#i literally have 0 time all of a sudden what the fuck

[rollinouttahere-writes]

I appreciate how you mentioned that lucky would give up on going back to their home world when they get their memories back because that would literally be me. (Also I feel that its unrealistic for people to want to go back to a boring world, but hey I practice escapism through stories so maybe I don't get it.)

Memories gone: I probably have a family and people who care about so I should go back. :(

Memories back: so... am I a permanent member because I would like to stay please.

Strawhats: :0 :D yay no more escape attempts!

I can't remember but did you say anything about how this sudden change may effect the mood of characters.

I'm glad you like that decision!

The general idea behind her not wanting to go back was to go against what pretty much every other isekai fic does, because like you said, it isn't particularly reflective of the people reading it. I mean really, what maniac is choosing taxes and a shitty desk job over fucking around in a magical anime world? Not me, and not most of the people that go out of their way to read reader insert fics lmao

Lucky's memories trickle back in pretty quick, so by the time they all get to the Grand Line, she remembers enough to know that she doesn't want to go back. Abruptly, she goes from trying to figure out where she came from and who she was, to never talking about it or bringing it up. If any of the Straw Hats do question her about her memories, she becomes shifty and shrugs off the inquiry by saying that she hasn't remembered anything new. Most of the crew interprets this as her quietly implying that she wants to stay with them, and they're content to leave it at that.

She doesn't outright state that she wants to stay until after her and Luffy have a heart-to-heart about the actual state of her memory and where she came from after the Enel fight. Luffy lowkey forgot that she was ever even trying to find a way home, so the new information doesn't really phase him that much. He already assumed she was here to stay. The other world stuff catches his attention a little bit, but he gets over it pretty quickly because it doesn't sound very fun if he's being honest. It's no wonder Lucky doesn't want to go back to that.

The only member who does have a distinct sense of relief over Lucky openly stating that she has no interest in going back is Nami. She was the only one that was really agonizing over the possibility of Lucky trying to leave. It's a weight off her shoulders, and it prompts her to make a "joke" that it's a good thing that Lucky wants to stay, otherwise Nami would have had to force her to pay off her tab first.

Everyone else was in the same train of thought as Luffy where they were already working under the assumption that Lucky had no intent on ever leaving. This revelation, however, was the first time that Chopper was introduced to any of this information, so he is wildly confused but simultaneously vindicated that he was right about Lucky smelling weird. He didn't think that it was because she was from another world, but at least he doesn't feel like he's imagining things anymore.

Also the Straw Hats literally never have to worry about escape attempts from Lucky. If she's missing, she was either kidnapped or fell victim to the usual Straw Hat hijinks lol

[saffron-gold-stardust]

I was gonna draw a whole thing for their birthday but Christmas retail killin me

I scribbled this on my phone with my finger and it made me laugh so hopefully it makes someone else giggle too

[pansy-picnics]

A vat7k related question.

What do you think is Hugo's gender identity? Cus I want to hear what you think Hugo's gender is and the story behind it.

EHEHEHE personally i think she’s genderfluid and uses he/she/they pronouns…….I think he was kind of an uncracked egg up until the trials though. like, he’s been in survival mode for so long that he’s never had the time or luxury to really think about himself or his identity….i think he’s had a lot of different disguises over his career though, and those personas are either male or female depending on what the situation calls for so he’s not a stranger to dressing femininely either.

but yeah…i think for a long time hugo just identified as male by default cuz like…what else would he be LOL. if he had any doubts at all they weren’t significantly hindering him or anything so he just buried them with all the other of the emotions he doesn’t want to feel. but like the closet is made of GLASS and this becomes especially obvious when she teams up with 3 other teenagers who are also transgender so sometimes she’ll just Say Shit and they all turn around and look at her like “…….🤨”

i have this very vivid scene in my head where varian comes out to the gang as trans and hes clearly really uneasy abt it. and hugo doesn’t know what to say so he just tries to relate by saying the first thing that comes to mind and goes “oh yeah i get it i mean. sometimes i wish i was a girl but like not all the time yk” and nuru and varian both just stop and stare at him

hugo, getting nervous: …Sorry that’s probably not the same thing forget i said anything

nuru: No i think we should talk about this?

anyways yeah….other than her traveling party giving her some weird looks nothing actually really came of these conversations bc hugo would refuse to think about herself even if you put a gun to her head

fast forward to post-trials though, and hugo’s been living in the castle with varian for about six months…it was REALLY messy for both of them while she was adjusting, but at this point shes finally started to let her guard down a little, and all of a sudden she has SO much free time and she has no idea what to do with any of it. she’s stealing collecting things, tinkering with all kinds of useless little gadgets, rapunzel is teaching her tons of little arts and crafts projects. overall shes pretty content despite everything. So anyways then the gender crisis hits them like a fucking freight train

honestly i’m like half joking when i say i think it started bc they just kept forgetting to cut their hair. like one day they looked in the mirror and they’re like “wow my hairs getting so long i kinda look like a girl lol. Wait”

AND AS FUNNY AS IT IS ITS SO. WILDLY UNFAMILIAR TO THEM. like all of a sudden theyre SO insecure for as far as they can tell, NO reason and it drives them CRAZY. i dont even think that hugo dislikes their masculine features after coming out, i think they embrace them if anything but its just like…going from 0 to 100 so fast and suddenly being so hyper aware of themselves in a way that they NEVER were before…having to realize that they’re definitely Not cis. it’s fucking TERRIFYING!!!

not to mention it hits him all at once during a time when he’s still frankly really paranoid about him and varian’s relationship, and he’s kinda walking on eggshells bc deep down he’s convinced that var’s just gonna get tired of him eventually and kick him out. its like he’s just waiting for the final nail in the coffin despite the fact that there is literally no coffin.

All that being said i think it takes him a while to work up the courage to talk to varian about it. and he knows he won’t like. hate him for being trans or anything (I sure hope he wouldn’t, at least, seeing as he is literally also trans) but varian’s already done SO much for him and helped him through literally everything already….he doesn’t want to burden him any more than he already has. he also cant comprehend that someone can just Like him, like, as a person, so he’s convinced himself that varian must see something specific in him right now and he’s afraid that if he changes himself drastically in any way then whatever varian saw in him just. won’t be there anymore. If that makes sense

as for who he actually goes to first- honestly i think it’d have to be lance. at least in my head lance was the first person hugo really started to bond with aside from varian….he didn’t start letting his guard down with rapunzel until quite a while after that. also i think he’s worried that if he tells rapunzel she’d end up accidentally spilling something to varian (which is like. Valid bc she’s a horrible liar) he’d definitely write a letter to nuru, too, but nuru is also in another kingdom, and that message takes a while to get to her, so it’s more something they talk about after the fact

when he finally does get a letter back after dumping this revelation on her it’s just like

“dearest hugo. upon reading your letter i desperately wanted to tell you that i told you so, but i realize that would be in poor taste, seeing as you are clearly struggling right now. Moreover,-“ /j

regardless of who she tells first, they obviously all support her and encourage her to talk to varian as well…And ofc varian hypes her up to no end when she finally does. i wanna say it’s a sweet emotional scene but i feel like varian was also under the assumption that she figured out the gender thing like a year ago /j

hugo: ,,,,so like. i don’t think i’m a guy

varian: . yeah?

hugo:

hugo: TFYM “YEAH”?????!!!!???

varian: D. DID WE NOT ALREADY KNOW THIS?

hugo: ,???? NO???!!???!

jokes aside though as soon as hugo does decide he wants to explore his presentation more varian immediately consults rapunzel who gets WAY too excited about it and it kind of scares hugo a little bit. /j like Do you want to cut your hair? Dye it? Do you want new piercings? TATTOOS????

they eventually just settle on getting her a few new pieces to add to her wardrobe and that works out fine. varian sees his girlfriend in a dress and loses his mind etc etc. All is right in the world

[heavenlymorals]

Why are you always trying to paint Arthur as a misogynist? When he clearly isn't??? I like your posts by why do you hyper fixate on stuff like that?

Hello anon and thanks for the ask.

Well, quite simply, I "paint" Arthur as someone who actively believes in and enforces gender roles because he does so in the game. It's a part of his writing and his character. The canon Arthur is NOTHING like how the fandom here on Tumblr portrays him as. That's also a reason why I started making these posts because I honestly hate when fanon becomes the accepted truth of characters and not the actual canon. It happens all the time.

I'm a very pragmatic person and this will show in my posts. I don't care about what characters COULD be and I focus more on what they ACTUALLY are. That's why my retrospective posts are usually looked at through a psychological, sociological, cultural, feminist, and/or literary point of view. I look at characters and learn things about them through their actions and words, as well as the time period that they are a part of. I do not care at all about making characters seem morally better, especially when it comes to historical attitudes because those historical attitudes aren't as historical as we make them out to be.

They still affect us every single day and only recently have we started pushing back- that's also not mentioning cultures where these attitudes are STILL encouraged, which then changes the way people think. Understanding historical attitudes allows us to understand not only our own cultures better, but people as well and why they do the things they do.

Now let's talk about Arthur. Arthur is a man born in 1863. Women couldn't even get a credit card by themselves without a man till 1974. To put it quite simply, he lived in a time era where women had almost 0 rights and those women who did succeed in life usually had some sort of male support. People supported this system, both male and female. Did you know that when the suffrage movement began, most American women didn't give a fuck because they believed that was men's duties, not their own? Point is is that even if Arthur is a lot more lenient regarding this stuff, he still actively believes in it because of how pungent it was in the society he lived in.

The first mission we have with the female gang members is heading to Valentine. The first thing he says to them is whether Miss Grimshaw could spare them from their domestic chores, already showing that in the gang, the girls' main duty is the domestic work and that Arthur supports this. Later in that mission, when he chases down Jimmy Brooks, he puts Uncle in charge of bringing them back home, even though he is an old ass man and they are three young, healthy, and capable women. In one mission, you got two examples of Arthur being an active encourager of gender roles.

And then there is Sadie- when she expresses her frustration over the work she has to do, he tries to shut her down. When she gets her pants, he mocks her: "You get a pair of pants and all of a sudden you think you're Landon Ricketts?" When she asks Dutch when she can go robbing with them, both him and Dutch laugh her off. When they bust John out of prison, he does it with her cuz literally no one else would help him and when they escape on the boat, he gets visibly annoyed that she doesn't take his hand. There are even more examples of things like this when he antagonizes her, but that's just the main game.

And there is the antagonizations of women performers. "Women shouldn't be doing this." "Go make someone some supper." "Go back to the kitchen." "This ain't ladylike." I'm sorry, but these need no explanations. His antagonize lines are just as canon as his greet lines and the fact that he says stuff like that shows that he believes in gender roles. It's an active part of his belief system.

There are so many more examples of this and the majority of them are subtle but I come from a culture that still treats its women like the 1800s treated theirs so when I ever pick up on these things, it's cuz I've lived it before.

And my final point- this is a historical game. Rockstar made sure to be as accurate as they can in regards to the time period- so characters not only react to historical attitudes but they are a part of it as well. Same goes for Arthur. He's a historical character with a historical background and historical attitudes- and that comes with the good, like chivalry, and the bad, sexism. You shouldn't play a game like RDR if you're expecting characters to feel modern in their thought processes.

Thank you and have a great day.

[novarowan]

Sagau draft

This is just a snippet of something that I wrote a couple of months ago, and I just want to know if anybody wants me to write more. I had a lot of fun writing it. Anyway, let me know what you think.

‘Well, isn’t this ironic?’ You think to yourself. You had just been reading SAGAU fanfics, (cause lets be honest, who wouldn’t want to be an ultimate creator god?) and now you find yourself running away from angry NPCs.

You gasped when you felt cold pain on your back. One of the knights had caught up to you and hit you with his sword. Choking from the sudden agony, you felt the adrenaline kick in and ran faster. You were coming up on the top of Starsnatch Cliff, and if only you could just jump into the ocean below, you could get away.

You heard them shout something at the same time that something popped up in your line of sight. You had no time to look at it though, and you couldn’t hear what they said. Your breathing was too loud to hear anything but your lungs working overtime.

There, THERE, THERE.

Without hesitation, you jump. The ocean was fast approaching, and you prayed that you would be able to make it out of this alive. If you entered wrong, it would be like landing on concrete from this height.

Feet first, you dropped into the calm waters.

You broke the surface with a gasp and began swimming to shore, laying on the sand in exhaustion.

“I can’t b-believe that fucking worked.” You let out a short, hysterical giggle before what looked like a black rectangle appeared in the corner of your eye. “What now?” You groaned. Today had been a long day already, and you had only been awake for an hour at most.

When you concentrated on it, it filled your vision.

“Welcome to Teyvat! As the creator of this version of Teyvat, your leveling path will be slightly different to the characters you have come to know. I am your handy assistant, Tutor, who will help you accomplish your ascension.��

“Uh… ok. At this point, I don’t think anything can shock me.” A little red dot appeared at the top of the rectangle, and a little arrow appeared on the right. You lifted your hand and touched it, a new message popping up.

“Quest one: Increase all elemental and physical resistances.”

“Hint: To increase resistances, you must experience the elements.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Your eyes shifted over to a new tab that came into existence after you finished reading. Touching it took you to a screen with a lot of stats.

Max HP:                      3,027

ATK:                             89

DEF:                            94

Elemental Mastery:      0

Max Stamina:              240

A new message popped up on the message screen. You quickly switch back over.

“ +1% Physical Resistance.

Total Physical Resistance: 1%”

You stare in disbelief. You had no idea what you could have done that you give you any sort of resistance. It wasn’t until your wound started to throb that you put the pieces together. “Are you fucking kidding me.”

“I have to literally get attacked with every element to complete this quest?”

“Correct.” The message came through on the screen before disappearing.

“So you can answer my questions.”

“Within reason. That is why I am called Tutor. I am created by the system to help the chosen players.”

“So there are others like me?”

“Correct. There were 1,000 players chosen to take this path.”

“Would you like to see your current talents?”

“Um, yeah. Sure.” A new tab appeared, and you moved over to that screen.

Resurrection: In case of death, Player will resurrect within 24 hours in a safe location.

Blessing of nature: Taking damage will increase resistance to that type of damage permanently.

“There’s only two.”

“Indeed. As you grow and ascend, you will receive more.”

“There is a chest 127 feet to your left that contains a dull blade. Please retrieve it to complete your quest.”

You blink and the screen disappears. You can see a little black dot in the corner of your eye. You quickly figured out that focusing on that dot opened the screen, and looking elsewhere closed it.

“Well, let’s get to it then, shall we?” You couldn’t say that you were necessarily excited about the prospect of intentionally being attacked, but if it helped you out, then it helped, end of story.

In the distance, you could see a little wooden chest. Upon opening, it did contain a sword, along with a couple of miscellaneous items.

“There they are!”

You whipped your head around to see a group of knights and…

“Oh shit.”

The acting grandmaster. Well, you were screwed. Might as well see if Resurrection worked like it was supposed to.

Standing your ground, you watched warily as they approached you. Your back was still hurting you, but you tried not to let it show.

“Imposter.” Jean spoke with authority. “Stand down and come with us peacefully.”

‘I have to get her to attack me.’ You thought and put on an arrogant air.

“And why would I do that, exactly? Have I committed a crime?”

Jean didn’t waver, or show much emotion other than the stern animosity on her face. “You are being charged with the heresy of impersonating our creator.”

“That’s a little bit overplayed, don’t you think?”

You swore that you had read so many SAGAU fics that you could quote every reason they had for killing you before they could say them.

“What?” Jean’s eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

“I mean, do you really think that it’s my fault that I just so happened to get this exact face? You should blame my parents for being horny and conceiving me.”

Her mouth dropped open is shock and disgust. “Watch what you say, imposter.”

“Hey Jean, guess what?”

She glared at you.

“Your creator must be an insecure little bitch to have you guys kill anyone who looks like them.”

She moved faster than you thought she would. One second she was standing ten feet away. The next second, she was right in front of you, sword glowing teal and murder in her eyes.

‘Oh shit.’

A line of pure anemo energy slashed across your abdomen and chest, painting the sand red and drawing a scream of pain from your lips.

                                                            “+1% Anemo Resistance.

                                                            Total Anemo Resistance: 1%”

Searing pain unlike anything you had ever before. Distantly, you thought ‘Oh come on. Only one percent?’

“Is that all you got?” You grinned through the pain. She lifted her sword and swiped it across your face. Everything went black. She must have gotten your eyes. “C-come on, Jean. Really go at it.”

Sharp pain in your shoulder and your arm went dead.

“Physical Resistance +1%”   “Physical Resistance +1%”  “+1% Anemo Resistance.  “Physical Resistance +1%”  “Physical Resistance +1%”  “+1% Anemo Resistance.  “Physical Resistance +1%”  “Physical Resistance +1%” “Physical Resistance +1%”   “+1% Anemo Resistance.  “Physical Resistance +1%”  “Physical Resistance +1%” 

                                                “Total Physical Resistance: 10%”

                                                “Total Anemo Resistance: 4%”

                                                      Resurrection activated

                                                             23hrs 55secs

                                                                  ………

                                                                    10secs

You shot up into a sitting position, gasping for air and clawing at your chest. Your eyes darted around you, zeroing in on the weak light pouring into the cave you woke up in. You sighed in relief and flopped back down, accidentally hitting your head on a pebble. “Ow, What the fuck?”

                                                      “Geo Resistance +1%

                                                   Total Geo Resistance 1%”    

“Are you fucking kidding me?” You rubbed the back of your head and groaned. The humor of it wasn’t lost on you though, and you let out a giggle. “Hey Tutor?” The message box opened.

“How can I help you, Player?”

“If I sit under a waterfall, will that give me hydro resistance?”

“Yes, the flow of hydro energy would suffice to give you resistance. Note: The rate of resistance gain would be slower than if you were hit with pure hydro energy.”

“Thank you.” The message box disappeared. It was time to find out where you were and what to do next. Crawling from the little cave, you struggled to stand. Your legs were stiff and wobbly. Craggy cliffs and clouds filled your view. “Liyue, huh? I wonder who I’ll pick a fight with next?”

It took about two days to reach Liyue Harbor, but before you entered the city, you checked your screen.

                                                    Total Pyro Resistance: 0%

                                                    Total Hydro Resistance: 3%

                                                  Total Electro Resistance: 0%

                                                  Total Cryo Resistance: 0%

                                                  Total Dendro Resistance: 1%

                                                  Total Geo Resistance: 4%

                                                  Total Anemo Resistance: 11%

                                                  Total Physical Resistance: 15%

You had obviously run into some monsters on the way to the harbor, and that had increased your resistances. Not much, but at least if you ever ran into Xiao, it would hurt a bit less when he beat the shit out of you. Come to think of it, that seemed like a very likely possibility while being here.

[dddevilsadvocate]

1. and now I’m covered in you

Leviathan x gn!AFAB!reader

a/n: here it is folks! the first chapter of the longest fic I’ve ever written. literally. 12 pages and counting. after the overwhelmingly horny positive reception on this post, I decided to split what I currently have into instalments and release them periodically as I edit them. there is no schedule lol I have ADHD and am also very not good at this 🥲

THIS IS VERY NSFW MINORS GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE

CW: self-indulgent smut (unprotected vaginal sex, dry humping, fingering), loss of virginity

midnight had struck well over 2 hours ago. RAD’s 8am start crept closer and closer, like a cat upon a mouse. like a threat. and though you were in bed, covered in blankets and surrounded by pillows, basking in the warmth of the body pressed against you, sleep could not reach you. there was no room for it.

the third eldest’s allocated “you” time - an entire 24 hours with you all to himself! - had started right as the new day did. at 0:03, you’d snuck into his room, where he’d been waiting like a lovesick puppy to show you what he’d done. he’d chosen a great movie for you two to watch; some niche title from his surprisingly robust comedic horror collection, apparently a Devildom cult classic. he’d even gone through all the trouble to have it projected onto his ceiling so you could easily see it from the comfort of his bed - which he’d rearranged into the perfect cuddle nook. snacks he’d fought to keep safe from Beel were laid out like a buffet. the lights of his tank were set to your favourite colour, casting a hazy glow over the space. 

everything had started innocently enough. you’d pressed your lips to his cheek, complimenting his efforts. he’d rushed to start the movie and practically dove into his tub, finally able to wrap his arms around you and rest his head atop yours. his chest rose and fell against you as he laughed at every slapstick gag, mandarin eyes sparkling when he realised you were laughing too. you don’t quite remember how he’d ended up under you, with his hands on your waist and your tongue between his lips, but you weren’t going to complain.

Levi had always been cautious of intimacy. he rarely went further than where he was with you right now, and even such familiar territory made him nervous. you feel the heat of the blush on his face as if you’re leaning over a fire. your kisses are sloppy, and his are desperate. his hands don’t dare stray from their places above your hips, but the lust he’s holding them back from sparks from his fingertips. he wants to let them roam. he wants to let then roam more than anyth-

CCCRRRAAASSSHHH

a sudden, violent rise in the movie’s volume comes like a bomb over your senses. you push yourself up from the demon, a scream tearing from your throat. Levi is just as startled; his eyes are wider than you’ve ever seen them as they study the room for the threat.

“AAAH WHAT THE HELL WAS TH- oh. th-the movie.” groaning, his head falls back against the pillow. “I completely forgot about that part… and that it was still playing…”

though your heart continues to pound against your sternum, you giggle. “my god.” running your fingers through his fringe brings his attention back to you. “we should probably turn that off and get some sleep now.”

you reach for the projector’s remote and click it off. but as you go to slide off the demon, his fingers suddenly dig into you. your shirt separates his skin from yours, but you swear you can feel the ridges of his fingerprints. his grip is somehow full of panic, like he’s worried you’ll float away. “w-wait! wait. can… c-can we keep going?”

you smile. you can survive tomorrow’s classes with no sleep if it comes to that. and if you’re honest with yourself, sleeping wouldn’t be nearly as fun as continuing. “of course we-”

“can we go further? maybe?” despite threatening to, Levi’s voice does not waver. his eyes - golden and indigo like the most vibrant of sunsets - dart between yours from beneath furrowed brows. 

the shock of the question does not strike you as hard as his confidence does. your relationship with Levi had never been consummated in the traditional sense, but he wasn’t a stranger to the concept. the rock of your hips always left him a babbling mess. your hands brought him such pleasure he only lasted a minute the first time. and your mouth? god, it was like he was addicted. you’d never heard him - or anyone, for that matter - make such noise while actively trying not to. and yet, as much as he enjoyed the acts as they were happening, asking for them activated his fight or flight. red-cheeked and stuttering, until you saved him with your overwhelming perfection.

you figured he’d get to this question at some point, but you never thought he’d ask it in one smooth go.

“you… want to go further?” you arch an eyebrow. “how much further?”

Levi’s gaze darts to the door. you made sure to lock it behind you at his request, but now he seems worried a brotherly ear or two might be pressed against the other side. he stares for a moment before glancing back at you, unable to meet your eyes this time. he studies your lips, your chest, your shoulders, before his voice drops to a whisper: “a-all the way?”

you open your mouth to respond, but the response doesn’t come. nothing you think of seems appropriate in reply. if you say yes, you’d be the first being to have ever done so. Levi had never even asked anyone before - a confession Asmo had once drunkenly given on the otaku’s behalf. the amount of courage it must have taken to verbalise the question, to venture so far from his comfort zone… your heart swells. the poor demon must be scared shitless.

you don’t even entertain the idea of refusal. of all the centuries he’s had to ask this question, he’s asked you. he wants you.

finally, you cup his cheek in your hand. “I’d love to.” his eyes return to yours, staring wide and glossy over crimson cheeks.

“r-r-really?!” his voice squeaks. his expression is pure disbelief, like he was expecting you to echo his signature ‘disgusting reclusive weirdo’ tirade and flee back to your own room. when you smile again, leaning forwards so your forehead is pressed against his, he inhales sharply and tightens his grip on your waist.

“I’d be honoured, Levi.” your lips brush over his brow, his cheek, his nose. “I’ll take good care of you. I promise. just let me know if you want me to stop at any point, okay?”

(read the next part here)

[qoldenskies]

Oooo kickback is so interesting!! Im so curious about Splinter especially :0 why was he kicked out of his family, and why did you choose to give him dercums out of everything?

dercum's disease is what my mom has,,, its incredibly rare and has NO treatment, some painkillers dont even work. it causes really sudden weight gain and excruciating chronic pain; i really think it like. unfortunately made sense for splinter's brand of issues, its something i have experience with via a family member and its a pretty good equivalent to the mutation.

and i also think it sets up the premise well, it got worse around the time when they were luckily old enough to work but he's ALREADY been saddled with chronic pain before this point + the usual depression and trauma is staying, which explains the kind of similar family dynamic to canon. realistically now in order to leave the house his best bet would be a mobility device like a wheelchair, but for one i dont think he would considered himself "disabled enough" to need it because he can still walk, which is a terrible perspective to have but they're all a little fucked up like that. the internalized ableism demon has a hold of everyone in this fuckass family

^^^ and also he does not have the money for it, and would be unable to find a proper diagnosis; from what i've seen, there is ONE specialist in the US for dercum's disease, and that would just be to get a diagnosis, there is NO TREATMENT. and said specialist lives in arizona.

as for his family, piebald's the cousin i mentioned because i wanted to include her, she's quite a bit older (probably in her late 20s now) and babysat them before splinter moved across the country, so she's surprisingly present in their lives. lmao mostly through like, facebook correspondence and shit but she'll be relevant! with the rest of 'em i think it was mostly just caused by him not getting along with his guardian kind of like in canon, it was a mix of slacking off (maybe he dropped out? itd be interesting if he projected both that pain onto leo who's following in his steps, and donnie who he can live vicariously through because he regrets not going to college, even if he doesn't want to hurt either of them) + he was queer in the 80s, which is an explanation of its own. it just makes sense to make him really engrossed in queer culture .... something about him ..... he's a little outdated though (said with love)

with a really rare disease, no family to financially depend on, one of kids dropping out of school because of untreated issues he KNEW ABOUT but couldn't do anything about, one being uninterested in college, and the other one skipping it completely to focus on really basic work just to keep them alive, its. tough. it just unfortunately makes sense that a lot of this would go on donnie's shoulders; and while splinter is trying, so so so hard, there's a small part of him that's urging him a little too hard to stay on track about the future.

I MADE THIS AU LITERALLY YESTERDAY I DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED EITHER

[out-of-luck-and-minorly-stuck]

Secrecy || Wandanat

(Alternate Universe)

Natasha has always been obedient. Does literally everything that the Red Room has tasked her to do, which was mainly to assassinate people.

It wasn’t like she was given much of a choice anyway, she just does it.

Her goal was to seek information then kill mercilessly. She was so used to it that she doesn't really feel guilt anymore. All that's on her mind is to kill. Because that was her place in this world, to kill.

Wanda, on the other hand, was on the opposite side of Natasha's. Though, they haven't seen each other but they are fully aware of each other's reputations.

Nat, being the most dangerous assassin that she is, and Wanda, being one of the earth's defenders, an Avenger.

Wanda was bored... and hungry, but mainly bored one night. Her face scrunched, not wanting to get up. It was also like quarter till midnight so she really should be asleep by now, but she's not. And she can’t just go outside her room and get snacks, people would think she was like sleep walking… again.

It's okay, happens to most of us.

As she rolled over to another position, finding a spot on her bed, she felt a sudden vibrate from her phone which said, received a message from "Tasha".

U awake? :/

Yeah, why r u still up

Well, I can't sleep. Something's been eating me alive lately, I need to tell u something.

U can tell me anything now, u know

Yeah, but I feel like it's more appropriate to tell you this in person.

Oh alright, meet me at our spot? :0

Sure. Thanks, Maxi :) stay safe, love

She immediately got up from her bed, grabbed her red jacket, tied up her shoes, and quietly attempted to sneak out of the Avengers Compound.

The things that she does for the girl… damn.

She is literally sneaking out for the night, couldn’t get anymore exciting than that.

Walking past the kitchen, tiptoeing only to hear a sudden cough from someone behind her.

Fuck, I'm screwed... She thought, as she slowly turned her head only to find Pietro, who crossed his arms, looking at Wanda suspiciously.

"What are you doing? Also, why are you sneaking away in the middle of the night? Oh- Are you meeting your girlfriend somewhere?" Pietro asked a million questions at a wide-eyed (also so close to having a heart attack) Wanda. Noticing the other girl’s expression, Pietro smiled smugly at the other girl, who shook her head at her twin. He knows she's queer and supports her. But your lovely girl, Wanda here, is still closeted.

"Shut up, she's not my girlfriend" Wanda chuckled at her brother's comment.

Then quickly added "Please don't tell anyone, I'll be quick" Wanda pleaded, as the guilt was slowly washing on her. They can never know that she's meeting up with the one and only, Black Widow.

"Okay, but promise me you'll be quick?"

"Of course"

-

Wanda walked into the familiar path of her and Nat's secret place was. As the fresh zephyr flows through her, she smiled, looking at the moonlight above her.

She silently walked as she arrived at her destination, a small park around the city's uncrowded areas.

Looking around slowly, she spots Nat sitting on a bench, waiting patiently.

She instantly smiled at the scene, Nat looked cute, although the other girl would not hesitate to argue with her when she says it out loud.

She walked up to the girl, sitting down with her while mumbling out, "Hey".

"Hey, Um- I have something to tell you, little red" Nat whispered out loud enough for Wanda to hear.

"Yeah?"

"Um, I don't know how to say this but-"

"Take your time, love"

"I was originally tasked to kill you..." Nat looked down, whispering. She couldn't look at Wanda's face after saying that.

"Why didn't you?" Wanda whispered back, softly.

"Because... I can't- I couldn't- I- I couldn't imagine killing someone I'm in love with"

[deadweight-at7am]

0/10 Would Not Do Again

Today has been an unmitigated disaster.

I wanted to take a walk today and get the kids out of the house. It's been nice and the temp is high 70's but low humidity. I thought their dad was going to take them fishing but by the time they were ready to go he did not answer his phone. So, I took them out. The park we tried to go to first was completely at capacity. Then we went to another park and took a walk around outside, there are paths through the woods and some paved paths. We took a little detour through the woods and came across what looked like an abandoned "camp" site and while we're standing there I get this sudden sharp pain in my groin. I look down and it's a fucking yellow jacket stinging me. I swat it away and yell "OH SHIT". I'm standing still and then the spot starts to really hurt badly. I'm starting to panic and I drop my tumblr full of water and start screaming "HORNETS! THEY'RE STINGING ME!" All I could feel were stings on my legs. My older son says "RUN!" and I start running but I can't get very far because I can feel one on the back of my right calf. I try to shake it off and I'm screaming. It's not coming off and the best thing I can do is grab a stick and smacked it really hard. All the while I'm in a literal panic because I can just HEAR them now. Daniel keeps yelling at me "RUN! RUN!" I finally think I got the one on my leg off and I'm SPRINTING through the woods shrieking like a literal banshee. I start having a full on panic attack and hyperventilating. I got to the top of the hill we were on and I realize they stung me MULTIPLE times. Daniel and Vincent were fine, thank God. I couldn't take my pants down but I could feel one stung me right near my panty line (fucking great) and Daniel confirmed I had 3-4 stings on the back of my calf all close to each other. I'm crying and hyperventilating and start asking them to make sure there aren't any following me. Fortunately for me my hair was up in a bun and not down or else it could have flown into my hair and gotten caught. I left my cup in the woods and Daniel insists on going to get it. He retrieves it and takes a video of the swarm (there's hundreds of them now). We don't know where they came from but clearly we disturbed their nest. It was a nest of Eastern Yellow Jackets. The stings hurt so bad.

I limped back to my car and going home was excruciating. I've been stung before but not like this. I'm trying to be calm and take it slow but all I want to do is peel my pants off. I get to the back alley of my townhouse and some DUMB FUCK is parked in the alley blocking my way so I can't get to my drive way. He's cutting the grass on someone's back yard so I roll down my window and yell "YOU NEED TO MOVE, NOW!" They move the truck and I get to my driveway and bolt inside and just tear off my pants. As soon as I see the sting on my groin I realized why it hurt so bad. The sting is welted and red but the center of it is like 2 CM of red. Not a tiny little pin prick, the thing got me GOOD. I think I was stung like 2-3 times in total in that one spot. Yellow jackets can keep stinging you.

My calf and my thigh still hurt. My calf actually hurts the most but both are still stinging/burning, the muscle itself hurts. It's been about 3-4 hours. I will not be walking in the wood again any time soon, in fact right now? Fuck the woods. That's how I feel. Yellow jackets are bitches from hell.

[yakumtsaki]

We begin this update with a sign of things to come, aka the appearance of this creepy orb with zzzz’s in the corner of our lot. I was freaking out about it thinking the lot is fucked, but it turned out to be..

..iVAN’S MIDSECTION. WTF

-𝙷𝙰𝙷𝙰.𝙴𝚇𝙴! 𝙶𝙾𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄; 𝙸'𝙼 𝙶𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙰 𝙿𝚄𝚃 𝙺𝙸𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙰 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴 𝙼𝚈 𝙾𝚁𝙱 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝚂𝙾 𝙸'��𝙻 𝙰𝙻𝚆𝙰𝚈𝚂 𝙷𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝙰 𝙵𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙳; -Well that’s my cue to fuck off-

-It’s been shit knowing you, flops! -GOODBYE KITANA, WOOOOOOOF💔 -Shut up, Veronica, you pencil-necked freak. Alright beam me up, bony bozo. -UH, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU SURE YOU DON’T WANNA LIVE A LITTLE LONGER, WE COULD WORK SOMETHING OUT💀 -Ohoho nice try, pussyboi, now take me with you before you catch these claws. -GOOD LORD💀

Ya Grim I know, our Kitana sure was special❤️ RIB, baby (Rest In Blood).

In the meantime, my attempts to make Felina and Bartholomew unhate each other continue..

..and are clearly DOOMED. Bro why. WHY DO YOU TWO EVEN HATE EACH OTHER, I DON’T GET IT. You have the only pair of good parents we’ve ever produced, wtf is your problem.

-It’s biological!!!

What??

-Failina is right for once, the return of the recessive ginger genes brought the Union spirit back with it!

Oh wow that’s just great, we better save some of this Union spirit in the pantry in case recession hits. Fml. I DID manage to make them un-enemies, they just regularly hate each other now, so yay me :(

After Don’s death so close to Jojo’s bummed me the fuck out I gave the rest of the elders elixir and I don’t care! I can’t have major deaths each update, I’m not strong enough.

-Well don’t worry, I’m gonna do the hard work for you and kill Sophie right now!

Glitched Butler #8 istg. I can’t believe I had to go back to hiring these losers because of how useless iVan is.

Case in point, Bartholomew misses the bus because he wants to watch the iVan-Sandy Deathmatch of the Undead.

-Geez, it’s so violent!

THAT’S WHAT YOU DO WITH FELINA ALL DAY

-I know, let me write down some tips!

Cyn is in deep mourning, she’s been rolling 0 romantic wants (!!!) all she wants to do is chill and play with the pets💔

-No, Jack Do, I don’t want to elope with you and ‘live in Al Simhara as Indiana Jones impersonators’, stop calling here before I sic my killbot on you🌸

Omg Cyn I know what would make you feel better, how about planning Felina’s birthday party?? (*ominous music*)

-Omg I would love that!💗

Omg yay!💗

-𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙽 𝙸 𝙵𝙸𝙽𝙸𝚂𝙷 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝙼𝚈 𝚂𝙸𝙶𝙽𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴 𝙼𝙾𝚅𝙴, 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙽𝙾𝚆𝙱𝙻𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁; -What is that? -𝙸𝚃'𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 ���𝙽𝙴 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴 𝙸 𝙰𝙲𝚃𝚄𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚈 𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙽 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙾 𝙰 𝚂𝙽𝙾𝚆𝙱𝙻𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁;

Bartholomeow please.

-Fine, I’ll do something useful!

How about that pile of homework, Mr C+?

-How about iVan’s job! Man I wish I was a robot butler, then I’d never lose a fight to Failina again! I won’t step foot in school until I’m the ultimate fighting machine! 

Sophie can you talk to this brat, please?

-In a minute, finally a kid around here with the sports OTH! You won’t believe what a nerd your dad was when he was your age, Barth. -Oh he still is, I broke his jaw the other day playing catch. -That’s my boy!

-I’m back from school and I got another A+ and it’s my birthday!!! My life could literally not be better!!!! (*ominous music*)

-Dad, dad, I got another A+!!! So much better than Barfolomew, right?? Right??? You know he skipped school today!!!! -Oh that’s amazing, sweetie, as is Sandy all of a sudden!

Of course. OF COURSE YOU’RE INTO SANDY NOW THAT SHE’S BANGING A RELATIVE OF YOURS. I hate these Gunther genes so fucking much. Whatever, time for Felina’s party! (*ominous music intensifies*)

Good job, Cyn, super cute!

-Yay! Blow out your candles, baby!🌸 -WOOOO GO FELINA -You know what, I’m just gonna stand here. 

Shajar I’m already regretting giving you elixir. Go on Fel!  

-NOT SO FAST

WHAT. BARTHOLOMEOW OH MY GOD

-HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR SIS

D U D E

YA SEEMS ABOUT RIGHT

HE STRAIGHT UP CAME DOWNSTAIRS TO RUIN HER PARTY AND LEFT. UN.REAL

-Ok, let’s all pretend what happened didn’t happen, GO FELINA WOOO💗 -GREAT PARTY BABY, GO ON -Um, am I the only one who saw Bartholomeow beat her up?

NOT NOW SUGAR, CAN IT

YAY, happy birthday, Fel! Man she looks like an exact Sophie/Shajar mix aka exactly like Sophito but with Liz’s nose! Adorb! Now let’s roll for aspiration..

FAMILY?!? LMAO a lil ironic isn’t it?? 

-MY FAMILY WILL CRUSH BARFOLOMEOW’S FAMILY

Well when you put it like that. Love that chemistry panel too, either Felina is ending up with a woman or an eyelinered bejeweled Don type. Let’s pray for the former. 

-I CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT THAT LITTLE SHIT DID TO ME. I CALL ON HEAVEN AND EARTH TO WITNESS MY CURSE: A PLAGUE ON BARFOLOMEOW AND ALL HIS DESCENDANTS 

Alright, let’s lighten up, shall we? 

That’s better, Sandy and iVan are here to ruin this party’s score even further! Great job, you two!

Meanwhile Bartholomeow.. is doing THIS. Bro I CAN’T

-I’M SO HAPPY >:D

Barth are you an actual demon? I’m not even kidding. 

I try to cheer up Felina by having her light up these firecrackers or whatever they are, UNAWARE THEY CAN MAKE SIMS CATCH FIRE. I’M SO SORRY

-HAHAHA boy is my granddaughter a loser! 

SHAJAR

-Oh Leo, I think I’m ready for my first post-mourning wooho right here during Felina’s party!💗

FFS

-WHY IS MY FAMILY LIKE THIS

Why did you ROLL family when your family is like this is the better question.

-I’ll light up these fireworks to distract everyone and then I’m getting the fuck outta here!

FELINA NO. DON’T MESS WITH PYROTECNHICS AGAIN

Oh ok it worked!

-WOW SPARKLY -AMAZING -WOOOO SHINNY FIRE -BEST PARTY EVER

What’s killing me is this actually was one of our best parties ever, everyone but Felina had a great time?? OVER

-Oh God, this is still going on?🌸

Ya apparently?! Ugh. 

-It was so hot watching you brawl with iVan during my niece’s party, babe. -Y̷O̴U K̵N̴O̷W I̷'̸M̸ P̵U̷R̷E̴ C̵L̸A̴S̷S🧟‍♀️

Felina’s party appropriately ends with a cowplant-cake-tree-fire. Clarabelle, how many times do I have to tell you to be careful with that goddamn candle?!

-MOOOO >:(

All madeover and ready to go! What are you going for here, a Dark Phoenix vibe?

-That’s exactly it, as this party was my supervillain origin story. 

Ok that’s a little dramatic-

-𝙸𝚃 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚈 𝙸𝚂𝙽'𝚃, 𝙸 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴;

YA not helping, iVan.

-𝙸'𝙼 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙼𝙼𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙿;

Trust me, I know!

-ENOUGH. This family’s degeneracy has been allowed to fester for far too long. I will finish what Grandpa Jojo started, by pruning the diseased family tree! All glory to the House of Union! Are you with me, iVan?

-𝙸 𝙰𝙲𝚃𝚄𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚈 𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴 𝙱𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙷𝙾𝙻𝙾𝙼𝙴𝙾𝚆 𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚃𝙴𝚁;

-I’m the only one who knows how to fix you.

-𝙸'𝙼 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝚈;

Ok Felina you’re creeping me out, you’re the good one! 7 nice points!

-Nice Felina died in a firecracker accident! But from the ashes, I was reborn.. And from the ashes of this family, a new family will rise..

OMG IT’S OUR FIRST ONE OF @lamare-sims​​ custom LTWS!!!! Wish it was happening under less deranged circumstances but what can you do. 

[anonymous-dentist]

Hi anon, sorry to bring the sbi family fanfic discussion again and for the long post , (your posts ware what made realize why i hated this thing so much)

I don’t know if is the same type of fans but i noticed that some ficwritters that are really foucused on philza and wilbur (and sbi family i think?) Are kinda trying to add cellbit to this situation? Like i read some philza focused fanfic where he interacts with cellbit and the ficwritters act like cellbit is his kid? Its weird idk how to explain very well (this is also the same people that kinda write cellbit as a native english speaker (american and european) and not a brazilian (its something that is too hard to explain right now)

And its kinda stressing me out because cellbit is written in such a weid way and its infesting the spiderbit tag lol and i dont understand what is going on half of the time since idk what the hell sbi even is (brazilian with 0 understanding about english speaking mcty)

Sorry for the long post

Oh yeah no I don’t really get it but like. I also do! Because q!Phil has become one of only a literal handful of people on the island to actually properly trust q!Cellbit and so they’re like. Friends. But obviously you can never just be friends with someone not your age and so. Fandom assigned family dynamic. It’s super weird and lowkey like. Idk it’s just weird lol.

A discussion surely must follow!

First, a brief rundown of SBI:

SBI is Sleepy Boys Inc., a group made of up streamers Philza, Wilbur Soot, Tommyinnit, and Technoblade. (Originally it was just Phil, Wilbur, and Techno, but Tommy wiggled his way in somehow.) They’re Best Friends, but somewhere along the way their fandoms said. Fuck it. Family dynamic… mostly because the ccs lowkey thought it was funny and ran with it. Wilbur alone would rather die than not have Philza Minecraft be his father

This dynamic spread to their characters on the dsmp despite them literally not once ever referring to each other all as family; iirc Techno himself said he at least wasn’t part of the family because that dynamic would be fucked up after all the shit his character did to both c!Wilbur and c!Tommy. But c!Phil was c!Wilbur’s father even though he did fully murder his ass, and Wilbur and Tommy were brothers because they’re Wilbur and Tommy and you’d have to kill them to stop them from being brothers. Tommy was never established to be c!Phil’s son, and Phil never seemed to consider him one

But then the dsmp started dying around summer 2021 and everyone was kinda just left with fanon, and SBI fanon can get weird. I’m talking borderline fetishistic nuclear family stuff, especially when you get into ‘Dark SBI’ content with Phil kidnapping Tommy or whatever and forcibly making them family? It gets weird, take a look through the tag sometime

The thing with a lot of these fics is that like. It’s gotten to a point where it’s a fandomized version of both cc! and c!SBI with some really freaky characterizations and some really diehard fans. I’ve talked about that before, so I won’t do it again.

The weirdest thing I’ve noticed about these fics, though- and this goes back to what we were talking about with Cellbit inexplicably being added to the mix all of a sudden- is that everybody has to be a family.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a SBI fic where the characters have friends. Even Tubbo and Ranboo, usually delegated to a ‘Tommy’s friend!’ role despite them not interacting much like as a group ever are treated either as extensions of Tommy himself or as his found family ‘brothers’ who Phil also inevitably helps take care of rather than as friends, and they act that way. Niki isn’t usually ever written in as Wilbur’s friend, she’s Benchtrio’s sister/mother-figure, or she’s described as Wilbur’s found family sister. Jack Manifold? Lumped in with Niki with Benchtrio as their older brother/father-figure. Quackity? Either Wilbur’s boyfriend, thus a member of the family, or Tommy’s older brother/father-figure.

Even characters who never really interacted with SBI as a “family” on the dsmp get this treatment: you’ll read an SBI fic with c!Purpled in it and he’ll be Tommy’s brother figure. c!Sam is Tommy’s father figure. Schlatt is Tommy’s uncle or Wilbur’s brother. Puffy is an aunt. Sapnap and Dream? Tommy’s brother or father figures. Even Hannah is being written as Tommy’s cool older sister figure these days despite only really interacting with him once on the smp

And you can see this kind of behavior continuing now in the qsmp fandom… if the new ccs/characters in question aren’t “problematic”. Chayanne can’t see Techno as a personal hero, he has to see him as an older brother or an uncle. Tubbo is Phil and Fit’s son and Tommy’s brother. Niki is Tallulah’s mom. Quackity is Wilbur’s boyfriend.

What you’ll actually be hard pressed to see is this kind of dynamic with Phil and other, “problematic” ccs, aka ccs who aren’t like. English ccs.

Because you won’t find q!Forever included in the family dynamics despite him basically being q!Phil’s best friend and closest confidant. It took longer for q!Missa to be added to Phil’s wiki page than it did for Techno to despite them literally being explicit canon husbands, and you’ll be lucky if Missa is even mentioned in a “qsmp” SBI fic. Etoiles? Not even mentioned despite him and Phil more or less actually leaning into the family dynamic with the “brothers” thing. Even Tallulah and Chayanne are left out or mischaracterized in “qsmp” SBI fics, giving Tommy the spotlight.

You won’t find nearly anybody who isn’t an English cc in these fics, and this is NOT accusing anyone of xenophobia. It’s most likely just because the SBI people are used to watching only Phil or only Wilbur and they don’t speak enough of the other languages to really care about the non-English ccs and thus disregard their characters and lore. It’s not just SBI people who do this, it’s plenty of people speaking every language on the server not watching anyone whose languages they don’t speak. Yk?

But that brings us to q!Cellbit, and I’m surprised the SBI guys have latched onto him the way they did considering he’s everything they seem to dislike: his first language isn’t English, he doesn’t talk with Phil a lot, he and Tallulah get along really well, he makes fun of Wilbur being gone. And, honestly? The SBI guys did hate him for a long time because of those things, they constantly undermined his efforts and said Phil would be a better Order leader and said that he should never speak to Tallulah again because he was making her sad and he’s friends with their least favorite person ever, Forever.

But then q!Phil said he trusted Cellbit, and it’s like a switch was flipped. Starting around the Pills Arc when they first teamed up, SBI people were suddenly on board with Cellbit despite being part of the haters literally days before. Why? Well. Phil and Cellbit are friends now, and so now he gets the privilege of being in the fics.

The problem with this is that these people have never watched Cellbit. They’ve seen ten minutes of him total from Phil’s pov, and that’s all they’re going to use to write his character. So of course there will be mischaracterization.

And, of course, they’ll be family. Because, as I said, there’s this weird allergy to the concept of friendship in SBI fics. You’re family or you’re an enemy.

Constant fanon mischaracterization of Phil has basically turned him into a universal father figure even if he doesn’t have that dynamic with the characters he’s like the “father” of. q!Cellbit’s only familial figure outside of his actual canon family is generally seen as q!Bad, who even referred to him as family last night on stream. But, because Phil and Cellbit are friends now and Cellbit is younger than Phil is, they have to have a father-son dynamic, because that’s what Phil’s only character trait is in the SBI fics he’s in. He’s the dad whether it makes sense or not.

If that makes sense.

[haleigh-sloth]

379 Leaks React

Okay, gonna start this with honesty and say that I legit was concerned for a bit, reading parts of the leaks. Namely this:

Mostly because as the leaks were dropping (and we hadn't gotten to the end of the chapter yet) it felt like a very sudden burst of agency, independence, will power, you name it--from Tomura. But after the whole chapter came out and I saw the art in there, well, I see it differently and in the end, still things are going in a way I'd hoped for and what works for Tomura's character.

I'll start this by saying that....yeah no, Tomura isn't free. Don't get your hopes up. We've got his personality back and I'm grateful for that, but this man is far from free, and I'll explain.

Tomura: I've been here the whole time, waiting for the moment to take back control, I don't need you or OFA, I have things I want that have nothing to do with you!

That's great! He's kept himself from completely disappearing, HE did that, he kept himself afloat and fought for control. He has some semblance of agency and control. He has his independence back!

Or does he.

Also Tomura: Everything I hate started in that house, that house that I destroyed because I wanted to, because I hated it and everyone in it, and because I was meant to destroy so why would I have done anything differently. Everything I've always wanted has always been to destroy, my "origin" is destruction because I killed my family and destroyed my house because that's what I was born to do!

I really don't need to go into detail about how this isn't true. He didn't want to kill his family or destroy his house. He didn't want any of those things.

But what has happened in Tomura's mind is that he has had 0 ways to cope with his grief--so his coping strategy to protect himself from the psychological damage was to recontextualize it entirely.

Tomura: Grief? Nah, I wanted that to happen. So I'm not sad about it.

That's totally a valid coping mechanism that will have long term benefits. I love that for him.

I bring up his obvious unreliable narrating because it's all coming full circle and back into play here.

"Tomura Shigaraki and Tenko Shimura wish for the same thing." Well, at least the 'tenko and tomura are different people crowd can finally shut the fuck up, god bless

Tomura asserting that they're the same--while unexpected, for me at least--is good development. He's acknowledging that his past self is part of who he is, he's trying very hard to reject everything AFO wanted him to be. It's progress because he's trying.

But man, he is not doing a very good job of that.

Exactly what was Tenko's origin again?

I am fairly certain his origin is not based on an innate lust for death and destruction. I’d bet the farm in it.

Tenko didn't want to destroy everything. But Tomura continues to assert this belief onto himself from the recontextualized grief in order to protect himself from said grief.

What results is his self-hatred that's still there. The guilt that surrounds his family's deaths.

This self-hatred is literally exactly why he is so convinced that he has always wanted to destroy everything, that's all he's ever wanted and that's all he was born to do.

Tomura is not free from AFO because his self-hatred is still so deeply ingrained in him.

This is fake out, just like MVA was, just like the PLF war was.

Every time Tomura tries to assert his independence outside of AFO, it fails, and he comes crashing down, hard. He comes crashing down hard because he continues to insist that all he wants, all he has ever wanted, is death and destruction. The more he clings onto this narrative, the more he will continue to lose.

Tomura is not free from AFO because he has not faced his own reality yet.

Now that I've explained that, let's talk about this:

Tomura basically confirming that he caught onto the little hint that Izuku wanted to do more than just punch and kick.

When he said it's a useless effort, he knew what he was referring to. "Don't try saving me, I won't be satisfied until everything is destroyed".

So, the salvation Tomura's been secretly crying out for this entire time, from Midoriya no less, is right in front of him. And--to nobody's surprise--he's rejecting it.

Again, all he can do is destroy, all this saving talk is nonsense, there's absolutely no point.

This is pure proof of how lost in the AFO sauce Tomura is.

He's in the most unstable, unreliable, contradictory, and most of all vulnerable state of his life. He asserts his desire for destruction, being completely unaware that someone has already seen through it all and knows what's going on inside:

Tough luck Tomura. You’re transparent.

This is what I mean by him not facing his own reality yet. He's in there still crying, that hasn't changed. He is in prime saving position. Let's go Izuku, chop chop.

Onto the art:

All of Tomura's speech is written in black text bubbles. I've only seen this one other time:

Based on the evidence above, I think it's safe to say that:

Black text bubbles = whatever is being said in them is probably bullshit

Tomura asserting his independence this chapter is bound to result in the same failures it did in MVA and the PLF war.

Breaking out of the possession JUST to say "I'm BACK! But I still want exactly what you groomed and primed me to want!" is not the comeback he thinks it is, and it is not a subtle downfall.

He will fall harder, again, because he refuses to let himself be picked up (yet).

Other things:

There are two AFOs. Please don't forget, because OG AFO is the real issue here.

That is all.

Translations used from Pikahlua’s translation.

[mx-pokirby]

Okay pls listen

I keep thinking about this, and I don't have a Monolith Soft/Platinum/Atlus-size team nor budget, so making my own dream game will have to wait, and a Tumblr post will have to suffice

Breaking the 4th wall is nothing new.

Theater shows where performers speak directly to the audience. Films that emphasis the viewers' roles as voyeurs to elevate the art. Games that dissect the nature of protagonism, using the medium to create ludonarrative harmony.

All good and deserving even more be made.

Yet in that final case, I feel there's often a disconnect in assuming the level of responsibility the game expects of you in "controlling someone against their will".

The protagonist will clearly be upset at you like "How dare you be here, controlling me? This is all your fault. Fuck you." and you kinda just gotta sit there like "Damn, sorry I guess but I didn't make any of this happen, buddy. I just held W and tried my best to help. If I left then literally everything would remain still. None of this is on me."

Cuz your expected to at least suspend your disbelief hard enough to forget that the game has a Creator(s) in the first place.

It's like a long-running mystery where you're supposed to just pretend there's no Supreme Mastermind. Everything just happens to be "like this" and you + your character just both gotta cope.

What I, as a creator, want to see is more works that actually call attention to that. About dissecting the concept of the Artist's role from within the Art itself.

There's so much potential in flipping the interrogation light inwards, to ask what forces motivated the Artist to create their world the specific way they ultimately chose, and have that be a key element in what the narrative is about.

Tangent time.

In my teens, I had an RPG Maker phase. I never made enough progress to release anything, but I was familiar enough with the program. Something about the process of making a game in RPG Maker is how easily I slipped into having fun just making up Skills and Items and whatnot. Just toss in some numbers, select an Effect, and write an endearing yet informative description.

In universe, characters may have to go through life-changing struggles to earn these dangerous powers which could upend their very worlds.

Yet you, the creator, are also able to create both their challenges & rewards with the ease of a keystroke. And any limitations thereof are purely choice, because Game Balance and Plot Structure is an expectation, but importantly not a hard rule.

Your paying audience may care about sudden nonsensical bullshit, but the characters within the narrative would certainly not care about any of the above as long as they can return to living peacefully ASAP. Conflict.

Allow me to give an example that's been occupying my brainspace as of late.

Skill Target: Self Type: Heal Effect (1): Heal HP - 100% Effect (2): Remove - All Debuffs Effect (3): Apply - Omni Buff Effect (4): Gain Status - Invincible Skill Learned At: Level 1 Skill Cost: 0 MP Skill Name: Lift Finger Description: Even if you can no longer stand, as long as the fire inside is still burning, you can find the strength to keep going and face any odds

In a story self-aware of its own mechanics, anyone can effectively obtain Godhood for nothing, and characters would have to grapple with that.

Especially in a work that gives similar/the same (even if stripped down) tools or creation / customization to the player that the creator(s) made the game with. Your Mario Makers, Little Big Planets, Mugen, Cladun, Magical High School Girl (ok maybe not technically but it still deserves a shoutout), anything that runs on Source.

I think a game that wants to tell a story deconstructing / dissecting the act of creation, while using its medium to the best of its ability, would need to require player creation be a core gameplay element.

Partly because, when you're given the freedom to implement overpowered Free Win Button nonsense like the example above, what's stopping you from pushing everything to the extreme?

Only arbitrary, socially/self-enforced rules, and the blurry bounds of what's actually possible. The same limitations as the Creator.

And if the power to Create is given not only to the player, but narratively something anyone can do, then all it takes is one person who values their own self-interest above the arbitrary rules for the rules to truly stop mattering, and everything gets out of hand. A mad-dash. Where the only reason to Create is to be as Extreme as possible. To make only The Most. So you're the best, and nothing can be better than you, nothing can knock you down.

There will still be those attempting to play by the rules, but they're a small few surviving against the odds. That drive to carve a meta out of a system never intended to have one. Assigning order to the chaos.

Only by looking back at the base fundamentals which everyone has elected to ignore can you really put everything into perspective.

Like

You see the points I'm making here, right? The reflections?

There's so many angles to take this initial concept from that I'm just enamored by. And while I'm not even certain I've done an acceptable job at trying to explain / justify this potential that I've been obsessing over, (this post (and my brain) has been cooking for two days and I'm tired), I hope I've at least scratched the surface for others to be inspired by too.

And on that note, I leave with one final piece of wisdom.

There is significantly high untapped artistic potential in the concept of the Self-Insert.

Fuck we gotta rewatch Re:CREATORS

[mrs-monaghan]

I've seen a lot of jikook bloggers asking about the jk and mijoo thing.

And honestly I don't understand why the fuck they are coming back at it all of a sudden.

It happened in 2019

And it was clearly denied by the company and mijoo(from what I've heard)

And also I heard mijoo had a bf at that time too.

They were just hugging ffs why is it a big deal? Can't opposite gender be friends and show physical affection?

And why now after all the years some insecure jkkrs Or tkkrs are asking about it again to jkk bloggers?

I don't understand? Is it because of taennie news?

Also about jkk. Jm wouldn't fly all the way across the world for jk's bday if he thought that jk was cheating. Like wtf?

Jkk were the loudest and most obvious in 2019. People really just see what they wanna see.

I have deleted so many of these asks its ridiculous. Idk why this is coming back now. And it makes 0 sense considering she's now married to the dude she was dating at the time.

He literally has her name tattooed on his forehead.

And she has him on the back of her ear.

I just went through her insta and checked for her tattoo so I'm hoping its that one. But frankly I don't care.

People need to shut up and move on. Jikook is and has always been real. Everything else is just noise atp.

[tonicandjins]

i am. wow.

haha i can’t breathe. help. my boyfriend of 4 years broke up wd me 2 hours ago. literally 2 days before my birthday all because i asked him to spend some time with me on saturday (because friday’s my birthday, and we both have work on friday). he said we’ll just have dinner on friday but he needed to go back to his hometown (which he does every single weekend) so i kinda got upset and said, well why can’t you stay here for this time? he started talking about how friday is also a busy day for him and that he was “sacrificing” his time to have dinner with me on my birthday. i was a upset. greatly upset. so i’d told him to think about what he just said and i kinda went all ballistic in the chat and told him he should be a better boyfriend. he told me to change my status back to single.

am i? what the fuck actually. i am out of words and i’m just hiding here inside my home’s restroom because i don’t want my auntie to see me all upset.

men really aint shit.

odd thing is that we never fought this badly before. we’ve always been the chill kind of couple and this is just? it’s so sudden so i don’t really know how to react and i can’t tell my friends because they’re friends with him too and i don’t want them to think he’s a bad person. i’m just… please let me hide here this is my first relationship i have 0 idea what to fucking do. i also don’t want to talk further because i’m upset as fuck. i’ve blocked him in the meantime.

[sxfik]

Omg dud you finally get around to reading witchshadow?? What are your all over thoughts??

omg hello!! and yes i did! i actually ended up rereading the whole series because it's been literally seven years (saying that outloud makes it so much more real wtf). it took me a while bc my god are those books a l o t to get through for me now.

i mean idk if i need to preface this since you were literally there but like... i was one of like the 10 people that was active about this series on here when it started back in the 2016-2017 era. like i love this series, and to this day i've kept the username and all the stuff i wrote for it, so just like idk a disclaimer: im not here to hate or anything, just truly mourning something i really loved.

overall thoughts: witchshadow was so disappointing. like resoundingly disappointing. there was so many things i had issues with, and idk if i even have enough time and words to describe it. i feel like this whole series suffered from having too many complex plot points and too many characters introduced five books into a six book series. not to mention the amount of lore and words that is dropped into the books with little to no explanation of what they mean and what they indicated in this world? like how is it book five and i still don't understand what a domna truly is?

i feel like the complexity balance was really held well up until witchshadow, when it literally just got so confusing that none of the characters felt like themselves? also the weird timeline for this book did not help. like jesus christ this book is complex as it is, how are you making it harder for us??

like a) iseult. i felt like she was overshadowed in her own book, i wanted to know about her nomatsi heritage and literally so much about her like the other books did for the main characters, but this felt so disappointing. where was all the worldbuilding you set up for this moment? why did esme just get downgraded all of a sudden? and also just... she doesn't feel like she made any character improvement/her arc went backwards?

b) safi was just? stupid in this book? how did she have a negative character arc. like i know she's supposed to be reckless and making impulse and stupid plans, but her character felt reduced to just that. like first and second book safi: i knew why she was making these decisions, even if they backfired, but this just feels like a mockery of her character. and i love safi, and i wish she had a way better arc than she did, and got treated with the same book time as isuelt and aeduan.

and also god, the weird emperor/safi bs was so unbareable. she's literally like 18 in this book (i actually thought she was closer to 19/20 but whatever i guess she's 18 here). every scene with them was so werid and uncomfortable. (especially that weird one where she walks in while he has sex what the fuck was going on there) why was she desperate to have sex with what i assume to be like a 60 year old??? i had to force myself to read through these parts and not skip them

and god the hellbards. i loved them at first but im getting sick of them taking over the story. why are they so important that they essentially replace both merik and practically the whole main cast of characters. why are they mentioned at every turn? if they were this important, why didnt you introduce them sooner?

c) why does safi and iseult just not have any interaction. its literally been five books bro the seperation arc is enough (and yes i fully consider them separated) !! why have they had 0 character development together?? they're arguably the center of this series, and what started this whole chase, and yet we've gotten maybe one book and a half of them actually growing together. how is this gonna turn out for the final book when you have maybe 600 pages and 6 characters to get through?

d) where the fuck was merik. hes literally a main character how did he disappear??

e) the whole vivia/stix to vivia/vaness makes me. upset. i dont understand the decision to make them threadsisters when they were vivia was gay panicking about her 24/7 in windwitch. literally 0 buildup for something that feels like it came out of nowhere. why are they like siblings now, it feels so so so weird. i honestly have so much more to say about this and yet im still upset

now this might seem like such a hateful rant, and i promise it's not hate, it's just frustration at what seemed like such an excellent book series. and honestly, up until bloodwitch i was doing fine and then this book was just... so different to the rest of the series. i know susan was forced to combine the books into one, and so maybe that's why, but idk man, this felt so disappointing.

i love foreshadowing and worldbuilding when it's done right, and i think it was doing great until this book. a lot of stuff felt like plot twists out of nowhere, with no rhyme or reasoning to it. it just didn't feel like a witchlands book if you get what i feel. honestly, out of love and time for this series, i think i'll be reading the final book as well in the series, hoping things get fixed and we get to see characters that were beloved back again.

(p.s. how are you? its been so long!!)