#this man is gonna steal all the food chains

[jaybirbie]

Something about Tim's name struck a cord in me. And then it hit me!

How could I as a Canadian not immediately notice that Tim signature looks alot like the TIM HORTONS font

Favourite boys.

[paranoiddreams]

Boyfriend Sukuna! (HC)

𖤓 Sukuna x gn!reader

𖤓 Warnings!! - explicit language, mentions of killing and crime in general lol, general filthiness in a few of them bc it’s Sukuna, a hint of toxicity 😜,

𖤓 A/n!! - gonna make this a series, I think I’m gonna do either Satoru or Toji next, lmk what you guys think :3

- He LOOOOVES a good argument, especially if it’s escalated to a screaming match

- Only because it turns him on so much when someone has the BALLS to speak up to him.

- He’s a very physical person, so expect to be bit, squeezed, yanked, or picked up by this monster of a man at any time of the day.

- Speaking of, he’s a tough-strong-killer during the day, and a cuddle bug at night. But not like you’re thinking. I’m talking full on manhandling you into a fetal position on his chest so he can wrap all of his arms around you.

- Definitely the type of guy who always has to have some sort of physical contact with you at all times. Whether it’s an arm around your waist, or your hand wrapped around his pinky, he needs to feel that you’re right next to him.

- He’s not going to apologize, at least verbally. So don’t expect those two words. But, do expect the most lavish dresses/suits, jewelry, food fit for a whole Royal family, and good ass sex.

- If we’re talking Heian!Sukuna, he’s going to use 80% of his money on custom tailored fancy silk clothing in all colors and designs for you. He’ll have the royal tailor come every other week to measure you and get all of your requests, and then a day later the softest, most beautifully made clothes come in fancy boxes.

- And if we’re talking Modern!Sukuna, I feel like he’d make a good income on killing, stealing, and finessing people (lmao) so he’ll use most of that on shit for you. Even the most girly, cutesy, hello-kitty-esque things, he’ll just grimace and shove the cash in your hands (bc I see this man using ONLY cash). Although, this takes a while for him since I feel he’s more cautious in modern times with everyone, including you at first.

- Speaking of, he knows your body like the back of his four hands babe. He knows because he’s dedicated most of his time to making you cum I’m so many different ways, seeing which feels the best for you. Sometimes, he’ll use the more torturous, slow methods, but when you’re being a brat, he’ll use the quickest methods to draw the most orgasms out of you that he can🤧

- Has literally said: “The two things I have dedicated myself to the most in life is bloodshed and pleasuring you.”

- Does he call you “woman” constantly? Yes. Does it cause little arguments from time to time? Absolutely. But you’ve upgraded to a few “babe”s and “Love”s from time to time!😄

- Sukuna realized he was in love with you when he realized in a moment of intimacy that life is just so much easier with you. He’s always detested the thought of being “chained down” or “settling down” with someone, but with you, that thought doesn’t even cross his mind.

- Enough with that SAPPY SHIT—he fully does not understand your Five Nights at Freddy’s obsession. All he knows is it’s a horror video game, and whenever you hear someone bring it up you start freaking out.

- But he mayhaps have watched a full 2 hour video essay about the lore on YouTube one night to humor you🙏🏻

- He is the embodiment of one sided enemies to lovers. Like you’re fully down for his monstrous ass, but he’s over here beefing with you in his head 😭

- It’s only bc he knew it was all over the moment he heard your voice😞

- This man is lowkey a stalker, but you’re chill with it. He’s always got his eyes on you, and his heightened senses allow him to smell and feel you from miles away.

- If he’s not physically around, he has his “connections” as he calls them. They’re mainly local criminals and homeless people he pays to keep an eye on you (check out this post by @emphistic to hear more on this concept!!)

- Overall toxicity scale: 9 Sukuna fingers out of 20. If we’re being generous (˶˃⤙˂˶)

[aspoonofsugar]

The Devil's Cake

I have just finished One Piece's Whole Cake Island Arc, I loved it and I wanna analyze its major themes and ideas. Still, keep in mind I have only read this one arc of the series, so I won't be able to connect what happens in this storyline with everything else going on. In any case, here come my thoughts!

As @hamliet highlights in her meta, One Piece is a story, which follows the Fool's Journey:

What is the Fool’s Journey? It’s the “Major Arcana” of the tarot deck, consisting of 22 cards that follow a particular order and tell a story that is supposed to represent a journey through life. (from hamliet's meta)

In particular, the Whole Cake Island Arc alludes to the 15th card, the Devil:

The Devil is not an evil, sinister figure residing outside of us. He is the knot of ignorance and hopelessness lodged within each of us at some level. The seductive attractions of the material bind us so compellingly that we often do not even realize our slavery to them. We live in a limited range of experience, unaware of the glorious world that is our true heritage. The couple on Card 15 are chained, but acquiescent. They could so easily free themselves, but they do not even apprehend their bondage. They look like the Lovers, but are unaware that their love is circumscribed within a narrow range. The price of this ignorance is an inner core of despair. (Meaning of the Devil from learntarot.com)

In other words:

The Devil represents ignorance, raw uncontrolled instincts and slavery to the material world. All of these ideas are explored in the arc. In particular, they are embodied by Big Mom.

The card has three characters on it. The Devil itself (usually an ermaphrodite) and the chained lovers (usually a man and a woman). Similarly, the Whole Cake Island Arc's premise is that Big Mom (the devil) forces Sanji and Pudding (the lovers) into a wedding against their will. Moreover, the arc has masculinity and femininity as secondary themes.

Let's go deeper.

BIG MOM, THE DEVIL

Big Mom is the Devil, as her introductory song Bloody Party makes clear:

Let's all eat a tasty cake! It's the sweetest deal to make! The tea party from hell! Is it strawberry jam? (Or someone's blood?) Either one is fine! If you're invited, you have to come! A demonic sacrifice for our sweet pastime! This is... our beloved... land of dreams! A country where all peoples come together! It's... Totto Land!

She tricks people with the sweetest of deals, but eventually traps and consumes them. This is shown both when it comes to Sanji's plotline and to the way she manages her kingdom:

She makes Sanji and his family believe she is gonna give them what they want. She is letting the Straw Hats leave. She is supporting Germa 66 in their quest to get their land back. However, it is soon revealed she has no intention of keeping either promise.

She offers her subjects peace and acceptance and welcomes them into a land of dreams. After all, Totto Land is gorgeous: it has many races living happily together, it is made of sweets and it is so full of life even inanimate things get a soul! Isn't Big Mom kind of like a God, who grants life? Except she isn't really giving life to objects, but rather she is objectifying life:

The condition to stay in Totto Land is for people to give up their life-span. As a matter of fact Big Mom's Soul Soul Fruit lets her steal souls, which is precisely what the Devil does. Not only that, but she masks her Hell as Heaven and baits people with sweetness, which is why her territory has a food motif. She seems nice, until you realize you can't really leave her:

If you stay, you have to give up a part of your life. If you wanna leave, you have to die. There is no way out. At least until one realizes what's really keeping people prisoners of Big Mom is their own minds. Just like the lovers in the card could easily free themselves, leaving Big Mom isn't impossible:

All you have to do is not to fear the Devil and its threats disappear. Similarly, Big Mom is a big fat lie herself: her dream, her country, her family and her power are all fake.

SANJI AND PUDDING, THE CHAINED LOVERS

Sanji and Pudding are the chained lovers:

Greedy Mama's false plot was both devious and smart! Matching fairy tale prince and princess fair, in a sham that was meant to keep them apart.

In particular, they are forced to play Prince and Princess in two different ways.

On the one hand Sanji and Pudding are chained together against their will in a fake wedding. They are the handsome prince and the beautiful princess getting married on top of a giant cake:

They are not even the protagonists of their own marriage, but merely cake toppings in Big Mom's tea party.

On the other hand Sanji and Pudding are prisoners of their families, which push gender roles on them:

Germa 66 is a patriarchy, which values strength and violence. Its ruler Judge represses his emotions and wants his children to do the same. They must be emotionless killing machines. As a result, Sanji is expected to embody hyper-masculinity and to hide all his feminine traits, like his kindness and even his passion for cooking. After all, he is Germa 66's Prince.

Totto Land is a matriarchy, which values superficial harmony and beauty. Its queen Big Mom gets dangerous when upset and is very emotional. So, everybody has to conform to her wishes. As a result, Pudding is expected to embody hyper-femininity. She must be Big Mom's doll, so she masks her ugliest parts, like her bloodlust (psychological) and her third eye (physical). After all, she is Totto Land's Princess.

So, both Sanji and Pudding are asked to compartmentalize themselves, so they can fit in simplistic boxes for their parents to use. Sanji has to be a super-soldier to win Judge's war, whereas Pudding has to be a seductress to advance Lin Lin's political schemes. They are even both the result of eugenetics. Judge uses a powerful drug to steal his sons' humanity before they are even born. Big Mom instead gets together with a three-eyed, so that she can have a child able to read Poneglyphs.

The two families may seem opposite, but both are abusive and force the kids to repress parts of themselves:

Happiness (Sanji's love for food is symbolically negated by the iron mask).

Sadness (Pudding's tears are symbolically negated by her third eye being covered).

At the same time, Sanji and Pudding's reactions to their abuse are opposite, just like their standings in their families.

Sanji is the scapegoat, as he can't be who Judge wants him to be. He refuses to fit his father's ideal and is punished by the rest of the family because of it. His brothers bully him and his sister is too scared to openly show affection for him. The situation gets so bad he is forced to cut all ties with his family and leave. He is abandoned and cancelled.

Pudding is the golden child, as she is one of Big Mom's favorite kids. She is the perfect good girl and could potentially lead her mother to the One Piece. As a result, she is beloved by her siblings and people. However, she gives up who she is in exchange. She always wears a mask to the point nobody knows the real her. She is trapped and with no autonomy.

The end result for both Prince and Princess is that they have to lie to survive. Sanji hides his origin from his crewmates and in Totto Land he pushes them away to protect them. Pudding instead hides her real self and tricks others to hurt them out of repressed anger. More importantly, Sanji and Pudding are deep down tricking themselves:

They tell themselves they are happy as prisoners, but that’s false. Eventually the truth comes to the surface:

Pudding finds out the Straw Hats know Lola. This has her remember something painful, which leads her to vent some of her frustration. This is why she reveals her true colors to both Reiju and the Straw Hats. This lets Sanji and the others discover Big Mom's true plan.

Sanji finds out Pudding hates him and Reiju loves him. He also realizes his family is in danger. In the face of these terrible revelations he stops lying to himself. He runs to where Luffy is and expresses his real feelings:

Just like the lovers on the card, Sanji and Pudding are trapped because of their ignorance, both of the world around them (Sanji) and of who they are inside (Pudding). In general, the whole arc is full of lies in its first act and things only get better once the lovers start unraveling the truth. Still, there is also someone else who helps in this process. A Fool, who is able to draw out people's most genuine selves.

LUFFY'S JOURNEY

Luffy is the Fool, so the protagonist of the journey. He is the individual with infinite potential, who goes through an adventure to grow up and self-actualize. So, the Whole Cake Island arc ties into his development, as he both matures and proves himself different from Big Mom. As a matter of fact our Fool is the opposite of the Devil Queen on multiple levels.

First of all, the two captains' attitudes towards a crew memeber quitting don't match. Big Mom won't let Jinbe leave her, whereas Luffy is ok with Sanji getting married, if this makes him happy.

As the arc goes on, it becomes obvious Big Mom embodies peace and conformity, while Luffy represents freedom and individuality:

Big Mom wants a place where everyone can eat while at the same eye-level. However, she wants to fulfill this by making everyone big like her. It is others, who must change, not Big Mom herself. Everyone can live in Totto Land, but only by becoming who Big Mom wants. It is "whole", but "individuals" disappear in this totality.

Luffy likes people's individuality and encourages everyone to follow their dreams, even if he might disagree with them. He wants people to grow into the best and most genuine version of themselves. To do so he is ready to fight and enter conflicts.

This difference is expressed through the main motif of the arc, that is food. Big Mom and Luffy both eat a lot and fast throughout the arc:

However, Big Mom does so out of selfishness, while Luffy does so out of selflessness. In particular, Luffy eats and fasts to discover the truth about others:

He eats Cracker's biscuits to unmask his opponent physically.

He promises to fast until Sanji cooks for him to unmask his friend psychologically.

Finally, Luffy eats to better understand himself and grow. This is the point of his fight with Katakuri. This battle happens in the mirror world and Luffy faces off against a better version of himself. This is indicative that the Straw Hat's captain is really conquering a part of himself, so he can evolve. Moreover, throughout their conflict Luffy both:

Eats Katakuri to dispel his power.

Sees Katakuri eat in a relaxed demeanor.

Luffy and Katakuri draw out the best in each other. Katakuri helps Luffy evolve his observation haki. Luffy helps Katakuri accept his real self. By the end of their battle, they both can see better:

Luffy has now a metaphorical better vision of himself and of the kind of future he wants to create (observation haki)

Katakuri can now show his most instinctive and weird part to others (his laughing and eating mouth)

Finally, Luffy proves that the important thing isn't to never touch the ground (not to lose):

But rather, it is to always get back up (to change for the better):

This is something Katakuri himself acknowledges by the end, as he decides not to fall face-down, but rather to have his back touch the ground. Symbolically, he is accepting his imperfection. Just like Luffy does.

This is something Big Mom can't do, as she is an adult stuck into the mentality of a child. She is a person who could never face herself.

A RISKY CAKE

LinLin is the Devil, not only because she lies to others, but also because she herself is trapped in several lies:

She is lied by her parents when they leave her on Carmel's island

She is lied by Carmel about her parents' abandonment when she is welcomed at the orphanage

Finally, Carmel's whole personality is a lie:

Carmel presents herself as a "holy mother", but she is neither "holy", nor a "mother":

Her miracles come from the Soul Soul Fruit's power and her desire of peace is a scam to gain the trust of the giants

Her motherly side is a facade she uses to mold children into soldiers for the World Government

So, Carmel isn't as sweet as her name may imply. She is a fake nun, so she fittingly gives birth to the Devil herself. As a matter of fact LinLin's life is spent in an attempt to emulate Carmel:

She tries to fulfill Carmel's dream of a peaceful world, where everyone is equal

She makes sure to have a big family, so that she can replace the Sheep's House

She calls all her children after food, just like Carmel was named after a dessert

Carmel's dream and family are lies, but they end up defining the Pirate Queen's existence. Even LinLin's anger towards who leaves is a projection of her own abandonment as a child. In her mind, she was left behind twice, so she can't bear for it to happen a third time. The result of this mix of lies and delusions is none other than Big Mom.

She is a child, who never had a mother, so she is now a mother, who isn't a real parent. She is a person who received a lie instead of love, so now she gives fake love.

Big Mom's inability to truly love is shown once again in the motif of food. Let's compare these two scenes:

On the one hand Luffy savors Sanji's bento. The food is soaked with water and covered in dirt, but he still appreciates it. He realizes his cook made everyone's favorite food, so the bento becomes symbolic of Sanji's love for the Straw Hats. It might be ruined, but its material appearance does not change its spiritual meaning. Luffy can see it, so he can enjoy the meal. It is as if by eating it, he is celebrating all his crew members by showing he loves them as wholes, both qualities and flaws. Just like he can forgive Sanji's lies and behavior.

On the other hand Big Mom devours Sanji's cake. Big Mom opens the arc by wishing to eat the wedding cake and she ends it by eating it. The cake is perfect, even better than her wildest dreams. However, Big Mom can't understand the cake is so tasty because Sanji put love in it:

That is because Big Mom herself doesn't understand true love. And maybe she doesn't even want to understand it:

It's sweet, it's milky (Milky) It's very rich and… (Very rich and…) Risky!!

The flavor of the cake is "risky" because love itself can be risky and complicated. To love someone means to let them free. Like Luffy does with his comrades. Like Pudding does with Lola and Sanji. However, Big Mom will never do it because she only enters relationships, where she risks nothing and the other party risks it all. This unbalance is the root of every bond she forges.

This is the meaning behind Bad End Musical. This song is the perfect conclusion for Big Mom's character in the Whole Cake Island arc.

First of all it is a "bad end", but it is a lie. Throughout the song it seems the Strawhats' boat is destroyed, but it is just a ruse and they successfully escape. It is a delusion. A sweet lie Big Mom's army enjoys for a brief instant before they are faced with the hard truth. They lost.

Secondly, it conveys beautifully what "love" and "lies" mean for Big Mom:

1)Love - Throughout the song, Big Mom eating the cake is cruelly juxtaposed to the Straw Hats being attacked repeatedly. As a result, it appears as if Big Mom is eating Luffy and his friends, rather than the cake. This is a metaphor of how Big Mom "loves" others. She eats them. Just like she ate Carmel and the other orphans. She wants to love the world, but she doesn't know how. As a result, she tries to assimilate it in her stomach, so that it becomes a part of her. Still, this isn't real love, it is just consumption. This is why Big Mom is destined to forever be hungry.

2)Lies - At one point, Big Mom is on the verge of having a revelation:

She confusedly realizes that the cake tastes the same as the one her family gave her in the happiest day of her life. That is the taste of true love. Still, this intuition does not lead to any deeper self-reflection. As a matter of fact, to do so, LinLin should admit what she did, while blinded by hunger. And she can't. She can never know she killed her loved ones. Just like she can never aknowledge the destruction she brings, while affected by her hunger pangs. Instead of this painful reality, she chooses a happy illusion:

That's why the musical ends with the juxtaposition of the ideal world LinLin dreams of creating with the cruel reality she in fact made:

A deal with the devil Makes Totto Land Serene Here we're all a family Thanks to our loving queen Big Mom!

This reality is the result of a pact with the Devil. A pact with ignorance, which does not let people mature. Big Mom is still a kid deep down and her children can never develop their own individuality, as they are stuck in their mother's shadow forever. Everyone is trapped and unable to evolve. The Queen who dreams of a Kingdom of giants ironically prevents her subjects from growing.

END ROLLS - COOKING AND EATING

The final chapter of the Whole Cake Island Arc is called End Roll, which fits Big Mom's musical motif. After the big finale, the curtains close, with a last song playing. The song is Soul Pocus, which once again highlights Big Mom's satanic symbolism:

Soul Pocus, Soul Pocus, Such self-centered words. When tempted by the scent, of that sweet cake slice. The first step is to ask about, the nature of its price. For this is not the good kind of surprise. Will you suffer her trick or hand over your treats? Sweets can be so very bad for the soul. Soul Pocus, our Mama so material. Will it be years off your life? Or your life itself? Soul Pocus, the song of our Queen. (Life or dead?)

At the same time, the chapter itself juxtaposes Big Mom with our true lovers.

1)Big Mom stays a prisoner of her own delusions. She sees herself as a kind and loving queen, but is really an abusive monster. Pudding is instead able to finally face herself.

When we meet her, Pudding is on the verge of turning out like her mother:

She is a manipulator, just like Big Mom. Her mother manipulates souls (hearts), whereas Pudding manipulates memories (minds).

She lies to herself to the point she has divided her whole personality into two distinctive sides. A kind and cute persona and a cruel and rude hidden self.

So, Pudding is the Devil's apprentice. She is on the path of becoming a liar, who lives in a lie. However, thanks to Sanji, she defies this destiny. She shows her real self, who is neither her good girl act nor her villainess mask. Rather she is a lonely girl, who loves deeply, but believes che can't be loved. Not only that, but her final act is to use her power to have Sanji forget their one kiss. She lies to him, but she does so to let him be free.

Ironically, she starts the arc by telling the Straw Hats that if she were to seriously fall in love with Sanji, she could never let him go. However, by the end she reveals herself to be even more selfless than her "good persona". She finds the strength to admit her love for Sanji (the kiss), but she also realizes he needs to be free (the erased memory). And yet, the fact she is finally facing her true emotions is her first step into adulthood and self-actualization. Pudding is not goinG to be stuck as a child, like Big Mom. Rather she is blooming into a beautiful woman.

2) Big Mom and Sanji are opposite. She eats (takes life) out of gluttony. He cooks (gives life) to dispel hunger. At the same time, they are also far more similar than one might initially think.

For example, both of them are abandoned and risk to die of starvation. Still, they both get adopted by a foster parent. However:

Carmel is a fake mother, who never truly educates LinLin nor teaches her how to control her instincts. As a result, she is eventually devoured alive and symbolically becomes LinLin's Devil Fruit herself (after all, LinLin gets the Soul Soul Fruit through consuming Carmel).

Zeff is a real father, who both takes care of Sanji and educates him. He eats his own leg, so that Sanji can survive. He teaches his son to never hurt a woman, so that he can become a true man. He is Sanji's father and his mentor, the one who made Sanji the exceptional cook he is today.

In other words, LinLin is both an unloved child and an unloving mother. Sanji and Zeff are instead a loving son and a loving father. This is why their bond is really at the heart of the whole arc. Zeff might not appear, but his presence is strongly felt:

The threat to kill Zeff is the reason why Sanji steps into Big Mom's territory to begin with.

Zeff's teachings are the reason why Sanji chooses to save his family, despite the pain they gave him. He wants to be a son Zeff can be proud of.

Finally, Zeff closes the arc together with Sanji, as they both serve food to hungry people. Both friends and foes. After all, everyone deserves to eat, everyone deserves to live, everyone deserves to be loved. Even the Devil herself:

[wazzappp]

Alrighty my dudes buckle up

GHOST RIDER D&D AU

also WOE. ART STYLE CHANGE BE UPON YE.

First things first thank you to my beloved mutual @moosemonstrous, who was basically the brains behind the operation I basically just wanted an excuse to draw tiefling Robbie and then got smacked in the face with an awesome story way beyond what I had ever thought of with KILLER fucking lore to match <3.

While I usually like to start with Robbie when introducing an AU, we're going to unfortunately have to start with Eli. A man who fucked up so monumentally that the kinda sorta god he's supposed to be serving went 'Bitch??? How about NO.' and humbled him faster than my DM can say 'roll perception'.

Ok I'm getting ahead of myself. Eli is pretty much the same personality wise as he is in canon. Insecure and desperate for power/control. He grew up surviving with Beto by doing jobs for the Myriad crime syndicate. Somewhere along the way he started serving his patron, Desirat, the twilight phoenix, in exchange for her power.

Im just going to directly quote what moose said about Desirat cause its phrased WONDERFULLY:

"Desirat, The Twilight Phoenix - companion and mount of Asmodeus during an ancient war, was torn from her master and captured by uppity mages. They were eventually killed, but she remained chained under a mountain, creating weird thermal phenomena in the area. Her sanity fractured in isolation so she thinks herself divine, and she lends through dreams and visions to those who 'carry a seed of fiery vengeance'. She now speaks to the minds of those who lie spurned and angry at night, calling them to unlock their inner flame and let Desirat aid them in their vengeance."

Desirat chose Eli as her champion to free her. She believed his faults would make him easy to manipulate for her purposes.

But eventually Beto wanted to settle down, and Eli refused to (to quote moose) 'Stop that warlock bullshit that EVERYONE SAID will get him in trouble'. And the brothers separate. During that time, Eli gets it in his head that he can steal more power from her by becoming a Litch. Great! In order to become a Litch he needs to have the most important person to him engage in a willing life sacrifice. Not great.

So he finds Beto and tries to get him to oblige to his sacrifice, and while there might have been a time where Beto might have laid down his life for his brother, he wont anymore. He has a family now. People who rely on him who AREN'T Eli. Unfortunatly, Eli is PISSED by this and kills Beto even though he isn't a willing sacrifice. Eli figures 'Whose really gonna care? A life is a life right?'

DESIRAT cares. She basically obliterates Eli on the spot and stores his lifeforce for later purposes.

(all stat sheets curtosy of the great Moose. Also I feel obligated to mention there was a scary moment during the art process where Eli looked like a beautiful butch lesbian. Horrifying.)

After Eli's spiritual, physical, and magical bitch slap, Desirat starts looking down his bloodline for a NEW champion. Lucky her, Robbie is RIGHT THERE. Protective of his brother, a strong sense of justice even from a young age, a hatred of when things aren't fair; he's PERFECT. She has plans for this one. Eli was a good test run. But she has IMPROVEMENTS planned for Robbie.

So Desirat waits until Robbie is old enough and strong enough to serve her purposes. In that time, Julianna goes out adventuring to get more coin so she can pay for Gabe's treatments of Greater Restoration and just. General food and water and general supplies. But she doesn't come back. She was responsible though and hired someone who was willing to take what she could offer to take care of the boys. Gabe still believes that she's still out there and trying to come back to them. Robbie thinks she's either bailed on them for a life of adventure or dead.

Around when Robbie turns 18, Desirat puts her plans into effect. Seeing as tieflings carry innate magical abilities (most commonly thaumaturgy, hellish rebuke, and darkness) it would be far more advantageous for her champion to be a tiefling than human. In the span of about 4 months, Robbie goes through a rather drastic transformation.

His fingernails harden, then blacken, then sharpen. Awful pressure builds in his skull that is only relived when the beginnings of horns break through his skin. A similar process begins with a lump forming at his tail bone and eventually bursting out into a long pointed tail. His canine teeth fall out and grow back in sharper and longer. His eyes cloud over to black and yellow, all the while his skin reddens and forms hard ridges on his arms, ribs and spine.

To say this is disorienting and painful is an understatement. Not to mention how it changes how the other people around the village look at him (not to mention how it changes how he looks at himself). Even though the stigma around tieflings isn't as strong as it once was, it eventually causes Robbie to be out of a job. So he decides to sell the house, pack up his things, prepare schooling money for his brother and move to the city where more opportunities will hopefully await.

GABE!!! THE LITTLE ADHGH. Idk why but I got extreme cute aggression when drawing this version of him fdjkslaf.

Gabe still has CP like he does in canon, but with the magical advantages of ✨Greater Restoration✨ he can generally function pretty well. He still gets tired sometimes though, so he carries around a walking staff as an aid just in case he needs one (also he can go whack whack. at least thats what Robbie tells him when he gets a little self conscious carrying it around).

Robbie has saved up enough money for Gabe to get a months worth of schooling at the Dawn Father Chantry in the city so he can learn to cast Greater Restoration on himself. Gabe's recent growth spurt has been causing him to need more and more frequent healings, and the Chantry in their home village of Hill Rock has been less and less obliging as of late (partially due to Robbies recent uh... condition. not that anyone would dare say it to his face of course).

Some extra fun doodles with expressions and thinking about how Desirat might look and interact with Robbie. I love when gods have a kind of twisted love for their special chosen people (plus some fun transformation horror cause its ✨me✨ were talking about what did you expect).

Also I really REALLY liked that top left sketch and got the rendering itch so I had some fun and painted it in.

Theres a whole fuckin. Second post to this au all lined up cause Moose when HAM on this. But its gonna take some more character designs so I'll need just a little time. but this will not be the last you see of this lol I promise <3

[glitter-stained]

Okay so I got a wonderful ask that I started to respond to and I saved it in the drafts to look up the English translation of a word and now the ask is gone because tumblr hates me, hope you see this anyway anon. Here are the bullet points from the essay I just lost :

> being a HS dropout doesn't make you ignorant! I didn't know of the study you mentioned it sounds super interesting

> I'm not a bio/medicine student, what I do know about malnutrition I know from anorexia in children, there are probably nuances between the two I don't have access to

> size, like most stuff, is determined by the interaction between your genes and your environment.

> malnutrition absolutely stunts growth, basically the body goes into battery saving mode to preserve what resources it has and goes "well i'm not gonna grow up/develop until you start feeding me again". (This is why BMI is a fucking stupid tool to diagnose anorexia especially in children, it's so dumb.)

> can you play catch-up with growth ? Yes and no. There's something called "chronotopic constraints" which means that there are things in a person's development that need to happen at a specific given time for other stuff to happen later, like a chain reaction. This is true for embryo development, for cognitive abilities (that's why ADHD symptoms change over time) and for physical development like growth. So basically, whether or not a child who has been starved can catch up on growth depends, amongst other stuff, on their base metabolism, the amount of food they were eating, for how long they were starving and at what time window they were starving. And because of the domino effect I mentioned, you can catch up "partially": picture a child who, upon getting food, starts growing again, goes through late puberty, and ends up much tinier as an adult than both his parents were but still bigger than he was as a teenager.

> So how can we know that stuff ? You're very right that we can't separate twin babies, starve one and feed the other, it's not very ethical. But we can run stuff like correlational studies where we take a group of a whole lot of kids who have suffered from malnutrition measure their height at 6, at 8, at 10, at 15, 18 and 20 (this is called a longitudinal study) and say "hey, children who were starved tend to, on average, be way smaller than the average child their age, and they don't all fully catch up on their growth, and this catch-up depends on specific time windows" etc. As I said, a lot of my knowledge comes from the study of anorexia in children, so there are also a lot of case studies of children who didn't eat at specific time periods and had their growth stunted potentially forever (as well as a lot of other stuff).

> so if it depends/catch up is possible, why do you think the Pit is what "cured" Jason's malnutrition:

Well, the issue with Jason is we don't have access to for how long he was in a situation of food scarcity for. We know his parents were poor, but how about before Willis went to jail: if I understood correctly the man was in and out, so there probably was an uneven source of revenue in that side. And how about when Catherine got sick? Medical care costs a lot of money, not to mention heroin; he was probably in food scarcity at least once Willis got caught and sent to jail and he had to take care of his mom himself, before he even ended up in the streets. In the streets, Jason calls himself his own man and steals to survive, so he doesn't have like zero access to food, but no, seeing where Jason lives and that his income source at some point is "stealing from batman" i'd bet on pretty severe food scarcity. Not starving enough to die and not starving/not suffering from malnutrition are pretty different goals after all. Then Jason ends up with Batman and hey! Regular food intake. Though looking at his workout in the six months following his adoption is a little concerning, it's comic book science, let's just assume he's getting enough food and robin gives him enough magic that it's not a problem for his growth. Yippee, Jay can start growing again! Except when he dies, he's still tiny. Not as small as when he got adopted, but like, tiny (4"6 I believe? At 15.) This, along with how big Willis was and if we consider Jason's height in UTH, suggests that his growth is still stunted after three years of consistent adequate nutrition.

Obviously he doesn't grow when he's dead, but there's no reason he wouldn't grow in his coma, he's being fed and basically sleeping so no scarcity at that moment (though some level of muscle atrophy is to be expected). And then he's back to the streets, deeply dissociated, suffering from mysterious (as in hare to evaluate) brain damage and with muscle atrophy, for around a year -he's seen finding food, but again, he's most definitely not eating enough at that time. And then, he's in the league, where he definitely gets enough food, Talia isn't gonna starve that kid. So, through his childhood and teenagehood,Jason goes through several periods of long starvation. Though I don't know the intricacies of critical periods and chronotopic constraints in physical growth, the probability of him not receiving food during some of these periods is very high imo. And then of course there's the fact that not only does he go through intense stress/trauma/adverse childhood experiences for most of his childhood and teenagehood, which as you pointed out also stunts growth, but since he's still a teenager/growing in Lost Days and UTH and considering his mental state in these stories, this could also effect his growth. And also, even if Jason would have caught up eventually, catching up on growth takes time!

So those are all the arguments that lead me to conclude: while it's technically possible for Jason to have been this big in UTH without the Pit influence, I don't find it very probable. And also of course a question of taste: they could have made Jason tiny in UTH, and they didn't. Cowards.

[nightprompts]

&. 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 (𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧) 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

( dialogue prompts taken from episodes 3 & 4 ( "tell no tales" & "the pirates are coming" ) of the netflix live action one piece series. feel free to edit and change as you seem fit. )

❛ when are you gonna stop wasting your life? it's pathetic. ❜

❛ it's our jolly roger. every pirate crew has to have one. and now we do! ❜

❛ why did i have to get dragged along for this? ❜

❛ you think you can do anything i can't do? ❜

❛ i was just... i was trying to help. ❜

❛ you got to be kidding me. that clown was worth 15 million berry. we should've stuffed his head in a bag and brought it with us. ❜

❛ who would pay you that bounty anyway? you're kind of a wanted man yourself now. ❜

❛ well, it's about time one of my sorry excuses for a supporting cast showed up. ❜

❛ arlong wants a word. ❜

❛ well, you can tell arlong... that i don't take requests. ❜

❛ how much do these cost? ❜

❛ if you have to ask, you can't afford it. ❜

❛ listen. we are going to need something a little less flashy if we want to sneak out of here. ❜

❛ you want to steal a ship? ❜

❛ a ship is not just a ship. it's a part of our crew. ❜

❛ real beauty, huh? ❜

❛ wait! wait! wait! i can help you. ❜

❛ our experiences don't define us. it's what we gain from them that matters. you learned, and you survived. ❜

❛ we've had this discussion. you mustn't show up unannounced. ❜

❛ have you come to tell me another story? i do love hearing about your adventures. ❜

❛ when are you ever going to get the opportunity to wear things this nice? ❜

❛ all this stuff. all this space. it's gotta make a person feel... lonely. ❜

❛ i know i can be a tad overprotective at times, but it's just because i couldn't bear to think what i would do were something to happen to you. ❜

❛ have we met before? you look familiar. ❜

❛ being a pirate has been my dream for as long as i can remember. and i'm finally making it a reality. ❜

❛ i'm sorry. am i interrupting something? ❜

❛ is this the best way to ask for an autograph? ❜

❛ i'm here to remind you of your place in the food chain. ❜

❛ you bore me, clown. ❜

❛ so we're friends now? you don't even know me. ❜

❛ wo what do we do now? have a sleepover? do each other's makeup? ❜

❛ i don't want your pity. ❜

❛ have you ever lost anyone close to you? ❜

❛ you're not very good at this friends thing, are you? ❜

❛ you don't think she, like, like likes me, do you? ❜

❛ if you're gonna talk about feelings, i'm really gonna need a drink. ❜

❛ i knew i'd seen your face somewhere. on a wanted poster. ❜

❛ i guess some fruit gets so bruised, it can't help but to be rotten at the core. ❜

❛ let's fight with real blades to see who's best. ❜

❛ but if you want to beat me, you'd better be ready to kill me. ❜

❛ i don't think you know what the truth is anymore. ❜

❛ i'm done running. i'm not leaving your side. not until i know you're safe. ❜

❛ if we stay here, we die. we have to leave now. ❜

❛ two swords not enough? maybe you should've brought more. ❜

❛ if you just give up, what has all our training been for? ❜

❛ let's fight every day. we'll keep getting better and stronger until one of us becomes the greatest. ❜

❛ you'd do that for me? ❜

❛ now, i need you to be strong so we can get out of here. ❜

❛ a dead pirate weighs the same as a live one. ❜

❛ let's not make this more difficult than it need be, hmm? ❜

❛ you'll never get a peaceful night's rest because someone's always waiting to slit your throat. ❜

❛ i've killed more crewmates than i care to remember. they're expendable. every single one of them. ❜

❛ being a pirate is not about raiding villages or perfect plans. it's about adventure. and freedom. ❜

❛ you gave up on your dream. no one who does that can ever call themselves a pirate. ❜

❛ i'll see you again someday. ❜

❛ from now on, it's all gonna be smooth sailing. ❜

❛ you had to open your mouth. ❜

[arrowheadedbitch]

So, I have an idea for a Time-Travel Tim Drake-centric fic (that was based on a dream i had), but I don't know how to write it *sobs* So if you or anyone else wants to use it, please do!!! Because I don't know how to cook my own food and I'm asking for scraps *sobs*

Anywaysssszzzzzz....

Tim is 35-ish years old, is divorced twice (Bernard and Kon respectively), is in his third marriage (with Bernard and Kon together), has a fat orange cat, has a small roomba he fondly says good morning to, and believes he successfully retired from the hero life while denying that he is actually still very deep into it.

He has Saturdays with the Superhero wives (Lois and Selina), gossiping about whatever, and is living his best life while a bunch of Gothamites are screaming for dear life in the background.

Well, the screaming is important because it's not just Gothamites screaming but the whole world from some end of the world bullshit superheroes are facing.

Tim takes a sip of his tea, then Lois' coffee, and accepts the asteroid about to kill him with open arms.

When he wakes up, he just knows that the asteroid he accepted with open arms was actually a time travelling asteroid. And no, he's usually right about these things no matter how outlandish. He's not smart, he just has great intuition, and he's just a really hard worker in proving that he's right.

So, he gets up, finds that he's in the past, takes a week soaking up all the attention his parents are giving him, and then gets to work.

(He's 11 here, btw. He hates it)

He was a hero in his past life, but he's so damn tired. He doesn't want to work, but he's read enough isekais and timetravel animes, mangas, and webnovels to know that the protagonist who's going through the same thing he does ends up doing a whole lot of work anyways.

So, yeah, he's not gonna get that break, even if he does have an end goal in mind. It's a fool's errand.

He's decided that things will just be easier if he's a supervillain.

He goes to Lex Luthor, hacks everything in his company, merges Luthor's company with Drake Industries, makes Drake Industries a bigger company than it needs to be but necessary, ignores Luthor's anguished cries, and steals Mercy for himself.

Drake Industries is now a supergiant company, bigger than Wayne Enterprises. But first, Tim donates all the Kryptonite Luthor had to the Justice League.

He makes everything goes right, makes sure some things are avoided. He destroys some properties here and there. He destroys an island or two. He hires other (retired) villains into his company. He takes over thr Court of Owls and uses then to fight against Ra's the moment the immortal pissed him off by flirting with his mom.

Anyways.

He reveals to the world Iron Man style that he is the supervillain that's trying to dominate the world.

He's 12.

No one believes him.

They all think it's a PR comedy thing to invite more people into D.I.

It works, but no one believes him and... it's great? Lex Luthor laughs mockingly in the dungeon he's chained in.

sound fun as hell, dude

[maxwell-grant]

I’m curious, what are your thoughts on Seth from street fighter?

Even post-revamp, still fairly awkward and out of place as a Street Fighter character (even if that is very much the point and always has been), but as a villain, they really won me over, there's a lot of great stuff here. Seth is a self-hating robot in a CEO outfit who poisons the world around them and whose grand plans involve imitating the actual main villain while insisting they are a different unique being (unlike their 26 exact clones), and stealing the creations of everyone else around them, who then dies and gets a sexy cool makeover to become a gruesome aimless murderous ghost, who chases traces of it's creator around to kill him unaware that it's dying with every step it takes and that it's chasing something that isn't there. They went from Frankenstein's Monster play-acting as a cold calculating unfeeling chessmaster who everyone could tell was full of shit, to the Bride of Frankenstein as a barely-held-together dangerous yet tragic monstrosity that everyone reacts to with disgust and pity. They went from what we used to think AI would be, to what AI actually is, and I'd say they were pretty ahead of their time for that alone.

(art by z3dd)

Now, IV Seth was pretty uncontestedly the least popular of the Street Fighter Final Bosses, for fairly similar reasons to Gill: they were seen as too much of a fantasy supervillain, they didn't "fit" the series, they were too weird and awkward and out-there, and where as Gill at least got a pass because of his presentation and style and sheer contrast with Bison (although that "pass" only happened because people turned around on 3rd Strike), Dollar Store Dr.Manhattan was just lesser than Gill and Bison in every way and thus was a dissappointing final boss, an out-of-place comic book supervillain who didn't justify their existence.

Granted, the series actually had way more of a precedent for Seth than it ever did for Gill, given the presence of prior cyborgs and shapeshifters (the Shadaloo cyborgs from the animated movie that Seth was directly based from, Twelve and Necro) plus Gill, and the door for comic book supervillains was blasted open in the first place with Bison (and all the fighting game bosses that descended from him). But still, Bison's thing was that he was one-in-a-million, that he broke the rules as an dishonorable intrusion, that if you reached high enough to topple the greatest fighter (Sagat) you could fight the greatest fighter's boss, a man so powerful rules and structures could not apply to him and only your fists stood between him and global domination. Since obviously you can't take a step back and you can't do the same trick twice, that formula had to be tweaked for Gill and Seth: Gill was presented as someone above even Bison on the food chain and scope, a distant immortal bearing divine judgementt on trespassers, where as Seth was defined by their role irrevocably beneath Bison, and the walking inferiority complex that ensues.

They are a Bison project, one of 26 exactly like them (which means canonically most of the fighters got to defeat "a" Seth, which really does not make them very impressive), growing from Bison's leftovers to lead a subsidiary of Bison's organization, continuing Bison's plans, with their grand plot being just an imitation of Bison's plan to control Ryu's power, and generally acting and speaking and doing things exactly like Bison while uselessly whining that they are NOT Bison and that they will succeed where Bison failed, while the narrative makes no secret of the fact that Bison is still alive, still pulling the strings, and that he was perfectly fine until Seth started getting a little too big boy pants for his liking, and now Bison's gonna put his homegrown Pinocchio in the shredder with little to no difficulty and take the reigns as Final Boss again. Which, granted, did do it's job in building Bison back-up again, but didn't do a thing to negate the idea that Seth was a superfluous, inferior rip-off, given that textually, this is how they were presented as.

Even the characters didn't seem to take them very seriously, certainly not as seriously as Bison, and that was BEFORE the breakout rock star of the IV series, Juri, debuted to ensure that Seth wouldn't even be the most popular new villain. It is the least surprising thing in the world that Seth would achieve much greater popularity, in part, by being redesigned to be more like Juri. And part of what made Juri appealing was the fact that she was a conniving, cool, unique loose cannon villain ready to make Seth eat shit over thinking that they could control her, they became the big-headed authority figure for our punk bad girl to kick like a pinata. Unlike Vega and Balrog, who only talked a big game, Juri actually got to kick her dipshit supervillain boss to the curb, and we all loved her for it.

Seth's major saving graces were their gameplay, which made them very popular competitively, plenty of aspects of their design, and the fact that all of the above worked to make Seth a character who, while not terribly compelling in their own right, did a lot to make other characters more interesting, like Abel, who was designed to be a good counterpart to Seth and not remotely interesting besides (although his stint as Guile's manchild partner in SFvsT has it's moments), or like Juri and Bison, giving them an enemy they could actually defeat to gain street cred. Frequently you need villains that only exist to let other villains be cooler by comparison or retain their dignity or put one over. Sometimes you need a Cluemaster in place of your Riddler, a Mac Gargan to make all the other Sinister Six guys omlook better by comparison, a Zant to fill in screentime for Ganondorf or a Hobgoblin instead of a Green Goblin. You need your in-betweeners even if, and sometimes especially if, they will never be anyone's favorite character. Which is a harsh thing to say about Seth, but for a while they definitely didn't seem like anyone's favorite baddie, but instead someone who made their favorite baddies look way better by comparison.

And Seth worked in this regard especially because their design was built on the idea of them being unnatural, contemptible and out-of-place. I actually think Seth's original design does work, and has been vindicated over time. Seth is a cybernetic intelligence made by scientists to consume and imitate all the brilliant techniques that the World Warriors spent years/decades perfecting, a twisted mockery of their beliefs and achievements. They look like a living yin-yang and conducts themselves posing like a Shinto god, but there is no spirituality or soul to anything they do. They are a grotesque, soulless husk that can only imitate, can only cruelly replicate the evil of their creator and not even do a terribly impressive job at it, and all of their attempts to convince others they are in any way different or unique ring hollow. They are one in many many Bison back-up bodies even among the playable cast, and all of their achievements are meaningless, either already belonging to Bison or stolen and repurposed by Bison and others.

There was plenty about Seth that already worked and was just held back by a not-particularly impressive design or presentation. The grand trick that SFV pulled was basically giving them a new one, and taking everything about Seth that used to be implied and subtextual, and basically making it textual, making it a scream they can only repeat ad nauseum, and in the process making one of the most tragic SF characters as well as one of the coolest.

Now, yes, you could argue that SFV Seth kinda missed the point in a big way by actually giving Seth a distinct and interesting design best described with the "not to be a lesbian but oh god oh fuck jesus christ" meme, when the character being soulless and unoriginal was important to their make-up. But it was never a terribly interesting idea (already done by the likes of Twelve or the Cycloids), certainly not for a fighting game character let alone a Final Boss with such massive standards to live up to, and shades of it still impart in the new design in a far more delightfully twisted way. It's Seth, except they are Juri now. They've been remade in the image of their true enemy, their hateful minion that ruined their plans, led Bison to them, killed and broke and stole them to be remade using a discarded Doll body from Bison's scrap pile, and the process has revived Seth into a pitiable broken record of itself.

The new design greatly emphasizes the corrupted Shinto / yin-yang elements of before, adding splashes of color and powerful glowing lines to the design that make it so that, while they looks less cadaverous, they look much more the part of a corrupted imitation of a deity, so that despite being downgraded from boss status they actually look much more like something you'd face as a Final Boss, something that could stand next to the other Final Bosses. And that glow-up extends to their moveset: Instead of pasting together improvised and half-hearted recreations of iconic special moves, Seth now directly steals and perfectly replicates the skills from whoever they're fighting. Seth conducts themselves with greater power and swagger this time around, with tons of new animations lifted from powerful past Capcom villains like Demitri or the Heritage to the Future take on DIO, and it works. Because even now, Seth can only imitate greatness from others. Seth has perfectly captured advancements in A.I tech because they can learn, grow, and even imitate to near-perfection, but they cannot meaningfully improve, and they are dragged down by incohence, chaos, errors and glitches in programming. In short, the fact that they are an artificial intelligence to begin with.

That's a thing about A.I and robots in general: Sci-fi has spent over a century anthropomorphizing robots and artificial intelligence characters to empathize with and make stories out of, create lovable stock fantasy characters that our culture comes back to again and again, but now that they are a real thing, and they are horrible godless abominations often used to actively make the world worse (even if it's hard to ascribe fault to something that isn't sentient enough to be malicious), we can't really deal with that. It's a cognitive dissonance that sci-fi doesn't look like it's going to catch up for a while now, if it ever will. We still like robots and robot stories and characters too dang much to know how to live with them. We still cry over Pluto, it's unavoidable.

And crying may be a strong term, but SFV actually seriously invites us to feel sorry for the dang thing, and the great final trick SFV pulled was breaking Seth under the weight of being Seth. Under the weight of being lesser, of not being real, of being an artificial creation made in an assembly line and not even the best of it's kind, of being not a terribly popular creation, of being a victim of characters that will get away with what they've done to them because nobody's gonna stand up for Seth, of being a Bison imitation made to house Bison and do Bison's bidding in the meanwhile, and thrown in the trash despite performing exactly as it was supposed to. Seth has faults of personality that make them more than a machine, and less than a person, and if the cast before generally despised them but not to the extent they despised Bison, now most characters outright pity them, as a thing living past expiration date that shouldn't be alive at all.

And because of all of this, in a way, Seth has attained a form of uniqueness. Even among the other villains and tragic characters of Street Fighter, Seth stands unique as a truly tragic, doomed villain, not even really a villain anymore so much as an obtuse, sad disaster. They are maybe Bison's greatest victim now, because even the Dolls (sans Marz) are all getting moderately happy endings, even Cammy and Abel and the Neo Shadaloo goobers got to make new lives for themselves, even Nash got to die by their terms and make his sacrifice count. Seth had nothing besides this. Seth was created for, born into, lived by, and died as an extension of Bison's evil, a tiny little bump in Shadaloo history, a piece of junk that Juri used and broke and tossed aside to resume her miserable life afterwards, and all their revival did was prolong the horror. Just one among endless horrors JP leaves behind when he's through with them.

We have yet to know what became of them after SFV, because many stories from SFV have been dropped or left incomplete in 6 (and many probably for the better), but even though Seth really was a villain and a horrible enemy to all of humanity, you kinda wind up feeling sorry enough for them to almost wish that their SFV ending happened, where they destroy Bison and ascend over their other selves, and still the question of whether they could ever be at peace lingers. This ending just fascinates me to no end, and it makes me think of the quotes that Gouken had to say to them that alone stood as an indication that Seth could be more than they appeared and insisted on being:

"Until you acknowledge the soul within, you cannot use your power for good."

"You seek individuality and identity, but you will not find it this way."

(JP win quote) "Look, you don't have to use your powers to express who you are."

Until they appear again, that this is the note that Seth as a character goes out on might even imply that this was either their true goal all along, or that Seth has genuinely progressed as a person enough to want something new. That they are now able to seek or at least aspire for peace of mind, where as before there was only a desire for conquest and power, to show the world that Bison was a ghost and that they were the king, the ruler, the greatest fighter of all. Seth constantly expressed disgust and hatred at their other variants, killing them and flying into a murderous rage at being referred to by their number, even expressing in IV a desire to "be the sole survivor of this world" presumably with everything else as data within themselves. Here, they appear before the other Seths in a pose of ascended godhood, even seemingly benevolent, like they're ready to bring their siblings along.

The spiritual elements of their design no longer appear as a corrupt imitation, but an indicator of genuine spirituality. That Gouken was right, that there really was a soul in Seth waiting to be acknowledged, that the exorcism of the great evil that once defined them has allowed at last a pursuit of individuality and identity and self-expression, to reconcile their hatred of themselves (which manifested as a hatred of the other numbered Seths). It's such a fascinating development that it almost, almost makes me wish Street Fighter would dip it's toes a little into multiverse territory, much as I hate the superhero-ification of the series in V. I have thoughts on how MK1 handled this and very mixed ones at that, but the canonization of "every character ending from past arcade modes can have happened in separate universes and we can have it cross over whenever we feel like it" is an idea I do like, if nothing else this ascended development for Seth just seems like too potent an idea to never touch on again.

I used to not like Seth, really. They used to be one of my less favorite characters. Now I'd call them one of my favorites, and I'm just feeling horribly sorry for them. I need to know what became of them. Whether they'll still come back for one last torturous round of existence, whether they are heading for some other exciting new development, or whether the very next second after the end of their V story, they simply ended with one of their victory quotes:

"A SERIOUS ERROR HAS OCCURRED."

"A SERIOUS ERROR HAS OCCURRED."

"A SERIOUS ERROR HAS OCCURRED."

"A SERIOUS ERROR HAS OCCURRED."

[5eraphim]

tf2 mercs: least to most fun to go shoplifting with-

(unedited/rent lowering gunshot post) 

10. Heavy

he’s not too observant and can’t help but draw attention, though it’s unlikely anyone would try to stop him even if he was caught trying to make a get away.

while he might not stop you, he wouldn’t encourage this kind of behavior. in his eyes it’s just a silly way to get into trouble, and has a hard time understanding the appeal of this.

he’s a hunter, not a gatherer an is at a natural disadvantage here. heavy is a simple man, he lives within his means, and is content to abstain from this practice.

9. Engineer

like heavy, engie doesn’t really get the appeal, but would be able to get away with stealing way easier than heavy. 

he was probably brought up taught this sort of thing was very, very wrong and disrespectful to the employees or something- or like, maybe he was caught when he was really young trying to steal idk, a toy or a snack or something in school and got in trouble and he’s never been able to shake the guilt. (he’s not a cop or anything, but would have the “I’m not mad, just disappointed” reaction if you were to proposition going lifting with him. and if he were to see a stranger trying to get away with stealing, he’s not gonna snitch.)

he’s always wearing those overalls and his work belt, so theoretically, he could empty all those out and go in with a ton of free pocket-space. he’s also on the shorter side and could easily keep his hands below the employee’s eye level.

might have a bit of fun tinkering with ways to disable security mechanisms. might randomly decide to disable a bunch of security devices and walk out without taking anything with him. just to sow a little chaos for funsies.

ok with stealing things like food if he were in an extreme situation, so long as you were stealing from some corporate chain store, and not a smaller independent location.

8. Soldier

HE IS NOT SNEAKY, HE DOES NOT WANT TO BE SNEAKY, PLEASE DO NOT MAKE HIM BE SNEAKY

the best strategy you could hope to use with him would be to just straight up ask him to go beat the fuck out of the cashier while you grab what you want and make a run for it. 

7. Pyro

it’d be fun to convince them to do this with you by pretending it’s all some game, and whoever can walk away with the most without getting caught is the winner.

when you put it to them like that, they can do quite well for themself, but prefers to stick closer to you, rather than stray too far on their own. it’s impossible to get much of a bounty with pyro, but they want to win the “game” so earnestly it’s hard not to have a good time despite the lack of reward.

always rips off soft security tags, but also likes to wear them on their clothes like stickers, completely defeating the point and getting caught as a result.

6. Spy

realistically, he’d be the best lifting partner you could ever hope for, but he’s too aware of this and would be really fucking annoying about it. you would walk away with some great loot for sure, but that doesn’t exactly mean it would be fun.

exclusively goes for ridiculously expensive items he hardly even wants or would realistically use. he doesn’t even really have anything to prove, he just does this for the bragging rights.

spy knows he has the huge advantage of being the kind of person sales associates wouldn’t assume would try to steal, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.

to people he doesn’t know- he’ll lie and say he paid for all his luxuries bc he can afford it, but people who are tighter with him know he’s stolen a decent amount of his finer treasures. 

5. Sniper

he lives in a campervan and doesn’t have too much space for cargo/personal belongings, but he’d really be in his element here, even if he doesn’t completely get the point of “the fun of stealing for the sake of stealing”

while he’s sneaky, he’s also real lanky, and would draw attention on account of being so tall, making him a solid diversion. 

he’s pretty fun to go out with, but he also only wants to go out once in a blue moon, so you’d better savor the time with him while it lasts. (he was simply not built to compute with capitalism, though he can handle small doses for the sake of a good time)

4. Scout

he’s done this all before. scout’s the little guy and has always felt the need to prove himself, especially to his older brothers/teammates/friends growing up. scout was probably hazed/dared into stealing a lot during childhood and adolescence, and has gotten remarkably good with practice. (unfortunately much like spy, he too knows he’s really good at this and won’t shut up about it.)

as the one who’s been at this forever, he likely has his own hook, a neodymium magnet, and is really good at the tinfoil trick. (you know he’s got them fast lil’ fingies) 

he’s surprisingly good at keeping his tracks covered and getting away with stealing. excels with a blitzkrieg, “get in quick, get out quicker” strategy. he’s not in it to steal expensive things, just likes to stir up a little trouble every now and then.

though, with all that said, just because he’d be great at shoplifting, he’d also be great at getting himself caught. he’s the biggest braggard, and would be way too likely to get cocky and brag about his heist before it’s over, and get himself caught and banned.

he’d be the most apt to, and grateful to accept gifts from you if he knew they were stolen. likes the idea you’d risk getting in trouble for him, and would want to try and one up you, and get you something he stole himself.

3. Demo

he wouldn’t exactly be good at this, but it would be fun. he wouldn’t shoplift alone, but is into the idea of doing it in a pack, or just with you.

realistically, he’d get a couple lifts in before he starts to get overconfident and gets himself and everyone he’s with caught.

specializes in liquor lifting, but likes to pick up little gifts for his buddies. (maybe one of the only guys who genuinely likes to gift stolen goods, rather than receive them.)

having one eye puts him at a serious disadvantage here, and he’s not too sneaky, but he’s usually pretty good at scoping out the area before trying to make his move.

2. Medic

able to strike a perfect balance of stealing expensive items, but wouldn’t take himself too seriously, and wants to have a good time above all. it’ not about stealing expensive things, so much as it is about getting loot from as many different locations as possible.

he’d likely have the coolest little cashe of the weirdest stuff he’s stolen. he’s much like a magpie in that sense, medic likes the idea of pilfering and bringing treasures back to his “nest” and having his own little secret hoard. (he likes stealing and gifting for others too, but prefers to be able to keep what he takes)

his morality is completely relative and fickle- there’s no way he would have reservations about stealing from corporations or “big money” stores, or just about anywhere he thinks he could get away with

would hide stuff in his underwear bc he is a WHORE

1. Miss Pauling

would be the most fun to go shoplifting with. she has so much stress to burn off from work, and she could have a lot of fun winding down from a long day of mortal sin and heavy crime with some lighthearted crime.

would be willing to get tipsy or stoned before going out because she’s more interested in having a good time, rather than the bounty itself.

she’s feral, she’s evil, you know her hunter-gatherer instincts go fucking CRAZY.

women be shopping

[holly-fixation]

🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

🪲 ⇢ add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here

🐝 ⇢ tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them

🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before

Does personal lore mean it has to be about me?? I'm gonna assume yes?? I can't tell what this question wants. My personal lore is that I hated reading for most of my life. I mean more than 80% of my life. Ironic, I know. It's still incredibly difficult for me to pick up a book and just read! Somehow this did not transfer to fanfic. It's one of the few things I can read without getting fatigue.

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairing

Let's stick with good old Zack and Sephiroth for this one. I head Canon Zack is very good at brushing Sephiroth's hair. HOWEVER, in the wing AUs where Sephiroth's wing appears while he's still sane, Zack is garbage at preening. It takes too long! It's not intentional that he gets impatient and less and less careful. This has lead to tearing multiple chunks of feathers from brushing too fast.

The biggest problem is accidentally ripping a feather out from its root. Sephiroth's instincts kick in and he suddenly attacks the offender, no matter who it is. He only injures Zack once before having enough control to stop himself. Zack never holds it against him. It becomes a quiet night of the two being close until Sephiroth no longer feels overwhelming guilt for what he's done.

Sorry, got a little carried away. A well known bit of personal lore: everything I write becomes angst.

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

Hojo is incredibly interesting. Yes the man is a complete sociopath, but I cannot deny the steps to his madness and how it grew throughout the game and fascinating to me.

I really don't have many unpopular opinions (at least not with the Tumblr crowd). Ships though? Different story.

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

So in The Last Straw, I came up with this completely bullshit idea: a child with a significantly higher concentration of Jenova cells cannot absorb any nutrients except meat based protein (or the lab made equivalent). This is based off the fact that Jenova in that world survives on the lifestreams of planets, and if you look at a food chain and think of the planet as one more link, Her species is Always a predator.

I realize now, after writing all of this, that the question does ask for backstory. Woops.

Anyway, I was trying to BS a name for this condition. Then I found the significantly less severe condition of malabsorption. On a surface level, it's a condition where the body does not absorb nutrients/absorb them properly. So because this was so different than anything else I've researched, it sticks out.

🪲 ⇢ add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here

The blond landed on the vehicle and Strife swiftly removed the blade. Every second they wasted on this transition meant more firepower on the truck. Cloud grabbed the handlebars with his left hand and the Buster Sword with his right. Together they swept through Shinra's ground forces, men knocked off their vehicles and onto the unforgiving pavement.

🐝 ⇢ tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them

@altocat - always kind and let's me steal her ideas

@prismaticpichu - a font of kindness who always has a Fluffy idea cooking. Great when I need some joy.

@winter-doggo - his art always makes me smile. And he still leaves great comments on my fics despite my sudden lack of online interaction.

And you! Yes you, @shadowbanshee , because you're one of the only people that's left me asks like the ones I see for everyone else I follow. I still see likes for the "CC Sephiroth finds CCTV footage of Lucrecia" from December!

I'm not saying there aren't others. I just don't want this post to be any bigger lol. Know if I didn't mention you, I still appreciate you!

[lewis-winters]

If there comes a Sherlock-esque fic for BoB... Who would be Sherlock and Watson between

1. Lewis Nixon and Dick Winters

2. Carwood Lipton and Ron Speirs

3. David Webster and Joe Liebgott

And what kind of Sherlock and Watson on each ship.

I love how this is worded like you're running a survey for an upcoming fic you're making anon HAHAHAHHAA are you 👀👀👀👀??? I'll be keeping my eyes peeled.

1) Winnix

Lew is Sherlock of course. It's the addictive personality. You could probably do something very Elementary-esque with this one, and have Dick come into his life as his sponsor. People forget that in-canon, Lew may have been lazy but he was brilliant, a damn fine intelligence officer, and Dick himself said that. The only thing you're gonna have to explain away is his laziness and his motives for wanting cases.

I guess you just have to also remember that every iteration of Sherlock Holmes is always driven by a search for the truth. Not justice, mind you, though that's my personal interpretation of the character. I prefer my Sherlocks to operate outside of the scope of Lawful Good, and I think Lew's iteration of him would, too. Which I think would be perfect for a Sherlock Holmes!Lewis Nixon iteration, because something about him just SCREAMS chaos. And also his upbringing would lend that world view some credence.

Literally, I could see him as the embodiment of "I'm of the opinion that people shouldn't go to jail for objectively funny crimes." Which would clash with Dick's sense of justice nicely, especially if you'd like some commentary, in text, about police brutality and the failures of the justice system. They would clash, with Dick being an ex-military man and Lew being... whatever he is. But I also think Dick becomes kinda blind to Lew's shortcomings, I mean. He always has. He's definitely the kind of Watson who thinks, unironically, that Nix is the smartest person in the room. And Dick's blind faith in him could probably pull Nix out of the grave he's found himself dug into. He would always want to be the type of man who deserves someone like Dick Winters. WHICH now that I think about it, would be a VERY interesting motivation for him to solve mysteries, as it were.

2) Speirton

Ronald Speirs. And this Sherlock WOULD be a cop. Lmao, sorry Ron, but like even in canon Ron is following rules to a tee because that's how he sees the world and that's how he knows, for sure, that he's going to keep the people he cares about safe. That's why his reactions to Carver was a big thing right? I've already said it before, but his sudden deviance from order and chain of command in episode 10 (when in all the other episodes the worst he'd been doing was stealing) was his whole breakdown and an illustration of how the war was capable of fucking even his unerring moral compass/alignment. But I digress.

His Sherlock would be a cop. I say that with as much love in the world as I could (lmao ACAB amirite). If Lewis' Sherlock was anti-copaganda, Ron's would be copaganda the likes of Law-&-Order. You could go down that road too and make Lip like... the ADA who thinks he's brilliant, despite how unorthodox his methods may be, and works hard to transcribe Ron's deductions into something that could feasibly hold up in court. Ya know? Have fun with it!

3) Webgott

David Webster. And this Sherlock is AUTISTIC as they all fucking come. He's a disaster. His morbid curiousity gets him off the wrong foot with everyone he meets. He's an asshole. His flat is a disaster only he can navigate. He has body parts in his fridge. Dangerous chemicals in his cupboards. He is the embodiment of every picked upon nerd in high school except he is a grown ass man with a PhD under his belt. He's an anarchist but he was also raised rich. He doesn't like to do his own dishes because he touched wet food once and it sent him into sensory overload so bad he switched all his plates to disposable ones.

In contrast, Joe's Watson would be much like the Watson from that russian Sherlock Holmes-- no not the 1980 version, the 2013 one, where Sherlock is a nerd with glasses and there's an emphasis on Watson's POV and his motivations as someone who is a doctor AND a soldier. It was really interesting, actually, and you should give it a watch! Anyway, Joe's Watson is definitely a fighter. You will not forget his Army background. You will not forget that this man has seen Horrors. You will not forget that this man is brilliant, too, just in different ways. He sees things Web misses, but he also gives credit to Web where credit is due. However begrudgingly he might do it.

Their coupling would be like two sides of a coin, or two puzzle pieces, I think, but they'd have a rough start. Web's too arrogant, Joe's too tightly wound. They fight a lot, because Web's been alone for so long that he's forgotten to share, forgotten how to articulate himself well enough for another person to understand-- but that's the thing. Joe Knows him in ways Web thought he'd been above wanting. Web doesn't quite understand Joe, but the fact that he's so willing to try despite being so difficult, previously, is not lost on Joe, either. They both say trust is difficult for them to cultivate but they trust each other explicitly, almost as soon as they meet each other-- which annoys them to no end. They literally DO NOT want to think about how quickly the other has become their ride and die because they'd rather bitch about it than have any self-reflection, bless them. But you can't deny that their Old Married Couple vibes is there from the beginning.

Their Final Problem would be devastating. Just saying.

[timaeusterrored]

“Heeeey sunshine, wanna ride around the bay with ‘ol V?”

“You’re a fucking gonk you know that right?”

Kerry could see his mainline standing outside, leaning on his precious car with a stupid grin on his face, looking right back up at him.

“Come on, it’s Valentine’s Day.” ‘And you’ve been a depressed bitch for the past week’, was implied. No it wasn’t, V would never say that too him.

“I’m stealing your clothes.”

“Anything you want, baby.” Fuck he was so sweet. How did Kerry get so fucking lucky? He hung up and got dressed, if they were just going on a boat ride then he wasn’t getting dressed up, V looked rather casual as well.

V was still standing outside, scrolling through his phone while he waited. God he was beautiful, especially now when death wasn’t looming over him, his cheeks had filled out and color returned to him. He also noticed the golden chain around his neck that Kerry had been missing for a while. Little thief!

“Hey you.” V smiled, tugging him closer for a kiss. They hadn’t seen each other since last week, Kerry being slammed with meetings and such for his new album and V with the Afterlife and trying to get used to owning it. Neither of them had even planned to see each other for Valentine’s Day and now here V was.

“Come on, foods gonna get cold if we waste time.” He said softly, bumping his forehead against Kerry’s. The older man let go of him reluctantly but took his hand, being lead to the side of the car where V opened the door for him. Kerry was still getting used to having such a gentle man around. With V around, he already felt better.

The ride was quiet, but not uncomfortable. Kerry could feel his body decompressing from the stress the closer the bay got. He couldn’t help but also admire V a bit as he drove, his hair was a dark red, almost purple. He had let it grow out a bit as well, which Kerry kinda liked.

The boat was already waiting for them by the time they got there and he wondered how long V had planned this. He grabbed a dark bag from the trunk and took Kerry’s hand, leading him on. Once they were safely on, V lead him to the back, eyes glowing for a faint moment before the yacht moved and V started to pull out food.

“V is this.. homemade?” He questioned softly, settling next to his partner curiously. “Uh.. yeah? I’ve been over at Mama’s all day trying to get things ready for you. I hope it’s okay?” He said, a quick panic crossing his face before he was pulled into a kiss. “It’s perfect.” He whispered, earning a smile from V.

And as dinners between them always went, they both started to talk about their weeks, the food was amazing and Kerry noted that some were even Filipino dishes and Kerry wanted to tackle V and show his appreciation right there. But he’d wait, knowing V wanted to take today slow for a reason. He talked about Mercs that were way in over their heads, some that showed potential, one he’d said reminded him of Kerry and Kerry laughed and said he could never be a merc.

The night did go slow, but Kerry found himself becoming okay with that, especially with V pressed on top of him after a smoke session and some more talking. V’s face was pressed into his neck, holding him tight like he dared someone to come take Kerry away. Kerry was lost in thought, realizing that he hit the fucking jackpot. Any horrid thoughts he had throughout the week gone, he was in love, and V was in love with him.

“I love you, Ker..”

“I love you too, V..”

[chzdavmpr]

Delicious in Dungeon Reading Diary thing Volume 2

Spoilers, obviously

I think it's really smart to have Senshi basically be the handy man of the dungeon, the one keeping things running behind the scenes.

It's also really cool and smart how naturally Ryoko Kui managed to create a realistic feeling ecosystem. Like you read a panel like this

And just go "yeah that makes sense. It's like removing wolves from a national park causing the whole ecosystem to enter a death spiral." It's similar, but still feels unique to the dungeon setting. I think it's a sign of strong worldbuilding.

Senshi selling crops and telling people to leave the payment is chests is a really funny explanation for respawning dungeon loot.

She looks so sad. It's ok Marcelle. I think the cabbage is cool.

Is this guy 4 year old? Why is he THIS anti-vegetable?

Kobolds are PUPPIES?!!!

Senshi got that grindset

I just think it's funny how each ingredient lists it as stolen. As if in order to properly make the recipe you have to steal the ingredients

Just 2 floors to go! That's honestly a lot less then I would've guessed, at the current pace they will be back to the dragon by the 4th volume. It makes me very excited to see where the story goes.

Closing thought on chapter 9 since a lot happened: I think the bits of orc history we get is fascinating. It's left kinds unclear who started the conflict with them. Like they DO steal from others pretty regularly, but they do so only so that they can survive, and were basically banished underground. It makes them both more interesting and way less problematic then just a "naturally evil race," but they still feel like orcs instead of throwing out all the tropes that made them unique in classic fantasy fiction. Also very glad that unlike other chapters that are just named after the food they eat, the chapter called "orcs" does not have them eating orcs.

Ooh. Another puppy! I wonder if they are a kobold, or some other dog-person species? Oh also I've seen art of that person on the right. I think they join the party at some point or something.

Oh. They're dead. So at the very least they won't be important yet.

Ah man. When I saw ghosts on the back cover I was excited to see how they would eat ghosts. Which I guess the sorbet had a bit of ghost in it maybe. But I guess that actual magic stuffs are still separate from the food chain.

Poor guy. The "accidentally use really poor phrasing that makes you sound like a jerk" struggle is real

Mario 64 joke

The paintings were a very interesting way of giving a few drips of lore. It gives just enough make you interested. Also I'm gonna call it now: that elf that noticed Laios is the evil wizard who buried the city.

I wonder if the paintings kinda act as a time portal. Since the efl recognised Laios that means that the paintings have connected consciousness and continuity, which one way that could work is if the painting continuity was the real continuity. If they're not time portals though, I wonder what would happen if you did something with major consequences. Like if Laios killed the baby prince what would happen to the paintings of the prince's wedding day and coronation?

These things are a one-off thing and unless that elf is met and recognizes Laios none of these questions will be answered, will they?

Anyways, 2 chapters later Marcelle is confirmed as a horse girl.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME RYOKO KUI!

Senshi trusted Anne. Thought of her as a friend. To have her betray him, forcing him to kill her for his own survival. This is heartbreaking.

Senshi with his beard washed, and subsequently poofy after it dries is really funny, but tumblr only allows 10 images per post on the app, so you'll have to read the manga or watch the anime yourself to see it. There's actually been quite a few funny panels I wanted to share but couldn't.

Polygamous orcs. Good for them.

Laios just... draws a little stick figure of himself onto a living painting in the bonus chapter. And it seems to be a copy of his consciousness at the time of drawing. And then they just... leave it there. That's pretty messed up. The entire time this manga goes on I'm gonna just know in the back of my head that a copy of Laios is trapped in a single room forever. This also raised SO MANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT LIVING PAINTINGS and I'm now even more convinced that I won't get answers.

For some closing thoughts on the volume: I thought it was really good. Now that they've established the premise and basic character dynamics it felt like they gave me a lot more to chew on. There's now a countdown to the goal that makes it feels very within reach. There was bits of lore about both orcs and the dungeon that leave me wondering more. And the art and character writing is still just as good as volume 1. I look forward to reading volume 3. Ps: I only realised after typing all of this that her name is spelled "Marcille." I'm not combing through this post to fix it.

[lasenbyphoenix]

I've just finished my rewatch of The Lost Tomb 2, so I can finally start 2.5, aka the other Explore with the Note.

Episode 1

....

So... this avalanche refers to the Fog Village Tomb, rather than the Snow village Tomb, right? This is the months in between those that Wu Xie couldnt remember when he woke up in the snow? Im assuming that's right because Xiao Hua just said that he was in that mountain too, and he wasn't in the snow village.

...

Long haired Pangzi looking FINE

....

Sanshu being a dick, no surprises

...

Why would the bus driver pick up a barefoot passenger in hospital pjs from outside a hospital, when he would also have no money for the fare?

...

Attack him and dump him in the rain. Great. Do you WANT your protagonist to survive the first episode or not?

...

Wu Xie going it alone, you dumbass. And to say "go back where you came from"??? To Pangzi?? You Asshat.

...

Ooh that's right, they stole Zhang Buxuns body. And I still totally expect him to have Cheng Yi's face.

....

Ah yes, back in the days when Wu Xie had the money for luxury cars. Is this still a Maserati?

...

Smash up your lab, that's a fucking brilliant idea Hendry. And also, who the fuck is he working for? He was always at the top of his baddie food chain wasnt he?

...

Dont try to make me feel sympathy for Sanshu by showing him having a nightmare. There is no sympathy for that RAT.

And when the fuck did Sanshu earn the title of "Head of the Wu Family"???? Is Wu Erbai on holiday or something?

...

Ahh nice. Xiao Hua taking care of Xie family business. What a beautiful sight.

"Either tell me the truth or leave behind the hand you tried to steal with." Beautiful

....

Wu Xie stumbling through the forest on his own and immediately falls down the hillside. You were idiot enough when it was just you and Pangzi hiking up to Fog Village by yourselves, but solo? You're gonna break your ankle somewhere with no cellphone coverage and everyone's best laid plans for the Wu heir are going to die in the mud with you because you were being stubborn as fuck.

....

Snake-like vines, DMBJ's favourite kink, I mean, monster.

Pangzi to the rescue! Good man Pangzi.

....

*cue Mission Impossible theme tune*

...

Sure Wu Xie, you don't want Pangzi with you, yet you need to talk it all out with him as you go.

..

....... you know it's a mechanism, so why touch it??????

[pastelsapphy]

i was gonna leave my ramble in the tags but i ran out of room (fuckin tag limit)

my first thought is my home town's local beach. i grew up on an island so there are beaches everywhere. and like... the hamptons are like. Right Over There, so there are Nice Beaches. but this is MY home town's tiny gross little beach

you can run from one end to the other in only a couple of minutes. it opens out into a bay so the water doesn't exactly filter itself, so it's green and you can't see more than half a foot deep, and it makes the whole town smell like The Bay after it rains (it's not a smell that can be easily described. you need to experience the After Rain Bay Smell to understand). during low tide there are heaps of rotting seaweed everywhere. the gulls fear no man or god and will steal your fries out of your hand if you're not careful (the crows will usually wait for you to finish). there's a tiny little playground i loved when i was a kid. it's been touched up a few times over the years but still looks like it's been there for the last hundred years, with rusty bolts and peeling paint. a food place opened a few years back, and it's over priced and not the best and always tastes a little like sand (as beach food does) but that's part of the charm. i once saw two rotting crabs with bodies the size of dinner plates (not counting the legs) on the sand.

I've also found some cool shells and rocks, and the old gazebo is a photogenic as ever and is a great spot to sit at and look over the water. you can see the (supposedly haunted) fire island light house in the distance. the sun doesn't set over the water but the water and the skyline are still gorgeous. there are rocks on the far side of the beach that you can climb on during low tide (you're not supposed to but if the lifeguard isn't there who's gonna stop you). there's like a half mile road that leads to the beach and it's lined with cattails and wetland (i think it counts as a bog?) and sometimes you can see waterbirds or deer. sometimes the road floods if there's been heavy rain and you can't even get there.

there are definitely nicer beaches on the island. bigger and cleaner ones with newer looking playgrounds and better food, but this is MY beach. this is the one I've been going to since i was a kid. where i used to collect cool shells and build sandcastles with my brother and where me and one of my best friends went when we ditched their senior prom. yesterday I went there to sit by the water and get some reading done for school and I got to see a tiny wedding. just five people and two dogs. weren't there more than twenty minutes, but they looked happy and I'm gonna guess it's their home town beach too (hell if there's any other reason to bind your lives together in sight of two dogs, god, a handful of beachgoers, and a flock of gulls on THIS beach).

it's tiny, it's kinda gross, and there's better out there, but it's that Home Town Charm, yknow? yeah, I'd also take someone to one of the nicer beaches, but first we're gonna visit my tiny little beach and climb on the rocks and the lifeguard tower and sit in the gazebo and on the swings with rusty chains, and eat food that tastes a little like sand and salt water (and defend it from the gulls), and I'm gonna point out where I once saw a deer run in and out of the water, where i saw those crabs, talk about all the times my brother and I went there as kids. watch the sun set and see the lights across the water flicker to life

Ok so you and I are meeting up. Maybe in your home territory, or maybe somewhere that you know well - don’t doxx yourself - but we are meeting up to explore something particularly. you are in charge of picking the museum, bog, weird antique store, bog, bookshop, bog, gallery, arboretum, botanical garden, show, or bog. Where are you showing me and why?

[star1117-archives]

𝐀𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐬

➵ Pairing : OT8 x Fem!Y/N

➵ Genre : Fluff + Suggestive

➵ W.C : 2369

➵ Warnings : Insinuated sex, Swearing, Sexual tension, Jealousy, Kissing, Dirty talk.

➵ Network : @cacaokpop-fics

© 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟕-𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. Do not steal, plagiarise, translate, repost or use my work in any way, shape or form.

𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚 - His Jewellery

“Y/N?! Where’s my chain?!”

Seonghwa was rifling through his jewellery box in a hectic frenzy, trying to find his favourite chain. It was a gift from the boys, all of them pooling their money together to get him an expensive one he’d been ogling once on a shopping trip. It was a thin chain with dog tags, the small metal plates reading ATEEZ and their debut date. It was definitely valuable to him, so the thought that he might’ve misplaced it, or even lost it, shook him to his core.

“Right here, Hwa!”

Sighing in relief, Seonghwa went into the living room, guessing that’s where you were. It was there he was met with a jaw-dropping sight, finding his chain nestled between your breasts, only exposed due to your low-cut top. His eyes almost seemed to bulge out of his skull, while you looked away in embarrassment. He seemed pretty mad at you.

“I didn’t take it, I swear! I-I found it between the couch cushions and wanted to t-try it on..”

You didn’t dare to look Seonghwa in the eye, your feet suddenly very interesting as he approached you. When his fingers toyed with the dog tags however, you looked up at him in confusion. This was how you missed Seonghwa looping the chain around his finger before he pulled you forward, a smirk decorating his lips.

“It suits you, you should wear it more often.”

And with that, he let you go, turning away with a small chuckle while you stayed frozen in place. Your whole body felt like it was on fire, and you knew that even a cold shower might not extinguish the flames.

“Fuck, I should take his shit more often.”

𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠 - His Jacket

It was date night, and as usual you had not come prepared. Your revealing outfit had been fine in the restaurant, but while on a walk Hongjoong had suggested to digest your food, you cursed at your past self for ditching a jacket since it would ‘ruin the fit’. All you wanted right now however was your big ugly puffer jacket, fuck the fit. It was cold, and it was windy, and every man you passed practically craned his neck to look at you, most likely since your nipples felt painfully erect. It was fucking horrible. Your thoughts were soon interrupted by Hongjoong’s laugh however, scowling at him as you fought the urge to shiver and chatter your teeth. The last thing you wanted to hear right now was ‘I told you so’.

“The fuck’s so funny?”

Rolling his eyes, Hongjoong shrugged his blazer off, offering it to you. When you sullenly turned your head the other way, he scoffed before draping it over your shoulders, wrapping his arm around you afterwards so you could share body heat. You begrudgingly cuddled closer into him, goosebumps still evident on your skin as Hongjoong triumphantly smirked at you.

“Oh fuck off, I didn’t ask for this.”

Hongjoong just pressed a kiss to your temple, rubbing his hand on your outer arm to create friction.

“I never said anything.”

Your voice turned whiny as you replied, burying your face into Hongjoong.

“You’re doing your ‘I told you so’ eyes!”

Stopping abruptly, Hongjoong turned to you, something in his expression changing to an emotion much darker.

“Really? I thought I was giving you my ‘You wear this dress in public again and I’m gonna fuck you in it’ eyes.”

𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨 - His Shirt

When Yunho woke up to an empty bed, he sleepily groped your side of it, confused as to why he was alone. It was a little annoying, especially since all he wanted right now was to snuggle you in the secure warmth of the bedsheets, but nevertheless he dragged himself out in search of you. He trudged through the rented apartment, eventually perking up however when he found you cooking breakfast in his shirt from last night.

You hadn’t noticed his presence yet, back turned to him as the delicious aroma of your food attacked Yunho’s senses. His stomach rumbled, but all he could think about was you. He quickly closed the gap between the two of you, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your exposed shoulder when you jumped.

“Sorry baby, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Humming, you continued what you were doing, albeit a little slower now that you had Yunho clinging to you. His face nuzzled your neck, breath tickling your baby hairs as he pressed kissed all over your neck and shoulders. When you had to move however, you pulled his face away by his chin and pressed a kiss to his lips before pulling away. You plated up the food while Yunho poured the two of you some drinks before sitting down. He had a dopey smile on his face as he watched you garnish the food before bringing it to him and sitting down too.

“Y’know, I’ve been thinking…”

You let out a little ‘mhm’ as you ate a spoonful of food, your full concentration on Yunho. He squirmed a bit under your gaze, ears and cheeks tinting as he struggled to articulate himself.

“And y’know, we’ve been together a while now… Seeing Seonghwa get married just… it really got me thinking.”

You couldn’t help the beaming smile that overtook your expression, eyes watering.

“You-… You wanna…?”

“Y/F/N, I wanna wake up next to you every day for the rest of my life. I wanna go to sleep holding you in my arms. So I’m gonna work my ass off to get you the most beautiful ring I can find, and then I’m gonna marry your ass.”

𝐘𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐠 - His Jeans

He found it adorable when you strutted out of your room with his jeans from last week, the waist belted with a stylish belt with a heart buckle. His lips curled up into a smile, standing up and adjusting the semi-formal shirt he was wearing, holding out a hand to you.

“Give us a twirl, baby.”

Nodding with a giggle, you spun around on the spot before taking his hand, a warm smile on your face. You let him pull you closer, his hand now resting on the small of your back as his forehead connected with yours.

“You like it?“

Yeosang pressed a quick kiss to your lips, his hands now falling to your waist as he left fleeting kisses up to your ear. His breath tickled your baby hairs as he spoke, the smirk on his face evident in his tone.

“I fucking love it, baby.”

You fought the urge to shiver from the sultry sound of his voice, your mouth drying as he squeezed your sides. He then turned you around, resting you against the sofa he’d been leaning on as his hands ventured dangerously high. When he let himself rest against you, closing the distance between your bodies, you felt a hard reminder of the reason you and Yeosang usually got to the party a little too late to be fashionable.

“I’m sure the others won’t mind if we get… stuck in traffic again.”

𝐒𝐚𝐧 - His Lip balm

Sitting next to you on the sofa, San had an arm wrapped around your shoulders, his finger drawing small circles on your arm. The movie you were watching wasn’t necessarily bad, but his concentration on it was fleeting at best. He just wanted an excuse to hold you in all honesty, not that he needed one. When you noticed his attention was elsewhere, you turned to him with mild concern. Usually San would be engrossed in films like these.

“You okay?”

San turned to you in surprise, nodding with a smile. His gaze strayed from your eyes to your lips.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Stroking a hair out of your face, San let his hand fall to the side of your neck, supporting it as if he wanted you to anticipate his next move.

“Have I reminded you today that you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever met?”

You shook your head with a smile, your arms wrapping around San’s neck as you edged closer.

“No you didn’t, it hurt me a little bit..”

Fake pouting at San, he chuckled quietly and pressed a kiss to the shell of your ear, whispering into it.

“Why don’t I show you just how beautiful you are then, Hm?”

Crashing his lips onto yours, San smiled into the embrace when his tongue traced your bottom lip, the remnants igniting his taste buds. Strawberry cheesecake, his favourite lip balm. Almost as if he was egged on by this revelation, San’s hands traversed your body, the kiss becoming disorganised and needy, your teeth clashing. He sank his teeth into your lower lip, hungrily pulling at them while you gasped into his mouth. Smirking, San pulled away, panting as he spoke.

“Your lips taste so nice, almost as nice as how swollen they look, baby.”

Before you could even retort, he had laid you down onto the sofa, his hands pulling at your waistband.

“Fuck, I just can’t help myself. You’re addictive, Y/N.”

𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢 - His Cologne

It was a pleasant surprise when Mingi breathed in the scent of his cologne as he entered your shared bedroom. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, smiling before approaching you. His hands snaked around your waist before he pressed a kiss to your cheek, nuzzling your neck while whispering onto your perfumed skin. Your gazes connected in the mirror.

“You smell good. What, you want everyone to know you’re mine?”

Chuckling, you stroked his head as he left little butterfly kisses over your neck and exposed shoulder. Your free hand fell to his ones situated on your midriff, interlocking fingers with him.

“Perhaps, or maybe I just wanted to drive you crazy.”

Chuckling, Mingi turned you around and pressed a few kisses to your lips, thumb stroking your cheek. He couldn’t help but take another deep breath before he replied, his hands toying at your clothing.

“Well, mission accomplished. I gotta go call Hongjoong.”

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion at this, the question on the tip of your tongue when Mingi answered it for you with a mischievous smirk.

“Forget the club, tonight’s about you n’ me. Let’s open some wine and have a little… body party, hm?”

𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 - His Boxers

Wrapping a towel around your body, you chuckled when you caught Wooyoung blatantly staring, a pervy smile on his face. However, when your eyes connected, he simply looked away with a huff before you could call him out, getting his own towel and drying off. You left him in the bathroom to grab your underwear, picking up your bra only to notice that your panties were ripped. A hot fire struck your cheeks as you remembered how Wooyoung had gotten a little too impatient with the flimsy material, opting to rip it off of your lower half instead.

“Woo! You fucked up my underwear!”

Wooyoung instantly hit back, tone teasing as he called out to you.

“Wear none then, I definitely won’t mind!”

Rolling your eyes, you hunted for Wooyoung’s underwear drawer, cursing yourself for forgetting to bring a change of clothes. Eventually you found it, slipping on a pair of black Calvin Klein boxers, about to clip your bra into place. It was then Wooyoung came out, a smirk overtaking his features as he shamelessly looked you up and down.

“Need help?”

You shook your head and turned away, unintentionally giving Wooyoung a clear view of the curve of your ass. His eyes didn’t stray from your body for one second.

“Nah thanks, I wanna put my clothes on, not off.”

When you turned your head and saw that Wooyoung was still staring, your voice lost some of its teasing tone.

“You don’t mind that I’m using your boxers, right? It’ll only be this once, I promise I’ll bring a change of clothes next time.”

Coming up behind you, Wooyoung held your hair out of the way, pressing a chaste kiss to your neck before clipping your bra into place for you. It surprised you, such softness out of character for him. His next sentence however reassured you that there was nothing wrong with your boyfriend, and that moment was just a one-off.

“Don’t, my clothes suit you better. Only problem is, I’ll constantly wanna rip them off you.”

𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨 - His Hoodie

When you nervously came out of Jongho’s bathroom in his jumper, he swore his heart melted. It looked good on you, the colour suited you well. He smiled warmly at you when you sat on the edge of the bed, cheeks heated as you avoided eye contact. The distance between the two of you confused him a little bit, but nonetheless he spoke up.

“You look really pretty in that. It’s like that jumper is made for you.”

All you could manage was a small ‘thank you’, now toying with your fingertips and concentrating on them. Jongho noticed how you gulped however, about to question the awkward atmosphere when you finally spoke.

“I know you want to take things slow, Jjong… and I know three months is a bit early..”

When you paused and finally looked up at him, Jongho’s gaze was reassuring as he gave you a slight nod, showing you that he was paying full attention. He scooted closer to you, grabbing your hand as he rubbed his thumb soothingly on the back of it just like you liked it. This small action was all it took for you to open up, eyes wide as you looked up at him.

“I.. would really like it… if you moved in with me.”

Jongho couldn’t help the chuckle that fell from his lips, pressing a kiss to your lips before you could negatively interpret his laughter. His hand cupped your cheek, the other falling to your waist, toying with the material before pulling away, his face mere centimetres from yours.

“I’d really like to, on one condition.”

You hummed inquisitively, waiting for Jongho’s answer as he smiled sheepishly, cheeks tinting slightly.

“You gotta steal my stuff every once in a while, my clothes suit you better than me.”

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