#i mean i wasn't gonna change them that much but apparently i just straight up can't change them at all.

[cornbread-but-cringey]

so either taigas on bedrock use a different pixel on the colormaps than on java or the wiki is just straight up wrong.

[cotl-flower-crown]

My experience with Fang

My story in all of this is not that important, it's mostly just a petty drama between me and Fang. Please aim your support towards @catatombi and others mentioned in the original doc in their post: https://www.tumblr.com/catatombi/756286505510666240?source=share

I suppose since I'm somewhat involved in this and the other side seems to misinterpret my issue with fang, I feel compelled to explain myself. It might be a bit jumbled up, because I'm writing this in the middle of the night and I'm a bit sleepy.

cw: mentions of self harm and suicide

So me and Fanged met in a discord server that we were both in for a while. We and a few other wonderful individuals were hanging out, loving each other's art, talking and other stuff. We weren't exactly close, but we enjoyed each other's company.

One day I decided to share a story I wrote for my beloved Red District au (aka Gang au) which included an abuse scene between Grinder and Lambert. I have represented the two before as them having at least a sexual relationship (to be honest I do not remember if I ever depicted them as specifically romantic, I may have, but I cannot tell) and at the time I was toying with the idea of dipping into the dark side of the pairing. I was not trying to make it look like it was an romantic act (which that's what romanticizing means by the way), it was a scene straight up from a thriller. I left appropriate content warnings above the story. Fang saw them and read the story knowing that it would make him upset, he told us as much (sadly I do not have the screenshot to prove it, I don't know if that server still exists tbh). I felt really bad for him afterwards and it made me question myself. He later on appeared in my pms and from my perspective insinuated that I romanticize abuse, which I do not believe I did. The pms in question: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zYN84ZT1xIAsxrQ8WvdwSlwUviT7InoB I admit it's not the best look to draw nsfw art of an abusive couple, though I would like to make it clear, the dive into the dark side begun after I was already made those drawings, I did not made them with the potential abuse in mind. With the story, I was just experimenting with how realistic can this relationship become. The au had barely any debt at the time and I wanted to make something deep. I was never really given an opportunity to elaborate on that. At the moment of the pms, I was scared for Fang, because he reacted very strongly to that story and I was worried for him and ended up backing out completely from the direction I wanted to take. Him telling me that he had 4 panic attacks over my story didn't help in the slightest. It just made me want to agree with him more, so he would feel more comfortable. I don't want to hang this over his head, because in the end it was my decision to change things in my au to fit his preferences. It could be a lot darker than what I have now, but what I have now is also good, you know. However, I'm not sure how else to describe it, but I wish I was told at the moment "hey, it's ok, you don't have to feel compelled to change YOUR story to fit MY preferences, because it's not my story, it's yours and if I'm not comfortable with this, then I shouldn't get involved". But he didn't, instead he encouraged me to keep it "clean", because he thinks that Grinder is hot and therefore he can't be an abuser apparently (sarcasm). So... whoops. It's not something that breaks a friendship tbh. I just want to let everyone know that I wasn't romanticizing abuse, because Fang's friend in their responce insinuate that I do. I don't. It was Fang who implied it. I don't romanticize abuse, I don't condone it, I despise it. But at the same time I'm not gonna say that abuse doesn't have the highs that make the victim stay by his abuser. It can be about money, it can be about security, it can be about sex and romance too. Back then for Lambert it was for all of those reasons. It was because when there were no bad days, there were the good days, great days even. Days that would make him question his own sanity, make him think that "this isn't so bad" before reality hit him in the face with a crash. Sometimes I wish I could tell that story instead of the misunderstood cat boy and a wolf in sheep's clothing. The thing is that I wasn't doing anything wrong and Fang made me think I did. I guess it happens sometimes and I don't really hate him for it, tho I wish he didn't pm me that night. I hope he gets help he desperately needs and avoids the spaces that make him uncomfortable if he can.

What really broke off out friendship was the situation on Itaku. I was following him there because I thought of him as a friend and he makes lovely artwork. I knew that he made gore artwort, but I don't hate gore, so the fact that he was drawing it in general wasn't an issue. One day I scroll through the feed and BOOM, a graphic piece "assaults" my eyes. Made me squirm a little. Very well made artwork, but fuck, I sure wish I could consent to that view. There was very clearly no content warning, because if there was, I would be allowed to make a choice on whether or not I want to see gore. So I leave him a friendly comment, something like "Nice artwork, wish there was a content warning tho" and I thought that would be it. But instead it turned into a debate that ended with him blocking me on Itaku. The debate in question can be read here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1z0rC4gxUOzfI_qUu9BRcThOufc_uF9np I was confused and angry when I learned about it, because I ended the discussion with "agreeing to disagree" and yet he still blocked me. And admittedly in the petty glory I decided to block him back on all my social medias. I wanted to unblock him the next day, once my emotions cool down, and propose a compromise. Anyway, I log on to see that Fang left me a message in the one place I forgot to block him at that left a poor taste in my mouth and made me think "this man is full of shit and I don't want to deal with him". He tried to love-bomb me at first, specifically mentions that he wants to be unblocked on my nsfw account, doesn't really mention the other places, really showing where his priorities lay. Then he tries to excuse himself, saying that the PSA he made wasn't about me, but it appeared directly after our debate, how am I supposed to not take that as vague posting? So that was the first lie. He then mentions my art again, saying that he's gonna miss it, not me, a friend, tho I guess, I feel very valued by that, thanks (sarcasm). He makes excuses again, he "warns" me that there are a lot of medias does the same thing he does, including cotl itself, which isn't true, because most do actually have content warnings these days, including cotl. Besides, semi-realistic gore and cartoony gore don't exactly hit the same way. So that's another attempt to deflect. He then talks about how he doesn't know what he did wrong, which I straight up just don't believe him. I didn't know about the vents yet, but most of the conclusions could be deduced from the discussion itself.

Refearing to the vent posts now (they're in the link above) I never told him to censor his art. Itaku has an option to put a content warning, which basically covers up the piece with "warning" written on top and the reasons that the author can add manually. Clearly the tags are not enough, so why not use that? The only reason why Fang wouldn't want to use that tool that he was given, is that it would most likely lower his views. The line "I'm not going to de-boost my content" confirms it. I did not want to block the whole gore tag because I don't hate gore, it doesn't give me PTSD or anything, and it can be cool and beautiful when done right. Gore tag includes a lot of variety and blocking it ALL would feel like a waste. But also if your art makes me - someone who can take the blood and guts pretty well - imagine some random person, who cannot take the gore and has no idea about blocking the tags, stumbling onto your art and being met with an image of a bloody spinal cord. If there is a tool that allows you to warn your viewers that "hey, this one is a bit graphic", if I click on it anyway, that's on me. It's my choice to view it and I can't blame Fang for it. Fang, by refusing to put up a content warning, strips me and other viewers of that choice. A tag is not gonna fix it. I'm sure that those who wanted to follow Fanged for his other artwort, would appreciate the content warning as well. I said as much in the comments. Looking at it from the other side, remember that story I wrote about earlier? What if I decided not to put up content warnings? Bet Fang wouldn't be very happy about it either. So it's fine for ME to get disturbed without my consent, but when it's Fang that sees something graphic by his own volition, then he's allowed to be upset and come to me with a critique? But when I do it, then I get hit with a block? Very classy. The killjoy thing is so stupid, self-depricating humor is a thing and I was aware that my comment might be taken as less than fun, so I was trying to make a joke about it, to break the tension. It wasn't supposed to be hostile in any way. He complains that I don't appreciate him bringing his panic attacks into the discussion which are not related to the topic. If that's not guilt-tripping then what is it? Also the tweet does confirm that he blocked me because he got mad about it. So yeah, sure, PSA not being about me, my ass.

What I took from all this is that Fang wants everyone to respect his boundaries, but he's not gonna respect boundaries of others for his own gains and he will try to deflect blame, because he can't handle criticism. I don't need that toxicity in my life, so I just kept him blocked. One would assume that's what he would want as well, since he blocked me first. The nerve taken to try and wiggle his way into my graces for my nsfw doodles baffles me. I didn't hate him though, not being able to take criticism is not really an evil quality. But I tried to get through to him in the most polite way I could manage and he didn't take it. If that's too much then I can't do better unless I say "You're right and I'm wrong". If I can't express my true thoughts without him taking it as a threat to his safe space, then I'm not going to sacrifice mine for him.

And that was it for me for a while. I wasn't going to talk about this situation at all, unless asked, and people did ask. Because guess what, Fang can say all he wants about how his vent account is private, but that's bullshit. If people can see it, then it's not REALLY private. If you want to have a private space to vent, get yourself a diary. The internet is not a private space, no matter how private you try to make it. But yeah, I learned that Fang was talking shit about me, which was funny at first, until a few months later I learned from Cata about what he did to them and the others. I learned that I was one of the people he cut himself for. He cut himself. Because of this. I can be snarky and passive aggressive all around through this post, but I cannot laugh this off. This is not healthy. This isn't something to laugh about or ignore. It's not about me, it's about what Cata and the others had to go through. Learning about the self harming thing didn't feel good at all and I can only imagine how they felt through out his abuse.

Even now I don't want to hate him. That's not to say that I don't think he's not dangerous. If you've read Catatombi's call out, you know about the suicide pacts, pushing boundaries and just hurting people around him in general. He's definitelly a danger to himself as well as the people he surrounds himself with. But even then, I can get mad and sad about it, but I can't really hate him. This callout is not to hate on him, but warn others against his destructive behavior. In the end what he really needs is to get off the internet, get proffessional help and touch grass. I'm not sure whether or not Fang is actually taking steps to take care of his issues, I really do hope that he does and I cheer him on for it, even if we can't be friends anymore.

And for those who ended up being his victims, even if it wasn't intentional, I hope they can find their peace as well. That is all I really want in the end.

Now excuse me, it's almost 5 am and I need sleep. Goodnight.

[dummie-writes]

the party walkers

self insert ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* school bus graveyard

words: 4.08k

previous part: a demon inside of my skin

next part: over the horizon, somewhere

note: woah hey I'm back so soon whattt, anyway. sorry that chapter was kinda more scene setting, we only got to interact with the group at the very end 😭 also, I'd like to say this is gonna be pretty self indulgent for the time being bc idk where I want the story to go 🧍‍♀️keep in mind that while I'm trying to keep it gender neutral, at times y/n may lean more feminine,and this is because I am more feminine. please enjoy :3

ii. a rescue mission

again, there's a tension. there has been for the past minute you've been sitting here. after telling them your name and settling down cross legged on the classroom floor, you kinda expected some questions or something. that blonde kid and ashlyn are still having that weird little staring contest. it's as if everyone wants to start, but no one knows how. like you've passed a test, but they aren't sure if you'll actually pass their little assignment or whatever. you were having nightmares, and eerily, the blonde knew to ask you about them even when you hadn't said you'd been having them. so, they were also having nightmares. at least, from what you could infer. 

“um, okay,” a sandy brunette boy with glasses begins. he's not looking directly at you, but instead at your bag beside you in a spaced out manner, his thumbs tapping the wooden pencil in his hand. “nightmares, monsters, right? what kind of monsters?”

     “like, gray ones? they're kinda big? sharp hands?” you say, still somewhat confused. a robotic voice comes from next to you, and as you turn your head, the tallest of the group has his phone held up, the screen facing you. on it, in black lettering, it asks “humanish?”. you blink, and then nod at it. not much of a talker, apparently. the girl who originally spoke to you, sitting next to Tyler and who you've quickly remembered is his twin sister, though you don't remember her name from the beginning of the year, opens her mouth to speak, but then ashlyn cuts her off. 

     “well, that's weird. what notes do you have on savannah?”

     a second of slight whiplash from the subject change, everyone (except for tyler) gives the freckled girl a weird look. they hadn't expected it either, but they aren't going to interfere. she has a colder tone - not entirely mean, but like she knows how to stick to decisions that she makes. actually, you'd seen her before - this town wasn't where you grew up, but you'd been here since middle school. ashlyn always kept to herself, for what rare times you did see her. the only words that you'd really ever heard from her were “excuse me” “thanks” or just glowering. you didn't know when she got all these friends. 

     you also had friends - unfortunately, they weren't really happy with you at the moment. with the whole “several hours or so in hell” situation, you hadn't really been the greatest companion. one too many times had you had to stay home from a group putting, or just slept straight through. they had a right to be upset with you, especially when you wouldn't communicate and were crabby. 

     “again, not really my fault! what am I supposed to tell them? that I'm bleeding out in the bathroom all night?” but, you know, whatever. 

     you pulled out your notebook, reading through the few notes you had written down since the start of the group project. you wouldn't argue right now. maybe they were just weird, maybe they were all in the same boiling pot you were. either way, the six of them didn't seem open to talking about it, which means another lonely night in the bathroom for you. 

     not for them, though. as you tried to be as quiet as possible on the cold, tiled floor, and then moving to the shower so the blood from your back would trickle down the drain instead, they would have a rather rambunctious evening. 

     “tyler, seriously. if they're here too, we need to get them!”

     “that isn't a risk we should be taking!”

     ash cringed just slightly at the volume of tyler's voice, and picked at the peeling fabric of the bus seat she was in. this argument had been going on for about an hour, stopping them from any sort of progress in terms of supplies, information, or anything, really. aiden was seated in the seat across from herself, foot dangling as he rhythmically tapped the seat, smiling as he usually did. his red eyes swung back and forth between the aggressors, not saying much except for the offhand comment or joke. 

     “guys, what if it was one of us? what if it was taylor?”

     “fields, don't even think about using that kind of an argument. it's cheap, and that's my sister. not a random classmate - who, by the way, might not actually even be here! they could just be having bad dreams! but, no, i’m the crazy one, right?”

    ben shifted uncomfortably, tensing and releasing his fists. tyler was defensive, that much was for sure. truth be told, he in fact did not actually like the idea of possibility leaving you stranded somewhere. it wasn't moral. but he was right, he knew he was right. they didn't have the actual information needed, the possibile required resources, and he wouldn't put taylor in any sort of unnecessary danger like that. not when you lived almost four blocks away from where they already were. despite not saying so, ashlyn agreed almost entirely. she wouldn't lose her entire team saving one person. at the very least, not until they were positive you were actually I'm this other dimension. 

     “remind me again why we didn't just ask them if they were here?” aiden questions, his cheeks rising a little as he stared at tyler in an almost dare to reply. 

     “we won't even tell our parents what's going on. if they're just having nightmares, they'll think we're crazy or on drugs. and in that case, who knows what they'll tell the school, or the police,” ash replies in an even tone, raising an eyebrow as her eyes meet aiden's, and then to taylor as she speaks again. 

     “but it isn't right. you know it's not right. and there was that unexplained scream you heard at the hotel, ash,” taylor points out, throwing her arms out as she paces back and forth. her hair was starting to tangle from all the moment, and a stern look in her eyes told everyone this isn't something she would let go of. at least not thus far. 

     ashlyn sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and looking down. a quiet pooled in the bus as the ginger thought through the possibilities and risks. taylor was right. they couldn't just leave you wherever you were to rot, possibly die. even if she wasn't a people person, she wasn't a monster. she couldn't let any phantoms hurt you or anyone else in good spirits, that would just be horrible and wrong. she knew tyler wouldn't mind getting you either, if it wasn't such a huge risk, and a major liability if you actually weren't there. 

 

   a small glow emitted from a couple feet away from her, looking up to Ben's phone screen as her hand slid to hold up her head. “we need more info”.

     logan tapped his foot tentatively, his face soft but unagreeable. he had been making a more logical argument, but was emotion driven nonetheless in his words. having another person would be an advantage. it would come with its own challenges, yes - explaining why they had another person hanging out with them to ashlyn's already suspicious parents, keeping track of an entire other human being, the extra general supplies - but having another person who wasn't a phantom on their side was also a benefit. another pair of eyes, hands, ears. more supplies could be carried. 

     not to mention, you are not just a video game character. you're an actual human being, with a life, with sentience. in the end, that's the defining factor. they can't abandon you. but they won't come looking for you without being sure you'll be there when they search. 

     “this is a stupid argument because we aren't actually arguing about saving them, but about when.” 

     taylor looks up to ash, lightening from how upset she was previously, and her shoulders beginning to drop. an unspoken understanding passes through them as everyone else mumbles something of agreement. 

     “and how the hell are we supposed to pull that off? do any of you even have their phone number? we didn't add them to any group chats because we were still in our own world when class ended,” tyler huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair, a sour expression in the creases of his face and eyebrows. 

     “I could run over there,” 

     everyone stared at Aiden for a second as he smiles in excitement before tyler thwacks him in the back of the head. not hard, but audibly. aiden’s mouth opens slightly, his smile unwavering but now wider as he scoffs in hubris.. “that's not happening, you moron.”

     that next morning is a hard one for you. for one, trying to clean that horrible slash with isopropyl alcohol isn't working. it's making things worse, in fact; the flesh around it is red and dry, it throbs when you move too much, and every so often, it'll crack further down your back because you moved too quickly. not to mention, it hurts like a bitch when you do so. not cleaning it runs the risk of infection, but honestly, you're too exhausted to care anymore. your mind is messed up, clearly. talking to a psychologist isn't an option, you'd get put in an asylum before you could finish your sentence. this was just your life now. and you would properly clean it later. 

     walking into class, you felt the jab of a finger at your back. jumping, you turn around to give a dirty look at whoever was giving you a difficult time, before realizing that it was aiden, from your group project. you take a breath and smile. “hey, how are you?”

     despite it being a very normal question that usually results in a “im fine”, aiden clark is not a normal person (to be fair, you aren't at this point either), and answers with a much more winded explanation. 

     “oh! I'm doing pretty great, haha. last night's homework wasn't all too difficult or anything, and since you're having trouble with your work, you can copy off mine if you'd like. speaking of last night, how'd you sleep? you know, with sleeping issues and everything? sorry about my friends yesterday, they can be a bit argumentative. it think it's funny lol.”

     at this point, ben, who you remember now as being introduced as aiden's cousin and is walking behind, looks at you, nodding and giving a small wave. you, in return, smile widely at him. 

     “well, aren't you just a ray of fucking sunshine or something,” you hear an irritated, grumpy voice from next to you, and then a yelp, followed by “ow! don't pinch me!” and a “then be nice!”

     turning to taylor and tyler, the long haired of the two smiles in a nervous apology. “sorry, he's always kinda cranky in the morning. he didn't mean that, I swear.” as taylor tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and chuckles softly, you notice she has a soft sparkle in her eye. that, and the fact that she has been nothing but kind to you in the entirety of the while you've interacted with th pushes her to be your favorite for the time being. 

     “it's okay, i'm not all too great for the first couple hours too. coffee helps, would you like some? do you have a cup or something?” you're being a little over-nice on purpose, mainly to make him feel bad for being a bit of an ass- but it's a genuine offer. he wasn't downright cruel, just a little mean. and the eye bags on top of his cheeks tell you that taylor wasn't lying about him not being a morning person. 

     tyler scowls, wrinkling his nose and glancing at the thermos you have on your desk. it's your favorite color, and the metal is warm with the creamy, light brown coffee inside. for a second, his face drops a little, and he looks like he's genuinely considering your offer, before rolling his eyes scoffing. “I'm good.”

     rough start for a group that hasn't entirely accepted you as part of their project, but he didn't cuss you out a throw a shoe at you, so you'll count it as a win! you don't have much time to process, because you turn your head again and jump at the bright write paper, half an inch from your face. holding it is a pale hand, and connected to that hand is aiden, wide eyed. actually, that might just be his face. you're starting to think he looks like that more than he doesn't. oh, yeah, actually, that's the homework he was talking about. you had only gotten a couple questions done last night before giving up, and trying to comfort yourself with hot chocolate before midnight arrived. 

     aiden was still looking at you expectantly, so you gingerly pinched the paper, smiling at him again as you took out your own unfinished work, and compared them side by side so you could at least not down most of them before mr. thomas got to class. as you did so, a bright yellow post-it note caught your attention, and in messy handwriting, it reads:

     “what are your nightmares about????”

     your eyebrows knit themselves, and glancing up at aiden, he's already looking at you. he turned away to talk to ben about something almost immediately, but it makes you wonder if he knows something you don't. you peel it off, filling out a few of the questions before glancing at the note again, and flipping it over to scrawl down your response of “why do you want to know so badly”. instead of a blank back, you find a phone number, which you can only theorize belongs to aiden. snatching up your phone, you pat the number in, and then hurry to finish what of the homework you can. after filling out what you think will get you a passing grade, you roll up the work and tap the blond on the shoulder with it. 

     he stops mid sentence to turn toward you, smile widely, take his homework back, and then continues talking to ben. all just as mr. thomas walks through the classroom door.

     actually, the fact that he gave you that post it note makes you giggle a little. it looks like an ad for a psychic. you nonchalantly doodle and scribble on your paper during the lecture, nearly falling asleep a couple times before you're all dismissed to sit in groups. you pause for a moment, glancing to your old group. brandy looks in your direction, smiling and standing up to walk over. oh wait what no don't -

     “hey! listen, so, about yesterday,” she whispered speedily, a note book in her right hand, tapping her pen on the cover with her left. you purse your mouth, nodding. awkward. “I'm sorry if I was being mean. I failed this class last year, and I can't repeat it again. I know that's harsh, but I'm not taking any chances.”

     a silent, uncomfortable nod and pause later, she continues. “I copied down a bunch of my notes for you, because I hope you can still pass. I'm sorry if I made you mad. I'll just, go, um, yeah.”

     a second later, you're holding a few pieces of lined paper to your chest and watching her run off and back to her group. a sinkhole opens in your chest, and you bite the inside of your cheek. would ashlyn's group be expecting you? would they talk to the teacher about getting you removed too, since they might not have wanted to fail as terribly as they already were? your eyes find their circle, where three pairs of eyes are looking to yourself, and there's a large enough gap by taylor's seat for your own. 

a soft grin presses onto your cheeks, relief emanating from you when you sigh, grabbing your chair to haul it over. at least you had a solid group for your project now, even if it was going to fall apart. and, even if your group members were a tad, let's say, bold in how long they stared at you for. not in an entirely creepy way, but in a puzzled way, like you were something to be figured out. 

     “um, he gave you his phone number, right?” logan confirmed, pushing his glasses up his nose with his index finger while he spoke. after the glint from the ceiling light left his glasses, you realized his eyes weren't entirely blue, but had a twinge of turquoise to them. or aqua. something like that, either way, they weren't a strict blue. you acknowledge his question by pulling your phone from out of your jean pocket, shaking it a little. “yep, it's all right here.”

     “good! be-”

     “we have something we should really talk about with you. a few questions.”

     “oh my fucking - you're making it sound like we're a cult.”

     “aren't we kinda?? at this point lmao??”

     “aiden, you're not helping.”

     “excuse me?” your features are slightly scrunched in both confusion and amusement - you're assuming this has something to do with the whole weird “what's in your nightmares” note, and on its own this exchange might actually kinda freak you out. but the way tyler looks like he's about to pop a vein has you beaming and nearly laughing. not to mention, aiden is just kinda, weird. a bit creepy too, but mostly weird. 

     “hey idiots, shut up! it was your guys’ decision to do it this way, and now you won't even talk with them about it properly!” tyler gives everyone a dirty look, noticeably glancing at ben and then not glaring at him. ben has a flat expression, and just glances at aiden, who is already chuckling to himself and looking back at him. 

     “ahem,” ashlyn clears her throat, pointing her eyes at you. as you turn to face her back, tyler huffs, crossing his arms and sitting back in his seat, glaring daggers at you even though you. haven't actually done anything. “so, these nightmares.”

     it's interesting that she's the one to bring this all to a head, after specifically dodging the subject yesterday in class. 

     “tell me about them.”

     when she puts it like that, it feels a lot more individual. you haven't really talked a whole bunch to ashlyn banner, even when you guys have been paired together. she was sorta… floaty. 

     “well, uh, what do you want to know?” you feel stupid for asking, but they were the ones who put you on the spot. and who are also glaring down at you, mostly in a friendly way. you think, at least. it's starting to get a bit stuffy. 

     “what color are the skies?” 

     “kinda, red. typically. but I feel like that's sort of normal. for nightmares.”

     this was weird. this was so entirely strange, actually. maybe you were too sleep deprived to actually notice, but the fact that they're dissecting you like a bug isn't normal. especially when they keep sharing glances like that! 

     “okay, hold on. what's going on? I think I should get to know why you guys are trying to scoop my soul apart with your eyes or something,” you stab a dirty look at tyler, who rolls his eyes and looks away. the rest kinda lose their gaze, sights now wandering the classroom- of course, this is excepting aiden, who's still staring at you. oh well. you kinda expected that at this point. 

     ashlyn gives a low sigh, clenching her teeth together and crossing her arms. her fingers tap on her jacket, and aiden leans over to smoosh himself into her shoulder- which she seems irritated by, but doesn't do anything to push him off because he starts speaking. 

     “I don't think we're getting anywhere with guessing games guys.” his eyelids are low, and he puts his hands behind his head, crossing his legs to put them on ben's lap like he's relaxing. that's when ash gives him a hard shove with her other arm, and he lands swiftly on the floor, drawing a giggle out of taylor. “hey! I'm right! don't push me :(.”

     “I hate to say it, but we might need to be just straightforward here,” tyler interjected, glancing at ash. “that's not a good idea, wh-”

     “hello! hi! I'm still here!” you interrupt, your palms facing upward out you wave your arms around. disbelief crosses your face, and you're about to laugh because, what the fuck? what do they know, and what are they not telling you - and why are they being so rude about it! “I would appreciate someone being straightforward with me! actually! if my opinion matters at all here!”

     “of course it matters!” taylor responds almost immediately, her shoulders dropping and her eyes becoming soft. ben stops for a second, signing “yes” in consensus. for the first time, logan speaks up, his words muddled together too quickly for you to understand for a second. 

     “yeah okay so theresthislike alternative dimensions thingandwedontactuallyknow what'sgoingonbutwould youhappentoknowhatwe're talkingabou-”

     “dude, breathe, what the fuck,” you answer, eyebrows tilted in more concern than anything else. while logan wasn't the type to talk so quickly he didn't enunciate his sentences, he didn't want to be stopped by any of the group - specifically tyler, who, surprise, you'll never guess, was glaring at him. 

    

     “... did you say alternate dimension?”

     “yeah lol.”

     “and what exactly does he mean by that?”

     “exactly what i, um, said. there's a shift, it starts at midnight, and we're there for seven hours. only seven minutes actually pass, but, uh, no one actually gets any sleep at that point.”

     that is… exactly what your little nightmare issue sounds like. 

     “the red skies, the phantoms-” who you're assuming are those demon things. “-they all match with our little, uh, nightly problem. the only thing that doesn't match up is how on earth you're there too. we know what caused us falling through - but why are you there?” logan asks, and the more he talks, especially about something he knows, the more he seems less shy. tentative, sure, but more confident in his words. it makes your heart drop into the pit of your stomach. 

     if he's serious about this, maybe they aren't playing some joke on you- which was already unlikely, but you've gotta cope somehow. if there are who knows how many other people in that little hell hole of an evening, then it isn't only you that you need to worry about, and you can't just hole up in the bathroom if there are others too. 

     “when did you start going?” aiden asks, poking you in the back again so you turn to him. 

     “that night at the hotel after the field trip.”

     “hmmm. anything weird happen?”

     “i mean, I went with my group. and I was kinda lagging behind and got tossed up with another group who was touring some haunted house because the lady thought I was with them.”

     “... what house?”

     “ummmm, seed house? something weird like that? ‘s’ somethi-”

     “the sorrel weed house. “

     that time, ashlyn didn't ask, but stated. it was a ghost of her usual, stronger tone. 

    

     “you must have gotten tossed up with our group.”

     the cold bathroom tile that you sat on was uncomfortable when you awoke that night, but the air was chilled with excitement. you were getting busted out. you'd have to do the more difficult part of maneuvering out of the house with what ashlyn and her group called “phantoms”, as well as trying to grab some stuff on your way out. blankets, first aid supplies, food, bags- anything you could really get your hands on. but escape was everyone's first priority. which is why your ear is pressed so hard to the cheap wooden door, and your breathing is as quiet as you can force it to be. you're listening for footsteps. or tapping. or whatever other noises might hint to otherworldly existence. 

     you hadn't been out of this bathroom in your entire time here. had you been hungry? yeah. but… what else were you supposed to do? you didn't exactly have a group to watch your back while you grabbed a lunchable from the kitchen. 

     nothing. nothing for the past ten minutes. the others should be here in about twenty. that's how long you have. so, with that in mind, you focus on your first location: your bedroom, where your phone, backpack, and blankets were. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

that's right, get part 1'd. hope you enjoyed

next part: over the horizon, somewhere

[kourtniwritesagain]

Too Good to Be

A/N: First full-length RWRB fic! There’s some spice, but not too much spice to rate it anything but T for Teen. Also, this is going to be a three parter because I just couldn’t stop and it was nearing 10k. So here’s part 1! Super nervous, super excited, super gonna shut up now. Enjoy!

It's finally summer, Alex’s favorite time of the year. Summer means the cabin, no graduate courses, and, most importantly, Henry. His Royal Highness was able to get a full two weeks straight of no engagements. Alex very politely told his scheduler to fuck off when approached with anything that resembled an engagement during those two weeks. Alex isn’t going to allow anything (or anyone) to come between himself and Henry. 

Well, except for Cash, Nora, June, and his father apparently. 

Alex isn’t too upset about his family being around, they all adore Henry and vice versa. The Secret Service is always around, and, honestly, Alex is used to it by now. Plus, Cash doesn't suck.

They're all at the cabin by the lake, and everyone is in bathing suits while lounging on the deck after a long afternoon of boating and jet skiing. Henry is watching videos with June and Nora off Nora's phone and laughing, eyes crinkling adorably. Alex can't help but smile. Last year, Alex wasn't sure he would ever even see Henry again, let alone be at the cabin with him. So much has changed since then. Alex is Henry's official suitor. England has embraced the two of them wholeheartedly, including Henry's older brother. The Queen…well, she still sucks. But everything is practically perfect. 

"Alex!" June calls, waving her hand for her brother to come to her. 

He stands and walks over to the others, still smiling softly. Henry lets out an adorable laugh at the video, and Alex sees it’s a cat compilation video. 

“I left my very comfortable chair to watch cats?” Alex asks, amusement in his voice despite his words. 

“I-I’m sohorry, it’s just so f-funny.” Henry gets out through his giggles. Nora and June are cackling beside him. 

Alex watches as cat after cat jumps in fright after seeing their owners with creepy realistic cat masks on. 

“Y’all are too easily entertained.” 

June snorts. “You spent all day yesterday giggling at British memes.” 

“Oi!” Henry feigns offense. 

“In my defense,” Alex says. “I loved every single one of them.” 

Henry rolls his eyes, but there’s no malice. “I suppose I’ll be receiving a few in the future.”

“You’ll have one every day for a month, baby.” Alex winks. 

Henry blushes beautifully. 

“Alexander.” Henry admonishes, rolling his eyes. 

Alex simply grins widely. 

June reaches over and tweaks Alex’s ribs, causing Alex to squawk and jump. 

“Bug!” Alex swats at her hands. 

“Leave Henry alone, brat.” June chastises, a mischievous grin on her face. Henry smiles smugly, clearly pleased that June was on his side.

Alex scowls at all of them, including Nora because she’s not helping. 

“Don’t scowl, baby brother. You’re too pretty.” 

That mollifies Alex somewhat. “I am pretty.” 

Henry rolls his eyes. 

They spend the entire afternoon outside, drinking beer and wine, watching ridiculous videos, and talking of summer plans. Alex is happier than he’s been in a very long time. Supper has been eaten, s’mores have been consumed, and a movie is currently playing in Alex and Henry’s room. Alex isn’t paying any attention to it because Henry is currently kissing his way down his throat. 

“You’re seriously good at this, has anyone told you that?” Alex asks, stretching his head to the left to allow Henry more access. 

“You have.” 

“Well, I’m always right, so.” Alex lets out a groan as Henry adds a bit of teeth. 

Alex thinks he’ll never tire of this. Not just the awesome sex (and it was awesome), but just having Henry with him…and not having to hide it. Alex absolutely adores holding Henry’s hand while they go shopping. Alex loves that Henry will kiss his cheek during photo ops. Alex enjoys being able to embrace Henry openly. Alex still sneaks very handsy things at very inopportune times for Henry, relishing in the blush it brings to the prince’s cheeks. 

Henry slides his hands very slowly up Alex’s sides, causing him to squirm. He feels Henry smile against his throat. 

“Don’t think I didn’t see your reaction earlier.” 

Alex tenses. 

“I d-don’t know what you’re t-talking about…” Alex trails off. 

“I think we both know that’s not true,” says Henry. This time, his fingers wiggle on their way down Alex’s ribs.

“Ah!” 

Henry chuckles against Alex’s throat as he continues to spider his fingers along Alex’s ribs. 

“You f-fuhucker!” Alex squirms and laughs, reaching for Henry’s hands. Henry avoids them for a few seconds more before Alex finally catches them. Alex is panting slightly, but he narrows his eyes, wraps his legs around Henry’s waist, and flips the two of them onto the floor. Henry lands on his back with an ‘oof’. Big blue eyes look in shock at Alex. 

“Mistake.” Alex growls. 

“N-Now, sweetheart…let’s not do anything hasty.” 

“Nicknames will get you nowhere, baby.” Alex replies. 

Henry blushes and opens his mouth to barter, but Alex is having none of it. Alex turns around so his back is to Henry and goes straight for Henry’s thighs, easily his most ticklish spot. 

“Alehex!” Henry immediately starts laughing. Alex found out about Henry’s ticklishness pretty early on during the ‘friends-with-benefits’ stage of their relationship. Alex and Henry had been lying in bed after a thorough makeout session, still clad only in boxers, and Henry giggled when Alex had lightly traced nonsensical patterns across Henry’s stomach. Alex proceeded to find every ticklish spot on Henry’s body, which…hadn’t been difficult. Henry turned out to be ticklish everywhere, but especially on his thighs and hips. 

“How you’re able to fool around with thighs this ticklish, is kind of amazing.” Alex comments as he rakes his fingers up and down Henry’s quivering thighs. 

“Plehehease!” Henry begs, alternating between pounding on Alex’s back and probably grabbing at his hair if Alex knows him well enough. 

“I do not intend to stop anytime soon,” says Alex. “First, you must be punished for trying to tickle me. And second, you love it when I tickle you.” 

“I’m sohohorry!” 

“I’m sure you are.” Alex turns to face Henry now, wiggling lower onto Henry’s legs.

Henry doesn’t say anything else but instead lets out loud booming laughter as Alex moves to clamp down on both thighs right underneath where they meet Henry’s hips, squeezing mercilessly. Henry is devastatingly ticklish here, and Alex absolutely exploits this. The crease where thighs meet hips is just as ticklish. Alex plans on spending time there as well. 

“Oh baby, you are too adorable.” 

“Shut uhuhup!” Henry tries to command, batting at Alex’s hands. 

“Usually your royal commands are a big turn on,” Alex tells him casually, as if he isn’t straight up torturing his boyfriend. “But this one just doesn’t have the usual oomph.” 

Henry babbles something about ‘dick head’ and ‘fucking fuck.’ Alex can’t help but laugh as he listens to Henry’s own beautiful laughter. 

“You are the most ticklish person on the planet, I swear. It’s kinda good that England isn’t actively trying to conquer the world anymore. You’d be kidnapped for ransom and tortured into oblivion the moment the enemy found out how ticklish you are.” 

“A-Alex!” Henry pleads. Alex knows Henry gets more sensitive the more Alex teases him with words. 

“I know that’s how royals were punished back in the medieval period,” Alex continues. “They’d tie up princes and princess, and fucking tickle the shit out of them. Sometimes, guards were told to put honey on the feet of royals and have goats lick them off.” 

“Shut the fuhuhuck uhup!” Henry whines through his laughter. Henry has caught Alex’s hands, but all the prince does is hold onto his boyfriend's wrists. Alex is now lightly stroking at Henry’s hips, scrabbling his fingers along the hip bones every other downward stroke. 

“Maybe we could get the queen to start that shit up again! She’s still super pissed you’re gay; I’m sure she’d loooooove to have someone punish you.” 

Henry turns redder if that’s even possible. Alex knows that Henry’s thinking about it, though. Henry’s thinking about being tied up and helpless while being tickled. 

“Do you like that thought, baby?” Alex asks. 

Henry shakes his head, but doesn’t say anything. Alex reaches behind himself and strokes at Henry’s thighs again. He loves the feeling of the twitching muscles, firm from years of Polo. Henry kicks out his legs as Alex switches back to scrabbling his fingers all over Henry’s pelvis and hips. 

“They’d call me Katniss because I would volunteer as tribute to be your tickle torturer.” 

“Y-You alreheheady ARE!” Henry shouts as Alex digs his thumbs into each of Henry’s hip divots. 

“Yeah, but it’d be an official title!” Alex crows. “First Son of the United States slash His Royal Horniness’ Official Tickle Monster!”

“You’re incorrhorrigible!” 

“I’d never go easy on you either. It’s hips and thighs immediately, right out the gate,” explains Alex. “I’d move on to your ribs next, then your back. That spot near your kidneys? Yeah, you forget that spot a lot, but I don’t.” 

“Alex, please!” 

Alex ignores the please and runs his fingers up Henry’s ribs. Henry lets out a high-pitched squeal, causing Alex to laugh loudly himself . 

“Now that was an adorable sound. Can you do it again?” 

“Why dohoho you n-never stohop tahahalking?!” Henry is starting to really lose it. Alex has been tickling him nonstop for close to ten minutes now. Henry’s face, chest, and legs are red, from blushing and the devastating effects of Alex’s fingers. 

“Everyone loves to hear me talk.” 

“I swehehear, I will get you bahahack!” Henry promises, giggling. Alex has slowed his fingers to nonsensical patterns on Henry’s stomach, allowing the prince to breathe. 

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” Alex winks at him. 

Henry shoves at Alex’s shoulder. Alex falls dramatically, but not before scrabbling his fingers across Henry’s thighs once more. 

“Stahap!” Henry rolls in on himself. 

Alex laughs as he stands up, offering a hand to Henry. 

“Piss off.” Henry tells him, swatting his hand away and standing on his own. 

“Don’t be mad, baby.” 

Henry blushes again. 

“Every time.” Alex grins. 

“Fuck you.” Henry retorts, a silly grin still on his face. 

“Any time, Your Royal Highness.” 

[ghossttoast]

Are we connected?

Chapter two: Lesbians and Horrors beyond our comprehension

A/N: like all of chapter two gets skipped here because i couldnt figure out how to change it enough that it would be interesting to write but we're offically away from canon so i can do whatever i want!!! (which should hopefully mean longer chapters :^)

previous next

It was dark, really dark, like going into a cave and turning off all the lights, pitch black. Kris wasn't sure where exactly they were, or if they really were anywhere at all.

“Where…” A voice spoke out, “Where am I? Hello…? Anyone…? Is… is anybody out there…?” It sounded vaguely familiar, but not enough so that Kris could put a name to it, “Someone!? Anyone!? Can anyone hear me!?” It was scratchy, the voice strained as it yelled like it hadn't spoken in a long time, “… It's dark. It's so dark here. Someone, anyone, if you can hear me…” it trailed off sounding defeated, “Say something… please…”

“Kris, did you eat all of the pie!?” a much more familiar voice cut through, causing Kris to groan as they slowly opened their eyes, “It is your knife in the empty tin is it not!? Oh Kris… am I going to have to lock the oven again?” She laughed, “Well hurry out of bed, it is time for school” She informed them, a laugh remaining in her voice as she spoke.

Kris slowly pulled themself out of bed shortly after their mother left, yawning as they begrudgingly tried to fight any remaining sleepiness.

“Up and at em Mx Dreemurr, it is time to rise and grind!” A, annoying in their opinion, cut through, “Woo-hoo it's time for… education n stuff, yeah!” it finished as Kris felt their limbs move on their own, just as they had been doing since yesterday.

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

Noelle hummed Christmas carols as she brushed her hair, smiling at herself in the mirror once she finished. She checked herself over, ensuring nothing was out of place with her outfit, before turning back to her desk and staring at the lunchbox sitting there.

The lunchbox she made for Susie.

Noelle felt her face heat up as she actually thought about it.

What was she doing?

Is this crazy?

Gosh, Susie is probably gonna make fun of her, and laugh… with those big teeth of hers as she pushes her over and…

What was she thinking about again?

Right, lunchbox! It’ll probably be fine, Kris said she liked chalk, and when have they ever lied to her?

Okay, when have they ever lied to her and not came clean relatively shortly after? If she doesn't actually eat chalk, then Noelle can play it off like she wanted to help out after the two of them came back empty-handed yesterday. Noelle isn't to worried, Susie’s never messed with her before (for some reason) plus Kris was with her all day yesterday, and they came back fine, if a bit more talkative than usual.

Actually, that was really weird. Kris went out of their way to visit Noelle’s dad at the hospital, apparently without their mom telling them to, and then start chatting up a storm with her outside of her house. Even before that, they’d wandered around class talking to literally everyone, including their teacher, normally they would go straight to their desk and pass out for half the class (how they were passing was honestly a total mystery). Maybe something happened? As much as it sucks to admit it, Noelle doubts they were anywhere near close enough anymore for Kris to update her if there had been something.

Well, that just makes Noelle more sure! Kris and Susie were paired together, so she could ask the two of them to join her and Berdly for a group study session. It’s not like either of them could fault her for wanting to expand her educational horizons, she can rekindle her friendship with Kris and work on starting a relationship with Susie. Maybe they’ve just changed a bit, grown up and matured. Gosh, Noelle honestly hopes that they haven't changed too much.

With her mind made up, Noelle shoved the chalk filled lunch box in her bag before she had time to get scared and back out before dashing out the door and heading towards school.

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

Today was… okay. Kris got to see Noelle again, that was nice. Kris got to spend more time with Susie, that was fun. Kris saw Ralsei again, that was all right. Kris had hung out with Berdly for a bit, that was entertaining. Kris cut a puppet’s strings, and it was unable to stand without the support, that was uncomfortable. Kris had wandered around town, talking to everyone they could, just as they had yesterday, that was irritating.

“Okay so” The Player started, speaking directly to them rather than the general commentary it seemed to enjoy, “I need you to do me a super totally huge favor that if things go how I need them to well benefit both of us” It explained, its voice getting higher and faster as it spoke.

What would it want them to do that it can't just make them do?

“…You think you could uh not make a dark fountain in your living room, pretty please?” It finished

Oh, right, it knows how today goes.

“Look, I don't know how to explain this, but I kinda need to break the timeline a bit and this is the nicest way I can do it- I mean, you even hearing me means something is definitely weird like I really have no idea how this is even- point is dark fountain getting is how the ch… day is supposed to end and uh,” It paused for a moment “I just would really like to avoid the direct consequences of that,” It explained, really unconvincingly, if it was going to keep stuff from them, it should have the decency not be so obvious about it.

They’re still going to make the fountain, they have no reason to help this thing.

That resulted in what sounded like an annoyed sigh from the soul. “Kris, I’m finding a way to mess stuff up enough that I can keep playing, you not making the fountain is easy and simple, and no one gets hurt, I’m being moral here!” It shouted, making Kris glad they were the only one that could actually hear the thing (it had tested extensively). It cleared its throat (did it have one?) And hovered above ‘yes’ in the option box that had appeared, “This is the best option for both of us and I will go back and do the other way if you screw this up for me.” it warned with a strained calm in its tone before selecting yes.

Kris sighed to themself as they ran the tap and washed their hands, there was an underlying threat and this wasn't the hill to die on. It had been good with sparing so far, but there was always the option for it to cause harm, and they didn't want to risk it.

“Yay! Pleasure doing business with you” Kris wished they could shatter their soul without literally killing themself, “You should sit down, Toriel and Susie hanging out is both cute and potentially important later I don't wanna mess stuff up too much” it’s tone was back to the uncomfortably cheerful one it typically held and Kris wasn't sure if this was any better.

Kris listened to Susie and their mother joke around in the kitchen, they were glad that the two were getting along. Once it sounded like the two of them were done, Kris wandered back out to meet them, their mom invited Susie to stay, to which she agreed, the two messing around for a bit before eventually passing out on their couch. Well Susie passed out, Kris had been taking a bit longer, mostly because a certain someone wouldn't shut up.

“Agh, this is so hype, actually. I’m excited. Are you excited? Probably not but you should be” It rambled “Oh shoot uh” it cut itself off “What are you doing…?” it muttered under its breath, about what Kris has no clue, they hadn't noticed any changes which did make them uncomfortable to think something they couldn't see was going wrong “Wait, no, son of a-”

And then it was gone

[lisasmind]

Why Apple Cider by Beabadoobee is a hiccstrid anthem!!

Pre-dating hiccstrid specifically.

So essentially the song is about having a crush and wanting to give the relationship a try.

The way i view it, first verse is astrid and second verse is hiccup.

now let's break down the lyrics:

"We both like apple cider

But your hair be smelling like fruit punch

And I don't even like you that much

Wait, I do, fuck"

The first verse is rather short (literally two lines) but like this is so Astrid.

Bea, the singer, is pointing out their differences and then later realizing she actually has a crush on this person.

Not really gonna add anything more to this cause it's pretty straight forward.

(side note: this is making me realize we never had a proper moment where astrid realized she has a crush on hiccup. I mean I guess you can count the first movie when she kissed him on the cheek, but whatever. ITS FINE ITS FINE).

Skipping the chorus cause it's basically just "let's get together and see how this goes."

NOW! This is where the REAL dots connect!

It's actually crazy how on the nose verse two is like wow.

anyway let's break this down:

"You said you liked my hair

So go ahead and touch it"

Now this is Hiccup. As we all know, Astrid likes to make little braids on Hiccup's hair.

also WE WERE ROBBED!!! Hiccup has had those braids since RTTE! The only person in this entire franchise who makes those braids IS ASTRID! And it wasn't Hiccup cause he apparently doesn't like them but keeps them on anyway cause ASTRID MADE THEM (I don't remember the source of where this came from but trust, it exists!)

I wanted to see a moment so bad of astrid asking to braid his hair for the first time or at least a little mention. That would've been so cute.

But ANYWAY sorry I got off track. These lines are Hiccup talking about how Astrid likes his hair and is giving her permission to touch it.

"You said you liked the jumper I wore

So I always wore it"

This wasn't really confirmed by anyone who worked on the franchise (at least to my knowledge) but it was more of a little gag in the fandom back when dawn of the dragon racers and rtte were released.

In dotdr, Astrid made a comment about red being Hiccup's color only for her to reveal she was actually talking to toothless.

(just wanted to add this photo cause of his little pout HICCUP NOOO 😭)

Nonetheless, Hiccup still went on to change his wardrobe from green to red and the fandom's little gag was that Hiccup started wearing red cause of Astrid.

Again, ITS NOT OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED, it's just funny.

Hiccup wasn't wearing red yet but yk it still matches the lyrics. "You said you like this color on me so I always wore it"

The rest of the song speaks for itself with having lyrics like:

"It's really nice to talk to you

It's really nice to hold your hand"

"And even if we're just friends

We could be more than that"

They both enjoy each other's company and even though they're just friends, they both have feelings for each other and want to be in a romantic relationship with the other.

besides the lyrics matching up to their relationship, the song itself is really cute! it was really popular on tik tok and the editing community so I hope it isn't too overplayed for y'all.

Just a cute, fun, energetic song about having a crush.

I actually told my friends a while back that I am going to make it my mission to have apple cider be hiccstrid's song so I really hope this post helped y'all see what I see 🥹

[genericpuff]

I got 3 questions for you

1. So, if persephone can do bad things and get a reward for it, does it mean you can say the same argument for apollo when he SA persephone but he the bad guy for likely persephone and hate hades?

2. Why does everyone still talking about Apollo SA persephone like it 2 weeks ago and not 10 years ago(like it said) plus persephone may or may not forgotten about it? 

3. Will you change all the females (not all them tho, but) hairstyles or keep them same because I'm very tired of the same slick back and slick side, it's not that I don’t hate them or anything just it doesn't have unique to the hair like persephone having flowers on hair ( sorry, it hard for me trying to explain).

aight let's do this

1.) this is a question that comes up a lot because it helps us observe the morality line in LO and how it's applied effectively (it is not). one does have to wonder why we're supposed to root for Persephone but condemn characters like Minthe. one has to wonder why people will use "well greek myth was fucked up" as a defense of LO but then still expect people to take the SA plot seriously when SA is something that happened all the time in greek myth. this isn't to say things like the SA shouldn't be taken seriously, they ABSOLUTELY SHOULD, but then the comic will ask us to not think too hard about persephone abusing a lower class person. tl ; dr: lore olympus can't pick a lane and it shows in how it expects us to root for some characters and trash on others even though they've both committed similarly-heinous acts.

2.) i'm gonna apologize in advance because i'm really gonna like, come at you here, but this question comes across as very victim-blamey. I get if that wasn't your intention so I'm not gonna drill into you too hard, but that's often used as an argument for SA victims to just "get over it". There's no timeline as to when or how long it should take for a victim of SA to heal from what happened to them. Speaking candidly an SA victim myself, I still struggle with sex as an adult because of how much it affected me when I was younger (especially considering it happened when I was still in my formative years, like my brain straight up wasn't done developing yet so that had lasting effects that I still feel today). People are still talking about it, not because Persephone seems to have forgotten about it, but because Rachel herself clearly wants the narrative and her own audience to forget about it, as it's the one plotline she clearly never intended to write.

And when I say she "never intended to write" I mean that literally, apparently when she first uploaded the assault episode she didn't even put a trigger warning because she legitimately didn't see what happened as assault. So she quietly retconned it by adding the trigger warning and later expanding on the plotline through Eros explaining to Persephone what happened. Which wasn't necessarily the wrong thing to do, I think that initial conversation with Eros is quite meaningful in getting across that being nagged into sex =/= consent, but it's become abundantly clear that Rachel is just pretending this was her plan all along, when the proof in the narrative and writing shows that it never was. You can't just throw in an SA plot for drama but it's very clear that's what Rachel's using it for and that's where the criticism lies when people talk about Persephone's progress - the comic tries to convince us she's "over it" but we've never actually seen her side of things, we see more screen time and backstory given to the assaulter's POV (Apollo) and the POV of the friends of the victim (Hermes, Artemis, Hades, etc.) than we do from the actual victim (Persephone).

I hope that makes sense? The ten year time skip in and of itself isn't the problem, the problem is that Rachel wrote in a 10 year time skip that she clearly never planned out so she could get Persephone's AOW punishment over with ASAP and so she could artificially retcon things on a whim by inserting them as flashbacks. Rachel doesn't use flashbacks as an actual narrative device, she uses them as a crutch so she can patch together things as she comes up with them because she hasn't written out an actual story. And there's no single plotline that demonstrates that more than the SA plotline.

3.) I'm definitely trying to have fun with the hairstyles, the way the hair is done in LO just goes to show that Rachel only knows how to draw 3 faces LMAO That said, I'm also trying to keep it within the design choices of the original comic as much as possible, so aside from new characters (such as Dionysus and Charon) I won't be changing things too much, just enough to make them feel fresh but still recognizable (ex. Persephone's mid-length hair when she cuts it at Hades' house).

[alitgblog]

season 9 vol 8 thoughts: my hype has died down from last week, now Stefan is just another man, and I'm again critical of the choice to paywall everything and spend so much time focused on Kat

first of all before I post screenshots (of which there are few btw bc it wasn't super eventful imo) I did have a moment looking at my mc and was like damn get her some brown contacts so she looks different that's why. and I think I may have accidentally switched her skin tone too, point being, as a result, I take back what I said last week about not going for Cassius bc he looks like my mc's cousin

but the lunch with Uma, I have mixed feelings on the concept in general. Like for story it's interesting bc the other person could lie, but if I think about it like it would actually happen on love island, maybe the other person downplays some stuff, but straight up lying? nah. and then it would in theory get the girls to stick (just bc usually it's the guys that are being messy and flirting it up with the casa girls), but in my head the postcard/video always does the opposite. it's like a sneak preview into what the guys are doing so it encourages the girls to get angry or get back at them

In fact, lunch with casa girl to spill secrets usually happens AFTER casa so having it here is weird.

in execution though, no doubt, kinda lame. I mean I like the insights into casa, but you could get that info next week when everyone's together or in movie night or like a mean tweets challenge or whatever. You have to pay for info so it's already awful but also MC doesn't get the option to lie/be vague to Uma, so she just tells Uma everything we the audience already know and then Uma doesn't really tell us anything. Like we don't even get to know the names of the other two casa girls and we told her about everyone.

Speaking of Uma, they couldn't have fixed her hair this season????

Finn's being flirty, sure, and I might be kicked off his route now (I'm not sure if rejecting him by the pool did that), so I don't know if he acts any different if you're on his route bc he claims to have changed???

Hamish how dare you say you've changed then actually change this is why everyone's on his route 😂😂

Jude's a mess who gives a fuck but also that observation may be apparent to the audience, but I wouldn't picture a casa girl saying it. LIUSA S6 has a perfect example: it's not the casa girls saying "oh he sucks because he's been egging on the other guys" but them saying "oh he's the sweetest, because he's encouraging the other guys to explore connections" and then in game it would be letting the reader figure out what that means. it's in part them always having such surface level writing (tell not show) but it gives all their "villains" this weird gameplayer vibe. like I don't think Uma and Jude are genuine and they are acutely aware of the public, but I don't think they should be written like that, I think they should just be written to be assholes. Uma's a liar and Jude's a bully. Not saying we can't have gameplayer characters, just don't make it so obvious.

Anyway, coming back into the Villa and then for some reason you have to pay gems to tell the other girls information?? I don't like the paying gems to receive information but this is more confusing bc it's the opposite lol. Actually, Kat, if you want to know what happened on the date you're gonna have to give ME 17 gems.

there's a chat here MC has with Stefan about how he didn't know what he was expecting before coming back but once he saw MC it was clear he wanted her. And just to repeat what I said last week, Stefan should've started casa a little upset with MC (instead of having it be Lyle) and then ask her for forgiveness midway through the volume and here is where that chat can go where he's like yeah I tried but they weren't you.

and then I decided to give Cassius a fighting chance bc Stefan has that advantage of being her ex and i think MC should explore her options and im still mad at Marshall breaking things off with S6 MC. Cassius seems sweet and he so is during the date. It's just a shame I don't like doing the cutesy loyal casa boy route ever. If he was an OG though? Goodbye Chen and Henri

there's a part he asks about MC's job which I've been begging for someone to bring up and this chat was really cute

Ice cream thing only reminds me that I'm kinda put off the Natasha route now. If she wasn't the go to character to give exposition about Stefan and MC, then maybe. But now, I'm so stuck always having to not choose her and it's a shame. It also feels like with how much she talks about him and knowing that she brings him back if you don't, plus the Hamish stuff pre casa, it just feels like MC is second choice to these other guys. it's not as bad as Kelly, who straight up does say she's here for Finn, but it's irritating. I know Claudia kinda ends up doing that too towards the end of casa when she decides to work things out with Theo, but idk it feels different this time.

Kat screaming about going exclusive with Lyle during the date was so on brand for her to draw all attention on her I don't even know if I can be annoyed bc it made sense, I just wish the ratio of time spent talking about Kat was less. Like it doesn't need to get cut down, I just think we deserved a few more scenes where MC gets to talk with the guys.

the casa guys' day wear outfits are very good imo, very stylish, except Marshall.. it feels unnatural to see him in those colors idk

omg the wild night thing. first off, once again annoyed at texts cutting people off, like how many times can you stand doing that, fusebox writing team???? but uh sure, Marshall hears about this wild night between Stefan and Chen. and you hear about it in the game

Which side note, I hate the game and I also could've sworn we've already played it in casa this season. but I guess it's just to show once again that Kat and Lyle are having problems. Could've been a chat instead. Only useful piece of information was that Cassius likes nerds and I'm like damn once again, in another life, would be my pick. Pretty much everything else about the LI's was information we've already learned (even the info about Cassius I'm sure if I romanced him earlier in casa it would've been obvious).

Also just once again, taking a backseat in the game. it's like they think the player doesn't wanna be wrong so they settle for just sitting around but that's much more fun to have the chance to be wrong. also bc it would influence people to replay I think so they can get the right answers.

anyway, wild night thing, I did fork over the gems to find out and i know this happens every gem scene for info but it was especially annoying to me this time that MC pulls him aside and is like "tell me the story" and hes like "i dont know... do you really wanna hear the full story?" im like YES she pulled you aside for this. MC confronts Stefan and I saw what yall posted about bruno so I went ahead and asked about Claudia and she was dancing with her partner from her season, and for me that's Theo and what a shame. sorry I'm a jealous ex I don't even know if my S8 mc is happy with Jin.

ANYWAY for a split second I thought the "wild night" was alluding to Stefan and Chen hooking up? which, I think wouldve been a great option. and if fusebox is so scared of making all the LI's bi, then I would've voted Stefan is bi and then Chen/Henri/Lyle/Jude maybe aren't but like hey they gave it a shot. But alas, no...

Then Stefan says he was crushing on a DJ and I know in this instance it makes less sense for them to pick a real person bc they say that the DJ tried to hook up with Chen, but I do miss some like random info about the characters and their type. like, I just remember being surprised S2 Lucas's celebrity crush was teyana taylor and I want stuff like that again

so not wild but I guess Stefan was ashamed he screwed over Chen. Then he was like "isn't that so cool of Chen to give up a hookup for you?" and idk I don't care about DJs so I was glad MC to be like oh boohoo whatever

Lyle's speech to Kat was cringe but I'm giving him benefit of the doubt bc I would actually like him and Kat to be happy so Kat can stop bothering Finn and stop bothering MC.

And Kat of course goes to flirt with whoever you went on a date with, and I guess luckily, I happened to pick Cassius who I wasn't gonna bring back anyway. Then you get like five lines of dialogue each with Marshall and with Stefan (who's hanging out with Natasha) which could've and should've been longer for final chats.

you can match with Kelly now fyi

(I wish I had a picture of Kelly's partywear I swear it's nearly the same dress)

Then stick or twist just feels so tacked onto the end of the episode, but it should be like a huge thing. They stretch that shit out SO LONG in the show. Like in the three episodes this volume, the second one should end with cliffhanger announcing the girls are going back to casa that night. then the next episode starts with final chats and the map opens up and you can talk to Stefan but maybe Natasha interrupts, then Cassius saying he understands you gotta do what you gotta do, then Marshall who gives you one last plea he's changed (similar to the actual game again it should be longer). Add on Lyle talking about how he feels he fucked up with Kat here instead of right before the firepit. Honestly also a chat with Kat and Kelly wouldn't hurt either, with Kat contemplating her options and then seeing what Kelly's thinking about Finn, just to remind you about the guys back in the villa.

Then pep talk in the dressing room where it's revealed/implied what each girl is gonna do (Natasha can be vague since if you pick Stefan then she picks Marshall, so just have her say she's not sticking with Hamish for sure) AND THEN stick or twist. And I think each couple should be revealed in order. I don't think we need to give Kat too much time in the spotlight, so Kat goes first, picks Lyle, then walks into the Villa and the girls and casa boys are waiting outside but can hear them yelling (bc I just assume there's gonna be yelling around kat). And then MC picks, walks in with her guy or single, and then sees Uma and Chen together, then cliffhanger.

and that being said, despite what I wrote about the date with Uma, I like the idea that MC spilled who the casa guys are and then she made the decision to go for someone insecure and easy so she could stay and then couple with the casa guy she really wants later, and it just happens to be the guy she wanted was the one MC chose. Or alternatively, she did actually want the villa boy she picked (and also was lying during the date about him being close with Jessica). Very snakey and calculated for love but not too gameplayer-y for my distaste.

but for predictions, I think Hamish sticks bc he said he was gonna try to be loyal. I think Finn sticks bc if you're on his route, it would throw another wrench if he had a new girl. Chen/who you're with obviously twists. I could see Jude twisting, but he gives off the vibe that he sticks to try to win the show. In that case, there are two single islanders so which I'm fine with but fusebox likes to dump single islanders post casa even though it doesn't make sense to, but maybe they get the other islanders to choose to save Hamish (or I'm wrong and Hamish twists). I could also see them saying if MC is single then she chooses a boy to couple with, and can save Hamish since clearly a route (and if this is the case then I would heavily consider replaying the last chapter to keep Hamish in the game).

overall, like I said up top, kinda back to my normal level of enjoyment for this season. I was really hopeful after last week, but I was distracted by pretty faces. also I started playing perfect match and the Stefan thing reminded me of the whole neighbor thing going on in perfect match and in both it's really such a shame they send in someone from MC's past to use the second chance romance trope to distract me from a drop dead gorgeous woman named Natasha.

oh other thing, with the way my game has been going, everyone is in a mixed race couple except for Kelly and Finn, which I think is fun bc then I can pretend the audience is tweeting some version of "why is this season giving shondaland right now?"

anyway so thth3 new episode tomorrow woooooooo

[the-fandom-therapist]

(YEP I'M ALREADY DONE, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO

As promised, I'm tagging you @ultimateplaylistmaker x) Hope you will enjoy it!

This is my interpretation of their "alicorn Kokichi AU" check it out everyone it's awesome!

It's crack taken seriously btw, I put way too many details and changes, I hope you'll still like it!

Also apologies if anyone is OOC, I never wrote about MLP before x)

That's the first part, mainly Kokichi's, I'll write more about the others! -I stopped because Tumblr was struggling to show all of it lmao, I think I've reach the characters limit-

Death is a bitch.

Wait, no. Death is a dude. Well, bastard then.

The terms of their deal were SIMPLE! He beats the god -at poker you morons, he's not stupid enough to challenge the Grim Reaper at chess, one of the oldest games in history, and apparently one of its personal favorites- and him and all the other idiots from the killing game get brought back to life.

(No he's not attached to any of them. Absolutely not. He just added them so he wouldn't get killed again straight away by that damn assassin. Because without the space idiot to restrain her, she would have gone to kill him again. Anyway, not the point.)

And he fucking did, yes sir! Outsmarted the god of death himself, the grim reaper in person! He's amazing like that. Don't try to fuck with a Supreme Leader of Evil!

Anyway. Point is, he won. He tricked the god of death himself to fold on his turn by pure bluff.

And that was the condition: if he could trick death itself to fold, to give up while he had nothing, then it could recognize his value. Apparently, Death -or Thanatos if he remembers correctly- likes bold humans, so it -he?- have no problem make an exception from time to time. Under conditions obviously.

He didn't had many humans who tried. So every attempts was a welcomed change from the -apparently- frankly boring existence he had.

Hey, he wasn't about to complain, it helped here.

He grabbed his scarf -how the hell did he had it with him when he died without it, no clue, but again let's not look a gift horse in the mouth shall we?- and thought of his team. He'll see them soon.

He was already starting to feel weird. Like he was being sucked out of his own... body? Probably Death doing his thing.

However, right before things turned to black, he could have sworn he heard a "wait shit-" and saw a panicked expression on the god's face.

Huh. Wonder what that means...

~0o0~

The first thing he registered was the smell.

A foul smell, and one he knew well, considering he'd not always been hanging with DICE in the most sanitary places.

Garbage. his mind helpfully provided.

Wow, fuck you too Death. Really, too much honor!

He scoffed, and started to get up wobbly. Waking up from dying was... weird. His head was killing him -ah!- same for his sides.

When he tried to get up from the ground, he barely made one step before falling back on all four. And...

Wait a second.

WAIT. A. SECOND.

That's not a hand. That's a damn hoof! What the hell?

A quick check up confirmed that yup. He's a horse now. Everything's fine.

Oh and he have wings too. Because why not.

What the hell did Death do?! Wait. Didn't he acted surprised before he passed out?

...Did the god of fucking DEATH made a mistake?

How do you even fuck up that badly? He's human for fuck's sake! Now he's a horse?! (Well technically a pegasus he guesses.)

Alright. Focus Kokichi. Freak out later. Right now you need to know where in the world you are.

At least he still have his scarf. Which... thank god (clearly not Death.) it helps a bit to have something familiar.

Alright. Now that he more or less put himself back under control, he needed to exit that damn alleyway... He could already feel a headache. Gre-

Hold up. There something on his head too.

Great, now what?

...That felt like a... horn or some sort.

What, so he's both a fucking unicorn and a pegasus now? That's a thing?

Does Death have fursonas or...? Actually, that could be an interesting question.

But that's not the time for this.

Right now he needed to hide. He heard voices, and even though he couldn't understand the fuck they were saying -great, he wasn't even in Japan? That wasn't a language he recognized either.- he could hear the dangerous tone they had.

So that's what he did! He bolted under a pile of trash, not caring about the smell. And he saw...

...Are those supposed to be horses too? They... looked like a mix of horse and bugs.

Not thinking of the Insect Meet and Greet. Bad idea. Not thinking of Gonta's execution either. Nope. Not doing that.

They were all black, green big buggy-like eyes and wings... Were those fangs? Yikes. He definitely doesn't want to be seen by them... And they have holes in them? Shouldn't that hurt?

They were speaking. Something he couldn't understand... But they weren't alone.

There were actual horses with them! But wait.

They were clearly prisoners. Uh oh.

Welp, seems he was right to hide! One point for him. But something was a bit weird too.

Some had horns. Some had wings, and some had neither. But none had both, asides from these... insects-horses bad guys.

Alright.

Clearly he's not in Japan (or on Earth at all) and this place is populate with sentients horses. Or ponies, who cares.

They don't seem to be able to have both a horn and wings. Only these creepy bug-horses seem to. And they don't look friendly.

If he want to fit in, he'll need to hide either the wings or the horn. He doesn't want to end up in jail before he can figure a way to go back to his own world.

...The horn would probably be the easiest to hide. He'll just need to lie about why he have something on his head that looks like one.

Easy peasy. He can do this. Hell, he tricked the god of death, he can trick a few horses!

...He'll just need to learn the language. Great.

Also, he needed to find a way to avoid those creepy bug-horses guys. Something tells him that looking like one of their prisoners wouldn't help him there.

But first thing first: find a way to hide that horn. He suppose it's a small mercy that he got thrust in a dumpster. It's easy to find what you want, as long as you know how to look.

Two minutes later he found some sturdy papers and got to work. With hooves it wasn't easy, but he had all the time in the world.

~0o0~

...He's pretty sure he passed a good hour on it. But it was done! It was clearly not in the best condition, but at least it hid the horn efficiently -it was a hassle to put the rubber band around something on his head with hooves, but he did it. It wouldn't do to have his cover getting blown away by the wind!- and would stay in place.

While he was working, he kept hearing some words in particular. They sounded like names?

And it thankfully made him learn that even if he couldn't understand what the FUCK those bug-horses were saying, he could at least understand the normal ponies. (Probably because he's one too.) Phew.

"Celestia" "Cadence" "Chrysalis" were the words he kept hearing in those creepy guys' language. Also there was the same word in front of the first two names, the third one had another word.

Considering the normal horses were calling the first two "princess", he could understand Chrysalis was probably the leader of those bug-horses.

Sounds like girl's names either way, so if the first two were princesses, the last one must be a queen, and probably an enemy if what he was seeing was any indication.

Anyway, that wasn't important. What was, was to find a way to avoid these... bug-horses things. (He's pretty sure he heard the horses -or ponies they were rather small- call them something like "Changelings"? Whatever that means.)

However, when he thought about that, he had an odd feeling. It was like his body was telling him "big thing's coming towards us captain!" And when he went to -discreetly duh- check, he was greeted with a white light which was sweeping those Changelings and send them flying far away from here, leaving the horses alone.

...Well damn. He suppose he didn't had to worry about those now. That's one thing taken cared of.

Now he could use that diversion to get the hell away from here! It was a good time to learn if he could run like this.

Running... to somewhere. Away from this place at least. It have a big castle nearby, and he's going to bet there's a ruler in there. Probably those princesses. And he does NOT want to be near the persons -or horses in that case- that can put him to jail.

Next, he need to find a way to get something to eat. Because he's plently good at picking pockets, but usually he have two human hands for this!

That also leave the problem of figuring the currency... Urgh. All that reasoning hurt his head.

First thing first. Waiting for the night to fall. It's easier to walk in the shadows -even if looked to be a rather light shade of purple- that way. And apparently, there was a wedding going on? Perfect. Everyone will be too busy with that to notice someone hanging around.

Maybe he could steal a few things along the way before buying supplies to perform in the streets and gain more money legally. Because while he doesn't mind stealing, if he get caught he doesn't have his team here to bust him out...

DICE...

Raah, enough self-pity! He have a world to figure out!

With a slap on his face -or rather, a punch...- he started to run forwards. After a few struggles, he was able to run like he didn't learned like, five minutes ago, and he setted off.

~0o0~

The adventage with big cites, was that no matter how odd you may look, nobody will pay enough attention to retain your face. Because why should they? You're just another person passing by.

That's how he successful picked the pockets of a few horses without anyone noticing. Seems like even in this world the riches were dumb! And here he was, worried that with hooves he'd struggle.

He hid his treasure in his scarf. Regrouped the coins in one wallet and-

And holy shit were those gold coins?!

Kokichi knew they looked rich, but he never thought they'd literally carry GOLD on their person like that!

...Something was clearly fishy here. It looked too good to be true.

Aaaaaaaand he was proven right. Goddamnit. Apparently gold didn't had the same value here, if buying only a few pastries costed two or three golden coins!

...He really hoped he could ask the prices directly, because if he have to dicipher any writing he's screwed.

Because apparently, even if he could understand the language, he couldn't read it! Damn it. Back to first grade he goes, having to relearn how to read! Just his luck.

Hmmmm.

Entering a shop and interacting without knowing any of the mannerisms of the ponies would be a bad idea. He was lucky the shops there stayed opened the full night thanks to that wedding (a royal wedding even, damn. One of those princesses?) but if it's to blow his cover, it's stupid.

Maybe he could pretend to be deaf? That could work. He just hope they don't have a sign language here, otherwise he's fucked.

He eyed the shop (it had a jester's hat for a roof. That's clearly the place he needed to go to!) and took a deep breath.

Alright! Time to see if he's as good as an actor as he was when still human!

~0o0~

He pushed the door to be greeted by a cheerful pony behind the counter (he's going to call them ponies because they are seriously smaller than horses, all of them.)

"Welcome, welcome! Are you searching to prank your friends? You are at the right place! We have everything, from fake flowers to- um, boy?"

Well, sorry random pony but he have to pretend he can't hear you. So he just looked at the shelves with a lost expression.

"Um hello?"

Nope.

The cashier was probably puzzled. Eh, sorry. But well, he needs to be safe here!

Once he noticed what he needed, he grabbed the deck of cards -with his teeth, not like he had any other options...- before going to the register. The pony was clearly confused, but he still tried to keep a smile on.

"Ah, found your treasure? It's gonna be two golds!"

Now... Action!

He pretended to be confused for a second. Then he widdened his eyes, before putting a hoof at his ear -that still felt SO weird- and then shook his head.

And thankfully, the cashier seemed to understand, thank fuck.

"Oh! Alright, hold on!"

He went to rumminaged behind the counter and put a paper and a pen. Then he started to doodle two coins, and pointed to the deck of cards.

Alright then! It worked. Phew.

Also, it looked like a gold is really just a golden coin. That's a mystery solved at least. He nodded, before putting the wallet from his scarf, and taking out two coins that he put on the counter.

He got a bag out of this, and his deck of cards.

And a bunch of informations too. Apparently ponies are way less ableists than humans! That guy literally went "alright please wait" when he pretended to be deaf.

He grinned. Oh he's going to abuse of it so much.

Now though, he had a stand to settle... But later.

He's tired, and he's been there for a long time. The day was even not so long away from rising, so he thinks he should settle for the night.

Since he can keep the deaf act, he could probably find a room. Probably. If not, he'll just find a dark corner and sleep there. Not the first time he slept outside after all!

~0o0~

Finding a room was easy. So yay for him!

Falling asleep on the other hand, was not.

Let's put asides the few attempts he had to do to find a comfortable position as a pony to lay into okay. Their bed weren't different from humans, and it wasn't that hard.

However, sleep meant nightmares for him.

Really, that was expected. He struggled enough to sleep on a daily basis -what do you know, killing games are bad for your mental health! Shocker. Who would have guessed- so with the whole mess that happened with his death, that was even worse.

Everytime he closed his eyes, it's to reopen them in the hangar. And while being human again would be great, reviving his own death isn't synonym of good dreams.

He gave up sleeping after three times waking up in cold sweat. But hey, apparently that was enough sleep so the sun that was starting to rise was already really high! So midday, or later then that.

He payed for the room and left. Now, to find a place far enough from that town...

~0o0~

He travelled by night, slept in the day, and gathered as much informations as possible.

Apparently the kingdom as a whole was called Equestria -damn really no inspiration uh- and that Celestia princess was ruling over it in the big castle he saw at Canterlot (the capital then) with her little sister Luna. Both responsible for the sun and moon respectively.

Okay so appareltly the celestial bodies aren't moving without help here. All the work of magic. Even the weather was controlled by pegasi.

Actually, maybe he can try to learn how to fly while he's at it, that'd be fun. It's not because he's stuck here -preferably temporary, looking at you Death!- that he can't have a bit of fun while he's at it.

He wonders if that include the others too.

Wait shit.

The others.

They are going to have his head if they learned they'd be brought back as fucking ponies because of him. (In his defense he never wanted that, it's Death's fault!)

But to avoid suspicion on himself, he'd had to also cover their asses. Great. Let's see.

He'll just explain -once he settled somewhere- that him and a group of others were kept prisoners by those Changelings. And when they attacked Canterlot, they brought him and the others with them, to use as hostages if they get caught before they could carry out their plan.

They'd been raised by them, away from ponies since they were toddlers so they don't even have "pony names" (he realized the names here were fucking cheesy, nothing like Japanese names) and now they're just completely lost. And if the others were talking about things that didn't made sense, it was for that reason.

Yup, sounds good! With a few fake tears it'll do the trick perfectly. Now, he just need to find an isolated place to settle.

Also maybe picking a name along the way too. That'd be a good idea to blend in.

Oh wait, does he have to pick one for the others too? He hope not.

Anyway, for now he needed to concentrate on himself first.

~0o0~

...He'd made a HUGE mistake.

He was -apparently, if the ponies' words were to believe- close to a little town called Ponyville (do they really have no inspiration for the names? Come on guys!) so he had decided to shift his sleeping schedule to actual night since he was pretty close.

"Not like that would change much about my dreams" he thought.

Ah! He couldn't have been more wrong.

The nightmare started the same. The usual deaths, and executions, before his-

But when the press was about to come down, he felt something... different.

Pure white energy -that he could recognize as magic now- completely wipe out the hangar out of existence.

Now he was just... In uh... Space? The spaceman'd be thrilled.

He was on a path made of light blue light and white dots... The same thing that was everywhere.

There were doors too, the hell?

"Whomst in Equestria's name art thou?!"

Uh oh.

He turned around -he's so damn glad that in dreams he's human...- and is greeted by-

Wait what?

That's a dark blue mare -definitely taller than most ponies- with... weird space floaty mane.

But the most important thing is that she had both a horn and wings!

How is that possible? He thought only those Changelings guys could-

Wait.

Waaaaaait a minute.

She had what looked to be a crown. And she had a moon... tattoo? On her flank.

Is that the fucking princess of the moon? What is SHE doing here?! Also, how is that possible that she also got both wings and horn-

Oh. Oh no.

That's a fucking status isn't it? Having both. Normal ponies either have one of the two, or neither. Having both must mean being royalty.

...Yeah no. He's keeping that horn HIDDEN. He want to be able to leave this world, not being bond here by duties!

(Besides, the only people he want to lead are his minions. No one else.)

No wonder ponies were looking at him weird! That's like pretending to be royalty!

Let's hope it's not a crime... Wait, if it was he would have been arrested already.

Fuck.

"Answer us!"

Oh whoops. He forgot the princess was still here.

"Gotta go, bu-bye!"

He needs to wake up. He have to. He can't stay here. He have to!

He doesn't know how, he doesn't why, but he successfully woke up after everything around him turned purple.

Now. Now let's think.

He needed to avoid getting the attention of the princess. Considering she didn't intervene until now, he assume that it's because she's only walking in dreams in the night -make sense for the moon princess to be up in the night.

So... He need to keep the noctural schedule. Sleeping in the day, to avoid her. And if he can't, then he need to keep her at bay.

But considering he doesn't know how to use magic, he's going to focus on the first option.

To be able to use magic, he needs training. And to train, he needs books -no way in hell he's asking for help after learning all that mess about royalty- and to be able to understand those books he need to learn how to read.

A hell of a program he have in front of him. Oh well, at least it's gonna keep him busy.

Alright. He needed to go now.

To that town he goes! While expecting to not draw attention.

~0o0~

He arrived at the border of it. There was a rather small and cozy looking cottage here, surrounded by forest. It was midday, the pony probably wasn't hom-

His thoughts were cut off by a high-pitched scream. Probably a girl's voice.

...Great, what now? A scene like this would be hard to settle-

...

There was a yellow pegasus. Pink mane, who was protecting herself (assuming she was the one who screamed) from a bulky earth pony (that's how those who have no wings nor horn were called right?)

The earth pony was really tall, like, two heads more than Kokichi himself. Light green color, dark green tangled mane...

Wait a minute. WAIT A DAMN FUCKING MINUTE.

Red eyes with round glasses, and a bug cage warped around its neck.

It's-

"Gonta so sorry! Gonta not meant to scare horse!"

"GONTA!"

Wow, go him. Yelling his name like that and sprinting in their direction.

That at least got both of their attention. So there's that.

Gokuhara was looking at him with pure confusion. Probably didn't recognized him, which was fair. He was a fucking pony for fuck's sake.

"Uh? Does Gonta know you, horse? Gonta sorry, doesn't know horse with wings..."

"Geez, thanks a lot. he huffed. Can't recognize your leader? So mean! How could you forget about me? he started to sniffled. You're breaking my heart! How could you?!"

The theatrics were apparently enough.

"K-Kokichi?"

"At last! he said, raising a hoof. That's me alright."

"Kokichi is a horse."

"Pony technically, pegasus to be more exact. And you're one too."

"But Gonta die-"

"About that! he cut him off. We need to talk in private. Bu-bye yellow pegasus, sorry for the scare!"

He grabbed Gonta's bug cage's strap and pulled to make the other follow him in a recluse place.

Once far enough, he sighed.

"Alright, just hear me out. I know you're confused as hell, me too. Maybe even mad at me about what happened in the game, I won't blame you for that. But we have other things to worry about: we're not in our world, I think you noticed as much."

"People are horses." nodded Gonta with a serious expression.

"They call themselves ponies, but yeah. There's no human here. There's no killing game either. Monokuma doesn't exist. The Academy either. This world... is more or less peaceful."

"No killing game? he softly asked. No Monokuma?"

"Nope. Nothing. And... Considering we're both here, I'd say everyone who died is also here. Though to find them is going to be complicated..."

The leader pondered for a second. How could they find everyone? It would be best if everyone wasn't far away from each other, if Death comes back for them -and he better!- it'd be quicker to be send back.

"Kokichi died?"

Oh wait. Oops. Right, he forgot Gonta wouldn't know.

"Yup! Right after you in fact. Anyway, not the point-"

"Did Monokuma also punished Kokichi?"

Uh? Why is he asking that?

Oh.

Everyone... Please stop blaming Kokichi now.

...He's still too kind.

"Nope. Maki killed me. he paused. Or rather Kaito. Eh, one of the two. I don't know what finished me off. he shook his hoof. Anyway, not the point. I died, and Kaito also died probably because he was sick. Meaning, everyone who died before you, plus Kaito and myself are probably here."

"E-Everyone?"

"Yup. But we need to recognize them -wouldn't be too hard probably...- and find a cover story."

"Cover story?"

"This world doesn't have a killing game Gonta. That means, if we tell them what happened to us, they won't understand, and that'll bring us problems."

"Oh. Gonta understand. But Gonta doesn't want to lie to them... They look nice."

"Good thing I'm here! Leave the lying part to me. I'm a liar after all! Also we need new names. Because names here aren't like ours. If we want to blend in... Just leave it to me okay?"

The giant just nodded.

The leader just nodded back, before returning to the cottage. Let's hope she's still here and uh... Not freaking out.

~0o0~

...Uh oh.

She called her friends apparently. There were five new ponies all around her. Two unicorns, another pegasus and two earth ponies.

"Hey you two! How dare you scare Fluttershy like that!" yelled the blue pegasus.

"Ah! Gonta sorry! Gonta didn't meant to scare pony!"

Well, here goes the enthomologist, apologizing again. But Kokichi's not going to play that card. He put a hoof in front of the giant and frowned.

"Don't apologize, we don't know if they aren't with them!"

Cue confusion. That's what he want to see!

"W-With them?"

"You know how they are! They can change appearance at will and pretend they're your friend!"

Not a lie. The mastermind was -if what Death told him was true- a master of disguise. The Ultimate Cosplayer after all. And the ponies would probably think of the changelings, which is what he wants.

"Hey! Are you saying we're changelings!"

"And what if I am uh? he grinned. Don't like having the truth in your face?"

"H-Hey now."

Oh? The purple unicorn stopped the blue pegasus. Seems like he found the leader of that little group.

"We aren't changelings. We swear on Celestia's name!"

"And how can we believe you uh? You could be lying!"

There. That was the cue for Gonta normally...

"They don't smell like changelings..." he mumbled.

"You should listen to your friend! We're not changelings! We fought them!"

Now, to pretend to be hesitant.

"Are you sure?" he asked the enthomologist.

Gonta nodded, and he pretended to scratch his head -while leaving the papers around his horn alone- with confusion.

"I think we all started on the wrong hoof. gently said the purple one. You are at Ponyville, you're safe! There's no changelings here."

"Why did you thought there were some in the first place? Changelings don't live here. We kicked their butts not so long ago!"

"Rainbow Dash! You're not helping. she smiled at them. Sorry about my friend, she's very straightforwards. How about we talk somewhere else, around pastries?"

"Oh oh! the pink one started to jump happily. I'll go prepare them! I'll be right back!"

And she left... by jumping? Why not.

Alright.

Time to bluff the hell out of this conversation.

~0o0~

...It had been stupidly easy. He explained to them that Gonta and him were part of a group of ponies who got abducted when they were toddlers by changelings, got raised by them, humiliated, turned around each other et cetera... Got brought along at the assault on Canterlot, and since the white energy who yeeted the changelings didn't hurt them, they ended up here, and don't know what to do or where to go.

That's how he learned that the wedding that took place was the purple one's (Twilight Sparkle apparently. Still cheesy, yup.) brother's, and they were here, and were also fighting the changelings.

And apparently that wave of magic was from the love between the bride and groom.

Ew. They didn't ended up at Equestria, they ended up at "Cheesy Land". But he still noted the information.

When they asked about why the hell he got a fake horn, he explained that it was to be less beaten by changeling. After all, they have both horn and wings, so he thought if he looked like them they would leave him alone. Not that it worked. -The fact that it was curved helped his story. But come to think of it why is his curved and not everyone else's? Not even the princesses' are curved. Weird.) Now though he just keep it because it's the symbol of the princesses and that's pretty cool! After all it was one of them that indirectly freed him and the others from the changelings' grasp. He's pretending to be like them! (they had no idea how true that statement was.)

That was way too easy to make them believe that with fake tears. Even Gonta tried to comfort him even though he knew it was fake (though it was probably to make it more believable. Gonta is a lot of things, but an idiot isn't one of them.)

"But then... You don't have names?" asked the other unicorn -Rarity if he remembers correctly.

"We have the ones the changelings gave us. he said, wiping the tears with his hoof. Mine's Kokichi Oma. he pointed to Gonta. His is Gonta Gokuhara. But those aren't real ponies' names."

"That's true..." Twilight seemed thoughtful.

"Oh oh! Maybe we can pick some for you!" the pink one said, with a smile that reminded him a bit too much of Angie.

"...I'd prefer choosing my own thanks."

"Of course! Pinkie, let them chose... Once it's done, we'll ask the mayor to put you in the records." Twilight said.

"That'd be nice. Also... If you find someone with a weird name, that's probably a friend of ours."

Not really true, but he needed to find those idiots as quickly as possible.

"I'll pass the word at Clousdale!"

Aaaaaand the blue one was already gone.

"I'll ask around the farm if anyone saw a lost pony." the orange one nodded, tipped her hat and left.

"I'll send a letter at Princess Celestia too. the purple unicorn nodded towards the... dragon? at her side. In the meantime, do you have ideas of names? Also, what are your talents?"

Talents? That's easy- oh wait.

"What do you mean by talent?" he asked, raising a hoof to stop Gonta from talking.

Translation: is that the same thing as their Ultimates?

"Oh. Yeah, I suppose the changelings wouldn't do that... she mumbled to herself. Something you are really good at? You both have your cutie marks so..."

What the fuck is that now. (Also, cheesy, the return.)

"Oh! Gonta is an enthomologist!"

He saw Fluttershy -that's her name right?- perking up from behind Rarity.

"Oh that's great! she turned towards him. And you?"

"I guess you can call me a trickster. he smirked. I prank people. And trick them. a pause. Mainly changelings though."

A lie but hey.

"If Gonta's talent is "Enthomology" you could call mine "tricky dice"." he shrugged.

But that question of names... He needed to find one. And Gonta too.

"Hey Gonta, how about "Baron Buzz" for you? Sounds good?"

"Oh! Gonta not mind this. Gonta likes it!"

"Well, that's settled then. Mine now..."

He think again.

Let's see their situation.

He got attributs that could get him royal duties, which is problematic. He needs to hide it...

He made a deal with Death and no one need to know about that. To get everyone back to life, but also to fuck with miss mastermind too while he's at it.

He grinned.

"Call me Royal Collusion then!"

That's when both Rainbow Dash and the farmer came back.

"I found a pegasus that looks really lost, and he calls himself Kaito... something."

"I found a small guy that call himself Ryoma!" added the other.

Oh. Well that was quick.

"They're with us alright. You're coming Gonta? Let's get Ryoma back first."

"Hm hm!"

First they get the depressed tennis player back, then the astridiot.

Welp, they got a pretty nice program ahead of them it seemed.

"Then let's go."

[regular-lord-reckoner]

okay, i'm back (for a second anyway, hello)

i'm feeling a bit better since last time i wrote, so that's something.

i finally have some good news for a change!!!

i had my second ultrasound with my gyn and got to actually meet with the doctor afterwards and they went over everything with me a lot more in depth and didn't give me any push back on not wanting kids, they just explained to me what my best option would actually be considering all my symptoms given what's going on

from my second ultrasound they did still see what looks like a polyp so now given that i have a history of polyps an ablation wouldn't really be the best option because if they needed to go in again to biopsy or if there was bleeding it would be harder to tell what was going on because of that and it also apparently wouldn't help that much with the rest of my period symptoms considering it's not a guarantee that it'd stop them completely, it would just lessen it significantly but if i'm looking to stop all of it that's not really going to be my best option

so!! the plan right now is this: on the 9th i'm going to go in and they're going to put me to sleep (FINALLY)

just kidding, but they are going to do a dnc, get that polyp and all that stuff in there out and send that off to be biopsied just to make sure nothing's cancer-y in there and for the time being and while i'm still fucking asleep they're going to stick an iud up in there !!

and honestly......truthfully....if they find something on the biopsy that warrants me getting the whole thing taken out/shut down, that's fine by me as well, let's go.

if not, we'll just....let 41 year old me deal with getting that iud replaced but that at least will hopefully give me a few years peace of mind and hopefully....................less or even no periods, please god

i'm on one currently and i just...no more. i'm not even able to take those big ass pills i mentioned before because i'm off a lot of vitamins and whatnots to get ready for my procedure and that one can be bad for clotting so i can't take it and am getting the full thing this time (i also feel like it just....knows something's about to happen and it's fighting back)

but yeah, i can definitely live with that plan and i feel like i'm in good hands with this doctor so finger's crossed everything goes well and this works out and hopefully too this will help some with my mental health because i do think that's been contributing to some of what i've been going through/feeling lately

i think some of it too is probably just good old burnout as per usual. i realized why i fell into that pattern of taking long breaks from work which ended up screwing myself over, but it was because sitting there for several hours straight and feeling like i have to focus on just this one thing and one thing only and even then there aren't enough hours in the week to get it all done and it just compounds and leaves me drained

like yeah, neither schedule was ultimately doing me any good, but at least i wasn't as exhausted before. i'm sure i'll figure this out eventually even if it does mean changing jobs or just...something.

for now i still thinking getting a second job is going to be my best bet, especially now that i'm adding more medical debt to my plate, like something's gonna have to give or these grocery stores are going to have to lower their prices quickly because it's uh....rough without those extra ten hours every week now.

i'll figure it out and the good news is i have a week off coming up so hopefully that'll help me reset and give me time to really think about what i want my next move to be here as far as managing all of this.

i'll also be taking that time off because it's right around the first anniversary of my dad's passing and i know i'm probably making it bigger in my head than it really ought to be, but it's been like a jumpscare in my head every time i think about how it's already been a year

being that this month is that and then a week later his birthday i just...am not looking forward to it because i know i'm just going to be a mess and while it would probably be a good distraction for me to work and focus on other things, i just....don't want to.

if maybe i can just be really, really fucking sad for a whole week and feel whatever i need to feel and process all of that maybe then i can finally start to get better and get back to myself and life and everything, but for right now i'm just dreading it and bracing myself as best as i can.

anyway, didn't really want to end on a downer note, but i guess that's just what's been going on lately. overall, though, i am excited about this procedure as weird as that may sound and i'm really hoping it'll be a good thing

i'm going to try to continue taking it easy and getting as much rest as i can because that's what my body is begging me for and being that this procedure is gonna have me at the hospital at 5 fucking am on a friday after another long week of work i'm all for that so back to rest mode i go and hopefully next time you hear from me i'll have even more good news :3

hope you're all doing well <3

[kmze]

Just wanted to let you know that after our discussion on s7,I looked up on YouTube and found this one interview that had Plec,King,Neil and Melinda talking about the season.And I laughed because what they said and what happened was so so different.This proves, yet again, that what writers say in interviews are either lies or they mostly make up sh** to bait and switch.I mean we already knew julie wasn't involved in that season but she straight-up made up a scene where Caroline wasn't ready to leave Stefan behind when Stefan's life was in danger.And Neil said they knew going from s6 that the long arc of s7 would be about Damon-Bonnie and Stefan-Caroline.I don't remember Bamon and Bonnie getting importance at all except the first few episodes and the last few episodes although most of that was happening in Enzo's presence.The only two things that remained constant were Plec blaming Candice for getting pregnant and Dries for the flash forwards.Unbelievable!

Oh Anon I had no idea they did hour long podcasts for each season a few years ago until this! I've seen snippets of the clips on Twitter but I didn't realize it was a whole series. So I watched it and I actually felt like it validated my theory that Dries was behind so much of the S7 fuckery. There's a part where Julie says she can't do "math" storylines and that Dries whole pitch about the FF involved that so that's why she stepped away from the plotting of that. Makes sense Dries would use that to be like "oh don't worry I got this whole plan it's gonna be great" and Julie believed her until she started seeing the finished episodes (while they aired apparently *sigh*) and was like WTF. I feel like Neil and Melinda were talking about what they thought the season was going to be about with continuing the arc but then Dries derailed that.

I mean Neil's episodes had good Bonnie and Bamon in them (7x04 then later 7x21) so it makes sense he'd say that even if overall it wasn't a lot. That's because Dries hates Bonnie and I remember her being so rude to Kat at SDCC before that season aired when Kat was talking about how fans liked Bamon. Julie hates it too but at she'll at least give importance to their friendship, Dries does everything in her power to exclude it. Julie also said how Stefan and Caroline's storyline changed once Candice told them she was pregnant. I thought there was going to be way more Lily/Caroline/Stefan in S7 especially in regards to vampirism/ripper-dom but instead Valerie got inserted there. I remember how in 7x01 Valerie has straight light brown hair and then it becomes curlier and blonder as the season progresses and I know that was intentional.

I think the lazy development of Bonnie and Enzo falls on her too! I know a lot of people like them but I just find them so basic, I never like ships with so little build-up like that. They also talked about how they had to connect the FF with the current episode and I feel like that caused BS too like Stefan burning the car and needing to say in the present "do whatever you want but do not touch my car" was a jab at SC because Lily was holding Caroline captive.

Edited to add: OMG there was a lot sorry, I don't know what Julie was talking about with the motel scene and Candice seemed to confuse it with the scene in 7x12(I think?) when Matt saved her in news studio but, Neil was the only one who knew what he was talking about there. He summed up the 7x21 scene as at first how Stefan didn't respect Caroline's choice (TO DIE FFS) by being caveman-y but then they talked it out and why he did it. But that scene has wayyyy more nuance to it in the overall character of Stefan that can't be explained in a podcast setting like that.

[golbrocklovely]

i just read your 2021 colby tweets post…

“(it's so clear to me now that this man was clearly going thru so much. this is when things really changed for him and how he interacted with us. it's sad to look back on this now)”

im so curious… what happened? - aussie anon

i'm gonna give the briefest and quickest run downs, just bc as a fan that was on twitter around this time, i full on hated this time period in the fandom and literally contemplated leaving bc of how bad it got.

so between 2020-21, colby was getting called out for a lot of shit. some of it was warranted, but a lot of it wasn't. for example, he was getting called out for mouthing the n word in a video and musically. he addressed it and apologized. and obviously hasn't done it since.

he was also called out for not doing enough for stop asian hate, which according to fans was he needed to retweet the right links, bc him retweeting whatever post he did wasn't good enough.

but then it got into a different territory. he started getting called out for the following: not immediately talking about jan 6 as it was happening, wishing happy international women's day, getting called out for mimicking brennen's weird voice in a video which apparently sounded like he was mocking asian ppl?????, the queerbaiting shit (which to this day i die on the hill that ppl cannot queerbait you, and on top of that brennen and sam never had to apologize), not calling out his fans for apparently being transphobic (even tho how was he supposed to know that was happening). there's probably plenty more as well, but these were the highlights.

and then in 2021, if i'm not mistaken, he ended up getting a terrible death threat that was posted by some """"""fan"""""". it was a really disgusting, long ass dissertation basically calling him worthless in a 1000 different ways. once that happened, he really removed himself from twitter, literally taking like a week long break, and from that point forward did not come back on the platform the same. he kept his distance from us after that, and when his journal was stolen… he really parted from the fandom in a way. bc there were ppl in the replies of that tweet celebrating him losing it. and i think that tied with the two past years of bs, it was enough for him to separate himself from the fandom.

bc before, he would tweet a lot. balcony tweets had been a thing for over a year, and then once ppl started harassing him, he stepped back. and look, i'm not here to argue that he didn't deserve to get called out for the n word clips or stop asian hate stuff. yes - those made sense. bc it's not a call out, so much as "hey, you need to address this". but everything else that followed was just straight up mean and nasty.

i mean, for fuck's sake, one of the many fans that called him out and celebrated him losing his journal, i just found out, WAS HAPPY he got cancer. that's how far some of these ppl's hate for him ran. even to this day some ppl dislike him for dumb mistakes that he shouldn't have made.

and i know i can't accept his apologies. i'm not here to do that. i'm just here to say that it's one thing to hold someone accountable, but it's another thing entirely to wish someone the worst and be glad when it occurs. bc that's demented. he's made mistakes, sure. but none of them are bad enough to wish him misery. at least i don't think so.

[red-riding-wood]

Back from Hiatus

Trigger warning? I think? Brief mentions of medical stuff, nothing graphic. Oh, and death (but none occurred).

TLDR if you don't want to read seven paragraphs: Physical health bad, mental health bad, now hospitalised, fucked up when transferring my story files, hospital bad, home soon?, regardless you will be seeing me back in your feed probably more than you'd like

Rambling below cut

So, about a month ago I had to take a step back from Tumblr... and then an even bigger step back from Tumblr, because I had taken a step back from writing and I found that I just pressured myself too much to write and post when I did use the app. (I did my best to save your guys' stories in my drafts to read later but... I may have missed some and I definitely have some catching up to do.)

Why did I take a hiatus from writing? Well, that was due to my physical health declining in a real bad way. I won't get into it too much here, because I would end up telling a dramatic yet probably honestly boring story of the last four years of my life, but I'm willing to answer any questions if anyone's curious.

Anyway, that sent my head into a state of just utter... fear, I suppose. It's very difficult to care or focus on anything else when death is literally on your mind, and I was also in this weird state of limbo because I wasn't sure if I would be going to hospital or dying or what... so I didn't write, or really do anything except try to take care of myself the best I could. And I pretty much just isolated.

I've been in hospital a couple days now. The fear of death has lessened, and I think I'm gonna be okay, though I'm straight up not having a good time. I had this idea that what would get me through it was writing, so I sent myself all of my docs for my WIPs. Thing is, I keep shortcuts to them on my desktop, and apparently they don't save changes to the root file?? A lesson I learned after I showed up and found that massive chunks of my writing, notes, and storyboards were missing. Yeah, I fucked up.

But now there is talk of outpatient care as soon as this Friday which means I can maybe go home with my TPN (feeding through a vein tube which is the best way I can describe it since I am not a medical professional; it's basically a hardcore IV and I assure you it's badass and exactly like Cyberpunk 2077 -- that was sarcasm but seriously, props to anyone who lives with these because these are terrifying). If that's the case, I'll be able to carry on with White Ribbon and the fics I had started for Darjeeling and Budapest, and it will probably be a lot easier for me to write in general. I haven't tried writing yet, but hospital is a really uncomfortable environment for me (I mean, I'm sure it is for most people but I have a lovely lifetime dose of trauma on top of the usual) and I'm not managing as well as I thought I would so I have my doubts on how well I will be able to focus. (Don't worry about requests, guys... I haven't forgotten about any of them and I still fully intend to fulfill them, even if it means writing your smutty fantasies in hospital.)

If that's not the case, and I'm stuck here until surgery, well, I am willing it into the damn universe that I'm gonna write again regardless. So if you don't see me post something in the next week you have my blessing to send copious amounts of hate mail.

Thank you for reading my long-winded explanation. Oh, and, don't hesitate to message/reach out or tag me in anything! I'm feeling more social again now that I'm not, you know, dying and stuff.

[kotomori]

The Banished and The Broken

Summary:

As someone who was born as an only child into a rich family, Steve could've had everything he wanted.

As long as he behaved himself.

As long as he sat up straight and spoke when spoken to.

As long as he blended in with the right kind of people.

As long as he was what everyone wanted him to be.

Yet ever since the first time fought a monster from another world and lived to tell in 1983, Steve has never been sure of what he wants out of life, if there is even a world that still has a place in it for a man as lost as he is. Three years later as he stares down the Devil who wants to break that world apart, he no longer cares about the stakes of his future but for the lives of those who changed him. He only has one priority left to fulfill as their protector: outnumbered or not he won't let them hurt his family.

*Author's note*

.Man am I late for this one....

Hi! :)

Not gonna lie to ya! Never thought I'd be here writing a Stranger Things fic. Then again I also said that about every other fandom I've written for on here so my word means nothing XD

Stranger things 4 was.....an experience. Did I love it? Volume 1 absolutely. Then volume 2 came upon us and.....what the hell was that?! Dont get me wrong, I love the way it ended with the upside down breaking into Hawkins. I loved Elevens arc in season 4 as a whole, I loved the Russian rescue mission and escape storyline which led to two of the most emotional reunion scenes I've ever seen. I loved that my favourite three characters (sans Eddie since hes only had one season hence he doesnt apply to this argument) had more screen time than they've ever had in the show. And by that I'm talking about Steve, Max and Dustin. I loved that Jonathan finally had a friend that wasn't Will or Nancy the same way I loved when Steve found a friend in Robin in season 3.

However....why were so many parts of volume 1 just completely forgotten about or rushed in volume 2? Mike telling eleven he loves her? Why was that a plot point? Why did he only say it when he was forced to say it? Why did Eddie have to die in order for the group to defeat Vecna? It would've take the bats just as much time getting back to the house as it did the trailer so they would've got him in time either way. Why did the Duffers pull a Two Days Later on us?!?!?

Another point I was confused about is why they conveniently forgot that Steve was literally mauled by bats....the scene where Eddie is explaining the warzone and Steve's just standing there bleeding through his bandages just like 'eh, just another Tuesday' made me laugh so much and then it's just never brought up again because apparently it was a way to introduce these bat things so that wed have insight into how one of the most popular characters would die....nah fuck that, imma change it.

Goes without saying Steve is absolutely my favourite character in the show. His character has by far had the greatest evolution and I cant wait to see how hes handling the aftermath in season 5. But I feel like they really missed some opportunities with him in season 4 and I'm just kind of projecting that onto this story because I like the character so much and hope you all like this story too :)

(Also side note but I'm honestly living for how the Duffers set up two potential LGBT couples with Rickie and Byler and then just threw the fruity fours great upside down adventures at us like XD I love the ship of Steve/Eddie, not sure I feel as into Ronance as alot of you but I think it's just because I like Robin way more as a character than I do Nancy, who honestly I have mixed feelings about her character.)

Also also, while this is a Steve/Eddie fic, that is not the sole or even the main focus of the story, its mainly about Steve's relationship with everyone, as well as some of the other characters with eachother, with a big ol dose of fluff on the side to cover up all the hurt in these poor kids.

Chapters 2/? Link to full fic available above :)

[goldenrdkin]

Funky little peepol in my funky little dreams

I don't think I've ever mentioned my dreams here (maybe once? idfk), so I'm gonna start talking about them. I find them quite interesting, and they're strangely coherent with actual plotlines. Not to mention, this one in particular had a character I can't stop thinking about.

I'm currently thinking about my most recent dream. The beginning of it was jumbled (as usual), but quickly got into the "plot."

The Cattle Egret

There was a large white bird with a golden crest. It would fly around my home, landing in trees. I was mystified by it, chasing it below to get a better look.

What confuses me about this is that I never knew about Cattle Egrets until I looked up what I saw. I knew what Egrets were, but not this specific kind. And yet this bird I saw looked near-identical to one.

Familiar but Not?

Cut to what appeared to be an old-style building. Inside was where I met a familiar character. They weren't any of my OCs or someone I knew irl, but they had an almost uncanny familiarity to them as if I knew them from somewhere else. They didn't have a unique appearance either; you could probably mistake them for a generic anime boy (short straight black hair (kinda emo tbh), creme white skin, dark eyes, skinny...). And yet I could still "recognize" him.

He wasn't too friendly, though. Had an attitude and was rather reckless. He treated me the same as he treated everyone else in the building, so whatever I recognized in him, he didn't return to me.

I tried talking to him, but it didn't seem to go over well. All I got was a name - I can't remember exactly, but I believe it was Dorix.

A day had apparently passed in-dream, and I returned to the same building. However, I was told by another person I shouldn't be there (private property and whatnot), so I went around the back of the building and found Dorix again.

He seemed a lot less tense than his first appearance. He even opened up to me, and let me walk with him. I wish I could remember our conversations, but unfortunately, I can't.

All I know is that we grew close, and I got to see a much softer and more sensitive part of his personality. Who used to be an aggressive and spiteful person was now gentle and shy. There was more to him, more that I wasn't able to learn about. He had a life.

The End + Thoughts

Nearing the end of my dream was also jumbled (less so than the beginning, but still not nearly as connected to the plot). The environment was similar to that of the Hidden World, with a modern aspect. However, while everything else was drifting plot-wise, Dorix was still there. While I transformed into a dragon for this dream segment, he did too. He may have changed appearance-wise, but it was still him. I could still recognize him.

So... It feels weird thinking back on this. I had made a friend, a companion, all inside a dream. And now he's gone.

Normally, I slowly become aware that I'm dreaming. By the end, I knew everything wasn't real, except... Dorix. He felt real. No, he WAS real. He wasn't just some two-dimensional figment of my imagination. He had a life, he LED me through my dream. He introduced me to places I wouldn't have explored on my own. He felt emotion, made me feel emotion.

I can go on and on about this, but... This post has gotten long enough. Maybe I'll talk about Dorix again. I just hope I can see him again, even if it means rewatching the same dream from the beginning.

[nerdasaurus1200]

I saw Dragon Prince season 4 and hoo boy do I have thoughts (in no particular order)

First off, it's adorable how much of a magic nerd Callum is. He's grown so much and become so much stronger in two years

Stella is baby. She's living her best life with her cuddlemama and future cuddle papa. Speaking of, let Callum becalled a cuddlepapa by himself or Rayla next season

Zym and Ezran have grown up so much and it both breaks and warms my heart

Okay, so Rayla is a Dragonguard. Good to know.

Terry is my son now. I adopted him, he's mine.

I feel like Callum is just a little bit jealous of Stella getting love from Rayla

“The other elves saw me as a doe, but I knew. I always knew that I was a buck. I..chose the name Terrestrius.”....This line here. This line is gonna stick with me forever. I honestly didn't expect them to outright tell or show us Terry is trans but I'm so glad. That's gonna mean so much to trans kids watching this show. And the fact that Viren has no problems with it at all makes it even more special. Although Terry's wording makes me wonder if someone in his family didn't accept him.

Oh man I just read his wiki page and apparently Terry is still mid transition

I'm calling it now, that girl that figured out Araavos is Harrow and Ezran's descendant

Well, at least we know how loyal Terry is to Claudia.....someone get this poor boy a mug of hot cocoa, a blanket, a hug, and a therapist; he's earned it. He was 100% having a panic attack

"I'm gonna feel all the feelings!" THAT'S RIGHT YOU GO MY FUNKY BOY

I KNEW IT! I KNEW RAYLA'S PARENTS WERE IN THE COINS!GOD POOR RAYLA! ETHARI AND CALLUM ARE GONNA LOSE THEIR SHIT!

Hot damn, Ezran's speech combined with Ibis and Claudia fighting was powerful...that whole scene really encapsulates what the entire show is about, I think

Zubeia gets more and more badass with every episode

I wasn't expecting the chocolate tart to be brought back but it's nice that Rex Igneous liked it. Although how could he taste so much of such a little thing?

Ohhhhh wait, I just got that! Rex means king, he's KING Igneous!

Oh man I had no idea Ezran's crown is made from Harrow's sword

That possesion scene was straight up creepy, I honestly thought Callum died for a second

Speaking of creepy, I never wanna see snake Claudia again, please and thank you

I know Callum is angry at Rayla but he needs to talk to her, really. I feel like he's using the possession thing as an excuse to not talk about their relationship. Like, I do think he's genuinely shaken up by it but he's choosing to focus on that because it's easier

Soren...god, Soren has changed so much. In just 3 years, this boy has gone from picking fights with dragons and being eager to kill them to not being able to turn away from a dragon in need. He even shed his armor for her. Season 1 Soren would NEVER have done that in a million years

Another thing S1 Soren would never do is that talk with Claudia. Man, that was deep.

Also I love Soren's new look, I feel like it suits him way better than his knight armor

I dunno why I expected an out of the gate dramatic conversation when Soren found Claudia. Although I am glad we still got them having that conversation

I will say though, I do wish we got more of a reaction to Terry from Soren

Can Squeaky return next season as Soren's dragon pal? Please? he's the only one that doesn't have an animal companion

"I wanna spend the last month traveling with my daughter, the most important person in the world to me" I....it's nice that you're finally learning to not be a jackass Viren, but did you forget that you have a son??? Is Soren just chopped liver to you?

That said, I do appreciate that Viren has changed. I feel like he's definitely not gonna become immortal.

Regarding Claudia's speech about human suffering....either she's been fed TONS of propaganda by Araavos or she's taking it way too personally after all this time. Like, girl, you have an elf boyfriend, calm down

Awww the return of big feelings time!