#why would you put that in the tags. why would you tag that ! At least it’s not like. the character tag itself but it’s. hhhuggggjggrfgggfff

[ohlawdthevoices]

₊˚⊹ ᰔ weird meet cute

tags : bakugou x gn!reader, college au, string theory, just fun fluff,

bakugou hates the way you met.

he hated telling people how you started dating, it was just plainly embarrassing for him. however the story that lead up to it was fun and you loved sharing it (to his despair)

you and bakugou crossed paths multiple times, first you were dorm neighbors, you never spoke but shared a couple elevator rides. but the first time you actually exchanged an awkward conversation was in the laundry room, not because you were doing laundry but because you both were escaping your roommate having extremely loud sex with his roommate—

the second time was when you both reached for the same energy drink at the convenience store, the last one left on the shelf, however you weren’t intimidated by his glare because you really needed to survive your late night studying but coincidentally, him too. you then landed on sharing the drink as you both studied in the library, stealing glances and making sure the other first take too big of a sip

after that, it was more of smaller interactions like knocking at his door asking for help with a jar you couldn’t open, yelling until he comes to your dorm room because you and your roommate were stuck on top of the counter terrorized by the roach that he simply stomped on. following that, you decided that sharing numbers would be more efficient that screaming.

To this point, Bakugou did not mind you sharing the stories but the real part that bothered him was when you told people you’re dating him for charity

and that’s because you technically did. Bakugou’s friend decided to put up flyers around the dorms with “Go on a date with Katsuki for charity and win a free meal, and maybe even a boyfriend ;) !! warning : annoying, angry, bites back, a princess, short tempered, blond”

after multiple failed attempts and bruises his friend convinced to go with at least one of the people that volunteered— you.

the date left a lot to be desired, Bakugou was just as snarky as usual and made you pay for the meal you shared.

however, to his surprise, there was a second date, then a third and a fourth…until you officially started dating

of course, Bakugou never won arguments, why ? because you’d remind him that you originally dated him for charity and that you’d donate him back if he keeps acting up.

[steddie-island]

Four Ring Circus

Written for @corrodedcoffinfest May Mayhem bingo prompt: Marriage of Inconvenience and for @steddiebingo round 1 prompt: Surprise Rating: M | WC: 943 | Tags: Steddie, implied Gareth/ Jeff/ Unnamed Freak, Las Vegas wedding, drunken shenanigans, crack fic For full list of tags see ao3! | Divider Credit

One of Eddie's rings is missing. It's the first thing he notices when he wakes up, is the lack of the weight on his finger. He cracks an eye open, groans and immediately covers his face with his arm to hide from the blinding sunlight. "Fuck—"

There's movement to his left. He gets flashes from the night before— teeth against his throat, his own digging into the hard line of a collar bone, his fingers surrounded by tight heat. Right, he didn't go to bed alone. And whoever he went to bed with is still there with him, warm and heavy against his side.

"Eddie?"

Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.

Eddie knows that voice, is as familiar with it as he is with his own, or Jeff's.

"Stevie?"

There's a groan and a warm face buries itself against the crook of his neck. "Shhhh. Turn it down."

Whatever happened last night, at least Steve feels just as terrible this morning. Though, now that he remembers whose mouth was on his dick last night— Steve, Steve, holy shit it was Steve!!— he's feeling less awful with each second. He drags his hand over his face, which reminds him that his ring is gone.

Only when he opens his eyes, it isn't gone. It is, but there's still a ring on his finger. A simple gold band, right where his skull ring had sat before.

Oh goddamn fuck.

"Steve." Eddie's wide awake, much to the disapproval of the marching band in his head.

"Shhh—"

"No, Steve." Eddie shakes him, pushes him a little away, until he can dig Steve's hand out from beneath him and search for—

"Fuck." Eddie whips the blankets off, doesn't care that he's still naked or that Steve is looking at him like he's ready to throttle Eddie with the nearest object. "Did we get married last night?"

"What?" Annoyance is still plastered in every line of Steve's face. He opens his mouth, blinks, and then Eddie watches as it comes rushing back to him, too. He lifts his hand to see his own matching gold band. "I… We didn't… did we?"

Eddie feels like he's three seconds away from a panic attack, which is not how he'd wanted getting Steve in his bed to go. There was a massive difference in getting Steve into his bed and fucking marrying the guy.

"Fuck." Eddie digs through paperwork strewn over the hotel table alongside their empty bottles from the night before. He doesn't even have time to worry about his liver, can barely spare it more than a thought as he keeps digging through every piece of paper he can find.

"It's in the refrigerator."

"What?" Eddie asks without stopping his search.

"The marriage certificate." Eddie looks up and watches the way Steve presses the heels of his hands into his eyes. "We put it in the refrigerator. Something about it being… cooler in the morning."

That sounds exactly like something Eddie would say, three sheets to the fucking wind. He opens the door of the mini-fridge and— bingo. There it is, tucked into the little freezer slot. Eddie pulls it out, finds the license and certificate both there, on top of a pack of cigarettes— what the fuck did we drink last night?

Eddie had laughed when Wayne told him not to get married in Vegas, and now here he is. Sweaty, hungover, married to one Steve Harrington.

Er, Steve Munson, if the signature on the marriage certificate is correct.

"Ah, fuck." Eddie stands, nudging the fridge closed with his foot. "Jeff's gonna kill me. Gonna kill us."

"What makes you think he didn't go get himself married, too?" Steve asks. He still hasn't gotten out of bed, is still sitting there with both hands in his hair.

"That's not happening until next week." It's why they're here in the first place, a happy little sendoff for Jeff while they still had a few minutes to breathe.

"This wasn't supposed to happen at all." Steve slips out of bed and Eddie can't help the way he watches Steve's back, then his ass as he finds his underwear and gets them pulled up his thighs. Even hungover Steve's still the most gorgeous person Eddie's ever seen. He delights at the bruises he hadn't been able to see before on Steve's hips, a dark one on the back of his neck, several lighter ones down his spine. His cock gives a twitch of interest as his mind wanders to all of the other places and ways he could mark up Steve's body.

Before he can even think to move and actually do something about it the door on the other side of the room opens up. Eddie actually squeaks as he brings the paperwork still in his hands down to try to cover himself as much as possible— not that they haven't all seen each other in various states of undress before, being on the road and sharing a bus for as long as they have.

"We have a problem," Jeff says. He gives a tug and that's when Eddie notices the silver cuff around his wrist. Gareth is attached to the other end.

"Did you two—"

Jeff hangs his head and holds his uncuffed hand up, showing off his own gold band. "Yep."

"To Gareth?" Steve asks.

"Yep." Gareth holds his cuffed hand up. "That's not the only problem, though."

Eddie raises his eyebrows. The whole situation is so fucked he almost forgets to keep himself covered. "What is, then?"

Jeff and Gareth exchange a look before looking back at Eddie. "Dougie's handcuffed to the bed, and I think we flushed the keys."

[worksby-d]

𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲

Pairing: pornstar!Johnny Storm x pornstar!Reader

Summary: You and Johnny sit down to film on the same set you first filmed together on one year ago. You think back to why you only film with each other now. Read part one here 🫶

Warnings: AU, feeling jealousss, talking about p*rn, 18+

Word count: ~1,000

a/n: Nothing like a sequel three years later, am I right!!

. * ✦ . ◍ ∘ . * ✦ ‧ ∘ ⊹

“Only friends?”

“Yes.” You shot a playful glare toward the camera. “Just friends.”

You and Johnny both look up from the tablet the crew gave you to watch and react to your pre-scene interviews from one year ago. 

You’re on the same exact set, but this time you’re not answering questions separately. Johnny’s sat right beside you on the neatly-made bed, a hand resting subconsciously on your back. He knows this is your least favorite part of all of this.

Holding back laughter, you look at each other before looking back toward the camera and the same producer asking questions in front of you. 

“I wasn’t lying!” You quickly defend yourself. “We really weren’t together then.”

“Okay, okay,” she laughs, looking down at her own screen for the next question. “We believe you. But you’re together now…” The way both of your smiles grow gives her your answer. “And you pretty much exclusively work with each other now, is that right?”

“Yeah, for the past four months or so,” Johnny answers.

“It seems like a lot of people in this industry don’t let relationships stop them from continuing their work as normal,” she says. “So how did you guys come to that decision for yourselves?”

Johnny’s quick to take this question too. 

“Are you kidding? I couldn’t risk having her fall for someone else,” he jokes. 

You roll your eyes at him. That’s not at all the reason. It had a lot more to do with some of your insecurities than anything else, but no one needs to know that, so you’re thankful he came up with that. 

And luckily no one on a porn set cares to get any deeper, so they take the laugh and move on...

Faster than you do.

. * ✦ . ◍ ∘ . * ✦ ‧ ∘ ⊹

You walked into the studio hand-in-hand with Johnny that day. It was your day off, you just tagged along as the supportive girlfriend. 

He had done the same for you a few times before. 

You always thought that if someone asked if you were the jealous type you would have laughed in their face. You couldn't be when this was both of your jobs. Hooking up with other people was just part of your normal. 

But being there, watching Johnny with his scene partner that day, made you question that. 

A queasy feeling settled in your stomach as the day went on. You watched him laugh with the girl between scenes, give her reassuring touches, and put on one of the best acts you've seen from him. 

When you looked around, you could tell the crew was happy with what they were getting too. 

You stood by yourself, watching through a monitor, nervously biting your nails without even noticing you were doing it. 

The feeling inside you got worse when they were directed into the next position. Johnny’s hands gripped the girl’s hips, pulling her to the edge of the bed while he kneeled between her legs. 

You were in her position just the night before. 

You told yourself you didn't have to watch, it was enough that you were there. But you couldn't get yourself to look away. 

When you finally did, you slipped out of the room to get some air. 

You found an empty hallway. Your back slid against the wall until you were sitting on the floor, knees up to your chest, letting out a deep breath. 

Footsteps eventually interrupted your pity party. You looked up quickly, and they weren't just any steps, they were Johnny’s.

“Hey,” he said softly. He was still shirtless like he was more concerned about finding you than getting his clothes back on. “There you are. I was looking for you.” 

“Just needed a moment.” You hoped your smile looked convincing. “Long day in there.” 

“Tell me about it,” he chuckled, taking a seat next to you. When you didn't laugh with him, he grew more concerned. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” you answered quickly, too quickly. “You were so great, by the way. Everyone loved you. I'm just tired.” 

He waited a second to respond in case you wanted to tell him what was actually up. But nothing came. 

“You seem to forget we were friends before you became my girlfriend,” he teased. “I can tell that's not all…”

Still nothing. You opened your mouth like you were going to divulge something, but nothing came out and you just looked away from him.

“You can tell me.” He grew more worried. “Was someone weird to you in there?”

“No,” you shot that down fast. “I promise it's not that.” 

That didn't cure his frown, but he did feel a little relief. “Then what?” 

“I don't want to be that girl.” Your voice was so quiet as you finally let yourself say it out loud.

“What girl?” He asked genuinely. 

“The jealous one… The insecure one,” you scoffed, more so at yourself. “This is our job. I can't believe I'm letting it bother me. I know it’s all an act in there, but… I hated it.” 

Without looking at him, you missed the sympathetic look he gave you before putting an arm around you to pull you closer. 

You half expected him to try to lift the mood by making a quip about you being jealous – Something like, “Damn, didn't think I was that convincing today,” said with a wink – but that was furthest from his reaction.

“I felt that way too, you know…” He admitted it so quietly. “The last few times I watched you.”

That shocked you. “What?”

“But I didn't want to… I don't know, seem controlling, I guess,” he shrugged. “Or hold you back.” 

You let out a sad-sounding laugh. You didn't know if he was being serious or just trying to make you feel better, but you didn't really care in that moment. “Then why are we doing this?” 

“Maybe we shouldn't anymore,” he whispered. 

. * ✦ . ◍ ∘ . * ✦ ‧ ∘ ⊹

“All right—” A director’s voice brings you back to the present. “Are we ready to get started then?” 

You glance beside you at your sweetheart of a boyfriend, catching the soft, loving look in his eyes that will soon turn much darker, but not until you say so. 

“So ready,” you smile. 

. * ✦ . ◍ ∘ . * ✦ ‧ ∘ ⊹

Tag list: @patzammit @thummbelina @pppsssyyyccchhhiiiccc @astheskycries @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @turtoix @harrysthiccthighss @mrspeacem1nusone @geminievans1 @doozywoozy @americasass91 @dwights-new-plague @wwwmarissa92 @redhairedfeistynerd @whxre4cevans @aubreeskailynn @xoxabs88xox @before-we-get-started @chrissquares @christowhore @ice-dtae @mariestark @justile @rogersbarber @dilfbarber @payperhearts @vintagestarlight @miss-ariella @bemysugarbean @t-stark35 @seitmai @reginaphalange2403 @raelorns21 @mrsgweasley @pandaxnienke @brandycranby

[boosnotes]

Hi :) I've never requested before, but I realllyyyy like your work. I was wondering if I could get head cannons for if you tell them (Sonic, Shadow, maybe knuckles and also Eggman if it isn't too much. Platonic or romantic, either is fine) that one of your best friends is slut shaming you behind your back just for the way you dress? (Had it happen to me today 🤭) if not, that's totally fine!! I understand if it's not something you want to cover!! Have a nice day and thank you if you do write it!!

She betrayed me

Shadow x reader, Sonic x reader, Knuckles x reader

Warnings; slutshaming, can be read as platonic or not except for knuckles Genre: comfort A/n: holy shit this was requested on march 13, sorry i took so long. i went back to school, writers block, a couple of depressive episodes, got into arthuriana and lost a bit of interest with sonic. hope this is good if you are still caring for it. i havent checked the tags in a month, i dont even know if its still alive tbh

You were never scared of your body, actually, you were quite comfortable; it was a mere vessel that you could decorate however you liked it, so you did. From a young age, you were very aware that your thought process was unique; most people preferred blending in rather than being true to themselves, and as truthful to mankind; they shamed the ones that went outside of norms. Maybe you never intended to dress like that, or maybe it was what made you happy; nonetheless, your body was noticed by other people, you never gave it much thought; only doing the minimum necessary if you were scolded by a superior and blocked you from continuing with your life.

You thought your friends supported you, even if they agreed or not, why be with someone you hate? Such a waste of beautiful time. Yet you suddenly found yourself with one of your closest friends criticizing you behind your back. On one hand, you felt hurt by being insulted by someone you loved, and on the other, disappointed that she didn't have the guts to tell you anything to your face, even as a joke. You stared and stared, and stared at the screenshot you received; it was irrevocable proof, not even a rumor or that someone told them that they told a friend that. It hurt you, it truly did; at least destiny took their opportunity to show you the reality before it was too late; better this than having a lover stolen or your plans ruined.

Weed is better-taken care of before they ruin the flowers after all. You didn't know how to approach it though; she has been so ingrained in your life that it would take a while to remove her from it. She hasn't revealed her true colors to you yet, so cutting her off would just make you look like a bitch; if she was capable of trash-talking you, then it wouldn't be a problem to spread lies. You must be careful, even if your heart is still grieving for the heartbreak of such a friend. You were lucky it all went down on a Friday night, it left you all weekend to think about it, and it helped you to not throw a punch at that bitch.

SHADOW:

Without thinking, you threw your phone with brute force, something you'd regret if it wasn't for a familiar hand catching it mid-air. He had noticed your change of mood, as he did with most little things about you, ones that you don't even realize. He still wondered what exactly was bugging you, he may comprehend your current attitude, but the reason for it was out of his reach. So, he settled by just raising an eyebrow and giving you a look; you had rolled yourself inside the bedsheets while hugging one of your big comfort pillows.

"What exactly have you like this?" His tone was unimpressed as if he was only asking out of courtesy. He wasn't one to put up with childish anger; breaking things, especially expensive ones was a waste of time and resources. You groaned from under your covers, not really wanting to chat about it, though, despite that, you ended up opening your mouth, knowing evading the subject would only earn you a scowl from him.

"A scumbag…" You muffled against the pillow, the comfort of the spot was the only thing keeping you grounded. Your feelings were so contradicting, making you feel nothing at the same time as everything, it was bubbling and about to pour, though when you checked it was empty.

"Did they break your heart?" He commented sarcastically as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He still thought you were having a dramatic breakout, acting out about some meaningless situation like ordering the wrong coffee bag and thinking he'll hate you, or messing up some bank things.

"More like my trust…" You averted your sigh, even if you couldn't see him through the material, you still felt very vulnerable about this. Shadows' eyes softened and sighed when he took a sit next to you on your bed. It was a rare sight for both of you; the roles have been reversed; the natural progression would be him breaking down from something of his past and you comforting him, not you crying and him awkwardly patting your head.

He kept silent, waiting for you to continue, he knew how to treat someone who was just as close off as him with his emotions. You don't have a problem with showing basic ones, even so, when it comes to opening your heart, you faked every problem you had. He couldn't care less about your lies though; if you didn't want to open up, then he wouldn't make you.

"Do I look like a slut?" You questioned after a couple of beats of silence, your voice was weak and trembling, and you were so out of your comfort zone. You felt so lost, and deep down you knew Shadow was the worst person to tell this; he doesn't understand most social problems cause he doesn't even try to care, he was on his own, and most of the time he was saved so much trouble, while you weren't like him.

"You look like yourself." He responded as a matter of fact, not understanding how this connected to your mood, he knew it wasn't a thing people liked to be called, whereas you never cared for that until now. "Where is this coming from?"

"Do you remember my best friend?" He nodded, you talked about her a lot, it was evident that you were close. Most of the times he asked you about your day, you'd mentioned her in some way, she was always there, or so you believed. "She has been calling me that behind my back…"

"She doesn't deserve you." He quickly stated, as if it was an objective truth. To be fair, he never liked her, he always felt there was something off when she appeared; you'd always brush him off saying that the two of them never even talked.

"I know…"

"You should dump her."

"I know…"

"Then why are you like this?"

"I know, but I don't know, you know?" He stared at you blankly, unimpressed and not grasping how you felt. "Like, I know it theoretically, but I don't feel like it's making me feel less bad."

"That's the most nonsensical thing you ever said." He responded severely, if it was another person saying this, you'd feel worse, though it was Shadow talking, tough love was his love language, and he hasn't yet softened up with you to console you properly. You were glad he was at least trying.

"I feel betrayed… she has everything to use against me now," you attempted to explain more clearly, you knew it all could be solved easily, but you nonetheless felt like shit, you felt like you were celebrating the ideas of march. "she doesn't have to hide she hates me."

"Indulging in absurd drama is a waste of time. The worthy ones aren't going to be a part of it." He paused for a few seconds, unsure to say what's next but deciding to, all for your sake. "You have me." He murmured the last part, it made you come out of your sheet cocoon impressed with his attitude.

"That's oddly sweet from you." You were touched, it was a moment rarely seen in him, despite being created for curing and comforting the terminally ill. You gave him a small smile, flattered regarding his words.

"Don't push it." He closed off again, though it was unlike before, it was exclusively embarrassment rather than a facade of coldness like usual. All you did was giggle, not wanting to push too much on this newfound openness he's giving you. Except, without realizing you laid your head on one of his thighs, you felt it tighten but quickly relax, and he just let you be there, carefully brushing your hair back from time to time.

KNUCKLES:

You had planned to accompany him in guarding the Master Emerald, the situation had soured your mood though, and now you sulked on one of the stairs with your head between your legs. You always took the time to be with your love, it was his life mission and the most important part of him, a piece of now lost culture he could hold onto to feel not so alone, a faint connection to his family; you cherished the fact he trusted you enough to let you in this delicate part of him. Despite that, you wished you were at home right now, under the covers of your bed, putting your focus on other things than the situation at hand; no amount of love could surpass distraction from your problems.

He had noticed that you didn't exactly try to hide your sourness, the dark aura emanating from you reminded him of those times he had to awkwardly comfort Amy because of her failing crush, whereas this was more serious than that, not to the point of Shadows usual brooding, but it could gave it a run for its money. He waited for you to entrust him with your little crisis, while the longer he waited, the more worried he got at the lack of change.

He coughed awkwardly, a way to gain your attention; when you finally looked at him, he tipped around the subject, not wanting to force you. "So, how was your day?" That was an alright thing to ask, right? It wasn't a shitty backhanded comment… Right?

He was proven wrong when he heard you quietly sobbing not long after that; you hid as good as you could in your chest, curling yourself into a ball; it made him instantly panic, he was trying really hard not to mess this up, even if he already kinda did. He walked down the stairs until he reached the ones you were sitting on, kneeling to your level yet not touching you; he didn't like people doing it to him when he got upset, so he concluded you may also not. He didn't how to start, he already knew you were feeling bad, and that was obvious; he decided to let you cry your heart out, sitting next to you and making his presence known if you wanted to start physical contact.

Time passed and your tears almost emptied you out entirely, all the water in your system had left from it. Nonetheless, your breathing was still ragged, a sign of you struggling to breathe; he gently shushed you and guided you in deep breathing; inhaling, maintaining, and exhaling, repeating those three steps until you felt more at ease. The fresh breeze of Angel Island helped you a lot, some water droplets hit your face as you heard the birds chirping from the distance.

"Better now?" he softly asked, not wanting to cause you any more stress. You nodded as you slowly sat up, cleaning the salty tears from your eyes; you weren't expecting to break down like this, but damn it felt good, you really needed it. Unconsciously, you grabbed Knuckle's hand and toyed with it as you looked up to the sky, cloud gazing for a bit; it made him smile at you, still analyzing your composure, happy that you were relaxing slowly. "Do you wish to tell me what happened?"

"Just stupid drama." you waved off his inquiry, it wasn't that deep, and you had already let out all you held inside you. Your mind was begging you to keep talking though, it would make things so much easier, you didn't pay any attention to it, preferring to enjoy the sky otherwise.

"It has to be important to push you that much." he pushed a bit, his gaze changing between your hands and your expression, you seemed solemn and he truly wanted to help you, what kind of lover he be if he didn't? that would be a disgrace to the echidna race.

"My friend… called me a slut behind my back." his expression turned serious as if he was getting ready to chase her and put her in her place. Quickly, you intervened, not wanting any of that to happen. "It's not a big deal, do not do anything." he was about to protest, but you cut him off, already knowing what he was going to say. "I know I just cried, but it's not because of her. I just… felt really stupid for trusting her so easily…."

"Your heart's too big to waste it on people like that," he stated, it made you grimace cause on the one hand you were touched by it, but on the other hand you were capable of being the same as her, if not worse, you just choose not to. Your biggest worry is that you fell for her, not that she did it at all, you felt that your protection was best.

"I'm not that saint you think I am…" you had let go of his hand, rather settling to play with yours, breaking the nail you had; it made him sad to lose your touch, yet he let you be, deciding to put it on your knee instead, knowing he had to punch your head until those ideas went away.

"A bad person cannot become one cause they have to be good first, and you cannot be a good person until the end, but it's possible for a person to be good and bad in the same life." his eyes stared at you deeply, wanting for you to understand every word that was coming out of his mouth. "I love you because it is good and it shows. I can't choose another to spend my life with that's not you."

Your face flushed bright red, making you look away in embarrassment; your heart was overworking from all the love he had to give you and only you. You still felt stupid for letting your best friend in, but at least now you were his stupid. he pulled your face to look him in the eyes, only for him to give you a soft kiss. You quickly hid yourself in his arms, not being able to look him in the eyes; he gladly cradled you in them, feeling the heat of your bodies against each other.

"I'm still going to do something about her."

"Then at least let me help."

SONIC:

You were sulking in the kitchen, waiting for your comfort food to be done heated. Thankfully, you made enough for it to last a couple of servings, so all you had to do was wait for the microwave to finish heating it back up. Sonic saw your brooding form from the table, he was tapping his feet with a lot of speed as he waited for you, he already got his usual meal, a chilli dog, how was he able to sustain himself with only that as a full course meal, it was beyond you, but if it made him happy, then let him be.

"What's with that long face?" He questioned you; even if you turned away from him, you could notice the smirk he had on. You weren't in the mood to handle some of his teasing, so you didn't respond at all as you continued prepping your food. He pointed at the lack of response, "Come on, don't ignore me."

"Sonic, I'm not in the mood." You said plainly, whereas the hedgehog didn't care, thinking you were exaggerating as you usually do. He stood up and went next to you with a smirk, just staring at you with that funny look until you reacted. Sadly for him, you didn't. Sonic wasn't a guy of feelings; he was empathetic and loved feeling things, but he was also too oblivious to know when to back out.

As time went on, he poked your cheek, progressively getting more frequent. It didn't take long for you to smack his hand away; you had a lot on your plate to deal with his antics. He felt deeply offended, never have you reacted that way towards him, you'd follow his jokes and play fight or gently let him down; his back straightened up as a frown grew.

"Ok, what is going on?" He called your name, more concerned at your state, seeing how serious it was. You grumbled under your breath, asking him to not bother you and leave you alone, but he didn't relented, he wanted to be there for you in whatever is what you're going through, he'd be an asshole friend if he just walked off. He called your name once again, putting a hand on your shoulder as he leaned in.

"I don't want to talk about it, I don't even want to think about it." You hid your face in your arms, your posture a mess, but the need to hide away was stronger than any pain on your back. Sonic's hand just stayed there, making sure you knew he'd always be there for you. He wasn't the most empathetic guy, but he was going to try it for you.

Ding

The microwave finish heating your food, either way, his stance didn't change much, just passing the arm over your shoulder as you took your food out. You turned around and ate it while he hugged you, finding comfort in the familiar flavors hitting your mouth. While you did that, he tried to sneak his hand and steal some of your food, earning a quick slap on his hand. He tried giving you puppy eyes, yet they disappeared as soon as he saw your annoyed expression.

"Sorry, sorry…" He said as he raised his hands, not really honest about the apology. He stared at you eat after that, his mind going through all the possibilities of why you are like this. "But really, what's with that long face?"

"A bitch friend was calling me a slut behind my back this entire time." That made him raise his eyebrows and let out a whistle. You didn't waste any time hitting his chest at these reactions. In his defense, he wasn't expecting that answer; he thought you got along with most people despite your directness. "Now I have no idea what to do about it."

"Stop talking to her, duh?" He answered obviously, making a mocking face to cheer you up. You rolled your eyes, maybe it would've been better if you continued acting as if he wasn't there; it was too late for that, you'll have to deal with him until he leaves.

"No shit, but how? She thinks I don't know, but I don't want her near me." You pushed him away and started cleaning the dishes, talking things out was making you feel less down. Sonic, on the other hand, was having the time of his life, listening to your drama; he was expecting a tragedy, no petty social drama, and he was savoring every moment of it.

"Ignore her, confront her, or… I don't know, people who don't like me usually go for trying to murder me until I gain their hearts." You scoffed; it wasn't inaccurate, but deep down you prefer if she had done something like that rather than slut shaming you, at least you'd had things clear from the start. He rolled his eyes, "Forget about her, now let's go out to eat some chilli dogs and watch a movie or something. How does that sound?"

You slowly nodded, liking the idea of him taking your mind off things. With a big smile, he grabbed your hand and dragged you out of the house, preparing you for a pleasant evening.

[theguywhodoesntlikemusicals]

Some Hatchetverse headcanons

I've been thinking about implications.....

I've been saving these up for a while so I can do a megapost so here we are. I've pulled in points of evidence where I can but I don't think there are any outright spoilers (the cut is just mostly for length) but so be aware that there are at least some context spoilers.

This ended up being long enough as it is but maybe I will make a part 2 especially once i've rewatched NPMD

TGWDLM

It's probably obvious in how I play him but I'm of course an Autistic Paul believer. I see how he acts in myself and some of the things he does in my friends and also this and this video add years to my life

Since Bill is like 13 years older than Paul according to the wiki at the time of TGWDLM, I like to imagine that Bill maybe either interviewed him or mentored him after he joined CCRP. I mention this in the tags of this post but to further on it, I can totally imagine Paul immediately latching onto Bill as someone who is very kind and supportive especially to younger team members (see Melissa), especially since he didn't have a particularly supportive upbringing (see being taken to musicals and made to feel like shit).

I'm assuming that Paul joined CCRP upon leaving university (since he seems like a one-job kind of guy, and I'm basing this off my friend who has a similar seeming-job), which would put him at around age 21-22. Alice is 13 years younger than him according to the wiki, which means he may have been babysitting her from when she was around age 9. Which I think is adorable, no wonder she thinks he's cool. He probably brought over his gameboy and let her use it to play Animal Crossing.

Speaking of videogames, we know from Forever and Always that he plays videogames to relax. Or at least one. Which do we think this is? I'm taking suggestions but tbh, the only game that truly takes up 100% of my concentration and distracts me from my thoughts and anxiety (which I also absolutely displace onto Paul) are rhythm games. For me it's Project Diva but I can actually see him getting really into Rhythm Heaven. I don't think he's a big rpg person or games where you play as a character (e.g. mario or final fantasy)

This kind of leads into the biggest question and I think the biggest source of Paul HC contention........ does he actually dislike musicals? Do I think he dislikes music? No. I think he likes some specific music and may even, in rare cases, be caught humming. Do I think he likes musicals? No. I'm a Paul vs Musicals believer. I think this comes from a) when being dragged to a school that (presumably had a theatre programme whereas his didn't so) had better resources and more funding, where kids were being applauded and praised while he was made to feel small. This comes from this video where it's explained way better and I would definitely recommend watching it, but it is representative of his own lack of self-value and how he puts his needs last. But ALSO b) I do also think it's an autistic/ overstimulation thing from the setting. It can be both! I definitely think he gets overstimulated easily. (This comes from just after Not Your Seed where he blocks his ears and curls up to stop himself from hearing the girls sing/scream at him, despite the fact he KNOWS at this point that the infection is spread by being killed and re-animated. So sitting still there was the worst thing for him to do in practicality.) TLDR: Musicals: NO. Music: Some is ok. Get this man some Loops Earbuds and he MIGHT be able to go to a concert with you.

In that same video as above actually they suggest that the Infected retain some degree of their own personality, and the infection has the side effect of removing a lot of inhibitions and removing the reason to hide what's inside them. It's not technically my headcanon it's from that vid WHICH YOU SHOULD WATCH, but it basically explains why in Join us and Die, the change in Charlotte's personality is so jarring. My HC is that she's been penting up so much anger and upset for so long regarding Sam and her situation, and feeling powerless. No wonder when she loses her reason not to be sweet and polite all the time she goes all guts out rambo on everyone (ESPECIALLY TED who has been essentially using her from her perspective).

Speaking of Charlotte, I think it is less of a HC and more just how she comes across, but I think she is a very big romantic. She dreams of being a disney princess and being swept off her feet. See: just before Tied Up My Heart where she runs like a little girly and kneels down like she's fucking Snow White. I love and support her. All she gets is Sam and Ted and she deserves better.

Emma was on her way home from work when the meteor struck... Did Infected!Nora call her BACK into work in the middle of the night to practice Cup of Roasted Coffee? I'm surprised she didn't quit right there holy shit. Knowing that she probably did the whole of TGWDLM on 0 hours sleep, and also was probably already exhausted from having a job AND putting herself through college makes me respect her so much. That would explain why in Perky's Buds and Forever and Always she's so much more chill, she's actually slept!

I think Paul is actually very physically affectionate once it comes to it. I love that Jon Matteson basically has him grabbing onto Emma (in Cup of Poison Coffee & Join Us and Die), Charlotte (in Show Me Your Hands), and Bill (in Not Your Seed) to protect them at every opportunity. He even goes to catch Sam when he falls at the end of Show Me Your Hands despite the fact that he's been threatening them with police violence for the last 3 minutes (I know this is probably a staging thing to keep Jeff safe but still). If someone is in danger his immediate reflex is to grab and put himself in the way. It's Fight, Flight, or Fling your arms around your friends.

Why is Paul the best dressed person in the office? Bill and Ted both just wear shirts of different colours and a colourful tie but Paul is the only one in a full suit jacket and black tie. Is this because he's hard working or professional? No, further down I mention how I think he's actually quite lazy. Is it because he's boring? No I don't think so, he has things he likes! Even if his contentment with them considered 'dull' or 'mundane' by the rest of the world. No, here's what I think: he wears a suit jacket while everyone else is just in shirts because this man's circulation is NONEXISTANT. His hands are CHILLY and he needs some mittens. Melissa, please turn off the AC in floor 3. This man is Too Cold.

Ted thinks Paul is his best friend and thinks Bill is lame. Bill thinks Paul is his best friend and thinks Ted is a weirdo. Paul thinks hmm i want some coffee. Both of them have a kind of unspoken tension about it meanwhile Paul is just No Thoughts head Empty. JK i do think he thinks Bill is his best friend but he doesn't see it as much of a massive deal as Bill does

Black Friday

I like the idea that 'But they are intimate' becomes a local Hatchetfield meme along the lines of 'Oh god they were roommates'. Tim starts saying it at school and the kids who've never processed that word before all start saying it because it's hilarious, then it gets on tiktok and you know how it goes. Emma is cringing the whole time, until Paul realises and cringes as well, and then she uses it to laugh at/with him.

I know it's not technically a headcanon... but after watching a review of Black Friday, I have an alternate version in my head that addresses some of the pacing in the second act. (don't get me wrong I love BF but i do get where the guy is coming from!) where Ethan gets to live to the end of the musical. I'm an Ethan fan personally esp how he becomes such a father figure to Hannah and is so supportive of Lex. He wants to marry her in Yellow Jacket ffs!! Let them be close! I have this image built up in my head of him wanting to defend them from all their problems with his tough exterior but being frustrated and helpless that he can't actually do anything to address their real, systemic socio-economic problems. He gets patched up by Becky, and sticks with her and Tom to prevent them from finding Hannah, watching and juxtaposing their descent into Wiggly madness. During Do You Want to Play, he fights with Tom and Becky to protect Hannah but is knocked out and ends up getting taken to Linda along with Becky where they get tied up. Before Lex arrives with Tom, he manages to free himself with his switch blade. He gives it to Becky so she can free herself but runs to help Hannah. Without the doll to summon Wiggly, they try to sacrifice him in order to bring Wiggly through the portal/give him a vessel like Nibbly. He comes face to face with Wiggly himself as he and Wiley try to convince Ethan to come over to Wiggly's side, preying on his eagerness to throw money at Lex and Hannah's problems to save them (as he does in Yellow Jacket). In the end his knowledge that just the nice moments he is there for Hannah and supports her through her visions are what matters saves him. He gets his own song (maybe with echoing stings from Made in America or Black Friday) but just before Lex arrives, knowing they failed, Linda stabs him. Lex gets to save him this time and they have a tearful reunion, and get to sing together in the final number. TLDR Thank you Dragons that's my pitch I'm accepting investments to let Ethan live

Also not really a headcanon, but I ADORE that in the series so far, the two characters that John Macnamara has trusted to save the world are Lex and Paul, two people who are just trying to live their lives and get through the day but care about their friends and will do whatever it takes when the chips are down. Except the president he doesn't count because he shit the bed and that was the whole point

We know that Wiley/Wilbur Cross was John Macnamara's mentor. I imagine mourning losing him to the Black and White must have been awful for him. In TGWDLM he says 'The experiences I've acrued... have given me a deeper understanding of the cosmos and of our place in it. I follow a higher law than any institution could decree, and that's the universal truth of love and the strength of the human heart.' I went into this about to write that the experience might have been losing his mentor, but wouldn't that have taught him the opposite? Wilbur's heart was weak and his mind was lost... But what if Wilbur went into the black and white to save John? It was an act of love and strength all along.

I love lex more than any one and she deserves better.

NPMD

I'm a trans ftm Richie believer and this is definitely not just me displacing my feelings onto him... This is mainly because I think it would make that scene where he gets accepted by the football bros even stronger and I need to see it happen...

I also think he probably draws and is writing a manga sue me

I think that he likes magic the gathering...... I've just gotten into it and I swear that that's not just the only reason why! I think Paul got him some (Paul likes boardgames which we know from TGWDLM and a card game like this seems like the next logical step into nerddom before dnd) to bond with him and it spiraled from there.

I explain my reasons why I like the idea of Paul and Richie being close below, but I think Paul comes to Richie's games sometimes to support him, especially when he started out being a mascot. He needs Loops and to sleep for 17 hours afterward to recover but he is there for Richie GDI!

Also not a HC but Grace Chastity is my favourite character and she deserves better. I love THIS video on her and basically support every suggestion about her, but I wanted to highlight that there's an alternate universe where she works through her issues in a healthy relationship with Jason/someone else and becomes the kinkiest guidance councilor in the US. I want her to have a supportive partner who lets her explore!

Nightmare time:

We know from Hey Melissa, that Paul puts in headphones when he doesn't want to engage with people at work. What does he listen to? He could very well be a podcast person, but I'm willing to bet that he actually does like some music. His hate for musicals seems specific to the setting and the social awkwardness stemming from childhood events, so here's my pitch: I think he listens most to movie soundtracks. I think in one of Jon Matteson's livestreams he mentions that CCRP was initially created to be a buzzfeed style movie review company, we know he watched Moana and has opinions on it, and we know from when he asks Emma about film that this is something he at least engages with. I can imagine him fucking vibing to the opening of the Hobbit or something when trying to concentrate.

Not really a headcannon since it's essentially confirmed in Hey Melissa (Mr Davidson: Don't work too hard! | Paul: I don't!) and also the fact that he 'spends his days surfing the web' rather than working, but I think Paul is actually quite lazy and a huge procrastinator.

We know from Forever and Always that Emma's line to try to kiss Paul for the first time was 'want to smoke some pot and make out'. Do we think they got high and had their first make out session like that? I like to think so. Follow up question, what is Paul like high? I've never smoked anything before so definitely open to suggestions. But since Emma enjoys it so much I do think Paul partakes with her occasionally to share in something she likes, and if anyone else he knows found out they would be shocked to think of him as a stoner. It has helped with his anxiety.

My favourite characters from Nightmare Time are Duke and Miss Holloway... I love them sm they even inspired a story I'm currently writing. HOWEVER... I do have a bone to pick with Holloway over that fucking note. 'Could I have BEEN any clearer?' YES IT COULD QUEEN. If you know someone is going to be faced with a body they can't let be taken to the morgue, then INDICATE that and don't make him feel bad for then you having to change your identity if it's that important! This is unlicensed Duke himbofication and, while he may indeed be a himbo, forcing that on him is unethical!

General:

I'm not too familiar with the All-Jon-Matteson-Characters-Are-Related family tree, but I do like the idea that i've seen floating around that Richie and Daniel (DANIEL!! MY BABY!!) are brothers and are Gary Goldstein's kids from various affair partners, with Paul being his half-brother (hence the different surnames) and so uncle to his kids. From Paul going to Sycamore, it seems as though his parents weren't the most wealthy, so I can definitely see Gary, becoming a ruthless lawyer to wealthy clients, favouring getting a high income and financial security, rather than relationships with his kids and partner(s). We know from Forever and Always that Paul is also savvy in terms of financial security, insurance, etc... but didn't go off the deep end that much, so I think he is very supportive of his Nephews. I think maybe I saw the family tree thing on @boy-jerrys-blog so kudos fam.

Also was anyone going to tell me that Beige Jacket Reporter from Hatchet Town was Boy Jerry or did I just have to figure that out for myself????? Who let this man join the workforce??

If Paul had like 1 ounce more conviction and consideration for his own desires I think he would get himself a dog now that he's an adult and has financial safety (definitely a rescue) and that thing would have the best most love-filled life ever I cry thinking about it. Someone take this man to a shelter and he will have a field day and maybe cry.

Actually he might not do it because he has trauma from seeing spot die but GOD JUST LET HIM BE HAPPY AND GIVE IT A GO IT'LL BE GOOD FOR YOU PAUL JUSt maybe buy a sturdy leash

[fox-guardian]

sorry if this comes across as rude, but it's been majorly bugging me,,, am i the only one kind of uncomfortable with the whole concept of anti-jimmy??? the rise in popularity of this guy who's done nothing wrong just. majorly icks me,,,, like yes he's just a regular ass dude, but. he also assaulted anya. and was terrible to her. and i feel like people are WAY too forgiving about that.

idk, im sorry if this seems rude or whatever, but i figured i'd say something, esp as someone who is a victim of a similar assault. i do love the art! this has just been bugging me,,,,, sorry if im overthinking it

I think it's fair to feel uncomfortable with the idea of anti-jimmy, since the character he comes from is so.... uncomfortable. Especially if you yourself are a victim (which I'm very sorry to hear, I hope you're doing well).

I can't speak for all anti-aus, but for my own at least, I'm not trying to "forgive" Jimmy/his actions at all (I'm actually not 100% sure what you mean by that?). My anti-jimmy is a completely separate person who would never do any of that, because I took the parts of Jimmy that would and flipped them. Thus making a pretty chill guy who ended up being very likable. He kind of stands in contrast to canon jimmy, just kind of emphasizing how awful he is. I hope that makes sense.

That's not to try and convince you to like my guy and my au, of course, just some clarification that I hope might help you and others to understand my approach and what that means for how I write him. Again, jimmy is a very uncomfortable character for a lot of people, and seeing a version of him -- even if he is the opposite of the way he is in canon -- being so liked and enjoyed as a silly little guy can still feel Bad. I get that completely. I wouldn't blame anyone if they wanted to filter out my au (I try to tag everything as "anti-tulpar au") if it makes them uncomfortable.

Personally, I made this au to play around with character design and to sort of.... backwards analyze? I guess? The characters by flipping their traits. And I didn't want to leave jimmy out of that just because of the nature of what he did in the game. I won't blame anyone for feeling uncomfortable, but he is the main character of the game and it would feel wrong to leave him out of these kinds of aus. At the same time, in my au, these are all separate characters from the ones in canon, just put in the same circumstances (minus the assault) and I'm not trying to use the way I flip a character to forgive or condemn the actions of their canon counterpart. Me making anti-jimmy a delight isn't meant to forgive canon jimmy, just as much as making anti-curly Horrible isn't meant to condemn canon curly.

I hope I'm not coming across as dismissive or anything, because I really do get why people would be uncomfortable. Not every au is going to be for everyone (I know I personally didn't care for that big popular anti-au from what little I saw of it). I hope I'm making sense, and I do wish you the best.

[songbirdo]

Eyyyy Last Song: Six Hundred Strike, Epic the Musical by Jorge Rivera-Herrans Last movie: Turning Red, put it on for the kiddos during a party on Friday. It continues to be an excellent movie that makes me tear up at the end. Happy Mother's Day! Last book: OMFG Bees! By Matt Kracht. Lovely Bee Book with lovely illustrations. I can imagine it would also be good if you're scared of bees and want to conquer that fear. Last TV show: Uuuhhhhh I don't watch a lot of TV. Probably Mashle.

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Savory! Spicy is only good with one of the other two and sweet is definitely the Least of the three to me.

Relationship Status: Single

Last thing I googled: A nearby auto repair shop that's open on Sunday. I got a nail stuck in my tire... Why do people keep throwing nails in the street...

Looking forward to: DOING MORE ART WITHOUT PAIN. I picked up my colored pencils again for the first time in a long time last night, and am trying to pace myself.

Current Obsession: Hollow Knight! But like, the game itself, and the many beautiful and lovingly crafted fanarts and projects. I don't live in constant anticipation of Silksong. I mean, I'm excited for it if it's actually coming out this year, but I need like. A month and a day, and Team Cherry needs to be Allowed to Cook. Especially when I can Draw and replay the original game but smarter, and with carpal tunnel.

I don't usually tag people in these, so there you go! Thanks for the tag, Mari!

Tag game!

from tumblr user rain @ceruleana

Rules: Tag 10 people you want to get to know better.

Last song: lets see. Chemical overreaction by Will Wood and the Tapeworms. Wait.. i am listening to Epic the musical inbeetwen normal music so that too.

Last movie: god not sure?? Might actualy be The Blues Brothers i rewatched a while back with my friend. Great film if you want to see SO many cars crash oh wow.

Last book: Forth wing by Rebecca Yarros. SHITE BOOK! DONT READ! Main character talks like a marvel hero i red half of it and put it down thank you.

Last TV show: ought to be Apple cider vinegar. Uhh fucked up but really good.

Sweet/savory/spicy : savory. Had to google what that means lamo.

Relationship status: i want a girlfriend

Last thing I googled: savoury po polsku. ::/

Looking forward to: not beeing ill. Im so ill rn.

Current obsession: Mr Scar Goodtimes has me in a chokehold.

Tagging: i dont think i got 10 mutuals to tag but id like to know @m4delin and @lipiaknight a lil better ::3 AND YOU @dabididubidi (grabbing you by the neck)

[buwheal]

Hello, Spamton!

How's life? Also, do you have any opinions on the Addisons? (Pink, blue, orange, and yellow)

If so, what do you think of them?

[vintagerobin]

Imagine telling Steph that you forced Cass into a situation where she either had to watch you murder someone right in front of her or else murder you herself in order to stop you, and then expecting Steph to be sympathetic towards you because Cass injured you in a risky but ultimately nonlethal way in a desperate attempt to stop any of that from happening. That's about what expecting Dick to be sympathetic towards Jason for the neck batarang incident feels like to me.

[mega-banette]

you know what. if we’re imagining Fox as being 17-19 then offering her french toast was actually a genius move on the Bizzies’ part. because from experience the number 1 way to get a teenager to trust you is to give them free food

[luciacaminoz]

sol behind his back:

[radioroxx]

What do you think Odile does for a living? She feels teacher like to me. What do you think she would do post canon?

HMMMM THIS IS GOOD QUESTION…

ive seen a lot of people hc her as a teacher / professor so i!! think that suits her pretty well. specifically as someone who studies + specializes in different types of craft (that would be why shes so proficient in multiple craft spells. also how she was able to figure out the loops stuff, AND to find something that could prevent siffrin from looping back).

post canon i am not sure… i am always torn between how the party would handle things post canon. obviously they would keep travelling for a bit, odile alongside her family without the stress of. constant sadness encounters + a king to kill lol. i think maybe she would get to take her time, reeaally get to know vauguardian culture when not within. a crisis. as was her original intention.

eventually. EVENTUALLY. when the family settles down somewhere (i am a “they all get a big house together” believer lol) she would get back into craft stuff. maybe go back into teaching too—surely people would be eager to hire a saviour. especially though i think it would be neat of her to try looking into wish craft etc, as a long forgotten form of craft. to satisfy her own curiosity, for siffrins sake, or just as a way of preserving the countries culture in whatever ways possible.

[discjude]

SO funny that the only explanation for why Aric stabbed Rhian is, in Japeth's words, "because [Rhian] said things about [his and Aric's] friendship" (the full actual quote is "because you said things! About him and me! About our friendship!"). Which is such a funny way of phrasing it because that could mean LITERALLY anything. Soman why would you phrase it like that. genuinely

The only other elaboration we get on the stabbing ever is right after the first line and it's vague as to what it's actually talking about, which is where Rhian says "Because he was a monster / a sadist with no soul" (which. yeah lmao), but that could be either "he stabbed me because he was a monster" OR "I said those things because he was a monster", and the rest of the line supports the second interpretation, so we just???? don't know what made aric do it??????? This is the single most influential event in the series it literally doubled the series' length what do you MEAN there's only ever two lines about it????? ? ? ??? arbed prequel when hello

[thymehaspassed]

I’m getting myself too worked up about this I think. This ain’t a personal attack on me. Hhhnnggg

[wackywatchdotcom]

man, i have to go do something in a minute here, but i am CONSTANTLY think about like... how long DOES the average circus member last before they abstract?

we dont have a lot of information about the passage of time in general in the show (which is infinitely painful to me, who likes to know about technical details very in-depth. but i understand writing wise why its like this) other than that the first 4 episodes take place over the span of 4(? or 5, depending on how you interpret the ending scene of episode 4) (which this also intrigues me that 8-9 days will pass over the course of the show... and also makes me curious about just how eventful the average day truly is in the circus!) days and that everyone in the circus has likely been here for at MINIMUM 2 years

(i say that because jax says "weve been stuck here for years" which implies that all of the people there at the time have been there for more than one year and because of the plural years, a minimum of 2. maybe. he also could just be oversimplifying things but unless given reason to think otherwise im interpretting the line this way)

we know of a at least ~18 people whove been in the circus total, but i frankly think its more than that. we know ribbit abstracted before kaufmo, but we dont know when ribbit joined the circus, or how much time was between these

it also depends on how long you think the circus members have been trapped for. i personally think this has been going on for at minimum 10 years (i have my own hcs abt it being ~16 years, but thats just hc and based on a bunch of my interpretations of random details) but we dont really know this, and how long this has been happening, and how long kingers been here, and whether or not kinger has or hasnt been here the longest of anyone whos ever been in the circus

like if its been like 5 years thatd mean like... 3-4 people join the circus each year (on average). if its 10 years thatd mean 1-2 people join the circus each year (on average). and we dont even know how many people the circus has in it at one time on avg!! like theres the theory it floats around 6, but thats just a theory and not smth we know for sure. point being, we dont even know how often people join the circus and that effects a LOT of things

idk..... i guess the question really is 'how often can a person last in the circus before they literally cannot take it anymore' which is a much sadder question. we dont even know how long ago queenie abstracted, or ribbit abstracted. did zooble know ribbit? did ribbit get here before or after zooble did??

it just haunts me a little

[milfbrainrot]

yj complaining

i'm getting so tired of the theories that yj derailing is Actually because it's a Commentary on the Audience, about how real life doesn't work out poetically but We as the Depraved Audience want fucked up deaths that satisfy, We as the Dumbass Audience want to find meaning just like the girls do even when there is none, that We as the Audience of seemingly mostly people who experience misogyny first-hand and want to see a cathartic commentary on it are just... getting off to female pain?!

like. 1) yeah i got into the feral teen girl cannibalism show because i wanted feral teen girls. i think everyone did. why does that have to say anything about me beyond... that i wanted an interesting story that has to be explored in fiction because it's not what i want to happen irl?

and 2) i think the writers just don't know what they're doing in either case. why make a show that is specifically unsatisfying across the board intentionally without anything to really balance that out? or do they just not know how to make it satisfying? i lean toward the latter lol, especially because even if there is a case for this idea to pan out... it doesn't feel like it was planned from the start.

"WE as the AUDIENCE are It, the It that hungers for spilled blood!" sure, but also i got into this show because the girls were supposed to be the ones hungering for spilled blood lol. both me AND the girls can want carnage. that's actually what was supposed to happen - teen girls unraveling without the restrictions of society, teen girls being just as awful as teen boys if not worse, teen girls losing their connection to humanity as they become one with the nature coiling around them in a way that makes you wonder if their descent is ACTUALLY a transition into what core humanity is supposed to be.

so... while i do like the twist that not all of them actually wanted the more recent hunting and feasting, that some of them are more attached to their humanity and various factions are plotting various forms of violence for better or for worse, that now that we actually KNOW the characters we can recognize them as people more than silent cloaked figures whose story we could only make as many unfair assumptions about as the in-universe public... i'm not sure it's being executed very well.

IF the actual takeaway is that We The Audience were just silly depraved monsters for WANTING the girls spiraling into unleashing the rage wound up in them from modern society, for WANTING the premise that they could be just as bad if not worse than the lord of the flies boys... then why was that the premise? it feels cheap to go "oooooh you wanted a show about carnage after being promised a show about carnage? Ha Ha, your disappointment in us not delivering actually says something about YOU and YOUR capacity for violence and YOUR cannibalism of people's trauma!" and that feels inappropriate as well as cheap, and really not as big of a gotcha as people think because these characters are NOT REAL. this isn't a sensationalized tv show about a real life serial killer bending to the will of whatever is most interesting, and while it was loosely based on the andes crash it is hardly comparable at this point.

i do think there is more time for the girls to have a more unified decline, or that the more feral faction will grow. i think there are also a lot of instances of violence and "selfish" tendencies, even if they aren't the ones we expected - passively "allowing" violence, rigging the card draw, etc. i also do think that at this point in the story--largely BECAUSE they got snapped back into themselves with the promise of near-rescue--they do need to be broken down more collectively to reach that point as a group. maybe we'll get that in season 4! or maybe the writers just didn't properly utilize the time between last winter and this one enough to get us there on time and this was what happened instead. so many more people need to die in such a short span of time, i'm not really sure what they're thinking.

ANYWAY. the show could bring in that angle, sure. but it also needs to have contained substance imo first. there are media where the whole point is commentary on entertainment, like the truman show. but that has always been a teensy tiny background blip in yj - we see the "what really happened out there?" true crime girlie fascination from people, we see tabloids and books theorizing, but it was always... less about that and more about their actual trauma carrying over into adulthood and how it impacts them. especially now, there really isn't much outside speculation, even after huge scandals like nat's death with the survivors present or taissa's political crash. now would be the perfect time to ground that element more. like. i got into a show about teens crashing in the wilderness and eating each other to survive, and while i SEE the point of an angle about how the in-universe treatment of the situation can reflect on similar in our own universe, i don't think our expectations of a narratively satisfying story can have that same conclusion extracted from it. there is a difference between kinda punishing the audience for engaging with fiction as fiction, versus giving a commentary on how people sensationalize true crime.

basically the "oOoOoO the show is ACTUALLY about how WE crave violence and theatrics at the expense of other people!" thing feels like a slap in the face lmfao. i unfortunately think that theory has merit after some stuff in season 3, so i don't blame the way some people are clinging to it, but if this was what the writers were intending (especially if you do take the citizen detective boards as a stand-in for the reddit forums the writers apparently spend too much time in) that doesn't sit right with me with what we currently have. that said, i also do think it's funny that people are more willing to believe that unsatisfying writing is a Grand Plan and not just... bad writing. this is especially weird to me as someone who didn't like season 2 and got a lot of shit for it, and i'm guessing a lot of people trying to "justify" their own declining love for the show with this theory are some of the same people who were pretty vile at our valid criticisms in s2. like... you can dislike the show, it's okay lol. even the people who work on it hate it, in case you haven't noticed.

melanie said it best:

"I think people have an idea that they’ve mapped out the entire series arc for me, and they very much haven’t. Season 1, I got told in great detail what was going to happen. That was kind of all I needed to hear at that point. I was like, 'OK, they really have a plan.' Then they said, 'Season 2 is gonna focus on this. Season 3, we think this is going to happen.' It was very vague for the rest of it. I just needed to know that they actually had a plan, not just, like, a cool pilot. So I don’t know where the story is going. I have no idea. After this season, I have less of an idea."