm not to good at it, but I asked your little pearl if she could show me some stuff"

"You do have good hand placement" I move her hand up a little "so here is something simple, take two steps forward and one step back"

"O-okay" Yellow slowly takes two steps forward and one step back.

"See, simple" I smile at her.

"Y-yeah, this is not so bad" Yellow smiles back, she decides to pick up the pace a bit. "Do you want to try a twirl?" I ask.

"Yes" she smiles.

"Here I'll do it to you" I say, I grab her hand and I start to twirl her, but midway through she grabs my dress and I accidentally release her hand. I quickly catch her and pull her to her feet.

She is so close our noses are almost touching and I can feel her warm breath on my face. She impulsively decides to give me a quick but passionate kiss on the lips. When she pulls away I can feel almost entire face heat up and turn a darker shade of blue.

I look at Yellow, she is just as shocked and flustered as me. I unwrap my arms from around her waist.

"I-I am sorry" she slowly starts to back away "I-I didn't me-" I cut her off by grabbing her waist and pulling her into a deeper kiss.

I break the kiss "Yellow, you're fine, I actually found the quite lovely" she manages to blush even harder.

"Now, I didn't invite you over here to just stand around, let's get back to dancing" I grab her hand once more and pull her into our original position.

After two songs we decide to sway around and talk. "For the record, you didn't say a word to me, all you did was grab my hand and pull me to the ballroom floor" Yellow wraps her arms around my neck and I wrap mine around her waist.

"Did I?" I tilt my head to think.

"Yes, yes you did" Yellow smiles warmly at me "I have multiple witnesses around me to prove my point"

I shrug and smile at her "guess I did, I am very glad I did it though, this is nice" I bury my face in the crook of Yellow's warm neck.

"Yeah, this is very nice" Yellow rests her head on mine. The music starts to pick up and I, unfortunately, have to remove my head from Yellow's warm neck.

"Okay, last song then we should sit down" I firmly say.

"Definitely" Yellow agrees.

We go back to two steps forward and one step back routine, since the music is a bit faster, we decide to change it to five steps forward and two steps back.

It goes great for a while, and I even got to do a perfect twirl with Yellow. My eyes were mostly focused on the sometimes blushing yellow diamond in front of me, but from out of the corners of my eyes many gems are dancing like we are.

I smile from the thought of gems already following my lead. For the rest of the fairly long song, my attention is mainly on the beautiful diamond in front of me. Stars I have just met her and I'm already in love, the way she smiles, the awesome way that her golden eyes sparkle when the light hits just right.

The way that I had to show her a very some dance, stars, I wish this moment could last forever. "Stars, how long is this song" Yellow asks.

"Do you want to stop?" I almost completely stop moving "we can stop if you like"

"What? No, no, I don't want to stop. But I'm just noticing how long this song is" Yellow warmly smiles at me, I let out a sigh of relief.

We continue to dance around until Yellow decides to try and twirl me, as soon as she lifts me hand, she accidentally steps on my shimmering dress. I clumsily trip over my own feet and I start to fall back, but before I hit the ground, the sound of a sickening rip and shattered glass cuts through the room.

A lot of little things break my fall, but my wrists and butt are very sore, I let out a small whine and I sit up, I wince as I rub my sore wrists. I look at my now ruined dress. A long tear has formed from one of the slits in my dress, the tear went from the very bottom of the dress all the way to the very bottom of my bra.

My entire face starts to heat up as all the gems that have been dancing stare at me. "Oh my stars" Yellow lends me her gloved hand. "I'm so sorry Blue...i didn't mean to...it was an accident..." Yellow nervously stammers.

Once I'm on my feet, I look down at where I landed, a small crater with a bunch of orangeish speckles has formed where I landed. I quickly dust myself off and summon a veil to wrap around my waist.

"Yellow, I think I landed and shattered bunch of hessonites" I sadly say.

"Its-" Yellow gets cut off.

"Ok, I think that's going to be all for this ball" White diamond slides herself off of her throne and walks over to us.

"You two, my chambers, now" she quietly hisses. She places her hands on our backs and leads us out of the now almost deserted ballroom.

I hang my head lowly as we walk through the crowded halls, a sense of dread builds in me as we make our way closer to White diamond's chambers.

I gulp as the big white doors close behind us. White allows me to change in my normal one strap dress before she tears into us.

"Do you know how much damage you two caused?" White diamond yells.

I look up to say something, but Yellow quickly smacks my hand as a sign to tell me not to say anything. I sadly look back down at the ground.

"Twenty hessonites" White diamond angrily paces back and forth in front of us "you two managed to shatter twenty hessonites just by landing on them, you both are lucky that I don't put you in a bubble or worse"

White stops in front of us, she angrily pinches the bridge of her nose "now go before I decide to put you in a bubble".

Yellow grabs my hand and literally drags me out of White diamonds chambers. Once the doors close, I notice tears start to form in her eyes.

"B-blue I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for you to get in trouble" Yellow quietly cries.

I gently place my hand on her shoulder "hey its okay, you're fine" I wipe away a stray tear. She looks at me with tearful eyes "I want to say something before I have to go".

"What" she wipes away her tears.

I place a quick kiss on her lips and her entire face gets a few shades darker "thanks for dancing with me, and I love you".

Before she can reply back I quickly turn around and head for my chambers. I make it at least twenty feet before Yellow calls out " and I, you".

A warm feeling creeps into me, I wonder how much she thinks I actually mean it because it's a lot more than she truly knows.

Maybe this eternal life won't be so bad after all.

Well I hope y'all enjoyed that, except a new chapter of Gemlings next Saturday, bye

[heligooddeals]

There's a kind of love...

Over yonder in the land of Discord, via the Sanctuary Social, Blackguard and Sideswipe ( @wily-red-and-galeforce-gold​ ) do something... special. ♥

Transcript undercut.

NOTE: I’m leaving mun and muse user handles to help distinguish who wrote what (although I think it’s easy to tell @wily-red-and-galeforce-gold​‘s mastery apart from my mess). I am user Muddy, and Blackguard is user flyingbusiness. Wily is user Wily, and Sideswipe is user Recklessinred.

Muddy

flyingbusiness: I need to see you flyingbusiness: ASAP

Wily

Recklessinred: of course! As soon as I get released. What's up?

Muddy

flyingbusiness: I need to talk to you in person.

Wily

Recklessinred: is everyone ok? Recklessinred: give me like half a day. I'mma talk my way out of the medbay. I'm like 90 Percent better Recklessinred: that's a passing grade

Muddy

flyingbusiness: We're okay. It's not an emergency. flyingbusiness: I just... realized I need to do something and it's important you're around for it.

Wily

Recklessinred: oh! Surprises! I like those =D

Muddy

flyingbusiness: Good flyingbusiness: I hope this one lives up to the hype

Wily

Recklessinred: I'm free \o/

Muddy

flyingbusiness: Good! flyingbusiness: Now get your aft over here

Wily

Recklessinred: yes ma'am. OMW

Muddy

[coordinates, because their position of space has changed slightly]

Wily

Recklessinred: o7 Recklessinred: gimme like 30 minutes and I'll be there

Muddy

Thirty minutes; The perfect amount of time to make something feel short yet agonizingly long at the same time.

Blackguard tries to keep herself busy and distracted from the wait time by tidying up the various livable rooms of Crossfire, starting with the mess hall because it had initially seemed like the best place to sit down with Sideswipe. When it dawns on her just how trashy the room is for what she intends to do though she hurries to the office-living room, cleaning there until she realizes it's just too big and not nearly private enough. Then she glances over at her berthroom, wondering if would be appropriate to invite him there since it was the most private she had available but also HER room.

Lug stretches out on the floor behind her with a great big groan and sigh, drawing her attention over to him, and her optics naturally pass over the viewing windows as she looks. As she gazes out into the stars, wondering just how and where she's going to bare her soul to Sideswipe, an idea hits her and she eagerly looks to the ceiling. "Crossfire?"

"Yes, Blackguard?"

"Can you still do the magnetic thing? You know - when you keep someone grounded to the floor or to your form if we're outside?"

"Yes." A thoughtful hum passes through the whole ship before he asks, "Are you intending to go outside, Blackguard?"

"I am. If Sideswipe's clear to go anyway. So we'll see, okay? And don't say anything to him."

"Your secret is safe with me, Blackguard."

Wily

It doesn't take him too long to make his way over. In fact, for once he's actually early, and hadn't been sidetracked or turned around. But there were a couple of reasons for that.

For starters he genuinely just enjoyed hanging out with Blackguard. So heck yeah he was gonna come over when invited!

Secondly, he was curious.

Curious about what she wanted to see him about. He had an incessant to know, and curiosity was a constant driving force that ate away at him. You can't just ask him to come over, then cryptically proceed to tell him nothing. That could have meant a plethora of things. Was something going on? Was this all code to proceed with the loose haphazard plan to bust Blackguard out of her house arrest sentence?  Was something wrong? Was it something innocuous like "hey I was bored, wanna watch a movie and eat this cool new snack I ordered?"  Maybe it was a fun surprise.

Honestly though? Regardless of the reason,  her asking was enough to summon him.

So here he is.

Arrive he does, popping in to the ship, only mildly nauseous from the bridge trip. He announces himself with a weak but cheery, "Knock knock!

Muddy

A low rumble rolls through the ship when Sideswipe materializes within the supreme and Blackguard trills at the noise; Curious as to what had Crossfire making such a noise, then excited when she realized what/who it was.

"Coming!" She makes haste for the stairs to meet him on the lower deck, eager to get things going but now also mildly concerned for his health. He didn't sound so hot a moment ago and considering the state he had been in not that long ago...

"Hey." She walks up to him with as much casualness as she can muster, kneeling down to give him a loose hug and take a quick inspection of his shoulder. "How are you? Are you okay? You sounded kind of off earlier."

Wily

Don't worry, Blackguard. It's kind of difficult to tell if people are acting a little antsy when your world just tilted sideways. But he'll be fine. He needs a moment.

"I'm fiiiiine," He says a little airily and leans heavily into the hug. Maybe she meant to keep it loose and casual, but he's going to cling a little. Because it helps keep the world from spinning. "All fixed up!" And a little motion sick but maybe if he pretended he wasn't it would go away quicker.

But even after the vertigo ebbs he doesn't let go right away. Instead he tips his helm up, and offers a cheeky grin. "Hi."

"Sooooo," He stage whispers, "Gonna tell me the secret before I actually combust? I wanna knoooow."

Muddy

"Sure, sure." If Sideswipe wants a HUG then, by god, he's getting a HUG. It's not like they're hard to give (especially with their drastic size difference) and Blackguard is always happy to give and receive those kinds of hugs. She'll be mindful of his shoulder though and keep the squeezing around it to a minimal. Everything else on the other hand? It's all getting squeezed to death and then some until he starts wiggling around. Then she'll ease up, look back at him, and hum affectionately.

"Hi." She shifts, easing back on the embrace and carefully resting her hands over his shoulders, then gets down on both knees and sits back on her legs. "So... You're... One of the best mechs I've ever known, and probably one of the best friends I've ever had." A humorless laugh escapes her and she looks at the floor a moment before forcing herself to look back at him. "And that's not really saying much because I've had some really worthless ones too. But, you're good. You're more than good. You're... You're perfect honestly. You're kind, and wonderful, and--" Air hitches in her vents and she lets out another laugh, this one genuine. It's hard to speak with all these emotions bubbling up and getting caught in her throat, so she blurts out: "Will you be my amica endura?"

Wily

They're almost optic to optic like this. Him swaying as he stands, while she kneels and puts them at a more equal standing. Their size difference is comical but the companionship is comfortable. Especially now that the last waves of vertigo have burned away. Instead that tilting sick feeling fades, and it’s replaced by curiosity, and a breezy sort of excited energy.  He’s not sure what for yet, but there’s anticipation. He’s smiling boyishly, excited by the things he might be told whatever that might be. Secrets? Something new? Was it time for plan 'jail break.’? Maybe it was nothing important at all and even that was fine. Whatever it was he was ready. He was- …

He wasn't ready for that.

First it was the nice words. Sweet words that even now were always like little surprises. He craved them the little positive reinforcements.

The positive things, and assurances... that he was good. That someone important saw him that way, despite seeing some of the worst of him. That gave his spark a squeeze.

He didn't let his thoughts linger on that too much. Instead he basked in the nice things, albeit a little confused, his grin making his cheeks hurt.

But as much as it warmed him to hear, it was... he wasn't sure what to say? So he ducked his helm, and laughed a little sheepishly. "Pffffft, you've got a weird definition of perfect. Ha...."

A pause. "You really consider me one of your best friends? Wow, I don't know what I did but go me! I mean you're pretty great your-"

And then he hears what she asks.

And then he thinks for a moment to remember what that is.

And his face does something complicated. Bemusement. Realization. A smile, because he figures it out! The smile gives way to shock as it hits him what it all means put together.

And then articulately-

-he proceeds to say nothing.

And in stunned silence he stares.

Muddy

She figured he would be like this - to a point. After he cried and submitted to her temporary grounding because of the last confession she gave to him, it was easy to anticipate a similar reaction to this confession. She didn't think he'd fall victim to a blue screen of death however and became mildly concerned when he suddenly cut himself off, giving no indication that the thought would continue or be derailed by another any time soon. Part of her even began to worry that this was a calm before a storm and rejection was looming on the horizon, but she did her best to ignore the insecure thought. She and Sides were good.

Probably.

Hopefully.

"Sides?" Tilting her helm, she rubs her hand over his good shoulder and brightens her visor. "You still with me?"

Wily

He blinks almost owlishly, the hand smoothing over his shoulder nudging some life back into him.

"Uhuh," He answers softly, with a distracted nod.  Still, even hazy as he sounds, his optics are still wide and locked on her.

It's a weird sensation. A swelling in his chest, and a knot in his throat, and like all of his systems collectively seized into uselessness on him.  It's warm, and cold, and he likes it, but he doesn't understand it and it's a lot. It's a lot, even if it's not showing that it's a lot. Not yet. The bewilderment is keeping everything at bay.

Eventually his brows knit, and a thousand things are flitting through his head, but the only thing he can snag from the chaos is-

"Why?"

The 'me' is unspoken, but hangs there.

Muddy

"Why.. what?" She mimics his question with her one, tilting her helm a few degrees more before straightening it out. "Like, why do I want to do this? Or..?"

Wily

"I...yeah? But... Why me?" He's still looking at her with that confusion in his optics. There's a fight in his head. Some creeping warm thing at war with incomprehension. It's an odd strain and maybe that's why his voice cracks in a way that's equally confusing. "Why would... why would you want this with me? I don't-"

Muddy

Relief washes over while a dagger simultaneously twists itself in her spark chamber. This wonderful, thoughtful, kind, loving, caring, fun, hilarious, and energetic mech was asking because he didn't understand why he'd qualify for such an honorable position? Clearly she needs to be a better friend - amica - to him then, so he'd understand exactly why he and he alone was the best mech she's known.

"Sideswipe." She cooes, dimming her visor to a gentle 'smile' as she cups the sides of his face, ready to whick any tears he might shed. "Why wouldn't I want to do this? Out of everyone I've ever called my amica, you're the only mech I've really felt... Good about saying it too. The only one I'd be saddened if I lost forever because it'd mean I failed SPECTACULARLY at being a worthy friend. And I would like to keep you around forever, if at all possible." She laughs, visor glowing a shade brighter. "There's literally no one else I'd want to bear my spark to either. Out of everyone, you deserve that part of me. I owe you that much, I think."

Wily

He stares at her in awe.

She thought all of that about him? But...he was chaotic. Impulsive. Naiive about some things, and too practiced in others. Practiced in not great, destructive things. To hear what she had to say so succinctly like that? It was-

It wasn't surprising though.

She had such things to him before. In snippets. In a longer sparkfelt moment. Still, to hear it now with such earnestness and warmth... it hit him square in those vulnerable things, soothing over them with the reminder that people thought he was good. Even though he was flawed.

She knew he was flawed. And still cared for him. For the all of him.

Like he cared for her. The all of her. The wry humor, the patience, the worry she showed in her own way, the exasperation, the silliness, the vulnerability and highs and lows, the give and the take-

People he cared about, cared about him too. And he knew that. Of course he did, but sometimes a reminder had a way of sneaking up on you before blindsiding you with something raw.

Affection. Wonder. Why wonder though? He knew these things didn't he? But sometimes things being spelled out-

She thought all of that of him? She deemed him that important to her?

That was kind of amazing. But it was a surprise, and not a surprise in equal measure.

Because they were friends right? Slowly, gradually, over time they got to this point. Somewhere odd, but strangely comfortable and obvious right?

"Oh," He manages to get out a watery laugh. His vision is misting but he's all grins again. A bright smile has broken across his face as the confusion is blown  away by something giddy.

He slips past the hands on his cheeks, and gives her a hug again. Because why not? How could he not? Not with this odd happy buzz coursing through his lines. The tears would just have to get free reign for a bit. "Neat. Cool. So what do I have to do? Does this mean I get to be one of your 'super best friends?'"

Muddy

Arguably, she was rushing into things - like she had done before and always seemed to do, especially with amica endurae. Jitter had earned the title from her because they were both mechs stumbling into the multiverse and wanted to have an amica to count on if they ever got lost or overwhelmed. Blackout was rewarded with the title after he had taken initiative to search for her while she was lost in the grey and took care of Rigel and Starflare in her absence. Megatron became her amica because he was always willing to act as a pillar of strength for her when disaster struck.

But then Jitter found love and ran away while Blackout became jealous and hateful, and when Megatron got busy with rebuilding Cybertron Blackguard started to wonder if it was them or her. In some cases fault could be found with them, but in all of the cases she was at fault. She rushed into everything, she declared love for them because they had helped her, and made that dependency the foundation of their relationship. It was why she started pushing Sideswipe (and others) away when Redstrike left to go to war; She didn't want to be dependent on them, to fall back into the cycle of rushing into things, and making a moment into a bigger deal than it actually was.

But Sideswipe pushed back. He insisted he was capable of helping her, of comforting her, and doing whatever she needed if she'd only ask for it first - or nothing at all if she truly wanted that. Whatever she needed, he'd provide because they were friends and that's what friends did for each other.

And she cracked.

Maybe this was another disaster in the making. Maybe she was rushing into something again. Maybe they were doomed but she didn't care. She loved him now and he loved her in return, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

"Oh." She mimics him, teasing because it was such a simple word that somehow said so much. Oh, that's why. Oh, wow, you really do care. Oh, this is really happening.

Her arms quickly wrap themselves around him again, falling back into the usual position of an all-consuming, lovingly crushing hug that she had grown use to giving him. A little extra squeeze was given as she chuckles, tickled by his adorable questions and feeling a wave of warmth spread through her frame. "Yeah, you're going to be one my super best friends. And all you have to do is stand back from me a bit, okay?"

Wily

He shakes his helm at the request, but makes no move to let go. Not at first. He allows himself to remain anchored to her for at least a good couple of minutes before he finally relents, tries to wipe his face on his shoulder (the tears just smear), and shuffles back.

Amica Endura. This isn't a title that existed where he was from, and he only learned about it recently. And maybe that unfamiliarity didn't give the words the same weight that they held elsewhere. The same kneejerk meaning.

They didn't need to.

No, the fact that they meant something meaningful to Blackguard, was enough to make it meaningful to him. It meant something to her, and was something precious from where she was from and she was willing to share that with him. That spoke volumes.

Even if titles weren't as clear to him friendship was.

Friendship was a simple yet complicated thing after all. An intricate collection of thousands of little moments and feelings, good and bad that summed together made a bond. A meaningful bond. Through thick or thin right? Like a collection of little threads that could strengthen or fray. It wasn't always easy to maintain them, but they could be added too and the resulting bonds were more than worth it. The care and love and shared experiences good and bad were worth it.

So he didn't know what to expect. He didn't know the customs, and barely remembered the title 'Amica Endura' meant a moment ago. But nevertheless, as a giddy anticipation burned through him. As the knot in his throat grew, he stood expectently and waited. Albeit a little antsy. "Like this?"

Muddy

A couple of seconds versus a couple of minutes versus a couple of hours; There's not much difference between the three beats of time in comparison to the long lasting lifespan of a Transformer. So when you've got two mechs who thrive off of physical affection, extended hugs are bound to happen without anybody noticing or complaining about them - especially in rare moments like these where trouble was put off to the side and happiness was brought to focus. Happiness, and love.

"Just like that." Blackguard assures, 'smilingly' brightly, and resettles into her knelt position before closing her optics. Drawing in a long cycle of air, she holds the breath in her system for a moment before slowly releasing it, the multiple layers of protective metal and plating on her chassis folding back as she exhaled until there was nothing - absolutely nothing - between her spark and Sideswipe.

She opens her optics then casts away her visor, looking directly at him as the light of her spark illuminates his face.

"I bid you stand in the glow of my spark that you may feel the heat of my words and know them to be true. I invite you to receive my light and in doing so becoming Amica Endura—from now until forever. For your kindness and your love of life, both your's and everyone around you. For your boundless energy and your endless humor. For your optimism and your hope." Her digits twitch and in an act of impulse, Blackguard takes Sideswipe's hands in both of hers, then squeezes them. "As you are to me, may I be to you—today, tomorrow, and always."

Wily

He's stunned.

It takes a moment for his helm to catch up with what he's seeing. He hears the mechanisms in her plating unlatch and fold back. Then there's a light washing them both out, bleaching their colors pale.

Oh.

It's the light of the all of her. And he doesn't know what to do.

Plenty of people had seen Sideswipe's spark before. Mostly during medical checks or as they peiced him back together. So for the longest time Sideswipe knew that exposing it was something that should be avoided simply from a survival perspective.

In the last few years he had learned that there could be more to it than that. He had learned the other implications. What it meant to others to show this part of you. In a variety of ways. He learned through listening, talking, and growing with a love.

Your spark was everything you were. Your core. Your soul. If some were to believed an imprint of your memories. Showing it meant you were at your most vulnerable. To expose it to someone willingly...that meant trust, right? An immense trust.

He didn't know what to expect for this, what she would do, but he hadn't expected this. So, snaps back to the present, pieces together the implications, and it makes him feel lightheaded. Bowled him right over again.

So he stands there brows knitted, optics wide as the air catches in his vent. He tries to say something, but can't. But that's fine because Blackguard is talking instead... Making a pledge of friendship that thunders in his helm, and makes his bottom lip wobble.

So he sucks in a breath, and forgets the curtain of cleanser welled in his optics because it doesn't really matter if he can see. It's really bright anyways.

"I," there for sure are tears but he's never been one to be ashamed to feel things. Why should he? Especially when those things are happy. "I... I don't know what to- You mean all that? I- what am-? Am I supposed to do something back? Like trust falls? I-"

So for a moment he fidgets and panics, and flusters about feeling suddenly on the spot because he's not sure what he should be doing with himself. But if it's a show of trust-

He finally exhales, and his own plating fold back exposing his own light. Spinning like a young star behind the crystal casing, before that shifts back too.

He suddenly looks a little unsure and teary, but still awed under it all. "Um. I'm not whole like you are, and I just have the pieces but..um... samesies?"

A pause.

"....Wow. That was lame of me. Did I just  ruin the thing?"

Muddy

In hindsight, Blackguard realizes a little too late that she should have gone over the intricacies of the ritual with him and spare him the feeling of being lost and overwhelmed in a foreign ceremony. It would have been the polite and intelligent thing to do anyway, but her eagerness to move forward with him pushed aside any and all forethought she could have had at the moment and hurdled them both into the ritual without any hesitation.

That kind of made things a little more special though too, in its own unique way. No two proposals she had previously gone through were the same, but this one was now a special little case of its own because she chose to bare her spark to him and cite the amicable chant, which she hadn't done for the others, and he returned the gesture. It was an unnecessary but wholesome move that forever made the moment special in her spark.

"No." She laughs and pulls one of her hands back to wipe at her optics a moment, whisking away the joyful tears that refused to stop leaking out despite her best efforts to keep them locked down. "No, you did great. What you said was perfect, Sides. Thank you."

And with nothing left to say, with all their love and their truths and their souls laid out, Blackguard pulls Sideswipe in for one last hug - carefully, to keep her spark from lining up with his and doing things it needn't do between them. It still reacts to the presence of another though, glowing brighter as if to reach out with its light, and burning hot in her core. She ignores the urges it feeds her and squeezes with all the strength she dare to use on the little lambo, turning to 'kiss' the top of his helm. "Thank you, Sideswipe. For everything."

Wily

The hug is more than a relief. It's an assurance that he didn't mess up. But more than that it gave him something to do with all that building excited energy. So he clings to her again, teary and laughing even though he doesn't completely understand why. But this feels important.

His crystal casing folds back over his spark, shattering the light through it's surface. And eventually chest plates follow, but even with the light of the room dimmer he's still so very bright.

He feels the press to his helm and laughs, watery as it sounds. "Thanks? I should thank you too." For not writing him off as a dumb kid. For listening. For being there.

He cuddles closer before tipping his helm up, "Sorry for improvising. So is it official? Super special friend status?"

Muddy

"We're official." Another 'kiss' is pressed to the side of his helm and Blackguard gives him one last loving squeeze before pulling away - if only to get enough space to cover up her sparkchamber without pinching him in the process. "Super special best amica friends for life. Or until you get sick of me." She hums, pulling him back in and rocking him around for a bit. "Cause unfortunately for you, I like you too much to get tired of you. So you're stuck with me forever."

Wily

He's laughing, and teary. Once her chest closes back up, as if magnitized, he falls right back against her so those hugs can resume. He doesn't want to let go. Not yet, when he feels flooded by that affection he so desperately craves. "Usually *sniff* I'm the one saying that. So I guess that means you're stuck with me until you get sick of me too."

And you know? He was fine with that. For the long haul, if it meant more moments that felt like this

[recentanimenews]

Please Adopt Us, Professor Oak

  Few characters in the history of anime or video games have been as consistently lovable as Professor Samuel Oak, chief researcher of the Kanto region and all-around goofball. He confidently introduces you to the elaborate world of Pokémon and then promptly forgets the names of both you and his own grandson, despite the fact that you each live roughly twelve feet from him. He is quick to provide pointers and tips for completing your journey, but also can't read the room enough to keep from saying things like "You thought your Krabby was big, Ash? CHECK OUT GARY'S KRABBY." He's considered an authority on all things Pokémon, but for some reason, he's also randomly decided that he's the right person to judge your photography skills, too.

  In short, Professor Oak is great. And I want him to adopt me. I want him to adopt us all.

    And why not? My main interest is Pokémon anyway, so we'd have plenty to talk about. In fact, he's so interested in Pokémon in the games that everything else comes in a distant second.

The names of his family members? Eh, not important.

Picking up his own parcels from the PokéMart? Can't some random ten-year-old do it for him instead?

His relationships with others? The Elite 4 is so eager to hang out with him that they include "Professor Oak, please come visit us!" on a mass email. That's absurd. It'd be like if LeBron James wrote an inspirational letter to everyone in the world and ended each one with "Tell Bill Gates that we need to chill sometime." He's apparently been so bad about returning their phone calls that when Elite 4 member Agatha meets you, a fifth-grader, she spends half her opening speech explaining how pissed off she is at him.

  His status is so renowned that he takes over games that he's not even the main professor in. In Gold, Silver and Crystal, you're tasked with visiting a man named Mr. Pokémon on Route 30 by Professor Elm. Mr. Pokémon? He must know a ton about Pokémon if he's literally named himself after their entire taxonomic rank. Oh, but Professor Oak is here! I know that guy! Mr. Pokémon? Who cares!? Oak is here! 

  It's not like Oak is completely foreign to being a Dad. One of the biggest rumors in Pokémon history is that he's actually Ash Ketchum's father. But he'd also be tons of fun. When Ash sleeps in too late to get one of the three starter 'mons, Oak is just cool with letting him take this angry electric thing that he found in the woods. He bet Gary a million dollars that Ash would have caught at least one Pokémon by the time Ash got to Viridian City, which means that he's both generous with money and also probably in deep, desperate trouble with the IRS. He's super kind, too. I mean, he let Tracey Sketchit be his laboratory assistant. Do you know how much goodwill you have to have in your heart to hang out with Tracey Sketchit on a daily basis and also pay him for it?

    If you're not sold on the Professor Oak from the main game series or the anime, might I interest you in one of the many other Professor Oaks? For example, we have the Oak from Pokémon Snap who will help you succeed in the field of photography with advice like "I know I put you in a golf cart and sent you into a volcano, but this angry Charizard is just a little out of frame." Or, if you're unsure about having Professor Oak as a father, you can still have him as a daddy with handsome Oak from the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga.

  However, if "fun and clumsy" isn't your speed, then consider the Professor Oak from the Pokémon Adventures manga, someone who disguises himself as "Dr. O" in order to teach Green a lesson about stealing. He does this by, ummm, using her childhood trauma from being kidnapped by a large bird against her, causing her to lose in the Pokémon League semi-finals. That seems like a little bit of an overkill. Also, when Oak isn't studying evolutions and Pokémon behavior, he's apparently hitting his lab's weight room.

  Okay, so you might not be convinced yet, but may I interest you in other Oaks, like the pun-loving Samson Oak from Alola? He's Samuel Oak's cousin and also lives near the beach in a tropical paradise. Not to diss Pallet Town, but it doesn't exactly scream "vacation spot."

    Or maybe you'd like Grand Oak, the host of the recently introduced Pokémon Home. He seems pretty fun, though I'm not exactly sure if he's real or if he's a computer program. He kinda looks like he'd be the star of a VHS tape that tells kids how to use Windows 95 through the magic of hip hop, but that might not be a bad thing.

    Anyway, there are plenty of them to choose from if you're an Oak connoisseur like myself. And what's the worst that could happen? He forgets your name? Just tell him a new one. It's what we've been doing for years.

  Who is your favorite Professor Oak? Let me know in the comments!

  -----------------

  Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

    By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[eastsolis02]

“I dare you to kiss me.”

[ PROMPT ]  Friends or more? Sentence Starters

     Because of orchestra rehearsals, Kibum and Dongsun didn’t get a chance to spend time at the music room. Instead, they headed straight to Kibum’s place. It felt so vacant with Kibum as its only resident, so Dongsun felt relieved he could be of company sometimes. 

     He couldn’t voice it out, but there was genuine concern felt towards his senior. Kibum was alone all the time, and he looked so… distant. So every time he looked Dongsun’s way, his heart stopped. He felt that distracting Kibum from his pensive state on occasion was more than enough. He didn’t know what else he could do for him.

     And it wasn’t like he expected much in return, either. He loved Kibum. A little too much. No, he loved him with everything he had. But he didn’t know what to do with these feelings. So far, he could only see himself react to Kibum’s advances. The embraces, the kisses, getting lost in passion… Dongsun’s face turned red at the mere recollection of those afternoons. Going as far as that… That meant Kibum loved him too, right? Or that he had even the teeniest bit of feelings for Dongsun?

     Whatever the answer was, Dongsun was happy to live in this moment. Where he was next to him, listening to him strum his guitar and singing a song he also knew the lyrics too. They wrote this one together. He didn’t want to be an intrusion to it, so he swayed and hummed along instead. Dongsun hugged his knees the entire time, lost in his own blissful world of song and romance.

     And after the performance ended, Dongsun pulled away from his own knees. He gave enthusiastic claps accompanied with a bright and love-struck expression. He always loved listening to Kibum sing. It was what gravitated him towards him in the first place. That, and countless other things that shaped into this little thing called love.

     Kibum placed his guitar against the wall, letting out a breath. Dongsun tilted his head, eyes filled with concern almost immediately. “What’s wrong, hyung?”

     He didn’t speak a word, wrapping his arms around Dongsun instead. Dongsun blushed quicker than he processed the fact he was in Kibum’s arms again. He was slow to react, reaching out to return the embrace. “Nothing. It’s been… a long day,” he replied. 

     “Oh, okay.” He gulped, nodding. His heart ended up racing for no reason. It was silly when he overreacted to even the simplest of gestures. But when his world revolved around Kibum, what he did was everything to him. “It feels nice… Being in your arms. It’s like I’m going to melt.”

     He heard a soft chuckle, causing Dongsun to smile wide and his heart to jump. “Don’t melt. I want you to do something for me.”

     “Huh?” Dongsun blinked. Before anything else, Kibum pulled away. The embrace felt way too short, but he was also curious to his senior’s request. It was something that didn’t happen often, so of course he was all ears.

     Kibum stared into Dongsun’s eyes, sending a message that the younger couldn’t decipher. He ended up as a blushing mess instead. The gaze was too much, as if he intended Dongsun to be on the verge of explosion. 

     “I’ve always done so much for you. So I want you to return the favor.”

     Anyone else would ask why he would say something like that out of the blue. But Dongsun being Dongsun, he agreed to it without a second thought. “O-Of course. I don’t know if I can give hyung everything he needs, but if you ask me, I’ll still try to do it the best way I can.”

     Kibum chuckled again. Dongsun couldn’t get enough of it as his flush darkened. “That’s the spirit. Anyway…” He rested his hand atop Dongsun’s, leaning forward. “I want you to kiss me.”

     …

     And Dongsun’s brain function ended then and there. “…What?”

     “No, that sounds boring. Ah– I dare you to kiss me. Mm, sounds way better.”

     Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! 

     “U-Uh, I’m…”

     Dongsun bit his bottom lip, avoiding Kibum’s irresistible gaze. Was he messing with him? It didn’t feel fun at all. Then again, Kibum was the one who kept on giving in this relationship. Dongsun felt like he hadn’t done anything at all. Did confessing even count now that they were together? 

     He then fidgeted as Kibum tried to meet his eyes. He was doing this on purpose! And yet, he couldn’t do anything about it. What was the use of whining when he agreed to it from the start?

     He ducked his head to the sight of their hands touching. He could hear his own heart pounding inside his ears. The sound was almost deafening, even. Was this a test? Did Kibum not feel he was being loved enough because Dongsun didn’t show a lot? It was easier to say how much he loved him, but acting it out was a different story altogether.

     Dongsun gulped. Hands shook like crazy as he placed one on the shoulder. It felt awkward from the get-go. Kibum must think that Dongsun was lame like this already. He couldn’t help it. He wasn’t as suave and cool as his senior. All he had going for him was his heart on his sleeve for all to see.

     He pressed his own lips together as he gathered the willpower and courage to lean forward. It should be easy, right? They have done this so many times already. And yet… Even with closed eyes and newfound motivation, he caved into his cowardice. He hid his head against Kibum’s neck, his fist curling on his shirt instead.

     “I-I’m sorry. I can’t… I… I don’t know how to. But please, don’t think that I don’t love you because I can’t. My heart can’t take it. I’m not ready for it. But… I love you more than everyone and everything. I’m not as good at this as you. Even if I do my best, I know you’ll always be better at it. But I love kissing you too. I love everything that we do. Like, staying by your side makes me already so happy I’d die. I-I can’t believe we’re together like this even now. It feels like it’s a dream to me. So, um, I’m sorry… I understand if you don’t want to kiss me after this…”

     Tears already formed at the corner of his shut eyes. I’m sure I look like the biggest fool now. Hyung shouldn’t want anything to do with me– His eyes opened when he felt Kibum cup his cheek. He didn’t know if he saw things, but he swore something twinkled on the other’s eyes.

     “Are you kidding me? You gave me a confession of a lifetime. Who cares if you’re shy?”

     Oh. Dongsun rambled so much, he was shy all along? And Kibum knew immediately?

     “Sorry. I might have had a bit too much fun with this.” 

     As natural as things could be, Kibum closed the distance, pressing his lips against his. Like pieces of a puzzle that were a perfect fit together. Dongsun could feel himself melting again, falling all over again.

     “I love you.”

     “Huh?”

     Did he hear that right? It might be his imagination, but if Kibum told him he loved him, then he could actually die right then and there. // @multiplythatbyinfinity

[senzacaponecoda]

it seems that the major pAA recons. are both fundamentally using mass comparison

Ehret’s... it’s not clear what his techniques are in retrospect, tho maybe I’m a bad reader. But he completely disregards Libyc/Amazight, for starters. His semantic tolerance is astoundingly wide, getting a root that might mean something like “to flow” out of “to spill down”, “sweat”, “fish” and “diarrhea” (with 11 other “to flow” roots, some others also made of diarrhea), and also tends to group antonyms together without identifying clear negative, voice changing, or ad/abessive morphemes. Despite that, he connects tons of roots together by one or two radicals (consonant phonemes), and when he has polyradical roots that look related but differ by like t’ or ħ or r or something, he has lists of verb extensions with names like “durative fortative” that often have multiple members in their type and often the same extension-radical will belong to multiple extension types. With that said, because of his ideas on pre-Proto-Semitic, these verb extensions have given him a kind of verb-fetish, so you’ll often see a ton of roots where, like, they all mean “knife”, but he has to reconstruct the meaning “to cut”. He also seems to cherry pick the data - using words isolated within their families, or reconstructing roots known in only two branches of the family, some even in heavy contact or really poorly supported as pAA like Omotic. But he does have some robust, actually defensible etymologies here and there, even a few I think that might go on beyond the core that you could probably reconstruct by eyeballing a few grammars.

Orel and Stolbova have a different approach than just eyeballing it, involving an index card database and semi-blind multiple person sortition technique that's actually somewhat clever and leads to more robust etymologies overall, because at least all of their root cards tend to have the same definition, and those definitions tend to be the reconstruction. But... it's not enough to rescue the book really. They commit sometimes the same cherry picking of data or paucity of sources issue, although it’s noticably rarer in my opinion. They share with Ehret a number of problems including a habit of reconstructing unstable roots (such as words prone to the euphemism treadmill, geographic terms, clothes, technology such as ahistorical metalworking, words prone to being cycled like “child”, “woman”, or really problematic words that are almost certainly onomatopoeia or similar issues). They’re apparently specialized in Cushitic languages, but Helmut Satzinger wrote some remarks a while ago rectifying a number of their Egyptian roots (https://www.academia.edu/3705668/_An_Egyptologist_s_perusal_of_the_Hamito-Semitic_Etymological_Dictionary_of_Orel_and_Stolbova_._Lingua_Aegyptia_15_2007_143_160 ) . They basically fail to really screen for borrowings; something made from Omotic and something like Tsamakko probably aren’t reliable, nor really are language families in extensive contact like Somali and the Semitic languages compared to something like Omotic and Libyc (which are more likely to be archaisms) or like Egyptian and Chadic maybe. But multiple Ethiopian Area attestations and nothing in Libyc.

None of them really address morphosyntax or id auxiliary chains or such. They both handle the pronoun systems but seem to do so as-is; it’s a since-then thing since these books are as old as I am but since the understanding that pAA was likely nominative-absolutative (marked nominative, basically ergative absolutative except in the one single way that makes ergative-absolutative languages ergative-absolutative) and some evidence from Egyptian that the -nt pronouns of the new kingdom were likely based on roots like *alit- because Egn had r/l/n confusion it’s likely the n pronouns of most of AA is coincidental. Basically the warning that comparing short words leads to false positives happened. But other than a couple inescapable morphemes like -at and the s causative, there’s no real regard for case, class, number, voice, aspect, tense, or mood, just a few derivational morphemes like the -an denominalizer that might be a false positive because cross-linguistically, -an is not exactly stable.

Right now I’m combing through O and S’s for their better etymologies, and I’m entering them into a spreadsheet where I already have Ehret’s (although I think I actually gave him more of the benefit of the doubt - only requiring two or more words with the same gloss, whereas for O and S I’m requiring 3). So far they already have more than twice the number of entries I got from Ehret, but they also have I think 4 times the number of roots. Their vowel systems are completely incompatible and while it’s not clear if tone is pAA or not (O and S don’t bother with it (which is probably telling if their work in Cushitic is respectable)), their consonant systems look fairly similar (although proto-Semetic-y, although that might be inescapable since they are comparatively complex and conservative). I think wiktionary or wikipedia have an article going over where they actually overlap and while the way it’s worded paints the works in a bad light (if only like 20 out of over a thousand roots overlap, at least one of you is probably conlanging) I want to see for myself if that’s true, or if it’s like they’re systemically not comparing *ĉ’onar to *tl’uun- or something, where they have the same root (ĉ is tl) but slightly different opinions on things

[botslayer]

Thunder Cats Roar: The hatred of Cal Arts coming to a head because...?

Okay, We all, at this point, know about “Thundercats: Roar” Which has earned the Ire of Many MANY fans of the original. Generally because of the style of not only animation but genre the show seems to be going for. So, I want to give my Two Cents, cool? Cool.  So what’s the problem with the Style of animation? A lot of people use, what is basically a catchall term, “CalArts Style.” For those not familiar, CalArts is the short version of “California Institute of Arts.” This is basically an Art School with quite a few people who have shows these days. Now, why is this a problem? Well for starters, The style most people have walking out of there is similar, I think we’ve all seen the following quasi-meme. 

Yeah, Weird, isn’t it? Now, Here is ThunderCats Roar:

It’s got a lot of color, if nothing else. Kinda looks actiony, I guess. But Otherwise, it kinda looks ugly and fairly sloppy. The characters look more fat than muscular, And yes, I’m well aware that Proper Muscle, not just from bodybuilding, like actually going out and getting super fit, makes you look more broad, But the anatomy doesn't QUITE sell that.  Compare that image, while you’re at it, to shit from the original show or from the 2011 Reboot. 

The original show, while the designs on the kids were funky in all the wrong ways, Had detail and knew how to get across the musculature of its characters, I wouldn’t want to run across ANY of these people in a dark alley, I’d probably get killed. Especially Panthro, Spikey bastich. Buuuut, one look at Lion-O if no one else, and I get this vibe, Like “He means no harm” He’s a guardian, a protector. And on top of all of that, they pulled off fairly fluid animation despite the time frame. 

Mind you, the latter is a low res pic, But the point stands that the character Designs in the 2011 reboot were actually pleasing to the human eye. I could tell all of these people, just from a glance, while fairly fit and probably deadly if they wanted to be, are actually decent people, and the kids don’t look too weird anymore. This show had more heart in these two frames it almost seems, than that poster up above. So that’s actually part of the reason this new direction pisses people off, we HAD a reboot that was actually well drawn and had heart, the only reason it failed was because Cartoon Network didn’t know how/want to Market it and put in a bad time slot as either an ill-fated boast or out of genuine stupidity, no one knows.  Now, I by no means “Grew up” with either show, but I enjoyed the 2011 series during its run and the original is still a legacy series, It had a lot of people that loved it to death, it is, to this day, the subject of one of the longest-running “Who would win” debates, “Lion-O or He-Man?” The second series looked better than the original, and now Roar is happening, with what most consider to be an inferior style to the show from (At present) seven years ago. 

This isn’t just fanboys hating reboots, it’s people spurned by an idiot network that then re-uses a licence they fucked up on the first go. And let’s actually talk about the “Cal Arts Style” thing for a minute? Okay? I don’t hate the Cal Arts Style. It’s just a lot of shows are using it right now. Compare it to back in the day, Courage the cowardly dog, Ed, Edd, and Eddy, etc. Most of the shows then looked different. Cal arts has become somewhat ubiquitous as a style, and let’s talk about the shows that use it, namely the four listed above in the meme.

The Amazing World Of Gumball:

The Watersons, the main family from the Amazing World of Gumball. 

Tina And Bobert, side characters from the same show. Do you see how the styles are different from the Watersons? That’s one thing that helps Gumball stand out, all the different styles working with each other, all of them pretty well animated and the show is still good from a writing stand point. 

Gravity Falls:

Gravity falls has (Mostly) good characters, good fluid animation, an interesting setup, and fairly unique monsters and plots. Those things all help it stand out.  Star vs the forces of Evil: 

Star is like Gravity falls, the characters and unique monsters keep it afloat, you also have aspects IN THE NAME that are evocative of Older Cartoons, the idea that our heroes are always justified. “Well those guys are evil, aren’t they?” And then later it gets twisted on its head. Star is a good show for those reasons and more, you feel me? But let’s get on to my favorite one form that little example list:  Steven Universe: 

I want to make something clear, I LIKE STEVEN UNIVERSE! The music is captivating, The animation is usually pretty awesome, the characters are great, the designs are fairly memorable, the world it built is at a Transformers level of top-notch... Until the most recent twist. Like whoever wrote that was on something. Also, just to air my grievances, the animation fuck ups are numerous. Don’t blindly be like “Well that’s just hate.” “You aren’t an Animator” Etc. It’s not hate, it is a COMMON criticism of the show, and I may not be an animator, but I’m not an actor either and I can tell you when an actor screws up. Okay? The show is good but it’s flawed.

Now, What did all the shows (Save for Thundercats Roar) have in common save for the head shapes more or less?

... Give up?

THEY WERE ALL ORIGINAL. 

They built their own worlds, made their own characters, had their own thing going on. While they have slightly similar styles, the lot of them are so unique from both each other and generally what came before that it beggars belief.  And what about Thundercats: Roar? It’s appropriating an old show for no godsdamned reason. Theoretically, you sometimes do that to attract the old fan base or get attention. Transformers gets away with it because it has 1100000 reboots and separate universes and shit, whereas Thundercats Roar is the Teen Titans Go of the franchize. If nothing else, that’s how it comes across. Plus, the animation in the shows above is actually Better. Roar looks like one of those wonky sketches from MAD.  Those are my thoughts. Other shows built their own worlds, Roar looks like crap, and we lost a show that looks better than this fairly recently. Okay? That is why I HATE Roar. It has basically no spark of its own. 

[sunnysidewrites]

Flower Boy!Jeonghan

Requested by anon: Flower boy Jeonghan!!  

HEY HEY HEY GUESS WHO FINALLY PICKED UP THE SLACK AND WROTE THIS AFTER AN ENTIRE WEEK OF PROMISING TO :))) I’m so sorry yall this was supposed to be part of Jeonghan’s bday present but rip!!! THANKS TO @kakaotaeks FOR HELPING ME OUT WITH THIS!! who knows where this would be if i didn’t use the flower boy cafe au yIKES!! happy belated bday my angel + devil!! happy reading my children!!!

warnings: i still have 1 last super angsty piece for jeonghan, so i tried to make this p fluffy :))) and who knows when i’ll even finish that piece so :))) hang on tight to this fluff while you can! and also jeonghan is a cheesy goofball who’s bad at literature

This was originally gonna be Florist!Jeonghan but thank the heavens y’all don’t have to read the lame idea I had before elena came up w this

Shoutout to my b!!!

BASED ON OURAN KISS KISS FALL IN LUV

tHIS IS SO CUTE OK OK LETS GET 2 WORK

You’re in your usual literature class lecture hall and you’re sitting a few rows behind,,,,

The one and only, Yoon Jeonghan

Campus heartthrob

With looks like that though??? Can scREW ME UP

You’re staring at the back of his fluffy blonde locks as he studiously scribbles down his notes in his beaten torn notebook

Every time you try to refocus on the professor, your eyes just drift back to his short hair that looks a little too tempting to run your fingers through

By the time you prep yourself to focus on taking notes for the twentieth time that hour, everyone is packing their things and you’re like n OO OO NOT AGAIN

“Let me guess: Jeonghan?” Your friend nonchalantly brings up as they’re stuffing their folder in their bag

You sigh and get up to pack your things along

“I don’t even know why he’s so distracting… just something about him”

They’re shaking their head and smile knowingly bc it’s just so damn oBV I O US WHY

“You know that hot cafe that just opened everyone’s been raving about?”

“The Diamond? What about it?”

They smile even wider and are like, “do you know who got a job as a cute waiter?”

“,,,,,,,,,,,,What are you trying to say”

“Maybe you can finally get that number you’re always babbling about?”

And you’re like oh my god pl S STop but you’re right tho :/

You finally have some time off from your schedule to swing by the cafe down a few blocks from your dorm

You’re out on a lovely Saturday morning stroll and the strong scent of coffee beans wafts out into the streets

The cafe has only been open for an hour but there’s already a huge line

And if it weren’t for your curiosity, you would have just been like Gotta Go Fast

But you figured you would do yourself a favor and begrudgingly hold it out in the line that extends to almost the end of the street

Think of this as a cafe version of Ouran!!

Except add 7 more (excluding haruhi bc you take the protagonist’s place)

The cafe is so full that it makes you wait for the servers to take you to a table like in restaurants so it’s THAT big

No matter what time of day it is, it’s always co m ple te l y paCKED

8am when it just opens? Looks like a concert venue

Half an hour until closing time? All the tables are entirely occupied

It’s predominantly females but evEN GUYS SWOON i mean who wouldn’t tho???? When you have 13 pieces of f I N E????

Anyways when you finally reach the front of the line after 38 years, you’re like finALLY MY LEGS :((

And the bubbly little host is dressed in actual 5-star restaurant attire and he’s looking back at you like :DDDDD!!!!!!!!!! And you’re like :ooooo!!!!! :DDDDD!!!! What a cutie pie!!!!!!!

“Hello, and welcome to The Diamond! I’m Chan, your host, and I’ll be your go-to if your main server is unavailable! We’re currently waiting for a table to open up, so please be patient!” he perfectly recites and you’re just like clutching your heart bc of hoW CUTE HE IS!!!

Around 10 minutes pass and he’s notified that a table has been opened and you’re like okay,,,, this is it. This is where My Life Changes

He leads you to a cute little corner that gives you a nice little window view of the bustling streets

He gives you a menu once you’re seated and he’s like, “Okay, this is where I take off!!! Your main server will be with you shortly! If you need anything, just tap on this little bell!”

As he scurries away you’re just like :(((( why can’t you be my waiter flfjdldfskj wait I’m here for Jeonghan!!

You’re browsing through the menu and you’re appreciating all the aesthetics from the tableware to the graphics on the menu

You hear how the other waiters interact with their supporters customers as you’re waiting for yours and you could have sworn you heard Jeonghan’s name floating around

“What’s the special for today?”

“It’s the double chocolate cheesecake, honey~~”

*SCREAMS* me 2

His favorite pet name to call his supporters customers is “honey” uM IM WEAK B YE

And people seem to be ordering devil’s food cake a lot what a coincidence lmAO

A few minutes pass and you feel a presence nearing you and you casually brush it off as just a waiter passing by but oh boy!!!

“Hi honey~ What can I get you for today -- wait, Y/N?”

You’re about to chOKE ON YOUR SPIT

You look up from the desserts page and see the face that you’ve been mustering up the courage to talk to for months

“J-Jeonghan! I didn’t know you worked here!” the classic sentence starter

He lets out a small laugh in disbelief and you’re like aaaAAAA SO CUTE ST O P I T THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR MY HEART

“I haven’t seen you around here before. Is this your first time today?”

And you’re lowkey highkey blushing bc he,,,, noticed you?????

“Yeah,,,, it is,,,,,,, what do you recommend?”

He hums in thought and turns back to you, “We have the Devil’s food cake that seems to be really popular whenever I serve customers for some reason,” he chuckles and he grins that angelic yet mischievous smile

And you’re like huh :))) I :))) wonder :))) why :)))

You tell him you’ll try it out with a latte and give him the menu as he elegantly exits and leaves your heart painfully wanting to leap out of your chest

Some time passes and you’re taking in the decor and the view of the streets when he returns promptly with your food and drink

“Here you go, Y/N :)” he smiles and gently places the plates down in front of you

But honestly all you’re focusing on is how clOSE his face is when he did that

Do you imagine him to smell really nice?? Bc he probably smells like clean laundry and just fRESH AND SOFT AND--

Ahem

Little did you know his little fleeting glances at you to check your reaction of the mouthwatering sights in front of you!!!

Am i talking about the food or am I talking about Jeonghan always looking like a meal???? Guess we’ll never know

He nervously giggles and runs his fingers through his hair and you can’t help but to eye his movements bc,,,, those luscious locks,,,,

He’s like well!!! Try it!!! And you’re like ughsldgkdglh in front of you??? Right now????

He doesn’t seem to be budging anytime soon so you’re like rip ok guess so

You take your first bite and your eyes are about to bulge out of your sockets bc how in the name of the heavens can chocolate cake bE SO!!!!!!! GOOD!!!!!!! (spoiler alert: it is)

You’re looking back at him with widened eyes and a chocolate caked mouth as you’re mumbling,” ish sho gud!!”

And he’s like lmAO YOU’RE SO CUTE-- I mean,, yes,,, yes it is

And he gestures at your mouth and says “you have a little something uh,,,, everywhere LOL” and you’re like lsdjdfljd oh god i wanna dig up a hole and bury myself forever!!! And you hastily grab the napkin and wipe the chocolate crumbs off

And you two are so off in your own little world that both of you fail to notice the attention the other customers are directing towards you

Because Jeonghan nEVER, and I mean NE V ER, acts that naturally to a customer

It’s all a bunch of his favorite pet name, “honey,” and some winking tossed in his light flirting

But laughing? Having a really good time? Acting like friends? Joking? Not once!!!

And everyone is like Who Are You And Tell Me Your Secrets

He strikes up a conversation with you so easily and you’re so taken aback bc why would he be talking to an invisible soul like yours??? What’s happening with the world???

“Did you ever get the project turned in?”

And you’re really confused like,,,,, yes??? What???

And he sheepishly smiles, his ears a little red iM YODELING

“I just,,, overheard you worry about how much your partner was slacking off when you were talking to your friend that day,,,, that really sucks :(“

And you’re just like o H!!! Omg

“It’s all taken care of, don’t worry!!! At least i hope so,” you mutter

And you can feel his hesitance and you’re like ???? what is it??

“Maybe you need a new partner for a change? Our professor mentioned our next project can have us choose our own partners,,,, and you seem to be really good at this class,,,,,”

And you wanna laUGH bc you’re literally just there to stare at the back of his head

But he’s like you always know the answers whenever she calls on you????

“It doesn’t take a genius to know what the types of irony are, Jeonghan”

“hEY IM TRYING MY BEST THAT’S WHAT MY NOTES ARE FOR”

And you’re like,,,, do you need a tutor???

He lights up and his cheeks are stained a light pink aND IM CRYING IN THE CLUB

“yES! I mean, yes. Yes. Please. Here, I’ll give you my number”

What you feel: IM SCREAMING INTO THE ABYSS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I JUST GOT YOON JEONGHAN’S NUMBER, AN ACTUAL ANGEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What you say: Oh, sure!

You both do a number exchange and literally everyone in that cafe is just on the floor like hOW DID YOU????? WH A T????

And Chan calls him and he not-so-subtly hints about how he’s been talking to you for way too long and everyone in line is complaining LOL

He regretfully looks at you and you nod sadly in understanding

“I’ll catch you later this week,” you say and he’s about to turn around when he stops and turns back

“Are we meeting for a study da-- sESSION?”

And you’re like what did you say--

“I said study session”

“.....I’m free Saturday”

“I’ll meet you at the library,” he gives you one last grin before winking and walking away and you’re like eXCUSE ME WHAT DOES THAT MEAN SIR

You shake your head but you can’t suppress the gigantic smile that your lips involuntarily make

You take the mug in your hands and you notice the latte art is a picture of a heart

You’re like scREAMING BC ITS SO CHEESY BUT YOU LIKE IT

And now you finally have a reason to pay attention in your literature class if you gotta tutor a potential college bf in your study da--session!!!!

[letstiktalk]

Drivers License Tiktok

HELLO, and welcome to the new year everybody! Does this year feel any different?!? NO!! WELL why is that?!? Because white supremacist have ALREADY stormed the capitol??:DDDDD and what did Gen Z do in response???? Well obviously we made a bunch of funny tiktoks to cope with the fact our government is failing and we can’t REALLY do much about it <3 SO ya I will be getting into that but I also need to mention a new song has taken tiktok over COMPLETELY. There is just A LOT to unpack today so for that reason there will be no tiktok terminology in this blog ;( I know, I know its a big loss but don’t worry it will be back next month.

Anyways, lets get into this whole Drivers License tiktok situation. Now I bet you are thinking “Jess I got my license … I don’t need this”. And you would be right to have that opinion, HOWEVER, this is not about the people that give you hacks on how to get your drivers license(although that side of tiktok does exist and they are surprisingly helpful), it’s about the new song that Olivia Rodrigo(a 17 year old girl and star of High School Musical the Musical the Series aka HMTMTS) dropped last week. I would Highly recommend you listen to it.

Here it is all linked for everyone's convenience 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmDBbnmKpqQ

SO FOR STARTERS girly is a DISNEY STAR and she straight up dropped the F bomb... which like period go off but like I didn't even know that was ALLOWED for Disney stars. Other than that Olivia Rodrigo is 17... LIKE WHAT... people on tiktok are comparing her to Taylor Swift and Lorde. Taylor Swift even commented on Olivia’s post saying she was proud of her for topping the charts. OH WHICH BY THE WAY she has been at the very top of the iTunes charts since the song came out. She has beat Ariana Grande’s “Thank you Next” for biggest single day streams of a song by a female artist. She beat ARIANA GRANDE... I’m not very into pop music but I must say that is a big achievement because “Thank you Next” has been big for quite some time. Not to mention this is only Olivia’s second song released(The first song she released was called “All I want” and she wrote it for HMTMTS), so it’s safe to say we can expect big things form her. 

Now you may be thinking “Jess this is nothing new... a good song takes over tiktok every week”... well yes but this one is different because people aren't only talking about the song but also who the song is about.(now if you are going to act like teen drama isn't interesting then I guess skip this paragraph lol) Basically Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett play love interests in HMTMTS and usually I am against speculating relationships between the cast members because it ruins friendships and all that jazz, but this this is just too much to ignore. So first things first Joshua Bassett is also a songwriter, and he wrote a song that people think was about Olivia since he posted Instagram stories singing it when they were in the middle of shooting for their show. The song was basically about how he would find a way to date this unavailable girl and at the time Olivia was dating her former costar from another Disney show, Ethan Wacker(which people speculated that the song could have been about Ethan but then he responded to it by saying “it’s not about me I treated her well” LMAOOOOO). Then a short time after Olivia and Ethan broke things off, Olivia posted a clip of a love song on her insta story called “I like you so much it’s kinda gross” about a boy who had brown hair, brown eyes and was her best friend yada yada, which people realized was definitely about Joshua because she described him as her “guy best friend” in many interviews, and he fit the description in the song perfectly. Then Olivia posted a video where she talked about how her and Joshua would drive around together a lot and how Joshua was helping her get her drivers license(which basically just proved completely that the song was about him). THE final piece of this puzzle is that recently Joshua had started dating Sabrina Carpenter who is the star of a show called “girl meets world”(a spin off of “Boy Meets World”) She is 21 years old and has Blonde hair.... Olivia Rodrigo is 17... are we seeing the connection here... cause like remember in the song... when she said... “your probably with that blonde girl”... and “she’s so much older than me”.... so um ya not so subtle there. ANYWAYS... I think this is all fine and dandy but honestly the drama here does not seem genuine. This seems like such a big publicity stunt  for the show especially because Joshua Bassett posted the song on his story and said he was proud of Olivia AND also they are both currently shooting another season of HSMTMTS so like... if this was real I don’t think this song would have came out. They can’t ACTUALLY allow bad blood between the two main love interests of the show. SO ya if you got through this ~CHONKAY~ paragraph then you get extra coolguy points AND you get to be in the loop for one of the big love scandals of my generation(you can say this is like the Salena and Justin of Gen Z).

SO with that being said here are some tiktoks from Drivers License tiktok

https://www.tiktok.com/@nickolas_ray/video/6916957022512532742?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@graysworld/video/6916678935312862470?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@hehehe.44/video/6916718955667180805?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@arianapodcast/video/6916935174391336197?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@gabesco/video/6916687885177588997?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@tiktokdailyseries/video/6916692432167963910?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@_juliannnabartolom_/video/6916070775309044998?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@huttonalanna/video/6916740435943623941?lang=eno 

So now moving onto a more serious topic  ✨ the capitol riots ✨. I HONESTLY think that this really pushed everyone over the edge... like did we not all say Jumanji when 2021 hit???WHAT ARE WE MISSING HERE? This was just not the way to start the year, and clearly everyone on tiktok is over it as well. Since this occurrence I have realized two groups have formed on the app: the informers, and the jokers. EACH IS ESSENTIAL to the wellbeing of everyone because the informers are there to bum us out, tell us the facts and make us realize how much we want to move to Canada, WHILE the Jokers are also gonna make us want to move to Canada but they deliver THEIR info with some sparkle so we can cope :D

Don't get me wrong there is also a small population of Trump supporters on tiktok that are defending the riots, but it doesn’t take too long for the leftist on the app to debunk their info and make them delete their comments, posts, ect. 

So with that being said these are some videos that show how tiktok is dealing with this whole mess.(I put them into categories)

These are the ones that are making fun of congress for not passing stricter laws..(they say things like oh well turn off the lights and crouch in a corner luv they will prolly pass by ur room ;D)

https://www.tiktok.com/@gadonkoze/video/6914874384956132614?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@angelaholmessss/video/6914837439588617478?lang=en

These are the ones that are basically making fun of the way the capitol was protected(they are videos of who could have protected the capitol better)

https://www.tiktok.com/@ji_jio2/video/6915048910016859398?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@joseph.muhl/video/6914839711735368965?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@revildo/video/6915464202643590405?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@sylviasloss4/video/6915928007379045637?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@will.manchester22/video/6915590435939355909?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@gorillagripk00ch/video/6916033116616396038?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@gorillagripjuulpod/video/6916241462950694150?lang=en

These are just random joke videos about the event

https://www.tiktok.com/@christiaan.long/video/6914779075533933830?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@horse.shoe.trash/video/6914764321390202118?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@satansperiod/video/6914746236151041286?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@sophat69/video/6914742515623152901?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@pritaykitayy/video/6914793110195293446?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@ienjoyanalsex/video/6915167310302973190?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@deannyberg/video/6914837106976148742?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@emily.jpg/video/6914812548026043654?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@svgar.whxre/video/6914783347688475909?lang=en

These are videos where the people could have spoken any language but decided to speak F A C T S

https://www.tiktok.com/@sewpheeyuh/video/6914741277644868869?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@sewpheeyuh/video/6914811268192931078?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@bmoo9472/video/6907784032344427782?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@marismab/video/6915154344761494789?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@alluringskull/video/6915185330215734534?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@joshhelfgott/video/6915131644353498374?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@cbsnews/video/6915143783692733701?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@avi.greene/video/6914803519962877190?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@joshhelfgott/video/6914769291200023814?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@alluringskull/video/6914794863879851270?lang=en

OK SO that’s all I have for today. I’m sorry there wasn’t much variety but these are basically the only two things that have been running tiktok recently. 

Until next month :) where future me will hopefully not want to exit this country. 

PHOTO CREDS https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/322966-olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license.php

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55582166