#which was a bit ??? bc it's not really in my rotation now

[knockknockitsnickels]

Something which I think is kind of under-discussed regarding the Princess is how lonely she is, esp in contrast to you (the player). From the start of the game, you're never alone. You've got the Narrator - despite how questionable his company is - and the Voice of the Hero, then slowly all of your other voices. She doesn't have that. We see in Princess and the Dragon, every time a new loop starts she's completely alone with only the thought that this is what she deserves. You're the only thing she has.

Shifty asks "Why wouldn't I be kind to you? You're the only thing I know which isn't me." And we see in the game - with some exceptions, like the Witch - the Princess' goal come chapter 2 is always to have your company. Sometimes it's to subjugate you, like the Tower, and sometimes it's for help escaping, but she's almost always seeking your companionship in some way.

But you've got your voices, and the Narrator. You never really needed her, did you? I'm thinking about PATD again, where you can spend the whole chapter bonding with her only to immediately turn on her the second you get your body back ("Good to be back, boys"). In the final cabin at the end of the game, the Heart Princess can mention the whole conflict boils down to whether Shifty (and by extension, the Princess herself) "should" get to exist. If you kill the Heart Princess, you've still got your voices. There's no ending where she lives on alone. I don't think she'd even WANT an ending like that.

She just makes me very sad. You're the only thing she knows, and in some routes you're just. Relentlessly cruel to her.

[lunarharp]

played dragon age 2...just simple scribbles

[fathomlessgaze]

bring your child to work day: zayne and his daughter spend a day at the hospital

fluff, dad!zayne/reader (a little bit), ~2.2k

warnings: reader only makes a small appearance it's mostly about zayne + his daughter spending quality time together tbh, allusions to zayne + mc's lore (no specific memory idt just the overarching theme of their story), zayne is a devoted girl dad bc i believe in girldad!zayne...

a/n: mc/reader + zaynes daughter is named zenith here bc i liked the idea of them sharing an initial 😭 meaning the highest point/the point right above you in the sky bc i think thats what she would be for zayne+mc like one of the best moments of their lifetimes :( anyway it's mentioned in the fic but shes the spitting image of zayne thats his mini-me fr

“good morning,” zayne says, passing by the nurses’ station without much fuss. it’s an ordinary wednesday, after all.  

“morning,” greyson echoes with a curt nod, his eyes still focused on the files he’s reviewing from an overnight patient. 

“mornin’!” a third voice calls happily. 

greyson freezes, his papers falling unceremoniously on the floor. “huh!?” he exclaims, a little too loud for a hospital corridor. 

however the chief pays his outburst no mind, and he suddenly sees why, greyson’s gaze finding the little girl perched on his boss’ hip. of course, he remembers, it’s “bring your child to work” day. but for some reason, he never thought that zayne would actually bring his child to work. perhaps that explains why he’d made sure no surgeries were scheduled for this day weeks ago. 

zayne strokes her dark hair, brushing a loose strand from her pigtails behind her ear. “this is dr. greyson,” he speaks softly, pointing in his direction. “dr. greyson, meet zenith.” 

“nice to meet you!” she exclaims, waving a chubby hand in the air, paying no mind to his wide eyes and slack jaw. 

she can’t be over four judging from her height, and, of course, greyson knew zayne had a daughter, but he didn’t really know. he remembers you mentioning her at your appointments, the photos on his desk and, of course, zayne’s paid time off actually being used at personal all time highs (which had already been on the incline after you moved in and then got married) since a few years ago, but it still feels surreal to actually see him with his child. 

if she has any opinion on greyson’s lack of response besides the cartoon birds that would appear around his head if they were in an animated tv show, she gives no hint. instead, she smiles brightly, her green eyes sparkling as she takes zayne’s glasses off his face and fists the lenses, trying to rotate them in her tiny hands and fit them on her own face. 

somehow, with the much too large frames perched on her nose, she looks even more like her father. everything, from her dark hair tied with ribbons to her hazel eyes, the curve of her brow and little nose, she is her father’s daughter to a t. perhaps the only un-zayne-like thing about her is the permanent cheeriness in her gaze and her gummy smile. that she must’ve gotten from you. while greyson has definitely noticed how his boss has become a little less taciturn and stern over the years, he would be lying to himself if he said he ever thought zayne would become even a miniscule fraction as bubbly as the daughter he holds close right now.

“i didn’t know you were bringing your daughter in today!” greyson exclaims, the realizations of today finally settling and coming together in his mind.

there’s a fondness in his eyes as he glances to zenith, his lips quirking the slightest bit upwards. “she’s been asking for weeks to come with me; i figured now would be the best time with the other kids here. i know you’ve seen the schedule for today, but—”

“oh my god!” yvonne gasps, speeding towards the trio gathered. “you brought your daughter, dr. zayne!” she extends her hand to the girl, which she happily takes. “i’m yvonne, i work with your dad.” 

“i’m zenif,” she babbles, her syllables getting caught on her missing tooth. 

simultaneously both greyson and yvonne coo at the little girl. 

“aren’t you the cutest thing? i’ve seen so many pictures of you but you’re just the dearest little one, hm?” 

and word of mouth travels fast, because, soon enough, a whole crowd has come to fuss over the most adorable little girl who looks exactly like the aloof department chair and has the sweetest smile. she graciously accepts their compliments with quiet ‘thank you's' and hides her face in her father’s neck and shoulder, causing even more ‘aww’s to fall from his colleagues’ lips. when the attention dies down, zayne finally gets to his office, nearly an hour later than he usually would have by now, but he can’t even be annoyed. his little girl is the most precious; of course, he would react in the same way. 

he shuts the door behind them and puts his bag down by his desk, moving zenith so she has a place on his lap when he sits down. “what would you like to do today, hm?” he asks, booting up his computer and finding a pile of files from the depths of a drawer. 

“what do you do?” she asks.

he hums. “well sometimes i see patients who don’t feel well, sometimes i do surgeries on them so they feel better, and sometimes i have to do paperwork. i don’t have any patients or surgeries scheduled today, so we can do whatever you want; how does that sound?”

“what about paperwork?” she exclaims. “you said that’s what you do?” 

“would you like to do paperwork with me?” 

she nods firmly. “i wanna spend time with daddy!” 

his heart softens, his already abnormally warm (at least for work standards) gaze growing even more endeared by his precious, favorite little girl. “you want to spend time with me?” 

her head bobs and she wraps her arms around his neck, resting her cheek on his shoulder. “of course! i love you, daddy.”

pressing a kiss to her cheek, he can’t help a smile. of course he knows she loves him, loves spending time with him. when he’s home she’s practically glued to his hip. and he tries his best to make sure she knows the same. but sometimes it’s just nice to hear it from someone you love. “and i love you, princess.” 

it used to be a foreign expression on his tongue many, many years ago, before you’d returned to his life, and especially before she came into his life. but as time flew by, thanks to you and your help, he’d grown familiar, comfortable, fond with it. while he knew you didn’t mind him not saying that as much as other boyfriends and husbands might from all your conversations, knowing he expressed how much he loved you and then some through other ways, he knew she might not have understood just how her father expressed his feelings and fondness at her young age. 

so beyond his quiet actions, he makes sure to tell her. whether it’s a post-it note in her lunchbox, right next to the heart-shaped sandwich with the crusts cut off, just how she likes it, whenever it’s his turn to make her lunch, or a birthday card she’ll know how to read one day, he tries to tell her through words too. ‘i love you’ went from an expression he seldom said or heard, to one he couldn’t get enough of, whether it be from your lips or hers, and one he always wanted you both to know. 

“let’s see what kind of paperwork we can find for you, then.” coincidentally a knock sounds from the other side of the door. “come in.” 

“they brought some donuts and coloring pages out in the lobby,” yvonne says, popping her head in. “i figured you’d both be interested.” 

“thank you, yvonne.” when the door shuts, zayne leans back to look at his daughter, brushing her hair. “what do you think about that? do you want to take a look?” with her eager nods, zayne stands.

“i wanna walk,” she pouts, tugging on his once crisp button-up, and he puts her down accordingly, taking her small fingers in his. 

they make their way hand in hand down the corridor, drawing even more endeared coos from the staff until they reach the table. kneeling down to her height, he points at a smaller kids table in the corner.

“how about you get some coloring sheets and crayons? i can get you a donut and we can head back and do some paperwork,” he explains.  

she happily obliges, skipping over and inspecting the books with a familiar seriousness (which also makes the other staff coddle her just as much as her bright smiles. “aren’t you so precious!?” “she’s just like her father!” zayne can’t help the small quirk of his lips when he hears how cute they find his daughter, because she is, speaking from his personal experience.). meanwhile he grabs a strawberry donut with sprinkles and a chocolate one, both her favorites, placing them on a napkin and grabbing a few extra knowing how she takes after you in terms of her messiness. 

meeting her in the corner, he bends down, taking a quick look at the drawings she’s taken. “find anything you like?” he asks.

raising her pages to his eyes, she beams. “they have the bears!” 

he smiles softly, tucking her loose hair away. “yes, they do,” he hums. “who knew?” 

it totally wasn’t like he’d ordered specific character coloring books when it was time for the cardiology department to refill their kids’ activity section. it totally wasn’t like he’d looked for some ones he knew his daughter would love. it wasn’t like that at all; zayne maintains he’s as impassive and serious at work as ever…he’s lying to himself.

when she gathers her crayons, the duo make their way back to his office. the day flies quickly by, her babbles and light, curious questions bringing a new level of comfort and joy zayne never thought he’d get from his job. he loves what he does, of course, but everything just seems more enjoyable and memorable with his daughter by his side. or rather, with her on his lap, in her own little world of just her and her beloved dad, oblivious to the seriousness of the paperwork her father is dealing with as she busies herself with her own “paperwork” and scribbles vibrant colors all over the once black and white image.

and zayne thinks he would be perfectly content if it were to stay like this forever. even with all his prizes and awards, nothing could compare to the reward and title of being your husband and zenith’s father. 

he lowers his pen to the desk from his fingers, using his free hand to rest his head as he admires the precious life before him. “i love you, princess,” he murmurs, pinching her cheek. 

“i love you too, daddy!” she turns to face him, crumbs of donut glaze still around her lips. 

he takes a napkin and dabs at her face before checking his watch. you’d said you’d meet them around now… “how about we get lunch soon?” 

right on time, a knock sounds from the door, which opens to reveal you. “how are my favorite doctors doing?” you exclaim. 

“mama!” she cheers, hopping off zayne’s knee and running into your waiting embrace. 

kissing her head, you give her a squeeze. “how’s work with dada going?” 

“i love it here! daddy colors and eats dessert all day,” she cheers. 

glancing to your husband, you chuckle. “is that so?” 

he makes his way towards you both, giving you a peck as you stand, your daughter now on your hip. “something like that,” he mumbles. 

“then maybe i should become a doctor too,” you tease. “is now a good time for lunch?” 

he nods, opening the office door once more and allowing you to pass first. 

“i wanna become a doc-tor, too,” zenith ponders, suddenly serious with her small fingers tapping at her chin as she thinks, a habit no doubt from her father. “then daddy and i can color and eat snacks together forever!” 

“is that so?” you ask, but you can’t help the smile you shoot at your husband. 

she bobs her head, a determined furrow in her brow. “i wanna be with mama and daddy forever.” 

zayne has a warm fondness in his gaze as his eyes find his daughter. she looks up to him with wide eyes and her gummy grin, reaching her small hand out for his own, which he happily obliges. her tiny fist wraps around two of fingers, and he briefly wishes that she could stay his little girl for eternity. she doesn’t need to know how hard her dad’s job actually is, how much work he had to put in to get to where they are now, the sorrows of her parents’ past. she is a precious gem, the shining peak of all your shared lifetimes. 

this one existence, finally at peace, a happy ending for you and him, domestic bliss with the two, now three, of you, he thinks it’s worth every tear that’s been shed before. and maybe in another universe and lifetime, the you’ll get another happy ending. he thinks that even if it’s a simple life, as long as it’s with the two of you, it’d be one he cherishes and treasures close to every fiber of his existence, one he would fight all there may be to remember, for no god could tear his devotion. maybe he’d even bet every splintering past life that led to this one was worth the years he’s gotten to spend with you in this one, and the years still to come. so he hopes she stays as optimistic and bright as ever, that you stay by his side in this heavenly life he could only once dream of. after all, ice is made of crystals.

[linddzz]

Sat here and combed through all your jayvik analysis posts giggling and kicking my feet but PLEASE tell me more about the whole dom/sub thing, especially the whole “they have absolutely not discussed that this is the dynamic, it just happens and neither of them acknowledge it” because that is genuinely so interesting. Like I could already tell Viktor had hella ‘quiet calm collected dom’ vibes especially compared to jayce’s ‘excited protective puppy who would FOLD at being called a good boy’ energy…

But the whole bit on the bridge where Viktor smacks his hand away without even looking? And Jayce EARNS BACK TOUCHING PRIVELEGES? Fucking scrumptious please tell me more.

god i need to get to writing my fic bc I feel like "talk more about it" would be solved just by me dropping the link This ended up being TOO LONG so I split it between me going feral about that bridge scene and then me going feral at other moments of nonverbal communication that I use to feed my Dom/sub "oh you two are just LIKE THAT" interpretation. So. here's part one

That bridge scene tho...im so normal about it

hhhggg god that bridge scene is one that I rotate in my brain so much because it is such a small moment that makes so much of their dynamic click. For me, specifically, it clicks the "submissive like a guard dog is submissive" dynamic, where Jayce is, on a surface level, the stronger and more forceful of the two while Viktor is the one actually holding the leash (until he's too tired to because he's dying, and I only half joke when I say that their issues at the end of season 1 are because Jayce is suddenly the equivalent of a dog holding it's own leash and getting stressed out about it.

Jayce's touching before the bridge come across as pretty overbearing honestly. He's holding his hand out to keep Viktor from speaking out...

Heck, while the still screenshot doesn't show it too well, Jayce slings an arm around Viktor with enough force that it knocks Viktor off balance for a second and shoves him forward a little.

Viktor got dragged to the hexgate when Jayce is looking into shipping discrepancies happening there, even though it obviously doesn't involve him and he does NOT want to be there.

(In hindsight this is a hilarious bit of showing that it did not occur to either of them that there's no goddamn reason for Viktor to be here. This is council business, Jayce outright says "I'm a councilor now Viktor" which does not answer why tf Viktor needs to be there. these twits just handle all problems as a unit lmao. The tragic flip is that this is could then be a breaking moment when Viktor goes back to the lab, realizing that him and Jayce are not, in actuality, a single unit anymore. because Jayce got a second job that is not Lab With Viktor oh my god you codependent dweebs)

Up until that point it would be really easy to see Jayce as being presumptive and unintentionally overpowering Viktor in personality. Heck, it's what I thought the dynamic was as I was watching Season 1, though even as I thought that it seemed somehow...not quite correct.

And then the bridge scene.

Even before the hand-smack, there's a flip on the reading up to this point that Jayce has been accidentally bowling over Viktor by force of personality/physicality. Jayce comes in hot, upset, angrily standing over Viktor and chewing him out, and Viktor is just like "....and??"

Viktor is calm if baffled and annoyed at Jayce's frustration (also; Viktor just rolling his eyes and shaking his head at the actual riot happening a few yards away? hilarious. i love him.) His almost nonchalantly confused tone when he asks "what difference does that make?" always gets me. the entire back and forth says, to me anyway, that Jayce may be more brash and socially competent, but he's not overpowering Viktor at all, actually.

Viktor is going to do whatever the fuck Viktor wants.

This is immediately made clear by the much beloved hand smack. Viktor doesn't even look up, and his smack shows that he is perfectly capable of setting a hard boundary on Jayce's touching, and that Jayce will IMMEDIATELY fold and apologize when that boundary is set. That smack makes it suddenly clear that when Jayce goes for the shoulder touch right after apologizing, Viktor consciously allows it.

idk WHY but I also love this little tiniest moment when Jayce is going for the second touch. Viktor glances back as Jayce approaches him (looking like a cat with its ears pinned back lmao), then looks away as he accepts the second touch and they move on. It's such a tiny detail of showing Viktor, who is still pretty pissed at Jayce, seeing the touch as it comes in and then deciding to let it happen. im rotating them in my mind. please send help

In my framing of them being a guard dog/handler dynamic, the bridge scene is us seeing a moment of the leash getting a sudden sharp tug to bring the guard dog to heel. It resets all the earlier instances as being ones that Viktor allows to happen, because he doesn't see a need to correct it.

fuck man this doesn't even get into the bridge scene as a major crack between them as the moment Viktor loses his trust that Jayce will understand his decision. i am unwell

[bigfatbreak]

more mlp au dumps

3 am palette cleanser. tis the season

additional fun for my dorky ass twibra au... twilight's friends mimic the elements of harmony in a way that reflects the magic of their pony selves (bc I said so lmao) and it's what brings her back from the brink after principal cinch grenade tosses her little magical collector in her face and blasts her with equestrian magic

details:

Chrysalis represents generosity specifically because of how she's selfish on behalf of her friends. she's absolutely willing to dupe other people and manipulate them if she thinks it'll help out anyone in the squad, even if the fallout could be cataclysmic. This has led to a really bad reputation following her around, and though its not really unprecedented, her friends still keep her around as she means well. It's a bit hard training her out of fawning over other people to try and make them stay, but she just wants everyone well-fed and happy.

Stygian has the loyalty blessing because he's the real ride or die. He would rather physically staple himself to his friends than possibly lose them, especially since he was subject to losing a friend group in the past which left him deserted at a really bad time. Meeting Tempest around that time was the only thing that kept him going, and now he's fiercely protective of his new friend group.

Spike is laughter because I love him. puppy power

Tempest gets honesty because she's extremely blunt, even though sometimes its to the point of insulting, she genuinely just wants communication to be established at any cost. Her straightforward attitude is very effective at stopping Chryssie's schemes and keeping Stygian grounded, and she doesn't mind being an anchor for the team, especially since she used to be team captain on her volleyball team before she lost her arm. The sense of "these people need me" helps anchor her as much as it anchors them.

Sombra can be exceedingly kind, showering people in gifts and lavish trips, assisting them in whatever programs they're in, and he's more than willing to put the effort in and sacrifice things of his own if it means his friends will benefit from it - but it stops there. His kindness is wonderful only to those in his close circle, and most importantly, to Twilight.

though their dynamic sometimes isn't the healthiest, they're all recovering from friendship issues of their own - some done to them, some because of what THEY did to others - and Twilight's the precious sun they seem to rotate around, as being a shut-in only focusing on her studies has given her zero inclination to have any sort of preconceived notions of other people. For friends with a bad past they're trying to work through, its incredibly refreshing, and they would rather die than lose her.

even more additional details:

Sombra collects pretty minerals, and wears a lot of jewelry as a result. He often compares Twilight to precious stones and seems smug about dating her.

Tempest and Stygian are room mates, but they're not dating, sharing a purely platonic relationship. (Stygian is gay and Tempest is a lesbian. they're each other's beards, basically)

Chryssie lives in an apartment Sombra pays the rent to, but only under the agreement that she stop dating people just to raid their houses. It's worked so far, at least according to CCTV footage

once the magic Twilight absorbed disperses into the team, giving them magic, Spike gets dragon attributes along with being able to talk. This means sometimes he eats Sombra's fancy gemstones and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it because if he yells at his gf's dog/little brother he'll get smacked. Sombra is in hell but everyone else loves it

[toringo]

i’m OBSESSED with your anti tulpar comics, i’ve been rotating them in my mind nonstop for the past few days! how do you think a!curly feels about a!jimmy?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

You have no idea how happy it makes me to know, that people really enjoy those. I know it's not even my au, but I've been genuinely hyperfixating on it for some time now, and making up my own lore (obviously the creator doesn't mind, they said it's all up to interpretation).

My take on A!Curly's opinion of A!Jimmy and some A!Curly background and hcs:

He thinks Jimmy is weak, pathetic, and simply put a loser. He's annoying, easy to push around, and doesn't put up too much of a fight, which is good, because - hot take - A!Curly is just as much of a pushover as the canon one.

He puts on a mean face and abuses his power to put down the others, to make himself feel better (feel important and in control), but if someone shows that they can snap back he loses the fight quite easily.

He's a people pleaser, the top student with no personal life kind. It's just that he's looking for approval as a 'tough leader' now. You know, the epitome of masculinity with nerves of steel and 0 sensitivity.

People usually need 10 years of experience to become a captain, he got the title in half that time, unlike canon!Curly (If someone asks how it was totally natural and due to his stellar performance! Don't question it too much!)

He doesn't have anything much going on back on Earth, also unlike canon Curly. He distances himself from his family (never truly satisfied with his achievements) and has no close friends. He sees no point in making any now that he spends most of his time in space. Doesn't really believe in love, either.

He didn't pass the psych eval twice in a row and is on Pony Express approved (questionable) antidepressants/mood stabilizers. Still fit to fly!

With all that being said; he considers Jimmy an easy target and abuses him primarily because of that. He can't stand this weakling stumbling around all pathetic and apologetic, while he has to work so hard to keep up his reputation.

It pisses him off that some guy just… doesn't care that others see him like this. Curly would care, it would break him if anyone thought of him like they do of Jimmy! So it's annoying that this janitor doesn't even try.

A perfect excuse to make himself feel bigger, too; it's not like he's a bad guy. This loser needs to learn, after all, that people like him don't survive in a place like this.

It gets worse when he starts realizing, that Jimmy is putting up a front and is actually way more cunning and capable than people think. Makes him feel on edge, paranoid. Like Jimmy is there to make him spiral; like he was sent by his higher-ups to check on him.

Then he finds out Jimmy is actually an emergency pilot (not on any papers Curly had access to). Yeah, he hates his guts.

When they enter their 'relationship' (it's mostly very humiliating hate sex ngl), Curly gets to know him a bit better. He still resents him, even more knowing that Jimmy can be a cold and cruel man under the mask of submissiveness. And even more, when Jimmy shows just how little respect he has for his captain.

But it's… a relief, having someone know how you really are, seeing your 'worst self'. He kind of feels like with every small thing he reveals to Jimmy, he gives up a bit more of control and gives him more ammunition, but well. Bitches be lonely.

So they have this weird thing going on, where Curly abuses Jimmy in front of the crew and during work hours, to unwind and reassure himself about his position and vent the abuse he experiences from HIS higher-ups, and Jimmy abuses him in private (for many, many reasons. Also bc he's sadistic).

They both think that if they hurt the other enough, he will stop hurting them. They're wrong. Although Curly gives up more easily, and Jimmy goes overboard quite a lot (as he has nothing to lose, is an obsessive weirdo, and was keeping his mouth shut about what Curly was doing for so long that at this point all the years of hatred are spilling out. He also has a personal vendetta against Curly, because he admired him and wanted to befriend him before he became a captain (and had any power over him) and Curly just started treating him like trash soon after getting the title).

YEAH sorry I will talk more about it later, sorry for being chaotic - they're just awful and disgusting and need to be put on some kind of meds (Curly's pills don't count)

[matchamilkislover]

White Horse, 1. (a.a.)

pairing: knight!abby x princess!reader

cw: fantasy!au, fem!reader, eventual displays of fighting and violence bc it’s fantasy, kind of slow burn?, tension, reader has an attitude, tall af!abby bc size difference, royalty!au, mentions of arranged marriages, some mentions of au politics, abby in armor is a warning in itself

synopsis: you are the youngest princess of the royal family that rules over your kingdom, Aphrynia. now a young adult, you’ve come of age in a tense time, and your personal protection is of utmost importance — which is why the resignation of your previous personal knight means a rushed reassignment ceremony with little to no preface. That being said, why does the name of your new knight sound so familiar?

word count: 2.8k

a/n: this is gonna be so trope-heavy and romantic and cheesy and i don’t even care i’ve been giggling and kicking my feet this whole time

⊹ ⋆｡˚ ————————— 𓆩♡𓆪 —————————⊹ ⋆｡˚

“Princess, you really do need to get up.”

You groaned, rolling over in your excessively comfortable bed as your lady’s maid, Nina, started forcefully pulling the many blankets you had covering you off. Your proper mind knew that she was right, that you needed to get ready, but the pounding in your head begged otherwise; and right now, the pounding side was winning. You tried to sit up and open your eyes, but the bright sunlight instantly blinded you, causing you to groan and fall back again. Nina sighed.

“Either you get up, or I’m calling George and he can drag you out himself.”

That made you sit up. You’d had enough of your second eldest brother ripping you out of bed throughout your childhood to last a lifetime. Your legs already felt a phantom soreness at just the thought.

“Okay, okay, I surrender, I’m up…” you grumbled, swinging your legs over the edge of the mattress and tenderly standing on the cold floor. Nina rolled her eyes as she started gathering materials for you to bathe.

“I told you to ease up on the wine last night,” she scolded as you started shedding your nightclothes and trudged to your washroom.

You rolled your eyes in response and yawned. “Don’t judge me! You would let loose a little too if you knew it was your last night before getting assigned another overbearing knight,” you replied dramatically. These were the times that you both loved and resented that you and Nina had known each other since childhood; sometimes she knew you a little too well. Nina just chuckled and followed you.

A while later, you were clean and dry. And cold. You shivered as Nina helped you slip layer after layer of your intricate clothing on your body. “Why is it so frigid in here this morning? I can literally hear the fire going,” you whined as another shiver made your arms shake. Nina shrugged as she picked up another layer.

“The mornings have been getting colder lately,” Nina remarked thoughtfully. “Perhaps an off the shoulder dress wasn’t the best decision the seamstress could’ve made for today’s gown.” She grimaced as she eyed the off the shoulder masterpiece waiting to be adorned.

Your pout spoke for you. Even so, you had to admit the gown was rather lovely. The gauzy pink seemed to shimmer in the light, and you couldn’t help but stare at it in the mirror once you had finally put it on. Nina, however, still anxiously watched the time and rushed to finish getting you ready.

For whatever reason, one you weren’t exactly keen on understanding, being assigned a personal knight was something of a ceremony in the royal family, and was therefore to be treated as such. And ever since your former knight, Mattheo, had resigned not even a fortnight ago to wed and begin a life outside of his knighthood, you had been assigned a rotation of lower knights while a replacement was decided on. While you couldn’t blame Mattheo for wanting to have a different life and a family, you couldn’t help but resent his leaving just a little bit; he had been your personal knight since you were young, and you had grown to trust him like an uncle or a father. Whatever young, overconfident knight you would be assigned now would not be nearly as tolerable, of that you were certain.

Nina’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts and reawakened the pounding in your head. “Princess? Princess, we’ve got to go,” she harped, placing a guiding hand on your back. “Wouldn’t want to keep everyone waiting.” You nodded in agreement and started walking, trying your best to hide the grimace pulling at your face.

You could barely keep up with Nina’s quick steps as you navigated the corridors of the palace, your shoes clicking on the polished stone floors. “Nina,” you muttered through panting breaths, “You know you can slow down a little bit, right? It really isn’t that serious,” you pointed out. Nina shook her head.

“Sorry, princess, but I’m under strict orders to get you there on time. Promised the queen,” she replied with a wink sent your way. Your mouth gaped while your brows furrowed.

“Seriously? For a knight assignment? The fuck…” you muttered back, still grumpy from your hangover and unending headache. Nina clicked her tongue at you in disapproval.

“Princess! Language!” she scolded, holding back a giggle and not quite managing to suppress a tickled smile. You made an amused face in response and you both had to struggle to hold down your laughs as you passed knights and members of the court in the long corridors.

As you finally turned onto the corridor leading to the throne room, Nina cleared her throat to get your attention. “Please try your best not to seem hungover, princess,” she muttered through clenched teeth, “lest the queen come for my head.” You both stifled one last giggle before the doors to the throne room opened, and your arrival was announced to the small crowd standing inside.

You took a steadying breath, blanking your face as you delicately walked forward, desperately hiding your fight not to wobble in these godforsaken shoes. You kept your gaze steady on the front of the room, not wanting to risk an offhand glance at the crowd interrupting your focus.

You breathed a quiet sigh of relief when you reached the front and stood in place amongst your siblings, ignoring George’s knowing smirk and Elyssa’s disapproving look. Like always, your eldest brother, Philip, stayed as stone-faced as ever, and Henry, the fourth sibling, gave his best attempt at matching Philip’s ever-serious mood. Although he was closest to you in age, only being 18 months older, the two of you couldn’t be more different. He never seemed to possess the itch for mischief and adventure that you did, and instead followed your eldest brother like a puppy and tried to copy his every trait. You suppressed the urge to roll your eyes and turned towards the rest of the room.

Glancing at you to acknowledge your arrival, your parents rose as one, and your mother’s voice rang out in the spacious throne room. “Welcome, esteemed guests and friends, as we conduct our youngest daughter’s knight reassignment ceremony on this lovely morning. As many of us know, our youngest has quite the…lively spirit, and as she reaches marrying age, we’ve found it impertinent that we find a unique knight to ensure her safety amidst the happenings of that lively spirit.” A soft chuckle carried through the room, and you had to suppress another eye roll as your mother – the “ever-esteemed�� queen – basically called you a burden who needed watching. Great. Exactly what you needed this morning.

Your mother continued her speech. “While the knight we’ve chosen for her assignment may not have the age to match her rank, her experience and accomplishments make her quite the perfect match to guard our lovely daughter. Thus, Knight Anderson, will you please approach?”

Your mind came to a sudden stop. ‘Her’? Your new knight was to be a female knight? Well that certainly makes things more interesting. And her name…Anderson. It sounded oddly familiar, but you couldn’t put your finger on it. A young female knight, a respected, high-ranking one at that, was to be Mattheo’s replacement? Certainly she wouldn’t be quite as easy to slip past. But you had gotten creative over the years…

Your racing thoughts mixed with your eyes searching the crowd for this ‘Knight Anderson’, but came to a sudden halt when the knight finally stepped through to the front of the crowd, and the sight of her left your mouth hanging ever so slightly ajar. Although it had certainly matured since the last time you saw her, you would recognize that face anywhere.

9 YEARS AGO

Abigail Anderson was going to be the death of you. No matter where you went, she was somehow there, ready to show off and drive you up the fucking wall. Since her father was the royal family’s physician and a childhood friend of your father, and the two of you were so close in age, the two of you had been shoved together since you could read, and you couldn’t resent it more. She never failed to take an opportunity to prove herself against you; whether it was her intelligence in tutoring sessions, or showing off her strength and size outdoors while exploring or riding, if the chance was there, she took it.

You were both twelve, and while you were able to spend more time apart, tutoring and riding lessons were still spent together. You had started spending your free time with the daughters of the court members, while Abby spent her time training for knighthood or whatever it was that motivated her to sweat in a dirty training ground for hours a day. It wasn’t like you paid it too much regard; you were perfectly happy spending tea with your friends that you could actually relate to before retreating to the palace library to spend afternoons reading and exploring different worlds.

On one sunny spring day, Abby had shown up late to your joint riding lesson, and you were already annoyed since George had ruined your favorite riding boots by dropping them in a boiling, soapy wash basin while the maids weren’t looking, only for them to be found hours later and sorrowfully returned to your chambers. The twat. So when she came jogging up to the stables, your glare was already set upon her, and she preemptively rolled her eyes.

“I know, I know, training went over,” she retorted to your glare in an annoyed voice, raising her hands apologetically at your instructor.

You continued glaring as she saddled her horse and mounted the steed, flipping her braid behind her shoulder. Sensing the tension and not wanting to be a part of it, the instructor casually instructed the two of you to take a simple ride through the naturalistic grounds surrounding the palace during your normal lesson time. You nodded curtly and took off in a simple trot, Abby quickly following and settling into a matching trot beside you.

“Heard about what happened to your boots,” she remarked casually, not even glancing your way. But you knew what she was doing, and you already weren’t in the mood for it. She kept pushing anyway.

“What a waste,” she continued, clicking her tongue. “You poor thing, how will you ever survive?” You could feel her smirk without looking. Trying to be the bigger person, you only sighed and kept ignoring her.

She laughed. “What, don’t want to admit that you’re upset over a pair of boots? It’s okay, you are a princess, after all.” Even though she was right, it wasn’t like you wanted to admit it to Abby, of all people. You really liked those boots! Princess or not, you were allowed to be upset about it! You could say that, but it’s not like Abby would care. She’d just keep teasing you about the boots, or poking you about some other stupid thing that was sure to push your buttons. So you kept your head straight forward and kept riding. She wasn’t satisfied.

“Too good to talk to me now, are you? You’d rather be at a prissy tea party with your prissy friends?” she said, mocking a posh accent and expression as she spoke. And you just snapped.

“You know what Abby, just because you don’t like me or think I’m shallow or spoiled for whatever reason, that doesn’t mean you have to go after my friends too! You don’t even know them! You know, I don’t think you even know me like you think you do, so why don’t you just shut up already,” you exploded, taking off on your horse like a bullet and leaving Abby shouting after you in the dust. You heard her call your name after you a few times, but you ignored her, clenching your teeth as your resolve hardened and you quickened your pace even more.

By the time Abby started galloping after you, you were too far ahead to hear her. You just kept riding and riding, not stopping until you reached the creek that bubbled along one of the far edges of the palace grounds. Hopping off your horse, you gently smoothed the mare’s chestnut hair as you watched the clear water run up and over the rocks in the creek. Remembering what Abby had said, you clenched your other fist and loudly groaned in frustration, holding back the urge to go as far as to stomp on the ground.

You took a deep breath to steel yourself as you heard hooves approaching quickly from behind you. Abby called your name again, but you barely even turned your head, fist still clenched. She scoffed and dismounted, walking up to you casually.

“You know you can’t ride off like that,” she remarked. You continued to ignore her. “C’mon, you know I didn’t mean it like that,” she continued, leaning to try to get in your line of sight.

You only scoffed in reply and turned away, speed walking along the creek bed. Abby kept following you, reaching out to grab your arm once she was close enough. You gasped angrily and whipped around, hair slinging from side to side. You tried to pull away, but her grip was tight. And you panicked. No one had ever grabbed you like that, and you were so shocked, you couldn’t help but go into panic mode.

“Will you– let go– get your hands OFF of me–” you shrieked, starting to flail and struggle in her grasp. Abby also began to panic in response to you, and before you knew it, you were slipping on the creek bed, and the two of you tumbled into the creek, a tangle of limbs and shocked exclamations as you fell into the surprisingly icy water.

As soon as you hit the water, you gasped, inhaling water instead of air and immediately choking. You floundered, desperately coughing and trying to eject the water from your lungs. Finally, your flailing arms found a large rock to land on, and you started pulling yourself out of the water. At the same time, you could hear Abby climbing the water as well, and you got distracted, your hand slipping as you crashed back down into the creek. Another breath of water infiltrated your mouth and throat, and you continued to choke and cough, unable to gain enough footing to grab back onto the rock. Finally, a pair of stronger arms latched onto your own, stopping your flailing to pull you out of the water and onto the creek bed.

Flopping onto the ground, you coughed out the remaining water from your lungs until you could finally take clear breaths, anger returning with the consistent oxygen. You shot up suddenly, cutting Abby off as she opened her mouth to ask if you were okay. “You are despicable, Abby Anderson! Despicable!” You shouted as you pushed hair out of your face and straightened your soaking clothes. “I am leaving. You need to give me time to return my horse and escort myself inside, lest I see your despicable face and decide to strangle you once and for all!” You continued as you mounted your horse, giving her one last dirty look before riding off as fast as you could.

It wasn’t until the next morning when Abby wasn’t present at your lessons that you discovered that she had left for official training. And no matter how angry you were at her, you couldn’t help but be at least a bit disappointed that she hadn’t said goodbye.

THE PRESENT

Your mother’s voice was all but muted background in your head as you watched Abby – apparently now known as ‘Knight Anderson’ – approach you and your family at the front of the throne room. A lump settled in your throat, and your mouth felt impossibly dry watching her armored form get closer and closer. You barely registered your mother reciting practiced phrases as Abby knelt in front of her and bowed her head towards the queen. It was like you were outside your body, watching everything happen, only an observer as Abby stood and she and your mother approached you. You were sucked back into your body as Abby knelt in front of you, taking one of your polished hands in hers and bowing her head towards it.

“Knight Abigail Anderson,” your mother began, her voice confident and steady in contrast to the nerves that rocked your body, leaving you lightheaded. “Do you solemnly vow to dedicate your life to the protection and safety of the princess?” Abby looked up at you through her lashes, and you felt like you could faint.

“I do.”

[tiredfoxtf]

Interesting.

Does anyone else has problems with lowercase d and b.

[ssruis]

(In response to someone asking me where I thought the wxs story could be heading after this arc)

> I’d like to see tsukasa deal with doing everything he can for an audition, nailing it, and still not getting the part (bc sometimes you just fail, and dealing with that is something we all have to learn) but I don’t think that’s a writing choice clpl would make

> I think tsukasa & his willingness to do stupid/dangerous shit to succeed could be something that’s explored. He’s got rui “takes every safety measure possible for his directing and then some” kamishiro preventing him from injuring himself right now but if he’s gonna go at it alone in the future he needs to like… not do that. Lmao. But again idk that clpl would do that. Too shounen pilled. Also I think they think they addressed this in tsukasa5 (they did not. “Don’t do anything stupid tsukasa” “I’m gonna catch the thief MYSELF” etc)

> emu needs to have a business & management arc. She’s been learning this stuff since emu2 and I want to see her overcome some sort of problem thanks to this. Clpl stop having rui solve all the business problems. let emu take the reins. Maybe if emu6 is before rui5 it could be about emu finding a new company for wxs to perform with or a new avenue for them?

> I’ll be honest I can’t think of anything for nene as things are rn. She’s always been the one who’s been confronted by wxs’s inevitable separation first (mermaid admiration was, iirc, the first time any of them were told “yeah you won’t be able to stay together”. Someone on tumblr mentioned her being the canary in the coal mine which. So true.) but that alone is not enough for an event, let alone a story line.

> ahhh rui. The fog is coming for the purple bastard I can just sense it. His bloomfes card felt like giving a dog one really great last day before the Final Vet Visit. The arcland offer+Asahi loom like the sword of Damocles. He’s been too happy lately. If we get emu6 before rui5 that guy is fucked (doubtful, given how long he’s gone without a focus. imo it’s more likely rui5 will be the training era arc ender and the 6th wxs rotation will be something new. Please god end this arc).

> The director at the end of BLF was so sus and is definitely going to make a comeback, and I do not think it’ll be as a helpful hero. If Rin talking about the movie in BLF was foreshadowing that director is bad news. If CPDB was foreshadowing that could also be an avenue to explore (navigating an entertainment world that is increasingly hostile towards art)

> I think rui’s “I love my friends so so much and I don’t want to leave them but this is selfish/greedy of me” is something that could be addressed at some point, bc wxs feels the same way. this guy is just dense.

> my most likely prediction, imo, is that wxs will go back to arcland and the offer he got, didn’t tell his friends about, accepted, DIDNT TELL HIS FRIENDS ABOUT, and had the acceptance rejected by Asahi will be an issue. Not a major one, I think wxs will forgive him, but I can’t see a reality where arcland isn’t relevant in the future.

> overall major arcs? I have no fucking idea. Zero. Exciting! Wxs will def have to reckon with separation again, but we have 2 more years minimum with these characters, and I feel like it’s a bit early for that.

[dis-astre]

BREAKDOWN OF LES MISÉRABLES IN FRANCE : ACT II

and i'll be trying to gather my thoughts in a condensed and cohesive way (update, i failed. it's a very long post.) even if yesterday i had to yap for 10 minutes worth of voice messages to my best friend

- ngl i cry at the first notes of act II (and cry at the first note of act I too, but it was to be expected) and just on the overhaul cried a lot

- i felt it was very very quick? again i have vague memories of the west end version sooo but i was moving pretty quickly (maybe also due to the absence of the rotating stage)

- eponine's actress was singing SO GOOD, on my own broke my heart (even tho they changed some lyrics and some of them were... idk maybe too much on the nose in my opinion but eh)

- cosette's actress also was really good, her vibrato and singing was really clear and nice to hear

- enjolras and marius carrying gavroche on their shoulders when javert was discovered and parading him all around the barricade

- R jumping in front of all of les amis screaming something along the lines of LETS GO and was like very excited and ready to fight (it was nice to see him have a lot of stage presence and being involved, like he is here because and for his friends and idk it made drink with me 10 times sadder just with this little intervention)

- R stayed with gavroche all the time, and everytime there was a gunshot he was jumping on him, protecting his tiny body with his (god the kid was SO SMALL it broke my heart, he bet he wasn't even 10 yo)

- a little fall of rain broke my heart (my heart was broken a lot of times here), no one even noticed her dying in marius arms until almost the very end of the song; and at this point it was almost her last words and one of the students realised what was going on and rushed to go get some things to try and save her, came back for her last words and R stopped him like no it's too late

- also during a little fall of rain they made fake rain with the transparency and stuff, and everyone was doing forts with pillow and blankets and cuddling underneath and it was really soft and sad

- drink with me was so different too; basically enjolras and courfeyrac were on the top of the barricade yknow the usual, everyone is cuddling and drinking and trying to keep the spirit, and then for R'a part the acting was so different that i'm used to ! normally i'm used to seeing interpretation when he's soooo drunk and mad and cynical and overhaul this angry desperate drunk and cynical man- but here he was just... sad. like broken, sad and basically crying the whole verse to a point were he was slurring his words and struggling to talk between sobs... and he was so alone in this moment like everyone was just watching him in despair. and then he fells into feuilly's arms, they hug, then he hugs marius

- after drink with me, R takes gavroche in his arms (he's sleeping inside a big blanket) and he goes a bit away from the barricade to sleep cuddling and holding on to him (and also there's a girl with them, she spend all of her time on the barricade taking care of gavroche)

- when gavroche goes outside of the barricade, everyone scream and enjolras and marius try to catch him (and R is like... at the other side of the barricade which makes me so sad bc it's the ONLY time he's not near him and that's when he dies), he goes out and there's a gunshot then his hat goes back inside the barricade in a deadly silence

- when gavroche goes back inside of the barricade to die, he's on top of a bench, sing his little song and then doesn't finish and fall right into R's arms and dies in his arms (i was like kill me now i can't do this anymore)

- R spend all the remaining time of the revolution crying over gavroche body, until one of les amis forces him to his feet and yeet him so he goes and fight one last time

- after gavroche's death (and even eponine's), enjolras slowly shuts down and he almost doesn't speaks or interact with anyone and during drink with me it looks like he's dissociating and... idk i really love this acting choice, on the overhaul he was rlly giving book!enjolras like he wasn't the most talkative and energetic enjolras ever which again i think comes from the fact that the french loves to stay true to the original material and honestly i'm not against it, it gives another perspective on enjolras' character

- and when the last battle comes, he 'snaps' out of it and he's suddlently yelling and all but it just feels like something is broken inside and it's just suicide at this point, like the end feels so empty of hope (kinda mirroring R in drink with me) and it's really painful tbh

- enjolras is the last one to die but the worst thing is that he gets to see everyone die before his eyes, and when R dies, he hides for like almost a minute behind the barricade, breathing heavily and contemplating the bodies of his friends, before taking the flag and jumping in front of the barricade; which was giving suicide and also there's some feelings of guilt in this and i... please put me out of my misery at this point it's too much for my heart

- we got the iconic falling with the red flag on the barricade so yay

- i honestly forgot the song "fureurs cannibales" ("dog eat dog" in the english version) existed but i was pleasantly surprised, thenardier can sing like go off king

- javert suicide was amazing, again this actor is SO GOOD, i loved his singing and acting bc it felt so raw and real and powerful ! he was also on a very high platform so that was a tad bit scary but the staging was super cool on this

- les amis don't appear behind marius during empty chairs at empty tables but on a structure behind him you have shadows drinking and talking and basically it's the shadows of les amis when they were alive in the musain

- the thenardier were so funny during the wedding, and we got to see the orchestra and they interacted with the maestra and it was super fun ! also for the line "this one's queer" (i think it's that i'm not 100% sure), or "c'est une pédale" in french, thenardier pointed at montparnasse's actor and... well yeah mate we knew

- enjolras and valjean shook hands during the finale in heaven and i am unwell

and just on the overhaul i really really liked this production ! i cried so much honestly, the cast was amazing and the new lyrics really added another interesting dimension, and made it less funny than the 1991 version + more modern. i feel so lucky honestly, and i am so so happy

[nyaagolor]

Team Star Headcanons

This got dummy long so it's under the cut but I am rotating them all in my brain

Giacomo

Despite having the most stereotypical "delinquent" appearance of all the members, Giacomo is actually the closest thing to a model student that Team Star has. He's extremely organized, motivated, and actually pretty staunchly against breaking the rules unless he has to, so he's a straight A student and has never missed a class

However, he still has a little bit of apprehension about appearing to be like the uptight student council president he used to be, so he purposefully does things to make people think he's more of a slacker than he actually is. He turns in assignments after the deadline and shows up to class late so the teachers don't start getting expectations of him, but they quickly realize he's doing it on purpose when all assignments are turned in exactly 24 hours late and he shows up exactly 5 minutes after the bell with obvious consistency

He was student council president during much of the bullying of Team Star, and still beats himself up about not noticing it sooner or putting a stop to it until the consequences were right in front of him

He was and is the most uptight member of Team Star despite his seemingly relaxed demeanor. He's prone to over-planning, panicking when plans don't work out, and overall is pretty bad at improvising. He's far more high-strung than he lets on. Team Star has done a lot to mellow him out and give him the freedom to express himself, screw up without consequence, and just chill for a few. He's much happier now without the pressure

He loves bass-boosted, ear-splitting music and flashing DJ lights, but is also aware that many people have issues with those (including his buddy Atticus). Bc of that he always has a grunt check with any new members or would-be foes to make sure they don't have overstimulation or photosensitivity issues. Someone getting hurt during a rave would, in his words, "kill the vibe"

He's trying SO HARD to be lofi girl

Mela

She's naturally very cute: she has strawberry blond hair, wide blue eyes, freckles, a dainty stature, a high-pitched voice, and isn't very good at most school subjects. It makes her instantly endearing to basically everyone who meets her, but it also means many people find her annoying / frustrating off the bat and/or don't take her seriously, which really bothered her and lead to her very carefully curated Bad Girl appearance

Mela is very easily frustrated and has a hair trigger temper, which her bullies often used to antagonize her. They purposefully riled her up and caused her to lash out, so Mela gained a reputation as a troublemaker from the teachers. This caused her to fall further behind in school and exacerbated the previous issues

To get people to leave her alone, Mela created a very curated, if inauthentic, "bad girl" persona where she made herself look and act immediately aggressive and rude to everyone. If she didn't let anyone know anything about her, they couldn't find things to set her off anymore, and she'd avoid all the bullying. It did actually work, and people left her alone, but she ended up becoming so feared that she had no friends and no one wanted to be around her. She ended up hanging out with all the academy pokemon instead and developing a close bond with each of them.

Even after she comes back to the Academy she struggles the most out of all the students to fit back into things-- she comes across as a "problem child" which gives the teachers expectations that eventually become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's only after a long, heated discussion with Clavell that they can start to work past her snippy exterior and get to the heart of the matter. When the teachers give her more patience and extra help, however, they grow to realize she actually does care about learning and is quite sweet

She loves making art. She is also not very good at making art. At the start, she's pretty defensive about it, but is shocked to find the students in art club are extremely welcoming and compliment her work, which makes her beyond happy and extremely motivated to keep trying. Those art club members end up becoming her first non-team-star friends in a long time, and she always brings them out to the courtyard so that her pokemon friends can pose and model for them to draw

She gets really really red when she's embarrassed. Her old, derogatory nickname was "the red-hot girl" because of her temper, but Team Star only ever uses it to joke about how she flushes now

Atticus

Low-hanging fruit here but this man has autism. He cannot read the mood of a room to save his life, and has been known to make extended, sometimes uncomfortable eye contact with whoever he happens to be talking to. He once infodumped to Giacomo about Phoenician Purple for three hours

His speech patterns are partially because of his extreme interest in history and partially because he finds older prose to be more precise in meaning than modern day slang. He is very clear about saying exactly what he means and being extremely specific, so he finds modern day slang with all its double meanings to be hard to follow and hard to articulate his thoughts with. Older prose has these same issues, but no one tell him that

He struggles to pay attention to things unless his hands are busy. Teachers often wondered if he was paying attention in class while sketching designs or sewing things, but it actually helps him focus better

His three greatest skills are his fashion design, his flexibility, and his skill as a nail artist. He can make you the most dazzling star of the school prom and then do a standing backflip when he's done

Atticus cares very little about social conventions or expectations. It worries people like Penny, who fears it makes him a target for bullying because he is so outwardly strange, but it's honestly fine by him. Despite receiving some pretty horrible treatment at the hands of his bullies in the past, he's bothered very little by it, and cares even less about what people think of him now. He has good friends all around him, so if people think he's weird that's on them; he's gonna keep doing what he wants whether or not it gives him a reputation

Atticus is easily the most mentally stable of anyone in the group. Nothing bothers this man whatsoever; he is thriving and in his lane. Despite this, however, he is never asked for advice because he only gives it in Shakespearean riddles

Ortega

He is an exceptional mechanic, and with the help of Atticus has actually made far more impressive vehicles than even the Starmobiles. His pride and joy is a pastel pink bedazzled motorcycle with a sidecar for his Dacsbund. He can't actually drive it because he's 12 and doesn't have a license, but still

All his mechanic tools are covered in rhinestones and his jumpsuit is pastel pink. He is also a straight, cis man, he just personally beat gender roles unconscious with his gold-encrusted staff. He would have kicked it too, but that would ruin his dress shoes and he's too classy for that

He's sassy and snarky, but it's not a defense mechanism like Mela or a consequence of social isolation like Penny, he's just kind of a brat. Team Star has done a lot to humble him and get him to understand the ~value of friendship~ but he was and still kind of is a spoiled little demon

In terms of raw intelligence, Ortega might be the smartest person in Team Star. He's skipped a few grades, excels at basically everything he sets his mind to, and couples it with pretty high emotional intelligence too. If anyone needs help with homework and is willing to swallow their pride enough to ask, he'll easily be able to help

Ortega has excellent dexterity, which makes him a fantastic piano player and quite good at working with very fine machinery. He also got really into baton twirling at one point because he thought it looked cool, so he can do lots of really neat tricks with his staff and pens and whatnot. He loves to bask in the attention that the grunts give him whenever he shows off (which is often. He LOVES showing off)

He has no patience for anything whatsoever. Eri has to hold him back like a rabid chihuahua every time they go somewhere because he is very used to being waited on constantly. Rich boy rehabilitation

Eri

Every one and their mother hcs this but [points at Carmen] Lesbians. Carmen and Eri are genuinely THE power couple; they’re both smart and gorgeous and well-liked by everyone. Carmen is still shocked Eri didn’t snap her like a toothpick bc it would have been deserved but Eri is just that nice. Stop bullies by kissing them so good they realize they like girls

Everyone else in team star stays up until ungodly hours for assorted reasons but Eri is up at like 5 so she can work out for two hours before class. She’s a little disappointed no one wants to join in her workouts but that’s ok! They need their rest. The benefit of Eri’s workouts is that she can carry a team star member on each arm like one of those muscle dudes on the beach, and she does, bc it’s cool

She’s a luchadora! She plays a heel named La Princesa in Paldean wrestling tournaments but it’s an open secret that she’s super sweet out of the ring and always treats her opponents to ice cream afterwards. Genuine treat to be suplexed by her. Despite being able to, she would NEVER hurt someone for real

Atticus had to tailor her outfits bc they didn’t fit. She’s like 6’, curvy, and built like a tractor trailer, so she cannot wear unisex shirts without ripping the damn sleeves off. She’s very kyaa about it. Very >o< about it

Cries during kid’s movies. And ASPCA commercials. And most things actually. The power of friendship does and has moved her to tears. She is mesmerized by the beauty of the world

She gives the best hugs

Penny

Another popular hc but (gestures vaguely at Penny's everything) transfemme. She has the dysphoria hoodie, the six cats, the cybercrime, the depression nest, whatever is going on with her hair, etc. She got sent to "study abroad" and went on HRT I will stand by this until the end of time. She washes down her progesterone with monster energy. Gamer girl. I bet she even plays Bloodborne

Has severe social anxiety / trauma that stemmed from the bullying and just got significantly worse over time. She orders all her groceries online and has them delivered, so she never has to leave her room and does most of her stuff remotely. If / when she does go outside, it's always at weird hours so she doesn't run into anyone. The mere prospect of going into the cafeteria around lunchtime is mortifying to her. wayyyyy too many people. Her anxiety is significantly worse in the academy, and she's able to function better outside of it

She has support systems for days. Aside from her new friends Nemona / Arven / the protag, she has Team Star, Clavell, an actual therapist, a xanax prescription, and six emotional support veevees. Team Star especially does a lot to help reintroduce her to classes and get over the worst of her anxiety so she can go back to school-- and it works! She becomes much more open, less stressed, and happier postgame as she and her friends help each other out

Penny's dad is super supportive but also super embarrassing about it. He is the ultimate trans rights guy but also wears neon rainbow shirts that say "ALLY" in big letters. Penny kept the worst of the bullying a secret from him because there is zero doubt in my mind he would just roll up to the bullies' houses and beat the crap out of them. He WILL throw hands with a 13 year old if they upset his little girl and he is not afraid to admit that. I'm hyping up this man so bad

Penny is an only child (or younger sibling if u hc Peony to be her dad) but has so, SO many cousins who are constantly doting on her. She is quick to try and retreat to her room during reunions and whatnot because she's easily overwhelmed by the attention, but it all gets better postgame. She ends up dragging Arven to her house for the holidays because he doesn't have a proper family and the cousins are completely enamored with him. He's polite, he's happy to help with the cooking, he has a cute dog... Penny's family is absolutely delighted she has such a good friend and Arven is more than happy to soak up all that familial attention. It's a good exchange

She is an insanely picky eater. Arven is taking this as a challenge, and is always trying to make new sandwiches that she likes. Seeing as Nemona and the protagonist would probably eat salami off the floor if given the opportunity, getting a good review from Penny in particular always boosts his ego. He's also made it his mission to sneak in new ingredients in the hopes of expanding her absolutely atrocious palette. It's not going well, but damn if he isn't trying

[ash-and-starlight]

Books of 2023

the list nobody asked for <3

My reading habits had gone a bit stagnant in the past couple of years so this year i made the effort to engage in reading again and wow books really are good!! who would have thought! Sharing this year's book log with the small reviews i did while reading yeah i am That kind of list lover if u feel like being nosy, (and maybe even help mi crowdsource reading recs based on my likes 👀🤲?)

The left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula i Need to know your thoughts on omegaver- [gunshot] THAT ASIDE yeah. mrs Le Guin you've done it again. I can see why everyone got their brain chemistry altered by this book.

The Membranes - Chi Ta-Wei another brain chemistry altering book. would love to discuss it with a gender studies major lmao

Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie its a v atmospheric and poignant story, I know I would have loved it more if I was familiar with the rich religious/cultural background it draws from

The Masquerade Series - Seth Dickinson Crazy insane in the membrane about this series. one of the most compelling worldbuildings I've ever seen, and most importantly it features one of the most crazy wet pathetic scrunkly meow meow protagonists i've ever had the pleasure of reading about.

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides i liked the writing style of this book a lot! idk how well it holds up re: intersexuality topic, but its a very engaging read.

Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power - Jude Ellison, Sady Doyle The title says it all honestly, its a beautiful, thought provoking and engaging essay, spanning eras, pop culture phenomenons, and real life events on the topic of women and horror.

The cat who saved books - Sōsuke Natsukawa this was so cute and heartfelt, it will really make you go Ah Yes, this is Why we Love Books <333

The Locked Tomb Series - Tamsyn Muir now when people say there is a girl who is the cursed sacrifice of 2000 infants who falls in love with the sleeping embodiment of the soul of the Earth (barbie) and also another girl who is the only survivor of the aforementioned sacrifice and is. a Jesus metaphor? and also the two girls become one at some point. and every book is a different genre. and god is bisexual. and memes survived the nuclear apocalypse. I can just nod and say so true.

The Area X Trilogy - Jeff VanderMeer Rotating this series in the microwave of my mind at the speed of light it's soSO GOOD!! the movie doesn't even come close honestly u NEED to read the books. and then go touch grass and be aware of every strand in a completely new way.

The Dawn of Yangchen - F. C. Yee nice read! I was more invested in the worldbuilding crumbs than in the actual story lmao, I will forever think about the HEATED airball rivalry between the air temples and about the swt greetings / bethrotal armbands.

Inuit Stories of Being and Rebirth: Gender, Shamanism, and the Third Sex - Bernard Saladin d'Anglure starting w a disclaimer bc I feel like the topic of native colonization was ignored when it should have been way more prominent when talking about the context of where and when these testimonies were collected?? That aside it was very interesting and well put together, with first account testimonies of Inuit elders about their myths, lifestyles and beliefs.

Pachinko - Min Jin Lee i read the book after having seen the tv series (which i also rlly recommend). Very moving story about a family and its generations, from Korea under Japanese colonization to modern day America.

Her body and other parties - Carmen Maria Marchado sometimes I go about my day then I remember this book exists and stare at the wall for 30 minutes.

Dictionnaire de l'impossible - Didier Van Cauwelaert big miss. this collection of articles about "strange impossible phenomenons" sounded so quirky and interesting but i sure would have loved if the author hadnt so clearly picked a side. and also way too much church for my tastes.

He who Drowned the World - Shelley Parker Chan Im not even gonna speak about this one if you've followed me since july you know what pits of insanity and despair i'm in

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin Sometimes!! the book with pretty covers put in the "famous on socials" bookstore section!! are good!! It's about being othered it's about connection it's about diaspora it's about love and friendship and most of all it's about viddy games.

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel reading this post-covid and learning it was written in 2017 was A TRIP. Psychic damage at every page. still feeling very normla.

The Mask of Apollo - Mary Renault Ugh i desperately wanted to like this book because the setup is so interesting and full of potential, but the end result was just. flat. flat story flat characters the plot focusing on the wrong things at the wrong times i was so DONE when i reached the end otz.

Babel - R. F. Kuang LOVED the worldbuilding in this, the "lost in translation" system of magic is one of the most interesting things ive ever read. I think theres something about the writing in general that didn't win me over completely?? but all in all a very good

Red Ocean - Han Song This sure is a Book. That i've Read. its so profundly strange and unlike anything ive come across that i dont even know what to feel about it. i think 90% of my confusion comes from Not Getting Cultural References so if someone has a "red ocean explained" essay plz send it my way bc i couldnt find one.

[alterrune]

A RANT ABOUT THE NOZZLENOSE WEAPONS

I find it hilariously awful that directly after Grand Run, Nintendo decided to put the H-3 Nozzlenose as the FIRST WEAPON in the rotation roster for the new Salmon Run rotation...and then also put the L-3 Nozzlenose IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT for the one after that!

Now, I'm gonna go on a bit of a rant as to why I personaly think these weapons should be reworked ENTIRELY for Splatoon 4.

Every single weapon in Splatoon has one thing in common: You hold down the trigger, you can fire for as long as you have ink. It's consistent, it's great, and it makes it so you don't have to constantly tap the ZR button.

Guess what's missing from these two?

THEY. DON'T. AUTO. FIRE.

This ALONE honestly makes me want to never touch this weapon.

Personally, I think the whole concept of "constantly tapping the trigger" with this thing is incredibly stupid.

(This is just my opinion. If you use either [or both] of the Nozzlenose weapons and actually can use them really well, don't let me stop you, keep using them if you're comfy with them.)

If you ask me, the way to fix the Nozzlenose's problem without making it a full-on clone of another weapon is simple: Keep the way the weapon fires, but make it full-auto so players don't have to constantly hit the fire button. The "tap fire" thing on the Nozzlenose duo is not neccesary.

AND WE ALREADY HAVE A WEAPON THAT DOES THE WHOLE "TAP FIRE" THING, AND IT HAS A FULL AUTO MODE.

THE SQUEEZER. Tap the fire button once, you get a long-range, high-damage shot. Hold it down and you get a short-range, low-damage shot. I literally call this thing "the better Nozzlenose" because it actually has a full-auto mode, which every other weapon in the Splatoon series has.

-🔺💜🔵💕✍🏼-

Now, what about Salmon Run? That's why I made this post in the first place, after all.

Are the Nozzlenose weapons good there?

No. No it isn't. In fact, it's actually WORSE there, and I think a lot of people share my opinion on that.

In Salmon Run, there are salmonids EVERYWHERE. And not only do they come in the standard variety, there are also special event waves: Mothership, Grillers, Fog, Glowflies (called "Rush" in-game), Mudmouth Eruption, Goldie Seeking, Cohock Charge, Giant Tornado, and, of course, High/Low Tide.

A couple of those are no problem with ANY weapon, those being Mothership, Mudmouth Eruption, Giant Tornado, Goldie Seeking, Cohock Charge, Low Tide and Fog. Though it doesn't hurt to practice, as Salmon Run is known for being incredibly chaotic.

But the last 3 types, HOO boy.

The Grillers have a weak spot you need to hit, and if they have a lock on you (as shown by a red laser pointer line they aim at the player they're targeting), you need to run and gun or else you'll recieve what basically equates to a Salmonid Roller crush. And mind you, that weak spot is tiny, and the Griller constantly spins around. You see where I'm going with this? With the Nozzlenoses, you have to repeatedly tap the trigger button to hit that tiny-ass weak point. And mind you, you have to run AND shoot if they target you. Expect to see the "That's a wrap!" fail screen pretty darn quick if the last player alive in the Griller wave (either you or another player) has one of the Nozzlenoses.

Glowflies ("Rush") just sucks overall. One of the players will randomly get a bunch of glowflies following them. They aren't a helpful thing, though. It makes it so that every Salmonid on the map targets that one player. And with the Nozzlenoses, that's a guarenteed player down. You expect a weapon that has to be tap-fired to actually work well when you have about 100 enemy mooks (at BEST, mind you) all targeting you? Ehh, not saying it's impossible, bc there ARE people who use this weapon and are skilled with it, but it's HIGHLY unlikely.

High Tide is when the water surrounding the area (which, btw, INSTANTLY SPLATS YOU IF YOU TOUCH IT) raises up, limiting movement options. Even worse, it can be paired with other wave types to make things THAT much worse for you. The Nozzlenoses were not built for fighting in certain special waves, but throw in the High Tide event with it, and kiss that teammate (or you) goodbye. Expect to see a downed player you need to revive, unless, again, they're somewhat skilled with the weapon.

Oh, that's right! I forgot the whole revival system! See, in Salmon Run, you don't respawn the traditional way. In order to revive, one of your teammates has to hit the life ring you spawn back in on, and THEN you can fight again. Imagine if someone with either of the Nozzlenoses tried to revive you while fighting off something like a Steel Eel, all 3 shots fired by the Nozzlenose miss ANY player, and then they get splatted by said Steel Eel, causing you to lose the run in true bullshit fashion. Unfortunately, that's not exactly a hypothetical situation when it comes to the Nozzlenoses.

-🔺💜🔵💕✍🏼-

So what am I trying to say here? MAKE THE NOZZLENOSE WEAPONS FULL-AUTO. It would fix every single problem I have with the weapon!

That, and remove them from Splatoon 3's Salmon Run weapon roster. In my honest opinion, they should've never been added in the first place.

(Again, I have to repeat this bc people might get on my ass if I don't: I AM NOT SAYING YOU SHOULD DITCH THE WEAPON IF YOU'RE COOL WITH IT. IF YOU USE ANY OF THE NOZZLENOSE WEAPONS AND ARE COOL WITH IT, THEN YOU DO YOU. THESE ARE SIMPLY MY OPINIONS.)

That is all. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk about these godforsaken weapons. Goodbye.

[deusvervewrites]

Genome AU:

I like this au a lot and have been rotating it in my head for a bit now. specifically how the whole clone project gets revealed - in one of the asks, you mention that AFO/the doctor likely aren't actively scheming with it in mind, and given that it was canned approximately 10-15 years ago by the time canon rolls around and only a few clones were kept, the fact that the clone kids are then old enough to possibly be in UA would probably have not occurred to them.

But. while the project may not be on their minds, it most definitely had to have some sort of records of it taking place. the first thought that i had was that maybe the doctor kept notes/records of the process, along with files for specific clones, their "parents," where they were kept, and possibly even when or why they were dropped.

If those files didn't exist, whether due not being made in the first place or being lost/destroyed, there would most likely be suspicious holes in the clone kid's paperwork, or at least an absence of any record of former/possible parents. If i remember correctly, some of the nomu project was done inside/connected to the AFO orphanages - so if that was discovered, and the investigators noticed the link between the UA students who came from them and their lack of early life records, then a DNA test could be ordered and reveal their odd parentage. The whole "clone" thing would be more of a running theory than a definitively proven fact, but oh well.

Okay so im still thinking about this. Basically a continuation from my last ask about this. back to the clone project records - for this reveal to even come about, there would have to be a further investigation into the nomus/the doctor's work specifically, rather than just the broader lov. Im not sure if there were any given dates/approximate timeframes for the nomu project in canon, and i don't know for sure if the doctors work had any appearances in vigilantes that would date the creation of nomus/similar things to being active earlier than in the main series, but from what i can remember about the reaction to the USJ is that nomus and similar don't seem to have been encountered and thus recorded before its appearance at the USJ. (it also doesnt seem like people react to the idea of bioengineered weapons made from the corpses of missing people as like. a main concern and it was kind of brushed off in favor of focusing on shigaraki, which i get that he is far more important in the long run but was the entire task force really like "eh, whatever" about the fucked up frakenstein things???) take this with a grain of salt bc i havent reread this specific part in a while. But in this au, the doctor's work clearly goes back pretty damn far. they were advanced enough to make viable clones from multiple sources of DNA, and while the project was technically a failure, there would have been a lot more research into the mixing of quirks that could be repurposed for the nomu project, which would then have at least 10-15 years before canon to develop, possibly even more if it was running next to the original clone project while the latter was winding down in its last years. So. My thought was that if the project had far more time to develop, then the nomus used in canon would likely be far more powerful by the time the heros catch on to their existence, possibly matching the high-end nomus. Because of this, they'd be even more of a problem than in canon. The investigating heros would then dedicate a second team to focus on the origin of the nomus, eventually clueing them in to its predecessor in the clone project. Okay last ask bc i should sleep. still connected to my previous two but mercifully shorter. my bad for occasionally dropping huge asks onto your blog sometimes i have more thoughts than i thought i had. Anyways i think it would be fucked up if one of the clone kids was put onto the investigation team that dug up the files.

We do know that the Noumu specifically were canonically a recent development because the main antagonist of Vigilantes was the thing AFO tried before moving on to the Noumu project (specifically because of how Vigilantes played out for him), but I'm not sure whether that's the case here. (And, yes, Kurogiri was already around in Vigilantes)

The Noumu being stronger makes sense, considering what I have cooked up with the few clones that AFO kept, and they've also adapted the Noumu technology back to the clones for implanting new Quirks, so it all ties together for Garaki.

Finding records about that makes sense

[nehswritesstuffs]

the benefits of a lawn at-sea

Here's something short, sweet, and silly~

1783 words; this is just silly; takes place from post-Enies Lobby to just after the timeskip, with a little post-Wano in there bc Jinbe my dude you took too long to claim your bunk; it’s been a while since I wrote something this short; this is very gen, very tame, and the only cursing is a word heard in old Bugs Bunny cartoons so there you go;

The Thousand Sunny's lawn-deck is pretty nice, right? Well, what if there was an ulterior motive behind the water-guzzling feature of this seafaring craft? [Strawhat genfic]

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Oh, Franky, this is so nice!” Nami marveled. Water 7 was just beyond the horizon and she was walking around on the lawn deck in bare feet. The plush, dense grass was soft on her skin and smelled wonderful. “What made you want to do this?”

“Let’s just say I’m being super-thoughtful this week,” the cyborg chuckled. He was watching Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper roll around on the lawn, absolutely giggling at themselves. Sanji came over with a tray of drinks, offering Nami and Robin theirs before handing one to Franky.

“Yeah, super-thoughtful that we now have to worry about grass stains despite being in the middle of the ocean,” he groused. Luffy got tossed towards them and slid, popping up on his feet as one big, green smear. “Oi, jackass, who do you think is going to get that grass stain out?!”

“Uhh… I dunno.” Luffy grinned and grabbed three drinks off the tray, bringing them over to where Usopp and Chopper were on the other side of the deck. Sanji exhaled heavily—only Luffy.

“Has he not noticed you’ve been doing all the boys’ laundry since the East Blue?” Nami wondered. She sipped her drink and kept an eye on the horizon, not liking what was on the way. A storm, maybe? Didn’t feel that imposing…

“Luffy noticing something other than food is sketchy at-best,” Sanji deadpanned. “How did we end up with such an idiot for a captain?”

“Is that you trying to defect next, Curly?” Zoro snarked from the upper deck. Sanji grit his teeth and placed his tray down on the table.

“Pardon ladies—I’ve got a sentient moss to discipline,” he growled before catapulting himself across the ship. Sanji’s foot met with Zoro’s swords and the pair began their bickering in earnest.

“It’s good to see the change in venue hasn’t dampened their spirits,” Robin mentioned. She idly turned the page of her book, not even looking at the chaos that was unfolding—how delightful to have friends like these.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was interesting having a lawn to care for now that the Straw Hats were on the Thousand Sunny. Franky would mow it and toss the clippings in the composter alongside the food scraps that Sanji couldn’t salvage and the various little organic things that they didn’t exactly want to toss over the side of the ship. It took up a lot of water, but that was what the purification system was for, right? It even provided Chopper with a nostalgic snack every once in a while, the grass reminding him of the fresh green shoots that would pop up during Drum Island’s springtime, not to mention the way it was cool in the mornings and not nearly ever as scorching as the lacquered Adam Wood got under the sun…

…except, it really did use up a lot of water, which led to an intricate system of sprinkler rotations. If the sprinkler was moved and subsequently ignored, mud was liable to form, and the only thing worse than Luffy in the presence of grass stains was Luffy in the presence of mud. It was more than a bit irritating for Sanji or Nami when they switched off doing the laundry, but if Franky was going to have one blunder for the design of the ship, they guessed it could be the lawn. In practice. Common consensus was that it was mostly there to be a pain (at worst) or an experiment (at best) and so they endured it, because they had bigger things to deal with.

Take the suddenly dense fog they found themselves in, for one…

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Ooooh… this is simply wonderful…” Brook hummed happily. He was splayed out on the lawn, soaking in the sun. Once they had gotten out of the Florian Triangle, a good deal of what he did when he wasn’t playing music or eating involved being outside on the lawn, marveling in the experience. “I would have never guessed that this was how grass felt against my finger bones…”

“You never touched any of the grass at Thriller Bark…?” Usopp wondered. He was fishing with Chopper and Luffy, the trio attempting to catch some extra reserves for the tank. Brook shook his head.

“Technically I did, but I’d rarely call that grass,” he replied. “With how foggy and cloudy it is in the Triangle, it never had the chance to grow properly. This, however,” he dragged his arms up and down the grass for emphasis, “is the real deal. What sort of grass is it? Where’s it from?”

“Uh… there are different kind of grass…?” Luffy wondered. Usopp facepalmed.

“Well, yeah—that’s like asking if there’s different kind of trees,” the sniper replied. He could see his captain’s interest in the subject quickly fading. “You know, when I was little, I helped catalog over seventy types of plants for scientific use! That included twelve grasses!”

“Wait, really?!” Chopper gasped.

“Of course! Why do you think I’m so good at growing things? I’ve got an extra-green thumb!”

“I don’t know, Usopp,” Brook said. “It looks tan and fleshy to me.”

“It’s an expression and you know that,” Usopp deadpanned over the newest crewmate’s giggles. He went to look back over at Chopper and Luffy, only to see a rubbery thumb get jammed in his face.

“See? Mine’s green now too!” It was a wet, gloopy green, clearly having just been ground into the freshly-mown-and-currently-being-watered part of the lawn.

“Luffy, it’s an… wait, you know what? Whatever.” Usopp rolled his eyes and began to return to his fishing, peacefully catching things to go into the tank, that is… until he heard his captain snicker a very tempting order.

“Come on, Usopp! Come play in the sprinkler with us!”

It was Captain’s Orders, after all.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The Thousand Sunny surfaced above the ocean, the bubble coating popping as they made it back to their more-typical part of the sea. It was a sunny, cheerful day and everyone delighted at the warmth of the sun on their faces.

“Oh, this feels so good!” Nami squealed. She stretched as she breathed in deeply, allowing the breeze to ruffle her hair. “It feels like there’s a storm coming up soon, so look sharp everyone!”

“I’m so glad we’re above surface,” Usopp shivered, leaning up against the railing.

“It was too scary!” Brook added.

“We almost diiiiiiiied!” Chopper sobbed.

“Oh, quit your bellyaching,” Nami frowned. “Come on; we need to make sure everything’s secure before the storm hits!”

“You were scared too!” Usopp snapped. He and Nami glared at one another—this was not in the best interest of Normie Solidarity. They nearly started a “discussion” between them when Luffy came barreling in onto the scene, hanging off of Nami’s shoulders like a wet cat.

“Naaaamiiii… how long until the storm?” he whined. She grimaced and untangled herself from him, allowing their captain to flop onto the grass.

“Long enough for you to go take a bath—you stink,” she frowned.

“…but Naaaamiiii… it’s not Bath Day!” Luffy pouted. Nami was about to fire back when Franky’s voice cut through the air.

“Hey, Luffy! Sprinkler’s on!” That caught the other Straw Hats’ attention: there, in all its glory, was a lawn sprinkler that was an… interesting-looking cat-head, with noodles coming out of its head that wriggled and flopped about as they spread water everywhere. Luffy gasped in excitement and ran over to it, jumping through the noodly spray with his noodly limbs and generally having a great and noodly time. Brook and Chopper soon joined him, leaving Nami and Usopp to just stare in exasperation.

“You’ll super-thank me later,” Franky smirked as he walked over to his crewmates who seemed… less than impressed.

“For what?” Nami cringed. “A new set of grass stains?”

“An extra-muddy part of the lawn after that storm Nami was talking about?”

“Nah—haven’t you ever noticed that he smells better after running through the sprinkler?” Franky replied. The other two stopped all thought processes—huh…? “Still doesn’t smell great, mind you, but running a bit of non-toxic lavender extract through the hose and you’ve got yourself a slightly-less-stinky captain!”

Huh… do that’s where that smell was coming from…

“Okay, I’ll give it to you, but does it have to look like that?” Usopp wondered. “It looks like it wants to die.”

“Robin designed it! Isn’t it great?” Franky seemed to beam in pride, whereas Nami and Usopp were… considerably less impressed.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Wano was officially behind the Thousand Sunny as it traveled southeast, wind billowing the sails full and steady as their most recent adventure became a tiny speck over the horizon. Everyone was settling into their normal routines as they readied for the journey ahead of them—for all they knew the next island was weeks away yet—which meant that their newest member was finally able to get his full tour.

“Alright, any questions?” Nami asked. She and Jinbe were standing on the lawn, having already physically gone through the rest of the ship. The helmsman nodded and looked around—everything seemed normal enough...mostly, anyhow.

“Just one: when will Luffy be allowed from his cage?” He pointed towards their captain, who was currently still locked up in an overly-large birdcage that hung near the swing. Luffy perked up at that, only for his hopes to be dashed.

“Only captains who get into a moderate amount of trouble are allowed to roam free,” Nami hissed. Luffy whimpered and slumped against the bars—he was defeated. The navigator then sniffed the air and recognized a particular funk that was growing in the air. “Hey, Usopp!”

“What?!” The aforementioned sniper poked his head out from the upper deck. “I’m a little busy!”

“Hit Luffy with the hose when you get a second! I’d put an air freshener next to him, but he might eat it…”

“I would not!” Luffy protested. Nami, however, was not convinced.

“The sooner the better, Usopp!” she commanded. Her crewmate grumbled and put down his Pop Greens to head down the stairs and head for the hose caddy, turning on the water pump and unraveling the hose just enough so he could aim the nozzle directly for Luffy and wet him down, face deadpan while his captain panicked like a puppy afraid of water.

“Is that… how he always bathes…?” Jinbe wondered cautiously, pointing at Luffy. Nami shook her head.

“This is just a mid-week stopgap. Also a punishment. Depends on how I feel.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked away, headed towards the table where Robin was reading and leaving Jinbe to shudder.

What kind of a crew did he sign up with after all?

[thecircularsystem]

In one of your responses, you mentioned you can control switches. It sounds like it was born out of trauma (might be the wrong word) of some form, but do you have any advices for systems w/ little to no control over switches?

Feel free not to answer this bc of the context, but I wanted to ask because I wanted advice.

Hey!! Thanks for the ask, I’m happy to share more info. If you’re interested in just advice, feel free to just skip to the bottom where it says Circ's Switching Advice. I sort of did the classic recipe blog trick of rambling about my personal life and my own experiences before getting to the good stuff. I'll also copy/paste the good stuff into its own post, so that you can just save that if you need to keep the advice on hand.

I wanted to share a bit more context for how switching worked for me, since it's actually developed a lot over time. It absolutely was borne out of trauma, combined with my really intense imagination (potentially MaDD but I really know so little about that topic). I think that knowing how things developed overtime -- the struggles and the successes -- helps for context.

So, to explain:

In high school, I developed an innerworld and an awareness for my system, though I wasn't aware of what was actually happening. I just thought I had made up roleplay characters of myself, and I was switching characters -- I'd heard the term codeswitching and went ah, yeah, that's me. I started to spend every waking moment entirely in my innerworld, viewing the outside world (i.e. the real world) through a screen.

Since my daily routine was now based innerworld, we've always had incredible communication, because... well, Wade could turn to the right and there Sierra would be, over his shoulder. When we very, very first realized we were a system, our switches were incredibly well regulated. Essentially, the entire system ran off of the circles in our innerworld (circle diagram below, from one of our other blog pics):

if someone wanted to switch in, they moved up a circle to be standing on one of the lines. Eventually, they would reach the middle circle, and the person there would either move back willingly (a controlled, collaborative switch), or would be pushed out to a different circle (a triggered switch).

Then, we have two years of blackout memory where we can barely recall anything, and then we have college. When college hit, the fronting circles were still there, but we weren't stuck on them anymore. This was the messiest time with fronting; while we could still switch easily, we had far, far more "IDK I guess I'm out now" moments. When we wanted to switch, we usually were back innerworld, and imagined ourselves leaving the middle circle -- though now it was like... sometimes, the "camera" would "follow" us to our rooms or wherever we went to hide innerworld, until someone came along and took over. We could usually ask someone to switch if we wanted, and that usually worked -- but we were stubborn and hurting and didn't know how to ask for the help we needed. Nonetheless, despite there being far less control those early years of college, we still had control. "Okay, tomorrow is work, so Sierra, you switch in now." "Okay, I'm too depressed for this shit -- Wade, get your ass out here." It was more a command and less of a request, which is probably why it was so messy.

Lastly, the big change happened actually just last year or so. After college, we started to work far more collaboratively, starting to switch almost always on command. Sure, we still have triggered switches now and then, but even when that was happening, it felt like we reached out in our own mind and said, "I can no longer handle this, can _____ come out? Are you okay to help me?" It was smoother. The way we've visualized it in our more intense moments is like grabbing someone's arm while they grab mine.

^-- Like that. And when we did that, we would rotate, and they'd take front while I step back.

But then!!! Last year or so, we got a concussion!! We lost all access to our innerworld. Hellscape, genuinely. We had to really focus to try to communicate, and focusing was hard when I was so dizzy and disoriented. Curtis got frontstuck for a bit, then Numb spontaneously switched in, with no control from us and no indication he was coming. Genuinely, we very very rarely have experienced that, so it was incredibly disorienting and distressing. Finally, Numb went to rest one night, and he did something we'd not done in awhile: he "put the body to sleep while we were still awake inside." Essentially, we focused on our own innerworld, on ourselves, after we had already closed our eyes to sleep. Once our body was starting to relax and drift off, we turned all of our attention to just us. (I think our potential precursors to REM Behavior Disorder and constant lack of sleep helped us with this, but cannot recommend either of those things).

From there, I actually was the one to switch in. My role in the system is to front when no one else is capable; I get us back to a baseline. My therapist recently remarked that I am essentially a burnout-fixer, which I really appreciated! When I fronted, I was completely innerworld -- from our perspective, the body was asleep but I was wide awake -- and everything around me was completely grey and foggy as it had been for over a week. But I could see myself, and I could tell I was different than I used to be. I started to work on breathing, grounding, and meditation, which I... never really did before then admittedly; I've always been really bad at mindfulness (Still am). Nonetheless, when I breathed this time, the fronting circles lit up, and helped to push away some of that grey fog!

Once we had fully recovered from the concussion, we could switch perfectly. Like, genuinely, it was so easy to switch now. We find it easiest to switch when our eyes are closed and we can visualize the innerworld, but we no longer need to; it just takes a deep breath and some careful thought. I think what happened was we experienced a lot of distress due to the concussion, and working through that distress using the techniques our therapist had been working on with us finally got past some of the barriers we had between us. Ever since that moment, we've been far, far more integrated.

... HOOOO I am SO sorry for that whole ramble. I always forget how much I love discussing our experiences!!

Okay:

Circ's Switching Advice

The number one thing to remember when it comes to switching and learning to control, in our opinion, is compromise. You have to work together to switch, and that can be difficult.

Tips and tricks I've learned:

Grounding and meditation have helped a lot. When we're triggered, it's a lot harder to sit with myself and say, "Who do I need to help me handle this?" If you need to switch, stay calm and breathe.

We have found it easier with various visualizations. For instance, when we switched today, Ve imagined herself flying out of the fronting circle -- but she was in too much pain from our headache to switch. So instead, she visualized me coming over and patting her shoulder, which I did. Then, I was close enough to take the control, and she could go lay down.

In connection with that above bullet, visualization helps in the outerworld too. We found it helped us a lot when we started writing our experiences through the lens of a robot with multiple "cores" who represented our alters. When the bot switched, the color of its UI switched as well to the colors we associate with. Now, when we switch IRL, we visualize our eyes changing color to the associated color, which helped to ground our switches more in reality.

We found it helped to have an accountability buddy for switching, in this case our spouse @circulars-singlet. They will remind us of how long we've been out, which in turn makes us think, "hey, you're right, I tend to get burned out if I'm out that long. How am I doing?" Those check ins are really helpful. They'll also remind us if we said we wanted to switch.

We sometimes have found it helps to focus on the feeling of our body while switching. For instance, Numb when he fronts tends to have a better posture than us, so if we want to switch to Numb, we often straighten our posture. It's kinda like... we make the house something the person would like to live in if we want them to come to the house, yknow?

We also used to use music to help switches along. Still works to this day. Roy's the only one who likes country, so hearing country music helps get him closer to front. Same with vocaloid for Tavi and swing for Numb.

Communication is vital, however you end up doing it. We've basically always been able to contact one another, but we have used journals before to do so. If you want someone to switch in soon, maybe writing them a note or calling out to them innerworld would be a good idea. Making them aware of that desire in any way is a great call.

Connected to that and compromise, it can sometimes be hard to suggest someone come and take the burden. We actually still are struggling with this concept. Asking someone to switch in is hard, because we understand how difficult life can be, and it's hard to ask someone to take that burden on. Our therapist has been working with us to view it more as "Thank you for your help" and less "Sorry for what I'm doing to you."

I'm starting to run out of steam, sadly, but please folks, feel free to chime in with your own ideas.