#its so you can see his scales ok

[jalo-parker]

Reference sheet for my helsknight design :] (slight nudity warning he's only wearing boxers)

Featuring lore on how pants work for those with tails (most of them probably only have the one snap at the top but whatever it was like 1am when I drew that part)

[selineram3421]

*sweats nervously* Haha...I'm in danger.

Spell Gone Wrong

Part 1- Opposites

Alastor X Reader

Alastor is trying a new spell but it's not right and something goes wrong.

Warnings? ⚠

⚠ possessive alastor, implied/suggestive, 2p Alastor, Italics=thoughts, 😳 , food mention-fruit salad, kisses, cussing. ⚠

You stared in shock at Alastor.

Two Alastors.

Somehow, he managed to duplicate himself but something went wrong and now...there was a blue Alastor that was the complete opposite of your fiancé standing in your shared home.

It was very dizzying and you had to sit down on a nearby chair.

"Holy shit.", you mumbled and held your head.

"Not really dear, he's still a demon.", Alastor said and tugged on the blue deer's ear.

"Ow!", blue Alastor whined and teared up.

"Alastor..", you sighed with a disappointed tone.

"Yes?", they both replied.

He just technically called himself shit.

With a groan you stood up from the couch and walked over to the two deer demons.

"Ok, red Alastor will be called Alastor. Blue Alastor will be called Al.", you said pointing at them.

"Not very creative.", Alastor commented.

"I don't care. Its easy.", you crossed your arms. "Now that that's taken care of, where is he gonna stay? He can have the room next to yours or he can stay in the room next to mine."

"I'd like-"

"You'll be staying near mine.", Alastor cut Al off. "I'll make sure to take good care of you.", he said with a wide sinister smile.

Then you jabbed Alastor in the chest with your finger.

"No, bad. No ulterior motives.", you squinted your eyes at the red deer.

"I-It's fine! I don't mind..", Al piped in and muttered the rest, looking away when you and Alastor turned to look at him.

You're a little unsure but agree, watching as your Alastor guides the blue deer down the hall and to the guest room across from his office. After listening in for any fighting and hearing nothing alarming, you go to the kitchen to prepare a snack for yourself and the boys.

From what you've observed, Al is the opposite of Alastor. They have some similar actions, like the way they adjust their monocles or bow ties, but you're not sure what Al likes to eat for snacks.

In the end, you decide to set up a little bit of everything on a plate and pick it up before making your way over to the guest room.

Opening the door, you find Alastor pointing out where everything is in the room for Al and the blue deer is nodding along until he sees you at the door with the plate of snacks.

"Um.."

You smile and go set the plate on the nightstand. "I didn't know what you liked, so I brought a bit of everything. Is that ok?", you say.

Al nods and shyly steps closer to take your hand. "More than ok.", he mumbles before placing a kiss on the back of your hand.

In a second you're pulled away by the waist and pressed against Alastor's chest.

"It seems our guest is too comfortable around you my dear.", the red deer growls out and lifts up your hand that was kissed. "I can't have anyone touch you in such a way, not even my opposite.", he wipes at the spot before kissing it himself.

"Alastor, you're being silly.", you laugh. "He's just being a gentleman."

"That's not fair.", Al speaks up in a whine.

You look at the blue deer in shock. Seeing him pout at not being able to show you affection.

"A what-?"

"Shouldn't I be able to kiss and hold them too? I am you, just on the other side of the scale.", Al argues. "I might be able to give them more than what you offer.", he walks over and presses his chest against yours. "I bet I can make them scream too."

Your face is flushed.

Being trapped between two tall, devilishly handsome deer demons, one being your fiance and the other his opposite self, it really does things.

"Oh please, I'm sure you can barely satisfy them if you tried.", Alastor glares at the blue deer. "You'll never get to anyway."

"Uh, boys?", you say and try to get out from between the two.

"Be careful then.", Al smirks. "I might just steal them."

"Guys?", you try again.

"Try and you'll see that it will be a futile attempt.", your fiance says, eyes turning into radio dials, static going around the room.

You squeak in surprise when feeling Al lift up your leg, hooking it around his hip. It's too much and you feel yourself overheat, causing you to push the two away and run out of the room.

The two call out your name but you ignore them and lock yourself in your bedroom.

"I'm not coming out until both of you learn how to behave!", you yell towards the door before turning to the bed and flopping down on it, grabbing a pillow to scream into.

The rest of the day you are in your room, refusing entry from both deers, still upset at their earlier actions. Hours pass, it's been quiet for a while now and you feel your stomach growl for food, not having been fed other than the bowl of fruit salad you had this morning.

Maybe I can get something before bed. You think as you stand up.

You're still a bit cautious but you are hungry, so you open the door and glance around, not seeing any of the deers in the vicinity of your room. Taking a step out, you close the door behind you and make your way towards the kitchen, feeling your shoulders relax as you find a plate of food out for you.

A note with your name on it sits next to the plate with a little heart drawn at the end, which makes you smile.

You heat up the food and eat, taking your time to enjoy it before standing and cleaning up, then heading back to your room. As you take a step back into your room, you see Alastor standing near the window.

He turns when hearing you enter.

"Evening darling.", he smiles softly and holds a hand out for you.

A little suspicious, you walk slowly towards your fiance and take his hand, now standing in front of him.

"I apologize about earlier. I was..ahem! A bit out of character.", your deer says and holds you close. "I do hope you forgive me."

You smile and shake your head, moving your arms to wrap around his neck and placing a kiss on his cheek. "My silly Radio Demon, you don't have to be sorry. It just shows how much you love me, even fighting over me with your opposite self."

"I've found a way to get rid of him but he's insistent on seeing you one last time before leaving.", Alastor huffs in slight annoyance.

"Just be nice and let him?", you ask, moving your hands to fix his suit.

"Fine."

You both meet Al in the living room and Alastor sets things up to send the blue deer back to wherever he came from.

"Though it was a surprise, it was nice having you here.", you tell Al and shake his hand. "If there is another me where you are from, well..they might like how forward you are.", and then you squeeze his hand, making the blue deer whimper. "Don't try that with me again."

"Mhm..", Al nods and rubs his hand after you let him go.

"There!", Alastor says after drawing the spell circle with chalk on the floor. "That should do the trick."

Alastor moves to stand by your side, activating the spell with a flick of his hand and the circle lights up with a green glow.

"Safe travels! Don't come back.", the red deer smiles as his opposite starts to fade away.

Then something happens catching both you and your fiance by surprise.

Al leans forward and kisses you right on the lips before leaning back into the spell circle with a smug grin. "I had fun.", the deer says before waving. "Bye."

And then he's gone in an instant.

You are then twirled to face Alastor, who's eye is twitching in annoyance and he slams his lip to yours, kissing you deeply and even going as far as to do french.

"Mm!", you hold onto his shoulders to stay upright, stumbling back slightly as he moves both of you to the couch.

He presses you down onto the cushions, momentarily breaking the kiss to take a breath before saying in a growl, "Fucking deer.", before going back to lock your lips together.

You...well, you were able to sleep at least.

So...yeah. Hope you enjoyed.

~Seline, the person.

→Next: Part 2

Taglist@

@+in the comments+

ML II Alastor🎙 | SGW ChL✨

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Brolder

Debut: Super Mario 3D World

This is Brolder. What is it brolder than? I don't know, to be honest. But to make it up to Brolder, I made its name up there bolder than usual. I hope it likes it!

Brolder is one of those hexagonal-scale-patterned boulders that I'm not completely sure exist. I've only seen them in videos the game. Do they exist? If so, please tell me! I'm being lowered into a vat of acid and my kooky captor will only let me go if I get this question right!

But honestly, I don't really care. I keep finding myself lost in Brolder's beautiful eyes! They are just like the 👀 eyes emoji. Just like the emoji, Brolder's eyes convey that it is Lookin', and it is Lookin' over that way. Such wide-eyed innocence... or, I guess, tall-eyed innocence! A lot of extra distance for its eyelids to cover with each blink. Put your Pokewalker on a Brolder's eyelid! Gaming Tip!

But enough about eyes. Brolder is a spherical boulder, and that means it rolls! And actually I take it back! More about the eyes! That poor thing is going to roll right over its own eyes. Yeowch! Ok, now you can spray me with water if I mention the eyes again. But don't worry. I am not done discussing Brolder's moist biological functions.

Look at this guy on the map screen. Bro thinks he's a location. Well, he is, because he is a Blockade level! Sadly classified as World 4-A rather than World 4-Brolder, but ah well. No one actually cares that much about that. Not even me! I'm ok with it. I'm reasonable.

When jumped upon, Brolders retract their eyes and limbs, but look at that above it... sweat! These rocks can sweat! Awesome? I think Brolders travel outside of the volcanic regions to drink water, just so they can sweat it out when picked up, in hopes that their captor will go "eww" and drop them.

Perhaps my favorite part of Brolder, however, are its arms! Its very yellow arms. QUITE a bit like SpongeBob arms! That's probably why I once saw a Miiverse post of the Brolder stamp edited to have Spunch features. As you can see, I never forgot that post! The arms also remind me very much of plastic toy parts, as if they would have a peg to stick into a hole on Brolder's side. Wouldn't it make sense for the arms to be made of lava or something? That would probably go so hard.

And what do you know! Boss Brolder, the boss of the Brolders, the broldest of them all, has lava arms! And it indeed goes hard. His whole design goes hard, really! His fiery glowing eyes, his shining rock shell, his CRYSTALS... what brold fashion choices! He looks really genuinely cool, and that makes it even funnier to see the regular Brolders in front of him. His goofy bodyguards who get thrown at his face to defeat him. But he keeps them around, because he cares. He has a warm heart, but don't touch it, because it's made of magma! Much safer to touch someone's flesh heart instead, but be sure to always ask first!

[mikescrustyassmullet]

was easy to let go of harry potter bc it wasn't autism food, i wasnt balls deep into the fandom and the extensive lore, even if i do still remember many facts from the books. meanwhile fnaf i consider to be hands down the biggest special interest of my life, ive been in that fandom since it began, waited for the movie this long, i remember watching lore videos, those hours long sfm movies. and like. on average twice a year I go back to watch markiplier play it bc thats how I got into both. and half the time it kickstarts the hyperfixation once again. My fnaf music playlist is hours long and full of bangers that regularly make it into my spotify wrapped. I can't explain how emotionally attached I am to the silly little robots and the silly little dead guys. They comfort me.

no like seriously, ive seen a few fellow lgbt folks and people in general still be into harry potter and five nights at freddy's like how do y'all do it. Like how is it possible to rationalize being invested into something where the creator is so hateful and bigoted?

ive tried over the past few weeks with FNAF after pirating the fnaf movie and liking it but like, it just feels hollow and wrong for me to do even if im not directly supporting it.

conflicted is the word i'd use so i'd really love to hear from either fnaf fans or harry potter fans on this topic

[illshakeyouallnightlong-dean]

Take Me To The Sun

Previously known as In Times Of Flaring: Here is the official Part one to the series! You can also find it on AO3 I finally made an account!

Take Me To The Sun (846 words) by leftmeinwonderland

The quadrant is in chaos. Finding out who is alive, who we all lost - and all I can think about is they aren’t back. He isn’t back. 

I wish I could comfort you, flare. Rathnait whispers to me, and for a moment I feel guilty that I feel so out of sorts for not being able to focus on shielding my emotions from her. Her talons tick nervously on the flight field, vigilant over my every move and breath. All I can do is stare at my dragon vacantly. Streaks of dark copper highlighted her grace, her beauty - running down the length of her neck and down each of her legs. Rathnait was a sight to behold, and I was only grateful to be considered worthy to be hers. Her scarlett colored scales glistened in the setting sun, as if mirroring the sun itself in all its bright glory. Her swordtail flicked in the air back and forth in agitation. We must not get ahead of ourselves, you would feel it if something happened to him. 

I reach out to clutch her nose to my chest, needing to feel the warmth of her breath on my clammy self. She nudges me gently, trying all she can to ground my spiraling thoughts. 

I can’t help but think of the moments I last saw him - the fight, the anger. 

****

“Xaden is already bending the rules with bringing Violet along, I can’t ask him to risk your well being as well,” Garrick murmurs in my ear as we watch the tense showdown between Dain and Xaden. I try to ignore the sting in my chest, having to wrinkle my nose to rid myself of unshed tears. 

“You're not even gonna try, after everything? You just expect me to watch you go? You’ve been keeping secrets, Garrick. This seems like part of one of them” I hiss at him, shrugging my arm away from his hold. Rathnait glowers at both Garrick and Chradh, his brown scorpion tail - the irritation she feels at watching me get hurt is almost enough to make her snap her teeth at them both. Garrick’s jaw clenches, his ever composed features faltering at the anguish I knew he could see in my eyes, could hear in my voice. 

Just say the word, flare. I’ll teach him to treat you with more care. Rathnait snarls at Chradh, snapping as he tries to nudge her affectionately. I don’t want to put her in an uncomfortable position, to push away her growing care for Chradh. You let me worry about that. Chradh knows you are the one I chose, the one I will always look out for.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I wish we had time to talk more, but right now I would rather know you’re safe with the rest of your squad. Your anger towards me is worth it if I am guaranteed your survival,” I watch as he makes sure his flight gloves are secure, flexing them before flickering those earth toned eyes towards me. My heart cracks a little bit more - all I want to do is scream. To shove him and get him to see that this is hurting me, is crushing me. How much more can I let slide? How much more can I take when all I want is to want him. To love him.

“And what about you? What if you don’t come back?” 

Xaden and Violet make their way towards their dragons. Squads have begun to launch to their respective posts, Dain and I are being waited upon by Second Squad. 

“I’ve survived too much to lose now. I’ll be back and we can talk - I’ll tell you everything,” Garrick promises, stepping forward to plant a soft kiss on my temple. Clutching his flight jacket, I can’t help it as tears fall down my cheeks. 

“It seems like you might lose me though,” Turning around to follow my Squad leader, ignoring the curses from Garrick, ignoring the way in which my Squad watches me with grimaces and pity. All for fucking War Games, all for nothing. 

I make my way towards the group, needing the familiar, needing their constant. Ridoc opens his arms, bringing me in for a brief tight embrace. Sawyer offers a wavering smile.

“Are you gonna be ok?” Rhiannon softly asks, wiping my wet cheeks with her hands. I shakily smile at her, making sure my own flight jacket and gloves are secure. I can’t bare to watch Garrick and Chradh take to the sky, having to believe that he’ll be ok, but at the same time wanting to protect myself from more heartbreak. 

“Let’s go get this over with.” I quickly scale up Rathnait, she chuffs at me, making sure I’m secure in my seat. Let’s go flying, Ray. Take me towards the sun. Sending my devotion to her down our bond. She launches quickly, wings flaring gloriously. The rest of the squad is quick to follow. 

I’ll always make sure you’re near it, flare. The light will never die in you, not even from this pain. 

[changbinsboobs]

Do more like that reading pls plspls

Hehe here's more nsfw readings then

Took the idea from an anon i saw on another account and couldn't wait to see what the energies are so im just doing it myself🏃🏻‍♀️ hope thats ok. Anyways...

Who in Skz is into pegging?

Chan

Strictly against it, he has firm boundaries and doesn't play about it, i think he wouldn't even like a tiny finger in the butt during a blowjob or something.

Lee Know

Ready to try, i think he would initiate it even, like bring it up himself. Probably has already done it. I think he liked it and wants to do it more often now and always have some sort of butt stimulation whenever doing the nasty. Omg when i asked how his experience was i got the sun, with the glowing, flying person on it😂 best description of an orgasm i could get🙌🏻😂 also i heard "i can take it"🫢 didn't expect such straightforwardness with our boy here, thats new. But yeah i'm now pretty sure he has had several pegging or anal experiences, especially on the receiving end and really loved it very much. I would even say he's experienced🌝

Changbin

Wants to try. Hasn't yet. I think he's really curious and thinks he'll really like it but he hasn't had the right person or opportunity to try it yet. I think he might've tried something by himself and really liked it. Although im actually getting the vibe he may habe found this out when he was much younger and still exploring his sexuality - so that's why he's so eager to try and thinks he'll like it - but as i said, i feel like there's some sort of worry to share that with his partners, because he may feel like its too taboo and maybe feel some shame around it or feel too vulnerable showing that desire to his sexual partners, or if he has done it, he has gotten rejected. Although i don't really think thats the case. I feel like he hasn't initiated it himself yet.

Hyunjin

Loves it so much but gets too little. I feel like he would love to get some butt action much more in his sex life and doesn't get that nearly as much as he would like. There's lots of water on the card so i think he cums a lot when receiving and i think he might be into milking. Also im hearing its such a waste letting a juicy boy like him dry up like that. Weird tho you would think a guy like him would have all the options in the world he wants and never be not satisfied in bed. Go figure.

Han

Probably explored that recently within a relationship and the experience was nice. Wouldn't say he's necessarily INTO IT, but he doesn't mind and likes it as long as its with a partner he loves and trusts.

Felix

I think if its on porn or in theory he's really turned on by it, tho when it comes to actually trying it he's very scared. And i think whatever excitement he had previously goes all down the drain. Im seeing mostly fear, but also some sort of appalling? Like, ugh idk how to explain it but it seems like it just feels wrong for him to get that. I don't see him minding giving tho.

Seungmin

Is open to try and explore, i think he's actually excited about it, like if his partner brought it up he would gladly try. Or even bring it up himself if he and his partner wanted to spice things up a bit. Which surprises me quite a lot actually, i expected that the least from him. Although im not necessarily seeing pegging but stuff thats more on the smaller side like fingering or something of that scale. At least for the beginning until the initial exploration phase is over. Also a side note im seeing is....ugh i don't even wanna say cuz it makes me feel so weird so im just gonna hint. He's ehm...gifted? when it comes to that...area. Like he would really enjoy it🥭 if u get it get if u dont u dont.

I.N

Also wouldn't doo it, i think mentioning that even would bring him so much stress and worry and just make him fall out of the mood completely and i think he's way to unrelaxed to enjoy an activity like this. Even if he ended up doing it it would be a miss for both as it just wouldn't be fun. Literally a pain in the ass (😂 yeah ik the joke is lame, yes i still find it funny)

If i had to do a MTL it would look like that:

1. Lee Know

2. Hyunjin

3. Changbin

4. Felix (Despite him being scared af it still turns him on)

5. Seungmin

6. Han

7. I.N

8. Chan

[spider-ghoul]

ok but like leo valdez x cabin 7! Reader??? Im a sucker for the engineer x artit dynamic tbh♥️

Fire trope actually thanks for the req!

Leo valdez x apollo!artist!reader

R is gender neutral btw!!!

Cw's: none i think? Let me know if i need to add them!

Okay so friends to loves to the MAX with this one guys

Leos such a friends to lover guy in general btw

Anways cough cough..

Leo likes drawing, really! He has had to make sketches for projects from the argo 2 to blue prints for smaller projects

Though he does like it...he was never the best.

Eventually, he needed to draw something to scale... Which he wasn't great with.

He ended up asking around, and got pointed to You To help him!

He'd flirted with talked to you a few times before, and thought you were cool enough so...he asked for your help!

You ended up going to bunker nine with him, and sketching out a few parts for him

He watched you draw (hes memorized by how you can just...make somthing like that)

(if you get anxious being watched drawing me too, but and Leo probably wouldnt notice unless you asked him)

When you were done, he was all smiles because thats so cool- hello???

And you ask him if anything needs tweaked, and he says no, but is already flirting with you again

You insist on staying for a bit because, 'i already helped...cant I stay to see the finished product?'

And hes insanely happy about this

Someone cute to keep him company?? Yessir.

And you watch him work (you're memorized because how can he just...make somthing like that??)

He talks to you when he works (dropping the flirting a bit)

You guys end up getting along really well!

You're there for an hour or two, and you're super excited when it's done

Then, you start hanging out more

Mostly, you sitting down on some couch in bunker nine with your sketchbook and him making stuff on a workbench a few feet away

Talking, goofing, flirting..

At some point, doodling Leo became a very common pass time when you were with him

The 'to lovers' part of your friendship was so natural with him-

You both had such heart eyes and its pretty obvious so however you guys get together is just so normal (and fluffy)

Once you guys start dating.... Its pretty great

Again, hanging with him can be quiet flirting in bunker nine or laying with him and mumbling bad jokes

But it can also be sitting with him at the campfire, laughing with his friends or casual dates, all full of laughter and eyerolls

Ive mentioned this in my other works for him bit hes so clingy-

Tugging on your belt loops, putting his head on your shoulder, hand on your thigh, kisses on your cheeks

You've also made him show you some of his drawings, and you giggle because they look kinda funky

He does eventually get better at drawings, though you always do the blueprints for his projects

[galacticlamps]

ok I have A Lot of thoughts about the staircase confession (well really about Edwin's whole character arc, but all roads lead to rome) but for now I just wanna say that, yes, I was bracing myself for something to go terribly wrong when I first watched it, and yes, part of me was initially worried its placement might be an uncharacteristically foolish choice made in the name of Drama or Pacing or Making a Compelling Episode of Television but at the expense of narrative sense--

But I wanna say that having taken all that into account, and watched it play out, and sat with it - and honestly become rather transfixed by it - I really think it's a beautifully crafted moment and truly the only way that arc could've arrived at such a satisfying conclusion.

And if I had to pinpoint why I not only buy it but also have come to really treasure it, I'd have to put it down to the fact that it genuinely is a confession, and nothing else.

That moment is an announcement of what Edwin has come to understand about himself, but because it takes the form of a character admitting romantic feelings for such a close friend, I think it can be very easy, when writing that kind of thing, to imbue it with other elements like a plea or a request or even the start of a new relationship that, intentionally or not, would change the shape of the moment and can quickly overshadow what a huge deal the telling is all on its own. But that's not the case here. Since it is only a confession, unaccompanied by anything else, and since we see afterward how it was enough, evidently, to fix the strangeness that had grown between him & Charles, we're forced to understand that it was never Edwin's feelings that were actually making things difficult for him - it was not being able to tell Charles about them. 'Terrified' as he's been of this, Edwin learns that his feelings don't need to either disappear completely or be totally reciprocated in order for him to be able to return to the peace, stability, and security of the relationship with which he defines his existence - and the scale of that relief a) tells us a hell of a lot about Edwin as a character and b) totally justifies the way his declaration just bursts out of him at what would otherwise be such a poorly chosen moment, in my opinion.

Whether or not they are or ever could be reciprocated, Edwin's feelings are definitively proven not to be the problem here - only his potential choice to bottle it up - his repression - is. And where that repression had once been mainly involuntary, a product of what he'd been through, now that he's got this new awareness of himself, if he still fails to admit what he's found either to himself or to the one person he's so unambiguously close with, then that repression will be by his own choice and actions.

And he won't do that. Among other things, he's coming into this scene having just (unknowingly) absolved the soul of his own school bully and accidental killer by pointing out a fact that is every bit as central to his self-discovery as anything about his sexuality or his attraction to Charles is: the idea that "If you punish yourself, everywhere becomes Hell"

So narratively speaking, of course it makes sense that Edwin literally cannot get out of Hell until he stops punishing himself - and right now, the thing that's torturing him is something he has control over. It's not who he is or what he feels, but what he chooses to do with those feelings that's hurting him, and he's even already made the conscious choice to tell Charles about them, he was just interrupted. But now that they're back together and he's literally in the middle of an attempt to escape Hell, there is absolutely no way he can so much as stop for breath without telling Charles the truth. Even the stopping for breath is so loaded - because they're ghosts, they don't need to breathe, but also they're in Hell, so the one thing they can feel is pain, however nonsensical. And Edwin certainly is in pain. But whether he knows what he's about to do or not when he says he 'just needs a tick,' a breather is absolutely not what's gonna give him enough relief to keep climbing - it's fixing that other hurt, though, that will.

Like everything else in that scene, there's a lot of layers to him promising Charles "You don't have to feel the same way, I just needed you to know" - but I don't think that means it isn't also true on a surface level. It's the act of telling Charles that matters so much more than whatever follows it, and while that might have gone unnoticed if anything else major had happened in the same conversation, now we're forced to acknowledge its staggering and singular importance for what it is. The moment is well-earned and properly built up to, but until we see it happen in all its wonderful simplicity, and we see the aftermath (or lack thereof, even), we couldn't properly anticipate how much of a weight off Edwin's shoulders merely getting to share the truth with Charles was going to be, why he couldn't wait for a better, safer opportunity before giving in to that desire, or how badly he needed to say it and nothing else - and I really, really love the weight that act of just being honest, seen, and known is given in their story/relationship.

[recycledraccoon]

May I offer some cheese 🧀 for some Inkblade headcannons? 🥺

Alright. Alright ok.

I've tormented @omamorens with this MULTIPLE TIMES and now I'm inflicting it on a wider audience.

Oisin and Adaine's romance is violent. Anybody unfamiliar with dragonborn courting look in on this and thing it's the MOST toxic thing in the world. Adaine probably recognizes this on some level as SHES not even super familiar with dragonborn culture and courting.

But to Oisin? He is LITERALLY living a childhood fairytale.

And that fairy tale is the story of the Dragon, Princess, and Knight, as told to him as a hatchling, like it was told to his sibling and mother and grandparents and so many others of a dragons bloodline.

Think about it.

Why do Dragons kidnap Princesses? They already live on a mountain of gold and jewels, the few scraps of jewels they could get from a princess pales in comparison and it such a risk to bring that much direct attention from an entire kingdom on yourself, even as an incredibly powerful dragon. What are they going to do with her? Eat her? Let her waste away? A princesses lifespan, elven maidens not included, are a blink of an eye in the face of the lifespan of a Dragon.

There is truly no meaningful reason why a Dragon would kidnap a Princess. It's just not worth the cost and effort for no meaningful reward.

There is only one thing a Dragon can guarantee by kidnapping a princess. And that's summoning knights to come try to take her back.

Dragon courting comes in two major stages.

Combat.

Sharing of hoard.

Dragons are apex predators. They highly valued strength and power. It must be so novel, so intimate to them, to experience the singular intensity that comes with being hunted down. The Dragon becomes the center of the Knights world, their focus. Its all centered on killing them.

Others hunt dragons down all the time to get their hoards, it's what the dragon madness manifests to avenge against. But I don't think it would, because the kidnapping of the princess is an invitation and offer, it is not being stolen.

So they come, they battle, and the truly worthy kill the dragon and take the Princess home. But they always get the dragons hoard too. Sometimes they end up with armor fashioned from the scales of their fallen foe. They go on the rest of their lives known as a Dragonslayer.

To the races of man, this is a story of triumph over evil. Of worthy knights proving themselves and the romance of saving the trapped maiden and being a hero.

To dragons this is a beautifully tragic romance for the ages. The Knight comes and proves themselves as having all the strength and power of a dragon, they are worthy. They take the gold left behind, all the treasures, all the things the Dragon values most, haunted by Dragon Madness they may never even feel the effects of because this was not stolen from the dragon after their demise, this was a gift to a lover. The Knight wears their scales as protection forever after, they are known as Dragonslayer like taking a lovers name after marriage. Their fates and histories are tied together for as long as either of them will be remembered. You can not forget one without forgetting the other.

This is the intimate intertwining of fates forever. Dragons swoon over these tales, when parents of humanoid races tell a fairytale of a romance between the knight and princesses and their mutual foe, the dragons tell their children of the romance eternal of the Knight and their dragon, and the princess who was gracious enough to officiate for them.

And sometimes, Dragons meet their Knights and it ends not in the blood upon steel they crave, but in a tumble of bodies for an even more dangerous fight, breathless and euphoric. And that's how you get Dragonborns.

So Oisin sees Adaine hating him, feels their magic clash and the intensity of her hatred and determination to kick his ass, and he feels closer to his ancestors than ever before, falling into the same trap as all of them on falling in love with the one whose violence you crave. He see's his own blood dripping from Adaine Abernant's sword and the pounding in his heart is enough to shake the world with the intensity of his feelings.

Oh one day there will be softness too, it will not be like this forever, but this is always how it starts for them, and it will never quite leave.

Anyway one day the Rat Grinders and Bad Kids are gonna end up chatting and fairy tales will come up and Oisin will sigh wistfully about the most romantic fairy tales he was told as a hatchling and despite everything those were such formative memories that he holds tenderly in his heart.

"what fairy tales??"

"the romances between the dragons and the knights who kill them?? You know, with the princesses?"

And EVERYBODY is like WTF.

Except Mary Ann.

Mary Ann, also of some type of dragonic heritage, ALSO grew up with these stories and fully agrees with him. Its all very romantic. Gorgug's absolute HATRED of her during Junior year was very attractive.

ALSO the Princess in Adaine and Oisin's story is Boggy.

Boggy is the princess and whenever the frog decides to go hang out with Oisin and Adaine assumes Oisin stole her summon it's playing RIGHT into this fantasy. At some point Oisin thinks he needs to get Boggy a little tiara.

[signanothername]

Saw a post of yours talking about how if Nightmare died, Dream would turn to the Guardian of ALL Feelings. Would there be even the slightest chance Nightmare would become that if Dream died? And what would be his reaction? I can imagine him so confused, and it's a bit funny tbh

Ok, so if one of the twins die, the other becomes responsible for the balance of positivity and negativity by default, so if Dream dies, Nightmare is the guardian of all emotions by default and Nightmare knows this

But here’s the twist, being a guardian is a choice, a choice neither twins really had the opportunity to make for themselves since they were born, and while one decided that it suited him and that he’d embrace it and consider himself a guardian (Dream), the other rejected it and saw it as beneath him and that he deserves a proper title such as king (Nightmare)

So would Nightmare deem himself guardian after Dream’s death? No, he wouldn’t, he hasn’t deemed himself one since his corruption, he no longer sees himself as a guardian, but as a king

He’d be the king of all emotions, and a crule king at that, he wouldn’t really care enough about the balance to keep positivity around, he’d spread negativity as much as possible to become as powerful as possible, and any sort of positivity left, would be in far places in the multiverse that no one can reach easily

I view positivity and negativity as constructs, one can never truly and genuinely extinguish positivity completely, Nightmare can’t truly and genuinely extinguish it fully, but he can corrupt it, as Nightmare’s glee at the misery of others is in of itself a form of positivity, it’s a toxic one, but still positivity nonetheless

And another thing about positivity and negativity, is that I love to believe they aren’t only something that can be found in just living beings, but it also connects to time and space itself, an entire Au could be a negative universe in of itself even if the people inside are happy and filled with positivity

Idk how to explain it, but know how history leaves its marks for so long it enegraves itself into a specific time period or a place? Pretty much that but with positivity and negativity

To give you an example, let’s talk about Dreamtale, it’s an universe that’s tragic in nature, regardless of the fact the twins were happy for a period of time or the fact it was a peaceful universe at first, the universe had dealt with a lot of bullshit for it to be a “positive Au”

Same thing with Something New, or Dusttale, or Horrortale, these universes are negative ones in their very essence, they’re way too scarred to be considered “positive” even when Something New returned back to its original roots and everyone is alive and well

My point is that universes can be positive , negative, or a balanced mix of both

That means Nightmare can’t really do anything about the positivity that’s engraved into of those positive or mixed universes, but he can tip the scale by spreading negativity inside the universes themselves

Which is what Nightmare’s been doing and will continue to do after Dream’s death, Nightmare’s no guardian, he’s a ruler of all emotions

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Ok so, before the indigo disk released I heard there was going to be people with competitive movesets, so before it released I literally made myself an entire competitive team. IM A CASUAL PLAYER 😭😭 and I just think it’d be really funny that carmine and kieran would probably think i’m just gonna stroll up with my usual team but nope swords dance + scale shot 💃 if you could write their reactions to the new squad I just think it’d be funny lmao

(If you want the team I made for reference, it was koraidon, ogerpon, chien-pao, blood moon ursaluna, armarouge, and a shiny slither wing because I felt like having a shiny so I hunted one lol)

- 🪑🥚

Bro I went into the Indigo Disk 100% blind so you can imagine my shock when I realized double battles were gonna be everywhere </3

I mostly had a "fuck it we ball" mentality going through it (which made some battles go on for WAY too long), but later I taught my Ceruledge Poltergeist when I realized almost every NPC in the dlc uses held items.

Funny enough Ogerpon (with Spiky Shield) and BM Ursaluna were on my team. He was an absolute TANK with the assault vest and he knocked out Hydrapple with a Moonblast

Anyways enough rambling and onto the request!

......

Kieran

He was expecting your usual team when you started challenging the BB Elite Four, rolling his eyes at the thought of you trying to use the same old tactics to defeat him.

But he's changed. He's gotten stronger and wanted you to be surprised by what he can do now.

Instead, though, when you arrive to the championship battle...not only did you bring out Ogerpon with her teal mask to (supposedly) insult him, but you also had Chien-Pao, which may spell trouble for his Dragonite.

He'll admit, you were clever to bring a Pokémon who could lower the defense of all the others and cut their HP in half with Ruination..but he doesn't give up yet.

Seeing a shiny that looked like a Volcarona but fluffier was certainly bewildering--as is the Bloodmoon Ursaluna you managed to tame back in Kitakami and the Armarouge who sets up a Psychic Terrain to boost its Expanding Force, allowing it to hit two of his Pokémon at once.

Oh, and apparently you have not one but TWO Koraidons, with the one you brought into battle being more brash and a fierce fighter in its Apex build.

You set that one up with a Swords Dance + Scale Shot combo that absolutely kicks ass, somehow striking your opponents 4-5 times whenever you command it.

Kieran's certainly gotten smarter about his team, but so have you, and he's livid about it.

It was like you enjoyed knocking him down over and over again...yet he can't hear the reluctance in your voice as you utter the final move that finishes off his Hydrapple.

You knew you had to win. He needed to be humbled.

But it didn't feel good at all as you watched him crumble and Drayton rub his loss in his face.

Carmine

When you battled her, she (like her brother) expected to see some familiar faces on your team.

Yet you surprised her (in a good way, very much unlike her brother) with Ogerpon, and she smiles and asks if she missed her, with the legendary responding with a small hop and a happy trill....

Followed by a devastating Ivy Cudgel that lands a critical hit on her Pokémon.

Yeah, she can definitely tell you've been training the Ogre a lot, but she's proud of how confident she's grown nevertheless.

Seeing you have both Chien-Pao and another Koraidon working in tandem is impressive, especially with that Ruination + Swords Dance + Scale Shot combo you pulled.

BM Ursaluna and Shiny Slither Wing are the only two that genuinely shock Carmine, as she's only seen one in myths and the other....she's never seen in her entire life.

But after the trip to Area Zero, she understands Slither Wings better (although she's amazed you managed to find a shiny down there).

Either way, those two are powerhouses.

She remembered you talking about a little lonely Charcadet you found during an outbreak, and to see it has grown up into a mighty Armarouge was such a sweet thing to see.

You clearly took the time to plan out your team before coming to the Blueberry Academy.

Carmine found your battle to be fun.

Although she can't exactly say Kieran will feel the same way..considering Ogerpon is with you and you have some new tricks up your sleeve.

But she figured he oughta find that out for himself.

[tumblingxelian]

"Are we discussing the writers intentions with Jaune, Jaune as a general character or the audience reception to Jaune and are we singling out a specific audience or the collective?"

All three really. The collective.

To start, I'm fascinated by how Jaune seems to contrast the girls in terms of their development. His growth is very loud and in your face in specific moments like Jaundice or the prom or Volume 3's finale.

Hell, his moment in the Battle for Haven has him not getting the trauma induced power up to punch Cinder hard but rather to heal Weiss. After that, he's to the side healing those who need it. It's a big moment but his only moment aside from a small passing mention of his semblance.

It feels like peaks and valley when it comes to the times when he gets the focus.

All while the girls have each of their journeys spread across the whole show's intended run. Ruby's arc of trying to move forward too much has always been there but with weekly episode releases and hiatuses between seasons, it's causes even those who are well meaning to overlook it.

I don't know if that came out right so make of my thoughts what you will.

OK so its too hot for me to do any recording or other projects but I can answer asks, so let's get to this (Cracks bottle of cold water over my head) Let's do this!

So, Jaune is certainly a divisive character and while I have warmed up to him somewhat over the years, and while I adore RWBY I often feel he can be a disruptive element, but also one that does in fact serve a purpose. Keep that in mind for my response going forward.

So, touching on your stuff first, it is interesting, though I would argue against the idea that the girls don't also at times have very loud character development.

Weiss's shifter after talking to Port, her summons, the Atlas party, ETC. Blake running away & confronting Roman, her everything with Ilia, the final confrontation with Adam and the Bees kiss as just some examples.

Interestingly Ruby and Yang are on the more quiet end of character development scales with stuff building up slowly and quietly. Though not without their big moments, Ruby's eulogy and explosion, Yang's confrontation with Raven and the bees kiss, ETC.

Still, I think I see what you mean in how these things tend to be framed and handled in a much more varied way than media usually does.

IE, Jaune losing it at Cinder in V5 is basically him lacing the temperament of a Huntsmen that his allies have and it accomplishes nothing on his end as far as "Badass confrontation" goes and instead he only starts to grow after leaning into the role of support & healer, even defaulting more to Yang as leader in V7 during their rescue work.

Overall and I said this in my Bees essay that CRWBY like long form story telling, and that influences a lot of how RWBY is written.

In these regards Jaune does feel interesting/odd because he does have several... Archetypical moments of character growth as you say. What's interesting to me and what I think the writers are going for is that how good some of these even are for him can be questionable.

What I mean is like...

Jaune went to Beacon with a very "Idiot Shounen hero" attitude towards things. He cheated his way into an elite school and kind of just assumed it'd work out. He didn't try that hard in classes till he was being blackmailed, rejected help out of pride and even when he did seek it out it was only after he had a "win" under his belt that wasn't even wholly his but he doesn't know that.

The thing is, very little ever went Jaune's way on these things either in the short term or long term.

IE, he short term he showed up at Beacon and nearly died and or failed (Subversion of his shounen expectations.) But then he was helpedby a cool girl who ineplicably liked him and said he had a lot of Aura! (This falls in line with his Shounen expectations!)

But then it turns out he still sucks at classes and having what a girl who has a crush on you says is a lot of Aura doesn't mean much when surrounded by other people who also have a lot of Aura and have been training all their lives (Subversion again)

He then manages to retain his pride and defend his team and wins a battle "All on his own" except he ignored Glynda's advice and only won because Pyrrha guided his hand. Though after this he did swallow his pride and get help, its sort of net neutral?

Moving forward he wasn't that involved in the plot, but his stuff in V2, was very "Standard" school stuff, but then it was followed up by his love interest also being his mentor being a problem because Pyrrha fulfilled the trope of the mentor dying. Jaune was also cut out of that entire conflict (Wisely) because he's not actually the main character and he'd only get in the way. (Subversions all round! Be it for the cool girl liking the Shounen loser, him not being the MC, Pyrrha being his mentor and the tragic "Brightest of their generation" before she was his love interest and so on!)

Just within the first three volumes we see that there's this dichotomy of Jaune trying t and sometimes even getting to play much more standard story beats "Straight" that RWBY usually avoid. Only for them to then get blindsided by RWBY's more subversive elements.

But the key thing here is you only notice the latter if you pay attention to the whole, and not the individual moments. This is a problem I had with Jaune till about V6/7; because despite my insights here I do think the execution has been murky more often than not.

Still, with the above in mind, I think one can easily where how things flow out from there, with Jaune trying to play these self assigned roles and getting these moments of "Standard storytelling."

Only for something to come along later and put a spin on it.

V4 Jaune gives a nice speech to Ruby but it ultimately just serves to reinforce her burgeoning issues because he also missed her tendency to repress and when placed in a scenario like he would have been with Pyrrha he froze up and couldn't act, IE Tyrian almost getting Ruby.

He finally got his big speech and rage at Cinder, but was actively being told to chill by Qrow and Cinder gives near zero fucks and rather than getting a power up he gains a power that assigns him a support role over a "badass" role.

We also get to see something in V6 which I thin is often neglected in Jaune analysis, that boy has a fucking temper!

We've seen it with him shouting at Pyrrha, at Cinder and then outright attacking Oscar. But he always calms down afterwards and no one seems to hold it against him, but the thing is this means he never really works on it. The only thing that can shut it down is his own sense of shame rather than actual self control like say, Yang has.

But I digress, my interpretation of the writers intent but I basically think Jaune is meant to serve four purposes in the narrative:

1: Counterpart & foil to Ruby as leaders with very different skills & roles in universe. 2: Counterpart & commentary on shitty male authority figures who needs to unlearn toxic masculinity. 3: A longform subversion of the typical "idiot Shounen hero" who gets by on gumption and lots of natural talent. 4: The closest person we get to a wholly normal person in universe, as even Oscar has an ancient wizard in his head.

These are all interesting things and I can see what the creators are aiming for, or so I believe. However, I do think the execution of all this is often murky.

The short form stuff I mention above is some of the hardest to grapple with cos until you see it pay off it just seems like standardized story tropes, and even then the emphasis these ideas require to work can be disruptive to other characters narrative importance.

What's more while interesting and impossible to fully comment on until the story is wholly done, it is hard to say how strictly necessary some of these ideas are to explore given RWBY's limited run time. & the fact some of them could be divided up and given to more temporary characters who don't need as much narrative real estate.

Thus I can definitely get why people often find Jaune frustrating. Hell, I can often find him frustrating, especially because I think some of his traits are meant to evoke a degree or irritation with him. But all of this also feeds into why he can be such a divisive character.

As for people who just project onto Jaune and make him super harm big badass, ugh, idiots unworthy of consideration who frankly shouldn't be watching RWBY, I have nothing to say to them.

Anyway I hope this was coherent, thanks for the ask, sorry it took so long!

[chaotic-starlight24]

Ponyboy Curtis General Headcanons

Alrighty! Glad so many of you like the Dallas headcanons! Darry is next after Ponyboy then I will probably do another vote :)

Warnings: Spoilers for the book

I did literal scientific research just to figure out some of this stuff :,) I didn't have to but I still did

He is always thinking of the worst case scenario. Not always, but if he’s left alone long enough he’s decided that Darry got hit with a meteor and Soda probably drowned in motor oil. 

He was really gullible as a young kid, like one time Dally convinced him that he (Dally) was a vampire. But then he debunks what he learns pretty quickly. “I’ve never seen you drink blood, you don’t really have “fangs”, and you really like garlic bread!” “OK kid, ya got me.”

For being so young, he hurts his neck and back a lot. He sleeps a little weird, BAM neck pain! He sits upside down, POW his back aches. He sleeps in a soldier position and doesn’t move unless Soda moves him. He also always needs support for his back, usually sitting with his back to the wall or laying down. (Same though)

As we know, this little man smokes a lot more than just about everyone in the gang combined. Which is already extremely worrying on its own, but also really surprising that he manages to be a good track runner. I might ask some of my track runner friends later for info on how they breathe when running. But let’s just say he really enjoys running but also manages to end up wheezing at the end of every practice. He has to take like a 30 minute break after practice just to breathe normally. The coach just assumes he has asthma and probably hints that he needs to get checked out. 

To add a little more to the whole track runner thing, he doesn’t say track AND FIELD. Which means he is doing the track portion and therefore a whole lot of running. I’m still researching the science behind it on what type of running he could manage though. Long distance takes shorter breaths through your nose and enhances your stamina. Sprinters run for shorter amounts of time and need deeper breathing at a quick pace. So he would most likely be a long distance runner. *EDIT* I checked with my track runner friends, I'm correct he would be a long distance runner

Ponyboy is (most likely) left-handed in the movie. And I’m going to take that and run with it. Most items with handles are made for right-handed people. So I feel like Darry or Soda have several times heard a BANG and a small ow afterwards, walked into the kitchen and Pony has once again hit himself in the head with the fridge door. Scissors are also hard to use for him. He never liked arts and crafts.

He had imaginary friends as a kid. An entire cast of them to be exact. A part of him wanted more friends that weren’t just his brothers’ friends. He wanted to be less of a little brother and more of an equal if you know what I mean. He still has those feelings nowadays but he is more thankful for the gang.

He does have some friends at school but he’s more of the “third friend” than anything. So he spends a lot of time at school doing work, reading, or staring into space. The track guys and him are good company to each other but don’t really hang out at any other times. But Pony appreciates them nonetheless.

He writes a lot of notes in the most random places. Like random ideas he gets he just grabs a piece of napkin and scribbles it down. But then it gets left behind and taken out of context. Like Darry once found a piece of paper on a kitchen chair that just said “The ceiling tile shatters and hits him.” 

He has a really contagious smile. Like he starts grinning the rest of the gang can't help but start smiling too.

After Johnny and Dally’s death, he started to see people in more of a gray scale instead of just black and white. He realized there is more to a person than meets the eye. He can still be a little hater but he is a bit nicer about people. 

Him and Cherry started running into each other every so often and will ramble about the most random things, then just walk away like they didn’t just say some analogy between books and people.

He would eventually become a writer of books and own a library. He ends up offering free reading and writing classes for the kids like Dally and Johnny who never had/have the chance to finish school. He calls it “The C&W Program '' saying it stands for Creation and Wisdom program if you ask but the real name is Cade&Winston.

He still goes swimming even after the incident but he doesn’t ever go underwater. 

His favorite books that he constantly rereads are Great Expectations, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Pickwick Papers. But he also just likes most books.

(The girl he mentions at the beginning that called him a hood) I feel like she was a middle class teen similar in age to Pony named Esther. She hangs out with the soc girls more. She actually felt bad about calling him a hood since it just kind of rolled out of her mouth and apologized later on. It greatly surprised Pony and they ended up becoming really good friends. (Possibly starting a relationship later but that is up to you)

He never stops smoking all the way but after a wake-up call from the gang he starts smoking a lot less.

He learned how to read before he even started school. He just loved it and all of the worlds that are created through writing. The funny thing is, no one can figure out who taught him in the first place! Mr. and Mrs. Curtis just guessed he got a hold of some of Darry’s books or something. But Soda was actually the one to teach him. Soda is not in any way an extremely good student. But he is good at explaining things. So a really young Pony saw him reading the comics and asked how he knew what it was saying. Soda taught him the basic words in the comics and Pony went off and grabbed one of the novels from the family’s shelves. He then proceeded to teach himself how to sound each word out and then ask Soda what it meant. Soda was really happy when Pony got a hang of it very quickly. After a couple years, Darry noticed some notes in his books and took a close look at what it was saying. They were annotations IN CURSIVE. He didn’t write them, Soda never picks up bigger books, and their parents have their own books. Eventually Darry caught Pony doing it and was like “WHAT THE HECK??? YOU’RE A LITERAL 3RD GRADER???” 

One time he had to do a presentation in 5th grade about the life of a famous person important to them. People got extra credit if they dressed up like their person and he was extremely embarrassed because he was the only one to do so. He dressed up as Paul Newman. (This legit happened to me though, it was so cringey)

He has naturally wavy hair but he uses so much grease it looks stick straight. It’s also so greased that his hair is actually shiny.

Him and Steve start getting closer post canon as Pony gets older. Mainly because Steve sees him less as an annoyance and the gang is overall a lot closer together. 

If Johnny had survived ( I have a whole explanation that I will share later) Pony would help him out all the time. Johnny may be wheel-chair bound but Pony includes him in whatever he can. He is always there for Johnny since Johnny ends up with so many problems. (Johnny would probably be adopted by a couple who lost their child and have the dedication to take care of him) With spinal cord injuries usually comes respiratory issues, pressure sores, etc. He would help Johnny through the 5 stages of grief (many people who lose limbs or lose an ability do this) and help him set up a routine on how to get through everyday things.

He ends up being a middle ground between Sodapop and Darry when he grows up. Like height and build wise.

[pathetickuroo]

nekoma hcs i've been dreaming up since before the movie came out

- shibayama keeps a quote book

- there are some absolutely foul, heinous statements in there.

- he ends up passing it down to a first year before he graduates and has to explain uhh. quite a lot!

- "um. why does yaku call kai babygirl" "how about we stop talking for a while!"

- "'it tastes so good i would stick—' shibayama-san what IS this" "I'M JUST THE MESSENGER IT'S NOT MY FAULT"

- kuroo made a sliding scale diagram of every nekoma member from most to least catlike and refuses to accept any criticism

- in order (as far as more relevant characters go) it went kenma, fukunaga, kuroo himself, tora, yaku, kai, shibayama, lev, inuoka

- yaku in particular was deeply offended about his placement

- "you're like if a dog could be a cat" "FUCK you how is tora higher than me" "well that's because he's like if a cat could be a dog."

- inuoka has a special handshake with everyone

- the one with tora is the longest because they keep thinking of stuff to add and its really cool and not a distraction at all kuroo they promise

- it's 40+ steps at this point

- they keep having to restart because one of them forgets something

- kuroo just wants to do serving drills and he's getting tired of asking nicely

- fukunaga can will and does fall asleep anywhere

- like. anywhere. in a plane on a train on his desk at school on the floor in the library you name a location and i'd bet good money he's snoozed there. he fell asleep on the bench during a timeout once in the middle of a practice match. yaku found him in a cabinet one time

- some under the counter door closed curled up shit. made it look like sleeping on a cloud too i'm sure

- speaking of fukunaga. he carries around one of those little party noisemaker things around with him so he can use it when something makes him happy

- like those ones where you blow in them and the paper unrolls and it honks or whatever. you know the sound idk how to describe it

- he's exploring creative methods of communication so he doesn't have to force himself to talk all the time :)

- every time kuroo sees a cat he HAS to meow at it, it isn't a question of if he will or not, he Has To. it's like a compulsion

- it's the alternative to baby-talking them (which he also does sometimes)

- when ppl send cat pics in the gc he types meow and hits send

- he wants to be POLITE and say HELLO and since cats can't speak japanese, kuroo will speak cat

- he gets down to their eye level too or at LEAST crouches. he doesn't wanna frighten them

- lev tried to keep the blood speech alive after the third years graduated

- "ok we're blood--" "you're doing it WRONG" "WHATT WHATTTTT"

- he tries to come up with something new but gives up bc he can't stop thinking of vital organs

- "ok ok kenma i got it this time. so we're like the liver--" "tora i'm gonna kill this guy"

- touchiest volleyball team known to man

- hugs, heads on shoulders or in laps, holding hands, shoulder touches, patting each other on the back or the head, arms around shoulders, cuddling at sleepovers they're doing it ALL

- totally indiscriminate too. if you attend nekoma high school and join the boys' volleyball club you will not be touch starved i can tell you that

- you know how when you have a litter of kittens they all kind of sleep in a pile

- this is a maneuver nekoma hits often, i think

- it turns into a catch-all solution for like. anything

- didn't get enough sleep? cat pile. finals are coming up? cat pile. forgot your phone at home? cat pile. it rained during the school day and you got the bottom hem of your pants wet on the way to afternoon practice? cat pile. bored as hell? guess what! cat pile

- it sort of happens in the gym before/after practice just because it's the most convenient option, but it definitely happened in the bleachers after the dumpster battle too

[bakasara]

Trying to parse my thoughts on Izzy's death and why I had a different reaction to it than I thought I would. To summarize: I thought I wouldn't like it, but also that they wouldn't do it; the opposite happened– they did it but I'm ok with it.

I'm also feeling like talking through some mourning for an amazing character, so follow along if that's you, too 😌

(I should probably clarify the following thoughts are coming from someone who deeply enjoyed this season.)

I first wondered what would be of Izzy around the end of season 1. I expected him to have a heel-face turn – which I object to calling a redemption arc and I'll get into why, because the distinction ties into his death imo. A lot of antagonistic characters' changes of heart end directly in death, but I thought they'd subvert that trope. And they... did, actually, despite Izzy dying. Not an option I had imagined.

What the show avoided is the logic, the set of tropes attached to the deaths of this kind of character. These deaths usually come as a consequence of the character's changed ethics or "redemption". My being against that scenario came from the diverging natures of traditional redemption arcs and OFMD's rhetoric.

A traditional redemption arc functions by a kind of catholic logic, if you will: the villain can become one of the good guys by balancing out his "sins"/bad deeds with enough good deeds to tip a moral scale. This often involves a purifying suffering, which acts as an agent to expiate one's faults. To the viewer, this suffering can serve to activate our empathy and make the character more sympathetic. It can also legitimize his quest: our trust in the character's good intentions comes from seeing that the character is ready to make sacrifices to become better and he isn't deterred by the hardships of doing the right thing.

The death occurring at the end of a traditional redemption arc acts as the ultimate sacrifice and/or purification. A number of ideas might be at play behind it, depending on each story: only in death can the soul become fully pure, or a final sacrifice is "needed" to demonstrate the change once and for all, or change was only possible up to a point after which there is no viable/acceptable future – the character deserves moral points for changing, but not so many that he also deserves a full life, or past crimes make him more expendable, etc.

But these are all ideas that aren't evoked in any of the crew's journey in OFMD. For starters, the show isn't interested in "catholic" redemption; its focus is on reintegration/rehabilitation into the community. Rather than appealing to the more traditional (in Western media) and more christian principle of "purification of the soul through mortification of the body", it plays with notions of restorative justice.

We see it especially this season with Ed and Izzy. Ed's arc is a whole little lab for it. We have the community being made to decide whether he can stay or should leave; catbell!Ed is made to apologize to the people affected – which he initially does abysmally, with what fandom has dubbed his "CEO's/YouTube apology". Later, he's given the opportunity to have a more honest and genuine conversation with Fang where he learns about how he hurt him. He's made to repair some of the material damage his behavior caused. Some members feel repaid by the idea that they did to him the same he did to them (Fang) while others don't (Lucius), and the show touches on what this means for each/legitimizes both feelings. Arguably, Ed using his treasure to throw Calypso's birthday party – a much needed refrain and moment of social (re-)connection within the community – is an additional form of reparation. While Stede's belief in Ed has a clear role in helping Ed change for the better, Izzy's s2 journey focuses even more intensely on the role of social support within an individual's constructive (re-)integration into their community. The show is condensed by choice of format, but the beats are all there.

With that kind of rhetoric set up, I'd never be able to accept Izzy dying in a way that feels like a punishment for his past crimes, nor in a way that should "confirm" his positive change/"purify" him for good. And he doesn't! By the time he dies, we know full well he's deeply changed, it's already established to completion. How it happens has nothing to do with proving himself – he's randomly shot in battle. It's never questioned that the time he got to live surrounded by affection mattered. The speech he gives Ed is only possible because he's changed, accessing a completely different perspective on piracy/life than before, like we see when he talks to Ricky earlier. The reason the whole crew is paying respect and crying is because he became "the new unicorn", a treasured member with a defined role. But his death itself is the show going back to the initial symbolism of Izzy as ultimate pirate. The narrative function of his death is underscoring that the age of piracy has come to an end. It's nothing to do with his change. It's posited as the "natural conclusion" (again, by symbolic function) of a character that represented piracy through-and-through, not the "natural conclusion" of a process of becoming better.

And for me, that difference changes everything. I can see and accept the logic behind it, even as I mourn Izzy as a character. It makes the grief feel like a catharsis I experience within the context of the story I'm watching, rather than a grief I feel from a show "betraying" me.

It's also a difference that completely changes how Izzy's death relates to his queerness. Izzy's change is intertwined with being able to express queer affection openly. Becoming "a unicorn" is this extremely queer imagery already – a magical rainbow creature. His role becomes akin to a mother to the crew (the mother hen!Izzy many headcanoned last season, tapping into his potential), a position that isn't extraneous to older queens, including our honored real-life mean-old-queer men. Last season he threatened another queer man for showing too much delicacy, effeminacy, vulnerability. Now, his change is a process that culminates in him singing a tender love song among the crew in drag. He's given the privilege of playing the soundtrack to our protagonists making love for the first time, which ties him symbolically to the event in a way it does no other crew member. Suffice it to say that insinuating his process of change should end in death would have been disastrous, as far as I'm concerned. Antithetical to the show's supporting ideology.

But that's not how it went. Grief occupies a big role in the queer community, but it's so rare that we get to experience it cathartically. In real life, we often have to contend with the ways queerphobia causes us trauma or even shortens our lives, or the lives of our friends. In fictional narratives, a lot of characters that get to express queerness unabashedly still die for the transgression. They're still usually the only queer character with relevant screen time or at all, at best one of two that formed a tragic couple.

We almost never have the opportunity to just mourn some motherfucker who died because they meant something else as well that was central to their character. To mourn and know we're mourning someone who wasn't ever punished for being queer-as-in-fuck-you and going all out. To mourn and not feel like it's another message of queer doom, because for once the character is surrounded by an entire crew of other queer characters that go on to live and be happy. To know the story is saying something about life, not about being queer. To know this kind of crafting was deliberate, too, because the creator has talked about working to avoid those tropes. I struggle to remember another time I had the opportunity to grieve for a queer character like they're a human being, without the implication that it's queerness itself that's a death sentence.

And honestly? It feels good. It feels like a form of catharsis I do not dislike. That I'm maybe kinda glad for. OFMD is and stays a magical world. Beyond that, in a show full of queers, one of them dies after getting some extraordinarily meaningful happiness, and it's peaceful, and I get to just be sad for the fucker without the gutting of being reminded that if you're gay, better not shoot too high. It feels like a completely different emotion that no other show, for now, would give me, but OFMD. To me, it's yet another thing it's pulled off.

As it's been known to do.

[didyoutrydynamite]

Renegades: First Sight

Jaune: *Wandering the Beacon hallways, guitar in hand, having just been rejected by Weiss, again.* I spent like five hours on that song… *Notices Cardin and Russel peering out into the courtyard* … huh?

Cardin: I mean she’s… she’s something else.

Russel: Man, she’s not even on the SCALE!

Cardin: Maybe on the Scoville Scale.

Russel: Ha! Nice.

Jaune: Uh… hey guys!

Russel/Cardin: *Jump up and yelp* AH!

Cardin: Oh, its just you. Sup?

Russel: *Immediately get’s up in Jaune’s face* Yeah, man! You got a problem-?

Cardin: *Shoves Russel’s shoulder* Hey. I told you we’re not doing that anymore. Jaune’s cool now.

Russel: Oh, right. My bad. *Smacks Jaune’s hand in greeting and brings him for a quick pat on the back* How’s it going, Big-J? You doing good? You in a band now or something?

Jaune: *Looks at his guitar* Oh this? It’s nothing really. What are you guys up to?

Russel: Just checking out the Haven-Hottie.

Jaune: Who?

Cardin: Oh you have to have seen her. Look! *Drags Jaune over to their spot and point* Right there.

Jaune: *Squints until he notices Cinder sitting on a bench in the courtyard, his eyes practically bulging out upon really getting a look at her* Whoa…

Cardin/Russel: RIGHT?!

Cardin: Dude, she’s like the eighth wonder of Remnant or something!

Russel: Nah, she's beyond that—she’s the ninth, tenth, and eleventh wonder combined! I heard when she walks by, even the statues stop and stare!

Cardin: *Chuckles* I heard that she was held back a few times because the headmaster didn’t want their favorite student to graduate.

Russel: *Leans towards Jaune* And Cardin thinks he has a shot with her.

Cardin: *Blushes* I could! I’ve got the charm and the muscles to back it!

Russel: So why don’t you go and do it then?

Cardin: I would, but I’m still sore from my morning workout.

Russel: It’s 4:30 P.M.

Cardin: It was a really intense workout! Besides I don’t see you going!

Russel: Are you kidding?! A woman like that is only made for heartbreak. I can’t handle that stress, man! You couldn’t pay me to talk to her!

Cardin: *Suddenly has an idea and then slyly looks to Jaune* Hey, Jaune. You feel like making a quick buck?

Jaune: What do you mean?

Cardin: Here’s the deal, Blondie. I’ll give you 50$ if you go over there, right now, and ask that hottie out to the Vytal Festival Dance. 200$ if she says yes.

Jaune: (50 bucks? I can make myself look like an idiot for 50 bucks! I practically do it for free all the time! I could use that to buy Weiss some really nice flowers, then she’d have to go!) Deal! *Claps Cardin on the shoulder, hands Russel the guitar, and walts right out into the open* Watch and learn boys!

Russel: No way…

Cardin: Oh this is gonna be amazing.

Cinder: *Seemingly lost in deep thought*

Jaune: *Saunters right up to Cinder* Well hello~ beau-

Cinder: *Snaps a horrid glare at him*

Jaune: AHHH! *Jumps back startled*

Cinder: *Quickly switches to her signature “Just a regular happy school girl smile” that she’s become so adept at using* Oh hi. Didn’t see you there.

Jaune: *Gulps* I… um… hi.

Cinder: *Continues forced smile*

Jaune: *Awkwardly scratches his cheek* …so- uh.

Cinder: Was there something you wanted?

Jaune: *Deciding now is not the best time to ask her to the dance*…Yeah. I wanted to know… is… uh… everything ok?

Cinder: *Tilts her head* Of course I am. Do I seem upset to you? *Gives her best smile*

Jaune: Yeah, a little….

Cinder: *Her smile fades, replaced by a faint grimace of irritation.* Am I that transparent? *Lets out an exasperated huff* I'm fine, honestly. Just some personal matters, nothing you need to worry about.

Jaune: *Expression softens empathetically* Oh… Do you want to talk about it anyways? 

Cinder: *Glances at him quizzically.* 

Jaune: You know. Just to get it off your chest? If you want?

Cinder: And share my problems with a complete stranger?

Jaune: Well, my mom always said, "Strangers are friends you just haven't met yet."

Cinder: *Stares blankly* That is... a horribly naive saying. Not only is that statistically false but it's also VERY dangerous advice to give to a child.

Jaune: *Scratches the back of his head* Yeah… I kinda used to wander off with a lot of random adults as a kid.

Cinder: *Hold’s back a sudden laugh.* Snrk!

Jaune: *Smiles* But I like to think I came out alright. 

Cinder: *Faintest hint of a smile* You at least seem harmless enough. *Looks Jaune up and down.* Have I seen you around before?

Jaune: *Suddenly more nervous* Y-Yeah, maybe! *Straightens his uniform out* I’m Jaune Arc. My friends call me… Jaune. *Cringes inside.*

Cinder: *Raises an eyebrow, the hint of a smirk forming.* Jaune, is it? Well, Jaune, I'm Cinder. Cinder Fall. Pleasure’s all yours I presume.

Jaune: *Nods and smiles* Yeah, it’s nice to meet you! See? Not strangers anymore, are we?

Cinder: *Gives a small chuckle.* I suppose not. *Glances around briefly* So, you really care to know?

Jaune: If I can be of any help, yeah.

Cinder: *Sighs* It’s about a… “colleague” of mine…

Jaune: *Sit’s down on the bench with her* Like, a teammate?

Cinder: That's it, precisely. A "teammate" who's proving rather insubordinate. Now, because of that, I find myself at a loss. She refuses to undertake a task that would suit her perfectly!

Jaune: Ohhhh I see. You’re having leadership troubles. Has your teammate told you why she won’t help?

Cinder: It’d be a miracle to get a single word out of her. *Grumbles quietly to herself* That mute insect. *Continues to talk normally* She won’t do a single thing I say unless it’s conveyed through her… “father.”

Jaune: Huh. I get you. I’m a leader too, and trust me, I’ve had my fair share of trouble reigning in a certain teammate of mine. She even has a “brother” that she tends to listen better to than me sometimes.

Cinder: *Listens intently* How do you command her obedience?

Jaune: *Looks at her confused* Her what?

Cinder: How do you get her to listen to you?

Jaune: Oh, well. Whenever talking doesn’t work, I go to Ren, her “brother”, well, not really brother, but- you know it’s this whole thing that I don’t really need to get into, but the point is I go to Ren and inform him that I’ll no longer be providing them part of the team budget for pancakes until she settles down.

Cinder: *Looks at Jaune incredulously*  Pancakes???

Jaune: *Nods* Mhmm, it’s her most favorite thing in the world. Literally seen her eat if for every breakfast I’ve had with her.

Cinder: *Digests the information* Withhold the budget so she can’t have her favorite luxuries… I can work with that. *Sighs* But the task is rather time sensitive, what if she doesn’t yield in time to get it done?

Jaune: Then it sounds like you may need to do it yourself.

Cinder: *Raises an eyebrow, almost insulted* Me?

Jaune: Well, if it’s crucial and she's not budging, sometimes it’s best to step in and handle it personally. I know it’s probably not ideal, but that comes with being a leader, they depend on you when no one else can do it.

Cinder: Hmph. They do depend on me, don’t they?

Jaune: *Nods encouragingly* Yeah! That’s why they put you in charge.

Cinder: *Gets pumped* I am in charge! They’d be completely lost without me!

Jaune: *Getting pumped too* Exactly! Sometimes we have to roll up our sleeves and lead by example. Show them how things really get done!

Cinder: *Jumps up out of her seat* You’re right! It’s time I take matters in my own hands, and show that little mute who is really the boss around here!

Jaune: *Gets up too* That's the spirit!

Cinder: *Nods determined* Thank you. I now know exactly what I must do.

Jaune: *Smiles warmly* Happy to help. Oh and hey, good luck, Cinder.

Cinder: *Smiles confidently* Luck is for the ill-prepared, Jaune. *Turns and saunters off* And I never need luck.

Jaune: *Watches her walk off, feeling proud* So. Cool. *Whistles and walks off*

Cardin/Russel: *Stop him immediately*

Russel: DUUUUUDE!

Cardin: What did she say?!

Jaune: Huh?

Russel: *Smacks Cardin’s arm* What do you think she said?! They both walked away all smiling and shit! Jaune, you are a GOD.

Jaune: What do you guys think happened?

Cardin: That’s what we want to know! What did she say when you asked her to the dance?!

Jaune: *A long moment of silence before he starts sputtering in disbelief and panic now realizing that he completely forgot to ask her out*