#i forget if i posted that second one idk if i did . well its here again

[85-rend]

Fifty-Six silly and fucked up moments. i love this freak so much guys you have no idea

[olenvasynyt]

Top 3 most controversial acotar takes/opinions, now☄️

Uh nooooo only my top three? Alrighty. These are going to be very harsh:

1. I have read the ACOTAR series at least 3 times since 2021 and I very often skim chapters every week for posts and videos. And I will be fully honest, I never want to reread the series ever again because of Feyre. I dislike her biases, her hypocrisy, her habit of ignoring other people’s POVs and the mistakes she’s made. I hate her excuses and her blindness and selfishness and how she treats everyone who is not in the IC. I hate how she treats Tamlin and Lucien. I physically cannot reread ACOWAR without flinching at all of the stuff she does, ESPECIALLY her taking down Spring out of revenge. I do not like her as an FMC and I’m glad we have moved past her story and onto other characters.

2. I think the fanbase’s hatred for Tamlin is so extreme and it is heavily influenced by Feyre’s own biases, as well as stupid memes on tiktok. If you take a second to look at the story from Tamlin’s perspective, you can easily understand his actions. With Hybern, EVERYONE FORGETS THAT 1. He was not part of the Archeron Sister’s kidnapping, that was Ianthe. It’s literally explained by Hybern in the book. And 2. He was playing as a double agent, which is hinted at many many times and it is something we later discover. I would go into it more but I feel like that’s its own post that many people have made before.

3. I don’t think SJM is the best writer. I know writers can retcon, especially in huge series like this, but she uses retconning as a crutch, and it’s very frustrating. She has so many inconsistencies and plot holes and inconveniences that personally bother me. I think her world building in ACOTAR is so flat and not thought out at all, and her magic system is even worse. Most of her villains, not just in ACOTAR but in her other series, are not that good idk. She also has a habit of the typical villain monologue that I am getting so sick of and I literally skip the part of the human queen during the Blood Rite because I think it’s so badly written 😭😂

And here’s some random ones just for fun with no to little explanation (I couldn’t do just 3 LMAO sorry)

4. ACOTAR would be better in 3rd POV limited and we can still get the mystery of the world, Feyre’s biases, etc. A lot of problems I have would be solved if we got the POVs of other characters

5. I would like Rhys so much more if he was revealed to be a villain

6. Lucien is one of the only characters I genuinely enjoy, and I’m holding out for him. If he did not exist, I would not be reading ACOTAR at all

7. The IC are awful for how they treat Nesta and I DESPISE THE “intervention” they put her through. It was not a real intervention and readers should not try to defend it in that way

8. This fanbase is filled with too many straight normies who have never experienced a fanbase before and refuse to broaden their minds and think beyond canon. Tamsand would be the most popular ship in any other fanbase. There would be more sexuality and gender headcanons. Trans headcanons, trans fanfics, m-preg fanfics, etc etc. But I guess this is a very popular fantasy romance so I get why those aren’t popular but I should not have to explain why it’s okay to ship ships that aren’t canon, and why people often insert their heteronormative fantasies in queer ships (looking at you Azris)

[daydream-believin]

Like A Boiled Frog (You Don't Even Scream) [ch 1]

notes: might proofread this before i post this to ao3 but here have the raw milk version (pasteurization is for losers amaright)

series summary: every time you think things cant get any more batshit, hurricane throws another pile of guano at you. every time you think the hole cant get any deeper, you fall further. and you’re not sure what frightens you more: the town itself, or your increasing reluctance to leave.

or: au where mike has that pizza shop for wayyy more than a week and you find yourself a horror protagonist. or at least one’s love interest.

chapter summary: get haunted bitch. now go drive to utah in a manic episode. go meet a nice walking corpse, maybe it'll fix you. or make you worse. probably that second thing lmao

word count: 7985, oh dear (thats with me cutting out some stuff lol)

warnings: uh, swearing, manic behavior, self-harmful thoughts/behavior, mention of hallucinations/hearing voices, shit this is sounding bad, i mean its canon typical violence so idk man no lifeguard on duty

You know how in Source Decay, John Darnielle says / I wish the west Texas highway was a mobius strip / I could ride it out forever / when I feel my heart break? / Well, that guy’s a bitchass snake oil salesman for romanticizing this. Fuck that guy.

Although, this is the first time you’ve ever been able to set a cruise control and actually just leave it at that. What with there being no other cars on the road out here at this hour for you to run into. You even forgot about it at one point.

Little puffs of fire danced in your peripheral vision, like fairies flitting about. It was easy to spot them out in the night air, all those pumpjacks that littered the desert. There was nothing but these small fires, with the tiny, dotted additions of the glowing red eyes of windmills to light up the way for miles.

And you tried not to think about how if you broke down, no one would be around to find you. Every now and then you would startle at the shadowy specter of a tumbleweed crossing your path, but you were acutely aware of just how alone you were out here.

On that train of thought, your gaze fell to the passenger side, to the little bear toy you had buckled into a seatbelt like it was a person.

“Can you believe this, Fredbear?” you asked the inanimate object.

Fredbear did not answer, of course. Would be insane if he did, right?

Hmm …Why did part of you expect him to.

***

The august sun was beating down hot on your back as you walked home that day. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but it was only last week.

The neighborhood was as full of life as it always was. The kids running around in a game of tag, the teens playing basketball, and the adults walking their dogs. You could hear some faint music playing in the distance, most likely from the stage setup in the square downtown, not too far away.

There were many yard sales set up, it being the thing to do on a sunny Saturday afternoon like this. Despite your very strong instincts to rummage through all the boxes in these sales like a raccoon looking for dinner in a dumpster, you were broke, with no money to spare for impulse purchases on random junk. And thus, being a mature adult, you walked right past them.

That is, until a yard full of children’s toys caught your eye. One of your cousins’ kids was turning 6 in a few weeks. Might as well buy presents now before you forget again and have to rush to the store in a panic 8 minutes after the party had already started, sweat rolling down your back as you search the toy isle for something the birthday boy would like, while your phone keeps buzzing in your pocket nonstop because both your cousin is texting and your aunt is calling to ask where you’re at because you were the one who was supposed to be picking up the pizza.

 I mean, just a hypothetical scenario here.

You didn’t really find anything good as you dug through the bins of miscellaneous action figures and toy cars. As you could recall, the kid really liked Iron Man right now. And sharks. Alas, you found no Iron Mans or sharks in those bins.

The other table’s baskets were full of stuffed animals. You could maybe get lucky and find a stuffed shark in there. But stuffed animals are notorious for being hard to clean; and yard sale plushies sometimes come with more than just one new friend. You weren’t about to be the reason your cousin had to fumigate her house for bedbugs. Again. So, you decided to close this case for now and skedaddle on out of there.

You took another look back at the table as you walked away.

Well.. The toys you could see at the top of the bins did look like they were well taken care of… It couldn’t hurt to just look, right?

Yeah no. You found no sharks unfortunately. What you did find, however, was this funky little teddy bear wearing a top hat and bowtie.

A real character, that one. The bright gold fabric of its body made it stand out amongst the other toys. The smile stitched onto the bear gave it a weird, smug look. And you hadn’t seen a plushy with eyebrows before.

That being said, this thing’s aura was so... unsettling. You stared into its black eyes, that seemed to stare right back at you, with a strange feeling twisting in the pit of your stomach.

“You like that one, do ya?”

You almost jumped out of your skin when the old man running the sale spoke to you. You had Not heard him come up beside you like that. Creepy.

“Yeah, it’s…” you tried to think of a positive word, “very intriguing. Looks like it’s ready for a party.”

“My granddaughter called him Fredbear. Found him over in Utah, many years back. In a yard sale, just like this one,” he gently took the bear from you, and looked down at it wistfully, “My granddaughter..  liked how smartly dressed he was. A perfect guest for her tea parties. You were right about that…”

The old man stared at the doll for a little longer after the conversation faded. You felt extremely awkward now. Perhaps you really should have just left without unearthing this obvious sentimental piece.

“My grandchildren are no longer here with me,” you felt a little uncomfortable with how he phrased that, “so, I’ll tell you what. Promise me you’ll take care of him, and he’s yours. Free of charge.”

“Oh, I couldn’t. I’d be happy to pay for him, really,” you felt bad taking free stuff from the elderly.

“No,” he said with a tone of finality, placing the bear firmly into your hands, “the day’s almost over. I’d like to help this old friend move on. It’s time.”

Well that somehow was both sweet and foreboding at the same time.

So, you thanked the old man and started back on your walk home, Fredbear cradled in your arms. He waved goodbye to you. The grandfather, of course, not the teddy bear.

You probably aren’t going to wind up giving this one to your cousin’s son. There was something about it that told you not to. Maybe it was the way the old man talked about it. You felt compelled to take care of the plush yourself. Kind of like an honor thing. Or a pity thing.

It smelled a little funky. But that’s nothing a little TLC couldn’t handle. And some dish soap.

Maybe you were just. Feeling a bit childish lately. Too small and easily broken. Moved to tears by little things that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Disregarded and treated like your fears weren’t real.

Deeply afraid.

Yeah, you’d give Fredbear a nice soak in the sink with a fun dish soap bubble bath. And maybe after that, you’ll both feel a little better.

You were alone in your apartment that night, as your roommate was always gone these days. And when you made your tea, you brought Fredbear a mug as well. A little tea party, for old time’s sake.

Looking back, maybe that was your first mistake.

***

Static rolled from your radio. You gave up on fiddling with it hours ago, but you’ve got nothing better to occupy your mind now.

You turned the knob absentmindedly, never really expecting to get anywhere. Or any signal, that is. A muffled country song here, the broken-up voice of a DJ there, nothing strong enough to stay for more than a few seconds. However, a few seconds of a clear transmission was all you really needed when you rolled past a certain signal.

“zZz-Hurricane—“

Now that was a word that got your attention. Not that you were anywhere near the coast at the moment. You know, unless the person reading this is looking to buy some oceanside property in Arizona. In that case feel free to slide into my DMs.

“zZZ-Peach Days! -Zz celebratio— zzZ-year—peaches peach—-ZzzZ-Heritage-zZ,” you let your gaze flicker downward, towards the dimly lit red text of the frequency number display as if that would provide some more insight.

And then suddenly, the fuzz was completely gone, as if you were near the tower itself,

“So Hurry On To Hurricane City!” the spokesman encouraged cheerfully. You could practically here the giant pageant smile in his voice as he delivered his slogan. This man was your friend, obviously. Then, however, his tone shifted as he closed the ad copy, “Because you know the party can’t start without you…”

You held your breath as the silence dragged out a few agonizing seconds, until “ZZZZZZZZ!!!”, in a jolt, the transmission went completely out. Explosively. You even flinched.

You stayed on the station for a good twenty minutes after that, waiting to see if you could hear anything again. You could feel your heart pound against your ribs until the terrifying feeling faded. There was nothing else but static, of course, and for so long you almost thought you must have imagined it. If not for the way those dull words repeated in your head, over and over.

THE PARTY CAN’T START WITHOUT YOU.

THE PARTY CAN’T START WITHOUT YOU.

THE PARTY CAN’T START WITHOUT YOU.

You hadn’t really had a destination in mind when you took off. No goal other than to get out of there as fast as you could manage. The idea of the West had been bouncing around your brain a lot lately, hence your current trajectory, but you really hadn’t had a clue where you were supposed to be going when you left.

I mean, you still didn’t have a destination. You had no clue what that advertisement was even about. Where they were even fucking talking about. Hurricane City?

Yet, somehow, you knew those words were meant for you. Not anyone else. you. There was a party and the party was waiting for you.

Guess you’d have to look for a map or something in town. Perhaps use the library computer. Man, you would regret throwing your phone into the lake in a fit of passion as you left town, but honestly, this is the longest you’ve known peace in quite some time. Just gonna have to live a little retro for a while. Not the worst thing in the world.

You’ll get a new one later, once you’ve settled in to… wherever you’re going. Whatever new home lies over that horizon for you, you guess.

The sun was breaching the beige skyline of sandy shrub brush as you finally rolled over the state line. You needed to eat. Your stomach growled loudly at just the thought. Funny. You hadn’t even thought about eating in the last.. twenty hours. Which means you should be absolutely shaking right now. Yeah, that’s why you’re shaking. That’s it. You’ll pull into the first diner you see.

You were hoping to at least be in Roswell for breakfast, but there was no way your body was going to be able to keep running if you waited that long. Looks like it’s just going to be the first place you come across.

Hopefully they don’t put green chilis in their pancakes or something.

That sounds insane but it’s an actual thing you’ve seen before in this state, trust. There are no laws nor gods when it comes to Hatch green chilis.

***

Your sleepy brain was not ready for the bell that rang as you walked through the door. Embarrassingly enough, the tinny noise startled you. You almost tripped, to be honest. Thankfully your wobbly Bambi legs held up as you managed to catch yourself.

The hostess wasn’t in sight as you awkwardly stood in the entrance, but there was a whole heap of noise coming from the kitchen.

“Hold on just a second, Sweetpea!” a voice called out to you.

Well, guess you’re holding on a second.

Your eyes scanned the top of the walls, perusing the vast cookie jar collection that the owner had accrued over the years. They were never dusted, despite being on shelves that lined the top of every wall in the tiny shack of a diner, and thus you could easily tell that a few new additions had been made. You know, because those cookie jars were way less filthy.

That’s gotta be a heath-code violation.

After you heard a bit of garbled yelling, the hostess rushed out to take her place in front of you. Smoothing down her polka-dotted apron, she grinned at you.

“Table for two?”

You blinked. It was too early in the morning for fully intelligent speech.

“Uh. No. Just me today. Thank you.”

Her big, bedazzled cat-eyeglasses fell a little farther down her nose as she scrunched her face in confusion, “alright then. Just the one of you today...”

She grabbed a paper menu as she led your shambling body to a table near the window. Which was shut away with ancient looking vinyl blinds that you were too afraid to open, lest they crumble and the cost of replacing them be put on your on tab.

She had already disappeared back into the kitchen by the time you got yourself in a seat. You glanced around the room. You weren’t the only patron here, as a few tables held a few bodies, but you were the only one without your face buried in a newspaper. And to be expected honestly, you were the youngest person in the room at seven in the morning.

The hostess, who was also the only waitress in this tiny local business, placed two glasses in front of you. The dull sound they made hitting the table drew you out of your revelry. There before you were two cups, a steaming mug of fresh coffee and a short glass of milk. You looked up in confusion.

“Don’t worry, it’s whole milk. Builds strong bones.”

That... wasn’t your concern.

You looked back at the cup in confusion and by the time you turned back, she had already moved on to the next table, refilling mugs and having loud banter with the other customers. Her regulars, by the sound of it. You felt too apathetic to try and call her over again.

You shrugged, to no one in particular, as you did not have a breakfast partner with you, despite the waitress’s insistence otherwise. Wait, was she mocking you? Eh, maybe it’s just supposed to be for the coffee. Nevertheless, you would not be drinking the milk, so you just left it there.

Despite the prevalence of the local newspaper in the room, there wasn’t a dispenser or anything at the front of the restaurant, like there usually is. As you drummed your fingers on the tablecloth, bored out of your mind, you kinda regretted throwing your phone in the lake a bit more. Maybe not the best of moves.

But hey, at least you aren’t constantly quelling the incessant buzzing you’d be hearing if you’d kept it.

You busied yourself stirring your coffee while you looked over the menu again, just for something to read. Of course, you were ordering a waffle. Because this was a diner, and, yeah, you do like waffles. And pancakes. And French toast. Doodoodoodoo can’t wait to get a mouthful.

That voice kept echoing in your mind. The party can’t start without you.

“More coffee, Babycakes?” the waitress snapped you out of your thoughts.

“Oh! Yeah, thank you,” you moved the mug to the edge of the table, closer to her, “Say… I know this is an out-of-pocket question, but have you heard anything about Hurricane City? Maybe something about peaches?”

“Oh!” she snapped her fingers, “You mean the Peach Days. It’s a little heritage festival they put on every summer in Hurricane, you know. It’s a hoot, my family makes a trip out there every few years or so for it. Not this time of course, clearly, since I’m here talkin’ to you and not in Utah—”

“In Utah?”

Of course, it was Fucking Utah again.

“I know it’s soundin’ far, but it’s only ‘bout a day’s drive from here. Two days if y’ain’t crazy about following an itinerary like my husband,” she brushed a hand over her apron before you lost her attention to the other customers, “I swear that man would plan out a schedule for every second of the day if he could…”

After she wandered off to go top off more mugs, you lamented the fact that you still hadn’t ordered yet. That’s what you get for being nosy about peach festivals, you suppose.

Thankfully though, soon enough you had your hearty breakfast and were back in front of the wheel, on your way to the friendly neighborhood Walmart. Where hopefully no cops or employees would bother you as you crashed in the parking lot.

You took Fredbear to the backseat with you for good luck. Maybe it was the gold color, or the fancy getup he had. Maybe you just needed a cuddle buddy to not feel so alone in this parking lot swarming with people.

Much to your disdain, it was now a bit into the morning hours, and the sun was fully up.

You had tried to find as shady a spot as possible, but it’s not exactly like trees grow in this biome. At least not naturally. Windbreak tree lines were definitely a thing, but those protected buildings people cared about, and this was a Walmart. Nothing around here but concrete, rocks spray painted blue, and cigarette butts.

So after tossing and turning in the bright blinding sunshine for way longer than you should have, and making promises to higher deities was proven to be unfruitful in your attempt to find some semblance of peace, you finally just had to admit defeat. And here by rescinding any aforementioned promises to higher powers.

You laid Fredbear back down on the seat and tucked him in with the blanket when you got back up. At least one of you could be cozy and well rested. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be you, however.

Well, it’s far from the first all-nighter you’ve pulled without having time to take a nap during the following day. Sleep deprivation isn’t real, silly. Teachers just made that up to scare you. It’ll be fine.

***

You know you never really realize how much we structure our lives around other humans until you take a drive through the middle of nowhere. How essential it is to have enough gas to make it to the next town. From town to town, your life becomes segments. Only within the eyesight of other humans are you ever safe. Only within the bounds of the settlement can your soul be settled.

Gas stations become oases. Which is the plural of oasis, apparently. Anyway, you start seeing them like mirages. Dingey, weather-worn gas pumps become as good as a sparkling illusion of precious water in the Sahara. The empty shells of buildings you passed by, long since forgotten, became like mausoleums in these graveyard towns. Villages. Hamlets. Mostly hamlets.

“Are we there yet?” a small and very annoyed voice called out.

You had just written it off as your imagination until you heard the noise of shuffling fabric. Normally your audio hallucinations aren’t that detailed. Paralyzed, you held your breath, not daring to make any noise that would distract your ears from hearing whoever, whatever, was in the back seat. Your mind went to stories of skinwalkers and misshapen monsters and hitch-hiking serial killers.

“… Are we there yet?” the voice repeated, admittedly sounding even smaller to you now.

Yep, that’s a real person alright. Or a real thing. Your eyes were probably bloodshot from the way you haven’t blinked this entire time, just staring straight ahead on the desert highway. Taking a deep, shaky breath to steady yourself, you turned down the rear-view mirror…

Christ almighty. You had a stowaway.

Your stomach turned immediately. God, come on now, don’t puke up what little you had on your stomach. You need that.

“Hey Buddy,” you tried to sound as friendly as you could, “What’s your name?”

Clad in a little striped shirt and cargo shorts, he started kicking his feet in impatience, which would be cute if it weren’t for this situation y’all are in, and the adrenaline pumping through your veins, “We’ve been in here forever,” he whined.

If this was a skinwalker, he was a pretty darn adorable one. And definitely not a hitch-hiking serial killer. At least you hoped. But no, this was a greater form of terror: responsibility.

“Haha, yeah, we have been in here really long, haven’t we? How long do you think we’ve been driving, can you tell me?”

When did you pick up this child. When you got gas in Gallup? Albuquerque? Dear lord, if he’s been in here since Roswell, you’re about to have the world’s biggest headache on your hands, both metaphorically and physically. But there’s no way he’s been in here for fucking 10 hours, right? right??

Okay, okay. Maybe you’re just a little panicky right now and not thinking straight. Maybe teachers hadn’t been making up sleep deprivation just to scare you after all. You have been purposely not drinking anything for the lack of available restrooms. People get dehydration hallucinations, right?

The boy just stared at you, blankly. Probably fully realizing you were a stranger and not whoever he thought you were. In lieu of answering you, he started fidgeting more with the toy bear you had had in the back. You really hoped that hadn’t been what lured him into your station wagon in the first place.

Don’t be getting shy on me now, kid.

You put your blinker on, ready to merge off the road and onto an incoming rest-stop that you thanked your lucky stars for.

“Honey, can you tell me what your phone number is?”

He looked up at you, finally tearing his attention from the bear, and you could see gears turning in his head.

“…435-555-1987?”

You repeated it back to him, and he nodded. Alright, time to find that payphone.

Said rest-stop payphone was thankfully near a picnic table so you could sit him down and be able to watch him carefully the whole time you made this call. Because judging by the fact this situation was happening at all, he was a slippery one.

You got out of the car and opened the back door, but he was hesitant to get out. Which, fair, you are a stranger trying to get him to a second location.

“What’s up, Bud?” you tried your hardest to not sound like a predator but boy was that a real nebulous idea, wasn’t it?

“Fredbear wants to come too,” he mutters.

“Well, sure then, let’s bring him, we’ll have a little picnic.” With no food, but hey, whatever lie it takes to get him sitting on that bench.

It was really cute the way the kid set the bear down on the table and positioned it like they were going to have a picnic together. When you find this kid’s parents, you’ll let him keep Fredbear. Toys like it when they’re given to new children, right? Wasn’t there a movie about that or something. Wincing at the grubbiness of the payphone, you reluctantly dialed the number.

“Hello, Jeff’s Pizza on Main St, are you ready to order?”

You closed your eyes, counting the seconds as you breathed in for 4 seconds, held it for 7, and released for 8.

“Hello? Are you there?”

“Yes!” you practically shouted into the receiver. So much for calming down, “please don’t hang up,” you pleaded.

“Listen, we don’t take solicitation,”

“No, uh, sorry. I’ve found a lost child who told me this was his number. Is the owner of this restaurant by chance frantically looking for their son?”

You heard some muffled conversation happening behind the phone, “Well, no, I don’t even have any kids… and I uh, am currently understaffed. Im the only one here.”

you cursed under your breath.

“Uh, alright, well…” you could tell this was getting really awkward for him.

“Could you tell me where y’all are, I’m unfamiliar with the area code,”

“Uh, Hurricane, Utah?”

… If you weren’t on the phone, you fucking swear you’d be screeching at the top of your lungs like a chimpanzee right now.

“Thank you, you know, just in case he’s just remembering an advertisement he’s seen or something,”

“Oh, okay,” there was a pause, “well I hope you find the parents or, whoever,”

“Thank you,” you’ll put him out of his misery and hang up.

“Are you sure that’s your number, Hon?”

“Uh-huh,”

“Why don’t you tell me it again, maybe I dialed it wrong,”

“435-5--” his face scrunched up in concentration, “435-555—I don’t know…”

You tried not to look visibly stressed at this answer.

“Do you know where you live?”

He moved the bears paws along with whatever little game he was playing, before looking up at you, head tilted in confusion, “Hurricane?”

Okay. Police time. If not for him, for you. The skinwalker possibility just went back up. Because, honestly, he had to have gotten in your car as a coyote or something. No way you wouldn’t’ve noticed a whole ass child entering your car.

“How does ice cream sound, huh Buddy?”

“I want ice cream!” he said hastily as if you’d change your mind if he hesitated.

“Ice cream it is then, but only if you’re good for me and the officers, okay? And tell them everything you can remember. You’re smart, right?”

“Uh-huh,”

“Great,” you smiled over clenched teeth.

After herding him back into the car, you had to take a moment to gently rest your head into the steering wheel. And it took everything within you to not smash said head into it. Or scream in agony. No, no, we mustn’t scare the child.

Tuba City wasn’t too far away. The police station was downtown, as most are. Luckily, across the street there was a paleteria with a courtyard area. The little guy got very excited when you got pulled into the parking space, so eh, what the hell, ice cream first. Maybe after a treat and some playtime in the courtyard he won’t be as wiggly and will be able to tell the cops what he knows about just where the hell he came from.

The noise of the bell chiming made you flinch as you two walked into the paleteria. You hadn’t thought you were that tightly wound right now but apparently you were wrong. The lady behind the counter greeted you warmly, and you responded in turn, trying to play it cool.

God, imagine if she got an off-vibe from you and the kid and called over the police from across the street before you even have a chance—

Deep breath. Okay. The kid you had started referring to in your head as just “Little Boy” was leaned against the display case, his breath fogging up the glass in front of him and probably leaving little handprints for the shopkeeper to clean later.

“I’m sorry about that,”

“That’s… Okay. What can I get you?” she seemed a little confused. Strange, but you brushed past it just as quickly as she did.

“Ah, what do we want?” you asked Little Boy.

He excitedly tugged on your pantleg and pointed to the popsicle he wanted, looking up at you with puppy dog eyes. He doesn’t need to convince you, but you quickly realized you were not going to be able to say no to any else after this if he deployed the same cute begging look.

“One of those cute little Tweety Bird faces,” you pointed.

“Anything else?” she handed you the popsicle and you gingerly took it.

“Nah, that’s it” you were too nauseous to eat right now.

You paid, throwing the change into the tip jar, and turned to give Little Boy the popsicle she handed you.  The words caught in your throat as you looked down to find your pantleg absent of any tugging by any Little Boy. You quickly scanned the tiny paleteria. He was nowhere to be found, anywhere in the room.

“Uh, did you see where the kid went?” you tried not to sound too panicked.

She was taken aback, also quickly looking around the room to find no one, before shaking her head, “Did you have a kid with you?”

You furiously nodded in confusion,

“I’m sorry, then I didn’t see them,” she pointed to the glass door that led to the courtyard only a few feet away from y’all, “Try outside, maybe?”

You burst outside, searching the area in a panic, but you couldn’t see him anywhere. Not hidden in the tangle of the garden, not splashing around in the fountain, not at, under, on top of, or around any of the tables.

You went to call his name, but your voice caught in your throat when you realized you didn’t have a name to call. And.

And.

Something hit your shirt. A water droplet. You looked up into the clear, blinding blue sky. Your nerves tickled as another droplet ran down your cheek. Oh, you were crying. Huh.

You took the closet seat you could find, counting the things processed by your 5 senses. It’s all you could do to not start bawling for no reason. Maybe you’ll calm down and be able to think straight soon.

Why can’t you think straight? Everything feels so fuzzy.

You should be terrified, and in a way, you were. In your heart of hearts, you knew the truth: Little Boy wasn’t real. Or at least turned back into a coyote and ran off.

As you stared vacantly into the open air, you realized you still had a dripping popsicle in your hands. Supposedly “Tweety Bird” shaped, it just looked like a yellow skull missing its mandible bone to you. How fitting.

You pulled it to your mouth. Yum. Tasted like AAAAAAAA. Or orange, according to the package.

Attempting to lick the melted yellow liquid off of your hand, you accidentally stuck the ice pop on your face. Great. Now you’re sticky all over.

God, you’ve really gone and lost your fucking marbles this time, haven’t you.

There was a bulletin kiosk a few feet down your field of vision. On that bulletin kiosk was an old poster, barely visible as it was buried under layers of other flyers. It caught your eye and seemed to burn your retinas. What little you could see was the word Freddy and part of what looked like a version of the bear you’d been toting around this whole little expedition, but that was enough.

Something clicked. You looked down at the bear hanging by your side in your other hand. The kid had shoved it into your arms so he could more easily lean on the display case, right before he disappeared the very moment you took your eyes off of him.

You know, you hadn’t really felt alone since bringing Fredbear home. And not in a good way.

Guess the name you should’ve been calling was Freddy.

You had to get rid of that bear.

***

You had been walking home like you always did, same route. But you noticed something peculiar about this time. The house that the old man had his yard sale in was now stripped of all decoration, with a For Sale sign proudly standing in the grass. No cars, and no blinds or curtains on the windows, so you could see into the den which was now devoid of any furniture.

You’ll admit it, you crept around to the other windows, searching for any signs of life at all in the empty rooms. None. No furniture, no people, no trash. The yard sale was yesterday. How did they clean this place out so thoroughly in the short amount of time between when you’d seen it last and now.

A little confuddled, you went home as usual. While strange as hell, this wasn’t a missing person’s case or anything. And it’s probably why the man was so adamant on giving you Fredbear because it was the end of the day. He had a deadline. He was skipping town.

God, you wished you could just skip town.

You frankly thought nothing of it when you unlocked the door to your apartment to see Fredbear was already seated on the couch, like he was all set to marathon whatever 30-year-old cartoon you wound up watching that night. And it’s not like your roommate hadn’t done something like this before, move a stuffed animal or action figure into a funny position for you to find later.

You hadn’t seen him much lately. Or like, at all. The only reason you knew he was still alive were the dirty dishes in the sink, dirty clothes on the floor of the bathroom, and the aforementioned moving the bear around.

Looking back now, was he moving the bear around?

If you locked the deadbolt that can’t be unlocked from the outside, you’d be guaranteed to catch him in person for once. But you weren’t willing to go through the trouble and emotional toil of doing that, however.

In the name of feeling less like a ghost haunting your own home, getting yelled at for intentionally locking your roommate out might be a wee bit counterproductive. Sure, you’d be seen and spoken to, but the harshness of his words and tone would send you into a worse episode than you were already in.

Well, at least Fredbear seemed ready to keep you company tonight...

The fact that they put unskippable advertisements on streaming services you’re paying for in the first place is criminal. Or at least regular cable tv in a trenchcoat.

You got a drink while they prattled on about luxury cars you couldn’t afford and real estate companies you weren’t going to have the privilege of patroning any time soon. Embarrassingly, as you poured the pitcher of water into a glass, you got a little distracted.

The cheap glass’s glass was only about a millimeter or two thick. You could easily just crush this cup in your hand, in one swift movement. The muscles of your arm began tensing up at the thought.

But thankfully, a loud, blaring advertisement coming from the TV snapped you out of it. And so, you promptly decided to Not Do That, because picking all of those tiny glass shards out of your flesh would be a bitch. And that was not how you wanted to spend a perfectly good Sunday night. And of course you didn’t need the questions at work tomorrow.

You returned to the couch, curiously, and you swear, that damn teddy bear followed you with its eyes. Even though they were a shiny, solid black, and the idea itself would be insane.

As you settled back down, you grabbed the remote to turn down the volume of the cheery music playing. Mysteriously, it wasn’t just a commercial with bad sound mixing, the TV itself had been turned up. Now that it had your attention, the thing that was being sold to you seemed to the state of Utah. You know, those Visit [X] ads that were commonly played between cooking shows and ghost hunting documentaries.

“Oh hey, you’re from there, right?” you poked at fredbear. And immediately felt pathetic. God, you’ve got to stop talking to inanimate objects and like get a boyfriend or something. Geez.

The imagery on the screen was just, you know, normal southwest stock footage:

A drone shot of Zion national park

Old men golfing

Owls living in holes they’ve dug into cactuses

Rock archways

A family laughing as they shared a pizza being served to them by a man in a bear suit that looked just fredbear,

“Oh, well there you are, I guess.” you once again absent-mindedly spoke to your toy friend.

Kids swimming in a fancy resort pool

A Navajo cultural event

More rock archways and red sandstone cliffs

Kids crowding around a claw machine filled with toys just like the one sitting next to you

Kids crowding around a stage as an animatronic band played

Kids crowding around a birthday cake, the light of candles bouncing off their faces as they sang along…

The fake sounding voice of the announcer rung out, “Visit Utah! You know the party can’t start without you!”

Your mouth felt dry. Good thing you now had that glass of water.

***

Of course, you did what any smart, sane person would do and feverishly ripped through the layers of old flyers to get to the advertisement for what you now knew was Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place. A themed diner and nickel arcade that made most of their money hosting birthday parties, by the looks of it. You knew the type; you had been an American child once too.

Good thing none of the cops were hanging around outside to fine you for littering, because the amount of paper you just released into the breeze was in fact criminal.

There was a short list of locations at the bottom of the poster. They had a few scattered over Utah, or at least they used to, judging by the harsh weathering of this poster. The closest one being in Bigwater, explaining why this poster was out here in Tuba. But the word Hurricane stood out to you like it was lit up in neon. It burned like sunlight.

It appears you are in fact on your way to Hurricane, Utah. As if you didn’t know that already at this point, you being out on the canyon rim instead of your much preferred and beloved Rockies. Well, congratulations bitch. You’ve only got another three hours to go. Better get going. Have fun!

***

Oh, this place was creepy as hell. Or it’s just late at night, and you’re sleep deprived and paranoid. In the spirit of being honest to yourself, ‘sleep deprived and paranoid’ has always been your natural state of being, but right now it’s definitely ramped up to an eleven.

But even though it’s been close to 48 hours since your last brain-reset, this place still had a certain energy about it. Like New Orleans, or the woods around lynching bridges did. That spooky oh I am Not Safe here type of energy.

The gas station-man gave you a real weird look when you stormed in and asked where the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place was. Normally you would’ve chalked it up to you being a clear foreigner asking for directions as if it’s 1995, to a children’s arcade close to midnight nonetheless, but now you weren’t so sure.

You eyed the fridge full of wine in pint sized bottles and little juice cartons. But nah, you probably needed to have a quick reaction time to whatever was waiting for you in this Venus flytrap you’re willingly walking into. You grabbed a Monster instead and you know what, yeah, that probably wasn’t the best decision either. If you weren’t high strung before, you definitely were now. You felt like you could punch a bear. A Freddy Fazbear.

You bought a local map alongside the energy drink, feeling like you were gonna need it. Man, low-tech was actually kinda annoying after a while. You got the gas station-man to begrudgingly mark Fazbear’s down onto it for you. Apparently, it and all other locations within town had closed down some twenty years ago. Not many people are still around who remember why, he said, but it had something to do with the faulty animatronics. Teenagers told ghost stories and dared each other to spend the whole night in the dining room. But otherwise, beyond the rumors, the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place was just an empty, scorched building. And the other various locations like Jr’s or Circus Baby’s had been sold off, passing so many hands who knows what businesses were in there now. But you could still kinda tell, if you paid attention, in the same way you can tell if something used to be a Pizza Hut.

What you really wanted, according to gas station-man, whose nametag read Gary, was this new location that was opening soon, simply named Freddy’s Pizzeria. It’s set to open for business in September, so you’re lucky. He marked it one your map as well.

You don’t know why Gary was so nice to you. Maybe it was the harrowed look in your eyes. Maybe it was the twitchiness. Maybe Gary is just very bored of this tourist town and was looking to fall madly in love with a random troubled soul he met at midnight in a gas station and would wind up running away with to some far-off place. If that was the case, sorry Gary. You were too busy with the metaphorical torture labyrinth to care about romance at the moment.

You couldn’t decide if the haunted Fredbear would want to see an old location or the new one. You asked, but of course the fucker didn’t answer. Just sat there with his smug grin and glassy eyes that followed your hand movements. So, you quite literally tossed a coin. A new mint, the face side had Eleanor Roosevelt on it. And she marked the fact that you were going to try the new location first, and then try the original building next. Cool.

***

Your patience was kinda at its limit here, you’ll admit. You really should get some sleep soon. Or eat. Since you were hellbent on getting here and nothing else, the only thing on your stomach besides that wretched Tweety Bird popsicle is half a monster energy. Guess you’ll go by a fucking Denny’s after this. If you survive.

If you were going to die horrifically, you’d really rather the forces that be make it snappy. This was getting ridiculous.

You pulled into the parking lot. The building clearly wasn’t new but had been freshly painted. Nothing creepy so far. As you stared down the building, sizing it up, you noticed there was one car parked in the front, and a few of the windows were lit up.

Cool, so there was someone in there. Great. That makes, well whatever this is, much harder.

The door was locked.

You could hear music playing from inside. You banged on the door as loudly as you could manage, and it still took a couple of minutes before the music stopped. And then a very disgruntled man in coveralls was in the doorway, tiredly asking just what the fuck you wanted at this time of night.

He smiled to cover up his rudeness, but the smile stretched a little too wide, inhumanly wide, and a shiver ran down your spine.

You took him in, unashamedly raking your eyes over his form. He stood awkwardly, as if ready to bolt at any moment. What you could see of his build made him out to be weirdly skinny. That unnaturally wide smile gave way to some exposed teeth on the left side of his face. His eyes were shadowed by his bangs in the backlight of the door, but you swore they almost glowed themselves. His complexion was greyish and bordered on almost purple in this lighting.

Despite all this, he was still pretty handsome. Well, you did always think some of those creepypasta guys were boyfriend material. Maybe, you wouldn’t mind getting chopped up into little pieces if this guy was the one doing it. Okay, and maybe you’ve been sleeplessly chasing ghosts too long.

Startling you, he reached his hand to grab your shoulder, a little too fast.

“Hey mate, are you okay?” He asked nervously,

It snapped you out of your stupor, realizing you had yet to say a word to him, “Uh, yes, I just wanted to…”

How do you even fucking ask this. “Hey, can I bring a stuffed bear to your dining room so maybe it’s spirit will leave me alone? Maybe conduct a séance or something?” Seriously, did you even know what you were doing here? Shit. Okay.

“I wanted to ask if I could check out your facility?” came out like a question because even you had no clue what you were saying.

“Come back tomorrow in the daylight, then,” he began closing the door, shaking his head in annoyance, “or perhaps when we’re actually open.”

“NO!” you slammed your foot into the door as he closed it, “AAGH!”

“Jesus Christ! WHY.”

Dear lord, this man now 100% thinks you’re a crackhead.

“Just, don’t close that door, okay,” his brows scrunched together as you grit your teeth to swallow down the pain, “I need you to help me.”

“I really don’t have any money to spar--”

“I’M HERE BECAUSE OF A GHOST,” you interrupted. Finally, you managed to get that out somehow, if nonsensical.

A look of recognition flickered in his glowing eyes. He lowered into your space, kind of intimidatingly. Or intimately. Yeah, no, this was hostile, don’t fool yourself.

“What kind of ghost,” he asked suspiciously.

“Uh,” shit, okay, “the weird, haunted doll kind? Uh, like the ones the McElroy brothers are always bidding on on eBay. Or maybe this is kind of a Ben Drowned kinda situation, I’m not completely sure.”

He blinked, “okay, I only understood a few of those words, but—”

“It’s a Freddy teddy bear that really wanted me to take it to Hurricane, okay?” You really were at the end of your rope at the moment, “I have literally driven here for days straight on no sleep and barely any food and I need this Unauthorized Fucking Thing to find it’s eternal peace or kill me in some horrible way so I can hurry up and get on with my goddamn life,”

“Uh, see… the thing is,” he started to retreat back again, slowly moving his hands like he was trying to calm down a spooked animal.

 You realized what was about to happen, and it must have been visible in your eyes, since his huge unnatural placating smile returned,

“I actually don’t want anything to do with that, sooo…”

“PLEASE—” you reached out in blind panic, but he dodged it. (now if only you could’ve dodged the scooper like that Mikey)

The door slammed in your face.

Your breathing was ragged and fogged up the glass as he locked it again. You stared up at those glowing pinprick pupils of his as he gave you an apologetic little wave goodbye. And then he fucking made a big show of pointing at the closed sign before turning tail to disappear back into the darkness of the empty restaurant.

Okay.

Just a little setback. You’ll go to the older location first, now, and come back when this asshole is sleeping. Can’t be too hard to bust out one of those windows, and you doubt he has an alarm set up already. It’s his fault, really. If he didn’t want property damage, then he should’ve just let you in. Not like you haven’t warned him that you were desperate or anything.

Just gonna go to the other location. You’ve got your map, you’ve got a tank full of gas, and you’ve got chutzpah.

Now what you don’t have? Is a car that will start.

[emerxshiu]

FORGOTTEN LAND'S SECOND ANNIVERSARY :3

I AM SOOOO BACK

I started this drawing yesterday around afternoon and finished it just a few minutes earlier.

I went with a messier type of drawing instead of more clean like the elfilin one from yesterday, i find it fun doing it like this, mostly cause i dont have to worry about making it perfectly so i dont get as frustrated as normal. Id place this one as my second best digital drawing. im pretty sure i havent posted what i consider my best digital drawing here, tho i do have it in instagram, i might post it here one day, tho these two are way too tied up, i love how this came out, its not exactly like how i imagined it but its really close to it, and also itd say that since i dont tend to play around lighting that much, this was such a joy to draw and i cant help but stare at it a lot, at least until i start hating it because i made quite a lot of errors. i also changed my elfilis gijinka just a tad bit from last time, but its not that big of a difference, mostly.

ofc i had to draw elfilis for forgotten land's anniversary, i tend to deny it in my head but yeah they're my fave of the kirby characters even tho i hate them a bit. I wanted to draw some more doodles, like, elfilis eating cake, kirby car, a bunch of other stuff (not elfilin cuz i already drew him yesterday) but when i tried i couldnt draw anything more, guess this drawing burned me out a lot, huh?

you can definitly tell i spent all the efforts on him cuz if you look a bit closer to the bottom part you'll see its almost barely detailed, but i mean, they're the focus so make sense i guess for me not add that much detail there. um also, maybe because i dunno i had OVER 130 LAYERS jeez no wonder firealpaca was slowing down so much, i need to manage my layers better next time, tho i did do something i keep forgetting, wich is naming them (most of them at least) that was a real life saver

Also, antares (fecto elfilis' spear/cadaceus), as always, was a pain to draw, but this time its probably been draw the most accurate out of every other drawing ive made with it in it, i didnt notice it was like, a little curved when it reached the blade

some close ups since his face is a bit hard to see

silly :3

fun fact! actually, this is technically a redraw, somewhere around between february and march i started a fecto elfilis drawing for the first anniversary, but i couldnt finish it in time, and i never finished it

thats...quite the improvement! (i remember being so proud of it)

also his wings are like that cuz i did not want to draw the pattern, its way too hard, i literally copy pasted it, wait, i was talking about the 2024 version but i looked at the 2023 one and i just noticed it also has the pattern copy pasted, i guess some stuff never changes since i still abuse the ctrl+c ctrl+v to this day

Also i ended up making a huge error there, i was planing to add the phantom spears from orbital pulsar (the attack he does first when you battle them at lab discovera) but theres an innacuracy, when they do the attack, they always close their eyes, i had actually sketched him (well i mean both these drawings are basically the first sketch (2023) or second sketch(2024) with some color, shadows and lighting. i didnt do lineart in the 2024 one cuz i wanted to be a bit like the og i made (too bad i sketched that one with black since the og was sketched with white due to me drawing the bg first)) with his eyes closed but them decided to make them open for a reason i cant remember, maybe i thought itd look nicer? idk

ive had the idea of redrawing this for quite some month now so it was kinda already planned

background cuz i think it came out really pretty

doesnt have the little stars since without elfilis and the structures it looks fucked up. the actual sky in game is more blue, but the clouds have some orange, in the 2023 ver. i made the sky orange, and in the 2024 ver i wanted it more accurate, but i didnt wanna loose the orange sky, so i did a gradient. pretty...

also here's a screenshot i took when i was like halfway trough it, its barely noticeable but i changed his mouth in the final drawing

I really love katfl, like a buncha whole lot, its basically almost my first mainline kirby game. 100% the demo, finished the game in almost one day, i literally play it monthly, like, every month i put the card in my switch, start it up, get morpho sword, and go shred elfilis in lab discovera. i would probably not even be here on tumblr and the kirby fandom if it werent for it. and i love it so much i genuinly cannot express how much i like it and treasure it with words or anything

Thank you for reading my unnecesarily long rambles lol

I hope i'll post tomorrow and dont forget like usual

Jambuhbye!

[crxssjae]

Chapter One: Anew Revist

Summary:

Jey doesn't know who this "Sami" guy is, as he and Jimmy return to NXT after receiving a request from Hunter.

You can read the other fics from my WWE masterlist here.

"Something About You" is posted on AO3 (here) and Wattpad (here)

Warning(s): 18+, language, it's 5k (or close to 5k idk) words so I had to warn y'all

<- CH.ZERO

__________

"Aight, aight, aight! Y'know what time it is: pick a choice!" Jimmy exclaimed, hands gripped on the steering wheel with a goofy grin.

No matter the travels aboard on the road, their shenanigans never fail. On occasions, the car is in charge along with its revving engine in the background to cut out silence; no exchanges, just peace while tasking their careers weren't new to them.

Three years passed, and on to their fourth year as wrestlers. Life of wrestling can be either a simple rise or a struggle after entering its world; it'll crawl half of the brain firsthand and will refuse to be gone by the end of months. Skilled ones would tell them when they step forward and keep going, it'll be like an endless cycle that'll never break. For the twins, however, theirs were full of balance.

They listened while exchanging jokes— Jey often gets aggravated and nonchalant whether Jimmy mentioned a humorous past he had if they were kids, teens, or a few years back. Despite the never-ending bickering, Jey's spirits are always uplifted with happiness and not isolation, thanks to his brother.

Although he questioned himself before, there's never a simple term why at the end for being bored in the first place.

It's obvious Jimmy tried his hardest not to ruin themselves, so Jey promises he'll be helpful, too. Sort of.

"Here's the catch," Jimmy began. "Which is worse? Gettin' our ass beat each time one of us gets a singles match?"

The twins' expressions mirrored the wince with cringe. One of the worst memories Jey will and will not forget.

"Not every week... but 'kay." he cleared his throat with a chuckle, continuing. "Or 'dat time at my wedding day wit’ Naomi when yo' face got smashed wit' cake 'cause you want s'um strawberries?"

Jey smacked his lips. "You still can't let go 'bout it, huh? I'd rather pick the first one than the second."

Jimmy shook his head, laughing. "At least you got a good taste n' eatin' like it's yo' favorite ice cream."

Jey groaned, earning another laugh from Jimmy. He did not want anyone, especially his brother, to mention the cake situation ever again. "If you don't shut up n’ drive, Uce."

Serene air in the car signaled its atmosphere. His mind wandered into the thoughts now; forty minutes they've been on the road. One of the songs Jimmy chose is playing on the radio, the best way to beat the silence— nevertheless, they still fuss over the best music genre. So far, it went well, unless they weren't acting like little kids. But that's how siblings do.

He was supposed to drive in case Jimmy could have a chance to munch the remaining snacks or snooze; instead, Jey's stomach had other plans for him when it rumbled with hunger. Jey gave up, seated in the passenger's side, chomping some chips and drinking soda, glimpsing at the city he never thought coming back: Winter Park, Florida, where NXT took place.

Its welcome recalled the months and years of September 2011 to October 2012; fans saw Jimmy and Jey as twins who looked alike but couldn't tell apart. No matter the charisma they held, none viewed their tag team potential due to many losses, pushed back in the line like decoys for other duos to receive their opportunity. The unforeseen chances were higher, so Hunter took notice and sent them to the NXT roster for a year and one month.

Through trial and error— from being rookies who received the most unsuccessful opportunities, standing at the back of the line, to a spotlight above them where everyone can gawk and recognize— the beloved Tag Team Champions. Second chances can be remarkable.

Old memories resurfaced, and new memories arose once arriving back to NXT, though the request Hunter gave bothered Jey, so he had to ask.

"Ay, Jimmy," Jey began, lips pursed.

"Yea?" Jimmy responded.

"'Bout Hunter, he said he'd paired us with… wit’ Samuel, right?" Jey questioned, confusion etched across his face.

"Sami, not Samuel," Jimmy corrected, shrugging. "I dunno 'bout him either. All I know is that he beat two opponents in his debut. First was Curt, then was Cesaro."

Jey stared at Jimmy, letting out a huff. "Y’jokin'. There's no way in hell he faced two guys on the same night."

"Not everyone can pull it off. S'um but not everyone. Don't forget, DB did it n' win at WrestleMania with injury."

"But nobody can wrestle two dudes in one night on their debut. Dat's not fair! They'll tire themselves out!"

"Aww, you at least took the time to be worried." Jimmy teased in a fake emphatic tone, grinning like an idiot. "See? I am a good and smart ol' brother! Be proud for once."

Smack the taste out of his mouth would've been another achievement on the list; then again, the scolding from Rikishi's voice was one thing he and Jimmy wanted to avoid.

Another glimpse outside the window of Winter Park, his mind wandered deep, surveying the strangers strolling alongside friends on the cobblestone sidewalk, the cafés, and the opening restaurants. The discussion with Jimmy floated, pushing the peace aside, stuck like glue as his eyes broke contact, narrowing down at his sneakers. Jey hated to admit it— his brother was correct.

In WrestleMania, confronting an opponent in a match while being injured to get a chance to be in the Triple Threat for the main event; after achieving the win in a tired state, having no choice but to face two guys, yet at the end, got the championship and given a standing ovation.

In a debut? That's tough to do. Faced against the first challenger in the opening match and won— while obtaining a second win against another later, without the body being exhausted in one night.

Who would do that for a debut, though? How the hell does Samuel— Sami— manage to keep up?

An upcoming rookie. No matter, he'll meet him soon, put some sense into him, and teach him what and what not to do in the wrestling business.

"Stop thinkin' so much."

Jimmy's voice interrupted his thoughts. Jey rolled his eyes, even if the encouragement was getting him. "Whatever, man," he grumbled.

He steadied when Jimmy sighed, knowing how the response went.

"Look on the bright side," Jimmy said, his tone sincere. "At least we can greet s’um new Superstars n’ not always the many crowded strangers of Sami."

"Can y’stop mentionin' Samuel? Sheesh, man, y’makin' it worse," Jey retorted, didn't bother to correct the man's name.

"Sami, it's Sami. You callin' the name wrong."

"And? Whatchu gon' do?"

Jimmy groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Pettiest brother ever."

In which he is.

__________

Jey and Jimmy did not expect crew members and their coworkers to scramble across hallways to rooms like dozens of mice— spotting an area to hide. Compared to 2011, it used to be a small group in a developmental brand— now evolving in a slow, smooth, recognizable process.

Fast-paced greets and conversations, out of breath due to in-ring wins or losses, alongside admirations of wrestlers from those who are fans had a chance to say hello and given advice; reeled in the surprise shoved on the face without blank stares. For a moment, Jey gaped, taking in the changes, then shifting back to his usual mood, keeping things professional.

One year after leaving the NXT roster, fresh faces came from left to right, while some stayed longer due to Hunter's approval. Nothing questioned if locker rooms got bigger. It must've stayed the same, still having decorations for each individual among logo signs.

Meaningless to think, some are keeping the old stuff as a souvenir.

Inside their room, well, compared to the men's main roster, the twins began the usual routine of face paint. Before ending up at Winter Park earlier, both had the final agreement: use green to apply and white as an outline to match their current attire. It will never feel correct if the colors are mismatched.

Tedious could be, Jey managed to get it done. He did the outline on the right side of Jimmy's face, and even though his trembling right hand struck a nerve, he stroked with green without smudging the white. Of course, blaming Jimmy is one hundred percent on the list for not settling down, yet Jey is like him, too. Once he completed the right side, Jey passed the materials to Jimmy, letting him color the left side of Jey's face.

With a couple of deep breaths and small jokes his brother can come up with, Jey's mind eased with peace—

The sound of a creaking door startled the twins. Jey whipped his head, ignoring a strip of white on the nose Jimmy did by accident. Neither thought the reminder to knock before entering.

"We're busy, get out—"

Any words stuck in his throat after uttering, brows rose in surprise at the presence of the man, whose hazel eyes glinted in welcome like a golden retriever vowing to introduce himself. Who is he? A rookie? Why does he have no manners?

His ginger hair was scuffled with a towel encircling his neck, exposing bits of hair on the slightly above-average physique; wrists wrapped in white tape— and red-black elbow pads, arranged to get in the ring, double-checked to straighten the tights. What a sight to behold, Jey would say.

He doesn't understand. Why did he keep a smile on his face? No smugness, all of it is dotted with kindness and shyness like he regretted barging in without speaking.

How stupid would it be if Jey yelled to leave?

Embarrassment. That's what he thought.

"Sorry," he spoke, fiddling his thumbs. "If you're busy, I... I can leave and wait."

Jimmy grinned, first to interact. "Don't be. It's all good." His voice raised before the man could close the door, seeing him look back. "Yo’ name's Sami Zayn, right?"

"Um, yeah." Known to be Sami, nodding in response. "That's me."

Jey stared in disbelief. "Yea, right, you're not Samuel."

"Sami, not Samuel." Jimmy forced himself to correct the name, much to worsen.

"... Sami," Jey grumbled through gritted teeth with a forced smile. He does his best not to snap at his brother in front of him. "Can you please knock next time without being—" He paused, searching for the right words, and responded, "Rude?"

"Sorry. I won't do it again," Sami answered, rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a soft giggle. "So you guys are the Usos?"

"Yup!" the twins responded in unison.

"Jimmy with the right paint, and Jey with the left paint?"

To Jey's astonishment, Sami got a sharp eye.

No matter who either fans, crews, coworkers, or a boss like Hunter— almost all call out the wrong brother's name with or without face paint. Jey would've guessed Sami had experience with twin brothers, sisters, or siblings. He has to give him credit.

As for Jimmy, he had a wide smile. His face would be hurting the next day if stretched too wide.

Here we go, Jey rolled his eyes, unamused.

"Thank god!" Sami sighed in relief. "I was worried one of you would say I'm delusional. There are a couple of people I've met who look alike and get names wrong—"

"Hold on, pause, take a breather," Jimmy interrupted, and Sami's lips sealed tight. "No need to get overwhelmed, my dawg. Y’good, we don't bite at all."

Yet.

What a chatterbox. Jimmy had the urge to call Sami "his dawg" straight away. It'll take forever for Jey to get into trust like his brother did. Hard to explain; he didn't have to be swooned by the person flashing a bright smile he had never known in his life, then become great buddies the next day without the intention of wanting to be friends.

All fixated on the time, the questions can be asked later. Jey tapped Jimmy's shoulder twice to bring his attention.

"Tell Hunter we'll be there," Jimmy told Sami.

"I will, and nice to meet you both," Sami responded and turned his heel before closing the door behind him. Jey knew from the tone he was eager to be paired.

Ten minutes closed in, the preparation needed to be quick.

Jimmy managed to wipe the white mark off Jey's nose with a thumb. He refocused on painting Jey's face while noting the conversation earlier. "Why can't y’just be nice, Uce?"

"I dunno. Why y’call him 'my dawg' when we only know a lil' 'bout him?" Jey mimicked Jimmy's friendly voice, receiving a glare from his brother, but he couldn't care less.

"'Cause he's nice! What y’want me to do, be grumpy n’ sayin' get off my ass? Y’wanna be rude 'cause y’couldn't get his name right."

"Nuh-uh, don't start dat comparin'. I'm— I'm tryna learn."

"Sure, sure, correctin' yourself is not workin'," Jimmy mocked.

"Y'did the same wit' Pops, too, so you can't deny."

Jimmy couldn't help smacking his lips. He finished the outline, taking the green paint to color the rest. "Glad I ain't a hothead like you."

"Says someone who yelled timeout for five minutes n’ sayin' they cheatin' for two."

Embarrassment crept Jimmy on the trail. Lips curled into a sly smirk as Jey watched him squirm and shake his head in denial.

"Be quiet n’ lemme finish," Jimmy grumbled.

Jey snickered. His mind wandered back to Sami; a misunderstanding earlier, or so thought, except Jimmy. What an odd, odd wrestler.

He can ask later if there's a chance. Until then— everything is pushed aside. Disappointment is not on his agenda; prestige is.

__________

NXT Tag Team Champions, The Ascension: Konnor and Viktor. Their duo efforts are no joke to others who overlooked them.

A year and six months. Their respect was earned, putting in lots of hard work and doing their best to beat the duo during the tag match. It's unfortunate, left a bite in the dust after the Ascension won at the end. Punctured a gnaw as a mistake of failure for the twins. Though lessons go over throughout their years as a tag team.

Konnor and Viktor are sincere people, so is another man grouped along. Jey's brows knitted with wonder. What's his name again?

His eyes lit up: Corey Graves, the Savior of Misbehavior.

Isn't his gimmick name? Does it mean to protect the misbehave or cause the misbehave? Why does a gimmick grind Jey's gears into confusion?

Corey is a couple of new guys Jey and Jimmy met. Had a short decent chat earlier, and he isn't bad at all, just a good person. A man like him can leave a scar to become the future champion with a cold-hearted gimmick like that; no pun intended.

Christcontrol blared from the speakers outside the arena after the producers played the theme. Boos rippled across the crowd outside, voicing out their hate for villains as usual. Jey felt his shoulder brushed against Corey's, eying at him with an impressed look. The surge of the gimmick came alive once Corey exited the gorilla position and entered through the curtains— his smug smirk danced between his lips.

Jimmy leaned against Jey. "He has potential." His voice lowered in a whisper. "One look, he gets into it."

One look. It felt like two or many looks of skill. For charisma, Jey is unsure since he met Corey a few minutes ago.

Rebellion rang in. Konnor and Viktor strolled past Jey and Jimmy, gripping the NXT Tag Team Championships. Four of them exchanged nods as the twins watched their coworkers head out. The intimidation never wore off the Ascension. Dominance revealed in front of coworkers and the fans' gaze.

This theme is unrecognizable to Jey when Lower the Boom chimed. A firm pat on the shoulder caught attention and he glanced at Sami, who nodded to him, then Jimmy. Luck is needed now, but for Jey, can it be good to trust that man?

For the audience's reaction— it seemed so from the cheers.

Sami let his lips spread a wide smile like everything was positive. "See you in the ring, champion."

With one thumb up, he went out there in front of dozens of fans, itching to see him in action.

Jey froze, taken aback at being called "champion". He doesn't get it. What is this man trying to do? Taunt him? Throw him off the bus?

Was it praise? Champion. But Sami never said tag team champion, only champion in one word. Only to him.

Sami must've said the same to Jimmy. Jey doesn't know. His mind spiraled in bits of confusion.

"Don't lose focus, Uce." Jimmy's snickering snapped Jey out of his thoughts. One half of the Tag Team Championship belt already encircled Jimmy's waist. He patted Jey's shoulder. "C'mon, get on cue."

Jey wanted to tell Jimmy and shout at his face that it was none of his business, though the producers signaled they were next to go on. He'll worry later as he adjusted the belt and followed him.

__________

The Usos' theme, So Close Now, became familiar. Two years in a row. Fans caught up along the dance and pyro, except it's not used as of today, the arena is moderate. The passion behind each person in the audience never burned off. Their roaring cheers rippled the muteless air.

Commentators would show excitement for live TV and the energy of the announcer in both.

The twins strolled from the entrance ramp to Sami as soon as possible. High-fived; Jimmy exchanged a smile, and scurried ahead while Jey, being bouncy, left behind, glancing over at Sami. Words exchanged, unheard over the crowds' wooing, the corner of his mouth quirked a smile told all.

Took a quick second as Sami whipped his head in Jey's direction. Determination wisped in his dilated pupils with no surge of uneasiness. "Let's go." he mouthed to Jey.

Brows furrowed, Jey lacked reading lips, though nodded in response rather than asking now. He followed Sami without further excuses.

The trio has gone into the ring, and their presence is known. So Close Now faded, voices of cheering fans expressed. The referee double-checked each man in while the twins handed their tag team belts to the staff from the ringside for safety. Six men stared down for only a few seconds; Jey, Sami, Corey, and Konnor went on the apron. Jimmy and Viktor are first.

The match began once the bell rang. Spark of tiny hope yet doubt in his heart Jey wouldn't botch the whole thing. Hope neither of them mess up.

Viktor, out of the blue, lunged. Jimmy caught on without effort. Smooth evaded to the side, a focused gaze at Viktor's tensed body and huffed in his nostrils like a bull. Both readied their next move and darted. Hooked in a grapple struggle— Viktor locked Jimmy in a rest hold. Not tight, made sure a breath of air was needed. Other seconds came and released the hold. Viktor ran the ropes and bumped Jimmy with his shoulder to the mat with a thud.

No joke. Skills were swift, chemistry well and strong. Jey can tell; this agitated the fire. Mystified why is fascinating to learn.

Running the ropes again. Viktor increased speed, unknown that Jimmy caught up; a chop to the chest slowed the time. Jey's praises caught Jimmy's attention, looking over his shoulder with a confident grin.

Jey gave a careful eye on Corey. Tagged in, slithered into the ring for Viktor to back out. The killer stare sent shivers down Jey's spine, acting as "the Savior of Misbehavior" character quite well.

"Tag me!" Sami leaned in, esteem oozing in his tone, yanked the white rope from the turnbuckle pad. His hand reached out to Jimmy. "Tag me in! Come on!"

Unable to hold back a smirk, entertainment danced in Jey's heart. He'll give this man credit.

Not bad, Samuel. Not bad.

Tag made with Sami after Jimmy tagged out. "Olé" chants were vocal, unavoidable to make it known. Bit of a stare down, Sami pranced with Corey, circling the ring. Ache for an attack, his fingers flexed, calculating Corey's next move; not long for Corey paced back to the corner where the Ascension was, tagging out with Konnor. A slow eye roll Sami did. Disappointed, yet unsurprised.

Jey snorted at Sami's reaction.

Slow, cautious step in from Konnor, glared down at Sami, four times tall. The struggle didn't drawl for either of them. Konnor's foot booted him in the abdomen and hammered his fist into Sami's back, forcing him to be unbalanced. An elicited grunt from Sami, being shoved to the corner. He stumbled away while composing him, unaware Corey tagged back in, much to Konnor's dismay.

Perfect. Sami glimpsed up and dove towards him. Flurries of fists were unloaded, wild. Pounce after pounce while Corey scrambled for escape. Jey knew the task Sami had in mind: get his hands on Corey Graves. Managed to shuffle against those fists, Corey tagged Viktor.

Fewer seconds pass in an expedition. Double team from Sami to Jey, Jimmy to Jey, all in a cycle tag team technique. This isn't bad. Their teamwork became likable, how it steadied so far. Better yet the sudden teamwork between him, his brother, and of course, Sami.

Still, he isn't giving in to the "trick".

I know what I'm doin’. I know what I'm doin’.

He doesn't.

Sami tagged him, there's victory coming forward. Yet Viktor's malicious clothesline broke Jey's attempt to further offense onto the floor, flattened. His luck lessened. Mussitation of curse words sputtered to himself, strained grunts, the dizziness emerged back and forth; Jey shook it off.

Stay awake, keep resolute.

Backgrounds into muffles. His vision clouded, the figures of Sami and Jimmy blurry. Hand stretched, doing his goddamn best to tag either of them. Only to be slipped away, being hoisted in the arms of Viktor before being carried into the corner.

Another tag is made. Jey blinked, shut his eyes, then opened, glancing at who Viktor tagged: Konnor.

Beatdown. Powerslam. His arm was hovering off distance, reaching them.

"C'mon, Uce! C'mon, Uce!" The shouting voice of Jimmy is inaudible.

Jey's heart pumped ear to ear while quickened in his chest, stumbled back to his feet. Gaze fixated on Jimmy, on Sami. Their mouths are moving, now a blur. Konnor clotheslined him to the top rope onto outside the ring.

Seconds to lengthy minutes. Viktor's boot dug into Jey's chest for four seconds. Withered in agony, Jey was still on the task of tagging either Jimmy or Sami. Mind the tag, never the match. Viktor must've switched with Konnor, so another beatdown was received again.

A scoff escaped his lips. Jey got a favor in return and swung a slap at Konnor to the face. Another slap didn't affect the chance, Konnor swung him down. Jey's mane gripped hard through Konnor's fingers, scalp burning in anguish, wincing before a punch to the side of his head. His body being pressed against Konnor's and held for the pin.

"One! Two!"

Kickout. Good.

Now hooked in a rest hold, Jey inhaled a couple of times, gnashed his teeth, fingertips marked on Konnor's arms. Thought of a plan, a light bulb clicked an idea though risky. His feet staggered around to stand, elbowed to the stomach. This didn't give anything he had due to Konnor being unfazed, being thrashed to the mat.

Jey Uso the punching bag. Ridiculous. He tried not to become one throughout this match. Jimmy's words. Sami's chants. Fans clapping for encouragement. Not yet, not yet he won't.

Corey's turn. Again, Jey is unsurprised.

Stomp, after stomp, after stomp. Another beating, Corey pushed him down onto his back to a second pin. The referee slid for the count after communicating with the other men to stay in the apron.

"One! Two!"

Second kickout. Hard to tell if it's a miracle.

Rest hold again. Broke free with ease, Corey shifted into a headlock, both onto their stomachs. One arm of Jey scrambled, hand clenching, unclenching, not to tap out too soon. It's obvious he didn't pass out while coming up with a strategy. Rolled to his back, shoulders down.

"One!" The referee banged the mat, keeping a watchful eye on the pin. "Two!"

Third kickout. Corey never released the headlock, though.

"Come on, Jey! You got this!" Sami yelled with motivation, at the same time distress filled his tone. Tapped the apron, alongside Jimmy who shouted in sync.

No I don't, man!

Liar.

Twisted his body, enough for his knees on the mat, glance hardened at Jimmy. Outreached, fingers wiggling— a little more— a little more inches. One fist to the spine from Corey halted Jey and earned an erupted, helpless yelp. A lost chance for the hot tag, given the advantage for Corey tagged out, Viktor tagged in. Immediate stomps, further beat-ups.

Plenty of stamina left in the tank. He fought back.

Harsh chop to the chest, Viktor returned one. Jey did the same. The whole short trading chops fest will be left with marks by the time they finish. Seeing stars, his vision blurred in.

All those moves Viktor gave turn inside out, his body boneless, slumped, close to rolling out the ring. Didn't give a chance as Viktor tugged his arm, dragging him with ease like a corpse, going for the pin.

"One!"

It shot Jimmy's anxiety and pressure on the roof. "Get up, get up!"

"Two!"

Kickout again. Would've been two in a half, but Jey couldn't care less. Thank Jimmy.

Viktor locked Jey's head, tighter around the neck, unable to breathe through the throat pipe. Exchanged words in a low voice, given the next move. Jey squirmed, clawed, kicked, anything to evade the headlock like the other two.

Claps. Jimmy's voice of encouragement. Sami's words. Helpful for him to change the game, this match.

A couple of punches to the belly, able to break free. Jey lifted Viktor into a backdrop. God, it's good for him. He can tag either of them, it'll be a breeze.

Lost opportunity again. Came out of nowhere, Konnor grabbed him by the hair and shoved him. A single realization never perked his expression, Jey took the chance to run the ropes, pulling a schoolboy pin on him, shoulders down.

One. Two. Kickout.

His brain circulated. Without thought, he scrambled at the same time along Konnor— a quick slap right to the temple, stunning him. Slouch on the mat trembled, Jey focused on Jimmy and Sami motioning to approach the noise. Konnor stood in ease. With a grunt, tried to manhandle and stop him from tagging. Jey didn't let up, throwing Konnor across the top rope, even if his strength was less than his.

Glimpsed over at Jimmy, then Sami— or Samuel— he can make it.

Go to the noise. Go to 'em, c'mon.

Beaten for seven or ten minutes. Somehow survived, somehow pulled it off. He needed a tag from either of them. A slow crawl to his brother, his partner. Give himself some rest a bit and let those two take over.

All of a sudden, a grasp on his ankle. Whipping his head, Konnor tried to prevent it again. But Jey is quick to think, nudged him using his feet, and goes back to crawling. Absorbed into tagging, unaware Viktor leaped over and struck Sami, then tried to attack Jimmy.

Jey looked up, wide-eyed. An opening in front of him, Jimmy avoided Viktor's hit. Snuck and crawl between the legs, he smacked Jimmy's hand— a hot tag was made, left the ring with a roll.

Successful yet pure exhaustion.

Chest heaving, sharp breath, back on the floor. Looked over to the staff who gave a signal if he was okay, and Jey gestured a thumb up. Flipped himself onto his stomach, his gaze caught into Sami's. Is he telepathic to him if he's okay? Doesn't look like Sami's expression full of agony, seemed fine.

He understood his stare though didn't. Time is little and it is despised to wait between questions on what happened. The only evidence Jey saw was the burn of passion in Sami's pupils. Credit earned for him pulling off like a cat earlier. He should've teased him.

Took one blink of Sami rushing over to the apron, tagging in with Jimmy. Where the hell did he receive all this fuel from?

Set eyes on the chemistry between Sami and Jimmy choreographed. Twenty minutes early, they're strangers now buddies all because his brother called someone his dawg. Bought into awe, and seemed to have a decision on whether or not to connect with the rookie. Will talk to them later; finishing comes first.

Jey arose and went to the ring steel steps. Make silent eye contact with Sami, both clasped their hands, tag has been made.

Viewing Sami and Jimmy's chemistry one more time, lips quirked up a soft smile, excitement bloomed within his chest. He climbed to the top rope, steadied as he locked on. Inhale, exhale. Leaped, executed an Uso Splash, his body slammed onto Corey, going for the pinfall.

One. Two. Three.

Bell chiming. The match is over.

So Close Now replayed for the second time on the speakers aboard with the fans' pop for the Usos and Sami's victory. Jey soaked in the noises, leaning against the ropes, mumbling a cuss word that the referee was unable to hear. Hair damped with sweat beading over his skin, face paint fainted a tad.

Felt a metal tap on the shoulder, Jey drifted to his one half of the Tag Team Championships, lifting his head; Jimmy's triumph grin holding the belts and Sami's blithe expression. The fact suspicions about Sami made a second choice.

Stood tall with the help from Jimmy, handed with the championship, he wondered a question: should he hug him?

His twin embraced Sami without hesitation. Thanking, giving compliments while exchanging smiles. Come to think of it, Hunter would be disappointed if Jey never did, so he had to for the sake of feeling his wrath.

Fuck it, I guess.

He joined in the fray and embraced, patting Sami's back. Normal, still normal, fine. A pair of lips grazed against Jey's ear, causing an eyebrow raise.

"You did a great job. Thank you."

Astonishment overtook his face.

Those words are going to be a full-on field day from now on.

__________

Thank you for reading!

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[ghostflowerhotpotch]

Has it ever occurred to you that since Gwen hasn’t had a mother figure for the majority of her life and from the beginning of ATSV its kinda shown she’s been craving that type of guidance or even affection when she sees Jess for the first time, do you think that once the dust is settled between her and Miles and she finally gets to properly introduce herself to his parents, do you think that Rio can not replace Gwen’s mother but atleast fill in that gap in some way where she’s able to get some of the guidance she’s been looking for. Idk I just feel like the dynamic between the two could be interesting once they both get along with each other, hopefully this makes sense to answer.

Ohh this is interesting.

Now, hope you don't mind, but Gwen and Jess situation is something I wanted to talk about for a while, so, I will use your comment to talk about this.

I will do the Rio part too, but knowing myself, there is a chance that would end in a second post because I talk too much.

Let's go!

Now, do I think is this a joke? Yes, but I also think Gwen means it.

And look, this is not to say that you necessarily need to have two parents to raise a kid, I personally believe that one parent, if they provide the necessary attention and care to the child or children, could be an amazing parent and not let their kids feel like they are missing anything.

However, as discussed on this post, I mentioned why while George isn't a bad dad, sadly he is not the best parent for Gwen.

And here I also discussed why Gwen's mental health is a bit of a mess.

But to not sent people to do homework, let's give the cliff-notes version.

George is trying to be a good father, however between his job and his refusal to understand nuance, he has accidentally pushed Gwen away; even if maybe this could have been resolved if she talked to him in a normal situation, the fact that he did what he did in the beginning shows she was scared for a reason.

So that means Gwen has a gaping hole in what a role model and parent should be, since she needs more support. Of couse her Spidey identity is important to her (in fact she leans too much into it,) and having no one to help her on that complicated path doesn't make the situation any easier.

Enters Jessica Drew.

You know I found extremely telling that when Gwen sees Miguel, she is cracking jokes and not really taking his professionalism crap seriously; yet when Jess comes kicking ass with her motorcycle and she looks at her like she has seen the light.

Perhaps it had to do with her realizing this failed artist is more problematic than she expected, or the fact that Miguel was quickly disposed of by something she saw from a mile away; while Jess came putting the bad guy on a grinder and maneuvering a bike like nobody's business. Needless to say, Gwen is DEFINITELY impressed.

Once again, this plays almost like this is a dream come true for Gwen.

She hides it well for most of the movie as well as the previous one, but the reality is that underneath that cool exterior, this is a teenage mess with so much angst she is giving my teen self a run for their money.

Just like she craves companionship in the form of Miles as well as other spiders, she probably wants someone who can tell her everything is going to be okay or what they should do. Again, we may forget sometimes, especially with superhero movies where protagonists need to be competent despite their age most of the time; but Gwen is 16, 17 at the most; and has been handling this stress and turmoil for at least 3 years. That's a lot.

Top it with her dad not being able to emotionally support her, and the fact that she wants a mom becomes less a possible commentary about not nuclear families, and more of a likely possibility because the first 20 minutes of the movie gave us LOTS of material to show how mess up this is.

I think is a testament to the situation that she doesn't default to Peter B or Noir in the first movie, nor Miguel; she only seems to be interested in learning from someone when she sees Jess.

Is funny, but is also very painful to hear for me, as if you ask me she said it completely straight, and this just shows how much help she needs.

Granted Gwen said that accidentally and probably wouldn't have said it if thought about it first, but the fact that it slipped says a lot.

She desperately wants someone like Jess in her life, and to top it off, she probably wants that person as a maternal figure; probably someone to ask about techniques for defeating baddies and also who could talk about feelings without this person defaulting to work as a copy mechanism.

Feel free to call me crazy for getting so work up about a joke, but if I am honest other interactions really make me sell this idea for me.

Now let's talk Jess.

Literally what other reaction she was going to have.

We really never hear a definitive answer to the question, but I also think Jess didn't think too hard about it for a reason.

I am planning to go through some scenes of Gwen and Jess to dig deeper into their mentor/not-mom situation, but let's start with this.

Do I think Jess should have adopted Gwen? No, not at all.

Look I am a sucker for found family and adoption tropes, and I would had love nothing more than for Jess to give one dirty look at Gwen's dad, tell her she would be there for her, and take her away to a good home. That is not what happened, and I don't blame her.

She is on her way to having her own kid, she needs to be spider-woman and to top it all off, she seems to be kind of a second in command in a really big operation, where your boss is your friend who is also way too into his job and she probably is still there partially to make sure Miguel doesn't completely lose it. She has a lot on her plate as it is, adopting a traumatized teenager is a lot of work that shouldn't really be her job.

Do I think that means she has no responsibilities to Gwen? No, not really.

And this is largely why.

Okay, I will try to not go over every moment with them, as this is more about explaining their situation than a deep dive of every instance of their relationship, but this is a good kicker for the situation.

Jess immediately takes an interest in Gwen for the organization, now while I can understand that she based this purely on her abilities, I think a part of it was the comment Gwen made earlier. I think she sees in her someone who needs a steady hand and some support.

As a mentor.

This is going a bit ahead on the post, but let's establish that 1) This exists, and 2) Jessica got that idea EXTREMELY quick all things considered.

Here is where the responsibility part actually kicks in.

No, Jess doesn't have any responsibility to Mother Gwen in any way, regardless if Gwen needs one or not (she does,) but the moment she not only started to argue for her to have a spot in the organization, to take her in when the things in her universe technically imploded (which they are marginally responsible considering they came to clean this means and they only did it thanks to Gwen,) She implicitly accepted to look after her.

Okay here is where we need to talk a bit about tropes.

When you have protagonists that are teens or kids with powers, is inevitable that they will need to deal with dangerous stuff that no sane adult would let a real kid do, but is fiction so you kind of have to suck it.

This is a trope that I found kind of lazy even when I was part of the age demographic; which is why stuff like The Owl House with Eda was refreshing.

She was also a Mentor who was also not very responsible as a guardian, but she ended up growing into one, and even if she failed to protect her apprentice, she did try her damnest to do it.

Jess is not Eda, and she doesn't need to be, except that this story has proven to be aware that they are still teens.

Jess clearly recognizes this isn't fair for Gwen. We also see something like this in the first movie, with Peter B worried about Miles can or can't handle, while still letting them do stuff you wouldn't catch me letting my little sister get away with; they know that there are somethings someone at that age shouldn't just be handling on their own.

And Jess isn't exactly ice-cold about Gwen.

Jess took interest in Gwen's potential quickly, she looked after her, and quickly went to try to calm her down and support her during a very high tense and stressful moment. Even here is Gwen the one who ultimately moves away, not Jess, proving she could had try to stay close to ensure she was okay.

And this is something that shows that it kind of sticks.

While considerably harsher here than in her introduction scene, Jess is showing that despite her annoyance with Gwen, she still likes her. She never thought her relationship with Miles shouldn't be a reason not to have her on the team; she trusted a mission in the universe despite that, and also calls Gwen her star pupil, which I don't was sarcasm.

She also gives her an hour to fix this, which even if not much, is more than she could have given her.

I am not saying that Jess didn't look after Gwen, or didn't care about her beyond what she could do for the organization, however, it wasn't what Gwen needed.

Let's circle back to responsibility,

Jess is aware of what happened with her dad, she knows what Gwen lost, and she can probably imagine that a kid that lost her identity and her world like that on just one night can't be doing okay; yet nothing shows me she ever did anything about it.

Here is the thing, Jess doesn't need to be Gwen's mom, but she can't just insist to have her and be her mentor, and don't think about checking on her in something other than her kicking-ass abilities. Even if she doesn't want to deal with it, she should have either seen how to make her father see reason, or lock her in the room with the spider-man psych.

Considering how things go in this movie, neither thing happens.

And it feels more painfully obvious when you see how much Gwen tries to appeal to her emotionally.

In a vaccum, none of these are a big deal, but the more I think about it the more heartbreaking this is for me to watch.

This is why I find these to be such a big deal: Gwen doesn't like to do emotional shit.

I know, I probably repeated that more times than I can count; but let that sink in contrast to what's going on.

After Peter died, she decided to not have any friends because she couldn't deal with the grief, with Miles only getting past that rule because they are both spiders plus chemistry. And even then, when you see Miles asking if she is going to talk to her dad, she decided to crack a joke and brush the idea as swiftly as possible.

When her dad tells her about the break in the spider-woman case, she tries to brush it off with false enthusiasm at first, and then when she gives a more honest response is more out of bubbling annoyance that truly her trusting him with something.

She isn't baring her heart open in these moments though, let's not have it twisted; however, she is trying to use emotion as a way to appeal to Jess, which is not her first move with most people in general. Even when she is not actively giving her an in-depth explanation, in each of those moments she is giving the emotional context as to why this is so hard.

"You never got too close to someone?" -> "This person is important to me and this is hard for me, wasn't it for you?"

"But my gut says-" -> "I know this looks bad, and I can't explain how, but this isn't right, trust me."

"Tell him he is wrong!" -> I don't really need to explain this one, do it?

She continuously looks up to Jess to hear her out, and to understand what she is going through; she sees her and expects someone who can connect with her on that level and care about it.

But that's not what Jess does, because she is not her mom, she is her mentor.

For the most part, when Gwen tries to appeal to Jess emotionally speaking, Jessica shuts that idea down fast.

Now, I am going to preface this by clarifying that in real life, a mentor would probably check emotionally on the kid they are mentoring if only for the fact that when you are in charge of a kid, you should look after them. Fiction however is another ballpark, and technically speaking, a mentor shouldn't need to be doing something that is the job of the family.

A good mentor would probably understand their apprentice position and listen, since regardless of your years of experience, you can't just underestimate people or you will inevitably be surpassed. However, Jess isn't trying to be anything like that; she wants to teach Gwen her way, and her way says that emotions are kind of on the way. So regardless if it isn't what Gwen needs, she will insist on that.

I think there can be a way to accept emotions but also don't let them cloud your decisions, yet again, Jess is not interested in that, and I Gwen actually have normal, supportive parents (or even just one,) I wouldn't be so hung up about this. But she doesn't and Jess knows this.

Superhero or not, Gwen is just a teen, and shouldn't need to be living this, especially because I freaking doubt this is a canon event or something; with the resources they have, and the people they have on board, I can't believe there isn't a way they could have talk to Captain Stacy and made him see reason.

But they didn't, because they are more worried about spider-man duties than whatever is going on to the person under the mask, and for them, this is just what comes with the territory so you have the suck it up. Even if this is perfectly avoidable once you think of it.

That's something that I had been thinking about a lot while doing my post on the organization as well as the one with Gwen falling in Mumbatthan. The spiders are stronger together, and in general working as a team gives them not only better chances at saving people, but also helping with the stress they have and being there for each other. That isn't the goal of the organization though.

Miguel's mission is to preserve the canon and to put people from other dimensions back into their respective ones, anything else is probably secondary to him. Sure, if someone asks for help from another Spider I don't think he would stand in the way; except if it is a canon event, which in that case, he will probably say to people to suck it up.

The pain they have, the trauma they are suffering, while being together helps it was never the end goal to help with that, and there is no regard in avoiding said pain. This is a job first and foremost, which is the attitude Jess has.

Gwen is not her kid, or even a young student, she is a coworker; one that she needs to guide a bit, but her subordinate at the end of the day.

Sometimes the waters get muddier, on both sides if I am honest.

I will touch a bit on other scenes, but I wanted to bring up this one in particular because there is something that feels a bit more mother-daughter than it probably has any right to show.

Now I will be the first to admit this may be a me thing, I can be very formal in real life and that goes double with people who are older than me and in a position of power over me, the only exception to that rule is my current boss because he is the mythical creature of being a manager who remembers employees are people too.

Gwen is not like that, she jokes and doesn't give too much of a shit regardless if you are Miguel or a bad guy. However there is something in the way Gwen acts that feels she wouldn't be phrasing stuff like this if it was Miguel on the other side; again, back to her using emotion as a first resource rather than as a lashing effect of her anger.

Jess, while being kind of no-nonsense overall, is also not the most formal, because this is the spider society and Miguel had the bad luck to be the only straight-laced one while everybody else tries to be a comedian for the most part. But there is a way that she talks to Gwen that for me feels kind of like her not fully keeping this professional either.

I can't fully put it into words, so feel free to not make seriously on this one, but there is something about the way Jess is commenting on the situation that reminds me more of a mom than any of my bosses.

Then we have scenes like this.

I am sorry but this part really first like is a discussion between mother and daughter, even with contexts the way the scene delivers gives that energy.

This isn't exactly wrong by itself, nor is it truly that surprising. The boss I mentioned before had also mentioned off-topic that me and my other coworker (who is a couple of years older than me,) are almost like his kids, and we share an age range. However he doesn't try to parent us really, and even if some of the comments are very much 'now listen to me kids' he quickly remembers we are adults and would drop topics or decisions we made that I know wouldn't be his reaction has been one of the kids that are actually kids.

It probably has more to do with the way they talk and see people younger than them that any parental feelings, and none of this is really inappropriate.

Nonetheless, the fact that Gwen craves that motherly bond makes these interactions hurt all the more for me.

Gwen may not be under the illusion that Jess is her mom, but she's subconsciously looking up to her, and the fact that Jess acts like this, even if by accident, just feels into that mentality. The mentality Gwen has that maybe Jess will listen this time, that she will take into account her feelings and her opinion in her decisions; but she continues to not do that.

For the most part.

Is a bit hard to see with the resolution I have, but when Gwen is kicking and screaming while been taken by the machine, Jess's gaze goes in another direction.

I am sorry if this is feeling repetitive, I know this post is a long one (which is funny how this post created another 2 just so those topics wouldn't be here.)

What I am trying to say with all of this, is despite Jess' insistence this is just work, that Gwen is just her pupil and she can only do so much; Jess continues to have a soft stop for Gwen that let's her get away with things. Is kind of ironic how Miguel said Gwen was a liability for her feelings for Miles, yet couldn't even consider how feelings in general would get in the way, considering Jess assigned this mission to Gwen (which then she fumbled the bag and led to the Spot becoming an actual menace,) give her a second chance, and then apparently let her go.

(It is possible she is looking for where Gwen is going to tell Miguel, but I doubt it.)

I fully believe that by the third film, Jess will probably end up either switching sides or just letting Gwen do what she wants, and even if is the first scenario I think it would be via Gwen that happens.

But to wrap things up, if Captain Stacy is not enough as a parent for Gwen because he can't do that role properly, Jess isn't good enough as a parent for Gwen because she doesn't want that role, regardless of if she sometimes kind of acts like it.

I think their relationship is fascinating, and I would love to explore more of this connection in some way; if only because the complicated nature of it makes it all the more interesting for me, but in a nutshell, is this:

Jess: I wanted an apprentice, you wanted a mom. Gwen: Well I guess we are both disappointed.

(Sorry I couldn't help myself, OOF I wish I could draw well enough for this.)

Now, with my thoughts on Rio, I could probably put them on this post because is not that long, but it will probably feel off with all this commentary I had been making, so it would be in another one.

If you got this far, congrats on your patience, and thank you for reading!

[rivangel]

You have such a good perspective on canon!levi, how do you do it!! 🥰🤩 the cold weather has made me think fluffy thoughts... sooooo....

What are your thoughts on post-war levi needing some help with cutting his hair? He can manage, but it's probably harder to do, right? Does he even keep the undercut? Uh-oh, maybe the top grows out enough for a bun. Is this the first time he lets someone other than his mother cut it for him? Does it mean something to him, or does he just not like other people messing with it? If he needed help, he probably wouldn't ask, you'd just have to get in there and do it... and then it would just be a part of your routine together. I need to hear your thoughts!!

Also happy new year 😘😘

xoxo

happy new year!! idk how this post got so srs but here we are.... i promise... its fluffy towards the end...

//internalized ableism, mentioned suicidal ideation, some minor manga spoilers + hinted ch132 spoiler | wc: 1.0k

He didn’t get to cut his hair (I bet) for that month he was in the forest with Zeke. And then after the final battle, he’s in the hospital for some long months while his face heals (did you know that face wounds heal super well compared to other flesh wounds?), he gets multiple surgeries on his knee, and treated for the internal bleeding caused by the explosion (remember when he coughs up blood in the manga?), etc. The point is, he’s in the worst shape of his life.

And in all that time, his bangs grow to fall over his eyes all the time. They don’t like to stay pushed back over his forehead, either, and the prickly stubbled part of his undercut gains length. The longer tail in the back has creeped down his nape.

This is one more thing to constantly unsettle him. Routinely he’s always cut his hair every two weeks on the dot if he can, and he’s never let it get bad enough to grow out this much, not since he was a little kid.

He’s always cut his hair himself, too. At this point he’s firm in the belief that he’s the only one who can get it right, and on top of Levi’s stubborn independence and his newly realized weaknesses, means he’s defiant to letting even you (who has stuck to his side since he was admitted) trim it. You can count on one hand how many times he let you help with it in the past.

“I’ll cut it for you,” you offer out of the blue, for the hundredth time.

He, who’d been half-dozing in his hospital bed, grunts to show his distaste. The majority of the bandages are off his face, except for the white wrappings hugging one of his eyes. Unfortunately, Hange’s stitches had been removed, and restitched. Levi got extremely irate with the doctor who explained to him that the work done was shoddy, like whoever that’d done it seemed to be in a rush.

Either way, it still feels strange to talk with the cleft in his lips. “You’ve done enough for me.”

You stroke his uninjured hand. The other is still bandaged. Recently, he went through another small surgery to get them properly amputated to the second knuckle to prevent nerve damage and infection. (I’m so fucking sad.)

“The most I’ve done is just be here,” you say meaningfully. “Please let me help, ‘Vi.”

For the most part, Levi has been completely numb since the war ended. Maybe he’s still in shock, like the professionals say, but he has had the suspicion that he’s broken... That is until you beg him so genuinely. A familiar affection for you pulls in him. It reminds him. Not broken.

He blinks at you, and sighs deeply through his nose. “Only if… it’s not too much trouble.”

“Never. I already asked for the proper tools.”

He deadpans a little, affection growing. “Fine.”

Smiling, you give him a kiss.

Levi huffs. He’s stronger than he was since being admitted. With a few pillows fluffed up behind him, he sits up with relative ease. His socked feet brush the floor, where he stares down, deliberating.

“You shouldn’t—”

“If you get that fucking chair, forget it.” He raises his head and glares defiantly at you. “I’m not a shitty baby. I can fucking walk.”

You never said he was, never even implied it, but you understand why he’s lashing out. So you compromise by sitting down beside him, and sliding your arm around his waist. He hooks one of his over your shoulders, saying nothing as you together maneuver to stand. The bathroom is a few paces away, but to Levi it feels like miles as he heavily favors his good leg, causing him to hobble.

His cheeks burn in humiliation. Not because you’re helping him, but the fact that he needs help in the first place. He doesn’t even let the nurses do this.

In the same way, all the meaning of this favor to him isn’t in you cutting his hair. It touches him that you’d go out of your way (in his mind) yet again for him, as difficult as he knows he’s being. Has been.

He hates that his body’s this way now. Mangled beyond recognition of how it used to be, how it used to work. He’s left broken parts. Damaged. He’s permanently useless forever, he thinks. The resulting burden makes him think at his darkest moments that it would’ve been easier on himself and everyone else if he just died after killing Zeke. His duty was done. It would’ve taken long enough.

This occasional slew of dark thoughts have grown more common since he’s had time to do more or less nothing but think. When he remembers that everyone he fought beside, including and especially you, were thrilled that he was recovering, he feels a horrible stab of guilt. He should be grateful. The Titans are gone. He should be at peace, overjoyed. He doesn’t deserve to feel this much pain considering everyone else who lost their lives. Everyone close to him is dead. But, except you. Except you.

(I need to get back on topic.)

In the bathroom, he braces himself using the counter, his bad leg raised as you drag a regular chair inside.

“Same as always?”

“Yeah.”

He thought he’d feel even more pathetic that he can’t even do this with two less fingers and his eyesight, but he finds himself… relaxed for the first time in ages. More placated whenever your fingers card through his hair, occasionally scratching affectionately as you go about trimming, then buzzing his hair way down near the base of his skull and around his ears.

You’re slow and careful about it, and Levi finds himself holding onto that.

When his hair is fixed, the style as he always had it, he feels a shred better. Your eyes meet through the reflection.

“Thank you,” he mumbles.

Later in the future, when Levi is out of the hospital (which he leaves on crutches), and enough time has passed to partway recover and re-establish a new routine in your lives, you still cut his hair the majority of the time. His eyesight messes with his field of view—it’s a task to land kisses to your lips, let alone cut his hair straight. So even though he’s ambidextrous, that doesn’t mean much.

Every two weeks, same as always, you stand behind him with a towel laid out for the stray hairs, and wordlessly set about doing it for him. He could grow it out, but he much rather prefers a few things staying the same as they’ve always been. Including his hair. Especially you.

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[not-goldy]

Heyy! just found your acc and I am absolutely loving it here. idk if you'll read or reply to this but im writing this just because im kinda disheartened seeing some of these jikooker's behaviour. like i get it, we should always be open to the possibility of jikook being in a relationship with someone else but to see them dropping jikook in a matter of seconds after one shady grainy video drops is just... some are still adamant that jungkook does infact have a girlfriend. I've been seeing so many "jikook broke up", "jikook just bros", "jikook poly", "jikook were just fck buddies" it feels like these jikookers are just heavily insecure and somewhat believe certain taekookers' theories as they've been going off about how jikook haven't been close in 2023 and they are no longer 'glued together' just because we don't see it.

its like they were just ready to drop jikook and found this video issue to be the perfect opportunity lol....i honestly don't know where im going with this dkdkdjflkdjf but yeah. i dont think it was jungkook in that video (pretty obvious if you ask me) and I'll keep supporting jikook. jikook's bond is so different than all the other duos in bts and them not dating would be more shocking than them dating each other. ig these jikookers don't wanna act how taekookers did in the whole taennie situation but that's the thing this jungkook thing is in NO way similar to the taennie proofs we got. we got HD pictures and saw their managers in their video ffs.

also the acc that posted that video on weibo went on to post a clearly fake edited video of "jungkook" roaming around his apartment when asked why don't they have more videos of jungkook if they had so much access to jungkook's apartment, and had their lie get debunked so yeah. mindless rant over i guess. JIKOOK FOREVER.BTS FOREVER.

I almost logged out but since you love it here I love it here too🤭

You see right there- even if it was Jungkook in that video it is not conclusive of anything. It's just back hug. Looks like a younger boy worrying his Noona to me and if it wasn't then we need to talk about a little things called consent. Sis looked like she could use her personal space.

Besides, if it were him, nothing special there. He does that with every one. Almost all BTS members. I remember a video of Jimin asking him what he was doing clinging onto him behind him.

He did it with the tattoo girl and said there was nothing between them. How could this have been any different?

I feel people aren't used to seeing him interact with girls that much so they get uncomfortable getting glimpses of him around girls.

They will tell you he is the handsiest member of bts but then turn around and act flabbergasted when he gets handsy with anyone that's not their bias.

I'm glad he put those fake rumors to rest.

If that video was him that would have amounted to some heavy charges cos why we peeping at people's homes with cameras 🥲

The creepy things obsessed fans do and the lengths they go to give me chills. No respect for his privacy whatsoever.

He has friends other than jimin. He has FEMALE FRIENDS as well. People need to get used to that fact and stop acting like a disturbed beehive whenever the topic comes up.

He has female friends cousins acquaintances dancers assistants etc and he has a unique dynamic with each.

The entire Fandom needs to grow up.

For now I'm just embarrassed for them. Imagine cooking up a lie that didn't even take 2 secs to be shut down. The audacity they had to come into our dms trying to convince us we are making excuses for him and not accepting facts meanwhile the delulu ones were them all along.

And they seem to forget some of us are part of the groups they meet at to cook up these elaborate narratives just to stirr up shit. They dumb as fuck.

[peachyonepiece]

appears looking at you with autism creature eyes. hello @sangerie your vs bros fankids (one of which i had a hand in making bc. glances at the reblogs/notes in @loopyarts post. i have confessed there fskakfafsga) are really really neat .u.

SPEAKING of loopyarts ty for allowing me to take inspo for nijis kids raid suit fit!! i really liked the softer yellow and the thicker lightning bolts on his pants you gave him so tysm for letting me yoink it <3

uh uhh individual pieces and also design/character rants under the cut bc. i wanna.

RAID SUIT RAMBLING TIME bc i spent the most time on those. also you might be asking 'why is only their hair rendered in those pieces?' well the answer is because i am Lazy. moving on . (/HJHJ i AM lazy but also rendering it further would mess up the colors and i didn't wanna do that lmao. carrying on..)

Ichiji's daughter i am so SO proud of her fit. i did not look up a reference or even inspo ideas at all, that all came from the ole noggin baybeee. anyways she is obviously based off a magical girl(s) fit bc she wants and DESERVES to be. also since Reiju doesn't have any kids of her own (based wine aunt) i also decided to let Little Red have some of her motifs instead of just purely Ichiji's!! primarily the 66 on her pants but also all the pink on her instead of just red :) and obviously she has her dads number and while she DOES have a (white? bc like daddy shes a special little princess /aff) cape i didn't include it here bc it looked reallly bad lmao. but she does have one tucked into the bow probably!! there she is, Sparkling Red Neo!!! (get it.. sparkling instead of sparking... bc magical girl.... im funny i think.) onto Little Ocean Boy

OKAY LET ME TALK ABOUT THE MOST MINISCULE YET MOST IMPORTANT DETAIL TO ME AND ME ALONE FIRST. that being the symbol on the brats belt. it was actually inspired/based off of this post which really stuck with me with me after reading it which i later realized was bc the "that something has been completely reversed" REMINDED ME OF THIS POST OF YOURS. i don't think im especially good at theory crafting but. idk i think there could be Something about how after judge came and turned germa into mercenaries their symbol turned from what once symbolized 'purity' into the skull of war mongers and then BACK to purity after 0124 get germa on the right path... poetry or smthn. ANYWAYS yah shoe shiners got a pretty basic fit bc like i said in the og ask, hes a sora warrior of the sea fan, once he saw the raidsuits irl methinks he'd want to stay pretty close to the og design. HOWEVER he refuses to drop the hat (much to Niji's dismay) and i came up with a reason besides 'its one piece and therefore there's GOTTA be a kid with a weird hat that they're attached to': and that is the fact that it hides his eyebrows. Little Red has the curly brows, all of Yonji's cabbage patch does too, and the brats the only one without. even if literally no one else notices or cares, he wants to hide the fact that he doesn't have em because it Separates him. and he doesn't want that. at all. he really, Really wants to be a part of this family (oh no i made it. angsty). ANYWAYS UHH YAYYY HE HAS A TWO ON HIS HAT (that he sewed on himself which is why i made sure you can see the stitch-lines) BC NIJIS HIS DAD WAHOO YIPPEE :D:D:D Dengeki Blue Neo: little shoe shiner edition!!

UHH second image is just a refined piece of that first doodle i sent you. with lineart and a better color pallet and all. actually looking at it again now i realize i forgot little brats freckles and i am now punching the air bc its too late to fix. just act like they're there. please :,,,) edit: nvm its the next morning i fixed that kjahsdah

i don't even have much to say about the last two because i Think i am Rightgksfjgasjkfa but for the third i think the brats a bad influence on Little Red especially. ALSO FOR THE FOURTH NO I DIDNT FORGET ICHIJIS TATTOO. I AM JUST LAZY. (and I also forgot his tattoo :]) ANOTHER edit: i also. fixed this :]

CHRIST i am incapable of contacting you on Tumblr via any way that includes anything less than 250 words i am so sorry sangerie.. i hope you like these tho cause i really do tbh :3 (PS you have to take literally NONE of what I said here [mostly about shoe shiner] as like.. canon about them?? these are YOUR ocs obvi so please, change Little Red's raidsuit design if you find it unappealing!! make shoe shiner have a backstory of your own!!! i hope that isnt weird or rude to say, i just thought it was important too bc i threw sm at you so strongly ^^' okay thats all tysm for reading this it means to world to me byebye <3)

[iamluzgar]

I finally finished FFXIV Dawntrail and I have many many thoughts about it. So, spoilers, and bare with me.

I had a lot of troubles to get into it at first, but I always feel that way for much of the extension I've played so it didn't change much. I pushed through, and I'm glad I did. I loved the theme of discovering new people and cultures to get to know them, and to like them. Which was an ongoing thing.

I liked Wuk Lamat a lot as a character. She's a bit immature, but she has a lot of potential, as you say to Gulool Ja. Loved having Thancred and Urianger against me for a change, especially in that dungeon. I got into it more and more, wanting Wuk Lamat to succeed because there were many hints showing she would do well (like for example with the bandits, I saw another post on tumblr mentioning it, but she directly thought about a system failiure problem, rather than thinking the people were bad). She adapted herself to the best of her ability to the culture she met with an open mind, even when she was afraid, unsure or disagreed with it. The VA did a fantastic job imo for her voice.

Of course the rest of the gang was here too and it was incredible. I loved how Erenville finally got the spotlight he so deserved. I wasn't a fan of Krile, but now I do like her and that's the power of FFXIV imo.

Anyway, the first part was great, and it was an important part because the WoL can finally indulge in some "selfish" actions like battling big dudes, deities, eating stuff, traveling, meeting people, doing the good old Azem and I think they'd be proud. The game keeps pushing you Emet, from what he said to you on the last expansion, and I liked that, it keeps him alive. I obviously missed Venat, Hythlodaeus, Elidibus and Emet a lot from this expansion, so it was nice to have some mentions of them. However, especially with the second part of the game, you realize how the shadow of the Ascien still fly above us and all of the reflections. Because I am persuaded they had a hand in the creation of electrope and the key.

The second part was even greater. It started weak with the Western like stuff (I'm not a fan of that and it felt like post-MSQ quests), but then it really starts: not only it brings back stakes (because... Well, I laughed when people made Valigarmanda a "big threat", considering we killed Despair a few months ago in the game), but it also is a pay off from the first part. You grew attached to Wuk Lamat, to Tuliyollal and its people. And now they're in danger.

Which brings us to New Alexandria, with its strange culture of pushing away death. The whole part with Alexandria felt like a metaphore from our own real world. We too, tend to push death away, put people dying away from society and from our eyes, forget them. It really resonated with my experience, especially considering I've been a volunteer in palliative care for a year. The whole thing of accepting death is a main topic in this second part of the game.

We brushed a bit too fast over the identity issues Zoraal Ja felt, I feel, sadly. I wish we could have had a bit more to humanize him.

Then the last zone... It truly touched my soul. We do the exact opposite thing that we did in Endwalker. In Endwalker, we started from nothing, we added music, colors, we reanimated species from death. In Dawntrail, we "turned off" people, we removed the colors and the songs from the places we were visiting. It was powerful to observe it, doing a different kind of walk, maybe even a harder one. Idk for WoL, but it was harder for me. Because we were still "killing" people, and we can only sympathize with Sphene's desires to let her people live more, whatever the cost of it. We hope and pray there might be another way for everybody to be happy.

It brings me back to palliative care in the real world. This world Sphene created, was a metaphor for therapeutic obstinacy and the artificial prolongation of life. At some point, there is nothing you can do, and you have to "pull the plug". You have to say good bye. To your own family, to your friends, to people you knew more or less. What's left of them then? All the memories you had with them, and that's it, and as the Yok Huy's philosophy, they kinda live through you that way.

Contrary to Meteion, our action of killing the people in that zone was not born of desperation of not being able to save them, but from an acknowledgement that this artificial prolongation of life is no longer sustainable, it will give more pain and will sacrifice ressources that could be given to people who still have a chance to continue living. At some point, when there is no chance to sustain a life, we need to make peace with the fact that it's over. That death is a part of life, and might always be. The next day always happen, with a beautiful sunset, new lives, new hopes, new stories, and new adventures, with new people. It's an end, but it's not the end.

As someone who lost my mom when I was a teenager, it was comforting to see those moms having so much hope, love and pride for their children. I could hear my own mom through them. We see a lot of moms, and we have to say good bye to a lot of them, and that was difficult. I both hate and like the fact that FFXIV has a tendency to kill moms or otherwise important female caretaking figures. :( They displayed a lot of different relationships between family members regarding their future death, and that was also interesting. Family, in the large sense of it, was a very big topic of this expansion.

On a gameplay part, I loved almost everything. They upped up the difficulty a notch, and it was perfect. I love how they made new ways of seeing AoE while also still making it clear it's an AoE. Very good ideas there. Loved the last two dungeons.

I was not a fan of the music this extension, but well nothing is perfect. I'm not a fan of FFIX and obviously a lot was taken from it.

Hope that didn't bore you out!

TL;DR Incredible writing as usual.

[carlyyyyxbishhop]

Love me like I haven't changed // Shayne Topp // 1

Okay so hi, long time smosh fan lmao. I used to write stuff for bands back in like 2014-2017 but I stopped for some reason. Recently I kinda wanted to get back into it... so I started writing this. Idk if you'd count this as a fanfic because idk how long its gonna be.

Tbh I got an idea and just started writing so I'm gonna post parts 1 and 2 tonight. Lemme know if I should continue writing because I'm slightly hesitant.

part one // Kate

I bounced my right leg anxiously, out of habit I guess. The waiting room was a sterile white, littered with magazines and children’s toys. But I’ll never forget the smell, funny that. It smelt like pure vomit, there’s no other way to describe it.

I stared at the poster on the wall in front of me, it said something stupid like keep hanging on. I rolled my eyes and looked toward the reception desk. A woman was sitting filing her nails with her airpods in, obviously making great use of company time. I looked to my right as a door opened. 

“Kate?” He called out into the room as if I wasn’t the only person sitting in the waiting area. I stood, flashing him a small smile, before following him into the small room. To say the office was small was an understatement. I took it in quickly before finding a chair in the corner near the window.

“Hi Kate, I’m Charlie. It’s nice to meet you.” He started as he sat across from me. I cleared my throat before I spoke, not realising I hadn’t spoken a full sentence in over 48 hours.

“Hi, nice to meet you too.” I watched as he grabbed a small notepad from the table beside him.

“Kate, I know your mother was adamant that you come to therapy but if you’re not ready you don’t have to be here. I just want to let you know that before we start.” He looks over at me, he can probably already sense I’m hesitant.

“No it’s fine, if I don’t come to the appointments she’ll keep harassing me until I do.” He nodded slightly and wrote something on his notepad.

“Okay well, just know you can back out at any time,” He offered a smile that I returned, “So, uhh, if you don’t mind could you tell me a bit about yourself?”

“What, like my job and stuff?”

“Well if that’s what you want to talk about, then yes we can start with that.” I think for a second.

“Do your clients usually go straight into their traumas?” He furrowed his eyebrows at the question.

“Not particularly,” He starts, “Usually they start with simple things to get us started.”

“Oh right,” I say slightly embarrassed, “I’ve never been to therapy before if you can’t tell.” He smiled.

“Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself, some hobbies, work… maybe friends?” He offers some starting topics.

“Well, I’m 29 and I’m currently on mental health leave from my job. Mostly because I stopped going to work about 3 weeks ago and stopped answering their calls. Eventually they called my mother because she’s my emergency contact and she made up some bullshit about my Dad dying.” I slightly rambled.

“Did you stop going to work because of your father?” He asked hesitantly, almost trying to predict the reason.

“No, he died years ago. I just kind of lost interest in life when my ex left.” I gulp down the ball in my throat and reach for my water bottle as a distraction.

“Oh right, your ex… was he a big part of your life?” He looks down at his notepad as he makes some notes.

I laugh slightly, “I guess you could say that, we were together for five years.”

“Wow, that’s quite a long time. It’s normal to be upset when going through a breakup.” He tries to reason.

“Is it normal to lay in bed for weeks after a breakup?” I try to find the novelty in it.

“In extreme cases… yes. It can be perfectly normal to have a negative reaction when someone breaks up with you.” I tense slightly at his words.

“See,” I gulp down another lump in my throat, “He didn’t break up with me… he left me.”

“Right… and do you know why he did.” I laugh slightly and look toward the window.

“Yes.” I say shortly, holding back the tears threatening to spill.

“Did you want to talk about it?” He asked, almost unsure if he should. I shook my head no.

“Okay, well why don’t you tell me about him?” He asked.

“What do you want to know?” I looked back toward him and tucked my legs under myself, getting more comfortable on the lounge chair.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

[mistbornhero]

Hello my dear. Do you have. any book recomendations ever. I'm talking stories that would suck me in and spill me off when I finish it like I went thru a whole lifetime in a few pages. Any genres are cool.

ohhh boooks I'll try to not forget every book I've ever read now lmao

this has been in my drafts for days because I did in fact forget every book I have read. Cutting this into things I am fannish about and books I just liked in general and books I could probably be fannish about with the right incentive.

Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson

honorary mention, mostly lmao

obviously like the books just look at my username

I like the first Mistborn Trilogy best, even if the Stormlight Archive is probably technically better

It gets bonus points for being shorter and already finished

It gets extra bonus points because book one has a heist

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

idk if you've read this? but! robots! in space! and found family!

witty and fun

I would die for murderbot (it would roll its eyes at that)

murderbot could have killed many people, but instead it just wants to watch tv, which is a mood

I blame blackglass and her enthusiasm for podficcing every fic for everyone.

All For The Game by Nora Sakavic

gay crime sports anime book

found family!!

so like. this is not a good book, I think

but it also definitely is a fun book, kind of like. self indulgent fics where things that are objectively Too Much happen but in a fun way?

also! canon demi character!

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

kid has magic! he must now go to magic school!

immediately falls in love with an elf girl and declares noble!guy his nemesis

he thinks this nemesis thing is mutual, but noble!guy is just very in love with him

realized he was bisexual and actually in love with noble!guy (dated elf!girl for a bit, but decided they were better off as friends)

.... would add TLT here, but I think you've read that, seen you post about it,

Not fannish about, but I could be:

The Riyria Chronicles by Michael J. Sullivan

two bros doing crime and being Good at it

fun fantasy worldbuilding

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

fun political things!

slow burn romance

started to reread to say more but then got busy 🥲

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

I just love people who are really good at what they do (stealing)

Great worldbuilding

It's part of a series, but I haven't actually read past the second book because there was an event I didn't quite like at the time (not like it's bad, just. different mental space needed?)

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

I'm in this for the worldbuilding

Should reread honestly

there's a spin-off series that I also love

Not fannish about, but I love:

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

time travel!! cool rules for it!!!

emotional?? basically you can only meet other people who have been in the cafe, so it's usually people who go back to see the ones they were in the cafe with? so yeah, emotional

It made me cry so much

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

fun animal facts!!

if you feel like Learning Things this is also pretty interesting?

Literally just spent the entire time I read it telling people fun facts about how animal senses work

this is not going to be sucking you in and spilling you out with a mess of feelings, but I liked it

[slowdripsunrise]

jfc okay so i have forgotten/been too lazy to write up reveiws here i apparently havent updated since. lone women which is well. so ive read a shit ton since then so i'm going try my best to write up as much as i can in this post bc i don't want to just. stop and skip over stuff. so well. here we go. spoilers for various books under the cut, i'll tag them all !

first book i finished after i last updated was silver nitrate by silvia moreno-garcia. been a while but damn do i remember the fucking vibes. absolutely killer vibes and atmosphere, and the plot was fun and interesting; i do remember being a bit confused in one of the final scenes fighting the guy but it wasnt enough to take me out of the story. the characters felt real and i could feel their love of movies and maybe each other off the page, definitely recommend if you're looking for an atmospheric, creepy little book.

next (and i'll just group these together) i read the poppy war trilogy by r. f. kuang ! absolutely wonderful storytelling and the characters were interesting and loveable. i think that this story succeeds in being one of the few good "war stories" as in it doesn't glorify or make light of any aspects of the war. there are good moments and bright spots throughout, but in the end pretty much every single character we know and love ends up dead, and before they're dead, they've been shaped so thoroughly by the war around them that there is no way anyone could have come out of this series thinking that it in any way romanticized the events. i loved everything about it and more. but while i did love the series. tbh i don't agree with everyone saying that its the most serious and intellectual and groundbreaking book in the entire world. yes it is groundbreaking and yes it is based on a lot of real life horrific events, but it's also. extremely entertaining. it's written beautifully and has some very poignant scenes that i love, and i am gonna be honest i lost where i was going with this point. i think what i'm trying to say is like before i read it, i saw a lot of people on the internet saying that it is like. the highest peak of literature and such and like. for me, it's mostly just a damn good time. i go into most books looking for entertainment (meaning like. i would like to feel emotions, not necessarily happy ones, just emotions in general) and what i think a lot of people made it seem like, was ONLY an epic tome about the brutality of war, the military, and colonization. and it absolutely is about that ! i am not docking points for it being about those things, in fact if it hadn't had all these hard hitting topics i wouldn't have liked it as much. but it's ALSO about rin, kitay, and nezha, and how they love and hate each other. and sometimes i think people lean too much into one aspect of the book, one way or the other (i have absolutely seen the inverse of this, people forgetting about the colonialism and militarization aspects in an impressive show of hypocrisy. which... is worse imo.) but idk. i have no idea what i am trying to say i just like this book yall.

next oml. okay again grouping them together for my own sake but i read the southern reach trilogy by jeff vandermeer ! this series was such a creepy and weird and offputting good time i ate that shit right up. the first book and the biologists pov are my favorites, and all of the insight we get from her and the first book into area x was just. so compelling i could not put that shit down. i'm pretty sure the second i finished in the hospital lol i was INVESTED. and honestly. i did really like the second book. not as much as the first, but i don't think it was bad or underwhelming compared to the first. once i got past the pov shift, i really liked controls pov partly because he is just some guy. like he is just so average and banal, and seeing this set against the absurdity of the rest of the book was really interesting. i liked how even though we weren't IN area x, the southern reach still had that otherworldly and offputting suspenseful energy, even in a familiar setting (office building type i mean. as opposed to weird as fuck forest). that and also i am deep into my f1 phase so like i kept picturing control as checo perez. like hes just so guy to me like hes just a normal guy that has no fucking clue whats going on and thats really funny and awesome to me. like man. anyway the third wasnt my favorite, but i still really like the series as a whole and will probably read the 4th one coming out whenever it does.

NEXT. sharks in the time of saviors by kawai strong washburn. did i cry. maybe. did i really like the story. yes. it was definitely a change of pace for me after reading the above books but the story was lovely and magical and engaging and very sad and i enjoyed every bit of it.

after that i read scattered all over the earth by yōko tawada, which is a story that i kinda have mixed feelings about? i listened to the audio book and the narrator did such a wonderful job, i loved listening to the two man characters talk about language in the mc's made up language, panska. and if the book was just about that, i probably would have liked it more, exploring language and the loss of it; however one of the side characters constantly get's misgenders when the story is outside of her pov. and it's like. really fucking distracting. so like i guess i don't have very mixed feelings about it lol. i liked one bit, definitely did not like another bit, and the rest of the book wasn't really strong enough to sway me back into the "i like this book and think it's interesting" camp. although if you can get past the blatant transphobia, the audio book really is nice to listen to, especially coming off a post surgery high.

next i read the ghost bride by yangsze choo ! this was another really atmospheric, palpable book. i could feel the setting, the humidity, the smells, all of it and it was so good! an engaging story, i'm pretty sure i read this one in a day or two. the characters were fun, the plot moved quickly in a way that made sense, and exploring the realms of the dead and the living with the characters was so fun, definitely recommend !

im gonna wrap this post up here mostly bc im hungry but i still have a lot more to update on ! if u made it this far thank you and also im sorry. happy reading!

[insert-witty-user-name-here]

10+ Good Things Biden has Done: Climate & Labor Edition

Just a list of 10+ good things Biden has done in the last 4 years because I’ve been hearing too much rhetoric that it doesn’t matter who you vote for. It does make a difference. 

Find more 10+ good things here, here and here.

Rejoined the Paris Climate Accords.  

Listed more than 24 million acres of public lands across the country as environmentally protected and has channeled more than $18 billion dollars toward conservation projects. (And revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline amongst others). (x)

Invested $369 billion to reduce greenhouse emissions and promote clean energy technologies through the Inflation Reduction Act. Through the tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act, renewable energy (such as wind, solar, and hydropower) has surpassed coal-fired generation in the electric power sector for the first time, making it the second-biggest source of energy behind natural gas. (x)

Strengthened protections against workplace assault through the Speak Out Act. (x) 

Increased protections for workers during the union bargaining process (x)

Is making it easier for passengers to obtain refunds when airlines cancel or significantly change their flights, significantly delay their bags, or fail to provide extra services when purchased. (x)  

Invested $1.2 trillion into roads, waterlines, broadband networks, airports and more allowing for more bridges, railroads, tunnels, roads, and more through the Inflation Reduction Act (which also added 670,000 jobs). (idk about you but I like driving on well maintained roads and having more rail options).  

Strengthened overtime protections for federal employees (x)

Raised the minimum wage for federal workers and contractors to $15. (x)

Strengthened protections for farmworkers by expanding the activities protected from retaliation by the National Labor Relations Act and more. (Previously anti-retaliation provisions under the National Labor Relations Act applies mostly to only U.S. citizens) (x)

Invested $80 billion for the Internal Revenue Service to hire new agents, audit the wealth, modernize its technology, and more. Additionally, created $300 billion in new revenue through corporate tax increases. (x) 

Lowered the unemployment rate to 3.5% — the lowest in 50 years.

Proposed investments in a lot of programs including universal pre-k, green energy, mental health programs across all sectors, a national medical leave program for all workers and more. (x) 

Last… let’s also not forget all the truly terrible things Trump did when he was in office. If you need a reminder, scroll this list, this one mostly for giggles + horror, for actual horror about what a Trump presidency has in store, learn about ‘Project 2025’ from the Heritage Foundation. I know this post is about reasons to vote FOR Biden but let’s not forget the many, many reasons to vote for him over Trump.

Looking for more?

10+ good things Biden has done in education and immigration and

10+ good things Biden has done in healthcare and housing

10+ good things Biden has done in the justice and courts system

A few other notes

Voting for Biden or Trump shouldn’t be the only reason you vote. You know what elections have more power over your life? LOCAL elections. If you’re not feeling jazzed about Biden… vote for someone really cool running for mayor, or your rep, or on your school board and then begrudgingly vote for Biden. 

A reminder that if someone online is trying to discourage you to vote there’s a good chance they are a paid actor to do so. Voter suppression was a well-documented tactic during the 2016 election and I’m sure the trolls are out in force again. 

Check your voter registration here, make a plan to vote, and encourage your friends to vote as well. 

All in all, yeah… there’s a lot of shitty things still happening. There’s always going to be shit but things aren’t going to change on their own. And that change starts (it certainly doesn’t end) with voting. 

Go vote in November.

[thepocket221]

I have brought you Finn headcanons!

Finn is part French

He even speaks French!

Somtimes he calls you little names in French

Big Hozier fan

Also a Harry Styles fan

Terrible at combat video games but puzzle and indie games he's good at

Hes a mf old man

He crochetes little sweaters for you and him

Also to mention

He dances in the kitchen with you with the record player on <33

Soft snoring boy

Sleep talker also

Hes surprisingly strong Also

Its cuz He lifts flower pots for a living He says

This is canon but he is a very good cook

He knows all of the best small cafes that aren't very known in town

He is very good with kids!

Hes very awkward at first but then if the kid says, "You have very pretty hair, It's like a princesses hair!" He smiles and let's them play with his hair

One time you walked into him and his nieces doing his makeup

*Finn has bright red lipstick on and blue eyeshadow on with one girl doing his hair and the other doing his makeup*

"Oh hi love!"

The girl doing his makeup: "Quit moving and look at me uncle Finn!"

"Oh I'm sorry!

Ig that's one way to end it-

USER 0lliel0vesfr0gs YOU HAVE THE SAME NAME/NICKNAME AS MY LISTENER FOR FINN I SHIT YOU NOT /pos

ALSO THANK YOU FOR THESE😭🤲🤲 THEYRE ALL SO <333

(usually for hc posts i try to have art i’ve made to go along with it BUT I DONT DRAW FINN ENOUGH <//33 well, i do, but it the scribbles don’t look too well (to me at least) so i do not post them <//3 /lh /nm but until i have finn art i’m proud of:

in return, here are some of my finn hcs!!

on the topic of what type of phone games/games in general he would play: he’s a king at sudoku.

crosswords too!!

he’s so smart, i love him dearly <33

maybe he tried a dating sim once but it did not go well for him

other than that, he definitely would play RPGs (and before ANYONE SAYS IT, based on my personal experience, i’d say finn’s more of an animal crossing fan compared to stardew.) and is the type of guy to overthink the choices he’s given in game. he doesn’t look the answer up, but oh boy is it tempting,, “if i go with this option, it will ruin my relationship with this character :(“ babes they’re not real🫶/lhj

storyteller finn however, would love stardew valley. the mystical aspects would be his favorite.

deadass would forget you can date someone bc of the lore.

anywho, back to garden variety💪🫶‼️

BUFF FINN IS SO TRUE ACTUALLY

i would like to believe he has thick thighs

but may i raise you: muscle chub finn.

somehow is seymour AND audrey as far as personality. idk how he does it but oh sweet heart <//33

also imagine him saying the most cryptic stuff when he’s sleeping. like bro are you just saying words or are you plagued with the murder of someone,, /lhj

i’m also a finn hot freaks fan truther🫶🫶 /pos

maybe he can also play piano

“fuck you joint pain!! i do what i want!!” (his ass did NOT take his pain meds and regrets his decision)

in reference to bunny finn, garden variety finn would have a pretty big family. he’s second oldest

the type of fellow to to squint his eyes, move his glasses down slightly, and bend back a little bit to see something someone’s showing him on their phone

also the type of fellow to never wear shorts unless they’re cargo shorts.

also gives him chronic pain bc i have chronic pain😼

decked out his mobility aide with various stickers gifted to him by his little nieces and nephews

in public he uses a cane and a wheeled walker.

doesn’t use one at work (like a silly goose) and regrets it

definitely forgets his braces as well

has especially terrible wrist, knee, and hip pain

ALSO WHAT IF HE CROCHETED LITTLE SWEATERS AND SCARVES FOR HIS LITTLE NEICES AND NEPHEWS TOO

you can’t tell me he wouldn’t spoil them

also goes to all of their recitals, ball games, award ceremonies, plays, literally any and every after school event. he loves those little goobers and wants to support them!!

also embarrasses the shit out of them as well!!

“hey remember when-” “UNCLE FINN, PLEASE NOT NOW OH GOD IT’S MY GRADUATION”

people who crochet are so cool and epic like actually‼️‼️/g /srs

methinks this is canon but he probably doesn’t have a lot of friends; at max he has 2-3.

jack ofc being his bestie

they have sleepovers you can’t change my mind /lhj /nm

who says i can’t make every character autistic?? i’m the nd doing the coding here!! /pos /lhj

could just be me but he definitely has a male/masc preference

GUYUH I LOVE HIM SO MUCH I LOVE TALKING ABT HIM TOO ILL DEFINITELY DRAW HIM MORE🫶🫶

okay that’s it, goodbye and stay safe🫡‼️‼️

[original-character-championship]

REAL NULL PROPAGANDA HOURS!!

(submitting this now so i don’t forget when the polls are posted lol)

you might be thinking. who is this chump? and why should i vote for them?

well.

this weird lizard is NULL and they are the blorbo from my brain!!!

Some random facts abut the beast:

1. Null used to be ½ of a god (kinda). They were created when a mage tore one of the universe’s founding deities in half due to a misunderstanding (long story). Both halves of this god-soul congealed into a physical form, with one half becoming Null (and the other half becoming Null’s evil twin sibling Nil).

2. Null is made out of rock. No, seriously. When Null was first formed, they were more energy than physical matter. They wandered into a cave and just went to TOWN eating rocks and incorporating it into their body. so null is entirely rock and mineral based and is kept alive entirely by freaky otherworldly “magic” (once again, long story).

3. considering Null was formed from the corrupted deity of death and destruction, Null was SUPPOSED to hunt down their counterpart Nil, kill them before Nil manages to kill Null, and be reformed as the true destruction god once again. instead, Null sat in a cave for like, 100 thousand years longer than they were supposed to.

4. Everyone wants Null to be the protagonist soooo bad but Null would much rather go back to their cave and take a nap. They only left the cave because the mountain they lived under Completely Collapsed on top of them.

5. Instead of doing what they were SUPPOSED to do (kill Nil), Null spent their time wandering with their new friends and having a fun adventure learning about the big huge above-ground world while aforementioned friends are DESPERATELY trying to lead Nil and their posse on a wild goose chase and stalling them as long as possible because, unlike Null, Nil IS actively trying to hunt down and murder Null. Null is aware of this, they just don’t care.

6. At various points, Null becomes: a semi-famous sculptor, a baker, a folk legend, a criminal, an archivist, an archaeologist, a geologist, an unlicensed therapist, and a temple statue (….long story.)

7. Cares WAY more about doing whatever the hell they want instead of following fate or expectations or anything.

8. Specifically USED to be ½ a god and not CURRENTLY ½ a god specifically because of how souls work in the universe. Null (and their counterpart Nil) both start out as literally just. half of the destruction god’s soul. but after going through Character Development Null got their Very Own shiny brand-new soul. so when Nil eventually confronts Null and dies (badly) in the process, the god-part of their souls reform into the destruction god, but Null is still fine! Kind of. They did get turned into a rock for a while. But it’s fine! They got better!

9. Null’s favorite food is limestone. Null’s second favorite food is mango.

10. Null exists in a plane of existence known as the Mortal Coil (which i talk about in depth on my oc lore sideblog @mortalllycoiled if you’re at all interested in the Lore). There are a Lot of guys involved. here’s a simplified relationship chart as a reference for the scale so far!

11. Null is my special little guy and I am simply happy that you have observed him for a little bit. I designed this creature back in 2017 and I still love them so much its unreal. Here’s some random old art to look at!

^ the OLDEST art of Null, from 2017! this is one of my oldest digital art pieces ive done. i think we’ve both come a long way c:

anyways, thank you for observing my specialist guy Null! so go ahead and vote for them (or don’t; i’m writing this post before i know who he’ll be going up against so like. idk follow your heart <3 )