#it's basic stuff but - he genuinely seems to care so much about his family it makes me all soft

[protect-daniel-james]

Not my usual content, behind cut because of kids in the photos, don't worry, these are all like publicly posted photos and videos and all that. I just wanna gush about how lovely Pippo seems to be with kids (and how I am genuinely happy for him having kids now, after such a long wait....hmmmm)

he was always so lonely in the family photos!

Like, you wouldn't be able to tell, but it's (on the left) Papa Inzaghi, Tomasso, Simone, little Lorenzo, and Pippo is just the cool uncle on the side :') Also, in the pic on the right, it's Mama and Papa Inzaghi, and Simone with his two sons and A Wife, and once again, Pippo is just Some Guy in the background, no wife, no kids.

Same thing here. Simone with Two Sons, Proud Papa Inzaghi, and Pippo being....That Uncle We Don't Talk About.

But it's so obvious Filippo loved kids and wanted to have kids and was always there for his nephews (and brother, lol) :')))

Full-time uncle, part-time legend.

He even had Tomasso with him when he was retiring from AC Milan, and it's the sweetest :') I wonder if he was thinking like.... Oh God, I do not have A Son to see me retiring and remember me like this :')

But! Things are great now, and Pippo finally has two kids, a son and a daughter, and I love how happy he seems to be being a dad!

As he once said:

[miammey]

Everyone's just talking about how hot Lighter is, and yeah he's attractive, but he has such a painful story and barely anyone is mentioning it??? I haven't even finished all his hangout stuff yet, but already I can tell that he's still extremely troubled by what happened in his past.

During the film we watch with him he wasn't scared of the blood and gore, mainly since there wasn't as much as expected (and he wore his glasses so he wouldn't faint), but he was scared about what one of the characters did that caused a disaster, something he relates to in a sense, saying that even if he looked calm his hands were shaking. I wanted to tell him that he can stay and calm down all he wants, give him a more relaxing movie to watch free of charge, because to me he felt so uncomfortable after watching the movie because he didn't expect it to hit so close

And don't get me started on this man's physical injuries. He's covered in MASSIVE scars, realistically, if we were to map out how they got there, he would've nearly had his arm cut off or just be cut in half. He mentioned that another reason he wears sunglasses is because of an old injury, even tho it's basically already healed he just no longer feels comfortable going out without them. He mentioned his neck and legs weren't what they once were, and judging by his backstory that's mainly because he's always fighting. He's the type to strain himself to whatever extent necessary do get the task done

He also is just genuinely so attached to his gang and so scared of losing them, but even then he stays strong because others need him to. He also saw Caesar almost die, his leader and a good friend, and yet he stayed strong for Lucy. He goes off by himself to deal with things because he doesn't want to get others in the gang involved, and he's just so genuinely earnest. He's caring and awkward and bad at hiding it, but he's still that Champion, a position he takes pride in because it means he's succeeding at protecting his loved ones, something he failed to do in the past

Speaking of the past, back to him being self-sacrificing, he went into debt and basically signed his life away to pay it off after his group all died all to make sure their families were taken care of. He knew that businessmen were greedy and there's a good chance it would take decades for him to pay them off, if he ever would, but he still did it. He described himself as a zombie back then, and only until after he got comfortable with the gang did he break out of that state

I know people gawk over attractive characters, I can't say I don't as well at times, but every time he's on screen and anything even remotely seems to upset him I just wanna make him comfortable. He's relaxed, but not comfortable, and I don't think he's been comfortable for a very long time. He says everything's in the past, but I'm pretty sure he's still trying to convince himself of that, because what happened in his past had such a big impact on his future that it's still in the back of his mind day in and day out

[leavingsunsets]

alsgakdgaksh sorry I know you just answered my request but, but, but what about dcst characters reacting to a reader who has a problem with daydreaming (maladaptive daydreaming)

basically they get so lost in their mind that they start acting out or quoting(? their thoughts, from the outside it just kinda looks like they're talking to themselves but they've got a whole movie in their mind 😭 (i legitimately subconsciously tripped myself because i imagined a character falling to the floor)

take care and don't rush <333

whooo this was a doozy. had to do a little research for this one, so i get to give yall some good rep or atleast make it feel a little more accurate tehee. anyways with this population sampling liberty ive decided to get 5 characters, 4 guys and 1 girl. enjoy 😋.

"𝔇𝔞𝔶𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔯?"

[𝖣𝖢𝖲𝖳 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗐/ 𝖺 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖺𝖽𝖺𝗉𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝖽𝖺𝗒𝖽𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗋.]

𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙠𝙪 𝙄𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙞

Might be a little confused at first. Like, especially if it's at random times. Maybe he's busy tinkering with something, and you're in the same room. You do or say something and he automatically goes "huh?" because he thinks you're talking to him and you go "huh."

It takes some adjusting for him, but he learns much faster than the others. Though it's kinda funny during the beginning stages because whenever you said something aloud he'd pause whatever he was doing to stare at you blankly, and if you didn't look his way after a few seconds he'd take it as you weren't talking to him and resume his business.

He's a curious bugger tho so he obviously glances over at you sometimes to see what you were doing, whether you were both alone or not.

Seeing as your attention is a little harder to grab, he's got a custom habit of either patting or holding your shoulder. Like "yo [name]," and a little shoulder tap.

But with this development, it seems you've also learned to do the same. Now that he's used to you talking to yourself, to show that you're speaking to him, you have to either tap him or say his name.

Overall, pretty chill about it, even talks to you a lot just to pull you out sometimes.

𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙟𝙪 𝙊𝙠𝙞

Our sweet, underrated, heart of gold who I couldn't find nice aesthetic manga banners for (sorry for the jumpscare). Bet you didn't expect to see him on the list, huh?

Just a little longer in terms of adjusting. Like Senku, is a little confused and goes "?" when you do things randomly. Sometimes, you are interrupted because whenever he is in vicinity he's just bombarding you with questions.

"Hi! What are you doing?" "Were you talking to me?" "What's that mean?" "Were you saying something?" "What is that gesture?"

You either give him a very detailed description about the scenario in your head or just BS it.

"I was communicating with the trees." "Wow! Really? You can do that?" Accepts whatever choice you pick anyway. He will listen intently and he will take it literally. An open chance to tell him whatever you want and he would not suspect you at all. He is very intrigued at this new type of acorns called "Deez" that you found in the forest. Apparently it's part of the "Ligma" family of trees? Wow!

Easily snaps you out of your daydreams because his voice is just loud enough to do so.

You get to enthuse with him sometimes, and he will happily listen.

𝙏𝙨𝙪𝙠𝙖𝙨𝙖 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙤

Also a little underrated, I swear.

Problem with Tsukasa is that he's a little nonverbal so when you do or say something, he just stares at you. Hulk of a man watches in confusion as you play out a whole soap opera or something.

But hey, what is Tsukasa if not a kind and gracious man?

Tries to understand you, and is a good listener if you ever need a guy to ramble to about this. And hey, gives him more insight on your mind in general.

Keeps a slightly closer eye on you, or is just more aware of your predicament in general.

This Tarzan would genuinely be gentle about it like he'd check up on you and stuff. Talk to you, or even sit down with you, maybe a little chitchat.

I imagine you as a duo would be him sipping nice tea and enjoying the garden meanwhile you accidentally drop your cookie in the milk so you borrow his teaspoon just to scoop it out and he lets you. Very weird analogy but he is just kind??

An enigma, overall doesn't change his usual equitable treatment towards you.

𝙆𝙤𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙪

I already had a vision of her reaction to this. Like, as an inquisitive type, she'd most likely ask you questions all about it as soon as she notices it. More answers lead to more questions. Forgive her, she's only curious.

Similar to Tsukasa, she wants to be aware and informed. Wants to know about what you're thinking about sometimes. "Hmmm..." and just watches you from the branches.

Of course, watchful, and vigilant. Observer type. If ever you're too out of it to notice something potentially harmful coming your way (or vice versa), she'd be there to tug you back to reality.

She's most likely less patient than Tsukasa, not the type for a sit down kind of conversation, but would still let you ramble while you both pick apples or smthn.

Overall a nice gal who wouldn't mind it at all.

I feel like she's the complete opposite of a daydreamer, so it's hard for her to understand what it's like. Still, she tries to be considerate and talks with you whenever she can as a way to learn about it.

[theriverbeyond]

arcane s2 act 2 THOUGHTS, overall I think this was a lot stronger than the first act --- at the end of the day arcane is a character and relationship (primarily sisterhood/brotherhood/parent-child/family) driven show above all else, with plot as a sort of loose secondary, so like, even though i DO have plot critiques they're feel a lot softer just because the arc was genuinely so enjoyable to watch on an emotional level. anyway #SPOILERS and critiques below. well more like one big excessively long critique but I spent ages typing it all up so here it is:

i think my big critique thus far is pacing and story planning. there is just... a lot going on, for a 9 episode show. like a LOT. like way too much. and I think this was obvious in the first arc, and better managed in this arc -- but that is largely because this arc wildly narrowed the focus. this arc totally left out Ekko and Hermidinger(i can never remember his name. the squirrel dude), the new enforcer squad were basically back to being background characters, and while Sevika, Jayce, Victor, Cait, Ambessa were all present/involved in plot, they all took a big backseat screentime-wise. This allowed the act to really focus in on Jinx & Vi, Jinx and Vi & Vander, and Jinx & Isha, which is of course where the arc really shines -- but it brings BIG concerns for act 3, where presumably we will be back to having a full plate of characters. So I expect the "too much going on" issue to be more obvious in act 3, which is disappointing because that's like, the finale.

following from the above, there's a lot of skipping around that feels very economical but also like.... WEIRD! like.... we are watching a highlight clipshow? or something? Salo gets told "hey check out this healer" -> next time we see him he is totally healed. WHAT? like sure i dont care about him as a character, but that just feels kinda.... like we are really squeezing in here huh!! and we go from seeing Victor heal one dude in act1 -> next time we see him he has set up a whole commune and is playing big jesus. WHAT???? we dont get to see anythijg in the middle?? what about Jinx and Isha reuniting after escaping Stillwater but before finding Vi??? etc etc etc? and sure those scenes would be not be necessary on a "the plot doesnt work without them" level, but these types of "TITLE CARD READS: 2 DAYS LATER, AFTER THE GANG SETTLES IN" situations are happening SO frequently in this season that it really seems like they have too much story to fit into the time they are given, and are now aggressively trimming anything they can so stuff will fit and still make sense.

Basically what I'm saying is the show feels like my twitter reads, where Im a verbose mf and have to aggressively abbreviate words and cut sentences and rambling when I tweet so it can fit the character limit. and sure I don't need all those extra characters and words to convey my full meaning but "economical with time" is not really the best compliment I could give a show. Like why do you have to be so economical. why are we pinching pennies seconds here instead of modifying the plot to improve the pacing.

shallow critique but the "Jinxers" all getting blue hair and pronouns and pink accents was weird. like..... Jinx has a lot of symbols, like the monkey or the shark or whatever, that they could have easily done something like that. and the blue hair is GOOFY!!! the only one who gets a pass is Isha, bc her hair clearly looks like a quick dye/paintjob, versus everyone else who looks like they went to a salon.

I think this is, again, an issue of screentime economics, but im honestly disappointed in the CaitVi reunion. it's not that I dislike the scenes themselves, but it all feels so... easy! fast! like their breakup felt so emotionally resonant and them making up felt so quick. I have my fingers crossed for Consequences (and fallout from both Vi's alcoholic era and Cait's rebound bedsharing) next act, especially based on the preview, but like.... we have so much other stuff to tie up I am just not sure there is enough time for them to really deliver the impact that the breakup promised.

I've been told that they always planned for 2 seasons and had everything plotted out beforehand but the pacing is... really weird for something they had so meticulously planned for two seasons. It feels a LOT more like they wrote a story they wanted to tell, they were then given 18 episodes in which to tell it, and they decided they liked their original story so much that they didn't want to cut anything even though 18 episodes is a huge squeeze for this number of characters/this level of plot complexity.

And I think the quality difference is SO noticeable between the acts that are tight and focused (like this arc here, or the original season 1 act 1 -- both were tightly focused around Vander family dynamics, with some B and C plots. Compare that to act 1 of s2, which feels like trying to the contents of an entire pringles can into my mouth at once)

Related to that, I keep getting the sense that the writers want Specific Events to happen -- they want Jinx to care for someone that represents Powder, in order to coax out that part of her again. They want Cait and Vi to pull a doublecross deception on Ambessa. They want Victor to lead a jesus cult. etc. And then they draw a line from A to B in the most efficient way possible instead of doing things in a way that feels natural or actually rewarding. And then of course the specific Thing they wanted to happen does happen, and they do it really well. And it going really well retroactively justifies the hamfistedness of the setup, but also, should it? I talked about this issue for s2act1 last time but it remains, so.

Anyway that ways just way too many words to essentially talk about one issue. But that one issue (pacing/story planning) just... seeps into EVERYTHING, and I spent a long time typing all that out, so.

This is a bit of a complimentary critique, but I think the wild pacing means that there is a LOT of feeling jerked around emotionally, and I think the show is doing a pretty good job at making that feel exciting instead of confusing, so props for that

Ok now for stuff I liked, because despite my Hater Energy I loved this arc. that is why I have critiques. Because I love it and wish it was better.

like I said, Isha's introduction felt really hamfisted but I can't deny her story crushed my SOUL this arc. I loved that she was nonverbal, I loved her growing relationship with Jinx and it all definitely got enough screen time for Jinx's character development to feel natural/real/earned. I loved that. I cried. oh my fucking god. I love the thematic parallels of it all and I love how it puts Jinx into the role of a parent -- this WHOLE show is about family. sisters and brothers and parents and their kids. this is what it is ABOUT this is why i love this SHOW aughgaaiudsadsafdkha

Jinx's whole character development and everything is so. I don't have brain to write more about it tn but im like. yeah. i love it a lot. she allows herself to try to be the big fat hero...

I love women. This was such a good arc for beautiful handsome women.

I was suuuuper skeptical of Warwick -- I knew from fan speculation the likely connection between him and Vander, and also that he was a big fuckoff werewolf, and I was worried it would all be too goofy but really loved this. Jinx's look of utter terror when she didn't know if she'd killed her father/sister again, the hug, Vander's head touch with Vi, his love for his children bringing him back from thoughtless rage... i loved it. i can't even think about that last scene oh my GOD

I did just complain about the CaitVi reunion but as a homosexual I loved it a lot. Like. It was hot. There was spit and handcuffs and wrassling in the dirt. the almost-kiss when Cait pulled the bag over her head was more intimate than a kiss. there was name calling.

I love Cait having a rebound gf/fuckbuddy. It is SO funny to me, it's an excellent characterization moment for Cait, it's great tension that will HOPEFULLY have payoff in act 3, it's incredible fodder for angsty erotic fanfiction that I hope will soon grace a browser near me. and i hope it influences the CaitVi NETFLIX SEX WARNING scene that will soon grace a TV near me. I hope it is so long it compels me to write 1k words complaining that it was an irresponsible use of screen time

Jinx and Vi teaming up is another thing that felt too fast for me but like, was retroactively justified by how good it was. LIKE!!! Vi protecting Jinx. Parallels to childhood. Their sibling fight. How Vi reached out to her and welcomed her into the family hug. I'm emotional

We finally got to see BLOOD like I'm not a gore person, honestly, but act1 was pretty bloodless even during violent scenes, and I was a little worried that it would just be like that. but NO!!! Warwick's massacre was soooo good and got that blood spraying

I really like how Silco continues to haunt Jinx, and I love the way the show is exploring her grief and like... that she doesnt know who she is anymore. ough.

LOVE Sevika and Jinx's heist/disguise scene, especially all the animation/art details. Like the way Jinx's disguise is so poorly fitted, it's so good. I rewatched that scene specifically like, 4 times

Pitfighter Vi 🧎

as always super interested to hear other people's thoughts, critiques, critiques of my critiques, if im missing something big, etc etc.

[oh-shit-i-spilled-my-genderfluid]

Random Vincent Sinclair headcannons

- doesn’t wear his mask in the basement, and usually not in his everyday life. It’s not super comfortable and he can’t see/breathe well with it and his brothers don’t give a shit what he looks like, so why wear it out for no reason? Also the basement gets super warm with the fire and melted wax so his mask would start to deform and straight up melt. Maybe he has a mini fridge down there to keep his masks cool and close if he needs them idk

- if he was born later he would’ve been a massive Percy Jackson fan, he seems to have an interest in mythology/mythological monsters so yeah. Percy Jackson. He’d be in cabin 7 or 9.

- probably sleeps in the basement a lot, it’s the only place he feels completely safe and comfortable. He even sleeps there in the summer, when the combined Louisiana heat and the fire/wax makes the basement feel like a damn sauna. Bo has to go check on him every once in a while to make sure he hasn’t died from heat stroke or something.

- speaking of Bo, I don’t see him as being abusive towards Vincent (I can definitely see why some people interpreted their interactions like that but to me if I had just been shot in the chest and arm with a crossbow and I had to go hunt down some random kids before they called the cops I would also not be in the mood for kind words lol). Bo can definitely be a bitch sometimes, but they do genuinely care for each other. Their relationship is part normal sibling closeness and part trauma bond, but they manage.

- doesn’t care much for his hair, just brushes it sometimes. The Sinclairs definitely have one of those 14in1 shampoo-bodywash-spackle type things, and that’s fine by him. He does brush it a lot tho, that’s something he cares about.

- can cook, but not well. The food he cooks is edible but not much else. Bo does more cooking (he’s slightly better, but only slightly). Vincent puts way too little or no salt at all in his food. I don’t know why. He just likes his food bland and tasteless.

- is somewhat interested in medical stuff. Like it was the only thing him and his father could bond over and he was taught some basics, and has continued to learn to make his art better. If Bo or Lester gets injured he’s the one to take care of it (although Bo would rather bleed out or die from an infection than get any help, Lester has to wrestle him down so that Vincent can patch up his wounds)

- idk I just always thought Jonesy was Vincent’s dog, but sort of also the family dog? Like she can run around and hang out with anyone but she’s technically Vincent’s dog?

- grew up listening to classical music and got kinda Pavlov’d into being more creative when listening to it so now that’s basically all he listens to while working. He will politely listen to Bo’s Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails without complaining, but it’s not his type of music.

- does a lot of different art stuff. Wax sculpting is like his main thing and his job (sorta), but the list of creative endeavors he does in his free time is endless. Has a particular affinity for charcoal drawings. Someone should introduce him to digital art, he would be ecstatic.

[howlsofbloodhounds]

In the most /lh way possible , I honestly don't really think fanon killermare is ' knock off ' colorkiller ? Like I mean , even Fanon [ Multiple fanon interpretations , there's many .] Nightmare is very different from Color and I think each ship has its own interesting dynamics , so calling it ' off brand [other ship] ' seems a bit . Generalizing to me ??

[ apologies if this is hard to read or comes off as rude ! ]

No I get you. I’m promise im just pissy and also on my period lmao.

But here’s the thing. here’s the thing; people give Nightmare Color’s personality. They give him shit he never did for Killer, the stuff Color did. The stuff he worked on and he risked his life for and he tried so hard to do. And all he got for his efforts was being pushed aside and ignored and only brought up to demonize him and dismiss him and look down on him.

Yeah, I’m talking about the whole “killer falls in love with nightmare because he saved him” stuff. No Nightmare didn’t and this interpretation is so popular people genuinely think it’s true and as a result don’t even know who Color is at all. And when they do find out they’re dismissive or use him as bait for a pointless drama love triangle.

Ive literally had to convince people to care about what was already canon and there because people gave it all away to Nightmare like they did everything about Killer’s character and story. His entire character in fandom revolves around Nightmare, there’s hardly ANY killer centric stories that don’t involve shipping or Nightmare and it’s annoying.

Nightmare is in fact very different from Color; and that’s the thing. Most interpretations I see of fanon killermare hardly seem like Nightmare. It’s basically just Color in Nightmares skin with more sophisticated language.

People take away every single part of Color’s character and achievements and give it to a fanon Nightmare with a bit of a “darker gothic” twist and then complain about how Color and his friendship with Killer is “boring.” And im like; of course you think it’s boring.

You gave everything about his character and color spectrum duo’s relationship away to Nightmare and Killermare for absolutely zero reason. And it’s precisely because of that I have to shift through Killermare after Killermare to get even a smidge of anything with color. People find any excuse to get rid of friendships and ignore it and I hate it.

Color saved Killer. Color is helping Killer. Color is who Killer trusts the most, that’s his best friend, that’s how Killer turns to for safety and protection and stability and the first person he genuinely believed cared about him, one of the most important people in his life. If he’s dropping to his knees and worshipping anyone it’s Color—and Color will pull him back up to his feet and offer him a warm hug instead. Not Nightmare. That’s been the narrative for literal years now and it’s not true.

I haven’t seen any fanon interpretations of Killermare I could get behind besides maybe two that doesn’t make me think “Color could literally be doing and saying this” and the only reason he likely isn’t is because the person doesn’t know Color exists or wants to demonize him and give away all his hard work to a canonical kidnapper and trafficker and abuser.

I’d rather see Nightmare grow and change as a person and actually do something to earn Killers trust and loyalty. I’m sick of it being freely given because people want to ignore his canonical abuse at Nightmares hands. And I want this change to happen precisely because Color challenges him and offers to help him too in the end when he needs it.

So basically: I hate that fanon Killermare often completely ignores what Nightmare did to Killer. I hate what it does to Killer’s character and story. I hate that it ignores Color most of the time or only to demonize him. I hate that friendship or queer platonic relationships aren’t cared about in this fandom as much as romantic or “found family” ones even tho Killer and Color are found family and so are the entire Chromatic Crew.

People are free to disagree and keep shipping whoever they want, that’s not my issue and i don’t want to ruin people’s fun even as i complain. I just wish Color Spectrum Duo, and Color, and bits of Killers canon got more actual care and respect and attention. And also please tag yalls stuff with the proper ships so I can chose not to engage with it (not directed at anyone.)

[andrewminyardapologist]

TW: Food Trauma

Thinking about how it's probably really healing for the Foxes to have "family dinners" at Abby's because so of them most likely have some sort of trauma surrounding food.

Dan: Had to support her family, struggling to put food on the table, having to work to keep herself and her family fed. So much food insecurity that she doesn't have to worry about anymore. (I'm sure she still does, it doesn't just go away, but she now doesn't have to worry about making enough to afford her next meal.)

Allison: In recovery from an eating disorder, learning to have genuinely happy experiences revolving around meals, praised for her strength on the court and not just her beauty, learning that food is nourishment.

Neil: I mean... This one is obvious. He's been on the run close to a decade, and now has sit down meals regularly with people he cares about. Food doesn't just mean stuff you can steal from a grocery store or scrounge up at a gas station vending machine. It's part of home. It's Abby's kitchen, warm and bright, surrounded by his chosen family all helping to cook and set the table. It's smiling and laughing over a big plate of lasagna.

Kevin: He's obsessed with health to the point it's disordered. In the Nest, food was not about enjoyment. It was about being perfect. Everything he ate was chosen for him. At Abby's, he gets to pick his portion size, which foods he wants to eat, probably learns what he likes and dislikes genuinely because of taste and not nutritional content. I would bet eventually Abby catches on and makes his favorites pretty often, helps him try new foods and actually enjoy them, regardless of nutritional content.

Andrew: Andrew grew up in foster care, and he says none of his placements were good. He seems to have a lot of sensory issues surrounding food (rips it into tiny pieces, likes really intense flavors like spicy or sweet, etc.) I'm willing to bet he was often underfed and did not often get much say in what he ate. If he wanted to eat, it would have to be whatever he could. I think that while he might never admit it, having Abby's dinners (eventually) start to feel safe for him, the routine of it, the fact that no one would judge his eating there or force him to eat things he didn't like, would be something that helps him feel more comfortable around food. I think being allowed seconds, or thirds, would help him feel some security surrounding food. Similar to Kevin, I think Abby would pick up on the things he likes and make those meals more often. I think Bee helps with this too, what with the hot chocolate and everything.

Aaron: Tilda was abusive and neglectful. I think it is safe to assume Aaron had to worry about keeping himself fed for most of his life, and had to learn to cook for himself. Probably he had to figure out his own way to make sure he stayed fed without much help from Tilda. It's probable she punished him by withholding meals as well. I think similar to Andrew, having some consistency in the routine of dinner at Abby's helps him feel more secure. Additionally, I think he probably likes not having to bear the full weight of cooking for himself, and learns to enjoy it as something he does with his family instead of something done out of necessity. I imagine Abby teaches him some recipes that are fun and not just basic stuff thrown together in an attempt to make something edible.

Nicky: Nicky was 18 when he took in the twins. He had to work HARD to keep the three of them fed. It was probably difficult as well considering Andrew and Aaron already had issues surrounding food. I think he would find comfort in seeing that the twins were not only getting fed, but we're starting to let go of some of that insecurity about food. I think he would also find relief in not having to worry about feeding two kids when he was basically still a kid himself.

[wasteofbandagesxx]

I trusted you

{Nikolai x reader}

Content: abuse, toxic, murder, toxic love, unhealthy relationship

There were no genuine feelings when it came to the relationship. It was nothing. There wasn't love or affection, just two people there are colleagues that work with Fyodor himself. There was no love anymore like there used to be. Nikolai honestly despised you because of how "soft" you gotten and how "boring" you've become. He was only in for the thrill, and you were lacking all the qualities to his ideal lover. Normally, he'd kill if he had an obsession with someone, but he also murders them when he gets tired of that person. You were no longer a thrill for his entertainment.

Who knew your time would end up so soon?

"Dove, come here real quick. Dostoevsky gave us a new assignment that involves blowing up a building and killing more government officials. Isn't it exciting?"

You walked over to him, the tapping of your feet was heard on the marble floor as you make your way over to white haired clown. It was too quiet, the silence was irritating Nikolai while you were unbothered. You peeked at the paper to see a bunch of missions that were listed on it. Nothing too chaotic since Nikolai will be doing all the work. "It's alright I guess. Though I hate getting my hands dirty so I'll leave the rest to you." Your boring reply left Nikolai in disgust. He missed the times that you would engage violence with him, oh how much he's missed the good old days. Ever since you've gotten closer to Fyodor and did some other stuff it changed your personality completely. He couldn't stand it, you were not his Dove, you were just an old doll ready to be thrown away.

"Oh Dove, what happened to you?..." He whispered under his breath.

The whole reason why you've changed is because Fyodor was always using you. You were the demons most useful pawn and he intended on taking advantage of that. The tasks would be too extreme and while Nikolai was gone there would always be constant arguing and abuse towards another. You would receive slap after slap, a kick from an underling, and poisoned to make your body stiff in suspended animation before getting locked up. In the beginning, Nikolai would care about how you were being treated but then he randomly didn't care. He soon realized you were weak.

You have been sick for some time and your mental health isn't the best due to family issues and your job as a terrorist. You just weren't loving how your life style has become and thought it was a good idea to turn your life around. You couldn't leave or else you would die, so you just did simple basic tasks instead. Back then you would always go on a murder spree with your lover. As you got sick, you realized there wasn't much things you could do anymore. You highly doubted that you were going to live for a long time, you were almost as weak as Fyodor but you tried to hide it.

Nikolai soon found out about your sickness and couldn't help but insult you of how weak you are now. You were hoping he would understand, but he could care less. You still put faith in Nikolai to understand your pain and condition, but it seemed you trusted him too much.

"Dove, your really pissing me off. You have been for a while." Nikolai said coldly, his eyes burning into yours. A small shiver ran down your spine but you quickly avoided his icy stare. "It's not my fault things turned out this way. Enough talking and let's get going, I have plans after this." "Oh, do you now?"

The Jester rolled eyes and puts the paper down. "Yes, now let's go." You make your way over to the door but as you turned the handle, the door wouldn't open.

Something was wrong.

"Oh Dove, if only you could've stayed the same."

Slit!!

You felt pain all of a sudden. Slowly looking down, only to see a shiny silver object with Crimson blood pouring out of your body like a fountain. You couldn't believe your eyes, you were stabbed. The knife twists and turns to make even a bigger mess, more blood was spilling out of you and you couldn't hold back your screams.

"I usually harm those who make me obsessed with them but I was going to make you an exception. Thinking, maybe we could live and be free together. Now I see you as a big joke, I loved you so, but being with you makes me feel even more trapped. I can't have that, your not worth losing my mind over anymore."

The knife was roughly pulled out before a big amount of blood was shot out of your mouth. You fell down on your own, the crimson puddle was spreading rather quickly as it was spilling out of your stomach and your mouth. You were at a loss of words, your vision blurs due to the lack of blood and the tears that were forming in your eyes. Your tried crawling to him with little effort while Nikolai stared down at you with a look full of guilt, but mostly no sympathy. He was conflicted, but his mind was already made up the moment he stabbed you, he couldn't go back. He pushed down the feeling of guilt and smiled at you.

"What did you expect? You should've left me when you had the chance! Don't cry now darling, you'll eventually pass away and won't have to worry or feel anything!"

He giggled to himself as he watches you slowly become lifeless. You didn't want to die here, not now. With little strength you had, you pulled out your that you keep on your belt and shot Nikolai in the stomach, aiming at his vitals.

Nikolai couldn't believe what just happened. He looked down to see four bullet wounds before falling down in front of you, he coughs up blood, all the while you felt like screaming and crying. You could cry, but you didn't have the energy to scream when you were on the verge of death and choking on blood. "I wanted to plan something special for us...I tried to change...I tried going back to the person that I once was....I tried....and I wanted to prove you that today, on our 2nd anniversary..." You choked out, the clown was shocked by your words, it was nothing that he was expecting. He thought the words that would come out of your mouth would be "Fuck you!" Or "I hate you!" but no. It was something that would made him regret his actions.

He laid there conflicted, he completely gave up on everything. He just wished he could've been better and understand what you were going through better instead of being full of himself. He wished he could've been a better lover. He looked at you with tears in his eyes and a small smile, his eyes half lidded as he was about to make his way into the afterlife with you. "I guess I messed up, silly me." He said with a small chuckle. You glared at him and said your last words before your vision blacks out.

"I trusted you."

[bandtrees]

AAHHHH!!! AAHHHHHHHH DIALTOWN AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay i've had a night to sit on the evil route and put my thoughts together and holy shit dude. ALL OF IT- all of it was so good but i'm obviously (being the callum and gingi guy) going to focus on the callum and gingi stuff. spoilers ahead if you have not done the evil route gooo do it!!!!

i think looking at the worst end of the evil route is best to view through the lens of "the literal opposite of ch3" and also "knowing who milt and marla and all of them are" because - for starters - i think the approach dogman has taken, out of universe, is genius. i know milt and marla aren't ingame mostly for writing constraint reasons, but the specifics of their lives (milt's especially, being basically erased from history) not being something you ever get is really really good because history just... does not remember them!

milt committed suicide but according to dogman that's not even public knowledge, as far as anyone in-universe knows he just disappeared and all of the turmoil that took place is kind of lost to time. and i think knowledge of his name, much less what happened to him, being something you have to dig through paratext and get an easter egg of a fuckin tie-in web quiz to learn, is... probably the experience you'd more or less have in-universe. he's someone you only really know if you're really into the subject.

and to be honest i dont think i would have it any other way, because what the dlc does to you if you're one of those who know is MADDENING. it's everywhere. the hat motif. i have very strong feelings on evil route peter essentially having the exact role marla must have - the conversations gingi has with the narrator, with roger, is soooooo gooooood. it's a subtle background puzzle you get to piece together that (i reckon) also would hit hard for any player who doesn't Know(tm).

(and that also segues into a general feeling i have about the dlc, being that i am not a dsaf guy at all, i was into dialtown first and i have no interest in dsaf i'm sure its great but just not something i think i'll ever look into: for a bit before this dlc i was worried if it would be enjoyable as someone who's not into dsaf or has context for any cameo characters or references - but it was and is :D the characters all exist perfectly in dialtown and the references that exist still have merit on their own and are funny/etc on their own even without whatever added context im sure dsaf gives. which is good and i love it.)

all of that to say, i really really love what this dlc did for so many characters, but especially gingi and callum (and the narrator!) - i love how, as seems to be callum's destiny with maladjusted people, gingi only sees him as an incomplete and biased ideal to strive for. we simultaneously get so much weight and nuance to callum through seeing gingi go down a similar path, but also get so little of it because the only thing gingi cares about wrt callum is him being the "greatest salesman ever" and completely discarding the parts of him that made him anything but an industrial supervillain.

i think it wouldv been easy for it to just be "phonegingi is basically becoming (the worst parts of) callum and so, when they're working with mingus, finds some degree of kinship in the pictures etc of him" but the fact they're completely dismissive of mingus and her family history in every way, demanding the pictures of him be taken down, making a jab at him being "forgetful", staining and ruining them, etc, is even MORE telling of what they've become. much like callum was, they've found success and don't really think about how they got there or who helped them get there!

(see: mingus having marla's hat, which gingi takes from her when they execute her - you could say that hat symbolizes the genuine good that callum did despite his mixed legacy, and the love that he had for his wife and those closest to him: and that's something gingi is completely ignoring in favor of having it be another symbol of their (and callum's) power :D)

also the space ending. You're telling me gingi became wildly successful and then in an act of innovation-induced hubris, locked themself in an inescapable box, alone? Good god man. callum is INESCAPABLE in this route its so fucking good. elements of him and what happened to him and the path he went down are everywhere - even in other routes, there's roger's amnesia, there's gingi making other people suffer for their mistakes: it's so horrifying when you realize what's happening but in retrospect the signs were always there. roger's plant is literally crown mechanics. no wonder that man's juices are all over the goddamn place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

also gingi getting a cat tail in the bad ends is genius. 10/10 design choice. really good dlc. this is not a coherent ramble but i'm hopped up on being insane about what iv witnessed this weekend and also we have like no food in the house rn. we dont even have fucking milk iv had to make pb&js with this strangely tasting strangely textured squeeze bottle jelly and not even have milk with it. roger is the only thing keeping me stable

and roger himself is like... god, i dont even know what to say about him really? i adore him so much. he's a brilliantly written character. it's to the point where i cant even like analyze anything i just kind of have to point at him really hard and hope you understand. i related to him a lot as i'm sure a lot of people did. inexperience and "stupidity" and forgetfulness are traits that often get flattened into either completely sympathetic non-flaws or completely unlikable annoyances and i think how the dlc touched upon those traits of roger's - funnily a lot of the time, yet very respectfully and sympathetically when the time came for it, while never letting you forget the genuine harm it was causing to the people around him - was reaaaaally good. you love roger but you understand why others might not - but even then, like the rest of his workers, you still care about him first and foremost, not what he can accomplish.

and i think that duality being present in the good/evil routes is really good: roger's good ending is one where he flubs the presentation and hands the reins over to someone he trusts more to fix up the place, and he acknowledges his workers love him as a friend more than they do a leader. and the evil ending is the one where he has a wildly successful, energetic presentation that people love, and he's getting praise and is saving the plant and everyone's so excited, because not only is he promoting an underhanded shitty scam, but it's not him. he IS, like gingi, becoming a HORRIBLE version of himself: the point where good intentions or even ignorance begin to matter less and less in the face of actual harm being done. again, much like callum!!!!!

i also love peter. oh my god peter. in his marla crown era

i 100% had more to say but i'm beginning to lose it. oh yeah THE FUCKING INSULIN SCAM IS CRUEL. that part had me with my hand over my mouth and my eyes just agape at how fucking grim it was. the reveal that peter's wife is also diabetic makes it go from "pretty fucked up!" to "actively devastating". truly gingi at their worst. both it and the blowout argument they have with the narrator afterwards are done excellently. taking advantage of peter's tendency to worry about roger, roger's not wanting to upset peter, peter's fucking diabetic wife, is so so cruel and i love it. really really gets into the weight of what you're doing and how fucked up scams are, we are out of the realm of silly jokes about crypto and in the realm of ruining peoples' lives. it's so good.

anyway. really good dlc. i will surely have so much more to say and create about it. it maddens me that it's only five dollars because i dont think i will ever be the same again after that to be quite honest with you!!!! literally my only gripe is the way it's kind of carried on dialtown's general problem with its non-main female characters but that's something people have talked about more and articulated better than me.

good dlc. really good dlc. cough up the five dollars because it is truly worth so much more i havent even been able to touch upon here. and if you havent played dialtown cough up the eight dollars and then cough up the five dollars. its real good.

[imagobin]

Hiii!:) can you do head canons for the Zoldyck Siblings that have a sibling who is about 15 so like middle child sorta who always try’s to care for each sibling they have and is still is very skilled assassin and try’s to hold everything together please 😋

Omg okay I love this idea, just a poor 15 year old trying their best fhgk Thank you for requesting this, I'm gonna have lots of fun! Dividing this in sections, with what the Reader does for each sibling and their opinions on them!

🔯Being the Zoldyck's middle child HCs🔯

📍Illumi📍

Illumi is always working hard for the family, often taking on the most jobs, no matter how far they are. He doesn't show any sign of exhaustion, but you can always tell when your brother is feeling tired.

He takes a bit more time to reply during conversations, his footsteps actually make sound, his usually perfect hair has some strands out of place... you notice it all.

Seeing your brother overworking himself is really saddening for you, so you try to do small things for Illumi whenever you can: you ask him if there's any hit job you could handle instead of him "keeping them all to himself", you get him his favorite drink or snack... when you see him looking particularly stressed, you even offer to braid or brush his hair, and he's often taken off guard by this. "You want to brush my hair...? Hm, that does sound nice..."

Illumi doesn't know why you do all this stuff for him (he still hasn't caught on that you can see his fatigue), but he's really grateful for it, especially the hair-brushing; that always manages to calm his nerves like nothing else, it even makes him sleepy!

Needless to say, he's very proud of you as well. Your talent for assassination is undeniable, which is why he often agrees to hand a couple of his jobs over to you; he knows you can handle them.

Killua will always be his favorite sibling, but you also hold a special place in his heart since you seem to care so much about him.

He does however have a small tendency to still treat you like a little kid, giving you head pats and such when you've done a good job with an assassination, or to simply thank you.

---

🎮Milluki🎮

Needless to say, you rarely ever see Milluki leave his room, and nobody seems to be worried about that. You do though. You're always wondering what he might be doing in there, and if he's doing okay.

Honestly the rest of your family kind of acts as if he doesn't exist, unless they need something from him.

Milluki seems pretty used to this by now, so whenever you want to hang out with him, he just wonders why, or if you might have some ulterior motive. "W-wouldn't you rather go play with Kil? I'm busy here! ... though I guess I could make an exception-"

Of course, you just want to keep your brother company, plus, he's genuinely very fun to spend time with! You guys play games together, watch anime and eat snacks to your heart's content, nothing better than that for a chill afternoon.

He'd NEVER admit it right in front of you, but man, he loves when you visit him. He feels like you're the only person in the family he can talk about his interests to without being made fun of.

Milluki is a little bit jealous of your assassin skills, but doesn't really let that bother him, mostly because despite that, you don't act like you're better than him, you actually recognize his skills too, so there's like- mutual respect between the two of you.

He doesn't really take missions that require leaving the house anymore, but... he might give in if you were the one asking, he feels like you'd make a pretty good team with his brains and your brawn.

---

🪀Killua🪀

You and Killua are very close in age, you basically grew up together! So of course you two would be very close.

Among your brothers, he's definitely the most fun to hang out with. He's the outdoorsy type, which means that whenever you meet up, there's always adventures to be had, and sometimes... pranks to be pulled.

You're a bit more level-headed than him, since you're older, but you don't always manage to keep him out of trouble, which predictably isn't something your mother approves of. You're always getting scolded, because you should be setting an example for Killua, not encourage his rebellious side!

Killua finds the way Kikyo scolds you pretty annoying. "Who cares about what she wants? At least you're not boring like everyone else here!"

He also doesn't really understand why you still spend so much time with Illumi and Milluki, he not jealous, but would definitely love to know what pushes you to be so nice to them, especially Illumi.

You've explained your reasoning countless times: it's because you're family! You need to take care of each other, otherwise things might go wrong... he feels like you might be too nice. Not that it's a bad thing, just like Alluka, you bring him a sort of familial comfort that nobody else has there, which makes visiting home more bearable.

When Killua was still working as an assassin, he'd always be excited to go on missions with you. You two just get each other like that, and the job would always be completed flawlessly.

---

🧸Alluka🧸

Your parents always advise you against visiting Alluka, but do tou listen to them? Nope. Of course you're going to visit your little sister! She's always in that room on her own, you don't want her to feel lonely!

You play pretend with her, have cute tea parties with her plushies, and of course, say yes to anything she demands, which are usually very easy things, because you never take advantage of her wish-granting ability, and basically nobody else makes wishes to her anymore, because they're all too scared of her powers.

You always ask for something simple, like a hug, and she's always happy to comply.

Both her and Nanika are very happy that you visit them, and that you accept her for who she is. "You know, whenever you visit me- it makes me soooo happy I could explode!" You are definitely her favorite along with Killua.

You interacting so often with her has also given your parents a better understanding of her power, making them less scared of her, though they still don't allow her outside on her own, for fear that someone might misuse her ability.

She still explores the world with Killua, but whenever those two visit Kukuroo mountain, she's always extremely happy to see you again.

She's also very impressed with your skills as an assassin, and always jokes around, saying if Killua doesn't want to be the heir, you could be a candidate.

---

🪭Kalluto🪭

Kalluto is your youngest brother, so you feel pretty protective towards him.

He's often got this sort of melancholic aura around him, because he'd really want Killua to pay attention to him, but the white haired boy never does. He's a little bit jealous of you, because of how much you two hang out, but not too much, because he sees you also making the same effort with the rest of your siblings, him included.

When you see him looking a bit gloomy, you always offer to play with him, though he doesn't really know how to play a lot of outdoors games. He'll try to convince you he's okay with playing anything you want, but that's because he doesn't want to bore you.

You insist on doing what HE wants to do though. Your determination to let him choose what he wants to do makes him really happy, even if he doesn't really show it.

His idea of fun is always something pretty relaxing; his main hobby is making origami and paper dolls, and that's usually what you two end up doing. He's really good at both those things, and gets a bit embarrassed if you compliment him on that. "I-it's just a dragon origami... nothing too complex... ... thanks though"

He looks up to you, for being young and already so skilled, you're a natural with the family business.

You're always a bit concerned whenever he goes on missions with the Phantom Troupe, but you have noticed he's become more talkative since he's joined them.

---

[anonymous-existences]

Chapter 18 : Granted Wishes

[𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒔.]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[𝕬𝖘𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖑 𝕻𝖑𝖆𝖓𝖊, 𝕲𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖂𝖎𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖘]

Danny was watching the skies, The stars seemed to twinkle brighter than usual, each sparkling in different assortments of colors and sizes, adorning the complexities of the vast sky lines that reflect to the earth, the clouds non existent and the birds quiet and in peace.

The breeze felt warm and not as suffocating than Danny had thought, it's as though the scenery changes with his presence. Gorham's skies were oddly clear that even Tim was shocked and Damian felt weird about it. Damian accompanied Danny on the roof as Damian moved his pencil swiftly yet smoothly at the same time. Danny flutters his eyes close, the constellations that lightens his cheeks that also strangely reflect the lights of the open night sky.

"The Constellations Follow me today..." Danny mutters as he was taking a deep breathe. "It is .. indeed beautiful... Much More beautiful than any others I have seen." Damian admits somewhat shyly. For the first time it's as though the spirits left behind in Gotham has decided to ascend and forgive their selves to finally reach their final state of rebirth. "Freedom has never tasted sweeter...." Danny chuckled and looked at Damian who was infact drawing Danny and the Oddly Clear Night Sky.

The wind hums peacefully grazing Damian's skin which made him slightly shudder at the sudden cold that hit his skin. "Today feels more of a miracle then it already is." Damian tried to joke and successfully did so as Danny chuckled and sat beside him with a soft ethereal like smile. "Look! Shooting Stars!" Danny yelled out happily which made Damian immediately look up in fascination.

Most of Gotham was out and about that night and witnessing this some sort of Astral Miracle. "Quick! Make a wish!" Danny giggled and closed his eyes and clasped his hand as if to make a prayer. Damian hesitantly did the same. He didn't know what to wish for, rather it felt childish to believe that mere meteors could grant wishes but he wishes that his family stays together side by side and to never Seperate again... Yeah. That's a good wish... He flutters his eyes open once again to see Danny slightly tearing up before he too opens his eyes.

Danny smiles, "Are you... Okay Danny?" Damian asks the younger boy and Danny nods slightly, "I just wish that my sister would be here... I miss ... I miss her so much." Danny mutters. Damian's gaze softened and pulled Danny closer to his side.

Damian hesitantly wrapped his arms around the younger boy to somehow? Maybe? Possibly comfort this Soon to be younger brother of his.

"It's okay... Danny .. it's okay." Damian says, mimicking what He thinks Alfred would do to comfort a child that's in need of consolation. "You'll be alright... I promise." Damian says with genuine care tracing his tone. It made Danny's core buzz in the warmth of family.

It feels like family.

It is Family.

[𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎 𝙿𝙾𝚅]

"Dante should we be concerned...?" Jason asks his lover hesitantly whilst staring at the star decorated clear skies. Dante looks up and thinks for a moment before chuckling in amusement.

Jason looks at him Bemused but surely if he's laughing it's not a bad thing. "it's Danny's thing. Space and Protection and Stuff. Basically this means Gotham has become his new haunt or well place of home. And skies shift to his emotions.. if it's dark and cloudy he is depressed type of depictions." Dante smiles at Jason and kisses the Man's forehead, "It's nothing to be worried about Babe." Dante reassures hire beloved and Jason just sighed in relief.

"But this feels like a god thing type of shtick you know?" Jason muttered following his boyfriend inside their apartment and Dante looks at him with the look of understanding. "That's cuz it is hun. He's a baby god." Dante chuckled and laughed as he left Jason outside the door stunned and shocked at the sudden Lore Drop.

Baby god? Dear Fuck? Damn? Jason doesn't know how to react to this and just followed Dante inside. "and that would make you...?" Jason asks again hopefully for some more clearance, "His Alternate Version Turned Redemption Made Ghost King Proxy." Dante casually says and hums peacefully, Jason just even more baffled, "Alternative Self Like Alternate Universes?" Jason sputters and slowly sits down on the couch beside Dante, "Yep! I used to be evil actually. Then I fought Danny when he was 12? I think— which would be 2 years from now— but he... I guess it's just that when he cried for Jazz All so suddenly Infront of me I just— something in me shattered. And that's how we are here now." Dante kisses Jason's Forehead, hopefully that gave him more closure. (It did not but Jason loves Dante too much to care right now.)

"Clockwork, yk, the one my Father is Uh— dating and stuff— probably gonna marry soon I guess is the one who helped me adjust and take therapy sessions, yada yada, change for the better." Dante smirked and laughed as Jason rested his head on Dante's Chest feeling Dante's Core Purr softly as Dante explained all the details for Jason to understand. Dante was pleased that Jason atleast took it well and not like how he'd imagine would be disgust and stuff— Ancients did he feel so much anxiety before finally being able to slowly explain to Jason what happened.

"And as you know, there's Uh, Valerie, she's 14 now actually, she became a vigilante when she was like 12— which is not really good but that's super too young. I have no idea why when we were kids we wanted to save people so much. But then again it was a place that was unsafe for us so we tried to be both there for each other and save everyone we could when we had to." Dante says softly as he pulled Jason closer to him craving more of Jason's Body Warmth.

"Vlad in my timeline was like super super evil, here he was more sympathetic and just very immersed in his Obsessions at the time but now he's. He's gotten better as well especially since He and Clockwork became each other's Second Obsessions. It's an odd feeling to have your obsessions change really. Mine used to be pure violence but before the Violence it was also Protection and Family. Family stuck to me and Now it's both Violence Sort of, Maybe the Seeking of Justice or Revenge— and Family." Dante was sputtering explanations at this point, his tone occasionally trembling in fear as to how Jason might react but he trusts Jason to not betray him like that.

"Oh! Look. Gotham is trending right now because of the sudden starry skies— did you just post a poetic paragraph related to the stars of Gotham right now?" Dante laughed and Jason just smiled at him and nodded.

"For the first time the skies arranged itself a scenic spectacle,

Stars and Constellations Adorning it's Vast Astral Plane,

The Skies Free from it's Ghastly Covered Shackles,

And the Connection of Freedom and Peace Felt as tho it was no longer Strained."

Dante just smiled at the poem Jason made, soon he realized Jason has fallen asleep in his lap, Slowly he carried Jason to their bed and gently places him down and laid beside him tucking themselves both under the blanket. Dante smiles and Carreses Jason's Cheek gently... " I love you so much my Sun..." Dante muttered his gaze softer than the bed itself, he places a gentle kiss on Jason's Forehead before pulling him closer and closing his eyes to finally falling asleep with peace settling in his heart.

[𝐀丂𝐓я𝐚ᒪ Ƥᒪ𝐚𝐍𝑒, 𝕃𝐚𝐍𝓭 Øⓕ ⓡ𝑒๒Ɨя𝐓𝓱]

"Are you Happy Clockwork?" She Says, her ginger hair nearly mimicking fire and her eyes that felt as threatening as the aquatic depths. Jasmine.

"Ofcourse I am, Your doing and freeing of most of the vengeful unresting souls of Gotham has proven to be helpful in Dante's future Works and Danny's too as well. It also lessens more issues." Clockwork merely smiled and pressed his fingers on his lips as he does so. "It was quite a beautiful... Spectacle. Like the Once in a Lifetime Miracle. Your Show also Stopped Crime in the city for a day for the first time! It's a very beautiful and Bountiful achievement that you have succeeded." Clockwork subtly covers his smug and Cheeky smile from Jasmine.

"I want to be by my brother's side again, not by being Me, not by being jazz.... I want to protect him but I also want him to move on from me. Make me an animal." Jasmine glances at Clockwork, Stars Adorning her Skin and Planets circling around her. Clockwork nodded and slightly bowed to the ascended soul of the once much mortal Jasmine.

"I can make you a pet, or a familiar... Perhaps an animal that fits Danny... Hmm.. you may choose what animal ofcourse. One with wings." Clockwork suggests and Jasmine faces the stars once again to think briefly before making a final decision.

"Make me a Hawk, so that I can be both majestic yet threatening enough that Danny Will love me and that other people who dares hurt him will feel intimidated by my presence." Jasmine says slowly turning her body to face Clockwork fully, Her Red Hair Touching and Dragging on the non-existent grounds as she does so.

Clockwork nods approvingly, "Your Wish is my Command Astral Goddess. After all you ARE the first to willingly give up their first stages of godhood to protect a baby god." Clockwork was amused, Perhaps even curious as to what Goes on in Jasmine's Mind. "I will come back eventually as soon as the lifespan of my Rebirth ends and I can be with Danny as a goddess that has fully ascended enough that I can finally show myself to him...." She says her voice softening significantly at the mention of her baby brother.

Her Aquatic eyes reflected the sea of itself but in them is a hint of sorrow and yearning. Clockwork led The Once Mortal New Goddess down a path of Grass and they trodded through life's lair.

Soon as they walked down the path of flowers and feathers, Jasmine slowly earned her wings, growing out of her back painlessly and smoothly growing out and spreading neatly, Placing itself side by side with ease. Her hair slowly fading into her own feathers and her size shrinking.

She flapped her wings and slowly placed her talons on Clockwork's Shoulder. She shook her new form slowly settling in on the new mechanics of her body.

"I am ready." She chirps and Clockwork nods letting her fly away and her slowly rising from the clouds and soaring through The Sky heading to Gotham with Haste.

"This time... I will protect them." She thinks to herself as she whistles and Slowly Dive Bombing to Gotham, She truly is ready.

She is very ready to Protect her family and to meet them again and be in their warm embrace.

[𝑹𝒆𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝑾𝒂𝒔 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝑨𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝑨𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈]

[smalltowncryptidfucker]

Thinking about how Edward and Ling are probably just as touch starved as each other, but in like, vastly different ways.

With Edward- based off what I can tell- the only people he knew he could be physically affectionate with in any way, was his mother and Alphonse.

(Not to say Winry and Pinako aren’t affectionate with the boys, but I feel like being physically affectionate isn’t something that comes naturally to either of them. They seem like they prefer acts of service as a way of showing how much they care more than anything, and I think that’s wonderful! Even after the Elric brothers pretty much decided to kiss their hometown goodbye, the relationship they have with the Rockbells is still strong enough to where they know they can rely on them for anything, which is very important.)

But it really sucks, because their mom is long gone, and Alphonse, while he’s still around, no longer has a body. He’s a soul bound to a suit of armor, and he can’t feel anything. And I’m sure that Alphonse is still as physically affectionate with Edward as he can be with the body he has, but the unfortunate truth of the matter is, that if he isn’t careful, he might accidentally injure Edward. And I’m sure that terrifies him more than anything. Alphonse is so kind, gentle and loving, and the idea of hurting his brother by accident, or otherwise would devastate him. So he keeps Edward at arms’ length, just so he doesn’t get hurt.

Whereas with Ling, there isn’t much about his background that we know canonically (that I can recall- if any of you know something, feel free to add on), but considering the fact that he was conceived by the emperor and a noblewoman for the sole purpose of being a potential heir to the throne, and nothing else, I don’t think his childhood was filled with much genuine affection.

I’m sure he was treated well, but there’s a difference between actual love and care for a child, and the pretty much forced respect for the potential heir to a throne. His days were filled with constant training and education to prepare him to run a country, and typically with characters like him, they usually are fed some sort of BS akin to “showing/receiving affection is a form of weakness,” and “don’t get attached to anyone, or you’ll lose everything”. Stuff like that. And not to project headcanons onto a character that no one has seen in canon, but I’m sure Ling’s mother saw her son as more of a way to get more power, than an actual family member. Again, could be wrong, but considering the fact that the emperor produces heirs by just… going to the “best” noble families of each clan in his kingdom to ensure his bloodline is “pure” or some shit, that blatant disregard for family is probably the norm for anyone in power in Xing.

And I know that Lan Fan and Fu do genuinely love and care for Ling, but at the end of the day, they’re his bodyguards. Their relationship is purely professional, and they all know that if they overstep those boundaries, that could spell the end for them. They have to keep him at arms’ length to ensure their survival.

Basically, what I’m saying is, Ling has probably never received a sincere hug his entire god damn life.

So, I’m just thinking that the first time they hug or hold hands or some shit, they’re both so nervous, because Edward hasn’t been held in so long, and Ling doesn’t know what to expect, but then they both just melt into each other.

TL;DR: Ed and Ling share the same amount of touch-starvation, but physical affection was ripped away from Edward, and Ling was never provided any to begin with. They should clearly join forces.

[sopaprimordialy]

I've been thinking about how Luther could have fit so easily into the Disney Renaissance villains again.

He and the Rogues really make me remember what we lost by getting rid of simple villains.

Luther can either be a product of his environment if we go by the original movie / video game or he can be a symptom of the general bigotry that exists in the world.

I feel like if he were created specifically today they're probably would have made him way too complex like some sort of direct parallel to Cyrus or something and we would have lost so much what makes him so interesting.

He can be genuinely terrifying but can also be very comedic depending on how you look at them or even downright pathetic given he may or may not be the son of Victor and is imitating with his father probably does to his own loved ones.

I like the idea of Luther being the embodiment of "suffering doesn't create good people, it creates suffering", in the sense of: I don't think it's *possible for someone to end up that fucked up without some trauma. Like, why would he even be in gang life he lived in a totally stable, loving and caring household?

(*I mean I don't have the needed knowledge to even begin a discussion about people being born "evil" as their nature X being a product of their environment so let's just say its highly unlikely)

The way he says the line "life is pain" makes me believe that he did go through something. The way he is disconnected from everything around him and sees himself as this pain-bringer entity that won't ever face the consequences of his own acts (and, when he does, he just kinda regresses to being a whiny little kid) could be a response to being neglected, isolated. Neglected in a way that he would never be punished for whatever, but neither loved or cared.

I can almost see in my mind he going fucking berserk throughout his entire childhood and teenage years, like, terrorizing other kids at school being the worse kind of bully to ever exist and never being held accountable for that. And I can see he doing that for attention. Eventually, the attention he would get from being a jerk TM wouldn't be enough, and he would start doing more hardcore stuff, progressively more criminal, and boom, gang gang gang.

And then the general bigotry of the world comes to scene, because if he's being neglected and his family* (talking abt that later) isn't educating him, "the streets" will, will them not? At least, that's what my mom always told me. But this "street educational system" aka the police seems to work faaaar better on anyone that isn't, like, a white cisgender male. He has so much less to fear, honestly, it's comical.

Luther is both of those things and at the same time he's also this caricature of a villain that keeps laughing maniacally and saying shit like "yes indeed wanna see 'em bleed get the mop mop mop" and the whole watch the word burn and chaos take over thing. Weirdly enough, this is one of the best ways I've seen this kind of problem being represented; it should be considered pathetic to be hateful about things like race, gender, sexuality... bigotry *is* pathetic, and I like the fact that a character that generally represents how society treats (or, at least, wishes to treat) minorities is portrayed as such.

(This section is dedicated to talking about his hypothetical family)

So. Families.

The first social structure we meet as soon as we're born. Your family has the duty to keep you safe, nourished, loved, and basically teach you how to be a decent human being, at least ideally.

But what if this structure is, let's say, fucked up? Trauma inducing, ain't it? Then everything goes down the drain: the protection, the love, the teachings, the function human being... that's part of what I see in Luther.

In the possibility of Victor being Luther's father, I imagine him being pretty emotionally absent, maybe even physically, considering he would be out to work a lot. Still, Luther would look up to him a lot, it's his father, after all. Maybe if he does everything right, he can get his attention! If we consider he's talking to Victor in that phone call, it fits!

(Further context for why I think that: I found in the movie wiki that Patrick, the actor for both og Luther and Victor, once said that he's talking to a character called "The Boss". Apparently, he kinda just made that shit up and it became canon since no other explanation was given. In the same part of the wiki, I found this commentary that he must look up to that person considering the unique way they interact with them then and in other instances in the game)

Ok now it's 4 am. I need to finish this thing before going to sleep so I'm sorry if this last part is rushed or incomprehensible I don't wven know how I'm still awake

Victor also seems to be very aggressive, and I doubt he keeps it only to harassing young women at work and throwing them under trains (*sob*). He would of course behave like that at home too, I totally agree with you that, in great measure, the way he acts with his crew is basically him imitating how Victor would act with his family.

It's funny and tragic for me to imagine that the way he treats Cropsy — both the passive aggressiveness he shows in the musical and the physical assaults he does in other medias — being just a mirror of how Victor would treat his wife.

I think it was you that talked about Luther's parents being divorced at some point (but I could be wrokg cause I'm super sleepy rn) and dude I agree so fucking much with that. I think they would be the kind of couple that takes way too long to get divorced (esp considering the time period we're talking about) and that just leaves more and more trauma on their children's heads.

Imagine Luther's whole villain's past being like "my dad be rude and violent :( my parents divorced :( now I kill oppressed ppl's leadership:("

*read it in a whinny lil voice

He doesn't need a complex "Cyrus' parallel that went wrong" past to work and this simplicity is beautiful, but if he was written nowadays it would happen 100%

[gabessquishytum]

Feeling like some family fluff ❤️

Dream and Hob reunite in the modern day, clear the air about 1889, and somehow manage to confess their feelings. There’s just one little hitch to keep Hob from immediately jumping into this relationship: either by adoption or by accident, Hob has a small child that has to be his first priority. And they are a feral little creature to nearly anyone who isn’t Hob, and very protective of their father.

Dream is rather nervous to be introduced to someone whose opinion is so important to Hob, but determined to try his best to like and bond with the tiny human, for the sake of his relationship with Hob.

Upon meeting them, the kid starts by biting Dream’s hand. He is enchanted.

So wrapped up in his worry about messing this up, he’d forgotten how much he genuinely likes kids, and look at how delightful and interesting this one is! They’re the sweetest angel in the world to Hob, which reminds him of some of his loveliest dreams, and does their level-best short of maiming to scare Dream off, reminding him of his youngest nightmares. They’re the best of both worlds, and Dream is besotted, no longer just for Hob’s sake.

The child is growing more and more torn about the situation. On the one hand, no one they’ve ever met has been good enough for their dad, and they’re reluctant to admit that this guy might be the exception. On the other hand, he can do magic, which is pretty cool. On the other other hand, their personal pride at their ability to chase anyone off is at stake here. But on the other other other hand, it’s kinda nice that he never gets angry at their tricks or threats, and in fact seems to enjoy them. Not to mention their dad seems to actually really care whether or not this guy sticks around, which is significant.

Hob tries his best to rein his kid in when they’re like this, but he can’t help but see their feralness as a kind of zest for life and therefore isn’t very good at reprimands. Dream tends to wave off his apologies anyway, and his obvious delight at the child’s creative antics (not trying to tame or gentle them, but appreciating them as they are) does funny things to Hob’s heart. This might work out after all.

-🪽anon

Oh yes this is very sweet. I love it when Hob is a dad.

And oh, I love the idea of Dream having to go through the traditional ritual of "You're dating my dad and I hate that about you." As every potential step-parent should.

And the best part it - Dream loves it. He loves being scrutinised by this very small human, who is so like Hob in many ways. He doesn't mind how feral the kid is, basically because they are clearly having a really great time trying to chase Dream away. The whoopee cushion prank in the middle of the new inn was pretty epic, even Hob has to admit that, and he's never seen Dream laugh so much.

Maybe somewhere along the line Hob has a big emergency and there's no one to babysit, so he calls on Dream to help. The child is secretly thrilled because a) Dream is magic and they secretly love that and b) being alone with Dream is the perfect opportunity to be as feral as possible and prove that Dream is not up for the job of dating their dad.

But Dream turns out to be a rather excellent babysitter, and keeps very calm during all the antics that occur. Eventually he sits down on the bedroom floor in the middle of the chaos with the kid and they actually talk for a bit. The kid shares some concerns about whether Dream will actually stick around, whether he'll be nice to Hob, all of that stuff. And Dream (not exactly king of communication) tries his best to promise that he does want to be with Hob longterm and that he's learnt a lot about not hurting people, recently.

Hob returns to find his kid tucked in and snoring away (benefits of having the literal sandman putting you to bed, Hob is so jealous). They end up kissing on the sofa because Hob is kinda horny about Dream’s potential parenting skills, and in the morning the kid begrudgingly admits over breakfast that maybe it would be ok if Dream comes over more. And takes Hob for dates. Maybe.

But no kissing. They got up to pee last night and saw more than enough of that 🤮 <33

[thalfbloodloser]

You bring insanity to a boringly sane fandom. I would like to hear your latest thought on ivorycest... Whatever nugget you may be nursing. If that is alright

✦ aw, thank you! you're so sweet 🐌🧡 it's very much alright - no one in here ever sends me fun stuff anymore. your ask was a breath of fresh air, anon! truth be told, i haven't been thinking about ivorycest all that much, but get ready for a HUGE text-block jumpscare because you just gave me the perfect excuse to write about them ➜

✦ sometimes it pains me to see so many folks avoiding ivorycest like the plague, because, like ranfren itself, it's so unapologetically insane that you can't really hate it. even if you try. if you have a dash of sense of humor, you'll see it's hilariously canon compliant!

i've seen lots of people argue that "anything romantic/sexual between randal and luther would be inherently out of character", which i'll admit is a reasonable concern, but it's just not true. the issue is characterization: people keep projecting human-based tropes and behavior on cryptids, and that's where the knee-jerk "eugh" reaction comes from. because yeah, randal and luther aren't going to declare their Forbidden Love for each other and then passionately kiss under the moonlit sky, nor are they going to feel guilty about their attraction and part ways with a tearful "we can't! this is wrong!". it would be completely unnatural behavior for them. all that? made for humans. and pretty basic humans, at that. for ivorycest to work, both in and out of canon, you gotta fully embrace the weirdness, see beyond humanity and forget all old expectations you might've gotten from any other couple of siblings!

from my point of view, it doesn't even feel like it fits with the rest of the "-cest"s. and not because of the possibility that randal and luther aren't even biologically related (i seriously doubt they're even from the same species) - we all know that adoptive siblings aren't any less siblings just because they don't share DNA. plus, pseudo-incest is still a thing - but because they're so, so far from human nature and from other brother/brother ships that it's almost laughable, and sometimes genuinely puzzling, to apply ANY human labels to them at all. for example, would you call luther a cannibal because he eats people? no. because it'd be like calling a human cannibal for eating cows, and that makes no sense. words mean things.

to us, at least.

coincidentally, that's half of my point.

the ivorys adress each other as "brother", sure, but you cannot look me in the eyes and tell me that they fully understand what that means or that they care about it enough to follow the moral/ethical guidelines attached to such terms. you simply cannot. most times it feels less like they see each other as family and more like they're just...roleplaying.

but if you decide to call someone "daddy", just when does that make them your father?

randal, who could (but perhaps shouldn't) be considered the most resourceful of the two, uses "brother" as both title and honorific - like one uses "sir" or "ma'am" - but doesn't seem to be overtly attached to the familial aspect of it. again, he's not a human, and, as far as we know, our siblinghood doesn't come naturally to him - much like pain, guilt, conscience and a whole load of bodily functions that he also seems to lack. luther, on the other same hand, understands the caretaking implications of being the "older brother", but that's pretty much where his brotherly-ness begins and ends. if anything, he's incorrectly using the sibling label while playing parent; just without any trauma and/or responsibility attached to it. there's also the fact that he's the most powerful entity in the household and randal - no matter how many pianos he "possesses" or how many times he shoves himself in the space between the wall and the fridge - cannot possibly overpower him, also adds to this parent/kid dynamic; hence granting luther the (almost-meaningless) title of "master" and the authority over their dysfunctional home. that still doesn't mean randal perceives him as anything but a housemate, or playdate, for he doesn't really seem to keep up the role of mischievous little brother unless he's bored (often, not always).

so they use the word, but it lacks permanent meaning. in that sense, classic incest tropes - no matter if brocon or dadson flavored - don't really work. there's power imbalance, sure, but the familial bonds needed to reinforce that imbalance simply do not exist. randal is babied because he likes to be. he likes being taken care of and likes having rules to break. it's a character he plays. luther "takes care" of him because he himself likes doing it. he likes being a parent and likes having a reason to lecture & discipline. it's a character he plays. they don't actually need this dynamic to thrive, and it wasn't imposed on them by parents/caretakers or any set of misfortunes that we know of. they just deliberately chose to partake on it.

consequently, i don't think they feel what humans perceive as familial love (healthy or unhealthy) for each other. they're simply two powerful entities - whom we can assume have been at least friends for a long time - playing make-believe. creatures who have little to no regard for humanity as a species, and are only interested in their own antics. of course they do eventually commend certain humans for their achievements, and seem to find all sorts of comfort in our art/creations/traditions, but outside of that? they see humans as fragile beings as intelectually insignificant to them as most animals are to us. randal forcibly keeps one as a pet. not far from "master" luther, who keeps two.

again, the ivorys are clearly intelligent, specially regarding their own survival. they're not behind being purposefully dense when it comes to anything human that is even slightly inconvenient to them (huh? eating the delivery man's arm when we order pizza is bad? haha, i would never have guessed!). they have the means and understanding necessary to behave (and perhaps look) 100% human, they just...choose not to. they can bend reality itself to their whims, turn themselves and others into inconceivable creatures, all while feigning absolute normalcy at the chaotic world around them (werewoofs, carpet cats with human faces, alive walls and furniture...), and you think they'd draw the line at willingly distorting something as frivolous as family hierarchy?

tch. please.

with that said, by the rules of their own game, if they were to partake in any...non-platonic activities, it would only be considered incestuous because they decided it would be - by creating the dynamic and environment in the first place. and they would simply not fucking care if it is upsetting, distasteful or imoral by human standards. and that's the ship's whole flavor - that's why i love it so much! precisely because there's no such thing as the "oh, no! i accidentally fell in love with my sibling! woe is me!" (which i also love) with the ivorys. there's also not a "normal" way to ship them, even if you're adamant about them not being related or not seeing each other as family, because they're two fucking weirdos.

their whole relationship is so tastefully bonkers that i genuinely wouldn't be fazed if they spawned another creature to be their "littlest" sibling. honestly, who could stop them? and who's to say that, in their cryptic way, they're not a married couple? or buddies into weird roleplay? ultimately, it is undeniable that they - in at least one sense of the word - love each other enough to enable each other; and to indulge on each other's silly/straight-up-criminal fantasies.

to me, there's no (human) romance, nor seduction, involved. randal knows he'll get nothing by jumping on his brother's lap and performing the most disgustingly horny hentai rip-off scenario ever. much like he'll get nothing in exchange for sweet words, flowers and chocolate. it's part of the game. he knows he'll receive only a "<3" (♥︎) - which him and luther seem to be able to pronounce out loud - or a hummed, blank-faced lecture about needing either a nap or to drink more water. if luther is having a bad day, he might even receive some sort of punishment. and those are the reactions randal wants, the normalcy (if you can call it that) he counts on. if he wanted a different response, something genuinely human, he'd have forcibly gauged it off sebastian, nyon or even nyen. likewise, luther knows better than to come too close or to grab randal by the waist, lest he get bitten or not-so-playfully snipped with scissors.

but there's intimacy. so much intimacy. on waking up to the other's figure looming over them, on physically crawling under each other's skin, on wrapping hands and claws around each other's organs and muscles and bones, on faux eyes staring into faux eyes, on a eerie smile pressed against unmoving lips, on the suspension of disbelief, on the lingering smell of copper, on the flashing lights and sappy endearments and and-

and, i suppose, on the sex too. i don't think i can picture them having human sex - really, who am i to guess what these creatures are packing in their pants? for all we know, they might as well be ken-doll smooth down there - but if they were to ever consummate their relationship sexually, i feel like it would probably be as uncomfortable, off-putting, disturbing and offensive to the eyes as everything else they do. genuinely revolting from any possible point of view - unless you're a true monsterfucker. a ritual so gross that, for us, it resembles nothing but a cacophony of unthinkable horrors molding together wetly, but that, to them, feels nothing but heavenly from beginning to end. as close to divinity as such wretched demons/creatures are ever going to get.

anyways. enough, my apologies-

the conclusion is that...me shipping these two isn't even about wishing they'd get together, because, in their fucked up way, they already are. it isn't about spiting other fans either. it's about having fun coming up with increasingly nonsensical scenarios hoping to come close to their freak ✦

[max1461]

I think a defining feature of my life, that has allowed me to become the person I am today, is that (in my recollection) people are almost never mean to me, and this has been true as far back as I can remember. I think I have a couple of traits (irl; possibly they're less evident on here) that make it sort of hard to be mean to me, in the sense that there's uh... no ledge to grab, or something like that. I am quite solitary by nature, I generally keep to myself by default, but at the same time I make an effort to be friendly and positive with anyone who does talk to me. I value politeness a lot and try to be as polite as I can, but I am also very confident, and genuinely don't care about others' opinions most of the time. I am also fairly conventionally attractive, which helps a lot. The upshot is, as I said, I think it's very hard to be mean to me, there's not much for you to grab, not much leverage you can get. None of this is cultivated in any sense; I just think I rolled the lucky numbers with regard to my personality traits in this regard.

I've never been bullied, never had any particularly hurtful things said to me by anyone but a close family member, never had any cause to feel fearful of other humans in a social sense. My experience of the world is one in which everyone is basically pleasant and conflict is largely voluntary—you can just opt out, by just not interacting with that contentious conflictful guy so much. Or, if he's a guy at work or whatever, saying "yeah yeah" when he does his conflictful stuff and not participating. It feels so remarkably easy for me to just not get into arguments, just not get involved in conflict, just not incite other people's ire, while at the same time being able to pursue my own goals and desires without much impediment, that I used to feel baffled by people who do get into conflict, who do fear others socially. I was just like "well, why don't you simply not do that, instead". I think now I more realize that you have to have this really particular mix of both personality traits and privileges to make this work, you have to be someone who both can and wants to "just not get involved".

But, damn. If you can work it, it's so good. Truly cannot imagine living like everybody else. Seems... stressful.