#maybe I could just nerf them a bit

[drachenfalter]

I'm still not sure what to do about Flying Staffs and Palisman in my Boiling Seas AU.

Yes, they are cool and an important part of the original worldbuilding that I would miss a lot if I just got rid of it.

But on the other hand, everyone being able to fly whenever they want kinda undercuts the dangers of the open ocean and makes ships a lot less important.

[keets-writing-corner]

Thinking a LOT about Lucifer in the latest Hazbin episode. Idk what I was expecting but not this??

As I was watching my immediate thought was just "huh... Lucifer is kinda of weird..." but as the episode went on I realized the issue

the dude is off the chain depressed, like he says it as a joke but holy cow it is SO BAD

He's manically just creating rubber ducks cuz his daughter really like it that one time but it's empty, it's never good enough but he keeps doing it, maybe cuz he doesn't know how to pass the time otherwise.

like I get the feeling he HAS better things he SHOULD be doing than making rubber duck after rubber duck. At first I was like, "Bruh why isn't the king of hell doing anything?" aaaaand then it became clear...

The dude is disassociating so bad he can barely hold a conversation let alone remember information. He clearly WANTS to, he wants to be involved with his daughter so bad, he wants to care about the things she's doing so bad, but his depression keeps interfering. It's like he can only hear every other word and he grasps onto the ones he does hear semi-out of context. Like you can see every time he catches something that he hadn't before and he just "well shit I didn't catch that part"

and that's why he reacts so weird when people talk to him. He is struggling so bad to engage with the conversation he's only getting 50% of it

does that look like the face of a man who knows what the hell the conversation is even about??? he is STRUGGLING

like Charlie spent so long telling him about the hotel, and he STILL didn't understand what she wanted. Yeah it comes off as ditzy but literally I've been in that position where your brain just "nope, not doing this right now" and nerfs your conversation comprehension. So as someone who's BEEN in that position, to me it feels exactly like what he's dealing with. He's sorta engaged with the conversation, but only as much as his brain will allow

For example, when I'm dealing with this, this is what someone talking to me feels like this where the crossed out parts are what I missed and bold is what I catch, "Hey! You know I was thinking for dinner we could either make some chicken with rice? But if you don't feel like cooking, pasta is super easy and you love that right? What do you want to do?" you can kinda get that someone is trying to talk to you about dinner, and towards the end you get the impression that they asked something that needs your input so you can decently put 2 and 2 together and try and pass off, but crucial bits were left out, I would have no idea that either chicken or pasta is in the conversation only having heard "rice". When someone is just talking at me, I can decently pass off as being engaged but the second I'm required to participate in the conversation I'm screwed. Seem familiar? At which point I have 2 options, try to give a bullshit answer, or admit that I missed what they were saying and ask them to repeat

Lucifer, unfortunately, is trying so damn hard to hide that he's dealing with like 24/7 dissociation, so he can't admit that he's missing entire chunks of the conversation, hence his really weird replies. He does eventually get the full picture and then he and Charlie start having the real conversation

Also, the Alastor/Lucifer rivalry was hilarious but also really indicative of more of what Lucifer is dealing with

Alastor is, unfortunately, really good at picking up people's insecurities, and thanks to Charlie's description earlier and watching Lucifer clearly trying to overcompensate, he immediately picks up on the fact that Lucifer KNOWS he struggles to be a good dad (we know cuz it's cuz of the depression, hard to be engaged when your brain keeps turning off) and decides to rub salt in the wound by pretending he's been acting as a surrogate father to Charlie. Now why Alastor decided to pick a fight with the king of hell is beyond me, I do not understand Alastor (and I LIKE IT) (maybe it's cuz Alastor thinks he's hot shit and was expecting Lucifer to at least have heard of him but Lucifer just treats him like a nobody? who knows)(why would Lucifer listen to radio anyways when he can't even pay attention to a conversation it'd just be white noise)

But yeah I just was expecting someone who oozed either charisma or presence and instead I got a depressed dad who's dissociating so bad he can barely function and be present in his life. The only thing it seems he CAN do is make rubber ducks cuz his daughter really liked it that one time

Idk Lucifer is tragic to me. Whatever the full details of what heavan did to him absolutely broke him and he can't deal with it. He's aware of it, and he doesn't know how to fix it, so he tries to over compensate and sorta makes an ass out of himself but no one says or does anything cuz this guy is supposed to be THE king of hell

Suddenly it's making a lot more sense why he just rolls over and lets heaven do what it wants and even told Charlie to go in his place the start of the show. He's not in any headspace to hold a basic conversation let alone negotiate! He didn't even know who Alastor was, he's been so out of touch

idk I like him, he seems sweet, I hope Charlie brings some light back into his life. He really needs to get out of that rubber duck room

[l3monlem0n]

Some Murder Drones Episode 7 screenshots I thought were interesting and my thoughts on them :>

SPOILER WARNING!!!! is spoilering

Nori, despite being a middle aged woman with a child, appears to be an Otaku or otherwise likes "edgy" and "scene" stuff, as well as listening to nightcore, very much like her daughter. Good for her tbh you're never too old to have fun

She also has a photo of Khan and what I can only assume is baby Uzi, though it appears to have blue eyes, but maybe it's just the lighting. Still very cute she has a pic of her husband

As well as all the previously mentioned Otaku stuff, she also drew herself as an anime character. She has a skinsona. Phenomenal (pos)

Nothing much here, just Uzi coughing up blood. Girl got the goop (gore) inside of her already

Lab Space. Apparently the Church was just down there and not even the humans know why. The canonicity of this is questionable; it could just be a joke

OT, as per google, stands for "Occupational Therapy". Makes sense for the context, and makes the bottom text funnier

"Fun Time To Universe Big Crunch: 87". The Big Crunch is a hypothetical way the Universe could end, where the universe folds on itself and shrinks into a single point. 87 "what" I don't know. If it's months, that 7 years and 3 months

Honestly the Murder Drones lore is super confusing. I think what this is trying to say is that every other Zombie Drone is doing poorly, (Except for Yeva), they are trying to reactivate 002 (Nori) via the USB. I'm not sure what this means. Maybe they only got the results they wanted from the two of them, and are trying again with Nori since she was the only other one that worked (also why they got Yeva when she failed; this may all be referring to how the episode opened up) Also, the date says SER. As revealed in the episode Cabin Fever, Copper-9 has months that Earth does not. SER most likely stands for Seramorris, the month revealed in that episode

Looks like the "bad event" wasn't the first one. Certainly was the last one though lol

Just a good pic of ghost/hologram V with the scary stuff. Might use this as a wallpaper

You can literally see the hole in his neck where N bit him in...

...And it's to the point his HEAD FALLS OFF. (including because I didn't notice the first time around)

Yup, the idea that Uzi became the Admin for N and V is completely true. I wonder what would've happened if she didn't, since Cyn didn't react whatsoever

friggin bug (very pos)

You would not believe how difficult it was to get a good pic of this (I'm using snipping tool lmao). Always a pleasure to see Uzi's doodles. Things her gun can do (upper right):

NOT judge her

Forced prom date (?)

Allows her to say she had friends before she frickin murdered them with sci-fi machinery

The cut off text at the bottom: Plan B: Normal gun + Shoot really fast

This is while Tessa is looking for something in the lockers. Claws, chains, magnets, Wings, and scribbled "HELP". Looks like the lockers were all specifically to hold the infected worker drones. Oof

We are in the future now baby. We have rererererereCAPTCHA. Funnily enough, it still couldn't stop a robot

There is a message board where someone who doesn't like robots is talking. They also are scared. Also no one else is using this system, which is unsurprising. "Ur aight ;)" Wait is the winky face intentional foreshadowing? Or unintentional?

We get the names of a bunch of other Worker Drones. Unfortunately for all 029 fans, her name was not visible. (also can someone tell me what "JWEB" could be short for?) And Yeva is said to have a patch. That may be the crucible thing idk

Cyn (which I will be calling this version Skyn [Skin + Cyn]) apparently took of the space suit just to give Doll the Withered Foxy jumpscare. Honestly really terrifying. If this photo was teased before release I think the fandom would've exploded

Just N being a good boy :3

The MDs, Cyn's pets. Nori refers to them as "Nerfed" so the "Entity" can ensure control, and says they were made to destroy other hosts. I don't know why Cyn would want them dead, but I'm not the loremaster here. YouTube line is there because I couldn't be bothered after the Railgun image

Probably already confirmed, but doubly confirmed that a symptom of the Solver is giving Drones organic insides. A Worker Drone body with a rib cage and guts. I wonder what would happen if the infection continued uninterrupted (also R.I.P. Doll I loved you :frown:)

I'm sure everyone noticed, but when Uzi tried to manipulate Tessa, the ERROR noticed appeared. Already hinting Tessa is not all she says she is

Apparently the Solver can create Black Hole Saws. Interesting development (Blackhole Blitz)

I know most people (I think) see this as a joke and N just being a bit of goofball. But honestly, I think he did it intentionally to shock Cynuzi and give Nori a chance. In the Pilot, he licked V's sword to surprise her too, which means he isn't unfamiliar with doing something weird and surprising for the advantage

Skyn eating Doll's core. R.I.P. Doll again. Seriously, was that Doll in Core Form like Nori was? Or was Nori a fringe case because she was "Exorcised" and this is just a regular core? Questions, questions. Also yeah the Solver also gives you a Core. Fun

This tag makes me think that this body is Cyn's actual body. Not longer a hologram, but her actual body from the mansion. The reason Tessa gave N, J, and V their names was because that was the first letter of their Serial Designation (she's very uncreative). However, Cyn's tag was slightly faded, which meant her SD couldn't be seen, so Tessa gave her the name "Cyn" after her P/N, even though the other 3 already have the same P/N as Cyn (Tessa, again, is very uncreative)...

...and for some reason, Cyn or the Solver, which ever theory you subscribe to, decided to wear Tessa as a skin suit for some twisted reason. It did help her with the Captcha. Also scary because this doesn't have the right proportions for an adult (unless Cyn really forced that skin on), which leads me to believe that this is a Younger Tessa, and she faked having an older voice. Maybe I shouldn't call her my wife... I'm sure Eldritch J is still available :^)

(Seriously, the eyes are burnt out, leaving two eye holes over the visor, so she gives herself two X eyes so it looks better. Also yeah we found out what that thing on the "It Came From Copper-9" poster came from. It really was Cyn or Skyn)

Just a frame of the final...frame... for coolness. I'm probably also going to use this for a background. Also, this is definitely Copper-9. You can see the ring and ringless moon together on the right. Uzi somehow got sent to orbit after falling in the meat hole

Well that was all for now. This series has consumed me entirely, body and soul, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Goodbye and goodnight

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

aggressive coping

I know I don’t mention this much but I feel the need to bring it up now (since the last book 7 update was the Octavinelle one) 😂

Is anyone else like… disappointed by how much Jade’s UM got seriously nerfed??? Shock the Heart has so many limitations. Firstly, it requires eye contact. Plus, it can only use it ONCE per person. Even then, it is not guaranteed to work since it fails on people who are on high alert and those under his UM's influence can still refuse to answer questions demanded of them. How am I supposed to believe Jade somehow has enough magical capacity to attend a prestigious school like NRC?????? (Especially when you consider that it may entirely be possible to substitute his UM for just slipping someone a truth serum or something.)

Some low magic mages like Fellow can use his UM multiple times, even letting his UM seemingly "stack" (and thus enhance its effect). And this is FELLOW, a character whose backstory involves him being rejected from magic schools, who scoffed at his low level of magic. So... Jade, who has enough magic capacity to attend NRC, one of the most prestigious arcane academies, has a weak as heck UM while Fellow, who has so little magic he doesn't qualify for much less prestigious arcane academies, has a UM that has multiple uses that enhances its power with each cast?????????? OKAY????????? And not only that, but many of Jade's classmates have much more advanced and complicated UMs too (look at Jamil with his MIND CONTROL 🤡 which hurts the victim the more they resist) or can essentially spam their UM (stares at Silver). So how come Jade is like the ONLY person who only has a one-time use UM????? Of all UMs, is this really the only one the devs thought would be overpowered???? I understand that there will naturally be variance in the power and abilities of each mage, but it still feels like he really got the short end of the stick...

I... guess the nature of the UM makes sense with Jade's crafty nature??? Because the limited usage for it reinforces and informs Jade's caution and strategizing for the instances in which he actually breaks out his UM. BUT THE ISSUE IS THAT THE VERY SAME COULD BE ACHIEVED IF HE HAD AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF USES. Jade could still be wary about using Shock the Heart frequently because it could allow others to catch on to what his UM does... and if they're alert around him or avoid looking him in the eyes, it makes his UM fail anyway. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE DEVS WOULD DO HIM SO DIRTY LIKE THIS OTL J word doesn’t deserve this injustice, LET HIM BE A MENACE

The only bit of solace I have and cling onto is that maybe MAYBE Jade was lying to us all along about how limited his UM is (I have no reason to believe this is canon since, even as late as the dire circumstances of book 7, Jade keeps describing his UM as single use only and can’t seem to exceed the single use rule even in a dream)💀 He can use it as many times as he likes, he’s just deceiving us about the one time use to lure the few people who do ultimately find out about his UM into a false sense of security… or maybe his UM is still developing and could become stronger over time??? Cuz like. Why chide Floyd for casually telling others about his UM but then Jade ALSO just casually tells us about his UM... That’s my (delusional) non-canon compliant headcanon 😤

[missmielyhoran]

Little Helpers

Harry needs a bit of help, and who's better than his two little gremlins...

90sRockstar!Harry × Reader

A/N- Happens wayyyyyyy long in the future, like at least 10 years after they meet. Harry and reader are in their mid 30s

Only Angel Masterlist // Masterlist

*****

It was your birthday.

And Harry was struggling.

You've been out in New York for last week or so for work while he has been staying home with kids.

To say they're pain in the ass is an understatement, but he made his bed (or hot tub), so he had to lay in it.

Harry was the "fun" parent, to say the least, cause he can't say no, and those gremlins even tho they're only four years old are way too good at getting things their way.

Meanwhile, you knew how to shut down something you knew they didn't need. Like the large Nerf gun, Harry got them in secret and then had to listen to you yell at him while those two giggled from the stairs in timeout.

But that wasn't the problem right now.

The problem was that the house was mess, the kitchen was mess, it was your birthday and he doesn't know how to cook, clean all at the same time while taking care of kids who are already running around in backyard.

It was times like these he was amazed by how his mother, and even you did everything so efficiently. Never once did he saw a thing out of place when you stayed with kids, and he had to go out.

(Maybe cause you made the kids clean up after themselves while he sees one look of their puppy eyes and melts)

He took a deep breath in and called for the kids, "Jack! Soph! come back inside" He yelled, which caught the twins' attention. Their little head snapped towards him, and soon enough, they were running in giggling still in their pjs.

Harry shook his head and walked back inside and saw them talking to themselves. They were literally each others best friends, always attached to the hip, partners in crime, and he hoped they're like this when they grow up.

"Kids, kids and kids!" He announced dramatically. Twins giggled again, "There is only two of us, dada. Why are you saying kids three times?" They looked at each other and laughed again at Harry's trying to be mad face.

"Hey smartasses listen to me." He flicked their head lightly, "It's your maa's birthday today"

The twins' eyes went wide, and then Soph jumped, screaming "birthday" making Harry laugh. "That means we will get cake?" Jack asked his dad.

"You will if you help me" Harry shrugged, "Whoever helps me out the most will get the bigger piece!" Harry said.

Twins looked at each other again and then their dad and nodded their head quickly, "I will help you" Jack said, "Me too" Soph said in tow.

"Well then, let's start with this room. Pick up all your toys and everything else and put them where they should be." He said, walking towards the kitchen sink. It was an open plan, so he could still see the kids while cleaning up the kitchen.

He looked at the clock, and it was still 4 hours left to your arrival. He could do it.

He hopes he can do it.

*****

Harry was surprised and amused when he looked up and saw two heaving toddlers sitting on the ground.

"Well done babies, you did such a great job" He said, squatting down to their level and kissing both of their heads.

"We know" They said together. Harry laughed at that cause even if the kids looked like him, their personality was yours. Sassy, witty and smart for their age.

"We put everything in different boxes so you could see who did more work, and my box is the most filled" Jackson said cockily and Soph rolled her eyes.

"I'm just going to steal more from dad's plate" she said without any care as much as Harry would like to think otherwise it was true. He lost his right to have his own food when he become father and he's okay with it (to certain level). Harry still very much amused with their banter over cake slice, goes to the kitchen, and fetches both of them their water bottles along with a bowl of fruits.

"Why don't you two drink some water and eat all those fruits and then come help me bake the cake?" Harry asked them immediately, getting nods as an answer from hungry babies.

He took out all the ingredients while the kids ate and arranged them, so it was easier for kids to "help" him.

Soon enough, they were all done with their snacks and were standing on the large wooden stool beside Harry, watching him make the cake. Both of them have large chefs hat on and custom matching aprons Harry got for all of them for when they would cook together on Sunday mornings.

He was in the middle of cracking egg when Sophie started to fuss, "Dada I want to do it too!" She said, pouting.

Harry brought the bowl in front of her and stood behind her holding her hand, which had egg in it, and then cracked it open and put it in the bowl. Sophie giggled, finding amusement in cracking eggs, which made Jack feel left out so Harry did the same with him too.

The kids helped him as much as they could, with bringing him stuff, and finally, the cake was in oven.

Jack and Soph sat in front of the oven watching the cake like hawk cause in their words, "we want it to be perfect like maa makes it". Harry cleaned the rest of the kitchen.

"C'mon babies bath time." He announced which much to kids displeasure meant they had to move away from the oven. Harry literally had to drag them upstairs with Soph in his left arm and Jack in right.

"You two are getting heavy for me to pick you up and roam around" he said, groaning at the feeling of back ache rising.

"No, you're just getting old, dada." The twins laughed. Harry rolled his eyes at them and flicked their heads.

"In the bath. Your maa will have my head if you two are dirty" He said, starting the warm bath of them.

*****

There have been times Harry felt proud of himself, and right now, as he watches the clean house, clean kids, and a not burned cake, he feels proud of himself.

Kids were watching TV in the living room when they heard the car pull up in the driveway, and everyone was set on their mission.

Harry quickly lit up all the candles. Meanwhile, kids stood in the position near the door with paper confetti in their hands to throw at you.

Meanwhile, you feel exhausted as you get out of the car. The fashion week of this year was hectic. You were so busy you didn't even remember it was your birthday until you opened he door.

Colorful confetti flew on your face as you heard "happy birthday" in unison. Your kids stood near the door with the biggest smile on their faces with your husband behind them with cake in his hand.

"Omg, thank you so much my little munchkin" you said, sitting down on your knees and pulling twins into tight hugs. All exhaustion and stress were lost as you saw your favorite people.

"Hey, I'm also here." You heard Harry whine, making three of you laugh.

"C'mon maa, we want cake!" Jack said, first making you laugh. You kissed both of their cheeks and stood up, walking towards your husband.

You pecked his lips and smiled, "Thank you, baby." you said with a warm smile matching his. "My absolute pleasure angel" He said, kissing you again.

"Those gremlins helped me, or I was ready to have a panic attack this morning," he said, chuckling.

You brought the cake to the kitchen, Harry stood beside you his arms around your waist, and kids stood on the stool on your other side.

"Maa make a wish!" Soph said. You nodded and wished for your family to stay just like this forever and blew the candles. Jack and Soph clapped while Harry leaned down and kissed your cheeks.

Cake slices were cut and put in plate for all four of you and as you and Harry stood in the kitchen with your head on his shoulder watching your kids banter over who's slice is bigger you never felt more content.

This is all you ever wanted.

*****

I think they're my favorite couple after Harry and Autumn.

Taglist- @tenaciousperfectionunknown @that-daydream-look @harryspirate @tiaamberxx @lomlhstyles @vmpellie @sunshinemoonsposts @jayde515 @yeehawbrothers @sleutherclaw @ikea2-0 @thechaoticjoy @astridcommings @grapejuicebluesrry @gxbiqs

Please Like, Comment and Reblog

Tell me if you liked this or just talk to me cause trust me I love it, here♡

[aingeal98]

Not sure if this is an unpopular opinion but if a comic book author writing one of the Robins "well" involves them putting down all of the other batkids/team members to a horrible degree, they're not actually writing that Robin well. It's lazy writing not just for the characters holding the idiot ball but also for the character who the author clearly thinks is the specialist little boy. I never read comics like that and go wow this is why x characters is so cool! I think wow x character is so pathetic the only way the author could make them look good was to nerf and narratively curb stomp every character around them.

Like even if there's a good bit of Dick or Tim dialogue with Bruce, if it's explicitly tied to the author shitting on Jason, Steph or Damian like 5 panels ago then you can't just take it out of context as "good Nightwing writing" or "good Tim writing". It's like those batman hug panels people use to say he's a good dad when the actual issue has him doing terrible things. If it's only good when completely divorced from the bad writing context then maybe it's not actually good.

[psiroller]

My Boy (We Don't See Each Other Much)

a third fic request from unkat has reached me for some gamer au shenanigans. cool, i thought, nice low stakes goofin off fun time au. lets put some military industrial complex in there

cw: institutionalized homophobia, vague references to USAmerican military operations in the 2000's, gamer lingo

The raid was a resounding success by their guild's lax standards. Chilchuck managed to pull a rare light armor piece he'd been looking for, finally catching him up to the modern game; he was surprised by how much damage the standard grinding mobs were doing to him now, even if his defense was always going to be lower than the tanks and fighters he partied with. Laios landed the biggest critical hit he'd ever seen; the broadsword Chilchuck nabbed for him off the Auction House was working well for him. He was clearly still riding the high, humming the victory fanfare under his breath as he took inventory and milled about with Senshi, comparing the ingredients they’d collected, trading amongst themselves. It was late, though, close to Senshi’s prep hours. Marcille was fighting against the cozy lethargy that followed a glass of wine and swiftly losing. Falin had already logged out to take a shower and head to bed, stopping by Laios’ door for a hug goodnight.

Laios went right back to the desktop after he shut the door. He pulled his headset back on and heard the familiar sound of Chilchuck’s raspy inhale and then a long, satisfied exhale.

“Chilchuck!” Laios said, too eagerly. “You’re still up?”

“No, I’m fast asleep,” Chilchuck drawled. Laios snorted and threw a rock at Chilchuck’s head. It passed through harmlessly; neither of them wanted the hassle of dedicated PVP. Maybe Laios wasn’t as keen on roleplaying as Marcille and Falin were, but the roleplaying server had been a lot kinder to him than the standard ones he usually played on.

“You were right about the sword,” Laios tittered. “I really have to start doing the math instead of just looking at bigger numbers—uh, focusing on how sharp the blade is, I mean.”

Chilchuck coughed through a laugh, leaning away from the mic so that it didn’t blow Laios’ eardrums out. “I think some of the guides are a little out of date,” Chilchuck said, relaxed enough to drop character. Marcille was still nearby, though the AFK symbol appeared under her name; the elf she played nodded off, ears drooping.  “Critical chance used to be calculated with this really convoluted system that also included timers, so there were only so many crits you could get in the span of a few minutes,” he went on. “They updated it recently so that you roll for a critical every hit.”

“Oh, thank God,” Laios said. “On a timer? How long did raids use to take?”

“Oh, upwards of four hours.” Chilchuck said casually. Laios sputtered. “I know, I know. I guess people had more free time back then… though with how people run multiple raids a night now, I guess it’s down to how committed you are.”

“So critical hit percentage is the thing I should focus on, then.”

“For your build, yeah.”

“Why does everyone recommend focusing on damage per second?”

“It’s a recent change, I think it got pushed out just before you signed up. They’ve tweaked it a lot, so people tend to get confused on how it works now, as it gets buffed and nerfed. Attack and attack speed used to be connected to the same value, so there are other ways you can focus on dealing damage instead of just right clicking the dragon and watching one of twelve timers tick down.” Chilchuck smiled and took another drag. “I think they’re trying to freshen things up a little. I like the changes.”

“Really? Everyone in the forums talks about how much they hate it.”

“If they’re old enough to be using the forums, they’re old enough to hate their favorite thing changing,” Chilchuck laughed.

“But not you,” said Laios. There was a warmth there that Chilchuck didn’t see a reason for.

“Eh.” Chilchuck’s ears burned under his headset. “Maybe a little bit. They don’t make shooters like they used to.” There was a pause. “Oh, right, you don’t like those.”

“Just the super hoo-rah military ones,” Laios breathed. “I can do Team Fortress 2. That one’s pretty fun.”

“Oh! I play that with—a friend, sometimes,” Chilchuck stammered. “Do you… I’m still kind of wired. I got a day off tomorrow. Do you—”

“Yeah!” His mic clipped. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

“Wait, you don’t have a test tomorrow or anything, do you?”

“… No.”

“I don’t like that hesitation.”

Laios huffed and puffed and logged out of Dungeon Divers with little warning, but usernames were exchanged and soon Laios’ avatar (a dragon, what else) popped up in Chilchuck’s scant friend list, nestled between Dan and May.

“I didn’t think you’d be cool enough to play TF2,” Laios teased.

“Cool people play TF2? I thought it was all screaming toddlers.”

“There are a few of those, yeah,” Laios admitted.

“I played the original game. It was a lot different. I don’t really keep up with it these days, but…”

“No worries,” Laios chirped. “I’ll take care of you.”

Chilchuck felt something zip down his spine. “I’m not that bad.”

They played three matches with the usual late night crowd, and it was a miracle if Chilchuck could stay alive for longer than a minute or two, let alone get a kill. Laios, on the other hand, clawed up every scoreboard and sat at the top. He started with Sniper; Chilchuck followed him while waiting for his respawn timer to run out, flicking between first and third person views. He watched as opponents’ heads would pop like grapes the moment they touched Laios’ reticle, faster than Chilchuck’s eyes could tell his brain to move his fingers.

“Okay, maybe I’m pretty bad,” Chilchuck admitted. “Compared to you.”

Laios missed a shot and sputtered. “I’m concentrating…!” A Spy knifed him, and Chilchuck could hear Laios whack his mouse against the table in frustration. Chilchuck laughed.

“Relax, that’s your first one this round,” he teased. “Your reflexes are crazy. Maybe I’m getting too old for twitchy games like this.”

“The mechanics have changed a lot and all the tryhards are on,” Laios conceded, breathing out the annoyance. “I’ll switch to Heavy. Wanna be my Medic? I can keep more of an eye on you.”

Chilchuck sniffed at his demotion to pocket healer, but then at least he’d be getting assist kills. “Alright, fine.”

Many assist kills were had, and all was well. It was fun to watch Laios’ brain work, bobbing and weaving and jumping around. He played like May did, hyperfocused on the movement mechanics; Chuck’s wrists weren’t any good for that anymore, so he usually hung back to support anyway.

“So why TF2 and not Call of Duty?” Chilchuck asked between matches, lighting another cigarette in search of the now-elusive nicotine buzz. “Seems like you’re really good. You could probably go pro if you wanted.”

Chuck heard a rustling against the mic. Sounded like Laios fiddling with the thing, maybe rubbing his face. He heard a scratch of stubble.

“Eh. I just—don’t like the military aesthetic very much, or something,” Laios mumbled. “I, uh. I served, and it’s a little…”

Chilchuck coughed. “You served? As in, served in the army?”

“Yeah.” There was a chuckle from the other line. “What? Is it that surprising?”

“Well, you just never…” Chuck scratched at the nape of his neck. “You never said anything that made me think… I don’t know what I thought. You didn’t seem like the type.”

“That’s because I’m not,” Laios snorted. “I was a good shot, but not a good soldier, if that makes any sense?”

Chuck wet his dry lips and leaned back in his chair. He didn’t lock into the next game, and the queue dumped them out. Laios didn’t reset it.

“So you objected? Conscientious objection? Is that what it’s called?”

“That’s what it’s called, but uh… it takes a while to get that done if you enlisted voluntarily. You have to plead your case for it. I thought about it, but I didn’t get the chance.”

Chilchuck swallowed dryly, then tapped some ash out into the ceramic tray Patty made for him many Father’s Days ago. “So you were kicked out?”

“Discharged, yeah,” Laios sighed. His chair creaked as he leaned back, too. ���Other than honorable.”

Chuck winced. “What did you do?”

There was that rustling again. “I, um. If you don’t ask, I don’t have to tell you.”

“Oh, uh. Sorry, I”—Chilchuck’s eyes went wide—"ohhh.”

“Yeah.”

“Seriously? They booted you over a thing like that?”

Laios laughed weakly. “It’s in the regulations.”

“Still? When there’s, like, five wars going on?”

“Yep. I got a little pamphlet about it and everything. It’s rarer these days, and most people now get let off with an honorable, but…” Laios sighed. “My case was a whole thing. I didn’t fit in great with the rest of my platoon to begin with, and I maybe… I maybe misread some signals. You get bored out there, you know. Lonely. Got a little too close to my bunky…” Laios cleared his throat. “He let me down easy, but I guess he said something to somebody. I don’t think he’d go straight to the brass, he told me he wouldn’t, but someone must have overheard and that counts as credible evidence, so…”

Laios popped his lips with a click of his tongue. Chilchuck was frozen, ashes falling from the end of his cigarette into the crevices of his already dirty keyboard. The cigarette had almost burned down to the filter; money burning up in unsmoked nicotine. “I was probably going to leave anyway,” Laios said, to fill the silence. “I didn’t like being out there. If anything it kept me from being stupid and going AWOL. But if you talk to the VA—or my dad, heh—I  might as well have.”

Laios wheezed. Chilchuck blinked some smoke out of his eyes and stubbed out his cigarette.

“Hang on, you were on active duty and they’re hassling you at the VA over healthcare?”

“Oh yeah. Anything less than a general discharge is going to get you some hassle. I’m still on general health insurance, lowest tier. I’m not on TRICARE.”

Chilchuck pinched the pressure point between his eyebrows. “There’s gotta be a way to appeal that.”

“There might be. But I’ve spent about 40 hours of my life on the phone with them since I got back, and I’m not keen on spending anymore.” Laios made a blech sort of noise, disgusted, a little childish. “I hate phone calls. Besides, they gave me some money for college, so it wasn’t a complete wash.”

“Small miracles,” Chilchuck mumbled.

“Yup,” Laios breathed. He drummed his fingers on his desk, loud enough to reach the mic. Then there were a couple rhythmic bongo slaps against the table, nervous. “Ready for another game?”

Chuck looked at his watch. It was 4:32 AM.

“Sure. Night’s still young,” he said, for lack of anything comforting to say. “Play Heavy again.”

“Okay,” Laios said, and there was a smile in his voice. So that was something.

[hsfan94]

Letters to Santa

AN: This is a bit late because I've had wifi problems. I'm also not totally happy with the execution of the idea but I hope you like it. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!

Dear Santa,

My name is Harry, I'm 30 years old and all I want for Christmas is my best friend, Y/n. (For the seventh year in a row.)

Harry had just finished filling in the blanks on his letter and was looking down at it thoughtfully, when Niall spoke up behind him.

“Come on lad, this was meant to be fun and you’ve gone and made it sad.”

They had been out doing their Christmas shopping when they came across a station for kids to write letters to Santa. Niall pulled him over to it enthusiastically, insisting they write one.

“Well, what did you wish for then?” Harry turned to him pointedly.

Niall cleared his throat and then read, “Dear Santa, My name is Niall, I’m 31 years old and all I want for Christmas is a nerf gun. I never had one growing up and they look like so much fun.”

“Noted,” Harry said, rethinking his idea for Niall’s gift. “Alright let’s drop them in and get going.”

All throughout lunch with Niall, his mind wandered to his request of Santa. Was it too much? Had he wanted it for too long? Should he move on? Niall would never judge him, he just always encouraged him to move on, but Harry couldn’t.

Harry and Y/n met when she was fresh out of Uni. They became instant friends and decided to live together. Harry didn’t expect it to be so easy to fall in love with someone when you see them every day and know all of their worst habits. He’d tell anyone who would listen that Y/n didn’t really have any bad habits, but they’d just shake their head and say things like “you’ve got on rose colored lenses”. He denied that he felt more than platonically for her for so long. But then, one day she brought someone home for the first time.

Harry could hear sounds in the hallway. He realized it was y/n giggling and trying to unlock the door. He can only imagine what her date was doing. He imagines that, at least if it was him, that he’d have his hands on her waist and be kissing her neck from behind while she worked the door open. They finally entered and didn’t see him sitting on the couch. It was as if someone had shoved knives into every crevice of his body when the unidentified stranger closed the door and then pressed her up against it, pushing his tongue in her mouth. Harry sat there frozen for a minute, maybe an hour, before clearing his throat loudly. 

Y/n had flushed a scarlet red. 

“Harry, I-” She pushed the man off her so fast. “I’m so sorry I- I thought you’d be out with Camille.” 

Maybe he was being delusional, but she had seemed like she felt guilty. His heart clenched again at the mention of his now exe girlfriend. They had a date tonight, but she had called this afternoon and said she wanted space. He asked why and she responded that she felt they both had feelings for other people. It stung at the time but sitting on the couch now he realizes she was right.

“We um…” He couldn’t tell her everything in front of this stranger, so he just settled on “Rescheduled for this weekend.”

“Oh,” she said, dragging the stranger toward the hall as she spoke. “Well, we will just be… going to my room then.” 

Harry couldn’t sleep that night.

He never dated anyone seriously after the realization sunk in. He had tried but no one could take Y/n’s place. He would always just be on dates and wishing he was at home watching movies with her instead.

He tried not to let the all-consuming love he had for her interfere with everyday life, but it was rough around the holidays. Especially the last two years. She’d been seeing this bloke, Johnny he thinks his name is, and he doesn’t mean to be a Grinch, but it really puts a damper on his holiday cheer to think about her spending the day with someone else.

So here he is unintentionally moping about the holidays when Y/n comes bursting through the door.

“Harry? Are you home?”

He figured she knew he was and was asking rhetorically but he answers anyway, “In the kitchen, love.”

He’d been baking some of her favorite Christmas treats.

She stumbles in looking a bit forlorn.

“What’s wrong, lovie,” he says as she climbs up onto one of the stools.

“Oh,” she says, sighing, “Just, Johnny and I broke up.”

Harry feels a cheek splitting grin form on his face and he has to really try hard to push it away.

“That’s a shame, what happened?”

She looks up at him just as he feels his face go back to normal.

“We just realized we wanted different things, well he realized anyway.”

He rounds the island to give her a bone-crushing hug and says, “I’m sorry. But I’ve got some of your favorite Christmas treats ready to cheer you up.”

She peers up at him resting her chin on his chest.

“You’re too good to me.”

He walks over to the oven to pull out the tartlets, the last of the baked goods, and while his back is to her, she speaks again.

“Let’s make a deal, let’s do Christmas eve just the two of us, yeah? We’ll bake cookies, sing Christmas songs, and do a gift exchange. It’ll be just like our first Christmas together.”

His heart clenches at her use of the word together but he powers through. Turning around to face her, he replies “Sounds wonderful, love, I can’t wait.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/n had proposed the Letters to Santa charity drive to her boss in June. Early, she knows, but she knew there would be a substantial amount of work that would go into the buying and giving the presents part. She had seen a few of them growing up and she thought it was so kind of the community to come together for kids in need at Christmas. Due to its placement in the mall though, it got a lot of stragglers’ attention and so Y/n had to tack on extra hours to weed out the “in need” letters from the ones that were just people getting into the holiday cheer.

She hadn’t accounted for the possibility of her friends walking through the mall and dropping letters in.

After seeing Harry and Niall drop in letters, she felt so giddy to go through the box that day. She was excited to tease them about whatever they put down. But when she found Harry’s, it was no longer a laughing matter. He asked Santa for her and he clarified that that’s all he’d wanted for seven years. She felt tears brimming at her eyes. She genuinely had no idea he felt that way otherwise they might have gotten together sooner. 

So, that night, when she had a date planned with Johnny, she ended things with him. She bounded through the door of her and Harry’s flat, giddy to tell him. But before she could get too carried away an idea struck her. He asked for her for Christmas. So, she should wait to reveal that she knew and then actually give him what he wanted for Christmas. That was the whole point of the Letters to Santa anyway. So instead of telling him everything she just told him they broke up. She didn’t miss the smile that took over his face for just one second before he went into nurturing friend mode, but she pretended she did.

But after her plan had been set in motion and all she had to do was wait, Y/n realized this was going to be the longest week of her life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maybe he is too optimistic, but Harry had done some decorating while Y/n was at work today and he strategically placed mistletoe in a few places. It wasn’t too obvious, just there as a decoration and if the opportunity didn’t present itself that was perfectly fine with him. 

When she gets home, a Christmas envelope with his name on it in her hand (which he thinks is strange because there is already a gift wrapped under the tree for him), she oohs and awes at the decor. 

“Harry, it looks so lovely!” She does a dramatic spin around the room to look at everything. “You did all this yourself? For me?” She turns to face him, expression set in a soft glow. 

“Yes. Do you like it?” He feels a blush creep up his cheeks, slightly embarrassed at the effort he went to for a quiet night between friends.

She surprises him by bounding up to him, stretching up on her tip toes and placing a kiss to his cheek.

“I love it!” She pulls back and looks at him brightly. “Do you want to do gifts first?”

He simply nods because it seems like she wants to do gifts first and she can have everything she wants.

She grabs him by the wrist and drags him over to the tree, where they have big, soft floor pillows set up for this exact reason. She plops down first on the green one, so he takes the red.

“Here!” She thrusts the Christmas envelope at him.

He takes it and looks at it.

“What’s this, love? You already have something under the tree with my name on it. I told you not to spend too much.”

She sighs dramatically.

“I can spoil you if I want to. Besides, I did my shopping too early, and a better idea came to me last week.”

A mischievous grin takes over her face, allowing for the slightest bit of worry to settle in his stomach. Is she going to prank him on Christmas?

Harry carefully opens the envelope and pulls out its contents. The worry is quickly replaced with immense dread at the sight of his letter to Santa.

“Y/n…” he starts, shaking his head, “I—” He really has no idea what to say and instead he goes to stand up.

Panic flashes across her face and she’s quick to plant him right back on the floor.

“No, wait, Harry, there’s more. You have to flip it over.”

Confused, he does just that and there is writing on the back.

Dear Santa,

My name is Y/n, I’m 28 and all I’ve wanted for the last seven years is to be able to tell my best friend, Harry, that I’m madly in love with him.

Harry re-reads it at least four times before it sinks in. A giant grin takes over his face before he is flinging himself at her, tackling her to the ground.

He presses kisses all over her face.

“You,” kiss, “little” kiss “shit.” Kiss.

He pulls back just enough to look her in the eyes. “You’ve been keeping this from me for a week?”

“Well, I wanted to tell you that day but, you asked for me for Christmas, so I thought I’d give you what you wanted.” She’s smiling brightly too.

“I would’ve taken you a week early too.”

He feels her shiver at his words, and he feels excitement course through him as the thought washes over him too (even though he hadn’t meant it that way).

“I know, and it was a hard choice, especially when I saw how happy you were when I told you I broke up with Johnny,” she says carding her fingers through his hair, “But like, we only get one opportunity for our first time saying ‘I love you’ and isn’t on Christmas better than a week early.”

“Good point,” he says. Then he leans down and connects their lips for the first time ever and it is complete magic. Harry feels his toes curl when she slides her tongue in his mouth. Before they can get carried away though he pulls back once more. “I love you, so much.”

She giggles and his heart soars.

“I know,” she says, “I love you too, so much. I wish we had told each other sooner, but I’m so thankful that Niall made you do a letter.”

“Wait a minute…” Harry sits up completely. “You saw us fill them out too?”

“Yeah, it was kind of my big project, I’ve been working on it since June. I just happened to be on my way to restock the supplies when you guys went over and then that afternoon, when I read yours, I—” she starts to tear up again remembering how she felt. “I couldn’t break up with Johnny fast enough.”

It’s Harry’s turn to laugh brightly.

“Come here,” he says gesturing towards his lap.

She wastes no time climbing into the crook of his legs.

“It’s your turn to open mine, but fair warning it probably won’t beat this.”

She leans forward to grab it from under the tree and his arms snake around her waist to hold her close.

She pulls the package up onto her lap and when she settles back against him, he presses delicate kisses to the side of her head.

She peels the wrapping paper off too slowly for his liking but when she finally has it open, she starts to deflate. It’s a copy of her favorite poetry collection, one she already has.

“Harry—” She flips through the pages just a bit and discovers the real meaning behind the gift.

“I bought it earlier this year and annotated it as I read. When you announced your breakup, I went back over the things that reminded me of you in red ink, so you’d get the hint too. However, your idea was way cuter, so I understand if—”

He’s cut off by her lips on his again. She drops the book on the floor and rotates herself so she’s straddling him. His hands come up to her back and he pushes her closer.

When she pulls away tears are streaming down her face.

“This is,” she says picking the book back up, “the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. You are just the absolute best and I love you so much.”

“Don’t cry sweet thing,” he says. He runs his thumbs under her eyes to wipe at the tears. “I’m glad you like it, it felt kind of cheesy. I originally got you a new collection of hers but when I realized I could make a move I did this too and then I started to worry it was stupid.”

She shakes her head aggressively.

“Not stupid at all. I love it so much,” she says kissing him again.

After a moment she comes up for air again and starts to stand up.

“Where are you going?” Harry says, eyes trained on her.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to make some cookies!” She looks around the room and spots the mistletoe placed above the arch of the kitchen. “Better yet,” she says, grabbing his hand and pulling him up too, “let’s cross off something on my Christmas bucket list on our way to the kitchen.”

Harry smiles fondly at the memory from their first Christmas together when they made festive bucket lists. Y/n had put “kiss under mistletoe” pretty high on it.

He stands up and follows after her excitedly. He has a feeling this will be the best Christmas yet.

[whumpbby]

Tbh i really hate when ppl act as if Jiang Cheng was "rotten from the start" and never actually cared about Wei Wuxian as a brother. Like, in the latter's case we can see he cares very much but that care is very much mixed in with many negative feelings, it's like when you love someone but they hurt you but you still love them, you want things to go back to the way they were before but they can't and they won't. On the former it's pretty much canon that he was an ok if high strung young man and losing everyone he ever loved in very close proximity to each other is what made him be the way he is today, he's not evil (he'd be hotter if he was) he's just angry and bitter for very valid reasons

I think it takes an extreme case of Protagonist Bias to think that. And not even following the actual protagonist's thought process - just being biased on their account in some sort of a projection. Kids these days got to used to having their bad guys colour-coded.

People are so desperate to cast a villain to the Happy Couple they will grasp at any straw to justify their opinion. They will ignore every piece of text that explains in detail why things are happening and why he's acting the way he is - even to the point of ignoring the protagonist explaining what happened and how. They will literally ignore the protagonist they're wanting to stan just so that they can have their villain. Wei Wuxian needs to be massively nerfed and woobifed for the whole shitshow to start making sense. Literally, a man with no agency! Poor helpless victim! The poorest little baby, no one suffered as he did!:(

Meanwile, Jiang Cheng's biggest sin in the novel?

He's not nice.

That's it. He tried to protect Wei Wuxian from his mother. He did all he could to bring Wei Wuxian home after the war against his best interests. He walked away from Lan Zhan being a dick when he could have easily caused him problems. He only ever fought Wei Wuxian when it was either staged or he was attacked first (in the much brought up ancestral shrine scene that people don't seem to have actually read).

But he's not nice about it. He's not even stoicly stiff like the ever-amazing Lan Wangji (who only ever cared about one thing in his life, and it's the man he wanted to fuck roughly in the bushes-_-).

It was barely a decade from having his whole extended family horrifically murdered, so obviously he should be fine by this point. (We can ignore the main plot of the decade-in the making-revenge-plot, that's not important, that's not a theme at all!) At least he should learn to repress his trauma! Because that ended great for the protagonist, right?:)

You need an intense case of lack of comprehension to miss the fact that, until the very moment of the Core Reveal, every bit of information Jiang Cheng had available to him pointed directly to Wei Wuxian being at fault for the tragedy his life became. The only doubt cast upon that conclusion was the spark of love that he could not kill. JC trusted Wei Wuxian for as long as he could. He trusted him - against a myriad of signs that he maybe shouldn't have - until the man killed his brother in law.

That's where any sane person would stop and reconsider.

And yet he was still willing to be convinced otherwise - until his sister died in his arms.

Like, this is what it took for JC to snap.

If someone says that Jiang Cheng was "rotten from the start" that only tells me they have skipped the whole fourth of the book that tells us in detail why Jiang Cheng wasn't a bad kid and how much he loved his family and Wei Wuxian. It tells me that they are here only for the romance and can't see anything else, certainly not character development (why would they? Wanxian don't develop throughout the story in any impactful way except of "oh, hey, we can be together and not care about anyone else - just like we did it before, but now with fucking included!"). It's like people who don't read books cannot comprehend the fact the author thought about this shit and put it there on purpose. It's not something that just happened to fill the pages between the Romance bits for the word count. That's, like, the actual meat of the story? These people have the critical thought capacity of a fucking tiktoker-_-

The author is telling us: look at these kids that were raised in a broken family and how it affects them as teens and young adults. How it affected their relationships with the people they love and demolished their self-worth. Look how a broken family can leave it's children scarred for life!

The idiots online: one is an innocent angel that never did anything wrong and the other an evil, selfish and hateful brat, got'cha! I am very smart!

-__-

[total-drama-brainrot]

Total Drama AU/Headcanon: Where everything is the same, except Noah is just as crazy/insane as Izzy and Eva, but he's much better at hiding it (with a sarcastic calm personality) ... Only Izzy, Eva and Owen know his true unhinged colors (and that's why they get along with him so well) .../// Duncan briefly saw it during the Total Drama Island Special Finale, when Duncan grabbed Noah's leg, but Noah escaped, and we didn't see HOW Noah escaped... In this AU, Noah bit Duncan's hand then gave Duncan a silent psychotic grin, which shocked Duncan and gave Noah time to escape (Noah basically pretending the bite and grin never happened) ... In TDWT, imagine if Alejandro ever found out that the sanest one on his Team is only PRETENDING to be sane! 😅

I've seen that one Scary!Noah AU floating about in the main tag lately, and I love the concept. There's so much that could be done with having someone like Noah (scarily smart, mostly motivated by either spite or The Bit, nerfed by his own laziness/apathy/hubris) have the added bonus of Going Apeshit sometimes. Either as a treat to himself, or as the natural consequence of his hidden nature.

It's like that "Izzy Isn't Crazy" theory, but in reverse. "Noah Is Crazy, He's Just Good At Masking".

In this AU, he and Izzy would get on like a house on fire.

Like recognises like, after all; Izzy would clock him as just as unhinged as herself at their first meeting, and probably confront him about his 'game plan' at the first chance she could (maybe that's why she was so quick to swap with Katie? A bid to get herself on the same team as Noah?). Noah would try to deny it at first, because he's supposed to be the 'lazy genius'- slipping from his allotted persona this soon into the competition would jeopardise his strategy!- but Izzy would reassure him that she can practically smell the crazy on him.

He'd live up to his title as 'The Schemer', by means of plotting pranks and other such events with Izzy. She'd use her status as the overt crazy girl to pull them off, and Noah would either help behind the scenes to abate his hunger for chaos, or live vicariously through Izzy's blatant mania whilst revelling in the fact that their plan(s) play out perfectly every time. Imagine how much better Izzy's bear suit prank would've been with a man on the inside- and now imagine how much better it would've been if Noah pretended to get eaten/mauled by bear!Izzy (using smuggled ketchup packets and A Lot Of Screaming to convince the Gophers of his demise)! (He'd play off the incident by blaming the whole thing on Izzy- saying she was the one who used the ketchup, and his screaming was just him being Rightfully Terrified of being eaten. Gotta keep up the charade!)

No one would suspect him either! Who would ever assume that slothful, apathetic Noah who complains about the trials and tribulations of 'hard work', 'effort' and 'physical activity' could be a friend and an accomplice to the unstoppable force of nature that is Izzy? He's always too busy shoving his nose into his book to ever consider befriending the crazy girl, there's no way Noah would even tolerate her! (/s)

I think he'd eventually reveal his true colours to Team E-scope plus Owen once their friendship is cemented off-screen. Noah isn't the trusting type (I'd clarify, but I'd end up writing a whole unrelated essay- maybe another time) and he's habitually secretive- his non-answers in the WT Character Interview and his Sierra-given title of "The Man of Mystery" attest to this- so he'd need to know that his friends are really his friends before letting himself be vulnerable/transparent with them, since any 'friendships' made on Total Drama always run the risk of being a ploy/fake. It is a social game, after all.

As for the Duncan Incident. Having Noah bite people is going to turn into a running gag for me at this point, because it's so fucking hilarious to imagine him in a scenario where he's forced/pressured into violence and immediately starts chomping down on someone. This weasel boy wasn't built for punches and kicks but On God can he use those pearly whites to cause some damage. (The human jaw has a surprisingly strong bite force. Noah absolutely knows this.)

I'd also like to suggest that Noah rips himself out of his cargo shorts after biting Duncan, leaving the punk with a bleeding handful of nerd shorts and an open wound for his troubles. He'd already let go of Noah by that point too; it's hard to maintain your grip on anything when you've got a manic bookworm tearing away at the tendons in your hands. So he's just sat there, terrified and concerned, nursing the throbbing, sluggishly bleeding bitemark on his hand and wondering how Noah managed to contort his usually stoic facial features into a grin so wild and feral.

And Noah races back to Izzy and Eva, face and teeth splattered in Duncan's blood, sans cargo shorts. Neither of them question it; Izzy has an idea of what he's done, since Noah's smugness levels have risen at least three tiers and he's smiling almost contentedly to himself, and Eva has learned how to Mind Her Own Business when it comes to Izzy and Noah's eccentricities (though she often shoots inquisitive looks towards Noah's red-painted face).

Then in World Tour? Alejandro is suffering. Noah's the only person on his team who isn't lacking braincells and/or completely unhinged (or so he thinks), and as such he's the latino's only lifeline to sanity on the forsaken jet. So when Duncan returns in London and seems scared of the harmless bookworm? That's concerning.

Assuming that Noah's a wee bit more savvy in this AU thanks to his subterfuge experience in Island, he probably wouldn't be as outwardly apparent in his distrust of Alejandro during the challenge- either that, or he'd be enjoying torturing Tyler too much to think about how much of an eel Alejandro is. So Alejandro wouldn't have any reason to want to eliminate him, if anything he'd be motivated to keep him around, if only to act as a buffer between himself and the idiocy of Team Chris.

Duncan's re-introduction and allocation to the team would be Alejandro's first inkling into the fact that Noah is more than he seems. When the delinquent is ushered to stand next to Alejandro and Noah, his pupils contract into pinpricks or terror, and his attention flickers between the aloof cynic to his side and an oval-shaped scar on his hand. The cynic shoots Duncan a friendly smile (Alejandro ignores how the smile doesn't quite reach Noah's eyes) and the punk turns sheet white.

Alejandro doesn't know what to make of it.

[moltensmusings]

Hi! I saw your Erza post, about her and her relationship with feminity. In the post you mentioned not liking how Erza's arc was written in canon. Could you please elaborate on it? I'm curious what you didn't like and how you think it could've been better, if that's okay! You're very articulate so I wanted to hear your thoughts, is all :3 <33

Have a nice week!

Forgive me! I saw this a while ago but I'm wrapped up in dragon age and my ft thoughts are a bit foggy so I completely forgot to respond.

My issue with Erza's writing has a lot to do with Mashima handling women in general. He has these really great concepts (specifically early fairy tail) but as time goes on he kind of defaults to the same things for every woman.

I personally think his writing for her and Jellal is just really lack luster. In an effort to get the audience to care about them he basically forbids Erza from ever being allowed to emotionally rely on her friends leading to a consistent flow of scenes where she's doing constant emotional labor but is expected to shoulder her own until Jellal shows up to maybe give her 2 seconds of being allowed to express herself.

I also like that she's surprisingly feminine in spite of how easy it would be to make her more masculine, but her feminity tying into her trauma is never really something that's touched on. I don't like that she's often used for clear fetish content (another overarching issue with every fairy tail girl regardless of how young) and humiliated sexually in fights in ways male characters never would be.

Honestly from her introduction she's had writing issues but she was a fun character. Introducing such a powerful mage as a main character early on is a weird choice. It would be one thing if she was more background only being in arcs when demanded, but her being a consistent main lead makes the world building feel less impactful when we get fights. It means she constantly has to get nerfed or forget her abilities when the plot demands her to not be savior of the day or we want Natsu to get the spotlight.

And overall it just feels like at some point Mashima really lost any concept of what to do with her as a character because she kind of meander going from main plot point to main plot point without giving her as a character any real development outside of her romance with Jellal. This isn't even me being a Erzajane shipper that shapes my dislike of Jellal and Erza, it's just very clear Jellal wasn't intended to be more than a one off character and him being brought back and sanitized was detrimental to Erza when Mashima decided to rush into a romance with them.

I want to note: we finished the show in September and ultimately I really hated it, much like I did when I was a teenager reading the final manga chapters. I'll still love the first season. I think Erza's characterization was great and we didn't have to deal with the overhanging romance bogging her down. It's just when it starts to overstay it's welcome that Erza suffers for it.

[shortfeather]

Gempearl Mcc 27? the prompt 19?

(send me a ship and a number and i'll write a kiss) (yes it's still on i know it's been like five months sorry i had an AO3 author moment)

I don't watch MCC so I couldn't make this specific to then, but I took a bit of inspiration from Pearl's recent video talking about the twitchcon(?) MCC and the few clips I've seen of MCCs past!

The island was absolutely crawling with people and cameras, but somehow, the two of them had found a corner where privacy as a concept hadn't been totally eradicated. No, their only audience was the blue void stretching out beneath their dangling feet, and each other.

"You excited for Ace Race?" Gem piped up, swinging her legs idly over the empty sky. "Your ping's been really good today, not that you need to be un-nerfed."

"Gem!" Pearl squawked, turning to face her with betrayal writ large across her eyes. "You can't just say that, now it's gonna be worse than ever!"

"Maybe I just want a chance against you, tryhard."

"Tryha—I—excuse you? I am not a tryhard, miss GeminiSlay." A blush slowly took over Pearl's face as she stammered, and Gem grinned, ignoring the reminder of her silly nickname. Pearl beat her in combat all the time, so really, it was a reminder of how insanely cracked her girlfriend was. And even if it wasn't, this was worth it. Flustering Pearl was just so much fun!

"I'll have you know I try a—a normal amount! At every—at most things!" Pearl continued, waving a hand around wildly. "I can admit I went a little hard on Decked Out 2, but—"

"Pearl, you memorized the map of every level down to the block. And you were the only person to beat the game."

"Yeah, but Etho won."

"Not in Tango's eyes! Etho didn't even go into the maze for most of the game, you literally ran it blind."

"Well." Pearl kicked her legs alongside Gem's, smiling a little goofily. "Like I said. I can admit I went hard on that. But not other ways! I'm not a tryhard!"

Gem raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Wordle."

"That was just me learning—"

"Final four in every life series you've been a part of, not to mention the one you won." Gem slapped a hand over Pearl's mouth as she went to protest again. "Queen of Decked Out 2, which you built a part of, might I remind you! Helped dethrone a king and intimidated Scar into not having a chest monster, even if it was temporary. Easily the best master of organics on Hermitcraft. Intimidated Doc—Doc!—into giving up something he'd taken as revenge." She paused. "Actually, I retract that last one, Doc's a scaredy-creeper. But there's tons more, miss tryhard. Just how many times have you won MCC now? Care to remind—ew!"

Gem yanked her hand away from Pearl's mouth, grimacing as she wiped off the spit from where Pearl had licked her. Pearl, for her part, just laughed.

"You licked me!" the redhead yelled, rather redundantly.

"I had to get your attention somehow." Pearl scooted closer, until she was almost nose-to-nose with Gem. "You kept ignoring the real proof of my accomplishments."

When Gem just frowned, she let her smile go sappy and said, "Girlfriend of the one and only GeminiTay? Ring a bell?"

"Oh my god," Gem drawled. Still, she was giggling as she playfully shoved Pearl's face away with a hand on her cheek. "You're the worst. And still a tryhard!"

Pearl pouted, going into full puppy-dog-eyes mode. "The worst? Can I get a kiss then, to cope with the pain of worstness?"

"No."

"For luck, then?"

"Wh—you don't need luck! I just gave you a million reasons you don't need luck!"

"But Geeeeeemmmmm," Pearl whined, pushing her face into Gem's hand. "You mentioned my ping, and now it's gonna suck."

"Oh my god," Gem muttered to herself. But her hand was cupping the back of Pearl's neck now, and drawing her closer, leaving Pearl's heart a delighted flutter. No matter how many times she kissed Gem, it seemed it would always feel like the first.

"Good luck," Gem said softly when they parted. "Again, not that you need it."

The bell rang around them before Pearl could reply, signaling the end of break. Gem sighed as their comms started buzzing rapidly, the whole server going wild at the prospect of starting this half with Ace Race. They only had a few minutes to meet up and strategize, so she stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants while Pearl stretched.

"You know," she said, stepping back towards the void they'd been sitting over. Pearl looked up with a raised eyebrow, curious. "I still don't think you need luck. But if you do—well, you know where to find me."

And she grinned, full of mischief. "On the course, that is."

Pearl sat there, stunned, as her girlfriend stepped into void and flew back to her team. Then she jumped to her feet, more determined than she'd perhaps ever been before.

Luck and ping both be damned. She'd try harder than anyone could ever dream of trying if it meant she got to kiss Gem some more.

[the-copycat-hero]

In my mind, Monoma knows how to pickpocket, do sleight of hand, roll a coin across his knuckles, all that good stuff :D I also hc him to have voluntary nystagmus. No particular reason, I just 100% think Monoma would use that skill to freak people out

Also I hc him to be friends with Hatsume Mei. Each time he visits he brings a whole packet of papers, diagrams, analytics of quirks and how they relate to their costumes, and Mei def eats it up EVERY TIME. She also has him try quirks she needs for the equipment whenever possible. They’re smart kids :>

What do you like seeing most in monoma fics/fan work and what do you want to see more of? Any relationships (romance or gen) you like? Also I’m very curious about the Monoma family 👀 Clearly they don’t seem to keep in touch. What does Monoma say when he’s asked about them? Is it something he keeps under wraps or are most of his friends aware

!!!!!!! Big Brain Takes! Massive!

sleight of hand (and other assorted part trick) Monoma is near and dear to my heart, and i could definitely see him being able to do Some Sorta Nonsense with his body like voluntarily vibrate his eyes. i could see him being double jointed, too. (he is a Bendy Boy.)

ALSO the fact that Monoma and Hatsume never interacted in any meaningful way will haunt me until i die. they are so smart, and they are such freaks (/pos). their aura would have been so powerful. maybe too powerful? i guess Hori had to nerf them somehow.

as far as fanworks go, i am a massive fan of any fic that has Monoma showcasing his quirk. (for example, Learning Curve has a fantastic scene with a training exercise/mock battle that i frequently go back to because it is So Peak to me.)

as far as things i'd like to see more of, i'd kill for more introspective pieces of Monoma learning how to adjust after the war. (let me see him talk to Bakugo, who he watched die! let me see him talk to Aizawa, who tried to protect him!!!) i'm hoping some more of that will come with time as the anime draws closer to the end, but i suppose we shall see.

romance-wise, i'm big on Monoshin and have been since season 2. the fact that it used to be a rarepair floors me. (really played the long game on that one). that being said, i could honestly read about Monoma with almost any other student, his personality is just that much fun to me. apart from Monoshin, i've been seeing quite a bit of Timebomb and Monoma/Pony on my timeline, and i find both so incredibly charming.

platonically: Kendo. Shinsou. Tokage. Mei. Honenuki. Bakugo (especially after the war). ERI. Vlad and/or Aizawa. slap Monoma in an interaction with any of them and i am Locked In.

FINALLY, the Monoma family. (man, the Monoma family.) @smallvictorianchildwhofoundwifi and i have constructed pages upon pages of lore for these human disasters, but i'll try to keep it brief:

Monoma's dad (still need a name) - only ever agreed to have a child in the first place because his side of the family was pressing for it. resents Neito for reasons that i'll probably dig into later - but as long as Neito isn't actively making a mockery of the family name, his dad really can't be bothered to think about him.

Monoma's mom (Hiromi) [PRE WAR] - had Neito when she was young (around 21 years old) because, again, her husband's side of the family was insistent. she adored him at first sight; however, she has had to make a lot of changes to appease her husband's side of the family over the years, and it has turned her into a harsher, colder person overall. every once and a while, she'll be struck with fondness for her son, but it never lasts for long before she goes back to being made of ice. maybe also unconsciously resents Neito some for marking the end of her old life.

Hiromi (cont) [Post-War] - determined to reconnect with her son after almost losing him in the final battle. has made so many mistakes that it seems impossible, but Neito got his tenacity from someone, and it certainly wasn't his father.

Monoma's class knows next to nothing about his family. even Kendo, who has known Monoma for a long while, has precious little information to go off of.

some of the girls in Monoma's class stumble across a picture of Monoma's mother from one of her last modeling shoots, but when they ask him about her, Monoma just tells them that he has his mother to thank for his dashing good looks and leaves it at that. Ittaka - Monoma's old caretaker (and pseudo-older sister) - comes to visit him once, and his classmates briefly think that his real mother must have died until Kendo corrects them (because she may not know much about the Monomas, but she knows that they are all still kicking). but that's about all they've got.

tldr; trying to wrangle a straight answer out of Monoma regarding his family is impossible.

[mia-maybank]

Analysing the clips from the hbh s3 filming announcement vid bcs i need s3 rn or i might die

-Putting this one at the top before doing the rest in chronological order bcs this clip has really interested me: Its a clip of a scene being filmed when Missy and Sasha are clearly arguing which means Missy is FINALLYYY calling Sasha out for her shit. Also Spider's behind missy its giving either missy being protective girlfriend and defending spider or spider being protective and ready to jump in if needed?? Also Ant is stood with Spider bug bfs crumbbb. And Harper and Amerie are like behind Missy too definitely backing missy up i already love this scene without even having context to it. Also Ants silly lil sunglasses on his head i love him.

-The leavers tops mean we are getting them graduatingggg the way im gonna SOBBB

-Quinnis mushroom hat is the cutest im so jealous + all the quinni outfits in the vid are looking soso cute

-The third clip looks like they are actually filming a scene there bcs of the camera so I guess they are wearing builder hats bcs from what you can see of the set it looks like part of the school (the burnt bit) is under construction whilst the rest is still fine so no weird moving to another school yippee!! Also guarantee they are meant to not go on the construction sight and it literally becomes the slts secret hangout spot calling it now. There's so many angles of this scene being filmed just in the one vid so it must be a big one.

-Somebodys written an absolute paragraph in red pen on ants top right leg on his leavers pants (guarantee its spider) and also they have nerf gunssss so MUCK UP DAY CHAOS!!

-HARPERS LONG HAIR IS SO PRETTY also i just know that whole lil scene of her walking with her headphones on is gonna be so slay

-There's a scene being filmed in the design technology classroom (which we know ant canonically takes) with Spider sat on a desk (looking HOT btw) with Missy stood beside him looking even hotter (we are deffo getting them as a public couple in s3 i cant wait bcs in one shot of that scene i looks like spider has his arm around her back) and cash sat next to and behind spider on a desk whilst Ant sits on a desk at the front and centre of that scene with a sculpture head on the table (could be like his exam project??) but overall it looks like they are all just talking about something in a big circle- Quinni and Darren are together by Ant, Harper is next to Missy and Spider and Amerie is leaning on Ant's desk. The hbh official insta caption says smth about a revenege prank going horribly wrong so maybe they are all sat there stressing and discussing what to do or smth?? Also its notable that all the slts are in that room except sasha.

-Sashas long hair also slays and brodie (ants actor) is in the background of that clip in a leopard print jacket which 1.Ant is gonna slay in 2. I hope this means they might finally acknowledge the fact that Ant isn't fully straight properly.

-Somebodies written Antman on the back of Ant's leavers shirt just a cute lil detail for ya xoxo

-Looks like there might be a scene with Harper, Ant and Amerie which I love bcs its Harpers 2 fave people <33

-Its a clip of the actors together but this also means we could get Spider, Ant and Quinni as a trio in a scene which is random but im lowkey here for it bcs its just gonna be quinni and ant hyping eachother up and causing absolute chaos whilst spider tries to reign them in lmao.

-Ant and Harper's actors getting promo photos together means they are gonna get promo'd as a couple they are coming in s3 guys!!

-SPIDER IN THE BLACK VEST IM GONNA DIE HE LOOKS SO HOT and look at the way Missys showing him her nails thats deffo a cute couple scene they were filming like awww

-Quinnis leavers jacket saying jellyfish is so sweet the lil throwback to s1 and QuinniDarren friendship :')

-I have mixed feeling on Cash's jacket saying cash after finding out what that means im praying the writers dont forget abt that but i trust they wont

And thats my ramble over if ur still here thank u!!

[emerynn]

MAX 🥺🥺🥺

(double exposure spoilers under the cut)

I knew episode 5 was gonna be a nightmare sequence but i still ate that shit up what can i say it's fanservice and im the fan lol

genuinely did get a bit emotional at the end like okay im HAPPY FOR HER

post credits scene was wild?? Not sure how I feel about them just handing out super powers like halloween candy but...okay? and MAX CAULFIELD WILL RETURN HELLO ???? part of me is sceptical and part of me is like yay more max hehe (fanserive, fan, etc.) - either way, guess im gonna be insufferable for a while then whoops

'will you ever go back to arcadia bay' 'one day' 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺girl i'll cry

lowkey the journal entries were nerfed. i mean i dont really care but still.

amanda max flirting scenes gave me major flashbacks to my own lesbian situationship so 10/10 points for accuracy on that one

i really enjoyed all the characters ngl!! and safi was so good and so intriguing i love that they let her be morally dubious oooo

'our lady of the storm' iconic. shes my fucking GIRL.

okay but is safi creating the lis avengers. like what is her plan. im concerned

how many endings were there because i strongly suspect there might have just been one and if that's the case that's hilarious but also like, come on

they kinda baited me with the "two maxes" bit at that one point i was like YES time travel bullshittery and max being a bitch to her alternate self EXACTLY WHAT I ASKED FOR and then i figured out the twist like 10 seconds before it was revealed and i was like well thats cool but.....i just wanna see max bully herself is that too much to ask for.....

'text from: chloe' like okay my heart did skip a beat lbr

okay so did max actually kill safi or what because that was never clear. like i think the polaroids were from the original timeline and then max shoots safi in that timeline leading to timeline 2 which is OUR original timeline i.e. the dead timeline and then...the living one happens asw? or was it like a pre-emptive timeline split did max ever actually shoot safi? i mean someone had to right? maybe this will make sense in the morning. or on the wiki. who can say

knew there was gonna be darkroom shit in the nightmare sequence fuck yeah (lowkey wanted more but hey im just being greedy now)

another tiny criticism but the krampus party did not feel like a college party lol like the vortex club end of the world party felt intense it felt dramatic it had stakes - krampus i was like oh this is giving me dead freshers week vibes guys just animate in some more extras please i know you can do it

music was amazing ofc

man i had this whole theory going on where max died in the "living" timeline at the same point that safi died in the "dead" timeline and that was why there was no alternate version of herself and it was some safis trying to save max while max is trying to save safi thing - obviously very wrong but i still vibe with it

i just really like max okay <3

To form something of a coherent conclusion: Really solid game, with some great scenes (the end of chapter 2 and start of 3 were def the standouts to me) and (in my opinion at least) really really good development for max - she was so clearly the same max as the original game but also she's grown up and she's grown into herself and ahhh it made me so happy to see!

I found some of the twists more effective than others and I think there could have been more build up to the storm (like in the original lis you KNOW it's coming for so long and there's this feeling of dread throughout whereas it kind of felt like we rushed to get to it here), but overall i had a good time, i really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and most of all, i really enjoyed getting stupidly attached to Max Caulfield again <3

7/10 looking forward to going down the rabbit hole with this one and i guess we'll see where we go next...??

[sketchehm]

Dream's face becomes steely when they finally break and ask him about the kids. It's as scary as it always is, the way Dream turns completely emotionless, but this time it also calms something inside Serpias. This guy know what to do, he's prepared. No matter what they do, they can't fuck up the kids that bad if Dream is around.

"Take me home"

He orders, and this time they obey, without even a joke about Dream forgetting his place.

-------

Dream leads them to his house, and thought the 20 different levels of security they need until they can get to the front door.

Inside it's luxurious, if a bit empty, and there are still Christmas decorations up, even tho the season has long passed.

God, they're going to have Christmas with the kids. They're going to spoil the hell out of them, maybe Rich will even raise the ban on nerf guns I'm the house for the kiddos.

They walk in silence, awkwardly trailing after Dream and trying to not trip over him in their eagerness for answers. They walk into a movie room and Dream kneels, putting his hand on the floor.

Holy shit, do they have a bunker under the house? The kids must have been hidden there when they kidnapped Dream and George, Team Mafia could never have found them like this! Those three are always smarter then they expect.

"Pssst, Patchy, where are you honey?"

From under one of the chairs peek two wide green eyes, and then a little tabby cat crawls foward, sniffing the air and glancing warily at the several men standing frozen in the doorway.

It meows, and Dream meows back at it.

"Meow, hi, hi baby. You wanna come here?"

The cat slowly crawls foward, it's tummy to the floor until it can bump it's little head against Dream's, before tugging on the collar of his hoodie down and jumping inside, hiding inside his clothes.

Dream gets up, shifting the cat until it's little head pops out of his hoodie neck hole.

"Meet my daughter, Patches." He says, a smug and mischievous smile on his face. He gestures to the two other cats peeking out from under the chairs with his head, "and those are Sapnap's babies, Naomi and Milo"

---------

The drive back home is humiliating, specially with the way Dream can't stop laughing, even after he broke into coughing multiple times. Maybe if it wasn't so good to see him so happy they would be a bit more mad.

Sapnap's face when they show up with his kitties is also a nice treat, the two of them in cat carriers Dream had pointed them to.

And well... Serpias glanced at the bulge under Dream's clothes from his own cat. There was always other ways to get kids when they were a little more ready...

SO. I started responding to this and then I closed out of the app and I lost what I've written and can't remember half the stuff I put down unfortunately TwT

BUT! The jist of what I remember is

1. I LOVE THIS THANK YOU

2. Serpias feeling this huge wave of relief of "oh my god they're cats omg thank /fuck/"

3. Spreen is very happy about having cats :3c (unfortunately I don't remember most of this point at all besides wanting it to be a Spreen and George bonding moment)

There was this big thing I wrote of Dream being listened to and respected when being escorted to his house, no one pushed or proved or joked around. It was an extremely serious process. Everyone had in mind these are /children/. They kidnapped their fathers and left these kids behind and while the Team are hardened criminals yea, they still have a sense of morality of leaving kids out of this. They don't want children in the crossfire if they can help it.

It also comes back to wanting to make Sapnap happy. Wanting Dteam as a whole to be happy to be with the Team. Not wanting them to /leave/ for anything outside, because surely, the Team can provide. Unless of course. Their children are left out there abandon, what father would leave their child? (Trick question lmao most of them are familiar with that concept) They just know dteam aren't like that. Just by looking at the three and how they won't let go of each other, it's obvious they'd love their own children too.

Until they realize it's cats.

Serpias doesn't think he's had such a wave of relief ever. Man's was on the verge of a breakdown. It's him whining in the car on the way back, why didn't Dream say anything he was gonna have a heart attack, Dream I thought we were friends, Dream stop laughing at me!!!!!

While I dont have a solid timeline in my head, I want to say Dteam is already kinda let out of the basement by the point the cats are retrieved. Maybe they're just allowed to stroll the house as long as 2-4 other members are accompanying them, otherwise they're in the basement. But this is the first time Dream has left the house since being kidnapped. Not the most ideal circumstances since a majority of them are accompanying Dream for this trip, but he's not very focused on escaping either. Having the chance to bring the kitties back....home....is enough of a reason to just focus on them solely.

I like to think this moment is also Dream's realization of the /genuine/ care the Team has for him and Sapnap and George. He tired, but he has Patchy back. Sapnap is looking the happiest he's been since he's gotten there. George is entertained by the cats and him and Spreen are bonding messing around with the cats. Things are alright for now....