#very happy every time I see people use it

[coyle-and-co]

franco did always have such a mouth on him

au ramble beneath the cut because it’s my blog and i get to post what i want (it’s super long)

if ! you have noticed there are two versions of dolly that i draw, one with the gas mask and long, shaggy hair and one without and more refined

that’s because i have two separate aus for my ocs !! Howler and Gas mask Dolly are post!murkoff, which takes place with in the canon of outlast trials so not very exciting i know

pre!murkoff is where i get DEVIOUS because i am incredibly attached to pre!m Dolly HAHA

Pre!Murkoff dolly is a washed up speakeasy jazz singer preforming at one of the many casinos owned under Franco’s “business”, not like Dolly’s aware of who Franco really is outside of his moniker of “il Bambino”. He knows of him, knows his reputation but he’s never seen him before and doesn’t really give a shit about him as far as he’s concerned

However…! One night franco actually happens to be there at the same time as Dolly preforming, and he gets all googoo eyed because in his mind there’s a really pretty broad up on stage singing the blues to him, it’s not love at first sigh because all Franco wants to do his have Dolly put his heel through his throat

Of course, Franco can’t do anything normally and gets a bit pushy about getting dinner, and Dolly’s broke so thinks he could just steal his wallet or flirt him into paying his rent. Franco is unaware that he’s on a date with a dude, and is just happy someone seems interested

Franco does eventually find out Dolly’s not female and he’s mad about it but mostly that he didn’t figure it out. Despite the fact they can’t actually stand each other most of the time they’ve grown so used to being in each others presence that they don’t like being apart

Salvatore comes to visit Franco, since in this AU they do have connect it’s just minimal. Basically he got wind Franco’s been seen with the same “woman” (hah) repeatedly. Franco rightfully panics because oh my god what if his father finds out he’s seeing Dolly? What if he finds out Dolly’s a man? Franco blurts out that they’re getting married that’s why, and Sal just looks at him like he doesn’t believe him and tells Franco he pities Dolly

Franco convinces Dolly to actually marry him, but there’s no wedding, no reception, just a trip to the courthouse to sign a few documents. They’re legally married, and they hate each other

because i hate allowing gay people to be happy they do not say “i love you”, they argue day in and day out over things that wouldn’t matter, Dolly throws Franco out more times than he can count. But they know every fine detail about each other’s behavior and lives. Dolly even fully accepts Franco’s manchild-ness, though he does get disgruntled at times

Eventually it all leads to one massive argument and Franco calls things off and storms out, because we’ll, they don’t love each other, but those few days apart suck was and they can’t be away for long. Franco goes back to Dolly’s rundown apartment and lets himself in since he never did change the locks.

Dollys got no make up on, curled up in bed tear stained, and ends up sobbing at Franco about how he genuinely does care for him, can’t picture spending his life with someone else, how he wants to grow old together - but he doesn’t say i love you (they never do they both die and never utter i love you)

Franco blue screens for a bit but it does help their relationship at least somewhat

okay ramble over if u read all of this ily mwa mwa

[reinbouxsworld]

Hey so like sorry if you're the wrong person to say this to but I love Jamil's character so much and it makes me so mad that the fandom takes Kalim's side in his ob when they're so much more sympathetic to everyone else's ob situation. Like all the ob's are caused by trauma so no olympics but Jamil was Kalim's slave??? He was literally fighting to stop being his slave? To the son of a rich merchant family that could decide the fate of his whole family?? The stakes were so fucking high. Kalim not knowing says everything about his relative privilege and nothing about his innocence. Kalim's saving grace was his willingness to change when he learned, but that slave-relationship was multigenerational and Jamil had no guarantee it would happen if he "asked for his freedom". I think the fandom has some real inner reckoning to consider about why Kalim crying is more upsetting than Jamil's (and his family's) life.

OKAY I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ON THIS ONE.

﹙𝑡𝑤𝑠𝑡.﹚ ─ WHY JAMIL TRAUMA IS (BUT SHOULDN'T BE) DOWNPLAYED

﹙ or why i support jamil viper rights and wrongs﹚

──────────────────────────────────────

٬٬ I think the most obvious reason is that Kalim, by being a very kind and often naïve person, wins people over quickly (myself included). He’s sweet, kind, and honest. He just wants to have a good time with his friends—he’s easy to be around and talk to. More often than not, a "happy person" is easier to forgive than someone you’re not as close to.

But what do I mean by that?

Jamil is not used to being himself. He always has to manage and calculate his every step to ensure he doesn’t overshadow Kalim’s presence, even though, by merit, he could be in the spotlight (which, at this point, I see as an unspoken Viper family tradition). And it’s not just when Kalim is around — even when Jamil is alone, he’s still under pressure to maintain his facade. We do see glimpses of him sometimes, especially after the overblot, where he's a little bit more acidic, smug and sincere, but the reality is that his entire life has been shaped around a forced role. The most frustrating part of his story is that when Jamil got to NRC, he had a brief moment of freedom—only for it to be taken away again by Kalim’s overwhelming presence. And the worst part? He wasn’t even chosen to be there. Kalim literally bought his way into NRC just to be with Jamil. I don’t think people fully realize how hopeless that must have made an already frustrated teenager feel. He had no choice but to start over, once again masking himself under Kalim’s shadow.

I won’t go into the nuances of his initial actions leading up to the overblot, but they clearly show his frustrations, especially when he hypnotized Kalim to do his own work as a housewarden.

And then, right after all the resentment and fight, we get Kalim crying over his friend. Of course, as you said, Kalim’s willingness to change is a big reason why the fandom takes his side. It makes sense— he genuinely wants to be a good friend. But the frustrating part is that people still reduce Jamil to just "the scheming servant" while ignoring everything else we see in the chapter. Kalim’s willingness to change is important, but it doesn’t undo the years of pressure, resentment, and lack of autonomy Jamil has endured. At the end of the day, Kalim can change, but Jamil? He’s still bound by the same expectations, the same role, the same system.

If you don’t look deeper into each chapter, it’s easy to sum up an overblot with a simple explanation: "Riddle is acting like his mom," "Leona is throwing a tantrum because he’s not king," and so on. I think we are often drawn more to the breaking point than to the underlying cause of it. But in Jamil’s case, the most obvious problem is also the one people tend to overlook: Jamil was — and, by definition, still is —Kalim’s servant. More than that, all Vipers still are.

The reason Jamil seems "fine" is because, unlike the others, he can’t change the very thing that made him feel this way in the first place. To be clear, I’m not downplaying any of the other boys' trauma—I’m speaking from a storytelling and borderline objective perspective. Most of the other characters could change their circumstances if they wanted to (again, i'm not saying it is easy or simple). Many of them have the resources and/or support networks to do so. But Jamil doesn’t. Even after his overblot, while Kalim gets to grow and change, Jamil is still stuck playing the same role. He may have a little more space to breathe, but his reality remains the same—his life is still controlled by the Al-Asim family.

────────

[sademonugget]

While the batfamily is a group of meticulously trained vigilantes/crime lords/assassins, I think it's more fun to remember that they're still human, and are constantly doing things that make humans, humans.

Dick, after a long day, takes off his shirt and tosses it towards the laundry basket, only to miss entirely. I like to imagine that he just stands there, numb, wondering why after three quarters of his life of training with the Batman, he still can't make a simple toss into the basket. It's why most of his clothes and up on the floor, he stopped trying.

Jason is helping Damian with his math homework, but keeps getting increasingly more frustrated because, "What the heck? They're the same problems, why is the formula so different from when I was your age? That makes zero sense." He always hated math, was always bad at it, English Lit was his favourite. Damian decides to ask Alfred for help instead.

Tim, despite having one of the best memories, and is possibly one of the world's greatest detectives, instantly forgets peoples names once he finishes a conversation with them. He'll meet people at a gala, and when Bruce asks him who he met today he just says, "Uhm, some guys in suits and a girl in a purple dress." Bruce doesn't tell him he just described half the people there.

Steph is brushing her hair when she suddenly drops her hairbrush onto her foot, and jumps back with a yelp so embarrassing that she swivels her head around, trying to find the all invisible cameras that just witnessed her doing that.

Cass has raging insomnia, and can never seem to fall asleep, even if she's been awake for multiple days on end. While most of the batfam has some sort of sleep disorder, Cass' is the worst of them all. Worse than Batman himself.

Damian makes Bruce stop the batmobile every time he sees a stray dog or cat, and then hand delivers them to the cruelty-free shelter funded by Wayne's Enterprises. The workers there are very used to seeing Batman and Robin walking through with an abandoned litter of kittens. Bruce acts annoyed, because there are criminals that need caught, but he's happy that his son is feeling empathy, despite his upbringing. It makes Damian feel more human to Bruce.

These characters are dangerous, on the verge of inhuman with their skills and abilities, however, they're human. So arguably human and people just forget that sometimes.

[strawberryflavoredvenum]

TicciJack fanfic. Light angst but a happy ending

Toby has trouble deciphering what's real sometimes. Jack is concerned for him.

Thank you @reddetur for the prompt! I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I have experienced hallucinations but I'm not schizophrenic. I do not have the experience to give a 100% accurate depiction of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia also isn't just hallucinations. I am studying psychology and mental disorders in college and care very deeply about not making creepypasta into stigmatizing mentally ill people. Sorry if setting a disclaimer seems excessive, I just care about it a lot.

.

.

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Toby doesn't flinch much at shadows anymore.

There comes a point in someone's life where they see the same thing over and over again and it no longer affects them. Sure, certain hallucinations still get to him. The random touches or sudden loud noises. But not so much these ones. The shadowy figures that creep around in the corner of his vision. They never make any noise or touch him. Once he got used to it, they just became a nuisance. Well.. during the day at least.

The introduction of demons, killers, and paranormal entities into his life has made it a little harder to recognize whether something is real or not. Before everything happened, he could rely on other people's ideas of reality. That is, if he wasn't having an episode. Now that he lived in the mansion he couldn't tell himself that the ghosts, shadow people, insane psycho killers weren't real.

Something that keeps him at ease is the reaction of others. He can always look to the people around him to gage whether he should be worried or not. If no one else is looking at it then he shouldn't either. But that strategy can only go so far. It doesn't help when none of his peers are with him.

But honestly nothing could have prepared him for tonight. It's not like these things sprung up on him or anything. He could feel himself slowly getting worse. His motivation to care for himself plummeted and he became disorganized. Then came the intrusive thoughts and the increased hallucinations. He knew staying up all night wouldn't help but there was no way to fall asleep with everything going on. He was too paranoid and every time he got close to sleep, a loud sound would go off or he would feel like he was falling.

He was downstairs in the kitchen bar preparing his late night guilty pleasure. Four slices of bread with butter. He was looking out to the living room, watching all the figures and random colors dance around. He would be lying if he said he wasn't about to run back upstairs with his bread so the shadow people don't get him. His motions were slower, as if trying not to draw attention to himself. He felt like there was a spotlight on him. He could tell himself that nothing he's seeing was real. That they weren't even approaching him. Just walking around and watching. But nothing was going to convince his subconscious that he wasn't in danger.

He sandwiched the slices together and wrapped them in a paper towel to make transport easier and started walking to the stares when a figure came closer. He flinched but ignored it-That was until it fucking grabbed him. Toby let out a scream slightly too high pitched to be a man's and punched the figure in the jaw. He was met with a solid object that made a grunt and quickly backed up and grabbed their face.

Toby took a moment to step back and catch his breath before flicking the kitchen light on and seeing Jack. He was holding the side of his face and glaring at toby. "Jesus tobes I was just trying to see what you were doing. It's 2 in the fucking morning!" Toby caught his breath and looked a bit sheepishly at Jack. "......I thought you were someone else?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell would be down here that you would want to punch?"

Toby looked away. To the discarded slices of bread on the floor. He had dropped them when he sucker punched Jack. "No one in particular." Toby hoped that Jack would drop it. Jack wasn't stupid. Hallucinations are not uncommon in the mansion. He's even had them a time or two during sleepless nights or when missions went on for too long.

He sighed and helped toby pick up the remains of his food. "Out of all things you could have ventured out into the dark to grab, four slices of buttered bread was what you chose?" Jack questioned. Toby looked up at Jack. "Well what were YOU down here for?" Jack shrugged. "To smoke." He said, gesturing towards the front door.

Jack threw the bread away and shook his head. Half a loaf wasted. He returned to toby. Toby didn't look well. He looked tired but his eyes were wide open, looking into the distance. Jack took him by the shoulder and started leading him to his room. "C'mon. You don't need food, you need sleep. Staying up is only making things worse." Toby followed but looked conflicted. "Weren't you going to smoke?" Jack shrugged again. I lost the urge. My jaw hurts too much. He teased lightly. Toby looked away. "I didn't mean to." That was Toby's way of apologizing without actually saying sorry. Jack just nodded and kept walking.

They made it to Toby's cluttered room. It got like that when he let his mental health slip. Jack took it all in but made no reaction that toby could discern. He pushed toby into bed and firmly told him to lay down. Toby raised an eyebrow but was too exhausted to really care. He laid down and sighed.

"so what now?" Toby asked. Jack sat on the side of Toby's bed. "You sleep and I watch over you." Jack's tail had made its way to Toby's hip. The weight of it was comforting in a way. Toby gave a bit of mumbled words salad that Jack pretended to follow and had a few more bad moments before finally falling asleep.

Jack looked around Toby's room. It was hard to gage how Toby's doing sometimes. He never outright said anything. There was a look in his eye that he sometimes had but the biggest indicator of his well-being was his room. With nothing better to do, Jack started sorting through his friends stuff, putting things where they belong and putting his laundry downstairs.

Jack watched over him the rest of the night. He returned to his room just before sunrise so no one else would know he spent the night in Toby's room. Toby woke up sometime that afternoon. His body was sore from sleeping for so long but his head felt a bit less cluttered. It wasn't fixed but it was better than before he slept. He saw his clean room and blushed deeply. He couldn't believe he let Jack see him like that. Jack didn't actually mind Toby's mess at all. He was more concerned with helping his friend(crush).

[questionablecuttlefish]

How do you think the girls show affection to each other?

my fics go into a lot of them.

but I think they are both touch starved in their own special ways.

We see Jinx flinch away from touch in Arcane a few times but its when she hasn't initiated it. When she does initiate it or she's comfortable with the person, she's very touchy feely.

And Lux comes from a society built out of cavernous spaces and barriers of literal armor, she gives me big 'hugger' vibes but it must be tough to be a warm caring person in freaking Demacia.

But we also see how affectionate both of them are inside and I think with those barriers removed they would be extremely physically tender with each other.

Cuddles, kisses, snuggling up to sleep, playing with each other's hair, and my H/C that Jinx has sharpened senses from the Shimmer and is maybe a little fixated on Lux's "sunlight" scent, the girl from the Undercity being close to a person who grew up in clean air and bright skies for the first time + being able to almost literally smell Lux's magic, a lot of the physical affection both of them have been starved of by the world around them.

Jinx is an inventor, a tinkerer and a people pleaser and we've seen that despite seeming wrapped up in her own head, Jinx can be very thoughtful when it comes to others. Her interactions show it, with Silco, Isha, and even building Sevika the gambler a literal slot machine arm.

I think she would just randomly tinker and build things for Lux that would make Lux's life easier or more fun, things she would think Lux would like, and gift them to her like a cat dropping dead birds on the porch, only they're actually useful ones.

Some of these would be literal works of genius and Lux would recognize them as such and treasure every one.

Lux for her part has a lot of empathetic traits and would fit naturally into a nurturing role with Jinx, comforting her when the voices are loud, talking her through things, holding her when she needs it, giving her space when she needs it.

I also think if Jinx was open to it, Lux would be only too happy to tutor her through any gaps in knowledge that Jinx's upbringing might not have given her the opportunities to learn and introduce her to the joy of books and reading. Lux is a big old book nerd and the kind of person who'll babble excitedly about the latest story she's read or scientific theory she's heard about for hours.

Jinx listens to her excited nerd rambles with chin hands and eyes aglow. If it was anyone else she'd be bored out of her brain, but Lux makes boring beautiful.

[sylusonychinus]

Episode Five : A Love That Lands

A month had passed since the day [Reader] had said I do.

The wedding had been intimate, filled only with the people who truly mattered. Close friends, supportive family, and colleagues who had cheered them on every step of the way. No extravagant ballrooms, no unnecessary formalities—just love, laughter, and the start of something real.

Of course, her stepmother and father hadn’t shown up. And neither had Liana Reyes, her sister.

Not that it mattered.

Because as [Reader] sat curled up on the couch in their apartment, her fingers absentmindedly tracing the wedding band on her finger, she couldn’t bring herself to feel anything other than happiness.

She swirled the wine in her glass, letting out a soft chuckle as she remembered the ceremony—specifically, their first kiss as husband and wife.

It had been… unexpected.

Caleb, ever the showman, had leaned in with a smirk right before kissing her—slow and deep, with enough confidence to make her knees weak. The entire room had erupted in cheers, and she had barely been able to register anything beyond the warmth of his lips against hers.

God. Even thinking about it now made her heart race.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear Caleb enter the room until she felt his arms wrap around her from behind.

"What’s with that dreamy smile, Mrs. Xia?" he murmured into her ear, his breath warm against her skin.

She jolted slightly before huffing, "Mrs. Xia? Really?"

"Really," he confirmed, his lips brushing against her temple. "You’re stuck with me now, might as well get used to it."*

She rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face remained. "I was just thinking about the wedding."*

"Oh?" Caleb smirked, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Let me guess—you’re thinking about our first kiss?"

She stiffened slightly, making him chuckle.

"Knew it," he teased.

"Shut up," she muttered, taking a sip of her wine to avoid looking at him.

"You’re adorable when you’re flustered," he mused, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before shifting their position, his arms still loosely wrapped around her waist. "Speaking of things to get used to…"

She arched a brow. "What now?"

Caleb leaned in, his voice dropping a little lower. "It’s been a month, sweetheart. I think it’s time I take my bed back."*

[Reader] turned in his arms, pinching his cheek playfully. "Nope."*

"Ow—Hey!" He rubbed his cheek, pretending to look offended. "That’s not very wifely of you."*

"Too bad," she shot back, grinning.

Caleb tilted his head, amusement flickering in his eyes before he hummed, "There are ways I can convince you, you know."*

She stilled, suddenly hyper-aware of how close he was.

His hands rested at her waist, his gaze locked onto hers with quiet intensity.

Her breath caught slightly. "C-Caleb—"

"Hmm?" he mused, tilting his head as if he wasn’t fully enjoying the way she was reacting.

She narrowed her eyes. "You’re messing with me."*

"Am I?" he murmured, leaning in just a fraction closer.

She swallowed hard.

Then, deciding two could play this game, she smirked and pressed a finger against his lips. "Nice try, Captain."*

Caleb groaned dramatically, dropping his forehead against her shoulder. "You’re no fun."*

"I’m lots of fun," she corrected, pushing him away playfully as she slipped off the couch. "Just… not when you’re being that smug."*

"Smug?" He gasped in mock offense. "I’m wounded, truly."*

She shot him a look before retreating to the bedroom—her bedroom. "Goodnight, Caleb!"*

"We’ll see about that," he called after her, laughing.

And as she closed the door behind her, heart still racing, she couldn’t help but think—

This marriage was going to be the death of her.

Taglist: @jinwoosbabyboo @kithyyy @mcdepressed290 @nezuswritingdesk @elegantdeerlady @yuuuumii @duhgurl @lumieresdreams @bidisasterforevermore @i-messed-up-big-time

@that-one-scoundrel @justpassingdontworry @ansbobcar @nagireos @auriuswolve

[systlin]

Picking a Gor book at random: Marauders of Gor!

OH THIS IS THE SHITTY FAKE VIKING KNOCK OFF BOOK

SO. We open with Cow of House Cow, formerly known as Tarl Cabot. He got poisoned at the end of the last book and this paralyzed him. Should have upped the dose and killed him

(Bosk. He took the name Bosk because in book five he got taken slave by a lady who mean dommed him once and it fundamentally rewired his brain chemistry. He spends the rest of the books...all TWENTY SEVEN MORE OF THEM...going by the name Kind Mistress gave her pretty slave.)

ANYWAY. There's some dumb bullshit about a plot by the Kurii to conquer Gor. The Kurii are giant werewolf aliens who eat people, and I think Tarl bottomed for one once but that's a different book. They're the enemy of the Priest Kings.

Tarl then fixes the depression he's sunk into because he is Utterly Useless And Pathetic since his legs don't work. This somehow also fixes his legs? Who the fuck knows. He decides to go investigate. This whole baffling intro takes seventy pages.

Anyway.

This takes him to the north, where we find him in a Not!Catholic church. As in, it is exactly like a catholic church except it's to the PK's and not God. The head priest is the most overblown caricature of a greedy evil priest ever set to paper. Calling him one dimensional would be adding a dimension.

Naturally, the Shitty Terrible Vikings attack and loot the place.

Now, they don't attack at FIRST. Norm, thinking himself terribly clever, rips off a move from a saga written by actual good writers and steals the 'smuggle weapons into a church in a coffin with a viking leader who is totally dead you guys, we pinky promise' scheme. Our co hero with Tarl for the book, Ivar Forkbeard, is naturally not dead.

Ivar and his crew promptly loot the place, and also take slave all the pretty women they can find. Tarl, of course, impresses Ivar with his immense fighting ability (dodges a thrown spear) and Ivar decides to take him along with his crew, because Tarl has the thickest plot armor ever seen. They burn the church down and fuck off with their loot. We find out here that the Shit Vikings still follow their gods. Odin and Thor are the only two mentioned. They use a salute that would be very familiar to anyone who has watched WW2 documentaries or, more recently, Elon Musk.

On the longship, we learn a few things. One, that John Norman doesn't know shit about longships, because he gives them rigged sails. Two, that the shitty vikings eat snails raw out of the bilges, which seems like it would give you ten different diseases. Three, that they break slaves by tying them to the oars and dunking them into the north sea repeatedly for several hours, in a move that would totally not kill someone.

At Ivar's holdings, we see more slaves, and the new slaves are branded. Norm spends an immense amount of time and loving detail on this. Tarl is still having a great time. He happily feasts and drinks and rapes...his words, not mine...slaves left and right.

At one point, to discipline a woman, Ivar has her tied naked to a block of ice. For hours. This somehow doesn't kill her, and yet we are told women are weak.

They capture the daughter of a Jarl and enslave her, because she told Ivar to fuck off once and Norm is convinced that this means a woman is burning with a secret passion to literally lick a man's feet. Seriously. There's so much foot licking. In every book. It's in every book. Naturally she falls in love with Ivar and becomes his happy slave. This takes hundreds of pages and it's all horrible. All the poor women get names like Honey Cake, Pudding, ect.

Tarl and his new bestie and their slaves go to what is clearly an Althing, except worse. Ivar is an outlaw, see, and he wants to shove his dick in people's faces that he raised enough money to pay his fine but isn't gonna pay it anyway, because Real Men Don't Do Shit Like Participate Constructively In Society. Norm is INTENSELY culturally WASP, even though he claims to be an atheist. The whole rugged individualism he admires more than anything oozes like slime off most of these books. No, Ivar is clearly supposed to be someone we should aspire to be like, As Men, and Tarl has a huge crush on him I'm pretty sure. And he's a total piece of rat shit.

Ivar and Tarl win a bunch of contests because of course they do, and we see Free Women being unpleasant as Norm writes all free women. Namely, not taking any shit and talking back to men, which Norm calls 'haughty arrogance'. Ivar shows he has the cash to pay his fine, but refuses to. This amuses everyone enough though that they lift his sentence rather than just chucking him off a cliff for some reason.

The head of the Kurii on Gor comes to treat with the jarls. They all decide clearly this is a trick, because of course it is it's not subtle. The Kurii say that they have an army and will take Shitty Viking Land and also the south of Gor. The Shitty Vikings are like fuckit let's fight.

They do. It's somehow boring, in a way that vikings fighting space werewolves should actually find impossible to be. The vikings win by stampeding a herd of cattle over the space werewolves and also maybe some 800 year old legendary figure shows up?

Tarl, having reassured himself that he is a True Man, heads back to Port Kar.

The end.

[theislandoflosttoys]

Best for last, now onto our boy Vio! 💖

I'll be working on answering asks after this as well as working towards posting some sketches and drawings for this au, I'll probably create a masterlist as well to make it easier to find stuff and to be organized. I'm so happy some people are enjoying this silly AU of mine, every comment, interaction, etc means the world. Thank you guys!! ^^

Now onto the HCs/Trivia~!

6'1" tall, tallest of the gang. Secretly loves it, especially being taller than Shadow.

This man is hard to read, sort of stoic and has the best poker face of the bunch. Is a pro at lying and for verbal sparring. Zelda sometimes asks him to sit in on meetings or diplomatic conferences because he often is able to notice things nobody would, and is able to verbal beat back any attempts made at him or the princess.

Introvert, he would rather not interact with other people outside of his small social circle. People find him intimidating, and though it's gotten better over the years, some people are still wary of him because of his participation in the destruction of Hyrule. Vio doesn't let that bother him, their opinions don't really matter to him, at least that's what he says.

Has the longest ears of the group, more thin too, like most elves in media. He has incredible hearing too.

Can sense vibrations in the earth/ground, kind of like echolocation, he finds it the most useful when he stays up late and has to navigate in the dark. He doesn't bother turning on the lights when doing so, which has led to him accidentally scaring the hell out of the others if they happen to run into him in the dark.

Vio is also very strong, especially for how tall and deceivingly thin he appears to be. He could pick up the whole gang and hold them above his head with minimal effort.

I saw someone mentioned Shadow's earth sign earing in his post, I'm glad you caught that! ^^ Ngl it's my favourite thing to see if someone will catch onto certain things, for example I wondered if anyone noticed that I made Green birthday deliberately so that he could be an Aquarius, which is a wind sign but is commonly mistaken as a water sign, which is just another thing I threw in to tie Green and Blue together. ^^

So the earing, that was deliberate on multiple accounts, both Shadow and Vio are earth signs according to their chosen birthdays, then there's their relationship, but functionally it is actually a communication device that sort of functions like Wind's pirate charm in the Linked Universe world. Vio has one too, it's not pictured in the drawing above but it is tied to the end of his braid, the one behind his ear. ^^ Vio actually was the one to invent it, the normal version of this sort of charm is actually a mirror but with Shadow and Vio's mirror related trauma Vio ended up coming up with something a bit different!

His birthday is December 28th! Surprise he's actually the youngest lol. I mean they're all 25 years old but still. Shadow likes to tease that he's older than him, Vio finds this funny.

Vio is a Capricorn! Earth sign of course, he's a very grounded person. A logical and practical man. He's always thinking ahead and trying to prepare himself for anything. He's a hard worker and doesn't like to leave things unfinished. He comes across as reserved and somewhat emotionless but he's really just thoughtful and quiet, he likes to think before speaking. He really is a sweet man though, he can predict what someone needs before they even need/ask for it. He feels fulfilled being able to help his loved ones in this way, he's definitely an acts of service kind of guy when it comes to love languages.

Also worth noting that Capricorns' most compatible soulmates are other earth signs, Taurus and Virgo. Shadow is a taurus, also worth noting it is the same for Taurus' too. ^^

Vio really drove himself into the ground trying to find a way to bring Shadow back. During this time, he isolated himself from the others, but after sometime and persistence from the others he began to open up again.

Due to this bad habit of neglecting his needs during this period of time, it became a bad habit that has been hard to shake, it often takes the others (mainly Shadow) for him to pull him away from his work.

It's only later on in the AU that it's revealed that Shadow's crystalized heart is actually Vio's. Bro literally gave his heart to him in multiple ways TT^TT.

Because of this, they are linked. Vio has a seal on his chest over his heart because of this. It's a "If I die, you die" sort of situation. Except they didn't realize right away that Shadow is essentially immortal, him being a living shadow and not a hylian. Vio will likely never age and/or die naturally unless he or Shadow are killed. This somewhat horrified them all minus Vio himself because he couldn't imagine being without Shadow, he's already experienced what it was like to live without him and he was not a fan to put it simply.

This man is such a simp, no one outside the group can tell but he is whipped for Shadow. All he wants to do is be around him, even if no talking is involved.

The seal on his chest is usually kept hidden, and like Shadow it isn't something he lets others touch, with exception to Shadow. It doesn't hurt when it is touched by him and vice-versa, it is the link between their souls. It's still sensitive, but doesn't hurt when it's either of them.

Didn't say it but was devastation when Shadow didn't want to be around him at first after his resurrection, he understood but he was still so depressed about it. He worked hard to make up for what happened in the past.

The act that really started to let him back into Shadow's heart was when he made and hand painted Shadow's very first false eye. It took a few tries and he did go to Red for help eventually, face beat red in embarrassment. Red thought it was so sweet.

Man has very beautiful handwriting, until you realize you can't read any of it, lol.

When he realized Shadow couldn't read or write, he jumped on teaching him. It's become a great bonding activity for them. Granted, when Shadow starts to get bored he starts to tease Vio. This stone wall of a man struggles not to crack under the pressure lol.

The type to bite at the ends of his pencils, pens, and brushes. He's a biter, surprisingly.

Vio works as a consult for the princess but mainly spends his time in his own private study which has a library. Zelda has him working with scholars and the castle librarians often enough to keep him busy. He holes himself up in his study often though.

I went for more of a pale sort of coloration for contrast with everyone else's designs, also because it tickles a part in my brain when the eyes are the darkest/brightest in a character's color palette and with me choosing to go with a more pale violet/lilac shade, I think it gives him somewhat of an angelic appearance. ^^

He's hair is more of a angel blonde almost white shade of blonde, and it's quite long because long haired Vios are my favourite lol. It's about waist length and he usually has it down, with the exception of the two smaller braids in his hair. The one behind his ear in particular actually has Shadow's hair braided with his, he tends to fiddle with that braid for comfort.

He has a deep voice, usually takes people off guard because he doesn't talk often much less to people he doesn't know. Shadow likes to ask him to read him to his often just to hear the sound of his voice, is somewhat too shy to admit to it though.

He is a totally hopeless romantic at heart, all those ooey gooey feelings and what they entail included. Yearning, longing, you name it, he's done it. The some from the Epic Musical "Would you fall in love with me again" comes to mind heavily. Ngl I do have like a playlist just for Vidow so TT^TT

Green💚

Blue💙

Red❤️

Shadow🖤

[vesseloflukola]

Normal folks turned Celebrities…

One thing that I think some of us forget (I mean, I do at least), is that not too long ago both Nicola and Luke were just normal people living normal lives.

They both started out as kind of “theater nerds”. I would never think of either of them as nerds…but what I mean is that, although they had both been in projects, they were unknown to the general public. They were each in their own little bubble trying to find success.

Even though they had been in other things, they both had a small following and small successes, and Bridgerton was their big break.

Nicola said after trying to be successful in London, she moved back to Ireland, and as a struggling actress, she worked part time in an Optician’s office.

While Luke was going on auditions, he worked as a bartender and was staying on a friend’s sofa bed.

Bridgerton was a big success for both of them, but season 3 (and the World tour that led up to its release) was truly their skyrocket to stardom. Before the show, and their season being leads of the show, they were relatively unknown actors to most of the world.

As unknown actors they were able to do very normal, everyday things without being encountered much by fans, and definitely not harassed by the paparazzi.

This last year has been one full of changes for both of them because of their new (bigger) celebrity status. They have flown all over the world. They have needed bodyguards sometimes. They have been recognized and photographed by complete strangers, sometimes making them feel scared or disrespected.

They essentially went from being able to do whatever they wanted, without thinking about it, to having to plan every move they make and think ahead of what the outcome could be.

Another thing that I believe they were dealing with at the same time as this newfound status, is their relationship with one another. Those are two big things to be balancing at the same time.

Yes, they both have PR teams and they both have other successful actors (like Jonathan Bailey, for example) to guide them. But ultimately, they are the ones making the decisions on how they want things to go and how they want to be seen.

I fully believe that Nicola and Luke have been together romantically (this time at least) for about a year. I believe the unhinged things they did and said on the WT were shown to us because they were just so much in love that they couldn’t hide it.

They said their chemistry as Pen and Colin came easily, because they just stopped repressing it. I fully believe that the love they have for one another was also somewhat repressed because at least Luke (but possibly Nic too) was in a committed relationship when they met.

I also believe that Nic and Luke are happily married with a baby (like Nic keeps saying of Pen and Colin in recent interviews). With such a change as this (love, marriage, and a baby), in addition to the heightened celebrity status for both of them within a years time really, they truly have a lot on their plates!

Have they been messy? Absolutely!! But do I think there is a really good reason for that messiness that only they and their close loved ones know about? Also, yes imo.

I think we need to give them some grace and some time and we will see what we all want so desperately to see (which is a hard launch showing how unbelievably happy they are together). I honestly think they want to show us. However, they need to be able to do it in their own time, which is hard for the fans.

What we saw from them at the SAG Awards was real! They showed us how they feel about one another. We all saw the love and affection between them. They honestly gave us SO much to be happy about for them. They were even more unhinged and acted more connected than they did during the WT.

They just could not hide how they are feeling right now (even though I believe they had intended to hide it and not give us what they did). For now, I think we have to be happy with all that we got from their SAG appearance (because it really was SO much).

I believe they are living their “Happily Ever After”. We just need to be patient as we wait for them to share that good news with the rest of the world.

[tarotbyjam24]

Describing you through poems

Likes , reblogs and feedbacks are very much appreciated 💗

Disclaimer: this is general reading . It may or may not resonate . If reading doesn't resonate let it fly and choose another pile or simply there were no messages for you through this reading 😊 Take the reading lightly as nothing's set in stone until you believe so 🕊️

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Pile 1 pile 2 pile 3

Pile 1

A WALK

A meadow smiling in the sun,

Cows knee cleep in the stream, An elm tree waving in the wind, A silvery birch's gleam, A long white road, a rustic bridge, A brooklet gliding through, And with the sunlight on Your hair, Coming toward me-You.

DEATH

By Clarence E. Flynn

WHY do you fear me? I am your friend.

I but guide trav'lers Rounding the bend-Lead them to freedom From time and age, Help them start writing On a new page....

Seek for me never, Keep your course true-When I am needed In come to you, Then I will show you Roads without end-Why do you fear me? I am your friend.

Pile 2

i write when

i write when my heart gets too heavy to hold i write about my scars new and old. i write when i have a lot to share, but to hear it out, no one has time to spare. i write when i feel as lonely as one could be, when not tears, but the well dressed smile is what one could see.

i write when thoughts in my

mind begin to sink.

i write to share whatever i think.

i write, not with thr desire of being known, but to know the voice within my soul.

~bhoomika

I Sit Beside The Fire and Think by JRR Tolkien

I sit beside the fire and think Of all that I have seen Of meadow flowers and butterflies In summers that have been

Of yellow leaves and gossamer In autumns that there were With morning mist and silver sun And wind upon my hair

I sit beside the fire and think Of how the world will be When winter comes without a spring That I shall ever see

For still there are so many things That I have never seen In every wood in every spring There is a different green

I sit beside the fire and think Of people long ago And people that will see a world That I shall never know

But all the while I sit and think Of times there were before I listen for returning feet And voices at the door

Pile 3

Beauty

I like simple pleasures, Like wet hair & Clean sheets.. Pomegranate sourness, & the sweetness of ripe peach..

I like contradictions, Like rainbows after rain.. The glittering eyes of happiness, after days of pain..

A cup of hot tea, during a storm.. Living wildly and out of the norm.. I like good hearts, good art, the warmth of the sun.. The days you gave your self power, When you had none..

I like solitude, serenity, The thoughts in my mind.. And how in every tragic thing, Beauty I can find..

-Alethea Spark

Each of us are given a white canvas Some may be smaller than others. But the fact remains that it is pure, With not a single drop of colour.

As the days go by, the amount of strokes grow, With different colours and shapes. Some may be sharp and jagged And others smooth and clean.

You cant erase it or start over, But you can always cover it with a better strokes. You may even give up and want to stop at times, But you keep trying so desperately

And in the end, you can step back and look at what you have created And see that it was beautiful all along.

A masterpiece painted by you.

- C.

I hope you liked the reading . Thank you so much for letting me read for you . Wishing you best ahead . 🎀Bless you and have a nice day🌸🐰

Loads of love , jam\gem ✨

Exchanges : open , collabs for paps : open

[yes-no-maybe-soo]

Now that I've slept on things and the high from the Reruns announcement is out of my system I gotta say... I can't be excited about this. All I see now is yet more proof of Paperfold's greed and their lack of care for their players, as well as for the longevity of LADS.

I don't want to be a party pooper. Truly, I don't. I want to be unreservedly pumped and happy about this. As someone who came relatively late to the game, Reruns are something I've prayed for since late October when I ordered my Tablet specifically to play LADS (yes, that's how much of a Sylus simp I am). But this is not the way to go about it, imo. It's a slap in the face to F2Players and low spenders, as well as to those of us who spend a fair amount.

Just think about it. Assuming the rerun banners will have the same pity system as the regular banners, we'll need 140 wishes to be guaranteed the card we want. Now run that banner alongside a new banner, and in worse case scenario you'll need to cough up 280 wishes, in the span of a week or two. That's a lot of dias/money. And now imagine you want to rank them up...💀

And the company does this whilst giving us no additional ways to farm dias. It's a fact that at present we don't have ways to grind dias or mats regardless of whether you spend money or no. Orbits and abyssal chaos are finite. SHC is the one renewable source of dias we have and as we all know SHC is hard as shit. Especially if you main Sylus or Caleb b/c they just do not have enough cards nor Stellactrum. In Sylus' case, his one yellow four star was locked behind a paywall in the form of a Promise card, which is now no longer obtainable. As for red, he only has one. Single. Card. That's it. So basically, you will need to brute force with him not only in SHC but in Orbits which require tons of mats and stamina. Leveling up one card in this game is hella time consuming and hella expensive. Same goes for protocores. Those are also expensive af to level up.

So what I'm saying is that the game is now throwing additional banners at us whilst giving us no way of keeping up which is a HUGE issue. Hell, we can barely keep up as is. This is not conducive for longevity. The moment a competitor comes out, one with equally pretty graphics and appealing LIs, a lot of people are going to migrate to it. Because why stay with a game that does not care about its playerbase? That does not give you ways to grind or keep up? That does not even communicate with us?

And don't come at me with "Is this your first gacha?" It's a moot point. What I've written above still stands: we aren't given enough resources. Not even the bare minimum. That's a fact. And look, neither I nor anyone else is saying that this game should be free, or that F2Players should be able to obtain every single card of every single LI. Of course not. But I truly do believe that obtaining every card of your favorite LI is not unreasonable. Paperfold would not lose out on it. Whales are gonna whale anyway, and those who want to increase affinity will go for R1 or above of their fave LI regardless.

The thing is, Paperfold make tons of money. They're not a small fresh on their feet indie company. They are a multimillion company. They can afford to be more generous to their players. They can afford to give us more resources and additional ways to grind. But they do not. Because they are greedy and they do not care enough about us to even give us the bare minimum in return for all the time, money, and free marketing we give them. It's as simple as that.

(Note that when I speak negatively about Paperfold it is always directed at the execs, management team, CEO etc. The devs and the writers are amazing and deserve nothing but love and praise)

So yeah. I feel very sad and disappointed by this, especially so b/c Reruns were one of my biggest wishes for this game. But the issues and greed are too blatant for me to ignore :/

[starletdust]

HI HI HI IM HERE TO EXIST IN YOUR INBOX TO CHEER YOU UP. I noticed you suggested Poe and Akutagawa were some of your favorites. So. Could I request some headcanons for Little Akutagawa and Caregiver Chuuya? :3 I like the idea of Chuuya connecting with Akutagawa after Dazai leaves

𐂯 little akutagawa & cg chuuya hcs !!!! ୨୧

i was going to go back to doing requests in order ( lie ) and then you came along . hi i hope it’s comfy in my inbox please visit whenever you’d like . but chuuyamention happy binkies i love them both aaauugh my creatures ♡

probably not the most in-character but we will ignore that right ., right .

𝜗𝒞 ;; akutagawa didn’t actually realize he regressed at first ! he mostly chalked it up to exhaustion making his brain feel a little fuzzy and his motor skills a bit worse than usual , until he was doted on a little extra after a rougher mission and he was way more aware of how he was acting / what he was acting like …

 ⤷ even then though he didn’t properly label it as regression — not until chuuya swooped in and began to care for him !!

☆ ;; chuuya makes sure to give akutagawa the praise he needs !!! it’s not the same as dazai’s , but the little guy always tries to be ‘ useful ’ even when bitty (,,>﹏<,,) chuuya tries to get him to relax a bit more but sometimes it’s a losing battle TT

 ⤷ akutagawa also tries to tell chuuya he’s regressed a bit older , maybe around 7-9 , but in reality he’s usually in the 3-5 range … he melts with just a tiny bit of pampering though ! he’s already pretty tired when little , mostly getting into his headspace involuntarily , so his resolve is quite weak ,,,

۶ৎ ;; akutagawa isn’t the biggest fan of color , and he doesn’t buy himself much for regressing — mostly because all the baby things are just too bright and overwhelming for him < / 3 he likes when everything’s coherent together , and muted colors are his best friend !!! although he has a few outliers in his little gear ( that chuuya has spoiled him with ) , namely things that remind him of the people he’s close to !

★ ;; a very very quiet , very very sedentary little . he’s not entirely nonverbal , but he doesn’t speak very much and likes to spend most of his time doing easy activities or watching chuuya do whatever ^^ however he’ll absolutely voice whenever he’s uncomfy or feeling icky !!

𝜗𐑞 ;; chuuya is sort of an in-between of a father figure and just close friend kind of caregiver (..◜ᴗ◝..) akutagawa doesn’t call him any sort of title , but he’s definitely one of if not the first people he goes to with advice for trickier stuff ( like emotions ) ! chuuya’s just glad to see his subordinate(s) doing okay , i think he’s always had that sort of protective instinct with every organization he’s been in and it just amplifies when akutagawa regresses ૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა

♫ ;; chuuya tries to get akutagawa out of his coat for safety reasons if he’s bitty , but a lot of the time it just freaks the tiny out more — it’s super hit-or-miss !!! if he’s regressed especially young though chuuya tends to succeed , since it can be a bit heavy / overstimulating for aku compared to some comfier clothes or pajamas ໒꒰ྀི˶˃ᆺ˂˶ ꒱ྀིა

yay ! i somewhat wrote something ! again i promise i know their characters i’m just not at my best fallign to my knees sorry this is all over the place

@twinypwupy

[celestiallystella]

i LOVE the mer hcs so much omg

if possible, can we have mer hcs for wild?

LOLOL yes this is very possible. ty for your request!

Mer!Wild × GN!Reader (sfw & nsfw)

Starting this at 2am bc night shift. Yall this and playing echoes of wisdom are whats keeping me alive

Reader is gn, and there will also be a clear indication of when the nsfw ones start, so you can definitely avoid them! there is also a LOT of general headcanons about him with mer stuff, bc again.. 2am shenanigans

Hope you enjoy!!

You might he thinking his tail is the same blue as his tunic

wrong! Its actually a really pale green that tends to shift with his surroundings, but only slightly

in colder regions and areas, it's lighter and you both swear there's tints of white when he shifts just so

in warmer regions? a little bit of a deeper green that shifts to orangey yellows

otherwise it's just a grass green type of color

he quite likes it! of course, youd be hard pressed to find something nature related he DOESNT like when it doesnt hurt him

he also likes that this new development lets him play with the zora kiddos better, and it also helps encourage the zora to let him babysit more

this is definitely pre teacher era, so he's discovering how much he enjoys being able to help out with kids

he does NOT keep his mer form a secret. he doesn't go out of his way to tell many people outside of you (the first person he told, in fact, and he was SO excited when he did), flora, sidon, and purah

otherwise?? well he wont lie if asked but he isnt going out of his way to tell anyone else

he may deny it, but flora has 100% rubbed off on him in some aspects. besties frfr

in other words, he definitely takes some of his scales and lets them oxidize to see what happens with them

they get super hard, edges sharp

see, he isn't Four, so he doesn't know how he'd ever go about making them into parts of a weapon for you. theyre small, hard to work with

he ends up in rito village messing around with tulin and teba, and tulin's the one who comes up with the idea of making his scales into arrow heads

still, theyre small, so he it takes a while to get enough collected for him to give to teba for him to combine and thus make an actually substantial amount of arrows

wild is giddy when he recieves the full bundle, this has probably been mooonths in the making and he's probably had to do mer stuff FAR more than even he'd like in order to shed this many naturally but! it's worked

he surprises himself when he goes home to you and feels so nervous to give you these

will you think its weird?? what if you never use them?? what if-

he has to force himself inside and to your side in order to pass them over to you

once he explains what they are, he's very taken with the way you get a sweet little smile on your face

(every time he sees you use one, every time he sees an enemy dead with one of his arrows poking out of it? he feels SO happy to know he's able to help you even like that)

outside of THAT large, time consuming portion of his life, he actually finds himself fond of spending time in his mer form

he can sleep in trees, or in plains, or in the middle of.. anywhere, really, whenever he wants, but the water? until this form he wasn't able to do that and he is so abusing it now

he love love loves goading you into cuddling in the water.

he's cuddled with you like.. EVERYWHERE else already, and now he has the perfect excuse to wrap his arms around you and just enjoy your presence in the water

the more skin to skin contact the better, in his opinion

the warmth of your skin innocently against his own, cool water washing over you two

he loves gentle intimacy with you, innocent sweet things.

he likes being able to dig along water beds and sea beds to find little things for you

shells, pebbles, sea glass, anything glittery or that he finds pretty will be brought home to you

he likes seeing you smile about it, and he likes when you do something with his little gifts

as aforementioned, he likes resting in the water, but it becomes even better when you're carding your fingers through his hair, nails scratching his scalp gently

he likes being able to drag you along with him on his little swims, pressing kisses to your lips before splashing you with his tail and laughing

which leads into the aspect of play

he loves being able to, essentially, play in the water with you

he just likes fucking around, and it's even better when he's able to do so with you!

the zora kiddos have taught him a million and one games and he wants to try ALL of them with you, no matter how childish

(as much as he can anyway, theres a lot he can do that you cant courtesy of breathing underwater, but yk)

for a while, he totally starts giving you aquatic flowers of all sorts

once he learns to preserve them?? oh your home is filled with misc. aquatic finds courtesy of wild

NSFW

hahah oh man he hunts down every underwater cave that isnt too deep and has larger caverns of air and drags you to them

the darker atmosphere, the cold water, your skin to his

in mer form, i think there'd be a slight increase in night vision, so he also just really likes how you look under the soft glow of brightcaps pairing with his better vision

he likes licking. i am a strong believer that wild LOVES to taste test his food, and you?? well, you're one of his favorite things to devour, so of COURSE his lips, tongue, and teeth are all over you

as for positions, i think he'd like anything that allows him to go to town devouring you

again, i cannot stress this enough, he really likes however you taste

when it comes to penetrative sex, though, i think he'd be very content to lay there, tail submerged, and just letting you do as you please

he finds great pleasure in taking a break and just chilling while you get the both of you off LMAO

if you're tired, or if you'd prefer not to do all the work, wild will 100% rotate through every possible position he can think of that you consent to

you guys have definitely tried a looott in hylian forms, but now that he's a mer? he really likes seeing how different things affect him when it comes to you

he likes how much more sensitive he is to you and your touch

it really does not take much to drive him up a wall with desire when he's in his mer form

if he isn't prepared, then everytime you touch him he absolutely shivers

his skin is cooler in mer form, and you're so warm, which really helps push along the desire to be buried inside you one way or another

he'll totally beg for you too, especially using that whole "im cold and itd warm me up, pleaseeee?"

he has NO shame

comments on every little thing you do when he's in the mood and somehow makes it sexual or tells you it turns him on

for example... like.. oh, you slipped trying to stand on the shore? suddenly he's thinking that you should slip onto his dick or into his mouth.

he prefers making sure you cum first

if he does so first, he gets really embarrassed and pulls out every stop in the book to try and get you to orgasm without overstimulating you

anyway. as i said before, if hes put in charge, he loves trying out new positions with you, so he'd be VERY down to try a lot of things you want to

you guys ive realized ive devolved from the original method i had of mer hcs where it was essentially a plot outline, my bad </3

sorry if this one has a lot that seems out of nowhere or confusing. again, i unfortunately wrote this very late at night when im lacking a lot of higher thought processes. having said that, lemme know if theres any glaring errors in any of this lolol

[notmorbid]

the story hour.

dialogue prompts from the story hour: a novel by thrity umrigar.

i'm tired of being so far from family.

i don't trust myself to be alone with you.

do you really hate ____ so much?

i'm gonna tell you something, okay? something i should have told you long ago. but i couldn't.

if it's nothing, why are you shaking like a leaf?

is this what burnout feels like?

you're as trapped as i am.

jokes are funny. this is not funny.

you're not wicked. you're just in pain.

you want my story?

my mother always said where there's a will, there's a way.

i don't do well with routine, i guess.

i'm very happy to have reconnected with you.

how would you like to spend the few hours we have left?

maybe everyone is entitled to one harmless fling.

just because you're _____ doesn't mean everyone else is.

love is not coming for me.

i'm scared to go home.

never refuse a gift of food. it's all the poor have.

it's far easier to blame the world than to look at your own self.

nobody wants to take responsibility for their own behavior anymore.

everyone's looking for a scapegoat.

are you making a pass at me?

it's so peaceful to sit here.

when i look at you, do you know what i see?

god listens until he's fed up with you. then he teaches you a lesson.

business is good, i hope?

this is really blurring the lines, you know.

you are my friend. i'm sorry i denied it.

i'm sorry. i just reacted.

is it me, or is it hot in here?

what do you need me to do?

you can't give up now. look how far you've already come.

are you trying to pick a fight with me?

that's it? no explanation?

would you join me for a cup of tea?

you're safe now. nobody will hurt you again.

why are you doing this? what are you getting out of it?

everybody has a hungry heart.

i've loved every moment i've spent with you.

i have to tell you a secret. something bad.

whatever it is, you'll feel better after you tell me.

why are you not saying anything?

i'm tin. you are gold.

you have more money than sense.

i'm old enough to be your ____.

why didn't you just leave?

you cannot run from your kismet.

why now, after all this time?

grace is neither cheap nor free. it has to be earned.

we can't be responsible for other people's reactions to us.

you're sick. i'll make you soup.

i need to see you before i leave.

damn, you're cold.

that's all it takes: a moment's forgetfulness.

if you're not happy, what chance is there for me?

you're so many things to me, but never ordinary.

we are earthbound creatures, no matter how tempting the sky.

can i sit with you for a few minutes?

you've never looked more beautiful?

family has to take you back. that's the whole point of family.

after all these years? just like that?

if i ask you something, will you answer honestly?

you look as far away as the moon.

what do you want from me?

[bloomshroomz]

Aromantic*

(Alternate Title: Shrödinger’s Romantic)

I keep wondering if “aromantic” is really a good word to describe my romantic orientation. I have plenty of reasons for why it is, but also plenty of reasons for why it might not be. Shrödinger’s romantic.

In order to know whether you experience romantic attraction or not, you first have to have a solid definition of what romantic attraction is. A definition which is clear, and also distinct from other forms of emotional attraction. I don’t think such a definition exists, or at least, it’s not commonplace.

“Romantic attraction: attraction that makes people desire romantic contact or interaction with another person or persons.” - UNC Chapel Hill LGBT Center

But what is romantic contact or interaction? Is it contact which is culturally considered romantic? In that case, the ways in which romantic attraction is defined would vary by culture, and even by gender. Or is it contact which one intends to be romantic? That would make sense, but is incredibly subjective. How do you know where to draw the line? What if you haven’t drawn one?

“[Romantic attraction] involves a combination of physical, sexual, and emotional feelings toward someone.” - WebMD

This definition is ridiculously vague, especially for a page which defines multiple other types of attraction in relation to romance. What physical feelings? What sexual feelings? What emotional feelings? What about alloromantic asexual people, or other varioriented people, who don’t necessarily experience sexual feelings as part of their romantic feelings?

But the article also defines aromanticism as “when you don’t have any desire for a romantic relationship,” so I can’t count on it for accuracy regardless.

“Romantic attraction is the internal pull that you experience when you are with someone with whom you internally feel connected, comfortable and interested in spending more of your life with.” - Choosing Therapy

Do people not feel connected to their friends? Do people not feel comfortable with their friends? Are people not interested in spending more of their life with their friends? Why else would people find time to connect with their friends, to confide in them, to engage with them? What about these feelings is distinctly romantic?

The article goes on to say this:

“Romantic relationships are relationships intentionally initiated and maintained for experiencing sexual and romantic feelings together, whereas platonic relationships are usually centered on another purpose like hobbies, friendship, support, work, etc. Romantic relationships can also include these purposes as well, but the platonic relationship excludes the romance and sexual feelings.” - Choosing Therapy

I ask again, what about alloaces and other varioriented people? What about people who have sex with their friends? Even when it’s taboo, it’s not unheard of. The distinction can’t be sex, so it has to be romance. So, what is romance?

Later in the article, it defines romance once again:

“Romantic attraction: The internal pull that draws your attention to the other person’s positive qualities, and your internal reaction to connect, love, share and spend time with them to have more romance.” - Choosing Therapy

I feel like I’m running in circles here. People draw their attention to the positive qualities of not just romantic interests, but to friends, family, and other people with whom they’d have no romantic interest. Connection, love, and spent time are not exclusive to romance either. If the goal is to have more romance… What is that?

Every answer I find fails to say what romance is on its own. The definitions always rely on presence or absence of sex, or other things which can just as easily be present in platonic or otherwise non-romantic contexts. Romantic attraction is consistently defined by things which are not distinctly romantic.

Is it even a real thing? I mean, I feel like it’s clearly not, but it’s also clearly very real to most people. Most people don’t think about it this hard. It’s like they were given a manual that I can never possess. It comes naturally to them. They feel romantic attraction, and they know, intuitively, that that’s what it is.

Is my lack of intuition evidence that I don’t experience romantic attraction, or am I just autistic? Maybe it’s both. When I described to my aunts my emotional attraction, they described my way of experiencing and perceiving attraction as very “intellectual,” which I initially rejected. But I think they were right. I lack the intuition to understand my feelings in any way that doesn’t involve a literal or metaphorical chart. It’s something I can’t just feel and then know like other people do.

Is romantic attraction always a “you’ll know it when you feel it” sort of thing? It seems like it. Even when I search “romantic attraction” on Google, many results either come from queer Fandom Wiki pages, discussions amongst a-spec people, Reddit, or Quora. Some results aren’t even relevant to the question, including multiple results which just describe what “aromantic” means. The opposite of what I intended to search for.

The thing is, I do have feelings which would likely be perceived as romantic to most people. I have a deep desire for commitment and companionship. To touch and be touched. To love and be loved. To be emotionally and physically intimate with other people. To feel the warmth of other people as we lay in bed together. To live out our mundane lives together. Things that most people would find incredibly romantic.

But are these things romantic if I don’t explicitly intend for them to be? Is it romantic for me to be open to it being romantic, without actively wanting that?

When I’ve described my feelings online, I’ve gotten mixed responses from other people, but I’ve generally been given similar advice from different strangers, and similar labels thrown at me, even when I hadn’t asked for advice or labels.

“I think you’d enjoy a queerplatonic relationship.”

“You might be cupioromantic.”

“You might be bellusromantic.”

And I can understand where they’re coming from. I don’t think they’re entirely wrong, either. I would enjoy a queerplatonic relationship… But not for any reason that wouldn’t apply to other committed relationship types. Queerplatonic relationships, platonic relationships, romantic relationships, and whatever else there is are the same to me in all but label.

Cupioromanticism is something I have considered. I made the flag for it when I was 15 years old as well (yes, the peach one with five stripes; I always asked to be credited anonymously), so I’m biased towards liking the flag. But the definition is “being aromantic, and also wanting a romantic relationship.”

I don’t specifically want a romantic relationship, but I do want committed relationships in general, and romantic relationships are included in that. So, maybe?

Bellusromantic is something I have also considered, and it also has a pretty flag. But I think it’s less accurate than cupioromantic. The definition is “being aromantic, and enjoying traditionally romantic things, but not wanting a romantic relationship (or not wanting a committed relationship, depending on the definition used).”

I do enjoy traditionally romantic things in a way which is not explicitly romantic, and I don’t explicitly want a romantic relationship. But I’m not opposed to romantic relationships, and I do explicitly want committed relationships.

I took some aro-spec tests, and my results had a tendency to skew towards cupioromantic, bellusromantic, and quoiromantic. Quoiromantic is another orientation which I have considered, and it might be the most accurate.

Quoiromantic is also aptly known as “whatromantic” or “WTFromantic” because the defining trait is that romantic attraction as a concept doesn’t make sense to you.

“[Quoiromantic], also known as [whatromantic] or [WTFromantic], is a [romantic] orientation defined by confusion, vagueness, and/or obscurity. A [quoiromantic] person may not understand or relate to the concepts of [romantic] attraction and/or [romantic] orientation. [Quoiromanticism] may involve confusion related to what [romance] is, whether or not one experiences [romantic attraction], and how to differentiate it from other forms of attraction. [Quoiromanticism] can also feel blurry and unclear, and may center around general confusion around one's identity and attraction. It can also refer to a lack of identification with [romantic] orientation as a concept, and can additionally serve as a label for people who cannot fit into more specific identities. [Quoiromanticism] can also refer to when one does not experience [romantic] attraction in a "traditional" manner. It is sometimes used as a catch-all term for people who know they're somewhere on the [aromantic] spectrum, but aren't sure where.” - An LGBTQIA+ Wiki (originally about quoisexuality; I changed some words.)

In a similar vein, pomoromantic (“pomo” being literally taken from “postmodern”) would also fit. My romantic orientation exists from a post-romantic perspective, where romance is understood to be made up bogus which isn’t actually fundamentally different from any other form of emotional connection.

“[Pomoromanticism] is defined as refusing, avoiding, or not fitting any [romantic] orientation label in terms of conventional labels or classifications, such as gay, lesbian, [biromantic], or [aromantic]. It challenges categorizations in favor of largely unmapped possibility and the intense charge that comes with transgression. Some [pomoromantic] people may be queer or questioning, and others may not be.” - Another LGBTQIA+ Wiki (originally about pomosexuality; I changed some words.)

But at that point, is it even worth labeling my romantic orientation? Should I just be bisexual/omnisexual? Maybe with a little asterisk at the end? Does any of this matter? Am I thinking too much? (I am.)

I think that continuing to identify as aromantic will probably close me off to potential relationships. I feel like the word gives people the wrong idea. At the same time, the way that I think about romance is fundamentally different than the way other people tend to, and I do consider my aromanticism to be a notable part of who I am and how I experience the world. Maybe I should just send this to whoever ends up being a potential partner. Probably more useful than any label.

[t-u-i-t-c]

Taiya is a very closed off person who has a lot of trouble expressing his feelings. It's as if he can express basic emotions, but falters when his feelings cannot simply be conveyed through standard expressions, like a smile or a frown. It's what causes him to mess up, as we saw in the Madrex episodes. It's as if he's just never had to express himself as an individual so much, and has always just presented as an average guy, but doesn't really know how to put everything he feels into words. He's just not at the level of grand gestures to show his care and needs time to work his way through how he wants to express his feelings outwardly. We know he's known Bundorio for a while and Bundorio considers Taiya his best friend, but Taiya still has difficulty with physical affection and praising Bundorio. We also know he really is thankful for his team, as he says thank you to them to himself after Madrex's defeat, but he's not ready to say it directly. Then when Genba leaves he doesn't stop him bc he understands that his rage is fueling him and that leaving or staying is Genba's decision to make, but he can't let go at the same time. It's a development when Taiya tells Genba to keep his Change Axe. It's allowing him to stay tethered to Genba, even if Genba never intends to return. It's a gesture of care that seems so small in the moment, but for a guy who struggles with giving thanks and affection, it means the world. Allowing himself to recognize their significant bond means so much to his character, to his relationships, and to who he will become.

I often think about it as Taiya adjusting. He's adjusting to being a part of a group and he's adjusting to having friends that he can be open with. Taiya is friendly and does generally talk with people quite easily, but it's not the same thing as having close friends. Taiya is closed off to the team initially, even if he encourages the members to join, as he still feels like being more upfront about personal things is difficult. Thanking them and being upfront about his own distress is not easy for him. He has to be the cool one who knows what to do and he can't let himself slip.

I find it very interesting to watch as he's called out for not thinking of his team on a more personal level as he tends to disconnect. He can't ask for help, he doesn't know how to at that time. He knows how to reach out on a basic level, but having others reach for him is so foreign to him then. He knows how to guide but he doesn't know how to be honest and open. He can't be personal beyond a certain point, bc it's not something he's used to. He doesn't mean to come off as uncaring, but he's never really had people that he can open up to and he doesn't know how navigate. It's why, when he's faced with a bit too much pressure, he closes himself off and tries to avoid the issue, but it's not enough, he knows the issue will eventually come back around. He needs his team to question him, to call him out, to challenge him, and to care. He needs to know that he can stumble and that he can let other people guide him. There's been so many instances in which Taiya is thrown off by his team, and it's pushing him to rethink his actions and how he'll proceed. It's a big adjustment and it's taking time, but he knows that his life has become a little brighter with the others in it.