#one might call them brainworms

[strangelysilver]

NOTHING like the absolute torture it is to find a cool super amazing thing and not be able to look for fanwork until you're done because spoilers 😭

im vibrating in my skin like silver jane prentiss worms PLEASE i need grumpy archivist art

[mywifealhaitham]

More boothill x readers please🙏🙏

more boothill x reader headcanons

a/n: I wrote this like over the course of 3 days and honestly I was stumped... with literally no new leaks I'm going crazy... still have crazy brainworms of tbis guy !!! also too sleepy to find a proper banner

gn!reader besides one part (atta girl/boy), written before release per usual I'm going insane free my boy

- hes a clingy guy, especially at night whe all the action of the day has winded down. I'm assuming that he still functions somewhat like a normal human or atleast has a way to sleep and it probably requires him to function. - anyway he's clinging onto you so much in bed. he has you squashed in his chest as he engulfs you in his arms and he rests his head ontop of yours. it's surprising pleasant to cuddle him despite his robotic features.

- the mornings though can be 50/50. sometimes he has to wake up early for business or something and it breaks his heart to leave you all cold and alone in bed (he says wiping an Invisible tear while clutching his chest). he makes sure to either leave you a goodmorning note or text and gives you a fleeting forehead kiss. on the other hand most days he wake up later and you're absolutely not allowed to leave him. if he feels you stirring in bed he clings onto tighter and if that isn't effective he restorts to flirting. gently grabbing your waist with one arm and tracing his fingers across your torso with another before swiftying pulling you back to bed with a chuckle.

- he's a huge gift giver too. he isn't exactly the richest guy ever so he can't give you super expensive jewelry or fancy restaurant dates but he makes it up with the sincerity of them. most of the time he gives you flowers he's either bought off street vendors or picked himself but sometimes he gives you a nice piece of jewelry or another type of gift you'd like.

- he likes quality time alot. he loves sweet words, thoughtful gifts and sweet touches but personally just being with you is enough for him. literally whenever you're in his vicinity or even mentioned he breaks out a large grin. he is your biggest fan ever... constantly hollering atta girl/boy if you do anything

- besides gift giving he's also a acts of service guy. like I said last post he's always at your beck and call ready to help you with whatever you need. silly headcanon but I see him as a good cook even if he might not be able to eat. he makes you the most tastiest and healthies meals you enjoy all while wearing a kiss the chef apron (yes is he expecting that kiss he will be disappointed without it)

- does he ride horses? we won't know for awhile but he'd definitely teach you how to ride. sitting behind you while gently guiding your hands to the reins while whispering Instructions into your ear, the heat from his body plus how flustered you practically melts your skin off. and when you start riding he holds onto your hips, praising you while you start getting the hang of it. once you've gotten good he jumps off and puts his hat on you and flashes you a smirk

[bachirasbeloved]

chapstick challenge

various bllk boys x gn!reader

ft. bachira, rin, nagi, kunigami, chigiri

genre: fluff

warnings: none

a/n: sunny put this idea into my brain and it grabbed me by the throat so this is the result. head so empty rn. brainworms are so bad. might make a part two hsjghbhjsgdfsk

tags: @keqism @venexus @astranne @stellumi @lilikags

bachira - keeps kissing you like a brat and says he can’t figure out the flavor. (he is lying) barely even lets you finish applying the next one before he’s kissing you again oml. 

is literally so excited when you bring the idea up to him after all of the chapsticks arrive in the mail one day. 

keeps trying to sneak a look at the packaging when you’re setting everything up so you make him turn around and face the wall.  

whines and complains about how long your taking until you have the first one applied and hidden away before giving him the okay to face you again.

bachira lunges forward and presses his lips against yours as soon as the words leave your mouth, kissing you firmly for a few seconds before pulling away and licking the residue off of his lips with a contemplative glance to the side. 

anticipation hangs heavy in the air as you wait for him to guess the flavor. you started off with an easy one so you’re expecting him to get it right away, but to your surprise when his yellow eyes meet yours they only look confused. 

“well?” you say impatiently. 

“i don’t know yet, let me try again.” he responds and leans forward to connect his lips with yours again, this time kissing you deeper and for a bit longer than necessary. 

when he pulls back his lips are coated in a thin layer of the chapstick and your stomach flips pathetically when he sucks the bottom one into his mouth to taste it better. 

however, after a few moments he only gives you another confused look and shrugs. “try a different one, that one’s hard.”

“it’s one of the most basic ones!” you huff out with a smile as you wipe your mouth off with a makeup wipe. “turn around again.”

with a tiny pout, bachira complies and faces the wall once more while you dig around in the box for the next one. this time you go for one a little less specific to see if it’ll somehow be easier, and before you can even finish telling him to turn back around he’s already latching to your lips again. 

the kiss lasts a few seconds too long, but when you try to pull away bachira mumbles out a rushed, “not sure yet let me try again.” and tugs you back into the searing press of his lips. 

the chapstick is all but gone at this point, and when he finally detaches himself from you to catch his breath you immediately give him a pointed look. 

“meguru,” he grins mischievously at the exasperation in your tone. “please tell me you got that one.”

he thinks for a moment, and then, “lemon?”

“it was grape you little-“

rin - claims it’s a lame idea but takes it SO seriously. literally sucks on your lips to try to get as much of the flavor off as possible skjdjfjfjf makes you go through every single one until he gets them all right help. 

could not seem more unimpressed when you tell him about the challenge, though deep down he is internally celebrating over the chance to not only kiss you but to be able to guess them all correct and impress you simultaneously. 

makes sure to look away when you’re sorting everything out because he is certainly not a cheater. he doesn’t need to cheat - he’s confident he’ll get them all on the first try. 

“okay, turn around.” you call out from behind him. when he does, there’s a determined frown set on his face - similar to the one he has right before a game, like he’s ready for any obstacle that might come his way. 

he begins to lean towards you, but stops once he’s a few inches away. “ready?”

at your nod rin finally presses your lips together in a quick peck before retreating back to evaluate the taste. the kiss was a too chaste though and he barely got any of the chapstick on his own lips, so he’s surging forward to connect his mouth to yours again within seconds. 

this time the kiss is deeper, lips sliding together sensually a few times before he pulls back and tries to identify the flavor a second time. when he looks like he’s about to lean in for a third attempt, you press a hand against his chest to keep him in place. 

“nuh uh, you gotta guess now.”

“what?” he freezes, teal eyes meeting yours with confusion. 

“you already tried twice, now you gotta figure it out.” you respond smoothly. rin looks like he wants to argue and demand he be allowed three tries since you didn’t tell him this in the beginning, but instead releases a sigh and concedes. 

“that rule is dumb.” with no choice left but to answer, he smacks his lips together again and thinks for a few more moments before taking his guess. “strawberry?”

“bingo!” you cheer quietly. with a proud smirk, rin turns around again while you wipe off the precious chapstick and apply another. when you’re done grabs your waist to tug your forward and captures your lips in another deep kiss, but pulls away just as fast. 

“coca cola.” 

“yep! okay that one is easy, turn around again.”

the third one is slightly different, because this time when he turns around to kiss you, he’s suckling lightly on your bottom lip and running his tongue over it slowly. you can’t help but shudder at the action and push him away with a slightly scandalized look on your face. 

“was that really necessary?” you splutter, cheeks burning hot at his boldness. rin, however, is too busy trying to identify the flavor to care about how he’s kissing you and doesn’t spare you a single glance while he contemplates silently. 

“hmmm, black cherry?”

and, shocker, he’s correct this time too.

nagi - isn’t even trying. does not care about guessing the chapsticks just wants to keep kissing you. loses patience four flavors in and attaches himself to you so you can’t even put more on, challenge be damned. needy smh. 

agrees immediately when you bring it up for the first time. doesn’t even stop to think about what you actually said, just processed the part where you mentioned he’d be kissing you. selective hearing is real and he has it. 

doesn’t even bother turning around while you set everything up next to him, closes his eyes and somewhat drifts off until you announce that you’re ready.

“okay, open your eyes.” you urge and poke nagi’s shoulder until his eyelids squint open and he draws forward lazily. not even sparing a single word, nagi connects your lips with his and kisses you slowly until you push him back. 

“guess.”

with a bored hum, nagi shrugs and blinks. his bangs are falling into his eyes and you can’t help but mentally beg him to move them despite knowing he won’t. “dunno.”

you frown playfully and roll your eyes. “you really don’t know?”

“mm,” he hums in agreement, eyes following your hand as you reach up to move his bangs out of the way yourself. “let me get another taste.”

before you even get a chance to respond his lips are already back on yours, moving softly together until you push him back again. nagi pouts at this and holds onto your wrists where they rest against his chest before you can move them. 

“green apple. next one.”

he’s right, and you snort fondly at his impatience. “close your eyes then.”

he does as you ask and lets his eyelids slip shut, but only waits until he hears the cap of the new flavor get snapped back in place before he’s pulling you into him and kissing you again, softly and drawn out the same as before. 

you get so lost in the feeling of his lips that you almost forget what you’re even supposed to be doing and quickly separate him from you with an embarrassed huff. 

“sei, this isn’t how you’re supposed to-“ you begin, but he cuts you off with his mouth again and inches forward to drape himself over you like a blanket. you melt into him instinctively, and the box of chapsticks falls off of your lap and to the floor in the process, the challenge long forgotten as quickly as it started. 

kunigami - tries his best but gets literally every flavor wrong what is wrong with his tastebuds fr. dude just cannot figure it out for the life of him. kisses you so many times trying to guess that you have to keep reapplying bro pls it’s literally cherry. 

doesn’t really understand the whole concept, but is happy to try anything you ask of him and is more than willing to go along with it. 

turns around and covers his eyes with his hands while you sort through the box of chapsticks, he is a lot of things but he is certainly not a cheater.  

“alright, first one! turn around.”

kunigami drops his arms and turns to face you. his hands fidget together slowly in his lap while his eyes go from yours, down to your mouth, and then back to your gaze again. 

“so, do i just…?” he asks slowly. he’s always so careful about boundaries despite the fact that you’ve been together for as long as you have and the whole point of this challenge is him kissing you, and your heart swells because it every time. 

it takes every ounce of willpower in you not to laugh, but you nod instead. “yes, you kiss me now.”

with a small sound to signify that he understands, kunigami finally leans forward and captures your lips in a gentle kiss, it’s soft and quick and only lasts a couple beats before he pulls away and licks it off of his own together to get the flavor into his mouth. 

"root beer?" he guesses hesitantly, brows upturned in question. 

"nope!" you respond smugly, popping the p at the end. "one more try?"

he nods and surges forward to place another light kiss against your mouth, his fingers brushing the side of your face for a few seconds until he leans back. 

"mango?" he tries and you blink at him in confusion, still trying not to laugh. 

"those are two very different flavors," you point out in a teasing voice. "and no. next one!"

kunigami once again looks away and covers his eyes until you give him the okay to turn around. he moves in for the kiss without hesitating this time and pulls back with a tiny frown. 

"sprite."

you shake your head, feeling somewhat bewildered by the fact that he keeps guessing wrong. "nope. last chance."

when he kisses you again and pulls away, this time theres a confident look on his face. it’s so convincing that you actually think he has it for a moment, but then-

"watermelon!"

"no-"

chigiri - this guy kisses you so deeply and intensely that your knees are weak and then backs away to guess the flavor like he didn’t literally just steal the air from your lungs. will not stop doing this either even if you start calling him out on it, he just smirks at you and keeps doing it. 

has definitely heard of this challenge before and is more than willing to do it with you. thinks couple challenges are cute and even considers recording it to post online but decides against it. these moment and for him and you alone <3

doesn’t fully turn his body around when you start organizing things, but faces his head away from you and hums softly while you set everything up. 

he is an avid chapstick user and has probably tried and used every flavor you have in that little box of yours, but that isn’t going to stop him from using this as an excuse to fluster and tease you a bit. 

“ready?” chigiri asks patiently after he hears you snap the lid back on the first chapstick. 

“mhm, you can look now.”

at your confirmation, he twists his head back in your direction and gently leans forward to connect your lips without a second to waste. his warm hand cups your jaw softly as his mouth presses against yours firmly, and you can’t help but feel a little flustered when he pulls away. 

after licking the residue off of his lips, chigiri thinks for a moment before his face lights up with recognition. 

“vanilla coke.” he answers correctly on the first try. 

“yeah!” you exclaim, feeling a bit impressed. “how did you get that right?”

chigiri shrugs. “it’s not that hard.”

“showoff.” you mumble lightheartedly under your breath. 

once again, he faces away from you while you wipe off the rest of the first one and apply the second, and then turns back to you as soon as he thinks you’re done. 

“you won’t get this one.” you tell him assuredly when his eyes meet yours. he raises a single brow at this and sends you a look that makes your stomach flutter a bit. 

“we’ll see about that.” 

and then he’s kissing you again. a deep, intense kiss that makes your knees feel weak despite the fact that you’re sitting down. he stretches it out as long as he can while his fingers run lightly through your hair before pulling away and pretending not to notice the slightly dazed look in your eyes. 

“watermelon.” he guesses correctly again, but tilts his head contemplatively a moment later.

“wait, actually, let me be sure.”

his lips are on yours once again before you can even process his words, and all you can do is melt into it and cling onto his hands where they hold your face while he turns your entire nervous system into jelly. 

when he pulls away, there’s a pleased smile playing at his lips. “yeah, definitely watermelon.”

“you’re doing this on purpose!” you accuse, cheeks burning. the sound of his melodic laughter only makes it worse but you immediately join in with him despite the pout on your face. “that’s cheating!”

“it’s not against the rules.” chigiri points out, sending you a teasing smile. and of course, he continues to do it every flavor after that, successfully making your brain cease all function. 

[iyohme]

A six-tatami room, my pretty castle

A secret place nobody ought to enter (yeah)

-GHOST FOOD

I lied, have a brainworm and now i must spit it out

We know the confinement phase with the Wayne Family after the abduction, right? Right!

I raise: gamer reader with the mindset of 'Well, I get to live here for free (and I'd be a DUNCE to refuse in this economy,) so I might as well just make myself comfortable (or as comfortable as I can.)'

Dick and Tim can and will preen when you invite them to play multiplayer games. Casually ask them if they know so-and-so, then watch them either A.) listen to you yap about artifact drop rates in Genshin Impact (Tim), or B.) actively pull up their phone to google said game and immediately create an account (Dick).

With his analytical mind, Tim can and WILL enjoy Genshin's artifact farming and character building phase. Dude hates the open world exploration but is much more amenable to it if it's co-op with you, the favorite sibling. Thinks about rigging the game's code so you'll get the artifact drops you want, but decides against it because if HYV bans his account, then no more co-op exploration time with batsib :C. Dude might also enjoy indie RPGmaker games, especially ones with more complicated puzzles and mysteries.

Dick on the other hand has shit Genshin character builds. Tim bullies him for it. You build Dick's teams for him anyway because he has insane 50/50 pull luck, so who's laughing now? Prefers the open-world exploration aspect of the game with you, and his characters tend to run out of stamina and drown in the early phases lmao. Dick likes boss and domain runs; and to the trained eye, one can see that Nightwing might incorporate some of the more plausible moves of your mains into his fighting. Might also enjoy chill games like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley!

Jason in one word is a genwunner. Dude is stuck in 'there are only 151 Pokémon' mode. Call him old-fashioned, but handheld consoles are the way to go for Red Hood: compact, can be carried, and you can play with them anytime and anywhere. When you pull up an emulator and explain that "Yeah, since the game isn't sold anywhere anymore, it's like a courtesy thing in fandom I guess, to distribute it discretely. Keeps the game alive. Still a form piracy though. Please don't tell Ba--uh, Dada."

We already know: Damian likes FPS games. Probably blocked by a lot of Valorant players with how sharp his tongue is. Still the best carry of all time though--only for his favorite, blood-related sibling (you). The rest can get sniped. Greyson and Todd, mostly. Would probably enjoy the newer Resident Evil series; though if you want, he would just about play any game with you. I imagine he'd like the horror, FPS, and art intersection in the Fatal Frame series.

Harmless secret and not-really crime with the new sibling he (lovingly) bullies (but no one else should bully)? Hell yeah. Watch him run through the damn mew glitch with one hand behind his back and catch you the three legendary bird Pokémon in record time. If forced to play a newer game, Jason would enjoy Bloodborne, probably. And HADES, especially if you mention how "Wow, you look a LOT like Prince Zagreus, big brother," watch him fold like a wet rag after giving you a noogie lmao. If you bargained really well, you could get him to play Zenless Zone Zero; dude would be a Billy Main. Also probably beats your ass in Tekken, so you bribe beg Damian to step in as proxy.

Because I play Hoyogames (and because you can co-op with up to three people in Genshin), I imagine Damian would also play with you. Being a child (despite being an assassin,) he'd definitely pick the opposite of whatever player character you choose. You chose Stelle? He gets Caelus. You choose Aether? He gets Lumine. You choose Belle? He chooses Wise. It's a comforting, smile-bringing thought to him, that you are siblings even inside fictional worlds. Any playable character with a canonical sibling that you get? He's getting the other pair. It'd be cute, except his team comps get messy, so you run it through tests. (All according to his plan, heheh.)

Cass is one step ahead of everyone and was probably the one to suss out your gaming hobby. She spots your collection of Visual Novels, and puts it to good practice to watch and read with you. Would probably enjoy VNs like Doki Doki Literature Club. Probably would also play Dungeon Exploration RPGs like Momodora and Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight. Has the uncanny ability to never get lost in game dungeons. Stuck in an area? Cass is on the case!

Bruce frowns upon too much gaming, so he regulates your game hours (and has a timetable for everyone) regarding which game to play. Alfred also enforces it. So does Barbara. You do get to wheedle him into playing Pokémon Sword or Shield with a bit of begging and "Look Dada, I named my Crobat after you!" watch him soften when he googles and sees that Crobat only evolves after maximum friendship levels. He might like psychological thriller mystery pointer games that can be played in increments like Fran Bow, maybe? And battle royale games like Tekken: Bruce has a competitive streak a mile wide and will not go easy on you. Is very smug upon winning. If you get him as a proxy in Tekken, Jason will bolt because he will not be betting about staying over for dinner. The match would be rigged in Bruce's favor anyway.

Barbara on the other hand, loves hack and slash games. Get her to play HADES and compete on who has the fastest runs, and she will take up the next few hours of the game time schedule, much to her smug delight. She'd also love the atmosphere of the indie RPG Horror Ib, I think? The whole surreal, comfortable horror interspersed with time limit puzzles really does get adrenaline flowing after all. Gets very alert when playing Chilla's Art games and side-scrollers like Tsugunohi. Subtle horror is very much up her alley.

All in all, isn't this quite a comfortable life? A bit lonely perhaps, you could say, but with a family who loves you above all else and endless games, what else could you need?

Stay with them.

They'll die without you, after all.

[melithril]

[Adar] Into The West

♫ - Peter Hollens - Into The West

A/N: Had a brainworm with this song for a couple of days, and thought this might have been a cute lil' idea. I hope you ll enjoy! <3

If ever you were t be found somewhere, it was usually the library. Well, the makeshift library. In your current camp, it was space filled with few books, but more of a place for everyone to come and take some time away from every day life. Rare it was that anyone besides yourself was in here anyway, which is why it was always a sure fire thing to start a search party here should you ever have gone missing. 

Often, you couldn't sleep, thoughts running marathons in your head kept you awake. So, instead of waking Adar, who needed the rest, you would slip quietly away and take some time to read. Losing yourself in the solitude meant your brain had time to fully wind down and you would head back to your bed, wrap yourself into Adar, and sleep. 

This was one of those nights, although this time you were not without company.

Stepping into the library, you had been met with a young girl, who was rubbing her eyes and holding a blanket. You had recognized her from the times you kept the children busy in here, reading them stories or letting them be creative.

"Hello, Dura," your voice was soft, so as not to startle her. "Is everything okay?"

She nodded, making her way to you and taking your hand. "Can you tell me a tale so I can sleep?"

Your face faltered, thankful she was in no danger or anything. It was unusual for any of the younger orcs to be awake at this time, so your first thought is worry. Nodding, you led her to your comfy chair and allowed her to climb into your lap. Dura situated herself so she was comfy and cuddled her blanket close, one hand holding some of your hair. 

"How about a lullaby?" you asked, the little girl nodding eagerly. "There is one I know that I have yet to tell you. This song means a lot to me, Dura, I hope you will enjoy it."

You closed your own book and held her closer, your voice low and gentle as you began to sing.

"Lay down Your sweet and weary head, The night is falling, You have come to journey's end. Sleep now, And dream of the ones who came before, They are calling, From across the distant shore."

As the lyrics had begun to fall from your lips, Dura stared up at you, eyes glistening and listening intently. Whether she understood the words you sang or not, the sound alone enthralled her enough to keep listening. You rocked her gently, mind focused solely on getting the child to sleep.

Why do you weep? What are these tears upon your face? Soon you will see, All of your fears will pass away. Safe in my arms, You're only sleeping.

Your mind drifted to your love, Adar, these lyrics in particular reminded you of him. You were his protection from the outside world, he would always tell you that. He would tell you that he was grateful for you staying in his life, that you were his safety blanket. In turn, you always promised to be there for him at the end of the day, and that your arms were open for him any time. Whenever you were needed, you would answer his call. Loving Adar was not easy, and he knew that. But, in spite of it all, you found him to be such a kind man deep down. He had shown you nothing but true love and care in your time with his family. Never once rude, never once had he raised a hand to you. Always, he was sweet to you. You had vowed to always love him through everything, and to be there at the end of the day when you both went to sleep.

What can you see, On the horizon? Why do the white gulls call? Across the sea, A pale moon rises, The ships have come to carry you home.

Adar had awoken, wondering why there was no warmth besides him. After rolling over and reaching his arm out, he knew where you would be. No matter the time, he always went to check on you, even though he always found the same result; you, in your chair in the library, nose stuck in a book. But, just to ease his mind that nothing was wrong, he dressed and headed out of the door and down to you. As Adar edged closer, a faint song was heard and for a second, he thought perhaps he had finally gone mad. 

And all will turn,

To silver glass.

A light on the water,

All Souls pass.

He had reached the door and immediately recognized your voice. Such a beautiful singer, he thought. Peeking around the corner, Adar did not expect the sight before him. Sure enough, you were there, curled in your favourite chair. This time, a small girl on your lap, eyes almost closed as she lulled her way to sleep. It made his heart soar to see you with the child on your lap, swaying her back and forth gently as she lay. It was a warming sight, one he wished to burn into his brain for an eternity. The last thing Adar wished to do was disturb, so he observed you from where he stood, listening to your voice and the lyrics.

Hope fades, Into the world of night. Through shadows falling, Out of memory and time.

Pondering your words, Adar smiled to himself. He knew this song meant so much to you, how you hummed it often. To see you openly sharing it with the little girl, who was most certainly now fast asleep, was beautiful. You were beautiful, to him. Adar felt so lucky to know you, and even luckier to love you. He was never going to throw what you both had away for anything. One day, he would marry you. When peace was made in Middle Earth and he knew war for the orcs was no longer a threat, he would marry you.

Don't say, We have come now to the end, White shores are calling, You and I will meet again. And you'll be here in my arms, Just sleeping.

You glanced down at Dura, who had fallen asleep curled up into you and her blanket. It seemed your song had done the perfect trick. You continued the lyrics, feeling strange to not at least finish the song. You were moments from the end, after all. Your head tilted up at the sound of a shuffle, and you found your lover stood before you, looking ethereal in the pale moonlight creeping in through the window. Smiling, but saying nothing, you received one in kind. Adar sat on one of the chairs opposite you, not interrupting and eager for you to finish.

Taking one of your free hands in his, he simply ran his thumb across the back of your soft skin, eyes never having left your face as you sung. If he could only tell you how you looked to him in this moment, there would not be enough paper in the world to write it down. You broke your eyes from him to look down at Dura, as you finished the song. 

And all will turn, To silver glass, A light on the water, Grey ships pass, Into the West.

Adar placed a quiet kiss against your hand, hoping the movement would not wake the child. He glanced down worriedly as she stirred, but you shook your head, signalling that Dura was most certainly out for the night. You knew you should return her to her family soon, which was not too far, but for the moment, you simply sat with Adar's hand in your own and the crackle of the fire behind you. Soft snores came from Dura, and you looked to Adar as he stared back. His eyes were so full of love, twinkling something terrible in the light. 

In time, you knew this moment would end, but right now, with the child between you, Adar and yourself just enjoyed the calm and serenity of the late night. You were both lost in thought, the need for sleep taking over you both. Before you could deliver the child back to her home, all three of you were asleep. You and Dura on the armchair, her in your lap, and Adar in the seat next to you, still clutching your hand in his own. Your head had come to rest on his shoulder, and as a three you all got some much needed rest with one final thought in your mind. 

This was family.

[lemondoddle]

Shoutout to @shitty-mh-aus and @rattfreakk I love crashing my brainworms into each other like touy cars

[ID. a screenshot and a comic. the screenshot is an ask sent by rattfreakk to shitty-mh-aus reading "au where they share a universe with gravity falls".

the pencil comic starts with jay walking around a forest, calling out for tim and thinking "shit-where is he!?" Jay then notices a carving of bill cipher on one o the trees. he says "that's.. odd." unbeknownst to him, bill cipher floats above his shoulder. when bill pipes with his arms akimbo saying "boy you're right that does look weird" jay whips around, startled. he asks, "what the hell are you!?" bill points a thumb at himself and proudly states, "the name's bill cipher, but you can call me the guy who's gonna kill that operator and seal the ark!" jay begins to ask "wait how did you-" when bill startles him again, sidling up and wrapping a stretched arm around jay's shoulder. bill states, "oh i know lots about you, jay merrick! more than you put on that channel!" bill points to jay's torso, "i know your trails are getting colder than your body will be in benedict hall!" the next panel shows bill floating, both outstretched hands engulfed in blue flames as he continues, "but if you do something for me, i'll take care of baldy for you. whaddaya say?" jay holds his hands up, uncomfortable. "i.. i don't-" bill's eye turns blue as he tacks on, " did i mention i can fix your friends as well?" he gestures to flaming blue vision of jessica, alex and tim smiling with scribbles over their eyes. the vision changes in the next panel, showing jay amongst them, arm around tim as they all chat happily, eyes still scribbled over. bill speaks again, "haven't you been so lonely?" jay stares up at the vision, the blue reflecting onto his yearning face. bill smugly holds his hand out, covered in flame, saying, "sideburns might have caused all this, but you-" in the final panel he ends with "you can fix it." jay's hesitant hand shakily reaches up towards bill's. end ID.]

Also just. So much bonus stuff under the cut I got outta control

not pictured: hasty bonus comic of more dialogue that ill just transcribe here-

jay: how do i know you're not working together?

bill: i'll level with ya kid- me and him don't exactly see "eye-to-eye"

bill: (grumbling) smug bastard thinks he's so much better just because he's tall...

also bc this is set in the more forgiving gravity falls universe i like to think that the grunkles stop the deal from happening bc they were tracking down evidence that bill might still be around and the grunkles help the mh cast defeat the operator and take them all in hashtag found family. however here's the other outcome to this comic smile :)

[theeyeofeverything]

Brainworms cannot be contained so I need to confess to you one (1) thing...

Yes. I have au where sols can be saved but there is a lil thing I need to mention... not all of them will survive... ACTUALLY THEY MiGHT BE HAPPY ONLY FOR A WHILE ONLY TO DIE AGAIN. Ooops!

So let's call this thing "out of spite AU".

Basic premise is Yi saves as many sols, as he can and all of them have a lession to learn. They given a chance to grow and redeem themselfs. Not in front of apeman or remaining solarians (if there id left any), no. It's a redemption before oneself. Because yes, they will be safe for a while, but the end is the same. Kuafu will be the only solarian to survive in the end... or does he?

Mainly trough this exist to explore 4 things: 1. Dynamics between Sols 2. How they will face their inner conflict (most of them remain their initial core traits, don't worry, but some aspects of them might change a little) 3. Sols interacting with ShuanShuan (it also ties to their inner conflict! He helps others like he helps Yi to understand that life good on its own. Mainly tho its a self-indulingent cute bonding stuff between Sols and ShuanShuan) 4. Jieyi (AM SORRY I HAVE SEVER CASE OF BEING REALLY INVESTED IN GUYS OBSESSED WITH PROTAGS I AM WEAK)

Who will be saved?

- Kuafu. Same as in canon.

-Jiequan. Well, I said it would be really funny concept for him to be saved first of all people. Yi doing exactly that, initially out of spite. But it's ironic that in the literal sense Jieqan did not win - Yi just broke all of his teapods and did not let him die like a hero become a gooquan - but he won the spiritual battle. His torture made Yi better. Well, it's not but it made Yi mad enough to do the opposite of rampage. He is restraind in the pavilion at the time (but not for long)

-Goumang. After thinking (and being really pissed) abou his and Jiequan similarity he desides that he might gone a little bit rough on Goumang. When he is back at the agrocurtual hall she is alive, but gravely injured. It's a miracle she didn't bleed out by the time they arrived at the pavilion. He and Kuafu tend her wounds, but she is NOT happy to be here. At least, at first

-Nuwa. At this point in story Yi is finally giving a rest to his killing rampage. Nuwa is a strange case because she is no use to Yi. Jiequan is a fighter, Goumang is somewhat of the healer in this au. Nuwa is a spoiled mean brat. Kinda just like him! No one deserve to die like...this. He will not let her go near Fuxi, when he's down. She would cry, crawl and bite her way out, but to no avail. I will say she is safe in this au for sake of exploring her personality and how it would change with absence of her brother around. How she would become independent.

-Ji. He is the intresting case because he is wanting to die. He is tired of life. He wants to rest and join dao. However I think he might stay for a while because his hexagramm... lied to him. Jiequan has to much impact in this AU huh. Well, I think he knew Jiequan and Yi's fight would not end good. He forsaw Jiequan die... but now Yi is telling him that the last member of the jie is alive and well! I think that would intrigue Ji, actually. Why would hexagramms lie to him? Did the Yi changed course of history? And additional layer to this if certain someone once also made a hexagramm prediction untrue.

Or, maybe, hexagramms want him to preserve this story too? His last story to tell.

Who will not survive:

-Yanlao. First, at this point Yi was not ignited by spite and did not reconsider his choices! And second - he is a lesson to learn for Yi. A irreversable mistake, that can't be take back. Not that he is greiving for this loss but it kinda make jiequan with his "do you think saving me does you a good guy automathicly? With other you was not that merciful, young master Yi" sting harder. And that is making Yi pissed, but... pissed Yi is a Yi how does rethink his decisions so maybe this is for the better

-Lady Etheral. Well she is no longer in a condition to be saved. She is basicly a brain in a jar and can't be brought back. All they can do is honor her properly. Let her rest at last.

-Eigong. This is intersting case because I belive she is long lost. At least, I think she is beliving herself to be a lost cause. She will not let Yi and Goumang save her. She will go with this ship, because her role is played already. So she would go on her own terms and would not be swayed. I love her so much as a character, but this the vibe I get from her. Besides I need more drama and angst for this AU sooo...

Let's stop for now. There is a couple of aspects I want to talk about more, but I think some of my ideas will translate better trough my art!

Not now, tho. Because I need to finish funny haha comics first and THEN do serious shit.

Feel free to ask about this AU tho!

[rampagingfanfictioner14]

relativity falls, but...

i've got a relativity falls brainworm. hear me out if u wish :D

relativity falls basically swaps the mystery twins (i.e. dipper and mabel) with the pines twins (or stans; i.e. Stanley and Stanford), right? Other characters like fiddleford and soos get swapped around too, but the main focus is the Pines.

so, imagine a relativity falls where dipper and mabel never had the chance to learn all the lessons they learnt during their summer in Gravity Falls. Mabel would never get over her fear of the future, or of Dipper leaving her. Dipper in turn would never understand the true meaning of trusting someone, or the importance of family, over everything else. They would never have a Stan and Ford as examples of what they shouldn't do, and they'd be stuck in Piedmont with their arguing parents --- parents, mind you, who argue so intensely that it gives Dipper nightmares.

Let me remind you that this kid survived an entire apocalypse, got thrown off a cliff, nearly died (multiple times!) and got possessed by a demon with powers and motives far beyond his comprehension, yet out of all these traumas, the one that hits the hardest is of his own parents. Whatever Dipper and Mabel's parents have got going on, it's inching into 'divorce' territory.

Everything might turn out well enough in canon, because it's 2012 and no one cares if a couple decides to split up, but it's not so great in the 1960s, which is when Relativity Falls-Dipper-and-Mabel are from. Not just because of prejudice and stigma, but also because it's a lot harder to raise a kid by yourself than it is with a partner, especially in an era where a woman couldn't do much without the permission of her husband (like open bank accounts).

What does this mean for the au, though? It means that Dipper and Mabel couldn't escape anywhere for the summer, no Mystery Shack, no Grunkle Stan or Soos or anyone to seek comfort or stability from (unless you count Shermie, but considering that their parents would rather send them to a great uncle they've never met than their own grandfather means that either he's dead or incapacitated in some other way).

Imagine Dipper and Mabel stuck in the house, possibly hiding under the bed or trying to distract themselves from the arguments going on downstairs. Imagine Mabel trying to sing or talk loud enough to block them out, or Dipper daydreaming about ways that they could leave the house for good (were they strongly attached to their parents? probably not. These two spent three months at their great uncle's house and not once mentioned them apart from one stray letter from Mabel --- not even during an apocalypse, which would literally be the best scenario for a kid to miss their parents).

Basically, just imagine Dipper and Mabel taking care of each other when it seems like their whole world is falling apart, because who else could they rely on? Who else could they possibly choose in the lowest points of their life, other than their own twin?

And sure, this behaviour between the two probably continues for most of their childhood.

But then comes high school.

Neither Dipper nor Mabel referenced any friends back in Piedmont. Candy and Grenda were the only people that Mabel ever called "best friends", and she never sent any letters or postcards back to any other friends she might've had there. Heck, just hanging around Dipper probably shot her social status to the lowest possible point, but she doesn't care, because he's her baby brother and she'd much rather take him than anything the popular life in school could offer. Point is, Relativity Falls-Mabel never had a Candy or Grenda, because she never went to Gravity Falls for the summer. She is inexperienced with having any real friends other than her twin brother.

One eventful summer, just before the start of high school, the twins' parents seem to momentarily get over themselves and book a trip to the beach for a few weeks or so. Mabel has a short-lived romance with a merman named Mermando (to whom Dipper was, at first, very sceptical about). The trio eventually form a friendship, however, and promise to meet each other every so often. This is when Dipper truly becomes interested in anomalous phenomena. He wonders that if mermaids/mermen are real, does that mean Atlantis is too? What about ghosts? Zombies? Fairies?

The trip goes well, all in all. Their parents may avoid each other, but at least they're not fighting.

...The truce comes to a crashing halt when they return home, but hey, at least they had a small bout of peace and quiet.

Dipper knows what he wants to do with his life now. Study weirdness with his twin sister, living together and having adventures every day. Mabel supports this idea, citing that they should go find Atlantis as their first big adventure. Living in Piedmont (which was partly rural in the 1960s, as far as my Australian brain knows from a short and unclear Google search), they don't really have the chance to have a Stan O' War or big adventures on the beach. Weirdness doesn't tend to stick to suburbs, but the two try to find stuff anyway. Maybe they end up finding a rogue gnome or a bunch of ghosts in the local cemetery. Maybe they spend hours frolicking around fields of grass and rolling down hills and whatnot.

When high school arrives, Dipper sees a great opportunity. If he could utilize his smarts, bring home grades that were practically teetering on the level of too high, then he and Mabel could leave the house. They'd go to a good place far away, maybe back to the beach, and live together and go on adventures and possibly find Atlantis for real. He throws himself into studying to carve the best possible life for him and his twin sister (he's kinda like Stan in that way: always thinking of Mabel before himself).

---But in doing so, he buries his nose into books and papers and other school stuff, and spends practically all day holed up in the school library. When he returns home he's tired and spent, and usually just keeps studying and studying without a thought on the potential health risks, before leaving again at dawn the next day.

He believes it's for the greater good of them both, but he neglects their mutually-reliant relationship in favour of a better future.

At first, Mabel tries to go with it, really. She becomes Dipper's rock, pulling him back when he pushes himself too hard, forcing him to eat and properly sleep. She's silly and funny and stops him from becoming all gloomy and sad during those times when their parents can't seem to stop screaming at each other. She tries to look over his homework and see if he's having trouble, but she can't for the life of her understand what the heck he's working on.

As their final year of high school approaches, Dipper knows that he has to go all in. Eventually Dipper stops coming home entirely, turning up just before dinner or even sometimes skipping it. He either goes to the public library after school or periodically forgets to go to their mutual lunch table and actually eat, but his grades are consistently off-the-charts, because he knows he has to keep going for Mabel.

And while this is great for Dipper and his vision of the future, Mabel... doesn't see things the same way. She dislikes how studying has taken hold of her brother's life, and the way that he disappears for hours on end places her directly in the path of bearing the brunt of their emotional trauma from their parents. She becomes less cheerful and begins to foster an irrational fear of the future, where she believes her brother will leave her behind in favour of studying all those weird creatures he was so obsessed with.

She becomes vulnerable, and a particular group of predatory teenagers... pounce.

With Dipper mostly absent from her life, she is approached by a group of popular kids who, for all intents and purposes, appear to be genuinely looking out for her. For the first time in her life, Mabel can actually interact with people her age without the looming shadow of her brother's general social allergy over her head. She becomes friends, regains her cheeriness and is able to move past her trauma, because now she actually has people to share it with, not just a twin brother who's suddenly started practically disappearing from their home.

It starts off slowly, but those teens begin to make off-handed comments about her brother. Small things, at first, like how he's ridiculously smart, how he's going to be very successful. Mabel wholeheartedly agrees, of course, and doesn't think much of it.

The comments escalate after a few weeks. Stuff like how geniuses like Dipper didn't need anyone, how their intellect would carry them far and how could someone like Mabel hope to compare, really?

Basically, they feed into her innermost insecurities. They isolate her from her family and her twin brother (not that he made it hard). They tell her that Dipper doesn't need anyone, doesn't need Mabel, and the only way to make something of herself is to do favours for them, and maybe they'd help her in return.

Mabel, having being fed lies for the better part of her last years of high school and not having any healthy friendships to compare, believes them. She falls in with the "wrong crowd", so to speak, but doesn't realize what's going on. Sometimes she delivers strange packets to other high school students or other shady stuff, but the teens help her catch her brother after school and they spend time with her, so maybe it was worth it in the end. Other times she wonders what she's doing, and tries to peek at the contents of the bags, only for the teens to find out and threaten to end their friendship, citing that "true friends trusted each other" and that Mabel "needed them".

Mabel, in her poor, desperate attempt to have someone to talk to, begs for forgiveness and vows never to doubt them again.

And then the science fair happens.

Dipper creates a perpetual motion machine and, for the first time, is so excited that he can't focus on his studies. He's won plenty of competitions over the years, but this is the one that could possibly guarantee them a ride out of Piedmont, so he's very meticulous in the preparation for the machine's reveal. The principal calls him into his office and Mabel lingers outside, hearing how the scouts of a prestigious college (West Coast Tech) were coming to see Dipper's project tomorrow. Their parents, for once, seem to come to an agreement: Dipper was brilliant. Possibly brilliant enough to rival world pioneers.

And then they argued whether who he took after, and how once he'd made millions, he'd support them more than the other, because of course they were the favourite--- as expected, anyway. Dipper's somewhat surprised that they remembered to show up to the meeting in the first place. He'd take anything he could get, at this point.

But something niggles at the back of his mind.

Dipper interrupts as the principal waxes poetic about his project and inquires about Mabel. The principal waves him off, saying that at this rate, the girl would be lucky to find a waitressing job nearby, much less a full ride to a prestigious college.

Mabel, eavesdropping outside, immediately becomes upset and runs off, not hearing the way that Dipper defended her, because of course he would. In the end, Dipper storms off, saying that he'll just have to take her along with him, then.

He later shares his plans with Mabel and blabbers on about how the great the perpetual motion machine was, how it was the crowning achievement of his efforts to get them away from their parents, but all Mabel hears is the thundering of her heart, panicking at the thought of Dipper leaving her behind (and yes, it's irrational, but remember, she's been in a toxic relationship with several people who cracked open her small insecurities into gaping wounds, that neither of them acknowledged or sought to heal).

Mabel seeks out the teenagers and does a few more deals with them, begging them to do something that changed the course of their lives, because to her, it's getting increasingly clear that Dipper's going to leave and she's powerless to stop him.

The teenagers toy with her for a bit, but concede. They break into the science fair room and trash the project, but not before leaving a pack of glitter sprinkled over the broken thing, just to mess with Mabel and Dipper's relationship a little more.

Of course, Dipper doesn't take that realization well when he shows up the next morning and stares at a ruined machine, glitter coating it inside and out. He's devastated, but also angry that Mabel would ruin their only chance to get away from Piedmont, and doesn't understand why she would do such a thing.

He confronts her about it and she admits to breaking it. She could never blame the teens, of course, but especially not when she'd asked them to do the deed.

Dipper tries to understand, but his anger gets the better of him and they devolve into a shouting match. They never did learn how to communicate properly. He says some things he normally wouldn't, and Mabel does the same. It's a frightening parallel of their parents, and it ends up with Mabel running away from home as a last ditch defense mechanism (just like she did in Dipper & Mabel VS the Future).

(Welp, that's all I have energy to write today. Prolly will make a Part 2 of this tmrw). Hope it was somewhat in character? Idk. Might write a full-fledged fanfic on this later.

BTW, major thing here: this is just what I think of Relativity Falls. I don't own the idea, nor do I own the characters. I'm just a person who overthinks on the lives of fictional characters. Also someone who has semi-unwillingly started down an unending spiral of Gravity Falls brainworms that refuse to leave unless I write those suckers down.

[kerubimcrepin]

LIVEBLOG: Wakfu Season 4, Episode 13 [PART 1]

I wonder what Joris's opinion on Tristepin abandoning post is. It'e either "thank god I don't have two Iops to wrangle" or "well at least the the one that's less likely to be killed is here" or "FOR FUCK'S SAKE NOT THIS FUCKING GUY"

Stealth mission with an iop by your side sounds like a whole new type of hell on earth.

It's very brief, but at this moment (5:50 in the episode), we can see Joris and Goultard going up the stairs.

The demons in my head are, once again, telling me to keep screenshotting him.

Trying to get her out is a pretty delicate balance, considering his strength. Joris is probably quite aware of the possibility that he might accdentally hurt her.

There's no fucking way Joris doesn't want Goultard to die a gruesome, violent death.

He's imagining Goultard's face instead of the rock... Seething and malding in silence.

GET SCARED.

DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE TIME TO DODGE. HEHEHEHE

at least he's a good teammate, when he's not calling Joris slurs as a joke.

Not him looking down at them. BITCH WORK!!

Once again, I am compelled to take screenshots. It cannot be helped.

I will be honest, the sudden influx of content where Joris and Goultard are portrayed as friends — like drinking together, or going on missions together — in the fandom has been very weird, because I think what became very clear in this season is that Goultard is an iop who treats people in an iop way (for iops it's just normal to roughouse each other) while Joris is a man who has been infantilized for 600 years, doesn't want to be friends with anyone except people who never question his intelligence (like Yugo and Amaliaa), and wants to kill himself whenever his height is pointed out. and also has 2 drinking buddies already (who shower him in praise at how righteous and heroic and smart he is).

Literally fundamentally incompatible personalities. Joris can barely stand to be here, and the only thing uniting them is "we're immortal and don't want the world to end". If he could, Joris would slip rat poison into whatever Goultard is eating or drinking — because he knows that while it will not kill him, it will make him feel Bad. 😭

Maybe I'm weird, but I don't really like it when characters' discomfort of being treated cruelly is taken as something cute or funny or a Friendship thing...

(Attention: I am not bashing anyone, but expressing my personal opinion)

DFGJSDFKLGHSDKJFGHDSFKJG

you can tell that Joris is not having a good time. he's at his fucking limit. first he let loose with a "if you only knew :) how many people :) have degraded me the same way :) for all my life :)" and now an explicit "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!"

I really do think he's imagining Goultard's head here.

:)

As someone insane enough to have drawn maaany comparisons between Nora&Efrim and Joris this season, I think he has a soft spot for her by now. She's been through a lot...

And I think Joris understands what it's like, to feel guilty, because of something horrible happening — even if it's not necessarily your fault; besides that, I think they both have very closely matched temperaments — they're both introspective and a bit embittered.

In a kinder universe, Nora and Joris could have been besties. And Nora could have gone to his house for tea. The two of them could probably speak very quietly to one another about some interesting, sad things.

And then Kerubim could have a post-divorce stress disorder-related heart palpitations due to seeing a pink haired woman IRL inside his house unannounced.

Basically, I NEED NORA&JORIS FRIENDSHIP FANART HI?!

Basically: I have crazy levels of brainworms about this (and about Eva trying to sacrifice herself for her family, but there are so many screenshots in this post already...)

Of COURSE he'd stand guard for her.

I'm fucking CRAZY and INSANE.

HIS SMILE HERE!! HE'S SO PROUD OF HER!!! HE BELIEVES IN HER!!!!!!

[formosusiniquis]

🪱 Wiggle Wednesday🪱

Thank you @paperbackribs who tagged me last week, I saw it while I was in class and immediately forgot until I saw people posting their things today. But I'm always excited to share my current brainworms

This is a scene from a fic that I pick at every now and then, so it's basically always on the brain. It started as something about Lucas and Steve and trying to explain away the slight anachronism of Steve (popular and rich) being in Nikes before Jordan made them cool (thank you Air) and it has turned into something much more about Lucas and also his Mom relating through a shared love of basketball and Steve is also there.

It’s a Friday night after the end of the world, and strangely Lucas is at a basketball game.

Or maybe it’s only strange because it’s so normal.

A Friday night in a small town and there isn’t much to do except support the home team. Only Mom won’t watch football, she calls it barbaric, so she reserves all her team spirit for November when basketball season starts. Lucas’ skin itches a little under the Hawkins Tigers shirt he’s wearing, as he’s pretending to be normal when a couple weeks ago he learned monsters were real. What can he do though? Mrs. Byers has Will on house arrest, Mike is still mourning Eleven, and Dustin hasn’t been allowed out since Will’s Lazarus act.

Maybe he’s being too sensitive. Steve is here, who Lucas mostly knows from Mike complaining about being Nancy’s stupid boyfriend. Steve is playing like everything is fine, even though Lucas knows Steve knows. He heard whispering about it with Nancy when he went to the bathroom the last time he was at Mike’s. But Steve is smiling as he paces down the court. Miles better than the other players around him, when Steve has the ball Lucas feels like he does when he’s watching a real basketball game on the couch with his Mom.

If Steve can act like things are normal. If he can sink three pointer after rebound after assist, maybe it’s okay that Lucas is wearing his Tiger green. He floats down the court and everyone cheers. But no one cheers right. When #21 Hagan gets a rebound off of Seymour’s best player, a girl’s voice screams so loud it makes his throat hurt. No one cheers that way for Steve. It’s just excitement for the game, not for him and the way he is playing.

When the game ends, Hawkins 73: Seymour 42, and the crowd storms the court Lucas stands by his Mom in the bleachers. She hates feeling the push of the crowd against her and as he gets older, and people’s hands get rougher, he’s starting to understand. He’s too old to be caught standing by his Mom though. After everything, he knows better than to move too far away from her; going to the game with your Mom is one thing, being the kid getting called out over the intercom because she can’t find you would be life ruining.

Lucas watches the thinning crowd while he waits. Parents and girlfriends crowding their sweaty players. He doesn’t want to get caught looking at any of those boys for too long now that they aren’t playing. He isn’t sure why. So he keeps looking for something familiar.

Steve is standing beside a short, dark haired man who’s got what his father calls a beer gut. He doesn’t look anything like Steve, but he’s also the only adult anywhere near him. He’s the only person at all that’s really near Steve. They’re talking excitedly about something. He claps Steve on the back and whatever he says next has Steve looking down toward the floor.

“Is that Steve’s dad?” he asks his mom before thinking about why that might be a weird question to ask her.

“Who?” The way she says it makes him sure she hadn’t actually heard the question. She’d caught a name, when he interrupted her conversation with the lady next to them, but not enough to answer. It’s a free chance to drop the issue. To say sorry, never mind, and go back to watching people move on the floor below them.

“That guy,” she slaps his hand down as he goes to point. “The guy next to Steve, number 8, is that his dad?”

“How do you know him?” The question, instead of an answer, startles him enough that he looks at her instead of Steve. Stern, he knows he doesn’t want to lie to her, but he also isn’t sure how to say that this random high school boy saved two of his best friends’ older siblings' lives.

“He’s Nancy’s boyfriend. Mike talks about him.”

If he’d just waited. He would have gotten his question answered without asking Mom. They both watch as that man says one more thing to Steve, shakes his hand, and walks out of the gym. “I don’t see Nancy here.” Because they both know he doesn’t really need his other question answered anymore.

“I don’t think she really likes sports.”

Mom sucks her teeth, a judgmental tchk that has heat climbing the back of his neck when it's not even for him. "Well that's a shame, he's a good player." There's finally enough space on the floor that they could leave. He wants, desperately, for them to just go cause something about this conversation is making him feel guilty again. "Do you want to to say hi?"

There's nothing he wants less than that. Lucas thinks if he has to go up to this guy, who went toe to toe with a monster, while his mom trails behind he'll die. Lucas thinks if he says hi to a guy who has only seen him maybe twice in the context of Mike Wheeler's house, and has to sit there while Steve blankly accepts his congrats he'll melt into the floor.

"Can we just go home? I still have homework."

And some tags to @fuctacles, @cauldronoflove, @thefreakandthehair, @stevespookington, @stevieharringtonwifeguy

@eriquin, @grasslandgirl, @augustjustice, and anyone else who wants to play!

[tqftimpost-canon]

INTRODUCTORY POST.

Introduction

Hello everyone, admin here. Welcome to the TQFTIM:Post-Canon blog. Here I will explore the lives of the main cast of TQFTIM, except push the timeline a few years into the future. 

What to expect from this blog:

The content on this blog will consist of mainly shitposts, shenanigans and overall self-indulgent doodles. Redraws of panels and/or official tqftim art(if you can even call it that) can also be expected. TQFTIM:Post-Canon does not follow a storyline(at least yet). If anyone has any questions or requests, the (post-)questers are always happy to oblige.

The main face of the blog will be Cuphead, as this character was the one to kickstart the whole idea of post-canon TQFTIM, however I will do my best to include the whole main cast into the shenanigans.

Main changes

In this timeline, Bendy and Cuphead went trans some time after the presumed ending of TQFTIM. Below you can see the reference sheets that I have made so far. Whenever I'll make more reference sheets, they will all be tagged with "#tqftim:pc refsheet" for easy access in the archive, in case anyone wishes to revisit them. 

If you are uncomfortable with topics such as queerness and/or transitioning, I advise you to leave right away, as they will make rather frequent appearances and I don’t need more headaches.

Relationships/dynamics

Initially this was supposed to be bendystraw-centered, however while brainstorming I realized that I wish to explore their friendship a bit more. Bendystraw is such a funny ship tho I'm actually gonna cry. Regardless, this blog isn’t that serious, so whether you see bendystraw slip-ups alongside platonic bendystraw, it ain’t a big deal. Other ships or friendship dynamics might appear later on as the brainworms capture my conscience (or as you might request them from me directly, that is also an option), but that is for future-me to worry about. 

It is important to highlight the fact that I do not condone or accept proshipping. Keep that out of here, this is really not the place for you.

On another note, I need to highlight the fact that I do not support blogthegreatrouge, in fact, I despise them and what they did, however denying how much I liked tqftim as a kid would be blatantly stupid, so you know… Might as well take it and make it fun for myself :)

As a closing thought, I wish to remind everyone who will stumble upon this blog that it is all satirical and that I'm doing it because I'm having a blast creating it all. It is mostly meant for shits and giggles. Have fun! <3

[theshippirate22]

I posted this and expected it to be a good ol’ two note post but it got a lot of love so I got brainworms. thanks to my personal cheerleader @your-stranger-halfblood-things you’re a dear my darling <33

Stacy really isn’t expecting anything.

To everyone else it’s just April 23rd. There might be a track meet tonight, but even then, it’s ridiculous to equate that to anyone actually thinking of today as a holiday.

Stacy is really, really hoping it can just be April 23rd for her today too.

For a minute, she just lays there on her stomach, face buried in the pillow, and imagines that it’s not normal, that it’ll be just like the days Lottie and Christina turned 17, with laughter and presents and phone calls from home….

It won’t be like that, and she’s knows that, and she knows Olivia is going to do her damned hardest to make it the best day ever, which probably means she’s going to be particularly sweet all day and then they’re gonna have crazy awesome sex tonight and that’ll be that, and it’ll be April 24th and Stacy will be 17.

“Stacyyyyyy…” Olivia sings as she comes in, practically pouncing on her and tickling her sides.

“Ah, God, Liv! It’s seven am!” She squirms away, laughing despite her best efforts. “Cut it out.”

“I’m like 90% sure you have to get tickled on your birthday or you don’t grow right.”

“Oh yeah? What’s your source on that one?”

Olivia climbs over her, settling in between her legs so she can pop her elbows up on either side of Stacy’s head and box her in. “Mm, probably that one medical journal we had to read in Luther’s class.”

“Oh? Conveniently the one I couldn’t read?”

“Mhm,” She nodded adamantly. “See, if you had powered through the frankly macabre and horrific descriptions of blood and boils, you too could know the dangers of birthday tickle deficiency.” She punctuates it with a swift kiss.

“Gross, stop it,” Stacy laughs, weakly pushing her away but not stopping her from nuzzling into her neck and biting softly along her throat.

“Now listen, Stace,” She says, moving up to kiss all of her face. “We’ve got a very strict schedule to keep to today. You’ve got ten minutes before Lottie is coming in here to do your makeup. I told her to keep her hands off your hair, but you know how she is, so I’m afraid that’s a battle you’ve got to fight for yourself.”

“Why’s she doing my makeup? Is something happening?”

“Um duh.” Olivia pulls back to stare at her like she’s stupid. “You’ve got to look fabulous. Because, if I’m not mistaken, you’re turning seventeen at exactly 8:37 this morning and that’s reason for celebration indeed.”

“Why are you talking like that?” Stacy laughs again. “You sound like a founding father. Wait!” She pushes Olivia’s face from hers to ensure she can look her in the eye. “You didn’t tell Lottie it was my birthday right? You didn’t go around telling everyone?”

“No!” Olivia cries, seemingly outraged. “No, I would never!”

“Why are you smiling like that? What did you do? Liv!”

“I didn’t tell Lottie or Christina.”

“Liv!”

“But I may or may not have told Greg, who may or may not have told Lottie and Christina.”

“Oh my God, Olivia Nicole Moore, whyyyyyyy?”

“Because, Stacy Linda Harrington. I love you.” Another kiss, right on the lips. “And I am very stubborn and determined to show you that your family is full of asshats and you should forget about them and remember that you’ve got a family here. Who also loves you.”

Stacy wanted to argue more, but not really, because she was feeling particularly warm and happy in a way that she hadn’t felt for a long time, so she took the chance to kiss Olivia deeper.

Lottie came tumbling in not long after, and Stacy played beauty shop customer with her while Olivia watched smirking from where she sat on the bed. Stacy curled her hair and put on her uniform and Christina came to see what was taking them all so long before dragging them to breakfast.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the lady of the hour!”

“Hi, Greg,” Stacy grins, rolling her eyes.

“Happy Birthday, little missy,” He put his hands behind his back and stood on his toes, leaning toward her. “I know I’m supposed to remain impartial because I’m a TA and shit, but you do know you’re my favorite, right?”

“Impartial, my ass,” Olivia snorts. “Like you even try.”

He shushes her playfully then adds, “I have something for you, Stace.”

“Oh? What is it?”

He leads her back into the kitchens- just her; her friends wait patiently in the hall- and delivers a heaping stack of hot pancakes into her hands.

“It’s not Pancake Day?” Stacy says, trying to ignore the bubbling excitement in her stomach.

“Nah, but I know they’re you’re favorite, so I paid The Beast to make you some anyway.”

“Greg…” She wasn’t going to cry over this. That was ridiculous. God, no one had made her pancakes since she lived in Indiana and that was almost five years ago. “Thank you.”

She flings herself into his arms, holding out the plate to the side to preserve the gift and he rolls his eyes but hugs back nonetheless.

“Go eat with everybody else, I’ve gotta go get the mail, see if you have some birthday cards.”

She scoffs but doesn’t let it bring her down.

So that’s how she ends up in the lunch hall with her friends and her stack of pancakes. At one point, Miss Beastion (aka The Beast) comes to wipe down tables and breaks her glare for a moment to wish her a happy birthday and almost smiles.

Greg brings the mail around to their hall, all thirty of them, and there’s a box and a letter for Stacy.

She picks up the off white envelope first. “Here’s the card from my parents,” she explains. “Let’s put out bets now, yeah?”

“Dear Beloved Daughter,” Christina starts and Lottie bursts into laughter.

“It is your birthday,” Olivia continues.

“Hope to do business with you in the future, Richard Harrington,” Stacy finishes sardonically, slipping her nail under the adhesive and tearing it open.

Their jokes aren’t far from the truth. The card is completely white-except for the back side, which has the Harrington company logo on it- and inside all it says is “Happy Birthday! Love Mom and Dad” with three hundred dollars wedged in.

“Thanks, Donna,” Stacy murmurs.

“Wait, I thought Melanie was your dad’s secretary?” Lottie cuts in.

“Melanie is the one he’s fucking,” Stacy explains and Olivia laughs because she can’t help herself, adding “For now.”

“Donna is too old for him, thank God. She’s his real secretary, the one that used to babysit u- me. She’s been sending cards instead of them since I was like. Ten.”

“Fuck ‘em,” Olivia says suddenly. “Fuck them all! They’re such assholes, all of them!”

“Preach!” Christina whoops. “Fuck them!”

Greg looks up from the staff table, probably because one of the teachers told him to contain his hall, and he comes over for a minute, quickly realizing what’s going on. With a mouth full of blueberry muffin, he agrees, “Oh yeah, fuck the Harringtons.”

“Yeah, fuck ‘em,” Stacy repeats, with less conviction. “Come on, let’s see what this thing is.”

She pulls the box toward her. There’s no name on it besides her own, no return address, no nothing. Lottie takes out her hoop earring and hands it to her so she can use the point to slice open the tape, at which point she hands the earring back and rips the box entirely open.

She isn’t entirely sure what she’s expecting. Whatever it is, though, it’s not what she’s actively looking at.

“What is it?” Greg says through another bite of muffin, peering over her.

Inside the box, is a three inch stack of Bop magazines, undoubtedly issues from at least a couple years with the latest on top, some Wonder Woman comic books, an entire rainbow of nail polish, a new hairbrush, some of the soap you could only get from a shop on Main Street in Hawkins, six or seven 3 Musketeers bars (which happened to be her favorite since she was what? five?), an Agatha Christie book, and three cans of Farrah Fawcett hairspray.

“Is it from your parents?” Christina mumbles, lifting the box to check the bottom and sides for a name. She must find nothing, because she sets it back down dejectedly.

“I don’t… I don’t think so? They wouldn’t send stuff like this to me anyway… it’s too… fun.”

The girls dig into the magazines while they finish eating, and Lottie and Christina get in an argument over whether Matthew Broderick or Tom Cruise is objectively hotter and Greg decides for them, siding with both Lottie and Broderick, much to Christina’s dismay. Then bells are ringing and classes are starting, and the group gets separated.

It’s during third period that it happens. One moment she’s taking notes on symbolism in Macbeth, and the next Greg is leaning on the doorway with a satisfied- albeit surprised- smirk.

“Stacy’s call,” he offers in explanation.

It’s a thing at the school, the calls. A lot of kids are from out of state, some are out of country, so the rule is that every kid can get a call from their parents on their birthday during class. Otherwise, they’ve just got to wait until one of the school’s payphones is open to reach home.

The thing that has her staring at him in shock is the fact that her parents haven’t called in literal years. She gets her compulsory card from Donna and a fistful of cash to buy her satisfaction, and that’s the end of the birthday things.

Last year, she lied when Christina asked. Said she got it during chemistry, the only class she didn’t have any friends in. No one to verify or validate. Greg had covered for her when he overheard the lie.

The year before that, Donna had called instead, saying her Father wanted to call but he was in Taiwan and didn’t have any phone reception. Which was also a lie. But she appreciated it anyway. She cried in the shower that night and Olivia had found her She didn’t ask, for which Stacy was grateful, and they were good friends after that. Until they were girlfriends.

So Stacy is more confused than anything else while she follows Greg back to the office phone. She hadn’t really done anything particularly noteworthy in the last little bit; no reason for her parents to remember she was living and breathing, nothing deserving the call. Maybe they want to yell at her and this is the only chance they know for sure they’ll be able to talk to her.

Greg hands her the receiver and she holds it in her hand for a minute, taking a minute to compose herself for the beat down that’s about to come before she lifts it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Oh! Hi.”

“Dad?” she mutters in surprise.

“God, please don’t tell me I sound that much like him.”

“You don’t,” she assures suddenly, because it’s true that he really doesn’t sound like her father but she isn’t sure who else he could be.

“Um… It’s Steve…”

Oh.

Oh.

“What? Oh my God, why is your voice so deep?”

He laughs softly. “I’m nineteen, Stace.”

And isn’t that just wild. That snotty whiny kid that threw a fit when she was going to start middle school and refused to be seen in the same district as her is a grown man.

All she says is, “Oh wow.”

“Well, I’m calling to say happy birthday. Sorry they took you out of class… I… I didn’t have your schedule so I was trying to guess? Apparently I didn’t do as well as I thought.”

“Uh, that’s okay,” she murmurs. “It’s kind of a thing around here to be pulled out of class for this anyway.”

“Yeah, it’s your one call for the year, huh?” Suddenly he sounded very small. “I, uh, I tried to call dad. To remind him. But, uh, he changed personal lines and didn’t tell me the new number, and every time I called the company, they just kept rewiring me to Donna, so she gave me the number so I could just call myself. So, um, sorry. It’s just me.”

For just a second, Stacy has that fleeting warmth of being loved, but it’s paired with this agonizing, overwhelming desire. She doesn’t know what for; maybe for him to be like this all the time, maybe for things to be different with their parents, with everything else.

“That’s okay,” she says quickly, trying to sound indifferent. “Thanks for trying anyway.”

“Yeah.” There’s a lapse and he forces out quickly, “Did you get my present? I was trying to time it right so it would get there this morning-“

“That’s from you?”

“Uh, yeah. I hope it’s okay. I didn’t… didn’t really know what to get you, but, uh, the girls I babysit said it was a pretty standard teenage girl gift and they’re like the smartest people I know. But if you don’t like it you can sell the stuff or just give it away and I can send you something else! Just tell me and I’ll get it! I just… when I opened my cash Christmas present I kinda snapped and lost my shit and I figured you’d want something other than cash but I don’t-“

Stacy has about twenty five questions regarding this, starting with “You’re a babysitter?!” but instead she smiles softly at his awkwardness-also so weird for him- and murmurs, “It’s great, Steve. Me and my friends will have a blast.”

“Oh I’m glad. Max said stuff like that is the staple to any good sleepover and boarding school is like an infinite sleepover, right? So I thought I better up the quantity? I don’t know, it made sense to me…”

“Yeah, no, that makes perfect sense,” She agrees quickly. “That’s really… heartfelt.”

“Hopefully it’s better than The Card.”

“God, yeah, they aren’t even trying,” she relays the message from said card, and he snorts.

“You know it’s from Donna, then. Dad’s has never called himself anything other than Richard.”

They laugh about it darkly, and for an instant the solidarity between them is so strong it’s like they were borne from the same soul. Like they aren’t strangers who share a name.

“Hey, listen, Stace,” He adds slowly. “I know you usually go back to the Carolina house or something for summer break- you went to Cabo last year, right? But if… if you want, of course, you don��t have to, but you could come stay with me in Indiana. My friends would love you, you know? I think you’d have fun. It’s not Cabo, but… you know…”

The invitation is weird. Not entirely unwelcome, but bizarre, given that the last time they spoke to each other, they actually weren’t talking to each other.

“Are you dying, Steve?” And she’s only half joking.

He laughs once, awkwardly again. “No. I am very much alive. But, uh, a lot has changed. With everything. Hawkins. Me. You, probably. And it’s stupid that I’ve just been pretending you don’t exist. We don’t… we don’t have to be pitted against each other all the time, you know? We’ve got a common enemy here. And I’m… I’m so sorry about how I was. I’m not like that anymore. At least I’m really trying.”

She swallows back the soft hope building in her throat. “God, they’re such assholes, aren’t they?”

And that’s all it takes. The understanding is so profound it doesn’t need anymore explanation. Especially when Steve adds exhaustedly, “Yes. Yes, they are.”

The treaty is solidified. The olive branch taken.

He asks her a few more questions about her birthday, the standard things, and she tells him about her pancakes and the cupcake she’ll get at lunch and that Greg will probably make the whole cafeteria sing to her, and she pointedly leaves out the plans Olivia has for her tonight and the blunts she bought a few weeks ago for a special occasion. She writes down his number and she seriously considers snagging a payphone and calling him a few times before school gets out.

By the time she hangs up, she walks to fourth period, that she is significantly late for, and when she slides into her seat next to Olivia, she’s got a peculiar little smile that won’t seem to go away.

“Was that your call?” She whispers, even more shocked than Greg.

“Mhm,” She nods dazedly.

“It was your parents? Did they yell at you?”

“It was my brother,” Stacy says softly.

She didn’t think it was possible for Olivia to look more surprised but somehow she manages, eyebrows shooting up and eyes growing wide.

She doesn’t say anything else, instead turning her attention to Mr. Hansen’s lesson, until Olivia elbows her and mutters, “What are you thinking about?”

Stacy grins. “Do you wanna come to Indiana with me this summer?”

[ninadove]

top 5 miraculous ships?

This one is also surprisingly hard, because Miraculous is the shipping show by excellence, and they’re all pretty compelling! That being said —

1. Feligami

Hopefully there’s no doubt about it by now. They single-handedly kicked me out of a months-long writer’s block, and ever since I’ve written paragraph over paragraph about them... with no intention to stop! 💜❤️

2. Lukadrien

With how much I talk about the Sentikids, you’d almost forget Luka was my favourite character back in season 3! Every time I write him, he and Adrien go heart-eyes over each other. It’s almost against my will at this point.

There’s so many interesting things to explore about them, from the angstiest to the sweetest. Luka feeling left out in Wishmaker only to bask in love in Migration. Adrien opening up about his Aspik trauma to someone who can understand. Luka being, to this day, the only person who figured out Chat’s identity. Two very pretty boys who are unlucky in love and terrible at getting what they want... Has anyone ever written Luka x Cat Walker? Lukatwalker? I think someone should write Lukatwalker. Don’t look at me, I have too many WIPs already!

3. Lukadrinette & Adrino

See, that’s where rankings get complicated, because where the Hell do I put Lukadrinette hmm? Hmmmmm? I love the three of them together more than I love Adrinette and Lukanette individually, but less than Lukadrien on its own. It’s a question of balance, I think.

And at the same time, Adrino. There’s just something so comforting about them. The warmth of it all! The dorky flirting in Rocketear! Nino being willing and ready to throw hands with Gabriel since the early episodes of season 1! I love Lukadrien, I love Lukadrinette, but there are universes in which my brain won’t accept any endgame other than Adrino. The Reverse is one of them — all it took was that one conversation between Adrien and Claw and BOOM!!!!! Clawdrino!!! They’re kissing as we speak. I follow the brainworms where they take me.

“But Nina!” I hear you ask, “why not get the best of both words by writing Lukadrino?” to which I reply that you are so right. I’m very curious to see where that might lead us. Unfortunately I am, as previously established, battling an army of WIPs, so the exploration will have to wait.

4. Ladynoir

For the Strikeback of it all. And the London special of it all, too! Marichat was my favourite side of the Love Square for a very long time, but recently I’ve had a craving for…

5. Adribugnoire. Or whatever it’s called.

I’m a hurt/comfort enthusiast, so this surprises absolutely no one. It’s perfect to explore Mari’s crushing responsibilities and her relationships to the people in the know (Kagami Felix Kagami Felix Nathalie Kagami Felix Plagg Bunnyx Kagami FELIX FELIX FELIX). It’s perfect to explore the Sentilore, which you know is my brand. It’s perfect because if I’m going to put a character through the angst machine, you better believe it’s going to be Adrien. It’s perfect because have you seen Bug Noire??? She’s so pretty!!! The London special spoiled me so much!!!

Special mentions:

Julerose and Marcaniel are very cute, of course. DJWiFi I think works best as a QPR, but I might be biased because Kittybella!!! I love Kittybella. Zoenette is also cute. I love Alyanette and especially Loveyalya, the pining is simply excellent. Speaking of the Loveybug AU, Loveyblanc… All these dynamics are so fun to play with, but I rarely get around to it because the Sentikids take up so much of my writing time. As they should! 💚💜❤️

And then there’s the box of ships I don’t want to be canon/endgame, but which I think bring something extremely interesting to the story. Feligami would not be as compelling as it is if it weren’t for Adrigaminette. The plot would not exist at all without Gabeminath. Cholila has so much narrative potential. I’m not rooting for them, but I enjoy what they bring to the table!

Thanks for the ask! 💜❤️

[adracat]

GWitch: Finale thoughts

Pardon for the lateness on this, got busy after the episode aired and then proceeded to write a fic using my achemy brainworms lmao. But here it is, the end of a terrific journey!

The permet stress really took its toll upon Suletta after her bout with Eri but that won't stop our girl from trying to save her family. So rough to see though.

Gotta say, besides Nika and Chuchu, Aliya is easily my fav Earth House kid. She's into divination, takes care of animals, and is just so chill

Surprise Surprise SAL are being cheeky assholes. They don't care what Delling/Benerit has to say since this is just a grasp for power on their behalf. They have all the cards atm with that WMD

This was nice I guess, but I really dislike him so I just rolled my eyes lmao. I guess the one Lauda stan is happy he got screentime.

For Mio to keep entreating Prospera is admirable on her part. She knows it might fall on deaf ears but she has to try for the sake of her future wife and hellish mother-in-law. It was so good how her faith in Suletta never wavers. She knows Suletta is coming and isn't surprised once she shows with Aerial

And Suletta demonstating her growth by ignoring Prospera's command? Top-tier fr fr. Loved that entire exchange and call back to ep12

I don't mind 4 but it is painfully obvious he was slotted into this role because of the truncated re-write. 'I guess I'm like her' No sir, you were explicitly not in S1 LMAO! But I guess they needed a newtype to overpower Eri even though it doesn't narratively make sense for 4 to be one. Ah well, in another world where Okouchi got the seasons he wanted ;-;. It was a nice send off nonetheless

Rainbow party permet is so cool, pride Gundam!! I wasn't too keen on Calibarn's design before, tho I love the broom, the rainbow really sells it for me. And that coven of gundams?? So cool. Schwarzette usage here, abysmal pilot, and wealth of unused symbolism stings a bit. They so clearly had an arc planned but had to cut it :/ I would love to see the initial draft before cuts were made

MIOMIO DISSOLVES BENERIT. Hell yeah. Had a feeling she would choose to go this route. Also, the stone cold way she stares down the barrel of a gun... Ma'am, my heart <3 The best peace princess ever

This hit me in the feels. Suletta forgiving her mother, Eri begging for all of them to be a family, and Prospera seeing the ghosts of Vanadis smiling at her lovingly. It was everything to me.

The soundless fake-out as Mio believes Suletta is dead was cruel and brilliant. The horror in her eyes that morphs into weepy happiness when Suletta awakens will stay with me for a long time. They even did the little gundam helmet bop again!

Shaddiq taking the fall for everything was good of him, but it feels a bit too neat haha (They had to wrap up loose threads hastily and it shows) He really is an interesting character that, in a longer run, could have been amazing

Surprise! Sulemio got happily married during the timeskip and now Mio has to suffer a keychain's negging. Super funny outcome but I hope Eri can move between devices or else that's a bit hellish

Mio stealing Shaddiq's highly trained girlsquad is amazing. Ain't no one getting to the president of GUND-ARM without a fight. This also opens up the possibility for more Sabanika, so excellent decision all around

THE RINGS!!!! Ahh any nitpicks are nothing compared to sheer happiness I feel when seeing them. They fought and suffered so hard for this ending and it was all worth it! Eri and Prospera sharing in their joy is the cherry on top~

This image is my fav. Suletta is such a special protagonist and her relationship with Miorine broke ground in a legacy franchise no less. They are in love! They married! And no one can take that from them. Thank you GWitch, I love you lots. This ride has been unforgettable from the beginning <3

[ultrainfinitepit]

Hello Tumblr followers, it's October and a lot is happening! First and foremost, the Eldritch Saints leftovers are finally listed. New pins, prints, stickers, and keychains are available now in my Etsy shop. Many of these items have been sent to my stockists as well.

Speaking of Kickstarter campaigns, if you missed the Angelology III campaign, the pre-order store is open until October 14 2023. Lots of pins, stickers, and keychains - including some awesome guest artist designs - are available for pre-order. If you miss the pre-order, you will have to wait until any leftovers are available after the campaign.

Back to new shop items: in addition to the Eldritch Saints pins, I have even more new pins available! Charity pins for the Maui Strong Fund and Assistance Dogs of the West are now available. My Film Noir Monsters are also available: there are a limited number of full sets, individual pins, and blind bags. 

This month's seconds pins are Penemue, Percy de Rolo, Archangel Samiel, and Mistress of Darkness. 

To make room for all the new pins, older ones have retired from my Etsy shop. You can still find them with my stockists. If you're curious about what pins I've made, I've updated my pin catalog. If you have restock requests, you can make those in this Google form. I generally don't reprint any pins once sold out, but if a design is popular enough I'll consider making a new variant. So if you have a variant idea, you can include that in your request.

Anyway, returning once again to new shop items: new stickers are also available! Rat Kings, Biblically Accurate Barbie, and a glitter version of Original Character Brainworms are now listed in my shop. New keychains are available too, including Be Not Afraid Jon, Biblically Accurate Barbie, Throne Angel, Little Guy Seraph, and Angelic Messengers keychains.

On to more general news for October. This month I am working on drawing original angel designs for Angeltober 2023. You can follow along on social media. Some of these designs might turn into pins next year! So you can let me know if you like any in particular.

Since we're in the last stretch of 2023, I thought I'd do a recap of my upcoming plans.

First, let's look ahead to November, where I anticipate a lot will also be happening. November 24-25 2023 I'll be at the SJMade holiday fair, so I'll be working on items for that. The Cowboy Monsters, Trigun Cowboys, and a few other pins weren't quite ready in time for this update, so I'll be saving them for November. I also have some recolors of pins, including Wolf Knight and Deadwale, that might be ready by then. My plan for these November items is to a list a small quantity as usual at the beginning of the month, and save the rest for the fair. Any leftovers will be listed right after the fair, so you can expect two shop updates that month.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, I will be working on crossing off some more pins from my self-funded to-do list: including original designs, and more fanart pins for Spiderverse, Better Call Saul, and Trigun.

I'm planning to close my Etsy shop December 8 2023, and reopen it sometime in 2024. That will be your last chance to grab any last minute gifts. My stockists will remain open so you can purchase from them while my Etsy shop is closed. 

Next year I'm running my last two planned Kickstarter campaigns: Angelology IV: Angels of Extinction, which will feature designs inspired by endangered and extinct creatures; and Pride Angels, featuring angel pins in the colors of different Pride flags. This won't be my last Kickstarter campaigns ever, but probably my last for a while.

I will also have a much shorter list of pins I'm planning to self-fund in 2024: it includes some more fanart pins, the rest of the Zodiac and Astrological Putti, and a series inspired by the angelic hierarchy. I'm considering making a pin club on Ko-fi so I can share those plans and help fund those pins, without relying on Kickstarter. I would also post manufacturer reviews and merch previews. Let me know if that would be something you'd be interested in!

In 2024, outside of the Kickstarters I'm planning to scale down my pin making to focus on making other merch, I have a long backlog of stickers, keychains, and other items I've set aside this year to focus on pins. Pin making will always be my greatest passion so I don't think I'll ever stop completely, but it does take a lot of time, effort, and money and I think it's time to ease up on it so I can work on other things. I'm also looking to diversify my inventory of items, so if you have any suggestions you can send them my way. That's my early New Year's resolution anyway, we'll see if I follow through!

That's all for this update, which ended up being a long one. I'll leave you all with a link to my About Page/FAQ if you haven't already given it a read; and if you have any questions you'd like to ask anonymously, you can send them to my Tumblr ask box. Have a wonderful week.

[findafight]

Hope you're okay with my stray starbara thoughts bc oh my god you've given me brainworms like no other!!!

They're getting serious and telling each other things that they've never told anyone else before. Barb tells Steve that she worries that Nancy is outgrowing her and their friendship is slowly dissolving. She felt it before but it's worse now after the Upside Down and Nancy is charging her way through the journalism world. And she doesn't know what to do. Steve tells her that he does all these things to impress his father but he's not sure if he likes the man he's becoming. Especially since sometimes he's not sure if his dad even loves him. He sure as shit doesn't love his mother what with all the cheating his dad does. He talks about how lonely he gets in that big empty house by himself and she talks about the stares she gets now that she's Poor Barbara Holland who got sick from a gas leak and got lost in the woods.

Steve invites Barb around to use the pool. He talks about how the water will be good for her physical therapy - and while he's not technically wrong it slowly dissolves into them goofing off, splashing each other, and kissing in the pool loungers. She doesn't feel as self conscious with Steve there with her being supportive the whole time.

The first time he lends her his letterman jacket she rolls her eyes at what a fucking move that was Harrington, oh my god. But she blushes and wears the jacket and Steve smiles and looks so happy and smiley he's practically dizzy with it.

He tells her his hair care secrets and she promises not to tell anyone. Barb lets him do her hair for her one time and it comes out so soft and looks so good and she really likes the feeling of his nails gently scratching against her scalp. She knits him a scarf , and it comes out a little wonky with a couple of missed stitches, and all she can see are the imperfections, but Steve loves it and wears it all winter.

He gets his summer job working at Scoops and he hates his dad for forcing him into it but Robin seems cool - if a bit standoffish to him at the moment. The first time Barb comes by to visit while he's on the clock he pulls out the "set sail on an ocean of flavour with me" speech and it's so lame and so dorky but Barb leans over the counter to kiss him on the cheek when he gets her a free cone.

She gets nightmares of the Upside Down still - though they're not as frequent anymore - and they're horrible but if Steve's there he'll hold her close so she can feel his warmth, and his heartbeat, and he'll run his hand along her back until she feels safe again. She returns the favour after the mall burns down and he dreams of being tortured. Of almost dying. Of being drugged and out of control of himself while others were in danger. She holds him this time and reminds him that he's not alone, and he's safe.

idk they're in love!!

I am not only fine with it, I encourage it!!! Send me so many Starbara thoughts! Brainworms forever!!

yes yes them slowly opening up to each other, being soft together!! How Steve doesn't know what he wants from the future, how Barb feels Nancy pulling away (even though it's Barb who got the shiny, new, popular boyfriend) and how she feels she did the same thing to Robin, way back when. How Barb's parents mean well but they're suffocating in their over-protectiveness and she can't even properly talk to them about what she went through. How Steve doesn't want to become his Father, and how especially doesn't want to become his mother, how he thinks he might not be doomed to it when he's with Barb.

She tells him about the Upside Down, how cold and dark it was and how scared she had been. About the nightmares where it feels like she'll never be warm or able to breathe easily again. How sometimes she can't sleep until she's called the Byers and made sure Will is alright and how sometimes she gets a call from him in the middle of the night doing the same. She tells Steve that some days, he's the only thing about her life that she feels she chose. When her parents were pleased she wasn't distracted by boys, she chose Steve; when Nancy was a bit surprised(though encouraging) at how excited Barb was for the party, she chose Steve; after everything, when the world had tipped right-side up but she was surrounded by doctors and government agents and confusion, Barb chose Steve; how she wants to keep choosing him. (Steve holds her tight, right then. Kisses her forehead as she buries her face in his neck and tells her that he's here, she's safe, it's over. Doesn't tell her quite yet that he's pretty sure she's the first person to choose to love him.)

They float in his pool, no bad memories in it, no last-seen pictures of a girl dangling her legs over the side. Just them, chatting and splashing and laughing and kissing. Feeling like the teenagers they're supposed to be. When he first suggested it she joked that he's just making excuses to see her in her swim suit, and it's a bit self deprecating, because why would he? but Steve just smirked, shrugged, obviously dragged his eyes up and down her body, and said "it worked, didn't it?"

They get looks when he pulls Cliche Boyfriend Stunts and how openly gone on her he is. @jestyzestyn on the first post pointed out that beauty standards and 80's tropes played into the original Nacy-Barb-Steve dynamic. So not only is she Poor Barbara Holland, she's also a not conventionally Pretty Girl going out with thee most desirable boy at school. There's whispers that Steve feels sorry for her--guilty, after she went missing from his house. Once, someone asked why he was with the girl who got poisoned by the gas leak, and he gave them such a scathing look that no one asked again. (the answer is, of course, that he loves her. She makes him feel safe, and loved, and that there's more to life than their dinky hometown.)

She teases that maybe since she has his junior varsity jacket, she'll have to make him a sweater one of these days. (And she knows about the Curse, how making a boyfriend a sweater will inevitably lead to a breakup. but what is the time and effort of knitting a sweater to finding out monsters exist and fighting one, on the off chance it'll help save her? probably even, she thinks.) He says she better make sure it matches his scarf.

Okay lighter side, Steve lifeguarded the summer of '84, and this is prime time for girlfriend to ogling him. But it is also prime people-who-are-not-your-gf-ogling-you-time. Barb is like Steve. those girls were flirting with you. If they wanted an actual pool noodle they would have gone to the office the first time you told them to. and he does his confused puppy head tilt going "why would they do that? everybody knows I'm dating you?" and she doesn't know if she needs to explain the concept of trying to steal someone's man and also that he's hot to him or not. She's like babe.....ok. (there was some jealousy at first but tbh after a guy has told you he loves you and told you how much his parents infidelity bothers him and also literally fought a monster to save you [she isn't letting that one go. nancy makes sense. Nancy is her best friend and is like a dog with a bone for mysteries. Jonathan also makes sense. His brother was missing too. She had been seeing Steve barely a month before everything. who DOES that? Steve. Steve does.] you kinda grow secure in your relationship)

(in the fall, after they get to the tunnels, Steve gives her an out. looking at her through his goggles. He tells her she doesn't have to go back down there, doesn't have to touch the Upside Down again, but she clenches her jaw and tells him that he's concussed and there's no way she's letting him go down alone.)

but oof. lifeguarding you can't get distracted so even tho Barb gets to ogle hot bf steve is a professional and does not get to ogle hot gf the same :( '85 is when they really get their flirt on during company time. He tries on the outfit and shows her at home and he's like "this is literally the worst day of my life. this is horrible."

and she goes "well, hon. at least it makes your butt look good?"

and Steve huffs and crosses his arms over his chest and says "my butt makes everything look good. Let's not give any credit to the sailor suit."

"okay okay."

And every time she comes in he does the "ocean of flavour" spiel and she's dying. he's soooo lame. she loves him so much. she kisses him every time about it.

Robin is a bit cold and standoffish because steve is not only the guy who never paid attention to Tammy Thompson, he's also the guy currently dating Robin's childhood best friend who sort of ditched her. It's many messy feelings inside our girl. But Barb does try to make amends with Robin, and they do rekindle their friendship (and gang up on Steve)(literally I think it'd be so funny if Steve wanted to be Robin's friend sooo bad. world's most giant squish on her. sooo embarrassing. And Brab is playfully like oooh do you have a cruuush on Robin? and steve is like absolutely not I am in love with YOU i just want Robin to live next door and also share cat custody what's not to get?)

When Dustin comes back, talking about Suzie, he looks right at Steve, starry-eyed, and says "she my Barb." hkadsjhfkashd

After the Russian base Barb spends a lot of nights in bed with two other people, shaking them out of nightmares she doesn't want to comprehend, not really knowing what to do but loving them anyways.