#i mean. it would probably be a challenge regardless. but i could maybe get to midnight if not

[kim-ruzek]

I really wanted to stay up until my actual birth time like I usually do, but I genuinely do not think I'll get to midnight, let alone past it and that's kinda sad :/

[ooooo-mcyt]

Scott's intelligence, charisma, and adaptability are traits held back only by his tendency toward inconsolable affection.

Scott is really good at planning, really good at talking his way out of things, at gathering resources, at preparing, at being calm, rational, at staying alive. Staying on the sidelines enough to not rock the boat, staying friendly enough to always be the last target, and staying aware enough to put up a challenge for anyone who might target him at the same time.

Of course, he performs very well. But he could perform better, if he possessed the ability to let go.

In Thirdlife he placed tenth- why? Because he didn't have the will to continue without Jimmy. Where Scott had been rational all season, taking things slow, keeping his head down, he suddenly stumbled around in a vengeance driven daze, driven to nothing but grief and rage without his partner.

In Double Life and Secret Life, Scott fully sacrificed his final life. He killed himself in Double Life, handed the victory to someone else. He begged Gem to kill him in Secret Life, insistent on seeing her win.

In Limited Life and Real Life, Scott didn't seem to have intention to give up, per say, but he was happy to lose. Martyn stabs him in the back and Scott says he wouldn't have it any other way. Cleo laughs that he wouldn't kill her as they fight, and she's probably right.

Scott's capabilities can only carry him as far as his own will does, and often that will is doused instantly without a partner to shine for.

Of course, there's an argument to be made that 'victory' is what you make of it. How can Scott's love hold him back if he considers seeing his partners win to be a victory? Why does technical victory count for more than personal victory? And, well, it doesn't in a vacuum. But I also get the sense that Scott is unhappy with his role at times.

He says it- "Sometimes you have to take one for the band" and similar endings- with satisfaction, but it also feels..resigned in a sense. Regardless of the meaning he finds in it, being stabbed through the chest by the ones you love is difficult. Boiling down your humanity to what you can give away is difficult. Always having to wonder whether your allies are here out of loyalty to you or ambition seeking what you can do for them (and coming to the conclusion that it doesn't make a difference) is difficult. Waking up again in a new world and being treated like a stranger by those same allies is difficult.

And sometimes I wonder what could be.

Would there would be less misery, loneliness, uncertainty, in a world where he was someone more capable of letting go? If he could find joy in bloodied hands and empty rooms? If he could be happier seeing himself with a crown than he is with a sword through his chest? Or would it just be lonelier? Sacrificing what comes naturally to him- sacrificing his light and the love he fights for- so he can better fit in to the cruel game he's expected to play?

I don't know.

Maybe no matter what you do, there's no way to 'win' a game like this. Maybe small victories in a sea of loneliness and uncertainty is the best you can hope for in a death game.

[senseandaccountability]

“It takes the wrong sort to put the world right.”

A huge problem for me with the tone of the narrative is that outside a very carefully curated playthrough experience with preconceived ideas of and love for Solas, Veilguard is probably the least compassionate game I’ve played in forever, while spouting out lines about how everyone can find a new path in life because our nature isn’t written in stone, our fates are our own, as well as plenty of HR department lines about working together as a team.

“It takes the wrong sort to put the world right.” The game says that, but it definitely doesn’t mean it. At least I don’t feel it. You are so very rarely challenged in your idea of who this wrong sort is and what they could bring to the table. Davrin speaks of the Wardens recruiting at the Gallows but you meet only adorable, righteous and charming ones. The Crows aren’t the wrong sort anymore, they’re just adorably Antivan upper class. And so on and so forth. Rook certainly isn’t the wrong sort either, they’re mentally around 19 years old and stumbling their way through the world like some romance novel protag. In one of the most thematically shallow plots, Rook gets thrown into a prison of regret fit to hold a god but unlike Solas, Rook doesn’t do regrets or guilt because Rook isn’t that complex. Rook hasn’t been allowed to feel any guilt for three acts, just how are they meant to be stuck in a regret prison?  

Compare with Origins where you yourself could be just that wrong sort that would put the world right. ALL of my Origins PCs would get stuck in Solas’s prison due to the weight of their own fuckups. If not during the game events where you could make shitty moves en masse, then because of their origin stories. Brosca and Tabris would get out of there through sheer fury alone - fuck you, I am a wreck because YOU MADE ME ONE, WORLD OF THEDAS - but the nobles would stew. Amell would loop in some guilt trip regarding blood magic and Jowan and whatnot.

Compare with Origins where Loghain is a piece of shit for most of the narrative. He actively wants to kill you and your Order, it’s nothing personal (okay, a little personal) but he just needs you gone. If you want to, you can hack and slash your way through some release there and just have him executed. BUT the game also challenges you on that idea. It presents a very pragmatic alternative that comes with a very plausible downside (you lose Alistair). It presents not excuses but explanations - do with them what you will. Loghain has people in his corner through the entire trilogy, arguing his case. Cauthrien FALLS TO HER KNEES before you, pleading to spare his life. Threnn in DAI will stan him for the rest of her life. Anora tells you stories about the man behind the name.  And Arl Eamon’s world view and idea of Loghain is shown to be more than a little self-serving when faced with the politics of the Landsmeet. Things around Loghain blur. In the Ostagar DLC they allow things to blur even further when Loghain’s pragmatism is countered by Wynne’s player character-moralism (ie “someone died, it’s always wrong if someone died even if that death prevented 9000000 deaths you KILLED someone!!!!!111”). Origins tells me - or hints at - why Loghain became the wrong sort, shows me ways in which he is also the right sort and leaves me wondering about him. Because the game is gritty and dark and weird but also yes, compassionate. If you execute him, Anora will mourn him because she loves him regardless. If you have him join the Wardens she will sit with him while he recovers because he is undeniably an asshole but he’s also her father who braided her hair and showed her the world. A good narrative never, ever forgets that.  Veilguard feels so different here, maybe it's just me. I'm pretty sure I'm almost done being salty now, I just... feel a lot about narratives.

[mooniiify]

Hiiii

Any thoughts about Wriothesley, Tarutaru and Diluc having their first date with reader? I need fluff aaaaa

ouuu alright let's see

wriothesley would have to go out of his comfort zone for your first date, since he wouldn't want your first official time out with him to be in a literal prison. he says it's a surprise even though when he first invites you, he has no idea where to bring you. he rarely goes out nowadays due to how demanding his job is, but the days before your first date, he goes around fontaine, checking out different places, curating his plan.

on the day of the actual date, he tries to tame his hair with sigewinne's help unsuccessifully and goes to pick you up from your home, unaware of the sticker on his shoulder, courtesy of sigewinne. he was just a little nervous at the beginning, but once you chuckled at the sticker and pointed it out to him, his anxiety grew. had he just made a fool of himself?

the date continued, though, which eased his nerves. he took you to a play you'd mentioned you've wanted to see for a while first, then to grab a bite at hotel dubord (at neuvillette's suggestion) where you spend the evening talking over nice desserts; at the end of the date, you point out the other two stickers wriothesley had over his jacket, making him groan and you laugh

tartaglia is more of the adventerious type, so i feel like he'd want to do something more interesting than just a typical date, especially if you're also into it. he'd probably think about suggesting to go fight something or someone, but he quickly realizes that wouldn't really make a good first date, so he goes back to the drawing board.

he just so happens to ask you out around lantern rite when he's also in liyue, so he thinks that would be the calmest way to spend the evening. after all, his goal is to make you smile, get to know you better and spend time with you and show off to make you fall for him more.

regardless, tartaglia is tartaglia, so once he gets to a game booth, he's playing. he'll get competitive with a kid and forget where he is for a moment, though after he wins a trinket, he gives it to you, proclaiming he'd won it for you only and definitely not because he just wanted to win, which happens a few more times throuhout the night.

at some games, he even challenges you and cheers you on when you beat him at some of them. even if this is just your first date, he's your biggest fan and would lowkey let you win just to see the smile on your face tbh.

overall the date goes rather well and tartaglia is already planning the second one which is to fight any treasure hoarder they come across bc he thinks you look badass when you fight

diluc is a rather simple man. he's traditional. he would invite you to the dawn winery for dinner (and maybe a sleep over if it gets too late). i feel like diluc is the type of man to have to know someone really well or be friends with them for a while before he could even consider dating them, so he's not nervous about the first date because he knows you, or he's trying to convince himself of that, at least.

he wants to make it special, so he asks the maids to leave the kitchen and leave him to make the meal himself. everyone but adelinde leave, as she was too scared to leave him alone in the kitchen. ten minutes in and she had to step in and help him.

regardless, he helped for the meal at least halfway. he promises himself then he'd do better next time and learn how to cook.

anyway, you arrive and he'd set the table by himself, using the red designed plates he'd inherited from his mother, as well as his finest cutlery. he takes your coat off of you and hangs it himself, then pulls your chair out for you. you giggle at how gentlemanly he's acting, but it's not unwelcome by all means.

the date passes calmly, with the two of you talking about anything and everything. it feels like an usual hang out for the two of you, though this time a bit more intimate, as you're not aware of each other's feelings. after dinner, the two of you end up on the couch in front of the fireplace, with diluc's arm around your shoulders and you snuggled into him, eventually falling asleep in each other's warmth.

thank you so much for the request! hope i delivered! requests are still open!

[literatureloverx]

Just use this blog! I would love to get your thoughts in Chuuya since you do such an amazing job with Fyodor. Would be awesome to know your ideal types for the other bsd guys (..well chuuya mainly)

Such a cutie patootie request 🥹 I love it, and I’ve been wanting to write about this for a while now!

I’m a bit nervous about writing a character who isn’t Fyodor, but I really hope I can meet your expectations. ❤️ I would hate to disappoint. 🥺

Just a heads-up: I’m also planning to write about Dazai’s, Nikolai’s, and maybe even Akutagawa’s ideal types at some point. ❤️

Chuuya x fem!reader, Chuuya x ideal type!reader.🧡

Chuuya’s ideal type

In my character analysis post for Fyodor, I mentioned that Fyodor is not a "darling-neutral" character, which suggests that he has a very clear and non-negotiable ideal type.

However, this is certainly not the case with our beloved Chuuya.

Chuuya is genuinely "darling-neutral," but I’d like to depict an ideal type nonetheless, as I believe he has some aspects he would greatly admire in a woman.

Although I can’t recall where I read it, it was mentioned somewhere that Chuuya appreciates elegant people with a good sense of fashion.

When I think of such a person, I immediately picture an elegant woman who knows how to carry herself effectively and gracefully.

A good sense of fashion often indicates high self-esteem and self-worth.

This leads me to believe that Chuuya’s ideal type would definitely be someone confident.

It’s important to clarify that confidence doesn’t mean being loud or mean.

Imagine someone who is elegant, feminine (but not hyper-feminine), and confident.

This person would not be gracefully meek or silent but would act, look, behave, and move with class and confidence.

Given Chuuya’s own pride in his male strength, his keen sense of fashion, and his confidence brimming with pride, I believe he would fall for such a person almost immediately.

However, his ideal partner should not challenge him in a way that disrupts his sense of harmony.

This is precisely why he says he hates Dazai; it’s not that he hates Dazai himself, but rather the constant challenges Dazai presents that unsettle him.

Chuuya is a proud man in every possible way, and he wouldn’t easily tolerate disrespect or undue challenge.

In terms of physical appearance, I don’t think that attributes like hair or skin color, height (even though he is 5'3"/160 cm), or weight would be of significant importance to him.

However, I don’t believe he would be attracted to someone who is obese. Don’t get me wrong—he is strong enough to carry someone regardless of their weight, but it’s simply not his vibe.

“If a person’s body is prominent, it should be due to athleticism.”—Chuuya, probably.

Still, I don’t see him caring much about your fitness level either.

When I said he is "darling-neutral," I genuinely meant it.

I believe that Chuuya could easily fall in love with a shy, more masculine, sincere, or careful partner.

He has a beautiful and deeply humane heart, which allows him to see the best in his partner, no matter their characteristics.

However, this is not in a naive way—he would guide his partner to the right path if he sensed something might be off.

On the emotional side, Chuuya loves challenges, but his life is already filled with them. He might seek rest in his partner’s arms rather than being constantly challenged.

He would likely get bored with someone who is only loving but not truly engaging, as he is not a passive person himself.

Chuuya is active in whatever he does.

Chuuya is active in everything he does, so he needs a partner who can at least keep up with his lifestyle.

As a feared man and a valuable part of the Port Mafia—an executive, no less—his position should not intimidate his partner.

This is why I believe he wouldn’t keep his situation a secret.

He wants a true partner, someone loyal to him who also has a life of her own with meaningful activities, so she doesn’t feel alone or isolated when he’s not around.

His ideal partner should be independent and capable of taking care of herself, but also willing to let him take care of her—not because she needs it, but because she wants it.

This is how Chuuya expresses his love, through grand gestures and physical affection.

His partner should accept this wholeheartedly.

Loyalty is one of the most important aspects of Chuuya's relationship with his partner. He is loyal until the end of time, and he expects the same in return.

Then there’s his expensive wine collection—he’s not a heavy drinker, but he enjoys a good glass of wine now and then, especially when celebrating or unwinding after a long day.

He would expect his partner to share these peaceful moments with him. His vulnerable state when he drinks and relaxes gives him a sense of domestic warmth.

I’m not sure if this is a common interpretation of Chuuya’s character, but I see him as a somewhat possessive lover—perhaps not possessive in the typical sense, but definitely territorial.

Sexually, he may be very possessive, but in other aspects, he’s more about asserting his territory.

Because he won’t take it lightly if someone flirts with you or eyes you, you’ll need to be someone who can maintain a certain distance from others when necessary.

This is why I envisioned an ideal type for Chuuya who is classy, carrying herself with elegance and confidence, rather than someone who is chatty or bubbly.

Chuuya is territorial, and while you’re free to do as you please—go shopping with friends (he would even give you his black card), meet them anywhere, or engage in any activities you like—he barely has time for himself.

So, when he does have time for the two of you, he would expect you to set everything else aside to spend that time together.

That is why he needs someone who is ready to make sacrifices when needed.

Edit: I practically forgot to mention any real sexual content about his potential darling, so here they are:

I don’t think he would care whether his partner is a virgin or not, but if you are, he’d be very proud to be your first and would strive to make your first experience as beautiful and sensually unforgettable as possible.

However, I can’t see him being attracted to someone who is "too open" with sexual encounters, like someone who sleeps around.

This simply doesn’t align with the image of a woman who carries herself with confidence and grace.

[aezuria]

Hi! could you do a daughter of hadez! reader x leo valdez headcannons or one shot? Like the reader is really gloomy and Leo is the only one that gets her to smile (like nico and will oops)

*ੈ✎ turn that frown upside down!

content: leo valdez x daughter of hades! reader

╰┈▸ warnings: canon divergent probably, a few cuss words

librarian's annotations: so i was stuck between making that daughter of hades fic with jason angsty or this one, guess which one i did ! (he can never be not tragic im sorry) anyways SO SOOOO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I HOPE U LIKE IT

you were not the most joyous person; at least that's what it looked like to other people.

like, did anyone ever see you smile?

(probably nico, but that's about it)

well, leo valdez took that as a challenge

a pretty girl like you with a perpetual frown on her face? he'd turn that frown upside down!

(or so he hoped)

you picked at your food, sitting alone at the hades table once again; nico sneaking off to who knows where doing gods know what

leo took his chance and approached you, not caring about the assigned seating rule

i mean, he couldn't just let you sit there all alone!

"hey there," leo slid onto the bench in front of you, his elbow on the desk as he tried to act all suave.

who is this bumbling fool? you looked up from your food, an ever present glare in your eyes.

yikes, leo thought, laughing awkwardly. "you looked a little lonely, so i wanted to keep you company. is that alright?"

normally (as normal for an abnormal situation like this) you'd tell them to go fuck right off. but maybe you were in a miss-your-brother mood, or maybe you were just hungry and not thinking straight.

regardless, you gave him a shrug and took a bite out of your food. that wasn't a complete no.

scandalous gasps echoed through the pavilion. leo had already gotten their attention when he broke the rule, but you letting him stay? now that was absolutely unbelievable!

you turned your sharp gaze around the hall, wondering what the sudden rise in chatter was about. (they all took it as a sign to shut up because no one wanted to see the daughter of death mad)

your unbothered ass kept on eating because it was hitting especially hard today like-

"so..." leo trailed off, fingers tapping against the table as he tried to come up with something quickly. "who's your godly parent? mine's hephaestus, i found that out like, yesterday."

"hades," you answered shortly. you thought it would be obvious with your whole vibe, but maybe to a newcomer it wasn't. and you were a bit glad it wasn't, because no one bothered to talk to you once they found out.

"oh! yeah that should've been obvious, huh?" leo laughed sheepishly.

you nodded, the mostly one-sided conversation extending for a painstakingly long time.

"y/n!" leo waved eagerly once he caught sight of you leaving your cabin.

you startled, about to look over your shoulder to see who he was waving at as if he didn't just yell out your name. you put up your hand in a weak attempt at saying hello. you were about to go and start walking again when he ran towards you calling, "wait!"

you stopped short and turned back around to see him sprinting towards you. (guess all that running away was good for something)

he put his hands on his knees dramatically and gasped for breath. (maybe not?) leo straightened up, a bright grin on his face. "where are ya going? can i come with?"

you were off to go brood in the woods or something; not much of a two-person job. but for some reason, you couldn’t say no to his cheerful smile.

”sure.” you turned and went to walking again.

he scampered after you excitedly. “great! so what are we doing? do you wanna see this cool bunker i found? look at this bracelet i made! do you want it? i can make another so we match!”

you were a little overwhelmed with the amount of topic changes that happened in a matter of seconds. it was like a conversation with him made up for all the social interaction you deprived yourself of. it was quite endearing, if you were being honest. (maybe you didn't want to be all mysterious and nonchalant anymore! was that so bad?)

principle was principle after all.

"we can go to your bunker if you want," you said after he finally gave you a chance to speak. it's not like what you were about to do was any more interesting.

you didn't know how it was possible, but he smiled even wider. "really!? great! it's this way!" he took your hand and ran in the direction he pointed.

(and if your heart skipped a beat as he did so? well, that was for your information only)

"you like?" leo swung the door open and swooped an arm out proudly. "i'm still cleaning it up so it's a little messy, but there's so much cool stuff here! i don't know why nyssa didn't tell me about this. also! look at this dragon i found! his name's festus!"

he ran over to an astoundingly large bronze dragon. to say you were impressed would be an understatement.

"whoa."

"i know right!?"

"why do you always have a frown on your face?" leo asked one day. his hands itching to tug the corners of your mouth upward.

what? "i'm not frowning. this is my normal face." your face knitted in confusion.

he blew out a sigh, shaking his head in response. "seriously?"

"why would i be joking?" you deadpanned. but maybe that was also your normal voice.

"so like, everyone thinks you're mad at them when you're really just looking at them?"

"wait, people think i'm mad at them?"

"..."

"leo?"

"..obviously, i was not about to just sit there and take that, like it would so not fit my super cool, super funny, super hot and manly vibe-" he cut himself off once he heard a giggle to his right. he looked over to see you, a soft smile on your face.

he thinks he could've died a happy man right then and there. did he, leonidas valdez, just manage to make you smile? and not just that, but laugh? his life goal was complete. zeus could strike him down right there and he'd welcome elysium with open arms.

but of course, he just had to play it cool and not act like he was totally head over heels.

"did i hear a laugh from you?" leo smirked and nudged your shoulder. "y/n, do you think i'm funny? i mean, who wouldn't, right? i'm just hilarious!" he teased.

"shut up," you hid your smile behind your hand as you tried to wipe it off.

"aww!" leo drew you in for a hug, completely forgetting his "play it cool" attitude. he felt you stiffen in his arms, and he immediately let go and scooted back. "i'm so sorry! i don't know why i did that! did i make you uncomfortable? sorry!"

seeing his flustered expression brought yet another smile to your face. (or maybe it was just him in general) "i was just surprised. i liked it, leo."

fuck. if he looked at your precious face a second longer, he'd have to confess his undying love for you right then and there. and there was a lot he had to say.

but actions did speak louder than words. "can i kiss you?"

"yeah."

gods be damned, that boy could kiss.

[lenaellsi]

I've never understood what people mean when they say that Crowley is hiding the truth of Heaven and God's cruelty from Aziraphale to protect him or spare his feelings. That's like...the complete opposite of what Crowley does.

Crowley spends all 6000 years of their time on Earth together making snarky comments about Heaven and God at every opportunity. It's his opening line in Eden, and even before Eden, he meets Aziraphale and two minutes later goes on a rant about how unfair it is to end the world before it’s really started. "What's the point of making an infinite universe if you're only going to let it run for a few thousand years?" He's been forcing Aziraphale to grapple with God's plan literally since the moment they met. Those moments make up like half of the S1E3 intro, and it happens again in every single S2 minisode. "Same God that wants me to whack the kids?" "Tell her that poverty is ineffably wonderful and life is worth living. Go on!" "That's the trouble with you lot. You tend to see things in black and white." Like. Crowley's not trying to hide anything! He thinks Heaven sucks! He thinks God is playing a fucked up game! He tells Aziraphale that all the time!

Crowley sharing or not sharing the minute details of Aziraphale's failed execution is, honestly, a nonissue, and it's kind of frustrating to see it constantly brought up. We don't even know for sure that Crowley never told Aziraphale exactly what was said. Crowley says Aziraphale "doesn't remember it either," when he's talking to Jim--not that he doesn't know, just that he doesn't remember, because he wasn't physically there. But regardless of whether Aziraphale knows the exact words, he absolutely knows that Gabriel "tried very hard to cast [him] into Hellfire and destroy [him]." And he already knows Gabriel is an asshole. That's not news.

And I'm unconvinced that Crowley wouldn't have shared what he learned in Heaven about the Second Coming and Gabriel's trial over breakfast at the Ritz if things hadn't gone completely to shit. Here's my hot take: in the fifteen minutes he and Aziraphale had alone after he got back, he had other things on his mind. Would it have been helpful for Aziraphale to know? Eh, maybe. But honestly, Aziraphale is already aware that Heaven 1) is fully on board with the end of the world, and 2) has no problem punishing angels who try to stop the end of the world. Because, you know. They tried to kill him about it last time. And regardless, I don't think this is an issue of Crowley hiding things--I think he genuinely just forgot, because he was busy getting broken up with. If he'd thought about it, you bet he would have weaponized that to get Aziraphale to stay. And he kind of did! "When Heaven ends life here on Earth, it'll be just as dead as if Hell ended it."

And then there's the Fall, and yeah, fair enough. Crowley probably hasn't shared what the Fall looked like for him, and I think that's information Aziraphale could benefit from. Aziraphale clearly doesn't understand it--if he did, I can't imagine that he would have asked Crowley back to Heaven.

But that's still not Crowley trying to hide the truth about Heaven to protect Aziraphale's feelings, or whatever. He just doesn't want to talk about it! Because it fucking sucked! Crowley's communication problems stem entirely from his reluctance to grapple with his own emotions, and his reluctance to be vulnerable. Bitching about Heaven doesn't make him vulnerable; talking about his Fall really, really does.

Crowley has never once shied away from telling Aziraphale exactly what he thinks about Heaven, or the archangels, or God. He's constantly challenging him, forcing him to consider the people hurt by policy decisions like the Flood, the Crucifixion, Job's trials, or the "virtues of poverty." That's a huge part of their dynamic. Sure, he sucks at telling Aziraphale about himself--he doesn't communicate why he wants holy water, or that he's been living in his car, or anything at all about the Fall (as far as we know)--but when it comes to God? He is painfully honest. That's why Aziraphale is so unsettled by him. Crowley is generally very good to Aziraphale and conscious of his happiness, yes, but he's also not afraid to push him. It's baffling to me that people think that all he does is coddle him when we spend about half the show watching them bicker over this exact issue on screen.

[theriverbeyond]

really sad to see nanowrimo™ fumble the bag so hard on this -- if their end point was supposed to be "we are neutral on AI, agree to disagree" then they could have literally said nothing instead of grossly insulting their entire target base like... I can't imagine how anyone thought that statement would go over well? IIRC their statement LAST year was that using generative AI would render the challenge meaningless, which is a true fact regardless of your personal thoughts on AI. the entire concept of the challenge month is that putting your words onto a page is good, even and especially when they are bad. you aren't writing a finished book, you're writing an intentionally shitty draft. making bad art is good for you. but more than that, nanowrimo was always a challenge within yourself. you could always copy-paste the bee movie into your doc and say you won. you could always lie and say you wrote more words than you actually wrote, whether that was because you were really SO close to the goal that it's probably okay to add enough to get you over the top, or maybe you weren't writing at all but wanted to impress your friends. it's like, whatever, because it's not about creating a product it's about doing the process even when that means doing it poorly. even their arguments about accessibility dont make sense because you were always able to make a lower wordcount goal to work twoards if the 50k goal specifically was not attainable, so you could still participate in the social fun of a writing challenge. I did that last year and it was still great fun and I didn't end up with a horrible repetitive stress injury. I mean I guess my expectations for nanowrimo™ as an organization were already rock bottom after last year but it's just. sad to see :/

[yerimbrit]

[flufftober day 31, wc: 1k] - trick or treat! : i saw a ghost! with MC kkura

“THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST UNSERIOUS THING WE’VE DONE,” sakura mutters, pulling the modified bed sheet-turned-ghost costume over your head. you stop her midway so she can see your wide grin, and she only shakes her head fondly at you.

you let the sheet fall down over the rest of your face, and then point to yourself—although your arms are also covered with the sheet, so it just looks like a nub of the ghost is sticking out. “but it fits, kkura, i’m a ghost because i was a ghost, and you’re a ghostbuster! except we’re in love. hey, do you think that counts as forbidden love?”

“no comment,” sakura answers, spinning you around to see the rest of your look. she’s thinking of adding sunglasses, but she’s also afraid you’re gonna fall over because it’s so dark, so… maybe she’ll take it with her just in case.

because of her response (or lack thereof) you start sulking, sometimes sakura chooses not to humor you and it’s annoying. maybe if you died again she would treat you specially again. such a mean lover, but you love her regardless and you know she does too. there were some struggles and certain circumstances before and after you became human again, some that you can’t really explain in detail at the moment.

sakura sees your sulking state and sighs, grabbing the beanie she crocheted for you and fitting it snugly on your head, over the sheet. you hum in approval and kiss her cheek through the costume, effectively growing a blush across her face. “shall we go?”

“this is a rich looking neighborhood,” you note, holding sakura’s hand tightly in yours, the fabric bunching up at your wrist. you’re holding a pumpkin bucket with the other hand. “you should make this on your animal crossing island.”

the girl thinks it over, pursing her lips. “i could, but do i really want to do all of that work?”

you shrug, “you’ve done it before, in your stardew valley farm.”

“touché.”

as expected from a “rich looking neighborhood” the two of you rack up some king-sized candy bars and other trinkets that you don’t really pay attention to, with your unoriginal (but inside joke heavy) costumes. apparently, an old classmate of yours lived in one of the houses you visited and said that the ghost’s voice sounded familiar, so you had to hurry to get out of there.

(“huh,” sooyoung frowns, “you kind of sound familiar, miss ghost. like someone i used to know…”

a bead of sweat forms on both you and sakura’s faces. you chuckle nervously, “what a coincidence, right?”

sooyoung drops two fun sized kit kats into your pumpkin bucket, nodding in suspicion. “happy halloween.”

you two turn back, scurrying off to the sidewalk. “she’s scary,” you whine, nearly tripping over yourself, “she’s always been scary!”)

a dead woman could not trick-or-treat, she could only trick. and haunt. and get resurrected by her human lover. 

some have looked at you weirdly, or did a double-take when they heard your voice behind the costume, but you pay it no mind. people you knew might recognize you, but you’re a changed person, at least different from the y/n they knew. perhaps that is the effect of being a ghost for more than three years. you’re happy now, though, with sakura—you’ve been accepted at her university, your classes are fun and challenging, and you’re planning on majoring in physiology. you’ve also picked poetry back up.

but one thing for sure, one thing you’ll be eternally grateful for: being able to taste honey butter chips again. and going trick-or-treating for the first time in probably ten years.

oh, and also, chaewon lives on this street. the two of you came to her house earlier, ringing the doorbell and expecting regular old chaewon to answer, but you were greeted with yunjin in a striking red wildcats jersey.

(“oh hey kkura-unnie, and y/n—wait, hahahaha! that’s so funny, ‘cause you were, hahaha!” yunjin doubles over, holding her stomach from laughing so hard.

“can i have my candy?” you ask impatiently, holding out the bucket. “what are you supposed to be?”

the american smiles widely, pulling chaewon over who is dressed in a dumb inflatable red blood drop costume. “i’m troy bolton,” she points to herself.

“and i’m hemoglobin!” chaewon finishes, before the embarrassment kicks in and she dumps a whole bag of twix into your bucket. “pretend you never saw that.”

sakura snickers and fidgets with the ghost sucker in her hand. “i can’t promise anything.”)

your bucket is nearly filled to the brim, so you agree to make the next house the last stop of the day before returning to sakura’s car. on the outside, the house has some white and orange fairy lights, with very nicely designed and carved pumpkins on the porch. there’s also a slightly deflated santa inflatable in the back, but you don’t think that’s part of the halloween festivities.

“i’m getting a vibe from this place,” you say as you approach the front door, trying not to spill your candy.

the ghostbuster tilts her head. “what vibes?”

“i don’t know, just vibes.”

you ring the doorbell. and the most familiar face answers the door. 

“oh, are you trick or treating?”

“s… se-seulgi,” you blink rapidly, utterly shocked. the artist raises her eyebrows, then furrows them. 

“y/n…? is that you? oh, my god.”

so yeah, turns out the vibe was the whole best friend that graduated and caused your death of loneliness. fun! no, really—fun, because you haven’t seen her since she left.

the three of you end up chatting for a bit, you and seulgi exchanging sincere apologies and also phone numbers, and you also get to meet her two cats, lulu and lala, who treat you like their love at first sight. 

seulgi ran out of candy (someone stole the entire bowl she set outside) so she offered to draw a portrait of you and sakura in your halloween costumes, which you gladly take. as expected, it turns out like it should belong in a museum. this is definitely getting stuck on the fridge.

“i'll talk to you later, okay?” the artist waves goodbye, patting you on the head (or the top of the beanie) and giving a real, genuine eye smile. 

“later,” you grin.

it turns out later might not come because you may or may not have overdosed on more than 20 packs of smarties.

flufftober masterlist

a/n : and that marks the end of flufftober! thank you to all who stuck around until the very last day, im actually rlly surprised i finished it LOL

[rustingcat]

Love

Kara loved weddings.

It was a great opportunity to celebrate love, with food and dancing and touching speeches. She especially loved weddings that included people she loved. Being surrounded by their friends, celebrating the reunion of two people she loved so much and clearly love each other more than anything was a touching event.

They included both earth traditions along side Nalturian and Coluhan traditions to make a truly unique and special ceremony.

The machine was not yet ready, but Kara promised them it would be by the time they both decide to bring a child. If they chose to of course. But they would be working on Brainy biological problems, so he would be completely free from the future and free from any family responsibilities.

She made sure to reassure them both, yet she had her doubts on her chances. It was eating her from the inside. She felt like she was lying, but she tried her best to ignore those feelings to allow herself to fully enjoy the weddings.

A lot of food, some dancing and making silly faces with Esme later, Kara found herself sitting in a corner, observing the party from the side. Kryptonian ceremonies, not that they were not special in any way, were not about love, they were about finding your perfect partner. She could never remember a time her parents showed any romantic interest in each other. Then again, she was thirteen when she left, yet she could clearly see the way her aunts and uncles were acting towards each other. Romanticism and sex were not really important to a species that procreated asexualy, so most often than not your partner for life would be someone you would get along with and would bring out the best in you, like a best friend that in rare cases developed to something more. 

She wondered if she would've been matched with Lena. She hoped she would have. On Krypton their ceremony would be a big affair, considering they both come from big houses. Kara would create the perfect bracelet for Lena, sturdy and strong like her determination and will, shiny and intricate like her beauty and grace, and colours… she'd have to check if the Luthors had any colour associated with them. A representative from all of Krypton's important houses would be there. Rao's light would shine brightly on them as they recite the Holy prayers, then after thanking a lot of people they would go to their new house and plan their future together.

On earth of course it would've been a whole different ordeal. Kara wondered if they'd combine traditions like Nia and Brainy, they probably would, wouldn't they? Combine human and Kryptonian traditions along with Lena's Catholic side and the Danvers Jewish traditions. A plethora of cultures to celebrate their happy union with only the people they really love surrounding them. Kara would make sure they'd had all their favourite foods regardless of tradition. It would've been the best party, that's for sure. Maybe it's not a bad idea, they do get along great and bring out the best in each other like all the Kryptonians ideals. But humans have other ideals. They sure do love each other, but their relationship is not romantic. Would it mean that Kara would stand in Lena's way to find true love?

"Hey you." She heard Lena's voice approaching. "Are you okay? Lena asked, taking a seat opposite to her on the table.

"No, yeah. I mean I'm okay." She smiled back at her best friend. Unsure why she found the task so challenging all of a sudden. "Just thinking." She quickly added. "I promise I don't have a habit of sulking at weddings."

"Want to share what's on your mind?" Lena asked gently.

Kara thought for a moment, unsure what to say. "Are you happy?" She asked eventually.

"Me?"

"Yes. Are you happy?"

She chuckled. "I am. Kara, are you really sitting here in the corner pondering the state of my happiness?" Lena arched an eyebrow.

"Yes? I mean, you're my friend Lena, and I want you to be happy, you know that right?"

Lena chuckled again and studied her with a confused look for a moment before getting up. "Well, if you want to keep my happiness at full power, I can't have my best friend sulking in the corner." She reached out a hand towards Kara. "Come on, they were just about to bring out the desserts." 

Kara smiled and reached out for Lena's hand.

It may have been a selfish thought, but Kara wished she could just marry Lena.

Read everything on AO3

[huesofvioletandpurple]

throwing thoughts to the wall here. I've been pondering a lot about Beatrice's gown specifically in that Outside of the meta world it seems to also represent Kinzo's very specific ideas of who/what Beatrice is. spoilers for the entirety of Umineko below the cut:

for one, I'm pretty sure it has the Ushiromiya one winged eagle on it ? which implies that Beatrice Castiglioni didn't own it originally. maybe it was tailored and made for her, or maybe she never even saw it in her lifetime. but regardless it is supposed to represent her, despite the fact that she met Kinzo in very simplistic clothing that does not bear Any similarities with the expensive and intricately embroidered fabric of the gown. a human woman has been raised to the level of The Golden Witch and thus is clothed accordingly

this grows more obvious with Kuwadorian Beatrice, who was raised and isolated to fill the role of her mother. she was given Beatrice's name and told all her life she was a reincarnation, and the dress was to honour the woman in question. but again, Kinzo has made her wear that gown. his view of Castiglioni, as an impossibly powerful witch who brought him back to life, defines his daughter's life and never challenged. ergo becoming the one surviving account of what Castiglioni was like. she wears that heavy, warm and ridiculously fancy gown on a regular basis—after all, Rosa didn't find her on a particularly special day. the ruffles on the skirt resemble the curtains of a stage; Beatrice is made to act as an exaggerated memory of her own mother.

then, there's Sayo. in her interpretation of Beatrice she already had an outfit—one that she wears when she's acting as her on the gameboard. one that she probably bought/arranged herself and takes great joy in wearing. however, when she solves the epitaph, her self expression is tainted and written over. like before, Sayo is made to wear the dress her mother wore. for what ? for Kinzo ! Genji, Kumasawa, and Nanjo made her wear that dress, the dress that contains Kinzo's warped perception of Castiglioni, just so Kinzo's redemption can come to fruition !

all they thought about was Kinzo and HIS guilt and HIS redemption and HIS sins and HIM and HIM and HIM. and they never took Sayo into account beyond how she would be Kinzo's successor, how to fit her into the gown and wig, how she could give Kinzo peace of mind in his final moments. and NO ONE, during the long process of getting her into the layers of this dress, putting the wig on her, making her wear blue contacts to emphasise this faint resemblance, EVER thought about how learning about her heritage might negatively affect Sayo.

I think it says something that she doesn't seem to wear this gown ever again on the gameboard. Sayo spent the years after what had been done to her picking her autonomy back up by any means necessary, so of course she goes for the outfit she chose herself, instead of the physical embodiment of the role she was pressured to play in.

[brostradamus]

ramblings about AM in a relationship/what kind of s/o could fix him. know that im def not a person who’s deep into psychoanalysis / staying strict to a character’s personality so this might be ooc??? idk please bear w me. Whole thing is under the cut bc i think it’s pretty long n p sloppy 2. but enjoy regardless

anyways I rlly like to think that AM would most thrive in a relationship where he has equal / lesser power to his partner. not like whole ass power imbalance obv but just whre cant always hurt/bother his s/o. I’m sure AM would probably say some shit that might hurt his s/o’s feelings but a partner he’d be most compatible w/ would most likely avoid the torture mostly or altogether w/ the exception of verbal harassment cause there’s enough 2 go around 4 everyone. Also bonus points to s/os who are completely untouchable either bc they’re stronger than AM or AM decides that he doesn’t want to hurt them/can’t bring himself to.

also maybe he’d do well w someone who challenges his beliefs. tbh I feel like he’d gravitate towards people who might share his beliefs/hatred towards humanity, but if he’s supposed to grow then he’s gotta have a s/o that views humanity differently. Said s/o doesn’t even have 2 have a strictly polar opposite view on humanity, just a view that isn’t nihilistic and misanthropic. He might not be entirely receptive at first either but the further you continue to challenge his beliefs, the more likely he is to start thinking about other ideas.

Another thing that might make AM a little more accepting towards humans is a s/o that he *has* to rely on one way or another. most likely this is going to be an engineer/programming s/o. He’s likely not going to want to, but him knowing that he can rely on someone else might make him not close himself off as often.

artistic s/os might be able to help soften AM up a little too. i sometimes like 2 think that AM would actually really enjoy art, but it just depends on which kind of art. Realism he won’t really gaf about but he might gravitate towards expressionist works, along with abstract/absurdist and surreal art. this would include all art forms btw not just drawing and painting. reason for thinking he might like abstract over realism is bc realism is too ‘real’ (whatever yall think that would mean) for his liking / represents what he hates most about humanity. Abstract artwork also represents parts he hates ab humanity but it also gives him a physical representation of the things he lacks (ie expressionism w/ feelings/emotions, surrealism with the subconscious thought, etc etc) and might be the closest thing he can get to actually feeling/having senses

AM would most likely benefit from a s/o who is willing to “give” him sensation, whether it be literally by creating him a whole ass nervous + cognitive system that allowed him to have senses and feelings or even just a s/o who is willing to help him understand how certain things feel. This could be by the s/o describing how emotions feel through imagery, creating art w/ AM or *for* AM if he is unable to for whatever reason, etc. it won’t be exactly what he want ofc, but he might not be entirely bitter ab it.

I don’t think AM necessarily needs an android body to show love, but it would help :3c. Even if he still doesn’t have senses for whatever reason, it would absolutely still help him show his love towards his s/o through physical touch. W/o senses, just having his circuit’s warmed by his s/o (if they’re a human) is… well it’s not *enough* but it’ll do. And if he happens to have senses in his android body man he’s gonna be attached 2 u like lice on a healthy head of hair. he WOULD be touch starved.

Which brings me onto my next point. A s/o that can handle his “””affectionate”””side. I rlly feel like his perception of affection might be a little off (super off actually) and likely a little violent/aggressive. It’ll almost be like him having cuteness aggression towards a s/o and acting out on impulse. This might occur in squeezing, pulling and tugging and Android AM may bite and scratch/restrain. Also I when I mean “handle” I don’t exactly mean endure and ignore/accept. again this leads me to another point

A s/o that is able to set boundaries w/ AM is a must. I genuinely don’t think that any relationship w AM will go good if the s/o he’s with can’t put in place proper boundaries. For human s/os, this would be especially important as he might get aggressive physically (whether it’s due to like. him JST absolutely hating ur ass or him getting that ‘cuteness aggressive’ thing I just mentioned previously. note that it’s not rlly like cuteness aggression but he might be like ‘hm I’ll show my love to my s/o thru the only way I know. Violence”).

ok well I think this is all 4 now. if anyone wants 2 add onto it I’d luv 2 hear yalls input if yall had any :3c. I hope u guys atleast got some entertainment value out of this?? Either way i hope yallve enjoyed my ramblings

[scarlett-ink]

Secret Santa for @rambunctioustoons :

Thinking With Snowballs

Summary: You and Sun continue your journey up and out of the FazCo Science facility. Maybe you both can manage to have some fun on the way. word count: 2.8k Some Assembly Required au belongs to @rambunctioustoons I highly recommend checking it and their other stuff out!

Hope you enjoy it! I simply adore the portal series and your au so I couldn't pass up an opportunity to do something portal related! I had such a fun time writing it & putting song references into it hehe💙🧡 Happy holidays and I hope you like it!

The halls of FazCo Science had always been cold, both in a figurative sense and sometimes a literal one, but today they felt especially so.

With the state the facility was in, it wasn’t too surprising that some areas had lost any and all forms of temperature regulation. Whether the cold was just from how deep a level this floor was, or if it was from the winter season was impossible to tell. All the way down here there was no way to know how much time had passed or what time of year it even was right now. You’d think you’d be used to the lack of time awareness by now, but you still hadn’t fully settled into it yet.

You hadn’t really had time to even think about that, having spent all your time since waking up trying to find any form of life other than yourself on top of finding a working exit. Only one of those endeavors had bore any fruit, with you coming across The Attendant a good while ago at this point. But in terms of specifically human life, you had no luck. So, for the foreseeable future it was just you, Sun, and Moon, depending on which was out at any given time.

With a shared goal of getting out of this place, you and the two of them had been doing your best to make your way upwards to the ground level of the facility, where an exit would be waiting for you…hopefully.

It was easier said than done.

Even with a portal gun, maneuvering around the crumbling remains of the facility made things difficult. Having to navigate around perilous drops, ceilings that appeared ready to crush you and collapse at any moment, and avoiding the gunfire of turrets made this endeavor quite the challenge.

Still, you tried to keep a positive outlook. The three of you would get out of here, you simply had to.

Sun and Moon were definitely helpful in getting around. Other than just having an extra pair of hands and an extra pair of minds for ideas, both also had knowledge you simply did not. Sun knew a lot about the different test chambers while Moon knew about the chambers behind the test chambers themselves, which had really helped in trying to navigate. Not that you didn’t have your own knowledge that helped out, you did know the codes for many of the restricted access areas after all.

The point was you had a common goal and had agreed to work together to achieve it. You had better chances with help than you did on your own, and some company was nice regardless.

You fought back a shiver as the frigidness of this chamber reminded you of its presence. As you rubbed your arms to try to generate some heat you told yourself that the cold could potentially be a good sign. Maybe, if it was winter time, the cold meant you were closer to the surface than you thought. You knew that was incredibly wishful thinking, it wasn’t exactly a big leap in logic to take the cold to mean you were far deeper in the facility than you would’ve liked, buried under miles of cold hard dirt and concrete walls.

The depressing thought was momentarily forgotten as you wondered if your companion was bothered by the cold at all. You doubted the temperature would affect them much as long as it wasn’t subzero temperatures cold enough to literally freeze any of their inner workings, so they were probably fine. You were a bit jealous of that at the moment, and of the testing work suit they had on, the top half and long sleeves tied around their waste. You’d kill for longer sleeves right now.

Your mind came to a halt when you felt a soft sort of crunch beneath your shoes. You looked down in surprise, unprepared for the sight beneath your foot. The sound had been a bit too soft to have been something more concerning like broken glass or anything really sharp enough to cause a problem.

“What is it?” Sun asked, slightly behind you.

The stark white of the walls and floors had camouflaged what you stepped in very well.

“Is that…snow?” Your brain nearly imploded at the realization, kneeling down to confirm what you had stepped in. When was the last time you had seen snow? Well, you couldn’t even make a big dramatic moment out of it because you had no idea how long you had been in cryogenic sleep.

Did this mean you all were close to the surface? With the dilapidated state of things and the amount of plant life that had managed to grow down here it wasn’t too outlandish to think there were enough cracks and holes in the building for nature to seep through. If birds had found their way into the facility before then surely there must be some opening somewhere, maybe one large enough and far enough down that snow could’ve landed down here.

Sun leaned over your shoulder, staring down at the tiny pile you had stepped in. “Snow? All the way down here?” he tilted his head, his rays slowly ticking inward in thought.

“Maybe there’s some sort of opening that goes all the way to the top!” you suggested, looking up to try to find your way out of this facility. There didn’t seem to be some big, obvious gap in the ceiling, and if there had been you probably would’ve noticed that first upon entering this chamber. A look back down at the small amount of snow made you notice that it seemed to lead into the next chamber. Maybe a breeze had blown it into this room and the main gap was in the next one? Whatever the case you were quick to rush into the next chamber to investigate, much to Sun’s frustration.

Luckily for you, there were no immediate dangers in the room, so your rush didn’t get you killed on the spot.

“You really have got to stop doing that,” Sun groaned, following close behind. “One of these chamber you’re going to get yourself-,” he stopped for a moment at the much larger pile of snow in this room. It wasn’t like the room was covered wall to wall with it, but it was a surprisingly decent sized pile for how deep you both were.

This chamber did have a noticeably large hole in the ceiling, seeming to lead up farther than you could see from standing under it. The excitement at the prospect of the surface being so close nearly made your body forget about the cold entirely. Honestly this was probably the most hopeful you had been since you had woken up.

“Do you think shooting a portal up there would work?” It was a long shot that a portable surface was somehow placed perfectly at the top of this hole, but you might as well try, right?”

Sun now stood next to you, peering up through the levels revealed by the ceiling’s opening. He also doubted a convenient portable surface, but it would only take a second to fire the portal and see if their luck had finally turned around. He aimed the portal gun up and fired. You both waited for a moment, but nothing seemed to happen. The light indicator on the gun hadn’t even changed to indicate the color of a new portal being place, so it was safe to assume the shot had found no useable surface. Just to be sure Sun shot another portal on the wall closest to you both, this one forming without issue. It formed with no where to lead to, simply waiting on the gun to fire another functioning portal elsewhere.

“Worth a shot,” you shrugged with a sigh. Looks like you were back to the initial plan of just working your way up the long way. “Still, maybe if we can’t get all the way up maybe we could even get just a single floor up if we fire at another angle?” Another long shot but better than nothing.

As Sun readjusted his aim you glanced back at the pile of snow. Even if you were still far from out of here, it was reassuring to see something so distinctive of the surface being down here with you. If this snow could make it all the way down here and remain here, why couldn’t you and your companion do the same simply in the opposite direction?

You stepped towards the small mound of snow, Sun paying little attention to you while you did. Despite how cold you had been, you couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and touch the sun. The biting feeling of the cold against your fingertips had been worth it for the long since forgotten texture of it. Feeling it between your fingers was almost enough to make you think you were finally out of this place. Almost.  

Sun seemed to finally notice your distraction, turning to watch you carefully examine the snow. The tiny ice crystals forming the snow pile certainly wasn’t what he expected to find down here with you, but it beat acres and acres of broken glass and debris instead. It certainly was easier to maneuver around than either of those and posed less of a risk to your fragile human skin than sharp and jagged edges did.

As he watched you examine the snow, he noted you packing some of the snow into a ball.

“Look! This is good quality snow! Perfect for-,” as you turned to show him you were cut off by a snowball to the face. You sputtered a bit at the surprise, the taste of snow now fresh on your tongue as you wiped your face. Sun had made one so fast you had no time to even consider he might be planning anything nefarious.

Well, if that was how it was going to be, might as well use what you had!

Before Sun could hastily make another, you tossed a snowball that just barely hit him, your aim impacted since you were still rubbing snow out of your eyes. You had hit his rays but missed the main target of his face. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to be throwing a snowball at him, you didn’t want to mess anything up in him or cause actual damage.

But you figured if that was a risk then Sun would’ve told you that the moment after the snowball collided with him instead of hastily making another one to hurl in your direction. You fumbled with another handful of snow before darting for cover, packing another snowball as you did.

Your options for shielding were limited, and the one you had picked was the remnants of an angled platform to shoot a portal on. You weren’t sure why you didn’t think any farther ahead than just finding somewhere to duck behind, but if you had you might’ve been able dodge the next projectile headed your way.

By the time you processed the sound of the portal gun firing you were already feeling a cold splatter against the back of your head. You turned to see blue portal behind you, Sun waving at you through it with a smirk before quickly shooting another portal before you could chuck your own snowball back at him. Your snowball became a pitiful splat against the cold hard wall.

Now you were snowball-less, and would have to venture out from behind your cover to get another one. You really did not think this true.

“Something the matter? Why aren’t you coming out?” Sun teased.

Your plan was to throw caution to the wind and just book it for the snow pile. You were lucky enough to dodge a shot from him, grabbing another fistful and packing that as you ran for cover once more. You knew wherever you hid you had to prepare for a portal opening up near you, and this time when one did you were ready.

Crouching behind a platform with a broken aerial faith plate, your arm was cocked and ready to throw. The moment you heard the portal gun fire you tossed the snowball towards the wall closest to you, the timing being just right for the portal to open before the snowball hit the wall. It was so sudden that Sun had no time to step out of the way, not expecting that from you at all.

The sound of direct contact and an indignant huff told you that you had hit your mark perfectly. You quickly got out of the way of the portal before Sun could recover and throw his own snowball back at you, heading back towards the snow pile.

Maybe you both should’ve been more focused on getting out of here, but honestly this brief respite had felt pretty good. Sometimes a playful break to remind you that you were still alive despite the monotonous and stressful trek through the facility was necessary for your wellbeing. Besides, when had a little fun ever killed anybody?

Apparently right now, because as you got to the pile Sun had shot a portal over, making a larger snowball than he had before with the full intention of hitting you in the face again. You looked up from making your own snowball to see him standing over you with his much larger one, quickly realizing and coming to terms with the fact that this was the part where he kills you. You braced for the frozen sting and, as expected, it hit you square in the face.

Thankfully he didn’t throw it as hard as he could’ve, seeming to take some form of mercy on you. You attempted to throw your snowball blindly at him but based on his laugh you correctly assumed you had failed to hit your target by a long shot.

“Well! I think that’s enough of that, we’ve both made our points. Some of us better and more consistently than others,” you could hear the smirk in his voice as well as the sound of his rays spinning around in satisfaction.

You fought off another shiver as you wiped the snow out of your face, your face now soaked from it.

“Yeah, yeah. But I did get you once! I’ll take it!” you chuckled, your sight finally being cleared up.

When you heard the portal gun fire again you nearly braced yourself for another snowball to the face. It would’ve been a bit unfair for him to trick you into thinking the assault was over, but you also would not put that past him at all.

“How little do you think of me?” you heard him mock from farther away with a laugh. Well, you didn’t think he was some sort of Machiavellian villain, but it wasn’t an out there thought to think he’d be a bit conniving with things. The portal use to achieve a snowball to the back of your head had been proof enough of that for you.

Not that it mattered much to you, it was all in good fun anyway.

Before you could answer him, Sun continued, heading back over to you. “There was a portable surface, only a level or two up. Not much, but it’s better than being a level lower.” He fired a second portal onto the wall, a passageway leading to a more damaged looking level sitting ahead of you.

Even if it did look a little rougher, a higher level was a higher level. You both would take what you could get, and at the end of the day it was one level closer to freedom.  

Sun held out a hand to you, and you took it as he pulled you to your feet. The chill of the snow was starting to seep into you, so it was probably for the best you had both ended the frosty assault here.

“I’ll go in first, make sure its clear,” Sun said, hopping in before you could argue. After a moment or two you heard him call out to you. “Come on through!” You hopped in after him, steadying yourself from the slight drop through the portal. This floor was more of the usual, wreckage and rubble, with none of the fun snow from the level below. Oh well, not every floor could be a winner.

Playtime was over, and it was time for you both to continue the journey upwards. The distraction had been nice, but you both still had a long way to go, together.

But who knows, maybe you’d get lucky and find another giant hole in the ceiling that led all the way up to the surface! Even if you didn’t, maybe you both could still have fun again on the way up. Whatever happened, you at least took comfort in the fact that you wouldn’t have to do it alone.

[ottoslab]

You know: Re: “there’s an in-story reason there are no fat characters in xyz media,” I feel like there’s a lack of understanding about the root idea behind why there should be fat characters regardless of the “in universe” explanations.

Im going to keep this conversation in line with Into the Spiderverse/Hero media, because I’ll be honest: I don’t disagree with the idea that there’s never a reason for there to be less body type diversity in a cast. I think the reasons are fewer and far between than people claim, but I don’t think they’re not there. Maybe it’s important for worldbuilding, maybe there’s another reason. Just getting it out of the way so I can say that I’m not talking about these specific instances where fat characters wouldn’t work in the narrative for whatever reasons.

I’m talking about: Spider-Man cant be fat. He’s too busy running around and swinging on webs to be out of shape. There’s no way there could be a fat avenger, they’re way too active. Etc etc.

Ok. Cool. I don’t care.

When it comes to body diversity in media, my first thought is not usually the in-universe reasons for the body diversity, for fat characters being fat. My mind is always going to the intention behind the writing first and foremost.

The Spider-Man series, and a lot of superhero stories, are stories about empowerment. Spider-Man itself is a character built around the idea that “anyone can wear the mask.” The spiderverse movies are built around that idea.

Spider-Man, in universe, is a character who fights crime, who has the weight of the world on his shoulders, who does super cool stunt moves and is usually like 16 years old and fighting off super monsters.

But, like. That’s the in universe stuff. The subtext, the reasoning for the plot, the character evolution, is so much more than that, isn’t it? It’s a story about empowerment, about encouraging the viewer, you, whoever you are absorbing this media, to take great risks and to evolve. Spiderverse isn’t asking you to put on a mask and swing around and fight a woman with octopus tentacles. Spiderverse is using a very specific in-universe challenge to ask you how you’d operate with great power, and the price to use it responsibly. Etcetera etcetera. Generally speaking.

And anyone can be viewing that story. Even a fat person. Who wouldn’t “realistically” be able to be a spider-man. Fat people still face adversity, still identify with having goals and taking risks. Like anyone else. That’s the point of the “anyone can wear the mask” thing. Why couldn’t there be a fat Spider-Man, for audiences to relate to just as much as they would a skinnier Spider-Man, but with the added “hey, that’s like me,” factor for some people who don’t usually get that?

And then comes the other stuff. The fact that, while a lot of media may not have positive representation of fat characters, they still have fat characters. They still exist. And where are they?

Well, usually being the butt of the joke, probably.

We can’t have a fat spider-man, but we can have a Peter B. Parker, down on his luck, pitying himself for the decisions he won’t make, at a low-point in his life. And how do we portray this? Oh, yeah, we’ll have him be fat. And we won’t stop pointing it out. We won’t stop mentioning it in a way that would have a laugh-track playing after every mention if we could. Because being fat is bad, because being a fat spider-man means you’ve done something wrong. And once you’re doing better? You’ll be less fat, probably. Because it means you’re probably doing something with yourself.

I don’t mean to say that there’s absolutely no reason a person could gain weight when they’re at a low point in their life, or that losing weight can’t be a sign of someone’s progress in their life. But I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the writing, I’m talking about the framing of this. Peter B. Parker is the only fat Spider-Man in Into The Spiderverse, (I know there are plus sized background characters in across the spiderverse, but theyre few and far between and do not take away from the treatment of Peter B in the first movie) and they’re going to make sure you remember that, and they’re going to hope you laugh at him for it. Peter B Parker isn’t a real person, but a real person, real people, had to write his character and how people treated him.

TLDR: If you’re making a story, I don’t give a shit if there’s “no reason” for a character to be fat in universe. Let them be fat anyways. There’s probably “no reason” for half of the things they are or aren’t, but we still give characters those traits anyways. And I guarantee, in the stories where there “shouldn’t be” fat characters, there will be anyways. They just will be there to be laughed at, to point at as a sign of “greed,” to be the antithesis of what the protagonist should be. Because from a writing standpoint, apparently, where anyone can wear the mask or whatever, being fat is still wrong.

[sickeningly-sweet-letters]

hii, how are u? I've been watching so many movies and series that i came up with this idea

What about a actor reader with yandere fans? Maybe a actor reader with toma of fans and everybody likes her, idk how this idea came up to me but i wanna see how you would elaborate this idea.

That's all, have a good day/night😄

hello!! im doing alright, thank you! ^^ i hope you’re doing well! also- i love that idea! i’ll do my best to give it justice lol

have a good day/night too!!

🌻 yandere fans x gn actor!reader!

- an actor as popular as you are is bound to have plenty of fans, even if some of them are.. more devoted to you than others. but who cares, right? you love all of your fans! you proudly declared, yet did you really know what you were signing up for? your “fan club” pretty much took that as a challenge to show that they loved you most.

- honestly, these fans bonded over their shared love of you, but what else did they have in common? er.. not much. they all showed their love and devotion in different ways but somehow, they managed to create a perfect group to protect you from any haters or rivals and pretty much everyone! everyone but themselves, of course.

- these guys could probably be private investigators if they wanted.. they’re learning pretty much every much everything about you that they possibly could. from your home address, to your routine and even phone number. no matter how many times you change your number or anything, they’ll find it again and again.

- they actively sabotage your love life, its because nobody is good enough for you! you’re nice to everybody, but that means anybody is a potential suitor, regardless of if you like them or not. even your friends get chased and scared off! how dare they even walk the same floors you do?! expect a lot more “accidents” or disappearances near areas you frequent. they’re just trying to protect their precious star!

- all of this is you! your super fans all united for your sake! some of them stalk and take pictures, some just constantly send you gifts and homemade baked goods, and then some look up every bit of information to give everyone almost daily updates.. of course, theres the bold ones who get their hands a bit dirty, they’re the most in love with you after all.

- you’ll never be truly alone. your house is bugged with cameras and microphones in every room, theres at least one or two lurking outside. even when you go out, theres bond to be some fans just running into you and begging you for an autograph, a photo, anything! and god forbid you’re seen with a random guy, expect to see the poor guy on the news the next day.

overall, you’ve gotten quite famous. you make a lot of money and your fans are very generous in their love for you.. isn’t this what you have been working for? so what if you’re isolated? you can always rely on your fans to keep you company! they’ll always be there to support you.

[td-frog]

thoughts on dcas e9

elimination (& cyan team)

tess is just hands-down the best person on this show. as soon as they revealed the joint elimination i was pretty sure she was going home bc it made sense for gabby to join the villains and tess was the most likely candidate

that said she was so mature and genuine throughout this episode and is maybe the only person who just refuses to get caught up in the drama. i'm so curious to see ally's reaction and how it compares to hunter's elimination.

i do think this guarantee's cyan team can't lose again before the merge, although merge is probably soon so that doesn't necessarily matter. tom and aiden is an interesting alliance in this game bc they're so close but really only with each other, and i think might have a hard time building bridges post merge as well.

also i get why gabby is the way she is but she is very much a type of person i find very frustrating irl (specifically the "how can you expect me to not take ellie's elimination as a personal attack?" stuff) which i think is why i'm not enjoying her character as much as i'd like

tomjake (& magenta team)

kudos to aiden for calling tom out on the boyfriend lie so they could actually talk about it and maybe work through something

i do think it's funny how tom finally got to be like "okay i should actually address this" but jake is at the point of "the only reason you'd be bringing that up in the middle of a challenge is to distract me." miscommunication kings

also i would like to see jake and ally become friends. i think they could do it. idk if they will.

yulgrett (& yellow team)

god i need this man out of the team. actually i think i really need grett on a better team. i totally get why she's not standing up for herself but she needs better support- riya telling her yul's a shithead was good but she was so mean about it :( give grett a friend!

alec being a comically bad father tho is so funny "oh i couldn't enjoy the beach bc my son got badly injured in a sandbox and i didn't notice or care bc i was busy reading. so sad for me :("

predictions

i'm thinking maybe one more challenge before the merge, that i'd expect yellow team to lose. i don't think cyan or magenta can lose again now, cyan bc they'd boot gabby which kills her narrative too early, and magenta bc jake and ally both have Stuff going on (love triangle and tess leaving) that feel like they need to play out more (and ashley wouldn't go home).

(i guess cyan could lose if gabby had immunity, but i doubt that)

reason i'm not expecting the merge next episode: with gabby joining the villains it'd be a 5v5 split of villains/non-villains, and i just don't see tom/jake/aiden working together this soon, especially if the best they can do is tie. it makes more sense to me that they'd cut out one of yellow team (probably yul, if grett can finally stand up to him) so that post-merge it's 4v5 and they have the drama of "non-villains have to ALL work together to win"

i think villain drama will blow up completely next episode regardless, and most likely yul goes home. there may also be something with the bit at the end about rule breaking, which i'm guessing was emily helping yul? but idk how that'll play into it.

i think ally will be way more torn up about tess leaving than she was about hunter (that's been my prediction since hunter got out). they could do something interesting with her and jake's respective relationship drama.