#is it a coincidence that these both have like murder vibes

[vhaos-chaotic-writing]

D-16 (TFO) x Cybertronian!Reader

The prettiest bot I've ever seen in my whole life ( do not tell Starscream I said that ♪(´▽｀) ) - I kid you not, not a single Megatron has ever moved my heart as Transformers: One did. D-16 got me giggling, crying and screaming at the same time. Gender Neutral Cybertronian Reader!

WARNING: Spoilers from the movie (Transformers One 2024). First love to Angst.

I have two scenarios on mind: 1) You are another miner that works alongside Orion Pax, D-16 and the others. Or 2) You work on something else, You and D-16 getting to catch each other on daily basis from time to time, but never interact.

1st scenario gives me the vibes that you two get to always chat and work together, watching Orion drag D-16 to his little disastrous adventures and D-16 smiling at you awkwardly whenever that happens.

But you don't mind (you get worried sometimes, of course), always giving D-16 a soft smile or a lively chuckle as you go back to work.

And you don't get to see how Orion teases his best friend at how he is smiling like a dumb. D-16 tries to deny it... to then gush to his best friend about you. "Did you see how they smiled at me? They're so... (sigh) perfect."

2nd scenario would be a slow burn type situation - both of you always wondering about... well, everything!

And the first interaction both of you had was when, by pure coincidence, found each other in the middle of a busy day, among many walking by bots.

"Hello, m-my designation is-" / "Hi, I'm so happy to..." both of you start at the same time, fell silent and then laugh together at each other's interruption.

You get to see how D-16 and Orion end at the race, celebrating their ups and worry at their downs, even more at how D-16 got hurt nearly at the end of the race.

After that... it was like he vanished. And while you prayed to Primus for him to be safe and sound, he would be thinking about you from time to time the whole journey.

As you would keep going with your job (growing tired and tired for the sudden high demand of shifts at the mines or feel like something bad was about to happen) - D-16 would slowly spiral between rage, confusion, realizations and the worst thing - to find out about the whole true and how not only him and his friends were stolen from their freedom and right to transform... but you were also a victim. Just like them. Just like all of them.

With the 1st scenario... It brings you joy to see Orion back at the mines, now changed and looking like a true transformer. And your spark breaks at finding out about the true - but the words of the new changed Orion brings you hope.

But you can´t shake this concerned feeling inside of your spark. Where is D-16?

With the 2nd scenario... you are a sea of feelings, confusion and fear, not knowing why there was suddenly so much chaos and - wait, is that... Dee? But... he looks so different! Like Orion, but there is something else that makes your spark tremble.

And hell - you cover your mouth with your servos at the sight of Orion being shot, at watching how D-16 tries to save him but then decide to let him fall. You watch how Elita nearly jumps after Orion's body and Bee stop her.

The worst part? After witnessing Sentinel's brutal murder, Dee- no, Megatron's speech and how he takes Megatronus t-cog and change even more... you feel your spark break even more the moment your optics and his find each other.

Bright yellow optics found (color) optics in the middle of a busy day... and there was nothing but new found feelings. But now... aggressive red optics find (color) optics... and while the red optics try to remain strong, they can't help but soften at the sight of how your (color) optics hold fear. As if you were watching the optics of an unknown bot.

How badly he wanted to go after you and hold you - to tell you he finally avenged you just like he did for himself and everyone else...

We all know how it goes - Orion comes back now as Optimus Prime and defeats Megatron.

And before Megatron leaves Iacon - he looks after you. And your optics meet for the last time.

And you swear you got to see the same D-16 you met the very first time in your whole life.

And Megatron knows he has changed, from the top of his helm to the last atom of his pedes. But something never changed in him.

His love for you.

"... The only thing I'll ever regret was never tell them how I felt."

Well damn I hurt myself with this I guess o(TヘTo) Vhaos out!

[guzhuangheaven]

I'm rewatching Ruyi, and all I'm thinking is, "Why is Yanwan such a stupid person?"

She is surviving and thriving because of luck most of the time. How is it that her mother murders his child and Hongli thinks that maybe she is not evil because her mother didn't confess Yanwan's part but he spend over a decade hating on Yuyan because of an accessory and her ambitious son.

I feel the writer faltered and could have made her a more subtle and clever villain. Her only becoming a Consort because Hongli wanted to piss of Zhen Huan, I think sucked the most.

See, here’s where I think the writing is genius in terms of human psychology, because it shows just how utterly narcissistic both Qianlong and Yanwan and how much they see themselves in each other. Yanwan panders to Qianlong’s narcissism, so he literally willfully tells himself that a woman he favours can’t be that bad, to the point that he actually believes it. He wants to always forgive Yanwan whenever she pisses him off, because he can’t admit that he likes or gets turned on or whatever by someone so despicable, because what does that say about himself?

In the situation with Yongjing, he would rather believe astrology nonsense that Ruyi’s vibes killed Yongjing than consider there was foul play. He gets so hyped up with the idea of Yongjing being a good omen that when Yongjing dies he feels like he's losing face to ever have hoped so much. Face is a huge deal to a person like Qianlong, he can't deal with losing face like that so he turns it on Ruyi instead. Later he would rather deceive himself that yes somehow Yanwan’s mother can miraculously pull all off this huge feat of paying off midwives and people both inside and outside the palace to endanger Yongjing and frame Hailan in the process, than admit the obvious that she couldn’t possibly have done all of this without Yanwan’s will or involvement. And some people really are just so narcissistic that they would believe these excuses they tell themselves rather than think that they might be wrong.

Yanwan says it very succinctly in the end, he chose her, he raised her up, if she’s horrible, then what is he? That’s why he can’t ever admit to Yanwan’s worst actions until he can’t be in denial anymore, when it’s all shoved into his face in the end.

Yanwan basically spends her entire time as consort failing up because her benefactor (Qianlong) is too narcissistic to admit he was ever wrong and has the ultimate privilege to get away with that mindset. This happens in real life…

Anyway, I think while Qianlong is aware of Yanwan’s ambition from the beginning from the way she approaches him, and he nurtures that ambition to use her as a weapon against the empress dowager and Ruyi at times, he doesn’t see Yuyan (or do you actually mean Luyun and her hairpin?) in the same way. We see the Yuyan’s scheming private moments but I think for Qianlong, she’s just this plaything gift from a tributary state with a sharp tongue, and she is the equivalent of a sexy lamp to him. So he is blindsided when that toy dares have her own goals and uses her son to push her own gains.

If you mean Luyun, I always thought it was a perfect concoction of coincidences that sets up Qianlong’s suspicion of Luyun, from Langhua suddenly recommending Luyun as the next empress on her death bed even though she hasn’t shown any preference for Luyun before, after Qianlong just learnt that Langhua had supposedly done all these evil things, and then Luyun’s hairpin being found at the wrong place, then suddenly Luyun showing desire to compete to be empress that she didn’t have before and both Yongzhang and Yonghuang who were raised by Luyun acting up at Langhua’s funeral. With his tendency for paranoia of course he would be suspicious of her and he can continue to hold a grudge because Luyun isn’t a mirror to him the way Yanwan is.  

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

Umbrella Academy season 1 episode 1

Okay, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but this girl was not pregnant before she went in the water

I love it when a question of mine immediately gets answered

This feels cartoon villainish as fuck

Why is Tom Hopper in space

So they're all *supposed* to be the same age but Five is due to time travel shenanigans as I understand it

I get the feeling that Klaus will not, in fact, stay sober. I do immediately like his vibes

What a shitty way to find out your father is dead

I was right about the sober thing

Is this a weather powers thing? Or is this a coincidence? I don't actually know what most of their powers are

There are only 6 children in that portrait, and suddenly the "brothers" instead of "siblings" question makes a bit more sense...

Damn this guy was really bad at keeping his kids around/alive, huh

What did Vanya do?

Hearing Tom Hopper do an American(? It sounds a bit odd to me) accent is unsettling

A monkey!

Well that's appropriately heart breaking

Well these vibes are weird as fuck

Yeah, that went well

I now understand the rumor thing

Ooh, teleportation

Does Ben turn into a creature? Is that his power?

"I'm afraid there's just nothing special about you" wow holy crap, what an asshole

Whoops

I dance like Vanya

There he is

None of them seem to like each other (except for Allison and Luther), but I'm trusting the process, this is only episode 1 after all

Ah so they are cold towards her because of the book.

Five seems... hm. I don't know how to put this? Sympathetic but in a gruff way. Cause aren't they all dead in his future?

These feel like valid arguments, and he should say them, but I feel like this was not the best time for them

The boys are fighting!

I love Klaus putting an arm back to shield Five and he swats it away with a Look at Klaus

Is the Ben statue going to- yup. I had a feeling due to the blocking

Okay so the going from him watching them sleep with the brain activity, to specially Vanya, the "not special" one of the group, to present day of her knocking back pills? Makes me wonder if she DOES have abilities, he knew it, and he kept that from her and the others while giving her medication to supress it, leading to her alienation and breaking away from him and the family. Or those could just be perfectly normal prescription drugs and I'm over analyzing

Oh good they establish right off that he's a murderous bastard

Is the person Klaus is talking to Ben? :D

If this show makes me love the dead guy and then he ceases to exist, imma be upset

Im either going to really like the relationship between Vanya and Five or it's going to destroy me, potentially both

Oh damn. Uhhhh. Okay I think I understand more why he is like this if he was alone for all those years. But I somehow doubt he was entirely alone?

Well I am certainly intrigued!

[artsninspo]

Hi! Do you write for Modie? Can you do one where she is with the mandem and modie is her bf and she sees him for the first time after he broke out of jail. She is just like worrying about his scar and stuff and he‘s all soft. Just fluff. Thank you so much, love you🥰

“WHY SO SERIOUS?”

Author's Note: Hey, I don't typically write for Modie BUT since it's fall and Halloween is approaching I thought I’d do something fun with Modie. He gives me joker vibes (I mean it’s no coincidence they both had acid accidents), you know not easily understood, intimidating and a little off his rocker. This request is influenced by Joker and Harley Quinn - hope you enjoy the spin on this req. Sidenote* I don't plan to make this a habit LOL so please don’t be upset if your Modie req is never posted

Pairing: Modie X Reader 

Word Count: 1.8K

Warnings: Mentions of murder & adult themes.

You finish a deep stretch letting out a sigh finishing your yoga for the day. Your thoughts are where they always are on Modie. Your muffin is locked up in a cage where he doesn't belong. Reaching for your phone you check your messages. Nude’s usually works to get his attention but he hasn't responded in hours. Groaning you head into the bathroom to shower and contemplate using one of the many dildos ready in your walk-in shower to take the edge off. You hope the pigs in the prison haven't confiscated his phone again because that’ll mean more time in the hole. You reach for the cast Muffin had made for you personally only to withdraw. He doesn't like when you play without him.

He’ll know, he always does.

“Uhhhhhh” you groan showering without any fun. You were supposed to have a facetime date last night. 

What if I did something wrong and this is my punishment?

You spend time lotioning your body in contemplation of your options trying to find a cause for the silence. Muffin said no tv or internet today so your options are limited, and you're in no mood to play on your switch. Muffin’s crew is having a party tonight, Layton told you. It's your best bet at staying in the loop so you decide on that. You hide your sadness with your makeup and freshly flat iron your half blonde and half black fringe, putting wavy curls in the rest of your hair. You put on a gloss and admire your full pout pretending Muffin was appling it for you. Then you put in your silver grillz he bought for your last birthday to match his. You smile sweetly at the memory of him smiling back at you in approval of the look, his hand under your chin before placing a soft kiss on your lips. What you wouldn't do to be back in that moment again, with him free, with you, when nothing else mattered. You step into your leather boots after getting on a one piece long sleeve unitard in all black. Your ensemble matches your mood. 

The journey to the fields is only a few songs long and you arrive at a full car park.

“Y/N” you're greeted a few times before heading into the yard. You push the door in and Layton stands at attention like you’ve done something wrong. There's no music, no scent of liquor or weed and definitely not the overflow of women these lot are used to.

“Ahhhh” you hear a groan.

You look at Layton knowing he knows better than to conduct business where the mandem call home and he uses his body to keep you out of the flat.

“Move!” you snap before shoving him back. You enter the living room and see the rest of the crew. Kit, Jamie and Si look least happy to see you as usual.

“Can I get you something?” Saf stands.

“I’m alright, thought this was a party” you look around and see the party was set up but nothings been touched.

“Nah, we're heading to another spot” Saf smiles.

“Has anyone heard from Modie? He hasn’t responded to my messages in hours” you ask. Each and every one of them look uneasy like they're keeping something from you.

“He had to get rid of his phone, spoke to him earlier today” Layton says puzzling you. “Then you lot must be fucking up if he used his call to speak to you and not me?” you snap, growing angry.

“Y/N, I swear” Layton stammers as you frown.

“Nah, nothing like that, we have good news for Modie - not bad” Jamie says. “Lets go to this party, yeah?” He stands, forcing a smile. Layton’s a loyal dog but Jamie’s always been smart first.

“I’m riding with you” you declare, watching him closely. Jamie’s afraid of you and you know it. He thinks you're crazy and unstable, he’s not wrong. Jamie's kryptonite is women and children, falling into the former category you have little to worry about. He gets the passenger door for you before getting in himself. He starts the car always observant before pulling out of the spot.

“Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, what are you hiding from me?” you smile excited to play.

“Nothing” he lies.

“How convincing” you giggle. “You're usually much better, what are you on edge about?” you ask, leaning closer.

“Modie wouldn't want you to worry,” he says.

“Modie doesn't need your head all fuzzy, he needs you sharp” you smile and Jamie looks at you uneasily. Your smile grows as your assessment is correct. Jamie’s always shown you the utmost respect even when you've pushed quite far. He's never flirted or been suggestive and always shut down his peers when they were a little too close to the line. Any man with that much discipline and awareness is dangerous. “Don’t worry James, I like you. Relax, unclench - woosah” you taunt before giggling.

“Are you good for money?” Jamie asks.

“Yes Mister So Serious” you mock making a face. Jamie shakes his head in disapproval. “You’re such a stiff, now wonder you and Mo are friends - opposites attract” you smile sweetly.

“You are not his opposite” Jamie mutters and you applaud his wit laughing.

“See, that was a good one. I only get upset when they aren't fair or respectful” you warn.

“Throwing knives is a fair way to address disrespect?” he asks.

“One day you'll find your person and if someone goes mad at them, I bet you do much worse” you pat his shoulder.

“Modie broke out” Jamie says, wiping the smile off your face as he parks. “He had an accident he doesn't want you to worry about.” Jamie sighs as he parks. “He’s in there now, so do yourself up and act surprised” Jamie says once you've picked your jaw up off the floor. Your eyes hold his happy tears well. Your cheeks burn and you sniffle to keep your nose from running as you pull down the visor to get at the mirror. You curse for not wearing a better bra and re-adjust your tits before turning to Jamie.

“How do I look?” you ask him but he’s looking away as usual. “For fuck sake Jamie look!” you whine when he looks away.

“Bra strap is showing, gloss on your teeth” he says motioning to both before surveying you some more. “Some of the blonde is in the black bit” he says pointing to your hair, looking in the visor you fix it quickly. You look at him with big eyes in need of approval.

“Perfect” he nods. “Relax, unclench, woosah” he mocks and you snicker.

“I like you Jamie” you smile as you get out of the car. You head in the venue. The music is loud and you look around. There’s no time to take heed of the song playing as you look around. Layton motions for you to follow him you do with the rest of them to a secondary party drinks are flowing and there are more familiar faces. Phones are taken and shit off at the door. You grab a drink to calm your nerves and look around the party as the lights go so low it's hard to see at all. You feel a body against yours before your arms pull you in tight.

“Looking for me?” his voice asks, making your heart race, turning around and hugging him so tight. “What did I tell you about sending me naughty pics without warning?” he asks, placing kisses on your neck.

“But I missed you and I wanted to feel pretty and sexy,” you confess, pulling away to try and see him. It's impossible. 

“It’s inconsiderate to send a man that kind of material when he’s sharing a cell” he tells you. 

“Sorry, Muffin” you apologise and he chuckles running his hands through your hair. “Sorry” you apologise again when you realise you’ve used his pet name amongst his peers.

“Music's loud, it's okay Sweets” he says and you kiss him again. Your heart is racing as he holds you. You go to touch his face but he holds your hand. Uneasiness fills you. Jamie's words replay and you take Muffin’s hand following the lights on the floor into a private room. 

He’s been maimed. 

“Is who did this to you still alive?” you snap, trembling. Modie tries to withhold his amusement.

“For now” he nods as your temper flares. You hug him again relieved to have him home and he hugs back relaxing.

“I missed you, Sweets,” he says, rocking you side to side. He takes your chin. “Smile” he says and you show him you have your grills in. His smile grows wider and he hugs you again.

“We can drive to Spain and I can find you a good doctor, you can heal and rest and we’ll be alright” you say, devising a plan.

“Shhhhh” he says, holding your face in his hands. You look at the mangled skin and the blue hued cloudy eye. You don't look away and this time when you go to touch that side of his face he doesn't withdraw,allowing the intimate gesture. You smile when he takes your hand kissing your palm.

“What?” he asks.

“I don't know,” you shrug. “I just think it's really sexy,” you confess. “But, when I find out who did it, I'll kill them,” you added, smiling sweetly.

“I’m free now, we can have our fun” he says leaning in for another kiss and palming your ass.

“You promise you're alright?” you ask, looking him over.

“I have my girl and I have someone’s life to ruin - I’m perfect” he smiles and Layton knocks entering slowly with his head down.

“Boss, the mandem wants to toast” he says, you watch Modie’s persona change as he steps out among his peers, the leader of the pack. He keeps his eyes on you looking your way as he socialises and tells the animated tale of his escape. You sip your liquor thinking of all the ways you’re going to reunite later on. It takes you twenty minutes to slowly make your way to Jamie for answers.

“I know you know who did that to Modie” you say loud enough for him to hear.

“It’s for him to say” he responds.

“I thought we were friends” you pout.

“Only because you are more dangerous than him.” he says.

“Shhhhh” you tell Jamie. “Tell me” you mouth.

“Sully, Summerhouse Sully '' Jamie says but the name doest ring any bells. He must be a ghost, someone from the past trying to settle unfinished business.

Now he’ll be a corpse.

“Thanks, James” you smile heading back to Modie, the crowd parts for you like the red sea and you sit on your muffins lap making all the chatter and flattery stop. It's like it's just the two of you in the club, you drink and dance for him and laugh together, he tells jokes and tickles you and holds you and your heart is full because you have your man back.

...

I had a lot of fun writing this one, depending on how this does I may do a part two. No smut, just mentions of it with a little revenge and more lunacy. Maybe a halloween party idk. Chime in in the comment section.

[praxieuser]

PRAXIE'S SUPER AWESOME SUPER COOL THEORY ABOUT DANIEL BEING IN THE MOB:

because the where the magic awakens discord server seemed to vibe with it, and it's like. a little bit funny.

SPOILERS MAY BE PRESENT! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

as the title says, i thought up a crack theory about the Pages being previously part of / in charge of / otherwise involved in a mob. here is the thought process for how my adhd crack led me down this path:

1.) the headline of the muggle news paper and what it implies

note that the headline is "The Bloody Pages" headlines during the turn of the century were more dramatic, news headlines i've seen are more straight forward if the perpatrators aren't well known. for example: "Father-Son Duo: Mass Heist, Mass Murder" would be what i would expect if the Pages were largely unknown. but they are specifically references by their last name implying the family itself is pretty infamous for this kind of thing. and while i can't quite ascertain this, dad Page and bro Page look like they're dressed in that sort of 20th century gangster style in their picture of them getting arrested: dark coat, dark vest instead of looking like run in the mill burglars with skii masks.

2.) the gravity of their crimes

it's implied that along with a heist, they've committed mass murder. this implies to me that if they killed that much people in one sitting, they either had other people with them OR it was just the two of them but they had firepower, and since this is the UK and not the US, purchasing guns has stricter regulations, especially guns that are something like AK-47s? with the intent of doing harm? the chances are they'll sniff you out.

this to me implies either: they had the power and influence to rally up goons OR they had the money and contacts to smuggle arms

3.) this partially explains kaleena and esme's thing

starting with kaleena, not only does it partially explain her infamy in the wizarding world (imagine, a wizard not only doing magic in front of muggles/to harm muggles but being in a muggle mob?) it also coincides with gridley calling her a world class criminal. maybe she was more underground before marrying daniel's dad, but ended up coming up on the surface as she became more involved in the mob, whichever path, it makes it clear she has experience in criminality

for esme, it explains the "knows more than she lets on" thing she has going on: she knows of her mother's involvement in the mob, but since she was definitely still underage, we can say she was kept farther from it. she probably hasn't seen anything firsthand, but she knows what she knows. we could also say that in general aside from their older brother, the Page kids were kept far away from gang business for there safety: making it so daniel didn't know about the mob

4.) shit i highkey made up but listen that's what you're here for

so then, if kaleena was in the mob, we could say that maybe by the time she had daniel, she decided to be less involved in the frontlines to stay with the kids more since they're a huge vulnerability bc they're in a mob and presumably have a few enemies, but also bc she probably genuinely cared for them. making it so she's very close with daniel, which could explain the strength of daniel's later denial

then we could say that, by the time dad Page and bro Page get arrested, she's old and she's rusty with her magic, since she's been spending most of her time taking care of the kids for a few years, explaining why she gets caught despite being a "world class criminal". but then all daniel would know is his father and brother are the big bad, and his mom just loved them so much she tried to break them out. and since he was still very young, we can say that esme didn't want to tell him the truth bc you try telling your 5 year old brother both of your currently incarcerated parents, one of which is he is very attached to, were mobsters.

and because he's got a whole complex about it by the present time, having The Talk™ with him is even more complicated, especially when esme herself is presumably only somewhere aroumd 17-19 years old and has to juggle taking care of daniel and her own personal struggles brought on by the arrest of her parents

5.) but why doesn't daniel know about the mob in the present time?

could be that he knows his parents are in a mob but doesn't say it bc his whole thing is getting bullied for crimes his family did and he'd rather not pour gasoline on a house on fire, and is under the belief that his mother was there against her will OR that his mother wasn't involved at all, bar her trying to break dad Page and bro Page put of jail.

and thats my delulu corkboard crack theory on why daniel's family is part of the mob. thank you 🚶

[illuminatedquill]

Shin Hati vs Sabine Wren:

Sharpen the Blade

So.

Let’s talk about them.

Now, as a disclaimer: I’m firmly in favor for a Sabine and Ezra pairing.

Speaking from my POV as someone who did not ship them during Rebels, watching the trailers for Ahsoka and then seeing the actual show definitely gave me vibes that things had changed for both of them.

So, I am a convert and standing with the good ship Sabezra.

. . . But, I do see the appeal of Sabine and Shin. I’m not blind. I get it.

Filoni loves some good parallels in his Star Wars. I’ve posted before how Sabine is presented as very similar to Anakin in this series; she’s a huge emotional mess, absolutely driven to succeed at her goal, stubborn, loyal to a fault, loves fiercely and fights just the same. She’s a warrior, through and through.

And, also like Anakin, she damned the galaxy for a chance to save a loved one.

So, if Sabine is being set up to be Anakin, then what role will Shin be playing in her life?

Well, let’s look to the past and re-visit another female dark side user that frequently crossed blades with Anakin Skywalker - Asajj Ventress.

A brief history for her: Set up as a rival to Anakin, she gave him that infamous scar on his face. Ventress wasn’t quite a Sith, despite her desire to be one.

She was trained by a Jedi Master, who died at the hands of the criminals he was fighting. She succumbed to the dark side and ended up ruling over them for a time. That went sideways sometime later and then Count Dooku found her and started training Ventress in the dark side of the Force.

Count Dooku was a former Jedi. Baylan Skoll was a former Jedi. Do you see what I’m getting at?

Dooku later abandoned her and she sought revenge on her former master. She spent the rest of the Clone Wars trying to find her place, keeping ahead of Dooku, and sometimes helping Obi-Wan, Anakin, and even Ahsoka when their interests coincided.

Eventually, at the end of the Clone Wars, she met Jedi Master Quinlan Vos. They fell in love but, during an assassination attempt on Dooku, Vos was captured and tortured, resulting in his fall to the dark side. Ventress rescued him and redeemed him, only for Dooku to kill her while doing so.

Her redemption of Quinlan Vos and subsequent sacrifice in doing so led her to being honored by the Jedi as a true friend.

I’m sure after reading some of this, you can see similarities between Ventress and Shin. Both were initially power-hungry but, really, they were just looking for a place to belong.

Despite being a rival to Anakin, Ventress had a more interesting relationship with Obi-Wan. They had to pair up more than a few times during the Clone Wars.

Remember the scene where Ahsoka tells Shin that they can help her? How scared and confused she looks before running off. Baylon had just abandoned her and the enemy was offering her a place to stay.

My personal belief is that Shin is clearly being set up to be a more personal rival to Sabine, but I think if Filoni is really intent on giving a redemptive arc, then it should be the Ahsoka/Shin interactions we should be looking out for.

Not to say that Shin and Sabine wouldn’t be as interesting. Ahsoka replaces Baylon as a mentor, but she also needs a friend. I see them as maintaining the rivalry, but losing the “I want to murder you” edge from their battles.

Rivals are great foils for a protagonist. Ever since Sabine met Shin, her combat skills have improved dramatically. I feel like they could really push each other to greater heights in their abilities and understanding of one another.

Rivals can also teach you things about yourself that a mentor couldn’t. As a dark sided user, maybe Shin could recognize the growing signs of darkness in Sabine and maybe try to point it out to her. Which would be a great step in their journey towards becoming friends.

And . . . maybe something more.

Filoni would have to do it justice, though. It would be great to have a powerful recurring antagonist - not a villain, an antagonist - who slowly realizes over time that they’re fighting for the wrong side.

Or he could have Shin go full fledged dark, which would also be riveting to watch. I’ve already said that she could be an excellent foil for Sabine, but she could also serve as a dark mirror for the young Jedi.

He has to do it right, which means giving it the proper screen-time. Which, I don’t know if he can. He’s already got a lot of spinning plates in the air for a theoretical season two.

One thing’s for sure: Shin is the wild card for this show. Very excited to see what happens next and where she and Sabine take this rivalry.

[ramrage]

“fitting a square peg into a square peg” or “and they both were tops”

Chapter 2: but my mother didn’t raise a quitter

chapter rating: E

characters: John “Soap” MacTavish, Simon “Ghost” Riley, Kyle “Gaz” Garrick cameo, John Price cameo

Tags: Sexual Tension, terrible flirting, Masturbation, First Time Bottoming, Fantasizing

part 1

ao3 link

———

Well that fucking sucked.

Soap thought, he really, really thought that he had a beautiful, sinful, delicious night ahead of him. Apparently not. Granted, the “no head” joke was a little tasteless given the context, but the opportunity had presented itself and he was nothing if not one to live each moment to the fullest. Also, if it landed, it would’ve been one hell of a laugh.

Sadly, it did not. Absolutely murdered the vibe, if anything

In fact, just about nothing landed. After the whole no-bottom revelation, Ghost more or less checked out of the whole situation.

“No, but really. There are plenty of other ways to fool around,” Soap offered, trying his damndest to claw the evening back in his favor. No, their favor. He made a show of thinking (but in a sexy, seductive sort of way). He tried again, “You’re always telling me to shut my mouth, yeah? How about you make me put it to good use instead?”

Oh, son of a gun, if that wasn’t the look of a starved man that flashed across Ghost’s eyes. Progress. Nevertheless, Ghost forced a disapproving exhale through his nose. “Johnny,” he warned.

Soap wasn’t stepping down with victory within reach like this, so he pushed his luck, closing the space between them with deliberate, swaggering steps. “I’m also very good with my hands,” he said, now separated from Ghost by a lean few inches. Fuck, this was actually working. Ghost’s chest rose and fell with labored breaths—dubious but potentially promising—and his jaw strained to mash his molars into each other—similarly dubious but potentially promising. The real tell was how he leaned forward ever so slightly despite the conflict wrinkling the corners of his eyes. This was a workable situation. This could be saved. “I’d love to show you.”

Or maybe it wasn’t!

Ghost retreated, the tension shattering into glittering shards that fell to the ground, very coincidentally spelling the words “John MacTavish, you are an idiot.” Crazy coincidence, that.

“Johnny, this isn’t going to work,” Ghost said with finality. As consolation, he didn’t sound particularly happy about it. Tenacious though he was, Soap knew to take the L when it was presented to him on a silver platter. It just fucking blew that the man delivering the L was tall, brooding, handsome, and dangerous beyond all belief.

“Right,” he said with a tight nod, “Well. I’ll leave you to it, then.” With that, he turned to the door and walked through it, nearly tripping on the tail between his legs.

He didn’t look back as he left. The shit show was sufficiently shit without seeing the unspecified negative emotion plastered over Ghost’s masked visage. That would’ve added insult to injury, and more than that, it would make the embarrassment exponentially more potent. No thank you.

The sound of the door closing echoed throughout the hallway, the final “boo” to convince him to retreat off the stage. Every minute he spent walking to his own room was spent considering the moments before his ultimate failure. That was the thing, though. He didn’t know why he failed. Ghost seemed to have been enticed. But then it went off with the unanticipated immediacy of a blown fuse. Weird.

Weird, but also promising. The words “down but not out” danced in Soap’s mind as he undressed for the shower, kept dancing as he scrubbed through his hair, as he lathered his body with soap (ha). The truth of the matter, despite the earlier fiasco, remained: he wanted Ghost. He wanted him more than he’d wanted anyone.

Don’t get it twisted. He’d never suffered for lack of tail, which statistically made sense given his propensity for batting in all directions. Those different flavors tickled his fancy in a variety of pleasant ways, but none burned as hot before, during, or after than whatever it was he felt for Ghost. The man got him excited. A blushing, giggling schoolgirl kind of thing. Sure, he wanted Ghost to cover him like a Snuggie and ride his dick into the sunset, but he also plain old liked hanging out with the lad. That was different, that was new, and Soap decided that was something worth fighting for.

The litany of “down but not out” reached a crescendo then, and it was with the sort of bravery known only by trailblazers such as Neil Armstrong and the like that Soap let his touch linger just a bit longer as he went through the motions of cleaning his ass.

He eked out a dubious little hum accompanied by a similarly-dubious grimace. Maybe it was the newness that put him off. “ Once more, man ,” he told himself, and circled his hole deliberately, this time with feeling.

“No,” he decided with a resolute shake of his head, shutting off the water before it ran completely cold. He toweled himself off, dressed, and climbed into bed, all the while mourning the failure of his little experiment. His bed pressed into his back, cold and unyielding, much unlike the delicious heat of Ghost’s body. Presumably, at least. He didn’t get to feel it, but following the path of reason, Ghost probably was a warm-blooded creature. A warm-blooded, virulent man with strong, capable hands. And those lips—god, remember those? Who knew the man was hiding such perfect lips under that mask? Soft, plush, the prettiest little pink. Soap groaned happily at the memory, rolling his hips.

Kissing them was a damn good time; imagine how they’d feel stretched around his dick. That tongue was awfully wicked, too, now that he thought about it. And he did. Oh, he did. The hard-on that had haunted him all day like some horny intermittent rain shower came back with a hot, aching vengeance. Soap palmed himself over his bedsheets and reconsidered his decision to throw in the towel.

Perhaps it wasn’t the newness that put him off. Maybe it was the himness. Or maybe it was both, but maybe just maybe Ghost was the gateway drug he needed to fully enter this exciting new world of bottoming. He wouldn’t do this for anyone, but Ghost wasn’t just anyone.

Blazing with the singular determination of a man looking to get laid, he threw the bedsheets off his body and marched to the bathroom in search of unscented face lotion. It was with the same determination that he marched back to bed and threw his body down, letting his legs splay open wide to the edges of the mattress.

He tried to remember what his partners of the past had done as he emptied a few pumps of CeraVe into his palm. It wouldn’t hurt to start with something familiar, he reasoned, use it as a way to sink into the scene. Right, okay then. Jerking off. It was something he knew well.

The lotion was nearing on body temperature by the time he spread it with shaking hands over the length of himself, twisting his grip around the head just so. Fuck, that was nice. Sure, it wasn’t in the way he’d been fantasizing about all day, but having something, anything, touching him like that was undeniably good. So good, in fact, he couldn’t help the upward buck of his hips, fucking into his hand and imagining for a split second that he was fucking into Ghost.

Pause.

That was the exact train of thought he was trying to hop off of.

Start again.

He took it slow, drawing his fist up and down his cock deliberately, pleasure burning white hot when a stroke produced the slick sound of sex. The slick sound of sex with Ghost—he could get that somehow, he would get that somehow. A groan fought its way out his chest and he thought back to the sounds Ghost made, how even hearing him breathe was like adrenaline to the heart. Like always, his thoughts went back to Ghost. This time, however, he had source material to work with. Like how his hands formed vices around his wrist, then his neck. Fuck, imagine them here,

It didn’t take long before he was painfully hard, precum hot and sloppy spilling over his fist. “Sack the fuck up,” he muttered to himself in a voice that was predictably fucking wrecked. Right hand still working his cock, he brought the middle finger of his left, drawing it slow and rhythmic over the head. He keened. Fuck, that was sensitive. Felt too fucking delicious to continue if he wanted to make this last long enough to. To fuck himself.

The concept lit a jolt of apprehension through his core. He was going to fuck himself on his own fingers, and he was doing it so he could fuck Ghost.

Ghost.

Ghost.

Just thinking of his name twisted the knot tighter, so he tested it on his tongue.

“Ghost,” he sighed, quieter than he’d like, but y’know. Thin walls. He repeated it again, coming out more as a moan this time.

It felt terribly naughty, almost like a perverted invasion of privacy. So did all of this, taking the idea of Ghost, a real human man, and using him willingly or not as a participant in fantasy. Using the fog of arousal to trick himself into believing that his hands weren’t his own, that instead, they belonged to the one person he wanted more than anything. Pass your judgments at will, but it turned him on. Severely. He’s gotten hard, gotten wet, but never like this.

At this point, he was fucking delirious with it. Maybe that’s what allowed him to draw that slick finger down, pressed the pad of it against his hole.

“Oh, fuck,” he ground out. Genuinely, truly, it was good, so very good. He stroked there in time with his fist, the dual sensations amplifying each other, leading to the conclusion of more. It made his body greedy. He begged in a tight whisper, “God, Ghost, more. Fuck. Please.”

Thoughtlessly, because he was hardly able to think, he rolled his hips against the low touch, pressing all the more insistently to take the finger in. The friction was too much. He cursed, “Damn it all.” Frenzied, he pulled away to pump lotion, falling thick and white like spill over his hand. The finger slipped in this time.

“Bleeding fucking Jesus.”

Okay, it made sense. It all made sense now. The dirty slide fucking into him, the feeling of his own slick insides, something he’d only felt in others. He wanted to give this Ghost. Wanted to see hot lust blow his pupils wide as he pistoned his fingers into the body that would only yield itself like this to him.

His forearm ached, but he couldn’t be arsed, not when his whole body was roiling with aching need, so close. And it wasn’t enough. He withdrew his middle finger just enough to add the pointer, slick them both, and bury them in his guts. All done maybe too fast, stinging on the bad side of pain, but only for a short moment. Not once did his cock soften within his grasp, disjointed and near-forgotten as his strokes were.

The sounds were incredible, so fucking filthy, and he knew this is what fucking Ghost would sound like. Half-stifled moans rolling out over panting breaths, sweat-glistening skin smacking against sweat-glistening skin. He pressed his touch up as if to drive them through the flesh his stomach and keened, “Fuck yes, Ghost. Right there. Right there, please.” He added another finger to make it ever easier to bully into that spot. It burned again, but he expected it this time and found he almost liked it.

Who was this man? Grinding his hips like a bitch in heat onto his own hand, needy, pathetic little sobs spilling down his face, merging with the tear tracks from his eyes. Soap did not know this man. Fuck that, though, he’d make friends with him because he was right there . Pressure, heat, everything soft and wet converging into an endless singularity that was seconds away from drawing in that last inch to collapse and then explode.

When it did, he was beside him—almost literally—simultaneously blacked out yet watching, feeling himself out of body writhe and weep around the ecstasy. If he screamed, it registered only half-way, plausibly a hallucination. Nothing was real, everything was nothing. Nothing was everything.

An indeterminate period of time passed as before his soul returned home, and when it did, it found him covered in sweat, panting, body still clenching around quaking fingers.

“Fuck,” Soap said around a desperate exhale. He gingerly extracted his hands, rubbing the digits together and studying their wetness.

“I need to talk to Ghost.”

PART 3

[realrogerhours]

So, You Want To Watch Kamen Rider

Below the cut, I will explain;

what is the Kamen Rider? how to determine what season to watch good entry points for the indecisive anniversary seasons that depend on knowing of other seasons streaming it vs. torrenting it seasons that you can just watch on tubi, for free, legally

you know the drill, no direct links to pirated material to preserve my sources, keen eyes might be able to assemble something.

1.) What's Kamen Rider?

Kamen Rider is a long-standing series of Japanese live-action shows, fitting into the Tokusatsu genre, which is largely about heroes, usually two but some seasons have much more than that, fighting against villains and monsters. It airs weekly on Sundays, alongside its sister series Super Sentai. The particulars of each season differ wildly, and many seasons are completely disconnected save for crossover movies and the occasional appearance of a very special magenta clad drifter.

What I personally enjoy about the series is that variety as well as the fight choreography for most seasons, as the directors often decide to make action scenes go nuts for no discernible reason.

2.) What season to watch?

I will present two different methods;

go to this officially run youtube channel and watch a couple episodes of each season there to determine what vibe you like

or

continue to read this article

either way, you will find yourself in the next section naturally at a pace that is comfortable to you.

Since there are three distinct eras, if you'd like, you may simply start with the beginning point for each era;

Kamen Rider (1971) (90 episodes, slow pacing) is about Takeshi Hongou, who is kidnapped by a transhumanist neonazi organization known as SHOCKER and put through genetic and cybernetic augmentation, he is removed from their grasp before they can indoctrinate him, leading him to live in shadow and fight an endless war against them. It is much goofier than the synopsis implies. Kamen Rider Kuuga (2000) (49 episodes, medium pacing) is about Yusuke Godai, a freelancer who has recently returned to his hometown. In a strange coincidence, an ancient race of murderous beings known as the Gurongi have reawakened, leading to the opening of a cave sealing the ancient power source of the one warrior who can stop them; Kuuga. A new legend, a new hero. Kamen Rider Zero-One (2019) (45 episodes, pacing fluctuates somewhat) is about an age where human-like androidsm known as Humagears, who are employed to make life easier for those around them. A nefarious hacking group, MetsubouJinrai.net, has begun converting them into dangerous attack units. This coincidentally happens on Aruto Hiden's first day as the newly, suddenly appointed CEO of Hiden Intelligence, the company responsible not only for manufacturing Humagears but for the primary means of subduing hacked units; Kamen Rider Zero-One

If you're nasty, you split the middle era, the Heisei era, into two phases, some call it Neo Heisei, I call it Pre-Decade and Post-Decade

Kamen Rider W (2011) (49 episodes, pacing starts moderate and slowly ramps up) is about two detectives who share a bond more precious than life itself; Shoutaro Hidari and Philip, who investigate mysteries in the windy city of Fuuto relating to strange monsters called Dopants. With a long runtime and many great episodes, this is an easy recommendation.

3.) Seasons you should wait to watch.

There aren't many seasons you should wait to watch until after you have a few after your belt, but they do happen at the end of both halves of Heisei; Decade should be seen after you have a few pre-decade seasons under your belt, and Zi-O should be saved until you have a few post-decade seasons under your belt in addition to Decade. You can still watch them whenever you please, I'm not your dad, but your enjoyment of them will be heavily enriched by the experience of being able to point at the screen, throw an expression akin to a fish, and scream "I UNDERSTOOD THAT MOMENT!! WAOW!!"

4.) Streaming, Torrenting, which is better?

Now, you may be asking, "Roger, where do I even begin to find these things?" Well, unfortunately, I can't tell you for the safety of my sources. Surely, though, I can tell you which is better. With torrenting, you are guaranteed to find new episodes as soon as a subtitling group has finished with their translation, however, there is a more involved technical process. Additionally, the fact that there are multiple subtitling groups tackling each new season, you may have to expect that a little researching to figure out a preferable balance between your favourite presentation style and your preferred translation.

With streaming, however, you trade decision making for the one thing that's worse; viruses and fake mirror sites. Since these sites often go down, you may need to be ready to either swap over to torrenting at some point or find a new site, though not all drama sites will have Kamen Rider.

As for subtitling groups, I recommend OZC-Live or Earthlysubs for older stuff, Geosubs for newer (IzuSubs also works if you prefer a little oldfriend weeb spice), and TV-Nihon/T-N/Anon for anything you can't find under those.

5.) What if I'm a pussy and want to exclusively watch legally?

Well, my weak willed compatriot, you're in luck! A few seasons, as well as the big shiny new film Shin Kamen Rider, are available legally through a few channels.

The adult-oriented prestige television style reimaginings of earlier Showa-era seasons are on amazon prime. Kamen Rider Amazons, Black Sun, and Shin Kamen Rider, are on there, and they're not too bad! I personally recommend giving Shin Kamen Rider a viewing, it's a real fun time.

On top of that, Shout Factory has done a few seasons, with plenty more on the way. You can buy them on blu-ray or find them on tubi.

Currently, only the following five seasons are available legally;

Kamen Rider (1971) Kamen Rider Geats Kamen Rider Zero-One Kamen Rider Kuuga Kamen Rider Ryuki

As well as a couple miscellaneous films, the Heisei Generations Forever film as well as the big season movie for Zero-One, Real Time.

If you get into the series because of this post, please tell me how you liked it after you finish your first season, it would warm my heart

[bjornkram]

🎶✨when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favourite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨

YAAAY I LOVE TELLING PEOPLE TO LISTEN TO MY MUSIC

These are my top 5 songs- listing them off awards show style

Honorable mentions to:

Rio Grande by The Oh Hellos, Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root, Bloodbuzz Ohio Live on The Current by The National, and Forest That Weeps by Wintersun.

Now for rhw nominees

5: SOS by Dethklok

Listening to this right now and realized that Dethalbum IV is the only album that features a choir and made my self cry because I then realized that the choir in SOS represented the army of the doomstar, and then cried even harder when I thought about how it was made as a thank you gift to all of us who held on to the show and the music after everything that adult swim did to it. I think about everyone I've met in the metalocalypse fandom, truly the kindest fandom I've ever been a part of, and how Brendon Small walked through fire to give us an ending and a cathartically satisfying finish to one of the greatest stories ever told. Anyway, stream Dethklok SOS on spotify.

4: When I was Done Dying by Dan Deacon

I like to listen to this one as loud as i can physically handle so I can hear every noise. (RIP neanderthals you would have loved Dan Deacon.) I highly recommend watching the music video I linked, lot of flashing lights tho jsyk.

3: Wolf Like Me by TV On The Radio

I found this song while making a playlist for my OC, Valentine Jester. The song really encapsulated everything I wanted to portray about his character and his relationship with his own transformation. It also slaps harder than hell.

2: Lost River by Murder By Death

This is one of the songs I found while making a playlist for my OC, Brother Lonely-Waters. Water is extremely sacred to his religion and he was entrusted with shepherding the waters that run through creeks, brooks, small rivers and ponds. There's just like extremely specific coincidences in both this song and the next one as well as the over all vibes that just really embodies him. (I'm putting some of my blw lore in here bc I can and I love talking about him)

1: The Ghost On The Shore by Lord Huron

This is another song that I found while making the same playlist. I've been writing short stories about Brother Lonely-Waters and theres one that I named after this song. Everything about this song fits him so perfectly. Its my favorite song of all time, I got to hear it played live at redrocks while it was pouring and the wind was crazy. Honestly a religious experience, thats how the song was meant to be experienced

Any way i love music i wish it was real

[alltimefail-sims]

The sims 3 lore is just as wacko as the sims 2 istg my fav lore has to be the dead clone wives lemme explain. So in twinbrook there's s sim name Juan Darer (he's quite interesting to look at too) in the junkyard he owns is the grave of Lacy Darer. Now Juan and Lacy have no relationship but she could be his ex wife as deceased spouses aren't shown on the family tree in the sims 3. Lacy died in a fire but what's the crazy part Juan's best friend Harwood Clay is has a possible wife named Macy Clay who also died in a fire. Macy and Lacy's names aren't just a coincidence. Macy and Lacy are almost completely identical. Many think they're twins but twins don't have the same exact same personalities. The darker theory is that Juan being the eccentric creator created clone wives for him and his best friend and Lacy and Macy somehow perished possible in the cloning process which is also the reason Juan's house caught on fire and he lives in a barn.

O m g

Sorry for taking forever to respond to this! This month has been wildly busy in the worst way!! I hate summer! Everyone in my house has been sick at some point! UGH!

Anyway, I finally had a chance to sit down and thoroughly look into both of these families. I'm going to start with the Doe family because, honestly, I don't have a whole lot to add about the Darers and I'm eager to jump into the Does (my thoughts on the Darers will be at the end though!).

Let's dive in! ↓

I had to look up Midnight Hollow to start, and EEEEEEP I love this world's whole vibe. If I play the Sims 3 THIS will be the world I start in!!! Favorite world I've learned about in TS3 so far. I lowkey want to live here irl.

But imagine my shock when I found out that they were putting whole ass worlds on The Sims 3 store. That's absolutely insane lmao!! They would of had my wallet with this one though, not gonna lie. The vibes are top-tier.

Now I looked up the Doe family just like you said and I need you to know that they are the kind of unsolved lore I live for. This family alone makes me want to pirate buy TS3 today.

The Wiki's description wasn't necessarily weird, but the household description left me with many questions.

Jane is the perfect housewife, from her neat hairstyle to her fashionable yet conservative dress. She's neat, nurturing, loves her kids, and can make a mean pot roast! Meanwhile, John is rising in the ranks at his corporate job. He feels successful in life and supported by his family. He works hard but comes home in enough time to teach his kids a lesson or two about life and talk to his wife about her day. Nothing mysterious seems to be happening here, but didn't their house used to have a basement?

That last line. Yeah. WTF? That made the hairs on my arm stand up, especially considering that the world they come with is supposed to mimic a classic-horror vibe. So Immediately I'm getting serial killer vibes, I'm getting psychological thriller, I'm getting family that invites you over for dinner only for you to realize that you are dinner.

Just from the description alone, I'm thinking that the parents are people with a wicked past - coconspirators in crime (whether Jane is a willing or unwilling participant is debatable but intriguing) that may involve killing and disposing, from the sounds of the "former-basement" and the fact that no one really knows why they've suddenly come to a new town without any explanation of their past. Additionally, the names feel like a reference to true crime and murder to me - the last name Doe, with first names Jane and John specifically, are typically names given to unidentifiable victims who, more than not, are victims of violence and brutalization which leaves them unidentifiable. Or, at times, they're simply unidentifiable based on the fact that they don't have family or friends that could claim them, thus making them the perfect targets if you've got bad intentions. The parents seem shady, but beyond that their names reaffirm that they aren't the perfect, squeaky-clean, nuclear family they pretend to be. I mean, you could even speculate that Jane and John are not even their real names. Obviously the sims team are big fans or campy, on-the-nose names (Bob Pancakes, the Goth family, the Calientes, Marcus Flex), but I've always liked to think that sim names can serve more than one purpose.

I jumped over to The Doe family community blog post and the interview there further confirmed a lot of my suspicions, and that whatever they're hiding might be sealed off in what used to be the family basement (the dev who made this family makes sure to draw attention to this enough that it's clearly significant). It's no coincidence that the basement suddenly "disappeared" (or perhaps just became inaccessible) as soon as the family moved in. Some notable things from this interaction:

The classic, old-fashioned misogyny from John. "The light of my life keeps my home perfect and welcoming." It's subtle, but says a lot about this family's old-fashioned dynamic. I hate the condescending, possessive energy between these two. I literally felt uncomfortable during this entire interview (I'd argue that is intentional).

The recurring and growingly tense persistence for the interviewer/producer to drink more tea. BIG red flag on this because my first thought is "Why?" I can understand being hospitable, but it seems like the interviewer has already been taken care of, so why the push? Jane is literally described as frantic, dodging the interviewer's questions entirely and hyper-focusing on the tea as if this is her role to play in what could be an unfortunate turn of events. On the other hand, John seems to be cheerily dismissive. I'm seeing skilled, practiced manipulation in the form of feigned charisma and charm - he doesn't ignore the questions but rather skillfully pivots and tries to keep things light and comfortable. His energy is notably different than the rest of the family, which makes him seem like the primary, skilled aggressor. He is keeping shit under control just enough to not raise suspicion, in my opinion.

But, most interesting to me, is their children's reactions to what is going on. The bio tells us so little about them, but their actions say so much. James, being a toddler and the youngest, obviously is going to be relatively clueless. But Jenn, the daughter, Sits quietly and stares ahead with an eerie blank expression. This feels like a traumatized, almost dissociative response. She seems removed in an anticipatory sense, on-brand for how a child might respond to signs of danger. I'd go as far to say that she is exhibiting one of the 5 fight and flight trauma responses; mainly the "freeze" response. The oldest son Joseph, on the other hand, is outwardly angry. He even leaves the room and slams the door as a response to the conversation, perhaps simply triggered by the mention of moving to Midnight Hollow, but I would venture to guess that he's also frustrated with the events taking place beyond that. After all, I would think that if there is anyone aware of the parent's possible nefarious nature and wrongdoings, it would be him. That being said, he's a teenager... but still a child, nonetheless. He unfortunately has little to no control, and it's clear that he's exhibiting a flight response, showing his own disdain as much as he can (a touch of fight in that door slam) while taking an opportunity to flee the scene. In the picture, their eldest son and daughter seem to be looking at them with... complex expressions. They're certainly not happy.

The whole interview ends because the wife is "not feeling well," but that brings me back to my point about John being a skilled manipulator and the main aggressor running the web that his family is caught in: he would be able to cite when things are getting out of control. A predator knows when to strike and when to back off, and I think this is John's way of regaining control before too much is brought to light. Many people have been spared, unknowingly, from the clutches of a serial killer because they got lucky and the killer decided it wasn't the right place/right time - that's the vibe I'm getting, idk.

The energy around this family reminds me of an Ari Aster or a Jodan Peele psychological horror feel - everything is fine on the surface until it's not, and that tensity and complexity is disturbing and uncomfortable for the outsider (the audience) looking in, but it's usually just as disturbing for our growingly-aware protagonists (who, based on actions alone, I would argue could possibly be the eldest son and perhaps even the daughter, in this case). "The Stepford Wives" by Ira Levin has also been cited possible inspiration at least for Jane's motivations/role in the story. If you don't know about this story, I recommend checking it out.

As I researched, I was actually surprised with the amount of people who did not jump to the murderer route right off the bat. Some other theories include the family being hypnotized and even speculation that they might be robots (likely a take resulting from Levin's work).

Personally, I am more inclined to think that the parents are people with a wicked past, but it was interesting to read alternative takes. The robot and hypnotism theories are intriguing to me, but they neglect to explain the mysterious disappearance of the basement or the children's behaviors. Furthermore, the "brainwashed" and "repetitive" nature Jane has could just as much be signs of trauma/being in an unsafe environment/being forced to act against her will just as much as they could be literal signs of being robotic or hypnotized, so I don't think those things are necessary. Trauma, fear, and feeling trapped are enough to make a person act outside the realm of "normal."

Hell, I think I've only covered the surface here, but I've talked for so long lol. It seems their story might always just be a mystery left for speculation, sadly.

My boy Benoit Blanc says it best:

Some additional resources that I used below for any curious cats who made it this far:

The Doe family discussion on the sims forum

TS3 Reddit Thread on the Doe family

As for the Darers: from what I'm seeing, the theory that the wives were clones (or at the very least identical twins) makes sense to me. I put pictures of them below, and just from their CAS headshots you can definitely see that the girls are identical - there's gotta be some relation there

Personally, I lean toward clones due to the traits being the same. Twins in the sims franchise have always had their own unique interests and traits, so these girls being near carbon-copies doesn't make sense if they're only sisters. Plus, the franchise loves clones (looking at you, two versions of Bella Goth in the Sims 2). For the era of franchise that TS3 was in, I feel like the team was still making the game lean toward whimsy and outlandish as opposed to realism.

Regardless of the relation these two girls share though, the fire death is suspicious and maybe the only thing that keeps this from feeling like an open and shut mystery. It also acts as another good reason to lean toward clones as opposed to sisters unless the fire was caused accidentally by Lacy herself. I think the cloning housefire theory is compelling, due to the girls not actually having a relationship with either of these guys explicitly on the family tree. I guess in that case they were actually their potential wives more than actual wives, which would explain why there's no marriage memory as well.

In some ways it's endearing that Juan would do all that, not just for himself but for his buddy as well, especially if it caused his house to burn down and ultimately push him out into a barn. In the end though, I think the whole cloning situation leans more toward weird when you consider the implications. If you have to invent a wife, you probably should just stay single my dude.

Last and unrelated sidenote: Harwood Clay's hair was an unexpected, horrifying surprise lmao.

Just from what you've told me, TS3 Twinbrook world had a lot of interesting characters. I had no idea that TS3 lore was even close in wackiness to TS2 and TS1, but my takeaway here is that we all should be more pissed off that TS4 premades are so dull.

[brilliantfantasticgeronimo]

"the church on ruby road" thoughts + reactions

(tumblr is broken so i cant delete this space without breaking the post :))

"you saw a ladder in the sky and you thought, yeah, ill give that a go, babes" rose tyler CALL OUT

"what's the problem with hanging on? it's all the friction and the weight and the burns. so i got rid of that" and that's why u are still Fucked Up doc. this is NOT how u do rehab!!!

"learn the lenguage" eyes emoji "coincidence is what makes the baby tasty" EYES EMOJI

"it sitches you in. it weaves you into the day. you become all complicated and knotted and vivid"

"it's like a tapestry, it's gorgeous" self congratulating ur own writing, russel? sldkfjsdlkfj

"like the best, like wow" 13 and ‘fam’ walked so 15 could run

"a screwdriver needs screws" (so whenever the screwdriver works it, it works by resonating articulations and undoing binding agents, but it cannot do “untangling”)

VENTILAITON SHAFTS!!!! (my "this new era is the cartoon era" meta is born)

"amazing!" "no it's not" nothing changes lol

this feels *so* wilderness years (positive)

the MASTER knot you say....………………………...

"i've got no one" aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

"it's not magic, it's a lenguage, like a different form of physics" he’s coping about the “little” salt mistake still...

damn 15/ruby chemistry is so good….. can't wait for it all to go up in flames. And tragedy. Flaming tragedy.

"but only one of them stayed" mirror...? QUICK someone count how many companions have there been and if it's 33?????

im having sm emotions wtf

honestly ppl thinking rtd would retcon this were so hilariously off-base lol as if there's anything more of a catnip-plot for a soap opera writer than a “figure out parental origins” plotline

follow the crack... the crack in time and space...

it bothered me that in the special they used so much contemporary colorful theatrical lighting, that didnt fit the "grounded" doctordonna era at al, but it works much better here in that we're properly in the color ncuti era

"dont say that" aggggggggggggg

(ppl forgeting about ruby feels kinda clara coded / foreshadowing?)

"then why are you crying?" im going feral

"i will fix this" rtd voice: he will make it worse

oohh, the hubris in this ep was the arrogance of the doctor saying "they are NOT time travellers" sdklfj

baby catching... xena coded

blue / gold motif my beloved!!!

its a wonderful life~

"everything i do just makes it happen" -> "maybe im the bad luck"

"where are you goin now?" nbd just ruby going to buy some bread at the same store as yaz

CONCLUSIONS!

this was so wholesome t.t i really enjoyed that!! it has some lore implications and long-run stuff but mostly i’m really glad to finally get some new stories/a new vibe. I really enjoyed the glimpse we got of ruby’s family world and also love that both mine and 15’s reactions was “i’ve only had ruby for half an hour but if something happened to her i’d murder everyone here and then myself probably”. her wardrobe is beyond iconic.

besides the “biggest family in the world” parallel, the bb photos in the fridge give me like… TTC’s o"ther lost incarnations are their siblings vibe". Or, every "other time lord is technically the doctor’s children" vibe.

aesthetically, i really enjoyed this one. Specially The Big Scene (13-era blue/gold motif my beloved). This is one i see myself rewatching in the future just for the feel-good feel of it. the goblin number was fun! a clever parody of how much of pop uses “baby” and sweets-related metaphors for the sake of romance and here it becomes all for the sake of cannibalism lol (big brown eyes, caramelise~). 15/ruby being *so in* tune is cute+fun (and slightly sus). promising start to the new era.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Hi again! Still not a request for mini-prompts lol, but more songs. This time it’s specifically about Julian :)

I was listening to Will Wood while working on some art, and I didn’t realize how many songs remind me of him! I found some new favorites, so I thought I’d share them. Excuse the titles on these, some of them are really long ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ || CW for mentions of alcoholism, pills, sickness, death, and angst!!!

- Suburbia Overture / Greetings from Mary Bell Township! (Vampire) Culture / Love Me, Normally

The instrumental is so jaunty and jazzy that he’s the first character I thought of. The lyrics, not so much, but It’ll do. Will Wood has a pretty versatile voice, so I think it fits Julian!

- Love Me, Normally

The instrumental also fits that jazzy, dramatic vibe of his- and this time, the lyrics do too. These are ones that stuck out to me:

“Won't follow my dreams/ No, they've all got me waking up screaming / I drank myself to death to be the afterlife of the party/ When the afterparty came, I was rolling in my grave”

- Marsha, Thankk You for the Dialectics, but I Need You to Leave

This one makes me think about how it must have felt being locked in the dungeons during the plague. Valdemar mentioned in Julian’s route that he was a jokester (even though they have the worst sense of humor) who tried to keep the mood high as a way to cope with the situation. If anyone told me he didn’t lose a bit (a LOT) of himself down there I’d probably just laugh, because that was literally traumatic. These are the lyrics i’d quote to envision that:

“Cause back in my day we didn't need no feel-good pills and no psychiatrists / No, we just drank ourselves to death, and god damn it, we liked it”

“Who makes the call? What's a symptom, what's a flaw? / Can it be both? Well I suppose that's an answer / Would you give up your humanity for just a touch of sanity / Cause God knows it's not like it's cancer”

“And a little conformity never hurt nobody / But lately I've been worried that you're losing yourself / So how many milligrams of you are still left in there/ Cause back in my day we didn't need no feel-good pills and no psychiatrists”

- Laplace’s Angel (Hurt People? Hurt People!)

This makes me think about his anxiety and depression concerning his supposed murder of Count Lucio. He’s made it clear that he really believes he’s guilty, awful, filthy and however else you would describe a murderer. He took the “truth” of his past and made it his identity.

“Have you ever died in a nightmare / Woke up surprised you hadn't earned your fate /Could you take a look at me / Am I bad, am I bad, am I bad, am I really that bad?”

“It doesn't take a killer to murder / It only takes a reason to kill / We've all got evidence of innocence, it's 'everything's coincidence' the / Difference twixt fate and free will is whether you're singing”

“So if you wash your hands of where you've been until you flood the second floor /Neatly fold your skeletons but still can't shut the closet door”

- Euthanasia

I can’t lie, this one made me cry a little bit. He definitely took the blame for MC catching the plague and dying from it under his watch. I started to feel second hand guilt. He knew there was nothing he could do to help us once we got really sick, and it hurt so bad. People say he would have a sort of sassy voice (picture Tulio from Road to El Dorado), and I agree! But imagining him singing this song just breaks me.

“Say you're not scared / That you know it's because I cared and / Say you know I love you, and that hope was just not there”

“And I know, I know that I'm wrong / That when you're gone, you're gone / And I can't bring you home/ But I want, I want to believe / That you'll remember me / When you're just memory”

“And every, everybody dies / Fighting for their lives / Just trying to survive / Well, now I know, I know why we say / That there's a better place /That waits beyond the grave”

That’s all I’ve got for now, and I’d like to hear other opinions on these songs too! This is just my personal analysis, and obviously I really love Julian enough to spend 2 hours doing this. I hope you like these as much as I do ^_^ Thanks for all you do, Brainrot!

@vegaspng you are not alone in thinking Will Wood songs fit Julian at all, I can't count the amount of songs that have been recommended for him by that artist and at this point it's halfway canon in my head XD

Thanks for breaking them down lyrics wise too! It's so cool to listen to songs the way other people do and share that common experience ^.^

I'm putting these on the playlist and the tag, thank you friend! :D

[ruby-red-inky-blue]

Fantasy high members but in one of the other worlds that d20 has

oh God. they're... dead, in most of those, right? Like, the Neverafter would murder them instantly, Starstruck could work but I feel like they'd make a ship implode within two rounds of combat, killing the whole party. ACOFAF would be a DEATH SENTENCE to Kristen and Riz in particular (and also, if this were an actual campaign, I think it would actually kill Murph), let's not even talk about Candia because lol...

Mentopolis and Bloodkeep really don't lend themselves to AUs, neither does Burrow's End (they'd just all be Jaysohn and Lila), Magic and Misfits is too easy...

Unsleeping City might work:

Kristen now prays to like, actual Jesus (this is kinda confusing because he physically appeared in this universe and seemed very nice, but I guess she could still have her religious crisis anyway). Anyway, she's from a very religious midwestern family and somehow talked them into letting her go to a New York boarding school (??? do they even have those in the city, I'm German lol) so she could bring the word of the Lord to The Heathens. She maybe performed one (1) very dubious minor miracle that was probably just a weird coincidence at home, and like, she was low-key convinced she was a special chosen of God but suddenly she has like, actual magic

Riz initially looks like a regular very cringey teenager but is, actually, a goblin. Who is still looking for his halfling babysitter. Basically Riz stays the exact same except he now gains a fun new dimension of investigating stuff on both sides of the Umbral Arcana. I want him to go full Veronica Mars at least once. I also want him and his mom to be involved in exposing Epona as the crook she is so badly.

poor Gorgug gets a near body-horror storyline in this verse: He's still a half-orc, but raised by regular humans who took him in as a baby and have since then, thanks to the Umbral Arcana, been convinced he's perfectly normal and human, just weirdly tall. They run one of these shops that remakes your keys, repairs your shoes, sells a bazillion little tinkering tools and glues etc. Gorgug is convinced something is really fucking wrong with him, but every time he brings it up, they just very patiently explain puberty to him again. He eventually brings them into the Unsleeping City and they're very supportive, and start making stuff for its citizens on the side.

Fig's storyline still works, pretty much unaltered tbh! Replace elves with some other immortal race from the universe (I'm pulling a blank), Gorthalax can still be from hell. Ayda is now probably from the literal New York Public Library, but still a phoenix. Fig is still a rockstar, who either still could blow everyone's mind when touring because she's actually magic, or who is just a regular rockstar outside of New York City (I don't actually remember if they're still magic when they leave New York? They must be though, since they exited the tunnel on the Jersey side in S2, right?)

nobody kill me for this but Fabian is giving "son of a pixie mobster" vibes, I don't want him to be a pixie but you know I'm right

Adaine is now the daughter of diplomats for Heaven who are running some *really* long con, who ends up at the Gramercy Occult Society. I don't like going the fairie route for this because it's important the Abernants have not a shred of whimsy

(OR, hear me out: Coffin Run-verse. That's just NADDPod's Twilight Sanctorum with teenagers, I know, but listen, I'll take noir-does-penny-dreadfuls any day of the week)

[albinism-awareness]

So, I've already read up a bit on general albinism medical facts and stereotypes and such so I mostly want to ask for a vibe check on some magic/magic adjacent stuff?

I've got this dude that's basically the reason I did the research, he starts out as a witch/witch's apprentice*. This is overall a high-magic-ish world and most of the main characters are involved with some kind of magic (I also want to drive it home that it's a coincidence in-story; I assume it'd be a similar situation to "It's fine if your autistic character has magic, but be careful how you do it"?).

The thing I'm less sure about is that at some point in his early twenties he decides to fight a vampire**, which is a bad idea but one he actually does consult a seer about, who basically proceeds to lie to him because she decided that having someone functionally immortal who knows witchcraft and has been taught to protect the village and people in general since childhood would be great for a vague horrible thing she can kind of glimpse at? So she basically knowingly sends him to get turned into a vampire by a mad scientist vampire.

He doesn't stay one forever (he becomes a demigod eventually which undoes the whole "kind of undead" thing), but I understand that having a vampire with albinism could be kind of questionable even with the context of "these two things are completely unrelated, he's just really unlucky".

Overall he's generally a heroic if tragic character in the sense that a lot of huge responsibilities (Saving the world! Defeating god! Defeating another god!) get dumped on him by virtue of him being both somewhat more powerful than actual mortal mortals now and having the time to theoretically be able to plan things long term, but also to some degree because nobody else will deal with it. Also the whole "unwilling transformation and being forced to work together with the person that indirectly did it to him". I guess in a lot of ways he's almost a classic heroic archetype but with oodles of trauma and the soul crushing horror of being in a fight where your odds of succeeding are absolutely abysmal.

I think I'm good on most of the other pitfalls (he's not evil, has vision issues and uses a variety of accessability aids, mostly big hats, sunglasses and magnifying lenses and has blue eyes as a kid which later change to purple explicitly because of a magical things happening to him-something fairly common for people that get hit by that kind of magical thing), but this one I'm really not confident in.

*Basically, a kind of person that uses magic the way a chemist uses chemistry that doesn't rely on innate talent/magic power, which he has little of. He's pretty average/below average in that respect in this world.

**Vampires are generally integrated into society as a kind of super soldier for defense against all kinds of dangerous critters, though some go rouge and decide to murder people for blood rather than be provided through, I guess blood taxes but literally and not particularly sinister.

(so sorry for the late reply)

Dude! That sounds like an awesome story! :)

The only thing that I would ask you to reconsider is maybe something other than an albino witch? only because other than ghosts and vampires, witches are the number one stereotypical ‘creature’ that people compare people with albinism to because oftentimes in small tribes in Africa, people with albinism are thought of as containing mystical properties, thus are hunted for limbs, teeth, hair, eyes, etc. and are usually eaten/consumed. (Keep in mind this isn’t true for all African places, just really small tribes). But that’s the reason the witch thing can be seen as offensive.

And when it comes to fighting, keep in mind that if your character does have albinism, long range weapons would probably be out of the question because of our visual impairments, so long range weapons (guns, snipers, etc.) are likely out of the question. (I’m not sure if you gave them weapons, just putting down in general)

Hope this helps! :)

[cassynite]

4, 5, and 7 for the OC/writer ask game?

<333 thank you for the ask!

4. What kind of music do your OCs listen to?

Uuuh never really thought about this before! So answers are subject to change BUT if I had to guess: Sparrow is big on lyricism--she typically likes songs that tell a story, like Step it Out Mary or The Maid and the Selkie (that kind of vibe as well--folkloric, mainly). She wouldn't say she's a fan of tragic songs but if you compiled a list of songs she likes the most there would be a melancholic theme lol. Vonzi works solely on vibes when it comes to music taste and will like anything she can dance to, with lyricism as a secondary or nonexistent factor for her. Something with high energy, changes in rhythm and/or tone, and dramatic instrumentals are gonna do it for her.

5. What are some of your OCs biggest fears?

Sparrow's is a toss between losing her freedom again and being unable to escape, and opening up to someone only to have them leave. Vonzi's would be the loss of her family, full stop.

7. What are your favourite relationships between your OCs? (romantic or platonic!)

Oh for Sparrow hands down my fave OC relationship is going to be with her brother Crow. Losing him fundamentally informs Sparrow's personality, but there's just a whole lot of stuff that Sparrow can't or won't process, partially due to age and partially due to trauma. He was basically tasked with raising her when he was a kid himself! There's a mix of obligation and adoration and resentment that bled into their interactions; she thought he hung the moon and adored him but also couldn't really comprehend that he was barely a decade older than her and treated him like her parent; he took care of her as best he could and thinks their parents are shit for leaving them in the first place but wishes that he was able to fully realize his own dreams without having to worry about her. Crow doesn't die when Sparrow's kidnapped, he's just injured and thinks she died, and he finds out she's alive when she becomes Commander years later. And he doesn't try to reconnect with her and never tells her because he thinks he failed her so fundamentally that since she no longer needs him she wouldn't want to see him! He grieved her but he was also in the most shameful parts of his mind relieved when she was gone and he can never live past that!! If they ever met again it would be due to coincidence or an outside force bringing them together, because Crow cannot approach his little sister after what he did to her.

For Vonzi, her relationship with her older sister Viritine is the most interesting to me. Viritine is harsh, exacting, and painfully particular--my notes on her are "can smell bullshit from a mile away" and "can occasionally pull a sense of humor out of the filing cabinet that is her brain." Meanwhile Vonzi's main character trait for her dynamic in the family is "is the bullshit" and her abilities cause no end to problems as the Voness family works to hide Vonzi's status as the chosen one of some mysterious deity. However! They are both united in the caring of their family; they are entrenched in the mindset that the only person a Voness can rely on is another Voness. They work together throughout their childhoods to care for their mother and their other sister. They argue and tussle and can't agree on anything, but to any outsider they are a unified front, both chosen by their mother to act as protectors for the family. When Vonzi "disappears" (read: goes back in time after her entire family is murdered and loses her sense of reality and her memory), Viritine takes it as a betrayal of the family and possibly never forgives her.