#there are many other good bits from that post

[ardentguilt]

UPDATE:

This guidebook is now available for purchase.

At the moment the physical paperback can be purchased on Amazon OR you can contact me at the provided email (bearded.dragon.guidebook@gmail.com) to discuss ordering direct from the print company if you don’t want to give your $$$ to Amazon.

Ebook versions are available through Apple Books, Rakuten Kobo and Amazon.

At the moment the printing company doesn’t have shareable purchase links for authors outside of the USA but I’m told that is something they’re working on but for now if you want a physical paperback without paying Amazon you’d have to get in contact with me and we can discuss payment and shipping and other details like delivery address and how many copies you want.

The book has turned out amazing and I am planning on a future post about it where I’ll provide a bit of a showcase of the sort of things in it.

As I wrote this guide from an Australian perspective I do make some reccomendations for vets and supplies in the guide that may not be available worldwide and the licensing required to keep them will differ between countries but the actual information around their needs, care and behaviours is of course universal and I did collaborate with a good reptile qualified vet who proof read the content so I could ensure everything was accurate and up to date with care standards at the time of writing.

Marketing time

[clickityweasel]

my job is not an arty job, but my manager is capitalising on the fact that i can draw, and i am an enjoyer of drawing-based work because it's not something i normally get paid for, so the task of "draw like 30 different animals for a card game" is a win win situation.

what i have learned, however, is that i cannot draw animals. they come out Bad. the proportions are off, they're stiff and weird, sometimes they don't even look like the right animal. drawing people? great sign me up! animals? apparently? no can do boss. i was sending over sketches and my manager was so greatly Not A Fan of my terrible animals that she very gently suggested just printing off some random pngs from canva. other coworkers were less gentle with my sweet delicate feelings.

however i have whatever the opposite of imposter syndrome is, and after a long and painful struggle discovered the secret hack to become instantly Pretty Decent at drawing animals. out of nowhere, i was able to produce many pictures of animals that ranged from Passable to Not Even That Bad, Actually. my confidence was unfaltering. but this hack comes with a cost.

i can only draw animals while listening to ABBA.

now i enjoy a bit of ABBA! but a man has limits. and that limit was crossed somewhere during the second full day of nonstop ABBA during which time i began to develop some form of swedish disco stockholm syndrome. two more days in and i was singing some real deep cuts, word for word. i tried other artists but none could evoke my latent animal drawing abilities like ABBA could, so i was trapped. i tried many times to break free of my disco placebo, but it was no use. i was trapped in a hell of my own hubristic making.

now i would share with you some of my improved animals, the good shit, the ones drawn using the performance enhancing drug that is ABBA's discography, but when someone inevitably reverse image searches one and finds out exactly where i work, i'll feel a bit silly, so you're going to have to trust me that they're worlds apart from..... these.

(unkind, if wholly accurate commentary from my beloved manager)

anyway, this post is actually a success story. after a number of days (i don't care to mention how many) and a slow descent into an ABBA-induced break with reality, i finished all the animals. every single one. i had done it. they were printed, and i was free. my manager was delighted. she said they looked great.

so great, in fact, that she wants me to make a second set. with different animals. so it is back to square one with my good friends and companions agnetha, björn, benny, and anni-frid.

all this is to say that, boss, if you change your mind, im the first in line, honey im still free, take a ch

[aleksiej]

my favorite les amis (and co) headcanons (in no particular order, both canon and modern eras)

- enjolras has anxiety and/or is autistic, has the weirdest life routines imaginable and is only functional, when it comes to his causes. in canon era specifically, he stops actually studying and works full time on the june rebellion.

- grantaire is fat and trans. it's not about the being ugly thing, except is it a bit because of the STIGMA and also DOWN WITH MLM SHIPS THAT ARE JUST TWINKS lol (also, ekhm, he gets shot in the throat, i've made a post about that before but yea)

- musichetta, joly and bossuet are a throuple and live in the largest house of the whole group. they usually have people over, in modern times or times when people had people over casually

- everyone is les amis is codependent

- eponine CARES about the causes, let's not make her a second R, she cares. she doesn't want to talk or get help for herself, but she cares about other people. she also knows about gavroche (in canon era) and is low-key looking out for him, even if he doesn't need that.

- marius is high int low wis, low enough to be in hell. he's sweet though, so we can forgive him. probably on the higher end of the emotional intelligence spectrum in the amis, just bad with context clues. he forgets which language he speaks sometimes.

- every ami is extremely weird by regular people standards, but in the group it's not as noticable

- feuilly likes women. idc what gender feuilly is, but feuilly likes women. it's important to me. also, feuilly and R are pals. feuilly sleeps over at R's. R helps feuilly with art supplies

- bahorel has a job (or a volunteer thing) where he works with kids, leaving everyone terrified for the future generation, but he's really good at it

- gavroche is also good with kids. and languages. and possibly everything humanities related, if he does get to grow up he ends up doing ballet or theater

- cosette is a ruthless activist and uses her sweet, cute personality to drive across her point. she's also great at math and is the one in charge of the pontmercy money in canon era.

- jehan has smoked or taken every drug in existence, somehow hasn't gotten addicted to any. he also has semi-regular opium-filled graveyard orgies and is a Romantic, not a romantic, as he dislikes the romance plots in most media, if they're not tragic enough (that is, if they end happily)

- combeferre is the crazy type of scientist/doctor and would not only kill victor frankenstein on sight, but also has made research into making human life from scratch himself (he wouldn't DO it though, because ethics)

- courfeyrac is the most emotionally well person in the group and the only one capable of giving good advice on that front. he will, however, refuse to do so, just to see the drama unfold

- joly having a chronic illness. very important. joly also steals supplies from hospitals and is obsessed with space (canon era and any modern variation)

- bossuet is fat. and also the best driver. horse, carriage or car, this man can get himself and his mode of transportation wherever they need to be.

- musichetta is, during canon era specifically but not exclusively, in a feminist revolutionary circle. she joins bahorel's laughing mistress in that.

- every ami is generally a good person. their morals may be skewed, they might be spies or pirates or art thieves or coffee shop employees, they might kill people for money, but they will always be good. at the center.

- marius and cosette end up having like five kids. none of the kids are named after the amis, because that's too many dead people, marius. in a reincarnation scenario, at least one ami (preferably eponine tbh) is a descendant of the pontmercys. and maybe another, of the thenadiers, since monsieur t took azelma and fled to usa.

- in a universe in which felix tholomyes (cosette's sperm donor) is enjolras's father (and i guess enjolras is his mother's maiden name?), he is black. enjolras is black (from melanesia), cosette is black. biggest thing, enjolras and cosette both take after their mothers and end up looking very different.

- grantaire has the most female friends out of all other les amis, excluding the girls. he's also the one best suited to mending clothes and such jobs. he usually does it for everyone, canon era or modern, fighting consumerism or just cold weather.

bonus non-amis!

- in every lifetime, in every possibility, javert and valjean have beef. sometimes while being married with one/two/thirteen children.

- javert is autistic, valjean has anger issues

- valjean and fantine having a sister-brother type of relationship. fantine being the force behind valjean not giving away everything he has to charity. valjean, well, being the wallet and the morality.

- in a modern era way, fantine, much like enjolras, is melanesian, although a few generations removed. she has the light hair, cosette does not.

- thenadiers being incapable of doing a good job at something. doesn't mean their evil plans don't work out, but there's always at least one thing that could make everything fall apart and onto their heads.

[sully-s]

Open in a different window to zoom in. So this is just a deep dive behind all the stuff I put in my last post I rolled back my picture before I did all the lighting and color changes to make certain details more visible. Fun fact I almost scrapped this whole picture at this stage because A. I was just burned out; this piece took me forever. B. As I kept getting more and more "neat" ideas to stuff in, I lost any real focal point, especially with the color scheme. After hours of trying to fix it in PS and failing, I was about to give up. I was like fuck it make it a night scene. Let me tell you all a world of lighting makes lol.

Anyways, enough about my struggles, let me give you the tour.

I love the idea that this corkboard was originally Phoenix's mood board in the beginning it just had his childhood pics from like the yearbook and that one time Larry got a polaroid camera. Then, a new year clipping about Edgeworth being Demon Prosecutor which led Phoenix to make his thesis about court drawings just so he could watch and see with his two eyes how much Edgeworth changed. - Then, later, he added Mia because she was his mentor. then Vinny (from the movie "My Cousin on Vinny") because like Vinny, Phoenix never understands court procedure but has very good instincts; and last Elle Woods who also went to law school for a boy basically his spirit lawyer lol. - Later, after Maya joined, she thought it would be funny to replace Phoenix's real reason to Steel Samurai. Also, it was fun because Will Powers was their client, so he should be their reason. Phoenix let them stay because it made Maya happy, and Phoenix knew that with Mia's death, she needed it. - I was going to add a sticky note from Miles that he approved, but I do like that Miles will never admit out loud or in writing that he enjoys the show. - A year later, Pearls tries to replace all the Steel Samurais with her drawings of Maya. Which Phoenix encouraged her to make during Maya's disappearance because facts. - Tid Bit: I was sad to cover up Will Powers' signature I really liked how it came out

Moving away from the mood board idea, I like that the cork board just became Phoenix's catch all. So his Law Degree which isn't the original it's just a sad printed-out version of what should've been his fancy embossed one. I like the idea that Phoenix never went to graduation. (Can't be bothered he's on a mission to save his childhood bff.)

Lastly are postcards from Edgeworth, his way of making up for all the years he couldn't write back to young Phoenix. - Also, this picture takes place some time after the 3rd game but before the disbarment.

Calendar whiteboard that I forgot to add the last row too so I guess in Japaniforina the months are only 25 days long.

I spent a frustrating amount of time trying to figure out the logistics of this paper trail. It really doesn't need to make sense It just has to make the room messier. - You can imagine Phoenix is looking over phone records or court stenographer's record.

So Edgeworth is a nerd; we all know this. But it annoys me just a tad that his nerd-isum is always just Steel Samurai (like I get it, it's canon), but all geeks have many fandom loves, okay. - So I just love the idea that Phoenix and Edgeworth (who are in a relationship at the time of this pic ) watch Better Call Saul, and they both bought each other a little plushie of the character they joke is them. -Edgeworth bought Saul for Phoenix (because of Saul's heart, not because he does shady practices), And Phoenix bought Kim (because she a really good lawyer who seems cold and is a workaholic who would break the rules for their Saul (used phoenix's badge in the third game )) - They keep each other's plushies in their offices, and if one of them stops by when the other isn't in, they put a sticky note on it. - Which we can see that Phoenix did need reminding because, as you can see, the date is 18th, and no mention of a dinner ;)

7. Now the whole reason I drew this picture was too show off my headcanon that Phoenix has a Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law action figure that you know Gumshoe got him after Edgeworth vs. State happen because of Polly. And we all know that man would be a fan of old Hanabara cartoons. - I've loved this stupid tid-bit of a headcanon that it's been haunting me for years. That's it; that's all I really wanted to say with this piece, and look where it got

[quickreaver]

Okay, lemme preface this by saying I adore Sam and Dean being insane for each other. It's why I watched the show. It's why I'm still in this damnable fandom. BUT. There are conflicting thoughts to be had here, re. this post. I was picking Stripy's brain on the above topic, because she's far more thoughtful and organized than I am, and we absolutely get the desire of the point made above. "Sam is as unwell and enmeshed as Dean is, see??" But the post loses its way in pursuit of that thesis.

The scenarios referenced above are just not the same. Dean saving Sam's life by shoving an angel into him through deceit, and Sam noncon curing Dean of the Mark of Cain and Dean's subsequent demonhood do echo each other in base action, but the circumstances surrounding the events are quite different. The key bit is that refusing to let someone die a death they've accepted and to some extent begged for in a way that not just violates their autonomy, but leaves them incapable of asserting autonomy, because you can not and will not let them go, is radically and distinctly different from what Sam does to Dean. What Sam does is a destruction of an alien nature having been introduced into Dean (by Dean's own volition, by the way), as opposed to Dean clandestinely introducing an alien nature into Sam. One of their actions renders Dean more Dean, the other renders Sam less Sam. Sam's actions are a recalling of Dean home, away from a state "real" Dean would find repellent, disturbing and destructive of his sense of self. Sam's not simply bringing his brother back to him, he's bringing Dean back to himself, and saving Dean from an eternity in Hell. This is not even close to the same thing as distorting the "real" Sam by inserting a parasitic entity that can surface at any point, rendering Sam's selfhood essentially null and void, without Sam's awareness. On the surface, OP's post is a deliciously shippy thing, positing both halves of the ship as equally obsessed with each other, and they are. The included instances just aren't good examples of that. Yeah, what Sam did was equally ridiculous, insane and full of love, but it's not a perfect reflection of the specific violation enacted upon him. The brothers Winchester are allowed to be different kinds of crazy, it's okay, I promise! (Again, many thanks to Stripy-Tights, without whom none of this would read worth a damn!)

just ONCE be honest with me. you didn't save me for ME. you did it for YOU. I was ready to die, I was ready. I should have died. but YOU, YOU didn't want to be alone. and that's what all of this boils down to, YOU can't stand the thought of being alone.

if the situation were reversed and I was dying, you'd do the same thing. no, DEAN, I wouldn't.

*summons crowley to bring him back after he died*

[wreckless-tempestry]

“It made me think of you.”

Year of the OTP 2025 — February Prompt

Characters: Finn x Shrimpo (Dandy’s World)

AN: Thank you for all the positive feedback on my last post! Reading your comments is truly my source of dopamine. I’ve decided to write these two pretty ambiguously since I want to be accommodating for any peeps who think these two are just a rad non-romantic pairing. I didn’t fully proofread this as i was in a bit of a hurry to finish, but i hope you enjoy nonetheless! Word count is around 6.3k.

I SWEAR GOOB ISN’T THE STEREOTYPICAL ONE-DIMENSIONAL CLUELESS AND INNOCENT CHARACTER… I plan to give him some more screen time (wordtime?) in the future. Gigi also uses they/them pronouns because i said so.

Part 1

A little over a month had passed since the fateful night of the New Year’s dance, and already some new streamers were beginning to adorn the hallways of Gardenview – the shimmering whites of January being replaced with the ominously familiar shades of crimson and pink. And the hearts… oh Lord, the hearts, they were everywhere. On the walls, the ceiling, you name it. Hell, there were even those cliche heart boxes with all the shitty chocolates in them that seemed to always end up in the possession of at least a couple Toons. I love you this, I love you that, on and on and on.

This might be Shrimpo’s most hated holiday for real.

It surprised no one that Shrimpo wasn't particularly festive, but if he had to choose just one holiday to wipe off the face of the Earth, he's almost certain that he wouldn't hesitate to choose Valentine’s Day. It was so… weird. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to make an entire day about love? He already had to suffer through a truckload of other people’s feelings every day he spent in this hell; twenty-four hours reserved for the mushiest of all emotions felt like his own special-made nightmare. 

From his spot slouched against his bedframe, Shrimpo glared at the calendar on the wall across from him, on which he had already scratched a rather aggressive line in red pen on the box with the number 13. He had a couple more hours to brace himself before the dreaded day arrived, before he’d be subjected to all the heart eyes and sentiments and — Uurgh. 

In an attempt to keep the looming dread at bay, Shrimpo’s gaze flicked upward a little, focusing on the picture displayed on the calendar’s upper page. Two koi fish looked back at him, red and white scales contrasting greatly with the vibrant blue waters that served as the background. Kōhaku, he thought, the word popping into his head with little provocation. His clenched fist loosened a tad.

He remembered when Finn had run up to him a couple days after the New Year’s party, waving that calendar above his head. 

“Hey hey hey, Shrimpo! I got something for ya!” 

Shrimpo had turned around, blinked once at the rapidly approaching fishbowl, and barked out an “Eh? What?!”

”Look, it’s a calendar!” Finn slowed to a stop in front of him, holding out the calendar in question. “Brightney let me have some, said she’s already got too many of ‘em. We could be matching!” 

‘Finn wants to… give me something.’ Shrimpo gave the cover a critical once-over. It depicted a shoal of some fish he could not identify, with the words ‘Aquatic Life’ printed boldly near the top. ‘Figures.’

“…Lemme see.” He extended one hand, and Finn gladly let him take hold of it. He briskly flipped backwards through the pages within, getting glimpses of various fish whose names were foreign to him. A flash of red and white caught his eye, and his thumb stilled momentarily on top of the U in ‘February’.

Noticing the page he had paused on, Finn chirruped, “Those’re koi! Pretty, aren’t they? They’re REEL popular in Japan especially.”

Shrimpo shot Finn a stink-eye at the pun, but did not retort with an insult right away, which Finn chose to interpret as a sign to continue. “This particular type here is called kōhaku koi, because of their red and white markings. They’re one of the three most well-known varieties of koi, actually! The other two are called the Sanke and Showa varieties; both have black scales as well as red and white, but the Showa is primarily black with white and red markings, while the Sanke is like the Kōhaku but with some black marki—”

”I’ll take it.” Shrimpo could sense a full-blown yap-fest on the horizon, and there were only so many hours he wanted to spend standing in the hallway. His evasion tactic seemed to be successful, as Finn’s expression brightened and he bounced jubilantly on the soles of his feet a couple times. 

“Oh, yippee! You’ll love it, I swear! They even put in a couple facts about the fish in there too, haha!”

‘Which you already know by heart, I’m sure.’ Shrimpo watched as Finn raced off down the hallway once more, almost bumping into Poppy with a rushed “sorry!” and then he was gone. The calendar remained clutched in his hand, open to the page with the damn koi.

Slowly, he turned and began shuffling in the opposite direction, towards the dorms. He held the gift tight against his chest, glancing down occasionally to ensure it didn’t ruffle or tear.

Kōhaku, huh…

He wondered if he had any thumbtacks stored away somewhere.

About a month had passed since that encounter, and Shrimpo still did not know where they stood with each other. In the interactions they had since the dance, Finn had remained just as friendly and pun-prone as ever – but what sort of friendly was it? Was it just regular friendly, or ‘I'm trying not to cringe at the sight of you so I'm doing my best to act normal’ friendly, or… or… or what!? There might as well be a thousand types of friendly that a Toon could be, how the hell was Shrimpo supposed to know!

This would all be so much easier if Finn just let himself be hated like everyone else.

Groaning in agitation, Shrimpo rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. His brain was not being cooperative today. Why did every train of thought have to become weird and confusing? “I hate brains,” he declared into the smothering fabric.

A knock on the door called for his salvation (or doom, depending on the circumstance). “Who’s it?” he yelled, lifting his head up to speak. 

A familiar voice answered him. Shrimpo decided he would have been better off pretending he wasn’t home. He reluctantly swung his legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed the doorknob, hesitated, then flung the door open.

“Heya, bud! How goes it?” Finn seemed to have an extra bounce in his step today, almost exaggeratedly so. Some snippets of red paper had gotten into his head somehow, and were now drifting placidly near the bottom of the bowl.

Shrimpo quirked one dubious brow. “What’s up with you?” he replied instead.

“Hm? Nothin’, nothin’, I’m just… Excited! Yeah, excited for tomorrow.”

So Finn was one of those people, huh… Figures. He looked like the type who’d be all for a day of getting all emotional and tenderhearted. Shrimpo’s expression did not change. “And you’re here because…?”

“Um… just cause! I felt like visiting you, keheheh.”

“Try again,” he deadpanned, doing his best to ignore the peculiar swelling feeling in his chest if he dared entertain Finn’s words – which were not true at all, obviously. Surely.

A brief pause, before Finn accepted defeat and loosened his shoulders, his expression turning sheepish. “Um… can you help me get the, ah, the paper? Out of my head? I was doing, uh… something… with Scraps and Goob, and it got in there one way or another. I can’t reach that far in.”

“All this red shit? Why the hell are you asking me?” 

“Well, Scraps couldn’t, cause, uh, she’s made of paper… and I’m pretty sure Goob just ended up getting more of it in there. Plus, his hands aren’t necessarily the best for more, ah… delicate jobs. You’re the first person I thought of.”

The aforementioned details Shrimpo could not deny; Goob could probably crack Finn’s head in half without even trying. For whatever reason, the thought of such a thing brought with it an odd sense of discomfort.

‘The first person he thought of…’

“...Fine, fine,” Shrimpo sighed irritatedly, grabbing Finn by the arm and yanking him forward. “Just hurry up and get in here.” 

Finn stumbled into Shrimpo’s room, glancing around with curiosity – though not much had changed since his last visit on the evening of the dance. ‘Why the hell does the damn dance keep coming up?’ The fishbowl’s gaze landed at last on the calendar, and his grin rebounded with double the energy. 

“Hey, you did put it up! I knew you’d like it!” His eyes shone like the sun.

“Mm,” Shrimpo replied curtly, grabbing the stool next to his closet and dragging it over next to Finn. He stepped up onto the platform and proceeded to grab the rim of Finn’s head with one hand, to the surprised yelp of the boy in question. “Hold still,” he ordered before plunging his other hand into the water, keeping his eye on the sides of the bowl to pinpoint the location of the paper fragments.  

“Ack – careful, Barnaby Wilikers is in there!” 

“You’re aware that ‘Barnaby’ isn’t a live fish, right?” Shrimpo snorted.

“He’s my emotional support animal, leave him alone,” Finn retorted with a mock pout, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” 

The water in Finn’s head was surprisingly warm, Shrimpo mused as he managed to catch a couple pieces of paper in his palm. He wondered where he got it from. A sink, perhaps? Did his head magically procure water? Shrimpo considered asking, and decided against it for fear of seeming ignorant.

“Um, so…” It was Finn who broke the silence, while Shrimpo stubbornly chased after the last stray paper piece. “You doing anything for Valentine’s Day?” His voice gained a faint lilt to it. “Heh, got a special someone you’re getting something for?” 

The water felt a tad warmer now. Peculiar.

“Are you kidding? Please. I hate everyone in this dump.” Shrimpo paused his paper-fishing for a moment and laughed dryly. “You couldn’t pay me to get chocolates or some shit for anybody. I don’t even eat that crap.” If ever he took a chocolate bar when on one of the expeditions down below, it was solely to keep it from everyone else.

“Oh. Alright. Guess that’s… pretty on-brand for you. Hah.” 

Shrimpo couldn’t see Finn’s face all that well from his current angle, but he sounded… well, not as sunshiny as before, somehow. Before Shrimpo could wonder why, he at last captured the final snippet of paper, and he triumphantly raised his closed fist out of the tank.

“SHRIMPO WINS!” he shouted, whilst some water splashed outward to land on the floor from the sudden movement. Shrimpo pretended to pay it no mind, hopping down from the stool and putting his fists on his hips. “You can thank me later.”

Finn gave Shrimpo a somewhat tight smile, taking a step towards the door. “Thanks, Shrimpo,” he replied, eyes fixated on a spot behind Shrimpo’s shoulder. “You’re…” he paused, then shook his head. 

“Nevermind. Bad joke.” 

He turned away, and out into the hallway he went.

Shrimpo stared at the empty space where Finn had stood a moment ago. Bad joke? Bad joke? Not once had Finn been so self-aware as to recognize his puns were horrendous; something truly problematic must have happened. Had Shrimpo said something wrong? Had he messed up Finn’s brain by accident? Did Finn even have a brain?? 

Shrimpo racked his own for any idea as to what might have caused Finn’s change of heart, and rapidly came to the conclusion that he hadn’t a clue. He loathed to admit any weakness, but it was most undeniably true that Shrimpo was not well versed in social cues. Could you blame him? – he never would have thought in a million years that he’d have to know any. He prided himself on dancing to the beat of his own drum no matter how problematic this deemed him, but it would seem that this was one of the few occasions where doing so would not benefit him. 

Why was that? Why could he not push Finn’s feelings aside the way he did everyone else’s?

Okay. Revisit the facts. Finn had asked him if he had plans for tomorrow, then if he had somebody he was getting a gift for (ew). Shrimpo had denied this, obviously. And then… had Finn gotten mad? Disappointed? Why? There was literally no reason for him to get upset that Shrimpo didn’t have someone he was going to spend the day with… unless he was some major empath or something and felt bad. Shrimpo couldn’t relate, but even if it were true Finn’s reaction still seemed a bit unusual.

He was getting nowhere fast, and what little patience he had was wearing thin. He had to know the answer to his query as soon as he was able; it was already eating away at his chest and making his brain prickle uncomfortably. 

Despite his contempt towards the mere idea of it, he might have to rely on… other sources, more socially adept ones. He could not believe that one stupid fishbowl was getting him so out of sorts, making him resort to such desperate measures. 

Stupid Finn. Stupid social cues and stupid paper strips. 

Emitting another agitated groan, Shrimpo aggressively shook his hands in front of him for a moment in frustration as he began stomping towards his door. His room was doing that dumb thing again where it started feeling too small, signaling his cue to head out. 

He paused briefly as he stood parallel to his punching bag, before whirling to face it and throwing a singular wild punch. His fist landed a bit off-center, but it was enough to make the bag bump against the back wall. Unsatisfied, he grabbed the frame and heaved it to the side with a grunt, making it topple over onto the floor with a loud clatter. Only then did he cross the threshold into the hall.

Like some specter of doom, Shrimpo stood still in the empty hallway, fists at his side and an ireful gaze fixed firmly on the wall in front of him. Where should he go? He hadn’t actually formed much of a plan about which ‘outside sources’ he planned to use. 

Other Toons were out of the question, forget Finn himself. He refused to ask for assistance from anyone; he’d already spent too much of his time purposely antagonizing them, no way was he going to wreck all his hard effort now. So then what else was there?

The library – yes, of course, the library. He’d never paid it a visit once during his entire stay, but allegedly libraries had books about pretty much everything, so surely he would be able to find something that could help him out some. Didn’t they have computers in there sometimes? That could also work. He still had his reservations about relying on anything other than himself – and God forbid he ran into Brightney’s book club –  but modern problems required modern solutions or whatever. He’d just have to be extra careful not to run into anybody.

Now to actually find where it was. He swiveled on his heel to face the hallway to his left, fully prepared to spend a good amount of his evening traversing through Gardenview. ‘Alright, I’ll try upstairs first, and then–’

“Whoa, look who it is!”

A cheery voice behind him shattered his hopes of remaining undetected. For half a second he wondered if Finn had come back, but a glimpse behind him confirmed something much worse.

“Don’t see you out and about much!” A couple yards away, Goob waved one absurdly large hand at him from his doorway, sporting that moronic smile that Shrimpo had come to despise. “Where ya off to?”

“None of your business!” Shrimpo snapped. Geez, could this guy take a hint? Shrimpo had lost count of how many times he had vowed his eternal hatred towards Goob, and the number of times those vows had been all but forgotten an hour later. In a sense he was almost the same as Finn, except a whole lot dumber. Finn at least acknowledged Shrimpo’s spiteful claims and simply chose to pay them little mind; Goob just straight up didn't seem to remember.

“Uh, okay! Anyway, I have something for ya, so come over here real quick!” Goob’s multicolored hands were already outstretched and making their way towards Shrimpo at an alarmingly high speed. Oh no. Surely he wasn’t going to—

Shrimpo was not proud of the high-pitched screech that left his mouth as he was grabbed by his sides.  All of a sudden he was being half-dragged across the floor towards the ginger shitbrain that seemed to have absolutely no concept of personal space. In mere moments he found himself on his ass in front of Goob, whose smile had not changed since the beginning of their encounter.

“Wh— LET GO OF ME!” Shrimpo scrambled away from the offending hands, which let go of him without complaint. Already could feel the skin where he had been grabbed tingling, a sensation not unlike that of an ant colony crawling about. Jaw clenched, he clutched his sides tightly with his arms and glared wrathfully up at his attacker, who looked down at him with an expression that now displayed blank confusion. 

“Goob?” A feminine voice called from inside the boy’s room. “Who’s out there?” Light footsteps could be heard getting closer, and within the next couple of seconds Scraps poked her head outside; her ears lowered slightly when her curious gaze landed on Shrimpo. “Oh.” 

Goob turned to look at his sister, his smile widening once more. “I was gonna give him his valentine! I know it’s a little early, but he was right there. It was the perfect opportunity, right?” 

‘What the hell is this guy talking about? A valentine? He’s gotta be joking.’ Realizing he was still sitting on the floor in front of witnesses, Shrimpo swiftly got to his feet and brushed himself off, ignoring the remnants of the tingling feeling. Goob had just earned himself the #1 spot on Shrimpo’s hit list for that move. 

Scraps sighed, crossing her arms as she eyed Shrimpo warily. “Whatever you think is best, Goob.” As the Toon retreated back into the room, presumably to grab whatever it was he had prepared, Scraps raised one brow at Shrimpo and queried, “So… what happened here?”

Shrimpo considered just booking it out of there and heading to the library like he’d been planning to do in the first place — nothing was keeping him here, after all — but that could be taken as a sign of weakness or incapability. No way was he fleeing with his tail between his legs from some paper cat lady and her dumbass brother. 

Besides… he might as well see what Goob had pulled together for him while he was here. To critique it, of course.

“The idiot grabbed me and yanked me over here,” he replied with a scowl, gesturing with one hand in Goob’s general direction. “I hardly even said a word to him. Doesn’t he have any common sense?”

Scraps’ ears flattened fully against her head, her tail lashing about behind her. “First of all, my brother is not an idiot, thank you,” she hissed at him, pupils slit and eyes narrowed. “I’m sorry he touched you without permission, but that doesn’t give you the right to insult him, you hear? He’s been nothing but nice to you all this time, and you treat him like this.”

Shrimpo would have gladly started a full-on argument with her (at least there was one other Toon here who had some backbone), when none other than Goob himself popped up out of nowhere and thrust something into Shrimpo’s hands. Scraps, begrudgingly, took a step back.

“Here! I made it for you yesterday!” Turning his scrutinizing eyes downward, Shrimpo was met with a piece of red paper cut out to resemble a heart – or perhaps a lopsided piece of mutton, it was a bit difficult to tell. The words “HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!” were displayed boldly, albeit somewhat off-center, in black marker. Taped near the bottom was a single gumball. ‘How charming.’

“What is this,” Shrimpo deadpanned, looking up towards Goob. “We are not… a thing. You should not be giving this to me.”

“What do you mean?” Goob blinked in mild surprise. “You don't need to be dating to give someone a valentine!”

“Goob’s right,” Scraps added, shooting Shrimpo a look as if to say ‘Don’t be an ass’. “Valentine's Day is about spending time with people you care about, not just romantically. It could be a family member or a friend. Love takes on more than one form.”

Shrimpo refrained from commenting for a moment, absorbing this latest knowledge. He had assumed that love was reserved for, y'know, people who were in love, but apparently this was not the case. Though he didn't have any relatives whom he cared about, and as far as he was aware he didn't have any true friends here (right?), so Valentine's Day still didn't apply to him. Hah. Take that.

And yet…

He felt this info was important somehow, to his own puzzlement. He looked down at the vaguely heart-shaped paper in his hands again. It looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. 

‘More than one form…’

Wait.

He almost tripped over himself as he stumbled backwards slightly from the suddenness of his revelation. The craft siblings observed this with varied looks of concern. 

“I gotta go. I will… I will accept this,” Shrimpo said hurriedly, almost rushing the words to leave his mouth. “Bye.” And he turned on his heel and ran off down the hall like a man possessed. 

“Um… okay! Bye bye!” Goob waved at Shrimpo's retreating form. The farewell was left unheard.

The elevator doors couldn't open fast enough. Shrimpo slipped inside the moment they began to and slammed his fist on the button to the next floor up. Only when the doors closed on themselves did he let out a breath and lean against the back wall. He clutched Goob’s valentine against his chest.

He couldn't believe it. He simply could not believe that this was his answer.

If it were true…

‘Does Finn want me to do something for him tomorrow?’

It would explain his earlier reaction, at least. From that perspective, getting told that Shrimpo hated everyone in Gardenview could be cause for some resentment.

However.

The other connotations that went with the theory were… a big pill to swallow.

The elevator doors slid open again, and Shrimpo stiffly marched out. His original plan to go to the library no longer seemed as necessary now (though he could be entirely wrong and the library would provide him with the correct, easier answer). Despite this, he felt there was something that could be done here. He had an inkling of an idea of what it might be.

He looked both ways down the hall, to double check he was alone, before allowing himself to half-fall into a sitting position on the floor. He loosely wrapped his arms around his knees, setting his valentine next to him, and stared off into space with a furrowed brow.

If Finn truly did want something for Valentine's Day… the possibility that he was thinking of something for Shrimpo didn't seem too far-fetched, right? Maybe it was, he didn't know. He didn't seem to know a whole bunch of things nowadays. He was never taught, and to learn seemed an impossible task. 

‘Never mind, just assume he's getting something.’ So, theoretically, if Finn was getting Shrimpo a… a gift… 

Valentine's Day is about spending time with people you care about.

Would that mean Finn cared about him?

While yes, he already sported a pretty friendly disposition, it could also be that he was just choosing to tolerate Shrimpo out of politeness; this was the explanation that the latter had subconsciously chosen to believe, ignoring any signs that might say otherwise. It was plausible and relatively easy to understand, no room for subtext or misunderstanding. 

You did not get a Valentine’s gift for people you merely tolerated – this much Shrimpo knew. You did not become disappointed if they said they had no intentions of doing the same. 

Not for the first time that day, Shrimpo thought back to the dance, that fated 1st of January. He had dismissed the entire thing the morning after, blaming anything he might have felt about it beforehand on exhaustion, and left it at that as best as he was able.

But he could claim whatever he wanted – it didn’t mean it was true. It did not erase the memory, the way Finn had looked at him then. Even now he would not be able to describe that look or what it meant, but he knew that was not the sort of look meant for any random Toon. 

May I have this dance? 

God, life could be so much easier if he had stayed in his room that night. 

Shrimpo ran a hand over his face, nails dragging slightly over the skin. He got the sensation he was hurtling towards a line in the sand that could not be uncrossed. Giving Finn a gift in return now seemed on par to giving an admission he wasn’t sure he was prepared to give. 

‘Or maybe you’re being a sissy and overthinking it,’ a different part of his brain snapped at him, breaking his spiral into an early midlife crisis. ‘Man up and get something for the fishbowl, goddamn. It’s literally not even that serious.’

…On rare occasions, Shrimpo could appreciate his brain a little. He blinked, inhaled, then took hold of Goob’s valentine and rose to his feet again. 

He was thinking about it all wrong, he decided as he began walking down the corridor. This was just a… a chance to prove his capability. Yes. Like the thing with Scraps earlier; he could have left, but he didn’t, because he wasn’t a pathetic weakling. 

This had to be like it, right? This whole conundrum was a test to see if he could hold his own. If his resolve would crumble under the pressure. Finn had looked disappointed because he’d expected Shrimpo to rise to the challenge. Damn, he must think Shrimpo was pathetic.

He refused to let that idea stand, no matter how… unique this test was. 

Yeah. This was definitely what was going on. He was just tweaking out earlier and overanalyzing it. Totally hadn’t been having a revelation. Absolutely wasn’t half-assing another explanation to save himself from figuring out the original.

Yep. 

So… a gift, huh. Where might one be found? The image of a multicolored flower popped into his head, and Shrimpo instantly brushed it off. He hated Dandy. He hated everyone here, of course, but Dandy was #2 on his hit list. (Previously #1, but a certain Goob had claimed that spot a couple minutes ago.) Shrimpo just… didn’t trust him. He’d smile at you in passing, but Shrimpo had learned long ago not to count on outward appearances.

Although… he could think of another Toon with lots of items to offer. One that may be susceptible to threatening bargaining.

He jogged a little ways down the hall before stopping in front of a door. Glancing at the designation code painted on the wall to confirm it was the one he was looking for, he inhaled, squared his shoulders — and promptly began banging on the door with his fists.

“GIGI!!” He screamed, his voice echoing through the empty hall. “OPEN UP!!” Through his peripheral vision he could see a head peering out to see what the cause of the ruckus was, then quickly shutting the door again before he could see who it was. Whatever.

Mercifully for Gigi, it did not take long for them to answer the call of their visitor. “Holy shit, quiet down,” they chastised, glaring at him. “It’s late. The hell do you want?”

“I WANT TO BUY SOME SHIT OFF OF YOU,” he replied, maintaining his original volume to quickly assert dominance over the situation. “LET ME LOOK.”

“Wh— dude, my collections ain’t for sale,” Gigi answered as Shrimpo stomped his way into the room. “Why do you need anything from me, anyway? I don’t have no boxing equipment, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

“IT’S… NOT FOR ME.” Shrimpo had some reservations about revealing his true intentions, but he recalled seeing Gigi hanging around Finn a couple of times, listening to his fish facts — of all the things! Who would willingly sit through a monologue about anglerfish mating customs? (Shrimpo had once endured such a thing, albeit against his will; he could only get so far away in a closed elevator.) Perhaps adding in this detail would help sway the tides in his favor. “IT’S FOR FINN.”

“For… Finn?” Some of Gigi’s aggravation faded, to be replaced with surprise — and then, to Shrimpo’s horror, a sly grin. “Well, well, well,” they drawled, crossing their arms as they leaned against the wall. “Never thought I’d see the day when you finally softened up. Someone catch your eye at last, eh?” 

“WHAT— NO!!” Of all the horrid assumptions. Shrimpo clenched his jaw. “I AM PROVING MY SUPERIORITY. I WILL NOT BE BESTED BY A BOY WITH A PLASTIC FISH FOR A COMPANION.”

”Mhm.“ Gigi did not seem impressed by his explanation — but at last they loosened. “All right. I’ll let you take up to two things, and I expect to be paid real nicely. I recommend looking over on the third cabinet, with the tackles n’ everythin’: Finn would probably like that sorta stuff.” 

“Whatever.” With the hard part out of the way, Shrimpo felt free to lower his volume, at least a little. Sauntering over to the shelf in question, he rapidly noticed that this might take a little longer than he thought. Gigi was known for being a hoarder, but hell, they could probably give Dandy a run for his money with how much crap they owned. This cabinet alone was only a couple items away from maximum capacity, as was every other. 

“Where’d you get all this junk?” he muttered as he began sifting through the collection. It wasn't meant to warrant a reply, but Gigi answered with a vague “Oh, here and there.”

Most of the stuff he was looking at had something to do with fish, with a tackle box here, a painting there, and so on and so forth. There was some jewelry, though, and Shrimpo’s fingers happened to catch upon something whilst rummaging in that general area. 

It was two beaded bracelets, one crimson and the other cerulean, bots with the same charm of what appeared to be an octopus. Shrimpo considered them in his palm; he had no idea why one would need two matching bracelets, but whatever. It would do — he’d rather not stick around for longer than he had to. He whipped around and thrust them forward in a silent query.

Gigi glanced at them, a faint smirk reammerging on their face (though Shrimpo did not see why). “60 tapes,” they hummed at last. At Shrimpo’s withering glare, they relented and added, “Okay, fine, 40.”

Shrimpo fished around in his pockets, for once thankful that he snatched up so many of them during runs. “Here,” he snapped, shoving the currency into Gigi’s hands. In the next second he was gone.

“A thank you would've been nice,” Gigi scoffed to themselves, reaching out to close the door. 

“FINN!” The rest of the prior evening had come and gone, and the dreaded 14th of February had descended upon them. Although Shrimpo was no less spiteful of the current date then he had been before, he had business to attend to. Namely, a certain gap-toothed buffoon.

Sitting at one of the dining room chairs, the boy himself turned his head with a brow raised, only to devolve into a grin Shrimpo knew all too well. “Shrimpo!! I’ve been meaning’ to look for ya, actually,” he chuckled, scooting his chair over a little and pulling out the one next to him. “Come and sit!” 

Plopping down unceremoniously on the offered chair, Shrimpo opened his mouth to rush out the words he needed to say, and was promptly beaten to the punch. 

“So, uh… I made something for you. Here.” Reaching into a small cross-body bag he had slung over his shoulder, Finn pulled out an ominously familiar-looking piece of paper and extended it to Shrimpo, who snatched it in one hand after a beat of silence. The words “Happy Valentine’s Day!” were written in a large, round font in the center. The shape of this one was a much more distinguishable heart. Some stickers of starfish and coral were scattered about on the sides.

Of course he had assumed that there was a good chance Finn had something for it, but to see material proof was an entirely different matter. He held the paper on flat palms, as if he believed his touch would rip it in two, and thought ‘This was made for me.’

“…This looks like what Goob made me,” Shrimpo commented after a moment, with striking bluntness, “but less sloppy.” 

That was certainly one way to deliver a comment.

“Oh-!” Finn emitted a sheepish hah. “I guess that makes sense; I did make it with him, after all. He offered to work on some handcrafted valentines with me yesterday, and it seemed like a fun thing to do.”

“S’that where the paper in your head came from?” The dots connected quite suddenly, but when they did it the whole ordeal made a lot more sense. 

“Yep. Sorry about that, by the way.” Finn shifted in his seat a little, gaze drifting downward to the floor. “Uh, I know you… weren’t planning to do anything, but it’s alright, it’s not mandatory or anything. I jus’ wanted to—“

“OH RIGHT,” Shrimpo interrupted loudly, remembering what he had come here to do in the first place. “I forgot. Here.” He placed the fist he had kept tightly closed the entire conversation on the tabletop in front of him, opened his fingers, and let the items he’d held loose before quickly retracting his hand again. The bracelets sat quietly for the whole world to see, the octopus charms catching the yellow glare of the linoleum lighting above.

Finn stared at them. The silence was deafening. Shrimpo’s mouth opened again to shatter it. “Um.” What was it that people always said in those sappy romcoms again? 

“They made me… think of you.”

Hang on, since when did I use fucking romcoms as a reference for social interactions? Stop that. That show was years ago anyway.’

Finn’s hand at least reached to inspect the bracelets, eyes wide and pondering. The tentacles of the two octopi caught together for a moment as they were picked up before releasing each other. 

“Are these.. for us?” Finn asked at last, looking back up at Shrimpo. 

Shrimpo frowned. “Eh? No, they’re for you.”

At this, Finn couldn’t help but break out in a brief giggle. “Not just for me, silly. They’re friendship bracelets. Each person gets one.” 

Shrimpo thought back to how sly Gigi had looked when he'd picked out his gift. He silently resolved to exchange a couple choice words with them later. 

“Uh…” He watched as Finn extended one to him, the cerulean one — an offering. For whatever reason, such a simple gesture felt loaded with meaning he wasn’t sure he was fully able to grasp. 

It felt almost like a commitment. A confession.

‘Again with this hyper-analyzation thing…’ There was his favorite voice of reason again. ‘Seriously, brother, you’re spazzing out. It’s Finn’s gift, he decides what he wants to do with it. If he wants you to take the bracelet, take the bracelet. Simple as that.’

He felt this brain-voice of his had a habit of omitting certain details, but he decided to let it slide for the time being. He’d already been sitting there like a dumbass staring at Finn’s hand for a second too long.

“…Fine, whatever.” Shrimpo reached out and plucked the thing up with two fingers, lifting his other wrist to slide it on. It felt eerily akin to putting on his own shackles. 

Shackles… to what?

‘Dude, for real! Snap out of it!’

Okay, okay! Keeping his fingers straight, he let the jewelry piece fall down to rest on his arm. He pulled on the cords to tighten it, although just a little, and looked up at Finn to gauge his reaction. The fishbowl’s smile was brighter than ever, holding out his own wrist adorned with the crimson beads. 

“This is a great gift, Shrimpo.” How warm his eyes were. The flecks of yellow seemed even more prominent, now. “You’re a real great friend.”

Friend.

“Okay,” he answered, for lack of a better word.

The boy seemed almost to glow. 

That night, Shrimpo lay silently on his mattress, looking up at his ceiling. Not much had changed since January; it remained as unremarkable as it had been the day he arrived, free of any holes left behind from outbursts. Maybe someday. 

He looked down at the calendar. The 14th had been triumphantly crossed off, and tomorrow so would the 15th. And eventually so would the 16th and 17th and all the other days, and then he’d have to get a new calendar so he could check off all the boxes all over again. 

He now looked to the calendar’s left. The words Happy Valentine’s Day! looked back at him, written in two different types of handwriting. The room was dark, but he could still see them faintly, unchanging. Even when he slept, he knew they would be there, for whenever he needed to look at them. 

Love takes on more than one form.

So do gumball flavors, he mused, chewing on his Valentine’s present. 

[spot-the-antisemitism]

Recently, anti-tankie subreddit r/tankiejerk came out with this anti-liberal, anti-social democrats (because they're not REAL democrats!!1!) and anti-two state solution/anti-Israel-and-technically-also-anti-other-countries-but-for-some-reason-we-only-mention-Israel statement!

https://www.reddit.com/r/tankiejerk/comments/1iwb6jc/important_rule_changes_regarding_liberals_and/

I've gotta say, it seems a bit lacking in self awareness for an anti-tankie subreddit to be engaging in dumb leftist infighting. I mean, socdems? Really? The mod(s) are also very anti-Democratic Party/Joe Biden/Kamala Harris of course, from what I've seen.

This bring us to this buzzword-laden statement on zionism, which is bad because if Jews are a majority then that automatically means oppression for Palestinians, or something. I feel like I can't understand the thought process here. I mean, it's bad if Jews "rule" over the land... but it would be ok for Palestinians to rule over a Jewish minority? What is the logic here?

Comment raised a pretty good question. What does the mod answer?

So, according to their own source, over 50% of Palestinians want a 2SS, or a 2 state confederation...

...so we, as leftists, should ignore what THEY want, and focus on supporting what WE think they need???

I seems so presumptuous. "Oh, it's ok if they want a 2SS because for them it's just a temporary fix/step into an integrated 1 state solution" bitch what if they want a permanent or long term 2SS, did you even care to ask or find out?

As you can see from the down votes, this post and the mod's comments were pretty controversial to say the least. There weren't many comments against it though... Presumably because they were deleting those as "liberals" lol

Dear ara line,

I think the colonialist tankie coup that wants to impose their color revolution on Palestine and bring them “leftist democracy” doth protest too much

Cecil

[authoratmidnight]

So I was looking through the OptiRatch tag, as you do, when I saw @energon-depo's post about 'Smokescreen is an OptiRatch kid'

And unfortunately it takes very little to get my brain worms going and that one did and I kinda wanna write this. Or at least, a re-imagining of episode 18 where that's the case.

Like. Sometime waaaaaay before canon, before the war, Orion and Ratchet had a little sparkling (Smokescreen). But then (perhaps near the beginning of the war? just after he became a Prime?) he went missing/was kidnapped. He was just gone (I'm sort of thinking maybe Ratchet and Smokescreen were caught in an attack and separated and when the smoke and dust settled he looked everywhere for the little one to no avail).

Eventually they had to conclude he'd died in the attack, because what else can they do? So they grieve and mourn (esp grieving the fact that, now with everything going on, they'll probably never have another one-not only is it far to dangerous to bring a life like that into the world, but if anyone were to find out that Optimus had family like that, it would be painting a target on their backs. he already has to keep his relationship w/ Ratchet on the down low now, a child would be far to risky).

Then we fast forward ahead however many tens of thousands-millions of years have passed and it's the present day on Earth. Team Prime is investigating that escape pod, gets jumped by the 'Cons and then BAM. Smokescreen appears.

And to Ratchet and Optimus, the moment they see his face, it's like they've just seen a ghost. Because he may be grown up now, but that face, those colours/markings, those features, it's the same, it's their sparkling. Of course they mask this well enough under a guise of just. Surprise at seeing another young Autobot. Meanwhile they're looking at each other like 'you're seeing this right??'

So they bring him back to base and ofc ask him about himself, how her got there, his name (b/c it can't possibly be him. it just can't). He gives the spiel we know. But also further prodding on Ratchet's part (while giving him a physical to make sure he's in good condition, don't need another wounded warrior on their hands) reveals that (as far as he knows) any family he had died in the war. His memories as a sparkling are hazy at best, he doesn't remember his parents.

He grew up alone and basically went from alone to the Elite Guard, to his station w/ Alpha Trion and then on Earth.

Meanwhile, Ratchet and Optimus are just 'oh sweet Solus Prime it IS him' esp when a test that Ratchet ran while doing his physical confirms relations.

So on one hand, they're ecstatic that their missing sparkling is alive and well. On the other, do they tell him??? They want to, Primus knows they want to, but at the same time it would be so dangerous, cause it would and could get back to the Cons and that would be painting the biggest ever 'take me hostage' sign on him. So maybe not yet but, perhaps one day.

Smokescreen is woefully oblivious to any favouritism going his way (getting to call Ratchet 'doc' w/o issue, being allowed to just. use the Phase Shifter whenever. god they try not to show favouritism but they slip up sometimes)

And then the s2 ending/s3 staring events happen and Ratchet is just gripped with grief at the thought he's lost not just his partner, but his child for the second time in his life. He is beyond relieved when they turn up alive.

Smokescreen isn't quite sure why Ratchet hugs him so tightly once they're reunited. Like, he's glad to see him too but uh, Ratchet you ok? He's also a bit surprised that Optimus isn't mad at him for disobeying orders (going back to save him when the base blew up, using the forge on him to save him), but he's not gonna complain cause it did work out.

Now Ratchet really wants to tell Smokescreen. After all that he deserves to know. Optimus still isn't sure (even though he does want to as well).

Maybe one day, when the war is over, when it's safer.

Also. Alpha Trion 100% knew who Smokescreen was (b/c he knows like everything) and orchestrated getting him guard duty there, with him, to keep an eye on Smokescreen/keep him safe. He also told him stories about Optimus Prime as a way for him to know about his dad (Smokescreen always had a fascination about him that Alpha Trion was happy to feed). He also orchestrated getting Smokescreen to Earth so he'd one day meet Optimus again.

[thimbleandakiss]

Old Wounds and New Scars

Vi & Sevika

Request by @loulooser: Hey is there a fanfic of Sevika and Vi meeting post-S2 just to talk now that everyone is gone. Cause like. She knew Vi as a little kid and watched Powder grow up when Vi couldn’t. I need to read this.

Summary: At the party Piltover throws to welcome the very first councilor from Zaun, Vi and Sevika talk about Jinx.

Content: Mild cursing, implied drinking, reminiscing

Cross-posted to Ao3

It felt too soon.

Too soon after the war. Too soon after watching the last hope Vi had of having her family back die in an insultingly colorful explosion. 

And yet… she and Caitlyn had been expected to attend. Attend the party welcoming the new Councilor Sevika. The spot on the Council had originally belonged to Cait’s mother, after all. Every time she thought about it, the name made Vi’s jaw clench. 

The grand event was held in a large, open-air pavilion, the setting late spring sun just warm enough to make it possible. Vi’s only consolation was that Cait hadn’t made her dress any particular way, and the familiar weight of her leather jacket kept her just grounded enough not to start picking fights. 

This wasn’t her kind of crowd. The champagne glasses clinking, the fancy dress, the high-pitched tittling of laughter. At least Sevika also stuck out like a sore thumb. 

That made her easier to avoid. 

Cait had told Vi that an open invitation had been issued to Zaun for the party, but clearly, not many bothered to show up. 

That gap would take far more than a party to bridge. 

During one of her side-long glances to track Sevika’s location in the room, Vi made the mistake of accidentally catching her eye. The older woman jerked her head towards one of the exits and disappeared. 

Fucking, great. Vi’s hands clenched into fists. Did she really want to have this conversation here, now? Was putting it off any better? 

As much as she resented Sevika… She had information Vi desperately wanted. Information on all the years she missed. 

Cursing under her breath, Vi placed a hand on Cait's shoulder, murmuring that she’d be right back, and followed the newly appointed Councilor onto the veranda overlooking a garden. 

Sevika had her arms crossed and propped on the railing, not bothering to even turn her head at the sound of Vi’s approaching bootsteps. 

She looked… different from the last time she and Vi had talked. New hair, new arm, new scars. Well, ‘talked’ was generous. It was more like Vi had kicked her ass, and she took no small amount of satisfaction in noting that one of the aforementioned new scars was courteous of yours, truly. 

Vi turned around, leaning her back against the rail and crossing her own arms across her chest. They were both silent for a while, the sound of the party slightly muted, now. 

Where do you even start? How do you have this conversation, especially with someone you’re on… less than good terms with. 

It was Sevika who broke first. “Listen… we don’t like each other.”

Vi scoffed, mumbling something under her breath Sevika chose to ignore. 

“ But ,” Sevika continued, her tone a little biting before letting out a strained sigh, “I’ve known you since you were a kid. You and Jinx. And I think… if Vander could see you now–” Vi tensed at the sound of his name from her lips, “–he’d be proud.”

Vi stilled. It felt like the breath had been knocked right out of her. Her head snapped to the side, brows furrowed in confusion and… maybe just a little bit of hope. 

“That’s the one thing you and I have always had in common,” Sevika said, her expression unreadable. “We’ve always been willing to do whatever it takes to protect those we care about most.”

“Lot of good it did me,” Vi muttered bitterly, casting her gaze to the ground once more. 

“You think I didn’t lose people?” Sevika retorted, her shoulders stiffening. “Think what you want about me, but I cared for Jinx.”

There it was. That damned name again. Just hearing her name had a tide of grief welling up in Vi so strong it threatened to black out all the light in the world. She swallowed thickly, stuffing it back down. Not here. Not now. 

“Jinx…” Vi said, voice tight, “What was she…”

Sevika let out a huff that might have even bordered on affectionate. 

“Crazy,” Sevika says bluntly, and Vi can already feel her instinct to defend her sister rearing its head, “Probably the most insane person I’d ever met. But… good. Once she found something worth being good for.” 

Vi relaxed slightly. “Isha?” Sevika nodded. 

“She loved that girl to pieces, gave up everything to give her the childhood she thought she deserved.

“She was also one of the smartest girls I’ve ever met. You could give her a toothpick, three pieces of wire, and a can of spray paint, and she’d find a way to make it explode.”

Vi’s chest warmed slightly, and she found her lips quirking up a little. 

“Took her a while to get there,” Vi mused, “When we were kids, she’d be lucky to get a puff of smoke.”

“She made me my second arm, you know,” Sevika told her, shifting so she was leaning sideways against the banister, facing Vi. “After you busted the first one.”

There was nothing apologetic in the grin Vi gave in response. “Whoops.”

They talked for a little while longer, talking about the people and memories they hadn’t even realized they’d shared. 

By the end, Vi felt like… something in her chest had healed. It wasn’t all better, far from it. But… some of that dull, ever-present ache eased a bit. 

Cait’s voice calling for Vi finally pulled her out of the moment, and she pushed herself off the rail. 

She was going to just walk in, leave the veranda like nothing had happened. Instead, she paused, and after only a moment’s internal debate, placed her hand on Sevika’s shoulder. 

“Welcome to Piltover, Councilor.”

If Vi didn’t know any better, she’d say Sevika smiled in response.

[mangionebabymama]

the vibe in this community has been so strange lately :( hope things slowly go back to normal in the coming days. thanks for keeping your stuff soft and kind <3

Fuck, I know. 🥺 I anticipated that last Friday was going to be a lot for us, but I didn’t imagine that the aftermath of it would transpire into all of this that has happened, and continue to happen. I know that seeing Luigi in custody, in imprisonment—literally and figuratively—was going to hit hard for all of us, and that regardless, we were all going to stand in support together for him. Yet, it tore a lot of people apart within this community and had people putting up against each other.

I understand there's gonna be opposing viewpoints about things, and most likely in the end, nobody will ever be satisfied, and there can be valid judgments within good reason and accountability to help teach one another and look out for each other in being the best sources of support for Luigi, but I'm still really caught up about literal death threats that blogs were sent on here—and how many have scared them off of here and made people delete their blogs and/or then reevaluate their content completely. Of course, it's always up for individual discretion with how you want to do with your blog in the end, but it's like it was forced upon in some ways that nobody expected it to be. Now, I'm not gonna flame anybody for telling them what kind of content they wish and not wish to see on their Tumblr, as you have your full autonomy to consume the kind of content you wish to see, but if you don't like something—don't engage with it. I don't spend my time on here going after people who believe Luigi is guilty because it's not worth my time, and that's not what my blog space is designated for. However, to send people death threats over the kind of content they post on their Tumblr because it's not your preferred method of expressing your interests and cultivating your brand because you don't agree with it is fucking crazy work—and it is undoubtedly so when you're saying this, as you're in support of a man who's ultimately facing the death penalty and extreme federal charges, and you're rallying and mobilizing online that he gets his right to a fair trial. As much as you may be unlike those people that post content you don't like, you're just as alike as them in supporting the same cause. At the end of the day, we were all placed in the same room, categorized for being just supporters, we're all in the exact same that we're there for the same reason, that being supportive of Luigi, and that's that. 

I hope things go slowly back to the way they were, too, because I still feel the effects reeling in, and it’s almost been a week now. I know that, for myself, I’ve shifted slightly from what I would usually post for many reasons, but for one, I still want to post and interact because I love being on here and I want to make my best efforts possible in continuing to talk about Luigi. I’ve also shifted a bit for the reason of protecting my peace and trying to avoid all and any backlash that so many blogs—including many of these involving my friends and people I’ve made great connections with—were undeservedly bombarded wwith. Of course, I could still be prone to these morality police officers, as they could dive deep into my blog and look at all the content I’ve posted. Even if I would delete something, I’ve been here long enough. People know what kind of blog I’ve made on here these last two months.

I’m not gonna lie. Seeing Luigi last Friday hurt me, and seeing him again in court and being villainized, criminalized, and shackled hit home, because we hadn’t seen him in so long and there, once again, he’s being paraded and politicized in ways and in living color that he doesn’t deserve to be—and it’s wrong that it’s happening like this. It’s really in our hands that we keep talking about him and spreading awareness about his rights and this case for however long he’s in imprisonment. Every little bit matters, and that little bit can do great impact—no matter how big or small.

I hope you’ve been holding up okay, and I appreciate your kind words. We’re here for each other, and everyone else. 🤍

[tora-the-cat]

In the spirit of @aceyanaheim's Tiny Kashi posting, I'd like to offer some more of my own Baby Itty Bitty Kashi headcannons;

-I think minato, in the dark quiet semi-subconcious part of his brain, realizes that Kakashi being so small is Probably Bad. but this is not something he can ever allow himself to actually process, because kakashi is strong and they are at war and the hokage needs him to be a voice of reason (he's 15). So his brain copes with the dissonance by taking ferocious care of the boy to try and make up to kakashi in a way neither of them will ever fully be able to process. they're so loving and adorable and twisted and YOUNG. and people wonder why minato's favoritism is so blatent.

-kakashi reluctantly dragging minato places with a glare because SO MANY people try to refuse service to this pointy kid.

-local six year old assassin had one too many back to back missions without any nap time and has a meltdown. 12 dead 6 injured 3 missing (dead, but not included in the mission perameters so Minato covered it up before Kakahsi could get in trouble or even really realize what he did <3)

-Kakashi looses his first tooth on a mission and Minato flies into a rage as he finishes the fight fast and brutal beause someone hit that toddler in the face and kakashi, who has never lost one of his bones before, is trying not to have a panic attack because he didn't know it could happen. and then the fight finishes and Minato takes a few breaths and blinks and is like 'OH. RIGHT. BABY TEETH. I FORGOT ABOUT THOSE.' and calms down. and kakashi gets pouty cause he thinks minato just called him a baby.

-kakashi having a life long If I Fits I Sits impulse cause like. his little legs get tired. and are too little to have him at eye level most of the time anyway. he would just sit on counters to fill out paper work (because he's a grown shinobi! he doesn't need his sensei holding his hand for everything!) when he was too short to do it standing up.

-@aceyanaheim mentioned it in their post too, but. Minato getting really good at just kind of. Being a human stepstool for kakashi. Like up to and including Kushina coming home to kakashi perched like a bird on Minato's outstretched arm to grab a cup while Minato is just. making dinner with the other hand. BUT ALSO.

-kakahsi talking several years to recognize as an adult that not everyone can be expected to comfortably handle him cause he spent YEARS getting manhandled like a wet cat and/or bag of grapes by all his superiors. The first time he jumps on Minato's shoulders to reach something on a high shelf and minato (just back from a long mission, missed a growth spurt, that kid is a head taller now) STUMBLES, they both like. stare at each other in confused horror

-Minato personally hand tailored Kakashi's chunin vest because they don't standard issue ones in 7 year old size. God only KNOWS what seals are hidden between the seams of that thing lmao

-there's an old konoha rumor about a jonnin that worked with Kakashi a few times when he was a kid and thought it would be funny to pretend to forget/get confused the names of his ninken, because he was 9 and very cute and pouty when he got mad. If anyone knows this man's name they dare not speak it, as he allegedly went missing shortly after insisting that Guruko's name was Gukuro and Kakashi gets frustrated enough to start crying over the overt disrespect to his companions

-(He was not killed, of course. Kakashi would never kill a comrade. the pups just held a bit of a grudge and withheld a bit of their attention in a following fight, and when his injuries landed him in the hospital Namikaze had a few encouraging words about pursuing alternate career options ^-^)

[austinslounge]

To the venting Anon.

It will be harsh to hear but this is the truth: Austin simply doesn't come across as sincere for someone who is not deep into the fandom. Compared to TC who seems always "on brand" and being himself ( love or hate this) Austin seems performative. For example, in the Actors on Actors video, he has these fake sound hummings, when he says "hmmm... exactly..." Sorry, but this is not seems honest, just an act. I do not like TC but he is never fake.

On the singing: TC sings all of the songs in the Dylan movie, AB doesn't sing all of the songs. Maybe he recorded all of it, but in the movie it's a mix. So there is a no question. Singing by yourself is a bigger achievement. Ramy Malek won an Oscar but he also got backlash for something similar, so since then, people judging harder this type of movies.

On the fame: being an actor and wanting to be famous is 2 different things and I don't like entitled fans who think they have a right to gain access or tell their fave to change profession. Margot Robbie doesn't have an insta, she deleted it and she is just fine and she is bigger star than Austin.

But the main problem is the first one. there is something in Austin that repels people if they are just ordinary moviegoers and not fans. He is like Henry Cavill who literally has no career anymore.

Okay, now see, what we're not going to do is have you, a Timmy Stan Anon (idc what you call yourself), come on to an Austin Butler fan Tumblr account (the blog name and pfp are pretty obvious) and proceed to just insult the man and not get checked for it.🤨

Second, I'll just add that I think it's very sad that people like you (who don't even know Austin), are just blindly following others online like sheep, and hopping on the "let's all hate on Austin Butler!" Train, instead of just thinking for yourself.

Honestly? I think a lot of the hate that Austin gets is not just because he's good-looking, or because of the Vanessa breakup (I've known plenty of actors to breakup with their gfs and they never received this amount of hate online), but also because so many girls/women online stan their favorite actors (like say Timothee), and they're threatened because Austin actually won two prestigious awards before Timothee Chalamet has, in half the time. I think some fans in some fandoms of famous actors are just upset that Austin (in their minds) seemed to come from out of nowhere, and shook things up a little bit, and now, their faves have someone else that they didn't expect to see coming competing in the big leagues right along with their faves. That (imo) is where most of the hatred online (especially from women) stems from. It's just jealousy and feeling threatened on behalf of their own faves if you ask me. Which, I'm not even sure why, because most of these actors don't even view themselves as competing with each other smh.

Anyway --- Before I go into this further, I have to say this:

**Disclaimer: I don't really like making too many comparisons when it comes to actors and comparing them to each other. It's just not really my thing, and it's kind of silly (imo), but for the sake of this post, I'll engage your comparisons.

It will be harsh to hear but this is the truth: Austin simply doesn't come across as sincere for someone who is not deep into the fandom. Compared to TC who seems always "on brand" and being himself ( love or hate this) Austin seems performative.

Umm first of all, Austin has NEVER been fake, EVER in his life. You can even look back to his old Tumblr posts and Tweets. He has always been who he is, which is a very sweet, kind, and down to earth guy. You (and some others on the internet) are the only ones calling him "fake", "pretentious", or "performative". 🙄 Those are your personal labels that you're putting on to him. Learn to know the difference. You don't even know him personally, yet you're putting negative labels on to him like you know him personally. 😒

Everyone who has ever worked closely with Austin has always had nothing but glowing things to say about him as a person, and has never ever called him "fake". From his co-stars on "The Carrie Diaries", his co-stars on "The Shannara Chronicles", his co-stars and even extras on set of "Elvis", to even his co-stars in Dune Part 2 (including Timmy, mind you), everyone has always said what a pleasure it is to be around him, and have never once called him "performative", or "fake". Not once. Not film crew, not interviewers who have interviewed him. NOBODY. Everyone (even directors) talk about how genuine and down to earth he is. Even that woman on the plane said just how "normal" he was and didn't seem like a celebrity at all. He's certainly never been called a "diva" before, unlike your precious Timothee Chalamet.😒

Even fans who have met him just briefly in person have always had wonderful things to say about him, and have never ever said he was fake. ☺️ If anything, they have said quite the opposite -- They've always said just how kind and genuine he is as a person. He's really someone who is attentive to you, listens, takes in what you're saying, and is very present and in the moment with you. ☺️ But yet, we're supposed to believe you, who doesn't even know the man, has never met him, and doesn't take into account what people who actually do know him have said about him? 🤨 Yea, okay.

For example, in the Actors on Actors video, he has these fake sound hummings, when he says "hmmm... exactly..." Sorry, but this is not seems honest, just an act.

Since when has saying "umm" or "hmmm" ever been seen as being "fake"?? Are you serious? 🥴

I do not like TC but he is never fake.

Uhhh actually, there are a lot of people who find Timothee fake. Some people find him (and his team) super calculated. There have even been rumors of him having diva behavior on set, which would negate the whole "wholesome good guy" image that he has curated for himself.

Could these articles/rumors be fake? Sure, they could be. But what I'm saying is that Austin hasn't even had anything of the sort like this come out about him. Yet, he's the one who's fake? 😒

Anyway, make of that what you will.

On the singing: TC sings all of the songs in the Dylan movie, AB doesn't sing all of the songs. Maybe he recorded all of it, but in the movie it's a mix. So there is a no question. Singing by yourself is a bigger achievement. Ramy Malek won an Oscar but he also got backlash for something similar, so since then, people judging harder this type of movies.

Excuse me, but please get your facts straight before making up stuff like this. First of all, Austin prepared to sing all of the songs in the "Elvis" biopic. He's a very thorough person and actor, so it's not something that he would have neglected.

He also sang all of the Elvis songs from the 1950s in the film because the older original Elvis songs were in such bad quality for a modern movie, that Baz simply had him sing all of the younger Elvis material. That included "Trouble", and everything prior to the Vegas scenes.

For the Vegas scenes, Baz shot the film with Austin actually singing live, and they blended Elvis' voice in some of the songs for the latter years of the film, but Austin is still singing. The decision to blend the voices was Baz's idea. Maybe he wanted to pay homage to the real late Elvis (who is dead btw -- Bob Dylan is not), and felt it was a nice way to show honor to the late singer.

But Austin can sing. He's been singing for years on TV shows. He also sang on SNL for Cecily's departure. The man can sing. It's not his fault if Baz wanted to blend the voices of the two singers in the latter Elvis years. That wasn't his fault.

He worked with a vocal coach and a movement coach and trained for a long time to be able to sing, move, and perform like Elvis. The man dedicated a lot of hard work and years to his craft for that film. So I don't really appreciate you trying to undermine his work.

But the main problem is the first one. there is something in Austin that repels people if they are just ordinary moviegoers and not fans.

No girl, that's just you and a few other bitter weirdos on the internet. 🙄 Real people (who can think for themselves) and who actually have met Austin, who know him, and who don't just follow the trends of whatever people are saying on the internet actually love Austin. Even those who aren't fans of Austin love him.

He is like Henry Cavill who literally has no career anymore.

No he's not. Girl, you lost all credibility with this statement alone. And what on earth does Henry Cavill have to do with anything? 🥴

Austin has like 4 projects lined up, has won a lot more prestigious awards than your Timothee, and directors love working with him. Not sure why you're comparing him to Henry Cavill (who just had a baby btw with his partner).

You may want to go back to the Timothee tumblr fan accounts, and please leave us Austin fans here alone. 😤 Thank you.

[ratherembarrassing]

2025: week 6 and 7

previously, on ratherembarrassing, our heroine was fleeing the mothercountry for the new world...

around the world in thirteen days: so all up, i made my way through every timezone in 13 days. i... don't recommend it, i don't think. it's possible that it was less good because, uh, i didn't sleep for 2 weeks, but who the fuck can say. in any event, onward to the ununited states!

newark!: the calmest airport in the entire country?! the cute little monorail to the train station?!?! the complete lack of signage about the two different train operators and the requirement to get a completely different ticket for each????? i will never fly anywhere else ever again if i can help it.

wet dream tomato: that congestion tax really is working because the streets of midtown were quiet at midday. the vibe was really off until hours before i departed when i saw what looked to be an eight year-old smoking. a shout out to myself for dropping a pin in the three theatres i was seeing shows in on maps and booking a hotel in the middle of the triangle, because that was, actually, sweet as fuck.

theatah!: oh, mary! (lyceum theatre, broadway). as previously said, laughed so hard i nearly peed my pants in a new york theater. as not previously said, i also sucked every bit of myself up and stage door'd in the rain and told betty gilpin, through the power of close proximity, that i love and adore her. go see this.

and then i bought a coat: this truly was an endeavour. the half abandoned basement of a macy's in brooklyn could well have been where i met my end, but i lived to see another h&m and the sweetest sales girl in the world found me the last remaining coat in all of the eastern seaboard. getting this home became a whole thing.

bagel bagel bagel!: so many bagels, the most enchanting of which was one filled with birthday cake flavoured cream cheese from a BTS (the band???) themed bagel store. new york, you are so weird and i love you so much. honestly, because of the weather i was really committed to just not leaving a 4 block radius if i didn't have to (alas, brooklyn) and just wringing the weirdest shit out of those four blocks was incredibly fun. i've been visiting new york for eighteen years and lived there for long enough to pay rent three times, and i've never spent so much time in times square, but i had a fun snowy time.

also, tho: you get mobile signal with data on the subway now?!?!?!?!

theatah!: sunset blvd (st james theatre, broadway). i actually have an entire post in me about this so i'm going to just say that you are free to picture me in the world's largest puffer coat, snoopy style, attempting to melt into the floor as nicole scherzinger said she liked my good luck babe hat as it quietly midnight snowed all around us. byeeeee. (go see this, oh my god go see this!)

theatah!: death becomes her (lunt-fontanne theatre, broadway). i did not know destiny's child's michelle williams was in this until she appeared and i very rudely said out loud, oh my god that's destiny's child's michelle williams. regardless, i was three for three with bangers on this trip. go see this.

go west! life is not peaceful there: absolutely nobody appreciated the moment we were all standing on line for an aggressive pat down by the tsa at jfk when wind beneath my wings started playing over the pa system. i was not amongst my people at all, so i had to leave. on the way, i visited texas for a grand total of 5 minutes. please picture me running off my plane, dashing 3 gates down the terminal, hugging @xactodreams, and running onto the next plane.

a brief interlude: once again they let me drive on the wrong side of the road. they probably shouldn't. why are the traffic lights only on the other side of the intersection. hertz does this thing now where you can just wander around the lot and take whatever car you want, which was more stressful than anticipated.

conclave conclave: this is, actually, the entry for @tgifemslash, my beloved little gay con that you too could attend if you want to do things like, uh, sit in a circle for an hour raving madly about the various wonders of 2024 movie of the year conclave. at this point in our story i had slept very little and was about to commence 3 nights of approximately zero sleep before 4am.

taco taco taco!: i admittedly have historically not been a fan of most mexican food, entirely because it's just not good in australia. in the hands of @wanderson20 mine eyes have been opened to the glory.

traditional shoutouts: clark street diner (my favourite place on earth). the grove (why do i always end up here) (i had to buy a suitcase). erhewon or however the fuck it's spelled (i joined a cult). the nice woman at the qantas desk (thank you for not charing me to check my second suitcase (see grove, the)). panda express (lax's international terminal's only good quality).

oh also: kbox karaoke in a deserted strip mall at 9pm on a sunday in an otherwise entirely empty karaoke place is, actually, it. were there other patrons for a brief window of time, howling on the other side of the wall, or was that the ghosts of patrons never.

SHE GETS THE JOB DONE: swerved 20 minutes out of my way and paid homage at the chappell roan billboard. shout out to the other person there doing the same thing. then i had to go home :(

and then a hero comes along: entire row of seats to myself, love of my life. it's such a rare treat these days to commandeer three tiny, shitty pillows and three gross blankets, strap yourself awkwardly to a bench slightly too short for even your shortass body, and drug yourself into unconsciousness for 11 hours. amen.

and then nothing good ever happened again the end au contraire.

cannibal club!: the yellowjackets is BACK, BABY! the severance/yellowjackets double feature is the only reason to get up in the morning, tbh.

a little brunch: little molli's (abbotsford). the smoked pork neck french dip is to die for, but the blood orange cream soda is to live for.

if anything else happened, i will never remember it, good night.

[whysoblue2]

Honestly, I'm just excited to see the Kallamar and Shamura co-dependant toxic sibling relationship they've got going on, I gotta know just how nasty it got at its different stages and how it likely ended up affecting how they raised their other siblings. I love platonic toxic stuff like this, I would ponder if it could count as Shamura being a bit yandere at some point during it but idk if you're comfortable with that sort of comparison and I don't know much about their relationship besides what you have told. I need the DETAILS, the DRAMA

OOOH yeah, their relationship is juicy and hella toxic in my HC. I'm not going to lie, it's bad, but I wouldn't go so far as being yandere. Travis is 100% yandere. Let's see if I can explain. Long post on my silly headcanon ahead! You have been warned!

Young Shamura god of war, ruthless and merciless. An extremist that has the mission to reshape the Pantheon as they see in their vision, over the blood and bones of other gods. This lil squidling god still didn't unlock the power of his crown and that's perfect because, to Shamura, that is a white canvas, something they can shape the way they want, also the lil shit can heal? A big plus! So they bring said lil shit on the battlefield and train him the way they think is right, following their doctrines and ofc it's really bad. I mean Young Shamura displayed the same empathy of a floor tile, only Kall's influence changed that as I mentioned in a previous post I think. Imagine the Trade meme with Shamura: I receive: The ability to love and care You receive: Trauma and life-long fear But as the squid grows up they realise he does have a personality, he is not a blank slate and he wants to do his own thing, he loves art, music, dancing, and all those meaningless things that won't matter in a war. Also, he wants to go and slay gods (and slay in general💅🏻) his own way! AND THAT'S BAD! Because after so many years fighting together, Kallamar is not just a brother-in-arms but the only family they have! The realisation struck: he was their beloved little brother! Shock ensues. But Shamura doesn't know how to deal with it outside tactics, strategies and warfare so to protect his little brother, they treat him like a war asset with everything that it entails. (I let your imagination run wild here.) Things will happen that will finally make Kall snap and unlock the power of the blue crown, turning him from health to pestilence. From there things will go smoother. Shamura will accept that he has his own personality/cult/followers, but that doesn't mean they like it. They most definitely won't like it when Kall starts dating disciples and mortals. Good luck with that one, Shamura, it's gonna be fun! Of course, this is in the span of centuries while the god slaying and war rages on, not exactly the easiest of times. How will that affect the way they raise the siblings?

As Narinder enters the game, Shamura will find the cat easier to deal with and they focus on raising him, trying not to repeat the same mistakes they made with Kallamar. When Narinder joined, Kallamar would always follow them in their training, terrified that Shamura would use the same extreme methods on the kitten. He is pleasantly surprised to see that while being hard on the kid, they are not nasty and they show care! Yay! (in the meanwhile, it will dawn on him - not true ofc - that he doesn't matter to Shamura anymore and that Narinder has replaced him. The fact he had to endure the bad Shamura for so long and when finally they were good Shamura, they didn't give a damn about him anymore hurts a lot.) Then Kall is responsible for raising both Heket and Leshy singlehandedly. Shamura had very little part in training Heket (she arrived as the war was ending) and none at all in Leshy (who had never seen war at all in his life), so the joys of being a big brother/dad are all on him. But that meant he would do everything possible to not be like Shamura! He could do better, right? Wrong! The backlash of this is that he is way too soft and understanding, to the extent that the young ones don't take him seriously at all, so they grow up basically bullying the shit out of him.

I CANNOT GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS! Cause I'm gonna write them in the fic 😈 Drama&Angst guaranteed. I hope that's a good enough answer!💙 Thank you!

[tiredspacedragon]

So we finally got a proper Legends: Z-A trailer

Saw a few other people posting their thoughts, so I figured I might as well join in because I do have a lot to say and not too many people to say it to. So here's what's going through my head looking through the trailer and website.

Long post ahead.

I was right. I told y'all and I was right and I am going to be smug about it because I said so. Present. Freaking. Day. I said the clothes in the reveal trailer proved it wasn't set in the past and I. Was. Right. Could still be time travel involved I suppose, but the majority of the game is set in the present and I am vindicated.

I wonder if the train station we arrive in, or I guess I'm just assuming this is a train station, is the same one that takes you to Kiloude in XY. Still want to know what "the usual place" is and if it has anything to do with the ghost girl.

The male protagonist kinda looks like Professor Sycamore to me. I wonder if we're gonna be a nepo baby in this game.

No gym logo on Prism Tower anymore. Which could mean anything really.

Actually a little disappointed about the "wild zones," I'd have preferred to see the Pokémon just out and about wherever. I think they may still be? But just mostly confined to these places. Bit of a bummer, not that bad.

The starter trio is...weird. I am disappointed to see that neither Snivy nor Piplup are part of it, feels like that was done on purpose just to subvert expectations. But subverted expectations don't guarantee the surprise is better, y'know? But yeah, Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile. I mean I don't dislike any of them, I'm happy to see them getting some love, they desperately need it. But having two of them be from Johto is really strange. Kanto and Hoenn probably weren't options because their starters already have Megas, but that still left Sinnoh, Alola, and Galar to pick from. So here's hoping they've just got something really good cooked up for both Meganium and Feraligatr that they just couldn't wait to show off. I'm really not sure if this game will follow in the footsteps of the previous Legends game and give us regional forms for these guys, or if they'll just get Megas instead. Both is possible, but unlikely, while just Megas feel like the most likely. Which kinda sucks because I like regional forms and would like to see more, but Kalos is the Mega region, sooo... I mean they could give these guys regional variants and then give us Megas for the Kalos starters and have us get one of them a la how we got a Mega Kanto starter in XY, but that's pure speculation. Anyway, these guys are neat, if a little odd. I like 'em fine. Also first time getting two quadrupeds in one starter trio so that's cool. Yeah Tepig's gonna stand up but it's still a first for the base forms.

Looks like the catching system works the same as it did in Arceus, which suits me just fine, because I had a lot of fun with that.

Ooh, we can go on rooftops. I notice, though, that there's no sign of catacombs yet. Still holding on to that little hope. Come on Game Freak, it's a whole game set in Poké-Paris, there have to be catacombs.

Rival picks the starter weak to yours. Lame.

Okay, so real time battles. That is...very interesting. I doubt this will become a series staple, at least in the mainline games. The turn-based Pokémon metagame is far too deep, intricate, and honestly well-crafted for them to just throw it out, but it is a neat idea for a pseudo side game like this. The faster pace will make the battles less methodical, less about taking your time and coming up with strategy and more about thinking on your feet, which could be a neat challenge. And I'm looking forward to seeing how certain moves' mechanics change in relation to this new system. The above screenshot, for example, shows a Lucario using Protect, which is normally not a very good move for playthroughs as it doesn't do much in most single battles other than waste a turn, but now in this game it will be invaluable. Being able to completely block an enemy attack without worrying about dodging and repositioning is incredible. It looks like each move is on a cooldown timer too, so you can't just hammer away with the same move over and over again. Guess that keeps the battles more dynamic. Also I wonder if this means they'll do away with PP. More powerful moves may just take longer to recharge. Hmm. There's a lot more I could say here, but I don't want this post to go on forever. Still this is neat, especially since I've been musing a lot lately on the differences between battles in the games vs how they're depicted in the anime and such.

I see the player character still has a dodge roll, so I assume the Pokémon can still kill us? Hope so, that was a big part of the fun last time.

So Mega Pokémon are all permanently iridescent now? I...actually don't mind that, it looks kinda nice. Sorta reminds me of the Terastallization crystallized effect. Pretty. Also I like the new bronze-coloured Mega Ring. Also pretty.

So the CEO is evil, right? That's kinda the way these things work in Pokémon. Of course it could be a double bluff and she's actually chill because they know we're expecting that trope by now, but we'll see. The big manly man secretary with the Pancham and Buneary hair ornaments in his man bun is cute though.

They put AZ in a SUIT?? Man looks clean! Like he even washed his hair! And he's smiling! He recovered and he's actually happy! Oh you love to see it. Still though, my guy, I get that you're three meters tall, but you live in Poké-Paris. You could have found a tailor. So I guess the stitched together clothes are a fashion statement.

Also we are so getting that Floette.

I never noticed that Zygarde 10% has a butthole before. A hexagonal one at that.

Looks like some parts of the city are still under construction. There's scaffolding up. That's cool, adds more of a 3D element to the environment. I do like climbing things.

Also, speaking of the city, it's split into five sections, and now they're all colour-coded. Which is kinda funny looking, but I mean I'm here for it. The colours match the plazas Lumiose had in XY that were named after colours...almost. The red section is where Magenta Plaza should be, and the section where Rouge Plaza should be is a very pale pink. So did they change the order, or are these colours someone's very mixed up idea of what magenta and red look like?

Okay so the rival is the protagonist you didn't pick with a palette swap and wardrobe change. That's cool, it's been a while since we've seen that. I mean I guess Arceus did it, but that was to match DP having Lucas and Dawn appear in game. The last time it happened with totally new characters was...XY. Huh. And of course changing their look is totally new. The names are a little goofy though. Urbain and Taunie. Sometimes Pokémon can be subtle with the protagonists' and rivals' names, but Urban and Townie here are not an example of that.

Speaking of, no names for the protags yet, but they are totally new designs, not makeovers of Calem and Serena, at least not obviously. I wonder if they'll be referenced at all. I highly doubt either will actually appear, but some mention of "the hero who stopped Team Flare x years ago" would be pretty standard Pokémon fare.

It is interesting how things in the wild zones seem to have just been left as they are. Like they weren't cleared out or turned into parks, there are cars left crooked on the side of the road and tables and chairs abandoned where they sat. I wonder if that's going to be a point of tension in the plot, people opposing the redevelopment plan because they were forced out of their homes. Seems unlikely for Pokémon to get into anything like that too deeply, but they may touch on it. Why do they look like that?

Sooo that's a Chikorita that knows Disarming Voice, which it cannot learn by any means in the mainline games. I smell a Grass/Fairy Meganium form in our future. Mega or regional, whichever. Tepig is shown using Rollout and Totodile is shown to know Bite, but both of them learn those moves normally, so that's no guarantee of Rock or Dark types for them. Fairy moves are new for Chikorita though, very very new.

Either that is the world's tiniest Onix, or Pokémon won't be properly scaled in this game. Again :/ Come on guys, you made it work last time. Yeah, visible size variation has been a thing in the last couple games, so maybe there's hope, but that itty bitty Onix sucks to see.

Okay hold up. Bottom right corner. It looks like Mega Evolution is on a timer. Don't tell me it just ends after that runs out. Oh I don't like that. Not at all. The whole point of Mega Evolution is that it's once per battle but it lasts the entire battle. That better not mean it only lasts until that timer runs out, that just makes it reskinned Dynamax. But I don't know what else that could mean. Ugh. Not a fan of that, no sir.

LOOKER BUREAU SPOTTED!!! Oh please tell me we get to check in on Emma. I would love that.

Okay, so this is the last thing shown in the trailer. A logo showing what looks to be the Prism Tower with a Poké Ball atop it, just after the text, "PROMOTION MATCH ANNOUNCEMENT." So what I would assume that means is that there are some kind of promotional battles, maybe a tournament, being held in Prism Tower? Possibly to fund the redevelopment project? I expect they'll use this to have a bunch of old characters show up with updated designs, which I love, so consider me stoked.

[mzannthropy]

Anne of the Island Book Club Chapter 25

Good to be back at Redmond again.

Anne contemplates going out vs staying in, but from the way they're described, both sound good.

Shall I spend it here where there is a cosy fire, a plateful of delicious russets, three purring and harmonious cats, and two impeccable china dogs with green noses? Or shall I go to the park, where there is the lure of gray woods and of gray water lapping on the harbor rocks?

LMM once again summarises life at Patty's Place in several paragraphs when I wish she gave us at least one scene of this. Slice of life was something she excelled at. I said what I thought of Jonas already, but it's good that he's a regular visitor at PP--and he clearly makes an effort in seeing Phil if he needs to get on a train. 'If he wanted to, he would' and clearly Jonas does. The geography here has always confused me, though. Where is this St Columbia, where is Bolingbroke and Prospect Point in relation to Kingsport? It's not that important for the book, but I like knowing where a story takes place (When I read something set in a real place, I always look it up on a map. I know many of these are fictional, but I'd like to have an idea.) I wonder, though, if there were many people who agreed with Aunt Jamesina about ministers laughing, and I wonder if this will have implications for his future employment.

Gilbert's conduct towards Anne has drastically changed, but it had to be that way. He shot his shot and it didn't go as he wanted, so he wants to move on--can't blame him. Funny that Anne is the one who believes that Phil is not just flirting with Jonas, but at the same time, hearing Phil and Gilbert chat and joke with each other makes her think she only imagined that look of pain in Gilbert eyes when she refused him. She knows Phil cares for Jonas only. (Actually--and this is purely theoretical, mind you--you could make an argument in favour of Phil x Gilbert. Sure, he is poor, but it's not like he doesn't have prospects, and with her connections she would be able to get him a good position once he qualifies as a medical doctor. They could be good for each other. But that would be a different story, not this one.)

If the real Prince Charming was never to come she would have none of a substitute.

This is actually valid. Don't settle, ladies. (I mean this as in your version of Prince Charming, whatever the characteristics may be. (I'm speaking to straight women here bc that's what I am, but it should go for everyone, I think.))

Okay but. I swear on the life of my cat I don't want to be heretical on purpose, I can't help being what I am, but that meet cute at the park is. Well. Cute.

I like parks. I go to one almost every day (I wfh and take a walk there on my lunch break). One of my favourite places in the whole world is a giant park (see my photography, in fact I went there just last Saturday and posted some pics here too). I also like pavilions (in fact I wrote an original story set in such a structure, where two characters get engaged). And he has a good entrance, though for us modern readers the meeting may seem a bit stereotypical. But he knows her name already from her reading a paper on Tennyson, and this is something that matters to her (I mean, she almost drowned RP-ing his poem). And then he sends her roses and a nice quote? I know he's not the one but I can't really see fault with anything here. And from what Phil says, Roy Gardner seems quite the catch. Maybe in a different story, not this one.

Poor Rusty got snubbed, though. Cats look at us like we're committing crimes against them when we don't pay attention to them for 5 minutes, so I imagine his "why you no love me no more?" must have been devastating.

Note, in Slovak translation he was always called 'Roy', I didn't know he was actually 'Royal' in the original. I will continue calling him Roy.