#i am not actually going to play it in full because i am sure they'll announce a remaster some day soon

[thelvadams]

starting a 70 hour rpg one day before it's online components shut down forever is a very good way to spend your saturday night

[confessedlyfannish]

DP x DC Writing Prompt #9

"Are you sure about this?" J'onn asks, reading the discontent amongst the Kents. Clark and Lois each have a hand on their teenage son's shoulders, who several weeks prior was aged ten years old.

"We're sure," Clark says. He is not, nor is his wife. But his son is, who lays his hand on his mother's and squeezes. It is that surety that J'onn honors as he delves into the young (but not as young as he should be) man's mind.

The memories are hard to find but not gone, hidden behind what Jon can only see manifested as a glowing green wall. When he raises a tentative hand, the shield sparks green, but does no harm. Pushing through is like wading through the consistency of jello, which he finds an overall unpleasant experience. But he is unharmed as he passes through.

Before J'onn can sort through the memories he is all but sucked into the one at the forefront, where a Jon most similar in visage to the one recently returned perches on the edge of a building. Beside him lies a burger, partially unwrapped though uneaten, and a small soda.

As the memory builds out a sun sets on a small suburban town, and a muscled thigh knocks into Jon's, an older man with a shock of white hair and eyes the same light and color as the shield formed around these memories appearing. He's tall even sitting, likely about as tall as Superman, and looks to be in his thirties. A full body suit comprised of black and silver accents stretches across broad shoulders, a stylized D on his chest. He knocks his thigh into Jon's again.

"You said I couldn't go back," Jon says quietly.

"I lied," the man says lightly.

"You're lying now," Jon says, glaring at him. "I can hear your heart."

"Nice try, kiddo, I don't have a heart in this form," the man says, reaching a hand out, presumably to ruffle his hair. Jon dodges.

"I know you're lying. You would've told me. You would've helped me get home."

"Jon--"

"You're protecting Clockwork, aren't you?" Jon demands, eyes beginning to burn red. "That old coot decided it wasn't enough to play with you, he had to play with me too."

The man slaps a hand over Jon's eyes. "Breathe, like we practiced," he instructs firmly. Steam rises from where his palm meets Jon's eyes, but if it hurts he shows no indication. "In, 2, 3. Out, 2, 3."

Jon whimpers but heaves a breath, and the burst of red light dies down from between the man's fingers. His hand moves down to Jon's shoulder.

"I can't pretend to understand Clockwork's decisions," the man says, as tears begin to pool in Jon's eyes. "Frankly, I don't want to. I suspect they are hard decisions to make, sometimes."

"I don't get why you defend him," Jon says. "Dumbledore acting bastard."

"Language," the man says, lightly bopping him on the head. J'onn notes the boy actually winces, as if the blow hurts.

"I am upset with him, I hope you know that," the man continues. "But at the end of the day I'm also grateful. Because I got to meet you." He hooks an arm around Jon's shoulders, pulling him in. "And now you'll get to see your family again. And Sally, Arnold, and Damian!"

Jon sniffles, rubbing roughly at his face. He leans into the man's bicep. A trusted adult figure, then. One he's described his life to. A life, J'onn is sad to note, he appears to have lived for the past six years, as opposed to a sudden shift in appearance. Jon's next question all but confirm it: "Can I really go back? It's been so long. They'll be all grown up."

"Hey, of course you can," the man says, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm sure they've missed you so much. They'll be so happy to see you again."

Jon starts to smile. "I'm going home."

"You're going home!" The man laughs, shaking him.

"I can finally eat some decent barbecue again!"

"Hey!" the man protests, "The smoker blew up one time!"

Jon continues, beginning to get excited. "And Ma will make her jalapeño cornbread! I never could get it right, I can't wait for you to try it!"

J'onn notes the older man's smile fading, eyes growing sad.

"And Damian will definitely want to spar and oh, oh! With you on our side we can totally prank Batman! I bet Alfred will even help! And Mom gives the best hugs, Pops comes really close but Mom will be really excited to meet you, everyone will."

"Jon," The man says.

"I knew you'd be worried about it, but they'll want to meet you," Jon says, clocking his expression. "They'll be grateful. You, you helped me. You kept me safe and taught me how to be Superman. They'll love you, I promise."

"Jon, I can't go with you," the man says gently.

"I'm not saying you stay, but you can visit! I'm sure the Justice League can figure out a way to maintain a portal, they're super used to all that multiverse stuff. Once they have the coordinates, you can stop by whenever!"

"I can't go through the portal, Jon," the man says. "To other worlds, I'm a god. And gods can't interfere. The only reason I can continue to live here is because this is the world of my origin."

Jon gapes at him. "But--but,"

"You're going to see your Mom and Dad again," the man says. "And your brother, and grandparents."

"I can come here, then," Jon says desperately, pushing his way out of the man's arms. The man is already shaking his head. "I can!"

"You can't."

"Why, because Clockwork says so? He's a liar!"

"Because multiverse travel is never a good idea. If you got trapped here again--"

"I wouldn't,"

"You belong with your family,"

"You're my family!" Jon cries. The man freezes. "You, and Sam, and Jazz, and Tucker and Val and Ellie and Pops and Mads, you're all my family! I can't just leave you, I won't!"

"Oh kiddo," The man says, eyes wet. "I love you too. We all do."

"So I'll stay," Jon says decisively. "For all we know my world is a wasteland. Gramps wasn't exactly right in the head when I left. It's better to stay here."

J'onn notes a green vine unwinding from a nearby trellis. It slides down the eave towards the pair.

"You don't mean that," the man is saying.

"I'm sixteen. I can make my own decisions. I'm staying."

The man cups Jon's face. "Your parents did not have a choice in losing you. I'm willing to bet they're devastated. Because I'd be devastated, losing a kid as great as you."

"Maybe they're not even there," Jon says, but the words are half-hearted, and it clearly hurts him to say them.

"I know I seem like a pushover, but if I thought Clockwork was sending you back to anything less than your loving family, I'd destroy him first. And he knows that. They're going to be there, I promise."

"I don't want to go," Jon says. Behind him, the vine rises from the eave of its own will, poised like a cobra enchanted by a snark charmer.

"I know," the man says, eyes drifting to the vine. "I'm so sorry, Jon."

"For what?" Jon asks, as the vine attaches itself to the nape of his neck. His eyes roll back as he collapses into the man's arms. The man hugs him tighter than is strictly necessary.

J'onn expects the memory to now end, alongside Jon's consciousness. To his curiosity, it does not.

"For what it's worth," a young woman spits bitterly, vines supporting her weight as she slips over the side of the roof. "I still think this is horrible." Her eyes are red and miserable.

"Seriously, team punching Dumbledore in the face," A young black man says, appearing in the air supported by a woman almost identical in appearance to the man holding Jon, down to the suit colors. They land on the rooftop.

"Are you sure about this," the dark haired woman with powers over plants asks. "Because to be honest, Danny, I'm five seconds away from punching you in the face."

"Jazz won't speak to you for months," the girl, likely his sister, points out.

"Make it a year," the man says, crossing his arms.

The man, Danny, ignores them all. He cards a hand through Jon's hair. "He'll retain the experience, but not the memories?"

"Yes, he'll be a perfect little superhero, just as you taught him," the woman says, vines twisting agitatedly around her, wrapping around her thigh, wrists and neck almost punishingly.

"Sam," the man says. "He needs to go home. All of you know that."

"He doesn't have to forget us to do so!" the sister bursts, eyes flashing green.

"Remembering would be a torment," Danny says. "He'll know he was loved. That's enough."

"Danny," the plant woman says, sitting beside them both. She puts a gentle hand on his, both on Jon's back. "This is just a different torment."

"And if someone finds out?" Danny asks. He has been patient amidst their scorn, but now a tiny edge ekes into his voice. "A god's child, unprotected? Threatened? He would never stop looking for a way back, and being vocal about it could get him killed."

The others are silent.

"He'll be home. He'll be happy," Danny says. More powerful than a prayer. A directive. He raises his head past the child slumbering in his lap, past them all, face hardening, and says to J'onn: "And you will say nothing."

J'onn takes a step back, fear so thick he could choke on it flooding his very being. Thismanwillkillhim, thismanwillkillhim.

This man will reach through dimensions and kill him.

"Now, get the fuck out of my kid's head," Danny snarls. J'onn is pushed back with enough force he enters his own mind in a vicious whirl that leaves him physically on the floor, gasping.

"I'm sorry," he says as Superman rushes to lift him, and he's not sure who he's apologizing to. Green eyes will pierce his dreams. Vines will crush his throat in his nightmares, screaming silence, silence.

You will say nothing.

"I'm sorry," J'onn says, politely pushing Clark's hands away as he rises. He's already beginning to calm, because he understands. Those are consequences he will not face. He will do as directed. He looks at Jon Kent, bewildered but unharmed, clutching his mother's hand.

J'onn reaches down and dusts at his pants. "I'm sorry," he says evenly, ready to spin his tale. Perhaps the Kents will continue to seek their answers. Perhaps not. He will stay out of it either way. He has been warned.

You were loved by gods. And to keep you safe, they would quiet us all.

[serxinns]

Hi so I have another yandere platonic class 1-a request again if that’s okay

So if Izuku has a cousin(female reader) who has pica (it’s a eating disorder which a person eats things not usually considered food) and she would eat easer shavings because her mother would just ignored her when she was a child and when she was in middle school she ran away to Izuku’s house but never really told anyone about what was happening. So here’s a scenario of Izuku and some of class 1-a walks into a her room and sees her eating some eraser shavings

How would they react? ((I hope this is okay)

(THE FACT THAT I HAVE PICA AS WELL AHHHHH THIS IS GONNA BE SO GOOD )

• You had this habit for as long as you remember, you always ate things that weren't food or even edible, the main reason is that your mother was always neglectful to bringing in men and just told you to go in your room and play with your toys without any food, at times you even had to sneak out the house and go to your aunty Inko house with your cousin izuku, Inko knew about your situation and took care of you like you were her child

• "Izuku dear your cousin is here!" Inko's mom called not even 3 seconds you heard little footsteps stomping and excited giggling getting louder "Y/N Y/N! YOU'RE HERE" Izuku ran up and tackled you with a hug, 2 of you were on the ground and started giggling "I bought my super cool Remote control robot with me we can pretend this is the villain and we're the heroes!" The green boy was amazed at the idea and the two of you ran off while Inko giggled to herself

•The 1st person to notice that you had pica was your auntie Inko she noticed how you were always chewing on things like scissors, dirt, or even paper at 1st she thought it was because you were just a child with a big appetite but even when you were full you still went back to this behavior so when she took you to the quirk doctor about this behavior after a few test you were diagnosed with pica so then on after your mother abandoned you with one of the playboys she started taking care of you and izuku

• one-day Bakugo was picking on you for this calling you a dirt eater and picking up worms "Come on Sissy eat it you like eating dirt so much eat it" mocking you to eat them but you used his quirk to make him fly back and the two of you gone at it punching, pulling, biting while the other kids were cheering on but izuku was worried so he tried to run over but was too scared to get hurt as well so he got into and Mitsuki, Both women ran over and broke you two apart while into was checking on ur bruises and scratches mitsuki grabbed katsuki and put him on his him while he struggled and kicked and yelled insults "Inko I am so so so sorry for my son's horrible behavior ill make sure he learns a lesson" Mitsuki bowed her head in front of inko "I'm sorry too ill make sure ill talk with this young lady here the 2 of you had a stern talk about it but you got some ice cream and izuku kiss your boo-boos and helped with putting on all might banaids

Years passed and now you were in Ua your cousin was more protective than you ever, since that incident he swore to always protect you and never leave you behind he worked extra hard when all might training him not only to become a number one hero but to protect you and to be heroes together! Whenever someone looked at you funny he gives them a deadly glare and they'll back off immediately you were there when he was down and he was gonna repay you back he always made you hold hands or be by you to remind you that he should be your only friend

While you were talking to your cousin while chewing on an eraser and your cousin ranting about all might and his notebook going to your next period. A short punk -haired girl stopped in front of the two of you she smiled at you while the both of you looked confused and Izuku looked tab annoyed "Uhh who are you-" "Hello! I'm Mina! Mina Ashido Are you two twins!?" She said observing you two looking at each other "Actually we're cousins!"

"Oh, I'm sorry! Mina sheepishly said while rubbing the back of her head "It's fine we get that a lot! It's normal for us plus we act like brother and sister!" You playfully hit Izuku in the shoulders while he playfully glared at you "Anyways! Me and my friends were talking alot about you and we wanted to invite you to hang out with us!" You were flattered and blushed at her comment "uh yeah I can join! Is that's ok izuku" Izuku wanted to protest but with the look of excitement on your face he didn't want you to hate him and see him as a bad brother cousin so he mentally rolled his eyes and said "yea plus it can be like a girls day for you!"

Time skip to lunch

• the two of you were walking into class when a short brown head girl waved her hand signaling you both to join her you both walked over and sat down "Hey izuku and you must be?" "Y/n, y/n Midoriya!" You introduce yourself making the girl brighten up "Ah how nice! You look so adorable!" You blushed embarrassingly at that comment "Ah stop it you're making me blush! You were soon introduced to iida and Tsuyu then Todoroki and all started chatting happily

•you were soon Introduce with kirishima, tokoyami, a silly goofball denki, Sero, hakagure, Aoyama and more and started to make a bond with them even amends with bakugo (kinda)

•you mostly hang out with the dekusquad but the bakusquad would always try to invite you in any way they can which starts a war

•the girls would always have slumber parties or tea parties and if you weren't interested in those chaotic board games where you mostly won

•the boys would try and team up with each other like Bakugo and Kirishima Denki and Sero would invite you to laser tag fighting over who would win the most points for you to get a prize or Izuku, shoto and iida would take you out on to the mall and spoil you

• one-day Tokoyami was looking for you because you promised you would read his poems so when he went into your room he saw you chewing on some paper you explained why you have this habit and you had it when you were 4 which he completely understood heck dark shadow started to eat paper (like cookie monster eating s cookie) you couldn't stop laughing when tokoyami tried to take the paper out his mouth

•Koda would watch you making sure you won't try to eat the grass and try to make you eat delicious berries and edible plants

•Sato pack some pastries for you whenever you felt like wanting to chew on something not edible

•bakugo would just smack whenever your chewing on telling you that's disgusting while giving you your favorite snackyou liked as kids saying "chew this shit instead of erasers dumbass!"

•Izuku would pack gum for you in case you fly in the urge to want to chew on your eraser if he runs out he lets you chew on his pencils or ask Aoyama to give you some cheese

•you and kiri literally are twins chewing your erasers is your favorite habit

•Momo would gently let you know how ite unhealthy to chew on thing and blah blah blah while your just over here chewing off your finger nail which she also has to stop you

• Ochaco will let you try and stop yourself from chewing on your hair desperately giving you one-dollar snacks to eat

It didn't matter how werid you thought you were since you will always be their "werid" little sis and if any judge you otherwise they'll be meeting with 18 angry siblings and one cousin ready to break some bones instead of his

[caramelpenguin]

S3 EP6 (thoughts + theories)

I want to get all the insane predictions out so I can look back on how much I clowned.🤡

These are ideas based on the moments that were in the trailer/teasers/stills. Or things that I feel might be addressed before the end...

Hillerska closing down🏫

We aren't directly told what Felice said in her interview. It's left ambiguous. So why wouldn't they tell us? Sure, there's a chance that she just praised the school but....

we got that very small snippet of the forest ridge boys yelling at each other. Could this be because they heard that Hillerska was going to shut down?

Simon (and his family) might move away 👋

they have the money now ig. this could be a reason why the ending, as ive seen around, has occasionally been described as 'open'.

this could be the context behind the shot of Linda's head on Simon's shoulder.

or maybe the 3 of them are doing smthn related to micke?

Abdication or King Wille? And August...👑

I think one of the reasons for August's storyline this season was for us to understand him more as a character so that if he becomes King, we know that he'll actually try or that he may not have been as bad as we thought. (my opinion of August isn't necessary here).

we really see how much the monarchy consumes Wille this season. Though I don't know how we'd approach the topic of abdication in just one episode.

wille has said that one of the reasons he wants to remain Crown Prince is bcos of Erik. Knowing what we now know, i'm intrigued as to what will happen.

will they acknowledge more of August's eating disorder?

August and Sara🤔

I think felice will (eventually) be fine with it. I don't know about Simon.

Things will work out, i'm sure.

Frederika and Stella💵

....they'll kiss in ep6. something will happen between them, anyway.

Shot of the 4 girls hugging

frederika has realises she likes stella by this point??

Roussea?🐎

maybe Roussea will get a slight mention in a conversation with August. Or maybe not. Who knowwwss

Wilmon screaming in the car🚗

is this Sara's car? things need to be okay by this point, right? is it after the lake scene??

Wilmon stare down👀

how? will ? this? fit? in?

is it after the graduation ceremony but before the neon party and the lake scene? does the shot of wille (with simon's hands around his neck) come after this?

is the lake scene not the final scene? is this scene actually the next day during the graduation?

does simon tell wille he's going to move away?

The Neon Party + Lake Scene 💧

the neon party is where they reconcile.

BUT i dont think it'll be a full reconcile. Simon's line 'Can't we just forget everything that's happened? Just for tonight?' makes sense to be here.

the lake scene with the swimming could happen because they both leave the party early, i dunno.

is this the last time they're able to hang out (bcos simon is moving away and bcos Hillerska will shut down)?

but we've all SEEN that it looks sad, which doesnt look all that great for endgame, and we've also been told that this is (most likely) the final scene. so. get tissues ready.

(am i crazy or is there a tiny smile on simons face in this scene? from that edmar promo we got? )

swimming happens after the sadness right? bcos (apart from the tears) they dont look wet.

if its the final scene idk what the hopes r for wilmon endgame icl

MUSIC (+Wille's birthday present)🎶

we know that 'Alice' by Rhys will play at some point. Doesn't mean it'll be a wilmon scene. it could be sara and august OR frederika and stella (?)

normally, there's a song in ep4 that's repeated in the final moments of the season. ep 4 in s3 doesn't end with a song and (from the one check I've done), i can't really hear any of the other songs used in that episode as the final song of the season. then again, i could be wrong

ELIAS SONG?? they could play 'revolution' again to make it a full circle (dont think this will happen tho). they might use a new song. i just rlly hope we'll hear an Elias song and...i feel like we will.

THE TRAILER SONG? I really pray this will be in the episode. I pray i pray i pray i-

we'll hear Simon's new song. I don't know how or when (especially if this is simon's gift to wille) but...c'mon

initially, i didn't think Redlight would appear in YR. Omar has a career outside of the show, but i do agree that the lyrics fit wilmon quite well. also, if we're gonna hear Simon's new song then I don't know how the script would work around Simon singing another song. He told Wille that his present isn't yet finished (which im sure is the song simon is currently working on), tho ig we could argue that he may sing a brand new song.

BUT then i realised that simon doesn't have to sing this song. redlight could just be part of the soundtrack ( it seems that everyone got to that conclusion before me). and the way that it's being promoted this week has me suspicious. I don't wanna get my hopes up, and maybe Omar is just being clever and promoting it during the week of YR hype, so i dont think redlight will be in s3. BUT I WILL BE VERY HAPPY IF IM WRONG❤️

ig we'll find out when the playlist gets updated

Football Field Scene

to my knowledge, we haven't got proof that they filmed there apart from that pic from Lisa (and are we sure this pic is from s3 filming?)

it would be AMAZING if they returned to this setting. ICONIC.

but idk how why they'd return here and how it would fit

it might not be a wilmon scene (could be simon + rosh + ayub, but i think theres a higher chance of it being a wilmon scene than the trio)

question- lisa said it was a wrap with a pic from the football field. which COULD mean that the last scene they filmed was there (tho it might not be the actual final scene) - was this where edmar couldn't stop crying?

💜WILMON ENDGAME?💜

they better or im going to riot

no but srsly, i dont think we'll go down a 'la la land' route. worst comes to worst, it'll be a positive open ending e.g. 'you were amazing. you'll be wonderful. we'll meet again with more freedom.' it'll be even better if there's a time skip here hahahha

like the end of ep5 gave me no hope cos idk how they're gonna get back together in one episode. but anything is possible.

arguably, the promo we've got since then leans towards endgame (?), but i dont think they'd reveal they're gonna be endgame if there wwen't gonna be more issues.

EXTRA

theres so much to cover in the final episode!! so i dont think everything will be acknowledged/addressed. things will be left ambiguous to keep the viewers thinking.

imagine if the break up at the end of ep5 wasnt that huge. that theyre still together (with tension) at the start of ep6, then they kidna ignore their disagreement. this culminates until the end, where they break up ( but very unlikely)

the future letters were there to show august's past. but could there be more to it? could we get a time skip? (again, unlikely imo. but would be sweet if done well)

a reference to the heart simon drew? maybe? probably not...

will simon give wille his orange jumper back? id love to see this on our screens but im sure we wont.

will sara's necklace make a comeback?

where does wille's 'what if I don't want to?' line come in? and the queen's line...

the shot of wille in the library (with that book in clear sight) hasn't yet appeared, right?

simon talking to sara by micke's house....hmmm. i would love a simon and micke interaction

volleyball scene + running into the lake happen as a connection to graduation?

wille with those sunglasses is a moment with felice?

do we hear anything more abt wille's birthday wish?

EXTRA .2

there are plenty of moments that happen that we don't see as viewers. so that jumper simon wears at the start of ep 2 looks like wille's. and if it is, then we didnt see the moment simon stole it wille gave it to him.

and when simon mentioned a mental health foundation, it implied that they may have had a discussion abt wille's anxiety before.

the piano scene in ep2 could have been a piano lesson that wille was giving simon, which probably means a lot more of these happened without us knowing

this makes me wonder how much wille knows about micke??

simon told august that sara's with her dad and all that- so does wille also know?

WHEN I FIRST WATCHED AND FINISHED S1 AND S2 OF YOUNG ROYALS, i knew wilmon would be together by the end of s3. like i was 100% convinced the show would end with them happy bcos that's what it had leaned towards the entire time. the vibe of it just screamed wilmon endgame to me.

i really hope past me was right, bcos the s3 promo really had me wondering. and then ep5 had me proper questioning. but netflix (and lisa) will have to pay for so much therapy if they arent endgame sooo🤷‍♀️

livelovelaugh wilmon ig

edit: ive just listened to omar's interview and now im qquuiiitteee sure redlight wont be in ep6🤷‍♀️

edit 2: will anyone else find out that it was august who posted the video?? will this prevent him from taking the throne??

[dandylovesturtles]

Companion piece for Ell's comic about our boys teaming up in the @tmntaucompetition ! It's so cute I had to do something.

I forgot the tag lol @intotheelliwoods

Big thanks again for the perfect 50/50!! Teamwork and friendship rule the day again!

~~~

Leo doesn't expect anyone to be able to see him or hear him. That the other ghost Leo can is already surprise enough, and they had lots of fun between matches.

But other than that he doesn't get his hopes up. It's not like he needs anyone to see him; he participates well enough by puppeteering Donnie (who lets him do it, though with an excessive amount of complaining), so he's not completely bored. And other than the times when he goes to hang out with the other ghost, his brothers are always right there with him, and they make sure he doesn't feel left out.

So it's fine. Everything is fine and cool and dandy and he doesn't need anything more.

But then it's declared that they'll be teaming up with the Leos who are each missing an arm, and the older Leo, the one who seems so nice and cool but who still intimidates Leo a bit, turns and actually looks at him. Not through him, or around him, but at him.

The big Leo points, and now they're both looking his way.

"Are they... looking at me?" His heart jumps in excitement, and he turns to call out, "Hey Raaaaph! The one armed Leos are looking at me!"

He's expecting to need his big brother to translate, but that's okay, because at least it's something. Or hey, maybe these Leos know sign language too-

"Uh, we can hear you, dude."

It hits Leo like a shockwave.

"Wh..."

They can see... and hear him? But how? None of them have managed to achieve that!

Hope soars at the same time the fear of disappointment swims in his gut. If they can see him and hear him, can they... is he... "Am I..."

He stares at his hands in shock. They're the same as ever, and he can't feel anything from them, but then-

"New teammate!"

Then the other Leo is running across the court to him, and he-

hugs him. And Leo can feel it.

Leo melts. He reaches to hug back, and he can, and it's a bizarre feeling, to touch someone else's shell and realize it's his own, but it's not like his life has never been bizarre before.

His hand passes through the robot arm, which isn't a surprise - he can't touch Donnie's battleshell, either. For a second the other Leo stiffens, and Leo figures out the problem fast - moves his arm down so it's not encroaching on the weirdly blank space where his arm should be. The other Leo relaxes again.

"Oops... Looks like my robot arm still phases through..."

It doesn't matter to Leo. A one armed hug is still a hug. He realizes too late that he's shivering into it, and boy is that embarrassing, but the other Leo doesn't call him out.

"Haah... You're going to put Donnie out of business."

...

Afterward, after he's properly introduced himself to the older Leo (which was nerve-wracking but ended up being fine, actually), they get food for everyone who can eat and then find a place where they can all sit, waiting for the next match (and hopefully playing the right sport this time). Donnie has gone into full science mode, goggles down as he examines the two arms his alternate universe selves built, though the other two Leos seem so used to this behavior they barely react to it.

The other Leo perches on the big Leo's lab, snuggling in against his robot arm. He's so familiar with big Leo; it's clear that they rely on each other a lot. Leo's glad, because if he had lost an arm in the Krang invasion without any kind of support he's not sure what he would do. At least they have each other.

Big Leo pats his lap and looks at Leo, who freezes.

"Uh... is that okay?"

"Yeah." Big Leo laughs and jostles the other Leo, who scowls at him and swats at his plastron. "This one uses me as a climbing tree all the time."

"It's your own fault for being so big, you crinkled crape."

Leo hesitates a moment longer, but then he climbs up into the big guy's lap and settles in against his remaining arm.

It's...

ridiculously cozy, what the heck! No wonder other him does it all the time!

Leo curls up into the older Leo's embrace. He's shaking again, his whole body lighting up at the touch, and it's so embarrassing but Big Leo just pulls him in tighter without saying a word. He nuzzles in a little without thinking about it, and no one says anything about that, either.

"Comfy, Ghost Pepper?" asks Big Leo, and Leo looks up at him.

"Ghost Pepper? Is that me?"

"Yep." He puts his robot hand on other Leo's head. "This one is Pea Sprout, so you can be Ghost Pepper. I can't call you both Leo."

"You can call him whatever you want," says the other Leo, wiggling to get more comfy. "Wrinkled raison... Crinkly cantaloupe... Crusty carrot..."

Leo laughs. "What are these nicknames?" With that list, Ghost Pepper isn't so bad.

"Trust me, they all fit."

Big Leo makes a very put-upon noise but doesn't protest to the names, so Leo decides he'll have to come up with some of his own.

They chat for awhile about their worlds, the differences between them, funny things their brothers have been up to. The other Leo shows both him and Donnie what the array of buttons on his arm do (no demonstration of the self-destruct button is given). Leo tells them about how Draxum gave them magic fighting lessons.

Eventually, the other Leo starts to doze off. A quick look around shows Leo that his Raph and Mikey are snoozing, too, Mikey curled up on Raph's back. Donnie's still awake, messing with his phone as usual, though his half-lidded eyes betray that he'll probably join them eventually. He sits apart from them, enjoying having his personal space back for now.

"If you want to nap too, go ahead," says big Leo.

"Oh, uh... I can't sleep like this." He rubs at his head. "At best I just kinda... zone out."

"Oh." Big Leo looks sad about that, but he nods. "Well, that's okay. We can keep each other company, then."

"Mm..." Leo twists to get more comfy, and big Leo rubs his hand down his arm. It makes his shudder a little, but big Leo continues to be a real bro and not comment on it. "Am I going to be this cuddly when I get old?"

Big Leo laughs. "If you want to be, I guess you will."

He thinks that maybe he wants to be like this Leo. Kind and strong and so sure of himself and surprisingly very cozy.

"Maybe... I guess I wouldn't mind it," he says, and big Leo chuckles again.

He pulls him in tight, and Leo feels safer than he has in weeks.

[peachesofteal]

I have a question about darling and Simon and Johnny: would darling ever worry that they would get annoyed with her insecurities and that they would leave her because of them? Could it actually get to that point in the dead disco canon or in an au? Or is it a reason she might try and distance herself from them, telling herself they'll get tired of having to reasure her or how she isn't worthy of them and they deserve better?

I'm sorry, darling is just so relatable and that's something I know I'd worry about if I were her

This is canon. It’s not talked about much because I’ve been focusing on the insecurities revolving around Simon and Johnny over insecurity about self… because in the history of their relationship, the three of them have done a lot of work in regards to Darling’s (you) sense of security in the relationship. I think a lot of this unease, this insecurity about the guys also comes from your own self awareness and worry. They have each other, they don’t need you. They have each other, why would they want this burden?

By now we know that you/reader suffer from depressive episodes, eating issues, self doubt, self deprecation, etc, etc. Think about how that was handled in the beginning of their relationship, imagine the reaction when you laid it all out on the table said “this is who I am”, or the first time they witnessed you sink into debilitating depression. Clearly, the guys know how to care for you. It’s not their first rodeo, but since we know how you think (me, you, anyone who relates to Darling like we do) we know you thought yourself a burden for a long time. How you thought, after the first time they found you still in bed in the middle of the afternoon, that they would surely leave you, that they wouldn’t have the bandwidth to deal. There’s a chapter with flashbacks where Darling goes to dinner at their flat, at the very beginning of their relationship, and all you can think about is that they’re going to dump you, and that train of thought is not just because you feel like an outsider:

“They want you. They don’t want to get rid of you… they actually want you. Something dark and sharp twists in your mind, something full of doubt and loathing, something that tells you to run away. They won’t want you anymore once they get to know you. Truly get to know you. They won’t keep you. Don’t get confused.”

Something I’ve tried to highlight is how you are, the way you feel too much, too intensely, the way you need just a little bit more care, really calls to the guys. Johnny falls in step behind Simon on this, because of the dynamic (and this plays very seriously into how and when Simon takes control), but it rings true for both of them.

“Simon is a killer, but you and Johnny have turned him into something more. You’ve taught Simon he has the capacity to care for something sweet, something delicate. Given him and Johnny a chance to have something good besides each other, to love in a way they’ve only dreamt about.”

“He wants to tell you he’ll take care of you, that he and Johnny will keep you, keep you with them, keep you safe, keep you happy. He wants to tell you all the things you’re not ready to hear yet. Wants to tell you you’re precious, so precious to them already. That you buried yourself beneath their skin, worked your way into their hearts.”

The way Johnny just instinctively knows how to reach you:

Darling.” Johnny’s fingers pull your chin upwards, until he’s forcing you to look at him, a warm palm moving to cradle your face when he’s satisfied he’s got your full attention. “I need you here, with me. Stay with me.”

And what you need (true man of action in this fic, every chapter without fail):

“Then we’ll get a new one.” He blurts, without even fully thinking it through. He only knows he’s desperate to reassure you, desperate to show you that they’d do anything for you.

“He taps his fingers down your cheek to draw your attention back up to his face, and that’s when he notices. How dry your skin is. How cracked your lips are. The circles under your eyes, the hunch in your shoulders. He looks up at Simon over your head, who gives him a swift a nod, and pulls you away and into his own arms.”

I’ve said before, but Dead Disco is my own personal comfort fic for many reasons. You don’t even need to squint or read between the lines to see why. Some people yearn to be cared for, to be loved and valued for their flaws as well as their positive attributes. Some people want someone to say “I see you the way you are, and I love you for it. I accept you the way you are. I cherish all parts of you.” Darling/reader wants that. You need that. The guys give that, even though sometimes it’s not always perfect.

Things like this are in Dead Disco’s outline as well, I’ve always planned on diving into the beginning more and showing some of these pieces. So hopefully we’ll see some more of it! ✨

This was a whole ramble and I am so sorry but I am really, painfully passionate about the canon workings of their relationship, Darling’s feelings and experience, and their journey.

[that-irishman-fan]

night at the museum jedtavius as dads to a daughter headcanons!

[ Full credit to the owners of the GIF and Night At The Museum, none of these characters are mine in any way! ]

FANDOM: Night At The Museum, 2006

GENRE: Headcanons, parenting au, LGBTQIA+, and fluff!

SYNOPSIS: What's its like being the daughter of Jedidiah and Octavius!

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Female coded reader, angst at some parts, and minor swearing, this is meant to be fluffy!

Notes: I started these headcanons with a daughter/female reader in mind, since that's how the idea popped into my head—but I am already planning out two other parts for a son/male coded reader and for a gender neutral set in the future. I realize it would be unfair to not follow up with similar ones, since I understand my audience is absolutely not exclusively women. So, keep a watch for parts two and three to come soon!

I also want to note quickly that there will be some worldbuilding sections I've included—just adding in some extra exhibits we don't see in the first movie as a sort of behind the scenes slash for plot thing. With that said, let's dive right in!

• Let's start by establishing your role in this situation. You'd be one of the full sized models on display, much like Teddy Roosevelt and Sacagawea ( take your choice as to what historical period, it doesn't really make a difference ). You arrived a while ago as a part of a brand new exhibit meant to reignite interest in the museum. Discombobulated, frightened, and frankly lonely, you searched for friends in this strange new place. It ended up being Jedidiah, the cowboy, and Octavius, the Roman general. Both were already lovers when you came around.

• Jedidiah and Octavius wanted to try their hand at raising kids together. But because of their plight of being tiny models, they'd given up on it. Your arrival was a dream come true. You three quickly had a found family dynamic, and sure enough they took you in as their daughter. You are perfect in their eyes in every way, an answer to all their prayers.

• They'd be your gay dads, with Teddy as a grandfather, Ahkmenrah an older brother, Sacagawea a mother figure, Attila the cool uncle, and all the others your friends. Soon, you found your place amongst the others.

• Both have their own pet names for you. Jedidiah calls you little lady, missy, and pumpkin. Octavius calls you mea columba ( my dove in Latin, since I have two years of it under my belt ), darling, and my princess. You call them by their actual names, or 'daddy' for Jed and 'father' for Octavius.

• I like to think they'd put emphasis on immersing you in their respective cultures. Giving you the best of both worlds, the Wild West and the Roman Empire.

• Jedidiah would show you all the classic cowboy staples— gunfights, rodeo, catching robbers, and playing songs by the campfire. You love it when he dazzles you with stories of outlaws, broncos, and especially cowgirls.

• Octavius would let you watch his army train, teaching you military strategy; not only that, but also attending senate meetings, participating in banquets, and telling you Roman myths and legends. If you gave your best shot at any of it, they'd be so proud of you. Just having your interest is reward enough, but if you actually did it yourself? They might just die of happiness right on the spot.

• Your dads love to hear about anything and everything that you're passionate about too! Please talk to them about whatever makes you excited, and they'll be as enthusiastic as you. They make a point to be interested since you try so hard for them.

• I get the vibe that Jedtavius are more free range parents in the sense that you're allowed to go anywhere in the museum you like. Outside is off limits, of course, which you understand. However, they are old fashioned. Not to the point of chaperoning, but cautious regardless. Jedidiah and Octavius are believers in women being treated with the utmost respect, they're very chivalrous. As such, they'll be on top of things to make sure you don't get hurt. With that said, they trust you to be responsible in your own right. They're just protective, you're their sweet baby girl after all. And God forbid anyone dare to lay a finger on you the wrong way.

• When morning comes, its hard for you to return to your place. You feel empty, almost lost, knowing you'll be gawked at come daylight. By yourself without them there. Sometimes, this can bubble up into small episodes. You'll feel resentful, crying bitter tears at times or just angry on others. Jedidiah and Octavius wouldn't leave your side until you were calm, both comforting you without a hint of judgment.

• " Aw, pumpkin, don't cry. S'alright, yer Daddy ain't goin' nowhere. We'll be right back where ya found us, ya hear? " Jedidiah would coo to you.

• " No more tears, fear not. It will pass once again as it always does. Our brave girl, my little princess. " Octavius would add on, gentle as his husband.

• Every night, the minute you'd come to life, you'd run as fast as you could to the Diorama Room to be reunited with them. They're your haven, your home, your safety net. After long days of noisy crowds and superficial cares, you're revitalized in their presence. And Jedidiah and Octavius are delighted to see you again, the hole in their hearts filled when your face appears.

• On to happier things now. Jedtavius are always ready to shower you in affection. I feel Jedidiah is the gruff type, his love language being praise, affirmations, and encouragement over physical gestures. Octavius is the opposite, being very tactile. For him, it's offering you hugs, soft touches, and gentle kisses. It's really ironic considering these guys are warriors in their own ways. Two macho men who are such softies for you.

• If you don't like physical contact, though, they respect that boundary completely. They're both so loving and supportive that you never have to worry about feeling neglected.

• The size difference poses an issue. You three have learned to work around it through trial and error. They may be small, but they have big hearts and an endless amount of love to give. You're definitely their soft spots, one could say weaknesses, but they have no shame over it. Not when it's you.

• I can imagine them being saddened by your insecurities, not able to understand why you don't see how special you are. It's not disappointment at you, rather pity for you. And they're quick to reassure you, genuine in every possible sense of the word.

• " Why's our precious lil' Y/N so down in the dumps? Ya know I hate seein' a frown on that dad gum pretty face of yers. Talk to us, why're ya beatin' up on yerself so hard? " Jedidiah would say, sitting you down in front of his diorama. At your shoulder level, he'd stand next to you, putting a tiny hand on your cheek.

• And you'd tell them everything on your mind. All the things bothering you. Neither of them would interrupt you once, letting you speak. Nor would they try to discount any of your feelings. But it does pain them to see you so sad.

• " We would not lie to you, daughter. When I say you are fairer than Venus, cleverer than Minerva, and braver than Diana, I mean it. For you are beautiful, you are intelligent, and you are strong. Most of all, you are you, as you are meant to be. " Octavius would tell you, his dark eyes adoring. His lips would touch your hand as if to further make his point.

• " And yer our girl no matter what. Yer daddy and yer father love ya, missy, even when ya go gettin' yerself into trouble. We wouldn't want nobody else as our daughter, yer all we could ever ask for. " Jedidiah would grin, patting you on your shoulder.

• Okay, now onto the stuff relatively separate from Jedtavius. In your free time when you're not hanging out with your dads, you get into plenty of mischief on your own with your fellow museum residents.

• Playing with Dexter and Rex in the Hall of African Mammals, surrounded by the jungle setting. The lions, elephant, gazelles, ostrich, and zebras don't mind you for some reason, and they're quite tame around you. You like to climb the display trees, cuddling with the snakes or swinging around with the monkeys. And playing fetch with Rex in the front lobby is always fun too.

• Teddy would take you on hunts, throwing you on the back of his horse. If you really wanted to, he'd even teach you to ride. Jedidiah was enormously proud when you showed up in the Diorama Room like an equestrian show rider.

• Sacagawea and you communicate through sign language. She likes to tell you many stories of her travels with Lewis and Clark, as well as legends from her own culture. You intently listen to each one, always raptured by the brilliant way she breathes life into the old tales.

• One time you tried to help the Neanderthals light their fire. It wasn't successful, but they welcomed you as a member of their family. You don't understand most of what they say, though you're always kind to them.

• Attila would teach you swordfighting, passing down all his wisdom as a master warrior. You two love to spar, often quite viciously to the point that Larry Daley has to tell you two to knock it off before you lop off each other's heads. Both you and Attila would be fascinated by magic tricks too, eager for Larry to show you a new one every shift he takes.

• Before he released Ahkmenrah from his sarcophagus prison, you made an effort to visit the pharaoh so he wasn't lonely. You two chatted well into the night about whatever came to mind; but you had a penchant for stories of his past in Ancient Egypt. You two have a platonic relationship characterized by him being wiser, more experienced, and far more worldly than you, your big brother who you've got wrapped around your finger.

• You also like to hang out in the other exhibits too. Watching the blue whale float idly in the Marine Room, singing its beautiful songs and you doing the same for it. You've danced to many a sea shanty with the model pirates, the favorite of Captain Blackbeard. The Kushite kings, Babylonian priests, Celtic bards, noble samurai, and Viking chieftains also enjoy your company, fascinated by your wits and amicable nature.

• I headcanon that the models can hear and see their surroundings during the day, they just can't interact with them in their frozen states. You've seen thousands of faces before in all your years in the museum, but the one you always like to see is that of Dr. McPhee, the curator. He's fussy, arrogant, and pompous from what you've heard, but you couldn't help your crush on him. You wished to get to know him more. For him to see you.

• Overall, life is fantastic for you in the museum. You've got Jedidiah and Octavius, all your friends, and a great big world in one small place to call your own.

Well, that's all I've got for right now! I hope I've done this justice. It was such a cool idea, and I couldn't resist dropping everything to jot down my thoughts on it. Once again, I am planning two other parts so as to be more inclusive to my fellow menfolk and out of the binary peeps! If you want to be included in a tag list for anything Night At The Museum or my other content, please drop a comment, and I'll add you from now on! Please have a fantastic rest of your week, and thank you SO much for all your likes, reblogs, comments, and interactions. It means the world to me!

[scarisd3ad]

To the end and back [daryl Dixon x reader]

Chapter one - the archer

Masterlist

Taglist

Summary - after the world ended you were sure you’d never find love again but a certain archer catches your eyes and changes the entire trajectory of your life.

Warnings - normal twd warnings

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Edited

Fifty-four days it's been fifty-four days since the initial outbreak. I am trying to remember how I got here with this group by a quarry just a bit out of Atlanta. It's all jumbled together: how my roommate got infected, how I got out of the city, how Shane found me stumbling towards their camp. There were many people here, enough to keep each other protected. We had a couple cars and tents, guns and weapons. Some of us go out for supply runs every now and then just to pick up food and other essentials.

There's a couple kids here too. I don't know how they can play around and be happy-go-lucky after what they've seen. All the people here are lovely except for a few I don't bother with because I'm scared of them. Like Daryl and his brother Merle, those two motherfuckers scare me. They both have heavy Southern accents, and I swear they do drugs. Since we were running low, Daryl, Shane, and Glenn had gone into the city to grab some extra food for the camp.

It was starting to get dark. I'm sitting in a lawn chair by the fire with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders. They had been out for about 3 to 4 hours when we heard the sounds of cars pulling up. Everyone turns around to ensure it's them and not some random person. It is them, though.

They all get out with backpacks full of things like food and water. If we're lucky, they'll bring back some toys for the kids, new clothes, and even random little gadgets. Some kids ran up to the cars as the three men got out. I turn back around, staring at the fire.

I don't know what day it is, what time, or what month. It's starting to get dark. The walkers are way more active at night, so I always try to get into my tent as soon as the sun begins to go down. Amy walks over and sits next to me. Amy and I get along well because we're the same age. "You alright?" She asks I shrug in response. Sometimes, I just think, think, and think, which makes me go down the rabbit hole of asking myself, why me? Why was I here? Why was this happening? What did I do to deserve this? "Just a bit hungry, y'know?" I whispered.

We don't get to eat three meals a day like we used to anymore, and my body was still getting used to the scarce amount of food. "Me too," she whispers back. I watch as Shane walks back towards camp with Lori and her son Carl. Carl has short brown hair, blue eyes, and freckled cheeks. You'd often mistake them for a family, but they're not. Apparently, Shane was a cop and was Lori's husband's partner before the outbreak. Lori's husband died, so Shane's taking over. Carl has a brand-new toy car in his hands, which he's showing off to Sophia, Carol and Ed's daughter. She's got an almost strawberry-blonde bob, brown eyes, and freckles.

"Hey." I see Daryl standing before me with a package of instant noodles. My brows furrow, confused because I've never really spoken to him. His hair is short, like he had a buzz cut, but it's grown out, and he has blue eyes. I wasn't going to lie. He was a handsome man, just kind of scary at times. "Hi?" I say in more of a questioning tone. "I, um, got ya this while we were out," he said, tossing me the package. I smiled. That was sweet. "I heard ya talkin' bout missin' it, so I just..." he said, trailing off. "Wow, thanks, Daryl," I say with a giggle. He nods but quickly walks off to his brother. "That was cute," Amy says, and I roll my eyes. "Okay..." I sigh as I pat the package of noodles. "...I will admit that was actually really sweet." I sigh as I lean my head back. The sun is getting lower. "you gonna head out?" She asks. I nod as I push myself up out of the chair. "Night Am's," I yawn as I walk toward my tent.

I unzip my tent and step in. I try to make my tent feel as comfortable and at home as possible. So, I have bunches of pillows and blankets I've brought and collected throughout the month or two we've been going through this. I sit crisscrossed on my sleeping bag and zip my tent back up. I sigh as I lay back, placing the package of noodles with all of my other belongings. (Books, clothes, and other things I managed to grab before fleeing my apartment.)

I began to think about Daryl, realizing I never expected him to be that sweet. Especially to someone he's barely talked to. He was usually hot-headed. Both he and his brother had unpredictable tempers. That was Nowhere near the Daryl I had spoken to earlier. I don't remember falling asleep, but I shot up in a cold sweat. I don't even remember the dream, but I instinctively grab my knife. I listen closely to make sure I don't hear any walkers before unzipping my tent and crawling out. The fire is still blazing, and I can see Glenn sitting in front of it. It's definitely early morning.

 I could tell by the sky. I walked through the overgrown grass, it tickles my lower legs as I did so. I sit next to Glenn and sigh as the heat of the fire hits my face. "Hey," I say quietly. He looks up at me and smiles. "Hey, y/n/n. Can't sleep?" He asks. I nod slightly as I lean back in the chair, I'm sitting in. "nightmare," I whisper. He nods. "Same, can't close my eyes without seeing a Walker. "I lean my head against his shoulder. Glenn was the first person I was open to talking to once I got here. I was too scared of the others, but Glenn was the sweetest guy I've ever met.

"Do you ever think about how it was before?" I ask, and he nods. I think about it all the time: what if this never happened? Would I still be going to college; would I still be living in my shitty apartment. Sometimes, I think about how I would've never met Glenn or Amy if this had never happened. "Yeah, all the time," he whispers as he grabs my cold hand, warming it up. "Do you miss it?" I say, turning my head. He nods. "of course I do..but if this never happened, I'd never have met you." I nod with a smile and a laugh. "You're like my best friend, y/n," he says, and I laugh as I bury my head in his shoulder. "You should go back to bed," Glenn whispers. I nod, lifting my head off his shoulder. "I'll see you later," I say, pushing myself off the chair. "Love you!" Glenn shouts as I walk away.

"Love you too!"

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@e1d0lonk3k @soul4death

[p0rchc0ll4ps3]

Okay so tonight's three am thought is about Kim and skip squad (juvie cop) and speedfreaks and going undercover

In my book, the music of the youth and the music of revolution is edm. Trance, techno, hardstyle, house, the works. All of that. Edm represents the fury of the youth, completely anti-everything. It takes disco and turns it violent. The older generation (boomers lol) had the New and disco and all that but I think they also had a lot of acoustic and guitar stuff too. Very 70s. All the older generation dream of this time as the quintessential everything was perfect and great and the kids are ungrateful and will never understand and what's with this harsh noise electronic shit? back in our day we had disco which was electronic that made sense and electronic that you could dance to, not all this ... super fast super loud super grating shit. The kids don't get it, they'll never understand dance music. That and also. Where's the human soul to it? Disco has lyrics. Our pop and folk music had people who actually played the instruments instead of getting a machine to do it. Our music was real music. Etc. all that bullshit

So now you have this new edm that's just so intense. You have other sounds of rebellion and the revolution as well, of course, metal and industrial and all those types. But it's mainly edm. Sure surrounding countries have their edm as well. Graad has its synth stuff developed in the 30s and so does gottwald and there's stuff coming out of the semenine too. All sorts of influences everywhere. But the edm coming out of insulinde, ex-heart of the world, especially revachol, is atomic as fuck like extremely intense like the most intense bass in your life. Insulindean culture, and revachol culture really, is at its heart flashy and loud and vibrant and full of life. It is a stubborn-headed persistence, it is a constant will to survive, it is a flower growing out of the rubble, its continuing in spite of all odds and carrying on no matter what. It is forcing the sun to shine when there is no sun, and every part of insulinde and revachol culture reflects this. Everything flashes, sparkles, shines. Everything insists it is here it is real it is present it is ALIVE dammit despite everything we are ALIVE. You cannot erase us no matter how hard you try. (Which is also what Harry is. He is, in his purest essence, very truly revacholian.) So the edm is also truly revacholian. Loud, intense, highspeed. Bass like you've never felt bass in your life. Atomic

They have all sorts of raves and shit in all the bombed out palaces of the suzerainty, too. In all of revachols demolished buildings and its wiped out neighborhoods and its abandoned warehouses and its abandoned factories. Down in the catacombs and in the unfinished branches of the metro lines. Life in the face of death. The world in the face of the pales catastrophic end, standing up against it, defying it

So this takes me to Kim who grew up listening to operas and symphonies bc the orphanage that raised him thought they were erasing his culture by inflicting so much insulindean culture on him (but because Kim never knew anything other than insulindean culture, all they did was make him love it). Kim who, upon hearing speedfreaks and all the electronic shit the youth were into, couldn't believe the disgrace. Hated it with all of his soul. But the more he was exposed to it and the more he had to Get it to be juvie, the more he started to understand and the more he really really started to love it. Now he absolutely is a whore for the most violent bass and beats in the world. He loves that shit. He can't get enough of it

Some image in my head of him and eyes going undercover to some rave and Kim just absolutely digs it completely and eyes who likes folk and blues and that kinda shit can't really wrap his head around it (but he too resonates with the rage, he too understands the intensity and the lifeforce thrumming behind every beat)

[utilitycaster]

oh PLEASE elaborate on your thoughts about why people say Brenann's hogging the spotlight after you're back from work 👀

This is actually a very long answer, because morning me is someone with the bright sun shining behind her and a full cup or four of coffee who does not think of the consequences of her actions, so it's below a cut.

I think the first reason is something best described as cultural but in a very specific way. Like...the bulk of actual players we talk about are people who have, just by default, spent a lot of time in a handful of cities in the US where there's a significant entertainment industry presence, and for D20 they've specifically been comedians. I say this to set a particular scene: I almost never get it when people think the cast of an actual play show is angry at each other, or that people are being too pushy or that the humor is off. I suspect this might be cultural; I am from the urban Northeastern US and my mom grew up in Los Angeles and I have three siblings, and so a lot of what people clock as aggression or unkindness reads to me as simply banter or straightforwardness or decisiveness, all of which I see as very positive things. I mean obviously there is a such thing as inappropriate humor, bigotry and jokes at the expense of other groups and so forth, but most of what I see in actual play I watch/listen to is just, as NADDPod puts it, taking your friends to the raspberry patch. It's good-humored teasing. Anyway I think Brennan is very willing to engage with that banter and that decisiveness (and like, he spent a lot of formative time in New York City which I'm sure is an influence) and I think that reads to people who are uncomfortable with it as aggression.

Someone who took more linguistic anthropology or sociology than I could probably explain this better but it's just like...as a person I find the rapid-fire and heated but good natured heckling on D20, or Sam's satirical ad reads, or bold moves in any D&D game, or the arguments on NADDPod D&D court to be very normal and enjoyable, and I find hesitation and hedging and uncertainty and "are you sure?" and endless check-ins to be very negative and anxiety-inducing and draining.

With that said I don't think Brennan is particularly egregious (Evan Kelmp is the one case where I think this is a valid criticism, but even then I didn't find him an ungenerous player, merely one who by design was going to occupy a certain position) so I think that brings me to the really delicate part of this conversation.

I've mentioned this in the past but I think a lot of the actual play fandom on Tumblr suffers pretty severely from what's been labeled "the soft bigotry of low expectations." I've been vocal quite specifically when it comes to misogyny and how the agency of the women of the cast is treated as true only when convenient, because I feel that as a woman I'm able to actually speak on those terms, but I think it's true across the board. Essentially, this means that the bar is (often unconsciously) set lower, or people overly applaud, to a perhaps even condescending degree, people from minority or underrepresented groups. It is not, to be clear, having DEI programs or helping people be in something (in this case...popular actual play) in the first place and acknowledging structural inequalities that might make the path more difficult; it's instead assuming that once they get there they'll never be quite as good, or being surprised when they are. I think the most classic example is the overuse of the word "eloquent" to describe Black speakers, as it often comes with this connotation that being well-spoken is something the person providing the compliment didn't expect. You know, if you're an adult with no significant cognitive or physical disabilities and someone compliments you for tying your shoes, it's pretty fucking insulting. That's what we're talking about here.

The way this manifests in the fandom is that there's really no room to provide criticisms that are not motivated by bigotry. I'm a critic by nature, and there's a general veneer of obnoxious insistence on positivity across the board in this and many fandoms, but, as I've said many times before (and to be fair it's getting better) the pushback people receive for completely valid criticisms of Marisha is intense. I've mentioned that I've had issues with story pacing for Brennan, Matt, and Aabria as DMs at different points, and the backlash for Aabria was the strongest even though the criticism was by no means the harshest. There is a certain degree of nonstop fawning that at times occurs that doesn't actually permit engaging with characters or discussing the actual strengths of the actors, and which often wraps around into something insulting; see the "Emily, breaker of DMs" nonsense that's finally getting called out. Because it's not a compliment! Part of why Emily is such a good player is that she is immensely collaborative and makes characters who will help with party composition, and she self-identifies as a big fan of DMs, and treating her (or like, anyone) as a perfect force of nature rather than a thinking person who makes decisions, some of which are good and some of which are bad, is not praise! It's not praise to exclude someone from valid criticism; it's treating them as lesser, to do so.

For a number of reasons I am a person who is not generally stopped by this, but a lot of people understandably aren't, or are deterred even by that more general need for nothing but praise...except constant praise starts to become meaningless, and more importantly, people sometimes have negative feelings about a show! Maybe a character they liked died, or their predictions didn't come true, or their ship didn't happen, or they're just not very interested in a specific plot. But it's impossible to actually pick apart what isn't working for them, because there's this environment where, if you start asking questions, the answer might be "I don't like the choice a player who is a woman, or nonwhite, or queer, made, and how it weighs upon the story." And so, and this is where I am treading so lightly, I don't think the issue in the fandom or TTRPG is "oh the poor straight white men in D&D", because that's obviously fucking ridiculous, but I do think that if you block off any criticism of anyone else, it lands somewhere, and it's often not actually justified.

The example I actually have in mind more often is Sam Riegel. I've made some pretty harsh criticism of Sam and some of his characters in the past, but it has always been very much about his choices. But every single time I've gotten some weird (and uh...very uncomfortable, frankly) venting about Sam's sense of humor. I have never really focused on his sense of humor as the problem. I like it. I find it extremely relatable. At the risk of using the bigotry script again, Sam is, in fact, of the same ethnicity and region of the US as I am (ie, northeast US Ashkenazi Jewish) and when people act like his humor is discomfiting it's like a neon sign that to me reads "I HAVE NEVER MET SOMEONE FROM YOUR CULTURE," which on the one hand, not necessarily their fault, but on the other, does not feel great to have someone on anon venting to you while this sign is staring you in the face.

But that is a different point - my point is that I feel like there's this...seething magma of discontent sometimes, that has built up because there is an attitude that criticism is to be avoided at nearly all costs. And when it must be vented, there are only a small handful of acceptable targets (ie, the cis straight white men, although among the CR and D20 casts, Taliesin and Zac both get a decent amount of this despite Taliesin not being straight and Zac not being white), so the criticisms that come out are often excessive for the infraction (Brennan, a famously wordy guy playing a literal college of eloquence bard, turns into "Brennan is a spotlight hog" despite him being a player who is enthusiastically yes-anding everyone at the table), flat-out misdirected (my criticisms of Sam's mechanics are treated as an invitation to talk about a dislike of Sam's jokes) or just straight up bile (I am quite frankly never forgetting the somehow popular post that said Travis was too stupid to play a druid; it really was a breaking point where I said oh this positivity is all fake as hell, huh.) And eventually these criticisms become the "safe" and "accepted" ones in the fandom. Which is also bad because like, at this point, those three examples are to me just signals of someone saying "I'm not happy but it might not necessarily be at all related to this." And it is possible that someone might genuinely not enjoy Sam's sense of humor, or think Brennan is hogging the spotlight (though I disagree), but I struggle to believe them because these are just the well-worn codes, devoid of their actual meaning. I also think it's notable these all squarely blame people and not just like, "I don't vibe with this choice and no one is specifically at fault" but that's also a whole other post.

This is of course not to say that there isn't also actual bigotry within the fandom; looking at that person who freaked out about Utkarsh wearing a sweatshirt and not having an encyclopedic knowledge of the divine soul sorcerer class, or the person who called Deni$e unpleasant and abusive in the main tag, rather than simply saying their characters were not for them. Nor does it mean that you can't have criticisms of Brennan, or any of the many white guys in Actual Play, because my point is that thoughtful criticism based on what's onscreen is what I live for, and no one is exempt. But I think most if not all people saying this about Brennan are mad about something else in the Ravening War.

[kurov1864]

Milgram idol au (pt.6)

Shidou!!

005 Shidou:

- Omg it's Shidou!! Didn't know people actually debuted when they were close to 30 but then again Milgram hired a fcking 12 year old so who am I to judge

- Has that Korean ML type of styling. Like long overcoats, lots of neutral and darker colors + white, and whatever those actors like to wear while they're sipping coffee looking all hot and shit. Surprisingly marketed as a dad figure more than Kazui... not sure why either.

- I saw somebody on Tumblr say this before and I could not agree more that he seems to be the type that has the dry skin + oily hair combo. Like predebut this man was spending 30 hours in the hospital everyday, his ass would not have time to shower or moisturize. Because of this his makeup team always have to leave him with very specific instructions on how to handle his skincare routine + products. I am entirely convinced that he would accidentally leave his serums and creams in the sun.

- His fanbase has daddy issues man. Like they flock to him so they can have at least some form of fatherly affection (looks at Shidou fans)

- Uses emojis on social media unironically.

- I feel like with his fans he'll either care too much or too little about them. Either he gets super attached to them and tries to cheer them up the best he can, or just sees them as like a transactional relationship. Like yeah, he cares about them only because they're his fans. He doesn't really care for them as actual people.

- Probably does those "doctor reacts" TikToks. He's usually a pretty calm and level-headed guy, but gods you should see the way this man absolutely rips those creators to shred. He has no tolerance or patience for those that spread medical misinformation.

- I forgot to mention this before but yeah he's the group leader of the entire wave. I'm not familiar with Kpop in general so forgive me if the leader is supposed to be like the most popular person or whatever, but he's a really responsible person who would actually fulfil their role no matter what they think of other people. Also pacifist so :D

- Is his sense of humor outdated to the point where he can't understand his group member's jokes and just has to sit there with a smile on their face looking confused? Yes. But it's endearing.

- Speaking of endearing I think many fans would like the way he's so serious while doing an unintentionally OOC thing. I don't think he lacks general logic in any way, it's just he's not familiar with the memes and trends today so sometimes he unintentionally does it TvT- Also has this air of quiet resignation whenever play fights break out within the group. Like they'll be shooting insult after insult on TV and he'll just sit next to them smiling in the overworked tired dad kinda way.

- I could not for the life of me come up with a signature pose. I apologize.

- Actually tbh he fits being an influencer more?? Should I just switch it to famous people,,, oh well too late to switch it now we're going full idol

[thefourchimes]

encanto undertale au thoughts part 1 rahhhh

so, encanto undertale au, i've mentioned it already in this post before but it was very vague

so lets do our best to expand a bit more

though fair warning that it's been a while since i've touched undertale in its full, and even then, i was never fully aware of every single lore detail in undertale, so i may miss or be wrong about something, feel free to tell me though woooo

wait, help, i'm realizing that the two have opposite problems: undertale has so much lore that it takes a while to take in, even if some are up to interpretation because at least there's already a basis, while encanto has so little information to work with since the only concrete source we have is the movie, posts from the creator, some comics and books (the latter three not even being 100% sure either)

but anyway, i actually still dont have full thoughts besides the general vibes but onto the thoughts (warning, it's a long post):

i mentioned before that the grandkids will be falling down into the underground for this au

just to be clear though, i am really not sure how to deal with the huge gap between time periods (1950s for encanto and 211Xs for undertale) and i dont think im in the right mindset for that atm so i'll leave it vague, thank you AUSIFHASUF

not unless this will be encanto but modern, but that's still up in the air, and i'm hesitant on it too since i want both encanto and undertale to be as canon accurate as possible oof

though there is a possible way by focusing on how disconnected the encanto is to the outside world, but not really sure either

i am also not gonna be diving much into the setting and place of undertale, and just generally all the parts about both encanto and undertale that can be left up to interpretation unless it's completely necessary (i'll try another day, but just not now IUAFHUAHSF)

anyway, let's make things on both sides clear first before fusing them together

so for encanto, we'll have it set around the months of rebuilding casita, so that means no gifts, the movie besides the very end of all of you already happened, the family's issues are already brought into light but are not fully mended yet (since that takes a long time—plus more fuel to add into the fire for this au mwahahaha), and they can get out of the encanto

on undertale's side, we'll have it all be and set generally the same, keeping the general timeline of it for the sake of continuity, so the kids will fall the same sort of way and "time" frisk does in canon game

i was kinda imagining that the mountains the miracle created would be sort of connected to mt. ebott somehow? it's a thought but i'm unsure on the execution of it, just spit balling a bit here

then again, we don't know the magic's full origins so maybe that can be played around with, but still up in the air, really

even though im not sure of it yet, following the previous thought, it's been a couple of months since they started rebuilding casita, and the kids were taking a break from it to take their time to bond with one another (everyone in the family has been bonding with each other as much as they could when they weren't helping in the rebuild, and this was likely established after the fall since they're all trying to do better with each other)

they had decided to take a walk near the mountains, but rather than on the side of the encanto, they're on the outside, so they went through the crack the fall had made (they did this for the new scenery and exploration, plus they wanted to see the river, so yeah)

after a while of walking and conversation, they find a cave (you know the one)

from here, i'm not sure on how they'll be falling into the underground yet (other than that it will be chaotic but also likely angsty), but they will be falling in

so that will be the start of the journey and full crossover between the two

while the kids will be going through their journey in the underground, the adults and townspeople will be dealing with the kids' disappearance, but i'm not sure how long it will be

i know undertale canonically only took place in a day, but that was with frisk, and i'm not sure if that will be the same case with the madrigal grandkids

i still find it wild though that the entire game of undertale took place in only a day, it has the same vibes as "it only took days for casita to be rebuilt again" except the 1 day for undertale is canon, but i digress

the entire journey is still vibes, but i do imagine some thoughts, plot, and interactions that can and will probably happen in the au:

the kids not being surprised that there's magic (cause duh), but that there's more magic in the underground through the monsters

they're all gonna be in awe of all the magic they see too, considering the variety of it

though they will be missing their gifts more because of seeing all the magic around them

mirabel's definitely not gonna have her insecurities rearing its head again, oh definitely not— (welp, sorry mirabel)

them wondering about the colors of their souls, and how it doesn't fit their signature color help—

the kids thinking flowey was isabela's doing somehow lmao

they're all definitely getting whiplash on the violence that will happen with flowey, and eventually the rest of the underground

the older three, especially luisa, will immediately be taking up the protecting role though

isabela having a crisis because of flowey the psychotic flower, considering her gift (as non-existent as it is at this point in time)

they will not be understanding any game references here, nor the existence of the phone, not unless it's modern au, but again, still up in the air

antonio is gonna be having fun with all the animal-like monsters, and they can talk too, so it's like he still has his gift but his siblings and cousins can hear them too

luisa would be the one to push the rocks (including the talking rock) in the ruins since that's one of the things she had done when she had her gift

them being scared of napstablook at first because ghost but it will all be fine in the end

dolores and napstablook will likely bond through music later on too

toriel reminding them of julieta and her warmth and her cooking and baking

but when toriel is trying to stop them from leaving the ruins and is disappointed, she would probably remind them of abuela, which is fun lmao

each new terrain will leave them surprised and intrigued, especially for the ones they don't know about (like hotlands for example, i doubt they'd have encountered lava at any point in their 5-21 years alive, stuck inside the encanto—again, unless this is modern au)

huh, im kinda realizing that both the encanto and the underground are similar in the sense that both places are trapped and isolated (encanto with the mountains and undertale with the underground), leading the inhabitants to miss a lot of different things (undertale with the sky and stars, then encanto with the different terrains, and both with other people/humans)

sans and camilo are gonna get another prankster/jokester to work with here lol

i also feel like sans' laidback attitude will remind them of felix's own laidback attitude, along with how they both try to make everyone smile with jokes

papyrus trying to prove himself by joining the royal guard, along with his loneliness and want for friends, would definitely resonate with the kids, especially mirabel

also papyrus and agustin are similar in the sense that they're seen as innocent and clumsy respectively, but are actually really smart in their own ways, plus the feeling of wanting to belong is definitely shared by the two of them

not sure about the dating side quest with papyrus, but it will definitely be chaotic if it happens the way it happens

does the encanto have waterfalls anywhere? if not, then first time seeing a waterfall in...well, waterfall

isabela would probably wonder if she could make echo flowers, if she still had her gift (she wonders if she could have made so many of the plants they'll find in the underground)

meeting gaster would be fun, whether it be all of them or just one of them, though if it was the latter, i'm not sure who'd it be, though i'm imagining it to be dolores as of now

antonio cheering the snail on in naptsablook's snail game real

undyne would definitely terrify the kids at first

she's like a weather of chaos, whether it be through a rain of spears or rays of flames from a burning house, similar to pepa in that case

both are outgoing and outspoken, which definitely has the kids reminded of pepa

not fully sure yet but i feel like it will be one of the warm siblings who'll splash undyne with water when they reach hotlands

undyne (once she's not killing them lol) and the kids will be bonding through the cooking lessons, except we know how that ends

i imagine luisa and isa being the ones to take on undyne in both fight and bonding chaos sense ASHFUIAHSF

oh boy, alphys, this one's hard considering how modern things are at this point, even with her nerdiness and anime

but i do think the fact that alphys is hiding something will be noticed by the kids, considering how they were all hiding something for years before

also they'd be reminded of bruno considering alphys' similar vibes in a sense

especially with how they both ran away and hid from their problems (bruno to the walls and alphys to the true lab)

mettaton is fun, they'd probably appreciate him more as a performer if it wasn't for the fact that he was trying to kill them AIUSHFUIAS

ngl though, by hotlands going forward, it's gonna be hard imagining things since the kids will not know a lot of the modern stuff and tech here, but i guess we'll have to see how it goes

plus we can always play off the fact that the encanto is so disconnected from the outside world that they aren't aware of a lot of things, so yeah

but anyway, the core just being a maze will be fun, but whatever was going on with alphys here will be ringing alarm bells immediately

but mirabel will definitely be feeling for her here, considering she knows how it feels

mettaton's whole fight is just gonna have them be confused considering they never knew what tvs are and stuff (unless bruno shared more about the telenovelas he saw through his visions before they fell into the underground)

sans being serious in the judgement hall will give them whiplash lol

though in this sense, this probably emphasizes the similarity with felix in a way

asgore is very kind but is bound by his duty to his people, similar to alma in that case

and mirabel will likely be the one to realize that, as she knows and understands abuela's reasons in the fullest sense (i imagine the whole family got to talk about it already, but mirabel is the one with the emotional intelligence and empathy to notice how asgore is feeling, and also to make the sort of connection between abuela and asgore)

before i continue, all throughout, i realized how the madrigal adults and the ut characters are really similar in some ways to each other (whether personality, struggle, vibe, or others):

julieta = toriel

felix = sans

agustin = papyrus

pepa = undyne

bruno = alphys

alma = asgore

it's obviously not one to one, but the similarities are definitely going to be fun to notice, i think

i think asgore will be less "we'll take care of you and become a family" since they already have a family up top, and more "we'll help you figure something out so we can get out of here and you can go back to your family"

but of course flowey comes and ruins that

omega flowey is...a thing i don't even want to imagine, ngl, that's gonna be so brutal...

they'll beat him of course (with a ship's load worth of trauma as a gift) and they'll be out of the underground

but we know that's not gonna be the end, not yet

continuation in another post because i just hit word limit aaaa

part 2

[glasswingowl]

YOU ALREADY KNOW THE DRILL EP 5 TIME!

spoilers under cut!

the VHS effect on the intro already caught me off guard, off to a good start

ok soo if a solver infected drone isn't properly disassembled then they'll zombify? that tracks i guess

whoops someone didn't follow disassembly protocol

good call n, ignore your frozen coworkers and just read about dogs

n would survive a horror movie (well he's already technically in one but you get what i mean)

i love the new drone already what-

everyone is so expressive now i love it! the new drone's a great example but everyone's so much more lively than the first few episodes!

i adore tessa already she's so full of life and excitement!

and j's the favorite, as predicted

oh- WHO HURT YOU TESSA I-

"basement time out"???

tessa james elliot? neat

ok so both your parents suck got it

noo tessa :( they're not broken they're her friends leave them alone!!

n buddy no

oh jeez- there's gotta be a more efficient way of getting rid of them this isn't medieval times

THE WAY I JUMPED WHEN UZI'S VOICE CAME OUT OF THAT CROW-

... that's some interesting decor you've got there tessa. i mean she could just be goth but i'm not so sure

DID THEY CHAIN HER UP?! MR AND MS ELLIOT COME HERE I JUST WANNA TALK

so her name IS Cyn!

OH SO YOU HAVE BACKUPS DO YOU WELL THAT SOLVES EVERYTHING GREAT JOB CYN-

oh she's going

ah so these are memories! that explains a few things

"i am a ghost witch! and i'm tall!' LMAO YOU WISH

KHAN YOU'RE INTERRUPTING THE SHENANIGANS

I LOVE HOW THE BUG JUST IMMEDIATELY TAKES HER SIDE

that is such a cool shot omg

"we just hang out" yeah and you tried to murder me that one time but that's less important

oh she moved-

LMAO TESSA MOTIVATING J BY TALKING ABOUT UNIONS

i love having my headcanon that not all disassembly drones are Like That and j's just a fucking weirdo proven right

she just spat blood-

a part of me was hoping that there'd be some sort of Cliffside reference with the gun. no such luck

now we know why tessa insists on wielding a SWORD instead of a more practical weapon. sentiment i guess.

"i kill you :3"

V'S A ZOMBIE DRONE?

"why are you talking like that?" because he's a weirdo that's why

N being forced to say DarkXwolf17 with a straight face lmao

everyone is dead??

AND HERE COMES DOLL WITH THE STEEL CHAIR-

button eyepatch, fitting

wait- IS THAT THE "uzi give brayden back his sentience" THING? that's great i love that

OH THAT SHOT OF CYN ON THE GLOBE IS SO INCREDIBLY COOL-

tessa is so over dramatic love it

stop interrupting her >:(

"solver of the absolute fabric"???? that's new

noo leave the bug alone

"this is the only clue as to what's wrong with me" :(

"despite me, maybe" cmon khan give yourself a LITTLE credit (not TOO much but, yknow, a little)

now i'm wondering how this whole thing actually played out without uzi's interference/ memory weirdness. because this most likely didn't actually happen.

"i got you" aww he can't help but be nice even when she's possessed

"don't freaking dox me" this one got a laugh out of me. buddy dox you to who??

aaand there's v, hostile as usual. she'll get there eventually. maybe hopefully.

doll's working with tessa and j??

"just checking". bruh

i kinda like this ending, means they can just get right into the action instead of fucking around next episode

[kocherry]

A Gift to the Beetle Gladiator

Arataki Itto x Reader

Hehe I just really love Itto sm and I've always wanted to write a fic about him so do enjoy this 1.2k short fic! It's just pure fluffiness to my babygirl Itto ♡

The Onis were a race that Inazumans once feared and they still do. More often now it's more of a prejudice against them. A perfect example of such situation is a young oni known as Arataki Itto.

A good for nothing deliquent... but to you he's more than that.

People often don't see beyond his usual loudness and idiocy. Itto is actually a good person at heart, he lives life the way he wants and there's nothing wrong with it. Maybe except for the times he makes children cry but that's on them... right?

"Dear Almighty Shogun I have it bad for him..."

Groaning into a pillow you turn your head to the side. Everything about Itto is just really endearing. He's like that annoying little shit that comes and go but he grows on anyone. You even defended that idiot from children who quarreled with him.

And you even promised to go with him in Onikabuto hunting and treat him to dinner tonight. So you rose from your futon and grabbed your gift for him.

You held the purple colored stuffed toy on your hands. It is quite large and had white mark designs on it. A really good replication of an Onikabuto but it's just soft and big.

Choosing this as a gift for Itto started because you thought that the Onikabuto and Itto have a lot of similarities. Well, aside from just being there doing nothing all day. They may look scary or even revolting but if you get to know them they're quite adorable.

Brushing those thoughts aside you place the stuffed toy into a box. You hurriedly changed into your usual yukata and went to the meeting spot. It was just an area outside of the city where the view of Amakane Island is just up ahead.

A small smile is brought up to your face as you see a familiar tall figure with silver hair with red highlights. Itto wasn't looking at your direction which made you grin evilly. This was a perfect time to sneak behind his back.

You were tiptoeing while holding your gift protectively but as you drew closer you could hear Itto's mutterings. And what you heard made your heart ache.

"Okay it's not that bad you always hear them telling you're a bad influence, a scary oni, or even a criminal!" Itto exaspertedly threw his hands on the air venting out his frustrations.

You stopped walking as Itto place a hand below his chin. His eyes looks like he was about to cry. "(Y/N) would never hate me like what that guy said... yeah they'll be here and come with me again to an onikabuto hunting!" He could recall how one parent is angry at him for making their child cry earlier.

That said parent made a back handed comment about you being too good for someone like him. Which made Itto place both hand on the sides of his head as he try to fight off what the guy had said.

"Or maybe... they finds that boring? Agh! I'm sure she doesn't mind! Even if people doesn't like me and the onis in general (Y/N) said that I'm their friend. If they do hate me they would tell me... (Y/N) would never lie to me."

This side of Itto, full of self-doubt and anguish is something you didn't expect to see. He usually is so bright, positive, and hyper all the time. Seeing Itto depricating himself is a rare occurance. It shattered your image over him... and yet his vulnerability made you admire him more.

Itto kept this negativity to himself all because he doesn't want to be seen as weak. If he did succumb to the prejudice and petty words then he would surely lose sight of his goals. The goal of living a fun life and letting people see that Onis aren't monsters.

"Itto I'm here!"

"(Y-Y/N)! Were you there this whole time?!" He stuttered at your sudden appearance and he looked afraid.

You purse your lip and restrained yourself from looking at him sadly. "Huh? No no I just got here, sorry I'm late... I really am excited to hangout with you." You played dumb but you were honest about being excited to see him.

"Don't worry there is a perfect reason why I'm a few minutes late... it's because of this!"

You were going to give the gift to him after dinner so you can run away in embarassment after you confess. But Itto needs to be reassured that you don't hate him. His feelings mattered more than your grand plan of confessing.

The box is huge and Itto's eyes lit up as he grabs your gift and takes it. "A gift for me?! The One and Oni Arataki Itto gets a gift from you, (Y/N)?!" He excitedly bounce as he points a finger at himself. You just nodded happily which made Itto tear the box apart as he brings out a stuffed Onikabuto toy that is the size of Ushi.

His silent reaction made you nervous as you rub your hands together. "Uhm do you like it? I made you a really big onikabuto plushie since you are after all... dun dun dun! The Greatest and Most Powerful Beetle Gladiator of all time!" Your voice is a bit shakey but you manage to tell Itto about why you had chosen to make a stuffed toy.

Itto then suddenly tackles you into a hug, the onikabuto plushie is the one that separated his bare chest from ever hitting your face. "Like it?! I absolutely love it (Y/N)! Hehehe!" He pulls away from.the hug holdimg the plushie in one hand while he brushes his nose with his finger.

"I know you recognize my truest strength! I'm just that great aren't I?!" He is spectacularly happy right now which made you also feel the same. "But really... thank you so much this means a lot I was a little sad earlier becausw of... stuffs!" For a second his expression is saddened. "Ah but don't worry I cheered up now all because of you!"

He leans down to your height and pats your head. You were a blushing mess at this point as his touch is gentle. And in return you brush his soft silver hair painted in red highlights away from his cheek and kiss his forehead gently.

"You're welcome and I would always make you happy because I like you very much Itto." You confess with a smile not able to really hold back.

Itto's eyes widen and then he lets out a laugh, "Awww I like you too (Y/N)~!" He ruffles your head again. "You're now my favorite person in aaaaaaall of Inazuma~! But don't tell the gang that I don't want to be accused of favoritism."

You want to feel dejected because he didn't seem to get the idea that you were confessing to him. But oh well! That really doesn't matter for now.

Maybe someday you would confess your crush to Itto properly. For now you enjoyed how he smiles at you softly while hugging the Onikabuto plushie you gave him. Your feelings just grew because you learned something new.

Itto is quite an energetic and positive fella but that doesn't mean he would be immuned to the prejudice against him. And you were for sure not going to let Itto doubt himself ever again. And seeing Itto hold your gift dearly while giggling... you were definitely going to protect that smile.

[erstwhilesparrow]

what's up it's time for me to have life series derangements again. you ever think about scott smajor? <- an entirely rhetorical question

a little while ago, i was like, "oh, it'd be fun to me if cleo in double life looks at martyn, looks at scott, realizes which of those two people is going to be more dedicated to helping them survive, and makes a decision that is both tactical and emotional, where even they can't be sure where the division between those two motivations is." and that IS fun, especially in light of martyn then teaming with scott in limited life, maybe because he's now seen what scott's like. however, actually, out of [cleo, scott], i think maybe i had the wrong guy! (relevant here: scott suggesting to cleo in secret life that the best thing to do once etho's on low enough health is to have him let her kill him to get extra hearts. cleo's pov saying, "i couldn't.")

the thing about scott that i think about sometimes is. at the double life finale. scott has the tnt that whole time. he's the one holding the flint and steel, he's the one who calls pearl to spawn, he's the one who gets his final word in and decides when and how they'll go out. "you deserve it more," he says to pearl, as if he doesn't know full well this will kill them both, as if he couldn't hand over the explosives to pearl and let her decide. there are ways to read this that are. deeply cruel. it's the same thing he did at the start, right? yanking the rug out from under pearl, making decisions about their relationship on his own and then forcing her to deal with it, knowing it's come down to just the two of them and snatching this last choice out of her hands too. there are, also, kinder ways to read this. by "you deserve this," he means pearl deserves the win, of course. she deserves to win the game, because it is a game and they are playing it, and after this much, she shouldn't have to figure out what to do about scott, too. he should just give it to her, make this as easy as possible.

i think... it's not even that scott loves throwing himself on other people's swords -- there are other people in the series for that type of thing. i think it's that scott has figured out that throwing himself on someone's sword is a useful thing to do, not just for his allies but for himself. oh, we can tell each other about his loyalty and trust and love and sacrifice, and he can tell that type of narrative too! but there's an element of business, or practicality, or calculation to a lot of it. i think the story that gets out and lingers IS more often about loyalty and trust and love and sacrifice and maybe that's there too, but telling someone, "oh, yeah, you can kill me for the time / hearts / victory, go for it," is also a way of shoring up alliances, of ensuring you stay in people's good books, of reminding people you can be trusted and relied upon. it's a death game, but it's also a social game! your reputation is a tool, and your life can be a bargaining chip. (relevant notes: he yells for martyn to kill him when he's the last yellow left in limited life. lets cleo knock him off the tower in limited life to get some time from him. in his secret life finale, once he gets down to fewer than ten hearts, he goes looking for gem, throws her all his good items and tells her she has to kill him. talks about deliberately saving / not saving the one gift heart per session for trade deals. he thinks this stuff through, when he can.)

this also, when you start putting focus on it, makes it really easy to read scott as just straightforwardly manipulative and cruel. i don't know how interested i am in that. i think it's important that watching scott, i find myself surprised a lot at how often he keeps promises, offers food, shares information. he is honest and generous when i think other people would not be. there are, as demonstrated by the other players, funnier or less complicated or more secretive ways to play the social side of the game. whether that just reinforces [scott is always on-purpose carving out a more positive reputation for himself] or adds more interesting dimensions in other ways, i don't really know either? but i feel like understanding him as purely sadistic flattens him somehow. he tells gem in his secret life finale he's going to stay loyal to his day-one alliance above all, no matter what, and even that is tied up in him trying to convince / remind gem that her loyalty should stay with scott and impulse, but i think it's often like this with scott.

it's cleo and martyn (and also scar, i'm pretty sure, but he's cleo's ally in limlife so.) specifically that he gives up time to -- he'd rather his allies get the time (in limlife) and health (in secret life) than anyone else. and it's not that it's not tactical -- even teaming up with cleo in double life, where he gives the justification to pearl that he and cleo already bonded: because they're not soulbound, they've got two health bars between them for pvp instead of one the way the other soulbound pairs do. but he also just. likes cleo! makes the choice over and over to stick with her. i think it's hard to separate out how much of any given choice scott makes is motivated by [this is a tactical / social advantage] from how much is motivated by [i like and care about this person] because those things blur together so often. certainly i can't separate those two, can't say, "oh, this time he was being calculating 100% and this time he was being much more emotions-first nice." i don't know that i want to be able to do that, and i don't know that scott can tell either? it's both of these things at once, and it works, so there's no real reason for him to try separating them.

my examples are from secret life because that's what i watched most recently, but scott loves to remind people how well he knows them and is startlingly good at knowing / guessing / pretending to know what other people are like. he gets a task where he has to get people to say 'i love you' back to him and at the end, he rattles off the list of people he knew would say it. he's halfway up a cliff and etho calls to him, asking him to come back down; after some back-and-forth, etho admits he was trying to stall so bdubs could get away, and scott replies, "i know you were." and like. i don't always believe him! he did fully climb back down the cliff to talk to etho. i'm sure some of the time when he says stuff like this it's true -- these are people he knows fairly well, of course you can predict some moves -- but i wonder how often he figures something out mid-conversation, goes, "oh, okay, this is what we're doing," and adjusts accordingly as if he knew all along. (relevant note: when boat boys start chasing pearl around after going red and scott gives up on trying to convince pearl to appease them, he switches to hurrying into the midcentury modern whateverthefuck and setting his spawn there so he's not running back from spawn to get his stuff when pearl dies.)

i wonder how much that contributes to the blurring motivations, the idea that scott himself doesn't necessarily go into these interactions really thinking about the tactical advantage all the time, but maybe he'll tell himself afterwards that that's what that was. i've been thinking about the limited life finale (when am i ever not thinking about the limited life finale) and the like million different ways i've thought about scott and martyn's motivations going into and coming out of that final betrayal ("betrayal"?), and how "i wouldn't have it any other way" is still something i like to come back to chew on sometimes. like, yeah, that's his closest ally, and he's already won before. that does in fact work out great for him. i think, maybe it's like that. oh, okay, this is what's happening, scott thinks. i knew it. this works out great for me, and i knew it all along.

[jils-things]

happy new year! ; my farewell letter to 2023.

last year, ive written a similar farewell letter to 2022 and i want to make this a little tradition - so here's my second one <3

okay, so - wow. first of all, just wow.

this might be incredibly bold to say, but i think this has been my best year to be alive (i promise you i do not want to sound corny about it, but i really think 2023 was amazing for me.) of course, many things happened. im at my last year of senior high before i go to college, which is very scary but i hope i can be brave for it. school has been actually very generous to me recently, despite a few minor setbacks that looked very major when i was going through it, but overall it was very generous to me. but irl rambling is boring, so let's talk about my selfshipping blog!

last year, i had a verrrry firm grip on a previous f/o that im 100% sure old followers know - though im a little sad I can't find that spark to focus on him again - the shift in media has helped me find new f/os that i can say has been incredibly memorable to me. as we all know, im in a very INSANE pokemon brainrot since november or october(?) of 2022 and it has still remained heavily active in my head right now - which i honestly didn't even know i had the full capacity of doing! I don't know what magic this game did to me but i promise you im so happy i revisited this game again.

i would talk about how grateful i am to everyone has been supportive and sweet about my romantic f/os but i think the best highlight of my blog is my newfound love for my familial f/os - before that, i never had a single one on my list because i was simply quite disconnected to the family love concept, but after indulging myself in pokemon - i would come to discover pokemon adve.ntures, or poke.spe for short hehe. i have so many fond memories of finding myself wanting to read more and MORE - i would have every chapter downloaded beforehand just so that i can read it in my spare time, not even school that demanded my attention would stop me from sneaking my phone to quickly read through the manga LMAOO - but consuming the media itself wasn't enough, i needed people to understand the ROLLERCOASTER of emotions i had while reading and well, i think its very clear who those people were, the ones who came to save my miserable ass from (insert shocking scene in poke.spe) AHSJHSHSJSJS you know who you are and i appreciate you forever and they - i kid you not, helped me create something wonderful!

but of course, the video games were just as amazing. would you believe me if i told you i played gens 1 to 7 in one year? that's how much i adore the game and i still have yet to catch up to other games like the spin offs :] im not sure how to end this statement but. im so happy appleshipping and memoryshipping exists 🥹 i usually don't like thinking that they'll be with me forever because i believe nothing lasts for eternity but i just wanna say that they were just ... im just so contented 🥹 again, all of this actually would not have been so impactful to me if it weren't for my awesome mutuals hearing me out about it and supplying me with even more ideas - these mutuals would also end up becoming such loving friends of mine that helped me get out of my comfort zone and im still happy they're around (hi guys!) 💚

oh! and, what a surprise, i never thought id have an oc f/o! i initially thought that this was so impossible to do but?!??;?! it just happened i guess!!!! i keep surprising myself this year 😭

ok now here's the obligatory art summary for the year 💥

literally the best thing i ever done with my art is try using csp and it actually really helped me change the way i draw, and i even managed to cross out a few items in my last year's resolution thanks to it! i still bounce between using ibispaint and csp but i certainly improved!

the last thing im forever grateful about are the people who has been consistently supportive of my art - especially the commissions, i can't stress it enough how much it has helped me outside and it allowed me to go beyond my comfort zone when it comes to my drawing skills :']] thank you all so much

and finally, big thank you to everyone who sent me nice letters to my tree 🥹💚 its a gentle reminder that im actually ... pretty cool ig 🥹 and if you didn't send one, that's also ok!! you're still cool for reading this mwamwa

again im so bad at ending posts like these but cheers to a new year and let's hope it'll be better for everyone. 💚🫡 goodbye 2023!