#if someone else said it i haven't seen it or i've forgotten it which is basically the same thing at this point

[hotasfahrenheit]

call me crazy but i don't think this is a coincidence

that the bullet that takes Great down in episode six (and the one in episode five yes) hits him in the same spot as the second bullet that takes down Tyme at the beginning of episode one.

also just throwing out there in case no one else has that the shirt Tyme is wearing in the beginning of the first episode when he gets shot is the same shirt he's wearing at the end of episode five.

👀👀👀👀

[sharp-rosee]

Hey funny story: I haven't been around Tumblr at all for months, but today someone told me menalez had deactivated or something so I came on here and looked it up. First result was a post by you, i checked out your blog and wouldn't you know it your most recent post had you defending me post mortem lmfao. I sent an anon to the other woman too but it seems she won't post it so to clarify to you: when I supposedly said "studies showing violence suffered by bisexuals are cringe and useless" what I remember thinking about that is that those studies that I've seen are never used to try to understand why bisexuals suffer such insane rates of violence (more than homosexuals) and trying to stop it. I've only seen them be used as battering rams in discourse when homosexuals criticize bisexuals. Which is crazy for such a serious issue and totally trivializes it lol. Also that my explanation for it was that such studies show that many abused people incorrectly id as bi for a time. You can disagree or wtv just those were my points, she made it sound like I'm cheering on women beating if they're bi or something. Also your defense of me (thanks queen lol) is accurate if you were wondering. I used to be sorta pro strict separatism but I outgrew the anger/ denial phase of "most women will partner with men" and reached acceptance. Most people are built for romantic partnership, that's just human nature, I can't be hating het women just because their lot in life in that means they're more likely to be abused. Just because I'm not drawn to men, or even much to romance, doesn't mean I should act like that's everyone else too and judge them on that standard, I accept reality and want women to be safe within that rather than pointlessly hate on them and get all worked up because some women have boyfriends..

Well I'm also a mean asshole, I'm sure you noticed, and I definitely would give the bi girlies on radblr a hard time here at the time lol. I don't have the "one side" sort of takes on this divide on radblr. It was funny but I can't feel the energy to that anymore since leaving tumblr, way too few bis or gays irl to care about that stuff. But at the end of the day these are my actual takes on all that disk horse. Funny to see it immediately on such a causal stroll around here lol

-sleep3r4gent

QUEEN I used to follow you ♡ at least when I was crypto a few years back I did.

Also, I'm glad you clarified because the way some women on here seem to hallucinate things they read almost makes me feel insane as well. Like you sending an ask saying you never thought of a certain perspective is not indicative of you agreeing and obviously one can change their opinions over time.

I really have no opinion either way tbh, I myself am straight and in a relationship, and have had others on my last blog send some anons calling me a "dick worshipper" and other misogynistic BS, but they stopped once I didn't let it bother me much. It's so obviously a group of trolls that it's embarrassing that they still believe it enough to keep bringing back the same users, some like you who aren't even misogynistic, to further their persecution complex.

It even is more annoying because these are the women who made Mena/Moideater leave, the above drama is a big reason why. The way radblr will still reblog posts from very racist blogs and not bat an eye but then freak out over a clique of women who aren't even radfems really does show what demographic makes up this site.

I know it gets exhausting to be involved in arguments, but it's nice to know you're still somewhat around. I hope you, Mena and Moid come back someday. If not I understand. But I'll never forget any of them and I haven't forgotten you 😭😭😭

[bymarara]

Will and the Boys Don't Cry.

Remember the picture when we were first shown Will on his birthday? In case anyone hasn't noticed, there were headphones in the picture and let's think, who else was wearing headphones and under what circumstances? Uh, Max! Max wore them so that she wouldn't fall under the full influence of Vecna and become his victim, music helped her so called survival.

Now let's get to why Will carries them around. I have two suggestions.

Everyone on the team has headphones now just in case Vecna decides to face someone.

Will is scared. Will himself realizes that he can feel Vecna's presence, in addition he will probably hear him, his voice and his thoughts, which will be very frightening to Byers. Because of the fear, he may choose his favorite song and walk around with headphones on at all times, so that if anything happens, he won't be influenced by Vekna and Vekna won't take over Will's mind. I also think that there will be a similar situation as with Lumax, that Mike will have to turn on these headphones in case of anything, I think Will will warn him alone about it all, thus trusting Mike.

Now something I've been thinking about very, very hard. Most people, and I think or thought that Will's song would be “Should I Stay or Should I Go”, but if you notice the details, you can see the poster in Will's room! “Boys don't cry”, this song references Will in a lot of ways, and if it's in season 5 in his headphones, it will be very symbolic, and will show the meaning of everything we've seen.

Let's take Max as an example. She has “Running Up That Hill” in her headphones. The lines from the song literally refer to what Max is feeling and it also shows how she feels about Billy and how she regrets what happened at the end of season 3 and how she would take it all back. The chorus from her song, literally speaks to Max's morale and what she wants. -And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God, And I'd get him to swap our places, Be running up that road, Be running up that hill, Be running up that building. If I only could, oh These lines literally refer to the fact that if Max had known what would happen, she would not have stood still, but would have tried to help her half-brother. She would have been ready even for the same death as her brother, as long as he did not die. Also, there are very interesting lines like.

“You don't want to hurt me,but see how deep the bullet lies.” which refers to their relationship while Billy was alive. The guy hurt his sister, which she hasn't forgotten, and that deep down inside of her, she wished him dead inside of her, which she now regrets.

What about Will? I know most people have already figured this out, but for those who haven't and don't know the context - this song is about the inner thoughts that guys have when they're going through an unpleasant/transitional moment in their lives. It's also popular in the LGBT+ community. Let's go through the parts that I find most interesting and start from the beginning. -I would say I'm sorry, If I thought that it would change your mind. But I know that this time, I have said too much. Somehow it reminds me a lot of Will helping Mike with his relationship with Al, while ignoring his feelings and even confessing his feelings while hiding under his sisters name. Also, I think there's a season five reference here. I mean, Will could talk about the painting and the speech, but not say what he meant about his feelings! And the lines “I would say I'm sorry if I thought that it would change your mind.” show that Mike could have left with some anger and it left a mark on Will and that he can't even apologize now, and that apologizing won't change anything. (Yes, I know I sound creepy, please.) Now let's get to the chorus. -I tried to laugh about it,

Cover it all up with lies. I tried to laugh about it, Hiding the tears in my eyes. Cause boys don't cry. Boys don't cry. Sounds like Will's confession to Mike to me. He's not showing his real feelings, he's hiding everything under the “Al” mask. and underneath the mask, he keeps his feelings hidden, not showing them. He himself, quietly crying, quietly suffering, realizing for himself that his feelings will never be reciprocated, that he will have to live with it and come to terms with it, and he buries it all by himself and tries to cope with it all by himself. -I would tell you, That I loved you, If I thought that you would stay. But I know that it's no use, That you've already, Gone away… Again he says that he has buried all his hopes and feelings, he sees Mike pulling away from him and as if he is walking away from him, so talking about feelings, about declarations of love is useless in his opinion. Literally the whole song shows Will, shows a guy who in his opinion has already missed his chance, he realizes that he can't change anything and hides himself and his feelings only deeper into himself.

I hope that Will will have this song in season 5, but I will also say that there is a possibility that in case of anything, Mike can play this song, so much in this song refers to Mike.

[scribble-dribble-writes]

Plastic hearts - (8)

<<<Prev Next>>>

---

It's new, the shape of your body

It's blue, the feeling I've got

It's a cruel summer

---

Your eyes fluttered open, it took you a while to recognize your surroundings. The school nurse came into your line of sight with relief on her face.

“Oh good, the IV has worked. She must have just been dehydrated.”, she stated.

The last thing you could remember was Ken running to you, his arms encasing around you to prevent your fall but as you rubbed your forehead, you were sure your low sugar levels had contributed to having a hallucination.

“But it also looks like a common occurrence. All the girls have complained they’ve lost sleep and in most cases, can’t dream.”, she went on to explain. You hummed in response, you haven't been able to sleep well too.

Hopefully it wasn’t another virus because you couldn’t afford to take days off. Melissa’s house needed to be maintained and renovations were expensive affairs. She had come to see you as her own daughter and therefore bequeathed everything she owned to you.

You weren’t worthy of her kindness, you were a nobody and yet she made a way to look out for you even in a time she would not be here. So you just had to live up and work hard to feel worthy of that love. Thinking about her made you feel sad but then in a way, it would make you feel better.

That in Barbie land, everyone was sheltered from the experiences that occur here. But as you fell back into the pillows, feeling a little frail, you also enjoyed the fact that you could feel these emotions completely. So your eyes began to tear up and you let them fall down your cheek.

“You need to take a break, dear.”, the nurse placed a loving hand on your shoulder.

But could you take a break?

After all the work you put into yourself and still not feeling quite whole, to think of yourself as an individual, you were still questioning your own value, even here.

“It’s sweet how your boyfriend stayed by your side even while managing the parents who wanted to meet him.”, she said as she discharged you.

“I don’t have a –

“Is she alright?”, you heard him as he stormed into the room with worry ingrained in his eyes.

“She is. Just needs a lot of rest and care. Which I assume you are going to see through?”, the nurse gave him a knowing smile as he nodded his head with a solemn resolve.

Your legs felt wobbly and needed support to walk around, you had taken care of yourself. And yet you weren't sure how you ended up in this situation. The nurse placed your hands in his and as he took it, he took up your bag to sling it over his shoulder, collected the medical papers and thanked the nurse. All of which you were truly tired to do.

You waited till you got to the corridor but until then you couldn’t help but look at him. It was uncanny, the resemblance, but he felt like a whole new person. He was secure, stable and mature in the way he held himself. You were sure this wasn’t the Ken you had known.

“Look, sir. I think you’ve got me mixed up with someone else.”, you came to a stop in the empty corridor.

“Your name tag says ‘Castilian Ryder’ and I don’t know anyone by that name.”, you narrowed your eyes at him, trying to validate the doubt you felt.

“I don’t like to use my first name here but it’s me, Brie.”, he said with a sense of unbelief.

Could you have really forgotten him?

“It’s Ken, from Barbie land.”, he stepped closer to you, to whisper.

He still smelled like the sea, even in a dingy school corridor in a metropolitan city that smelled like tarmac. You wanted to lean closer, to rest your head on his chest, to admit you were tired of running but maybe he was just this happy because his dream had come true. You had seen a newspaper clipping of him and Barbie, here in Los Angeles that many let it pass as a funny incident but you knew it was him. Maybe he was here, settled in life with his girlfriend and is just being nice because he had known you once.

Having experienced this world, you quickly learnt it was very difficult to trust men and their motives. They played sweet to turn out sour, their words sound like honey until you give in to their charms and then every single one of them that you’ve met so far finds a new way to let you down or betray you. All while finally stating that you weren’t enough.

You stepped away from him but his hold around you was firm, he held you up as the medication began to wear off.

“I can take care of myself from here. Why don’t you go back to where you came from?”, you peeled away his fingers from your waist, somehow even after all these years his touch burned your skin.

“And stop telling everyone you’re my boyfriend.”, you pointed a finger at him as you took the papers from his hand.

“Only someone who knew you well enough could sign the papers for your treatment. That’s why I lied.”, he replied and it stunned you.

He didn’t feel like he was from Barbie land, he held himself like a real person.

“So you can lie now?”, you scoffed and took your bag as you watched him furrow his brows in confusion.

“What?”, you snapped at him.

“I just thought at the very least, we would still be friends.”, he said but his eyes softened with sadness.

“Sorry, Ryder. You’ve just been lying to yourself.”, you turned away from him and it felt good to be mean. To have the power to hurt him. So you used it.

But it didn’t seem to stop him. He caught up to you.

“I need to get back to work and I also need you to leave me alone.”, you said without looking at him.

“The school’s closed, it’s 5pm and your staff were dismissed by this man called Sam.”, he narrated to you with his hands held behind his back.

You had missed the whole event?

Panic began to set in, this was not good, you pushed open the doors to only be proved right, the sun had set and no one was around. Except for a man leaning against the streetlight.

“You told me you could handle it.”, he spoke to you.

“You got me to trust you with this event and then, to get out of it, you act sick.”, Sam began his tantrum and you didn’t have the time for it.

“You didn’t tell me we had this event in the first place.”, you lashed out to which he pursed his lips.

“Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all you’ve been saying since Melissa passed.”, he flailed his arms about.

“I expect my staff to be put together. To not be tardy and all you’ve been doing is just that.”, he yelled.

“Somehow feeling the fatigue of being worked overtime is my fault?”, you argued to which he folded his arms and shook his head as though you’ve done a grave mistake.

“Maybe I need to cut back a few of your shifts.”, he tilted his head and you couldn’t push past that. This was his way of putting you in place because he had the power to do so.

“No, I’ll pull myself together.”, you said through gritted teeth which eased Sam.

“Good girl.”, he scoffed as though he was elated by the act of making you feel small.

“However, the school wants us to cater their lunch and maintain the cafeteria. I’m busy with handling the business side of things so you’re in charge of this venture.”, he said in a matter of fact tone.

You wanted to say no, that running the restaurant and the school order who be the death of you but he sensed it.

“And before you say no. Either take it up or you’re fired.”, he said it without feeling, with no empathy and there was nothing else you could do.

You agreed and he left, leaving you bear the weight of your decisions again. Maybe you should have just stayed in Barbie land, instead of thinking this place would be any different.

“What an idiot.”, Ken chuckled behind you.

“You still haven’t left?”, you turned to him with a scowl, not wanting to cry in front of him.

“Come on, I’ll drive you home.”, he said softly as he walked up to you, to take your bag and belongings.

You felt lighter and oddly consoled. To know that atleast one person could see through Sam’s cruelty.

“You have your own car?”, you smiled as you sniffled.

“Sure do.”, he winked as he held up his keys that where held together in a horse keychain.

His vehicle came into view and it wasn’t like what you had thought he would own. It was a regular sedan that had a few areas where the paint had worn off but the smile on his face as he unlocked it made you feel guilty. For having tried to hurt him before.

It looked like he had been here for a while, he put his phone up after entering your address into it. His taste in music was more nuanced and it amazed you that he even knew the lyrics well enough to sing to Taylor Swift’s songs. He was a whole new person, one you were only getting to know now.

You searched for signs, a ring on his finger, a picture in his wallet, the wallpaper on his phone, anything to confirm your thoughts on him having a life with Barbie. He couldn’t exist without her.

As he pulled up into the carpark, he snapped his fingers as though he finally had made a connection.

“All this while, we’ve been neighbors.”, he said with surprise.

He held up his phone to show you where his home marker was on the map and it was astonishing. He was in the apartment block next to you. For a brief second, his eyes caught yours and you could sense he had more to say or that he wanted to.

“Brie.”, he began with a serious tone and in the vacuum of his car it felt as though he was about to say that the world was about to end. But he sighed to remove his keys to then say,

“So you have your own dream house?”, he smiled and that brief moment was lost.

“I do.”, you said.

“but its not dreamy.”, you gave him a tired smile.

“Is it girl’s night, every night?”, he asked quietly, his eyes finding yours even in the dark and the only revelation from this was that you couldn’t erase him from your memories. Even after all this time, that connection you felt with him didn’t fade.

You shook your head to his question, it was hard making friends outside of work.

“I’m sorry.”, he said. His hands now gripping the steering wheel, he looked away.

“For hurting you. I didn’t know what I was doing before but I never wanted to hurt you.”, he continued and you could feel your heart in your throat.

“You don’t have to be nice to me, but I know how it feels.”, he said with a sad smile and distant eyes.

“It feels good to finally be able to inflict the same pain you felt.”, he reminisced to when he took over Barbie’s dream house.

But seeing you here, knowing the reason behind why you left, he lacked the courage to tell you the truth behind why he was here. Looking into your dark eyes even for a second reminded him of what he had done. It was unfair, to just come in, to state his business and in the desperation of clearing his name, to take you back. It had to be your choice, he was only the messenger. What you choose to do, was up to you.

“So if you don’t want me around. I understand.”, he said finally, and embraced the uncertainty. Saving Barbie land was important but then so were you.

You didn’t know what to say, in all your time here, no one had given you a choice. You were at a loss for words because this wasn’t what you had expected, for him to not attach himself into your life.

“Thank you for saying that, Ken.”, you felt the anxiety wash away as you pushed back your hair. To say his name after so long, felt good, felt like home.

“I just need a little time.”, you replied sinking into the seat.

“To process all of this.”, you caught his gaze as he nodded sweetly.

The blue of his eyes still held that glimmer, his smile, still perfect that it made you jealous even in a world that was imperfect and harsh, he wasn’t touched by it. And as you stayed in that second, forgiving him was easy. Because his actions were never done with the intent to be malicious. It still however didn't change you fate though.

He wasn’t yours, but you wished for it nonetheless.

---

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[skulkiee]

So this thing goes hand in hand with the apple thing i wrote about Apollo and Hermes :D

I will make Polites be alive if its the last thing i do this is what he gets for being my favorite

Apollo touches down on the island belonging to Polyphemus the cyclops at midday, a little less than a day after Odysseus' crew left. It looks-

It looks ordinary.

Which is odd. Because something is definitely wrong, Apollo can feel it in his gut. He doesn't quite know yet, what happened. He thinks maybe someone died who wasn't supposed to yet?

"Sunny!"

He looks up at the loud, chirpy voice of Hermes.

"Hi Hermes, here to collect the dead?" Apollo keeps his voice neutral, trying to steer the topic away from himself. Because all the Gods like to talk about themselves, it's just that some would rather find out information about you. Hermes is one of them.

"Yes, yes, i think I've found them all. I just sent them off actually!" Hermes pauses, then his voice goes a little bit quieter, "I feel like there should be more, but i've looked everywhere."

"Right." Apollo says, and speeds up his pace towards the cyclops' cave.

"You know something." Hermes states from where he's flying alongside Apollo, his hummingbird wings keeping him just above the other God.

"Something's wrong." Apollo tells him, "I thought at first someone died who wasn't supposed to yet, but now I don't know. It might be the other way around."

It isn't the first time this has happened, sometimes the Fates dont cut a mortal's string in time, and said mortal grows old and withers away, long past when they should have died, forgotten by the entirety of the world, but this feels different.

"I haven't seen anyone alive." Hermes says, "And you wouldn't have come if it was to kill people, Sunny."

Apollo rolls his eyes, "I may be the God of healing and music or whatever, but i am still the God of disease, Birdie."

Hermes grins, "Well then, off to the cyclops cave we go!" They're already at the entrance, but Hermes likes to be dramatic. Apollo adores it.

The first thing Apollo knows upon stepping into the cave, is that the cyclops had placed, or tried to place, all the torn, broken and bloody bodies of the men in a pile at the entrance to the cave.

The second thing is how absolutely gruesome the scene is, even for a God like Apollo, who deals in disease and sickness, Hermes hasn't even come near, and he doesn't blame him.

The third thing is that one of the men just to the side of that pile is alive. And that he's barely breathing. But he is still alive.

Apollo pulls the man away from his dead friends, and his eyes open. He tries not to think about how the mortal being conscious makes this whole thing worse, and carries him over to Hermes.

Poor thing. Apollo doesn't really understand how the Fates pick and choose who they're gonna hate and who's gonna get a great life free of trouble and strife, but the clearly dislike this one.

"It'd be more merciful to just kill him at this point, Hermes." Apollo says slowly.

"But you could save him?"

"Physically, yes."

"Why, Sunny, you have to!" Hermes exclaims.

Apollo looks up from the mortal to his partner quizzically, "It wouldn't be kind. I can't heal people mentally, Birdie."

Hermes smiles at him, "He's Ody's best friend! I knew I recognised him! Pleeeease?"

Apollo is bad at saying no to Hermes.

But before Apollo can say anything else, Hermes is disappearing into the cave, clearly looking for something. The God sighs and looks back down at the mortal. He's not a pretty sight, and by all rights should be dead. But he's not. He's looking at Apollo. And he looks scared. (Apollo remembers the plague he set upon the Greeks during the war in a moment of rage directed at their leader over a girl. This mortal has every right to be scared.)

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Apollo tells him. He doesn't know if the mortal can tell what he's saying, so he sets to work on healing him.

Hermes comes back after a while, holding a pair of cracked glasses.

•

"Deep in the night, the fight can be tragic, I'll help you conquer her!" Hermes finishes his dramatic little song, and holds the pink flower out to Odysseus.

"Hermes, thank you!" He says, grinning, he can get his men back now! He takes the flower from the God, still smiling brightly, and turns to leave.

But Hermes' next words stop him in his tracks.

"Don't thank me yet, friend, i have two people who wish to see you!"

"What?" Odysseus says, and his guard instantly goes up.

"A fellow God, a very dear friend of mine, don't worry, he's friendly! And a mortal I believe you know very well!" Hermes is grinning proudly at him, "Come along!"

"Who?" Odysseus all but shouts as he's dragged through the forest by the God.

Who, who, who could it be? Someone he knows very well? It couldn't be someone in his crew- Penelope? Ctimene? He can't really think of anyone else.

A traitorous voice in the back of his mind whispers Polites' name. He's dead, Odysseus snaps mentally.

And finds himself staring right at Polites. And Apollo. But mostly at Polites.

"How?"  He whispers.

He barely sees Hermes zip past him and hug Apollo, "We did it!" The God chirps.

Odysseus can only stare at Polites. His glasses are cracked. He's alive.

"You- how?" He repeats, "You were dead."

"No I wasn't." Polites' voice is soft, quiet.

He wasn't dead. He wasn't dead. He wasn't dead and Odysseus left him in the cave. Odysseus mourned a friend that was still alive. The blood-stained headband around his wrist is itchy.

"Sorry." He whispers, reaching out for his friend, pulling him into a hug. He expects Polites to hug him back, laugh or say something sweet, like he has so many times before. He doesn't. Odysseus feels his friend just absolutely freeze in his arms, his breath ruffling his hair, his too-fast breaths.

Odysseus flinches when a warm hand falls onto his shoulder and pulls him away from his friend. He looks up at Apollo, the Gods eyes flash with sympathy. When Apollo looks at Hermes, anger flashes there.

"I told you." Apollo hisses at the Messenger God.

Hermes rolls his eyes, "A heart can heal."

"A mind can't." Apollo snaps.

Odysseus looks over at Polites this time, and actually looks. His dark eyes are haunted, he looks smaller than Odysseus has ever seen him. He glances over at Hermes and Apollo, where they seem to be glaring at each other. Hermes sees him looking, and his black eyes go soft.

"Do you wanna take your friend back to the ship?" Apollo says suddenly.

"Ship?" Polites asks, not quite believing he heard that right, "Just the one?"

Hermes lets out a loud sigh, "Maybe you were right, as much as I hate to admit it."

"He's supposed to be alive though!"

"But you said-"

Odysseus tunes out the squabbling Gods, and when he looks at Polites he can tell this is a conversation hes heard one too many times already.

"Wanna go back?" He keeps his voice quiet.

Polites nods, a faint smile flickers across his face, "Can you tell them not to touch me?" He wraps his arms around his body and shudders, "Just because- because-" his voice trails off into a whisper.

Odysseus offers him a smile, "Yeah, I can do that." He doesn't really want to know the why behind his friend's reaction.

Apollo and Hermes are pulled out of their argument by the sound of footsteps moving away. They both look up and see the two mortals walking into the forest. Hermes smiles slightly and pulls Apollo into a hug.

"They'll be okay, Sunny." He says, grinning his brilliant grin at the taller God.

Apollo lets out a long suffering sigh.

He has a feeling Hermes' little Odysseus is going to cause a whole lot more trouble for them all. And Apollo is the God of prophecy, so he is most probably correct.

Heheh. Hermes and Apollo's relationship is precious to me :D

Also yeah i said it goes with the apple thing theres gonna be other bits that lead into more of a story and have the other gods and have shorter time gaps so i guess you could think of this as kinda part two? I mean it leads into a bigger story

Im not sorry about Polites

[dykeselfcest]

why are people coming for chappell roan?

I haven't seen all the clips but she did a podcast or something recently and what I've seen is like 1) saying people shouldn't be looking to her for their politics 2) saying it's hard to have the job of "famous pop star" and do all the things that entails while also remaining politically aware. and something else maybe that I've forgotten?

idk it was just such nothing to me, like maybe she said some things that sound whiny or annoying or mildly objectionable, but the negative response to everything she does is always so outsized and I just like....don't care. I don't think she's Always the most well-spoken person in the world but also that is not the end of the world to me... she's a fun pop star and she's a lesbian and she overall has pretty good politics so I'm just like... can we not call a win a win and leave her alone for a bit 😭

also my wife said they saw someone on tiktok going "I bet she's going to end up with a man in a few years" which is such a fucking weird way to invalidate someone. just like. people are saying so much weird shit about her and very little of it is warranted imo.

I don't keep up with her that extensively and I didn't listen to/watch the podcast so if anyone wants to chime in and tell me I'm wrong or give more context or whatever, feel free!

[floating-in-the-blue]

20 Questions for Fanfiction Writers

@hot-elf thank youuuuu for tagging me, hunny! <3

1). How many works do you have on AO3?

96. I hope I can get that up to 100 by the end of this year

2). What’s your total AO3 word count?

397,297

3). What are your top five fics by kudos?

Will You (Julie and the Phantoms, 425 kudos)

Stormy Nights and Comforts Bright (Red, White & Royal Blue, 305 kudos)

In Your Starlight (JatP, 258 kudos)

Home is Where My Ghost is (JatP, 257 kudos)

Silent Souls (Fantastic Beasts, 251 kudos)

4). What fandoms do you write for?

Julie and the Phantoms is my main fandom, although I dabble in Red, White & Royal Blue occasionally (ie. more than I expected).

Past ones: Metal Gear Solid, Stargate Atlantis, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Iron Man (+ the occasional visit in a handful of others)

5). Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes. I think it's just good manners to say "thank you" when someone said "I liked your fic". I'm not a YouTube/Insta influencer girl. I'm not here for followers, I'm here for community. And I've found some of my best (fandom) friends via comment section conversations.

That being said, I've definitely had times where it was difficult because of brain fog or guilt at not having finished a story or because the comment was actually so overwhelmingly wonderful I would get too emotional every time I tried to answer. It's a form of socialising and takes socialising energy, which is not always at hand. But I'm working on reducing the pile of shame and I got it down to 12 now that I still need to respond to. (Though some of those are placeholders (aka replies to comments I wrote) as reminders to go back and finish reading/commenting a fic)

6). What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Breathe [Extended] (Metal Gear Solid) is very angsty throughout although the ending is kind of hopeful in a teeth-gritting determined kind of way so I don't know if it really counts. But until I post my magnum opus/white whale of a fic, Nature 2.0 (also MGS), I think it's still the best choice because everything else has happy endings.

PS: oh, I thought of a small mini JatP one shot, that's pretty angsty in a way though too short actually to have any proper beginning and ending ...

7). What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All the rest XD But let's go with In Your Starlight because the ending has that bouncy kind of optimism and hope for the future that always makes me smile.

8). Do you get hate on fics?

Not much, thankfully only one truly upset me.

There was one instance of anon hate I got via tumblr message on a genderbent MGS story, which was written for a prompt my giftee gave me, so not even really my idea. It accused me of transphobia for some reason but it was so laughable, I ignored it.

And then there was, of course, a dark moment in the JatP fandom where every writer who dared to write smut was put on a blacklist and accused of pedophile tendencies, which was definitely NOT fun, despite the outpour of love and support that elicited.

9). Do you write smut?

As seen above, yes I do write smut. I don't do it too often these days and I don't want it to be the only thing I write (although that's totally legit and I know several writers who do it splendidly, @hot-elf included). But I'm pretty happy with every one of the sex scenes I've written so far.

10). Do you write crossovers?

The first fanfic I ever started to write (as a wee teen without a clue), was actually a massive crossover (2x Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, X-files and probably more I've forgotten about now) but I haven't done it much or seriously since.

I've read excellent crossovers but so far, I've never been tempted tp write one.

11). Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. I'm happy about that of course but I remember when someone on Wattpad stole several smutty JatP stories and mine weren't among those and I was almost insulted mine hadn't been chosen XD

But nah, on the whole: PLEASE DON'T STEAL MY FICS!

12). Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Silent Souls (Fantabi) got translated: Silent Souls (Vietnamese translation). I can't say anything about the translation since I don't know any Vietnamese but I was very flattered (even though I don't think many people read it)

13). Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Kinda. I haven't sat down and actually written a fic with someone (though I tried once until we both kind of lost interest) but I have turned two truly massive and epic RPGs I wrote with @textualpoacher (Iron Man & MGS) into fics with her (or we started to, at least). I haven't given up hope yet to finish them some day but it's not a priority in any way (and I first need to dig out the files from ancient computers).

It's why I count Iron Man as one of the major fandoms I wrote for even though that's not reflected on AO3. Because we posted the fic on ff.de and had written much more than posted, so it was very dominant in my life for quite a while.

14). What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Impossible to answer. There's too many and I love them all.

The major ships I've written for though are: Tony Stark/Pepper Potts (Iron Man), David 'Solid Snake'/Hal 'Otacon' Emmerich (MGS), Alex Mercer/Wille (JatP), Phryne Fisher/Jack Robinson (MFMM), Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Too-Many-Names (RWRB)

Ships I haven't written for but that are extremely dear to me: Richard Castle/Katherine Beckett, Willow Rosenberg/Tara Mclay (Buffy), Willow Rosenberg/Oz (Buffy), Buffy Summers/Spike (Buffy), Wesley Wyndham-Price/Winifred 'Fred' Burkle (Angel), Shallan Davar/Kaladin/Adolin Kholin (Stormlight), Samantha Carter/Jack O'Neill (Stargate), Leia Organa/Han Solo (Star Wars), Artemis Entrer/Jarlaxle (R. A. Salvatore's D'n'D books), ...

15). What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Nature 2.0 (MGS). ALTHOUGH I WILL NOT ABANDON ALL HOPE!!!

The story is too complex and ambitious and research- and plot-heavy for my current skill levels (and my current time/focus/etc) but it's also my dream project that I would very much LIKE to finish one day.

Even less likely (though also a dream project), I guess, is the Victorian Stargate Atlantis AU I started. Same problems apply. At least I never posted anything of that on AO3. Just in a private forum that no longer exists.

16). What are your writing strengths?

Hm ... characters, emotions, descriptions, metaphors, humour (and occasionally smut)

17). What are your writing weaknesses?

PLOT!!! Also action scenes (I think, I've mostly been too afraid to try them plus they usually require plot which I also suck at).

Not technically writing but part of the process and definitely a weakness: research! Hate it.

(you see why those dream projects are still dreams rather than actual projects)

Idiomatic character speech + giving characters distinctive narrative voices.

And as a non-native speaker I honestly don't care enough about the distinctions between British and American English.

18). Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

Tricky. If it makes sense for the character, yes but there should always be a translation either in the end notes or an explanation in the fic itself. And if it's more than a word or sentence, I wouldn't do it and instead do that bit as a 'telll' not 'show' thing and summarise the dialogue because otherwise it gets boring pretty quickly for someone who doesn't speak that language.

And there's two pitfalls of course: a monolingual person trying to write a bilingual person and/or a person writing a language they don't properly know and then having readers who do. Can get awkward.

19). First fandom you wrote for?

That massive crossover mentioned above so: like five at once? XD

The first thing I posted online was, of all things, a one shot for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along blog, which, I think, nobody read. I didn't write anything for that fandom again ;D

20). Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Why would you ask me to choose between my children??? *wails*

... I tried to narrow it down by fandom but even that doesn't work! How do people answer this??? I'm bisexual, I can't choose between things for the life of me!! (I'm also forever baffled by people with favourite movies, shows, books etc like HOW? THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM AND SO MANY OF THEM ARE GREAT!)

GHJKLKJHGF ..... okay.

Have Dear Dave. A MGS fic I'm still super proud of even though there's things I would add/alter if I wrote it today. But there's a physical copy of that fic on my shelf and I've been told it's got at least a little notorierty in the fandom as a destroyer of hearts. Tears have been shed over this fic, including the fake ones on the physical journal (though making the coffee stains was more fun).

___

inflicting this with no-pressure tagging on: @innytoes, @onlygenxhere, @jonairadreaming, @thatbitchmabel, @chanihobbit, @kbstories

[silverynight]

A "false" rumor

Genya is not going to admit it out loud, but he's definitely looking for Tanjirou. They have been spending a lot of time together lately and even though he's always telling Tanjirou he should leave him alone or that he doesn't need company, the truth is that he likes spending time with the redhead.

The only problem is that he gets really flustered around him and now he doesn't know how to hide it because even though at first he pretended to get irritated at Tanjirou, now he can't help but soften every time he sees Tanjirou walking into his room with a tray of food so they can eat together.

They also go to the hot spring together, much to Genya's embarrassment; he used to go alone until Tanjirou decided that it was the perfect opportunity for a "bonding" time between friends.

Tanjirou has become his friend now, despite Genya's initial reluctance and the fact that he became really aggressive whenever Tanjirou joined him in the hot spring 'cause he gets really flustered whenever the other boy is naked around him.

They're friends even though Genya has just realized he has a huge crush on Tanjirou and finds him extremely attractive, which is why their "bonding" time has turned into some sort of torture for him.

And yet he's waiting for Tanjirou so they can take a bath together because Genya likes to torture himself.

He walks in another room filled with a lot of kakushi taking a break; he considers asking them about Tanjirou for a second, but then he notices one of them flinching away from him.

As he sits on the floor he starts considering going by himself when the people around him begin to chat with one another and he catches Tanjirou's name a couple of times.

"Tanjirou is so cute!" A kakushi girl sighs dreamily.

"Yes, and he's always so kind to me," a kakushi boy nods happily.

"I want to ask him out."

"I'll do it first! I brought these flowers for him!"

Genya is getting really irritated with the conversation and he's about to growl at them when another one speaks; they all are whispering, but it's loud enough for him to hear.

"Ha! Good luck with that! This girl has asked him out a couple of times and he doesn't get it yet!"

"Me too! I told him that I liked him and he said that we were such good friends!" Another boy almost sobs as a girl pats his back to comfort him.

Genya can't stop himself from smirking; he really doesn't want Tanjirou to date anyone. Although he knows it's a matter of time before someone makes him understand what's going on and he could say 'Yes' to that person.

"Maybe he's just turning you all down in the nicest way possible."

"Why would he do that?"

"Haven't you heard? He's dating someone!"

Genya grimaces in pain but he keeps looking at the floor, knowing they have forgotten he's still there.

He doesn't want Tanjirou to spend time with someone else. If he wasn't so shy he would've asked him out himself...

"That's not true!"

"Yes, he's dating..."

The room falls silent suddenly, Genya get curious and a little bit worried, but he's determined not to turn around.

"That's not possible!" A girl whispers before someone hits her on the ribs.

"It is! I've seen them spending a lot of time together... And Tanjirou has his "bonding" time with him in the hot spring."

What? Genya feels ridiculously angry out of the sudden. Does Tanjirou spend time with someone else in the hot spring? What if he's with that person right now? And Genya is just wasting his time looking for him...

"Let's just ask him!"

Someone taps him on the shoulder so Genya has no other choice but to finally turn around; the kakushi boys and girls gathered around him look terrified and he doesn't blame them, he's not in a good mood at the moment and he knows the scowl on his face doesn't make him look friendly at all.

"Is Tanjirou y-your boyfriend?"

A couple of emotions hit him at the same time: he's relieved knowing they were actually talking about him this whole time, because it means Tanjirou doesn't spend time with anyone else, but he's also very much flustered because they all think he's dating Tanjirou.

"Yes, he is," Genya hears himself saying. He can't stop himself and he doesn't even regret it afterwards; part of him is glad because he knows those people will finally back off from Tanjirou.

Although another part of him is definitely panicking because he just knows someone will find out the truth sooner or later.

Suddenly, Tanjirou walks in and Genya immediately blushes to the tip of his ears because for a terrible moment he thinks the redhead heard everything, but he just beams at everyone in the room before rushing towards Genya with a huge smile on his face.

"There you are, Genya!" Tanjirou beams again, almost blinding him in the process, it's almost like he radiates his own light. "I was looking for you! Would you like to go to the hot spring with me?"

Genya just nods, knowing the scowl on his face is completely gone and that has been replaced by a fond smile; he'd be worried about that, but right now he has more important things to deal with.

He rises from the ground but instead of just following Tanjirou, he offers his hand. Tanjirou keeps smiling as he takes Genya's hand without hesitation and leads him outside.

Genya knows everyone is watching.

"Can we have dinner in my room afterwards?"

"Of course, Genya!" Tanjirou agrees happily and for a moment the tall boy feels a little bit guilty.

Maybe he'll tell Tanjirou tomorrow, but right now Genya just wants to pretend that the rumor is real and Tanjirou is his boyfriend.

Even though he knows the lie will probably get him in trouble.

***

Patreon

[makerofmadness]

What's with Balloon Boy and the Daycare Attendant?

The Balloon World arcade machine exists, it's in the DA's room and both characters are involved in it. It's probably one of the most cryptic minigames in the FNAF series as a whole, but while we could ponder what exactly it's supposed to mean (maybe I'll do that for all the security breach minigames eventually), the main question I have is this:

WHY Balloon Boy specifically? Why is the minigame about HIM?

Is there a connection between the two characters? Or was it a completely random decision?

Out of nowhere, thinking about Balloon World, I came to a realization:

The Lights.

Balloon Boy's entire gimmick in FNAF 2 was that if he got into your office, he would disable your flashlight and vent lights (...somehow. I know we all make the jokes about him taking the batteries [and then that FNAF 57: Freddy In Space thing in FNAF World said he just straight-up steals your entire flashlight], but you never see the battery icon disappear or appear empty in FNAF 2 itself when he gets into your office. And the vent lights also stop working, so unless they also operate on batteries, then... does he actually take them from you?).

What's the one rule in the daycare?

Keep the lights on.

His mechanic is the antithesis to what Sun wants and exactly what Moon would want. Balloon Boy doesn't keep the lights on. He prevents you from turning them on at all.

(which also makes me kinda sad there wasn't a Glamrock version of BB. Then again, I don't know how exactly he would've uniquely affected like anything. Regardless I am hoping for the day someone in the fandom makes a glamrock bb who is arch-enemies with sun and gets along well with moon skseijdndndnd-)

It feels kinda obvious and I'm guessing I'm not the only person to think about this, but I have never seen anyone else bring this up. Not on YouTube, not on tumblr, nowhere. Maybe if I go looking for it I'll see, but i'm surprised I haven't bumped into anyone else saying this just naturally. I go into the BB tags a LOT, surely SOMEONE would've said something, right? I don't even see it noted in the trivia on the page for the arcade game on the fnaf wiki.

...but is this supposed to mean anything? Or is it just a cute little reference or callback? it's hard to say, especially with how ambiguous the minigame is.

Though I DID think of ONE thing... (possible minor spoilers for Ruin under the cut):

Saw this pointed out in a youtube video that the BB World screen (with Eclipse, who makes their proper debut in Ruin after effectively being foreshadowed by the minigame in SB's base game) can be seen on the ceiling in the DA's room. Which makes sense, obviously, but also take note of the pirate-themed windows in the hallway leading to it.

...now, which character do most of us tend to associate with Balloon Boy? His "tag-team partner," of sorts?

Foxy. The Pirate.

With this, I found that there's more Foxy-related stuff associated with the daycare area than I had previously realized because I had never made any connections before. I mean, Kids' Cove is directly linked to it for god's sake.

Like. I hope i haven't forgotten to mention anything (I've been writing this post over the course of hours 'Cus I had stuff to do in the middle of it all). My brain's kinda starting to fry. But basically: Was Foxy originally meant to be the Daycare Attendant, in-universe? Was there gonna be a Glamrock Balloon Boy with him, like as his first mate or something??? Were they gonna be connected to Fazbear Theater????? (Uh basically Sun/Moon to my knowledge from confirmation in the books and a lot of more subtle implications in-game mainly involving environmental pieces were originally meant to be in the Fazbear Theater as a stage animatronic but got moved to daycare duty instead and being reprogrammed. Which actually explains a lot about them when you think about it-)

Like. Ok I'm forgetting where I was going with this, I'm sorry, but I guess it's food for thought/adds to the weird connections between DA and BB, I guess. Idk. I can't focus that well right now to keep making new ideas.

felt like sharing my interpretation of the Balloon World minigame itself at least since earlier I did kinda finally get it down concretely:

I kinda developed a theory that Eclipse is Sun/Moon's "safe mode" and that rebooting DA reactivated Eclipse as a result. Like, they're their own AI that was at one point implemented. but then Vanny happened and locked them out thanks to the whole Glitchtrap virus thing (albeit it only seemed to reach Moon, while Sun remains seemingly unaffected. Guessing it's because they're different AIs [finally implied/basically confirmed by their Ruin dialogue). Eclipse has seemingly not been active for some time, or at least never post-pizzaplex closure, given how they're seemingly completely oblivious to the fact that this place is closed with no signs of opening.

So the minigame was foreshadowing Eclipse's existence and implying their "trapped" nature, which also could be seen as paralleling Vanessa's whole "Vanny" situation, especially given how iirc one of the messages related to princess quest can be found near the arcade machine.

[pepsiiwho]

Hey I’m just very curious- do you think you could expand on your thought here: “Persephone isn't a good mother and, imo, would have a very strained, tentative relationship with her actual son (and now daughter hahahahah damn....)”? It’s not a common take I’ve seen- at least in the parts of the fandom I frequented- and I’d like to know more about where you’re coming from. Like I know Nyx isn’t a good mom- particularly to Hypnos- but it’s way less common that I see people saying Persephone is a bad mom.

To be clear, I’m not disagreeing or being confrontational or anything- I’m genuinely curious to hear your thoughts. Also what’s all this about the timeline implications? I don’t have a computer to play the early access on and so I have to hear about it second hand. All to say if you could tear yourself away from Hades 2 long enough to formulate a coherent response I’d be eternally grateful.

Sure! I just got to the final boss in hades 2 so I probably need a break. Ignore the shaking and cold temperature of my skin, I'm normal! Long post under the cut!

Okay lets see, first thing: any nyx or Persephone freedom fighters out there who wanna defend their mommies or whatever do it somewhere else, I don't give af. This isn't directed at you, I just gotta cover my bases. Anyway,

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Persephone (Pers) loves zagreus, I won't say she doesn't. She lost him once and that grief drove her to leave hell entirely, leaving her husband and home behind for solitude of her own creation. You don't get grief like that unless you loved someone, or the thought of someone, deeply. But, having said that— she was gone for (functionally) all of Zagreus' childhood, adolescence and a non-zero portion of his adulthood. A charitable read of their situation was that she wasn't absentee by choice, not knowingly at least, and if she knew she would've never stayed away as another woman raised her child and her husband abused said child because of her toll on his mental. My read is that she left, abandoning her husband and baby and when Zagreus went to find her she wouldn't even come back with him. He reached out, found her, begged her to come back and she wouldn't. The reasoning for WHY is something I've forgotten honestly, I haven't played HADES story mode all the way through in years, but regardless she didn't instantly come back and will herself into her son's life. Any deniability she had was gone by that point, imo.

And let's say, for argument, she came home and instantly was heavenly and kind and loving and everything zagreus needed then— doesn't change the fact she abandoned them.

I don't think you get to be a good parent when you missed all of your child's most formative years. That sort of loss is something you don't get back, time that doesn't get to rewind just because you made a mistake. I think a common fandom take with hades fans is that the family is fractured but whole by the end and everything is okay. That's nice, I guess, but I think it's boring and uninteresting. I much prefer a read that zagreus moved heaven and hell (literally) to get to his mother and he finally got what he wanted and still wasn't satisfied. She wasn't the goddess he expect. Not the. mother he expected. She was .... something else.

Theres a degree of negligence in her actions that just are unavoidable.

Unless I'm completely misremembering the events of the first game, (which is a real possibility, me and my best friend have done so much insane HC talking over the years canon and Fanon get blurry quickly—) I think she's a bad parent. And this isn't even touching on how her absence made Hades a worse parent and abusive figure to his son. I think of that quote from... somewhere, that was something to the effect "an abused child's saddest realization is that they didn't have a normal parent and (1) abusive parent— they had (2)" Zagreus had to have thought that if she hadn't left, abandoned him, he wouldn't have to endure what he does.

As for time line mess: it's too vague. (It's funny you sent this when you did, I actually was just talking about this with my bestie, all of 15 minutes ago. You cursed me, witch)

So assuming I understood hades lore, with only the first game as our point of reference (no myth, no outside media, just the in game text) Hypnos, Zagreus, Than and Meg are around the same age. Thanatos and Hypnos are twins, meaning they're the same age and it's implied that meg grew up around the twins and zagreus as well. Zagreus openly references their shared childhood with nyx and achilles and probably other characters I forgot. But what matters is that if they grew up together that tells us one of two things:

Gods are functionally made like human children are. Not for a purpose or function but just because the parent wanted them (or had an accident) and then a aspect is applied to them at birth/conception OR

Gods are created by their parents to fulfill some sort of need that the parent didn't/couldn't/shouldn't do themselves. This seems to be the more textually supported answer, if Nyx and her fucking high school football team worth of children mean anything.

Neither option is one I like, because they don't make much sense to me in relation to humanity but that's neither here nor there. Personally, I think godhood should work like the concept of storks do in that when humanity needs a new figure to pray to or invoke, a child is 'born' and delivered to the parent. So, by this logic, the base needs of human begins would come before all else right?

So just within Nyx's family, the ages should really go Chaos > Nyx > Fates [?] > Hypnos > Than > Charon > etc etc etc. Because human beings must sleep before they die and then die before they're transported to hades and so on and so on.

But in THIS model, Hypnos and than would be considerably older then humanity and everyone else in the house, hades included. Which means they'd be far too old to have grown up which zagreus. Or maybe zagreus is way too old to be acting so childish? It's hard to say. Neither answer is particularly satisfying. That also doesn't even bring into account the olympians. And don't event get me STARTED on Melione. God. The timeline has major implications for her and her story depending on where she falls on it.

But that's a whole other rant. Like this is already getting long as shit. I hope this made sense and I'm glad you asked! I enjoy going on my senseless rambles.

Well, back to the horrors (hades 2) <3

[bird-inacage]

I was thinking about Sand and Top, and why Sand is hanging on so hard to the past, and what that might say about Sand (and Boeing). One thing I've seen floating around is that the way Sand fixates on Top having "stolen" his ex could indicate some ugly things about Sand re: possessiveness, maybe a controlling nature in relationships, like Boeing is some kind of prize to be won. And that could mean that Boeing leaving him for Top might be less about Top and more about not getting what he wanted from Sand. Alternately, it could be that Sand blames Top because it's easier to do than to acknowledge Boeing's fault in the decision, because it feeds into Sand's fears of inadequacy because of his poverty and the ways his circumstances (time and obligations) restrict what he's able to offer in a relationship. Which might mean Sand hasn't really gotten over Boeing because he's idealised him and blamed everything on Top. Which could be fun if Boeing comes back! Another fun thing I've been thinking about is the Checkov's Gun of whoever Sand's father turns out to be. If it's Top's dad, well, that would play in really nicely to Sand's inadequacy issues with Top - my brother who has the things that I should also have a right to has used those things (status, wealth, freedom) to steal away someone I loved. And on Top's side of things: did he love Boeing? Did he just pursue Boeing because he could and then get bored later? I'd personally love it if Boeing was seduced because Top was pursuing him and it was interesting and fun and exciting but then Boeing left Top because he was bored and unsatisfied in the actual relationship and said some choice words about Sand being better on the way out. Let me have Top with a chip on his shoulder about Sand! That would be delicious! Anyway, I trust Jojo to deliver some tasty spicy drama on this front. What would you like to see out of this plotline?

Hey Anon! :)

I'd almost forgotten about that little clue we'd been dropped a few episodes ago. For the sake of contextualising this for anyone else, I'm assuming you're referring to the little model airplane that Top had in his hotel apartment with the letter 'B' on it (as below)?

I haven't personally read any theories on 'Boenig' (aka whoever gave Top that airplane) being the same person as Sand's ex. In regards to the whole Sand VS Top dynamic, there have been very little concrete clues given to us so far. I try to make predictions based largely on what we've been shown and what I understand of these characters at this current point in the series. So for that reason I'll just discuss my thoughts on Sand's ex.

One thing I will definitely agree on is there's more to this story. Episode 6 confirmed that for me. In order for Sand to be so driven to seek revenge on Top, that he would disregard and risk how Ray may respond, said to me that this grudge runs truly deep.

For Sand to be so disgusted makes me think that either Sand's ex was a very important person in his life (a la Mew for Ray), or the way in which Top seduced or caught his ex's eye was really vile and underhanded.

Due to the fact that Sand's ex is no longer associated with Top meant that it either wasn't serious (maybe they both screwed Sand over), or it didn't work out. However the way Top behaves with Mew suggests that's the first attempted "serious" relationship he's tried to have. So the former may be more likely.

The interesting thing for me though is that Sand and Top clearly look like people who operate in different circles. So Sand's taste in romantic partners I imagine differs quite significantly from Top's. What is it about Sand's ex that would have caught Top's eye in the first place?

I also can't get this out of my mind:

When Sand said this, he looked like he was thinking of a specific memory, very likely the whole debacle with his ex.

Something you did mention, which I thought would be really interesting, is for Sand's ex to return. The cast have been alluding to a special cameo by a familiar face. But especially if they were returning in an attempt to patch things up with Sand and rekindle. Because that would also provide a great source of conflict for Ray/Sand.

As soon as Ray sees Sand possibly being 'taken away' from him, he'll realise how important Sand is. Which would align with the below scene and make sense with Ray's personality. He doesn't want Sand when Sand wants him, but as soon as Sand may be swayed, Ray does want him. Again, classic brat temperament.

In regards to Sand and Top being related - I'm not a huge fan of that theory. I don't see what purpose or additional depth it would add to either of their characters or story arcs in terms of writing.

The 'who is B (aka Boeing)' question is still very much at large for me. I can see why people may think B is Sand's ex, but I'm not convinced Top would keep a memento from someone he "conquered" and "won" from someone else. That doesn't suggest a relationship that has particularly sentimental meaning attached to it.

But thank you for reminding me about the B mystery. There is definitely more to come...

---birdie

[popculturebuffet]

Next up for Warner Bros Animation, favorite character from the 2002-08 half of the Kids WB shows with: Mucha Lucha, Ozzy & Drix, What's New Scooby Doo, Xiaolin Showdown, The Batman, Johnny Test (this oughta be interesting since it aired on three different networks with varying seasons of quality with seasons 1-3 premiering on Kids WB, seasons 4-6 being produced for Cartoon Network, and the revival seasons being produced for Netflix), Loonatics Unleashed, Tom & Jerry Tales, Shaggy & Scooby Doo Get a Clue, and Legion of Superheroes? I skipped Coconut Fred since everyone and their mother despises that show (one of the worst of all time).

Jesus Christ that's a lot. Also look given some past entires here, Coconut Fred is being kept on the grounds that it shoudn't be forgotten just for being horrible. like da boom crew which I thankfully haven't seen. So anyways..

Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island: I saw it at the time and it.. sure does exist. It's a half hearted spongebob ripoff. I'm talking about it because it did exist but don't have much else. Maybe I shoudl've left it out but i've let worse shows have an entry. This is just.. ntohing.

Mucha Lucha: IT'S A WAY OF LIFE! Senior Hasbena who just had a fun voice and a great early spotlight episode. The show itself is one I need to revisit but is awesome as hell, having a nice respect for luchadore culture while also being pretty nonsesically fun. While I would love a full on wrestling action series, this one was still good fun and needs ot be avaliable to stream in some fashion.

Ozzy and Drix: Drix if only because he was my faviorite in the movie. This series feels.. unecessary. It's not a bad idea but both frank's state at the start and Ozzie and Drix ending up elsewehere make it feel like the first film didn't matter and it feels weird to just.. not keep the setting. If they wanted kid plots, Frank has a daughter. That gripe aside the series was ... eh. Not terrible, but nothing really super special either.

Xiaolin Showdown: Jack Spicer. The boy, the myth the legend and Danny Cooksy's best role by a wide margin. A fun villian who was laughable enough to never get boring and stick around long after he'd been outclassed by newer big bads. Xiaolin Showdown is one of the best cartoons of this era, one of the best of this action show block and one of the best. I rewatched it in college and was amazed it held up so well. The show is genuine about our four heroes working, said four heroes while having familiar archetypes for the most part, are great characters who are a load of fun to watch and the format of the showdowns is engagin: while it does usually lead to some form of fight the contest format adds a nice wild card to it: our heroes can end up in a game where telling the truth is the only way out, a soccer match for OMi's soul, or a battle royale with all present. IT's a wonderful show I wish would get a proper revivial. And no Chronciles dosen't count, chronciles can go fuck itself.

The Batman: Another one to revisit and i'd say clayface as the twist of him being someone batman knew and trusted is utterly guttnig. I gave up on this one early for petty reasons depsite having most of the toys: I hated what they did with mr freeze and felt it couldn't compare to btas. Time has passed and with the later seasons adding some nice swerves i've accepted the show is it's own thing, trying to be a more action oriented shonen to forge it's own identity from the more moody btas. And it did apparently get better and better as it went and having seen a later episode or two casually , I can agree. Plus I admit to loving the touch of having batgirl join up before batman. Also the movie where he fights dracula is fucking dope and wel lworth your time.

Johnny Test: I'd say the twins for being usually hilaroius. As for the show.. it's eh. I used to hate it

But I now see it as an okay show that had some fun bits, and what I saw of the revival, as sadly short lived as it was, was better. It's still not AMAZING, but it wasn't the mindless garbage it got labeled as either. Nor a dexter's lab ripoff.. I do think they took some inspriation from it clearly, I mean look at the twins... but when you look at the cast none of them really match up to dexter's aside from the twins, whose crush on gil and age diffrenate them just enough. It's not an amazing show but it's hate was overblown.

Loonatics Unleahsed: Look the base concept of "The looney tunes as superhero: could be fun. I have a batman daffy and superman bugs on my desk as I type this. They did skits of the kind. The problem is lonatics wanted to be batman beyond with looney tunes and it never worked as a kid and dosen't work now.

Tom and Jerry Tales; I love tom and jerry but i've barely seen this.

Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue: The timing on this one as good as i've been watching through this on and off with @jess-the-vampire recently. I don't really have a faviorite. As for the show itself it's overhated like the last two entries and honestly.. it's okay. It's nothing amazing thus far, trying to be venture bros by having henchman 2 be an obvious ripoff of 21. Which wouldn't bother me if they did it right but instead he's just annoying. That being said it's still not a terrible series: the theme song is terrible but the show itself is solid, having intresting sometimes bonkers plot and shoudlnt' be vilified for breaking formula. It may not entirely work.. but I can respect TRYING something new an dhope go go mystery machine is a better version of this.

Legion of Super Heroes: Bouncing Boy: this series kept his goofy powers but also what works: someone who badly wanted to join the legion, never gave up and then threw in his reboot self's pilot skills and flsehd out his perosnality.

As for the show i'm a big legion of superheroes fan and this show is part of what brought me to the clubhouse. It's a slick show that nicely merges the two continuties it had to work with: the pre zero our one from the silver age and beyond and the reboot that helped ground things (The third reboot, yes three and there was a fourth long after, was just happening around this time so only star boy being black made the cut from there), while keeping the silver age namesan dastetic from before.

The result is a fun show that loves the legion dearly, has a great cast of characters and despite being made to have a teen superman show dosen't let clark overshadow everyone else: he's the lead.. but most of the main cast get a focus episode over the course of season 1. I"ll admit season 2 isn't quite as good as due to executive mandates the female cast is sidelined in places and imperix is a boring villian, while superman x, superman but EDGGGYYYYY just isn't that intresting. But season 2 isn't all bad with some standout episodes, the addition of chameleon boy and a truly chilling arc with brainy and an old friend I won't spoil for those who haven't seen the show. This series is a little seen gem that needs more love.

I realized as we worked on this I almost forgot something important, a series that begs for the spotlight so..

What's New Scooby Doo: We're comin after you, we're gonna solve that mystery. This is a hard one as the gang is reinvented well but i'd have to go with Fred, whose goofiness begins. After the great prequel that was pup named scooby doo and the success of the live action movie, What's New was a reinvention of the franchise in an odd way: it goes back to the gangs old actors , minus grey delise making her debut as daphne, and old style of writing thigns but updates it in a way that dosen't feel too dated now: sure the gang does extreme sports, but it's not to rocket power levels and fits for Daphne.

This series also cements fred and daphne's new roles going forward, roles that helped keep the character fresh despite the dozens of films and handful of series to come. Fred was dialed back from teh conpsiarcy theroist of pup, but instead became the bumbling tourist, a tad awkawrd in places and a tad over excited in others. It added nice layers to him besides solving mysteries and bullying his best friend and it left the door open for him to get reinvented a lot. Daph meanwhile, got a welcome reinvention that let her fit into the classic gang better: like her pup counterpart she often uses fashion, her wealth is more displayed (if not used as a fucntion) but her friendly nature and willingness to get into things (or easliy getting into activties she hated at first), all debuted here.

What's New is a fun series: shorter than you'd think, but having watched it about twice with jess , it holds up really well, combinging the usual formula with some fun hyjinks and creative setups. Sometimes it was bonkers, but it was a solid return to form that let the series experiment more with the next few, and deserves more credit for helping codify a lot of the modern franchise.

[faelune-home]

FFXIVWrite 2023 #8: Shed

(A/n: If its been perpetual Light without any other weather for 100 years, surely that means no seasons too? So I have to wonder how the First would feel about the world settling back into its old rhythm and the old seasons once they finally return. It must be so strange if they haven't seen snow or rain or ice in so long, or the changing leaves. So I really wanted to catch this sense of uncertainty, if most won't remember or even know about the concept.

Tho in this case, Almet might know, or she might not, depending on how old she is, but I've erred on the side of caution and assumed she's post-Flood birth.

Part of me just also feels like I miss the First and Ryne, even tho I know the very next patch is gonna have her feature in a way (small or otherwise, we don't know yet). I hope she's doing well, especially if she's still working hard for everyone. ;3;

Word count: 1385)

“Which way was it again?”

The blue flower path was certainly pretty, but it made for difficult travel when one forgot which fork in the road to follow to Fanow. Ryne unfortunately had forgotten, given the long while it’d been since she had visited the Viis town. The dense trees and the darkened shadows from the enveloping canopy didn’t help her bearings, unable to even see into the distance for a hint of life at the forest’s edge. She was travelling with a small guard, though unfortunately none had any experience with the forest as she had. Leaving her alone to shoulder the burden of navigation.

Her role as Oracle of Light had been changed somewhat, in light of the First’s new lease of life - she was something of an Emissary now for the Crystarium, often ensuring good relations between the various surviving settlements across Nordvrandt, both within each region and with the main city as a hub. Slitherbough didn’t have any issues with their neighbours, but she still wanted to check in with Fanow herself as well. If she could find it…

Fortunately for her, she wasn’t left stumbling around for much longer, as a voice broke through the leaf rustling ambiance.

“Hail, Oracle! It has been some time!” Looking up, and hearing the surprised chattering from her caravan behind her, Ryne smiled to see the familiar face of Almet standing upon a thick branch in the canopy. The woman leapt, traversing down the trunk with graceful bounds until she landed upon the petal strewn floor.

“Almet! It is good to see you,” Ryne greeted her, “I hope all has been well.”

“Of course. The forest has never been more peaceful since the night finally returned and the Sin Eaters numbered finally dwindled to nothing. I’m sure you could tell as much during your travels.” Ryne nodded, already breaking into chatter about their journey there and their reason for visiting, and idle introductions to the rest of her entourage.

“An Emissary is it? From one important duty to another, surely you of all of us have more than earned the rest after your deeds?” Almet said, shaking her head in awe.

“Many have told me, but I wouldn’t feel right just sitting doing nothing while everyone else did all the work,” Ryne replied.

“Well, that is your burden to bear, but I am pleased to see you continuing to look after the wellbeing of all on our star. Even coming all this way to check on Fanow, as cloistered away as we are here,” Almet nodded, coming to a stop by a wooden gateway arch. To Ryne’s surprise, they’d already reached the town’s entrance, unaware that Almet had led them along the way as they’d talked.

“Oh! I…Thank you. I’m sorry to say I seem to have forgotten the way,” Ryne said, flushing at her confession. Almet at least worse an understanding smile.

“Tis no worry. With how far you have travelled and how the forest has changed with the Light gone, I would be more surprised had you remembered. Feel free to come in and settle yourselves, someone will come and see you to a hut to rest yourselves so long as you are staying here,” Almet announced to the rest of the group. Ryne’s own nod to encourage them had them wasting no time entering the village, leaving the two alone.

“As much as I appreciate your hospitality, we hopefully shouldn’t stay too long. We wouldn’t want to impose, but we do have other places to visit as well.”

“You are certainly not imposing. We would always welcome you, as the allies of Ronka and the saviour of the star. But you of course have your duty as well. Allow us to at least see you well prepared for your journey,” Almet offered. Slitherbough had already offered to refill their supplies for the next leg of their journey after visiting Fanow, but more would always be nice. Sometimes to pass onto the next village they visited or even to the Crystarium’s supplies and stores when they returned.

They started up into canopy bound platforms, unperturbed at first of the wind that began to pick up – though Ryne did feel her stomach lurch as the boughs around her creaked and groaned from the strain. However they both came to a pause at a mumbling from a pair of nearby guard Viis leaning against the railing.

“It’s so different, how did it change so?”

“I don’t know, but it looks rather beautiful.”

“Ladies, is something amiss? Did something happen on your patrol?” Almet asked, making them both jump. As one of them frowned to see her surprise had crushed something in her grasp, the other held out a pristine leaf to show.

“Almet, it's so strange! The leaves are changing!” the guard stated. Almet took it in hand, brow furrowing at the discovery. Ryne peaked over, confused. The leaf was a bright vibrant orange, with dappled yellows along its lower half. A fan of leaves were thrust into her view, and she gaped at the sight; bright reds and yellows, more orange and faded gradients, and the normal greens were tinged brown along their edges.

“Is it not just from a peculiar tree?” she asked, trying to rationalise the strange appearance.

“Absolutely not, I’ve patrolled these same forests for 75 years, I know every tree in every corner,” the guard insisted, “This is new!”

“Almet, do you think the trees may be suffering an illness to cause this? Are they dying?” the other Viis asked, looking over the crushed remnants still in her hand with concern. Almet paused, still marvelling over the odd phenomena.

“No, I don’t think it is that,” she said carefully, “I can’t guarantee what this is for certain, though I may have an idea. I would like you to keep an eye out on your patrols, and inform the other groups of the same; if any more turn out like this or if anything else changes, let me know. But I appreciate this news.” The guards shared a look, then nodded and rushed off into the town.

The wind grew fiercer, and Ryne found herself shivering in its blast. Almet stood, letting it rustle through her hair and clothes.

“To think, it may finally be happening again,” she hummed, turning the leaf over in between her finger tips.

“What? What’s happening?” Noting the rising panic in Ryne’s voice, Almet smiled.

“Nothing to be worried about…or perhaps we should. But not for the reasons you may think, Oracle,” she said, “Tis the seasons. They may finally be cycling once again. The forest is changing.”

“Seasons? Changing?” Ryne had heard the concept somewhat, from Thancred - he’d mostly explained them briefly, how the sun would grow warmer, or the wind would grow colder at different times in the year. But in a world without shifting weather patterns, the notion didn’t really seem to be understood anymore.

“I remember tales from my mother, from before the Flood,” Almet explained, eyes growing distant as she recalled the memory, “She would talk about how the seasons would change the forest; how the animals would shift and move their nests and families, following their food as it too moved; how the grass would grow thick and green with the heat, and thin and wiry with the chill; and how they had different produce cycles for each passing moon, how they had to plant many crops in one season to keep people fed in the others, as less could be grown. 

“And I know these past 100 years, the Light has prevented any such changes. The temperature may have dropped or risen, but it was never enough, and the forest was still the same as ever, unchanging and silent.”

“So…the idea of these seasons returning is good?” Ryne asked. The wind blew through once more, and this time Almet let the leaf in her hand fly free with the gusts.

“Yes, I think it is. Perhaps we will struggle to adjust after so long without, but I believe we can do that. And it will be wonderful to see the world return to its original self once more,” she smiled, “You may have extra work for yourself now to prepare the world for these big changes to come.”

[giantkillerjack]

What up everyone Jack's talking about the croissant thing again:

In 2019, I was very mentally and physically ill, and I was recommended to an IOP program, or, as I often called it, Suicide Prevention Daycamp For Grown-Ups.

It was technically a 4-6 week program, but I was not in a place where the counselors and I agreed that I was safe to graduate the program until about week #22 or so. So I was going to intensive group trauma therapy (to say nothing of all the other doctors I had to see), for 15+ hours a week for 5 months.

And one of the things that helped me regain and strengthen my will to live more than anything was going to the nice little bakery beside the hospital in the mornings before session started; buying 3-4 pastries, a banana, and a Lara bar (a gluten-free vegan* snack bar); taking one pastry for myself; and then walking around the morning meeting room at IOP giving away everything else.

* I'm not vegan or gluten-intolerant, but at least one person in my program was.

I did this once on a whim after about a month at IOP, and I liked doing it so much that I then continued to do it every single day I was there for the next 4 months. (I didn't have a lot of extra money, but it was some of the best spending I've ever chosen to do in my life, and I have never regretted it.)

There were about 12-20 of us there in the mornings, depending on the day, and the interactions generally went like this:

Me: Good morning! Have you eaten?

Them: Uhh no.

Me: Okay cool! *I open up my white paper bakery bag like I'm a semi-suicidal Santa* So I've got a chocolate croissant, an almond croissant, and a banana left! Which one would you like?

Them: Ohh, you don't have to do that, I don't need anything...

Me: I didn't ask if you need anything, I asked which one you'd like!!

Them: Someone else might need it more...

Me: I have bought these items for the purpose of giving them away, and if no one takes them, I will have to throw them out.

Them *with the most grateful look I've ever seen on a person, knowing they haven't been completely forgotten and that it IS easy for at least one person on this fucking planet to be goddamn kind to them*: ...the chocolate croissant. :)

Me *realizing that I want to spend the rest of my life chasing this feeling and showing people I care that they are okay and then realizing that I've suddenly started thinking of "the rest of my life" in the long-term again*: Awesome, here you go! :,)

---

And I like this post because it made me remember how grateful I am that those folks let me be kind to them because just by taking a banana from me and saying thank you, they literally helped me build up the will to live and to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

It was also a great way to remind a lot of thoroughly abused, invalidated, and neglected people [read: generally, most of us that end up at mental hospitals] that someone gives a fuck about them in a tangible way, and that at least SOMETIMES people offer help without secretly expecting guilt or repayment.

More than once, someone told me that when they came in on their first day, terrified and not knowing what to expect, they felt instantly more at ease after seeing me bustling about giving people high-quality snacks! And in a suicide-prevention program, feeling safe to stay in and be vulnerable in a space means a LOT.

- Comments like that one changed my entire self image tbh. The "croissant thing" gave me a tiny sense of control over my own life when I was close to death, and it showed me how just the tiniest amount of kindness and consideration can mean SO MUCH to people.

And none of that would have happened for me if all those folks hadn't believed me when I said I really wanted to make sure they had something to eat! What a kindness it is to be allowed to do a kindness!!

some of y'all need to learn how to accept hospitality. stop assuming people are only offering to look after you out of twisted obligation that they don't actually want to do. when you assume that, you are often denying someone the opportunity to genuinely show a friend or stranger love. even if you don't really care about what they're offering, it's respectful of their desire to be kind to accept it anyways.

i had a bunch of girls i've never met over for a women's group. every single one of them denied my offer to make them tea (despite already making myself a mug anyways), get them water, a scone, etc.

i can tell when people refuse to let me be a good host because they "don't want to be a bother". like no!! please be a bother!!! i want to serve you and make you comfortable in my home!

not to be like "we live in a society" but really do live in a modern culture than emphasizes individualism to the point where people will reflexively deny any help or kindness from others for fear of treading on their independence. newsflash: dependence on each other is what makes a community. next time someone offers you kindness, accept it instead of making excuses for why you don't need it. otherwise you've robbed both yourself of being loved and someone else from showing love.

[livebloggingdeltarune3and4]

(spoilers below cut)

Hey, that frog-shaped bullet. I feel like I've seen it before. Is that a Froggit attack, or ? Pretty neat if so

Another wild west minigame! I was bad at it this time :P Also though I spotted that what we were shooting was the soul? Scary

...

This said there was a mini horse stable inside. Which reminds me of.... actually this may be a deep cut even for other big UTDR fans, lol, but: the redacted horse stable that's unused content in Undertale? Surely, though, that CAN'T be an intentional similarity, right? Or at least, it doesn't MEAN anything, right??

I keep clicking on Shadowguys expecting them to say something, having forgotten the bit, and it's funny every time it catches me off guard lol

The sound these guys make is so delightful :D

I have freed them from endless toil. I have abolished capitalism.

I love the serious trashy

Their sneaking sprites are so cute btw, I don't think I mentioned that

[Toriel side-eye face] What are you planning, dude?

Hey

Lmao I'm not complaining but like what are these guys up to

Lmao he sucks so bad. I love him with all my heart

Having now talked to all three of them, and heard more, even... Rouxls sucks so bad lol

Toxic yuri (definitely what this is) for the win

He was totally just in it for the rank lmao

He didn't even bring his lovers to the battle lol. I'm assuming he broke up with them when he found out he wasn't 2nd in command

Finally, his secret power, revealed

Okay his secret power... may be kind of powerful actually lol

I am so unbelievably excited to Lancer

I wonder what his debit card does in a battle

Hey

This battle is getting slightly insane

I lost lol. I am... not good at dodging :P

Ah well... my ship is back to the realm of crack... not that it ever really left, or that I'm surprised, lol

I wonder what exactly their history is. And I STILL wonder if we're ever gonna see Mike's face

Oh bye Mike lol

Oh :( Creepy

The arcade's closed?!? Damn

All this snow, and the music, makes it feel really unsettling. Obviously reminding me of Snowgrave, too

Ooo. Not sure I like that. Not sure I like that at all. ...Also, there was a section below the green room I haven't been in yet, and this feels like progress, so I'm gonna go down there first okay bye [totally doesn't flee in terror]

Shuttah seems very full of ancient knowledge. I cannot wait for the theory videos analyzing all of its dialogue

I'm on my way to get the Egg. I looked up how to get it earlier; that's the only thing I plan to look up about these chapters. I don't really care if I miss the secret boss or anything else, but like... I just want those delicious eggs

"It's not good to go nowhere with someone else" ...Kris always has gone to the egg room alone. Is that nowhere..?

Scary

Susie and Ralsei don't have anything to say after I disappear elsewhere. I'm guessing they just don't experience that? Like, time freezes, or something? It must be pretty creepy for Kris to experience.

I. Do not think that I like this

Also, the way you get here, the soul escapes just like in Undertale? What with the Ribbicks being reminiscent of Froggits and that- and the creepy game earlier with the sword- it feels like, we're meant to be thinking about Undertale. But I don't know what it means

Okay but the creepiest thing about this, by the way, is that Kris looks like they're in the light world. Which means... this isn't an illusion? Scary!

Suddenly getting gender dysphoria vibes

I really wonder who the man is, anyway. But I doubt I'll get to find out in these two chapters

Dunno when that changed, but I really don't like that

Oh okay we've solved gender dysphoria lol

Well this is new. The man is speaking to me? Not being matter-of-factly stated to be there by the narration?

What a fascinating man.

'Something to remember me by'...

...And Kris is back to dark world form... what does it all meannnnn

[dragonmasterhiccup]

She shook her head, letting out a sarcastic chuckle. “You’re kind of proving my point here; he… he thought he was doing something good, he thought he was ‘saving’ me, but he almost killed you in the process, which isn’t necessarily good, y’know?” She was trying so hard to get Hiccup to understand what she was saying; some people just can’t be good, and she was probably one of those people.

“Hiccup, stop. You don’t know me as well as you think you do. I am probably insane, it just hasn’t been shown to the public yet. And I want to be good, believe me I do, but I… you need to be prepared for that switch to flip.”

“Yeah, okay, but what if me being a ‘lone wolf’ is the best option? Not even in the sense of being someone so strong that they can survive on their own, but what about those people that should be alone? Those people that are threats to everyone else to the point where it’s safer if they’re cut off from everyone else? What if that’s me?”

Hugging him back, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, resting her head just below his shoulder. “I know, and I’m sorry, I… I won’t say anything like that ever again, I swear.”

Looking up at him, she shook her head, a small frown plastered on her face. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. You can’t control what I think, and I know you were just trying to keep me safe.” She shrugged. “If anything, I honestly think I should be saying ‘thanks.’”

“O-oh, okay, I just thought you meant me, y’know? Sorry, I… I get it…” She thought for a moment before continuing, “About Spitelout… I’ve uh- I’ve kind of heard people talking about rumors that he’s spreading, that may or may not be about you and Astrid? Now I don’t know anything for sure, I just heard a couple people talking about it while I was at the stables, and I didn’t know if you knew about it.”

"Well, from his perspective, I was the bad guy. I-I don't know, Danny. Maybe you're right, but I've seen it enough to know that people can change, they just have to want to. No one is inherently good or bad, it's all in what they choose."

Looking at her with sad eyes, he had trouble understanding what she was saying. He'd seen her in many situations, many states of mind. The only time he truly thought she was doing something crazy was when she'd waded through the ocean during that blizzard. But she was sleep deprived, and that can cause people's rational thoughts to just go out the window.

His expression one of sorrow, he shook his head. "Danny, you're not that person. You're not a threat to everyone around you, and we tried keeping you separated from the others because it's what you wanted, and it didn't work. You were miserable and lonely... since moving in with mom, things have been better for you, haven't they?"

Hugging her back just as tightly, he nodded. "Consider it all forgotten, alright?"

He had initially winced a little as soon as he had said he was trying to protect Danny, because in the past, she hadn't reacted well to that phrasing, but he was pleasantly surprised to hear her response. "Exactly. Keeping their sisters safe is half the job of being an older brother, isn't it?" Well, probably not when it came to the twins, but they were... different.

Tilting his head, he inquired, "Say thanks? For what?" If it was for the whole name situation, he definitely could have handled that better beforehand.

He felt a twist in the pit of his stomach, his expression becoming a mix of confusion, anger, and disbelief. "What? That was Spitelout? I've heard some whispers, and some people have come to me offering advice that was unwarranted, but I have yet to hear what the actual rumor is." He let out a frustrated groan and started pacing. "He knows he can't go after you, since I made him give his word, so he's targeting me and Astrid instead..." Letting out a quick exhale, he placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head, before turning back to Danny. "I...I have to talk to Astrid, but first, do you know what the rumor is, that he's spreading? I can't let this go unaddressed..."