#i'm kidding mostly but OUGH

[sweet-beezus]

When I have enough time and energy to finally accomplish my goal of making an Org. XIII mass attack, it's all over for you beeyooteeful souls (threatening)

[nutestleper]

We have got to get harm reduction in schools. We have got to get parenting classes that teach how to interact with your child/their friends' substance use. Like how many kids are exposed to chaotic drug use every day? Maybe I just grew up outgroup in a big urban area but my peers were ODing by middle school. More of them were punished, carcerally or otherwise for seeking help for that or far less medically serious reactions to drugs. Like idk. Your children are doing drugs and your children are guessing how to do drugs from media and word of mouth which is where we get people doing whippits straight from the can or calling 911 and having the cops come to a bad edible trip or thinking their dad's ODing when he's just nodding out. Like auuugh we need intergenerational harm reduction NOW

[the-s1lly-corner]

If requests are still open, can I ask for toons x human!reader? I was thinking of the reader being a single parent that brings their kid to Gardenview often.

I'm mostly wondering about Shrimpo, Rodger, and Vee, but I'd be happy with any of the toons! Might even come back and request more characters for this prompt, if that's okay :3

Various toons x single parent!reader who visits often

sitting at my desk at 1am really wanting shriump.... i want sea food so bad right now... characters: shrimpo, rodger, vee notes: reader is gn, human reader, visitor reader, something something platonic but i got thunder struck of the toons having a forbidden crush on the reader OUGH, short and sweet, written on mobile cws: none

SHRIMPO

........ oh he is gritting his teeth trying not to be too mean to you or your kid. It's not that he doesnt like the two of you... it's just that he doesn't really know how to be.. nice and calm.. and he thinks nice and calm is STUPID!

Muttered grumbling under his breath whenever your kid comes over to get your attention when he was trying to talk to you. Considering it's shrimpo thats... actually a lot- usually he'd snap worse

Might actually just. Start avoiding you at some point. Storms off to his room since rooms are off limits to visitors

RODGER

In a cute way you both talk about parenthood- you have your child and he has toodles! Sure he doesn't have to worry about school and work and bills and all that, but he can understand some aspects

Very polite to both you and your child, and he encourages your child to be curious and problem solve

...sometimes his glass fogs when it's just the two of you talking and there isn't anyone else around. Totally not for any reason in particular

VEE

Love love loves asking your kid trivia style questions- even if the questions are easier than the ones she does on her show... maybe if she's impressed she'll give your kid a sticker

Honestly her and rodger are both most likely to have more mature adult conversations with you- other toons tend to keep things light and stuff while on the clock

Your visits make her days a lot more fun and tolerable- you're definitely her favorite visitor even if she doesn't let her favoritism show too badly

[cloversnstrawberries]

older brother!platonic yandere!80s slasher & gn!reader w/ dyed hair [headcanons] ! !

intro post | masterlist

additional notes; i'm actually re-dying my hair as i write this, so i think that proves that i'm totally not biased and absolutely not writing this because i yearn for an older brother who'd be willing to do my roots for me so i don't look like i have a big bald spot on the back of my head. because i have blonde hair and it's a very stark contrast to the bright pink. ough. not very yandere in this, but i needed this as a balm to my soul.

warnings; mentions of murder, violence, and killings; zachary's inherent clinginess, slight possessiveness, soft(er) yandere, overprotective behavior, and if there's any more I missed, please let me know!! this is pretty fluffy, actually.

w/c; 1.4k

The first (and only time) you dyed your hair without his help, it was an utter mess. I'm talking hands stained with the dye, if you bleached your hair then the towel was wrecked.

If you lived in a rented property rather than a house owned by your parents; well, lets just say you would've kissed your sweet, sweet deposit goodbye, what the mess you made in your wake.

Whether you bleached it or had hair light enough to just slap the dye on top, did natural or unnatural colors, the result was still the same regardless.

The bathroom was a mess, and he came home from football practice to find you with a plastic Kroger bag over your head; on your hands and knees, trying to scrub the leftover dye from the linoleum tile floor of your shared bathroom. You were in distress over it, if not in tears. Afraid you'd ruined the counter/floor.

You didn't go in blind, per se-- but you only had tips given to you by the few alternative kids, and from the sweet gas station cashier who dyes her hair to cover the fact its graying-- to go off of.

There was both a fear of having decimated your bathroom permanently, and a nagging feeling that you might've goofed up the actual process; damaging your hair indefinitely.

Whether it was the work of a miracle, or just plain old luck-- you didn't damage your hair too much, if it all. You'd missed a couple spots, namely on the back of your head, but other than that you did a pretty damn good job.

The bathroom, however...

When Zachary came home, he immediately started looking for you. Usually you were on the couch, watching TV-- or in the dining room, doing homework. You weren't in either of those spots, and you weren't in your bedroom either.

He knew it was stupid to worry about this-- But the reason behind his anxiety at not finding you immediately wasn't because "oh, what if something happened to them? what if they messed with the wrong kids and got jumped, or they went missing?" (both were unlikely in a town like yours, but not entirely impossible).

No, he was afraid that you'd committed the grave sin of hanging out with someone other than him-- and without his knowledge, to boot. Zachary didn't think you were the type to 'go behind his back' like this, but the fear was still there.

So you can probably imagine the absolute relief he felt when he found you in the bathroom-- but his sigh soon turned to wheezing laughs when he got a look of your sorry state.'

He's still your brother, after all. Siblings were basically made to laugh at each other in situations like these.

Normally, you wouldn't take it too harshly-- but this time around, you couldn't quite handle it. The fear of messing up your hair due to your inexperience, and the idea that your bathroom would forever be stained with your semi-spur-of-the-moment decision...

Well, he was quick to change his tune when you looked about ready to cry-- or started crying harder, if you already were. He stopped laughing, and immediately crouched down beside you, offering some reassurance.

Before heading off to the storage closet out in the hall, grabbing some cleaning stuff and a rag-- you were just trying to use water, which wasn't doing nothing, but that was mostly in part with how hard you'd been scrubbing. The dye wasn't going anywhere with that method.

You two spent about 20 minutes cleaning the bathroom up. By then, the timer you were using to make sure you didn't overdo the dye-time (that you totally didn't nab from the kitchen, but thankfully it'd been one of the few items spared from the wrath of your messy dye job) had already gone off.

Zachary noticed how uneasy you looked, afraid you'd messed up your hair for good. Again, he reassured you, before saying he'd help with the rest of the process.

Your hands were already beyond saving-- but he had enough foresight to go get some latex gloves from the hall closet before coming back to help you.

Then, for the next ten or so minutes, you kneeled beside the bathtub, head bowed over directly under the faucet-- the water was freezing cold, the nice punk girl, Melanie, told you that helped keep the color longer-- so you were taking little breaks when your scalp started hurting from how cold it was.

Eventually, after you were pretty sure he'd gotten all of the extra dye out-- the gloves having gone from clear to almost opaque with your new hair color--, he helped you up and wrapped an old beach towel around your head.

You sat on the lid of the toilet as he took over the duty of cleaning the tub-- telling you to just chill out for a while. once he was done with that, he brought you into his room and you two played on his Atari while your hair dried.

After that whole incident, Zachary borderline threatened you to come to him next time you wanted to dye your hair or anything of the like. Mostly because he didn't like seeing how scared and upset you were when you thought you messed it up :(

Weirdly enough, he'd rather you be mad at him if he messed up-- then see you be mad with yourself for messing it up. Besides, you'd probably forgive him in less then a day.

...Mostly because he's the one who drives you places outside of town, and has the membership card for your local video rental store. You never got one of your own, because he just always let you use his.

Can't really do that if you're giving him the cold shoulder, yeah?

But other than that, he's pretty good with keeping up with it all. It must've been a bit of a funny sight for the old ladies at the local hair shoppes, seeing a boy like Zachary coming in and asking the staff for tips on dying hair. Products to use, what to avoid, how to keep it from transferring-- etc etc.

After the first time, you never spent your own money on the stuff. It was always Zachary who was buying it; you tried getting him to stop that, feeling bad about spending his money on something that was solely for your benefit--

He gave you a withering look that made you immediately shut up and drop the topic, never to pick it up again. In your mind, he was too selfless-- you didn't want to feel like you were using him or anything.

But actually, he was sort of doing it for his own benefit. It let him spend more time with you-- not like he didn't already do that, but it was another sort of bonding activity that could be added to the list of 'our things'. You've never tried to dye your hair alone after the first time, because you knew it'd upset him.

Once he claimed something as an 'our thing', then there was no way to pry it from his grasp-- it'd be cemented in his mind that it was only something you could do with him present or actively participating.

It was just one of those quirks you have to get used to. In this situation, you weren't complaining that much about it, actually. He was very helpful, and it was nice to just be able to sit and do whatever while he did most of the work.

Whether or not you keep with the same color, or change it every week-- he'll help you no matter what, and won't question it. You wanna keep your hair honey brown for 3 consecutive years? cool! you wanna dye your hair different bright, in your face colors every other week? also cool!

He's not one to rag on you about self-expression, however-- if you did choose an unnatural color, you're bound to get stared or gawked at because of it. You were expecting it, and so was Zachary.

That's why he made sure to sharpen his fire hatchet and hunting knife, obviously. There was an uptick in Fools Killer victims after you dyed your hair-- completely unbeknownst to you, Zachary was using your out-of-the-ordinary appearance and the subsequent stares to 'sort out the bad ones',

To find victims who otherwise would've 'hidden their negative intentions towards you'.

[oh-no-its-bird]

Ok so like. AU where Sakumo was born during the warring states.

Going with my timeline, Hatake Haruka was 49 when she had Sakumo, a good 5 years into Konoha's creation.

Meanwhile her twin sister had Hashirama at only 19, and Tobirama at 24.

(There's some sort of joke to be made here about her sister getting all the fertility in the family)

So like, super easy timeline tweak: Haruka just gives birth way, way earlier. Maybe at the same time as her sister has Hashirama, so they're the same age

Anyways I don't have any specific thoughts for this. Just like. Sakumo in warring states. I wish to see it.

Sakumo being raised by the Hatake clan as their heir instead of growing up orphaned at 7 with his entire clan dead overnight,,, ough,,

He grows up in the woods of iron country, acompanies his mother to Iron Court that fateful day that the Daimyo began to crack down on Iron shinobi clans,, Does this mean he replaced someone in the original party that went or is he just there alongside them?

Tetsuo is no longer clan heir, which is also part of what got most of the kids his age to stop picking on him. (Well, that and the fact he started beating them up for it) So does that mean the teasing continues for some more years than it would have otherwise? What's his place in the clan like, if he isn't heir? I feel like Haruka might still single him out as someone to keep an interested eye on, and his father is still one of Haruka's most trusted people, so.

Tetsuo and Sakumo friendship,,,, that'd be an interesting change in dynamic actually, since in the original Tetsuo kind of acts as an older brother / uncle figure. He's supposed to raise Sakumo after Haruka goes and dies, (tho ofc he also then goes and dies) was training him to be clan heir— but now in this AU they're like. Around the same age. Actually, if anything, Sakumo is older than him. That's fun to think about

Umm Sakumo maybe taking Tetsuo under his wing when they're kids and helping discourage the other kids from picking on him? That could be fun and also just an interesting flip in dynamic

Tetsuo is no longer Haruka's second, now he's Sakumo's in this verse ig

Anyways.

Sakumo having Kakashi around or some time before Konoha's founding ,,, Kakashi is one of the first Konoha kids, let's go

Let's say he's like. 5 when Kagami and friends are like. 10. Does that work? I think that fits in with the timeline but this is a silly what if AU so I'm not going to worry about it too hard

Kakashi being friends with Hashirama and Mito's kid,,, whoever tf they are. They'd be like. 6 to his 5, so. Childhood friends!! And cousins, actually. That's another fun thing to think about.

"Kakashi is actually directly related to the founders" aus are so fun but u know what's even MORE fun? When u take one of those aus and make it like. A relevant relationship we get to see on screen in some way.

Tobirama babysitting Kakashi and Hashirama's kid,, he is winning all the best uncle awards

Anyways yeah. I feel like Sakumo's presence would have to affect things somehow, but I'm mostly just having fun thinking ab the silly day to day. Maybe we could get second hokage Sakumo instead of Tobirama out of this or smthn, idk.

Sakumo and Kakashi existing somehow manages to save enough clan members for the Hatake to survive to modern Konoha, totally changing the political map.

Maybe he somehow manages to prevent Hyuuga Hiname's poisoning, meaning she actually manages to become clan head and begins to dismantle the caged bird seal? Or maybe he doesn't and gets to be one of the people who allied themselves w Hiname who are forced to look on as she's not so secretly killed for her beliefs, unable to interfere bc of it being an "inter clan matter"

Or maybe his interference affects when Madara left the village, giving Konoha a few more (or maybe less...) years of peace (if we go with the idea that the jinchuriki being created sped up the first shinobi war)

Idk, but, having ideas. Having thoughts. It's fun to think ab.

[guiltyleisure]

ough, I LOVE your comics! they have this melancholic feel to me that is both very different then the games, but feel RIGHT. like they are the quiet bits you don't see on-screen, in-between the games or past them. if you are ok with me asking, what are your thoughts on the Deluginists and Maligula (and how it connects to Raz family). or you could answer this from another characters POV, if you want

Thank you. And to anyone who has also sent an inbox message, I've seen and read them all. I am very grateful for all the nice comments you have to say about my work.

Psychonauts 2 spoilers under the cut.

I'll be honest. I'm not the biggest Psychonauts 2 lover, especially in it's story. From my posts you can see I mostly focus on characters that appear in the 05 game.

I do include elements and character/story pegs in the things I draw. But the whole general mole/maligula/gristol plot of the 2nd doesn't interest me too much.

That doesn't mean I'm completely disinterested in the concepts laid out. The deluginist idea is interesting. But I feel it gets diluted by Maligula still being alive and the only one we see is Gristol. And I'm not too terribly interested in Malik. I like the concept of Maligula/Lucy but it's a major pet peeve of mine that she ends up being related to Raz. I like him better as some circus kid who got to be an agent. Now he's related to a member of the psychic 7, founders of the Psychonauts agency. And him ever getting the idea to go to camp was was because of Lucy. + many other things the 2nd game effected. It makes Raz so artificially special. And the whole thing is too convoluted for me. Like how you and many others mention, how much you enjoy that my comics are mundane and melancholic. I enjoy a more grounded feel.

Although I'm not all negative about it. I find the idea of Raz and Lucy being mirrors of each other fascinating. It's a character dynamic trope I enjoy a lot. I like the lines they share in the files. And Lucys story in a vacuum is interesting. I've written a comic for Fred Bonaparte after I finished Gloria's. I don't have much to share, but it does mention the Raz being related to such a figure.

My own bias aside. I think there is plenty of interesting potential concerning Raz's origins and family connections. But I'll probably be sticking to the characters I've already been writing for the time being. I apologize for not being as into it as other people are. Though I did enjoy writing this a bit. I don't mind if people ask about more characters.

[pocket-vvardvark]

Ty for tagging me @skyrim-forever !!

I'd like to tag: @fangsandsoftgrass @sanzas-reverie @sulphuricgrin @hircines-hunter @changelingsandothernonsense @scholarlyhermit @mavariel @madamefluffnstuff

Which NPCs in TES (all games included!) do you crush on, and why? They don't have to be marriage candidates (in vanilla), just people you find yourself blushing around. Hell, it could be a Deadric Prince if that's what you're into. Name them and say what about them you find appealing! Then feel free to tag a friend or two!

These r mostly gonna be ESO bc I haven't played Skyrim in a gazillion years lol, soooo:

1. Fennorian Ravenwatch!!!

Literally the main reason why i actually continued playing ESO lol. I just love his shyness, and how much he cares about the vestige (they fumbled in the newest chapter I stfg 🙄🙄🙄) I would date him irl idec I'm only straight for pookie <333333 I used to tweak so bad, I couldn't look at his face or hear his voice 🥴

2. Verandis Ravenwatch

Listen, he's hot and he's a dilf sooo perfect combo fr fr. Also, there's something I really like about the 'fatherly' characters, something like mentors just tickles my brain in the right way.

3. Vanus Galerion

Ok, so I'm not gonna lie, at first!! I didn't like him!! But then my brain chemistry changed when he was low key degrading us 🤤 ok ignore that, but I love that underneath all his grumpiness, is someone who's vulnerable. Also I want him to bend me over his desk :) I need more Vanus loreee, let me love pookie right

4. Abnur Tharn

When I was done with his DLC, I fucking scoured ao3 and Tumblr to lick at the crumbs left for me :)) The first time he shows up in the main quest?? Liked him but wasn't feral yet. Elsewyr?? Omfg, I love how he's changing!!! C'mere pookie 😍😍 ok, also I'm ngl but I blushed when he called us a pretty face <33

5. Iachesis

He's a hot, old, Altmer with good hair what else is there to say?? When he first showed up I was like damn, this is Vanus's dad figure?? Sign me UP!!!

6. Revus Demnevanni

He's so endearing. I love how clumsy he is, but ALSO!! He's always trying to right his mistakes which is hot ASF. Really miss him :/

7. Ayrenn

Ok, first off--HER VOICE. Her voice is sooooooo nice like OUGH, I could listen to her for hours. She's so caring, too, and I love that she's really willing to stuff for all the races in the Altmer alliance. FCK the veiled heritance fr fr.

8. Darien Gautier

I miss this man sm, guys I fucking cried during the Summerset DLC. He fucking BROKE ME. I didn't care for him that much in the beginning, but the dlc absolutely wrecked me :((. I felt like there was a real relationship there, and Darien really cared about everyone around him. I miss my knight 😭

9. Gabrielle Benele

Gabby is so cute, I love how crazy she is sometimes. But, also she cares SO MUCH. I just wanna hug her(maybe a smooch also), she's been thru sm and deserves sum loveeee

10. Divayth Fyr

Yeah, this got developed when I did cw city dlc, but um...he calls us a distraction after the trial and it fucked me UP. HELL YA I WANNA BE UR DISTRACTION DADDY FYR

11. Marcurio

Guys, this was my FIRST LOVE, NOT EVEN KIDDING. I love his stupid sassy attitude and want to break his back (or have him break mine idc). ALSO, he has this one line when you go through caves that's, like just reminding you that he's here if you're scared <33

12. Hieronymus lex

Listen, man, I didn't expect it either. I love love love him sooooo much. Playing the thieves guild quest line in high school got me so crunked up. I just love this like forbidden love between a guard and a thief like 😍😍

13. Martin Septim

I'm a Martin truther y'all, can't stop myself. I just know he's kinky ASF, ANYWAYS. He really changes throughout the whole quest line and I love that, but alsoooo Martin is so sweet. Esp when he yells at you to put the mysterium xarxes down bc he's worried <33 yes king, I am but ur humble servant 🥴 I also love knight x king type of romance yum

14. Sotha Sil

I blushed. I fucking blushed when his tall ass stepped into the psijic order. He's looking for me? FOR ME??? I was like standing there brain.exe stopped working. Also his voice is straight up butter like omggg

15. Clavicus vile

Shoot me. Do it. Skyrim version AND ESO version. I'm insane, Ik, but the deal aspect has me thinking bad thoughts 🥴 ALSO HIS VOICE SKSKSKSKWMW

16. Caius Cosades

Yup. You heard right. Listen, he's kinda brusque or whatever in the beginning, but I feel like he rlly helps you thru shit tbh. I'm dumb, so I can't see any deeper, BUT he's kinda caring and I genuinely felt so sad and lost once he peaces out 💀

[ratsplendor]

You say you think Fiddlestan don't own a hairbrush between them, but I gotta disagree. I think a nice old fashioned hairbrush with the soft bristles is one of the first things Fiddleford bought himself when he was at college and could get things with his own money. And it's so small and trivial nobody gets why it's important to him but it absolutely is. He wasn't allowed soft, gentle things growing up but he can get them now and he lets himself have this, even if it's mostly a secret.

From here there are two ways things go: canon compliant, where it tragically becomes yet another thing he forgets as he becomes an unrecognisable version of himself. Or, in line with your fics; once he feels safe enough to be vulnerable he uses it to brush Stan's hair, who isn't sure how to feel because he hasn't had his hair done properly since he was a kid and ma would comb it for going to temple, but he can't deny that it feels nice to just be held in a way so tender.

OUGH. in all seriousness i can see it going either way. maximalism babey. in "sleeping dogs" i have him and Stan fussing over each other's hair a lot so that HC is very much situational.

i hella fuck with this interpretation. god, southern masculinity is its own beast. at least when i was growing up, boys didn't fuss over their hair except to gel it, *maybe,* for Sunday service or dates. even then that's pussy shit. city boy shit. your momma cuts it above your ears with a mixing bowl if you're lucky. or the fella on the neighboring farm has one of them electric clippers that he'll let your daddy borrow once a month, and all the kids line up in the barn. depending on what type of farm, your momma makes her own soap, and it's what you use for everything.

Fidds doesn't really learn that he doesn't have to deal with his hair being constantly frizzy and brittle until late in college. depending on how i'm feeling, maybe he remembers his sister/s or his mother having conditioner and shit. suddenly his hair is soft and the natural texture is full and voluminous and his scalp is itching less.

so yea i see him feeling weirdly guilty about the whole hair care thing. even facial hair, yeah? i know some southern gentlemen who use beard balm and shit like that, but that's kind of a recent development down here. even back when i was a kid those fellas were letting their shit run wild. lmao.

i am a curly Fiddleford truther until i die tho. i have this HC that he was straightening it in that one picture of him and Ford from BMU (the green shorts, y'all know what i mean). so maybe that's part of it too. just hating his curls because he doesn't really know what the fuck to do with them. heat damage out the wazoo.

thanks for getting me thinking about this....ough i love it so much !!

[brokentranstar]

why do people dislike tigerheartstar..? /genq

Ough... I feel like there's a lot of things to dislike him for, IF YOU'RE WRONG AND CLOSE-MINDED!!!

Most of all, people reallyy don't like Omen of the Stars Tigerheartstar, even some of my fellow Tigerheart fans don't like him in there, and you know what? I'm not gonna argue but. I genuinely don't think he's that bad, he's just shown to be young and kind of silly. I don't blame him for things he did, because pobody's nerfect. He made some mistakes, but he wasn't being Malicious. I feel like people either misremember stuff, or just headcanon things that did not happen.

A lot of people say he "groomed Dovepaw" or whatever and thats WRONG. and a horrible thing to say. People are literally just throwing words around without knowing how serious what they say is and that makes my blood boil ngl.

Second: People get all pissy over the Flametail/Jayfeather situation with him. and Dawnpelt, of course, gets more hate because She's a Woman, but Tigerheart has his share of haters for that situation too, saying he "betrayed Dovewing" and he's a "bad boyfriend" (They were not dating at the time) and yes, maybe his reasoning is somewhat flawed, but I think it just makes him more inchresting, personally... Anyway, you can not agree with, or actively dislike friends of your friends, it's great.

And then there is the "literally making stuff up" allegations where, for example, some people say Tigerheart "stalked Dovepaw" and that makes me feel like they didn't read or skim through a single romance book, or anything romance related Ever. What you'll discover, is that in Romance Books/Movies there are 10 people in New York, and the two love interests will always find each other, no matter how unlikely it is for them to suddenly meet again, and again. Tigerheart "stalking" Dovepaw is NOT CANON, it is never said, it is never implied, it is a fabrication. They randomly stumble onto each other because The Plot.

There is also the Ivypaw + catmint situation, where people claim he specifically started talking to Dove to manipulate her, and that is Untrue, Dovepaw accidentally talks about the catmint when he's Genuinely venting, he did not ask. She literally SAYS to him she's gonna steal it for him, and he says NO because he doesn't want to get her in trouble. Ultimately, he does tell ShadowClan about trading Ivy for Catmint, but the point is; He never wanted to get Dovepaw in trouble, or hurt her in Any of this. Ultimately, he still did, but my point is; He's way more nuanced than people give him credit for.

And all of that was just OotS. In AVoS, people mainly hate the Tigerheart Super Edition, could not tell you why. Probably the big reason being, that people don't like Tigerheart from OotS. Tigerheart's Shadow is a very pleasant read to me, and very cute. He's not perfect, but he is trying his best, and I love him for that.

in The Broken Code, it's mostly just nitpicking. He's the best he's ever been in this arc, and people will Still find a way to hate on him for the smallest things like "coddling Shadowsight" or whatever... bro get out of here... Oh man, I sure do wish fathers in warrior cats went back to not ever thinking about their kids, that was PEAK writing!! /sarcasm

and then... There's ASC... My heart dropped when the arc started, not because I was proven wrong in any way, but because I KNEW the haters would use the RiverClan conflict to their advantage. Those were the super dark days, with people speaking before thinking, and possibly the time when I blocked the most amount of people. Again, I'm gonna say Tigerheartstar makes mistakes, he's not perfect, but he's not EVIL either. And while I understand RiverClan... sort of. I'm glad the arc ended with Tigerheartstar being praised, not demonised

Now, Changing Skies barely started but I already see hate on my boy... Whether it's because of Tawnypelt having to be the biggest victim this arc, so everyone is Super Mean to her suddenly, OR the Birchfeather situation. And while the writing decisions perplex me, he's not being evil or anything, people acting like he is, is odd.

Most of the dislike/hate on him comes from OotS. That's what I can say. People don't remember the arc well, and don't go into detail on it, because Who Cares, and then that hatred goes on forever. But, like some of my mutuals pointed out before, Some, if not Most Tigerheart hate stems from early fandom Dovewing hate. Some people want to pretend they care soooo much about Dovewing, and Tigerheart is sooo evil and manipulative, but they do not actually care about her as a character and think she's just being Unreasonable for 'leaving her family' (Ivypool) and joining the enemy (ShadowClan).

Overall, I am aware he's not a perfect good boy character, but some people really overdo it on mischaracterising him, or hating him. And thus I do not accept anyone hating on him, the only person able to hate on him is Me, and even I don't wanna do that, because StarClan forbid someone might actually think I'm being serious.

Generally, I do not care if you like or dislike Tigerheart, just don't make it your personality trait how much you hate him. Or else, as much as it pains me, we cannot be friends. Peace and Love on Planet Earth. Tigerheart isn't a real person but if you can't accept him, you clearly cannot accept me.

Whoops, you activated my Tigerheart Talk button, oh no... I'm sorry for rambling about Tigerheart, it might happen againnn :( Have a Tigerheart doodle if you survived.

[verdemoun]

I'm just. look.hosea. hosea. Hosea Matthews.

I can't get over how you write him in the au. He's finally getting to be a dad. Finally. ough. him. finally not just taking out his kids for an occasional hunting trip, he can genuinely be a bit more of a dad without having to fight for everyone's survival. my he a rt

maybe instead of wolves i can comfort you into death with hosea content

Hosea didn't mean to become a dad. It might have been an old instinct, but he thought after raising an adolescent John Marston he was done being a parent.

It was mostly guilt. Hosea recognizes that he was equal parts responsible for the Van der Linde's becoming what they were, and setting the bricks in place for Dutch's gang to become what it was after his death.

As much as Hosea loves Arthur, seeing an adult Arthur learning how to be more than a weapon and enforcer is just another reminder of how much he is responsible for the boys he helped raise being little more than tools in Dutch's agenda.

While he knows he was never capable of leaving Dutch, some part of him wants to live in a fantasy world of what if he could leave outlawing behind and live with Bessie: have those extra years he lost in canon era at her side, raising his boys as children instead of outlaws.

Timewarp is also the first chance he gets to talk to the 1899 gang without it being in passing. In 1899 Sean was a over-cheerful pest, but in modern era he gets to listen to his stories about his da and the casually dropped reform school lore and realize how much pressure Sean felt to be 'okay'. He gets to talk to Lenny about his relationship with his father, how much Lenny wanted for more of the sentimental emotional man of letters instead of the stern father he knew. Kieran, poor Kieran, who lost his parents to cholera. Then Arthur, who wants for Dutch like a boy wants his father while still recognizing how damaging that relationship was, and is, and the burden he still feels to repay Dutch and Hosea when Hosea never wanted anything more than to see Arthur grow up and grow old.

Being a father is an accident. At first it's just polite assurances that they'll be okay, because Hosea is okay. He has his wife, a home, the safety of not fighting for every day of breath anymore. Then it's sitting beside them on a bad day, being a comforting presence. And reminding Sean he has everything he needs for work before Sean runs out the door because he will always forget something. And listening to Lenny discover things in awe of how fast he learns technology because he's always in amazement of how smart Lenny is, instead of it being expected the way his father did.

He became a father accidentally, the same way he always has. Not realizing he was the one the gang went to when they had something they were excited about, because Hosea would always say he was proud of them.

Also, Hosea needed distractions. Modern era was new to him, horrifying different. Being a father wasn't new. He could do that. He could be a father to his strange eclectic gang of misfits as they learned the modern world faster than he did, shower them with praise and validation as they learned. The slightest achievement made him proud because he had no idea how to scale achievement.

And then before he knew it, he was getting a dozen gifts for father's day, and asked for hugs he would happily provide, and getting late light texts as thoughts haunted the gang and he would merrily reply and comfort them.

Realizing he got what he wanted. They're all safe, they're out of the gang, they're happy, and if the feeling in his chest he gets when he thinks about that isn't love he isn't quite sure what is.

[still-july]

julyyyyyyy I'm baaaaack with more insane requests for recommendations!!!! this is the playlist, do you have any songs that might fit the vibe? (also over half of these are things you recommended to me in the first place LMFAO you do wonders for my music taste)

YIPPEE i'm sorry this took a while but finals are kicking my ass right now

recs for rex!!:

expert in a dying field by the beths (the radio station i listened to played a song of theirs on the radio this morning which is awesome bc i never hear songs i recognize on the radio lol)

kids these days by shakey graves (fun fact i went to a concert of his only because flipturn was opening and i left midway through his set) (no shade to shakey graves his music mostly just isn't for me) (this song slaps though)

under my skin by jukebox the ghost (jukebox the ghost my belovedddd)

magpie by peach pit (am i recommending this solely because the deluxe version of this album just came out and i've been looping the live version? no of course not i would never)

sophie's house by half•alive and also lie, lie by the same artist (i couldn't decide between the two lol) (this entire album is really good though)

eastbound by sobs (i really like the album art for this one, it's very pretty)

vertigo by beach bunny (ough such a banger, i love the beat drop it hits so hard every time)

joyrider by second thoughts (second thoughts are so underrated all of their songs are great! although they don't have very much music out all of it is awesome)

i think that's it, although i will 100% wake up at 2AM remembering a song that i wanted to add lmao

bon appetit!

[ringofnightshade]

i would like to hear all of your malevolent crackships/rarepairs. and WHY you ship them

I'm sorry I didn't see this!! Uni's had me in a chokehold. Anyway-

Oh boy. I’ve got quite a few that @absoluteocellibehavior and I have developed over the year, so buckle in. A lot of these come about as a result of the AU we have, which essentially works out that one way or another all the boys end up in the same apartment in modern-day London. So I’ll break down the “why” into how it came about as well as any canon info and how they operate in the AU!

I’m going to try to keep it brief too, because there are a lot, so if you want more details about any feel free to follow up!!

All of the names listed are either ones the wider Malev community gave to these ships or are the genius brainchild of Ocelli <3

Okay. Here we go!

The most outlandish:

Second Chances - Antoine x Yellow

This started as a joke. I told Ocelli that if Harlan hurt Antoine I was taking him away and shipping him with Yellow, and, well. So now they’re kissing and everything is fine! Really though, I think these two would be a good pair. I’ve already posted a little about this but these two are good together because they both have to figure out what it means to love. Season five Antoine has been used and abused and thinks to love is to serve. Meanwhile, Yellow’s been a god and doesn’t know what it means to be human with someone, and he thinks to love is to use. You’d THINK that means Yellow attaches onto this little peasant boy because he wants that servitude, but Yellow realizes that he doesn’t. He finds Antoine to be gentle, and he wants to return it in kind. It takes practice for the both of them, but they get to learn together with the help of the others.

Devotionals - Antoine x Yellow x Oscar

Another joke, part of this so-called “help.” But again, it comes back to that growth and kindness. Oscar is the only one without active hatred towards Yellow in the beginning, and Yellow clings to that gentleness. Meanwhile, Antoine, the shy, servient kid he is, looks to Oscar as a role model, the perfect balance of kindness and confidence. Their love is pretty soft. 

??? - Antoine x Yellow x Oscar x Charlie 

We still haven’t nailed down a name yet for these guys, but ohhh the brainrot they give me. That’s all. In the AU, this one also comes about as a side quest to the advice that Charlie and Oscar give to Antoine and Yellow in their relationship. Yellow and Charlie are tense in the beginning, but Charlie very slowly (over the course of a year) recognizes the honest changes that Yellow is working to make in his life, and, admittedly, there’s still some old, albeit misguided, feelings from when he was with the KiY (oh yeah, I guess technically also Charlie x KiY, before the King really starts torturing him). One thing leads to another. 

Continuing on the Charlie train! A lot of these are just because Charlie is soooo very pretty. Everyone loves him. Tell me I’m wrong. 

The Main Boys:

Holy Ghosts - Charlie x Oscar

OUGH these two just live in my head rent free. I pay them actually. From their small interactions in season four (like Charlie telling Oscar good work for hitting the Butcher and Oscar’s little “...aye”) to our AU where they end up first at the London apartment and have time to mutually work out where they are, what’s going on, etc., they become so in love. 

Ourthur - John x Arthur x Oscar x Charlie 

Mostly because in general we round-robin these boys. It starts as Charlie x Oscar and John x Arthur, but Oscar still loves Arthur even though he abandoned him, and Charlie loves John, and Arthur finds Charlie attractive, and Oscar thinks John is pretty, and you get the point. 

Dollins - Charlie x Dennis

I’m sorry, if you don’t think these two knew each other before and have been in games of cat and mouse, you’re CRAZY. The chemistry of 40 part 2 is off the charts. 

Tripwire - Oscar x Charlie x Dennis 

Like a lot of these, it comes about through some healthy brainrot. But, unlike some other versions, our Oscar doesn’t hate Dennis. They get together after Charlie and Dennis have been together for a while, so the animosity has faded away. Once he’s not so mad at him, Oscar has to admit that Dennis is attractive. Oscar likes older men *pat pat.*

Smoke & Mirrors - John x Charlie x Dennis 

Listen, John is possessive. Do with that information what you will.  

Charlie continues:

Most of these (except the last) are all Ocelli’s babies that she’s got me HOOKED on. If you wanna know more about them, I highly recommend popping over to her.

Smoky Dreams - Charlie x Roland x Delphine

Leather N' Suede - Frank x Charlie

MIAs - Noel x Charlie

Divine Punishment - Charlie x Kayne 

Shaken Not Stirred - Charlie x Nell 

This one is a lil bonus! Again, Charlie is the hottest man. Nell is actually an OC of the AU we have, a 1920s New York mafia member who knows this universe’s Charlie, not the Malev one that gets pulled in later. I left this one on the list because I fell in love with the ship name Ocelli made and everyone deserves to see the sexy Bond reference. 

Finally done with Charlie! Can you tell that we have a favorite? 

Last but not least:

Parkthur - Arthur x Parker

Because look at them. You’re going to look at me and tell me that they aren’t together? All I’m saying is, there’s something in the plumbing of their building, because all these PI’s are doing a little more than investigating cases. 

Sweet Dreams - Lilith x Alia

OUGH!! There’s just something about how Lilith talks about Alia. The protectiveness, the concern, the fury. They’re kissing. 

So yeah! I think that’s all of them.

[goosemixtapes]

max's top 10 books of 2024

past top tens in this tag! as always, these rankings are based on some unspecified combo of objective "goodness" and personal enjoyment. books beneath the cut :3

first off, as usual, our BOOKS I LOATHED category. shout-out to: i, claudius by robert graves (SHAME! SHAME! THE TV SHOW IS SO GOODBADCAMP!) and rhinoceros by eugene ionesco (very real argument about fascism; very fucking boring execution). shout-out also to king cheer and immortal longings, both of which were quite bad but which i wouldn't say i "loathed" so much as "they sent me into spirals of shakespearean madness."

my most anticipated 2025 release is the sea eternal by emery robin. also, alecto the ninth again

okay. the meat of the matter. i read SO many good books this year (and so much good short fiction), so lots of runners-up: brotherless night by v.v. ganeshanathan (absolutely gutting with some of the most gorgeous prose i've ever read), white pearl by anchuli felicia king (set in an asian beauty corporation rocked by scandal; filled the succession-shaped hole in my heart), fairview by jackie sibblies drury (this play is doing the coolest fucking things with fourth walls), luster by raven leilani (i adore the main character so much and she is NOT thriving), and the his dark materials series (i wish i had read these as kids, but i'm also glad i have miltonic context?). thank you to my professors for half of these

OKAY. THE LIST!

10. Dare Me by Megan Abbott

i expected a thriller about toxic friendships and evil cheerleaders; i was not expecting this to REWIRE ME. the DYNAMICS in this fucking book. the ugly violent homoerotics and the empty hunger of white suburbia. the tenderness of the grooming. the constant unspoken looming specter of lesbianism. the constant sense that the main characters are teetering on the edge of disaster. BETH CASSIDY YOU ARE ONE OF THE CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME YOU MAKE ME FEEL BONKERS BATSHIT CRAZY. i need to send everyone in this book the lesbian masterdoc goodbye

9. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehesi Coates

okay i know everybody raves about ta-nehesi coates' writing so i wasn't exactly SURPRISED this was good. but i WAS still knocked off my feet by the beauty of this book. this is an extended letter to coates' son on the experience of being a black man in america, and every single page is glowing with heartbreak--for all the black people destroyed and endangered by white supremacist society--and love--for everyone who keeps living, for the world, and for coates' son. i wrote down sooooo many quotes that struck me in the chest

8. Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

kind of no fucking idea what to say about this book because my sense memory of it is just a whirlwind of "ack augh ough." the way this book envelops you in the psychological and emotional tumult of fourteen-year-old john grimes is crazy and intense and then baldwin DOES IT AGAIN in a series of interludes from other characters. this is about one day in john's life and his experience in the church, but it's also about the exhilarating terror in/of religion and the pain of growing up and the agony of antiblackness and the quiet terror of realizing your parents are fallible and human. and also a little bit about being gay for your youth pastor. did people lose their fucking minds in 1953 when this book came out because i would've

7. Lost Places and Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker

favorite author i discovered this year is definitely sarah pinsker, whose short stories mostly have in common that they are strange and whimsical as hell and make me want to crawl into her brain. i can't decide between her two short story collections, so i'm putting them both on here because they were SO fucking fun to read. between the two, some of the short stories include: a horror story told through a folk music genius lyrics page! a robot arm that identified as a road! a kid yelling the lines in the 1920s movie theater! george gershwin! girl scouts! and my favorite, a batshit crazy agatha christie homage set at a convention of dozens of alternate-universe sarah pinsker selves! (which you can read online!)

6. Paradise Lost by Erin Shields

look. there are aspects of this play--a modern reworking of milton's epic poem, featuring hot middle-aged woman satan--that are too on-the-nose. but holy fucking shit, the irreversible things milf satan has done to my brainstem. maybe i'm just a fucking ex-catholic but some of the speeches in this play made me feel like i was being tumbled in a heavy-duty washing machine. also, fascinating things going on with script format here. i wrote an insane transgender satan monologue for my paradise lost class because of this play. (also shout-out shields' king lear adaptation/prequel, left off my list for space but it's REALLY fucking fantastic)

5. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

okay we all know in the dream house. but i'm here to sing its praises anyway, because reading it feels like walking into a woodchipper. this is a memoir about abuse and an experiment with form and a raw open organ placed directly in your hands. machado's prose is genuinely fucking crazy good; she has such a gift for scalpel-like precision in every sentence, and everything about this book is so carefully-crafted and feels like getting clocked in the teeth. there's a choose-your-own adventure section where the result is always the same. for personal reasons i read this at a weird time and it made me want to get on my knees on the carpet and hack like a sick cat

4. Nobody Knows My Name by James Baldwin

i read this essay collection two weeks into the year and i knew it was going to be one of the most stunning reading experiences of 2024. the first page knocked me flat on my ass and it never let up. he manages that thing so few authors can do, where his eloquent and precise prose is exactly as deft as his observations are perceptive and sharp. his work cuts straight to the truth of things. i finished this book grieving the fact that baldwin died before i was born--because he can't comment on current events? because i can't see him speak live? because i felt some kind of connection to him through the words despite knowing he was not writing for some random college kid in the backseat of a car? anyway i am a groupie now

3. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

reading this and then in the dream house back to back was like self-trepanation. why did i do that. what in the name of god can i even say about this book. what IS there to say. all the best of fantasy and all the best of humanity are in here in under 300 pages and it made me cry and i have thought about it ceaselessly since and i can't say anything without spoiling the fun because you REALLY ought to go in blind. um. girls, do you like, um... the labyrinth?

2. Angels in America by Tony Kushner

ohhhhhhh my god. oh my fucking god. i mean it with my full chest when i say that this is thee defining dramatic work of modern america. play that is about jewishness and gayness and AIDS and love and sickness and the anxiety of modernity and getting boners and prophecies from reactionary angels. and roy cohn is there. this was written at the end of the 20th century and yet it still hits exactly as hard if not harder in 2024 ("in the twenty-first century we will all be insane" yeah for REAL). it's the play of all time. it's one of the most things ever written. i am going to think about it every day of my fucking life. truly impossible to overstate this one

1. The Stars Undying by Emery Robin

and yet AIA is still my #2, because my #1 is a book i think may have been written specifically for me. like, so much for me that i'm furious i didn't write it. that book being a space opera rendition of cleopatra's life story, featuring insane butch mark antony and bisexual love triangles and CICERO? CICERO IS THERE? this is a slowish character-driven story that wouldn't work if gracia's narration wasn't so stirring and self-aware, but it is, and she is, and she's fascinating and has everything wrong with her, and i am obsessed with the things this book is doing with history and legend and the reception of these figures and also ROMAN HISTORY JOKES IN SPACE!!! and i want anita decretan so bad it makes me look stupid. emery robin do you want my credit card information

if you've read this far, please pitch in with your own favorite reads of the year! what books are you excited for in 2025? :)

[capricioussun]

How do you interpret US Papyrus? I'm always curious how others interpret him because there's a good range of them!

Ooh, in general?? Hm, I guess mostly the way I try to interpret him is sort of like if you gave UT Papyrus chronic fatigue and issues tied to having to act as the judge in his world! Which, to me, basically makes him very silly, kind, sassy, but also very insecure and very lonely.

I should explain- ough this is gunna be an essay so there'll need to be a readmore soon aha, but I should explain how the whole "judge" thing usually works in my interps!

It's not an inherent thing, or some "angel given" power, there has always been an acting Royal Judge, someone the crown had appointed that they felt they could, well, trust the judgement of, who they could consult about crimes and justice and whatnot. The prior judge Fell some years ago, but since Toriel/Asgore had already left, Asgore/Toriel never appointed another, as a sort of self punishment as well as a promise they would continue with their task of collecting the human souls without the assistance (or interference) of someone else.

That was until Sans/Papyrus came along. The "judging" effect was caused by one of the many methods Gaster used to make the brothers, involving the justice soul trait. This is where the KR came from, as well as the unique ability to "see" the sins in others' souls. After discovering this unique ability, eventually the king/queen asks Sans/Papyrus to act as the new judge (as well as some other reasons that vary depending on AU).

Now, the kr and "judge" ability manifested in Stretch much later than the sanses in non-swapped AUs, which made it a much more difficult transition that only made it much harder for him to socialize with others. He basically couldn't "turn it off", which, on top of feeling incredibly guilty about the invasion of privacy, made him feel anxious and stressed out and couldn't help but put the negative thoughts front and center in his attention, making him also feel like those were the most prominent thoughts and feelings of those around him.

So like, you know how anxiety and self image issues make you feel like everyone secretly hates you or finds you annoying or etc etc etc, basically, he had "proof" that was true, and despite trying his best to ignore it, things are already hard enough for a pre-teen/teen, on top of his physical health taking such the dip it did around that time, too, he quickly became anxiety riddled, isolated, and miserable.

Before then, he was actually a lot like Rus (UT) when he was a kid! And it was hard on Blue, too, since he was practically just a teen himself, so for all of that to land on his brother as well as needing to work harder to take care of him when he had bad health flares, things were rough for a while there.

That being said, Blue did help in keeping Stretch's mental health from completely plummeting, always trying to keep his mood up, encouraging him, trying to find him friends (how he met Undyne aka Sylv!), etc etc, and the brothers grew a lot closer in that time, as Stretch had always admired Blue, and it meant a lot to him.

That was until, of course, things never got any better. His health continued to decline into older teendom/young adulthood, and there was some personal drama here and there, especially involving Sylv, and when Blue joined the guard, that was the last straw. Stretch was sick of feeling like such a burden on everyone, so even though he'd initially turned Toriel down to act as judge (knowing his brother absolutely hated that she'd even asked him in the first place), he went back to her and accepted. That was really when the distance between the brothers started, which wasn't helped by the resets starting up soon thereafter.

(Quick aside, as he got older, he did get the hang of controlling his "judging" ability, and "turning it off" is no longer an issue for him later on)

So in his efforts to become more independent, he worked a lot on his social life and how to interact with others and make himself well liked. Sure, maybe he doesn't really have any real friends, and people forget his name all the time, but he'd finally learned how to utilize his heightened intuition to get along with people, rather than weird them out.

He’s still riddled with anxiety and self worth issues, but he’s gotten incredibly good at masking, and typically comes off as very relaxed and friendly. He’s a big fan of wordplay and very mild practical jokes (like those types of gags where you put on Groucho Marx glasses and pretend to be someone else. Blue always plays along for the bit), but he has a tendency to hold people at arms length, and tries to avoid others actually getting to know him.

Very few people know he’s the judge, and he prefers it that way, he'd rather everyone underestimate him so he never disappoints. That being said, he does still make quite an effort to help those around him without their knowledge, and he’s still lowkey very interested in engineering and computer science. Him and Rus are definitely two peas in a pod when it comes to interests, they could talk about comics for hours on end, but the primary difference is that Stretch tries much harder to hide how much he cares, where as Rus will shout it from the rooftops.

I'm not a big fan of the characterizations that make him a huge brat, sometimes even an outright jerk, I don't really understand them since neither Sans nor Papyrus are like that, but w/ my guy, he’s definitely a huge dork and sweetheart, who just also happens to be very sassy at times ahdjfjsksk

He also still holds on to his belief in others, like Rus. Even despite literally knowing better, he’s also been proven right too many times to lose that hope, which is why, in his fight, as opposed to UT Sans, he gets very quiet and looks miserable. He genuinely doesn't want to hurt them, but he knows he’s out of options. When he offers an out before the fight, he won't spring a surprise attack, and just offers a genuine hug. The player doesn't get a choice after accepting, they kill him, and his final words are pretty similar to Rus' about knowing they can do better, and he believes in them anyway, though he makes a comment about that sounding pretty stupid with a laugh before he collapses off screen.

WOW this got longer than I meant it to I'm sorry huge lore drop instead of just general facts ough BUT ! Idk, hopefully this gives a half decent feel for how I interpret him! I love him a lot I'm mixing him into a salad like a crouton <3

[majormeilani]

also onto the 'growing out of it' thought that parents often have, in order to grow out of something children have to be taught differently. if you never teach a child that they aren't allowed to hit or scream to get what they want, guess what they're going to do.

sometimes i hear that some children get NO consequences from their parents at home and it's like....... if you love your kid, you're gonna teach them there's consequences for everything. people think that love and consequences are exclusive to each other but truly loving someone is being willing to help them learn, especially right from wrong.

[slushiepizza]

I just read your 'The Pursuit of Catharsis' and I'M NOT OK BUT IN A GOOD WAY!!!

And because I'm a sucker for angst... I wanna twist the knife in Guy's heart a bit more ❤️

Imagine if Guy - with his name now in the spotlight, his career at its peak and yet he's so miserable to the point of suicidal because of the cheating, of the scandal and the divorce - saw Honey on a random street on night.

Looking just as perfect as the day he lost them.

Looking like they're untouched by time.

Because after losing Guy and working themselves up to be the best version of themselves, to have the healthiest mental and emotional health in their lives, Honey becomes someone else's...

Treasure.

YES, IT'S EXACTLY WHO YOU THINK HE IS!

ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME! GOOD BYE!

link to the fic

Thanks for reading and enjoying the fic!!! I'm using this opportunity to discuss the Divorced!AU lmao

warning : discussions of suicidal behavior, mental health issues, substance abuse

i. honey being treasure

ough..... that's a really sad idea but now I'm more focused on something specific in this scenario. If Honey later became Treasure, there's the implication that they weren't doing as well as they hoped they were because as mentioned by Porter, 'your friends suck'. And they now have a semi-toxic circle of friends.

I like that, I think. That no matter how hard they try and how far they've come since the divorce- there's always the ghost of it that they couldn't get rid of and managed to sneak away into their life.

ii. Guy's misery and cheating

Hm, about Guy being miserable to the point of suicidal...I do think that he was already like that before he cheated and when he and Honey were still married but had problems. That was sort of my take on his reasoning behind why he cheated actually.

He was just someone who couldn't cope with fame while at the same time craving it severely. He spent all of his time working and tried to remedy his lack of effort into maintaining his relationship with Honey with lavish gifts. He struggled with substance abuse- mainly alcohol but sometimes others- because he refused to realize that he had nothing else to live for now that he's at the top.

When he and Honey's fights got really bad, he'd go on a bender. He'd go for one night stands mostly, and they all have traits that are reminiscent of Honey's. They weren't on speaking terms when he missed their anniversary for the sake of going abroad. And Guy has this feeling that whatever they're dealing with- they won't be able to come back from this. He'd imagine the people and sex workers he'd spend the night with was Honey he was laying with, as and under the blur and haze of the stupor he was in, they might as well be. When people found out about him cheating, the world moves on. He's a Hollywood writer, of course it wouldn't be something people blink an eye at. His career wouldn't take a hit at all.

iii. honey's aftermath

After they got divorced, Honey would move away from Dahlia and live in a small town where they can escape Guy's name and fame. They'd heal but they severely missed someone who used to be their best friend.

Life in the small town was idyllic and had the community they needed to heal. Honey started work as a cargo truck driver, finding comfort in long winding roads in between states. They don't quite care about the cities or fame or success anymore- it's sullied by how things used to be and how Guy turned out.

At a local bookstore new, freshly packaged books was displayed front and center- and it had Guy's name on it. It stated that it was a bestseller and that it's from "American Horror Sensation, Guy". They shrug and tried to feel glad that he got what he wanted. Oh well. The two of them were different people now from the college kids that shared a home, unrecognizable from who they used to be.

They remembered what they used to tell him when he had writer's block and needed the extra push: "Dude! You're good at this. If you ever get published, I'd definitely everything you write."

"Really, everything?"

"Everything. I really do like the way you write."

They buy the copy anyway, unfortunately.