#his version of 'look at me I'm so grown up and mature so you have to take me seriously' was weaponised bisexuality

[wellfine]

Thinking...

AU where zeff didn’t start a restaurant after being rescued he just kept being a pirate on the Grand Line so sanji joined his crew as the infamous “black leg” and permitted himself to grow up flagrantly bisexual

[1dcommunityficrecs]

Time Travel Rec List!

No fooling, today we have 9 time travel fics for your reading pleasure! Three are short and sweet, under 10k words; three are moderate at around 50k, and three are behemoths of over 100k! We also have a rarepair in the form of a Ziam canon-divergence time-travel fix-it fic.

Please enjoy, leave comments and kudos, and get ready for the next theme (as soon as I can decide what it is...)

The Second Hands Unwinds by kingsofeverything (51573, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

Louis Tomlinson is one of the first members of NASA's top secret Chrono Exploration Program. When things go wrong and he's sent further back in time than planned, he has no other option than to show up on his ex-boyfriend's doorstep.

Reccer says: I think everyone knows this fic, NASA au, but how can we not recommend it? The plot is great, it's emotional, it's really good. Sp, so beatuiful, so immersive, the characters are written perfectly and it absolutely made me cry.

De amore ex tempore by Persephoneflouwers (101471, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

Or: the Middle Ages AU where Harry is a philosopher, whose thoughts happen five centuries too soon and Louis is a painter, whose art happens five centuries too late. Or: the Time Travel AU where alternate versions of themselves live simultaneously in different realities and their paths collide every time, until somehow, they converge into one.

Reccer says: Much of the story takes place during the Florentine Renaissance, at the end of the Middle Ages, and it's beautiful and well-written. I was at the Louvre a while back and while looking at the Caravaggio and Trevento paintings, images of De Amore Ex Tempore came to mind. Beyond that, I also really liked the story, the meeting of this Louis from the future with a Harry from the Middle Ages. It just goes to show that, whatever the era, they're bound to find each other!

There’s Such a Lot of World to See by Crinkle-Eyed-Boo (125000, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post Warnings: Harry dies twice, but it all works out and has a happy ending!

Doctor Who AU with Louis as The Doctor and Harry as the Companion, inspired by the Impossible Girl story from series 7.

Reccer says: It has everything you need! Thrills, angst, romance, smut, and time travel!

billow and breeze (islands and seas) by Pleasinglouis (102506, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence

Two words sum it up: Outlander AU.

Reccer says: And here again, two words are enough to recommend: Outlander AU...

Old Photographs & Times I'll Remember by Jaerie (53918, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

A camera, a suitcase, and a relationship forged through time.

Reccer says: It's beautifully written and poignant.

i know i've grown (but i can't wait to go home) by LiveLaughLoveLarry (7230, Teen, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post Warnings: Violence, murder, injury (not graphic)

Louis falls down a hill and into the past. A historical castle is suddenly full of life, including a hot prince -- and his evil twin.

Reccer says: I really enjoy the use of language and speech patterns between the modern Louis and the historical Harry!

Timeless by babyhoneyhslt (3867, General, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

Based on "Timeless" by Taylor Swift. Harry wanders into an antique shop and finds himself pulled back in time, through a series of lifetimes. And in every one -- there's Louis.

Reccer says: I'm always a sucker for the idea that in every timeline and every universe these two would find each other -- and getting to have that multiple times in one story just cements that.

saw some things on the other side by we_are_the_same (61352, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post Warnings: Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence

When Louis moves into the mansion he’s inherited from his great grandfather, he has a plan that consists of three things. One, he’s going to finish writing the next novel in his series. Two, he’s finally going to get over his ex-fiancé. And three, while battling writer’s block and having to resist the urge to kill off the main character in his books – the hot detective based on his ex-fiancé – he’s going to restore the mansion to its former glory. Unfortunately, Louis’ plan doesn’t take into account the fact that instead of writing murder mysteries, he will find himself in one.

Reccer says: I love the way the writer manages the time/dimension travel trope!

(I pray to God I didn’t waste) all my good years by we_are_the_same (6864, General, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne) - fic post Warnings: Does "post-march 25th" count as a warning?

Liam goes to sleep in a world where Zayn has just left One Direction. He wakes up somewhere quite different.

Reccer says: The angst of it all!!

[tzilatza]

NATLA Review - spoilers

Woke up today still feeling annoyed after finished the Netflix ATLA remake last night, and I think I've figured out the core reason.

It's the fact that: If they had held truer to the original source material, we could have had a truly great show. I disagree with those calling it a complete disaster. The acting was good, great in some cases. The effects were very well done, the bending looked about as good as it can in a live action media. The scenery was lovely.

But what happened in the writer's room?! The way they just reveal all the back stories up front EVERY TIME is honestly insulting to the audience. It's like they're so terrified that smartphone culture has made the public so accustomed to instant gratification that they have no faith we will stick around and keep watching if they make us wait for anything.

They're also clearly terrified of complexity. One of my biggest gripes with this remake is Jet's story. They completely took out his plans to murder a whole town of innocents in order to get a few enemy soldiers. Now, Jet isn't my favorite character, but his story is so important. Because it is real. The world is full of people who have been so brought down by injustice that they lose their sense of right and wrong, and we need to see that on screen. If Jet is too complex for them, how will they handle Ba Sing Se in the second season.

This goes along the same lines as removing Sokka's sexist moments. They felt they had to do it to make him more 'likable.' Yet the writers themselves went full sexist on Katara's character. They've taken out so much of her spark, her righteous and justified anger, and they've done it because even in 2024, people expect women to be more passive to be palatable. Enough people have already commented on them removing Aang's choice to run away. Heaven forbid the main character not be an absolute paragon. Did y'all notice that they even made Hahn likable? Hahn?! What reason do you have for making Hahn likable Netflix?! His role in the narrative is to be an example of toxic masculinity that is clearly the bad choice compared to Sokka who has learned and grown out of his own.

Don't even get me started with what they're doing with the fire nation family, I'm not ready to tackle that. In general, I have no problem with Azula getting a little more backstory and humanizing, but why season 1? Throwing in all these extra scenes just sacrifices screen-time where they could've actually fleshed out the real season one plots instead of rushing through things at breakneck pace. (ex: Aang escaping Zuko's ship in about 2 minutes flat)

At the end of the day, the scenes I most enjoyed were those that held true to the original like the Blue Spirit sequences. They could've easily done more of this, held onto the important plot points and even more important character complexity, while maturing it for an adult audience. I'm not disagreeing with every change they made. Go ahead and take out the silly Nickelodeon gags, add cussing and more realistic violence to get your mainstream viewers. Go ahead. They could've easily made a darker more mature version of the show and still held onto all the old fans in my opinion. But claiming that you're making a 'more mature' version and then removing the complexity and subtlety because they didn't think viewers could handle it...

What makes me most sad is that there are a lot of people who will experience ATLA for the first time through this show. There are a lot of adults who are not willing to watch original ATLA because they refuse to acknowledge an animated series can be anything other than a kid's show. Those people will watch this and think it's the real deal, and that just makes me sad.

If you've read this far, a very sincere thank you for listening to my rant. If you're an OG fan who enjoyed it, I have no problem with you. It was a fun watch, I was just hoping for more. If you are a new viewer who has never seen ATLA before, I sincerely want to hear your opinions. Is it a great show to someone who isn't holding it against the context of the original? And do you plan to watch the original now?

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

A Little Farewell

With about a week left to go we had our final OT4 weverse live today and it's safe to say, we were not prepared. But I'm very grateful that they did a live all together giving us a last dose of chaos, cuteness and giggles before we'll be left to fend for ourselves for 6 months before Jin returns to us in June 2024.

The live truly was a beautiful gift that kept on giving starting with Tae's new short haircut and JK hiding his now shaved head from us, Namjoon even claiming that JKs hair is shorter than his own (JK supposedly felt inspired to shave his head a little early after he met Usher, who has pretty short hair himself, and went for it), and Jimin practically getting offended by a comment saying they wanted to see him with a buzzcut. To be honest Tae's cute little haircut looks a little like he did it himself in the dead of the night but it also makes him look like we traveled back in time to 2013 or earlier. Adorable. After so long it was really nice to see them together again, and to generally have more than one Tannie in a live together.

Since the first leaks about their military service appeared a few days ago we've seen vminies talk among themselves, and not to mention the near constant fighting that's been going on between the two xkook camps, but seeing vmin being so cute together in this live, it felt reassuring. Whatever questions or worries we might've had, they were washed away. In a way it makes sense that Tae and Jimin didn't go together, even if we all would've loved to see them go together and make use of the buddy system, but that isn't the choice they made for themselves and that's okay. It's easy to see what vmin are doing more than just fine and that's all that matters. Admin 2 really hoped we'd get a vmin handshake or hand holding, and we got two! I mean, look at all this cuteness:

And then also Tae going home in five minutes flat and doing a small solo live which was basically just him being adorable and talking to Jimin, who was immediately in the comments, before leaving again. Love when we get to third wheel them, wow, I truly will miss that a lot.

At one point in the live JK mentioned that he'd wanted to go to the special forces as well, implying that for some reason he couldn't, which makes me wonder why. Was it because of his tattoos? Either way, it's nice that he'll instead get to go with Jimin and supposedly they'll be in the training camp where Seokjin is one of the trainers so that's cute.

Speaking of Seokjin, after so long it was adorable how often Namjoon brought up Seokjin in this live. Just Jin hyung this and Jin hyung that, very cute. And they also mentioned Hobi a bunch, how he's gotten cooler and more manly, which comes as a great reminder to basically all of us that the cute boys we've known until now, well, they'll probably fade away and get replaced by more mature versions of our beloved members in the next months and they'll return to us as a different set of Tannies. And that's okay. They're grown up men so it makes sense that eventually some of that aegyo cuteness will fade away and personally I'm very curious to see how things will turn out and what they'll be like in 2025.

And I'm very curious to see if idiots will respect Namjoon's and Tae's pleas for people not to show up for their entrance ceremonies. Especially since Namjoon asked for it in three languages to make sure everyone understood it. Unfortunately I have my doubts, since we know the maknae line have some of the most unhinged solos but here's hoping.

Now, what does this mean for us now? Well, it'll be quite a while until we'll see the members slowly returning one after the other so we'd like to take this time for a 'official' hiatus as well. Admin 2 is considering a temporary "rebrand" into a BL blog since they've gotten into Thai BLs in the last year, so that's something that might happen. Would any of you be interested in something like that?

But we'll still be ARMY, still love vmin and namjin, and once the guys will return, so will we, so don't worry, we're not leaving BTS any time soon.

Lastly, here's a blurry screenshot of a coconut headed JK running across the screen screaming THIS WAS BTS. A beautifully chaotic ending to this solo era. Let's see what the next months will bring us and what 2025 will be like when chapter 2 will come to a close and a new chapter of BTS and ARMY will open, eventually.

Thank you so much for reading!

[seoul-bros]

The Future of Jikook

After watching the video and GMA soundcheck performance on Friday and then seeing all the contradictory reactions on line to the song and its reception, I have been quietly mulling things over here in my little corner of the internet.

There are so many fan feelings conflating here. Those who want JK to turn into the BTS Harry Styles, those who are still smarting over the way changes to BB affected the trajectory of FACE, those who feel that the breakout of one member is a threat to ever seeing BTS as a band again. It makes for a tense, emotional and chaotic time on-line especially on Twitter where people tend to have a knee jerk reaction to anything that is said and nuance is completely lost.

Look into yourself and I am sure you will find a whole load of contradictory emotions lapping at your consciousness right now. What I have found myself thinking however, is how does all this noise affect the members and in particular Jimin and Jungkook?

Making Choices

One question that came to mind was why did Jungkook pick this song for his solo debut. What is it that he likes about it and how does that differ from the way SB sees or is marketing the song. During Festa 2023 I commented on the transformation that JK has been through since last year. He has made a conscious effort to shake off the maknae part of the golden maknae starting with his deal with Calvin Klein and all the swooning I am seeing on Tumblr shows that he has succeeded. As Yoongi said, JK is all grown up.

Then I was thinking about JK's musical choices, who and what he listens to and I remembered earlier this year he sang the Sam Smith and Kim Petras hit Unholy on one of his lives. If you also recall he later scolded Jimin for being prudish about the song on his own live.

Twitter Link

JK was obviously ready to move into more explicit territory even then. So what about Seven made him think this is the song that launches me as the new and more mature JK.

I think for one thing, the lyrics are sensual and not gender specific. I am in the "loving you right" lyric camp because it gives a more mutual gratification feel to the song in keeping with the other lyrics as opposed to the macho stud, I'm a sex machine, version.

Jungkook wants to ease his lover's mind, he want to trace their lines, he loves how they wrap around him when they make love, he is devoted, his love runs deep and when they are together he wants to make sure his lover is satisfied and feeling that afterglow.

So yes JK is going to be talking about sex from now on along with almost everyone else in the Western music industry. Along with Jimin for example. As a side note, I still don't quite understand my overwhelmingly visceral reaction to the Like Crazy MV. It's f**king art and so is he.

Now SB and his cronies know the audience they are playing to and we will get symbolically het videos both for this and what is rumoured to be his completely English speaking solo album but even this video, which to be honest I have dumped in favour of the live performance and the choreo video, went for humour rather than full out fangirl wish fulfillment. I mean that may also come but I get the feeling that somewhere down the line they are going to need to pivot hard.

What do jikook want?

Secondly, I was thinking what do jikook want both severally and individually. All the members have an enviable work ethic and a deep love of music but the emphasis that these two and JHope put on performance is legendary. Look at Jimin here monitoring between shoots for his music shows in the behind the scenes video this week. He is serious about giving his best even when he himself is not in the best physical condition.

They are both ambitious and are looking for longevity in the industry and importantly, and prefacing this with an, in my opinion, this is something they want to do together. Neither wants the other to get left behind and I think that is what they are fighting for right now.

Whatever you think about their bond, it cannot be dismissed and the sequence of events of the last few weeks for me just reinforces that. Everyone noticed the way their relationship was highlighted in the Beyond the Story book (just started my copy yesterday but I couldn't resist the spoilers last week) to the extent that Variety went on a fishing expedition which JK expertly deflected.

Jimin is in New York right now and Jikook were seen dining together the night he arrived. We don't know what Jimin's schedule is but we can assume that he will take advantage of the visit to also support Jungkook as he has done with the other members when his schedule allowed. Jungkook is important to Jimin and vice versa.

Has everyone already forgotten the amount of promo that JK has done for Jimin over the last few months. Here he is listening to JKIVE's Golden Hour who we later found out was collaborating with Jimin on Angel Parts I and II.

So this is the perspective that I am going to adopt from here on in when I react to content. I am going to ask myself does my reaction help or hinder jikook in being able to continue working together towards their aim of further success in the music industry. I will veto anything designed to drive a wedge between them, be that from the company or the fans and I will continue to work hard for them in the way that a fan can buying, streaming and supporting their music and their content. There is even word on the grapevine that there maybe some jikook collaboration and/or content on the way. I'll be watching out for that.

Wow quick update something is definitely coming.

Post Date: 16/07/2023

[therantsofawriterrr]

The Umbrella Academy Final Season: My Version

Part Three: Old Faces With New Personalities

Overview: While Lila and Diego keep hiding secrets from each other, Luther encounters familiar faces, that don't seem familiar in some aspects.

TW: Mature language, implied sex (idk maybe), hurt with comfort, the cafe scene except its different, tell me if i missed anything! Pairings in the chapter: Diego×Lila (Fluff alert hehe) A/N: So, I saw someone say that Five attended the Keeper meetings because he was still looking for a way to get his fam and himself back to their original timeline, which ig, makes sense, but i have established smn so yk im going with that but dw, we'll get to see that. Also, again, the Diego×Lila dynamic that we deserved to see. And a little surprise too (⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠).

Masterlist

After the Keepers meeting ended, Lila and Five sat in a cafe in the next block, discussing the contents that were discussed.

"Look, if these artifacts are from different timelines and now they're showing up-" Lila started saying.

"It's possible the old man's reset didn't take," Five finished.

"What does that even mean?" Lila asked, hoping Five would have an answer.

"I have no idea," Five said in a tired voice. He looked like he hadn't slept in a while, which worried Lila a bit.

Over the last six years, she had grown closer to everyone in the Hargreeves family. She'd grown to be a caring aunt to Grace, a fun-loving sister-in-law to Klaus, a caring, supportive one to Luther, and a snarky, sarcastic one to Five.

"Look, whatever this is, don't say anything to the family just yet," Five requested. "Not even Diego."

"Absolutely not," Lila agreed. "He thinks I'm at book club."

He gave her a dirty look, not at all happy with the sentence.

"It's just easier that way," Lila said, her eyes shining with guilt.

"Easier? It's Diego we're talking about, Lila. You know how he can get."

"Yeah. But... you know how he'll get if he gets in on this. He'll jump to conclusions, and make rash decisions and everything. Don't you remember him during the 60s?"

They both shuddered involuntarily as Five nodded. "Alright. well, it's a good thing I never got married. Too much deception involved."

He took a bite of his scone, which got some cream on his mustache. Lila smiled with a sigh as she took a tissue in her hand and wiped it away. "Didn't dear old Reggie teach any of you Hargreeves men how to eat?"

He scoffed with irritation as he said, "Don't coddle me, I'm not a child."

"Yeah, well you surely eat like one," she retorted, balling up the tissue and leaning back.

Suddenly a woman slammed her hands down on the table, making them both jump as she glared at Five.

"Next time I call," she gritted through her teeth. "I expect you to pick up your phone, accept it and put the damn thing to your ear."

Five's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at her with confusion. "How'd you find out my location?"

The woman just stood up and stared at him, pulling up a chair to sit. Lila noticed she was pretty in an unconventional way, with a sugarplum balayage on her dark brown hair and stony grey eyes. Wearing brown bellbottom trousers with a tucked-in maroon shirt, sleeves reaching till just below her elbows, a beautiful vintage watch on her left wrist, and maroon kitten heels on her feet, she looked like a boss lady.

"Did you put a fucking tracker in my outfit?" Five asked indignantly.

"Do you think I had a choice?" she deadpanned, drumming her fingers on the table. "You don't accept my calls, half the time you don't even wanna talk to me."

"Because you're annoying, Clementine," Five declared heatedly.

She only sighed with a roll of her eyes, ignoring the comment. "Anyway, look, we need to talk."

Five took an angry bite of his scone, prompting Lila to throw a tissue at him with a disgusted look.

"Alone, Five," Clementine asserted.

"If it's about the Keepers, then I could help, y'know," Lila interjected. "I've been investigating them as well."

Clementine's eyes lit up as she turned towards her, crossing her arms on the table. "Really? What have you found out about them yet?"

"Oh, well, that it started in New Mexico and everyone's just flocking towards it like lemmings. Oh, also, the Cleanse," she said, mimicking Jean when she said the last word.

"The Cleanse? What's that?" she asked.

"No idea. But, Gene, one of the leaders, said that it's either the end, or a great restoration."

Clementine whipped out a small notepad, turning to a page and starting to scribble in as Five took in a breath, almost looking scandalized.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Don't tell me you're going to be reporting that to the deputy director."

"I have to give him something, Five," she said, focused on writing in her notebook before lifting her head to look at him. "Why? Are you ashamed that she, a civilian might know more than you, a goddamn CIA agent?"

"Oh, burn!" Lila exclaimed, laughing loudly. "Oh, I like you so much."

"Thanks! You're fun, too!" She exclaimed with bright cheerful grey eyes.

Lila stared at them with a kind of a knowing smile as they continued bickering. Her phone vibrated in her bag, and she took it out to see a text from Diego.

Hey, did book club end? You need a ride? I miss you🥺

She stared at the text with a tender smile before it faded, her eyes turning thoughtful and guilty. She got up, taking her small handbag with her, slinging it onto her shoulder.

"Well, you kids stay safe now," she said playfully, even though they didn't really hear her during their conversation.

Upon reaching home, she found Diego snoring on the couch in front of the TV, making her smile as she went to push some of his hair away from his forehead. She started going to her room to change when a hand caught onto her wrist, pulling her back.

She fell onto Diego's lap with a surprised gasp, her arm automatically going around his shoulders as her legs dangled off his thighs. He smiled sleepily as he gave her a peck on the nose, making her giggle as she gave him one on his lips.

"You should've gone to bed," she said softly, nuzzling her nose against his.

He hummed, his arms hugging her waist tighter, blinking the sleep away. "I can't sleep without you beside me, Lila. You know that."

She chuckled with a shake of her head, her other arm going to rest on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

"It's alright. I know you lose track of time during book club. How was it, by the way?"

She nodded with a shrug and said, "Not very informative. But it was fun."

Diego did feel a sting in his heart at the fact that she still wouldn't come clean to him about what she was doing, but he didn't budge on his trust. She'd earned it and so he was giving her the chance to tell him about her investigation when she wanted to.

He gave out a sudden yawn, making her chuckle again. "You can barely keep your eyes open, love. Go to bed. I'll join you after a shower."

"Hmm, can I join?" he asked with a playful smile, making her slap on his shoulder.

"Yes," she said and sauntered over to their room, making him jump up after her as he took off his shirt excitedly.

Simultaneously, a few blocks away, Luther stood in front of his apartment door with a blank look on his face, wanting to bang his head on it. In the time he knew Sloane, he'd memorized the places she went to. Even if Reginald reset the timeline, that wouldn't change.

He worked part-time in a cafe that Sloane usually visited to note down places that she'd visit if she got a chance to get out. All neat and noted. He still had it and usually carried it around with him.

Every evening after work, he worked in that place. Every fucking evening, he hoped that she'd come in, get in line and ask for a latte. But, it always just ended up killing all the hope inside him.

Suddenly, the door next to his apartment burst open, making him jump with a surprised grunt, as he looked to the side.

A guy exited, immediately looking at him with concern. "Oh, hey, sorry man, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Luther said, batting a dismissive hand. "It's alright, I'm alright."

The guy heaved a relieved sigh before giving him a smile. "I'm Christopher by the way, though, I mostly go by Chris."

Luther's eyebrows furrowed a little bit as the cube from Sparrow Academy, who had the same name, flashed in his mind, but he just ignored it and smiled back, not quite reaching his eyes.

"Who're you yapping with out there?" A very familiar voice said, making Luther perk up a bit.

And out the door, walked none other than Alphonso, Sparrow Number Four. Luther's eyes widened as he gave out a tiny gasp.

"Oh, hey. New neighbour?" Alphonso asked, looking at him.

"I... Uh. No. Not really," he said, composing himself. "I just don't get out much out of work, I guess."

"Well, ya should, man! Tell you what, we're going to a bar this weekend with some friends. Not too crowded either, if you don't like that kinda thing. You wanna come with?"

"Yeah," he said with a bright, hopeful smile. "I'd love to."

"Alright. Lookin' forward to it, man," Alphonso said with a friendly grin, before they both walked away, talking amongst themselves.

When Luther entered his apartment that night, he didn't sink to the floor with a blank despair. He sunk down with hopeful tears, and the sobs that wracked his body were happy ones.

And when he went to sleep that night, he knew it wasn't because he'd see dreams of living in a house with Sloane. He'd see dreams of meeting her in a bar. Of talking to her. Of getting to know what she's like in this timeline.

For the first time in six years, Luther Hargreeves went to bed with joy in his heart.

Another A/N: Ok, ik i'm speedrunning this shit, but I just need to write it all down cause the brellie in me is not letting me write anything else. So, here u go, two parts in one day lol. I'm prolly gonna start writing the next part too, so stay tuned!!

Likes, reblogs and comments are highly appreciated. Tysm for reading!!

[aihoshiino]

chapter 130 thoughts

MEMCHO TIME!!!!!!! admittedly it feels a bit jarring to suddenly swerve to focusing on Mem following last chapter but I will never complain about Mem Time

This chapter focused on an aspect of Mem that I've talked about before and really appreciate in that it makes a point of saying that Mem is a lot smarter and much more capable than her front-facing persona tends to make her come off. It's not that the everyday Mem or the more mature, capable adult Mem are 'fake' in any way, but Memcho deliberately chooses to emphasize this bold energy of hers as a way of dealing with challenges and ingratiating herself to the people around her. As coping mechanisms for tough times go, it's honestly the most healthy anyone in this series gets lol

It's also possible I'm just saying this as The Ai Guy but it honestly reminds me a little bit of Ai's dichotomy - it's not that either side of her is 'fake' in comparison to the other, but she chooses to put on a more socially acceptable face by playing up certain aspects of her personality.

It's also interesting to see Kana and Akane talk so frankly about the mundanely grimy and nasty parts of being an actor. OnK tends to focus on more large-scale or I guess 'grander' aspects of the entertainment industry's darkness so it was a bit refreshing to see it at least acknowledge something more down to earth like "making movies is expensive and stressful so everyone's on edge"

Extremely interesting to note: We find out that Abiko and Kichijoji also contributed to the movie script even if only in small parts. Not only is the movie drifting further away from reality just by the basic needs of dramatization, it has now also been touched by at least two people who didn't know Ai and who never even met her. Whether the story acknowledges this or not, it's becoming increasingly clear that we need to take any information from this movie with a whole lamp's worth of salt.

After all, while this is a story about Ai... it's not really Ai's story, is it? She's not the one telling it and when you really get down to it, this is just another example of Ai being exploited and commodified for other peoples' desires, with the added tragedy that this is her own son finally taking part in that exploitation in a misguided attempt to grant her wish.

But... we'll get to that.

The note Mem and Aqua's convo ends on is kind of strange. Aqua acknowledging he's using Mem is surprisingly straightforward of him but Mem saying in return that she's glad for it seems kind of odd.

And finally... we get a proper peek at one of the DVDs at last, though only in part.

I'm increasingly curious as to why Ai chose this method for telling the twins whatever she had to say to them on the DVD and the circumstances around them both are pretty weird. Her insistence on Gotanda looking after them and her request to deliver them to the twins at age 15, as if she might not be around to do it herself... I can really see why people have been wondering if Ai didn't suspect her life was in danger around this time, though it's not a theory I'm fully keyed into.

It's also interesting that she split them in two. I'm assuming this means Aqua has some information that Ruby does not but again the question: why this method of delivery? The DVDs as a whole are such a weird little mystery box and I can't help but wonder if even Akasaka isn't sure what he's doing with them.

Cute detail, though: The 'Happy Birthday' streamer up on the wall is from the anime's version of the Ai interview flashforward, which reframes it as a message recorded for the twins by Ai on their first birthday. It's cute to see the anime's creative choices reincorporated back into the manga like that.

Ai on the DVD says she has a request to the 'now all grown up' Aqua and Ruby - she specifically asks it of both of them, which means that Aqua keeping his to himself is particularly shitty of him, but in a way that's in-character and consistent with the self destructive behaviour we've been seeing for a while.

All in all, this was an interesting chapter and I don't want to say it was unnecessary but it felt... weirdly placed, I guess? Similar to my feelings on chapter 127, it feels even more like a story beat we didn't need right now. Obviously, we're still making our way through the movie arc so this structure might make more sense on the other side, but I've got a bad feeling that we're spinning our wheels a bit so Aka can try and keep pace with the season 2 production.

This was volume 13's last chapter so we're on break next week! Who do you think we'll get on the cover this time? Personally, I'm manifesting Melt......................................

[the-meat-machine]

Im confused about Cherub anatomy

I thought it was kind of odd that they have gender? Like you could assume that they just choose one because they're trying to project an identity on the same body which sorta gives an indication that the body lacks male or female traits for this reasoning to make sense. BUT, if we look at Caliborns/Calliopes mother and father theres some clear sexual dimorphism. It makes me wonder how their bodies even get that way? I ended up theorizing that they may metamorphosize to achieve these differences. My theory 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 hold some weight, ex: in Caliborns Masterpiece we can hear that his voice is deep and snarly. Now, we haven't heard Calliopes voice to make a fair comparison after all, she could also possibly sound just like that. So maybe this isn't the strongest example but when Cherubs sleep and when the other personality takes over, the body does change. From the eyecolor, tongue color, cheek color, and blood color, as for body figure it's unclear if that changes when waking up. If we want to count how Caliborn and Calliope are drawn in Act 7, in the opening you can see Calliope has a curved figure and breasts while Caliborn has a wider shoulders, and a flat chest . But then again, Calliope is drawn differently multiple times throughout the act 7 flash so maybe not much weight either. The strongest basis i have for this is probably just how their mom and dad look. In conclusion: either their body fully transitions into the other gender when one of the personalities wakes up then swaps into the other gender when sleeping for the other personality to take over the body with their traits included OR the body has both male and female traits at all times and are stuck there until the one the personalities wins the body and the loser personality bodily traits disappear from the body so the winners traits take over. But this could also not hold weight since Caliborn apparently didn't know what boobs were when talking with Jane. But yet again Calliopes drawings featured boobs so idk. Feel free too tell me everything i got wrong not even i know what the fuck im talking about I've been listening to karkalicious for like 6 hours today (newer version)

So I came into this ask fully intending for my answer to be "cherub sexes make no sense, just throw them out". But then as I was writing out why they make no sense, I accidentally came up with an explanation that makes them (sort of) make sense. Whoops. I'm going to post that as its own separate thing, 'cause it got long, and I probably should edit it to include a clearer explanation of isogamy, ha ha… ha.

But anyway, that aside, some of the details you brought up still don't really make sense - especially alt!Calliope's appearance in Act 7. Because the thing is, alt!Calliope shouldn't look like an adult cherub at all. Even if she predominated "correctly", she still died young, before she could fully mature. If she was truly fully grown, she would have wings, but she doesn't. And during the conversation where she and alpha Calliope meet, the two of them appear to have the same height and build.

The simplest explanation for her Act 7 appearance is that it's just art weirdness. But if we wanted to come up with an in-universe explanation, two possible ones come to mind:

She's a ghost. Ghosts are shown to be able to change their appearances, either consciously or subconsciously. So she's given herself a more adult body that matches her adult mind.

She lived long enough after predomination for her body to partially, but not completely, mature. Thus, she has a somewhat adult-like body, but doesn't have wings and doesn't look as large as the adult female cherub we see depicted elsewhere (because even the females are pretty darn ripped). In this case, it's during the conversation with alpha Calliope that she's altering her appearance, perhaps choosing to make herself look younger to put Calliope and/or Jade at ease.

As for Caliborn seeming to have broader shoulders in Act 7 than Calliope does, we could say that maybe it's just that Caliborn has more muscle mass there by virtue of being more physically active.

I do like to imagine (when I accept that cherubs have biological "sexes" at all) that young cherubs have undifferentiated bodies, and they only develop into "male" or "female" forms after predomination. This fits in with what Aranea says about how the only way to tell the two young cherubs apart is by the color of their cheeks (though as you note, there are a few other differences too).

But that's still kind of complicated, because what makes one of the personalities definitively "male" and the other definitively "female" when their bodies are identical? My best theory is that there's some sort of hormone or something in their blood that differs between juvenile males and females, since the blood seems to be the main thing that physically changes when they swap bodies.

As for Caliborn not understanding what boobs are while Calliope does... that's probably just because Calliope actually pays attention to humans, whereas Caliborn is willfully ignorant about them.

(p.s. I didn't notice until this ask that alt!Calliope appears to have boobs in Act 7. I always assumed cherubs didn't have them, since during Aranea's explanation, the art is ambiguous enough that you could interpret the female as being flat-chested. But no: act 7 says cherub boobs. Argh. Why. I am rejecting this from my personal headcanon and assuming that it was just some weird folds in alt!Calliope's robes that made her look like she had boobs.)

[starlesswritings]

✰ * ˑ › ° ◦ &&. whispered trust.

Jamil woke up late. That was already an irregular event in and of itself, but even more strange was where he woke up, and how. How, meaning specifically, the fact that he awoke to his hair being braided by gigantic tan hands and an enormous version of Kalim.

He blinked wide owlish eyes up at the dark yet bright man before his voice cracked and he squeaked, "What?"

Kalim brightened instantly. "Jamil! You're tiny, now!"

Jamil Viper did not wake up with the intention of having to experience this shit in his life. He was no bigger than from Kalim's wrist to his fingertips. He felt himself burn with the shame and embarrassment. He was absolutely tiny. Very small. Too tiny. He was literally the size of a hand. Kalim's hand, to be exact, and while that wasn't the shortest in the world, it clearly indicated that something was wrong.

"What... How — I'm small."

Do not panic. There was no reason to panic. He was still alive. There was, at the very least, that going for Jamil. He was alright, really! He was totally okay! So good! Nice! Awesome. What did it matter that he was the size of the tiniest little person — smaller than a faerie or even an actual dwarf? He was alive, he was healthy otherwise (probably — hopefully) and that was good enough —

"You're so adorable! The cutest! You look so squishy too —"

"AHHHHHHHHHH —"

—————

Kalim watched as Jamil effortlessly swung himself around the halls in his tiny form, not completely hindered by his newfound lack of height, but not at all enjoying himself as he tried to navigate how to live at the size of... a tiny little person. He was just tiny. Absolutely adorable if one thought on the positives, but Jamil didn't necessarily see it that way. He was, after all, forced to not do everything himself and rely upon the one person he really didn't want to have to rely on.

Still, that mattered little! Jamil was a big (small?) boy who could bite the bullets he didn't want to bite. He was a grown up. Very mature. So mature (okay, none of them were very grown up but who was counting their ages? Certainly not Kalim!). Jamil didn't make it too big of a problem and eventually settled into his life as a small being until Professor Crewel could brew a potion to remedy the slight ailment (slight ailment being the Professor's words, not Kalim's nor Jamil's).

"Wait up! Let me get the door for you!" Kalim shouted as he found Jamil struggling in an attempt to quite literally scale the door to get to the handle from the ground. "It's a good thing we're in mostly the same classes!"

Jamil's skin was too dark to tell very well, but he might have blushed ever so slightly at that. "Yeah. I suppose it works out well." He hurriedly fled into the classroom as if running faster would help with the stares and the whispers crowding from all directions without mercy at the very strange appearance he had taken on.

He didn't want to live life like this. It was simply too much to ask for, but literally, what could he do? There was little he could do that would change his situation. Though it angered him, Jamil had to do what must be done. The stares only grew more in intensity.

"Aw, look at the Vice Housewarden of Scarabia! He's so small!"

"Tiny!"

[heyftinally]

Here's a hard question...

Are there any Taylor Swift songs that you like? Or at least find tolerable?

Y'know, that's a complicated question.

I used to like her music. I wouldn't have called myself a swiftie in any way, but I had several of her albums on my mp3 at the time, and I owned three CDs.

That was in high school, when her music was at the same maturity level as myself. I listened to "fifteen" the morning of my 15th birthday. I listened to "superstar" on the drive to my first concert, dreaming of the disney-channel-level meet cute I was highly unlikely but desperate to have with my celebrity crush. Heck, I remember singing "teardrops on my guitar" in my grandpa's car when I was in middle school. He thought it was awful, but as a country fan he put up with it because I liked it, and he wanted us to have that to connect over - I wasn't the biggest fan of his music, nor he mine, but that was our middle ground for a time (and Dolly Parton, who was my grandpa's favorite).

So in some ways, beautiful eyes to sparks fly Taylor Swift music reminds me of a variety of moments in my life, most of which I remember with a kind of slightly cringey fondness. I was a CRINGE teenager, but I know that I was cringe due to how socially stunted I was thanks to how I was raised. So I don't look back on that version of myself, because she was doing her best to build an independent identity with nothing but a few caricatures from TV shows, the morals of many books, and an internet connection.

That said, Taylor Swift is still Taylor Swift. Her shortcomings are inextricably tied to her work. So in general, her music puts an unpleasant taste in my mouth. If made to listen to her music I prefer the older stuff that at least has that nostalgia for me, but given the choice my nostalgia music doesn't include her.

Her current stuff ranges from just flat out bad (FUCKING KARMA) to just so out of touch that it's no longer entertaining to me.

I'm not who I was in high school anymore. That was ten years ago - I've lived at least three lives since then. That little 16yo girl who feared she was doomed to be unlovable and desperately needed fanciful daydreams like "today was a fairytale" to make her believe that one day she would be wanted is now an adult who understands that relationships aren't that simple, and that I had a LOT of healing and self understanding to do before I was truly ready to date. Taylor's music, a decade later, still sounds like my unhealed high school self. And I've grown too far from that place for her music to resonate with me.

So I guess the short version is, not by choice, but I can find nostalgia in her older songs if I have to. And truth be told, if she was a better person, I could probably enjoy those songs again. But I don't forsee her becoming a better person, so her songs with remain where they lay in my opinion. The old stuff was okay, maybe even decent, and enjoyable enough for my teenage hopelessly romantic self. But to my adult self, that's like asking me if I was to re-do freshman year of high school: it was fun, but I'd rather keep it in my memories than my present.

[ca-suffit]

I don't get why some people refuse to accept that Louis was abused. Him having been a victim to Lestat doesn't negate his grief. He's clearly still grieving Claudia, and from what we can tell of S2, we WILL see that too. No one is saying he's a saint either - he did fail Claudia. Him being a victim doesn't overshadow his grief or make him a saint.

And as you said, this isn't just some cheap story of abuse for shock value either. I wrote a whole wall of text about the complexities and layers of the abuse here but that would have been too long of an ask ajdhwj. Basically, there's the race aspect (which converses with the other aspects), there's that Louis couldn't leave him for many, many reasons, there's the emotional aspect, there's the power aspect (in more than one way)... I'm probably missing something, but this is very good portrayal of abuse and also something that happens irl.

This is also something that loustat will have to touch on in the future and will make for a very interesting story (again, as you said).

His arc is different in the book because the show has a different version of Louis with added struggles that book Louis didn't have (mostly due to his race and era, but also the dynamic that is shown with him and Lestat, if I remember the book correctly - partly also due to the former). Grief is still a part of his story, though.

Sorry for the long ask, it's just that reading that really made me go "??"

thank u for all of this!! I am not ignoring all u wrote but I wanted to elaborate on one point specifically tho and it's gonna be long. thank u for everything u wrote in full tho, I appreciate it. "I don't get why some people refuse to accept that Louis was abused."

they did it when he was white. it's because he's black now and lestat remains white. the vampires mention shit like slavery outright to each other when it's all white ppl, but it suddenly holds a LOT more weight once u make the "fledgling" a black person. AMC has done nothing but enhance what was already there, ppl just don't want to empathize with a black man.

anne rice fans are not critical thinkers but they like to think they are because they're proud they read a lot of books at prbly young ages. books they felt were rly "adult" and "mature." they've never grown up and taken a second look. anne rice's encouragement of parasocial relationships made that worse too. most of these ppl can't separate themselves from these characters and now feel bad seeing themes brought more to the surface about these relationships. they have to blame the writers and keep looking stupid instead of getting some self-awareness.

I know the fight does not happen in the books but I've seen enough passages from book IWTV to know physical and emotional violence between louis and lestat is v common. I've seen parts of lestat's books too where he's also violent to other partners. it's in the character, they've just been too busy wanting to fuck him the whole time to notice ig. that's what it is too. lots of this before the show was a sexy game to ppl and now they're mad u have to think about the story and consequences for things so much, mainly in ways that interfere with lighthearted shipping stuff. anne rice didn't ever talk about anything in depth so they're used to having awareness of topics but never exploring them. they feel stupid in many, many ways now and somehow that's everyone's fault but their own. it's practically *two years in* and they're still doing all this instead of doing some self-reflection. they keep reapplying the clown paint and then want to say it's ppl like me "ruining" it for others here like that's even remotely true lol.

anyways, u are welcome to visit my inbox any time and write whatever u want on this btw! I'd luv to hear it all.

[misteria247]

Idk if you’ve read the Lost Years issue 1 but now all I can imagine is your turtles forever au boys meeting these new kids like DAMN!

The clan lives on!! The littlest boys and girls ahhhhhhh!! Odyn and his ever hungry tummy, Muja and her attitude, Yi wanting to tinker with the other Donnie’s and Uno and his probable routine for training— i love these kidssssss

Ahhhh-! I haven't gotten a chance to read it yet but from what I've seen from your posts and what you'd shown me, I'm absolutely in love with these kids like dude they're so cute-!!! Also OMG I WAS LITERALLY LOWKEY THINKING ABOUT THIS-

Like can you imagine??? The turtles finding these four new turtles, and they're just reeling cuz holy shit they're babies instead of teenagers like them. But they'd all like fall in love with these adorable rugrats cuz how could they not??? And then they learn about how these kids are technically Ronin Mikey's little ones and they all have this wide range of responses cuz holy shit Mikey's got kids?????????!!!!!!!!

Like it'd basically be-

87 Leo, 87 Raph and 87 Donnie would honestly think about it at first surprised but then it'd sink in and they'd be like:

"Honestly that makes sense, Michelangelo's the most likely out of us to have little ones."

While 87 Mikey is just incredibly surprised but honestly excited that a version of him becomes a dad much like his and his brothers own rat dad. 87 Splinter is practically glowing with grandpa pride cuz hell yes while 87 April and 87 Casey think it's hella neat.

07 Leo, 07 Raph and 07 Donnie kinda give their little brother these looks of slight concern cuz 07 Mikey's experience with kids wasn't exactly all that fun. 07 Mikey meanwhile is freaking out and having Vietnam war flashbacks to his old job. He'd get over it eventually but he'd definitely keep his distance for a bit. 07 Splinter meanwhile is just quietly fawning over these little guys and gals cuz it's taking him back to when his boys were young, while 07 April smothers them in affection and 07 Casey just kinda awkwardly interacts with them.

Rise Raph, Rise Leo and Rise Donnie meanwhile are losing their minds cuz it's their baby brother and he's in one timeline a papa?????? Rise Raph definitely lowkey cries much to Rise Mikey's slight embarrassment cuz ohmigosh his little brother has grown so much in the future he needs a minute. Rise Splinter is pretty much in the same mindset while Rise April and Rise Cassandra are absolutely thrilled. Rise Mikey's also thrilled while also on edge due to his own experiences with children (he'll never forget that Mystic Library incident and just how vicious children can be).

12 Leo, 12 Raph and 12 Donnie meanwhile having already dealt with this kind of shock before (Shellshock AU meeting), they're more quick to recover and somewhat tease 12 Mikey who's absolutely beaming, with 12 Leo being an instant mom somewhat much to 12 Mikey's amusement. 12 April is extremely conflicted with the kids, due to one incident where they'd taken one look at the red head, who scarily looks a lot like Ronin April and called her:

"Granny April!"

12 Casey and 12 Raph absolutely had a field day with this little incident and will teasingly call her Granny much to her grievance.

Meanwhile 03 Leo, 03 Raph, 03 Donnie, Bayverse Leo, Bayverse Raph and Bayverse Donnie will be extremely taken aback cuz how the fuck??? Given how absolutely wild and out there 03 Mikey and Bayverse Mikey can be it's extremely hard to picture them as mature fathers in another timeline. Basically their response to this information is Team Fourstar's DBZ Abridged levels. Specifically the scene in the first episode with Bulma and Master Roshi where they go:

'Oh my God he's a parent-'

In a mixture of bafflement and slight dread. They warm up to it eventually after the initial shock. 03 Splinter and Bayverse Splinter meanwhile seem somewhat neutral on this, having full faith in their youngest boys in this endeavor in their possible futures. Bayverse April and 03 April meanwhile think the kids are adorable and proceed to shower them in love and affection while Bayverse Casey and 03 Casey keep a close eye on the little ones.

Future Rise Leo and Future Rise Mikey meanwhile feel a bit bittersweet about it, seeing these adorable turtle tots and thinking about Rise Casey Jr and how he'd grown up in their ruined future. Rise Casey Jr is also feeling bittersweet about it and vows to keep them happy and shielded from any of the horrors that the world has to offer.

But the one who's shaken the most, the one who's unable to believe or understand this is Ronin Mikey. From Ronin Mikey's perspective, he doesn't see himself living long enough to have children. His whole purpose in his life at the moment is to kill Ronin Karai's son who was responsible for his family's murders. Ronin Mikey doesn't plan on surviving his mission, that's his whole vibe and plan. So seeing these four kids, seeing Uno, Yi, Muja and Odyn, his supposed sons and daughters, his descendants, it throws him into a midlife crisis of sorts. He keeps his distance from them, trying to figure out what exactly happened in his future of his world. Ronin Mikey will also keep a close eye on them from a distance and will quickly step in to aid them and take care of them should he need to, after all he's angry but not cruel. Completely unaware of his death and how Ronin April and Ronin Casey Marie are the ones raising them in his stead.

All in all by the time they'd go back home they'd be somewhat spoiled by all the turtles in the 03 lair lol.

[sleepyspnap]

Dad Eddie

(Not really any tags here) A short look into what its like having your first kid with Eddie.

Wc: 941

A/n sorry for the hiatus, Busy busy busy! However if this is well liked i have a single!dad eddie fic series i might post if that’s something you’d like let me know in the comments or send reqs!

Dad Eddie is definitely a try hard parent at first. He wants to be the favorite all the time (even if favorites meant whoever was giving the baby what he wants). Opting for taking most feeding times, baths, and always on his toes to play around on the carpeted floor. You don't argue.

Not because you don't want to, rather, the soft eyes Eddie would give while he cradled a warm bottle to the baby boy's lips.

His dark clothes and gaudy jewelry, juvenile and chaotic, was a deep contrast to the way he looked so mature with a baby in his arms. All grown up but youthful and full of light nonetheless.You’d find yourself sleepy in the mornings, yawning sleep from your eyes while there was nothing but a soft glow of morning casting the room a silvery blue.

Then you’d roll over, sometimes to find eddie with his curls falling from the pony tail, mouth agape. Sometimes the bed was empty and you’d sit and listen in the quiet morning for noise.

On good days you’d hear him cooing from the room over. soft hums, a gentle sound of an acoustic guitar of some soft acoustic version of eddies music.

You’d smile, you felt like your womb was fluttering sometimes. You wanted to give him this gift again and again. Bask in his love for what the two of you created.-

Scattered around the house were polaroids. Strewn across side tables, tucked in drawers, taped hastily to a surface.

Sometimes they’d catch your eye. You’d stand in the home you and eddie built and stare.

There was one of him with wet dripping hair, an orange glow of the shot bathroom lighting of his old trailer. His face was smoother around the edges, his hair was frizzier than it is now that he knows how to care for it.

One of him asleep on the couch, his head tossed back and mouth parted, his guitar sat next to him on the floor and bundled against his chest was the soft blue of a baby blanket with small hands peeking out, clutched onto the dark fabric of his t-shirt.

Then there were your personal ones. Most in a small box in the bedside table, a few respectively in your cars. The most prized ones are in his wallet.

There's one of you scowling at him as you brushed your teeth, hair messy and your shoulder adorned with marks from his teeth.

Another of you sat back against the couch, it was blurry from how much he was laughing when he took it. You had a small lump of a newborn in your lap, extending his curled fist to show off the tiniest middle finger.

-

You jumped when there was a sudden noise from the otherside of the kitchen, lost in thought you had not heard Eddie come in.

“What are you doin up?” He asked as he slipped a warm arm around your waist, face falling with familiarity into your hair.

“Mm, needed some water. Got distracted.”

He smirked. “Thinkin back on the old days? Being young and free?” He chided and you shook your head.

“No, no. I think I like this way more than when it was just us and the world.” You spoke softly, hoping he didn't take it in the wrong way.

“Yeah, me too.” He breathed still smiling big and bright and full even in the late hour.

“You’re just-“ You stopped, he was a lot of things. You weren't sure where to even start.

“You’re a great dad Eds, i'm so lucky to be able to have a family with you. Even if you are a dick and an idiot.” You tacked on the end to save the embarrassment you felt for the way your voice wavered.

-

You'd heard of the term ‘terrible twos’ in about every book on parenting. So when the time came and the house was still orderly, and Eddie was still so damn good at this, it wasn't all that shocking that it didn't live up to the hype.

Eddie liked to say you had a special power.

“You’re so good at this shit baby. Its like your a walking pacifier for the fucker”he kissed you softly, thumb catching the curve of you chin.”Maybe it's your great tits and incredible beauty.” he just had to tack on.

“Dont fucking flirt with me while telling me how good of a mom i am you weirdo!” You tried to pull away, but his thick arms were tight, tugging you back into him with a whine.

“Cmon!” He pleaded dipping down for another soft kiss, that turned to two, than three and- “MAMA!”

The garbled shout made you grin, Eddie sneaking one more kiss before there was a two year old bounding towards you both.

“Hello my baby!” You cooed, scooping up the mess of brown curls.

“Mama!” Another shout, as small clammy hands came to squeeze at your face. You batted them away softly with a chuckle.

“C’mon, don’t try tearing mama's face off this early.” Eddie said, fingers digging into the small ribs making the little boy squeal and fight against you.

“Look!You’ve got him all riled up now!” You groaned as the child continued to squirm and bounce in your grasp until you placed him back onto wobbly feet.

“Mm, sorry.” Eddie apologized, giving you those soft eyes you couldn’t argue against. You kissed his chin, feeling the scruff of his beard against your lips.

“Don’t be.” You whispered.

And it was good. Everything was good even under the stress of a baby. You were lucky.

[ilikelookingatthings]

A adventure time thought

anyone else think about how the finn in the sword IS a valid Finn who then got knocked out by a weird grass demon which created the grass fin....and how we don't ACTUALLY know what happened to the finn within the Sword? just that grass fin disappeared and all that was left was a seed shapped sword....and how in the future we see the normal sword appear stuck in the tree that was grown from that seed..

....AND how technically the real Jake that was from a couple minutes before that matched that specific Finn was used to replace the old man that the Litch killed who's dream was Prismo...and how that Jake grew a beard and matched what the old man looked like when he took that nap?

and how it was mentioned the old man wakes every what? 1,000 or 100 years or something(just a long time)....

so TECHNICALLY....what happens if that Jake wakes up? will he reunite with the Finn who might still be in the Sword and who might be able to come out by that time?

If adventure time comes back we might end up following different characters who may or may not be the reincarnated versions of Finn and Jake.....but.......what happens if we end up following Finn and Jake again having adventures FAR in the future who technically ARE the REAL Finn and Jake who were just taken a few minutes before by the Finn and Jake we ended up following the rest of the show.

Exploring how circumstances and lessons can change you in different ways...like....did that Finn ever meet his dad or mom? We know he got a little more mature compared to the Finn on the outside while he was in the Sword...and unlike that Finn didn't have the crushing guilt from mishandling sword and grass Finn. How would he respond to humans if they are still around in the future? or about any of the legacy of the other version of himself and Jake?

would bubble gum still be there? we know Bimo is even though its been so long he's been getting their names wrong? would any remnants of Finn's mom still be their in the future for that version of Finn to find? would to them he me the remnants of am ancient human(like how we have thoughts about a caveman appearing from the past). is he known as a hero or a harbinger of doom since I'm pretty sure that creepy doctor gross that caused the plague was able to get in and cause more human issues now that the guardian is gone.

Would Finn's dad who went off with that cosmic entity be doing Shenagans and appear in that far future somehow?

How does reincarantion even work when part of you from the past technically still exists if you reincarnate? do you just share a soul? or is it just implied/fine because eventually everything with get shushed together eventually?

Would that Finn and Jake get to learn the lessons it took the other Finn reaching Death to learn but instead while he's younger and able to change now?

I mean it would KINDOF be like adventure time pulled and futurama....

would we get more deets about rainicorn and jake if she died in that future or would she still be alive since alot of entities can live for a LONG time or even out of time...how would Jake be treated by the generations of rainbow dog people? does that jake even know he has kids?

how would both of them feel if they find out what happened to get them separated from their original time?

and it was so long so would it even matter?

let alone the whole thing with Simon and the iceking.

I mean...would they have to face off against the litch again? or would that honor go to the ones they had reincarnated as or were them?

[shortpplfedup]

My School President Episode 2: I Want To Hold Your Hand

There's nothin' you can do that can't be done Nothin' you can sing that can't be sung Nothin' you can say, but you can learn how to play the game It's easy Nothin' you can make that can't be made No one you can save that can't be saved Nothin' you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time It's easy

The Beatles | All You Need Is Love (1967)

It's the perspective shift for me. This week we get to know Tinn in all his dorky, lovesick glory, and it is AMAZING. From the outside this story seems like the Big Man On Campus secretly in love with the weird slacker kid and hiding it for his rep, but then we get in Tinn's head and realise this is actually the story of the lonely nerd in love with the cool kid who barely knows he exists. They're nailing the high school romance archetypes on the head in this show so far.

Verse: the lit candle in the rain

Oh darling, please believe me I'll never let you down Oh, believe me, darlin' Believe me when I tell you I'll never do you no harm

The Beatles | Oh! Darling (1969)

Oh Tinn. Oh Tinn Tinn Tinn you are down HORRENDOUS. This week we discover that Tinn fell in love essentially because Gun was nice to him, and has been on a 'please notice me' tour for YEARS. He's now finally managed to get Gun's attention fixed on him, even if it's because he hates him, and he's so intoxicated by finally having Gun regularly interacting with him, he's absolutely set on going the distance. The 'be my servant' thing was nothing more than Tinn seizing a short-lived opportunity to make Gun do boyfriend things with him (you just know he was squeeing on the inside when Gun was feeding him), and hoping that would do the trick, but to no avail. Inevitably while the vinegar worked to grab Gun's attention, it's bitter for Tinn too, and he'd prefer to catch this fly with honey. So after a whole lot of shenanigans, he finally gives Gun a version of the truth: he wants to help him win Hot Wave, and he'll do whatever it takes for that to happen. He is about to WOO.

Bridge: Tinn, the loneliest boy

I want you I want you so bad It's driving me mad, it's driving me mad

The Beatles | I Want You (She's So Heavy) (1969)

Man Tinn's parents are loving and involved...and also very wrapped up in their own shit. Who misses their kid's birthday for non-essential work? I'm sure they think Tinn is really grown up and mature and he makes them proud and he's a lovely, smart, independent, well-adjusted kid who never gave them a lick of trouble...but he also seems really lonely somehow. I wonder if Tinn crafted himself into this kid as cause or effect of his parents' benign neglect. They're busy people, and they love him, so he tries to be good and not make life hard for them. I feel like as things progress between him and Gun, the Tinn who emerges is gonna cause some angst with his parents.

Ad Libs

So this show is actually Love Buddy: The Musical, complete with dream sequence performances, and it totally works because who HASN'T pretended they were in a music video in their head while singing a song they like, ESPECIALLY in high school?

Tiw continuing the finest Dr. Nam tradition of taking one look at his seemingly cool, actually a dweeb best friend like one (1) person and going 'on god we gon get you laid bruh'.

Tiw is also in possession of the only braincell in the ENTIRE student body apparently.

Watching Tinn's little rose get trampled and kicked around made me simultaneously laugh OUT LOUD and also feel really bad for him.

So Tinn lending the music club his dad's very expensive guitar without telling his dad is gonna come back and bite him yes?

[thehipovercor]

Here, have some of my cringe writing

Ft. the magic of me assuming the brainwaves of whichever character I'm focusing on.

Summary: "Stupid Metaphors, or Whatever" Renard/Carpal and Marty, whom do Not have lungs, go to a human park and think about breathing

No content warnings, only my secondhand embarrassment :')

Renard had probably painted that same oak tree forty times, and would paint it another forty if given the chance. As long as the public park remained a public park in the decades coming, and perhaps not something sad like a parking lot or golf course, he would certainly have his chances. This sketch would be another in the series tracking the growth since his sharp eyes spied a sapling growing just enough more than its peers for it to be a hopeful candidate for maturity. Indeed it had grown, and he had snapshots in time which no one else would’ve noticed otherwise. One year the bark was strong and healthy, the next someone… Well perhaps a young couple thought their love was worthy of carving into the wood in a small bare spot where the bark had been ripped away. It was possible their romance lasted, or… Regardless, the carving lasted and it was painted too.

He remembered to blink when a breeze blew by – refreshing! – and his eyes felt slightly dry. He narrowly avoided sticking a paintbrush into his hair, which wouldn’t be the first accident of its kind. Brought back into the world, he gave the oak tree another once over before stretching his arms and seeing what had happened in the time he missed. The day had gotten hotter and more people had congregated to places of shade, with the truly rugged individuals continuing to jog or – what was that sport? – play basketball on the court with faded turf. Someone should touch that up some time. Renard checked around a little more before finding his dear travel partner engaged in a classic game of football; the correct version of football, of course. Everyone was a blur, bustling, sprinting, then…! He wasn’t quite sure of the original terms and conditions, but he could hear the simultaneous cheers and groans as the ball hit the makeshift goal. He mixed a little more yellow into his green before looking back over. There he was, a head and shoulders above the rest but no better than the one who had scored. A chatter of voices discussing the match – probably – before a chorus of laughter. Renard smiled seemingly on instinct, backed up by the slight eye contact and wave he received. He waved back to the group. No, a little blue should’ve been in the green. He was back on step one.

“That’s freaky, guy! Did you even hear yourself?” “‘Huff huff huff’ like a dog or something! He sounded just like a dog. Crazy, you’d make my lab go nuts.” “Well, I, eh… It’s a condition. The…” “Asthma or something, yeah?” “A little rarer, but not– does not hurt!” “Doesn’t make you a cleaner kick either!” More laughter. That’s just rude. Renard double checked and saw the slightest glimmer of an idea. But it seems you’ve got this one.

“You see, eh… I could probably growl too. Your dog? The ‘lab,’ it would hate the growl.”

“Yeah?” and other such jests and jabs rang out. Lighthearted, hopefully, from the comradery of the game. “I can bark too, watch.” One of the more comedic members submitted their best impression of a dog, calling more laughter. “No wonder you love playing ball.” “No no, you need to watch how it is done.” 

Renard made another bout of eye contact and nodded over, waiting on whatever his partner would do. Scare them proper! He watched, so clearly across the distance, as he took a deep breath, and…

Indeed, no one expected the primal rumble, deep and powerful, that slipped into a chuff, then into a small laugh. Surely all of them would’ve been able to feel the reverberation in their legs, climbing to their chests, shaking their cores. The players exclaimed, with the comedian unable to mimic even a minute fraction of the intensity. Some passersby looked up, confused, possibly trying to think of what local animals could come close to the noise they had just heard. A jogger took a wider path around.

“Damn, okay. What’s your condition called? ‘I’m half crocodile’-itis?”

“Ehh well… We do not talk about it. It’s not, eh, contagious, though.” “I’m right here and I hate it, forget my dog.”

I’m in public, Renard mused, and so is he, and yet he’s trying to make me blush! He peeked one last time, watching the chest rise and fall, watching the conversation fizzle out, watching them shake hands and making plans to meet for another match. There was now a perfect measure of hues mixed on the palette. He resumed studying the oak’s leaves, sketching out with deliberate impasto strokes. The leaves seemed to wave gently in a breeze higher up, out of his reach, but so real. The carved initials remained unmoving, immutable, suddenly in his field of view. As if in a trance, he put away the green brush and selected the one he had used to paint the bark, now mixing and touching up the trenches in the wood. Two letters, he wasn’t sure which as the handwriting had never been very legible to him, surrounded by a heart. In his peripherals, the leaves kept swaying.

Rise and fall. Rise and fall. Immortalized. He considered time again, how in his youth he had watched his partner inhale like he had before the growl, except back then he didn’t growl. Then, it had been the precursor to a resigned sigh, shuffling vellum, and more breathing. Back then, it wasn’t quite “partner.” Didn’t matter, either. Rise and fall. He knew Renard couldn’t see movement very clearly and, initially, made the effort to hold still during conversations when they had the time to speak. Eventually it wasn’t deliberate and became an accommodating habit, even when he was out of Renard’s direct line of sight. One lunch, he was still save for speaking and the rise and fall of his breathing. Renard had been distracted, watching the rhythm, replying enough to carry on the story. Rise and fall. Then, years later, he…

“How’s it coming along?” 

Renard startled, making a small noise and clutching the brush tighter before realizing and relaxing. He felt a hand on his shoulder, which gave it a light squeeze before leaving. “You’re one to startle me, somehow.” He shook his head and grinned. “Yet you’ll never make me ruin a line! It’s going quite well, have a look.”

“B and L. Do the mysterious B and L know you’ve been including them in each of this series?” “Are those the letters! I’ve never been able to tell. I confess: I’ve been scribbling to approximate letters.” “Well, it looks like a B. I think? No, I believe.” “What a foul pun. I’d have it no other way.”

Renard checked for the sake of checking. No rise, no fall. The eerie stillness they’d both gotten accustomed to. “Say, do you remember– No nevermind, of course you do. Ah, no I’ll ask anyway. Do you remember how you used to breathe? Before the… All of that.” He watched his partner seem to wither, but only internally.

“Absolutely. I miss it, what I do now isn’t refreshing. It does the trick, but it’s not the same. Why?” “Oh, I watched you scaring those lads. You took what appeared to be such a deep breath. And, I– Well you know, I missed it. When we both felt a different type of alive.”

“We can’t take it back. I’m not sure if I would, I mean… Or would I? I don’t know sometimes. If we didn’t change, I mean, then–”

“Then we wouldn’t have all of the sunsets under our belts, and I wouldn’t be able to catalog this tree.” “...and I wouldn’t have had closure. So it’s… Not all bad. The breathing is not refreshing, but I don’t need to breathe to have a still moment.”

“Arguably, you’re moreso! Even now, don’t think I haven’t noticed, you still hold as still as a stone when you’re talking to me.” Renard winked. “You should have a medal for not using your hands.”

“Ey, now listen here, you!” Fake indignation, complete with an emphatically shaken fist. “I, for one, am thoroughly threatened.” He feigned being attacked, dramatically. “Would you bring the defeated welp a sip of cold water?” “Yes, just a second. I could use a drink too.”Well. Perhaps the initials could be changed, mutable after all under the brush. Changed suddenly.