#the vibes in camp used to be Worse and it was INTERESTING

[regrettablemeasure]

honestly i guess it's a good thing larian "toned down" the more "disagreeable' parts of the companions personalities from EA (even though I really liked that aspect) bc some of yall are so brainpoisoned on things being Correct and Good all the time that if it's not fucking blues clues you lose your shit

[physalian]

7 Misused Tropes (And How to Improve Them)

Tropes in isolation aren’t inherently bad, but a lot of them are prone to poor execution. Each one of these probably could have a whole post by themselves. A few of these used to be good but have since fallen by the wayside as their original meaning has been lost.

7. Dramatic Miscommunication

You know the ones. I think it’s worse when the story is otherwise good, the writers just could not come up with a better way to get X alone or send Y off on the necessary side quest than the lowest of low hanging fruit.

Two essential ingredients for fixing this trope: Precedent and consequences

Precedent–have the character doing the missassuming already be prone to jumping to conclusions, already suspicious or insecure, or misled by a third party so this looks inevitable, instead of pulled out of your ass.

Consequences–usually these are big blow up fights that fizzle out without any impact on the plot once they fulfill their purpose, but if it’s a nasty enough fight, characters shouldn’t just forgive and forget. While they might not completely ruin relationships, it should have characters taking a step back and either second guessing where they stand, or using this blowup to fix an underlying issue in said relationship.

6. Love Triangles

Good Love Triangle for the first 3 seasons: Elena/Stefan/Damon (TVD).

Bad Love Triangle for the entire series: Bella/Edward/Jacob (Twilight).

The difference between them (besides time to flesh out both candidates) is that both brothers brought valid pros and cons to Elena’s life, both got the chance to be with her, and Elena’s whole arc wasn’t solely focused on the agonizing choice of which brother she should pick. Regardless of which camp you’re in, Stefan brought stability, that classic cliché high school romance, mostly all good vibes. He never challenged her or talked down to her or got aggressive with her. Damon did the opposite, for better or for worse, and we know which direction the show went.

On the other hand, Jacob never for one second stood a chance with Bella and the narrative wasn’t kidding anyone. They never so much as went on one date (unless you count the motorcycle ride) and it seemed like Bella was only letting him hang on for pity’s sake. Theoretically he brought pros to the table that Edward couldn’t (like, idk, being alive), but the narrative never explored what could be done with him. He just ended up being the Nice Guy friend who then decided it’d be hot to lust after an infant.

5. Agency-less Chosen Ones

These tend to be wish fulfillment characters that bring nothing to the story and have no discernible skills, yet are constantly in the middle of the action, have all the love interests fawning over them, and are Important and Critical to saving the world… because the narrative said so. They don’t make a single choice the entire plot except to move forward or stagnate, chosen by the gods or a prophecy or fate and destiny.

The problem: These characters walk with the crutch of “I’m the chosen one thus I don’t need a reason to exist in the story” and that’s just not a satisfying narrative shortcut. So? Give them agency. Even if they’re chosen by some ancient prophecy, you still have to convince the reader why the Universe wasn’t just talking out of its ass.

Good example: Emmet from Lego Movie literally says he’s useless and has no skills and cannot think outside the Lego box. He’s supposed to be as generic as painfully possible and when he does have creative ideas, they’re supposed to be asinine and stupid. And yet. He might be physically dragged around by the other characters, but he has plenty of choices, plenty of opposition to what’s happening, plenty to say about the state of his world, and his ideas do matter and his intimate knowledge of the instructions and playing by the rules is how they win.

4. Bad Boy Love Interests

These guys were supposed to be counter-culture icons, standing up to The Man for the little guy because he knows the system is broken and rigged. He’s an affront to the stereotypical nuclear lifestyle, he resents a robotic and soulless office job and wants to create art or music or in some way benefit his world and isn’t going to play nice just to get his way. He exists in contrast to the nuclear female protagonist: Conservative, demure, rule-following caged bird who falls in love with him because he shows her that life isn’t meant to be lived in The Man’s cage. He respects the authority that deserves respect, the teachers who actually give a shit, the janitors, the librarians, but probably not the principal or the police or the local politicians, because he knows they don’t respect him and respect is a two-way street. He’s probably a mama’s boy or at the very least loves his parents (if they’re alive) and while he might engage in a little property damage like graffiti, it’s for a good cause.

This dude is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE: Abusive, controlling, aggressive, or condescending to his love interest. He’s not supposed to be an overprotective stalker or plagued by insecure jealousy over any other man in his love interest’s life. He’s not rude to his friends or arrogant about his own smarts and doesn’t think he knows best about every little thing in the world. He’s not sexist or racist just to make himself feel better and he doesn’t pressure his love interest into sex because she owes him or whatever.

Ahem.

Please bring back classic bad boys. That is all.

3. Major Character Death (for shock value)

I remember the implosion of the Walking Dead fandom after they killed Carl, one of the very few characters who was supposed to make it to the end, for… various sketchy reasons and I could never figure out what was true. Some theorized that his actor was aging out of the ‘child actor’ payscale and they didn’t want to pay him as an adult and while I have no proof, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.

Carl died after getting bit in just one of those hectic moments where he got unlucky, while doing something noble and stupid. In isolation, it fits the nature of the “anyone can die” show but man did it just come across in poor taste.

Obviously “for shock value” shouldn’t be the reason you do anything in your story but there is still a way to pull it off without it causing a riot: Make sure they get killed in a non-contrived way. If you plan on killing off one of your heroes suddenly, either make it bitterly ironic, or make it a situation that this character would absolutely get themselves into. The more it “fits” the less likely audiences will see the hand of the author coming in just to break the character’s fictional contract.

2. The Power Inside You All Along

This trope is usually disappointing because it tends to melt a character’s whole arc down into something pointless—this whole adventure was apparently useless if they didn’t actually need to grow or change or challenge their conceptions of the world. They could have got up off the couch as joe shmoe and beat the villain day one.

While that’s probably not what their creator intends, ‘it was inside you all along *wink*’ tends to feel that way, as it discourages internal conflict. Usually, their creator is likely trying to convey the message that one need not change, that it’s what’s inside them already that makes them special.

I present to you once again Kung Fu Panda’s “there is no secret ingredient” i.e. “the power inside you”. The difference is. Po still has plenty of internal conflict: his own self-confidence. He begins the movie eager but inexperienced and a bit oblivious, fanboying it up around his heroes. He and Shifu both insult his weight and his lacking kung fu skills, and his arc is learning self-confidence, learning how to use his weight and the body he has to fight in a way that the villain isn’t prepared for, to where Po can shit-talk him to his face during the final fight.

Most failures of this trope don’t bother exercising their protagonist. They’re pissy and resistant for the entire story and only win when the narrative agrees they were right all along. Therefore, no change, no conflict, no resolution.

1. Strong Female Characters

So many of these read like "slapped boops on a male character". They don’t work for many reasons (usually being very preachy with their agendas), but they especially don’t work when by trying to be pro-feminist, they’re still reinforcing masculine standards. A lot of people, when Captain Marvel came out, said “you didn’t have any issues with Tony Stark being an asshole but now you do when he’s a woman” which. No.

Tony was an asshole, but being an asshole was the whole point of his character, and he got humbled right quick by getting blown up and held hostage. “Proof that Tony Stark Has a Heart” and all that.

Carol was an asshole with nothing to substantiate it, and never got a reality check. She had amnesia so we didn’t get insight into who she was before to understand this transition into dickishness and was so OP, she wasn’t ever physically or emotionally challenged like Tony was.

But the other thing is this: Slapping boobs on a male character with a slew of toxic masculine traits also says that to be a successful woman, you must behave like a man. It swings so far from the femme fatale sexy leg lamp that it comes around and eats its own tail. These characters are just mean and insecure and build themselves up by tearing down the men around them.

So. Calhoun from Wreck it Ralph is this exact trope done extremely well. She’s aggressive, arrogant, loud, rude, and cynical. For about 10% of her arc. The movie immediately throws her into a situation where her strengths are basically useless—she’s stuck in Candy Land and has to rely on someone who is the antithesis of her game and character to make it out. The movie also shows you why she’s cynical via her tragic backstory.

Not only that, she’s more than just a heap of toxic masculinity in a pixie cut. She laughs, she cries, she admits when she’s wrong, she has a soft side, a gentle side, a caring side, and remains a badass through and through.

Or, once again rolling out Tigress from Kung Fu Panda: Proud, aggressive, the snubbed chosen one, cynical, mean, and overconfident in her abilities. Tigress nearly gets her entire team killed in her arrogance. She’s allowed to be wrong, very wrong. She also has her soft moments and, like Calhoun, has a very valid reason for being jaded, and is still shown to be capable of softness and nurturing during the evacuation.

Third example to hammer home that I don’t hate badass women: Andromache. Jaded, overconfident, short-tempered, aggressive, and a little mean-spirited. Tragic explanatory backstory? Check. She is also caring and loyal to her team, allowed to get emotional, allowed to be wrong and fail and lose, and kind of the surrogate mom of the team, who can also laugh and joke around and have light-hearted moments.

Whether the character is a man or a woman, being an arrogant asshole who takes zero accountability and refuses to admit when they’re wrong and never loses, audiences aren’t going to like them.

[ganondoodle]

( totk rant?)

i have talked alot about my problems with totk in detail, as most of you probably know by now- but there really is a vibe of big ambitions but then not committing to it throughout the game

they want to have that building mechanic in it no matter what in a world that isnt in any way build around it, mister "freedom = good, linear = bad" guy wanting to give you ultimate freedom in the game (which imo leads to it being nothing again) but not committing to it and it creates a really toxic loop of things being more punishing than rewarding

you can build a fuckton of weird vehicles, but big parts, ESPECIALLY the glider, is on limited time so you cant actually go anywhere you want; they know giving you absolut freedom will remove any possible challenge- so they limit it by making the glider part timed, but then they cant do that for every single part bc it would be almost impossible to create anything that works well when every part is on a timer and you dont know how much of its lifespan is left bc you accidentally hit a fan once so now its uneven with the other one AND the more parts you have the more it uses battery, it makes sense, so you cant build soemthign super overpowered right at the start and its just kinda logical, but it leads to you being incentivised to build something with the fewest parts that dont have a timer-

then theres the battery power, which they try to limit by putting its upgrades behind multiple different currency exchanges, which is frustrating and leads to alot of grinding and gets overpowered really fast (it works against itself too that said currencies are all placed in the most undeveleoped and repetetive area of the game and are all never involved in anything interesting, its reused old enemy camps and the same mines everywhere, theres not a single reward in the underground that actually feels rewarding imo)

then you get the autobuild thing, so you can skip the building part of the building mechanic that is the main selling point of tha darn game, bc they know it can get frustrating to rebuild your things over and over so they give you a skip button for that if you are one of those players that doesnt like it BUT THEN they cant jsut let you do it for free so they give it a price, either spend the same currency you need for the exchange for the one you need for battery upgrades or spend parts you collected- both of which are things players generally save up and refuse to use (like the -never use any health potions bc what if i need it more at some point- thing is a problem for a reason)

then theres the added thing of the building stuff despawning incredibly quickly, im gonna guess its otherwise a performance problem (that the game is already struggling hard with) but it makes the entire already bad loop of trying to fix a problem with bandaids over and over even worse, you dont want to go too far away from your vehicles bc it will despawn and waste all that you used to build it, its like a leash to you stopping you from actually using it for more freedom- and potentially adds another annyoance bc you might try to bring it with you as far as you can, a monster truck in the depths you spend all your parts on gets stuck on the first bits of terrain you run into and you desperately try to get it out without destroying it, and if you cant you need to spend a ton of resources to build it again, even with autobuild

which is how you get the hoverbike, stupidly overpowered and boring but doing anything else is just less efficient in every way, it uses the least amount of battery, never breaks, is only 3 parts to rebuild

(i know me in particular doesnt enjoy the building in totk at all, for all those reasons and more ...... shiekah ........ and i know you CAN still choose to doing it more creatively, but you never need to, its entirely based around YOU making it fun for yourself, and i dont think its that controverisal to say a game should be fun and challenging without you having to create all the fun yourself and set yourself limit it all yourself)

similar goes for the dungeons, they heard you want the dungeons of old times back, but their strict adherance to freedom (which they themsleves contradict) leads to them being more breakable and less dungeony than even the titans in botw, they cant make it linear, thats BAD, so you can do any puzzle in any order, it cant build on any of the others bc you need to be able to do it when you want (the only one going slightly against that is the lightning one? maybe?), totks dungeons dont even limit that you cant climb them (even the titans in botw recognized that makign it easy to break so they are made of the same unclimbable material like the shrines and other shiekah tech) and the new abilities make them laughably easy to break ( .. im not even gonna mention the water temple one bc ... you dont even need to do anything there to break it to make it easier)

they wanted to cater to people wanting old dungeons, but didnt commit to it, making them WORSE dungeons than the titans with the only bonus being they got different designs and a longer build up to it (that often feels more like artificial filler than actually part of it ... like the missing lore tablet at the zoras and the missing part is a few steps away from it at best)

(ALL THE WHILE they DO limit you in SHRINES, you cant climb the walls again, for some reason, you can climb any other sonau structure though, why not that? idk, but dont limit it enough either bc you can break it all in really cheap and unsatisfying ways with ultrahand and time reversal alone- and they CANT limit those bc those abilities are the main ways to solve the 'puzzles'- botws abilities were .. well, limited in what they could do making them much more balanced, but moving sth with ultrahand and then stepping on it and time reversing it can be the boring solution to any 'puzzle', the best and only really good shrines are the ones that take all you shit bc it wactually forces you to be creative BC ITS LIMITING YOU)

(funnily enough a big possible reason why they removed the bombs from botw is bc of the glitches with it ...... like the new stuff isnt even worse and you dont even have to try lol)

people speculated on there being underground exploration due to the first trailer? people are worried about reusing the surface? ok they put the entirety of the surface map into the game again, but dont commit to it being a full thing, its horribly underdeveloped and filled with either nothing or reused filler material, while also neglecting changing anything substantial about the surface, and then the sky isalnds they even reduced and really there isnt anything of substance on there either besides the tutorial (hey, seriously, if one of botws most defining feature is its wide and empty sky why the hell would you decide to use that same map to put in your sky islands idea in), not commiting to one idea but doing all of them badly

ganondorf? well, they sure put him in there, but really what does he do? fuck all, the entire actual game hes jsut marinating in his own miasma juice for no reason, he doesnt have any presecne in the game, all he gets its a few scenes in the "story" that are told through memory cutscenes in a stupidly mega distant past i dont give a fuck about and all he does is go through the most stereotypical villain checklist of both actions and speech, they want ganondorf in there but dont commit to him ACTUALLY being there (listen i love ganondorf but really calamtiy ganon was more interesting than totk ganondorf ok im SORRY they did him so dirty)

they want dragon zelda and link 'losing' his arm be a big epic sacrifice but then .. again, dont commit to it, they tell you its oooh so irreversible and whatever and then at the end just fukcing reverse it, with no build up at all, and NONE of your own input, it just happens, and its not JUST zelda but also links arm, reversing it BOTH even and you dont even need to have all shrines (that are supposedly to cleanse your arm of miasma, i guess thats a non problem if you just stab the source of it to death instead)

they want it to be a sequel but also its own game, not committing to either and leaving us with this weird .... more alternative universe thing, vague references to botw but also acting like it never happened, slight changes, like zeldas hair, to make her seem different when shes exactly the same (you cant imply waifu zelda would ever age and not look like a little doll) and ignoring anything about her character from botw (no im serious, ooh shes nerdy for 3 minutes at the start and one time in a written thing from some servant of da royals in the past and thats it, interest in the shiekah? whos shiekah?- if anything her character is reversed, really having even less agency than in botw, that one decision to dragon is like, it really doesnt matter and not really her decision bc she didnt have a choice and it gets reversed anyway without her even remembering)

even retreading all of botws points (but doing it worse imo), but then attempting to differentiate itself from it by removing a big thing that made it what it is (shiekah) without giving it any or any sensible explanation among more, not committing to either sequel or AU and so doing both incredibly badly

(not quite the point but what i have been questioning for a while ... they way raurus abilities work ... so do all sonau have those? was it just a normal thing to have? could all sonau just glue shit together and jump through ceilings? he never uses anything of that when we see him? why is it just in the shrines at the start and its like .. he just gives it to you ...?? huh??is it part of his arm .. jewelry??)

(anyway, tin foil hat moment but it just feels like either there was a huge internal fight about everything or they neglected it in favor for something else, like say, a movie that earns them billions and is faster and cheaper to make than a game... or just dont care anymore i guess, idk which is worse tbh)

[cybertron-smash-or-pass]

A bit of a loaded question, I know, but do you have any TF ships you prefer and would like to share?

I need you to be aware that you're opening pandora's box here. The vibes range anywhere from "god this is hot" to "god this is cute" to "their dynamic is so fucking interesting and i want to study them under laboratory conditions" to "this hurts so much and I need the drama, I am CRYING" to smashing barbie dolls together. I have crackships you ain't even THOUGHT about. I throw ships at the wall just to see if they stick. I like a lot of ships. Arguably too damn many. So many that I'm putting this under a cut to spare people from the long post. So many that I have to sort them by continuity so you're not staring at an unorganized list longer than do you love the color of the sky.

TFA

shockbee I feel has a lot of the potential for shockwave fearing what happens when bee finds out he's not longarm. Like a lot of the scenes in auto boot camp read to me like shockwave really did want bee as an ally while he climbs the ranks, and there's some juicy potential for shocker starting out as just using him until he actually catches feelings. Especially in aus where bee really did join the elite guard. Like can you imagine the drama. The heartbreak. The trust issues. Bee realizing he never really knew the guy he could trust most. Wondering if he's even safe to be around. If anything was even real. Shockwave wondering the same things. Hhhhhhhhh.

I do enjoy shockblurr conceptually but I'm not crazy about how they're usually portrayed in the fandom bc I feel like we're all forgetting that shockwave is a ball of anxiety and murder, and Blurr is a straight laced fuckin nerd who can't shut his mouth. An overpowered, highly capable nerd, but a nerd still. I like what the artist katzske does with them a lot tho.

I'm also a blitzbee enjoyer but on a less "bee can fix him and itll be so sweet" level and more "god imagine how annoying they'd be together." Looney Tunes levels of fucking with people. Either that or bumblebee is just horny on main and really likes the thought of bagging a con, but then he goes and catches feelings.

prowlbulk owns my entire heart. They're so sweet on each other and prowl really respects and appreciates bulkhead way more than bulky's used to. And bulkhead admires so much of prowl's skill and perspective. They work so well together as a couple and it's fucking adorable. With a hint of tragedy bc. Well. You know.

Bulkbee is also incredibly cute bc I'm a sucker for besties that very slowly realize they love each other so much it makes them look stupid. Good in romantic or qpr flavors. Bee already climbs all over bulkhead like a squirrel, they're so fuckin affectionate and very very stupid in social settings.

I like Optimus and blackarachnia from a drama standpoint bc God. They are tragic. They are MESSY. I genuinely think there's no happy ending for them. The trust is gone. But they still miss each other so much and they just CANT move on, so they keep stringing each other along. They're just hurting themselves and each other every time one does anything nice for the other. It's the kinda shit that just slowly rips your heart out. OP please don't text your ex. OP pLEASE

Megop is a classic but I feel we as a fandom underutilize how much Optimus pisses off Megatron. He is an asshole cat knocking shit off the counter for attention. Megs lets him be worse when he is so so fucking tired of being good. He loves that he hates him and he hates that he loves him. Full on "my esteemed rival" "dearly detested." Fighting each other is cathartic and addictive. Megatron finds it infuriating but he can't deny how much he likes having a worthy opponent, how fitting it is that the cosmos sent him so deadly a nemesis, and yet how lame it is that he was so forgettable at first so now he feels dumb being mildly obsessed with him. Optimus is just glad he has someone who doesn't expect him to be perfect and nice and upstanding. He can vent out a lot of his less noble feelings or impulses that he's had completely repressed for ages. The pressure's off in a lot of ways. And I think in an enemies to lovers sense, watching them figure out how to make that setup and that very odd mutual desire to be in each other's lives into something healthier could be really compelling. Or tragic in a "why did I let myself need you? Why the fuck did I let myself need you?" way.

Beeprowl is funny but I only really like it in a "you annoy me SO MUCH let's make out about it" way. Nothing committed, just dispelling the tension without having to kill each other. It is just kinda nice seeing them have genuinely sweet moments though. Squidbob ass relationship.

Lugnut and Strika are the perfect Decepticon power couple and I love them so much. So very much. Lugnut loves his big terrifying wife capable of leveling cities, and she loves her sweet devoted husband who could throw her across the room. I think they break chairs over each other's heads for fun and have been trying to seduce Megatron into a threesome for ages.

Shockwave and Megatron are also incredibly good. The loyalty. The "I commit my whole existence to you. I am yours, in mind body and soul. I will go wherever you need me to, I will put myself in immeasurable danger for you, just please say I'm doing a good job" and "all my efforts would be lost without you. In a world where I have been vulnerable and terrified, where I have been stabbed in the back by people I thought I could wholly trust, I can look at you and know, unwaveringly, you won't do the same. I trust you completely." It's Delicious. It's absolutely codependent but god it's tasty.

Also honestly? Bulkhead and the constructicons could make a pretty cute throuple. He wants them to be better. They want him to be worse. He just wants them to do honest work and they want him to stop letting stuffy, elitist autobot society control him so much. They love each other, they're friends (even if the constructicons don't totally remember the first night they met him). And they really do enjoy each other's company. They're just guys being dudes. Just dudes being guys. Just guys being gays. (It's also just nice when bulkhead gets to be the smaller one, scrapper totally carries him around like a big ol' cat).

I really like prowl being torn between lockdown and jazz. They're the devil and angel on his shoulders. Lockdown tempting him into relapsing, feeling himself fall into old habits, forsaking everything he's learned about patience and respect and being conscientious of the world around him. Jazz picking him back up when he slips, making him WANT to keep being better. And prowl can't decide if he wants to be loved in spite of all his toxic traits or BECAUSE of them. It's got me in a chokehold, your honor.

Megastar is fun in tfa because 1. It's implied Megatron never actually abused starscream while they were on the same side (the first thing starscream says after waking up from being shot is "YOU DARE STRIKE ME, MEGATRON?" which reads to me like this is a new development). Megs doesn't actually hurt anyone working for him other than Sumdac, who he fucking hates (at least not on-screen), and the only reason he was as aggro to starscream post-revival was because he knew screamer is the reason he spent all that fucking time as just a severed head. He used to actually trust him, sort of, even if he was a scheming, sycophantic little weasel. And 2. It's pretty obvious they have history together. I genuinely truly believe they were exes and Starscream only planted a bomb on him because he couldn't be fucking normal about the divorce. You look at how they bitch at each other in deep space and then immediately fall into what is most likely their old dynamic of getting things done and shooting the shit and tell me they never had an intense romantic stint that went horribly wrong. Starscream calls him Meggy in his internal logs for fucks sake.

Oh also sumdac x megatron. It started as a crackship of mine but I really love the idea of sumdac feeling legitimately guilty for taking Megatron apart and unknowingly violating him the way he did, even if Megatron is terrible. Like the dynamic of "you lied to me" "if I told you who I really was, I would be dead. I don't owe you the truth when you held me captive. I was vulnerable. I was TERRIFIED. I did what I had to in order to keep myself safe. And you come to ME with accusations of doing you wrong? When YOU held all the power? And then when I'd taken back the power you left me without, made you feel what I felt, I'm a monster?" "I never meant to hurt you" "Well you did. And now you know just how much damage you did." Like it's such an interesting angle, ESPECIALLY when you consider that sumdac probably grew to legitimately care about Megatron while he was in his lab. He wanted to do right by him. He wanted to see him restored and thriving. He was his robot buddy that made a birthday gift for his kid once. Some part of him probably misses him after he's gone, some part of him probably feels guilty too, even through all the rage and hurt and fear and betrayal. That's complicated feelings!! That's juicy!!!!!

I like the thought of Shockwave and Optimus but that's mostly for sexy reasons. Something about a big, smooth talking, scary cryptid monster, very well spoken and elegant, seducing Good, Upstanding Autobot Optimus to The Dark Side. This is mostly because Optimus is a huge nerd and so is Shockwave. I think Shockwave could potentially pique his interest with uncensored versions of the history Optimus is already a huge dweeb about, and seal the deal with a few gentle touches and honeyed words. From Optimus's perspective this is Very Obviously a Honeypot Trap but the trouble is Shockwave is very hot and very sweet on him and starting to seem less and less evil so he's not sure how long he can keep his guard up when the temptation is this strong. He has a duty to fight Decepticons and shut out their lies but man. He's so tired. And Shockwave's berth is very warm. There is something satisfying about seeing him choose to be selfish after nearly a whole show of him taking the high road. (It's even better if he gets attached when eventually Shockwave's Cool Sexy Collected vibes falter and he sees how much of an anxious, panicky dork he actually is)

Ratchet x Arcee are also very very cute together. Old married dorks. Ratchet's so soft with her and he wants her to be okay. She genuinely likes him and he makes the nightmare she's subjected herself to bearable. "Don't call me sir, I work for a living!" They're both horrifically traumatized, they understand each other on a level most bots can't, and they can ground each other when it gets bad. God. You know they're slow dancing in the kitchen together. You know they're sickeningly domestic with each other. They are holding hands in the park on a comically small bench on earth right as we SPEAK.

I also just kind of like the idea of team prime being a polycule (other than ratchet, who is just watching the young bots having relationship drama and rolling his optics (the age gap and mentor role make me personally a little uncomfortable but I have nothing against people who do include him, they're all adults, its chill)). I like the thought of these losers getting home after a long day and collapsing into a cuddle pile, either on the couch or on the floor. They all love each other so much already, I think they should kiss about it, but they're super repressed so it's So Very Shy and Cautious and Sweet.

The same goes for the Decepticons but more in a "cons are pretty casual about sex anyway, they're in close proximity, and they tolerate each other at least so nearly everyone has a fuck buds setup with each other" way. I feel like the autobots are super repressed in that regard so the cons started leaning into being sluts to stick it to the mech along with all the other freaks shit they're cool with. God help Blackarachnia, she goes from Autobot repression to all her coworkers being sluts on main and she Does Not Know what to do about that (also it would make a lot of sense if that's why she started leaning into the femme fatale thing so hard)

TFP

Optiratch my beloved. Gay old men who would do anything for each other, even when they really don't agree on how to proceed. They're best friends, they're husbands, they're crushing on each other and they think it's unrequited, they just started dating, they've been married for eons. All of it works soooo well. They know each other well enough that they can communicate by just kinda grunting in specific ways. I need them to hold hands SO bad.

Megop is also Very Good here. Literally the most divorced robots to ever exist. Megatron NEEDS Optimus back and Optimus still holds a torch for megs, but it's so fucking funny because they're clearly on fundamentally different levels of "I miss you." Like Optimus is kinda sad and he does want the old Megatronus back, but Megatron does these whole fuckin elaborate stunts to get Optimus to pay attention to him again and then locks himself in his room with a pint of ice cream and dark energon to cry about him. Mans is NOT coping. Alternatively, Optimus is coping just as poorly on the inside and he really does still love Megatron just as much but he knows that's a selfish desire that he quiets with everything else he sacrifices about himself in the name of being a good leader. Least repressed Optimus.

Bulkhead and wheeljack should get to kiss on the mouth I think. If Arcee can call Wheeljack Bulkhead's boyfriend, and bulkhead does not deny it, logic dictates they should in fact French kiss sloppy style for a whole minute on live TV. It can happen. Only on the hub.

KOBD are adorable together, they are so unhinged and stupid and they love each other so much. Like the team rocket of the nemesis. Breakdown loves his husband soooo much and knockout misses him so bad when Silas gets him. And you KNOW they're freaks bc knockout is totally convinced that breakdown would've loved seeing how he torments Silas in bd's body. He's probably right about it too.

I also wholly support Ms. June Darby for trying to seduce Optimus. Me too girl, get that robo ass. Go get jack a new cooler dad. It's also very cute to imagine Optimus, the bigass 30 foot robot, the stoic leader of the Autobots who keeps stonefaced through just about anything, flustered and crushing on a very small and very flirty human.

For some reason the show was kind of trying to tease Bulkhead x Arcee for exactly one episode and then never again and like. Look. I understand it was a forced het ship that was there to distract people from how gay they accidentally made the show. I know it'd probably just be Arcee rebounding after losing Cliffjumper. But I think them having a fwb type relationship while she works through her feelings could be interesting. Though this could just be because Bulkhead is big sweet and comforting and him holding anyone and making them feel safe while they're Going Through it is enough to get me saying God I Wish That Were Me.

Bumblebee and Smokescreen appeal to me in the same way seemingly very hetero frat bros who are apparently a very sweet and affectionate gay couple do. It's an inherently funny irony and also theyre just both cute himbos.

TFP Megastar is horrifically unhealthy in general and there is absolutely no way in hell it could work out. Not pre-war, not post-megs-redemption, nada. Which is why it has my brain in a chokehold. This is one of the ships I like because it's fascinating and because god it HURTS. Like I have my gripes with how the show portrayed the abuse overall but there were some things they were cooking with. Starscream being an obvious victim but then turning around and inflicting it on everyone around him? Girl no, the cycle of violence and abuse!!!! Girl no, you're refusing to do the complex emotional work of accepting that what happened to you wasnt okay and thus you carry out the behaviors you've gaslit yourself into thinking are normal!!!!!! Girl no, society has failed you and you have no support systems to help you break the cycles, but you also simply refuse to try in the first place because your pride wouldn't allow it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cortical psychic patch was literally my fave showcase of their dynamic in the whole show. "I don't want to play this game anymore!" Like jfc ouch. Also the thought of post redemption Megatron lamenting how he treated Starscream, not having considered the damage he's done to him before now. Trying to make it right and only making it all worse by inserting himself into Starscream's life again and realizing how badly he's broken him, how fucked it is that Starscream seems to revere him after EVERYTHING. God. GOD. I'm in agony.

Speaking of starscream in the cycle of abuse, KOSS has postcanon potential. (Post Predacons Rising, rid does not exist 😌) Like. They've proven they feel some type of way about each other. "I've always admired your lustrous finish." "😏" But Knockout was the first person in starscream's life to set a boundary in a healthy way. And when starscream inevitably ignores those boundaries and knockout leaves, you know how much it fucking hurts starscream to realize how badly he fucked up. But of course, the pride. He can't apologize. Can't admit he's the reason knockout betrayed him. So he'll choke back the tears. He'll try to, anyway. But he can't stop the agony in his voice while he feebly spits out "Fine! I hope Unicron eats you too!!" You know the second they shut the door on him, the waterworks started, and so did the closest thing to self reflection Starscream's ever done. He Has the Potential to be Better with Knockout, but he NEEDS to put in the work, and the suspense of wondering if he WILL fucks my whole shit up.

Rescue Bots

It is so close to canon that blades and bumblebee are boyfriends. Hell I believe it pretty much IS canon. He loves that bug so much. He gets jealous when he hangs out with Dani and not him. He hugs him for a photo the first chance he gets. And since we know blades is confirmed as being into dudes, I think we all know what they were getting at. TFP bumblebee has an anxious twink boyfriend that lives in Maine and we have no idea whatsoever if the rest of team prime knows.

Graham and boulder pine for each other like you would not believe. Once again, pretty much canon. You can't just have boulder keep telling Graham "well I like you just how you are" when Graham's trying to impress a girl and expect me to not think he has a big stupid gay crush on his best friend. They love each other so much as partners and as friends, I know damn well they'd be SICKENINGLY cute together as boyfriends. They'd probably try to stealth it at first bc a human and a giant robot alien in love? What'll the others think?? Gotta keep it secret. Sneaking off into the woods so Boulder can work on his "art projects" but in fact they are kissing. They're not as slick as they think they are, Chief Burns 100% picks up what's going on but he lets them think they're sneaky. Nobody actually has any problems with it other than Kade making fun of them a little but don't worry that's just him projecting.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Heatwave and Kade are the worst fucking tsunderes about crushing on each other. Between heatwave refusing to let down the brooding tough guy persona and kade being so insistent on staying hyper masculine (to the point where mild internalized homophobia is inevitable), neither of them can just be honest about how much they mean to each other and they gotta resort to getting each other's attention by being mean in very low stakes ways. I am drowning, there is no sign of land, you are coming down with me, hand in unloveable hand, except they're not drowning and they're just dunking each other in a kiddie pool repeatedly.

Heatwave and quickshadow are fun for similar reasons but with less shit lord pranks and/or lowbrow bitching, and more classy verbal sniping and sparring with each other because heatwave thinks it's hot when quickshadow kicks his ass. They're insufferably competitive and I think that could be very fun and incredibly messy, especially since they both need to learn how to communicate. Very bisexual, they are forced to share the brain cell, 10/10

I also just enjoy the idea of all the bots being in a polycule the same way I like the idea for TFA's team prime. They're very sweet together and they clearly care about each other a lot. Its just kind of nice when they all hold hands together, you feel me? They're sneaking off to kiss in the bunker bc they don't know if the humans know dudes can like other dudes. They are also not as subtle as they think they are.

Oh also doc Greene and chief burns dated once when they were teenagers and it didn't work out but they stayed besties, nobody can change my mind on this.

Beast Wars

Dinobot and Megatron are exes, 100%. Dinobot is probably the only being in the known universe that Megatron actually kind of cares about other than himself and his rubber duck. Otherwise he wouldn't keep trying to fucking clone him to make a version that will never leave him. There's also some implications here and there that Megatron really did want the world to be better for Predacons (along with the desire for power, anyway) and that preds are genuinely treated unfairly, so there's a pretty compelling angle of dinobot having been drawn to megatron because he saw someone with noble goals and a way to fix their fucked up world before becoming disillusioned with the dishonorable tyrant he turned out to be.

Dinobot and Optimus are also very good together bc it really truly feels like Dinobot finally found the guy with honor he thought he saw in Megatron. And he's infuriating half the time because he isn't nearly as bloodthirsty as he's used to, but GODDAMN does he make him Feel Things. The entire episode Gorilla Warfare has me obsessed with them. The bitching. Dinobot freaking the fuck out and Optimus tenderly removing the seed pod stuck to the back of his neck that was freaking him out and only laughing at him a little. Dinobot constantly trying to choose violence. The stupid smile when Optimus also chooses violence and Dinobot realizes he fucked up. THE BEDSIDE VIGIL. "It was my shift" AND YOU KNOW THEY WEREN'T TAKING SHIFTS. THE FLOWER ON THE BEDSIDE TABLE. "it is good to have you back." "Back home or back to normal?" "...both." THEY'RE HOMOSEXUAL, YOUR HONOR.

Dinobot (shit maybe I just really like dinobot) with Rattrap is good for similar reasons but the vibes are totally different. DoOp is all soft and sweet and patient and light ribbing, Dinotrap is talking shit at each other as a love language. Dinobot is a good guy but he's also, fundamentally, a bitch. Rattrap has proven he can match his freak by bitching right back. They love each other by pretending to hate each other. To the point where if Rattrap doesn't hear any comebacks he genuinely starts worrying because "oh, we aren't playing the game, why aren't you playing, are you okay?" They have so many soft tender moments where they prove they actually love each other. Their last conversation is talking shit!!!! "You're just a slag spouting saurian, but it's nice to know where you stand." "Upwind of you for preference, rodent." They loved each other!!!!!! Rattrap is fucked up over losing him!!!!!!!!!!! It's bittersweet, it's tragic, it hurts so bad and I love them so much!!!! They're stupid your honor!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a much sillier side, I do love Rattrap x Rhinox. Rattrap kissed that man twice. On the mouth. On screen. Annoying little gremlin who goes "nyehhhh" x big stoic dude who goes "hn." And they're both tech guys so they probably work on projects together a lot. And they all survive and are fine bc beast machines isnt real 💖

I have my problems with Silverbolt in general but I cannot deny that he and Blackarachnia are pretty damn cute together. He loves his girlfriend, they trash her shitty ex together, she loves that he doesn't try to change her. She gets to be the bad girl and the sweet knight in shining armor still loves her. "Dark poison of my heart" like c'mon.

Airazor and Tigatron are also pretty cute AND they have the honor of being the first canon gay couple in the tf franchise bc of the Japanese dub, which made Airazor a dude but left the romance unchanged (the Japanese dub was also just generally fuckin insane tho so it's not all that shocking).

Waspinator and Terrorsaur are boyfriends for real and for canon, John hasbro told me himself.

RiD 2001

I ship skybyte with that one girl that lives in a state of constant talking-car-based torment. Why? Because when I watched rid with my roommate we had a running joke that eventually they'd meet and have a whole robotfucker romcom arc and it kinda just stuck. This is my only rid ship and I will not be taking criticism on it.

Cyberverse

Bumblebee, Hot Rod and Cheetor are in a polycule together and nobody can tell me they aren't. Just how it's gotta be.

I want Perceptor and Dead End to kiss so badly. They're technically canon already given how hard the creators ship them. They hold hands your honor. "only a bolthead would go out there... UGH I'm such a BOLTHEAD" HES IN LOVE YOUR HONOR.

Hot Rod and Soundwave are great as enemies to lovers, they're so annoying 💖. I feel like they'd start playing gay chicken and be married with three kids wondering when the other guy is gonna back out.

SHOCKWAVE AND WHEELJACK OH MY GOD. fellas is it gay to program your drones which are just tiny versions of your own altmode to dance funny to Tetris music specifically because it makes your lame ass boyfriend laugh and then keep that function eons after you break up and still remember exactly what the command is? Fellas is it gay to get kidnapped by your ex and then get really excited about all the cool shit he's been making while you were separated? I wish they could've gotten a happy ending man, they could've been so cute together.

I don't ship it romantically but I believe in Grimlock & Arcee qpr. They love each other so so much they would've readily died for each other. I love their dynamic, they're insane 💖

Same goes for Shadowstriker and Soundwave tbh. Decepticon besties, and Shadowstriker being aro kinda just feels right. I like to think they cuddle and talk shit about Shockwave while Sounders blasts heavy metal. They play cod as the most insufferable duo.

Megop in cyberverse is so good because it really feels like they Had a relationship but it was unstable and moved too fast and they just assumed they were on the same page about things without communicating properly until suddenly they were in serious disagreement, and TRIED to work it out in a mature way but they were simply Doomed From the Start. And then it culminates in a whole fucking war but it rages so long, and they are so tired of fighting, and they realize they want to try again because nobody was really to blame for how things ended because they both handled it poorly. I wish they got that chance to try again properly. I wish when Optimus retired to just fuck around and vibe, he could've taken Megatron with him. I wish they could've fallen in love all over again.

Oh also Slipstream and Windblade being lesbian enemies to lovers bait was Fucking Phenomenal and I Love it So Much. They're smug and terrible and I want them to make out. They can make each other worse 💖

G1

I have not seen that much of g1 but I do know a few things are absolute truth.

Soundwave is gay for Megatron. This is arguably reciprocated.

Shockwave is gay for Megatron. This is not reciprocated but it is taken advantage of.

Starscream vacillates between gay for Megatron and trying to kill him. Megatron seems to reciprocate but only a little bit. Enough to keep him alive because he's cute. But megs also gets a lot of cuteness aggression so he feels the need to chuck starscream against the wall every now and then.

Powerglide and Astoria are tied for the pinnacle of robot on human romance in the entire tf franchise with Tracks and Raul, and if none of them come back in ANY tf media, I will riot.

Cliffjumper and Mirage have fucked at least once.

Wheeljack and Ratchet are gay married.

Optimus is bisexual and he loves elita-1 but there is something distinctly homoerotic going on with Megatron.

Conclusion

I like when the robots kiss <3

[xxwitchylanexx]

A Night Under The Moon-Cloud Strife x Reader

Rebirth Retold Chapter 3

No Story Spoilers

Chapter 4

Masterlist

*~*

That night their group set up camp on the edge of the somber swamp, finally ready to cross the desolate stretch after two weeks of odd jobs in the Woodlands. The murky water and foggy air made for the perfect hunting grounds for the infamous Midgar Zolom. The possibility of being ambushed had everyone on the edge of their seats. You assured them that the camp was far enough away from the edge. The tents more into the woods than on the shoreline would give ample time if it was to strike. However that had little effect on the rising tension becoming more and more charged with anxiety and adrenaline by the second.

You laid flat backed on your sleeping roll with a knee bent towards the sky. You could barely see the gentle twinkles of the stars above through the thick mist that blew off the sulfuric water. You missed the ambient chatter of the Woodlands despite being literal feet from it. The polluted land long since drove out anything but fiends and scavengers. Even the others grew quiet the lifeless swamp slowly sapping the once joyful vibe leaving everyone disheartened.

You couldn’t take anymore. The silence was suffocating and your ears felt as if an immense pressure was pushing against your ear drums causing the intake and exhales of your breathing to echo loudly in your skull. You rose to your feet quickly and strode off into the shadows of the looming treeline. As soon as you felt you were far enough away from the bottomless pits of muck, debris, and decomposing remnants you slowed. You footsteps quieted into the soft padding of the old dirt road you used earlier that day. The dark withered plants that would crumble by the lightest of touches slowly morphed into strong mossy green ferns, and the occasional patch of wild flowers that thrived in the abundance of nutrients the forest provided. You soaked in the bursting energy for the whispers among the leaves, breathed in the crisp clean air, and only then did the infectious despair fade within the steady beats of your heart.

You knew it was silly. You’ve came toe to toe with bigger evils than the Midgar Zolom. You’ve seen worse horrors than the over polluted river that carried the remnants of the mako pipes that have leaked over the years. It was silly that something as insignificant in the scheme of these could unnerve you. You, who has endured an unimaginable amount of humanity’s abominations. You, who did not falter under the strain of pressure or threat of danger.

You just hated that a place like this was seated on the opposite side of such a wondrous place. You hated that anyone who was lucky enough to flee the monstrosities of Midgar only to find some peace in the Woodlands then gets trapped in the complex uninhabitable hunting ground of Midgar’s creation. You hated that your home, or the closest thing to a home you had, was basically a cage to prevent anyone from spreading their seeing Gaia with their own two eyes.

It was hard to believe you were leaving once again. How long had you been here this time? A year? Maybe eighteen months. You were thankful for Bill. Even after having his plate full with raising his grandkids after the death of their parents he still found space to take you in when you had nowhere to go. He provided you with room and board in exchange with training some of his chocobos, and when he realized you had a special talent for connecting with them he even found you some clients interested in giving you a shot. Then through the power of word of mouth and your hard work you built up a clientele that allows you to do this for a living. You never thought people would benefit from your gift besides betting on your tremendous jockey record.

Your feet carried you up a winding foot path and up a steep incline, using a few of the thinner trees to keep your stability. Once the ground leveled out you slipped through a gap in the trees where the grass grew a bit more wild. A few wildflowers popped here and there across the wide meadow, and the forest gale swept through the blades of grass leaving behind its melody. You leaned against the rough bark of the nearest tree and toed off you boots the course stems of grass tickled at the underside of your feet. You bathed yourself in the light of the moon as you twirled across the field to the center taking in a huge breath relishing in the crispness of the air.

You gazed up at the vast sky, finding peace in the gentle winks the stars bestowed upon you. Slowly you sank onto to your knees before laying down until the flat of your back met the chilly ground. You ran her fingertips through the blades of grass at your sides, and gently plucked at a few from time to time. Time slowed as you allowed yourself to swept away from any troubles in the symphony of buzzing wings, the song of the cicadas, and chirping grasshoppers.

You never could get used to how far the sky above you, unlike the steel sky you grew up under. Everything felt so restricting back then. The darkness of Midgar was skilled in clipping your wings before you truly learned to fly. It kept you shackled to the inhuman ways of greed, lust, and power. Though you tried your hardest not to allow yourself to be caught in the lurking memories of the life you led then, you couldn’t help but wonder if anything had changed. Did anyone miss you? Probably not. In fact many slumlords probably slept easier knowing your blade had been buried with the body they believed was yours while your captor raged at the loss of income you’d brought in.

Six years ago you truly thought you were going to die that night in the coliseum. You hadn't wanted to participate in the Corneo Cup but the debt you owed to that woman for your upbringing-if you could call it that- was was high as the walls around Wall Market, and only winning the matches would provide enough to keep your ‘guardian’ at bay. You survived all the rounds by the skin of your teeth, the exhaustion of such a drawn out competition draining you in a way that left you lifeless. So the terror when they announced a surprise finale had hooked its claws into the fascia of your useless muscle. Bile rose into your throat and you actually considered to just lie down and accept your fate. But when your opponent was released onto the stage with you you knew your death would be far worse than any pain you’d experienced before, and you never in a million years thought the Don to be so cruel. Fresh from the depth of the Shinra labs, as if he knew where she came from, a humanoid figure stumbled through the gates. It’d smelled of rotten flesh and smoky char. Painful groans emanated deep in its’ chest since its mouth was branded shut. Claws glowed a foul purple, more that likely a product of producing some kind of venom that could prove fatal or just paralyze you so you’d be conscious as it teared you apart. You didn’t remember a lot of details beyond the pain that consumed you as its claws impaled you and twisted within your belly. You should’ve died.

You were told you’d struck it down before it could finish the job however you lost consciousness. You’d came to weeks after hidden away in a strange bedroom you’d never seen before. That’s when Chocobo Sam waltzed in, filled you in on the details, and proposed an exchange. He’d arranged for the world to believe you dead, and was preparing a funeral. He would smuggle you out of Midgar in exchange for your employment in the world of chocobo racing. After all help never came for free. Even back then in the streets of Midgar you held a special connection with his chocobos, and with a little training he believed you’d be a world class jockey, and in turn make him a lot of money. Now, as a free woman who’s had the chance to finally spread your wings, you looked for ways to atone for the for the things you’ve done, and people you’ve hurt.

You thought if you stayed on your own, embraced the bitter loneliness that forever contained, and used your skills to help the people of Gaia as you wandered from town to town that maybe the sins of the past would begin to fade. And when you take your last breath on this Planet the scars you’ve inflicted would disappear alongside you. At least that was the hope. Though you aren’t really sure anymore. Maybe there was a better way to set things right.

You told yourself you’d accompany them until they arrived at the saucer, return to your work, and consider it another job well done, but with every day, even though it’s only been two short weeks, you find yourself wishing that you would never have to leave them.

Tifa was like a big sister. The raven haired beauty always checked in with to make sure you was eating enough, or that you weren’t getting too worn down from all the fights that seemed to gravitate their way. She asked your favorite foods, and tried to accommodate your preferences alongside everyone else’s, and don’t get you started about how she nitpicks at your sleeping habits. You don’t understand why it’s such a big deal to sleep under the stars instead of inside of a tent.

You got along well enough with Barret. You quickly learned that as long as you listened to his many stories about the planet and how Shinra was shit, which was the one thing everyone could agree on, you’d get along fine. Though you made a mental note to pick up some ear plugs the next time the group stays in a town. You didn’t mind how much his voice carried in the daylight, but if you had to lose another second of sleep to his ground breaking snores you was going to lose you mind.

You absolutely adored Red XIII. The two of you had become fast friends. In fact the moment you offered him some of the choco treats you had, you had him eating out of the palm of your hand. Literally. As a thank you, Red would often curl up next to your bed roll to cast some extra heat your way. Sometimes after everyone else drifted off you’d point out your favorite stars that hung in the sky and he’d teach you the name of it.

Aerith was a breath of fresh air. So upbeat and full of life. She seen the good in everything, and led her life with grace. As they traveled, she’d point out flowers that she liked or ones she thought you’d enjoy as well. You didn’t have the heart to tell her they were just a part of the background for you. She’d ask you so many questions like: Where are you from? What do you like the most about chocobos? What’s your type in guys? The last one so out of left field it caught you off-guard.

The only guy you currently thought about was the one member of the group that remained a mystery.

Your curiosity burned within you, at times consuming your thoughts that’d be better used elsewhere. The occasional peek behind this tough, brooding act fueled you to be more daring, but the odd swelling of your heart urged you to keep your distance, and he had little to no difficulty in avoiding you. Every now and then Aerith— her insistence seemed a bit odd to you but you figured maybe she was just trying to get him to be polite-suggested that he should sit next to you, or accompany you to collect water or firewood, but even then his body would remain as stiff as a board. It was very clear how uncomfortable he was. Yet, from time to time she could feel the way his stare drilled into you, or when you thought it was safe to sneak a peak at him- I mean who could blame you- he’d already be looking at you. Embarrassment would swell at being caught though the weight of his eyes would remain heavy on your flushed face even after you’d look away.

You sighed as your gaze refocused on the luminous moon, and in a moment of vulnerability you asked it to shed some light on the situation, and maybe ease the fluttering in your chest.

Somewhere in her peripheral a green flicker bounced through the tall grass. You rose onto your elbows, and twisted at the hips in the direction you first saw it. You trained your eyes, scanning high and low for the source. You began to believe you had imagined it until the faint green glow flared once again, flashing six times before growing dark. Lightning bugs.

*~*

Cloud hadn’t meant to stumble upon the scene that played out in front of him. If anything, it was Tifa’s fault since she had asked him to go and find more wood for the fire.

He had combed through the woods after no luck finding burnable pieces near the swamp. Everything was soggy and covered in rot from lying in such mucky water. Truth be told, he jumped on the opportunity to stray from stifling group setting. He basked in the tranquil silence that didn’t happen much anymore since the group had doubled in size the only noises he heard now were the crickets calls and his feet swishing across the ground. He aimlessly picked up dry sticks and bark for kindling and trekked over to a few tress that had a few fallen branches that would last awhile when a rhythmic thumping vibrated through the ground from the clearing up ahead. The movement up him on alert dropping the wood to the ground next to the trunk of the tree he was at and brought a hand up to grip the hilt of his sword.

With measured steps, he stalked forward doing his best to blend into the thin shadows the tress cast to the edge of the tree line. His bicep brushed against the bark roughly as he peered around its’ circumferences. Cloud expected some fiends, boy was he wrong.

The entire clearing was bathed in the full moon’s light. Hundreds of flashing lightning bugs fluttered in circles in soft shades of greens and yellow, and in the center of it all was you in all your striking beauty swaying along with the insects’ movements. He felt himself pull his blade from his back and lean it up against the truck that has kept him hidden. His expression softening without his permission and his eyes swimming in awe of the way you danced as if you were the wind yourself.

His feet began to inch closer to you, his clunky boots padded softly in the grass despite being too hypnotized to care if you was loud or not. He found it rather amusing that he’d tried his hardest not to be alone with you and yet here he was being drawn to you like a moth to a flame. He still didn’t know what to say or do around you. Should he act tough, or should he be more gentle? How would he even go about that? What should he talk about, or should he let you choose a topic and just go along with it? What if the other realize he’s acting different around you? Would they all tease him as mercilessly as Aerith did? He was so stuck in his own head that most of the interactions had been awkward he always felt he came off colder than he wanted to. Only for Aerith to have been watching the entire interaction and tease about his ‘crush’. He’d scoffed, and wave her off saying nothing had changed, but you clung to every bit of his free thoughts and he felt like he was going wild.

You weren’t shy or meek. You had the guts to put Barrett in a headlock when he rambled on for two hours about Shinra killing the planet. Did you have a death wish? You were smart and intuitive, winning Red’s affection by appreciating his intelligence instead of treating him as an animal. How you trained with Tifa and surprisingly could hold your own. His head still plagued him with worry that he wouldn’t be able to protect you in the coming challenges this journey will hold. Yet the spark in your eye when you try to convince him to allow you to fight did something to him. He hated how chummy Aerith got with you. Every day she’d approach him with some new info she learned that could ‘help’ him out. You grew up in Midgar. You liked being in the outdoors vs. being inside. You didn’t seem all that interested in flowers. You preferred salty over sweet, and other things she deemed important for him to know. All it did was make his hands clammy when he got close to you, and internally panic as he was unsure how to interact with you.

So why was this moment so different? Sure his pulse raced, but his need to be close to you override the hesitation that consumed him. Maybe he had to be in a trance so his desires could run freely, though his nose crinkled at the thought that he wouldn’t ever be able to be himself around you. He stopped just a few feet away. You were to focused as you hunched over one of the flickering bugs, your braid falling over your shoulder as you leaned over. There was just something so enchanting about seeing you trying to capture lightning bugs like he had when he was young back home on nights sleep eluded him.

Your brows drew together, and that crinkle between them reappeared, as you stretched out your hands and cupped each one in a half circle. You took in a deep breath and exhaled as you quickly clapped your hands around one, as fast as a snake. You shrieked with joy as you hopped a little as cradled the tiny insect against your chest. You peered down at it through the gaps between your finger, a gentle smile graced your pretty face the greenish light highlighting the e/c of your eyes.

He stretched a hand out to you, for what purpose he wasn’t sure, but you must have seen him then out of the corner of your eye because you jolted upwards with a quiet squeak - cute - and hands thrown up releasing the bug you worked so hard to catch.

“Fuck!” you cried as a hand clutched at your chest as you tried to still your rapid heartbeat. “You scared the shit out of me!” You yelled as you stomped over to him and smacked his shoulder. He had to summon all the stubborn willpower in his body to keep the corners of his mouth from inching into a smile. “I worked so hard to capture him, you ass!” You spun the opposite direction without giving him a chance to explain and began looking for your next target like he wasn’t even there.

He scratched at the back of his neck as he shuffled a tiny bit closer to you, “Sorry. I- uh,” Cloud shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. “Was looking for firewood.” Your lack of a response had him cursing at himself. Maybe he shouldn’t have approached you at all. He awkwardly turned back to the forest and intending to collect the branches, get back to the camp, and hole himself up. He even made a few steps back to the treeline before he stopped to consider if he should say goodbye. He twisted on his feet to look at you again.

He hadn’t expected you to be watching him, for your eyes to trace over him, study him, as he struggled with what to do next. The silence continued and while it should’ve felt awkward it didn’t. He huffed before looking over at a group of the bugs to the right of her, muttering. “I, uh, could help.” He flicked his eyes to your face briefly to gauge your reaction, not expecting the lopsided smile to be there as you continued to stare him down. “Or whatever.” He shrugged.

“Really?” You asked your head leaning slightly to the side. He only nodded to answer your question. “Alright, show me those skills, soldier boy.” You laughed the sound making him feel so much lighter.

He groaned at your teasing. “Ex-soldier.”

As ge spent a good hour or two jumping, leaping, and rolling trying to catch one of the damn things, no doubt completely embarrassing himself as you sat back and enjoyed the show, he wished he’d never opened his mouth. You must think him pathetic that a man of his skill set couldn’t catch one little bug, but when he finally caught one to present to you it made every minute of it worth it.

Your eyes lit up like he’d given you the heavens, a wide smile glowed on your s/c skin, and the gentle brush of his hand against yours as he settled it into yours had goosebumps racing against his flushed skin. To be close enough to shamelessly admire you, as you watched the critter flutter around your cupped palms, was enough payment for his services. Not that he’d ever charge you, and he’d do it all again just to see the way your face slowly warmed once you realized the attention he was giving you.

Until you finally couldn’t take it anymore, and you peered up at him through your dark lashes like you did that first day. His heart knocking against his ribs, trying to burst through his chest and land in your palms to be handled just as gently as the bug. Your voice was barely louder than a whisper as you spoke, “Thank you.”

He blinked once and then turned away from you completely. He didn’t wait for you either as he walked back to the edge of the clearing the weight of his thoughts revealing things he’d never expected to feel. How on Gaia did this even happen? One minute he was a bad ass mercenary and one bug later he was a love struck fool. He had to put some distance between you before he lost his mind altogether. He didn’t have time for shit like this. Sephiroth is out there and if he found out, Cloud could only imagine the shit he’d do to exploit this new weakness. He only allowed himself to look back once after he slung his sword onto his back and gathered the wood he’d abandoned there. “Let’s go back.” He called to you before quickly stalking back to the camp, leaving you there alone.

You looked around the shadowed field, noticing all the wonderful critters disappeared almost as abruptly as they appeared. The whole scene faded like a dream and left you with more questions about the man than when you asked the moon just a few hours ago. You glanced at it once more before making your way back to camp wondering if it was mocking you.

[swordandscytheandpen]

I'm a lot more sympathetic than many to the anti-electoralist position, in that I agree with some of the arguments as far as logic goes, if not the underlying assumptions. But wow, this line of "you're only opposing Trump because under him you'll finally be the one hurting!" really gets on my nerves.

There's the denial that Trump would be even worse than Harris on foreign policy. (listen, it can always get worse, and we don't want to see how.) But that's not what this post is about.

There's the appeal to virtue ethics, often by self-identified materialists, acting like engaging in the political process somehow makes you culpable for evils that would have happened either way. But that's not what this post is about.

There's the baffling unspoken assertion that Americans don't have the right to improve their own lives simply because of what their country is doing. But that's not what this post is about.

No, this post is about the incredibly bad-faith belief that electoralist Americans only hold their position because of the effects a Trump presidency would have on them. When, in fact, most people I speak with are most worried about a whole host of issues that would make life in the US worse for others under Republican leadership. Treatment of migrants is an excellent example, because most migrants can't vote anyway! Almost all their voting support comes from US nationals who happen to care about people other than themselves.

Remember the travel bans that went down in 2017, starting less than a month after Trump was sworn in? I'm told that the refugee assistance org I work with had to lay off most of its staff at that time, owing to a total lack of clients. If similar bans are reinstated, countless people could be denied a chance at a life outside of a refugee camp. These people aren't voting; others are voting to assist them out of altruism - not because of some selfish fear they'll be the ones affected. I don't want to have to tell people that their families won't be joining them for the foreseeable future, or possibly at all. I'm not scared for myself; I'm scared for them. That's not even mentioning the risk of mass deportation.

And all the same applies for countless other issues. Like, do you think the only people worried about queer rights being curtailed is queer people? No, it's also my cishet boss who wears a "protect trans kids" shirt to work. Do you think the only people worried about homelessness are those on the streets or stuggling to pay rent? No, it's also my dad who owns his house outright but still spends his days conducting homelessness research and talking to politicians about it.

It is so uncharitable and so plainly ungrounded in truth to claim that electoralists are only concerned about the election because this time they'll be the ones under the knife. Of course it plays a role, self-interest has a huge part to play in every election! But claiming that to vote at all in US elections is utterly self-centered? That's so alienated from reality that it makes me start to question all your other beliefs because they may be infected with the same wild vibes-based hallucinations.

[wolfpawzjakey]

Jercy but the Roman big three continued to give birth to demigods as if nothing had happened, so Jason, Nico [except Hazel] and Percy have full sets of siblings.

And the children of Neptune, who passionately loved Percy as their brother, are not very enthusiastic about his boyfriend.

the younger children do nasty things to Jason, the older ones look disapprovingly, pursing their lips and all the time trying to talk to Percy on the topic "maybe it's not worth it after all."

Displeasure of the gods is one thing, but displeasure of your sibblings is quite another... and I don't think the children of Neptune would support their brother's relationship with the son of Jupiter - Lou June 🪷

When Percy learned he had sibling, many actually, at Camp Jupiter, he was surprisingly excited. He was happy to meet and mingle with them. He’d become close to them, their perfect middle brother, but he’d never quite realized how tricky being in this position would be. His siblings at Camp Jupiter were unrelenting when it came to their distaste and distrust of Jason, even worse acting when they realized just what sort of relationship they had. His older and similarly aged siblings were made of ice, always looking at Jason like he was the scum of the planet, they never shifted away from that. When Percy’d introduced them personally to Jason, he’d been met with the silent treatment, a harsh glare and a weighed down feeling of “really? This is the best you could do?”.

His younger siblings never fall short of acting incredibly childish about Jason too. They were louder, more openly disrespectful toward the son of Jupiter. They expressed their disgust openly and freely, with no filter. Even the littlest were made to misbehave around Jason, screaming and squawking if Jason tried to get on their level to play, hitting and kicking at him. It did damage to Jason, nothing physically of course, but mentally, he’d been so wrung dry by the interactions that he’d begun to doubt himself. Percy, still, held no doubt in his relationship with Jason, but seeing his boyfriend so out of sorts, it made him take pause. He took all the information and interactions into mind and quickly ejected himself and Jason from the situation, he’d just barely met these siblings, sure, maybe they cared about him, but if they acted this way blindly to his boyfriend, a relationship with them was maybe not so important.

-

Percy is a Jason stan just like the rest of us, sorry new family, ur just not chill enough to vibe with the rest of us.

I think Percy having siblings at CJ would be such an interesting concept because he does have such a strong concept of family, but he’s also insanely dedicated to his friends. He’d struggle really hard with conflict like this, but his brain is so wired toward niceness and justice that I feel like he’d wind out and take Jason’s side no matter how much meddling and manipulation they tried to win Percy over against Jason. His siblings would fs hate Jason, but Percy would probs just be like “kk, byeeeee”

[beautifulphilosopherbird]

Dungeon Meshi rewatch ep 4 notes

dearest @eelo I figured I might as well use this opportunity to fulfill a wish of yours and bring my ass back to tumblr 🤣🤣 when this goes terribly wrong and I start living on here again I am totally coming for you btw

new dungeon structure info:

3rd floor is the Golden Castle that is now in ruins

there are toilets in the busy areas of the dungeon, scattered around

skeletons of former castle residents roam the halls LMFAO look at this dude

most monsters on 3rd floor are bones or decayed so there aren't many you can eat but

GOLEMS ARE HERE IT'S THE GOLEM GARDEN EPISODE lmfaoooo love it

Senshi uses golems as a garden bc they've got perfect conditions to grow food

he kills them by hitting their core so that they can harvest veggies

it's against the law to activate magical creatures without permission (Senshi plants Golems without permission lmfao)

you can revive them by replanting them

side note: I really find it interesting how death is not as big of a deal in this universe. It's not like they don't care at all, but there doesn't seem to be question of "is it really the same person/creature"? maybe it's just me, but I feel like I'd worry about that a lot if I lived in their world.

this quote from Senshi!!!! YES! I agree and I love him for this

turns out Senshi gets his fertiliser by cleaning the toilets on this floor oops (Marcille is NOT happy about that lol)

another great quote from Senshi, this whole part is awesome. he's basically saying that if he stops cleaning the toilets and tending to the Golems, the whole dungeon will change because the monsters from lower floors will come up to take the place of the Golems etc. It's a delicate ecosystem and everyone plays a part, which is why hunting and eating monsters and giving back to the dungeon is important for maintaining balance. I love it 10/10 lore and world building

Senshi used the veggies to barter with some customers on the lower levels but they probably won't have time for them rn

there are merchants in the dungeon and it seems kinda hush hush secret club vibes but they get in (and then almost get thrown out bc they brought veggies to trade with a bunch of criminals ig lol)

oh the orcs are here! I forgot about them (btw they're Senshi's "customers from lower floors"), anyway they kill everyone but Senshi & friends

the red dragon has been showing up near their settlement so they had to run to hide on the 3rd floor

LMFAO they steal their veggies and Senshi asks if they can stay in their camp so

orcs think elves look "barbaric" which is also a really nice touch

HAHAHAH I forgot gilrfailure and the orc arguing while Senshi is happily making bread

anyway, bad blood between Orcs and Elves, they each have their own version of the events that paints the other side as the worse one (another nice, realistic touch of world building)

the orc mentions the whole "defeat evil magician, get castle/dungeon" thing and asks Laios what he'll do when he gets it (which he hasn't thought about)

RIP Crafty

random detail: orc cuisine is spicy

awww that ending was so wholesome

Laios says he'll think about what he'd do with the castle/dungeon if he got it. King Laios is a funny idea tho maybe a bit scary too

random screengrabs:

the carrots sticking out of Laios' armor are sending me aofhoashfoiah

[willsimpforanyone]

If this isn't much, could you do a annabeth chase x any gender reader

Where the reader can sometimes look creepy (for example: they sometimes widen the mouth or just have creepy eyes) and how she handles it when that happens

interesting, some uncanny valley stuff, what a unique request

i'm gonna make the reader a child of moros, the greek god of doom, just for flavour

-------------------------------------

you have a Vibe about you

some people do not like the Vibe

annabeth loves the Vibe

being the child of the god of doom makes for some strange happenings around you

your mother used to put it down to you just having bad luck until you were older and it became less about your bikes being stolen and more about that kid that bullied you falling out a window every time he did it

before camp halfblood you were convinced you were doomed in everything you tried

you didn't even have a cabin initially so were allowed to stay in the hades cabin just because that would cause the least offence to anyone

chiron actually asked annabeth to ask you about your cabin and how you'd like it

he trusted her to be faithful to your vision and not offend the gods beyond reason

you were moping on the bottom of a bunk bed when she knocked on the door

'hey! i'm annabeth, i'm here to help you design the moros cabin-'

you simply moved away from her

'nope, back away now, i'm gonna curse you or something'

you didn't see her roll her eyes but you did feel her drag the blankets until you rolled onto the floor

you sat up and glared

'okay now i'm gonna curse you on purpose'

she shrugged

'i doubt it'll do anything, i've had to deal with much worse than moody doom demigods'

she sat down on the floor opposite you with a notebook and pen

'now, cabin, whatcha got'

slowly she got you to open up a little, asking about what kind of cabin you'd like to stay in, any caveats that should be put in place to counter the small accidents you'd get into on a daily basis

you ended up forgetting to blink for minutes on end, staring at the notebook with a strange intensity

annabeth noticed this and gave you the notebook for a moment, popping back to her cabin to get something

she returned with a spray bottle of eyedrops and spritzed you right in the face

you sputtered but realised your eyes were so dry and begrudgingly thanked her

you were more attached to her than you wanted to admit, she really didn't seem scared that you were doomed and would doom those around you

it was nice to have someone that wasn't reluctant to be near you

annabeth worked with you a lot to build the cabin and learnt your weird habits that made other people freak out a bit

she kept the eyedrops on her for when you forgot to blink

she'd gently exaggerate her breathing when you seemed to forget how to breathe or when you started breathing in a weird oracle-in-a-cave way

when she caught you staring at people she'd direct your attention somewhere else, mostly back to her

occasionally she'd visit your cabin to find you standing in the middle of the room, eyes completely white, black smoke emitting from your mouth and filling the room

this only happened when you'd had a nightmare or forgotten there was a whole world outside your door thinking you were totally alone

she'd cover her mouth from the smoke and take your hand, guiding you gently outside to the sun or the rain and remind you that you were not powerful enough to kill the whole world

you were safe, everyone was safe, she wouldn't let you hurt anyone ever again

she'd stay with you until you blinked back to yourself, ignoring all the stares from the other campers

you were always very apologetic but she made a joke of it, saying she liked having a partner that looked so dangerous but was really a softie

-------------------------------------

thank you for requesting, i hope you enjoyed!

[shockinglysubmissive]

I'm slow af, this shit got LONG 😅 didn't bother editing either, apologies in advance

Hope ya don't mind, added some of my own mild-spice HCs, ignore them if it's not your vibe 😅 Keepin' this one tame, mostly expanding thoughts about what you shared, but if you're interested in some naughty thots I'll write a whole other piece, this is soft boy hours apparently ~

ps Dabi is referred to as boy/the boy because Fatgum is older, there's not a lot of synonyms when talking about two dudes, and let's be real Dabi is a twink ass 🫶

tw eating, minor weight increase, blood

× × ×

The first time he met Dabi, there were so many red flags going off in Fatgum's head. But less so about him and moreso about his upbringing. The shifty glances, the subtle flinch of those vibrant eyes anytime Fatgum moved too quickly, maintaining a calculated distance, the short responses, watching his every response as if the tone of his voice couldn't even be trusted. It was worse after he'd expended his mass and was in the process of regaining. He reminded Fatgum...of a stray cat. A wet one, at that. One that had been burned by trust one too many times...

Thankfully, Fatgum knew exactly how to win over a stray, be it by birthright or circumstances, it's all the same. Food.

And it works. Over time, the boy starts to fill out a bit, even seems to have a little more energy, according to you. Not wanting to spook Dabi, Fatgum always set the food out and left, although later on he started dawdling until he saw Dabi in the distance just to make sure the boy knew who was leaving it out. Fatgum did this to show Dabi that he wasn't looking to get anything in return, merely helping out a friend of his girl. It was slow, but worth it. Once in a while, Fatgum would camp out so he could watch and make sure Dabi ate the whole meal.

He liked watching him eat...and not just because it filled him with pride. Dabi used to scarf down the food the second he made sure no one was around and waiting to jump him while he was distracted, or, lord forbid, steal his food. In regard to his quirk, he was powerful...his physical disposition and endurance...not great, real easy to knock-out so he couldn't let his guard down. But now? Now Fatgum could see him relax, releasing the tension in his body and settling comfortably into his new weight. Especially when he finished feeding and stretched, his shirt rising enough to expose the delightful little pudge of his belly.

One night, Fatgum noticed something was very off with Dabi. He was sluggish and ill paced for his liking. Sitting on the abandoned park bench under the streetlight, the enthusiasm wasn't there, which concerned him. The boy didn't appear injured, so he gave it time, watching the occasional sway. He barely made it a quarter through before the sway became a slump, and the boy sunk down on his side. Fatgum cautiously moved in, but was relieved to see that Dabi had just fallen asleep. Judging by the darker rings under his eyes, he hadn't slept in a hot minute.

Fatgum removed his sweater before draping it lengthwise over Dabi, who laid curled up on the bench. After closing the container, he set it aside before sitting next to Dabi's head; he wanted to keep the boy safe while he rested. It was quiet, as Fatgum updated his girl on the situation, even daring to send a picture of the sleeping Dabi, although his attention was quickly drawn to the jerk and hushed noise from the sleeping figure. He was grimacing in his sleep, the occasional twitch and jerk pulled at Fatgum's heart. Nightmares. No wonder the boy was tired.

At first, he set a large hand in his shoulder, gently rubbing small circles with his thumb, though he transitioned to soft strokes of his palm down Dabi's shoulder and side. That seemed to calm the sleeping mind, which relieved Fatgum. He continued to play on his phone with his free hand, losing track of time. He could feel the difference in the boy, a bit more coating his ribs and the gentle squish just above his previously gaunt hips. He felt...good.

It wasn't until he felt the body under his hand begin to tense up that he realized a couple hours had passed. Glancing down, he saw that Dabi kept his eyes closed and face blank, unlike the peace he initially had. With a soft breath, Fatgum slowly rose up, and casually walked straight away, not looking back, and unaware of those practically-glowing orbs watching him go. Fatgum was so relieved when you found his sweater outside the door the next morning...he liked that one, it was a special gift from you.

It was after then, that Fatgum would come home to find you spending time with Dabi. He'd leave upon Fatgum's arrival, but each time, stay a little longer, those bright eyes following him curiously, looking away the moment their gazes met, as if trying to deny it. This went on until Fatgum invited him to stay for dinner, which seemed to catch the boy off-guard. He quickly played it off, his response dismissive, but accepting. He was awkward, and out of place, but beyond that the night went smoothly.

It warmed his heart; after seeing Dabi fidgeting with his chopsticks when he cleaned his first plate, Fatgum offered him seconds, which again caught Dabi off-guard. He looked like he wanted to say yes, but couldn't. Or perhaps, wouldn't. Either way, Fatgum didn't leave room to say anything, slowly collecting his plate and providing Dabi with another half-serving. That was the first night Dabi crashed on their couch....literally. Hit a bit of a carb coma, both you and Dabi gently resting against one another in front of the TV as Fatgum cleaned up post-dinner. He grabbed a blanket and a pillow, setting them down and supporting Dabi while you slipped out, and settling him comfortably before tucking a blanket over him. As suspected, Dabi was gone by the time you and Fatgum awoke, but that habit wouldn't last.

It took Fatgum by surprise the first time he came home to find you compressing a bloody injury on the back of Dabi's shoulder, and he leapt into action, retrieving extra supplies and standing next to you behind Dabi, a heavy hand set on his good shoulder to keep him from getting up to flee. You moved in front of Dabi, soft words trying to soothe him as you insisted he was safe and that Taishiro was here to help. Fatgum cast a glance to you as you dropped his name, and you softly assured aloud that it was okay, your eyes on Fatgum, who knew you were reassuring him, more than Dabi in that moment. Fatgum gave you a slight nod, waiting until Dabi settled, relenting, and allowing him to tend to his wound.

That night you let Fatgum know that Dabi started coming to you for help, and that he should probably expect to see more of him...since you were pretty sure he knew what time Fatgum came home, and he usually doesn't wait that long. The look on his face told you that he certainly wasn't upset by that prospect...in fact, he seemed...flattered, touched. And you were right, Dabi did show up anytime he had an injury, even those in...interesting locations. You'd gotten called in, so Fatgum decided to stay home and prepare a hot meal for your return, only to receive a certain pyro, limping in and pulling himself up onto the counter casually talking at...what he thought was you. Dabi's eyes widened, considering he ended that borderline salacious comment cockily and playfully calling you 'babe' for the first time, and....you weren't there. Fatgum had never heard him say more than a couple words when he's been around so he couldn't help the warm smile on his face, that only grew. He liked this saucy, almost bratty side of Dabi, felt a little envious of you.

Dabi slipped off the counter and started for the door, but Fatgum's large warm arm wrapped around his front shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. He could see the red over the remains of his cheeks, feel how tense he was, and honestly, he thought it was...cute. He hoped it was embarrassment more than a fear that Fatgum would beat him for calling his girl 'babe'.

"Easy, easy, let's get you cleaned up, alright?"

Dabi was clearly hesitant as Fatgum looked down and saw the source of the blood beginning just below his groin, which explains the remark about maybe getting lucky enough to see his....yeah. He managed to get a nod from Dabi, who resorted to silence around Fatgum. He kicked off his boots before slowly unbuckling his belt and pants, hesitating. Fatgum gently rubbed his shoulder, trying to reassure him if it was low enough, Dabi could just hold the leg of boxers up, but if it came to it, it's not something he hasn't seen before.

With a defiant huff, as though to dismiss the very thought that Dabi might be uncomfortable disrobing at all, he shoved his pants down, not even registering the pain as he accidentally split the coagulant gash, crimson spilling fresh down his inner thigh. He kicked them off, and Fatgum picked them up, bringing them to the bathroom and tossing them in the tub as he got the larger first aid kit, hoping his lack of access to pants would disincentivize from trying to leave. He returned to Dabi leaning against the counter, arms crossed as he acted disinterested and unaffected. His body...said otherwise.

Fatgum kneeled down in front of Dabi, a gentle hand tugging the legband and inseam of his boxers up enough to expose the top of the gash. The back of his hand brushed against the gusset, making Dabi's knee twitch. A haphazard apology as Fatgum asked him to hold it up so he could clean it and get him patched up. Dabi chose to look up and away, opting to pretend it wasn't happening. Fatgum was certainly impressed with his pain tolerance, wondering if he felt it at all anymore, but not wanting to pry. It was a bit of a tight spot to work, which meant quite a bit of brushing, and Fatgum noted that Dabi at least could definitely still feel, and respond, to that. He'd be lying if he said he didn't steal a couple glances during his ministrations. Dabi had a soft white trail dipping out from his waistband, that crept to his little belly. Below that waistband, he certainly seemed...endowed, to say the least.

Once the butterfly stitches were finished and he wrapped his thigh in bandages, he gave a couple pats on the outside of his thigh, earning a flinch, much to Fatgum's misfortune. He stood up, telling him to wait there, as he went to fetch a pair of his jogging pants. He tossed them to Dabi, knowing the elastic ankles and drawstring waistband would keep them from falling off, while also not putting pressure or scrubbing the wound. Dabi looked from the joggers to Fatgum, who explained his reasoning. Dabi rolled his eyes and tugged the jogging pants on, tying it loosely around his waist. They were still quite large on him, but not a bad look. Fatgum interrupted his thoughts, telling Dabi that he was about to start dinner since you'd be home soon, and he was welcome to stay. He'd sew his jeans after he washes and dries them, if he was willing to wait. He made sure not to be watching Dabi, cleaning the blood off the floor instead. Earning a dismissive 'fine, whatever' sighed from Dabi, Fatgum smiled, listening to the boy flop onto the couch.

It wasn't long after that interaction that he found Dabi showing up more frequently, although no longer just for wounds. It was more casual. Well...for the most part. Where better to hide from your enemies than in the very home of a pro hero? Not that Fatgum believed he really needed to hide, granted the power of his quirk, but he liked it when Dabi asked you and him for thoughts on quirk-type match-ups. That wasn't where it ended; while he was preoccupied preparing dinner, Fatgum often heard you explaining a variety of things to Dabi, to the point he wondered if perhaps...the boy didn't make it through school. A lot of the basics seemed to be missing, all things considered, and it would certainly explain how unsocialized and distrustful he was, especially to those older than him. It was giving Fatgum a whole new perspective on Dabi.

Dabi stopping by became a fairly regular occurrence. He was getting more talkative around Fatgum, much to Taishiro's delight. Dabi would even sit next to him on the couch, and if it's later at night, he'd lean on Fatgum or especially cozy up to you. Needless to say, Fatgum has a surprising number of secret pictures on his phone of you and Dabi on the couch, napping together, that he will take to his grave.

Holy shit ..

This is amazing! This is damn near the exact way I imagined it in my mind!

Words cannot describe how much I love this! Thank you so much for taking the time to send this! I will definitely be rereading this hundreds of times.

[littleblueberryartist]

Some future Percy Jackson headcanons :D

- He never grows facial hair. Yes this is partially because I don't like drawing facial hair but also I feel like Percy would just take one look at the mirror, realise that he looks like a splitting image of his dad and then shave the whole thing off

- Percy is the malewife trophy husband in this relationship. Yes I HC him with a job (I will get to that later) but it's about the vibes

Like he literally says this in Greek heroes!

He is the trophy husband to Annabeth's successful girlboss wife and he knows it! He does the cooking and cleaning!! (His mother is THE Sally Jackson so you better bet he cooks dam well too)

And I refuse to believe that he and Sally aren't like super tidy people after living with Gabe. Like ADHD disorganization real and true just like me fr but Percy would not let there be trash or bad smells /anywhere/

- Related to the above Percy does not drink

- Percy took a GAP year actually

- Like yes he does actually try and jump back into school like he does in ToA because he is tired of godly bullshit and craves normalcy. But my guy. That is a semester of content you missed along with current school AND you're still prepping for college AND you're still recovering from the war. Something something he does this as a distraction from everything but also because he genuinely wants to have normalcy but after burning out somewhere through the year he is convinced to take a damn break!!!!

- I think the road trip at the end of ToA can still happen but like, just them relaxing and exploring during the GAP year (also redesigning Olympus is Annabeth's BABY man she's putting that over school + she has worse school records than Percy because she's been year round at camp since she was 7 I don't think school convention matters that much to her actually)

- Anyway they take a well deserved break!! (And get therapy hopefully) So by the time they get to college they are in a much better place mentally <3

- With the accomodations from NRU for his learning disabilities Percy actually ends up doing really well and gets better grades than Annabeth! I am a believer of "Percy is smart it's just that he wasn't properly accommodated and also lacked interest in certain subjects" and "Annabeth is naturally gifted and never learnt to study because she coasts through school and wings her tests" (they're both just like me fr)

- Percy ends up picking Marine Biology as a major because he's not actually sure what he wants to study (he's never gotten the chance to think about what he wanted for his future because of the great prophecy) and thinks that "hey even if it's cliche it'll be easier for me"

Cuz like I understand the excitement of finally going to a school that accomodates you and having hope that you'll get an actual chance to succeed. But also school is still hard and Percy probably just wants to get through it too sjsjsjdj. So he doesn't think too hard on it and goes with the perceived most obvious and easiest option. (Also an option he's most likely to show interest in)

Okay! Rubs hands. From here I start talking about my marine rehabilitation center Percy hcs :) (this hc is heavily inspired by this post! I really looked at it a few years ago and never stopped thinking about it lmao)

- Something something Percy is canonically the kid who used to sneak out at night to help free sea creatures in fishing nets and is best friends with Grover "lord of the wild" Underwood and Rachel "activist" Dare. That boy is an environmentalist.

- He ends up finding genuine passion in ocean conservation and gets a degree in environmental conservation along with marine biology

- A while after graduating, he sets up a marine rehabilitation/conservation center of sorts

- Annabeth, who probably makes it big as an architect pretty soon (at least in the half-blood community) designed the building, Rachel helps to fund the whole thing. Grover, who goes around doing conservation work and setting up sanctuaries to help preserve the wild helps a ton with setting up too

- The center helps out both mythical and regular sea creatures. It also acts as a demigod safe house (something something Hazel + the Hecate kids help to set up wards to keep monsters out and also to shroud the mythical aspects of the place with the Mist)

- I dunno if the staff will be only consisting of people in the know or if there are mortals too but I feel like even though the wards at the center aren't as strong as those at the camps, the prospect of a safe working environment would be pretty enticing to demigods so a bunch of them end up interning there for a bit

- speaking of safe environment I feel like while Percabeth study in New Rome they wouldn't live there. Instead Annabeth ends up building something similar to it at CHB. But rather than a whole city, it's more of just apartments close to camp with various safe houses all over the country because I feel like they'd end up vibing in the mortal world more. (Much like this post!)

- The center holds educational field trips to encourage more people to care about the oceans. (I've been on a field trip to a marine rehabilitation center before, I think it'd be something like that but with a bigger, more advanced facility)

- I actually like the hc of Percy becoming an educator to help kids like him and also go full circle with the whole "why would anyone want to be a teacher for all time" thing with Chiron in TLT. But rather than become a teacher he ends up being an educator and advocator for environmental conservation. Might be invited to be a guest speaker at schools from time to time.

- Oh also he's still a teacher in that Percy teaches swordfighting and canoeing at camp send tweet

[aphroditelovesu]

Part 3: Darius III/ the Persians

I've been curious as to how historians will interpret the kidnapping of our girl. Personally, I think they'll see it as a tit-for-tat situation. Alexander captures the family of Darius, so Darius orders the kidnapping of Alexander's pregnant wife. Either way, I'm interested to see how the meeting between Darius and reader will go. She is now the Macedonian Queen, a far cry from the random woman who appeared outside of Alexander's camp. She's become someone who's extremely important and useful.

I also realize that our girl is going to be in for another culture shock while she's with the Persians. I'm getting the vibe that she was kinda getting used to the Macedonian camp? If not that, af least she knew what her role was and where she stood with everyone. And now she's back to square one. Thanks, Perdiccas 💀!

I don't know what you have in store, but I am curious if she'll get to meet Bagoas, or any of the other eunuchs. I know he made a brief cameo I chapter 12 already, but I'm still curious because I think his story is actually kinda interesting. Honestly, I think meeting a eunuch would be one of the oddest things for her. The closest thing in the 21st century would be castrato singers, and even those are antiquated. Personally, I would have to watch myself and hold back from asking something inappropriate...

Anyway that's part three. I have one more bit, but I'll do that later. It will be the last one, I promise!

--O-

The fact that he is the Queen now is a very important thing because as you said, she is not an ordinary girl but an important person which only makes the situation worse for the Persians.

LMAOO 😂😂 Perdiccas screwing her again. Indeed, she ended up getting used to the Macedonians but now she has to deal with a cultural difference again.

Bagoas will be an important part of the story and yes, she will meet him and a small spoiler, she will become close to him. It's a strange thing for her to meet a eunuch (I think it would be for a lot of people). I don't judge you, I would have to restrain myself from asking something inappropriate too... I'm a curious person :(

Don't worry! I love reading your comments! ❤️

[liauditore]

Thought I might say hello and make some small talk, seeing that I'm camping on your trafficshipping tag and all.

Well hi! Lovely place you've got here. Fantastic art, GREAT vibes, very nice. I'm specially enjoying your character rambling; your takes on them are super interesting and they tickle my brain 👀

May I send Divorce Fource/Quartet and Majorwood for the shipping bingo? Divorce Fource were a right mess (affectionate <3) and a perfect one at that, but I can't help but wonder how the recipe would have turned out if the soul ties were Cleo-Pearl, Martyn-Scott.

Also there is so much potential in Limlife Majorwood for eroguro if you're nasty. Which I am. Time cannibalism, respawning mechanics, birthday time... blender go brrrr 👀

!!!!!!!

y'all are really enabling my habit of long ass posts huh 😭😭

OK SO first off thankyou so much?? thats so sweet?????? 😭😭 i really don't think my character ramblings are anything special, but i like reading other ppls insane takes so i thought i'd provide others with the same 👍

not to get too into it but i feel like a series like life smp is best enjoyed with your own crazy delulu takes (similar to touhou if anyone heres familiar w/ that fandom). and it makes me kinda sad to see ppl arguing abt whats 'canon' or 'correct' cus that's no fun lol

ANYWAY yeah uh im glad u like the vibes!! :J

TREEBARK

this one first cus chronology. I honestly don't know if there's anything I can say here that hasn't been said before? But yeah they're. tasty. something about martyn waiting the entirety of third life to betray ren and never getting the chance and now longing to have him back. lots of regret but regret. for what. yknow. and ren always looking out for martyn even from a distance. and then martyn losing that connection in limlife.

yeah i can see why people ship lmao

uhh i don't really know what else to write here so have some of my insane ramblings copy+pasted from my shipping doc 👍

Martyn fancies himself a schemer, someone who's not afraid to play the game the way it's intended. If that means earning a powerful ally's trust only to shatter it then he was going to do it. Only, Martyn's bark is worse than his bite, and every night he spends in lying awake in those soft, warm sheets that Ren had laid out just for him (freshly washed too, he might add. Smelled like sunshine) he wonders if he can do it. He can, of course. (he can't. he won't. he's too soft. soft and useless.) He'd cut his head off already. (he wants to vomit) (this is why no one needs you. wants you. loves you) Who cares about other people anyway? He is the only one who really matters. (the thought of being alone makes him want to cry) Ren, on the other hand, is a capable leader. The definition of loyal and dependable, if not a bit dramatic. He struggles with self-worth, being good enough, useful enough, powerful enough. But to others, he's the opposite, caring and protective of any who would ask for his aid. After all, every citizen deserves to live in safety and comfort, and providing that is what a good King would do. ~ Martyn's not as sneaky as he thinks he is. Ren knows. Ren sees the signs. It's a death game for a reason. But he doesn't let Martyn know. He doesn't even hold it against him. He doesn't see the bloodthirst anymore, only the broken pieces lying underneath. ~ or the King's Hand, it was the thrill of feeling Useful, Powerful, Feared (loved). He was going to miss it after he betrayed him, the high of bloodlust, the smell in the air as he charged into battle. (the way his hands held him so gently) For the King himself, deep down he knew it was never to be. He had met a monster, but he hoped his efforts calmed the storm ever so slightly. On some days, he pretends to forget about the death game entirely and imagines the speech he'd give to retire his Hand. "You don't have to fight anymore," he'd say, "I'll take care of you from now on, I promise. So put the sword down, okay?" But in the end, it was all a fantasy, wasn't it?

^ yes this is so cheesy but so are they.

Cry with me again Smile with me again Scream with me again Sing with me again Dance with me again Talk to me again…

"Lower One's Eyes" (Oktavia translyrics)

MAJORWOOD

I think.. I talk too much abt scott seeing as that's who everyone points out when it comes to my headcanons 😭😭 but uh i swear everyone else is just as messed up. and martyn is like. just as bad if not worse (if that wasn't made clear from my ramblings before)

anyway uh say it with me rebound 👏 relationship 👏

i think they're both.. very numb to it all once limlife rolls around. they're just tired and have this mutual understanding and both think they're horrible people. martyn just wants to play the game. scott doesn't even know what he wants anymore.

but ofc, they're both still human and want love and comfort, so they try to seek that from one another. even if it's fake. even if it doesn't matter in the end.

Baby, though I've closed my eyes I know who you pretend I am I know who you pretend I am

Washing Machine Heart (Mitski)

We’re the Delusioned Victim Cash-in Union Praise to the “love” that will bring salvation!  Two fools singing to a shallow melody Restart, reflation, teleportation Time and again we’re stuck in rotation Circles inside a love without any ending

MKDR (SirHamnet Lyrics)

Scott uses Martyn as a replacement for Jimmy and Martyn uses Scott as a replacement for Ren. they know they dislike eachother (see: all of double life) and that only one of them will make it out alive. but they can't get that love and comfort from anyone else now.

also uhhh eroguro my beloved...... im assuming this is getting brought up cus of my mentions of loving eroguro in the past. and yes to all of that very much i agree. but i do have kind of.. a limit to what i do w/ these characters specifically because of the fandom/ccs (at least publicly). if i ever do decide to share the nastier stuff in my head or go into detail on gore and whatnot i'd probs make a sideblog and tuck it away and maybe block scott and martyn for always somehow showing up on my posts lmao

[f0point5]

just saw @/rainbowslytherin say this in the Charles tag (direct quote it's copied and pasted) I feel like your view on him being more neutral/pr is interesting compared to their's.

I love how open Charles is with his feelings (sometimes it's definitely accidental) but he's so consistent that it's easy to notice a change or a reoccurring pattern.

A lot of fans knew how bad this season was going to be based on his reaction to the car. His lack of posts about wanting to fuck the car and his excessive use of 🙃 instead of ❤️😘 was so clear that we were in for a rough season and this was all before Bahrain had even happened.

His Instagram posts from each race week is a clear indication of how he felt. Some races didn't get a photodump because they weren't great, some races got a song which is even worse. The good races he posted the positive bits like Japan he posted the pitcrew because he had the fastest pitstop and he congratulated Redbull, he posted Max in his photo dump because they had a good race etc and in average races he mostly posts his helmet and car for example Singapore.

He's also ridiculously easy to read. You don't need to be an expert in body language to understand his emotions, real heart on his sleeve type of guy. A lot of his reactions and words he's consistently had since being a child so it's easy to notice a pattern like the pouty teeth grit when he's not enjoying himself, the whole "it's like this" saga etc

It's also easy to tell if he's happy with his team and teammate depending on how much he mentions them in interviews, includes them in his posts and likes tweets about them. This year Carlos is very absent from Charles Instagram (especially in comparison to Seb) to the point of Max Verstappen and Ollie Bearman both having more appearances. Charles has also done the most to avoid talking about Carlos in multiple weekends from changing the subject to ignoring the fact they said Carlos and answering it about other drivers. I don't think they hate eachother but this year was way worse than last and has really shown how much they don't get along outside of pr videos which is understandable with how often Sainz camp start saying shit about Charles and with how often Carlos drags Ferrari I don't doubt Ferrari's number one fan would be happy with that.

Okay maybe I just got schooled by a real Charles girlie lol. I’m totally open to the idea that my view on him may be all wrong, I don’t know the guy.

I just feel like, for example, body language is not something you’re able to control, and maybe he does have certain tells about when he’s about when he’s not happy with the weekend etc., but when have you ever heard him say something just totally out of pocket. I haven’t. I think he’s quite a self possessed person, and I think what he can control he does.

I just feel like most people think about Charles the way Charles would like to be thought about. And I will say, I think a part of that is his “Everyman” image and how he feeds the para social relationship. I think he likes that people feel like they know him, but I don’t think there’s anything we know about him that he doesn’t want people to know. And I know I’m making it sound madly Machiavellian but I don’t think it’s a manipulative plot, more that the guy likes being liked - who doesn’t. I think he’s very conscious of his image, and who wouldn’t be in his position?

But yeah I just get the vibe that he makes an effort to let the fans get to know him, so that no one actually knows him.

[zachdefense]

In my latest of book trades with my brother, he's finishing up Mistborn with The Lost Metal while I'm catching up on the Villains' Code series with

Bones of the Past

And not to be a "guy who's only seen Boss Baby" about this but I get some heavy Worm vibes from this series. Girl who gets super powers and ends up working with villains due partly to circumstances outside her control, but mostly due to her own choices. Moral ambiguity asking questions about if the villains are really worse people than the heroes. And hell, they use the term "capes" to refer to powered people, which I haven't seen anywhere else outside of Worm.

This being the second book in the series, it really works to test the lines between hero and villain. Tori, our main character, I don't think she commits a single crime in this book. But what keeps her squarely in the villain camp is her attitude. She kills and orders the deaths of a not-insignificant number of people in self-defense; while on the flip side, the heroes focused on in the book are actively training to tone down the casualties when they're stopping crime. And of course, the final showdown ends with heroes and villains working together to stop a greater threat, as in the previous book. almost like that's a theme or something

This book also does a lot more to play with the idea of secret identities than I've seen elsewhere, which was a lot of fun to read. After the last book Tori had one out-of-costume friend who joined the hero's side. In this book she not only gets to know his team, but is introduced to a new squad of heroes that she meets and befriends. Watching her get to know and care about people that she may have to fight the next day introduced some interesting conflict.

The worldbuilding feels very comic-booky, which took me out of it a bit in the first book (what do you mean one organization controls all super-powered crime in the world???), and I don't really agree with one or two of the larger themes (don't really like what you're saying about punitive justice so far, Mr Hayes), but aside from that it was a really fun read. Feels like the kind of series that should have a much larger fandom than it does (only one result on AO3? Seriously?). Would give it a thumbs up, especially if you're a fan of

large casts of super heroes with unique powers

side characters that are interesting enough that they should have their own novels

unlikely allies who have to work together

Superman being a genuinely nice person to talk to

worldhoppers that know too much, stir shit up, and leave

the kind of villains that would name themselves Johnny Three-Dicks or Captain Bullshit

I might have to pick up some of Drew Hayes's other stories to check out after this. His Super Powereds series sounds like it could be fun while I'm on this superhero kick, but that's his only series that my brother doesn't have in person for me to borrow, thus slightly inconveniencing me.

[theghostbunnie]

I’m curious but ever since you dropped your Harrison hcs I’ve been thinking about what he would be like when he gets older. Are there any hcs/info you have for him??

I'M SO HAPPY Y'ALL ARE INTERESTED IN MY HCS IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME!!!!! 💖💕💫🩷

I have like two paths I could see my version of older Harrison going down. Let's say roughly age 17 or so, he either swears off using absolutely any of his natural magical ability and keeps his illusion/slide of hand tricks utterly private for the most part. The first being a desperate attempt to regain his parents trust, the second with the card tricks being more of getting shamed out of being open with his peers with his hobbies. I wouldn't wanna see him kept on this path and I often pair it with some major character development story. (In my head atleast, I don't think I'd ever be able to use a fanfiction writing website or have the energy to regularly update one or anything like that. I would definitely maybe write short fics on Tumblr one day.. maybe)

The other option being he actually never stopped working on his talents like that and has steadily gotten so much better. (At the start of the show he accidentally sets David on fire, in much later episodes he's able to make rings of flame, already MAJORR improvement!!) He works on his other abilities, making things levitate ect.

So when they start having these hiccups, often small physical items or spells bursting out of him during strong feelings (leading to panic and embarrassment only making it worse.) Harrison feels like it's a total setback. That his work so far didn't mean anything, he has no idea where his powers come from and as they change he apparently has no idea how to control them after all. Alot of old doubts, and new ones emerge. "Maybe it would've been better to have never had them in the first place."

I like to think after awhile he regains this hold over it, and it was just a sign of like. His magic going through puberty/hj and it turns out stronger in the end.

Other older Harrison HCs include he's definitely a swiftie and jumps up on his bed lipsyncing doing a fucking Matilda as shit floats everywhere.

His formal vest and top hat get switched out for a casual vest and beanie hat (constant hat hair) wouldn't it be so funny if he had a top hat shaped pin on it/hj

His like signature little thing I love putting on his clothes and drawing him with is the ace of spades. Small charms n shit I love it.

His frienemy thing with Nerris as she matures turns more into friend leaning. (Bc like, their dynamic is not 50/50 she is nearly always the one coming at or for HIM 😭 and it's coming from a very childish reasoning- which is okay. Bc she's a child.) So as she gets older and grows out of her issues that caused them to not get along they become closer.

Mostly due to them both being much better friends with Preston and spending time with each other via him.

But since they're older and Preston fills alot of his time with the multiple hobbies he has and Nerris has other friends to hangout with, Harrison is still left on his own sometimes. He goes through these bits of bad mental health and "everyone hates me" thoughts but doesn't really let anyone know about it.

I have this OC Quincy, technically not a camp camp oc I'm actually embarrassed sometimes to add him into things bc he doesn't fit the vibe of cc what so ever but the angst he can make is so good 2 me

He's this demon with magical know-how but no power of hisown. I like to think of Harrison (who notoriously throughout the show wants company.) Kinda ignores all the red flags and "I've always said don't judge a book by it's cover"s his way into accidentally getting manipulated by him. But also getting incredibly helpful magic lessons out of it too before it comes to a head.