#not beyond “this would have a lot of potential if they went that route���

[epiphainie]

.

[stusbunker]

Spotless: Mordent

Chapter Eighteen

Featuring: Dean Winchester/Reader, Dean/Bela

Other characters: Sam, Billie

Word Count: 2880ish

Warnings, etc: Mutual pining, this turned into more of a brother chapter than I originally intended, talk of tattoos and body mods, unbeta'd

Series Masterlist

Dean walked out of the studio with a cassette recording of their album, a CD and a thumb drive. He always asked for it to be playable in the impala and Ash always came through. The other options were for Bobby and Sam, respectively. Sam would send the files to everyone else. It was finished, set to be released while they were on tour, with the label’s stamp of approval and all. ‘Waysides and Regrets’ was thirteen songs packed with everything they could pour into them.

"Don’t call it a comeback,” Dean muttered to himself as he slipped into the driver’s seat and popped the cassette into the deck. The opening to Rupture ripped through the speakers and Dean cackled at hearing it like a civilian. He drummed along with Pam on the steering wheel as he turned out of the parking lot, saluting the guard at the gate as he went. 

He listened to it all before going back home. Rupture bled into Pushing Through which mellowed out to the subdued Brothers Keeper. Then they cranked it back up with Route 666, which slid into the angsty Prophet and Loss that showcased just why Kevin was Cas’ replacement (musically at least). Beyond the Mat and Goodbye Stranger were two sides of the same coin, introspective but in different tones, soulful and combative respectively. Then there was the first single, Annie’s duet, Baby, which Dean unabashedly wrote about his car, but as if she were real and he could thank her and praise her for everything she meant to him. He sang out loud with every word of that song as he cruised faceless side streets letting the music wash over him. 

Everybody Loves A Clown, Except Sam was supposed to be a joke track, but they got carried away with it and it actually was one of the funnest songs to play for Dean, and Kevin going full calliope for the chorus was totally worth it.  Gods and Monsters was fueled by Dean’s inner rage and where his anger came from, also known as John Winchester and his own self worth issues. Missouri had a field day when he sent her those lyrics. Then there was Lee’s track which Dean helped merely tweak some lines, Give Me My Axe: An Executioner’s Song. It was even better with the windows down and the road disappearing beneath his tires. The final track was an anthem, not quite what the kids would call a banger, but celebratory enough to be the potential second single from the album. It’s about the weekend Dean finally came up for air, when Sam holed him up at Bobby’s cabin in Tahoe and they had his come-to-Jesus intervention thing. It’s about letting go and letting your people catch you, aptly named Weekend at Bobby’s. It turned out better than Dean could have hoped.

He turned into the canyon when the bonus tracks started, knowing the album was drawing to a close and wanting Sam to hear it before he got too emotional about it. The house was quiet when he walked in, the coffee still in the pot, but Sam’s rinsed-out smoothie blender upside down in the sink. Dean found Sam outside, despite the cooler air, going through his yoga routine. 

Dean teased Sam about a lot of things, but it held little venom with the things that brought Sam well-being. 

“Hey, mop-head, got the album when you’re ready,” Dean called from the doors off the kitchen.

Sam exhaled and smiled, eyes closed in concentration. Dean didn’t know how he did it, but he understood sometimes other senses just get in the way of an experience, almost like they try to crowd it or consume it because it’s not about them.

“Gimme like ten minutes,” Sam replied and shifted into mountain pose. 

“Fair enough.”

Dean left the thumb drive on the counter and made his way into the living room. They had speakers in their jam room, but Dean hadn’t eaten and lunch was sounding better by the second. So he popped the CD into the stereo and paused it with one of the many remotes they’d accumulated through years of technological upgrades. Sam had an app on his phone for half of it, but Dean still favored physically punching buttons to get what he wanted done.

He made his way back into the kitchen and started pulling things out for BLTs. Sam had some tofu-bacon in the drawer and he fried that up too, and if a little of the real grease got on it, it was too bad for Sam. He grabbed a couple of bags of chips from the pantry and then some leftover fruit salad from the fridge to even them out. Life was about balance after all, and having a health nut for a brother and roommate Dean had learned to pick his battles. 

“Hey, that smells amazing,” Sam broke through Dean’s little self-congratulation.

“Yeah, mine does, yours smells like a nursing home cafeteria—- You ready?” Dean asked, holding up the remote with one hand while popping a chip into his mouth with the other.

“Hit it,” Sam agreed, sitting at the counter as Dean slapped his sandwich down in front of him.

They ate and listened, commenting here and there. Sam helped Dean clean up the kitchen and they both gravitated to the couch to finish listening. Dean took out a bowl he kept in an end table and packed it, smoking casually as Sam took in each song, each transition. 

It was one moment, but it was also a hundred others in the years before it. Brothers sitting in comfortable quiet as music spoke to them instead of one another. They were thirteen and nine and Dad had brought home a signed Lyle Lovett album for them to ingest. While neither of them were yet prone to country, it shifted their ideas of just what good music was. They were fifteen and eleven and done enough chores for a trip to Record Town in North Platte where they each got a tape apiece. Dean got Jar of Flies by Alice in Chains while he convinced Sam to get The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails instead of Tori Amos’ Under the Pink. They read every line of production details and lyrics on the pamphlets tucked into the plastic cases. 

Sam came home to find Dean back for the weekend. It was early ‘98 and it felt like everything had turned horrifyingly pop focused. The Prodigy’s Fat of the Land was playing on the boombox Dean had dragged out of Sam’s room as his big brother cleaned the kitchen back to his standards and not Kate’s livable level of clutter. They were waiting to hear if they had a brother or a sister. The only thing said between them was Dean reassuring Sam that he put his Celine Dion CD back in its case. 

They sat in Lee’s dorm room, stoned and drunk, watching as his roommate's computer uploaded their album. It felt like it would take forever, but it was also insane to think that people all over the world could listen to their music. It was full of possibility, but it was also just two brothers and their friends in their habitat, existing together.

“Dude— did you autotune me?!” Sam gaped, chuckling self consciously while listening to his line of the acoustic track of Brothers Keeper.

“Barely. Like nobody’s gonna notice, they’ll be too busy balling their eyes out,” Dean reassured.

“Yeah, like you, huh?”

“Shut up.”

Sam laughed, but let his embarrassment go; the nervous bastard always hated singing which was why he wasn’t as good at it. 

The album reached its end and they started talking about ideas for the tour, things to write down and beg Charlie for like lighting designs or album specific imagery when they hop back into their older stuff. It was almost four when Dean finally got over to Bobby’s with the CD, but he didn't stay for another listen. He let Annie have her moment with Bobby gushing, as much as the geezer could or would gush.

On the way home, you called him squealing with excitement.

“You listen to it already?”

“No! I just got the files from Sam. I guess I shouldn’t have called until I heard it all, huh?”

Dean chuckled. “Maybe. Or maybe you’ll hate it and never want to talk to me again.”

“Ha-ha. But no, seriously, I’m so excited. I’m going to blast it as I meal prep. Do you want my review long hand or can I just call you back and talk your ear off?”

“Whatever you’re willing to give me,” Dean tried for playful.

“Dangerous, Winchester. Okay, well I have like ten more things I have to do now that we have a single. But I’ll be in touch.”

“Sounds good— and thanks.”

“No— thank you.”

Dean hung up and let the fear roll in. You were going to hear it all. Everything he had been through and everything you had helped him overcome. He only hoped you wouldn’t be upset by making a cameo on something so public. Or embarrassed by the way he still needed you. 

Dean promised he’d be on his best behavior. Part of that was putting out fires for the band, to try and help make your job easier. So after the shake up from Kevin and Cas, he called Billie and apologized for his bandmates’ (both past and present) disrespect. She told him he could make it up to her. But there was no way Dean was going under the needle again, last time he even looked at one he almost threw up. But, it just so happened he knew someone who was in the market for some art. 

Unfortunately, that meant Dean would have to tag along.

Billie’s studio was modern and bright, with different colored walls contrasting the silver accents, both mirrors and shelving. From the outside, Reaping Ink was a small sign on a battered street, but inside it felt like walking into an art gallery and not someplace that had hard sharps containers and enough first aid equipment to stock an ambulance on hand.

And the furniture was always so damn comfortable.

The last time Dean had been here was for a memorial tattoo for Jo that you got on your right shoulder. He nearly broke your hand holding it as he tried and failed not to watch your skin be pierced continuously. It was a beautiful tattoo, everything Billie did was masterful. It just wasn’t something Dean wanted to sit through again.

Luckily for everyone, Bela didn’t need Dean to hold her hand. But she did need him as in with Billie, who usually booked appointments six-to-eight months out. 

“Hello, Dean,” Billie’s dark voice called once they walked in, she stood so still and so silently, he hadn’t even noticed her among the cacophony of color in the waiting area.

“Heya Billie, this is Bela,” Dean guided Bela with a hand on the small of her back, the way Billie’s dark eyes clocked the motion made Dean want to step back. Like a nun catching you standing too close to your crush in the hallway. Dean never went to Catholic school, but that feeling of getting caught, of doing wrong was universal.

“Pleasure,” Bela smiled at the artist, while Billie just nodded.

“I have a couple versions for you to pick from, I think I got the gist of what we talked about, but I wanted to be sure on sizing and layout. So come on back and we’ll get started,” Billie went straight into business mode. No whining about Cas’ impulsiveness or speculating on Dean and Bela’s relationship. At least verbally, her eyes held a very different story.

She had three different stencils already cropped and laid out for Bela to see as Bela rucked up her top and rolled down her leggings. It wasn’t a tramp stamp, she was insistent on that, but it was on the back of her right hip, something she could glance at or hold if she needed to. The way she talked about the position of the tattoo, made it seem just as important as the content or the coloring of it.

“Dean?” Bela’s voice drew Dean out of his thoughts.

“Hmm?” 

“Can you take pictures with my phone? Before, during, and after?” Bela handed him her unlocked iphone and he turned it around to focus on her nearly bare back. He took a few shots and gave it back. 

“You’ll want that to distract you, trust me,” Dean assured.

Bela rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that what you’re here for?”

Dean went green. “As long as I don’t have to watch.”

“Really?!” Bela exclaimed and looked over to Billie for confirmation.

“Mmm-hmm, boys one of the worst I’ve seen around needles. No wonder he doesn’t even have his ears pierced.”

“I guess I never noticed—- wouldn’t have thought. Poor thing,” Bela sighed as she settled on her stomach on one of Billie’s many specialty beds. 

“Can we not? I mean, I’m here ain't I?” Dean huffed and pulled out his own phone. You still hadn’t texted him what you thought about the album, but he also knew you were busy, so he didn’t want to rush you or look too desperate.

He felt Bela and Billie have a silent conversation as he pulled up his sudoku app, but ignored them as Billie got the stencil in place, only getting up to snap another picture. Then, they were off. Bela and Billie making small talk about the design, which Dean knew Bela had put a lot of thought into, especially since it would officially tarnish her good girl image. Even in this day and age, most of her fans were in their fifties. A tattoo could rattle the masses. But getting one with Dean seemed like a good compromise of their images.

He was rubbing off on her, so to speak. Well, he hadn’t done that literally since his talk with Sam, but you know.

They sat for an hour and a half and took a break, Dean went to get food and coffee, which he left in the lobby so as not to infringe on Billie’s strict rules. Dean took a couple more pictures and some stupid selfies for Bela to find later. The shop was closed to the public and since Billie’s latest playlist had started over, Dean asked if he could hook up to the bluetooth. 

Billie looked at him appraisingly as it became clear that he was playing his own music during his girlfriend’s appointment. 

“What?”

“You’re either looking for my approval or you’re buttering me up by letting me hear this first. Which is it?” Billie manhandled Bela back into position to get going on the shading.

“I don’t know, man. Both?”

Billie hummed, but didn’t reply.

Dean walked around the studio, looking at the different sets of flash and paintings that covered the walls. He flinched away from the spinning display of rods, tapers, disks, and rings for piercings and stretching. He felt like a waste of space, but mainly because he was never any good with boredom. Being idle in a place he was already uncomfortable, for a plethora of reasons, was akin to torture.

He remembered to breathe.

He checked his phone. He put that back into his pocket. He stole Bela’s phone for a few more pictures, trying not to look directly at her raised, red flesh.

“How’s it going?” Dean asked, after giving Bela her phone back, his album running its course around them.

“I’d say another twenty minutes and then I’ll bandage her up. You good?” Billie asked, surprisingly sincerely.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. Just curious,” Dean muttered.

“Hey, Dean. I like the music,” Billie said, waiting for him to make eye contact.

“Thanks,” Dean nodded, trying not to let his blush show.

“When’s it coming out?” Bela asked, suddenly reminding Dean why he was there in the first place.

“End of April,” he said. “Single’ll be released week after my birthday.”

Bela paused and looked up at him, but Billie was the one to break the ice.

“Which is?”

“Uh, the 24th. Baby hits your airwaves on the 29th.”

“Is that Annie Hawkins on that track?” Billie asked.

“Yup,” Dean grinned.

“Damn, almost forgot about her. Nice pull,” Billie praised.

Dean chuckled, not explaining his connection. She’d find out eventually, if it even mattered. “Yeah, we got lucky with that one.”

Bela was inked up, wiped down and vacuum sealed over the following half hour. Dean paid for the work, plus a generous tip. And posed for a few promotional shots with Bela and Billie alike. Once everyone was satisfied that what they had would help all involved, Bela and Dean said their goodbyes and thank yous and headed out for a late dinner at Elizabeth’s. 

“Do you want me to send these to you or to Y/N to latergram?” Bela asked as their drinks arrived. 

“Just send ‘em to Trouble. She’ll know what to do with them better than me,” Dean ducked out of the responsibility, unaware he was planting another social media minefield for you to navigate by doing so.

Tagging:

@deans-spinster-witch

@mrswhozeewhatsis

@cosicas-cuquis

@fics-pics-andotherthings-i-like

@suckitands33

@ladysparkles78

@deans-baby-momma

@stoneyggirl2

@sassy-pelican

@leigh70

@globetrotter28

@winharry

@lastactiontricia

@rockhoochie

Chapter Nineteen: Pizzicato

[justali-anne]

What I think the Undertale characters could really use: Part 1

Frisk: A councillor. This poor child has been through so much, from monsters trying to murder them (and sometimes succeeding), to potentially abandonment, being essentially kidnapped and taken hostage, being stalked by several characters, having to choose between their life and the salvation of a whole society... Yeah, I imagine Frisk might be a little messed up. They're a fighter (not literally... mostly), though, and really resilient, so I think a counsellor would help them get around their trauma.

Flowey: Compassion. As twisted as he is, Flowey has also been through a lot. He probably hasn't been around compassion in a long time, whether it's because he can't feel it anymore up to rejecting the notion of compassion altogether after what he went through as Asriel. However, as shown in the Pacifist Route, he's pretty easily swayed by someone with genuine compassion for him - he's fond of Papyrus, who's practically compassion incarnate, and as Asriel, he gets redeemed by Frisk's care and compassion as well. He needs someone to care for him, and not just pity him.

Toriel: A purpose. Poor old lady isolated herself for who knows how long, waiting for humans to fall down so she can futilely try to protect them, only to end up failing time and time again. Years of doing that would definitely diminish one's sense of purpose - it would have a profound impact on Toriel's self-esteem, self-worth and mental health in general. If she's not about kids, then who is she? Sans' knock knock jokes definitely helped her a bit, but I think what she truly needs is a reason to move onwards, to look forward to life again. A different purpose that extends beyond motherhood. The school she created on the surface is perfect for her because she not only gets to work with kids, it's also her dream job, and she gets to work with a lot of adults too! Taking care of a school is more than just looking after children, even if that is one of the primary goals. It's perfect for her.

Sans: Safety. Poor guy... Between the reports of timelines stopping and starting to the prospect of everything suddenly ending, him knowing you're resetting the timeline, the fact that you could kill anyone if you wanted to, especially his sweet, precious brother, and judging by the bits of pieces we got of his backstory, losing an ENTIRE FREAKING DIMENSION, he probably hasn't felt safe in such a long time. Seriously, though, if you were in Sans' position, you'd be scared out of your wits! Sans desperately needs stability, and he's grasping at that with his constantly going to Grillby's, making jokes with Toriel, working 5-6 jobs... his daily routine. He's quite a paradox, isn't he? He comes across as calm, lazy, relaxed... but at the same time, I get the sense that he might be trying to keep himself busy? Ironically, what the slacker really needs is a chance to relax. Genuinely relax. He needs a safe, stable environment, so he can heal, and love, and live again. Luckily, we have the power to give this to him. If we just don't reset after the Pacifist Route...

I'll add part 2 later.

[kirabook]

Can people stop complaining about Starboy challenge

I think it's a little odd there's a push to say Starboy and Asha are incest. Like, you take such harmless fun and try to twist it and make the worst out of people.

Starboy had MANY concepts. He was never just "one" concept. At one point he was literally just a star in the shape of a boy. In another, shapeshifting animals. In another, they went with the "younger grandfather" route. And finally, they arrived on the marketable star plushie. That's 4 that we know of.

You can see in the multiple concept arts that not all Starboy's are the same. Not all Starboys were meant to represent her grandfather. (and he's literally not her grandfather anyway but whatever I can understand the ick in that case... IF that was the version people were shipping Asha with, which they aren't)

Either way, WISH still would've been a better movie whether Starboy was a romantic interest OR if he was the embodiment of her grandfather. Bot interpretations are a million times better than the final product so why do people have their panties in a twist?

If you hate the romantic not-grandfather Starboy concept and prefer the grandfather one.... then why don't YOU put some fan content out there about the power of familial love and how even beyond the (assuming?) grave her grandfather found a way to help her and jumped into danger with her to save everyone?

It's still a really fun story either way so.... what is everyone's deal?

Like, I'm a family feels truther all day but you know what? All you guys do is complain and haven't put in any work to make your interpretation of the third Starboy concept a reality.

If you've ever written an original story before, surely you know drastic things can change? I've been writing an original story on my own time for years and the amount of times I've changed the origin of some characters based on how the rest of the plot is developing or how I think it would work better.... it's a lot? Sometimes I create new characters out of thin air just for one purpose. Sometimes full out characters I made completely disappear. Sometimes they change races or colors or even genders. That's how the creative process works.

Starboy is at least 4 different people/beings. Most people liked what seemed to be the original version, aka not-grandfather potential romantic interest.

To summarize, people need to firstly, calm down. Secondly, mind your own business and stop trying to squash other people's fun when they expand on the concept of when Starboy was just Starboy and not yet reimagined (probably for the billionth time) into someone else.

Internet discourse has rotted peoples ability to mind their own business, read, and get an imagination I swear

[protectmuriel]

Just your average angry rant on Muriel's route development.

Warning: it contains nothing but spoilers! And I probably missed some points and it's nothing that hasn't been said before and it's probably not very well written because English is not my native, but still.

So, I finished Muriel's route last night for the second time and it was going okay! I like the route, I loved learning about Muriel's past and his identity, I loved watching him grow and learning to trust others and himself. But then... The ending books. The freaking games? I think the first time I was too absorbed to actually stop and think, but... Are you for real?

The battle did have potential, at least a lot more potential than the final confrontation, and after all that training and Nadia's speeches I was so disappointed not to get more immersive scenes or descriptions of MurielxMC fighting together side by side beyond of a few lines like "we were like a whirlwind together" or something like that. I would have enjoyed to see Vesuvia's people fighting for more than 5 minutes, and not to have it all depend on Prakra's army. And by the way, you're telling me the /Devil/ reincarnated in Lucio –who was already depicted to be very good at battlefields– decided to build an army and it was so weak that it went down in ten minutes?

Then Valdemar summons Muriel and MC to the Lazaret where Devil! Lucio asks them for a... Fight? Honestly, the goddamn DEVIL, with all the cleverness in its deals and plans it'd struck during the main routes, who yearns to be entertained BIG time... It settles for a fight two on one? A series of simple games? It seems very out of character, even if the Devil did merge with Lucio. And the Devil/ Lucio relation is not greatly explained either (or, at least, not to me.)

The games are treated so carelessly. There's a feast during them, like the entire future of a country was not at risk. Where did they even get all that food...? Vesuvia was in ruins and people were not even working since they were focusing on training like their lives depended on it, because, well, they did. Where did all that food come from? Prakra? It made little sense.

The games were not taken seriously, either. Where was the tension? The build up? In the other routes MC has to break the Devil's chains, they have to go through so many dangerous, weird, amazing stuff and in Muriel's route it's just... Archery! Wrestling! Racing! And then puff! Puff, Lucio's gone, route over!

And what really bothered me too was that Muriel and Lucio's fight wasn't even fully written!!! We just see Lucio saying something along the lines of "We all knew you were better at muscles than me" or something like that. This was THE MOMENT I was expecting to see. Muriel facing Lucio, facing his past, the past that tormented so, so much that led him to strike a deal to be forgotten by the rest of the world, and it was treated like nothing.

Why is Lucio and Muriel's past not discussed more in depth? Lucio kept talking about it, kept insulting him, and none of it was actually used as an opportunity to do explore it. Actually, before Lucio died/ disappeared at the end, Muriel says "I know you didn't mean it, but I know you won't change either". What are you saying? He didn't mean to force kids to work for him? He didn't mean to have you chained to a coliseum? Why would Muriel say that so casually? It felt very OOC. Honestly, it could have been good, Muriel could have gotten at least SOME closure.

We also get to see so little MC development... They learn little about their past/death and have little to none exploration of his true potential. And just... WHAT happened to Muriel's curse??? It just... Disappeared????? What?? So many plotholes.

All these things have been said before, it's nothing new, but I just HAD to rant about it because everyone in this route (everyone) deserved better.

[cofeeban]

I like strawberry smoothies and I, and I alone, with no one else to give me this idea, had the random quirky idea to talk about food and determine whether I like it more or less than a smoothie of my preference. First off, the Strawberry Smoothie in question, which I'll refer to as SD for short. I don't make the SD but at a place near my house it's so good I just love strawberries. I'm a person whose ideas are a bit off the stove so I like when granola is added in, but after the SD has been made. Unblended granola in the SD. So good. I love chewing it throughout the my experience. It's like infused with strawberry goodness. :yum_emoji:

Some other drinks that's popping into my head to compete with it is like a fancy restaurant that gave us watermelon water. I know I said restaurant but that thing was so good I wouldn't be surprised if I died and went to heaven. Utterly divine drink a 10/10 and the SD has finally had it's glazing session ended.

The Sujeonggwa from a sushi restaurant I went to was quite good. It was a dessert given to us with a cookie. It's basically just cinnamon and ginger but it's so nice and warm for the heart. From memory I only had it once and attempted to make it once. Less than the SD. Herbal tea is good I think it's probably on par with the SD at least one I've had before but I would rate it slightly less than the SD anyway because I want to. It's not sweet and I love sugar.

Water is the goat actual 10/10. I love and live for that.

I used to like carbonated drinks in the past but now I can't drink them at all. Too much for my petty little stomach to handle. Green tea is absolutely goated on the sticks. Chocolate milk is so delicious especially from a Filipino restaurant I sometimes go to is delicious. It tastes like they use real chocolate and it's not overly sweet like straight syrupy. I think I'd put the SD over that one because I could drink the SD non-stop, but the chocolate flavor would be too powerful for me to consume so much of.

I've had alcoholic drinks but none have been good. I consider good if I would choose to drink for like a non-party function. And I've yet to find any. Something almost drinkable outside of functions was an alcohol ice cream shake thing that began to resemble something my tongue would rate beyond mediocre. It didn't quite get there but I think there's potential on that route. Which is just icecream and alcohol I think. So maybe I just like ice cream a lot. Not maybe, I am a love of ice cream. Some sake goes down so smooth though. I've had one at a sushi restaurant that smelled great, smelled like flowers. London fog at the same place I go to is quite good. Less than the SD but I like it. Reminds me of warm milk and the flavor isn't so powerful. Kind of like a relaxing thing to drink. I think it's like earl tea with milk instead of water. Sounds strange but idk it's good. Try it. I get oat milk with that one though.

I once paid 12$ for an iced hot chocolate. Very good. Can't say I'd get it all the time because again, the chocolate would overflow my dainty little body. The marshmallow they gave it with is so good. OMG that reminds me that once at a cafe I frequent kind of close to my house I would supply marshmallows for them to accessorize my hot chocolate with and that thing was probably like very very very very slightly baby a nanometer over the SD. I think those marshmallows kind of carried the drink. And I know the marshmallow haters are gonna swing by and say "it's just sugar" but no, these were marshmallows of quality and you truly can't compare the kind you find at grocery stores to this. I promise you, head to a bakery and buy some to truly understand the taste and power of those fluffy white sugar balls/cubes. Anyway that was a really good hot chocolate. I liked that the marshmallows were blow torched.

Champurrado is good as well. I have no clue how it's made properly. I just go to someplace and buy it on occasion on the winter. It's like hot chocolate. Chocolate is showing up a lot in here. Hmm maybe I like that thing a lot. Any way less than SD. Which will be henceforth shortened to LTSD. Or, BTSD. You can figure it out.

Sushi better than SD. No contest. I would even honestly say I didn't realize food could be so good until I had sushi. I didn't even like raw fish sushi until I had it a place that served it fresh. tbh I'd say Ever(a 2 Michelin star restaurant) on the whole is less than SD, although the watermelon drink and butter are better. Everything else wasn't exactly it for me. I couldn't even find the lights for the bathroom and had to pee in the dark, feeling my way around the room.

Avocado on cow tongue tacos are BTSD. Avocado on things absolutely hard carries some stuff let me tell you. Like putting it on a burger just makes it better. Have you ever put it on a hot dog? If not try it and be shocked. People will look at you like you're crazy, but no, you're just early to a trend. Chex mix is quite good. Pop corn is quite good. Bolios and Naan are very good. Honestly I like plain stuff like just eating regular bread. I liked for cereal eating like the chex rice version. It's so good. So simple. Wasa bread is good too. Just simple stuff. LTSD stuff before. I eat oatmeal. That thing is awesome. Steel cut oats in milk(oat or soy)/water. Then you put in banana/strawberry/blueberry and honey. Then yogurt and I promise you'll find heaven on earth. The yogurt seems sus. But it's so you don't die of too much carbs. For sure if you make it right and add strawberries it better than the SD. So good, I even decided not to use the acronym.

Eggs with scallions are good. I do love that. When I put it in a tortilla and even with avocado it's like on par with a strawberry delight.

Deep dish pizza is the BOMB. I love pineapple on pizza so sue me. Deep dish depending on the place is BTSD. But I've had LTSD as well. So really you may just be rolling the dice depending on where you go. Pineapple on pizza does make it better though. That's a hill I'll die on. It's not even an opinion. I'm telling you a fact.

Fish tacos at a taco truck are better than SD. Although, if it didn't have avocado I don't think I would rate it as highly. It gets a plus 10% stat bonus from avocado. It's too broken of a fruit. Could put it on practically anything for improvement. The texture really. Pampazos are quite good. They are like a spicy bread sandwich. That was an awful description. The top and bottom of the bread are dipped in some salsa and then inside the bread it's like potato and chorizo. Fry it and then you put in your toppings like lettuce, cheese, sourcream. Lettuce too. That's very good. LTSD. An SD is just so good, really. I could eat that thing all the time.

OMG guacamole. There was this one restaurant in the big city that was sooooo good. I had to ask for extra. That was the best thing I had tried. Guacamole is the bees knees. That one was for sure the best one I've had in my life. BTSD. Most of the time though I think it's LTSD.

Idk that's all my brain could think of to rank food. That's it. Good bye. If you read all this way dang you should try something here. Maybe a strawberry smoothie. That or a bannock. A scone if you're uneducated. Something you may actually be able to find are here:

Chex mix blue one, some taco with avocado in it, deep dish pizza with pineapple, oatmeal with strawberries, go to a cafe and ask for an iced hot chocolate, Sujeonggwa or water.

There those are your choices.

[egg-emperor]

What's your opinion on the Sonic Prime Eggmans? /gen

Do I get to talk about regular Eggman too? At first I thought this was asking about him and I really wanna gush about him again but now I realize you probably mean the council more lol

I really loved the Prime version of regular Eggman! It was literally only five minutes worth but a very beautiful five minutes at that. Deem Bristow and Mike Pollock play huge parts of why I love Eggman and find him so entertaining so I didn't know how I was gonna feel about the change but Brian Drummond doesn't do a bad job, he could easily become my next favorite voice after them if he worked on it a little more.

I enjoyed how simplistically enjoyable Eggman was. Funny and silly and getting up to evil to find and steal the paradox prism and use it in his schemes. His ambition and motivation to take over the world there strong as ever and talking about wanting a world that's more him in neon was cute, I like and am fascinated by bright colors and pretty lights and want everything to be about you too Ivo dhfisbgjsbgkdh

I love the classic bickering and scolding Orbot and Cubot. I love how he tricked Sonic and went the route of taunting him then targeting his best friend Tails to piss him off enough to bait and make him snap for his plan to work, being a real bastard and calling him "stupid as Tails is ugly" lol. I loved how happy he was for it to work and how he laughed maniacally and looked like such an adorable evil bastard doing it!

Everything I love about Eggman was intact there and I was looking forward to seeing more. I expected it was gonna have the vibe of my favorite parts of X as that's what that five minutes felt like and that's exactly what I've been wanting for years, for modern Eggman to come back in a show and be just like that. I really miss Prime Egg and I wish he would come back but they threw him out in the first ep :(

He was so beautiful and charming and entertaining 🥰

I miss hiiim but I'm gonna bet that he won't return in any form beyond the prismatic titan until the very end of the show or something

As for the Chaos Council, I unfortunately have much less to say as I'm personally not a fan of them. The concept certainly had the potential but the execution is lacking. They just don't have a lot going for them, they're kind of just generic character archetypes such as Baby, Teenager, Hipster, Old Man, Not Eggman, etc. They don't have regular Eggman's personality and charm and are just like strangers in his skin.

I really wish I could like them more but both their designs and personalities don't grab me. For that I only watched the first eight episodes and never watched the second batch besides the prismatic titan Eggman parts. I'd at least have been happier if they had kept regular Eggman with them, as depicted in the concept art as he was going to be a part of the council but they decided to rid of him completely.

The most cool and interesting part of Prime to me outside of regular Eggman to me is New Yoke City. I always love seeing a world taken over by Eggman and I'm a huge sucker for the dark controlled industrialized polluted dystopian hellscape where there's propaganda everywhere on the walls, orders and rules constantly being enforced through the robot patrol saying stuff like and over PAs blasting through speakers

It's an "Eggman" ruled and controlled place, a dark shitty oppressive place and people are just mindless zombies and slaves to the harsh system because they feel hopeless to break out with no freedom, controlled, restricted, and watched. The way it's spelled New YOKE city so it sounds like "yolk" like egg but is potentially a reference to a "yoke", a type of leash to control cattle, fits how they're oppressed and controlled was right up my alley.

Seeing the real Eggman in a place like that leading the Chaos Council would've been so cool. Then it could've looked like the concept as the version that I liked a lot more than the look of the final for all the regular Eggman designed inspired assets, it even has the beautiful neon and cool lights like he wants! And I just love how much it looks like Eggmanland hehe. I really wish they'd tapped into that potential.

[tiny-cloud-of-flowers]

hii ari !! abt the second timeline where adriana was the protagonist .. i remember ur carrd saying that she was in a relationship w luna in that timeline too — would u imagine it being different in any way , compared to the third timeline ? would there be a case where one of them may remember parts of their relationship from the second, or have a 'gut feeling' / 'intuition' that was rly memories from the timeline before ? i hope this all makes sense LOL

Oh!!! This absolutely does make sense; thank you so much for such an intriguing question!

Hmm.. I think that it would be at least a little bit different, by virtue of the fact that in the second timeline, Adriana fully took the role of the player as seen in-game, with no-one else surviving Grandview Station. So, as a result, while I do think that she and Luna would fall in love in the same way - Luna’s feelings appearing quite suddenly after Adri saves Gardevoir and later herself from the sanctum, which was midway through Adri’s own attraction rising slowly over time since meeting her - I also think that Adriana wouldn’t have been able to spend quite as much time with Luna as she had wanted, because she had more responsibilities as the spearhead of the movement to take down Team Meteor. As a result, it’s plausible to say that while we were definitely still close, it was not to as much of an extent (or at least had not developed to that extent yet).

Conversely, in the third/current timeline, Adri doesn’t have to be there for every single event, because there is now someone else travelling the region (in the form of the player), whom she is now mirroring by continuing to collect badges but doesn’t have to constantly be glued to. So, for example, she can spend more time with Luna after returning to Reborn City by not having to go through the Devon Corp raid. By the time the player has done that + defeated Adrienn + explored potentially the entirety of Tourmaline Desert (which is massive) + gone all the way through Titania’s gym, all that Adriana has to do in the same timeframe is just defeat Adrienn, fly from Beryl Ward to the top of Mirage Tower (to pick up Corybantia), then continue north to Never After - because she catches up with the player right before they battle Titania, at least if they’re on Reshiram Route. This (and other examples throughout the story, which I’ll admit I haven’t fully come up with yet) gives her much more downtime compared to the player.

What I haven’t considered as much as I could have is the last part of what you were saying, about feelings and memories of the previous timeline poking through. And I think that is a VERY fun concept to play with - the game sort of touches on it right at the end, but not really to much of an extent. In fact, something that I was considering was saying that Adriana’s experience - so, the second timeline - was closer to Episode 18 than it was to Episode 19, because the game itself was still only on Episode 18 when I myself first played it. This allows for some fun moments in terms of things like Adriana being surprised to hear the name Borealis so early, or being apprehensive to enter Agate until Cain and the player arrive, or suddenly feeling a lot less sure of things after defeating Hardy (because E18 only went up to his Gym battle even though Adri herself did actually get all the way to the end of maingame), or - to bring it back to an F/O-focused perspective - being even more shocked than everyone else that Elias tries to shave off Luna’s hair.

I think that Adriana would be the only one to really have these moments of.. I suppose you could call them anamnesis, but she isn’t necessarily remembering the previous timeline, just getting vague intuitions of things. This is because she’s the only one to have more explicitly been brought back in from the previous timeline - and brought back from her fate in that timeline - because of Anna’s feelings of guilt causing her to intervene more. If she hadn’t intervened beyond the point of a simple reset, it wouldn’t have been guaranteed that Adri still travelled out to Reborn (because she wasn’t the chosen hero for this timeline), defeating the main point of bringing her back - which was to make sure enough people would be present to power Anna’s wish if the new chosen hero, the player, had to be saved like that as she was. I do think there is potential for her to eventually become more anamnestic, certainly moreso than Fern, but that may not actually occur until.. maybe the Giratina quest. Which is late into postgame.

..I think it’s safe to say that I could ramble on about this for ages considering how much I’ve already written here in one go. So, thank you very much for such a question, friend - I am very grateful to have been asked it and it’s given me a LOT to think about!!

[lesbianrobin]

i was rereading light my way and i'm just curious about how you decided to write eddie as having difficulty forming closer bonds that go beyond doing shared activities together. also in your rockie fic you mentioned eddie never having plans except on certain days. i keep seeing ppl portray the cc boys/older hellfire members as being v close w eddie, and ppl mentioning the list of eddie's friends dustin and max were calling when they were trying to find him as proof that eddie is a social butterfly/v extroverted. i don't disagree but i'm curious about how you decided to characterize him that way.

hi thank u for reading my fics!!

so i know i'm like the odd man out in this and it's entirely just like my own opinion/creative choice like i don't think i'm any more Right than other people. just like to preface my justification. so anyway there are a few different reasons why i went that route!

personally i had a lot of good friends in high school who i literally only hung out with during theatre classes and rehearsals. while we spent a lot of time together and considered each other good friends, we didn't often hang out outside of those activities, and i think that's pretty common as a teenager in school, you know? eddie in particular seems to self-identify as an outsider and he emphasizes hellfire club as a place for "lost little sheepies," which makes me think that maybe he started/joined corroded coffin and/or hellfire specifically to find and keep friends because he struggled to do so otherwise. also, being a DM requires a lot of planning time alone, and so does learning sick-ass guitar solos almost immediately after an album drops, so i think eddie probably spends most of his non-club time either by himself or dealing.

the sheer number of friends they check on when searching for eddie makes me think that eddie is the kind of guy who's outgoing and has a lot of casual friendly acquaintances, but very few people who are actually close to him. in episode one we primarily see eddie with hellfire/corroded coffin, and he is just flat-out performing the whole time. he isn't just having lunch with his buddies in the cafeteria scene, he's holding court. he's putting on a show! it's quite a stark contrast to how he behaves when the group finds him in the boathouse and for the rest of s4, and later in the season we see a far more self-deprecating and unsure eddie. while i do think eddie and the hellfire guys are friends who genuinely like each other, i just don't think they're like... super close. i personally get the impression that eddie is always performing around them, probably because he thinks that being funny and outrageous is What Makes Them Like Him and that he's gotta keep it up or he'll lose them. the fact that he chose to hide out alone in the boathouse indicates to me that he doesn't feel safe enough with any of his friends to have gone to them for help. he didn't think that any of his friends would believe him or have his back, and i think that if he were really close with the hellfire guys, he probably would have gone to one of them first, because i think he was very freaked out by being alone after chrissy's death.

also, on a more practical level, in light my way that just served the story far better. i had zero desire to make up personalities for eddie's friends and write them interacting with the rest of the gang, especially because it would limit my ability to let el just exist as el and let the characters potentially reference Strange Things if they wanted. but of course if they're really close friends of eddie's it would make sense for them to be at his birthday party. so it was just easier to go with the idea that they typically hang out at school and predetermined meetings for hellfire/corroded coffin and that their friendship is relatively surface-level. it also served the emotional arc of the story about eddie finding a sense of belonging! in the rockie fic i put less thought into it, but eddie's hardass nature about lucas missing hellfire in episode one makes me think he's very big on sticking to plans and schedules, and in the rockie fic universe he's become quite good friends with steve and robin, so they can assume with relative certainty that if he's not doing hellfire or with his band he'll be down to hang with them. i imagine they hang out most of the time anyway.

so yeah that's most of it ig?? i also just think eddie is afraid of how people would respond to The Real Him and thus he keeps people at arm's length with his hellfire persona and the only reason dustin and the others managed to crack open his shell and get to the eddie inside is because he witnessed a brutal supernatural murder and was scared shitless. so yeah <3

[spiderman616]

do u have an arc in archie that you wish got fleshed out more? maybe it should have been longer, or should have been done differently, or whatever?

ummm well obviously the last one ended on a cliffhanger so id like if they resolved that. i made a post before complaining about tossed in space. the space adventures were cool and i liked them but archie sonic as a comic has a big focus on the supporting cast beyond sonic too and it was super weird that we didnt get to see literally anybodys reaction to sonics death or their perspective during the year he was gone. ummm i think a lot of old stories couldve been longer. since they were kind of just 1 or 2 issues and were pretty simplistic. like while mecha madness is kind of cool it is also really short and i think didnt really use the potential of sonic being roboticized as well as it could have. although we did kind of get to see something similar w mecha/metal sally so its not too bad i guess. ummm i also wish the game adaptations couldve been longer but i get why they werent. a proper sa2 adaptation with all the characters and such would have been extremely cool but considering how the sa1 adaptation went the current route is probably for the best.

[yuexuan]

[Review]七天七夜

Title: 七天七夜 Seven Days, Seven Nights

Author: 春风遥

Length: 165 chapters + 6 extras

Tag: Unlimited flow, supernatural, comedy

Summary [taken from novelupdates]:

‘Seven Days, Seven Nights’. Initially, he had thought it was forbidden due to explicit rated contents (er*tica). In order to survive, he behaved so unrestrained he was basically flying. Later — I’ve already flown out of the sky and only now you tell me it’s an ‘unlimited flow’ horror novel?!

Novel | Novel [translated]

Comments *contains spoilers**

There was a rumored book called ‘Seven Days, Seven Nights’ that was banned for allegedly explicit content. Strangely, despite how viral it was, no one had actually read the book. Except perhaps Su Er (MC)’s deskmate. One day, said deskmate went missing, leaving him with nothing but a mysterious taser. Upon touching the taser, he was transported into the world of Seven Days, Seven Nights. Turns out this wasn’t an erotica novel, but a series of games. The mechanics of the games were simple: each game had a ghost boss and a host that oversaw the rules of the games, and players had a maximum of seven days, seven nights to complete the game. Follow along as MC flew through the games with flying colors, much to the horror of the game bosses and hosts.

Main highlights of the novel include:

The MC. I freaking love the MC. He can best be described by the words: 浪 and 贱, just someone full of chaotic energy. He wasn’t afraid of being cringe and his approach to each game was basically taking the unconventional route and finding loopholes in the rules. Where other players shied away from the bosses and hosts, he married or adopted them. And when none of these worked, he opted to destroy the games. At one point the hosts became so afraid of MC that they developed an insurance package to cover the risks of MC ruining the game lol.

Due to MC’s unconventional ways of handling the games, the novel was highly entertaining, despite all of its shortcomings. Despite being an unlimited flow novel, the story was light-hearted. Sure, players do still die, but in terms of the overall tone and plot outcomes, it stayed pretty comedic throughout. So if you want to try out an unlimited flow story that doesn’t require too much brain power, I’ll say this might be an entertaining read.

Aside from the MC, I also enjoyed reading about the different hosts. Unlike game NPCs, they were all so full of personalities and had their own methods of maintaining the rules of the games and dealing (or failing to) with MC’s antics. Their exasperation, frustration, and pure despair were fun to read about. My fave would have to be Mr. Chinese Rose. He seemed like such a stern host but was a big softie, adopting the numerous little mud people that MC created~

Things I don’t like

Now as much as I found the novel entertaining, there was also a lot to nitpick about. One thing that irked me was the writing style. The scenes tended to jump from one to the next without being fully elaborated on, making for a disjointed reading experience. There were many moments where I went “wait, how did we get here from the previous scene??”. That said, it got easier to read later on, though I’m unsure if it was because the writing got better or that I got used to the writing.

Of all the unlimited novels, this one has a weaker worldbuilding. Most of the games didn’t have a very coherent setting and were composed of random horror elements. In one game you might have parasitic invasion, ghosts, taoists, buddhist monks, and mummies all put together. It’s just very random and the full potential of the game mechanics were not explored. For example, all players have spiritual, martial, and seductive points. But beyond the initial mention in the story, these points barely played a role in the latter parts.

Also as a heads-up, if you are entering into this for romance, there is practically none lol. Generally I’m used to romance being a more subtle and secondary element in unlimited flow stories. But this novel barely had any romantic plot points and ML didn’t have a prominent role other than being a conveniently strong teammate for MC.

[laf-outloud]

They can’t cancel WIndy, this show gets better every week omg.

First off, am I the only one who is annoyed at the way Gus, Hoyt and Kate are treating Abby? It’s not her fault you guys followed her pretty blindly. And while I can understand that reaction initially, personally the moment I saw Shane I would have been like “oh wow, Abby was right. There’s two Tom Davidsons, what a reasonable thing to be confused about!” They made it even worse by treating her like a small child when she wanted to help out with Kai. Abby’s not even my favorite character and I still think her friends are doing her dirty…and chased her right into Tom Davidson’s arms.

At least Calian is a true friend, and the only one with wise words and support to offer even when he’s going through it. I thought it was so sweet that she went to check on him, and by his reaction I’m guessing no one else has yet. I love Abby and Calian’s friendship. To me, their chemistry has mellowed out and they’ve gone from potential love interests to twins souls. They’re both wise people who despite their on the surface stoicism are soft hearted and both are destined to be leaders, even if they don’t feel like they’re up to the task. Taza dying and his faith in Calian to guide their people had me tearing up. Calian walks a hard road, especially because there’s really no right route and suffering at the end no matter which way he goes. But Taza was right, him being pulled between two worlds make him the right leader to guide people into the uneasy new world. I also loved the one door closing, another opening with Taza dying and Calian potentially finding his sister. Lots of siblings popping up in Independence these days, I’m half expecting Hoyt to have brother next week lol.

We finally got the Kai centric episode we’ve been waiting for, and they did not disappoint! Even though I was suspicious of Lily from the get and figured she betrayed him for the Tong, they were pretty cute together so I was hoping it would all work out. I loved that he called Kate out for using him and proving that he knows a lot more than he lets on. And the detail about the change in his cadence! I thought his halted, accented English going to fluid Mandarin was a great detail, and it became 10x better when we found out the accent was all an act. So happy they didn’t shy away from badass Kai, a man who can dish it out whether it’s violence in streets or business negotiations. I want a whole season dedicated to a Kai and Tom partner ship and the two of them running Independence. I was shocked that Kate was so disgusted with him though. Ma’am, get off your high horse.

Shane Davidson was not what I was expecting. I thought he was going to be the competent golden child, not the party boy recklessly skating by on his family’s name/wallet and his ego. With every episode, I’m more convinced that Tom is trying to make a name for himself beyond his family, and that in his own way he really does care about Independence. I wonder what he was going to confide in Abby about, maybe warning her away from his brother? It must have stung to have disinterested Abby appear so into his brother. I was not expecting Abby to go to Tom about her suspicions regarding Shane! I wonder how her relationship with Tom is going to change going forward, and if that’s going to prevent her from making up with the rest of the group whose distrust of Tom runs too deep. I also wasn’t expecting Tom to have already hung his brother up! Like Tom, why do you have a murder shed? I figured last week it was a one time thing, but two people back to back? Tom you rascal. It shouldn’t make me like him more, but it does lol.

And while we saw a decent amount of Gus and Hoyt this week, there wasn’t much going on with them. I liked the hint of Hoyt’s more serious side, and the two of them work so well together I hope they continue to have more side storylines. Hoyt is a great character because everyone brings out a different side of him. Abby and Kai bring out his protective nature, Kate brings out his humorous side (they’re like bickering siblings, I love it), and Gus and Calian bring out his potential to be his own man who would make his father proud.

Another beautiful review! I know there was a lot going on this week, but I felt like it flowed a better than the previous week and had a bit more focus.

As for they way Abby's friends treated her? I think there's still an element of Abby being an outsider. Hoyt, Gus, and Kate have been in Independence longer and have a stronger relationship with Kai. They all went into protective mode and maybe they weren't sure how willing Abby would be to help Kai. (Though it was still rough to see them not even giving her a chance.)

The chemistry between Abby and Calian is ridiculously hot! I loved hearing Abby speak a bit of Apache. Even if they don't become love interests, their friendship is incredibly sweet.

My heart absolutely broke for Kai in this episode. They took us through the emotional and character gamut with him. Kai is a man of many talents and I can't believe Lily played him like that. The last thing he needs after going through such a harsh betrayal is for Kate to turn her back as well.

I will forever be confused by Tom. He seems to have so many righteous intentions, but his penchant for torture is pretty worrisome. How long before he turns on one of our WIndy favorites if they cross him?

Loved your analysis of Hoyt! It's so fun to see the different way each relationship develops.

[loregoddess]

Frederica Aesfrost or Cordelia Glenbrook for the ask game?

Oh, I'll do both, they're both great!

First impression: For Frederica, it was something along the lines of "Oh, she seems cool, I bet I'll like her" when I was watching the early trailers. For Cordelia, after meeting her for the first time in the game I didn't...actually have much of an impression of her, she seemed very bland "youngest sister, most gentle-hearted princess" and nothing more (I was very wrong).

Impression now: Love them both lots! Frederica went well beyond whatever I was expecting of her characterization, she's really interesting and I love how she comes into her own and really starts standing up for herself and her ideals as the story progresses. And I was SO wrong about Cordelia, she's literally one of the most interesting and complex characters in a "royalty" role I've ever come across in fiction, and I love her so much for it. She's got an incredibly strong will, she's very intelligent, and she was actually shaping up to be a really extraordinary leader. I'm sad she gets sidelined in the story as soon as Roland's able to reclaim Glenbrook Castle, because she had all this budding potential to be one hell of a powerhouse of a character.

Favorite moment: Hmm, it's been a hot minute since I played TriStrat, so my memory of the story isn't as sharp, but I really enjoyed the scenes where Frederica fights against Thalas and Erika (in her route of Ch13, "Born of Strife and Sadness" specifically, although her battle dialogue with them in Roland's version "Time to Say Goodbye" is good as well). It marks an interesting turning point in her character growth, and it was really nice to see her finally oppose them without fear.

For Cordelia, I'd...have a harder time combing the wiki for the specific chapter, but all of her cutscenes from her father's death to Ch13, where we get to see how she starts to come up with a plan to retake Glenbrook, and how she's able to inspire Avlora to her side, those were really interesting scenes, and I had a new appreciation for her character after watching them because I simply wasn't expecting her to deal with the grief of loosing her entire family (as she didn't know Roland was still alive at this time) to be "well, I'm the only one left and I am Not going to take this lying down, I will be queen of my people in my own right". Just, mm, really interesting character growth, I would have loved to see the type of leader she would have become if things had gone differently.

Idea for a story: Well, I'm always interesting in post-game type narratives that explore how the characters and world begin to heal after all is said and done, and I think that type of story would be really interesting to explore for both Frederica and Cordelia, but in different ways. For Frederica, exploring how her life as the official Lady Wolffort is, and what work she does to help the Rosellen people after the war while also balancing her new married life would be really interesting.

For Cordelia, I think there's a lot of potential to explore the intricacies and power dynamics behind the scenes of Glenbrook's restoration, as I'm sure she ends up doing a lot of work to help Roland even if she isn't the official ruler (again, all that potential she showed as a leader, you can't tell me she doesn't take up some sort of important position in helping to lead the country)--all this while she also settles in to learning that Serenoa is her half-brother (I like to think she learns that at some point), and her life with Avlora as her knight, and just, stuff in general for her since she has a lot to recover from and grieving she can finally go through.

Unpopular opinion: I don't think I have any wildly unpopular opinions about Frederica. For Cordelia, I guess I'm not keen on the Cordelia x Avlora ship, I just...can't see it as romantic (and the age gap doesn't work for me, I'm fairly certain Avlora is in her thirties at the youngest due to in-game dialogue about when Svarog took her in), although I am partial the idea of the platonic knight-liege friendship between the two, but platonic stuff isn't as popular in most fandom spaces.

Favorite relationship: I'm really fond of Frederica's canon romance with Serenoa, like, normally I'm kinda neutral on canon romances, but the way this one was written was so, so good, and I loved seeing her interactions with the other House Wolffort members. I also like her friendship with Geela a lot.

For Cordelia, her familial relationship with Roland is very interesting (somewhat bittersweet at times), and I would have loved to see and know more about her relationship with Frani and their dad. As I mentioned above, I really like her friendship with Avlora, because it was so unexpected but it makes a sort of weird sense. Would have loved to see more of her interactions with the House Wolffort members, and also would have loved to see how she reacts to learning Serenoa is her half-brother and how that shapes her relationship with him and Frederica after the game's events.

Favorite headcanon: Hmmm, I don't have as many headcanons for TriStrat in general but, I guess for Frederica that in Benedict's ending she eventually ends up breaking away from and opposing Serenoa so she can take up defending the Roselle (probably sometime shortly after Benedict's death), and that in the Golden Ending she grows into an excellent leader for both the Wolffort Demense and Roselle people alongside Serenoa, and the two are fondly remembered by their people in histories later on.

For Cordelia, it would be that her capability and tact for government makes her vital to ensuring Roland's rule is successful in the Golden Ending, and also that she eventually becomes very close with Frederica and Serenoa after learning she's related to Serenoa (catching up on family time), enough that if the two ever had kids she'd be the favorite aunt (she'd be their only aunt technically, but she probably spoils them more than Roland would).

[cursedvibes]

Sukuna looks so ugly in Megumi’s body lmao

Anyway!! Spoilers.

Wtf is going on with Yuji? How is he not dead? That’s interesting. And yup Sukuna is straight up trying to kill the kid.

It looks like Megumi’s is trying to fight back and regain control of his body but I would really kinda hate if he succeeded? Like are you telling me that he just happened to be another character with restrictive vessel potential?? It does feel a lil bit like bullshit so I hope it doesn’t go that route, with Megumi taking control.

Also Gege really said fuck Hana. I don’t think she died at all but huh. These weekly releases are agonizing, so many things happening and you gotta wait weeks until the new web of events weaves itself.

Yeah, idk what it is but I'm not really feeling that Sukuna. Maybe because Megumi makes him look even more like a school yard bully. Good on him for experimenting, but sometimes you have to accept that that dye job is just not working for you.

Well, Yuuji got punched through some buildings before (when being attacked by helicopter guy) and came back relatively unscathed. Even when he had no CE Higuruma called him an "unbreakable doll", that's gonna be even more true with CE. Compared to Shibuya he improved a lot, we just didn't really get to see it before. Besides, Sukuna didn't actually penetrate his chest, the force of the hit just ripped his back. And that punch alone managed to hurt Sukuna too.

However, while I didn't expect him to die, I was surprised by how quickly Yuuji bounced back. Proven once again, Yuuji's a tough boy and Kenjaku had complete faith in him. I'm sure his anger at Sukuna also gave his natural capabilities an extra boost.

Sukuna might be trying to kill Yuuji or at least incapacitate him, but he's doing a bad job at both. Generally, he's been pretty tame so far except for that Nue attack. As we can see by his point count (or lack thereof), he hasn't killed a single person yet. Terrible Culling Game player He also went oddly soft on Hana. She was right there in his arms and all he does is rip her arm off. He doesn't even eat it. Considering that Angel can probably regrow or reattach limbs, that's not a very consequent method to take care of a problem. It might take longer because she's exhausted after Jacob's Ladder, but it isn't a life threatening injury. Shows he is struggling way more than in Shibuya, which is partially his fault for not properly taking care of the problems that are thrown at him.

Yeeah...I expected Megumi to come into play somehow, but it does feel a bit tired to have yet another twitching vessel. However, even if he did get back full control, I don't know how that could be a permanent state. I still don't think he suppresses Sukuna as easily or well as Yuuji. He'd have to be constantly on the lookout, even sleeping might be difficult because Sukuna is gonna try to overwhelm him. And they have to kill Megumi to get rid of 15 fingers of Sukuna for good. It's not like he can just vomit Yuuji's finger back up. The chances that he succeeds at all beyond hindering Sukuna during a fight are pretty low though. Between Sukuna & Yuuji, Kenjaku & Geto, Toji & Ogami's "grandson" and the reincarnated sorcerers, Yuuji is the only vessel who regained control over his body. But maybe Megumi will be #2, who knows...won't be easy though and as long as Sukuna is inside him, he has to die one way or another.

[nehswritesstuffs]

Lackluster

My brain: write this niche ship

Me (in an Uncle Stan voice): I don’t know how to respond to this.

Also me: *writes it anyhow*

3980 words; someone said it was rarepair month, which meant this has been haunting me and idk what’s going on but now everyone else gets to suffer as well; I guess we’re talking a post-Wano AU? Maybe shoving it into what we know? You know idk; moral of the story is that these two would look good together and there’s nothing anyone can do about it; please don’t ask me about the prevailing implications of this ship bc wtf no one has time to dissect that; I feel like this ship has the potential for something really neat, but they’d have to get over a lot of other shit first in order to get it past a series of one-night stands like this

Lackluster; The Polar Tang makes a proper stop in Dressrosa after the insanity that was Wano, leading to a bit of unexpected shore leave for her captain. [Law/Viola, mature rating]

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Okay, so, he lied.

Although Law wanted to push forward and see what was beyond Wano, he also really, really wanted to put distance between himself and the Straw Hats. Kidd as well, for that matter, but definitely the Straw Hats. Instead of going off towards the Pose’s locked reading, he had Bepo save it for later, instead going back along their prior route. There had to be somewhere for them to lay low for a while Strawhat-ya wreaked havoc, because as soon as they started again, they were liable to create an even bigger mess than before. Did Trafalgar D. Water Law wish to endanger his crew by bringing them within a Log Pose’s distance of those lunatics again? Not really.

Hence, going backwards. Just for a little bit. Strategically, as it were.

“Dressrosa? Really?” He stared at the port for a bit, then looked over at Bepo, who cowered at being caught. “You do know that I just came from here.”

“Sorry, but we all wanted to see!” the bear defended sheepishly. “It’s supposed to be a beautiful country…”

“…with beautiful women!” Shachi added. Law could feel the twitch in his lower right eyelid returning. Shachi and Penguin both appeared, ready to disembark based on the fact they were wearing clothes that were definitely not their boiler suits. “Come on—you can’t just decide that you get to have all the fun!”

“You were at Onigashima.”

“You know what the man meant,” Penguin said. In a tone—no less—as though there was no room for argument! “The guys and I all took a vote…”

“…I’m still sane, Cap…!” Ikkaku shouted from the back of the crew. Penguin closed his eyes and winced.

“…the guys, Ikkaku, and I all took a vote and, aside from the lone dissenter, we decided it’d be good to hang around Dressrosa for a few days. You said we should figure it out.”

“Yeah, but…”

“…and we figured it out,” Shachi finished. “C’mon—it’s not even like they’re worried about anything now that they’re cleaning up and it’s after the Levely. Live a little.”

“I hate you.”

“Heh—no you don’t.”

At that, most of the crew went and disembarked onto dry land, leaving only Law and the ones who already seemed to have drawn first lots. How long had they been planning this? He stood there for a moment feeling rather defeated before heading down below, because if he was going to be wandering around Dressrosa, at least he was going to be doing so in something other than the coat he saved her in.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Sitting down at a cafe, Law sipped at his coffee and honestly enjoyed the sights around him. With sunglasses on and leaving his hat in the Tang, he felt comfortably different enough to where few people would stop and bother him. In fact, no one seemed to take notice of him at all, which was a relief. He never liked being the center of attention, all things considered, and he was glad that he could simply give off the air of someone passing through.

Trying to ignore the sight of Clione and Uni on the other side of the square attempting to chat up some ladies, Law decided to dive directly into one of the newspapers he had acquired. Plenty of things had happened since they had disappeared into Wano, and it seemed as though the surprises were almost limitless.

“Are you sure you want to trust what’s printed in that fire-starter?” Law glanced over the top of the paper and saw he was no longer alone at the table. Viola, wearing her own set of sunglasses and a surprisingly tasteful skirt-and-polka-dot-blouse outfit as her hair sat pinned elegantly in a bun. He suspected it had been hiding in the back of her wardrobe.

“There’s some actual journalism, if you know how to look.”

“The comics page?”

“Mostly in the language being used, as well as corrections,” he shrugged. “Normal, accurate, fully-respectable journalists can get things wrong, which is why such a page exists to begin with. We’re fallible that way. However…” He laid the paper down and tapped the page full of small, barely-legible text. “…and for this to be a normal amount? A full double-spread on a bad day? It’s like they put out two completely different newspapers at once.”

“Hmm… you’re not entirely wrong,” she conceded. She played with the rim of her own cup and he could feel her eyes boring into him, hidden by the tinted lenses. “Word travels fast anyhow—what are you doing back here after causing that ruckus in Wano? Here I thought you’d want to chase a certain trouble-making carnivore down.”

“As strong and chaos-inducing as he is, he’s just a kid, and I got enough annoying kids on my crew to worry about some teenager who refuses to follow a plan.”

Her eyebrows shot up at that. “So you think of him as a child?”

“An insanely powerful and charismatic one liable to stress me into going grey by thirty, yeah.”

“Hmm.”

Viola sipped at her coffee and hummed. It was a surprisingly quiet moment for a bustling street in the middle of a rebuilding country, and yet there was something about it that sent the hairs on the back of Law’s neck in shivers.

“Maybe I did underestimate you,” she chuckled, putting down her cup and placing it and the saucer aside. “Then again, much of what I heard was myth and legend over the years.”

“Much of it was unfounded, I can assure you.”

“Possibly. I’ve had a bit of time to assess you for myself as well.”

“…and…? Do I pass muster?”

“You pass… something alright.” A smile tugged at her lips, twitching the corners up coyly. “Doffy might have mourned your loss, but I see no reason to wail and shed tears.”

“Not that way, anyhow,” he quipped. He immediately regretted his word choice—the idiots in his crew (and Strawhat-ya’s, let’s be honest) were really rubbing off on him—as her smile widened.

“Is this you saying you could… satisfy my curiosity? That you’re… up to the task?”

“Your last paramour, from what I understand, still thinks he’s twenty years younger than he really is—I’m surprised he could get anything going at all, let alone sustain it.”

She let out an undignified snort and laughed—warm and genuine. “I admit it wasn’t anything aside from practical maneuvering on my end, but sometimes it’s not entirely bad doing what one must when in the correct mindset.” He shuddered, which made her laugh again. “What? Too much for your delicate sensibilities?”

“Not delicate per say; just… he’s the last person I want to think about doing that right about now.”

“Fair.” Viola stood and gazed down at him, still smirking. “Want to not think about it for a while?”

“I’d like to think of it never.”

“Then maybe I can… help your memory replace that information with something else.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down. Her voice went low and she was so close that Law could smell her perfume—Alabastian, if he remembered a prior crew pitstop correctly. “You still remember your way around?”

“Of course.”

“Then don’t disappoint me, Trafalgar Law.”

Viola let her hand linger as she walked away, passing into the crowd behind where Law was sitting. He looked and she was gone—vanished just as discreetly as she appeared.

“Hey, Captain!” Law’s attention was pulled away from Viola’s disappearing trick, Clione and Uni suddenly appearing next to his table. “What’cha doing?”

“Never you mind,” Law grumbled. He downed the rest of his coffee and gathered up the newspaper, shoving it under his arm. “I’m just going somewhere quiet.”

“You know that’s pretty impossible, right?” Uni replied.

“Yeah, I mean, why would you?” Clione asked. Law stared in deadpan silence before he cast a Room and disappeared in silence.

Fucking hell… hopefully they saw nothing.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After quickly depositing the newspapers inside his office in the Tang and dodging more of his crew, Law used his Op-Op ability to pop around Dressrosa, doing his best to figure out where Viola went. It was his Haki that eventually found her, walking calmly on her way to the edge of the townscape. He placed himself alongside her and locked their arms together.

“What took you?” she asked idly.

“Crew—they’re a rowdy bunch at times.” He heard her chuckle and he felt the tips of his ears grow hot. “What…?!”

“At first I found it difficult to believe that your crew is so full of mirth, but it does suit you,” she replied. They were now meandering down an unpaved dirt road, fields on either side of them and trees soon approaching. “They must be what keeps you from becoming Doffy’s true Corazón material.”

“Not entirely, but it does, yes, keep things lighter in mood,” he admitted. Law returned a nod to what appeared to be a passing farmer and then tried not to scowl. “Are you sure about this?”

“I have always been able to wander amongst the people—before, during, and after Doffy’s reign,” she stated. “The overbearing threat of him has ruined your sense of trust.”

“I can’t see into people’s minds and hearts.”

“There are some things I don’t need my Devil Fruit ability for, and that is often one of them.” He glanced at her—nearly his height in those heels—and saw the wistful expression on her face. “My father’s rule has been a good one, and the people are well-aware of the sacrifices I made to subvert Doffy. They will not give us away. If anything…” She trailed off in thought, not finishing her sentence. Law waited for her to complete the thought, giving up once they were under the shade of trees.

“If anything…?”

“Oh, sorry. If anything, I think they would be glad to see me acting normal for once. You know: administering law, representing the nation amongst other heads of state, meeting people…”

“The question remains as to whether or not I’m the sort of person they want you to be meeting with.”

“I’ll take my chances.” She went off the road and onto a footpath, where she took him through the grey-barked, virgin cork trees until they came across a small house hidden from the road. He raised an eyebrow at her and she winked at him. “What? My sister and I used to come here as children. The past ten years, it’s where I came to be alone.”

“No one else knows?”

“My family, but they are all at Kyros’s today.” She unlocked the door and began to flit about the house, opening windows and letting the fresh air in. It had only one floor, with a kitchen and sitting area taking up most of the space, while two doors let off to the side—presumably a bedroom and bathroom. Viola slipped into one of the rooms for a moment and Law could peek inside, confirming his suspicions.

“This is all fairly elaborate for what I imagine is a one-time thing,” he mentioned as she exited the bedroom. She shrugged at that.

“We both deserve a bit more than an alley, and Doflamingo was never in this place.”

Ah. That explained… quite a bit, actually.

“Forget that though,” she continued. She placed her hands on either side of his jaw, thumbs brushing against his cheeks and her remaining fingers pressed against his neck, pristine fingernails gently scraping over his skin. “I want you to do precisely what you followed me here for.”

Taking that as permission, Law leaned down the small amount it took until he was pressing his lips against Viola’s. They were soft against his own and he able to taste the lip balm she used. One of her hands moved to his hair and held him firmly, allowing his own hands to wander towards her waist to settle right above her hips. She slipped her tongue into his mouth to press against his, teasing and daring for more. He complied, deepening the kiss. A moan escaped her and he grinned as he continued.

“It’s been that long?” he smirked. She pinched his shoulder.

“Shut up.”

“I think I remember you invoking a horrible image in my brain, which implied that you had been getting enough to avoid such a response.”

“I said: shut up.”

At that, Viola maneuvered Law a few steps backwards and pushed him down into a chair. He landed hard on the worn lacquered wood, hissing in irritation before he realized that she was leaning over him, hands braced on the table as she caged him in, their noses nearly touching.

“Do I make myself clear?” The irritation and surprise left his face, leaving only cockiness in their place.

“Crystal, princess.”

Finding that acceptable for the time being, Viola sat down, straddling Law’s lap as she began to kiss him again. She worked at unbuttoning his shirt as he held her hips this time, his thin fingers caressing from her upper thighs all the way to the hipbone. Once she had his shirt open and shoved off his frame, she placed her hands on his chest, feeling the tight muscle under skin and ink. He pulled her closer, bringing her chest flush with his and hiking up her skirt at the same time. As she gasped, he moved to begin kissing along her jaw, her throat, her pulse point, gently biting down before she twisted one of his nipples and made him recoil.

“Fuck!”

“No marks,” she ordered. “I can’t show up to court with love bites where just anyone can see.”

“Cover them with makeup.”

“That’s annoying, and less-than-foolproof.”

“I thought you said your people want you to… you know…”

“…the people, yes. The same cannot be said about my father and brother-in-law.”

Law cast a Room in response and snapped his fingers, making Viola’s blouse and bra relocate to another chair. Once she was rid of the garment he leaned her back and plunged his face between her breasts in order to bite the underside of her left one. She sucked in a breath through her open mouth, her entire body beginning to tremble.

Oh, he was good.

The Room still up, Law transported them both onto the bed in the other room, placing them on the edge of the mattress instead. Viola took the pin out of her hair and placed it on the sidetable, letting her hair fall down past her shoulders in dark waves. It framed her face as she brought him back up to meet her lips, shielding them both as they continued to kiss fervently. They ground their hips together as they leaned back onto the bed, with her feeling the rough trouser fabric tight around his erection, while he could smell how wet she was.

A few more moments of kissing and Viola decided to break the action, concentrating instead on slipping out of her shoes, skirt, and panties. Law did the same with the rest of his clothes, pausing as he caught sight of her entire body. It had been a long time since he had seen a naked woman outside of a clinical setting, and it wasn’t until right then and there did he realize how long it had truly been. She caught him staring and it was her turn to laugh.

“…and you were giving me a hard time,” she snorted. “You look like you might not even last five minutes.”

“I wasn’t the one bragging.”

“By teasing me…” She sat down on the bed and pulled him close to her. “…that was insinuating that you’d had better in the meantime.”

“Mmmhmm… sure…” He bent down onto his knees and began to message her thighs. “Any requests?”

“Just make it good, Trafalgar, and I trust you can use that ability of yours to clean us up properly afterwards.”

“Of course.”

He pressed a kiss against her inner thigh, then another, and another, moving up her leg until his nose was buried in soft curls as he kissed and licked at her folds, fingers helping along the way. He slid two digits into her and flexed, making the leg resting on his shoulder tremble.

“Tease me later,” she chided between breaths. He grinned again before leaning back and letting his tongue dart over his lips, taking in her salty taste. Instead he slowly kissed his way up her body, taking note of each curve as he lavished attention onto her. By the time he made it back up to her neck and jaw, her breathing had become erratic, if slightly, and he was at least slightly proud of himself for getting her so worked up so easily. With the taste of her still on his tongue, he kissed her deeply as her legs settled on either side of his hips and he eased into her in earnest.

Law’s vision went white for a moment as the hot, slick walls around him clenched. It was obvious that Viola knew exactly what she was doing from the start, but… fuck, he hadn’t been expecting that. He started up a rhythm, thrusting slowly as he coaxed little noises out of her. She felt so fucking good that he wasn’t entire certain how long he was going to last, given the distance since his prior liaison. Her back arched and her legs shook as she suddenly crashed into… something… turning her attention to him as he stopped.

“What…?” she frowned.

“Are… are you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m just…” She avoided eye contact. “…I guess I really did get by on subpar standards, didn’t I?” She gasped as he rocked his hips into hers again, punctuating the silence.

“Don’t force yourself to do what I’m here for,” he said. He picked the rhythm back up and laced his fingers with hers, holding their hands on either side of her head. Before long, both of them were riding their orgasms. Law rolled off Viola and laid on his back, gulping down air as he stared at the ceiling. “Better?”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “We’re not very good at this, are we?”

“Give me five minutes and we can practice being adults our age,” he offered. “By the end of the day, we might even be good at it.”

Something about the chuckle that escaped her suggested to him that she was amenable to that.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Exhaling heavily, Law found himself swimming back to consciousness feeling more relaxed than he had in weeks. Wait, months? It was at least months, bordering well on years, and he was glad for it. A reach with Observation Haki let him know that the woman in his arms was also awake, though also definitely enjoying the moment. He hugged Viola a big tighter, rubbing his face between her breasts.

“You are a bit of a pervert, aren’t you?” she chuckled. She began to play idly with his hair, running her fingers through it.

“I keep it well-hidden and in-check, unlike some people we know,” he replied. He looked at the bruise that was forming around where he bit and smiled inwardly. “We could shed tears and induce trauma with this.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Fine.” He disengaged himself from her torso and sat up, scratching his neck while stretching. “Did you still need me to…?”

“Yes—take care of it,” she huffed. He first popped Kikoku into his hands—how in the heck did it land on the kitchen table; he did not remember putting it on the kitchen table—and partially drew it from the sheath. Running a scan over Viola, he found where all his genetic variables were and plucked them from her reproductive tract, disposing of it all on a nearby dustcloth.

“I’d still take a tonic and watch yourself for a bit, but at least now aftercare is not such an emergency,” he said. Sheathing Kikoku and putting her bits back together, Law looked at Viola with a wan smile. “You’re right—maybe, in another world, things could have been different between us.”

“Pity it’s not this one, because I could stand to keep someone like you around,” she agreed. She eased him back down so that they could share one final kiss before departing the nest of blankets. “If you’re ever in the neighborhood again…”

“I’m no longer a Shichibukai, remember? You really should be turning me into the Marines right now, not fucking my brains out.”

“You are a national hero of Dressrosa—that negates the bounty within her territory.”

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“Sure it does. I said so.”

“Ah… how convincing…” he snarked. “I’m sure an Admiral would love to hear that reasoning.” He gathered his clothes and began to put them back on, feeling her gaze as he dressed. She lounged in bed as she watched him, not wanting to look away. “Enjoying the view?”

“While it lasts.”

He paused at that, considering their options. “Maybe not another world, but possibly just another time frame…”

“Let’s see what that charismatic kid does to the world first, then see what cards we have to play,” she said. “Maybe, if there is a next time, I can stock the kitchen prior and we can eat literally as well.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Once he had everything but his shirt on, he leaned over Viola and proceeded to engage in a long, tender kiss. Their lips eventually separated and he exhaled heavily. “See you around?”

“In some way, yeah.”

“Good.”

After finding his shirt in the other room, Law put the garment on and left the house, sword resting on his shoulder as he made the long trek back to the port.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was well into evening by the time Law made it back on the Polar Tang, slipping inside without being noticed by his crew still there lounging on the deck. He made himself some coffee and grabbed some old fried rice as a snack and went back to his cabin, not wanting to be bothered as he settled in for the night. Much of the crew was likely to spend the night on land, which meant that there was going to be a peaceful, quiet few hours ahead of him.

“Oh, Captain!” He twitched as he heard Bepo call out to him, just before he was able to slip into the solitude of his quarters. The bear came up to him with some papers in-hand—of course he was going to hide in the Tang as she was cooling off and empty. “I’ve got the course plotted for the next leg of the trip. We should be able to get to where our needle set within a week of sailing, if the winds are right.”

“Sounds good, Bepo,” he nodded. Law then raised an eyebrow as he saw a puzzled look come over his navigator’s face. “Yes…?”

“You smell different,” Bepo noted. “Were you just visiting someone from when you were here before?”

“You can say that,” Law replied. All the years of practicing his mask of stoicism were coming into use as he was panicking on the inside. “Just some negotiations involving further port visits, that’s all.”

“She smells very pretty,” Bepo said. Fuck—busted. “I almost couldn’t smell it under all your sweat—it is really hot in Dressrosa, isn’t it?”

“It is very hot, yes,” Law agreed. “Let me know if something happens that needs my attention; there’s a Sora collection with my name on it in there.”

“Got it, Captain!” Bepo saluted and lumbered off, letting Law slip into his cabin and hurriedly lock the door behind him.

Too damn close… and yet… he sat down at his desk and opened the newspaper back up, seeing a photo of Viola at the Levely. Yeah… it was worth it.

[pacifymebby]

I agree that Van and Sam are very different (Bondy too?) But what do you think the difference is? I can't put my finger on it

Nah so I don't know at all, because I don't know them. So all these are whimsical assumptions which mean nothing, and I'm also not saying them like anyone is worse than anyone else

Bondy genuinely just seems a bit more like, "educated" don't wanna sound like a snob because I don't mean it like that at all, I just mean he obviously has read some stuff, is into politics, his music taste is way more varied etc. I think he went and did music at college before he dropped out right. Also he's older so would always just have seen a bit more or done a bit more idk. I'm very much just making presumptions here anyway because I have no idea

With Sam, I think like, from his songs he sounds like he was mostly raised by women as the main "parent" figures in his life which idk, from my experience that has a big effect on young lads. My dad was raised like that, my other best friends was raised like that too with like, mothers, grandmothers and those women's friends being the main parents in their lives. Whereas Van openly says he's his fathers boy or whatever, like his dads the one he looks up to most and that. And honestly, lovely that he has that kind of relationship with his father. I would just say from my own life and people I know, working class boys raised by working class men tend to turn out slightly less, thoughtful/empathetic or whatever. Like they have more of the "I have something to prove" attitude or like, this need to fulfil and display their masculinity which can often involve sneering at or joking about being sensitive, turning your nose up at school and books blah blah

Van's songs are always routed in having a laugh with your mates, winding up girls, shagging girls and like, getting advice from your dad, whereas sams songs are "worried about my mum, just wanna help my mum" "growing up with nothing with lots of other people who are struggling too" "I don't even have it as bad as other people so I shouldn't be lecturing people on how bad some people have it" "fuckthetories" and "why isn't anyone talking about the suicide rate of young lads from the north" like, he writes about more sensitive stuff, seems to think more deeply about stuff, seems to pay way way way more attention to the world around him and think a lot beyond his own little life and circle of friends.

Again am making massive judgements with 0 basis other than my own life which has nothing to do with their lives lol so I don't know at all.

You know how Van used to talk about how there was always that one kid in school that was always "upset about something" or like easy to wind up or whatever, and that like he used to enjoy teasing or winding them up (and he never said this like "I used to bully kids" and am sure he didn't or didn't think he did u know, in fact to be honest I reckon I know exactly what kind kid he was cause I reckon I went to school with a few lads like him and they were fine and nice but they definitely did push their jokes too far and upset me sometimes and I didn't think they were my friends)

Well anyway, to put the difference between them simply, I reckon Sam has the potential to have been the kinda kid Van was talking about. Because those kids weren't necessarily miserable or always upset about something they were just u know, sensitive or more emotional. I know Sam sings about arming himself with a grin and always being the joker and stuff but like, he also talks about being out of place with the lads lads sometimes u know. Van strikes me as a lads lad whereas Sam and Bondy both come off as being more mature/confident in their masculinity enough to know that emotions need talking about not joking about sometimes and like, feminism is important

also maybe its pure just Vans an early august Leo and Bondy is like, last day of Leo, basically a Virgo Leo. So he's cusping on Earth sign, and Sam is a Taurus so a big Earth sign too. maybe its purely just that, maybe they're just more earthy and rooted and Van is chaotic and burning personality u know?