#i havent talked to her in over a decade

[cestvreth]

Today I learned a classmate from elementary school is expecting her first baby very soon and I'm just ??? She's just 2 months older than me and ??? Reality check, damn

[carebooks]

where is my lockwood & co. crossover with bridgerton in which lockwood & co. somehow time travel to the regency period and now have to deal with the time era’s bullshit whilst also figure out how The Problem is a thing in the early 1800’s when it hadn’t even existed… this is exactly what george wants to investigate. they get dragged to a time where The Problem was active and yet it has never been documented. meanwhile, locklyle were just getting their footing and being semi-more-flirty each other and now they can’t interact in private without a goddamn chaperone. do you think that stops either one of them— fuck no. but it creates so many fun situations. and in total, the trio goes out nightly more or less every time there’s ghost activity.

[ouellette]

i love clockwork so much i need to be euthanized

[some-random-fandom-chick]

.

[tvmblrsillyman]

death grips on thigh I Need To Character Develop Estelle

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

too many teens whining for validation, this blog needs more weird and stupid so...

AITA for kidnapping my friend and trapping her in the cheesebarn?

Hear me out:

The story starts about a week before my (20 at the time ftm) 21st birthday. If you live in the US you know this isnt just some lame 7th birthday or 36th birthday, this is one of the big boy birthdays, the special ones. Its when you can legal buy alcohol and are therefore truly an adult in the eyes of the law.

Naturally my friends (20s) wanted to do something Big for our 21sts. So they asked me what i wanted to do and i said i didnt really care as long as I got a road trip somewhere with friends.

Everyone thought it was a fun idea but it was a little short notice for everyone to get time off from work, but my other friend we will call C also had her 21st exactly a month after mine to the day, and the two of us agreed to share our 21sts and not do much of anything on my actual birthday. This is important, bc it was a SHARED birthday road trip.

I agree to let C pick the destination and I provide the car. We didnt have much of a plan as we were going to meet up with C's old roommate who lives in the city we picked to show us a good time.

It was 5 of us total and about a 7 hour drive altogether there with not a whole lot on the way there. We get to the city she picked and meet the roommate and honestly the rest of this part is just standard 21st birthday shenanigans. Its when we start the drive home things really start.

Remember its a long drive with not much to see? Well that was a lie. On our way back we see it, the Real "Happiest Place on Earth" as far as places with a mouse for a mascot go:

Grandpa's.

Fuckin'.

Cheesebarn.

Obviously me and the other people on the trip want to stop and see the magic, but unfucking fortunately C happens to be the only Basic White Girl ™️ in the entire world who hates cheese and isnt even lactose intolerant. This girl is notorious for making "petty" and "I hate Cheese" her entire personality. She would constantly make faces and gagging noises and talk about how gross and nasty cheese is if you so much as eat a grilt cheese near her.

Clearly she made it known that she wasnt on board with it. "NO! FUCK YOU ALL IM NOT GOING TO A PLACE CALLED A CHEESEBARN ON MY BIRTHDAY!!" were her exact words.

But i remembered i was driving, it was my car, and it was supposed to be my birthday too. So I put it to a vote. "Raise your hand if you wanna go to Grandpa's Cheesebarn!"

All hands raise but one. With C out voted we head to the cheesebarn.

Guys. This place is amazing. Its obviously making cheese its main draw, but yhere's so much more, its every shitty midwest tourist trap rolled into one glorious place. There's even a chocolate shop. We even got C's roommate to ditch work and come meet us bc shr heard "Grandpa's Cheesebarn" and knew she had to drop everything.

All in all a good visit, C even seemed like she had fun once we got there (she sure spent $300 on candies and dip mixes anyway). We go home. Things seem fine.

Then C drops off the face of the earth.

She wont respond to our calls or texts and at first we thought maybe she was giing through a rough patch or something and try to just keep reaching out but give her space. But then we find out that not only is she still hanging our with our other friends who couldnt make the trip with us. So clearly she's just pissed at us about something.

Finally one day a few months later i catch her at her job and just tell her "I dont care if you hate us, we'll never speak to you again if you dont want us to, but what the hell did we do to you??"

And she just looked me over and says "Well. You kidnapped me."

lolwut

And she yells (bc this girl loves yelling at people) "YOU KIDNAPPED ME AND TRAPPED ME AT A CHEESEBARN ON. MY. BIRTHDAY!!!!!"

And i just said "Well it was my birthday too," and havent spoken to her since. Its been over a decade and "No ragrets" as we said back in the day, but uts baffled me for years that that was her reaction. "Im just over you guys" i can understand, and its not like she was shy about telling people she hates them and their out of her life ever before. And from what i ended up hearing from our other friends she kept talking with it really was about the cheesebarn and how we "ruined her birthday".

No but srsly AITA??? For making her go to a cheesebarn???

What are these acronyms?

[queen-schadenfreude]

now that I've finished datv.. i have some first pass thoughts

spolers below

first of all why is this game trying so hard to rehabilitate in-universe controversial aspects? I mean like. Slavery in Tevinter. It's swept under the rug with a few lukewarm platitudes and codices about how it's being addressed off-screen. Previous games have established how horrific it is, but the tevinter we see in veilguard doesn't reflect that at all. it feels dismissive of a lot of major setting and character development. Same with the antivan crows! they were described as a brutal, cruel organization but now they're the underdog protectors? Sure, there was family drama and a few mentions of how cut-throat things HAD been before, but we don't get to *see* any of that. illario was weak as an example of this bc he was the only thing to be shown as bad. There's no tangible impact.

it seems like a feeble attempt to make sure the players understand that the writers do not condone the unsavory aspects of the setting and characters, while making everything a Teachable Moment. honestly half of the game felt like a psa on extremely basic ethics, like surface-level shit children already know.

on top of that, idk why the game is trying so hard to therapize the player via companions' emotional journeys. The extremely basic and direct "your feelings matter and it's okay to feel your feelings! " scenarios were so repetitive and cringe. Sesame street level bullshit. am i crazy for expecting a more mature and nuanced approach to emotional struggle??? I swear previous games were better at this

also fuck all of southern thedas, it's cooked. hope yall didn't care!

Anyway.

ive only played through Neve's romance and i chose her bc she talks and acts like an adult and not a flustered teenager like harding, or a quirky mpdg like bellara. I liked it, it was fine. no strong feelings about it tho.

I didnt consider Taash as a romance option bc they act like a petulant child most of the time and that's just not fun for me.. and I don't love that Taash seems more like a prop for Gender Ideology 101 rather than being a fully complex character who is working through a gender identity crisis. I am not trans and cannot fully speak to this but as someone who knows more than the absolute basics of gender ideology, their story felt patronizing.

the boys are... fine, I guess. I wrecked treviso so I think i got locked out of some Lucanis stuff but his possession just isn't as compelling as previous characters who have been possessed. Davrin is fine, inoffensive. Emmerich is funny I do like him, Manfred is delightful.

I played as an elf bc I hoped it'd be extra relevant to the story, what with the Big Bad(s) being evanuris. it didn't matter at all. the crossroads doesn't even look different for an elf character like it did in Trespasser.

I expected everything to drive torward making Solas out to being a Good Guy Actually, and it kind of did. but super aggravating for have phantom varric to say that after being actually murdered by him like damn!! you are just gonna let that guy walk all over you bc yall were friends for a short while a decade ago. Where was that sympathy for Anders??

varric being a figment of rook's imagination the whole time was a fun reveal, tho.

siiigghhh. but listen. there were things I liked about the game, too. the gameplay is fun. the environments are GORGEOUS. the characters look good, i think the art style is fine actually. the character creator is great (except those qunari fiveheads RIP)

a lot of the banter and jokes did genuinely make me laugh, and i did like exploring maps and interacting with the new companions generally.

I havent given a lot of thought to it but I think a lot of the plot-related issues i have could've been solved by just setting the game like, 100 years in the future. All of the questionable and unsavory aspects of the cultures the game tries SO hard to diminish and write off would've had time to be organically rectified in-universe. I guess.

well. whatever.

[dorianwolfforest]

"Dorian you havent talked about your SSO OC's in DECADES and I'm feeling so lost and blue! Please please please tell me about your ocs!!!" I hear you say, and I understand, so I bring you now a comprehensive guide of all of my sso oc's and their role in the story of Star Stable online. As this is up to date on lore, there will be spoilers for the main quests in here.

Dorian Wolf - he/him

Also known as: The orange one, idiot coughing baby, my child, Rob's husband

Dorian Wolf grew up in Valedale, the oldest of three children, in a (non-druid, keeper-unrelated) cult called the Light of Aideen. The Light of Aideen valued femininity and the likeness of their goddess above all else, and as a result of this Dorian was often looked down upon in favor of his two younger sisters. Already as a young child he learned how to cook, he was taught ballet (and figure skating in the winter), and when he was left unsupervised, he experimented with the powers of witchcraft he was born with, something he had to keep from the cult due to their volatile nature toward witches. When he turned 18, Dorian fled Valedale and found refuge in Ydris' circus, where he works to this day as a trapeze artist and occasional helper around the grounds.

He's a gentle, kind, and thoughtful guy who doesn't understand the concept of being evil for the sake of being evil, often giving people the benefit of the doubt despite what their previous actions would lead any reasonable person to believe. This has led him into a romantic relationship with Rob the smuggler.

Rebeca Forest - they/them

Also known as: Warthilk the void demon, Ah Fuck Which Order Do These Hair Colors Go In, Bisexual hair guy, Violence upon the village

This bad boy can have so many detachable eyeballs. Rebeca (then Warthilk) was summoned by Dorian one stormy night when Dorian tried to use his witchy powers to summon a glass of warm milk. He misspelled the necessary runes and instead summoned Warthilk, the void demon. Dorian immediately unbound the demon from him, apologizing profusely for the intrusion, and Warthilk, who usually enjoyed spreading chaos and cruelty across the land, felt so fucking bad for this pathetic, wet noodle of a man, that they adopted a human name and now spends their days making sure Dorian is okay. They live at the circus but do not, under any circumstances, help out.

When they think they can get away with it, Rebeca will make peoples lives miserable. If they think Dorian will catch on, or if they think their actions will negatively impact Dorian, they will instead collect themselves and repress the urge to ruin peoples days.

Sienna Opaldew - she/her

Also known as: The token cis, Reasonable ms stuck up fancypants, That is not your natural red stop lying, The Mom Friend, trust fund

Sienna has lived in England her entire life, surrounded by all the riches her father could possibly surrender to her. She always had the finest clothes, the finest horses, and the finest gear. That satisfied her until her 20's, when she found herself pregnant, single, and ostracized from her usual social life. In an effort to find some kind of community beyond her father's pockets, Sienna tried to figure out where her mother, who left the family when Sienna was a baby, could possibly be. After figuring out that her birthmother lived on Jorvik, Sienna moved over there without so much as a thought, desperate to find some kin that could love and appreciate her and her son for who they are, rather than for financial gain. That was never to be, however. Sienna's real mother is Ms Drake, and when she finally finds her Jorvegian side of the family, her parents start to use her against each other.

Sienna does have friends and a support system in Dorian, Rebeca and Percy, however, and helps them out financially when they struggle (something Rebeca accepts readily and happily) in return for some babysitting duties. Her son, Nicholas, is 2 years old when the story takes place. Sienna is not a soul rider.

Persephone Nightmore - she/they

Also known as: Percy Nightmore, Sephia Nightmore, The discord kitten, e-girlboy, the one not traumatized

The more I look at the art I've drawn of Percy, the more I realize I have no fucking clue who they are. She's still relatively new to the roster. They are a twitch streamer who's "close" with Sienna. They are not a soul rider. That's it. That's all I got. Love her tho.

Rose Bittering - he/they

Also known as: The guy with a gun, Half-man one-third-pink-crystal the-rest-machine, Fucking weirdo

Rose is, without a shadow of a doubt, a bad person. He works for DC, creating the drones and robots the company uses to spy on soul riders, transport Darkonium and disrupt the druids. If you've ever destroyed one of his precious creations, they will shoot you with bullets. Rose hates the robot guards on the DC oil rig, as they were set up by the previous mechanic and are not his own creation.

Rose is only loyal to DC because they fund his own habits and experiments, allowing him to do whatever it is they do in their lab without checking up on him. Some of the things they do include: watching anime illegally, cannibalism, and putting metal in microwaves "just to see what happens".

When Rose was a young teen, they got trapped in Pandoria for a long period of time and, as such, suffer severe crystalization which has carved out a large portion of their back, their eye, and has rotted off a finger. He is so overexposed and radiated that he often breaks digital things, preferring instead to work with old-fashioned mechtech. It is very possible that he was killed in the DC oil rig explosion, but if he wasn't then he will soon perish as his body is continuously failing him and he has to continue to upkeep parts of himself, such as a makeshift, magically infused spine, in order to function as a person.

[year2000electronics]

Ok so what’s shimmer relationship like with the main cast like in the brotherhood au?

RUBS HANDS TOGETHER EVILLY. I ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING I WROTE A WHILE BACK ABT SHIM AND THE BROTHERS. HEHEHEHEHEEEE

i havent gotten to the outcasts Yet but. one day. i'll put it below the cut!!

“You probably don’t remember me, but-”

That was the first thing Shimmer had decided to say to baby Branch- no, it was just Branch now, wasn’t it? No matter how hard she looked at him, she could still only see the hopeful, gleaming eyes and the sweet smile as that kid she had come to briefly know so many years ago. It was a tough habit to kick- and the other members of the village clearly had a leg up on her with that.

“No, I remember you!” He replied, swinging his hands back and forth as the two of them walked through the village together. “Johnny doesn’t talk about you anymore, not really, but I remember going over to your pod!”

Shimmer tried her best not to seem too desperate for knowledge. Johnny? Her Johnny? Well- formerly hers. Not anymore? She knew it, he hated her, dammit, why did she come here-

“Oh, yeah? That so?” She laughed quietly. “Gosh, you’d make a mess of the place… you were so cute.”

“Yeah…” Branch said, looking off to the side. He was clearly quite a bit surprised, hearing someone talk about him through their sole memories of him being a baby. “It’s… been a long time since then, though.”

“I know, I know,” Shimmer assured quickly. “You’re all grown up now. And it makes me feel… very old.” She gave a laugh to shrug it off, but… it was true. Staring her in the face was the very sobering realization that it had been nearly two decades… Two decades since she had seen any of these people. And yet, somehow, despite Branch going from a baby to an adult…

…It felt like he had changed the least.

“Well- you don’t look very old,” Branch chirped. “Not to me.”

Shimmer looked back at him with a sort of sad smile, combing her hair out of her face.

“...You’re sweet, kid,” She mumbled. 

“No, really! You look Johnny’s age, and he’s not old, so… you’re not old either, right?” Branch grinned. He thought his logic was flawless, clearly. 

Shimmer snorted. “Is that how you see it?”

“Yup.”

Shimmer laughed, and decided to leave it at that. Branch’s peculiar little sense of humor did amuse her, to be sure. 

“So-” Shimmer asks after a bit of silence. “Do you mind if I ask you something, ah… a bit personal, kid?”

“Depends,” Branch said with a shrug. “What is it?”

“What was it like? Growing up here, I mean,” Shimmer asked.

Branch paused for a moment, to think about it. He looked up at the sky, down at the ground, every which way, except at her.

“Normal, I guess?” He shrugged. “We’re safe here, and I had my brothers. I don’t know what else a guy could want.”

Shimmer supposed she should have expected an answer like that. Of course Branch would see everything as deceptively normal. From the time she spent at the village, she didn’t exactly discover any blood sacrifices or chaos magic rituals happening behind closed doors or anything, and even though John and his brothers had morphed into slightly mythic figures, they weren’t referred to as His Holiness or anything. 

“Guess so,” Shimmer replied. “I was just… gone for so long, I’ve been curious, I suppose. About all the changes.”

“There aren’t that many,” Branch mumbled.

“No?”

“No.”

That’s what Branch’s mouth said. But his eyes told a different story. 

—---------------------- 

Shimmer sat down in Bruce’s pod, staring him down. 

His hand automatically moved to grab some matchmaker’s tarot cards when Shimmer lowered it before he could.

He glanced up at her, confused.

“Don’t,” She grunted. “I’m not here for that. I don’t even want to know.”  The sooner she could stop Bruce from doing the matchmaking thing, the better. There was a whole nest of hornets there- and whatever he said about her “potential prospects” would just remind her that a part of her never moved on from John Dory. 

“Then-” Bruce furrowed his brow, leaning back. “What are you here for?”

Shimmer gave him a surprised glance. “For you. Is that so hard to believe?”  

Bruce scoffed, leaning on one of his hands as he pressed his elbow onto the table. “Usually people come to the matchmaker’s pod because they want their match made, miss Shimmer. And yet, here you are, asking for me and not even wanting a match while you’re here! I think that makes you the strange one.”

Shimmer groaned. “Neither of us are strange, Bruce, don’t play this game with me-” 

Bruce laughed. “Oh, man- I did miss this. How is it that I’m always able to get under your skin?”

“I don’t know, you little devil-” Shimmer snorted. She cleared her throat, combing some hair out of her face. “But- that’s the only part that feels like it hasn’t changed, after all this time. What’s someone like you doing with a job like… this?”

Bruce frowned. “Are you trying to imply this isn’t a real job? The village won’t like that.”

Shimmer furrowed her brow, putting a hand up. “That’s not what I said. I mean- this job feels so prestigious. And everyone I asked about you immediately followed ‘Bruce’ up with ‘The matchmaker’. Doesn’t that… bother you at all?”

“Would it really matter if it did?” Bruce said with a shrug. 

“I mean-!” Shimmer gave an exasperated sigh. “I… I just want to understand. Everyone here is used to this, used to you all being leaders, I was just…” She shrugged. “I guess I was just hoping an old friend might be able to help me stop sticking out like a sore thumb.”

Bruce frowned, studying Shimmer’s face and body language. She seemed to be sincere, though her pride clearly held her back from just straight-up begging. And he did feel quite a bit bad for her… it was true that Bruce and Shimmer had been pretty close back when he was Spruce, and back when Shimmer was “JD’s girl”. They got on each others’ nerves endlessly, but that was almost part of the charm.

…He could use something like that again, perhaps. Nowadays, the only teasing he could get away with was either to Baby Branch or doing something so subtle to JD and Floyd that most other people shouldn’t be able to notice. 

“...Being a matchmaker is fine,” Bruce began to speak. “I’m rarely ever wrong, I’ll have you know. People trust me, and I like that. It feels… good to be trusted, I guess.”

He took out a tarot card from his deck, studying it. “I mean- I’m trusted for manners of romance, friendship, intimacy… But nobody is puttin’ pressure onto me to be a leader. In a way, I guess… I’ve got the best job in town.” 

“Still,” Shimmer said quietly. “I wouldn’t mind hanging out with Bruce-the-man instead of Bruce-the-matchmaker. If you can bear taking some time off your busy schedule.”

Bruce tilted his head noncommittally. “I’ll think about it. Gotta keep up appearances, y’know. That’s a big part of everything.” 

“I guess,” Shimmer half heartedly agreed. “Not that I’d know.”

“It’s good that you don’t,” Bruce replied, an oddly soft tone in his voice. So soft that Shimmer dare not toe the line and ask him to elaborate on that. Her absence of a question, though, left the two of them sitting in the candlelit room in silence.

“...So what’s the story behind the new name?” Shimmer asked to break it.

“Eh,” Bruce waved a hand casually. “I wanted a reinvention.”

Shimmer paused, mulling that over. “It suits you,” She said, finally. 

“Thanks,” Bruce smirked. He held up a hand, tilting it towards her. Between his fingers was a tarot card.

“Hey! I thought I told you not to do the matchmaking thing!” Shimmer protested with a frown.

“Relax, miss Shimmer,” Bruce replied coyly. “This one’s just about your social standing.” 

She took the card from him, studying it- oh. It was The Star.

“It means renewal,” Bruce said simply.

—--------------------------

“Morning, Floyd. I’d apologize for interrupting but I feel like that ship’s sailed already,” Shimmer grunted, going to sit on a mat near where Floyd was meditating.

He cracked an eye open, glancing over at her. “...Shimmer,” He said with a simple nod.  

She began stretching her legs, grunting every so often- this type of stuff didn’t come as easy to her as she wanted it to. 

“...Why did you come back?” Floyd asked bluntly. That made Shimmer stop in her tracks, glancing over at the younger troll with a befuddled look on her face.

Floyd put his hands up in a gesture of false surrender. “I don’t mean it like that! Don’t misunderstand! It’s just… one doesn’t just wander back into a place like this without reason.”

“Well- it’s home,” Shimmer admitted, bending down to touch her toes. “I was feeling… disoriented. Like I had lost myself. I didn’t know where else to go, so… I came back home.”

“Yeah, sure, but… you said it yourself. This place has changed. So, I guess, a better question would be… what made you stay?” Floyd asked as he bent himself into a different position. His tone was casual and calm, but there was a certain hunger in his eyes that let Shimmer know that he was very invested in this line of conversation. 

Shimmer’s mouth went dry. That… that was a good question. Especially since Floyd was playing a bit of a dangerous game, where she would make a major social faux pas if she wasn’t careful- Floyd was implying that someone coming to the village and staying there was strange. Of course, it was a perfectly safe place, but Shimmer knew she and Floyd both could feel the gated-community vibe of the village where nobody ever comes in and nobody ever comes out. She counted herself damn lucky that they even let her in at all. 

“...I suppose I’d say- it’s because some part of this place didn’t change,” Shimmer mumbled. 

“Really?” Floyd asked, stretching one of his legs to the sky.

“Really. That’s what keeps me here… I think. It’s all very confusing, this new village stuff, but when I look at all my old friends here… I guess I can’t help but see the boys I used to know,” Shimmer bashfully said as if she was admitting a crime. 

“So you really believe that…” Floyd said quietly. “And- is it the same with me?”

“Sure it is,” Shimmer said, rolling over to be on her stomach as she grabbed one of her legs. “You were always the one who sat in the back, weren’t you? Just… watching. Soaking it all in. I still see a lot of that in you today. With Branch and Bruce, too, the more I talk to them, the more I realize there’s still parts of you I’ve met before.”

She sighed. “Stupid, I know.” 

“No, I don’t think it’s stupid at all…” Floyd replied. “I… I think it’s kinda nice, actually.” 

He smiled, looking up at the roof of the large cave they called home. He let the moment sit for a bit.

“Sometimes… I don’t really feel like that boy anymore. I don’t feel like I was ever him at all. It’s… confusing, I guess,” Floyd said at last.

“Ugh, tell me about it-” Shimmer grunted, stretching out another one of her joints. “I was looking at an old poster of myself yesterday, and it was like- who WAS she?” 

Floyd gave a gentle little laugh. “I guess we’re more alike than we thought, then. It’s… nice.”

“I don’t get to talk to people much about this stuff,” Floyd continued. “Me, Johnny and the others try to be strong… for the village. So- it just… doesn’t come up.”

Shimmer gave him a nervous glance. “I’m not stepping over a line, am I? You’d tell me if I broke some sort of village rule. You would. Right?”

“Calm down,” Floyd squeaked desperately. “You’re fine.” 

Shimmer sighed. “Sorry… sorry. It’s just-”

“A lot, yeah,” Floyd finished. “That’s the village for you.”

—-------------------------

Shimmer was never sure if it was her place to mourn Clay or not. She had known him once, but at the same time, that was a long time ago. Was it illogical that she felt like she didn’t deserve to mourn him like his brothers did? Maybe. But she couldn’t change how she felt.

Still, that wouldn’t stop her from leaving some lily-of-the-valleys near his memorial spot every now and again. 

“Sorry I missed you, Clay,” She murmured. “I would have liked to have gotten to know who you grew into.”

—---------------

Shimmer wasn’t looking forward to this. She wasn’t looking forward to any of this. In fact, she had taken extreme, deliberate steps to avoid this from happening.

But what she hadn’t accounted for was bumping into John Dory on his stupid shitty morning walk, DAMMIT- 

He dusted himself off, clearly taking on a facial expression that was preparing for an apology, only for him to realize exactly who it was he had bumped into. Right- the troll he hadn’t talked to since he initially told the village to let her in.

Oh, yeah.

Also, his ex. 

“...Shimmer,” He was the first one to cut through the silence as he looked up at her, adjusting his scarf. “You look… well.”

Shimmer scoffed, looking away. “You and I both know that’s a gross exaggeration.”

John frowned as she looked away. That caught her eye. She coughed, immediately trying to steer the ship of a conversation back on topic. Much as this was her old flame… this guy was also someone she clearly didn’t want to get on the bad side of. Best not to get… too testy.

“But- other than looking like I rolled out of bed basically every day, I’ve been-” She sighed. “Fine. How about… you? How- uh- how have you been?” 

John Dory blinked once or twice, not expecting her to turn the question back on him. “Me? Oh, yes, I’ve been great, as usual. Never a bad day here in the village. Heh. You haven’t… been having any trouble, have you? I know the villagers can get a bit testy with… ‘new’ people.”

Shimmer shook her head no, folding her arms. “No, it’s been fine. Just… just fine.”

“Good… and you’ve been behaving too… right?” He said- although his tone was light as a feather, he knew the underlying meaning in what he said- here was a girl he had been close with before she disappeared- She could drag him back down to feeling mortality, be so casual with him in a way he hadn’t felt from anyone besides his brothers in years- and if she wanted to disprove his lie, he’d have to put whatever feelings he still had for her aside. For the sake of the village.

“You think so low of me, John,” Shimmer scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Yes, I’ve been behaving. I’m a guest here- guests follow the host’s policies, and they’re thankful. That’s how I was raised.”

“Good!” JD chirped. “I wasn’t too worried about that,” He lied. It slipped naturally off his tongue as smooth as butter. 

Shimmer paused, looking him up and down some more. He looked at her looking at him, waiting to see her reaction and cautiously preparing for it.

“...It’s a bit of a different look for you, I’ll admit, but… I don’t hate it,” Shimmer spoke with a shrug. “The red looks nice.”

John laughed, flicking an earring. “Ahhh- thank you. It does, doesn’t it? I’ll admit, your look was a bit surprising, too. You’ve really changed, I almost didn’t-”

He paused, not wanting to finish the sentence… but Shimmer knew what he was going to say.

I almost didn’t recognize you. 

She knew that’s what he wanted to say, because she thought it when she first saw him.

Jeez, what were they? They used to be a teen hot couple, the poster boy and poster girl for puppy-love… But here she was, a disgraced pop troll who couldn’t sing… and there he was. The hero and saviour of an entire village. 

It was more obvious to her now than it was to her than that him even noticing her at all was… nothing but a stroke of luck. A fluke. There he was, brilliant, important, in control… And then there was her. A total mess. A flop. She felt like an intruder in the village, and now, being face-to-face with JD only made things worse. In every other brother, she saw that past part of them she once knew, but with John, she felt like she was only reminded of her own insecurities, her own failings. 

She swerved past him, eyes firmly trained onto the ground.

“I’ll get out of your way, John,” She mumbled half-heartedly, trying to just put a miserable end to the conversation and stop her mind from attacking herself so loudly. But as soon as she started walking, she found herself unable to keep going. Locked around her arm was none other than JD’s hand. She glanced back, looking at him in confusion.

“Wait,” He started. “...Come over to my pod sometime. You, ah, need to update me more on how you’re settling in. Yes. As the village leader… it’s part of my responsibilities, y’know? So- don’t leave me hanging.”

Shimmer’s breath caught in her throat. She hated the idea of seeing him more, and yet, the fact that he had requested her presence specifically… It made her heart skip a beat. 

“...Sure, yes,” She replied quietly.

She expected John to let her go at this point, but he kinda just kept staring at her in silence for a while. Somehow, she found herself staring back.

“...I’ve missed you,” He confessed with a breathy whisper. 

Shimmer tried to muster back a reply, but words failed her. She tried again, and again-

“I didn’t even think that was possible,” She finally said back. 

[adotmbrosia]

season 7-9 spoilers, particularly abt kevin tran

thinking abt kevin tran and how FUCKED everything was for him.

sam winchester is doomed by the narrative because he is the main character and he always got to go through shit but i’ve never seen anyone talk about how kevin tran was also doomed by the narrative due to being a prophet. maybe it’s bc of his actor and his horrible actions — which i do not condone and i feel so horrible for all the victims. but kevin tran as the character is so pitiful and sad yet i see nobody in the spn fandom talk abt it.

jst bc he’s the prophet he is ripped away from his normal life at like fucking 17/18 yrs old ffs his main concern was abt his ap classes 😭😭😭 imagine living almost two decades of normalcy and you’re thrown into this world where you’re being goddamn hunted down by everybody, especially these two scary ass 6 feet middle aged men who knows too much about everything spouting shit about “responsibility.” girl i havent even paid taxes yet!! idk shit abt responsibility!

after being forced into this role of the prophet, kevin literally worked — which is grueling btw transcribing is not easy and we can see it take a toll on him as he continues to work throughout the seasons — himself to the point where the winchesters bought him fucking xanax (i may be wrong here but it was some sort of medication) to calm his anxiety 😭 like ts is NOT okay to give to an undiagnosed teenager. not to mention crowley always looking for him.

the winchester brothers say kevin is family and how much the winchester brothers cared for kevin but they never rlly show it. kevin figured out he was kidnapped by crowley bc fake sam and dean winchester were too nice to him. they were willing to go through some trouble to get him food he wanted despite there being leftovers in the fridge. if i was depending on this poor kid to save the fucking world i’d buy him some barbecue.

i mostly have a gripe with dean’s “pep-talks” he has with kevin too. kevin is rightfully unhappy about these circumstances. he’s allowed to feel fucked and scared and all of these emotions but dean pushes his agenda in kevin’s face. he doesn’t consider the nuances of the situation because dean has never lived a life where he had a choice (which is another conversation) but it’s not okay to make kevin feel like that as well. dean says shit like “oh i expected this wimp to choose the cowards way out” when kevin was literally KIDNAPPED😭 (unbeknownst to dean and sam but i digress it’s understandable he would run away from all of this) after kevin finds out that his mother is alive from crowley, he wants to go out and find her yet dean makes kevin stay once again to serve his agenda of saving the world and shit veiled by claiming kevin was family and crowley has reasons to lie. but after kevin’s death we find out that she was, in fact, alive!!!

kevin could’ve saved his mother from months(?) of torture by a demon yet dean stopped him because of what??

speaking of deans treatment we go over to sam’s treatment of kevin how he jst went AWOL on the poor kid leaving him to hide and live alone for a year despite kevin calling him Numerous times to tell sam that he was alive and Needed help

and i’m not saying that dean and sam doesn’t care abt kevin bc they have said so in many instances and have saved him many times. i jst feel like they weren’t perfectly great to him (honestly i can’t really blame them either) and the narrative has truly fucked kevin over many times.

ESPEICALLY kevin’s death which could’ve been so easily prevented, but it happened because he no longer served a purpose to the narrative. like kevin only got a few episodes where he didn’t serve as a prophet and was allowed to help the winchester brothers in his own way— which he COULD btw. he hacked into the military wifi to help them convince this lady to allow them to investigate the bus.

i also think abt how the show presents kevin. in the beginning it’s the overdone and stereotypical joke of “oh look at the asian kid who wants to go into an ivy and is in a million ap classes” and they never elevate themselves out of that box kevin is put into. not to mention his mother who when introduced the episode name is literally “tiger mommy” which is another asian stereotype that they are pushed into. which is frankly racist and jst not good writing which IK the writers are capable of bc look at sam and dean winchester at certain instances bc sometimes they fuck that up too.

[wolfblood-of-anubis]

random headcanons about House of Anubis in this PJO demigod world:

(fyi i havent read the kane chronicles so if i get some stuff wrong let me know without spoilers)

Nina’s been able to see life and death auras around people since she was little, it’s made her isolated over time

her mom and step-dad died when she was nine

it was a car accident in the middle of an earthquake… yeah could’ve been poseidon who knows

she went to live with her grandmother who had moved to england a few years prior

a satyr found her when she was 15

reminder that in this au monsters aren’t that common outside the us. the only reason a lot of them were around Rome and Greece was because that was their home turf, the original places

and yet monsters slowly started showing up again in the united kingdom for some reason

the last child of the big three in england was winston churchill

(we still dont know which big three)

nina’s invited to attend a special boarding school for people like her

her godly parent is still unknown atm but it’s okay, unlike their US counterparts they dont separate the students via godly parent during school time, that’s just a summer thing.

the houses are based on Egyptian gods because of some past magicians that wanted to make a sanctuary for any and all young heroes regardless of their patronage. this includes Egypt, Greek and Roman demigods, Norse ones too. all are welcomed. (again, i havent read TKC, im aware Carter and Sadie are magicians but idk if other characters are demigods via Egyptian gods)

the Egyptian vibe has stuck around because of the founding magicians who created it.

the houses the students live in arent separated by godly parent but rather by where they hail from.

so in the cause of Anubis House, it’s Greek demigods. Isis House also hosts Greeks.

Nina is put in Anubis because despite not knowing who her godly parent is, when tested she reads Ancient Greek like a pro

at the same time as her being put in this house, the sketchy adults who maintain the sanctuary and maintain the institution have removed Joy Mercer, a daughter of Nemesis for unknown reasons

yes i already have the twist planned out

meanwhile, Joy’s best friend Patricia Williamson, daughter of Ares is 100% sure this newcomer, an American of all things, has something to do with Joy’s disappearance and she won’t rest till she finds out.

in the mean time, Nina runs into an old lady, she talks about a great treasure hidden in the house and gifts her something that will be invaluable

a locket in the shape of the Eye of Horus, a symbol of protection, a warding against evil, but tells her not to open it unless she’s in danger

when a monster invades the school for the first time in decades, Nina discovers it’s more than just a necklace.

when she opens it for the time, it reveals:

(fyi yes i wanna change the purple stones for maroon eventually)

click here for part two

[clambuoyance]

I know that you are a stalwart TimKon Shipper

But what are your opinions on other Kon ships?

KonCass

KonCassie

SuperMartian

KonBart

I am a firm KonCass Shipper through and through

even if i have my own personal hcs, i mean i don't mind any of these ships

koncass had a couple of cute issues and they very much feel like young teens trying to date kinda clumsily but i liked that they agreed to just be friends at the end of it T-T also given what cass says about how she's looked at and her relationships with other characters i cant really see her with a guy >_> they are definitely cute tho and glad you have a cute ship to enjoy!

i actually think koncassie are sweet to each other in tt03 but it's like very basic and surface level to me (that's just how johns wrote everyone there though so) and within canon, cassie had something of a celebrity crush for him at first, but there's the issue where cassie looks in the mirror and wishes she was beautiful and wishes kon would stop looking at her as if he only sees her as a sister and nothing more and then they kiss and i was like >_> okay i guess (if we had seen more of this romance from kon's pov i might have bought into it more) and later in tt03 johns writes cassie as if it was a flaw to act so boyish in her youth and while there's nothing wrong with characters growing up and changing it just felt cheap or whateverrr like at least write her realizing she doesn't need to be doing this for a man and only for herself. again, theyre okay to me as a ship on its own and are cute and i joke that kon got domesticated and learned to be a decentish boyfriend i guess (altho i think he was always going to be a loyal bf and the persona from his youth was more of an act). i could enjoy them more maybe in cases where they are presented in a way i find more interesting (such as both having similar journeys in exploring gender, making cassie's stories revolve less around kon or boy drama etc) or outside of canon but personally i also cannot see her with a man </3 koncassie really doesn't do it for me </3

supermartian really only exists within the yja show which i havent watched in over a decade so i can't say much except that i remember being obsessed with them in s1 and then i kinda lost interest and never finished s2

konbart is neat too even if i don't talk about them much either, they also have a lot of canon scenes showing their devotion and support to each other, not to mention the humor in all of yj and dynamic esp during the parts surrounding the apokolips-ish era(the guilt and worry kon felt, associating bart for a chick etc etc). they also have a lot in common origin/character wise (very sci-fi/experiment origins, inertia and match, interesting relationships with adult figures and expectations, both dying, being written off as stupid or immature, etc etc) so i can definitely see the appeal and think theyre also cute. honestly for me it probably just came down to preference and the order i read things in bc if i read yj2019 first or didn't tend towards tim drake/annabeth chase/rose lalonde coded characters i might've had a different main dc ship but theyre neat :)

ofc again these are just my personal opinions and hcs i have nothing against the people who like em (except maybe for the writers of some of these comics)

[petewentzisblack1312]

i'm sorry about what you're going through 💔 it's hard but i believe you can stay strong and get through it 🫂

i am having such a hard time. sorry to just kind of use this as an excuse to dump all this junk but

my grandfather passed away suddenly last week, and the last time i met him in person i was a baby in arms so i never really met him in person, id only really talked to him over the phone except for one very shitty skype call like a decade ago. so i didnt really know what he looked like until hours after he was pronounced dead. and i have a lot of complicated feelings and resentment and shame about that related to bigger complexes and trauma i have. and ive been really really looking forward to the funeral because itll be the first and only time i see him in person, and its an opportunity to see all my mothers family, because i havent met a lot of them in person, but theyre so much more loving than my fathers side of the family who are very vindictive and cruel. and my mother cant get her tax return back in time to pay for my ticket and i have like, no money. definitely not enough for a flight to jamaica. (people do not get their tax returns back here its ridiculous and extremely depressing so shes owed a lot from like a 6 year period 6 years ago). so now im depending on my financially and emotionally abusive dad for yet another thing that matters deeply to me that he can use to ruin my life for some vindictive reason. and i dont trust that he wouldnt refuse just to hurt me, and even if he does pay for it i know hes gonna hold it against me. i dont really care that much if he does because i already missed out on seeing my grandfather, i dont want to miss anyone else. but i really worry that hes going to say no, or pretend to say no to stress us out or something. im just really not in a good way right now i wont lie.

[auroramutt]

Oh hey oh HI! <3 For the VTM OC Ask Game - for Natalie Flint! 1. What clan is your OC? 5. Who is their sire? 27. Do they have a clan they don’t particularly like? 28. Where do they live now as a kindred?

hiiii!! thank u for the ask, i love talking about this terrible girl

1: brujah!! though youd never guess it from vibes or appearance. her aesthetic is like regina george or jennifer check, and shes incredibly stoic (until she isnt).

5: her sire is a man named dean. hes kind of a stereotypical brujah - buff, punk, anarch, embraced natalie without giving it enough thought. natalie eventually killed him in her path towards joining the sabbat.

27: ooh, i havent thought about this before. based on common clan archetypes and stereotypes, i think she wouldnt like salubri very much, especially ones who are actively seeking golconda, trying to be good, etc. total opposite of her philosophy, which is pretty much "if im a monster, im going to be a monster and enjoy it."

28: she was embraced in reading, pennsylvania, but that was over a decade ago at this point. shes probably vaguely around the pennsylvania/maryland/new jersey area, depending on what plans her partner/ductus has for their pack. (they do have a pack priest, theyre just a little old-fashioned so they still have a ductus too!)

[yokakaiju]

tristamp thoughts/live watch ramblings

preface: i already have a very bad impression of tristamp. i literally have been into trigun for maybe a week now and i have seen most of 1998, but im trying to go into tristamp with a clear head and view it objectively, but i genuinely looked at the character designs and legatos redesign made me resent it immediately tbh...

ANYWAY, im live watching as i write this, so apologies if its sporatic

okay so the good stuff so far

uhh... its very pretty!!! ill give it that. it really shows the evolution of 3d anime over time, and as someone who typically doesnt enjoy it i think tristamp is absolutely beautiful. first 3d anime i ever saw was knights of sidonia and i have a deep appreciation for where 3d anime is now compared to a decade ago

i kinda like meryls new design the best? i like her hat, its cute. everyone else is so... eh, tho. merylls redesign is chill with me tho

roberto is fine ig. i like old men characters sometimes and like, idk whenever im not sad abt milly not being here im okay enough with roberto existing

now on to my ever growing laundry list of complaints that ik will get worse if i keep watching (spoilers for trimax probably)

one, WHY IS VASH LIKE THAT?? LIKE WHY IS HE SUCH A WHINY CRYBABY?? LIKE SHUT UP DAWG!!! idk, ik vash is a silly emotionally explosive highly insecure funny little fella and i love him for it, i think vash is a great character, but why did they make him kinda a pathetic bitch in stamp? like, i usually dont watch dubs but i am for trigun cause my tv is kinda far from my bed and i dont wanna sit uncomfortably to read subs rn (BLEH!!!), so maaaaaaaybe sub vash is better, and no shade to the va i like his voice a lot for vash tbh, but bro pls stop crying every two seconds im gonna lose it. why is vash lowkey proslavery (THIS IS A JOKE), BUT FR!!! why is he more like... idk chill with plants being used ig ????? im sure hes not really, but like... dude, you arent the same

two, okay this made me actually mad, but why in the actual fuck was knives immediately introduced and why is he like some weird well known plant stealing cave hermit??? like??? no??? he wouldnt do that??? also why is he so present in this world LIKE DOES LOST JULY NOT EXIST IN THIS CANON??? WHAT IS THIS??????? i literally hate this rewrite. like... trimax is right there dawg... you did not have to rewrite literally everything. addition as i watch episode 3, why is he like that? why can he make purple? why does he have razors??? he doesnt talk like that ever??? why is he so??? i hate him actually??? this is not the knives ik and love??? who is this skinwalker????? HE DID NOT ACT LIKE THIS IN TRIMAX WHO IS THIS??? I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THEY REWROTE KNIVES THIS WAY OH MY GOD

three, why did everyone get an objectively bland redesign? like... i dont mind vashs hair. idgaf, but i literally hate his fucking totk link "lost power source" green ass arm. why cant it just be an ugly brown robot arm with a gun in it. whys it gotts be all "cool" and "green" and "mysterious", like IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE CYBERCORE TECHWEAR NEOFUTURISM ASS SHIT!!! i havent seeeeeeen wolfwoof in action yet, but i fucking hate his tristamp design. WHY IS HE A TWINK??? WHERE ARE HIS BOOBS??? WHY IS HE NOT A PRIEST??? LITERALLY TURNED A PERFECT CHARACTER INTO A BASIC BITCH FOR NO REASON. also like... knives. why is he... why is he like that. put shoes on plz the sand is hot babygirl. why are you wearing a tumour coat and ugly matrix ass bodysuit? where did your shoulderpadded objectively cooler dio-esque military outfit go? especially tho, i DESPISE legato and livios redesigns. i think they are SOOOOO butt ugly in tristamp and FOR WHY??? WHY DID THEY MAKE LEGATO SO FUCKING UGLY??? LIKE HE WAS SO HOT IN 98 AND ESPECIALLY IN TRIMAX OH MY GOD HES SO HOT LITERALLY DROOLING THINKING ABT HIM RN MY BABYWABY BOOBOO BEAR. THEY BUTCHERED HIM SO BAD AND IT PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH!!! AND LIVIO OH MY GOD WHY DID THEY DO THAT TO HIM??? HIS TRIMAX DESIGN IS OS FUCKING PEAK HE IS SO AMAZING AS AN EYE OF MICHAEL AND ESPECIALLY AFTER HE REFORMS AND BECOMES A COWBOY BABEYYY!!!! BUT NOOOO THEY MADE HIM AN UGLY ASS CYBERPUNK ASS BITCH!!! THEY MADE HIM SO FUCKING LAME AND BORING!!! PATOOEY I HATE HIS FUCKING DESIGN!!!! okay so wolfwood just showed up, can officially say hes the weakest version of wolfwood and that i do not like him. hes giving non sonic fan perception of shadow vibes. ALSO WHERE IS HIS MELANIN THEY TOOK IT AWAY!!! THE MELANIN VACCUM STRIKES AGAIN!!! tbf, he didnt have MUCH but he was a little brown, not literally just a white man

four, where. the. fuck. is. milly. i LOVE milly. she is one of my faves ever, im so sad she isnt here. genuinely...

five and probably last for rn, why is the pacing so bad. like its not good in trigun or trimax really, and especially bad in 1998, but it SO ASS!!! like its so blink and you'll miss it, which kinda stands for every trigun... but expected this to be like at least a liiiiittle better i dunno

conclusions: im gonna keep watching it maybe? but like... i dont like it. its bad imo. literaly have been into trigun for one week and am in mourning that trimax will likely never have a proper adaptation. i just wanna see angel knives in his full glory, not whatever tf tristamp is trying to push here

[bridgyrose]

Oscar's Aunt noticed strange changes in him. He withdrew from her, began talking to himself when she wasn't looking, seemed to have a different aura around him. One day, much to her horror, he was just gone.

Aunt Em watched Oscar closely as he pitched hay, noticing a small change in how he moved. Instead of his usual struggling as the day went on, he almost seemed to have a renewed energy as if he had been doing this for decades instead of the few years he had been living on the farm ever since his parents died. Even his eyes seemed to hold a different look in them than they had the day before. “Oscar! Dont forget to brush the horses.” 

“Dont worry, I wont forget!” Oscar called out as he stabbed his pitchfork into the ground. 

Aunt Em smiled for a moment as she watched him, her smile fading as she watched him wipe his brow and walk into the barn. Over the last few days, it felt like he had been pulling away, changing in ways that she didnt understand. *Must be how teenagers are,* she thought to herself as she made her way back into the house. “He’ll be fine. Its all a phase and it’ll be over soon enough.” 

The next few days caused Aunt Em to worry more as she watched Oscar withdraw from her. No longer did he seem to smile with the same youthful innocence as he had before, his smile seeming forced as he continued his day. Even the way he held himself seemed to change, almost as if he was a different person. She slowly knocked on his bedroom door, her voice shaking slightly as she listened to Oscar shuffle around in his room. “Oscar? Is everything okay?” 

“I’m fine Aunty Em!” Oscar called back from behind the door. “I’m.. uh… I’m redecorating!” 

“May I come in?” 

“Sure.” 

Aunt Em stepped back a moment as the door swung open with Oscar standing in the doorway, hair more disheveled than usual. Then, she noticed the bookshelf behind him seemed a bit more out of place than normal. Books strewn about the room, a few open to pages of the different huntsmen academies across Remnant. Aunt Em relaxed a bit for a moment. “Wanting to train to be a huntsman?” 

“Yes. No.” Oscar moved to close the books and sighed as he put them back onto the bookshelf. “I want to see the world, but I dont think being a huntsman would be the way I want to do that.” 

Aunt Em nodded and picked up a book, closing it and putting it back onto the bookshelf where it belonged. “There are other ways to see the world too. I’m sure that we can scrape up the money to send you out to a scholar-” 

“I’m fine being here. Really. You need all the help you can get on the farm and I cant leave you to do all of this on your own.” 

“Then will you tell me what’s going on? You havent seemed like yourself over the last couple weeks and I’m worried you’re hiding something.” 

“I’m not hiding anything.” Oscar winced a bit and held his forehead, collecting himself for a moment as his eyes almost seemed to glow. “May I get some privacy?” 

Aunt Em nodded and left the bedroom, shutting the door and pausing for a moment as she heard Oscar’s voice. She pressed up against the door, listening to him mumble to himself. 

“I’m sure I saw a picture of that desk in a book before, so that doesnt mean that doesnt mean anything. Leave me alone and get out of my head!” 

Aunt Em knocked on the door, leaning in a bit. “Oscar? Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“I’m fine!” Oscar answered back. “I’m going to bed, I’ll start my chores in the morning.” 

Aunt Em looked at her watch, frowning a bit when she noticed it was only two in the afternoon. Though, she left her nephew alone, making her way downstairs to grab her scroll and thumbed through her contacts until she found the number she saved for her doctor. She made a quick call, tapping her foot as she waited for an answer.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’ve set up an appointment for you with Doctor Hyde to see if we can deal with those headaches,” Aunt Em called out through the door. “We’ll need to leave first thing in the morning to make it to him.” 

Silence greeted her back as she waited for an answer, her foot tapping as she started to grow impatient. She opened up the door to peek in, her voice growing more firm. “Oscar-” 

Aunt Em paused as looked into the bedroom, her heart stopping as she looked at the empty bed and a note sitting on the nightstand. She slowly made her way over to read the note, her hands shaking as she lifted it. 

*I’m going to Mistral and I dont know when I’ll be back. All I can tell you is that it’s important that I do and I’ll write to you once I’m there. -Oscar* 

Aunt Em dropped the note and rushed out of the house, nearly tripping down the stairs. She threw open the farmhouse door, panting as she frantically looked around for any sign of Oscar. She ran around the farm, looking for any sign of where her nephew was and hoping to catch him. Minutes turned to hours as she made her way into the nearby village, asking around if anyone had seen Oscar. As the sun started to set and the stars filled the sky, she finally dropped onto a bench and sobbed, hoping Oscar would be okay.