#just to save some time and follows tee hee

[paparoach]

i think after next rollover i should have refollowed all my old mutuals :)

[pupyuj]

[cw: dubcon, exhibitionism methinks?, fingering, degradation, humiliation]

well hello! i’ve been gone a while, yes but FEAR NOT you will never get rid of me (unfortunately) 😈😈 have a mean girl wony (completely different from “magic words” wony btw!) drabble for an appetizer tee hee 😋

campus princess wony who never fucking batted an eyelash towards her suitors, even the decent ones, but could never get over how you of all things never once looked at her the way everybody does?? every time you walked past her in the hallways without sparing her ass a glance, she was seething 😭😭 but she would never—and i mean never—go out of her way to make you notice her, nope! she was going to make you obsessed with her in the most organic-but-a-bit-flawed way possible! and her best friend’s small slumber party was the best opportunity to do all that 😈

being invited by mutual friends, you showed up in the most loser fit ever that wony almost wondered why the fuck she was so interested until she watched the way you scrunched your nose to raise your glasses—so fucking cute, wony was actually mad that you gave her butterflies 😭 but even in a small group, you still refused to acknowledge her! it was unbelievable; usually people would kill to be in your place, to be that close physically with her but noooo, apparently you were some hotter shit 😒😒

wony has had the luxury of watching you this entire night… you were so cool and laid-back, you got along with everyone pretty well (except wonyoung), but you were somewhat reserved… you intrigued wonyoung, but she had to save the pleasantries and introductions later bcs holy fuck she needed to hear that pretty voice of yours whimper and moan for her 😳😳 eventually she didn’t care that you were completely ignoring her bcs all she wanted at this point was to fuck you senseless,, that oughta get your attention…

wony following you into one of the bedrooms to get some extra pillows and blankets,, saying that she was there to help until she grabbed you and pressed your up against the door,,

“what the hell are you doing?!”

“do me a favor and shut up.”

her putting one of your wrists behind your waist and pinning the other to the door as she grinds against your ass, nose up in your hair and then leaving soft kisses down the side of your neck… “w-wonyoung, what the fuck?! let me go! a-ah.. don’t…” squirming and resisting as much as you could but ofc crumbling down the moment wony’s kisses get stronger, sloppier, hungrier… completely being at her mercy eventually, moaning at every kiss she leaves on her skin as she always thought you should be… “mhm, all wet..” she whispers in your ear while she felt up your pussy through your soaked panties :((

“a-aahn..! sto—wait, they’ll hear us…”

“good. i want them to.”

holding onto wony’s wrist while she rubbed your clit harshly,, biting down on your lip but it wasn’t enough with the added pleasure of wonyoung’s breath in your ear 😣 “should’ve known this is what it would take for you to look at me… i would’ve fucked you earlier, unnie.” 🫠 her letting out a moan when she slipped two fingers inside you?? relishing in the feeling of your warmth and how tight you were,, you weren’t a virgin by any means but it still caught you off guard… having to clamp your hand around your mouth to muffle your moans,, but wony was quick to swat your hand away,, “bad unnie.” she said through gritted teeth 😵‍💫😵‍💫

the very obvious dilemma you were having with yourself was enjoyable to witness for wonyoung.. how you actively tried to resist her by your breathy “no”s and “stop”s, but would grind back against her and moan so loudly whenever her fingers hit your sweet spots 🫣 but when she notices that you were stopping yourself from cumming.. oh she got mad 😵‍💫 “still keeping the act, huh? fine then.” and she just starts fucking you harder from behind 🫠🫠 she was relentless—pumping her fingers in and out of your cunt and snapping her wrist when she hits that spot just to drive you insane, slapping your ass until it was red, leaving scratch marks on your waist... it was all very effective bcs she had you screaming immediately 😳

her ripping your pajama top off without a single care in the world,, “don’t give me that look, unnie. i’ll buy you a new one.” she jokes but not really—she can buy you a whole mall and you wouldn’t even have to ask! 🫣🫣 wony taking note of the way the sweetest, sluttiest sounds escaping your lips once her hand reaches your chest… once again being so turned on that she moans herself,, “you’re so shameless now… you love this, don’t you? you want our friends to know what exactly is being done to you, unnie, hm?” wony pinching your nipple to force you to moan loudly :(( even giggling a bit bcs she just found this so fun??

really, really talks you through when you’re close and cumming 😵‍💫😵‍💫 all up in your ear while she does all the right things to your body… bite marks and hickeys on your shoulder bcs she couldn’t resist.. holds your hips still with her free hand while she fucked you in that same merciless pace, only a lot more harder bcs wony absolutely needed to see you all broken up for her 🫢

“come on, unnie… you’ll cum for me, won’t you?”

“yes, yes…! show them, let them hear you, unnie…”

“fuck, good girl…”

omgjdhchjs she nearly came with you with how horny she was watching you fall apart on her hand… the sight of your juices dripping down your legs and pooling at your feet made wony want to fuck you right there all over again but she had to suffice with licking your cum off her fingers for now �� but wony barely letting you come back to your senses when she just leaves you in that room with nothing but a side glance bcs she’s just that bitchy??? leaving you to clean up your own mess, grab a spare shirt from your friend’s closet, and forcing yourself to show your face to everybody after all of that… dare wony say that your red eyes and flushed cheeks were more of a turn on that literally feeling your pussy clench around her fingers!!

but even if wonyoung treated you like filth.. she was still too pretty… so pretty that you don’t bother to do any resisting when she sneaks into your futon super late in the night, ready to make you see the stars all over again 🫣

[gumycandyyy]

Hey there! Your writing is OUTSTANDING! I was wondering if you could write a Winter King x fem!reader fic where the reader rescues him along with the scouts but ends up badly injured? And tee hee WK pampers her and takes care of her THE BRAIN ROT IS REAL

୨♡ "Ｔｉｓ Ｂｕｔ Ａ Ｓｃｒａｔｃｈ" ♡୧

Type: Oneshot

Fem reader (I was originally gonna make her an ice creature, but she works better as... not an ice creature.) Someone please rq a male reader, I wanna write a male reader wahhhh

Request: Yes! Still open, but it'll take a while to write, as I have other requests.

No use of y/n

hurt/comfort (literally)

Summary: Winter King got kidnapped. Again. And you get hurt while saving him. Fluff ensues.

Word Count: 1278

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

"Ice Scouts? A little help?"

You looked up, hearing Winter King. You were training with the scouts, just having a gay old time sword fighting and skating. However, It appeared Candy Queen had made some giant type candy monster, and used it to snatch Winter right out of his throne room and carry him to the Candy Kingdom.

Great.

"Oh, you too..!"

Winter yelled just as he left earshot, obviously referring to you. You were the captain of the royal guard, and Winter's best friend. The ice scouts sheathed their swords, ready to leave immediately. They spoke to you in unison.

"Miss Captain! You must accompany us to save our King!"

"Miss Captain! You must accompany us to save our King!"

You nodded, sheathing your sword. You guessed that Winter would be held at the top of the Candy tower/mountain thing, as always. You left swiftly, along with the scouts.

"Ice scouts! You take care of any candy monsters, I'll take care of the Queen!"

They nodded, ready to follow your every order. You eventually made it to the Candy kingdom, and climbed the mountain. You made it to the top, ducking and weaving around the monsters to get to Winter as soon as possible.

Kicking down the door, you saw Candy Queen playing her keyboard, as always. Winter was in his cage, scratching another tally mark in his 'times kidnapped' wall. His crown was on a small table just out of reach of the cage. Candy Queen looked at you and deadpanned.

"Aww, not again! C'mon, ya can't give me one afternoon alone with him? I'd take good care of him!!"

Candy bumped her pointer fingers together, trying to win your favor. It was honestly pitiful. She tried so hard, but still. She was a creep.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously! I mean- You wouldn't miss him! I wouldn't scratch him up too bad! Well, unless..."

You looked over to Winter, who looked quite uncomfortable at the current topic, a strained smile on his 'save me from this maniac' face. You sighed, putting your hands at your sides.

"Fine."

Candy's eyes sparkled.

"You- you mean it?"

She bounced up and down on her heels, ready to give you a hug. No thanks. Winter looked shocked, and ready to pass away.

"Yeah, yeah- OF COURSE I DON'T MEAN IT."

You brought out your sword, flipping it around, and knocking the wind out of Candy with the hilt. She coughed, and you grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. You brought her over to a window, kicking it open and dangling her out of it.

"Come on, come on! Let's talk about this! Maybe we could share him? I get weekdays, you get weekends? Please?"

You deadpanned, ready to tell her off. Though her expression suddenly turned devious, and you heard something from behind you.

"Miss Captain! Watch out!"

"Miss Captain! Watch out!"

You turned around sharply, pulling out your sword. You let go of Candy, but she was able to grab onto the windowsill and pull herself back inside.

A banana (At least you think it's a banana) guard roared in your face, and lunged at you. It seems the ice scouts missed this one. It clawed at your stomach, tearing the flesh and causing you to cry out in pain. The ice scouts broke open the cage, and gave Winter King his crown.

The next thing you knew, the banana guard was frozen in a block of ice, hovering right above you. It seems the blast also knocked Candy out. You cursed, getting out from underneath the guard. You were about to run to Winter, checking to see if he was okay, but you collapsed, clutching your stomach- which was bleeding profusely. Winter caught you before you hit the floor, and wrapped his arms around you.

"Are you o-"

Winter gasped, seeing your bloody midriff.

He almost started to panic, and ordered the ice scouts to go to the winter palace to prepare anything you might need. He started to pick you up in his arms, but you held your hand out to stop him.

"Winter, I can handle it. I'm captain of the royal guard for a reason-!"

You seethed, feeling air hit your open wound. You started to stand up, using Winter as an anchor. You stood up straight, breathing heavily. You started to walk on your own, however, you collapsed yet again, and fell into unconsciousness.

This is what you get for acting like you're invincible.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

You woke up, breathing in cold air. You didn't need to open your eyes to know you were back in the Winter Kingdom. You felt something gripping your hand, and you were no longer in pain. Well.. Excruciating pain, at least. You fluttered open your eyes, trying to get used to the bright blue light of the palace.

"Y- You're awake! I.."

You looked over to Winter King, who was sitting at your bedside, holding your hand. He looked disheveled and tired. He took his hands away to adjust his glasses, and cleared his throat.

"N- Now that I know you're... Okay.. I-"

He seemed unusually somber, which was way out of character, especially for him.

"How long was I out?"

"..."

"Winter. How long was I out."

"..."

"Four days."

Woah. You left your King unprotected, for four days. And judging by the dull throb where your wound was healing, it would be much longer than that. You sat up sharply, then felt a stabbing pain. You seethed and rested your hand on your midriff.

"I'm so sorry Winter, ah- My king. I can't believe I've left you unprotected for that lo-" "Shut up."

"Pardon?"

"I said, shut up."

Winter's expression was pained, and he seemed to be very conflicted with his emotions.

"You think I care about that? Why would I care about not being protected when I could have lost you!?"

He had stood up. His voice was raised and shaky. He looked as if he was about to start sobbing. He then looked just as surprised at his emotional outburst as you were.

"I.."

"I don't know what came over me, that.. What just happened, it.." "It shouldn't be possible..."

"Pardon me?"

Winter brushed his strange behavior off, and sat back down. He took your hand in his, and spoke in a calm manner.

"I apologize. What I meant, is I could care less about myself right now. I was worried you would die, haha!"

There it was. His strange optimism, though.. It felt kind of good to see him so emotional. It just went to show how much he really cared about you. You took your hand back, and moved it up to cup his face, his soft hair ticking the skin on your hand.

"Thank you."

Winter's cheeks turned pink, a nice contrast to his normal pale blue. He laughed softly, turning his face slightly away from you.

"It's what anyone would do."

He smiled sweetly at you, turning his face back to you. He stood up, bending over you to place a soft kiss on your forehead. Your face flushed, and you looked away nervously. You laughed together in a wonderful kind of oddity, before Winter stood up fully.

"Well, I suppose I should get back to ruling my Winter Wonder World, shouldn't I? If you need anything, ask me. I want to be the one to take care of you."

You nodded in response, and watched Winter gracefully glide towards the door. You snuggled up in the sheets and blankets you were surrounded by, and before Winter left, you asked him a question.

"Wait, what room am I in?"

"Oh, mine."

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Oh man, I loved this one. Here's your complimentary WK art ^^

reblog for a beginner writer?

[lunarsights]

𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙅𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨, 𝙈𝙞𝙣 𝙃𝙚𝙚-𝙟𝙞𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙔𝘽𝙀: 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜

𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙅𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨' 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲:

“Macarena” by Blitzers

“Youtiful” by Stray Kids

“Rover and Benz” by Aint Afraid

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬:

Death (Rx), Queen of Coins (Rx), Seven of Wands, Page of Wands, Knight of Cups, The Lovers (Rx), Four of Swords (Rx), Two of Coins, Seven of Coins

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:

they could be feeling a little neglected, or they could be focused on trying to save themselves/the group/one another when it comes to the situation - maybe helping one another take care of their mental health or figuring out how to ignore/overcome hate comments. they don’t feel defeated! that’s for sure! they feel “ready for the fight ahead” and “for whatever comes out”. they seem stronger than even they let on (at least publicly or at least they’re stronger than they’re portrayed to be). although there’s some apprehension about bringing up the past, it’s also giving “it’s been a long time coming”, so they could see this as a way to “tell the(ir) truth” or as a way to feel refreshed and “unburdened”

they could feel a little conflicted about this idea of following their dreams though; “things not turning out as they seemed” and “not being as stable” as they might’ve wanted. this could also be recognizing that they were kids and didn’t really know what they were signing up for; “didn’t know we were signing up for all this”. they could feel some stress and maybe somewhat overworked - more “overwhelmed”; “it’s a lot”. they could be figuring out how to balance their emotions and personal feelings about what’s going on with continuing to work and push through. their thoughts seem to be if they push through, then things will be “alright” in the end.

𝙈𝙞𝙣 𝙃𝙚𝙚-𝙅𝙞𝙣'𝙨 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲:

“History Has its Eyes on You” from Hamilton the Musical

“Snooze” by SZA

“No Place Like Home” by Todrick Hall

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬:

Six of Swords, Two of Swords, Justice (Rx), Ten of Cups, Nine of Coins, Knight of Swords, The Sun, Ace of Swords

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:

“things are finally coming out”. min hee-jin could feel as if things are in a transition period; “the world is healing; i am healing”. “dawn of a new age” is also coming through, so she could feel as if she’s ushering a new “aesthetic” or “plan” for the industry.

“i have to make the tough decisions”. she could feel as if things are an “uphill battle” like she’s “against everybody”. the energy reminds me of how people described the entire industry wanting to see drake’s downfall and kendrick just being the person who was able to deliver the final blow - i’m unsure if min-heejin in drake or kendrick in this though. she could feel as if she’s clearing out the corruption and “dirty underbelly” of the industry “and HYBE is just one example” - she could expose more?

she could feel very calm and maybe calculated about everything that’s happening - like she always knew it would happen in a way. she could feel as if things are going to work out in her favor, and she’ll be rewarded “for [her] efforts”. she could feel “ready to go to war”.

𝙃𝙔𝘽𝙀'𝙨 𝙀𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨' 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲:

“Gangsta” by YG & Mozzy

“Bossa Nova” by Kash Doll (Feat. Tee Grizzley)

“yes, and?” by Ariana Grande

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬:

Two of Swords (Rx), Page of Swords

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:

they could feel as if they’re in a “no win situation”; something about “stock going down either way”; they could also feel this negatively affects their reputation regardless of what happens. they might not even care about what the law says or how “legal proceedings” play out to an extent because the finality of what happens is up to God/the universe/a higher power. they could have some insight about how things will play out in the end; they don’t seem to be as “in the dark” about things that people may feel they are. they could have “very strong plans behind the scenes”. at the very end, there is kinda this “burn everything” sentiment - not totally sure what that is.

𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙅𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨' 𝙄𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙁𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 (𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 - 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱)

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲:

“See You Space Cowboy…” by Logic

“Take A Break [Interlude]” from Hamilton the Mixtape

“Cheetah Sisters” by the Cheetah Girls 

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬:

The Star, King of Swords, Justice (Rx), Seven of Wands, Page of Coins, Nine of Swords, Five of Swords, Three of Swords, The Devil (Rx), Seven of Coins, Four of Swords, Ace of Swords

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:

lots of swords and wands energy, so i could see them working on an album and/or continuing to practice despite everything happening. some of the members could write songs about the experience - a type of “cheetah girls realness” if you will. the members could continue to feel hopeful about everything, and there could be slivers of hope about the continuing of the group as time goes on; “it’s not over ‘til it’s over”. 

as expected, law will play a big part in everything. everyone could be (even if they don’t admit it) in the mindset that emotions are no longer important - the way to win is and that means being rational and winning over the courts “of law and of public opinion (for some)”. things may not turn out as expected in this area though; “even the courts can be corrupted; even public opinion can be tainted”. i’m asking about a small time frame, but everything will definitely take longer than and persist for more than a year. those with the better foundation/logic starting out may be “the winners” so to speak. 

there could be a lot of anxiety and conflict over whether or not newjeans will have a comeback. there could be “creative differences” and “issues” that pop up. they could start something, but it could be “shelved” or “uncompleted” and cause the members to feel “some type of way” - mainly upset? “heartbroken?”.

newjeans will be separated from someone with The Devil in reverse. HYBE and min hee-jin will separate in some way, but obviously newjeans is the “item” both will be fighting over huh? i can see a lengthy hiatus with maybe single releases sprinkled in with Four of Swords present. 

min hee-jin could get to keep newjeans - The Fool, Two of Cups, and other cards compared to HYBE’s Nine of Coins (Rx) and King of Swords. HYBE could “cut their losses”.

𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙅𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨' 𝙄𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲:

“FNF” by Stray Kids

“That’s What You Get” by Paramore

“Black & White” by Todrick Hall (feat. Superfruit)

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬:

The Hanged Man (Rx), The Devil (Rx), Ace of Cups (Rx), Ace of Wands, Six of Coins, Eight of Coins, Ten of Cups, Seven of Wands (Rx), Two of Cups, Queen of Swords (Rx), Judgement, Eight of Wands (Rx), Two of Swords, Wheel of Fortune

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:

obviously, they’ll experience some career delays as a result of all this. “i’m catching up” keeps sticking out from Stray Kids’s “FNF”, so they could fall behind their peers compared to how it is now where a lot of 4th/5th gen girl groups seem to be at an even fight. whatever former views the general public now has of newjeans could be very different in the future; i know some people say newjeans comes off as school-girlish or not knowing a lot but people could see them as very mature and “well-tempered” or “well-behaved” after this. people could feel a little weird about them though? or the industry? like they “can’t look at things the same”. maybe the public or companies start being a little cold towards them or they can’t reach them like they once could. newjeans and their team themselves could feel a little “shaken” about everything, and this could cause their creativity to falter some. this creative block will only be temporary though! so, things could be looking bad for one comeback or single release or so. 

maybe once newjeans is a little more transparent about the effects of everything people will be more receptive? then, the public could feel sympathetic and the girls will feel unburdened because they won’t be holding back and things will “click” so to speak. then, they may feel like a more unified group and the public will start accepting them again, or they’ll start being “the newjeans [we] used to know”. but overall, newjeans will be very burnt out and exhausted after all of this; “that perseverance can only last so long”; it’ll take them a while to regain their balance, but it’s possible. they will feel bitter about everything though; “we could’ve gone so much farther” or “we could’ve gone an easier route” could be their point of view. 

the way everything (this whole drama) ends could feel fast paced and “out of the blue” possibly. with judgment, whatever doesn’t become uncovered will come to light in the end. some may feel people won’t/don’t care enough about what all will/is coming out, but in the moment it will be shocking and cause headlines. overall, newjeans will probably stay together, but their careers will definitely be stunted by this. it will take them a minute to get back on track and make up for lost traction compared to their peers. they won’t gain as much success and fame as they would’ve without this whole situation happening, and their fame could be capped to how famous they are right now (they could come back to this level of fame, but i don’t see them going above it like people originally expected).

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: 2gether and Still 2gether Edition

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I tackle the impact of GMMTV’s biggest BL, 2gether, and its companion follow-up, Still 2gether.]

Alright! We have reached a major milestone in the Old GMMTV Challenge. This entire project started off on the backs of two now-seminal posts (for me! and I hope for you, too!). The first one was a dialogue I had with the ever-lovely @miscellar regarding how Bad Buddy had addressed BL tropes and turned those tropes around for a singular drama experience. At the time of my asking @miscellar about this, I hadn’t organized myself to do a chronological exploration of Thai BLs as a genre -- I was picking and choosing what to watch, and I knew that what I had watched in Bad Buddy was formative. I wanted to learn more.

@absolutebl had caught the scent of this discussion, as others were sending them asks of this historical nature as well, and they penned this post that listed out the three dramas that they thought best explained how GMMTV came to its current state of programming -- GMMTV’s apology tour, as we called it back then, with Love Sick, SOTUS, and 2gether listed as the three dramas one needed to watch to understand the state of GMMTV’s BL programming now.

So with that, I dove in, and publicly began building out the OGMMTVC, with major help from @absolutebl, @bengiyo, @shortpplfedup, @lurkingshan, @miscellar, @nieves-de-sugui, @solitaryandwandering, and many, MANY others along the way (@manogirl singlehandedly introduced me to MaxTul, for which I say, FUCK YEAH, FRIEND, THANK YOU!). 

And the milestone that we’re celebrating today is that I’ve crossed the 2gether and Still 2gether threshold -- 2gether being the last drama on @absolutebl‘s original list. And, of course! I have thoughts on 2G and S2G.

(Before I dive in, I just want to say that I’m saving some juicy, juicy analysis of the pain/suffering/separation type for a separate meta that I’m hoping to publish later this week, offering a comparative analysis of Still 2gether to Bad Buddy and Until We Meet Again. I don’t want to unwind this here, because I want this post to focus in large part on 2gether’s media influence, but -- stay tuned, I’m headed for more pain meta shortly, tee hee!)

So, yeah, 2gether -- wow, right? Haha. 

No, not quite, I’m just sort of joking. I’ve had EXCELLENT dialogue with the fabulous @bengiyo and @so-much-yet-to-learn​ about there being some shining spots in 2gether, which I agree with them about. (For both 2G and S2G, @bengiyo​ and @so-much-yet-to-learn​ shared with me some incredibly moving reflections on what it meant that Bright Vachirawit, in particular, was so emphatic about Sarawat being identified as gay in the show -- and how that spoke to the queer community during 2G’s prime. Thanks to you both for those timely comments.)

I think those of us who watched this 2G installment of the franchise know inherently what its major issues are, including a lack of chemistry emanating from Win Metawin, and an overabundance of pure talent and eagerness from Bright Vachirawit that wasn’t met at his level, à la Krist and Singto in SOTUS.

Besides the 2gether series itself -- which I’ll get back to in a minute -- I just want to note the external landscape of the show’s airing. We now all know that this show premiered in the very early stages of the COVID pandemic emanating out of Asia. 2gether’s popularity has long been attributed to people being at home to watch shows, many of whom likely were watching Thai BLs for the very first time. According to 2gether’s wiki, the show reached 100 million views by April 2020 on LINE TV ALONE (thank you to @lurkingshan​ for dropping the data!). Both Bright and Win have MASSIVE social media followings now, FAR outnumbering the other stableholders at GMMTV (Tay, Off, Gun, Nanon, etc.). And, 2gether’s continued success in and out of Asia is mostly attributed to the nostalgia that first-time viewers may have about 2gether being their first BL. 

I thought this was all interesting to note in a recent Instagram post that Toptap Jirakit, who plays Type in 2gether/Still 2gether, posted. He hit the streets, interviewing Thai fans on their favorite BL series. I think it’s likely convenient for his own career that most of the interviewees listed 2G in their top three lists -- but it made me think. 

I know, especially from discussions with @bengiyo and @lurkingshan, that there was a LOT of BL fan dismay about the ending of 2G. To be UTTERLY honest, I TOTALLY MISSED the ending high-five, because I was looking for, like, something BIG at the end, and, lol, the high-five totally went over my head. I guess that’s a good description for my feeling of the entire series, which I’ll dive more into in a bit.

First, I want to offer another, but supporting, theory on 2G’s popularity. Taking into account that Toptap IG video (again, acknowledging the self-promotion within it), as well as Bright and Win’s massive popularity, I want to meditate on the wider fandom of BLs vs. non-BL dramas in Asia. BLs in Japan, for instance, are often relegated to midnight-or-later airing times on television. And much of GMMTV’s content is online-based first. I don’t know, as BL fans, if we’re routinely and globally aware that the fandom for BLs -- which is big, maybe even huge -- is dwarfed by, say, the fandom of a mid-sized K-drama. The BL industries in Thailand and Korea are still relatively young and nascent, while other non-BL drama machines are well-oiled across the continent.

In other words -- yes, because of COVID did 2G find a much bigger audience. But I also want to offer that 2G’s...chastity? chasteness?...may have also HELPED this particular series gain such wider appeal. In other words: Asian audiences of a larger mass, outside of established BL fandoms within and outside of Thailand, may have responded more favorably to 2G BECAUSE of 2G’s lack of sex, a lack of innuendo, a lack of insinuation. 

(Remember: in majority cishet society, sex is judged. And queer sex? Forget about it. I’ve established in this OGMMTVC that queer sex is even fodder for creating discriminatory material WITHIN the BL genre itself. Sex AND queer attraction give many people the jibbles. Audiences going to non-BL dramas may be doing so because they want to consume specifically het content. Same-sex romance just might not be their thing. And those non-BL drama genres are GIGANTIC -- from funding to viewership, etc.)

In that Toptap video, many fans list Bad Buddy, A Tale of Thousand Stars, and others as their other favorite BLs. Putting BBS aside for a second -- because there WAS intimacy in BBS, just not an overabundance of it -- we can consider ATOTS as another example of a BL that happens to be quite popular in Thailand, demonstratively, while also being subject to similar criticism by BL fandom as 2G in having a lack of intimacy. 

While us in the BL fandom will readily make fun of 2G for not having intimacy at all, I do think, for Asian audiences not accustomed to an abundance of sex and/or same-sex sex in media -- the way that us Western viewers have in our majority media -- that 2G was accessible. It wouldn’t have to make your non-BL fan, new to the genre, uncomfortable -- especially to see same-sex intimacy. 

(The wonderful @telomeke​ made a similar point last week in a conversation about queer acceptance vis à vis Thai politics. I wonder if our devoted BL fandoms lull us to think that an ENTIRE COUNTRY might be accepting of the queer community and queer politics and policies. It’s definitely not a reality in any single nation worldwide. There are always going to be complicated dichotomies of acceptance in every single society that humans exist in.)

When I got to the end of 2G, and saw that there wasn’t going to be any kissin’ or huggin’ -- it made TOTAL sense to me WHY this show was popular OUTSIDE of the already-established BL fandom, particularly in Asia. It ain’t my cup of tea, but it was a show that I could see, like, my Asian cousins watching, as an introduction to queer revelations and engagement. And then, if they stuck with the genre, I could see them going to, say, an ATOTS, before going to a BBS, a show that really addressed the development of queer intimacy between men. Numbers-wise -- yes, COVID explains 2G’s popularity. Content-wise? Content-wise, 2G stays in people’s hearts, partly because I believe it didn’t PUSH those hearts, as a same-sex starting gun to their first exposure to BL. 

I could get well into an analysis of how sex, generally, is perceived in Asia, and ALL of the cultural nuances and biases AGAINST sex in Asia (cc @neuroticbookworm​, as we have talked about potentially writing meta together on this topic from our shared South Asian lens). But I happen to think that some of our beloved BL filmmakers -- P’Aof Noppharnach, Jojo Tichakorn, New Siwaj, Cheewin Thanamin -- have actually addressed it, and beautifully so, and continue to do so. For instance, the ending quote placards in Dark Blue Kiss touch multiple times on Thailand needing more sex education. Just to offer a personal example -- I’ve had to talk to Asian relatives well into their thirties, as an American, about their first exposure to sex, to explain that sex is not... a bad thing. It’s the cultural and social judgments that accompany sex that colors a person’s worldview on sex. 

2G didn’t challenge ANY OF THAT. In fact, in casting Win, they chose a dude who was VERY CLEARLY not INTO that -- to me, à la the casting of Krist Perawat in SOTUS.

No sex? No moral challenges, no ethical quandaries, no uncomfortable moments with a same-sex acting partner. Just two dudes dating, cute cute, holding hands at the Scrubb concert (or whatever). 

Of course, for my tastes, as y’all know, I desire something more complicated. And I understand that GMMTV HEARD the feedback that many established BL fans had about that 2G ending. And P’Aof Noppharnach, at the time of 2G’s ending, clearly said something to the effect of, not on my watch, I’m actually going to take this franchise AND FIX IT, MY WAY, which, fuck, COULD I LOVE THIS MAN MORE? No -- but YES, I found a way to love him more.

And we got Still 2gether -- a show rooted in its QUEERNESS. QUEERNESS AND INTIMACY AND INDICATIONS OF SEX. I mean, look!

Not just rainbow shirts! Rainbow shirts on multiple people. And rainbow TABLES. P’Aof was like, WE ARE NOT MISSING A MOMENT HERE, PEOPLE. We’re going to fix this. We’re going to claim BL for the queer community who actually serve at the mercy of the audience that consumes BLs.

Before I dig further into S2G, for which I have reams of notes, as opposed to 2G (obviously) -- some quick positive notes on 2G. Wat’s romantic confession in the shelter bus in the forest was seriously heart-warming. It was romantic as fuck. And we see a NUMBER of tropes that make their way into BBS -- bringing over a beverage to someone who is joined by another potential romantic partner; how everything needs to be a competition or a “deal”; all the singing and writing of songs; make-up remover/micellar water (hi @miscellar​, ha!); the keeping of a guitar for someone else. I loved seeing those tropes in 2G. I love when shows talk to each other.

Most of all, 2G established Sarawat as committed to his pursuit. Bright was UNABASHED in his role as Sarawat. It was Win/Tine who could not meet Bright’s level -- seemingly out of, what, disinterest? Repulsion? Maybe even a lack of acting talent? It wasn’t obnoxious, per se. It just seemed like Win didn’t know HOW to respond, or even what to respond TO -- all while Bright/Wat CLEARLY SIMMERED in his role. (Like I said earlier, @bengiyo​ has shared that Bright was emphatic in interviews that Sarawat was gay, while Win was less forward about Tine and who Tine was.)

And I think S2G absolutely grabbed Bright’s talent and spotlighted it. I am deeply glad that the ending of S2G had a such a STRONG sexual insinuation, à la AePete’s SIMMERING attraction in Love By Chance, and even in moments throughout the show as well, and I loved how S2G leveraged Bright’s fabulous acting as Sarawat IN those insinuations. Because -- contrary to how my Asian parents raised me, and how many Asians are TAUGHT to THINK about sex, which is to say, to try to ignore it or laugh at it -- PEOPLE HAVE SEX. And sex, and QUEER SEX, are things to be celebrated. Sex is beautiful, and BELONGS in stories of romance and love. To have had it essentially...deleted?...from 2G removed a huge sense of reality from that piece of drama art.

S2G also focused on a thing that many in the BL fandom actually pooh-pooh: it focused on a committed, ongoing relationship. My favorite BL in the world, Kinou Nani Tabeta?/What Did You Eat Yesterday? is focused on two middle-aged guys in the middle of their years-long relationship. I’m a married mom. I want to see the struggle. I love first love in BLs, don’t get me wrong -- my Cherry Magics, my BBSs, my Old Fashion Cupcakes. But I also don’t mind the struggles. Give me a Minato’s Laundromat, season 2, any day.

I think P’Aof was offering a subversion to Thai BL expectations by showing Tine and Wat in their settled relationship, a year in, where even Sarawat admits -- the sweetness of the relationship has worn off. The guys are working together, living together, working on their relationship together, eating instant noodles together, instead of the green curry and simmered pork and eggs that Tine lovingly made for Sarawat in their early days.

I feel like I’ve said this before, but let me say it again: I CANNOT EMPHASIZE HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR MEDIA TO SHOW QUEER COUPLES IN LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS. Queer partners are FAMILY, TOO. I had ongoing FABULOUS conversation with @chickenstrangers​​ (THANK YOU, FRIEND!) during my 2G and S2G conversations, and dear @chickenstrangers​​ pointed out to me the nature of a conversation that Sarawat and Earn (FILM FILM FILM!) had, in which Earn complemented Sarawat on his courage in being in a same-sex relationship. And Wat corrects her. (Sorry for the massively bad screenshots, it’s bumbling mom hour around here):

Like I said earlier: 2G gave potentially sex-and-queer-love-averse audiences a BL they could chew on. Win Metawin gave them enough by way of the portrayal to allow audiences to feel like they could be at arm’s-length while observing a same-sex relationship.

S2G, and Sarawat himself, strike to the HEART of queer existence and queer love. Sarawat corrects Earn: I do not love Tine because I’m courageous. I love Tine because I love Tine, because I am a human who loves another human. It’s nothing special. It’s just love that myself and my partner have, that other couples have. 

I think what P’Aof did, by way of observing what was going down in 2G -- what was being NORMALIZED in 2G -- was to pull a switch and turn the tracks around, and say, I have got to normalize ANOTHER PATH for these fans that are paying extremely close attention to Bright and Win right now. And he did it, with rainbow tablecloths and shirts; with Tine’s homies, Fong and Ohm, holding Tine down; with Sarawat’s homies, Man and Boss, exploring their OWN loves simultaneously with Sarawat and holding Sarawat down with love and support. 

Oh, and, of course. What P’Aof did with Green. Green was arguably a worst-case scenario of a gay character being misused for comedy in any of the dramas I’ve seen on the OGMMTVC in 2G. I honestly do NOT know what GMMTV was thinking when they allowed that characterization to air.

And Green just becomes... SASSY, and EQUAL, and really fun and slightly conniving towards Dim in S2G, and it was FABULOUS to watch (OMG. Guy and Guy’s chemistry and comedy? HILARIOUS. P’Aof ABSOLUTELY knew what he was doing there!).

Watching S2G was another fabulous P’Aof moment. It was like putting on warm pajamas and snuggling in for the smart ride of a drama. Every bad drama should consider having P’Aof come in to save the day (except for The Promise and Step By Step -- let’s never utter those titles ever again, ever). 

But, I do need to give 2G credit. 2G opened the door for something: it served as a misstep for GMMTV to learn from. I don’t want to be SO summarizing like that -- again, because very important experts in @bengiyo​ and @so-much-yet-to-learn​, who analyze shows from a very important queer lens, have spoken on the bright spots of 2G. 2G allowed for S2G to exist, for Sarawat to exist as an openly-in-love man with a boyfriend who he doted on. 2G allowed for fans of 2G to then walk the road in S2G, to be exposed to P’Aof’s CRITICAL and EMPATHIC eye in developing queer content, and to be exposed to a Sarawat that was much more able to LOVE and to receive love. 

I’ll giggle and laugh at the foibles of 2G. But I saw how Bright, and even Win, improved in S2G. I saw how a director in P’Aof, and his screenwriting team in Pratchaya, Bee, and Au, took a thing that wasn’t representing the queer community healthily enough, and turned it into yet another gorgeous representation, not just of queer love -- but of GLOBAL LOVE, a kind of love, between Tine and Sarawat, that all of us humans who WANT to love another person, can strive for. I will always appreciate 2G and S2G for that journey.

[Alright, we keep truckin’! If you’ve been following my blog in the late-night space, well -- you know where I’m at, psychologically, at the moment. I was ALL KINDS OF MESSSEDDDDD UPPPPPPPPPP over I Told Sunset About You. GEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZ. I am really going to enjoy my ITSAY write-up, and will definitely serve up some comparative analysis between ITSAY and other shows, as per a request from the legendary @lurkingshan, I gotchu, gurl. I see some really important moments from the OGMMTVC journey in ITSAY and cannot wait to get my pen on them.

And speaking of wild and crazy mindsets, I have started YYY -- more on THAT in the liveblogs -- and then after YYY, a return to dear MaxTul. We’ll definitely honor the end of Tul Pakorn’s career as I watch Manner of Death for the first time. Tul’s been a real homey in the space for a while, and I can’t wait to celebrate him.

Here’s the status of the watchlist -- as always, I’ll take any feedback ya got!

1) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 2) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 3) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 4) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 5) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 6) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 7) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 8) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 9) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 10) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 11) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 12) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (I’m watching this out of order just to get familiar with OffGun before Theory of Love -- will likely not review) 13) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 14) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (not a BL or an official part of the OGMMTVC watchlist, but an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 15) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 16) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) 17) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020)  18) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review coming) 19) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (watching) 20) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (not a true BL, but a MaxTul queer/gay romance set within a genre-based show that likely influenced Not Me and KinnPorsche) 21) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 22) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS 23) Lovely Writer (2021) 24) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) 25) I Promised You the Moon (2021) 26) Not Me (2021-2022) 27) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 28) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch 29) Secret Crush On You (2022) [watching for Cheewin’s trajectory of studying queer joy from Make It Right (high school), to SCOY (college), to Bed Friend (working adults)] 30) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 31) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist 32) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 33) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) 34) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 35) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 36) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults)]

[1n-bl0om]

more ethan x chad hcs

SCREAMVI SPOILERS

enjoy the hcs, tee hee

(sexual and suggestive stuff. more creepy things)

- ethan is possessive to the extreme. he plays nice but is such a possessive bf. he keeps an arm around chads waist if they are standing around, letting people know he’s taken.

- ethan has multiple polaroid photos of chad. most without his knowledge

- expanding on a hc from last time. ethan is a biter. he likes to bite chad and mark him up. he loves to leave bruises on his hips and little marks all over his body. it’s to the point that chad looks like he lost a fight

- even before getting together, they always slept on the same mattress. there was a mishap and the school didn’t have enough, so they made due. chad gets too hot and ethan is too cold. they end up waking up cuddling. chad is practically sweating and ethan is content

- ethan has been spotted stalking chad. mindy thinks it’s extremely weird and chad just goes “but he has separation anxiety, it’s okay.”

- ethan and mindy get along relatively well

- ethan loves film and the way you can perfectly capture human emotion. most of his storage space is photos of chad

- their first time together is rough. ethan surprised chad by taking charge. he got very dominate and rough with chad. he’d never been manhandled before, it gave him butterflies

- they share clothes a lot. the first time chad wears ethans clothes it’s by accident. they share the wash and chad just grabs whatever and keeps it moving. he goes to class wearing ethans sweater. then ethan sees him and he shuts down and feels so possessive. he finds himself wanting to see chad in his clothes more and more

- if chad sees anyone eyeing up ethan he straight up asks what their problem is and to leave them alone. ethan just does it through action, he’ll pull chad closer or kiss him

- chad is more skilled with fighting. he can land punches well and take someone on with brute force and thinking. ethan is more skilled with weapons

- ethan has a knife kink. he wants to take a blade and cut chad up. he wants to make him squirm and beg and bleed for him. he wants to carve his name into chad so whoever sees him knows that he belongs to ethan

- chad is such a sucker for ethans voice

- within the fist week of knowing each other, ethans thoughts went from violent to possessive. he wanted to keep chad for himself

- they are always touching each other in some way. holding hands or laying on each other. ethan always has to have his hands on chad

- ethan is sickly sweet with pet names. he calls chad “my beloved” and “my love”, etc etc. anything with “my” before it (thanks @stringischeese for this hc)

- even before they got together mindy thought they were together

- being with chad makes ethan softer, but not any less psychotic 

- ethan rigged the raffle to get close to chad. he did it to inact the plan, and instead he fell in love and lust with his target

- before they got together, mindy made a joke asking how ethan was in bed. chad replied with how amazing he was. he’d never seen her so red. they aren’t sleeping together at all. chad just made the joke to fuck with mindy.

- ethan was behind him. mindy laughed so hard her stomach hurt. ethan was jaw dropped and chad was mortified but kept on joking to save face. and ethan couldn’t stop thinking about having his way with chad after that.

- ethan gets off using the photos he has of chad. he loves the ones where he looks the most vulnerable and had no clue that ethan was watching him

- ethan rarely likes people. his mood is sour until chad walks into the room, then his whole world lights up. he follows chad around like a lost puppy

- ethan is fairly sweet to chad. he never imagined himself tolerating someone enough to like them. but chad came around and ethan is obsessed with him. crazy in love

!! bonus !!

like i said before “tear you apart” by she wants revenge is so chadthan coded:

“Or maybe this is danger and he just don't know. You pray it all away but it continues to grow. I want to hold you close. Skin pressed against me tight. Lie still, and close your eyes girl. So lovely, it feels so right. I want to hold you close. Soft breasts, beating heart. As I whisper in your ear, I want to fucking tear you apart.”

i try to keeps hcs kinda close to canon or else they don’t make sense to me (personally). ethan is really creepy and a literal killer. he is definitely creepy and obsessive towards chad. he hates people. i think he can be sweet and caring, it just depends. but he’s always nicer to chad than anyone else.

[team-heavenly]

Chapter 23 - Blizzard Island Rescue

And by the randomizer list, I dub thee... Chapter Name.

...Thank you, RNG 🙄

I guess I'm making title cards for the post-game chapters now! Well, this shot came out too nice for me not to use.

(Also this post was supposed to come out several days ago but my job had other plans for me... Sorry.)

Some days after the ascension of Sky Peak Cloudy Well...

Hey, Starmie? Any reason why you're standing <2 inches in front of Aerodactyl? Let him breathe!!

Seaking for Scizor, huh? Yeah, I can see that! Both names start with an S, anyway.

The... the what.

*Imagines a 4-way intersection made of rubber bands*

Wait... *processing*

Just to be a joy kill, I'm having the same thought I did at Sky Peak... Why couldn't Ice Types handle this rescue? Or were there none around? Or did they just go "F*ck this guy in particular"?

Incredible team? Saving the world? You could almost call us... a gift from Heaven!

...I'll see myself out.

👀 Would I? Would I?? You betcha! If nothing else, I want to know what the hell an Elastic Crossroad is.

...Just kidding, I don't want to know anymore. (Gee, this looks awfully familiar.)

Thankfully, unlike Nonsensical Castle, there's not too much for me to say here. To help me construct these posts, I take notes whenever something of significance happens. And my only notes for Elastic Crossing are as follows (verbatim):

Linoone spamming Dark Void in a single room floor and having Bad Dreams 🥲

Lots of one-room floors actually... 2, 8, 9.

Good job team, we made it through relatively painlessly!

So yeah, I'll just share the few shots I have and we can move on 😃

I believe this is the Icicle Forest aesthetic? Cold and foreboding indeed.

🥺️ Oh, honey. You're not in the world you think you are (thank god).

🎩 HE WAS NUMBER ONE!! ☝️

Ngl, a room full of poisonous frogs and snakes, violent piranhas, and god-tier apes would be mortifying irl. But here, we get through without too much trouble and eventually emerge to find...

Oh... Yaaaaaay...

Dirty Province 💀 This is two steps away from being... you know what, never mind.

Crevice Cave is a gentrified village?? Or perhaps referring to a certain Danish prince.

Uh. No comment on this one. ._.

Okay, Teresa officially has the BEST IQ group ever. Coin Watcher, Wise and Quick Healer, Self Curer, Brick Tough, Deep Breather, All-Terrain Hiker... Well, I guess that one is irrelevant with her Flying type. And now Trap Buster?? Talk about a GAME-changer!

In the lowest depths of the "Ghetto"...

I'm gonna posit their shock is due to seeing a Scizor instead of a Seaking...?

But suddenly! A wild Snow Storm appeared!

Ooooo, okay, who's our Froslass?

O-O YEAH OKAY THAT WOULD BE TERRIFYING! GOOD CALL, RANDOMIZER!

Ironically(?), this happened immediately afterward:

This was before anyone made a move, so I guess Steelix has Drizzle?

LOOK AT THAT DAMAGE!! SUPER EFFECTIVE CRITICAL HIT BABEY!!!

As this image suggests... Steelix went down after only two turns of Mud Slap and Octazooka. Not so scary now, huh?

Tee-hee... See you never ❤️️

May as well click here to advance to Part 2 and give Seaking time to thaw.

[yomiurinikei]

Hey!! You can totally decline (I got no idea if your ask box is open)

But can you write some random Utsuro hc?

I love my man way to much

siiiiiighs. i tried to make this longer i really did </3…. simply wasn’t in the stars! the world doesn’t want me to be crazy abt utsuro. oh my fuckass neighbor is being weird again. gdi ANYWAYS !!

anyways!! my inbox is always open, i’m really bad at getting ask memes done admittedly, but hc requests ALWAYS get finished (even if my memory loss become an issue and i forget that someone requested hcs. tee hee. totally not what happened here)

anyways!! order up here it is i hope u enjoy!!! 🫶

~*~

•spends a lot of time inside (always finds people looking for a housesitter, wins a raffle to go travel to a event w/ hotel charges includes, etc) and swears up and down that he hates being outside

•but then when he actually steps foot outdoors he likes it a lot

•there’s nothing to really do, so while he gets bored p quick, he isn’t really actively engaging with his divine luck, past the weather being nice and things like that, he gets to just chill, and let the hours go by

•used to play puzzle games, bc he figured even if he knew the solution on instinct, he at least had to pass the time by moving pieces and the like

•then he tried 2048 and noticed he always got the tiles he needed, and that without thinking, he always made the best move to combine pieces,

•and started paying more attention, and realized that even if he was actively engaged in smthn else, his hands would just move on their own to play

•aaaand he promptly got fed up with it all and hasn’t played anything like that since

•gives like. really really bad advice. just absolutely horrible advice 

•example: he has -3 street smarts and will ONE HUNDRED PERCENT give u horrible advice that will get u mugged. 

•he has never had any reason to fear for his life or safety (his well being and mental health is shot to hell but-) and it is very apparent in the way he will just. completely casually walk across a highway to save time when going somewhere

•for a guy who could probably solve the millenium prize problems immediately if he knew they existed, he is. not very smart

•speaking of. i 100% believe he has all those great internationally known puzzles/treasure hunts/etc solved. he just chooses not to share

•has some degree of enhanced/higher senses (has vision over 20/20, does well keeping track of distinct sounds in noisy places) but this contributes to his misery

•he can pick out every little thing he’s tasting, and it keeps flavors from blending together well, picks out the wrong scent notes in perfumes-

•OH simultaneously touch starved and touch averse. 

•he’s generally finicky about textures/what touches him (you see how my train of thought arrived at this station), and also generally doesn’t feel comfortable around others

•so like… while he’s not really conscious of it, his subconscious is screaming for contact with another person, but whenever akane (who ELSE is trying to have physical contact w this guy) is like… 🥹? and tries to get a hug from him he just. activates the self destruction protocols.

•like. just stiffens up and just waits for it to be over.

•bc his thought process isn’t “i wish this was a better hug” but rather “i wish this was OVER !!” he doesn’t have a positive experience w it because his luck doesn’t kick in and make him feel okay/make the hug not be evil

•actually let’s talk about blesseds more. i imagine he didn’t bless many youngin’s because they were consistently very obnoxious @ him.

•like. i 100% believe that all the CoU tried to cling to/follow him if at all possible. from day One they were trying to find him (looking for any potential good caregiver) while adults were less active/persistent in their hunts

•so he kinda just went. 😐 and tried to stay away from kids when he was giving people fortune

•controversial i suppose but he has resting confused face. boy just always looks lost looks out of it looks ?

•”but whenever we see him in the games he’s going 😑” LISTEN. whenever we see utsuro in game he’s being exposed to the horrors. 

•i don’t say this to woobify him, he literally always is like noooo actually i did nothing wrong i am entirely passive and neutral and have no impact on everything ever. your actions are YOUR fault and not a result of me being insane to you. and it’s so hilarious to me to see. 

•but i do think it’s important to recognize there’s a Reason hes so like. no actually i’m devoid of agency… and that there’s trauma in that head !!!

•so yeah i think whenever we see him in game he’s yk. experiencing things. i think if u just saw him on the bus or whatever he’d look like he has no clue what’s going on ever. just a very very clueless resting face

[punchkicktwo]

ok I'm going to use this blog for realsies, im gonna reblog posts that remind me of my Guys and maybe also posts (idk. maybe like random aesthetic posts or those sappy writing prompt lists) n some art/writing/thoughts I don't feel like posting on main. dont get me wrong I'm not changing anything about what I'm posting on main but I kinda want a dedicated lil place that I can also look back on if I want to!

i don't mind it if anyone follows here or interacts w posts (if I did I'd just. use the notes app or smth) but I'm probably not gonna advertise this blog on main for now! if u do stick around expect stuff on here to be a lil sappy/cringey because that's the kinda thing that I like to think about w these 2 (unironic comfort ship for me,,, tee hee). basically im gonna use this blog like it's just a personal notes app for talking about these guys so do w that what u will

but yeah. idk :) I wanted to use this url for something for a while and that time has Come

ohhh yeah also I'm kind of considering changing my url on main to this which is why I had it saved,,, so ig this blog will become punchkicktwo if that happens lmao

ok byeeee

[leejafythe]

Dancer and the Lightwardens: Chapter 9

Long Live the King - Original posted here

A brief stop at the Bookman’s Shelves meant that the four of them could change out of the damp and cold gear and warm up. Leeja had no qualms about changing in front of Thancred and Urianger, gods know that they’d seen her like it before, but she felt immediately worried about changing in front of Minfilia. So, she went to the bedroom and changed quickly before heading back down again. “Okay, I feel much better and much warmer now.” She noticed Thancred and Minfilia had left already.  “The others have gone ahead to scout the way. Come, let us follow.” Urianger and Leeja left and made their way toward a cliff. “Past yonder cliff lieth Pla Enni, home of the Nu Mou.” As they walked, Leeja’s curiosity of the area got the better of her. “Hey, Urianger? You’ve been here for a while now, can you tell me anything about the area and where we’re going?” “Of course. If the path striketh thee as precipitous, 'tis because it was once a mountain trail. For where the lake now lieth, there was a valley, in whose midst thrived the city of Voeburt. 'Twas only when the Fuath came, in the wake of the Flood, that the settlement was drowned.” She raised an eyebrow. “The Fuath did this? We got away pretty lucky then. Remind me never to get on their bad side again.” Urianger chuckled a little. “We stand now upon its former outskirts. Grazing lands where shepherds once tended their flocks. Though one cannot help but feel a pang of loss when faced with such a spectacle, one can scarcely blame the fae folk for so altering the land.” He continued to tell her everything he knew. About the Light, about feeling glad he was there. “In truth, I can no more ignore the plight of this world than I can choose to stop breathing. And thus do I labor─for those we have lost. For those we can yet save.” “We’ll save this world and we’ll save the Source. I’ll give it everything I’ve got against the Lightwardens as well” she said confidently. 

As they continued to walk along the path, two pixies stopped them. “Aha! Mortals, just as we thought!” “Hast thou business with us?” Urianger asked them. They seemed to take offense to the question. “I don’t trust them” Leeja said quietly. “Business? Ha! Nothing so boring! We smelled you coming, and thought we'd come to play!” They laughed and floated around them. “We don’t have time to play, I’m afraid. We have to go, but we’ll play another day” Leeja said to them. The pixies looked at each other with mischievous grins.  “They do not appear to be pixies of Lydha Lran.” Urianger said softly. Leeja shook her head, and before she could say another word, the pixies cackled. “Ohhh, in some haste, are you? Then allow me to hasten you on your way! Tee hee hee!” With a sudden poof, they had sent Leeja and Urianger further back, delaying them even further.

Leeja grumbled under her breath, cursing them in Hannish and making Urianger laugh softly. He gave her a fae cloak for them to get through the mountain, stopping them from being teleported back and forth. She dispelled it once she made it to the top and found Thancred and Minfilia. “We lost sight of you. Is everything all right?” Minfilia asked her. “I assumed you were right behind us. What took you so long?” Thancred raised an eyebrow. “Pixies decided they wanted to play with Urianger and I. So it took a little longer. My apologies” Leeja grumbled, making Thancred chuckle. “That is a valid excuse for lateness.” Urianger appeared not long after and they made their way into the cave.

They were met in the cave by a creature that Leeja assumed was a Nu Mou. “Ah! Ahhh! Mortals! Mortals are here! Lots of them!” They ran off further in and the four of them frowned, confused. 

“I thought you said the Nu Mou were men's best friends. The poor thing was beside itself with fear.” Thancred looked at Urianger.

“I don’t think it’s fear. I think it’s excitement. Urianger, do you agree?” Leeja looked up at him as he nodded. Leeja’s ears flicked as she heard someone running over to them. 

“This is unacceptable! Unacceptable, I tell you! To have so many mortals appear at once… It's more excitement than we can bear!” Leeja chuckled. Urianger greeted the elder Nu Mou with a smile. When he explained what they wanted and why they were here, Wyd Aenc, the elder Nu Mou, warned them of the danger, and how they had lost many of their own to seal Titania away in the castle. 

“Don’t worry, no one will come to harm.” Leeja tried to ease their worry. “But then you'll only become another Lightwarden! It changes nothing!” Leeja felt bad for them.  “We defeated the Lightwarden in Lakeland, We can free the king from their prison” she spoke calmly. Wyd Aenc was still dismissive. Urianger tried instead. “Honored Elder, pray believe me when I say that this woman is possessed not only of the strength required to vanquish the king, but of something still more valuable: a means to resist the resultant corruption. Indeed, she hath already laid low the Lightwarden of Lakeland, all without succumbing to the influence of its light.” The elder grumbled for a moment, ruminating on Urianger’s words. They wanted them to wait for a turn of the moon for an answer, yet they didn’t have the time for that.

And then Urianger, with all his clever tricks, found a way to make the nu mou elder work with them. They agreed to talk it over and give the group an answer as soon as they could, though the did ask for assistance and Leeja was more than happy to do so, with Minfilia close behind her. Leeja went about, gathering things to help the nu mou show that they were more than willing to assist. First, it was moss fungus legs, then it was removing flame spores. Then it retrieving invisible ink. This task, though, Minfilia wanted to help. “E-Excuse me, Leeja, but I couldn't help overhearing. If you mean to undertake this task, will you let me accompany you? I would learn from you...and help in what little way I can.” Leeja smiled and nodded. “Of course you can! I’d be happy to have your assistance” Leeja said with a smile.  “Thank you so much!” Minfilia smiled widely.  “Where abouts are we going to find these Lawless Ones?” She looked at Wyd Ladd. “The lawless ones make their lair to the south, inside a cave called Father Collard's Chambers. They took many vials of ink, and I would be grateful if you could bring as many back as possible” they told her. Both women nodded and headed out of the cave together.

“So, Minfilia, Thancred taught you to fight with daggers?” Leeja asked .  “Yes. But I’m still a novice” Minfilia said quietly. Leeja smiled and dug through the little pouch on her belt. She dug out her ninja stone and attuned to it, her gear set changing out from her dancer gear to the gear she used better for infiltration.  “I suppose this would be a better set to wear” Leeja popped the stone in a small pocket she had attached to her shoulder. “I can teach you what I know, if you want? I learned from some friends of mine, Thancred taught me as well so I have a bunch of different types of skills” she offered. Minfilia nodded a little. “Do you know how to vanish, make yourself invisible?”  “You mean, like this?” She vanished, making it hard for Leeja to see her.  “Perfect. We’ll sneak in using vanish and find the ink and meet back out here after, how does that sound?”  “Okay!” Leeja grinned and vanished herself, the pair of them senaking into Fther Collard’s Chambers. Between the two of them, they found then ink and left quickly. Minfilia had gotten outside before Leeja and as soon as she was clear, she dropped the vanish and found Minfilia. “Oh, thank goodness. There you are. Those Nu Mou were rather frightening. I'm glad you're safe.” Leeja nodded and smiled. “I’m glad you’re safe too. Did you find what you could?” “I haven't seen much actual combat, so I was a little nervous, but I'm happy I could help.” “Hey, regardless of your combat experience, I’m glad you’re here. I can always defend you, but I bet you can hold you own in a fight” Leeja smiled and attuned to her dancer stone once more. Minfilia began to tell her about the past, and the fact that she knew Thancred had spoken to their Minfilia. It broke her heart listening to the girl, and it made her upset at Thancred for his reaction.  “Minfilia, I–” Leeja was cut off as Leeja’s echo and Minfilia both heard the roar and both heard Titania, desperately wanting to be freed. When the vision ended both of them groaned from the headache it triggered. “Let’s head back, we’d better get ready, just in case.” She mentally remined herself to have a talk with Thancred.

The pair of them split off as Leeja went to deliver the ink, and Minfilia went to find Thancred. Wyd Ladd was overjoyed with his ink returning that he made a gift for Leeja. The elder rounded the Scions up, ready to provide an answer. “Before I begin, please allow me to express my gratitude for your kind patronage. Having been deprived of purpose for so long, our people are overjoyed at being able to serve again.” “It’s been our pleasure. Have you come to a conclusion about allowing us the stone scepter?” Leeja asked, slightly hopeful.  “During our deliberations, we were forced to concede that we will never have the power to deal with our fallen monarch. We can release Titania neither from the castle nor from torment. In light of this, we have decided to entrust their fate to you.” They handed the scepter to Leeja who placed it securely in her bag. “Thank you. I promise you, this land will be freed of the tyranny of Light and I’ll free the king” she said. The nu mou nodded, believing her words. They warned them of Titania’s power and what to expect. Then they made a threat to keep them all there. Until Feo Ul stepped in and reminded them that Leeja was their sapling instead.

They left and began to make their way toward the direction of the amaro. “Hey, Urianger? Can you and Minfilia go on ahead? I need to speak with Thancred.” “Of course. Come, Minfilia. Let us away” the elezen looked at her. Minfilia looked at Leeja for a moment, getting a small nod and a smile.  “It’s alright, we’ll catch up” she reassured her. They went on ahead, leaving the two of them alone. “She knows.” “Excuse me?” He frowned at her. Leeja sighed and looked at him. “She’s not stupid, Thancred. She came with me for one of the tasks for the nu mou and she confided in me what happened in Ahm Araeng.” She said softly, watching as the two ahead of them grew further away. Thancred sad nothing. “Thancred…” She stopped and grabbed his hand, tugging him backward. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Please?” “We do not have time for this” he pulled his hand free and walked away. Leeja sighed and shook her head. Leeja followed silently, not saying another word to him. 

In the middle of the ruins of Wolekdorf, a giant amaro slumbered. Out the corner of her eye, Leeja noticed Ardbert standing there, in absolute shock and disbelief and she made out the word “Seto” from him. With a soft smile, she looked at the sleeping bird and said his name.  “Seto?” “Ard…bert?” He said, opening his eyes and lifting his head. When he didn’t see the warrior standing there, and instead saw Leeja and her companions, he seemed a little disappointed. “Oh. Forgive me, I was...having a dream. Seldom do men visit us. What brings you to our village?” “Pray, forgive us interrupting your rest but, we’d like to borrow th glass slippers. We mean to take back the night for you” Leeja said politely. Seto frowned and looked at the group. “Did I hear you aright? You desire the crystal shoes...that you may confront the Lightwarden? No. No, you mustn't think such thoughts.” He told them. “I promise you, I’m immune to the Light, I can free you all.” She said. “Not just me, but Minfilia here iss as well.” “Even if you are indeed immune to the Light's corruption, as you claim, vanquishing the king will bring you naught but sorrow. Forget this folly. Return whence you came.” And with that, Seto refused to say another word to them. They walked away to decide what to do next.

Urianger explained what they needed to do and why Seto reacted the way he did. It meant, once again, to do various tasks for the amaro in a bid to let Seto know how dedicated they are to the cause. “They're so fluffy, it's like touching a cloud!” Minfilia said excitedly as she pet the amaro gently. Leeja couldn’t help but laugh. Leeja went and gently stroked three of the amaro. It reminded her of her own chocobo, who she missed dearly. When she had done everything she could to win over the other amaro, she went back to her companions. “I’ve done everything I can. I don’t know what else I can do.” “Seto? May we talk?” She asked, looking up at him. He raised his head to look at her.  “You have spoken with my brethren. Then you see it is not out of scorn that I deny you the relic… I simply cannot bear to see men fight and die. Not anymore. None of us can. To lose one who has placed a gentle hand on us even once fills our hearts with untold sorrow, as my brothers and sisters will readily attest.” It surprised Leeja how much he wanted to to protect and keep them all alive. “I understand, I do, but this is something I must do. Will you trust in me?” He huffed out a breath. “Tell me, why do you wish this? This land is no longer man's to fight for, nor will your doing so compel the fae folk to change. And in order to obtain the other relics, you will already have paid the due price. Naught more is owed. Why then would you risk all to face our fallen king?” He asked. Leeja thought for a moment, and when she had her answer, she gave it to him. “To save the world. And to keep a promise to my friends.” “What...did you say...? The very words... Could it be mere coincidence?” She canted her head curiously. He agreed to help her, so long as she could defeat sin eaters that had been seen in the area. When she had prepared herself, she went off to meet Seto, while being thoroughly aware of Thancred and Minfilia following behind her. She smiled a little, re-attuning to her nina stone to allow Minfilia to watch her closely. “Leeja─ might I prevail upon thee to confer with Seto in private? The task of slaying the Lightwarden will ultimately be thine, and it is for thee, I believe, that he worrieth most. Tell him of thy many great deeds. Spoken in earnest, thy words may yet move him to change his mind.” Urianger urged. Leeja nodded and went over to Seto.

Seto waited in a clearing for her and once she had initiated her Ten Shi Jin and gave him a nod, she roared, allowing the sin eaters to find their location. Leeja didn’t hold back and used all of her energy, taking them down quickly whilst barely breaking a sweat. “You made short work of those creatures, I will not deny it… I have seen enough. Let us return to Wolekdorf.” He flew back and Leeja walked back. “You’ve improved, it seems” Thancred said as she walked past him. Leeja didn’t know what to say, and instead chose to remain quiet. “May you teach me your style?” Minfilia asked. Leeja turned to face her and gave her a soft smile and a nod. “Of course. When we return to the Crystarium, come and find me. I’ll show you my style.” Leeja turned nad headed back to the ruins. Thancred watched her leave, saying not a word.

It stung. It#s his own fault, of course and he knows it, but the fact she chose to ignore him completely? Ouch . He’d have to grovel for her forgiveness. The last time she chose to not anything to him was back in Ishgard. He sighed and shook his head. “Come, let us return as well.” “I-Is she upset with us?” Minfilia asked quietly. “She is upset with me, I’m sorry to say. You and Urianger are quite alright.” He walked off and Minfilia followed quickly.

When they had both returned, Seto was more than satisfied. However, it woul take some time for the amaro to recover the shoes. Seto had a personal request for the miqo’te. To recover a lost medallion in the button of the lake. Leeja agreed and headed down to the lakeside, removing various pieces of clothing along the way and tucking it into her bag. The other gear had been left to dry in the Bookman’s Shelves, and she would have to equip another stone should she run out o dancer gear. When she reached the lakeside, she slipped off her book and dove into the water, swimming downward until she reached the area Seto had requested to look. Shifting rubble about was somewhat easier with the water and she found a shiny disc. She dug it out and it was the medallion, just as Seto had described it. 

When Leeja resurfaced, she was met by Thancred. He had removed his coat and was ready to warm her up with it. “Did you find it?” He watched her dry her legs and tug on her boots.  “Yes.” “And I assume you’ve won Seto’s favour?” A brief nod. Thancred frowned a little. “Leeja…” He watched her shiver as she tugged her jacket back on. As he went to put his coat around her shoulders, she walked away. He sighed, frustrated. “Leeja, talk to me. Please? What have I done?”  “Nothing” she walked off, rubbing at her arms as she continued to shiver. He jogged on up the hill. “At least put this on, just until you warm up.” She didn’t stop. She gave him the same treatment he gave her when she had tried to talk to her earlier, and he knew just how frustrating of a feeling it was. With a huff, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him. “I screwed up. I know that. Please, darling, talk to me. What can I do?” She tried to pull away and he just tightened his grip. “No. Talk to me.” Leeja growled, a low, warning growl, and dug her nails into his wrist hard as she stamped on his foot and shoved him away as he hissed fron the pain.  “We do not have time for you to decide whether you want to be open with me or not. So, I will make the choice for you. Until such time as you want to talk like adults, I will not give you the satisfaction of a one-sided conversation. Now piss off and let me get my damn job done.” Leeja walked away and Thancred just stared. She had never spoken to him like that before, and he knew he completely screwed up.

Leeja returned Seto’s medallion to him upon her return and began to tell her all about Ardbert and their time together. “Ardbert was a trusting soul, constantly being drawn into the troubles of others. Yet in spite of this, he never thought twice when he saw someone in need. He always tried to help. It was no different then. The world needed heroes─it needed him. And yet… He was a good man. He deserved to be happy. I wish I could have told him that, at least…” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the bright figure that was Ardbert. She gave Set a gentle smile. “I’m sure Ardbert knows how you feel, Keep your medallion safe, alright?” “You remind me of him. Your kindness…” Leeja was fairly certain she could have spotted the shine of tears from them both. He told her about how the amaro were created and how her soul and Ardbert’s were strikingly similar. She was given the shoes and she placed them safely with the other relic.

“That’s all four. Time to go and open the cast–” “There's trouble! Terrible trouble!” Oul Sigun flew toward them as quickly as they could. “What’s wrong? Has something happened?” Thancred frowned as her, Urianger and Minfilia walked over.  “Together with the twins, we were playing tricks on some nasty mortals to stop them from setting foot in Il Mheg. At first they ran off screaming, which was lots of fun! But then a scary, bony, wrinkly old mortal came along and spoiled everything! None of our tricks seem to work on him, which is no fun at all, and now they're getting closer and closer..” Oul Sigund saud qyucjky, “Ran’jit” both Leeja nad Thancred said at the same time. “ If he manages to find his way in, all our efforts will have been for naught.” Thancred continued. “Go to the village, I’ll face the king alone. With Ran’jit you’ll need all the strength you can get” she gave them a brief nod, and, despite his reluctance, Thancred agreed.  “Should we succeed in staying their advance, all the better. Yet even should we fail, if we can but delay our enemy's arrival long enough for thee to secure victory, our plan may still be deemed a success.” Leeja nodded briefly. “So the moment the lights go out, we all beat a hasty retreat, yes?” “Sounds like a plan to me. We should get going, I’ll come and find you the moment I’m done.” “Let me come with you! I have the blessing too!” Minfilia begged. Leeja opened her mouth to respond as she looked at Thancred. “No, Minfilia. You'll only get underfoot. Now, come.” Leeja frowned. “It’s fine, I’ll be alright on my own. Wouldn’t be the first time” Leeja reassured Minfilia. They split up and Leeja made her way to Lyhe Ghiah.

As she stood outside the doors, she heard the faint, shimmering sound of a lock breaking. “The gate has recognized that you bear all four relics. The seal is broken.” Feo Ul’s voice came from behind her. She turned slightly to see them. “Aye, I won’t lie, I’m nervous. In Lakeland, I had my friends with me. Now, they’re fighting to give me the time I need to fight the king.” She admitted. “It is sure to be a ferocious battle. But if anyone can bring an end to our king's torment, it is you. Yet know this, my adorable sapling: though we fae folk may appear to live unfettered lives, there are still laws that bind us. To take back as much as is taken. To create as much as is destroyed. To give as much as is received. In all things, balance must be preserved...and the same will be asked of you. But worry not. Come what may, your beautiful branch will ever be at your side.” Feo managed to make Leeja feel calmer.  “Thank you, Feo. I think I can do this now” she said. Feo smiled and vanished as she pushed the doors open. She pulled out her gunbreaker stone and attuned to it, wanting to have the extra protection with the better gear. 

As Leeja entered the castle, the fae king descended from the upper floors to meet her in the middle. Leeja was stunned for a moment as she took in Titania’s look. She was beautiful. A Lightwarden, sure, but beautiful. Leeja swallowed hard and pulled Hyperion free from her back. With a deep breath, she began the fight. She braced herself for some of the heavier attacks – using Rampart, Nebula, Camouflage. She used Aurora to regenerate the wounds from the hits and used her aether-filled cartridges to get off some of her stronger attacks. Gnashing Fang, Savage Claw, Wicked Talon. Titania made the surroundings look like the outside, trees all over, grass on the ground and they summon three treants. Leeja fought all of them. She defeated the smaller versions and Titania re-summoned them in larger forms, their leaves shrouding the ground and putting it into shadow. Once again, Leeja defeated them.  Titania had summoned her power and as they went to cast their spell, Leeja quickly used Gunmetal Soul in order to protect herself further. The end of the fight came quickly, and when it did, the Light that corrupted Titania made its way toward Leeja, allowing her to absorb it. 

Feo Ul had watched with worry but chose not to say anything. “You have freed our fallen king. Not that I expected any less, my [adorable sapling]” they said happily, watching Leeja pant softly from feeling worn out.  “Aye, you were right. They did not hold back” Leeja sat on the ground for a moment as Feo Ul floated in front of her. “The dress, the crown, the scepter, the shoes─the time has come for these relics to serve their true purpose.” Feo Ul explained what the relics were for and Leeja swallowed hard. She had no idea it would mean she would become the new king. “O-Oh… I didn’t know that…” “My adorable sapling. My precious mortal. We fae folk live forever, but such is not your virtue. To strive for a dream you will never see─to sow seeds that others might one day taste the fruits of your garden─that is the beauty of your kind. Burn bright and shine as only you can. These blessings, your lovely branch will accept in your stead.” “Wait, you’ll become the new king in my stead?” She asked, standing up. Feo Ul nodded with a smile. As they floated in the air, the relics hovered before a bright, white flash of light happened.

Feo Ul had gone from being a small pixie, to a large one with beautiful orange wings, a long purple and pink dress and a flower staff. They were beautiful, and they were now the new king. They held out their hand for Leeja. “Now, shall we attend to those unwise enough to trespass in our realm?” Leeja grinned and nodded. “Let’s go make them regret coming here.” Feo Ul summoned the other fae folk to assist them in chasing away the Eulmorans. Leeja climbed on the back of one of the amaro, to be delivered to her friends, and to watch the madness from above.

From above, they watched the fae folk tormenting the Eulmorans. Leeja couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped her. “Much deserved vengeance, I feel.” As the last of the soldiers – and Ran’jit – fled, the amaro, Leeja and Titania descended from the sky, setting Leeja down carefully. She told them everything that happened – from entering the castle, to Feo Ul taking on the title of king instead of her.  “We are grateful for your timely aid, Feo Ul─or should I say, Your Majesty.” Alphinaud looked at them. “Twas the first night in recent memory. We all of us but wished to make the most of it. That's something you must remember about us fae folk. Though our existence may be eternal, we exist only for the present.”  “That’s… Something to remember, I feel. Existing for the here and now” Leeja smiled and looked up at the king.  “To wit, we are not driven as men are. We cannot fight for such causes as men do.” They made it clear. Leeja hummed softly for a moment. They couldn’t rely on the fae folk to assist, but then again, she wasn’t expecting them to outside of of Il Mheg.  “Does that mean you won't aid us against the sin eaters?” Minfilia asked. “Not unless the mood takes us. But if it was to repay a debt? Well then, that's another matter. To take back as much as is taken. To create as much as is destroyed. To give as much as is received. Such is the way of Il Mheg.” They reaffirmed. Leeja knew this, and now so did the rest of the Scions. “By this law, we shall lend you our strength─in return for the beautiful sky you have restored to us. In times of need, do not hesitate to call.” Leeja chuckled softly. “I’ll make sure to call for you most earnestly. But, what about our pact? Does it change now that you’re king?” She looked up at them. Feo Ul just laughed.  “Silly sapling! I shall remain at your side. Even should my body be in the castle, 'tis a simple thing to have a little part of me accompany you.”  “I look forward to many more adventures with you then, your Majesty. However, I believe it’s time we gather our things and return to the Crystarium. I could do with some much needed sleep” Leeja stretched and yawned. 

After bidding goodbye to the fae folk, the group made their way back toward the Crystarium. The walk was quiet, all of them tired and in need of rest themselves. Alisaie noticed the large gap between Leeja and Thancred, and raised an eyebrow at Leeja. She grabbed her arm gently and pulled her back as everyone else continued onward. “Is everything alright?” She asked quietly. Leeja nodded and raised an eyebrow at her. “Yes? Why do you ask?”  “Hm. I was just wondering, is all. Never mind” Alisaie walked on briskly ahead, and Leeja just stood, sighing softly before she continued onward. She didn’t catch up with the rest of the party, she took her time returning. It began to rain. No warning before hand, it just rained heavily. Leeja stopped walking and turned her face up to the sky, closing her eyes and exhaling slowly and happily as the rain felt nice and cool on her skin. When she felt better, she began the last part of the walk and headed through the gates of the city. She was unaware of Alisaie waiting for her as she walked past. “Leeja?” “Mm?” She stopped and looked at her. “You’ll get sick if you stay out here. Go and get changed and get warm” she urged to the red mage. “Well I can say the same to you. Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been quieter than usual.” Leeja gave her a brief nod. “Everything is fine. Promise. Now, let’s go and get warm alright?” Alisaie huffed and nodded. The pair headed toward the Pendants and toward their respective apartments to rest,  They could make their reports tomorrow.

[way-too-addicted-to-anime]

46, 49, 2, 10, 20? ^^

Okay first of all hiiiiii so glad the fandom is only mostly dead (tee-hee), and thank you for coming up with this fun list! Second, I'm sorry if you've been waiting for me to respond. Tumblr is dumb and didn't tell me I had an ask in my inbox (which I don't check otherwise😅)

Anywho, here's my answers (Fair warning, I write long-winded answers for pretty much every ask I get):

2 - Fav Hetalia artists and why?

Ugh there are so many and I honestly don't remember them because it's been so long since either I or they have been active. Some of the ones I used to see on my dash were hetalia ask blogs. There was one artist in particular, though I can't remember who they were exactly, that I really enjoyed. They ran a few blogs, one of which I remember was an au where America was some kind of monster, and I think another was a Hitman Jones blog? I followed quite a few of those blogs back when I was really active in the fandom.

Many have also deleted over the years, but currently @oplusplus (I just love all of their work, and how they use a couple different styles depending on the kind of work they want to make) is my favorite. I also like much of the work they reblog from other artists, though I've been a bit slow to actually get back into following other fans and artists and consuming Hetalia content😅

10 - How long have you been in the fandom? What's your lore?

I believe I joined the fandom back in 2013-14? I was about that age as well (13-14 that is) So I've been a fan for about 9-10 years now. I was in high school when I first discovered it, and my family and friends at the time could attest to how obsessed with it I became. I still have some decent (and not so decent) fanart and fics floating around the interwebs and my sketchbooks.

Also, when I first joined Tumblr, this was originally a Hetalia OC ask/rp blog... Yeah, I made a Narnia OC, I was that person. I loved her though.

20 - Favorite relationship dynamic?

Being the oldest of three, I'm a big fan of most of the sibling dynamics (I'd say all but Russia and his sisters...), but my favorite has got to be Switzerland and Lichtenstein. It's just so pure and good and brings me such joy.

Honorary mention to the absolute chaos that is the Bad Friends Trio.

(I think this is what this question is referring to, but I'm not entirely sure, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)

46 - Who gives the warmest hugs?

So many would give such good hugs but I think Canada, Finland, China, Spain, and Hungary would have the most comforting ones. The ones that make you feel safe. There is a possible correlation between raising another country and giving really good hugs (though naturally this isn't the sole reason).

There's a lot more I could say about the kinds of hugs the nations would give but I'll save that for a different post.

49 - Who's lactose intolerant and eats like they're not?

Purely based on the behavior of many of the people I know who are lactose intolerant: America. He just has the attitude of someone who'd be like "I know I'm gonna hate myself for this later but that's later right now I want ice cream."

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being Owen Grady’s child

Owen Grady x child!reader

warnings: knives, guns

a/n: i cannot remember the plot bare w me

prompt: being owen’s child

okay, let’s start with the fact that he’s a single dad

that did not stop him from raising you right

navy brat

after a little bit of instability during his years of service, he got a job as a raptor trainer

so you see, it wasn’t a typical childhood

you two moved to isla nublar so he could begin his work

“woah, that’s a dinosaur?”

“yeah, kiddo, she’s a velociraptor”

you were a bit older when you met the dinosaurs, so owen trusted you to be around them

“if you respect them, they’ll respect you”

blue took a liking to you pretty quick!!!

owen thought it was adorable the way you got along with the raptors

you were sort of like a co-trainer

living in that lil trailer

“this place is too small”

“quit your complaining and eat your mac and cheese”

your dad taught you how to fix cars and motorcycles

you did a bang-up job

“you really are my child. oh, my god, im so proud”

watching tv with owen all the damn time

it was usually cartoons though bc that was all he cared to watch

sometimes he forgets that you are not a raptor and you have to jog his memory

“can you get your hand out of my face before i tear it off?”

half of your holiday gifts are weapons

“look at this knife, y/n! it’s two inches longer than your old one. you’ll grow into it”

“dad, a knife is not a pair of pants...but thank you, i love it”

you’re pretty good at throwing knives, though. your dad put a target on a nearby tree for you to practice

every once in a while it’s gun practice, though

“okay, remember the proper foot stance...now arms. make sure not to lock up, make sure your fingers are clear from anything that could move...okay, go!”

there was a high level of trust between you and your dad

he ruffles your hair a lot, you used to care

you no longer care

you had free admission to the park, so sometimes you’d take the day off and wander around for a while

you always came home with a stuffed animal (or several)

“is that a stuffed pterodactyl?”

“his name is pterry”

“nice”

back to raptor training: you loved it!!!!!!!

training a dinosaur was nothing like training a dog, lemme tell you

these lovely dinos made you so happy!!!

they’re pretty at-ease when you’re nearby

arguing when anyone talks about using them for some sort of selfish profit

“they’re animals, dipshit! stop treating them like weapons!”

“mr. grady, are you going to tell your child to behave?”

“no, no i will not”

claire popping over to see your dad while you were working on his bike

because she suddenly needed your dad’s help

and wanted to exclude you until your dad said he wouldn’t do anything unless you had the opportunity to come along

“you know, y/n, i have a nephew who’s about the same age as you visiting here right now”

“how old am i, claire?”

she did not have a response

your dad was stifling chuckles

“nice one, kid” *high five*

tHe InDoMiNuS rEx

you: 👀

owen: 👀

yeah this was not gonna be good

tbh you almost died when you were surveying the cage

why? oh, i don’t know...because there was a BIG FUCKING DINOSAUR IN THAT BITCH

“y/n! under there!”

you ran ahead of owen and ducked under a truck where he soon followed (and dumped gasoline all over yall)

terrifying, truly

your dad did not want to let you out of his sight

not todayyyy

“are you okay, yeah?”

“perfect...”

busting into the control center :) tee hee

while owen was barking orders at people and telling them to not do what they were doing, you were sitting next to the guy with a bunch of dinosaurs on his desk

“you like them?”

“not really, i’m not five”

“oh...”

turning to the screen to see flatlining soldiers

“oh, shit. uh, that’s not good. you need to close the park maybe?”

they dont like listening to the child with the bright ideas ig

they did end up shutting off rides though. best they can do, huh?

claire couldnt get in contact with her nephews

you went after them together

it was a long ass journey

you almost died a few times

although your father did trust you to take care of yourself, even in a situation like this, he still was extremely worried for your safety

you got a gun :)

this was actually positively the worst day of your life

okay, it took a long while to catch up to claire’s nephews

“jesus, claire, you’re nephews sure know how to move. this is getting exhausting”

you didn’t find them until the......pterodactyls got loose

“pterry would never do something like this”

“not the time or place, y/n”

“sorry, dad”

finally finding those damn kids

“hey, i’m y/n, your crazy ass aunt just dragged me and my dad all the way around the island to find you!”

oh yeah a pterodactyl tackled your dad

whoop de do your gun was jammed

claire saved the day and all three of you witnessed their little display of pda amidst chaos

“wow, uh, maybe we’ll be cousins...”

your dad finally caved and agreed to use the raptors to find the indominus rex

and you got to prove your badassery out there

“you sure you’re up for this mission, y/n? you know you can stay with claire and the boys if you want”

“i’ll be okay, dad, i promise”

he gave you a hug

YOU GOT A MF MOTORCYCLE

okay i cant lie, you and your dad riding motorcycles side-by-side among velociraptors was probably the coolest thing you’ll ever get to do

but they, uh, kind of turned on you and next thing you know, you were speeding after the ambulance claire was driving

zach and gray were relieved to see you

you gave ‘em a little wave

“do you think we’ll ever be that cool?”

“gray, not now”

“i’m gonna take that as a ‘no’”

CLAIRE LET OUT THE MOTHERFUCKING T-REX

it was an Experience(tm)

you were split up from your dad and the boys while she was doing that

so you were deathly worried

running over there when it was safe

“is everyone alright?”

“define ‘alright’” -gray

“we’re fine, y/n” -zach

“are you okay?” -dad

“yeah, i think so”

this final battle between the dinosaurs was a bit shocking to watch, but it was hard to keep your eyes off

it all wrapped up and the dinos were let loose

and......the park got closed down

you and your dad were unemployed effective immediately

but your dad and claire finally got together

“you guys are sweet but are we all going to fit in that little camper?”

“we’ll make it work”

they did for a while

but there was a lot if arguing

your dad wanted to reside in the camper forever, claire didn’t, they broke up, you stayed with your dad to help him out during hard times, he decided to build a cabin

he claims he was not affected by the breakup but you knew better

you and your dad had an unbreakable bond, you’d been through so much together

it was only a matter of time before the world had something new in store for you and dad

taglist:

[duhragonball]

Battle Tendency Liveblog JJBA Ch.48-52

This is the “Joseph vs. Straizo” arc, so I’ll just lead off with one of my favorite moments from the entire JoJo franchise, when Joseph furiously declares war on Straizo with tears in his eyes.   In the anime, voice actor Tomokazu Sugita delivered this with such intensity that it actually overshadowed the machine gun.

None of the dubs or translations can do it justice, including this panel from the JoJo’s Colored Adventure scanlation project.   This is a faithful translation of Joseph’s line, as far as I can tell, except they always leave off the last part: “宣戦布告だぜ!!”  In romanji, that’s: “Sensen fukokuda ze!!”    And it means  “This is war!!”  

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Last time, we saw the Joestars treating their new friend Smokey Brown, to dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant.   Some mafia jerk caused trouble, Joseph whooped his ass, and then a second mafia guy apologized and shared a rumor he recently heard: Robert Speedwagon was found dead in a Mexican riverbed, apparently killed by a Tibetan monk.  

From there, we see that Joseph immediately realizes that this must have been Straizo, and Erina suspects that it must have something to do with the Stone Masks and the battle with Dio fifty years ago.   Smokey warns Joseph to consider the source, but Joseph is pretty sure it’s credible information, since mafia guys are all about money.   I’m not sure what that has to do with whether he’s telling the truth, though.   Either way, Joseph slugs the guy for just blurting out such terrible news in front of Granny Erina.  

Now, at this point, Joseph and Erina are making all these Phantom Blood references, and Smokey has no idea what they’re talking about.   And I think seeing this panel helped me understand Smokey’s role as a viewpoint character.  When the Part began, it seemed like Smokey was sort of the narrator for the thing, which works because he’s a good viewpoint character, and he seemed to be settling in as a sidekick like Speedwagon and Poco in Part 1.   But shortly after this he just vanishes from Battle Tendency altogether, and then he shows up at the end like it’s no big deal.   I never quite understood that, and I think this is the sort of thing that fuels the “Araki forgot” memes, but it actually makes a lot of sense.  

See, Smokey’s primary function is to be the viewpoint character, specifically for the readers who missed out on Phantom Blood.    BT is a direct continuation of the previous part, in a way that none of the other JoJo parts are.   Most of the main BT cast was deeply affected by what happened in Part 1.   A few of them lived through it, and the ones that didn’t have personal connections to it.    So they constantly talk about Stone Masks and Dio without really stopping to explain any of it.   Well, if you don’t know what they’re talking about, you can take heart in the fact that Smokey doesn’t know either.   So as long as he can keep up with the story, so can the uninitiated readers.  For now, all that matters is that he’s impressed by the Joestars’ great kindness, and he’s intrigued and disturbed by these hints of a tragic past in their family.  

And eventually, Smokey learns just what happened to the Joestar Family, or at least everything that the reader needs to know to follow Part 2.   But that doesn’t happen until near the end, which is why he shows up to hear the secrets revealed.   But for most of the story, he steps aside, because that’s mostly about Joseph dealing with events in the here and now, so Joseph can act as his own viewpoint character.  

But is Speedwagon truly dead?   The story flashes back to the previous night, after Straizo killed his own disciples and clobbered Speedwagon.   They’re in this temple where Speedwagon discovered more Stone Masks, like the one Dio used, but Speedwagon also discovered an immortal man petrified in a stone column.    Straizo was enlisted to destroy this “Pillar Man” with his Hamon power, but instead he wants to use one of the Stone Masks to turn himself into a vampire.  

Before he does this, he reads Speedy’s translations of the writing on the walls of the temple.    The ancient Aztec cultists who built it said that the Pillar Man was immortal and had many powers, but he was vulnerable to the sun, just like the vampires from Part 1.   But the writings warn that the Pillar Man created the Stone Masks because of this weakness, and one day, “when he befriends the sun, the world will be his.”  That doesn’t seem to follow, since the only thing the Stone Masks seem to be able to do is make new vampires, who are just as vulnerable to sunlight as the Pillar Man.   

Anyway, Straizo doesn’t seem to care.   He just doesn’t want to die of old age, and he’s become disillusioned with the Hamon power he has, so he’s turning heel and going full goth on us.   To avoid Dio’s mistakes, he plans to eliminate any witnesses, including Joseph and Erina.  Then he’ll go into hiding and figure out a long term plan, with the rest of the world unaware of his existence. 

You know, now that I write that out, I’m amazed by how similar that plan is to what Dio ends up doing in Part 3.   In Part 1, he set about turning a whole town into zombies, and planning to unleash them on the world without any real agenda.    But in Part 3 he eventually holed up in a swank mansion in Cairo and took great pains to stay hidden while he acquired more power.   Parts 5 and 8 carry that same idea even further, with villains who go to great lengths to cover up their very existence.   

At any rate, we only see Speedwagon pass out in this scene, so it’s unclear whether he actually dies or not.   Really, using Speedwagon in this way is a pretty smart play.   He’s an old man, and he was never going to survive another 50-year time-skip into the next part, so it’s safe to assume that Part 2 is his swan song.   But how will he die, and when?   It could be at the very start, or maybe somewhere in the middle.  

Anyway, Straizo just walks up to a cafe in New York to confront Joseph, and Joseph whips out a machine gun and shoots his ass.   This whole time, Straizo had assumed that the untrained grandson of Jonathan Joestar would be easy pickings, but Joseph’s a lot more skilled with Hamon than he expected, and he’s tricky too. 

As Joseph fires on Straizo, he recalls how worried Erina was about all this.   The story kind of glosses over it, but Joseph seems to have worked out Straizo’s entire plan.   I guess that’s not much of a stretch.   He and Speedwagon were together with a temple full of Stone Masks, and then Straizo turned on Speedwagon.    Why else would he do that, unless he used the Stone Mask to turn into a vampire like Dio did?   And once you arrive at that conclusion, it isn’t hard to figure out what Straizo’s next move would be.    And that’s how Joseph was so prepared for this.    After the shooting stops, Smokey freaks out about Joseph murdering a dude, but Joseph was expecting a vampire the whole time. 

I also like Joseph’s line in the flashback.   Erina isn’t worried for herself, but for Joseph, because it looks like he’s being pulled into this same tragic fate as the rest of the family.   But Joseph resolves to face this head on.    “If this is my fate, then I accept it.”  Pretty sure Will Zeppeli said the same thing when he discovered that he would die saving Jonathan.  

There’s similar “call-to-adventure” moments in the other parts.   Jonathan has his when he accepts Zeppeli’s offer to train him to battle Dio again.  Jotaro has his when he defeats and saves Kakyoin, then learns what’ll happen to his mother if he doesn’t go.   Josuke has his when Angelo shows up and he has to avenge his grandfather.   Giorno kind of always had a hankering to take on Passione, but I think things got serious once he had a choice between killing or sparing Bruno.  There could be no turning back from that point.  For Jolyne, it was the moment she had a clear path to escape the prison but decided to go back in because that was where her enemy was.    For Johnny, it was that one battle where he chose to crawl towards the danger to save Gyro instead of withdrawing to safety.   For Gappy... I’d have to study that a bit.   

But for Joseph Joestar, it’s this moment.  Erina never sent Joseph to learn the Ripple from the Hamon monastary, and she seems to have taken great pains to keep him out of trouble, but now trouble has come to them, and Joseph isn’t about to back down.   

So yeah, bullets don’t actually kill vampires, but Joseph was hoping to destroy his head with some of those shots, or at least slow Straizo down long enough to finish him off.   Instead Straizo reveals that he has the power to shoot high pressure fluid from his eyes, the same move Dio used to kill Jonathan at the end of Part 1.   He calls this “Space Ripper Stingy Eyes” which is either stupid or brilliant depending on your mood, I guess.   He used it to protect his head from the machine gun fire, and then he uses it again to shoot Joseph... except he hits Joseph’s reflection in a nearby mirror, and I guess he didn’t notice the real thing standing behind him.

What makes this fight so awesome is that these two are determined to kill each other, and they each have extremely simple moves to defeat one another, but they have all these tricks and schemes to protect themselves.   Joseph manages to hit Straizo with Hamon, but it does nothing... because Straizo was a Hamon master before turning into a vampire.   He can’t use the Ripple without destroying himself now, but he still knows how to defend against it.   For instance, he’s got this scarf woven from dead bugs, because it conducts Hamon energy far more effectively than his own body.    So it just absorbs Joseph’s attacks and disperses the energy harmlessly away.   

Does it really have to be made of dead bugs?   I feel like Tonpetti just told him that as a prank.   “No, really (snort!) the only thing that works is dead bugs.  (tee-hee!)   It smells awful but you have to wear it (ha!).”

But Joseph has his own tricks, like... putting a dozen grenades on his opponent’s back when he isn’t looking!  Seriously, there was zero opportunity for him to do this.    One moment he steps over Straizo’s body to see if he’s still alive, and the next moment he supposedly planted all these things on his scarf.   I get that he could pull a string connected to the pin without being noticed, but that’s the only part that makes sense about this.   It’s still awesome, though.   If Jonathan had access to explosives, Part 1 would have been a lot shorter.  

I really think this was the battle that set the tone for Stand Battles in later Parts.   Araki loves these off-panel tricks in combat, and they’re a lot easier to explain when all of your characters have magic super powers.   If Joseph had Hermit Purple in this fight, there’d be no problem at all.   He could just use Hermit Purple to snake through the ventilation shafts and hook up all the grenades.   In fact, it’s tempting to suggest that Joseph was unconsciously using Hermit Purple throughout Part 2, but I don’t want to get into that right now.

Anyway, explosions don’t stop vampires any more than machine gun fire.   Straizo’s body is in pieces, but the pieces just slither back together and regenerate.   Wait, wouldn’t his head have been vaporized in that blast?   Also, Straizo spends the rest of this battle in the nude, so we know that stupid scarf is out of the equation.   Why didn’t Joseph just go back in the cafe and finish Straizo off while he was still in pieces?

Again, it’s easy to say “lol Araki forgot”, but I think it’s a lot more sensible to suggest that Joseph forgot.   As clever as he is, he went in with the Ripple, a machine gun, and a dozen grenades, and Straizo had an answer to all three.   He doesn’t want to press the attack because he’s out of tricks.   All he’s got left is another Hamon attack, which means Straizo will see it coming.   Or he’s still worried about the scarf, and hasn’t realized that it’s gone now.    In any event, he’s running away, creating some distance before Straizo can make his next move.

Also, there’s a lot of bystanders gathering around, so it makes sense to take the fight elsewhere.   Some guy named “Bruty” tries to stop Joseph to impress his girlfriend, but that backfires spectacularly.  Was Bruty in the anime?  I feel like he wasn’t, but I don’t want to check. 

The one I do remember is this girl photographer.   Spider-Man hadn’t been invented yet, so in those days photographers just sort of wandered around with their camera, waiting for Spidey to debut.   This exploding vampire diner is the best she could do in 1938.  

I just really like this lady.   There’s a spark in her eye and I just assumed she would end up being Joseph’s love interest by the end of the story.    Well, we’ll get to that.  

Instead, she’s a hostage.  Joseph and Smokey run to the Brooklyn Bridge?   I guess?   It’s a bridge, I’m sure of that much.   Anyway, Straizo catches this lady and takes her with him to intercept them.   He threatens to kill her unless Joseph faces him again.   But Straizo offers to spare Joseph and never trouble him again if Joseph runs away.   This is because Straizo figures that if Joseph chickens out now, then he’ll never be a threat to Straizo in the future, no matter how powerful his Hamon abilities become. 

Joseph tries to call his bluff, but then Straizo rips out one of the girl’s teeth to prove he means business, and Joseph gets furious all over again.  I don’t think he was ever planning to abandon this fight, but he was probably hoping to get Straizo to give up his hostage at least.   Now he’s just pissed, and Straizo is impressed.  Joseph tries to act cool, but he just can’t hide his passionate feelings.    This is in stark contrast to Jotaro, who wagered his own soul in a poker game and bluffed his way to victory. 

So Straizo tries again with the Space Ripper Stingy Eyes, but this time Joseph blocks it with two shot glasses charged with Hamon power, and then he lands the decisive blow.   But before Straizo dies, Joseph demands to know why Straizo dumped Speedwagon and the others in the river.   Not only does Joseph want to give him a proper burial, but he doesn’t understand why Straizo would have dumped them in the river, since that was how Joseph knew to expect him.  

Wait, I thought Straizo wanted Joseph to know he was coming.   Oh well.

Anyway, Straizo explains that he had to do it, because the Pillar Man was absorbing the blood from his victims.   Straizo was worried that the Pillar Man might awaken, so he put them in the river instead to be safe.    Nevertheless, he suspects that the Pillar Man will reawaken eventually anyway, and Straizo now realizes that it will be Joseph’s destiny to face him some day.    Then Straizo just uses the Ripple one last time, and self-destructs. 

It always seemed strange to me that Straizo saw the danger of the Pillar Man and just left things the way they were.   Maybe he planned to deal with him later, or maybe he just didn’t know or care about it until Joseph defeated him, and he felt a moral obligation to warn someone. 

I guess he could have destroyed the Pillar Man like Speedwagon wanted him to do in the first place, but it seems like Straizo didn’t realize that blood would wake him up until after he was already a vampire, and unable to use the Ripple.  For that matter, it remains to be seen if Hamon will work on Pillar Men.   

Anyway, what else is going on?   Oh, yeah, Europe is getting closer and closer to World War II.   The official start of the war is usually considered to be September 1, 1939, but Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, and Japan invaded China in 1937, and Germany annexed Austria and conquered Czechoslovakia in 1938, the year Battle Tendency is set.  So we’re in this weird time period where there’s Nazis in the story, and the British-American protagonist doesn’t care for them, but isn’t trying to kill them on sight.   I’ll be coming back to this topic later on. 

I think the main reason for including Nazi Germany in this story was to draw parallels between their goals and those of the fictional villains.    The Nazis believed themselves to be the “Master Race”, the most “evolved” people, and this made them worthy to rule the world.   Araki notes that they turned to all sorts of sci-fi/occult/fantasy stuff in their war.   Similarly, you have villains like Dio and Straizo turning to mysterious Stone Masks for spooky powers, and then you have the Pillar Man himself, who apparently sought the means to “befriend the sun” and rule over the world.    So the Nazis fit into this theme of trying to claim some sort of supremacy over other beings.  

But what’s their role in this story?   Well, the Germans have an “information base” in Mexico, run by a guy named Stroheim.   He makes pretty ladies shave him with a straight razor, and if he gets a nick he makes them lick the blood off, and then he threatens to cut off their tongues.   Also, he trained his dog to not eat treats until given permission. He’s a sick fuck, is my point. 

Wait, no, my point was that his staff discovered the bodies that Straizo dumped in the river, including Speedwagon, who’s still alive, somehow.      I guess Straizo was going to finish him off but he got in a hurry when he saw the Pillar Man absorbing the blood from the others.  Not sure how Speedwagon survived that ordeal, but Stroheim’s men have been taking care of him this whole time, and he was unconscious until recently, so it might have been touch-and-go for a while. 

            Back in New York, Joseph doesn’t know what this is all about, but he decides to go to Mexico himself to get to the bottom of it...

[meetmeatthecoda]

Coda, how are you doing?

If you have time, can I ask about Director’s Cut on “Epsy”?

Hello, my dear friend!! 😄 I'm doing well, thank you so much for asking!! 😍 I hope you are doing fabulous!! 🥰 I certainly have time for this (at least now I do - I'm sorry for the delay on this 😂) & I am flattered you want to hear more about Espy - I had fun with it! - so I'll put my notes under a read more for convenience!! ❤️

So, I basically wrote this fic around the idea of Liz having second thoughts about her revenge mission on Red, him getting hurt in the crossfire, Liz panicking about it & rethinking things, & - ultimately - Liz observing Red when he can't see her, like in the end of the Borne Supremacy where Jason Borne is looking at Pam Lundy (unbeknownst to her) & tells her to "get some rest, you look tired". Weird inspiration, I know, but I just loved that twist at this point in season 8 for Red & Liz. (That's also why I chose the title "espy" 😁)

I had specific settings in mind for both scenes in this fic & I loved the idea of Liz, Skip, & Agnes at a fountain for the first scene with Agnes having fun looking at the ducks 😊🦆

I remember having a hard time writing Liz's mental state in the beginning of this but, at this point, I find it kind of necessary to always define the current mentality of either Red or Liz, given that writing Lizzington always comes with a certain amount of mental gymnastics & AU 😒😒😒 But I think I established what I wanted to, which was Liz feeling confident but - overall - that the physical distance is giving her some mental clarity & making her question her motivations which imo it definitely should have.

I also really enjoyed putting Skip firmly in the role of bad guy/T*m replacement in terms of sliminess. He rubbed me the wrong way from the start, so it was super satisfying to draw parallels from him to T*m & establish Liz's mistrust of him which imo she should have had.

I also got tons of petty satisfaction from writing him completely horrible with Agnes & having Liz make the parenthetical observation that Red would never treat Agnes that way, tee hee.

I wrote Liz's scheme falling through mostly bc this was on the heels of the ep where she endangered a whole plane full of innocent passengers for her own stupid goals, while the only chance of saving them rested in the completely uninformed Task Force's hands, so it could have easily been a disaster. That was appalling to me at the time (way to go TPTB) so this scenario was meant to be a bit of a reality check for Liz while keeping innocent people out of the way & only banging up Red a bit, something which would serve as a wake-up call for her in more ways than one.

I loved writing the ultimate confrontation between Liz & Skip, occurring over her feelings about Red, & for some reason I adored the line about Liz feeling a bland satisfaction at being able to push around Skip & parenthetically wishing that "Tom and all the damage he did would stay dead where they belong." I thought that line hit different & I liked it.

(I had fun making Agnes understanding & agreeable & excited about playing princesses on the plane, cause we barely got any decent mommy!Liz moments in canon & it's really sad 🥲)

And the "she has someone she needs to see." line before the break was meant to be a nod to the title, as well as foreshadowing.

I remember having a little trouble writing Red's opening paragraphs, establishing his perspective on what happened & more so on his injuries, which is something - along with action - I'm not very good at writing LOL

But I liked the mental image of Red booking it out of an empty building while Aram is counting down on the phone stuck in his pocket. Poor thing.

(I also needed Dembe strictly in the role of caretaker while not being technically in the fic & I got a chuckle out of writing that he dropped Red off to investigate the empty building & peace-d out to go get a cheeseburger, cause he has such a canon love for food 😂)

I also liked the idea of Liz's apparent betrayal hurting Red more than any injury he sustained cause I love angstttttt 🥲

I loved the idea of Red being too tired & sore to even get a drink when alcohol was surely something he relied on in that time when Liz was out to get him, meanwhile him collapsing in the chair instead of a bed was more of a necessity plot-wise so Liz could see him through the window wall - which I also remember was hard to describe. I kept fiddling with the description.

The attempted verbal sparring & Red's befuddlement over Liz's unexpected concern was very fun to write.

I couldn't help but include that whiplash line, it made me snort 😏

I liked the lighter, softer conversation of Red asking where Liz is, Liz calmly declining to answer but bringing up Agnes, & Red asking how she is.

I almost didn't include Liz saying that Agnes asks about Red, that was a last minute addition, but I once I thought of it & realized it fit in pretty well, I liked the added emotional depth & it being the climax of the conversation with Red's desperate "it doesn't have to be this way -" followed by Liz just not being ready for the next part of the conversation & Red accepting that & letting her go with a wish for her to be safe.

And of course the little twist of the Jason Bourne-esque ending - I remember tweaking and re-tweaking that paragraph & the subsequent ending bc it's the real center of the fic & I wanted it to be good.

And the last line is a reference to the title as well 😊

Well, there you go, my friend, I hope this was interesting/entertaining for you to read!! 😅 Thank you so much again for asking about this fic, I really appreciate!! 🥰 Much love to you, my friend!! ❤️

[krat395]

Gorgeously Glamorous Gargalesis (Chapter 1)

Happy 6th Anniversary to Undertale! Yay! :D It sure doesn’t feel like it’s been six years already but it has! OMG! And to celebrate, here is the first chapter of a lengthy story; first of ten, believe it or not. Taking place one day after “Laugh For Us, King Fluffybuns” and three days before the first seven chapters of “W.D. Gaster, the Ultimate Tickle Master,” Asriel and MK get themselves into a real ticklish situation at MK’s house; one approved by MK’s mother, Lydia, and orchestrated by a “fabulous” house guest. ;) But before we dive into that, let’s take some time to meet a special, talented little guy, whose role in this story might be more important than you think. X3

 Undertale© Toby Fox.

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Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

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GORGEOUSLY GLAMOROUS GARGALESIS

 Chapter 1: Baby Lizard! :D

 It is a Tuesday afternoon; 3:30pm to be exact; and just recently, MK and his mother, Lydia, arrived at their home after a full day of school. But they're not alone however. Accompanying them is Prince Asriel Dreemurr, who promised to hang out with MK today after school while his two sisters and MK's kid sister are off at a slumber party; and Rocco (MK's father), who has been home most of the day due to having a day off from work. Asriel and MK don’t have anything in particular that they want to do today after school. They just want to spend some time with each other, that’s all. It’s been a while since the two of them hung out together without Frisk and/or Chara accompanying them.

 Rocco: Hey, hey! Look who's here! *said Rocco with a smile, noticing his wife, older son, and Asriel right as he was about to put a pan of lasagna in the oven*

 Lydia: Heeheeheeheehee! Hey there, handsome. *said Lydia in response, smiling and kissing Rocco on his left cheek* Heeheeheehee! *she then giggled after noticing that she made him blush X3*

 Rocco: Hehe. W-wow! Perfect timing, you three! I was just about to put the lasagna in the oven!

 Lydia: Heeheehee! Yeah, I can see that. X3

 MK: Lasagna?! We're having lasagna?! *asked MK excitedly with a big sharp-toothed smile on his face, mere seconds before wagging his tail to further express his excitement* Oh man, what's the occasion?

 Rocco: Haha! No occasion, champ. *lied Rocco* We just haven't had it for a while and your mother and I thought it sounded good for a change. Hahaha! Right, honey? *he then asked Lydia while winking at her*

 Lydia: Heeheehee! That's right! *Lydia agreed, winking back at Rocco* Heeheeheehee! (It will serve as a reward for taking part in a fun little afternoon activity orchestrated by a very special friend of ours and approved by yours truly. Tee hee!)

 MK: Haha! Well alrighty then! If you insist! Just be sure to save at least one piece for GK since she won't be joining us tonight.

 Rocco: Haha! I'll do you one better, champ! I'll save her at least two!

 MK: Hehe. Awesome! And some garlic bread to go with it?

 Rocco: G-garlic bread?! *asked Rocco, pretending to be offended by his son's innocent question just to mess with him*

 Lydia: *gasp* Uh oh! Now you've done it, honey puff! *Lydia then said to MK in response; to add to Rocco's little joke*

 Rocco: You think we're having garlic bread with the lasagna?!

 MK: Y-yes? *answered MK both awkwardly and nervously in response*

 Rocco: Well… you're absolutely right, champ! *Rocco then said in the friendliest tone imaginable while showing his son a pan with slices of garlic bread on it*

 Lydia: Heeheeheeheeheehee! Oh, you. Heeheeheeheehee!

 MK: Aw, Dad! Again?! Come on! *shouted MK with a bit of an irritated tone in his voice*

 Asriel: Pfffffffff… Hahahahahahaha!!! Oh, man; he got you again, MK! Hahahahaha!!! Good one, Rocco!

 Rocco: Haha! Thanks, Azzy! Hahaha! Glad to know that at least one of you boys appreciates my jokes! *Rocco then said jokingly while grinning cheekily at MK* Ehehehehehe!

 Rocco loves teasing his son and one of his ways of doing so is changing his friendly tone of voice for a brief moment to give MK the impression that he might be in trouble only for MK to find out that he isn't actually in trouble at all. Rocco's a jokester like that. ;)

 MK: H-hey! I-I-I a-appreciate them! *stammered MK in defense* I do!

 Rocco: Hehe. Are you sure about that, champ? *Rocco then asked with a mischievous sharp-toothed smile while scooping MK up into his arms* Are you suuuuuure?

 MK: Eeeeeeeep! Yes, I'm sure! *shouted MK nervously in response*

 Rocco: Are you really sure? *Rocco then asked as he proceeded to hold MK upside down*

 MK is now being held upside down by Rocco! Rocco is strong enough to hold MK upside down with just one arm (either arm; but in this case, his left arm); usually with a secure and comfortable grip around both of MK's ankles; and while holding MK upside down with one arm, he is then able to do whatever he pleases to MK's feet. And that will be easy because MK's soles are currently facing upwards directly underneath Rocco's chin with the whole backside of his body up against Rocco himself.

 MK: AHHHHHHHHHHH!! YES, DAD, I'M SURE!! *shouted MK once more; this time more frantically* EEEEEEEEEEEEP!! I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE SURE ABOUT ANYTHING IN MY LIFE!!

 Rocco: Hahaha! Really? Hahaha! Well, good! It pleases me greatly to hear you say that, champ!

 MK: I-it does? Hehe. Awesome!

 Lydia: Heeheeheehee! Yes! Super awesome, honey puff! *Lydia agreed*

 Rocco: Haha! Yes, it is; I agree. *Rocco then chimed in while intertwining his own tail with MK's; just in case MK decides to try anything funny with his tail during the next while* Ehehehehe. But not nearly as awesome as this! *he then claimed with a mischievous smile, beginning a ticklish assault on MK's bare soles with every single clawed finger on his free hand* Hahahahaha! Coochie coo! Coochie coochie coo!

 At that moment, Rocco began tickling MK's yellow three-toed feet with his free hand fingers, scribbling each of them wildly against his extremely sensitive soles. What followed of course was several squeaks and frantic laughter from the young reptilian boy, who couldn't pull his feet away from his father's fingers no matter how hard he tried. X3

 MK: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! *SQUEAK* DAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAD, NOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!! *MK involuntary pleaded through his laughter, wiggling frantically in his father's grasp and flailing his robotic arms as a means of dealing with his current tickle torture* HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHA!!! DAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAD, HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHA, WHY ME?!?! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHA!!! TICKLE AZ INSTEAD!!! *he then suggested while continuing to laugh; just seconds before he inadvertently exposed his bare scaly belly* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!! HE'S OUR GUEST, REEHEEHEEHEEHEEMEMBEHEHEHER?!?! *SQUEAK* HAHAHHAAHHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 Rocco: Hahaha! Yes, champ, I'm aware. *said Rocco with a chuckle, right as he began wiggling his fingers all willy-nilly in between and underneath his son's toes* Which reminds me; Azzy, get his belly! *he then suggested with an "evil" sharp-toothed grin, causing Asriel to perk up* Come on! You know you want to! Hahahahahaha!

 MK: HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!! WHAHAAHAHHAAT?!?! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!! NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!! *MK pleaded through his laughter, shocked that Rocco requested that Asriel should assist in tickle torturing him; even though in retrospect, he probably should’ve seen it coming* HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! DOHOHOHOHOHOHHON'T LISTEN TO HIM, AZ!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! PLEEHEEHEEHEEASE DOHOHOHON'T LISTEN!!! *SQUEAK* HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEEHEEHEEHEEEHEEHEEHEEHEEEHEEHEEHEE!!!

 Asriel did not listen to MK’s pleas. When given a chance to tickle his precious reptilian friend, he almost never refuses! ;)

 Asriel: Hahaha! Yes, sir! You got it!

 Lydia: Wait! Azzy! Stop for a second, would you, my dear?

 Just as Asriel was about to wreak havoc on MK's belly with his furry fingers, Lydia stopped him; long enough to do something about MK's flailing robotic arms.

 Asriel: Uh… ok? What for?

 Lydia: I don't want MK hitting you with his robot arms. *answered Lydia, summoning a pair of magic arms made up entirely of magical energy (cyan in color) to hold MK's robot arms above his head; or, in this case, under his head since he’s upside down; and expose his sensitive armpits* Not that he'd do it on purpose or anything. He just loses all sense of control while he’s being tickled.

 Asriel: Haha! That he does! *Asriel agreed* Hahahaha! Thank you!

 Lydia: Heeheeheeheehee! You’re welcome! Heeheeheeheehee! Now go get him!

 And so he did! When given the ok to do so, Asriel wiggled every single one of his fingers against MK’s exposed stomach and sides, especially the area around his bellybutton! What followed of course was more frantic laughter from MK. Much more frantic laughter! Asriel’s fur tickled him so much and once it was combined with his father’s clawed fingers, his laughter shot up an entire octave and his stomach quivered like you would not believe! Constantly trying to pull away from the each set of skillful fingers but to no avail! And it certainly didn’t help that his mother was preventing him from being such a wiggle worm either! The more limited the movement, the more intense the tickle torture is as a whole! Especially with furry fingers wreaking havoc on his exposed scaly belly and sides; and clawed fingers wreaking havoc on his bare scaly feet!

 MK: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEGAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! OHOHHHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH MY GOHOHOHOHOHOHOSH, YOU GUYS!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! OHOHOHOHOOHOHOHOH MY GOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOSH!!!! *SQUEAK* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!! EEEEEEEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE HEEHEEHEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEEHEEHEEHEEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!!!! STOHOHOHOHOHOP BEFORE I GET LIGHT-HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEADED!!!! *SQUEAK* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEGAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 Rocco: Haha! Don’t worry, champ! We’ll let you go very shortly. *assured Rocco, moments before blowing two raspberries on the balls of MK’s feet* Right after some foot raspberries! Pbfffffffffffffffffffffffffff!!! Pbffffffffffffffffffffffffff!!!

 Asriel: Heeheehee! And nuzzles! *Asriel chimed in, nuzzling MK’s belly for a few seconds*

 MK: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! OHOHOHOHOH GOHOHOHOHOD, NOHOHOHOHOHOHOT FOOHOOHOOHOOT RASPBERRIES!!!! *pleaded MK through his now more explosive laughter* HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! THEY’RE MY WEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEAKNESS!!!! *he inadvertently added, causing Asriel to take a mental note of how effective foot raspberries are against him* AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 Whenever Rocco tickles MK while holding him upside down, he tends not to do so for any extended periods of time. Rocco may be a jokester but he’s also very considerate towards others (especially those closest to him) and would never do anything to harm anyone and/or make anyone feel uncomfortable. Not intentionally, anyway. But none of that mattered in the end because the tickle torture came to an abrupt stop the moment everyone in the kitchen heard the sounds of cooing and babbling on a baby monitor.

 ???: *cooing and babbling*

 Lydia: *excited gasp* REX! He’s awake!

 Rocco: Hehe. Well he sure got some good rest! I put him down for a nap about 3 hours ago!

 Rex: *more babbling and cooing*

 Lydia: Oh, he sounds like he's about to start playing. MK, Azzy; you boys should go upstairs and play with him. He'd really love that, you know. Heeheeheehee!

 MK: Heeheeheehee! We do! Heeheeheehee! Consider it done!

 Asriel: Heeheeheehee! Yeah! Plus, it'll be nice to hold him without Frisk trying to steal him from us.

 MK: Hehe. You got that right! She's so baby-crazy!

 Lydia: Heeheehee! She is! *agreed Lydia with a giggle* But can you really blame her though? Rex is just too cute for words! Like you boys! Heeheehee!

 Asriel and MK: Hehe. Y-yeah. *the two young boys agreed, both of them blushing at Lydia’s comment* Heeheeheehee.

 Lydia: Heeheeheehee! Well, go on now. Don't keep him waiting.

 MK: Right! ...Heeheehee. Race to the top, Az! *shouted MK as he took off running* Heeheeheeheehee!

 Asriel: H-hey! No fair! You got a head start, you cheater! *Asriel chimed in, following behind*

 MK: Heeheeheehee! Too bad! Heeheeheheheehee! OOOOOOF!

 While running towards the stairs, MK tripped and fell face first on the floor. So clumsy!

 Asriel: Oh, dude, are you ok?!?! *asked Asriel all concerned*

 MK: Hehe. Y-yeah. I'm ok. *assured MK, immediately bringing himself back up on his feet and in a standing position* Uh, on second thought, l-let's walk upstairs instead, o-ok, dude?

 Asriel: Sure. Good idea.

 And with that, the young monster boys made their way upstairs to Rex's room. Since Asriel doesn't have any siblings under the age of 3, he is especially excited to see Rex, who, unlike MK, has real arms rather than robotic ones and two rows of spikes on his head rather than just one. Rex is a fun little boy and for a 15-month-old, he's quite talented; capable of performing various tasks that many children his age are incapable of performing; and he does all of them with not just his arms but also his mouth, feet, and tail. Yes, despite the fact that Rex was fortunate enough to hatch with a pair of arms like his father, he makes very frequent usage of his mouth, feet, and tail just like his mother and siblings often do. Though especially his tail, which is unusually long for a lizard monster his age and size. But despite its long length though, he rarely trips over it; and if he's feeling real energetic, which he does a lot of the time, he can stand on it and even hang upside down by it. ;)

 MK: Rex. Oh, Rex. Your big bro is back from school. *said MK in a singsongy voice, slowly opening Rex's bedroom door to greet the young toddler himself*

 Asriel: And Azzy too! *Asriel chimed in, following MK* Heeheeheehee!

 As MK and Asriel entered Rex's room, they saw Rex, who's currently wearing a red sweater and long black pants, sitting on the floor stacking up wooden blocks with letters, numbers, shapes, and symbols on them. Rex loves playing with wooden blocks and one of his favorite things he likes doing with them is stacking them up as high as he can reach and then knocking them over with one or more of his favorite toy weapons and/or his own tail. It’s such a good time! ;) And it’s even more of a good time if he has someone there with him; to watch him knock donwn his tower(s) of blocks and/or lend a hand (or tail) in the "destruction." ;P

 Rex: Ah... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Bababababa! Heeheeheehee! *Rex squealed, babbled, and giggled excitedly the moment he heard his big brother's voice, completely stopping what he was doing to greet him (and Asriel too) X3* Ooooooooooooooooooooooo… *he cooed, wagging his tail happily to express his excitement even more*

 Asriel: Awwwww! Hey, little guy. It’s so nice to see you; tank top or no tank top. Wait, how come you're not wearing a tank top today, buddy?

 MK: Hehe. Same reason Dad's wearing one of his 3-button shirts and jeans. He wanted to look nice for our guest. *MK answered for Rex, scooping Rex up into his robotic arms* Heeheeheeheehee! *he giggled, teasingly poking Asriel's belly a few times with his tail not even one second later*

 Asriel: PFFFFF… BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! *Asriel laughed preciously in response, seconds before grabbing MK's tail and simply moving it away from his stomach rather than tickling MK back* HEHEHEHEY!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! DUHUHUHUHUHUDE!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

 MK: Heeheehee. Well, that and we lowered the temperature a little so you wouldn't be uncomfortable.

 Asriel: Heeheeheeheeheeheehee… Aw, dude; you, heeheeheeheeheehee, you didn't have to do that. *said Asriel in response, speaking in short bursts of giggling due to lingering ticklish sensations*

 MK: Hehe. Dude, we used to live in Snowdin for goodness sake! We'll be fine. *assured MK*

 Asriel: Are you sure?

 MK: Oh my gosh, yes! But just to be extra sure, let's ask Rex. Rex…

 Rex: Ababa. *babbled Rex in response, looking at MK as he set him back down on the floor*

 MK: You ok with it being a little colder in here, bud?

 Rex: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! *squealed Rex happily, clapping his hands and feet while standing on his long tail* Heeheeheeheeheehee!

 MK: Hehe. Well, I'll take that as a yes. *said MK in response, gently grabbing Rex's legs to play with them a little as he continued standing on his tail* Heeheeheehee. Man, you're full of energy today!

 Asriel: Hehe. Well, he did just wake up from a 3-hour nap. *Asriel pointed out*

 MK: Hehe. True. Heeheeheehee. So, what do you want to do first, Rex?

 Rex: Blaaaaaaaaaaaaabububububu. *said Rex in response, pointing at the wooden blocks he was playing with before MK and Asriel showed up* Gugagutaga… Abeebababaaa. *blows raspberry*

 Asriel and MK: Heeheeheeheeheehee. *the two older boys giggled in response*

 MK: Heeheehee. Well, alrighty then! But, uh, can Az and I get some fist bumps and high fives from you first?

 Rex: YEEEEEEEEEEEEE! *squealed Rex happily in response as MK let go of his legs* Heeheeheeheehee.

 Thanks to Rocco, Rex knows how to do high fives and thanks to MK's friend and classmate, Brad (Bravery), Rex knows how to do fist bumps. MK would've taught him how to do both of those things but he didn't have his robot arms at the time; or any type of arms for the matter. But now that MK has robot arms, he has been asking Rex to give him fist bumps and high fives practically every day for the past three months; and the way Rex does so is absolutely adorable and so is the way MK interacts with him while he does them. First, MK holds out his fist for Rex to give him a fist bump and every time Rex gives him one, MK pulls back his fist and jokingly pretends that Rex hurts him, causing Rex, who can always tell that MK’s just kidding around whenever he does that, to giggle in response. Then after that, MK holds up both of his robotic hands for Rex to give him some high fives; double high fives to be exact and Rex always does 3 sets of them. The first set of double high fives is traditional; Rex slaps MK's robotic hands with his own hands. But the second and third sets of double high fives however; those ones are rather unique. Rather than standing up straight on his feet, Rex stands on his tail and slaps MK's hands; first with his own two hands and then with his own two feet. X3

 MK: Yay! Feet five! Good job, baby bro! Give Az a fist bump and fives and then we can start playing, ok?

 Rex: Okeeeeeeeeeeegagagagagaga! *blows raspberry* Heeheeheeheehee!

 Moments later… after Asriel received a fist bump and high fives from Rex…

 Asriel: Yay! Way to stand on that tail, little guy!

 Rex: Heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee! *giggled Rex in response, positioning himself back on his feet* Meeyataboobu! Babababababa! *he babbled, running over to his toy box to grab some toys*

 Toy box: Playtime! It's playtime! Yaaaaaaaaaaaay! Have fun, Rex! *said the toy box in a singsongy voice that sounded like Alphys's voice; because it was Alphys’s voice X3*

 Rex: Heeheeheeheeheeheehee!

 MK: Hehe. Gotta love Alphys.

 Rex is very protective of 4 particular toys of his and to help him protect those 4 toys, Alphys built him a special toy box a few months ago. Only Rex can open the box and he does so by inserting the tip of his long tail inside a small hole that scans his tail. It's a neat little contraption and very toddler-friendly too; always speaking in Alphys's voice to bring a smile to Rex's cute little face. X3 Rex loves Alphys very much and the fact that he's the only one that can open the box she made for him makes him feel pretty dang special too! X33

 Asriel: Oh! Is he getting what I think he's getting?

 Inside Rex's box are 4 toy weapons; one hammer, one axe, one sword, and one very, very, very special toy weapon that Papyrus made for him for his very first birthday last February. The weapon Papyrus made for him is his favorite toy weapon and whenever it’s not in use, it’s concealed in a red protective toy scabbard. Overall, Rex loves playing with toy weapons. Whether he's using them to knock down wooden block towers or playfully hitting someone with them, he always enjoys himself and never gets tired of playing with them. And while the toy weapon Papyrus made him is his favorite weapon, he enjoys playing with his hammer, axe, and sword just as much. One thing he likes to do is triple-wield. One weapon with his left hand, one weapon with right hand, and one weapon with his tail! :D

 Rex: Eeeeegah! Amaboo! Adeedada! *Rex babbled excitedly, simply just for holding a toy hammer in his right hand, a toy axe in his left hand, and a toy sword with his long tail* Heeheeheeheehee!

 Asriel: Haha! Yes! But, you, uh, y-you don't have any block towers to destroy though; not any finished ones. So, what are you planning to do with those, little guy?

 Rex: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Rararararara…!

 All of a sudden, Rex charged towards MK, who was sitting on the floor in a cross-legged position, and went to town attacking him with his toy weapons, starting with his tail.

 MK: Eeeep! Rex! Oof! Hey! Oof! W-why are you attacking me?! Oof! You’re… Oof! You’re supposed to be attacking Az, remember? Oof!

 He does remember. Rex is just messing with MK right now, that's all. Like Rocco, Rex loves teasing MK and one notable way he does so, besides attacking him with his soft toy weapons, is throwing toys at him. Yes, to tease MK, Rex throws toys at him; soft toys like his stuffed animals to be exact and ones that don't physically harm MK in any way. Oh, but if Rex is mad at MK however, then he'll throw hard toys at him; hard toys like his wooden blocks! And those hurt! And since Rex is a little toddler, there isn't much MK can do other than say to him, "No, Rex! Don't throw toys at MK!" MK's a good sport about it though and fortunately for MK, Rex doesn't get mad at him all that much. :)

 Asriel: Haha! No, don't attack me, Rex! Keep attacking MK! He deserves it!

 Rocco: Hahaha! That he does, young man. *said Rocco with a chuckle as he entered the bedroom to check on the boys, startling Asriel a little due to his all of a sudden appearance* Hahaha!

 Asriel: O-Oh, h-hey, Rocco. *said Asriel awkwardly after being startled by Rocco's all of a sudden appearance*

 Rocco: Haha! Yo! Dinner will be a while so I thought I'd check in on you boys; to see how you're doing.

 Asriel: Great! We're doing great! Haha! Right, MK? Right, Rex?

 Rex: *babbles in agreement*

 MK: Haha! Yeah! Haha! Oof! Rex! Oof! Ok, come on, bud; joke's over! Oof! Go attack Az now, please! Oof!

 Rex: Raaaaaaaaaaaaa! Gagagagagagagaga! *babbled Rex in response, completely ignoring MK's request* Heeheeheeheehee!

 Despite being told to playfully attack Asriel with his toy weapons, Rex continued attacking MK with them instead; to tease him some more. XD

 MK: Come on! Please? Oof! Please, Rex? Oof!

 Rex: *keeps attacking MK* Gagagagagaga...

 Rocco: Hahahahaha! Good job, Rex! It's fun picking on your brother, isn't it?

 Rex: *babbles in agreement*

 Rocco: Haha! Yes! And here's someone else that thinks so too! *stated Rocco, pulling out Darius, Rex's favorite stuffed toy*

 Darius is a cartoonish-looking stuffed toy; a hybrid creature; part dragon, part cat. He's Rex's favorite stuffed creature and he has a red dragon tail with spikes, red dragon wings, red three-toed feet with white toe claws, red dragon arms, red hands with clawed fingers, dragon spikes and black cat ears on his head, a dragon snout with whiskers, green eyes, and black fur on the non-scaly areas of his body. In addition, he can be controlled like a puppet, a feature that Rocco often takes advantage of when putting Rex down for a nap, putting Rex to bed, calming Rex down whenever he's upset, cheering Rex up whenever he's sad, or just playing with Rex in general. And the voice Rocco does for Darius; very baby-friendly! :D It's a high-pitched squeaky voice (similar to Elmo from Sesame Street); way different than his normal speaking voice; and with it, he puts a smile on Rex's face just about every time. X3

 Rocco as Darius: Meeeeeeeee! Hahahaha! Yay, Rex! Haha! "Destroy" your big "smelly" brother! "Destroy" him! Hahahaha!

 MK: Big “smelly” brother? Oof! Dad, are you serious?! *asked MK in a response while rolling his eyes at Rocco; in a slightly irritated way* Oof!

 Rocco: What? I didn’t say anything! *lied Rocco, acting all innocent*

 Rocco as Darius: But I did! Hahahahaha! Holy moly, young man! When was the last time you showered or took a bath?! P.U.! Hahahahaha!

 MK: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…

 Then suddenly,

 MK: GUH! BWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAA!!! *MK laughed hysterically all of sudden, furry fingers overflowing his scaly soles with mega ticklish sensations* AZ, NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!! *SQUEAK* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! OH GOHOHOHOHOHOD, STOHOHOHOHOHOHOP!!! *he pleaded, squirming up a storm, which prompted Rex to move away from him, and wiggling and splaying his toes with every passing second as he tried to pull his feet out of a predicament that was practically impossible to break out of in his current state* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!! GAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 MK is being a bit grouchy at the moment. So, to get him smiling and laughing, Asriel has decided to tickle his feet; and to ensure that MK won't kick his legs, swing his tail, or escape at all during the tickle torture; Asriel kneeled over MK's calves with his back facing towards MK, trapping the young lizard boy’s legs and tail underneath his own legs.

 Rex: Heeheeheeheeheehee! Gaaaabagoogaaaaa! *Rex giggled and babbled excitedly while watching Asriel tickle his brother's feet*

 Asriel: Hahaha! No can do, dude! You're being too grouchy! Hahaha!

 MK: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I'M NOHOHOHOT GROHOHOHOUCHY!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I'M JUST A LITTLE, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, ANNOYED THAT EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEVERYONE'S PICKING ON MEEHEEHEEHEE, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, WHEN THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE PICKING ON YOOHOOHOOU!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! OR BOHOHOHOHOHOHOTH OF US!!! *SQUEAK* EEEHEEHEEHEEHEEEHEEHEEHEEEHEHEEHEEHEEHEE!!! OH GOD, MY POOHOOHOOHOOR FEEHEEHEEHEET!!! *SQUEAK* EEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!!!

 Rocco: Hahahahaha! Oh, don't worry, champ! We'll pick on Azzy soon enough! I promise!

 Rocco as Darius: No we won't! Not if I have anything to say about it! Hahahahahaha! Coochie coochie coo, “smelly” boy! Hahahahahaha!

 To add to the tickle torture and to tease MK some more, Rocco lifted up MK's shirt and used Darius to tickle MK's belly; using his right hand to control the toy’s mouth to nibble on MK’s stomach and pretend that he was eating it. Then, as a precaution, Rocco wrapped his long tail around both MK’s robotic wrists; in order to prevent MK from trying to tickle him back with his robotic hands.

 MK: GAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!! *MK laughed even more hysterically in response, his stomach quivering as new ticklish sensations overflowed his upper body* DAHAHAHAHAD, NOHOHOHO!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! DAHAHAHAHAHAD!!! *SQUEAK* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 Rex: Heeheeheeheeeheeheehee! *Rex giggled while watching his dad and Asriel tickle MK together*

 Rocco: Hey, Rex; come on over here, buddy!

 Rocco as Darius: Haha! Yeah, you can help us if you want! There's always plenty of room for my most favorite friend!

 Rex: Heeheeheeheeheehee! *giggled Rex once again, hugging his own long tail excitedly while at the same time ignoring his father's request*

 Rocco: Or you can just sit there and keep watching us! That's fine! You do whatever makes you happy, buddy! *said Rocco in a very friendly manner* Hahaha!

 And he is too! Just watching others being tickled is enough to put a smile on Rex's face. :D

 MK: BWAAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 The tickle torture continued for at least 90 seconds but then came to an abrupt stop once Asriel told Rocco that he wanted to try blowing some raspberries on MK's feet.

 Rocco: Oooooooh, great idea! I'll hold his legs for you!

 Seconds later, Rocco, while keeping his long tail wrapped around MK's wrists, set Darius aside and grabbed both of MK's legs and held them up in a position where Asriel could easily and comfortably blow some raspberries on his feet. In addition, Rocco placed his own two feet on MK's tail; not hard enough to crush it but hard enough to prevent MK from using it to retaliate against Rocco and Asriel.

 MK: Eeeeeeeeep! Dad, get your big smelly feet off my tail! *pleaded MK, struggling to get his tail out from underneath his father's large 3-toed feet, which don't actually smell bad at all*

 Rocco: Hahahaha! Why? So you can use it to try and escape from this? Hahahahaha! No can do, champ! I know your tricks! *said Rocco in response, smiling cheekily at his older son while wiggling his six toes* Hahahaha! Azzy, do your worst! *he then said to Asriel, giving him the ok to blow some raspberries on MK's feet* Hahahaha!

 Asriel: Hahaha! Yes, sir!

 MK: Eeeeeep! No, Az! Don't listen to him! Don't…

 Asriel: Pbfffffffffffffffffffffffff…!!!

 Asriel has just blown a raspberry on MK's right heel.

 MK: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAHAHHAHA!!! *laughed MK hysterically in response; even more now with Asriel blowing raspberries on his feet* NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHAAHAHAHHA!!! OH MY GOD, HAHHAHAAHAHAAHAHA, YOUR FUZZY FACE MAKES IT WOHOHOHOHOHORSE!!! *SQUEAK* HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!!! SOHOHOHOHO MUCH WOHOHOHOHORSE!!! HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 Once again, Asriel's tickly fur is being put to good use! :D Foot raspberries alone are enough to send MK into ticklish fits of hysterical laughter but with Asriel's fur thrown into the mix; it's a whole new level of ticklishness! MK was laughing, squealing, squeaking, and everything in between and Asriel's fur combined with raspberries tickled his scaly feet so much that tears began streaming out of his eyes; and once Rocco told Asriel to blow raspberries on the balls of his feet right underneath his toes, it was all over for poor MK!

 Asriel: Pbffffffffffffffffffff! Pbfffffffffffffffffff!

 MK: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!! GAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHA!!!! OH GOHOHOHOHOHHOHOSH!!!! HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAAHAHA!!!! OH GOSH, NOHOHOOHOHOHOT THEHEHEEHEHERE!!!! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!! NOHOHOHHOHOOHOHOHOHOT THEHEHEHEHEHEHHERE!!!! *MK pleaded through his laughter, squirming and thrashing in Rocco's clutches while desperately trying to pull his feet away from Asriel's mouth* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!! *SQUEAK* EEEEEHEEHEEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!!!! *SQUEAK* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

TO BE CONTINUED...

[johannas-motivational-insults]

Adora might be autistic too

Alright, most people in the SPOP fandom agree that Entrapta is autistic, as her coding is extremely obvious. However, some of us also believe that our beloved protagonist Adora is on the spectrum as well. She comes off as quite the aspie, and while Asperger’s is no longer a diagnosis in the DSM-V (but is in other manuals), it falls under the blanket diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its diagnostic criteria is still useful in analyzing people for signs of the disorder. In analyzing Adora’s character I will refer somewhat to both disorders, with the understanding that Asperger’s is a specific manifestation of ASD.

I would like to preface this by saying this is a headcanon and people are free to disagree with me. Some of these characteristics I’m going to bring up could also manifest because of her very sheltered upbringing in a cult-like atmosphere or mental illnesses such as anxiety and complex PTSD (both of which she arguably has). I am autistic myself, so obviously I am inclined to interpret these symptoms this way, but to each their own. It’s also worth noting that Adora has a lot of symptoms that cross over with AD(H)D, a cousin disorder to ASD, and it’s totally possible she has both.

In any case, there is now enough evidence hinting at Adora’s neurodivergence (especially now that the Rebel Princess Guide has been released) that I feel the need to explain this theory in detail instead of just occasionally mentioning it. So here goes...

She’s naive/easily manipulated

This one doesn’t really need explaining, we’ve all seen it. Adora assumes people are telling the truth because why would anyone lie to her? That is such a relatable spectrum feel. She was handily brainwashed by Shadow Weaver in the Horde, while some of the others didn’t seem to swallow the propaganda so easily. This is of course partly because of the special attention and affection Adora got from Shadow Weaver, but she had to be vulnerable to manipulation in the first place for it to work.

Later, she trusts Huntara easily in the Crimson Waste despite Bow and Glimmer’s warnings about her questionable character. Adora happily follows her into a trap even once Bow and Glimmer tell her they're going the wrong way, reasoning it’s probably a shortcut rather than reevaluating her misplaced trust. This can be partly explained by how she‘s gay af for Huntara, but still.

(Interestingly, the episode cuts straight from this moment to the obviously autistic Entrapta going against her own friend's advice and refusing to give up on the portal machine despite the obvious warning sign of Hordak’s violent dismissal. Parallels, much?)

Her difficulty understanding other points of view

A lot of Adora’s conflict with Catra is predicated on misunderstandings, and she has a hard time understanding the effects her actions have on other people, Catra in particular. For instance, she misunderstands Catra talking about ruling the Horde together as being purely about power, while Catra’s actual goals are safety and Adora’s companionship. That miscommunication is not just Adora’s fault, but it illustrates that she has difficulty understanding other people’s needs and motives without being explicitly told.

This isn’t just a problem with Catra, either. In general Adora has a difficult time understanding other’s motives and feelings. For instance, she doesn’t understand Glimmer’s insecurity over Bow’s friendship with Perfuma at Princess Prom, and she can’t fathom why Entrapta would choose to work for an evil faction, going so far as to assume she must have been brainwashed into it. This is because, just like with Catra, she doesn’t understand that some people’s priorities are not the same as hers.

Autistic kids tend to reach developmental milestones at different times than neurotypicals, sometimes being way ahead and other times falling behind. One such marker that is usually slower to develop and often stays impaired is theory of mind, our ability to a) understand that other people have different perspectives and b) understand those perspectives. Adora’s difficulties being able to put herself in someone else’s shoes definitely lines up with this symptom.

She’s clumsy

For someone so athletic, Adora sure lacks coordination. This is a commonly cited symptom of people with Asperger’s, though it shows up in people with other forms of ASD too. In general, autistic people often have difficulty with fine and/or gross motor skills, and this can lead to being accident and injury prone. According to Catra in 3x05, Adora bumps her head a lot. That may have just been a callback to 1x01, but either way clumsiness has been part of her characterization since the beginning, one of her many loveable, adorkable qualities.

Her lack of social and self awareness

Adora can be painfully oblivious to her own inappropriate behavior. There’s several examples of this throughout the series, one of the more costly ones coming at Princess Prom. Shocked by Frosta’s youth, Adora fails to register how maybe this (in front of Frosta, with all eyes on her) is not the time to remark on it. She immediately realizes this was the wrong thing to say (or at least not something she should shout), but that small delay causes both her and Glimmer a lot of embarrassment.

Part of the issue here is that she loses control of her volume, which in itself is a common problem for those of us on the spectrum. This isn’t the only time we see her have this problem, either, and it’s amplified (tee hee) when she’s drunk/infected.

More generally, one of the funniest examples of Adora’s poor social awareness comes when she barges into Huntara’s flirtation with the bartender in the Crimson Waste. She’s so focused on her task of recruiting Huntara that it doesn’t even occur to her that this is an intimate moment and intruding would be rude.

In the Rebel Princess Guide Adora also says she wishes Queen Angella would let her make some adjustments to the uniforms of the Bright Moon guards, which implies she tried to make these suggestions already. Maybe she figured She-Ra could suggest anything, but as both a newcomer and a royal subject that’s a bit of a faux pas. Chances are, that went right over Adora’s head.

She can’t read a room to save her life (literally)

This is another, more specific aspect of social awareness. Adora has difficulty picking up on the implicit rules (social norms) when she enters unfamiliar situations, and has a tendency to step on toes because of it. She also doesn’t understand when her friends try to nonverbally communicate what she’s doing wrong, and nonverbal communication deficits and problems with social awareness and insight are two major symptoms of ASD. One specifically listed example is “difficulties adjusting behavior to suit social contexts”, including:

Lack of response to contextual cues (e.g. social cues from others indicating a change in behavior is implicitly requested)

Unaware of social conventions/appropriate social behavior; asks socially inappropriate questions or makes socially inappropriate statements

Here’s a couple specific example of times where Adora misses or misunderstands nonverbal cues to change her behavior:

At her first Rebellion meeting she doesn’t realize that maybe she shouldn’t sit in the special-looking chair, and doesn’t clue in that that’s why everyone is freaking out.

In the Crimson Waste, Glimmer responds to the growling bar patrons surrounding them by suggesting that maybe these aren’t the kind of people they should be asking for help, but Adora persists. She jumps up on the bar and makes a speech trying to get directions (which is socially inappropriate for the context as well as dangerous), somehow missing all the scowls from the patrons as well as Bow and Glimmer’s wild gesturing.

Panic over unfamiliar social situations

Adora’s anxiety about going to Princess Prom could be attributed to many things, not just a spectrum disorder. Her obvious anxiety, for one, though to be fair there’s a high comorbidity between the two disorders. In any case, it seems the unfamiliarity of the situation is a sticking point for Adora in particular, while Bow and Glimmer are nothing but excited for their first ball.

Adora’s anxiety seems to stem mostly from being overwhelmed by the prospect of entering a new social situation with a whole bunch of unfamiliar rules to remember. She’s still learning behavioral norms outside of the Horde, and this is a huge jump up in terms of difficulty for her fledgling social skills.

To cope with her stress she goes overboard trying to prepare by making a conspiracy board of sorts, flash cards, and an obstacle course. And at the ball itself, it seems like she’s even rehearsed how to behave.

This probably isn’t only relatable to autistics, but it’s very relatable to us. Creating and rehearsing behavioral scripts is a common strategy to avoid embarrassing ourselves in public. Unfortunately, as we saw above, this works for about five seconds before Adora botches the whole thing by commenting on Frosta’s age.

Extreme stress over details

In general, Adora is a very anxious, perfectionistic person who hyperfixates on details, a very autistic trait. As mentioned above, this is wonderfully illustrated by her overpreparation for Princess Prom. She’s broken down the overwhelming list of rules in the invite into categories to make it more manageable, gone into detail categorizing people’s relationships to each other, and learned trivia about the guests in order to feel more prepared. Yet, somehow she missed the important fact that the hostess is only eleven years old.

Unfortunately this hangup doen’t only affect her, but also her friends and allies. The overarching theme in “Roll With It” is how debilitating Adora’s anxiety and perfectionism can be. Her eye for detail and ability to see flaws in plans is actually very valuable, but she gets so hung up on every possible thing that could go wrong that she can’t accept imperfect solutions with calculated risks.

Her propensity to be overwhelmed by too much information (like with the Princess Prom invite) shows up here too. Adora grows more and more frustrated and overwhelmed as more princesses join the planning session, adding more variables to deal with and more people to manage. She begins lashing out and shooting down every possible solution that doesn’t satisfy her need for perfection immediately. Her behavior looks like it may be headed for a meltdown until it culminates in an epic rant revealing all her anxiety and how it ties into her insecurities about her own imperfection.

Thankfully her friends are able to reassure her that she has support and doesn’t have to be perfect, but it’s an ongoing battle, one we already saw her struggle with in “Flowers for She-Ra” and “The Battle of Bright Moon”. It’s a strong tenet of Adora’s personality that is proving difficult to shake.

What she misses about the Horde

The recently published Rebel Princess Guide contains a list by Adora of things she misses about the Horde, and this list screams neurodivergent. I’ll go through it point by point, since there’s a lot to unpack here.

THINGS I MISS ABOUT THE HORDE

1. I miss the rigid schedule. It never changed, and I always knew what to expect.

Ritualistic behavior and an insistence on sameness are often seen in individuals with ASD. In fact, it’s a major symptom. Many of us have diifficulty adjusting to changing schedules, changes in diet, or even minor changes in our environment (such as placement of objects, boy do I have stories there). We need warning when things are going to change, and even if we know it’s coming it’s still a struggle to adjust.

2. I miss the constant sound of machines and whirring. In Bright Moon, there’s always music playing, or people laughing, and birds singing. It’s nice but it makes it hard to focus!

Autistic brains process sensory information differently from neurotypicals, that’s basically our disorder at its core. Over or under reactions to sensory input are common and in fact considered a major symptom, and this entry of Adora’s specifically refers to difficulties with sensory filtering. We have a hard time filtering out information that’s irrelevant to our current task, which makes us easily distractable.

3. Believe it or not, I miss my hard cot in the barracks. My bed in the castle is way too soft!

This ties into both the insistence on sameness and sensory issues.

4. Catra… sometimes.

This isn’t autistic, it’s just gay.

Speaking of which...

She’s gay

Adora's relationship with Catra has always been queer-coded, but any doubts about her sexuality were dispelled in season 3 by the way she fawns over Huntara like a baby gay over her gym teacher. Her obvious queerness might seem unrelated to the topic of autism, but those of us within the community can attest there’s probably just as many queer people among us as there are cishets. It’s so notable that there has been quite a bit of scientific research confirming people with ASD are more likely to be LGBT and gender atypical and exploring the cause of this link.

(This needs no proving at this point, but enjoy these gifs anyway...)

In conclusion

Overall, there’s a lot of hints and circumstantial evidence suggesting Adora could have ASD. Was this the creators’ intent? Hard to say. Adora is the protagonist and one of the most developed characters, so she’s definitely not a cardboard cutout or checklist for ASD symptoms (compare that to Entrapta, a secondary character whose behaviors can often easily be attributed to autism). It’s totally possible the creators just characterized her as naive and awkward and obsessive without realizing the implications of that cluster of traits together.

Regardless of authorial intent, it’s perfectly valid to look at Adora and see representation of the ASD community. The groundwork is there. And if someone else looks and doesn’t see it, or sees something else causing this behavior, that is also fair. No one is forcing anyone to accept this headcanon (or at least they shouldn’t be), but in return please don’t disparage it. Even if she is not autistic Adora is definitely autistic-coded, and we could use some more heros with the disorder, given how we’re mostly relegated to being villains and anti-heroes (not that there’s anything wrong with us filling those roles sometimes, but a little variety would be nice).

Adora is often referred to as a dumbass, but she’s actually quite intelligent, just sometimes slow to understand how she should act and how people feel. Still, she tries her hardest, just as she does with everything else. Adora is heroic and compassionate, even if she sometimes struggles to understand others. When autistic-coded characters are so commonly portrayed as cold and unforgiving, Adora is a sorely needed exception.