#this is not a dig at anyone i think basically every option on there is reasonable in one circumstance or another

[miafeystits]

current conclusion from the trucy poll: either my family is just weird or none of you have step-parents i think

[justporo]

I just read your headcanons about Astarion, they are so good!! And since he is the hardest for me to understand I'd love to read your headcanons/input about: Him trying to manipulate Tav into liking him, but she simply doesn't get it and thinks he is just after her body and blood (of course she never says that unless he would challenge her)

Alright, I had this sitting in my inbox for a while mostly because I had to give it a good think, my dear. And I'm really digging the idea that Tav is just super oblivious to his manipulation tactics, so have some

Headcanons about Astarion trying to manipulate a completely oblivious Tav

Astarion starts out flirting with Tav just the same he's always done with everyone: trying to pick up on a few things to work it into his routine (even if it is stupid)

"So, darling... knives, eh? I bet you're even sharper than your weapons, my dear." (spoiler alert: obviously this is not the case...)

Or maybe it is just, that you see through his games immediately and were prepared to help him from the start

He really, REALLY puts his back into it but his tactics just won't work with you, you don't seem to pick up on any of the flirting

In turn though, you really don't need to be manipulated, you just offer help "You know, Astarion, if you need some of my blood you can just tell me, it doesn't bother me."

And that makes him very suspicious of you because no one has ever reacted like this, this is not how this thing works! "I bet our sweet little leader very much has an agenda of their own, if you ask me." "And what would that be, Astarion? Go for world domination while the worm slowly devours my brain? Is it so hard to believe that people maybe just want to do the right thing." "Yes actually, oh valiant, noble leader, it is hard to believe - at least for me!" And you see the pain in his eyes as he says that

So the flirty behaviour turns into mean sass very quickly, he snaps at you at every given opportunity - because why would anyone just offer help to a vampire? Nobody could be this good, right? And then also: why did it take so long for him to meet someone like you?

But when you keep offering help and just support him, he breaks at some point; first because he has no other option it seems but later on he allows himself to believe if only just a little and he dares to have just a tiny fraction of hope

Later on when he confesses he was trying to manipulate you and fell for his own trap, you just wrap him in your arms and softly tell him, that he doesn't have to worry about stuff like this anymore; "I just want you to be happy and safe, Astarion, that's all."

And he might not fully or even partially believe you in this moment, but a seed of hope and love is surely firmly planted

So basically, just slam him with support until the sassy little vampire falls in the pit he dug himself, hehe.

Tag list: @spacebarbarianweird @sunfire-ancunin @tragedybunny @dependsonthedream @tallymonster @magazzne @micropoe10 @aoirohi @my-bunny-prince @lumienyx @fayeriess @azukiel

[bullet-prooflove]

Logistics: Eric Blackburn x Reader

Tagging: @kmc1989 @4everademigod @totalstitchlover19 @doglover-24 @bravo4iscool

Prequel to:

Scars - Eric loves every single part of you.

Three Months (NSFW) - Eric returns home from Afganastan.

In the weeks that follow the building collapse, it becomes clear that you’re looking at a lengthy recovery and rehabilitation period. The military covers that thankfully but it’s the logistics you’re concerned over because you’re still struggling to perform a lot of the basic tasks that would have been no problem for you in the past. That’s what happens when you have a traumatic brain injury, things get knocked about, thrown off kilter.

“It’ll come back in time.” You’re told as you fumble with the stress ball in your hand and Eric can see the concern and frustration on your features.

You haven’t even begun to consider navigating your release from the hospital. Eric though he’s already five steps ahead, working out the logistics, planning ahead.

You live in an apartment building with an elevator that barely works at the best of times, it’s not feasible considering your current mobility. His place is the best option for your recovery. He lives in a bungalow in a quiet neighbourhood with a small garden, he keeps in decent shape because he’s always the one hosting cookouts.

It’s unlikely the military will let him take leave so abruptly without a good explanation and your relationship isn’t public knowledge because it fucks with the chain of command. There’s only one thing he can do and he does it without telling you because he knows you would do everything in your power to stop him.

The morning after he finds out you’re being released he turns up at General Auster’s office and informs him he’s in violation of the fraternization policy, that he’s been seeing another officer in his chain of command.

The expression on the other man’s features is one of disbelief because if there is anyone you can count on to do the right thing it’s Blackburn. There are questions, lots of them and Eric answers them accordingly, with his chin up and his head held high.

“Why now?” Auster asks him. “This has gone on for a year already without being detected, what drove you to come here and tell me this now?”

“She needs support when she leaves the hospital.” He informs his superior officer. “Someone to be around for the first couple of weeks and I knew you wouldn’t approve a leave request so this is the next best option.”

“Ah so it’s the suspension you want.” Auster says with understanding, his pen tapping lightly against the desk. “You’re taking a hell of a risk Eric, I think I can convince them on the thirty days, but you’re risking separation of your contract, confinement. Is she really worth all that?”

For a moment he’s taken back to the building collapse, to those thirty minutes Bravo team spent trying to dig you out, the ones where he didn’t know if you were alive or dead. Those were the worst eighteen hundred seconds of his life. Everything else that came afterwards he could handle but that section of time he was a wreck.

“I wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t.” He remarks dryly and Auster must see the sincerity in his features.

“Alright then.” Auster says finally. “I’ll get back to you by the end of the day regarding the decision.”

It’s as he’s on the way back to the hospital that evening that he gets the call. A two month suspension with a reduction of pay for three months after and a reprimand in his jacket. It’s the best he could have hoped for. Now he can focus on what’s important, helping you get back on your feet.

You lose your shit when he tells you and he expected no less because your biggest concern throughout the duration of this relationship is making sure that he’s protected, that he’s not compromised by you.

“What were you thinking?” You snap from your hospital bed as he begins to pack up your things for you. “Everything you’ve worked so hard for…”

He sighs as he comes to sit on the edge of your bed, his fingertips chasing away the hair that falls over your features.

“I was thinking about you.” He says softly as he looks into your eyes. “I was thinking about how you’re going through something very big and very scary and that I don’t want you to face it all alone.”

“Eric…” You begin but he cuts you off by placing your palm over his heart.

“All of that other shit it doesn’t matter.” He tells you, his thumb stroking over the back of your hand. “All that does is that I’m still yours and you’re still mine. It really is as simple as that.”

Love Eric? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[jellysimbean-blog]

So I came up with this new sims legacy challenge, i call it Wild apple tree. It consists of 10 generation and each gen has specifics to complete before moving forward. I haven't come up with the storyline between each generation just yet but other then that I think it's done. I feel i might have gotten a bit carried away and if i add more to each generation it might be a little to much but at the same time I feel it has room for improvement and new ideas so if anyone have any input please feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

(I'm hoping all the ideas I came up with are feasible and can be done I am still playing thru it)

*

*

*

*

*

Wild apple tree sims legacy challenge

Basic Rules

- Each generation must have an apple tree. It may be the founders tree and gets carried thru each generation or it can be a new tree but the new tree must grow from an apple off the last generations tree.

- Heir for each generation can be either gender unless stated other wise

- No money Cheats (optional)

- Color for each generation is optional

- May live where ever you choose unless location is specified.

- Each generation needs to complete their aspiration(all aspirations are whatever you choose)

- Must have the Career that is listed for each generation

- If you play this challenge and want to share please use #Wildappletree so it can be seen

- HAVE FUN SIMMING!

** This legacy challenge is ofc for your entertainment, the number one goal is to have fun. If you choose not to follow any of the rules or you dont have the packs use then that is perfectly A ok and feel free to change things up however you prefer **

1.Blended family - Golden Orange

*Founder can be any gender

*Your founder must be a single parent

*He/she must marry another single parent

*Both single parents must have one or more kids from their previous relationships prior to meeting.

* After Marriage have at least one more child using science

*Next heir must be Science baby

*Next heir must have ambitious trait and do well in school

Career- Career of your choice to start

2. Science baby - Jonagold yellow

*Attend a university(which ever path you choose)

*Have only one child while In university

*Don't have another baby till you are an adult and ,half way through the Science Branch

*Master Logic Skill

*Master Robotics Skill (Optional)

*Master Rocket science

*Visit Sixam At least once

*Always join Next heir to high-school(Must meet future spouse)

Career- Scientist but of course

3.High school sweethearts - Pink Lady

*Heir must marry their High school sweetheart of course

*Try for baby every time you woohoo(optional)

*Have relationship fail but never divorce

*Heir alway attend the romantic festival

*Have a child from someone other then spouse after marriage(preferably a co-star)

*Try for baby with more then one sim in the same day/week

*One Sim must have a bad relationship with their children.

Career- Acting for both Heir and spouse (Must Join when ever they get a gig)

4.We're Adopting- Empire Purple

*First child must be from adoption (preferably as an infant)

* Must have at least one boy and one girl

* Next heir must be male ( can be the adopted sim)

*Live/ Move to sulani

*Master fishing

*Own at least 2 fish tanks

*Have your teens work as lifeguards

*Only leave the island to dig for bottles in Tartosa

*Best friend a mermaid

*Go diving at least once a week(Bonus finding mermaid kelp)

Career- Conservationist, the Marine Biologist Branch

5.Single dad - Cosmic Blue

*Live in an apartment

* Meet your girlfriend at a party or bar

*Must have a baby girl

*Have your girlfriend leave you after you have a girl.

*Must never marry or date again but Can woo-hoo around

*Must live with and have close relationship to adopted sibling. ( preferably both heir and next heir)

* Must Leave your daughter to be raised by your sibling before she becomes a teen.(you can choose to do this however you like.)

* you may have more then one child but your daughter must be next heir*

Career- Military Man (Either branch)

6.Raised by my aunt/uncle - Multi-colored Ambrosia

*Have a great relationship with your aunt/uncle

*Heir must be Female

*Heir starts this generation as a child

*Have a Bake sale as a child

*Have only one child by a one night stand(Can not take pregnancy test or keep trying with the same sim)

*Master Baking

*Sell your baked goods(You can do this with a yard sale table)

*Build your own bakery and work it part time(Optional)

*Cook Ambrosia(Optional)

Career- Critic career, Art Critic

7.Happy little accident - Fuji green

*Master painting skill

*Only paint landscape and photos you take(optional)

*Start an art club

*Have more then one baby

*Have loves outdoors trait

*Own at least one cat or dog

*Own at least 2 small pets (one must be a hedgehog)

*Own some chickens

*Have a drone to record and stream you when ever you are painting

*Upload your painting videos (Optional)

Career- Freelancer (Artist)

8.Soccer Mom/Dad - Arkansas Black and White

*Marry someone successful ( go dig for gold with this one)

*Must have at least 5 kids

*Travel at least once a week with all the kids for a fun day out ( just has to be somewhere outside of the house)

*Heir Can only make money from trendi (Other sims in the home can work however you choose including the children )

*Must help with any school project brought home and try to help with homework often

*Aspiration Super parent

*Celebrate all Holidays and birthdays

*Build a tree house

Career- Stay at home parent

9.Raised in a nursing home - Granny smith Grey

* Heir Must have more then one child

*Heir Must become Elder before last child becomes a teen

*All kids must be moved out once they hit young adults except the last child ( The Next Heir )

*When Heir is an elder they must rent rooms to at least 4 other Elders

*Have a game night ever Wednesday with the elders ( this includes bowling)

*Have dance night every Thursday with elders

*Master dancing

*Have Movie night every Friday (can be at home)

*Never have a real career( May make money any other way)

*Next heir can't move till they have at least 3 kids

Career- Job hop part time jobs. Call out of work at least once for each job. Quit/retire once you are an elder

10.Fullhouse - Red Delicious

*Must have at least 6 or more sims living together during the entire generation( 2 sims preferably Aunts/Uncles)

*Take a family vacation every season

*Throw a party every other weekend( Include at least one slumber party)

*Build a tree house

*Have Grandparents visit often(Include stay overs)

*2 Sims must master guitar

*All Sims must master comedy

*3 Sims must master singing

*1 Sim must master dj

Career- Entertainer(Both branches split between entire house)

[anneapocalypse]

6 and 8 for Dragon Age! Choose violence!!!!

🔥 Choose Violence Ask Meme 🔥

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

I'm gonna be perfectly honest: I have drawn my little circle of Dragon Age fandom such that I really don't find any shippers annoying. I also basically like all of the canon romances I've played on some level and there are none that I have a visceral Nope about, and as far as non-canon romances I cannot find it in myself to get bent out of shape about rare pairs, which is what most non-canon ships end up as, realistically.

My hot take is that in this fandom, anyone who leads with "X shippers are the WORST EVER--" is about to be far more annoying than any of the shippers I know.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts is a good quest.

In many ways, I think it's actually comparable to playing A Paragon of Her Kind as a non-dwarf. In both quests, people often complain about not having access to all the information about the candidates, by which they mean that the game does not hand them a piece of paper explaining to them why one candidate is the Good One and the other Bad, what's that noise oh it's me banging trash can lids together in your backyard and hollering THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BENEVOLENT MONARCHY, THERE IS NO GOOD MONARCH, POWER THAT CONCENTRATED CAN ONLY BE SUSTAINED WITH BLOOD, ALL YOU CAN DO IS DECIDE WHICH ONE IS GOING TO DO THE LEAST HARM AND/OR IS MOST EASILY MANIPULATED BY PARTIES YOU WISH TO SUPPORT.

Coughs. What I mean is, the frustrating lack of information given to you, an outsider, is kind of the point. No matter who you play as the Inquisitor, you are canonically not Orlesian and you do not know the Imperial Court intimately no matter how politically savvy your character may be. You are an outsider, and to many people a dangerous one. You are here as a guest; you were not invited with the intent of letting you choose the ruler of a sovereign nation, and people are not simply going to hand you information to that end. Even some of your advisors may have personal motivations for withholding information that you would have liked to know, perhaps because of their own involvement or complicity in certain events. You know. Perhaps.

So you have to do your own digging. You have to climb trellises and sneak into locked rooms. You might get lucky opening the right doors and finding something really useful, or you might not. You might say the right thing to the right person and get a valuable lead, or you might fumble it never knowing what you could have had.

We love to poke fun at the RPG tropes of every NPC immediately giving you their life story and asking you to solve all their problems. Isn't it kind of interesting when a game doesn't do that--when you have to take your own initiative if you want a specific outcome, when other characters aren't just dumping information on you and assuming that you'll act on it in a specific way?

I think one of the most interesting aspects of WEWH is that you can in fact choose to do nothing. Yes, you have to follow the basic outline of the quest, but at the critical moment you can just not intervene and allow Florianne to stab Celene and Gaspard to take the throne--effectively, letting things play out as they would have had the Inquisition done nothing. Gaspard of course winks and treats you as an ally because you assumes you're complicit, but you could in fact just have been indifferent. Game mechanics make it obvious you're making a choice, but in-universe it's simply that you have chosen not to act.

And if you do choose to act, you do not get a guaranteed Good Option. No, you don't get to flip the tables and completely overturn the social order of a sovereign nation of which, again, you are not even a citizen. You have to work with the situation you're in, and try to bend it to whatever advantage you see fit. You get no guarantees.

Sure, there a few places where I think WEWH fumbles the ball, but on the whole I think it's a brilliant union of storytelling and creative game mechanics.

[austinsdemise]

✩ᴇɴᴍᴜ✩

I made this while sleep deprived and gossiping with my bestie 🤭 sorry if it’s shit, it’s what me and my Pookie made up for him

Head-cannons:

bbg is THICK OMFG

There is no sfw option for this guy, he's horny 24/7.

Though I don't believe he's a virgin, he sure does act like one. He's so sensitive, even after y'all have done it multiple times, he still wants more.

Down right a sex freak with how many times he wants to do it a day. And when you guys do do the deed, he's up for 7-8 rounds. At least 6 times a week.

  he that he has a pear shaped body, seeing as he's thick in the hips. And yes I do have the figurine to back up this claim.

His nipples are VERY sensitive. Please play with them, he doesn't like doing it himself if he has you there with him. Tug, pull, lick, bite, he does not care. He can get off just by you playing with them.

Enmu is submissive, bc no way in hell is this man is able to dom anyone. Arching his back like that for Muzan? Well he does it even harder for his darling, minus the clothes.

Tie him up? Go ahead. The feeling of being at his partners mercy just makes his dick throb in anticipation. Because he knows he can rip straight through the man made rope but chooses to humor his dear.

Seeing how he is already a very feminine guy, he won't hesitate to dress up for you. His plush thighs look amazing in stockings and fishnets. Garter belts are Enmu's favorite accessory. The tightness of the leather squeezing his upper thigh while you give him head? Amazing. But if you're pegging/fucking him from behind while pulling him back by his garter belts, prepare for this little shit to be whining and whimpering your name all night. 

Okay so maybe he has dominated his darling once or twice. Y'all know how his "true" form is a tentacle train monster? so he may or may not of fucked his love in that form. Every single one of darlings holes were filled, cum basically everywhere. It was a whole mess but it left the two of you satisfied, exhausted, but satisfied. Did Muzan find you two in that situation? Yes. Was it embarrassing? Yes.

Enmu is obviously loyal. But he is no where near as loyal to his partner as he is to Muzan. Yes he still loves you, but his obsession with the demon king runs deep. If you guys don't like that he, let's just say he has had so many thoughts that included his love and Muzan dominating him at the same time.

If his darling is male, cock warming is the way to go. He's hopping on your dick at any moment of the day just to feel it inside him. Honestly, this man fucks like a rabbit, wanting to either breed or be bred all the time.

Only thing I can think of that Enmu would love more about his lover, was if they were part of the upper moons. So merry at the fact he was able to catch the attention of a stronger individual. Which means he can be held in stronger arms<3

Let's say you're an upper moon. Enmu is so down bad the first time he meets you. Doing exactly what he did for Muzan in that one scene. Y'all know what I'm talking about, the one where he arches his back. Anyways he does that, and it doesn't phase you. So now he's bent over at your feet, kissing the tops of them.(y'all are not bare footed like the blueberry toed baker)

If you decide to give him a chance, and you're anatomically male, he's currently being bent over a table and fucked into it. Begging for more as his ass gets slapped and pounded into. Not getting a break because he was begging in his knees for it, so he shall receive.

If you're anatomically AFAB, he's laying on his back, being suffocated by the dripping pussy sitting on his face. Wet slurping noises being a prominent sound throughout the infinity castle as he passionately eats his darling out.

Find a way to fuck him good and hard in the ass and he's mewling for more. Drool seeping down his chin and sharp nails digging into anything they can. And yes, he does draw blood.

He's pretty okay with aftermath, doing the bare basics of giving his darling a wash cloth and getting them water.

But like the pillow princess he is, he likes to be taken care of like always. Snuggling into his partners chest right after, the warmth fueling his cold and technically dead form :D

Kinks: Bondage, Feminization, Pegging, Choking, Dacryphilia, S&M, Overstimulation, Being Bred/Breeding Literally name any kink and he’s on his knees in front of you begging to try it.

[maccreadysbaby]

A Hundred Days to Become a Wayne

batfamily + oc insert

tw: dick grayson’s trauma :(

wanna start from chapter one or read more? here’s the table of contents!

⚠️ this chapter centers around the canonical s*xual assault of dick grayson by catalina flores in nightwing (vol. 2) #93. although it incites the hurt/comfort in this chapter, it is not discussed or mentioned because this part revolves around bentley and dick’s relationship, not why dick’s hurting. dick would not discuss the fact that he was s*xually assaulted with a ten year old.

here’s a link to a brief explanation of what happened to dick here, if you don’t know

part eighteen

❝ IF THE ROLES WERE REVERSED (I WOULD HOLD YOU) ❞

WEDNESDAY — 12:55AM — DAY 60

BENTLEY WAS SLACKING AND HE KNEW IT. Sixty days he’d spent in the Wayne house and he hadn’t made an inch of progress regarding his father’s plot. Not a single centimeter. He thought about it a lot — every day, probably, but he always put it off. A hundred days were a lot… but not when you’d already chewed through sixty of them.

That was precisely why he was sitting awake at nearly one in the morning, staring down at his comforter with his lamp on, trying to make a plan.

Jason was suspicious — no, Bentley hadn’t forgotten that incriminating stare from the snow day. Going after him would be futile. Then he’d really know something was up, and he’d really pistol whip Bentley then.

Tim was always an option. Damian wasn’t kidding when he said he had no self-preservation. He walked around looking like he hadn’t slept in months all of the time, and Bentley firmly believed coffee ran in his veins instead of blood. It almost seemed too easy — like kicking someone when they were already down.

Damian was a no-go. While Bentley assumed he’d be moderately easy to unravel up in the head — since he was just eleven — he wasn’t so sure he’d be able to escape the wrath that came afterward with a katana. Steph, Cass, and Duke were options, but he didn’t think they’d have as big of an impact on the family as one of Bruce’s four Robins would.

There was Dick, but the thought of doing that to him made Bentley feel sick. In fact, doing anything to any of the Wayne’s made him all jittery and upset and guilty. They’d been nothing but nice to him the entire time he’d been around, and how was he going to repay them? By trying to hurt them? To weaken them so his father could dig his claws in?

He was going to repay them by destroying them? Destroying Bruce, who’d taken him in “off the street” without a second thought? Who played games with him and spent time with him and held him after nightmares? Or Dick, who literally carried him across town and mended his wounds, who went miles out of his own way to make sure Bentley was safe and happy and comfortable? Jason, who read books to him to distract him from storms, who noticed his injuries and took it upon himself to help? Who may or may not known something wasn’t right but still treated Bentley the same anyways? Tim, who spent the night in Bentley’s room when he didn’t want to be alone, who stayed with him instead of going on patrol? Or Damian, who included Bentley in most things he did, like school projects, or playing with the dogs without complaint? Who worked up the courage to apologize to Bentley for scaring him, who wanted him around in times of stress like taking Titus to the vet?

Not to mention Alfred, who basically kept the house from falling down, and had fed Bentley three times for sixty days without ever expecting anything back. Or Duke, who explained his environmental science homework to Bentley when he was interested (which ended up being nearly every weekday.), who didn’t mind to get left home with him overnight. Or Steph and Cass and Barbara, who he hadn’t spent much time with, but we’re just as important and supporting parts of the family as anyone else.

It was all so utterly wrong that Bentley couldn’t even fathom going through with it. 

And that’s why he’d been there for sixty days with no progress. Because everything was so wrong.

He groaned and flopped backwards on his pillow, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. Colorful splotches danced in his vision from the pressure. This was such a disaster. He should just go home now and let his father have his way with him — he was going to get it no matter what.

Maybe if he let his father beat him as much as he wanted, he wouldn’t go after the Waynes.

He glanced at his clock. 12:59AM. 

Bentley stared at his comforter for a while more, and glanced at his clock. It was prime vigilante patrolling hours, which meant one unlucky someone was in the Manor with him.

Bentley was finally considering actually going to sleep when he heard something from the hall. They were faint little noises, kind of like the ones Bentley made when he was startled. Whimpers.

His mind flashed back to his dream with all the death, wondering if this was another stupid hyper-realistic dream. He hadn’t fallen asleep tonight, though — he really hadn’t. He could count all his fingers up to ten and read the numbers on the clock — a few tricks Tim taught him to tell when he was awake or not — and he was very much not sleeping. Someone was actually making noises from somewhere, and Bentley was…

…The only other one home.

Yikes.

He laid there for a few moments and hoped they would stop all on their own. Who knows, it could’ve been Titus making some really human-ey noises from Damian’s room. It’d be dumb of him to go check. Right?

But they didn’t stop. In fact, they seemed to be getting a little louder.

Someone always seemed to check on him when he was making noises in the night.

Bentley raked his hands over his face again.

Think logically. 

One Wayne was in the house with him. Most likely Duke, but potentially someone else. That someone was probably having a nightmare right that second. That would explain the noises he was hearing. When Bentley had a nightmare, both times, Tim and Bruce had come to his rescue to calm him down and help him go back to sleep. Stayed with him. Held him. Talked to him.

So… he, like, needed to go do that. Right? Was it weird for a kid to do that to someone older than them? It's not like half the people in the house were murder-ey assassins that could each kill him in a fraction of a second or anything.

If life got any more complicated, Bentley’s brain would probably implode.

Right. Stay on track, he told himself. Just go see who was making the noise.

Bentley reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and hoped and prayed it wasn’t Jason or Damian, because he was pretty sure they’d kill him for waking them up. Clad in a Nightwing t-shirt and blue sailboat pajama pants, he slowly inched his socks across the hardwood all the way to his slightly-ajar door.

One second passed. Then two. Then he grabbed the knob and pulled it open, just large enough for him to slide through.

The hallway was long and dark, the only source of light being from somewhere at the bottom of the stairs and Bentley’s lamp, which made him shiver. That’s exactly what the hallway looked like in his dreams.

The sound wasn’t near him — it was coming from the farther, darker end of the hall, which knocked Tim, Damian, and Duke off the list. Jason, Dick, Steph, and Cass’s rooms were down on the other end. 

Dick’s bedroom door was open.

Bentley counted his fingers again, just to make sure he wasn’t having a nightmare. He had ten.

Relief surfaced in Bentley’s chest, before being violently swallowed up by a wave of… pity? He pushed himself down the hall without a second thought, and the closer he got to Dick’s door, the louder the whimpers got.

He guessed that answered his question of if Dick had nightmares.

With a quick exhale, he moved forward and peered through the door. The bathroom light was on, dimly illuminating the bedroom. He could faintly see Dick’s sleeping form under the comforter — well, more like cocooned in it. It was obvious that he’d been moving around because his limbs seemed to be tangled up in the thing. Every now and then he jerked or flipped, vocalizing something that sounded vaguely like words but made no real sense.

Bentley idled in the doorway for a long time. Maybe he should just… leave him alone.

Would Bentley want to wake up from a nightmare alone? 

He continued to stand there in a mixture of confusion and straight-up windows reboot for a while, trying to work out what exactly he was going to do. Trying to find the sweet spot between annoying kid who’s waking me up in the middle of the night and worried person who wants to help wasn’t very easy, especially since he didn’t actually have experience being either of those things. He finally blinked out of his own head when Dick rolled onto his side and keened, quietly.

Oh God, Bentley realized, watching the lump move around in the bed. He was shaking and his shoulders were shuddering and… Dick was crying in his sleep.

Bentley shook his hands out by his sides, internally kicking himself. Dick would do it for you, he told himself.

Bentley padded across the room and flicked the lamp on before he could convince himself otherwise.

“Dick,” He whispered, padding over to the left side of the bed. Dick was facing away from him, so he pitter-pattered to the other side instead, climbing up on the mattress.

Dick was coiled up in the sheets, black hair frizzy and damp with sweat, as were his pajamas. Tears were rolling down his face and making splotches on the pillowcase even though he was sleeping, emotions contorting his features every new seconds — fear, sadness, anger. He kept jerking and murmuring and shifting around and Bentley wondered if that’s what he looked like during a nightmare.

“Dick,” He tried again, a little louder. “Dick, wake up.”

He didn’t. But he did sob, loud and miserably, and something inside of Bentley writhed with how badly he hated it.

“Dick, please wake up,” He half-begged, hands hovering awkwardly before he decided he shouldn’t touch him. No one had touched Bentley after a nightmare, they always left the contact up to him, so he assumed he should let Dick decide.

“Come on, wake up. Wake up, Dick.”

Tim, wake up! Tim, please wake up!

A surge of (pitiful and unwarranted) panic washed over Bentley when he remembered Tim unresponsive at the bottom of the stairs. “Dick, wake up!”

Dick jumped awake with a gasp, and Bentley nearly flinched himself off the side of the bed. For a short, quiet moment, their heavy breathing was the only noise in the otherwise empty Manor.

Dick looked around for a moment, red-tinged blue eyes pausing on Bentley for a solid ten seconds before he leaned back into his pillow and covered his face with his hands. “Oh, God.”

Bentley didn’t say anything, but took note of how much Dick was shaking. What could scare a superhero so badly?

“I…” He spoke from behind his hands. “I’m sorry I woke you up. I… I’m okay. I’m fine. You can go back to bed.”

Bentley didn’t move. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing actually came out.

“I’m fine,” Dick repeated, in a terribly unconvincing manner. He removed his hands from his face and revealed that he hadn’t actually stopped crying yet. He tugged at the front of his shirt. “I’m fine, Bentley. I’m fine.”

The child drew in a breath. “Dick-“

“I-I’m fine. I’m fine,” He was basically gasping for air in-between nearly muted sobs. “I’m fine.”

Bentley felt his own eyes stinging. “Dick…” 

Dick rolled onto his side and pulled his legs up, dissolving into a mess of gaspy cries and tears that tugged at Bentley’s heart. No, not tugged, more like stabbed and twisted repeatedly, over and over.

Oh my God, was all the kid’s mind supplied.

Well, that and the overwhelming urge to start crying with him.

Bentley tried to stutter out his name again, but it died in his throat. What in the world was he supposed to do? He felt so stupid, so useless, so dumb. Why couldn't he move?

Oh God, he thought to himself again.

Just do exactly what Bruce and Tim did. Dick isn’t going to hurt you.

Bentley moved forward on his knees, closer to Dick’s trembling frame. “Dick… can I… touch you?”

Dick, who’s face was halfway buried in the sheets, nodded in a sharp, jerky movement. Bentley did what he’d done to Tim in his nightmare — he reached out with shaking hands toward Dick and pulled his head ever-so-delicately into his lap.

Dick responded by shooting his arms out and drawing Bentley in tighter. He tried to stifle the small gasp that it pulled out of him, but thankfully, it went unnoticed.

There really was one Dick Grayson crying in Bentley’s lap right now. Why couldn’t he think of anything helpful to do? To say?

Words failed him yet again, so he brushed a hand through Dick’s hair just like Dick always did to everybody else and blinked back the sting in his eyes. He desperately wished someone else was home.

He felt Dick ball up the fabric on the back of his t-shirt in his hands, just like Bentley had done before.

He tried so hard to find something to say, but he couldn’t. He decided words were stupid and just kept stroking Dick’s hair for the time being, with a constant stream of oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God running in the back of his head, because, oh my God.

He felt so terribly useless and dumb. He had no idea what to do, no idea how to make this better but sit there and try not to cry himself. Crying wouldn’t do anything but stress Dick out more.

Bentley exhaled shakily and kept untangling the knots in the vigilante’s hair — he didn’t have the heart to leave no matter how badly he wanted someone else, someone better to handle it. Dick was still shaking, and kept jerking with sobs that he tried so desperately to mute. Bentley could feel the tears soaking through his shirt.

Maybe he should use Dick’s phone to call someone. Do superheroes even carry their phones on them? Probably not. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry-“ Dick half-muttered between gasps. “I didn’t- I don’t-”

“It’s okay,” Bentley reassured, having to put in way too much effort to drag the words out of his throat without them sounding strained. He worked his fingers through a pesky knot on the back of Dick’s head. “I have nightmares, too.”

A quiet moment passed, where only Dick’s occasional hiccups were audible. They seemed to be slowing down.

Bentley sucked in a breath. “…Would you have come to my room? Like you did before?”

After a minute, he felt Dick shrug. “Probably.”

Bentley wondered whose room he’d have gone to if everyone else was home.

He sat there for a long time in a comfortable silence, waiting for Dick to stop shuddering. It took a while. Now he understood why the vigilante constantly tried to stroke people’s hair — it was relaxing.

Dick didn’t have a clock, but Bentley knew it was about three in the morning when he heard doors around the house close, signaling the end of patrol. He didn’t move so much as an inch until he was a trillion percent sure Dick was asleep. His breaths had evened out a while ago, and his grip on Bentley had faded, though his arms were still around him. The lamp was on but Bentley couldn’t reach it to turn it off. He didn’t really want to, anyhow.

He wiggled himself around until he was actually laying down, and the covers were just close enough that he was able to pull them up without jostling everything around too much. He settled down on the mattress and closed his eyes. He kept his hand moving through the vigilante’s hair until he couldn’t anymore, until the world around him stilled, and he fell asleep in Dick Grayson’s arms for (at least) the fourth time.

—

Dedicated to @sassenashsworld 💛

—

tag list (ask and I’ll add your @!)

@fleur-alise @cademygod @sarcopterygiian

[midnightstargazer]

why I, as a Regulus stan, don't ship Jegulus

With the disclaimer upfront that I'm not saying nobody should. I know I have mutuals who do. Y'all are cool. We can ship and let ship. But I don't ship them, and here's why.

I don't care for how Regulus is usually characterized in the context of Jegulus. I prefer him redeemable, but morally gray; someone who was influenced by family and peer pressure but ultimately made his own bad choices and later changed his mind, not someone who was forced into every bad thing he ever did. I'm sure there are Jegulus fics out there where he is more morally gray. But from what I've seen, he's often a bit too sanitized for my taste.

I don't care for how James is usually characterized, either. Sunshine boy who wants to believe the best of everyone? I don't see it. In canon he's very loyal and caring towards his friends, but there's no evidence he would have a nuanced point of view towards someone like Regulus, particularly during their late teenage years when Regulus is actively espousing blood supremacist ideology and working for the Death Eaters.

(Which doesn't mean I think Regulus is unworthy of love. I just don't think it's likely James, specifically, would have liked him very much during the time period when they would have known each other in canon)

Because of this, I can only imagine Jegulus in a context very far removed from canon: either a Muggle AU, a no Voldemort AU, an AU where Regulus runs away with Sirius, etc. None of those are very interesting to me. It could also work if Regulus survives and ends up in the Order, which is a favorite trope of mine, but I'd just as soon see that with a different ship or no ship for Regulus and keep Jily together.

I ship Jily. Which isn't necessarily an obstacle, because I'm willing to multi-ship basically anybody except Tedromeda. I can totally get on board with the idea that one or both of them had another relationship before they got together, or that in a canon divergence story where one of them survives, they might eventually move on with someone else. But because I do ship Jily, I'm not really looking for someone else to ship with James.

Who Regulus ends up with romantically, if anybody, is the least interesting thing about him imo. I'll read fics where he's paired up romantically, and I've written a few of them - although I also have a long ongoing series where he's aro-ace. Having a romance arc for Regulus at all is 100% optional as far as I'm concerned.

The "best friend's brother" thing - I think it mischaracterizes Sirius's relationships with both of them to assume he would be overprotective of Regulus and suspicious of James if they were to get together. I love fics where the Black brothers reconcile, but still, I doubt they'd ever have such a stereotypically normal sibling relationship. And that's not even getting started on how it undermines Sirius's friendship with James.

Its sheer overwhelming popularity annoys me. No offense intended to anyone who likes it. Your personal preference is valid. It's the expectation for everyone to share that preference that I don't love. A lot of the time in the Marauders fandom the pairing is simply taken for granted as the default. So that does make me dig my heels in a bit.

[kaycode1999]

Hi! I'd like to ask a matchup for BNHA!

So:

- I'm a curious person, I like to learn new things and find out new informations. When I like something (being it a serie, an anime and so on) I become kinds hyperfixated and I like to dig deep into the metaphorical soil to find every information about my favourite characters. I love making connections, finding out the way they think and react to things. I love the psychological side of characters and the situations they're put into, if that makes sense. I like to understand things. I don't like big crowds or events with large groups of people I have to interact with, but strangely I don't mind making a speech or partaking in a debate;

- my pronouns are she/her, and I'm panromantic and demisex, even tho in this moment of my life I'd prefer a male partner;

- my aesthetic is punk basically, with combat boots and leather jackets and pants, chains and chokers. I even have a mohawk lol

- I love music, mostly metal and hard rock, lately I've been mostly obsessed with Nickelback. I also like writing and roleplaying, I've been do them both for a decade now. Oh I also love cats;

- I don't really have a type, even tho I'd like somebody with a little snark, somebody that keeps up with my sarcasm and at least tolerate my terrible jokes lol

- idk if it matters but I'm well of age, and eventually I have no problem with aged up characters;

- and please for the love of god no AFO or Endeavor, I don't know if they're even an option on the table but no pls

Thank you for your time!

Um, no. Jesus Christ no😂 AFO and Endeavor I don’t imagine ever matching them with anyone- just 🤢

I match you with

Dabi/Touya Todoroki

*I always worry people will think this when paired with someone from the villain side, so I wanted to make it clear I don’t think you’re a villain or bad person😂 This is strictly based on personality and aesthetic*

He’s drawn to your curious nature and love of life

He thinks it’s adorable when you get hyper-fixated on something, there’s something about someone getting so into something that is infectious and it makes him happy to see you happy

He most definitely avoids large crowds/events too so he won’t be dragging you to anything like that

He appreciates that you are confident and brave enough to be able to make a speech or participate in debate

LOVES LOVES LOVES your aesthetic, and he’s a bit punk himself so you actually share certain articles of clothing

Enjoys listening to music with you and you two turn the other onto different artists/bands

He will get you writing supplies and will read whatever you write as long as you’re ok with it

He isn’t an animal person at first but honestly he comes to love cats himself

He definitely has snark and can keep up with your sarcasm

I’ve said it many times but I truly believe Dabi/Touya could be good or at least not a villain if given the love he deserves. I personally believe love brings out the best in most people/makes them better just by proximity so your relationship makes him better and he’s so grateful for it. *probably very sappy of me to say so forgive me 😅*

And honestly he deserves someone who will love him and give him the affection he’s never had

[blazehedgehog]

Thoughts on the twitter clones popping up because El*n is destroying twitter? Hive was hilariously shortlived. But do you think Mastodon, Cohost, or Bluesky have what it takes to replace twitter?

I think a lot of them are dumb and greedy. The way people so willingly flock to anything even remotely promising is depressing, even when it's a pretty much open fact that monsters are behind them.

Like, Threads. Threads sucks! It's by Facebook! You know, Mark Zuckerberg, the dude who literally had to go before congress and explain himself because they were stealing and selling so much of your personal data without your permission? Because, by the way: That's not supposed to happen. You're supposed to care about that. You can't just be like "oh well they have my data already, may as well ignore it". That's a bad thing to just let happen!

This is the guy who invented the "pivot to video" concept that decimated an entire industry of writers who were now expected to produce videos, all because Facebook was dramatically faking viewership numbers in a bid to lure in more advertisers. He runs a site that was proud to accept and promote insane fringe theories and undoubtedly contributed to the attempted coup of the United States Government on January 6th 2020. That Facebook. That Mark Zuckerberg. Yeah. They're behind Threads.

Or what about Bluesky? Everybody hated Jack Dorsey when he was running Twitter, so much so that they basically forced him out of the company. Now he's behind Bluesky, a website that is literally just Twitter 2, which openly admits he's feeding and selling all of your personal data to machine learning databases (like ChatGPT or Midjourney).

They also openly have settings for whether or not you want to see racist and bigoted content, which actually means being a Nazi on Bluesky is totally okay! They're going to welcome those people with open arms! They're just going to give you a setting to hide them instead of, you know, eradicating them off the platform like cockroaches. But it means Bluesky allows them, marks them, and lets them freely indoctrinate more people into becoming literal murderers.

Remember Hive? Remember how many people FLOODED to Hive and it was discovered they had an eensy weensy teeny tiny security flaw that allowed anyone to both edit and delete any post on the entire platform? Hive said they were going down "for a couple days" to fix it and ended up being down for six months. Also, the developers behind Hive actively hid their identities this entire time! Even before they were popular! There was no way to be sure who was EVER running that service! People were joking that it was a CIA operation! Who knows!

People are trading one dumpster fire for another with these places. You might be escaping the stupidity of Elon Musk but you're still digging deeper, not out of the hole. Every single option is going to lead to more regret and misery eventually.

Even Cohost isn't perfect! And I like Cohost! It's a lot more like Tumblr used to be in the early days. And Cohost is a lot more grassroots than any of these other services, they're a lot more open with whether or not the service is going to survive, but that's also because they respect the poster, respect their data, and just want to make a cool place to hang out at. Out of all the places to spring up during Twitter's death march, Cohost is where I've been posting.

But I heard someone say that Cohost is a very "holistic" approach to posting, and that's true. It's the social media website version being a vegan. It's all kale and chia seeds.

Cohost has no recommendation algorithm. It does not tell you who is following who. It does not offer numbers to tell you how many likes or shares a post has, or who liked or shared it. Everything you do on that site exists in a near-total vacuum unless you specifically put in the work and go looking for it. On some level it's admirable, because they don't want people developing the same competitive, toxic habits of only posting to "do numbers."

But also it sucks because, like, there's no way to identify and reference notable posts, nor see who your mutuals are. The only way to find friends through other friends is if they share one of their posts. And once a post falls out of favor, it's basically lost in the void to all those except a chosen few who remember how to speak its name.

But the vibes at Cohost are... good. I guess. It feels much more like everybody knows everybody. One good post will come across the feed and it feels like the whole dang website shares it that day.

But I would like a little bit of numbers. As a treat. Just because we can subsist on tofu does not mean we do not also deserve a nice, juicy hamburger too.

There's also Mastodon, and I have a friend who really liked Mastodon and wanted it to succeed, but I also heard it described as "the linux of social media" and that's exactly why I'd never use it as my primary platform. It's supposed to be decentralized, making it more diverse and easier for sub-communities to exist within the network, but last I checked, it just made it a pain in the ass to actually follow people that were on different networks than you.

Each one had a different compatibility song and dance you had to do in order for you to follow them from your network. Didn't like it. The whole federated platform feels like slightly too much work to use.

I will probably keep posting on Twitter until the last ember burns out. But I am believing more and more that what Elon is doing to Twitter is deliberate murder in order to deplatform his enemies. He's an idiot, don't get me wrong, but he's also doing things that are deliberately malicious "for the lulz." I'm sure he thinks he can rebuild Twitter into whatever he wants because he's just that rich and smart so he's willing to gut it from the inside out first.

[laufire]

For the ship ask meme: Cass having a baby crush on Babs. (I know you've already shared your thoughts about it, but feel free to share any additional bits floating around your head! The idea never appeared on my radar at all until you enlightened me. The missing piece I never knew we needed.)

it just... makes a lot of sense to me (insert shameless self-promotion), in a way that has made it surprising that I never saw anyone else expressing the idea before lol. it's not surprising given what the fandom is like, especially this fandom and especially with these female characters but... yeah, there has to be other people who saw it before me xDD

cass finally arriving at a (slightly, this is still gotham) more stable and safe point in her life, having a safe mentor figure who cares about her and loves her and produces these mix of intense feelings that can't be easily defined (there's something motherly about it, something sisterly, something else), and then adding the mess that could be cass (who to me is a lesbian, no other option lol) finally being at a place where she starts exploring her sexuality (you could also have a lot of fun with the ensuing jealousy, as dickbabs date around this time)... of course her attention would wander towards barbara. of course it would! I just see it so clearly.

also, in my head barbara definitely notices what's going on (bruce does not). she navigates it pretty carefully, but I imagine she does fuck up at some point -I'm picturing something akin to when she screams at cass when she can't read the word necessary to defuse a bomb. something mean, said in the heat of the moment, that makes cass feel like shit.

in general I think of the ship as unrequited; barbara would have cass too stuck in the role of her mentee to really see beyond that (there would be just a hint of infantilisation there imo). BUT there's one scenario where I see them advance towards something mutual, and it's one I want to write someday :P

basically, I'm not a fan of happily-ever-after!dickbabs, I think I've made that clear lol. as a messy relationship and kinda toxic exes they work well for me (sidenote: stephcass is the same lol), but that's it. so knowing their new earth ending is a wedding in convergence (I haven't read it yet but I know that much) irks me, and as a result I've decided I want cassbats to seduce dick's wife xDD

the gist of it would be basically that: future fic, cass is finally batman the way she wanted to, barbara and dick are married and it's a disaster... and cass and barbara have been distant for a long time, for various reasons. barbara misses her terribly, and when the chance to reconnect comes, things might go a little too far.

ps. shoutout to the version of the ship in the young justice cartoon. I have a lot of mixed feelings about the changes in the characters (especially barbara, who is oracle but has babsgirl personality and just doesn't interest me that much tbh). BUT those changes certainly resulted in an even more toxic cassbabs dynamic and I kinda dig that. idk that I'll write actual fic for them, but cass's pov sections in my jason-centric wip certainly hint at it lol. just like every time I write from cass's pov tbh, I can't help myself.

[sweetwildsyle]

Remember Me

Darkstache

— A drabble in which nostalgic discussions are had after a meltdown.

‘I just… Can you tell me what to do?’

The request was simple. It always was. The moment was always quiet and lovely where Wilford could turn off for a bit and trusttrusttrust in their voice and instructions. Wil would fall apart to Dark who would take care of him and give him a period where he didn’t have to think at all. Calm and quiet, no headaches.

That was until Wilford started crying.

Dark’s mouth parted as stupor struck them. The moment of being flabbergasted undid itself as Dark frantically changed their positions to give Wil space. PLEASE, DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE. The grey being flinched as Wilford’s voice bombarded their mind. Their husband curled up with his eyes screwed shut, blackening hands grasping at his head, and he rolled to be on his side and incidentally faced away from Dark. I DON’T WANT TO BE ALONE AGAIN, PLEASE. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

Controlling their breathing, Dark cautiously brought themself to spoon the other who gasped after thoughtlessly holding his breath, and they pulled him as closely and tightly as they could. Dark ignored how his spine was trying to swell, how his skin tried to harden with ink, how protrusions tried to grow on his head — how his own body was working against him to try to grow.

A broken sob choked from Wil. HURTS.

“I know, Wil. You need to pick.”

HURTS, HELP, his voice boomed out to anyone who would hear. Dark winced again before their body seized briefly as Wil began clawing at their arms, and, on their skin, they felt warmth in rivulets that pulled down with gravity.

Dark forcefully breathed, pushing away the pain. “Wil, you need to keep it or get rid of it,” they spoke slowly to mask their straining, already knowing which option would be chosen. A whimper whined out and bounced off the walls with too loud of a volume.

“Please, Wil, you’re hurting me.”

The entire house shook, and all the lights flashed on before turning off with a crack, some lightbulbs exploding. Dark had to bite their tongue as they pulled closer, letting Wil’s weight dig against their chest full of broken ribs to ride out the earthquake.

Their husband panted, weak noises sounding with every exhale, and Dark let out a shaky sigh as they loosened their grip. With gritted teeth, they forced themself to sit up, one hand on Wil’s side as support and ignoring the burns on their chest and arms and now one hand. “I’m going to get up, Wil.” They waited for a signal and received a pathetic noise from his throat. Dark mustered themself before incanting softly and tracing a shape on their thigh. Wilford coiled smaller with restraint during the casting, the laboured breathing resuming once Dark was hovering an inch above the bed.

They grabbed at the blanket to pull themself to the side weightlessly with the levitation. Their eyes flitted to the phone that had been lighting up ever since the power outage — but that could wait. Dark pulled a small notebook and pen from the nightstand before floating to Wilford’s bedside. His soft sniffling accompanied the pen’s scratching at the paper quietly as they filled out the basics of his changes for this time. They had to ignore how their skin buzzed with too much heat when Dark brought their hand to his face to rub his cheek. “I need you to open your eyes, Wilford.” Their husband swallowed thickly before four eyes full of pink opened full of tears.

“You’re bleeding,” whispered Wilford, and Dark had to pause at the words because they knew it wasn’t English.

“I know.”

“I hurt you?”

“We can worry about it after we finish cataloguing,” Dark promised, feeling too conscious of their arms now.

“You look different.”

“I used thauma to get out of bed; you know that.”

“Different than that,” Wil continued, the eyes blinking together, “like a fountain. Or a brook.”

“A river; isn’t that funny? You may be seeing differently because your eyes are different again.” Dark reached over to brush a thumb over his lips and tapped there. Wil obediently opened his mouth that glowed pink from within. They set the book and pen down to the side to take Wil’s hands that were darker than the shadows of the room, an iridescent black.

They paused when they noticed the ring was gone from his left, and, as always, they passed over the scar texture on his right. “Why do you keep this…?”

“It’s all that I have left from me… him,” Wilford admitted, exiting that universal speech to speak English once more.

Dark took the moment to hold Wil’s right hand and guide it towards themself. Their lips dried as they gingerly kissed his hot palm and then his fingers and then his knuckles.

“I don’t know how you can stand me when I cost you everything.”

Dark paused, eyes closing. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. I’m not them. You know that.”

“You kept their name.”

“I know.”

“Did I tell you I was supposed to kill the both of them?”

“You told me about Damien.”

“I was meant to kill Celine, too.”

“But you didn’t.”

Wilford let out a puff of breath, and then his eyes fluttered shut when Dark began going through his hair. “I did, in a way.”

Dark held their tongue, wanting to argue that it wasn’t him, that he wasn’t it. But he was, and they knew that.

“I’m here now,” Dark murmured, and Wilford began to sob again.

“I’m not trying to compare–”

“I know.”

“I miss him.”

Dark’s heart panged, a lump forming in their throat since they knew that he wasn’t talking about Damien. The trickling blood on their arms felt so loud. “I know.”

[not-poignant]

Awwwwwwww Haley!!!!! What a gem, I am loving her presence in this story and in Alex's life. It's so interesting how Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail kind of have a chip on their shoulders of "us against the town" that sort of allows them to ignore how Alex and Haley felt growing up in Pelican Town. As if those three were the only teenagers who encountered feelings of isolation or discontent with life in the valley. I think you've talked about this before, hopefully I'm not just repeating what you've previously said word for word hahaaaa

Oh no, you've summarised it up really well! I'm sure I've said something similar to this but took like 1000 words to say it :D

And yeah that's how I feel about them in the story very much. I think when you identify as a geek etc. or when you feel you're better than a place, you might combine 'I'm being looked down on because I'm a geek' with 'I don't belong here because I'm better than this place' and end up with 'it's us against the town' mentality.

I always found it interesting that like, Sebastian, Abigail and Sam are nearly *always* together at every event / festival, and Alex and Haley are *often* together but not always (Alex is sometimes with his grandparents, which is sweet). Sebastian is never actively bullied by anyone except his stepfather in the story (nor is Alex, but Alex does mention a canonically mean / abusive father). Sam is never actively bullied. Abigail isn't either. So from the outside looking in, this is a tight friendship group.

Not only that, but in all of your cut scenes with Alex, he is completely alone. And in fact, in one of them, you eavesdrop on him telling his dog Rusty 'you're the only one I can talk to' - indicating how lonely he is. And then in another cut scene, he has his mother's music box with him while he's upset on the beach, and basically you find out he's been crying, on his own, at the beach. When Alex asks you not to tell anyone that he was emotional/crying about his dead mom, you literally laugh at him and then walk away while he panics. That literally happens in the best case scenario. I hate that scene so much. Playing that up for comedic value is like 'haha lightening the mood I guess' - but from a character meta standpoint, it's like shit, that's brutal.

In fact, in most of his cut scenes or dialogue exchanges, you have the option to laugh, mock, belittle, or abuse him, you can even say 'yeah, your father was right about you.'

On the other hand, Sebastian gets one lengthy cut scene with friends playing tabletop gaming together where it's clear they do this regularly. In his first cut scene, his mother comes in to say Abigail wants to come over. Sebastian's introduced as someone who is social from the beginning, not just with one person, but multiple people, to the point where his cut scenes involve multiple friends.

I find that contrast super interesting. Like, the game indicates one thing about Sebastian in his appearance and behaviour (i.e. loner introvert goth) but then says something completely different in his actual interactions in the town. The game indicates one thing about Alex (i.e. egotistical sporty popular guy) and then says something completely different in their actual interactions in the town.

From a story perspective, I love that - like what if they believe about each other what the game wants us to think before we dig deeper? Except that in this case, Alex realised pretty quickly that Sebastian isn't a loner at all, in fact he's extremely social, and even hosts gatherings at his own place (something no one else does except for Caroline and her exercise group, and Sam with his band - that Sebastian is a member of).

Anyway, enjoying blowing up each one of Sebastian's assumptions! It's incredibly satisfying, lol

[robo-dino-puppy]

my thoughts on burning shores if anyone was interested (spoilers obvs, also loooooong, so long and rambling, don’t feel like you need to read it lol):

first of all - that final fight with the horus was EPIC. i LOVED the multiple sections that basically take you through all the game mechanics - stealth, ranged, climbing, swimming, platforming - all just really cool. SO AMAZING and FUCKING CREEPY to see a horus crawling/walking around. also props to sam witwer to being a great over-the-top villian lol. the final fight with londra in the head section felt a bit cramped and it took me a few cycles to understand what to do (like it took me too long to realize i could shoot the mines yikes i’m dumb) but once i did i liked the design of it. (although i felt aloy should have been more terrified of the horus waking up? she and seyka seemed pretty chill and jokey throughout the whole thing considering the situation - i feel like she should have been more scared, at least at first?)

second of all, little complaint - the sounds of the waterwing are EXCRUCIATING to me. really, honestly awful. well not from a sound design perspective, they're fine as... sounds... just not sounds i have to listen to frequently. but i'm very sensitive to noise and i have misophonia, so... maybe that's why. i wish it would just stop making noises. so many noises. all the time. in my mind steve (my sunwing) flew off to hang out with some burning shores sunwings and the moment i go back to a sunwing site i will recognize him and override him again and then we will go back to adventuring together and i will abandon the waterwing unless i need one again. also they added a noise to the barrel roll on the sunwing and that is not cool, don't like, i would like steve to be quiet(er) again pls.

third, an issue - i can't complete cauldron theta because every time i kill the bilegut my game crashes. TT-TT i go through the whole fight, aloy says "it's done!" and the game closes and i get an error. i have fought that bastard three times now and i WILL NOT be doing it again until i have reason to believe it’s fixed lol. the rest of the cauldron was pretty cool tho!

other things:

GILDUN! OMG. i loved that whole quest. i felt bad but i listened to all his commentary behind the door before opening it :D i also felt bad because he's so friendly and optimistic and his delving partner was a jerk, and while i didn't want to lie to him i chose the heart option for aloy's response, and i don't think i could choose the others. and he gets a focus and a hug! AHHHHHH it was great. you’re our friend gildun! (i did get him talking on aloy's focus once when i went back to the main game, so i wonder if there will be random comments like that sometimes? v cool)

NORA LOOKOUT ARMOR! holy crap i forgive them for not giving us the banuk sickness eater bc i did not expect to get the lookout. AMAZING. i will have to do a run with her wearing the lookout the whole time. the quen armors are pretty great too (and lots of dyes, but still only four dyes for the oseram armors? like, why? why didn't the oseram armor get the ng+ dye? WHY GUERRILLA)

ZENITH WEAPON! i was ambivalent about this idea before bc i wasn't sure how zenith weapons would work with the others we have, but i honestly love it. i also like the little clinky noise it makes when she puts it on/stows it :D some of the new weapons (like the shredder) in hfw felt kind of ratchet-and-clank-y, which i loved bc i *adored* r&c growing up. the zenith gauntlet also feels a bit like r&c and i’m digging it. now aloy just needs a topiary sprinkler lolololol (just kidding).

ZENITH FACEPAINTS! ok i would not wear these full time but they are honestly beautiful with the gold. also didn't expect these. and some new quen ones and the new valor surge one and the pangaea one. (are there more? i haven’t finished the delver’s trinkets or the aerial vantage points) i have my work cut out for me for my facepaint series!

i'm... not sure how i feel about aloy and seyka. as an ace girl who was hoping (however foolishly and vainly) for at least the choice of ace girl rep in aloy, it didn’t hit for me the way i’m sure they wanted it to. (i realize she still could be ace, just not aro, but to me it didn’t feel like they were telling an ace story, if that makes sense.) and i like seyka but she wasn't as immediately endearing to me as many of the other side characters - altho maybe my opinion will change on a second playthrough.

but i *am* glad that aloy is 1) letting herself be emotional/vulnerable around others 2) is more relaxed and happy after hfw’s whole story and 3) actually voiced aloud how her early life as an outcast impacted her ability to form friendships. (or wait... was that only in the brain flashpoint dialogue, which is the one i picked? idk) so anyway not mad about it even if i wasn’t really feeling it, and i’m happy for the ppl who wanted aloy to be canonically into the ladies. (which imo it always seemed like she was)

the map is beautiful and the clouds are too. the sky in the new map omg!!! the color of the sky/clouds is definitely unique from any of the other areas. it does feel a biiiiiit too bright in places tho. several times the environment or aloy was completely blown out, highlights-wise. i didn’t change any settings on my game or tv from before, so i don’t feel like it’s on my end, but maybe i need to check.

speaking of sky have you flown up into the cloud layer? like it's a small thing i guess but it is BEAUTIFUL, it literally looks like one of the luminist paintings they said they were inspired by, but it's 3d. so, so pretty.

i did feel it was a bit short/fast especially compared to how the frozen wilds felt, but i may have just rushed it bc i was able to sit down and binge and i wanted to avoid spoilers.

why no tallneck? :( the frozen wilds tallneck was so great...

the jurassic park references made me laugh :D

the whole thing londra was doing to the quen, and the conversation with nova, was extra gross and creepy. also i thought we'd get nova as an AI ally like CYAN but oh well.

again the horus fight was amazing 10/10 boss fight v cool. the only thing i would have added was somehow shooting from the waterwing before gliding down to the ground. with two riders one can shoot and one can steer right?

but the side quest with the three waterwings on the island? HHHHHOLY fuck that was annoying. i used practically all my resources to kill those bastards. "weak to fire" my ass. they have like mile-wide aoe attacks and they are FAST and i kept missing their bodies while my ammo was going through their wings... super, super annoying, did not like, 0/10.

i hope they un-mirror the ammo selection, i was constantly picking the wrong arrows lol.

i walked up on some sandpipers on a beach and i scared them off and it was so REAL i just stood there and watched them fly away. and then they landed further down and started doing their little sandpiper-y thing again. SO COOL.

LEGENDARY SPIKE THROWER WITH DRILL SPIKES! thank u gildun i love it and will cherish it forever.

i'm not sure about the aerial vantage points (whatever they're called) bc i haven't finished them yet but the ones i have done are more emotionally along the lines of the original vantage points, so that's cool.

i did the stormbird in the cloud before i had the waterwing override and the stormbird KILLED STEVE so i reloaded a previous save where steve was alive and waited to do that until i was riding a (super-noisy and annoying) waterwing lol.

i am SAD that all our companions have left the main map. :( i mean they didn't do anything besides stand there in the same spots but... they were there...

sylens, ahhhhhh. that final convo made me tear up a little. i wish aloy had said something before she walked away, even a sarcastic "thanks" would have felt better imo. he didn't see her smile and he didn't hear the comment she made later. just considering the real-world stuff with lance reddick, oof.

also, visiting varl’s grave T_T

aaaaaaanyway i personally felt it was *well* worth $20 and i’m sooooooo excited to see what guerrilla does in the future!

[deans-writing]

Car Battery! (AGAIN?!)

Characters: (Roblox) Dean King, Kitberry, Adam, Anthony

Warnings: None

Notes: i hate this FUCKING GAME/SILLY

The crowd clapped as the show host moved across the stage, his smug grin plastered on his face. Dean glared as he approached with his fists clenched just out of sight. It took every bit of self control he had not to grab at the sentient banana now. To rip it apart, sinking his teeth into the fruits skin to yank like a dog with a new toy.

Kitberry had managed to convince him just earlier that before Dean went through with his plan, they should at least play another game. Two other contestants had joined them upon the stage, although he'd barely taken the time to really get a good look at them. They seemed connected at the hip. Although Dean had noticed the stare the shorter of the two gave to the host, strange.

"Say... Do I know you from somewhere?"

Dean didn't hide the low growl that crept out from his throat. His body leaned forward, he could feel a burning sensation pumping through his veins up into his mind. The stare he received back was one that didn't seem to mind Dean's own, no matter how piercing it was. "Well, doesn't matter."

With a dismissive wave, it held the microphone closer to its mouth and spoke. "You're here now. Pick a category!" Its smile grew wider while its arm extended to the screen just behind it. Dean forced his eyes away. He already had to hold back the violent bile building in his shaky fists.

He inspected his options closely, none of them appealing. Artistic Integrity, I Don't Like That, and Math Zone. Dean groaned. The only one he had even a bit of confidence in was math, and he knew better than anyone else that he was downright atrocious at it. He'd never paid attention in high school, much less in math.

"Math Zone." King grumbled, using a curled index finger to gesture to the category. The banana gave a nod, before stepping back. The announcer's voice boomed as he spoke. Dean still wondered just where he was.

As he spoke, rambling on before he gave the actual question, Dean glanced over to the other contestants he'd only given a brief glance over before. His eyes narrowed while he studied them. Neither looked like they belonged next to each other, their aesthetics clashing as if in a fight for their life. Similar to himself and Kit.

He read the names on their respective podiums. Adam. Dean couldn't describe their fashion style, only able to think; fuck, aren't you cold? He brushed the thought off, his attention quickly moving to the other, who leaned in close to Adams ear. Very obviously, he was whispering answers. Dean quickly glanced at Kitberry. If only his own duo was smart enough to be that helpful. He looked back.

Anthony. King shuddered upon reading it, the familiarity of it bringing back memories of training and too dark conversations. He looked Anthony up and down. He dressed with simplicity, one that Dean actually found quite nice. He of all people knew that a basic, plain-jane fashion sense could absolutely be rocked. The guy seemed to do alright with it, he figured.

"Psst..." Kitberry hissed, drawing Dean's attention back. "What's the answer?"

Son of a bitch. He hadn't been paying attention. His head snapped up, taking in both the fact that he was on a timer- and that he had four possible answers- with the information presenting itself on the screen. The question itself was simple, if he were a smarter man, at least. After getting his head knocked around for over a decade, he certainly wasn't.

What kind of triangle has one angle that measures precisely 90 degrees? He felt his blood boil with the realization he had no fucking clue, and that he didn't have time to try and dig around in his brain for an answer. Kitberry was just as lost as him, evident by the fact she seemed to just stare off into the distance.

"Dunno, guess." Dean murmured back. Almost instantly, he heard the button for Kits answer buzz. A very act first, think later kind of person. He couldn't believe he'd be following that example.

Obtuse Angle. He slammed down on the button that correlated with his answer with the side of his fist, and his head snapped back up. The host took a step back in front of him, holding the microphone up to the podium. A moment or two went by, and the announcers voice came back.

"I give up." He almost sighed, and Dean set his head in his hands. Just as he could hear the buzzer at his podium go off, signifying his dumbassery to everyone else. And as if salt in the wound, he could hear the other podiums ring out with a soft ding.

There was silence for nothing more than a few seconds. Dean felt as though he was being silently humiliated by both the host and the announcer, he would prefer that kind of pain over a- "Car battery!"

The announcer spoke all too cheerily. Dean's heart sank, and he didn't even have the time to look up before a familiar pain roared through his nerves once more. Like an old wound reopened through surgery, in this case, it felt closer to a dirty needle doing the cutting. He'd been lucky enough to not have it crack his skull open this time. A win, no matter how small.

Dean's back had taken the strike this time, and he wailed out while slumping against the podium. His hands clutched the top in a struggle to keep himself standing on now weak legs. He could hear a soft "ssss" from one of the other contestants, the vision of ones shoulders rising with a wince in response to his agony becoming clear in his foggy mind.

"Again?" Kitberry couldn't help but laugh at it. She was lucky he liked her, otherwise he would've gone for her throat. Dean felt the cold- but still searing hot- urge to strike. Once more, he pulled himself upright. Adrenaline helped with ignoring the fact he could practically feel a part of his spine get shattered upon impact. The corners of his vision revealed that the first stranger he'd looked at, Adam, had leaned over a little bit. Their expression read one of internal debating, for what? He shut the thought down.

Directly in his sightlines was the host. It's smile, wide as ever. It almost looked proud. That could've also been him twisting the situation a bit to make it look worse, although he truly didn't care if that was actually the case. "You... FUCKING-" He raised one foot up, using it to boost himself up to the top of the podium.

Kitberrys ecstatic tone cut through the rage in his mind while she cheered. "Get his ass, girlie!" She called. Her smile was clear despite the mask.

Dean launched himself forward. Lunging towards the host, his arms spread out wide. There was a loud shout from behind him, "WHAT THE FUCK?!" He cared little to find out just who was yelling. The hosts eyes widened as Dean's figure drew closer from above.

His full weight came closer to smashing down onto it, with Dean swiftly putting his fist against its features. He sat up on his knees, staring down at the banana beneath him. His ears rang out with laughs and exclamations of approval from Kitberry, and cries for him to not do it. The voice that yelled the latter was the same as the one who'd yelled before. The crowd had also begun to shout, some excited to see an attack like this, others surprised, some terrified at the oncoming assault.

Dean screamed out as he slammed against the banana, trying to wrangle himself together to direct a flurry of blows at the fruit. The officer just close by, a donut, started to sprint towards the stage. He had to pull it apart, it was his job. But with how hard Dean was holding the face (if it could be called that) of the host, it was clear it would prove a challenge to stop whatever was going to go down.

Then, the cameras cut, leaving countless amounts of screens black.

All viewers outside of the studio itself were left in the dark to what was going to happen to their favorite gameshow host.

[miercolaes]

i'm on my once upon a time rewatch and spoiler alert, this one character became the author. as an author, you're given two options : record history as it happens or write it yourself. which means either let fate run its course or change it to your liking. so of course i'm here to write shit that goes against netflix's wednesday. someone, i won't name who but they know who they are, has inspired me to think beyond what the show offered us. so here we go.

what if all that we see on the show happens because wednesday has written about this before? we see 3 psychics in the show that uses their powers (xavier, rowan and wednesday) and we are mentioned two more (rowan's mother and morticia). so far xavier's the only one that can manipulate what he draws, rowan had telekinetic powers, rowan's mother did draw and predict the future. but what did wednesday and morticia do? for morticia, we're yet to see. but for wednesday, besides some random flashes, her powers are nonexistent. and i can't go with the fact her only superpower is being plagued by visions and not even on her own accord. even goody addams did more, even as a ghost.

so my thought is, the addamses women can see in the past, predict the future and most importantly, weave a future. we know wednesday wants to become an author. but let's be honest, not many novels do get sold if they're not interesting, with more intrigue than it should and so on so forth. which brings me back to viper (wednesday) and dominica (morticia). maybe one of the responses she got was that the main character had a perfect family and she must change that bc it's not realistic (ginny and georgia anyone?). so when she did, that's when her own feelings and thoughts towards her mother had become different. literally the only thing that's making sense beside wednesday pulling a ginny on tish.

as her drafts progressed, she had to create a monster, after all, so did mary shelley. so she did write about one, the only problem was that she didn't know what it was or who it was. but as every protagonist ever, viper had to find out in the end, by the time the last battle commences. it's basic storytelling, right? which concomitantly is exactly when the hyde is revealed to be tyler, the person she trusted the most.

and if we dig deeper (i am hanging by the thinnest thread to my sanity), doesn't the name jericho sounds familiar? if you didn't grow in a religious setting, you may have heard of iniko's jericho song which goes like jericho, jericho walls come down. according to this one biblical site, the israelites marched around jericho for 7 days and conquer the city when its walls miraculously fell down. israel destroys the city and everything in it, except for rahab and her family. which could mean that wednesday might unknowingly (or otherwise) bring jericho to destruction. to nothingness. whoever she spared is up to debate. if she wrote the imminent destruction of jericho, then there must be a reason. who broke my goth child so badly??? and why?????

but yeah, i think i'm going to make this a headcanon. it's the only thing that makes sense to me. the town being named jericho, wednesday being a writer that can write the present and the future, her relationship with her mother during season 1. let me be delulu, okay?