#and also an au where bro is actually a somewhat decent guy

[burnin-hot]

Man, you people are really liking thay Stridercest post, huh.

#local arson baby rants #thanks but also oh wow #sorry i dont have anything else 😔 #the one other stridercest thing i have #is this concept of 'bro strider teaches dave abt sex. like. hands-on' #(which already is a fic btw. dont remember what its called but its on ao3 w/ trans!bro getting knocked up by dave. #which is just. *chef's kiss chef's kiss chef's kiss a very violent chef's kiss* for me) #and also an au where bro is actually a somewhat decent guy #and the parts where he gets extremely violent n abusive r actually uh caliborn directly controlling him? #ik ik 'stop trying to excuse his actions' #im not man im just. a sucker for father/elder brother figures and want happy striders 😔

[thebluestbluewords]

HEIST HEIST HEIST

I saw this post today and got inspired, SO here is Descendants Could Have Been A Heist Movie, thebluestbluewords take :

(this is very much an outline and not a full fic yet, but I might yet write this someday)

Taking this whole heist movie idea very seriously, this would be (and might yet be if I have the time for it) a fic about how the first Descendants movie would have gone if it had been a heist movie, rather than a fairytale.

The main plot of the movie is no longer about learning to choose good and seeing that kids don’t have to follow in the footsteps of their parents- it’s now a high school political intrigue about stealing a wand.

(don’t worry about the larger themes there- the wand might be stolen for many self-serving reasons that go beyond 'doing what their parents say'. Maybe they’re stealing it to make a larger statement about opening the isle. Or about how treating villains as villains is wrong and they deserve trust because it makes things so much more fun for them in the long run)

(can you tell I haven’t decided on the overall tone of this AU yet lmao)

The story starts when the VKs are being told to get the wand, hand it over, it’ll be easy.

Sure, they say.

Sounds great, they say.

Give us your spellbook and magic mirror and whatever else you’ve got to give, and we absolutely won’t use them to betray you and open the isle on our own terms, they don’t say.

(this story ends before we get to that point, but the implication is there)

The kids arrive in Auradon, as in canon.

Unlike canon, they don’t immediately go for a break-and-enter approach to the museum, because if they’re going to heist this, they’re going to do it right. A good heist takes planning, and patience, and research.

What they do is wait until the weekend, and then inform the school admin that they want to get to know the culture of Auradon.

The museum seems like a great place to start, Evie says earnestly.

We didn’t have anything like it back on the Isle, adds Mal. It would be such a good learning opportunity for us.

And we could see the town. And the candy store. Say the boys.

The school admin caves, because it would be wrong to deny these kids a chance to get to know this history of goodness! They’re just teenagers, and they’ve been doing so well with their first week, and of course they can go into town, do they want a school car to drop them off?

They do not.

The museum is kind of a bust. They spend some time scoping out the security, but they’ve had a whole week to magically-google everything they can about this place, and it’s not much of a surprise that there’s a functionally unbreakable magical alarm system set up around all of the objects.

Time to reassess the plan.

(this is where the political intrigue comes in)

Ben is still a Fundamentally Decent (if slightly boring) guy in this.

Of course, he’s also the one on the line if this whole villainy exchange program goes wrong. It shouldn’t be a surprise that he would come to check up on his flagship students after they have a day out exploring the town.

Oho, Mal thinks. Here’s something they can work with.

Ben is sweet. He’s not terribly interesting, at least at first, but he seems like a guy who genuinely cares about the idea of bringing villain kids over, and can probably be manipulated to their purposes without too much effort.

So the VKs think over their potential plans to get the wand, and decide that yeah, if they can get an in with the future king of Auradon, that’s probably a pretty solid place to start.

Unfortunately, they decide to start this attempt by blatantly flirting.

Audrey is very much a political presence in this fic. She’s not evil by any means, but she is goal oriented and doesn’t necessarily love the idea of VKs coming in and altering her five year plan for herself and her boyfriend.

(I think Aurdey is an interesting character, and I wish she’d been given some better motivations in the first movie beyond ‘mean girl in a high school movie’. So in this fic, where they do still crown the incoming royalty at sixteen, they also believe in setting up children for advantageous marriages. Audrey and Ben have been pushed at each other since they were kids, and yeah, maybe there’s not a lot of actual love between them, but they’re friends and it’s way easier to just date each other and make their parents happy than refuse and risk losing the sway they get with their parents by being the good little obedient golden children who are happy to be put together if it’s what’s best for the future of the realm.)

The point of this is, the VKs send Mal in with her very best flirting, taught to her by Evie in a truly hopeless training montage, and it just-

Fails. Completely.

And now Audrey sort of hates them.

Great.

The other unfortunate piece of this heist is that the relationships between the co-conspirators, the core four, are….somewhat intense. Charged, if you will, with a certain kind of tension.

I’m not saying that Malvie hook up in their pink princess dorm room on the first night and then don’t talk about it for the rest of the story despite blatantly flirting with each other all the time, but yeah actually that might be what I’m saying.

This is the middle of the fic now, and there’s some kind of political drama that leads to the VKs finding out about the coronation.

Maybe it’s teammate bonding, because I think it’s tragically underutilized that Ben and Jay are canonically both sports bros and I want more of that sweet high school sports team drama content.

The point is, they find out about the coronation, and that the wand will be out and about during that day.

Oho, they say. An opportunity.

Building on the sports bros theme, Lonnie gets to be in this story! She’s a cool character and I have a couple of unfinished ideas for her kicking around my fic drive, so she’s going to be here too.

Lonnie finds the VKs in a somewhat compromising state of planning.

Uh, what the fuck is this, she says.

What do you THINK, says Mal, who is not known for keeping her mouth shut.

Looks like...some kind of statement that you’re going to make during the coronation, says Lonnie, who is a nice person and also didn’t hear/see all that much of the planning before she was noticed. (as I’m typing this up I am also remembering the School of Secrets shorts?? Lonnie is absolutely going in this fic as someone who spies on her new friends. It’s almost like canon. She’s the daughter of Mulan. She can sneak when she wants to)

Yes. Exactly. A peaceful political statement, says Evie, who is often a quicker thinker than the others. We are going to… sit at the front in protest. Of how we have been treated. As villains. We deserve the same respect as other students, regardless of who our parents are.

Lonnie is surprisingly on board with this, because honestly, based on some of her costume choices in d1, magical disney utopias seem to be overwhelmingly white for the most part and do not know how to support their international students very well.

(am I still mad about the awful dress she was wearing during the family day scene?? yes.)

So now they have Lonnie on board with their made-up protest plan, and they’ve got Ben and Jay being… actually bros, weirdly enough, and somehow there’s got to be high school political intrigue that I haven’t thought through yet (maybe a group who doesn’t approve of the villainy exchange program is trying to get Ben declared unfit?? Idk. Maybe it’s just different mini kingdoms angling for a good position, and it matters Very Deeply who sits where at the coronation and it’s a whole deal. That one probably works a bit better.) and it’s altogether getting Pretty Far Into Things.

Family day isn’t a big conflict in this AU, because the VKs don’t really care about the whole family gathering and party business without Mal being involved with Ben. They decide to have a chill time hanging out and plotting their heist instead. The wand is going to be taken out before the coronation, but rather than try and grab it in the middle of things, it’s got to be easier to grab it right before or after, while it’s in transport.

They have multiple people who can pick locks. People who can charm guards into letting their guard down for a bit. Ways of getting around even electronic lock systems, given some time.

They hang around the classroom a bit longer after their parent phone call, and get to talking with Fairy Godmother about how maybe, possibly, they could get a real place up at the front during the coronation. It’s a good distraction, and hearing more about the logistics of how things are going to go on the day itself is a perfect segue into asking more about the objects that are used during the coronation. It’s important to understand their new home! No other reason they’d want to know about the history and powers of her wand.

No other reason at all.

They learn that the wand is going into secure storage in Fairy Godmother’s office for the day before the ceremony. Of course, it’s going to be safe enough there. The magical wards at the museum are mostly there in case of emergency, and they’re really more about making sure none of the objects get damaged than they are about theft.

There are no more villains in Auradon, after all.

All things considered, it’s shockingly easy to break into Fairy Godmother’s office the night before the coronation. The wand is in a safe with some magic barriers around it, but Mal has her mother’s spellbook, and Evie has a magic mirror that can look up the answer to pretty much anything they ask, so it’s short work for a pair of magic users who have been practicing their spellwork since they day they left the isle to break the temporary barriers down.

There’s a regular human lock as well, and they give that one to Jay. He’s their lockpicking expert, after all.

And there it is.

Mal grabs the wand. There’s a surge of magical energy up through her hand, burning everywhere she’s touching the silvery metal, but in a way that feels like strength.

And all hell breaks loose.

#my fic #descendants fic #disney descendants #this got long very fast and I might need to write at least part of it now #core four #mal bertha #evie grimhilde #jay son of jafar #carlos de vil #i realize that I did not go very far into what these kids are actually DOING beyond the plotting and the answer is Simply Vibing #making friends and influencing people #stirring up drama just because they can #Audrey might actually need to be a major character in this #she's not necessarily the antagonist but she's not an ally either #she and Ben don't break up in this AU but she does let Ben get away with plausible deniability when it comes to flirting with other guys #partially because she doesn't really care if he's into men so long as he's going to marry her #and he does care about her #they've been friends since childhood and it's a weird political landscape when children are coming of age at sixteen #and expected to start participating in governance #also there's a whole lot of tiny kigdoms that basically have their own ruling systems in place #they just also have a larger king who keeps them together for a couple things #like kicking out villains #and having unified borders in times of outside conflict #so that the smaller kingdoms don't get wiped off the map #but that's not the POINT the POINT is the HEIST #steal the wand in a way that is meticulously planned for the whole story leading up to the moment of actual theft #a thruline that's not romance #this is loosely canon pairings as of the beginning of d1 #so like #no actual ships

[sparkles-and-trash]

South Park Main 5, Headcanons Masterpost  ~

Stan Marsh 

Looks: 

hair is actually nice and somewhat floppy naturally, but because he wears a hat most of the time, it’s usually flat and a little greasy kshdhsd

hair is that blue-ish black color

eyes is piercing ice blue 

skin is light, kind porcelain like, but he also tans really fast?

soft sweaters are the only thing he’ll wear from early autumn to late spring

in summer he’ll literally only wear band shirts and flannels lol 

Personality and General Trivia:

totally cares more for animals than most people let’s be real 

sometimes he struggles with seeing things from others point of view and ha can come across as a little self centered 

he is aware of it tho and tries to be better at it 

his instagram is filled with Sparky haha 

let’s Sparky sleep in his bed every single night even tho Sharon tells him not to 

likes reading and writing, has a tiny obsession with dark themes and Lovecraftian stuff 

he and Kenny volunteers at the local pet shelter and homeless shelter together 

the pet shelter was Stan’s idea, and the homeless shelter was Kenny’s 

wants to be edgy but is really just very soft

“Kyle said...” 

believes everything Kyle tells him lol 

enjoys video games a lot, prefers single player, story based ones tho 

also still enjoys boardgames a lot, and when the big group isn’t up for hit, he, Tweek, Jimmy, Butters and Cartman groups together to nerd it out 

has clinical depression, but is managing it with help of a therapist, his mom and friends

sometimes things gets pretty dark, but he is getting better at reaching out and asking for help in those times 

Friendships:

like I mentioned above, he struggles a bit with seeing things for other’s point of view 

but he is aware of his flaws and is trying to be better

can get a little bit caught up in his own drama, but listens when his friends tells him he needs to get over himself 

will always stand up for his friends, especially if they’re not there to do it themselves 

when he starts getting closer with Butters in early high school he gets really upset when he realizes how much he gets shit-talked 

enjoys spending time with his friends individually, probably the most of the group, and takes initiative to do so a lot 

which is very important to Kenny, since he tends to feel a little overlooked sometimes, and it makes their friendship really strong 

same with Butters, except Butters doesn’t usually doesn’t mind mainly being in a group, but the first few times and Stan hangs out alone it’s obvious he really appreciates it 

Family:

daddy issues 

sorry I don’t make the rules lol 

has a decent relationship with Sharon tho

she’s a good mom 

and he wants to be a good son 

Shelly is still kinda angry and scary

she keeps the “only I can beat you up bro” attitude and there is secretly mutual respect there

but we don’t talk about that!!! 

Ships and relationships:

okay so my main ships for him are stutters (Butters), stenny (Kenny) and Style (Kyle) 

my fav is stutters tho 

I usually head canon him as bi or pan, but as with everyone in SP, I’m open to different interpretations if different Au’s and stories! 

I just really like the idea of them learning to balance facing their issues AND celebrate the good things in life together 

I def think he can be a bit insecure in relationships, struggling with feeling like he’s not enough, and would need a partner that naturally will be affirming and positive 

that’s not to say he’s super needy or clingy, he’s just a bit insecure 

but I really think he would truly be a good partner 

he’s caring, kind and very appreciative 

which is again why I really like him with Butters offh 

Kenny McCormick 

Looks:

sandy blonde hair that’s always messy and floppy/softly curled 

teeth is kind of crooked due to lack of funds for braces 

his front teeth are kinda big and has a significant gap 

lots and lots of freckles man 

all over his face, shoulders, back, hands and arms 

tans fast 

I actually really like him with brown eyes? like, soulful deep brown eyes 

but also very, very clear blue ones, like almost unnatural (yes that’s a mysterious thing) 

medium tall 

wears his hoodies, usually with the hood up, no matter if it’s freezing or a heatwave

not conventionally attractive, but charming looking lol 

likes to wear some eyeliner every now and then

and nail polish, but it’s like super clumsily put on and always chipped

Personality and General Trivia:

falls asleep in class a lot, but always seems to know the answer if the teacher asks him something

also has decent grades

I think he’s way smarter than he gives himself credit for, both socially and school wise 

the therapist of the groups 

actually, the therapist of the whole school 

knows a lot of secrets due to this, but he always, ALWAYS keeps them 

I see him as very friendly and approachable, but terribly hard to get close with

lots and lots of walls, man

very much an observer type? 

quietly stays in the background if that’s an option

but if he is talked too, or feels like he has something to really contribute to in a conversation he’ll jump in and be comfortable talking and taking up space if he is with friends or people he knows 

if not, he’ll just stay in the background with that.... look on his face that just makes you know he knows more than he says 

works at Tweek’s parents coffee shop, is kinda close with Tweek because of this 

zones out a lot 

“…what?” 

can fall asleep anywhere

Friendships:

is pretty close friends with Butters! 

Butters used to have a little crush on him, but Kenny didn’t find out until years later lol 

he also has a lot of patience with Cartman compared to the others

which is why Cartman actually cares when Kenny sets him in his place 

likes learning new things, and does that with Kyle a lot! 

both school and homework stuff, and things like cooking and other homey stuff, the two of them really bond with this 

him and Stan volunteer together, and I already mentioned, and that time means a lot to Kenny 

since he works with Tweek, the two of them are pretty close and good friends 

is the one of the main boys who gets along the best with Craig and those guys

actually hangs out with them from time to time, so does Butters

it low-key drives the others crazy

Family:

I often like to think his parents would keep having these bursts where they try to get their shit together? 

and it’s slow, and one step back and two backwards, but the fact that they’re trying at all means a lot to the kids after years of them... not 

I can also see Kevin stepping up and taking more charge, Kevin get’s way too little love in this fandom! 

Kenny usually never fights with his sibs

but when he does it’s with Karen, usually because he’s worried about her and it’s nor pretty

none of them can stay mad at each other for long tho

Kevin trying to be all “big brother” and kinda failing because he is chaotic, but he really wants to do right and Karen and Kenny knows that and appreciates it 

Ships and relationships:

ohhh kay here we go, unpopular opinions ahead! 

first, my main Kenny ships are Tokenny (Token x Kenny) and Stenny 

rn Tokenny is my main, I love the potential dynamics, both with their personalties and backgrounds and families 

I tend to head canon him as pan or bisexual, and demiromatic 

I know the demiromantic part is... controversial, at best 

but hear me out! 

I see him being very comfortable with discussing sexual stuff, and being attracted to someone physically is never something he feels awkward or bad about 

but when it comes to more emotional connections, he is way more awkward and fumbling 

for those who doesn’t know, a demiromatic person (like myself! surprise!) won’t have crushes or romantic feelings for someone they don’t already have some form of emotional bond with! We can still feel sexual attraction tho, and some of us are comfortable with casual sexual encounters (like me!) and others are not, and both are very valid! 

I usually have two ways of writing him 

either him being comfortable having casual sexual interactions, but struggling with the romantic aspect and having to figure out how this works for him 

OR 

him having some trauma related to debating sexually very early, thinking he was all ready and it was just sex, but getting his emotions caught up in it and being very heartbroken and confused, and therefore having issues with being intimate with people for a while 

I mix them up depending on the story, but the first one is usually my go-to! 

Kyle Broflovski 

Looks:

he still covers his hair a lot, either with hats or hoods? 

because I really see him being insecure about it 

it’s a medium sort of red, and like, really curly and fluffy 

not frizzy, big like... big 

I usually give him green eyes, but I also could see him with a light brown or hazel! 

some light freckles on his face that only really shows up if he’s spent time in the sun 

pretty tall, kind of lanky 

d i m p l e s 

Personality and General Trivia:

big nerd energy

in every way, board games, video games, loves school, like genuinely, enjoys studying for tests, loves fantasy books, the longer and more complicated the better 

co-captain of the debate team with Wendy 

is good with arguments unless he gets too passionate on the subject, or if someone knows his weak points and uses them to tick him off

it’s usually Cartman  

his mom wants him to go to an Ivy League but honestly he just wants to go to the same one in Denver as Stan, Butters and Cartman are planning on, and now that Kenny is also considering it he seriously think he’ll die if all his friends go to the same college without him

he struggles with FOMO, which is kind of an issue since he’s a busy guy, and some of his friends are not lol 

if any one of these kids become a jock, it’s def Kyle with his basketball change my mind- 

but not like, a letterman wearing fuckboy type of jock, but like, is obsessed with his sport and his team and works really hard to do well type of jock

Friendships:

very loyal 

he and Stan walks Sparky together at least twice a week, just to be sure they’re always caught up with each other even when they’re busy with school, sports and dating

yeah they’re still super best friends 

when they started high school he got closer to Wendy as she’s also on the debate team, in all of his AP classes and they share a lot of the same interests  

they’re still good friends, but nothing more

the first time Cartman got really drunk was at a party freshman year, and at the time everyone was pretty fed up with him, and he ended up crying and Kyle found him, and Cartman thinks Kyle doesn’t remember, but he does 

that was the first night Kyle really kinda understood why Cartman was the way he was, and even though he still thinks he’s a dick at times, he tries to remember everyone have a story, and to give people time 

but he often gets too riled up to remember that lol 

good pals with Jimmy, they share a lot of interests in fantasy stuff and have the same humor 

he also start to go along well with Craig when they are around middle school age, but they’re both kinda too stubborn to admit they’re friends until a year later lol  

Family:

even tho Sheila is pretty overbearing and can be too much, he is a mommy’s boy deep down 

tense relationship with his dad 

enjoys cooking, so that’s where he spends a lot of time with his mom! 

tries his best to keep up with Ike and his life

sometimes he is a tad cringy when doing so, but Ike appreciates the gesture 

Ike is pretty confident and strong in himself so he doesn’t care if Kyle is a bit awkward lol 

the type of brothers who genuinely enjoys spending time together 

Ships and relationships:

I like Style, Kyman, K2 and Kyvid! 

I think he’d be a late bloomer when it comes to love and dating

struggles with opening up and letting himself feel these things 

I often think of him as biromantic asexual, but I’m not always set on it! 

he’d enjoy traditional dinner and a movie type of dates a lot, such a nerd 

Eric Cartman 

Looks:

keeps his hair cut pretty short and styled

has heterochromia iridium (different colored eyes), one blue and one brown

also he has a real nice smile when it’s a genuine one

which is rare but like 

it happens 

is kinda insecure about his weight and tries to compensate with always having the newest stuff and pretending not to care

sometimes tries to diet in secret

he isn’t huge anymore, but is still sort of broad, and isn’t skinny, but like..

kinda bulky, if he wears the right type of clothes it’s hard to see if he’s chubby or buff

but he is def chubby 

Personality and General Trivia:

spends way to much time on reddit arguing with randoms

angry gamer, will call you a slur on voice chat 

after almost getting dropped by his friends in middle school he tries a little harder to be a more decent person

still an asshole at heart, but like, an asshole who sometimes cares about some people 

always tells people that’s he’s seen that meme before, even when he hasn’t 

nothing is ever his fault and the only ones who can get him to admit he’s wrong are Kenny and, very, very rarely, Kyle

he wears supreme hoodies for a full year of High School and stands in line all night for the new ones and never shuts up about how he is the first in South Park to have the new stuff 

Kenny finds it hilarious to buy the fake supreme stickers and put then on his own worn out hoodies

Kyle makes it his main goal in life to put things (everything from used gym socks to old food he finds in his locker) in Cartmans hoods and see how long it takes for him to notice 

can’t handle alcohol, is constantly being teased for it

sloppy drunk lol 

one of the main reasons the other bothers with Cartman trough middle school, when he is at his worst, is because of his big basement, the old Coon Lair, who got a big renovation around 7th grade and is an awesome, private hangout spot with a big TV and wifi and gaming systems

Friendships:

constantly says he hates his friends but would die if everyone left him 

is secretly terribly jealous of Kyle, both his closeness to Stan, his basketball skills, his grades and his family

but they had that thing in Freshman year when Kyle found him drunk, alone and sad, and Cartman himself barely remembers it, and doesn’t think Kyle does because he never mentioned it 

but he does

so much tension there, but also co-dependency 

sees Kenny and Butters as his best friends, and knows deep down neither of them feel that way about him and it secretly kills him 

is in the same board game group with Stan 

is low-key terrified of Tweek lol 

Family:

big mommy issues 

but also very protective of her

I really enjoy the AU/headcanon that Liane marries Clyde’s dad 

it’s not like, the only version I like, but I put it in as many au’s and works of mine as I can 

I def think both boys would be mortified right away 

but Clyde comes around first, because he really wants a brother, even if that brother have to be Cartman 

Cartman would never admit it, but after some time he really starts to see Clyde as a brother and genuinely cares for him 

Ships and relationships:

I mainly see Cartman as gay 

sometimes I start of AU’s and stories with him not being out to himself or anyone else tho, I think that whole journey for him will be very interesting and help him grow as a person 

I def think he’d have a few girlfriends before he comes out tho? 

he can be very charming when he wants too yanno 

my only Cartman ship is kyman atm, but I’m def open to explore more of

Leopold Butters Stotch 

Looks:

I really really really like T A L L Butters??? 

like tall and gangly and adorable 

I know it’s very popular to head canon that he bleaches his hair, but I like to think he has very light blond air naturally! 

keeps it short on the sides and longer on top, with cute ass curls 

soft sky blue eyes 

also dyes his bangs light blue in high school!! 

Pete the goth helps him because he is a pro of dying bangs 

I like to think he’d be into pastel grunge, and keep his love for Hello Kitty and Sanrio etc, but still be a bit more... edgy? 

Personality and General Trivia:

one of those people who’s friendly with almost everyone

but that doesn’t mean he’s friends with them, yanno? 

gets drunk from one wine cooler 

loves the theater and is in the drama club, but likes to be behind the stage, not on it 

wants to be a director one day 

watches Netflix on his phone every single time he has any time to spare, because he’s always binging a show

is usually pretty positive and kind, gives people the benefit of the doubt 

but can be very stubborn, and if he has decided he dislikes or doesn’t trust someone, it’s almost impossible to change his mind 

Friendships:

Butters put up with Cartman for so long because he genuinely thinks he can be fun when he’s not horrible, and he really tries his best to believe in people

he was also the first one to forgive him after the others cut him off 

a very loyal and fun friend

takes a lot of initiative to do stuff, and loves hosting movie nights 

thinks of these boys as his closest friends, but is also real close to Wendy, Bebe, Jimmy and Tweek

Family:

I just hate Stephen so much you guys

so tbh I usually like to just... have Linda leave him, or straight up kill him off oops 

I know Linda is terrible too, I do, but I think she could possibly have a moment of realization if something happens like Butters potentially being taken away? 

idk I’m not gonna go too deep into this, I know it’s such a heavy topic and I don’t wanna seem like I just ignore it, but I personally don’t usually include Stephen directly in my stories, and this is why, I hope y’all understand and respect that! 

Ships and relationships:

my main Butters ship is Stutters (Stan x Butters) 

I mentioned a lot why in Stan’s headcanons? 

but idk, I just really think they’d balance each other well, and could have a very interesting and cute relationship! 

I usually headcanons him as pan or gay, and genderqueer, but I’m open for other interpretations too! 

he does date a little bit, but have never been in a real relationship and isn’t stressing about it! 

he did have a pretty huge crush on (a very unaware) Kenny during middle school, but then they started hanging out a lot more and became really close and Butters didn’t really bring it much thought?

that’s until Cartman gets jealous and throws out a “what are you guys dating and fucking and being gay huh???” and Butters mind immediately goes to “omg ew no he’s like my brother!” 

aaand that’s how Butters realized he was over his crush 

they two of them stay close friends tho, Kenny makes Butters laugh and helps him be more sure of himself and Butters helps Kenny remember that they’re still just kids and should have fun and be good

#south park #stan marsh #kenny mccormick #kyle broflovski #eric cartman #leopold butters stotch #sp stan #sp kenny #sp kyle #cartman #butters stotch #sp butters #south park headcanons #masterpost project #tokenny #sp tokenny #sp stutters #sp stenny #sp kyman #sp ships #txt

[sternenteile]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

tagged by:  @battleshell​  ;  we all care blue, u do, i do, we all do tagging:  holy shit my whole dash because exorbitantly long memes are the BEST. i aint even sarcastic when i say that, i love this kind of shit. u GOTTA do it.

my muse is:  canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. [ he is in two fandoms, in fact. he is both a fan-favorite from super mario rpg, the very first in the line of mario rpgs we’ve gotten over the years, and a pretty popular smash bros. request. he even got a mii costume in 4 and a spirit in ultimate as a result of the love. he’s very beloved, to the point that i’d, even as a geno fan myself, deem him a bit overrated. why? b/c where is all the love for all the other smrpg characters!!! they are all good. i love them all. ]

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. [ i mean ?? i’ve met and seen many people who have/had crushes on geno so ??????? but i don’t think it’s like. that. ghfskjhgsg??? ]

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. [ oh yes, he is undeniably very strong, both in personality and in battle. he is often seen as the level-headed straight man of the party in smrpg (which, in the case of my geno, is... semi-applicable LMAO), a star spirit with unwavering bravery and confidence. his in-battle stats are also pretty crazy, favoring geno as a glass cannon and enemy sweeper. he is also the only character in the game to have a move that will insta-kill any enemy besides bosses. well, and exor. idk why exor, but there ya go. needless to say, pretty much everyone in the fandom agrees that geno is a powerful mfer. why wouldn’t a literal, living star be? ]

Are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK. [ as i mentioned before, there is no shortage of him being underrated in the fanbase. i’d even say he’s a little overrated. some people treat smrpg as ‘that game with geno in it’ rather than everything else it has going for it. i love star boye as much as the next gal, but pls appreciate smrpg as a whole. it’s such a vibrant game with a colorful world of characters to love. ]

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO. [ he is actually, completely central to the plot. the subtitle of smrpg is legend of the seven stars, which directly relates to geno’s core mission: to find the seven star pieces and restore star road. the rest of the gang had different ambitions, but they all ended up banding together over geno’s objective. one could argue he mostly is the exposition-granter and could be replaced with anyone else, but i feel he’s irreplaceable. smrpg would be so different without him, like it or not. ]

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. [ i wouldn’t say he is the protagonist, obviously, as that is very much mario’s spot. that being said, he is a pretty obvious deuteragonist for smrpg, given how much the plot revolves around him. he’s relevant to mario, for sure, as well as peach, mallow, and bowser. he’s relevant to many characters beyond them. he represents the fight for everyone’s wishes to be able to come true. he’s, uh... very relevant rofl. ]

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO. [ the star spirits are somewhat known in the mario universe as entities capable of granting wishes, kinda like fabled gods with a tinge more evidence and reality to them. geno himself isn’t a known name, not like the seven star spirits of star haven, but his people are decently known. he, however, is not. ]

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. [ he is basically the epitome of ‘good’ until you overthink star society like i do lol. not all wishes can be granted, what constitutes as a ‘good wish’ is subjective, why some good wishes still can’t be granted anyway, etc. it puts him more towards neutral good with a dash of lawful and an undercurrent of chaotic, given his rebellion against his superiors. ]

How strictly do you follow canon?  —  i mean, it isn’t hard to be strict to mario canon when there isn’t that much of a foundation to work with anyway lol. it’s all rather simplistic until you get into the nitty gritty of it ??? that said, geno is built on a lot of headcanon. like, a lot a lot. star society and its rules for star spirits of his kind, his relationship with rosalina (a matronly figure), his relationship with the seven star spirits, the fleshing-out of his basic personality traits shown in smrpg, etc.? headcanon upon headcanon.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  a star possessing the form of a children’s toy, like toy story but with more cosmic pew-pew. a chill and sassy guy still learning the ways of how earth (and other planets) work on a more intimate level, meaning there will be lots of adorkable moments as this curious one makes discoveries. sometimes attempts to innovate with what he learns to be ‘ahead of the curve’, leading to interesting results. (he likes to sip bubble tea, but replace the tapioca pearls with star bits. good result. mopping a counter-top because it would be ‘more efficient’? not-so-good result, got him lots of stares.) straight outta the 90′s, so be ready some of that rad 90′s slang and know-how from back in the day. (what do u mean they’re bringing back dunkaroos? that’d mean they stOPPED MAKING THEM?!?) very intrigued with new technology, became stuck to his smartphone upon discovering them, fell into the time-sink that is animal videos on youtube. he’s humble and likes to relax, have a good time, and relax w/ the squad. video games, netflix binges, the whole nine yards, he’s gotchu. he is a hell of a fighter and loves to fight, as well. help him push his abilities, and he’ll help you with yours.  likes being a little shit for fun, only to an extent (harmless moments of impishness, not serious, hurtful pranks). has a sense of humor that is easy to tickle, even with stupid dad jokes and classic puns. the brother-friend that will fire lasers at ur enemies for u. likes to play violin. cute. super cutie. v. tiny in his star form. almost five whole feet of sparkly, twinkly fun. likes super soakers.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  despite intrigue to learn more about the world around him, there is only so much that he does know. societal norms are often beyond him, and there are just so, so many earth hobbies he is not aware of. without handing him a bone, it makes him a little more limited than someone who’s more savvy. he is prime slice-of-life material, but that may also make things rather dull in an rp without an extra twist to spice things up. (thankfully, his being a total SNOT sometimes helps with that.) in canon and strictly in canon, geno doesn’t really have much personality, something that this geno has plenty more fleshed out. a good chunk of fandom finds him to be incredibly boring and droll, to which i personally disagree, as there are little things in smrpg that hint towards him having more to explore.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  funnily enough, seeing smash bros. fandom railing on geno fans + hyping him up all at the same time made me revisit smrpg after having only played it as a teenager. i expected geno to be a boring slate of nothing like fandom often portrays him, but i found that i was terribly wrong. with a newfound perspective on him, noting little details that defied my expectations for this li’l guy, i decided to give him a geno whirl and see what kind of expansion i could do with his character. the amount of lore i came up with him and started wondering about piled on and on and on, and i realized that he had so much more potential than what nintendo and square properly tapped into. (some of it is also a matter of being timely, though, meaning later mario materials such as rosalina, star haven, etc.) i wanted to flex out that potential and see how much i could fill this little doll up with, and lo and behold, i rp him today with extensive amounts of development poured into him with love. to put it simply, there was so much untapped potential that i wanted to share with the world, to show geno the love and in-depth exploration that he deserved, to show that he was more than what he was given.

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  chattering about mario lore with pals, whether it relates to geno or not, reading, watching shows or videos that remind me of him, learning more about cosmology and the universe we live in (and boy, i’ve learned a lot of neat stuff!), revisiting my childhood (the 90′s) since it’s very geno-appropriate, drawing The Boye, literally anything to do with playing, watching, or doing ANYTHING with smrpg/paper mario 64/smg1&2, and probs a lot more. i’ve got a lot of fuel in me for this guy lol.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? [ on one hand, of course i hope that i do! on the other hand, i mean... nintendo and square don’t do jack for him, so i think almost anyone can do him more justice than they have, lbr. it’s... not hard... :’) ]

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO / SORT OF? [ ok i gotta just copy-paste what blue said in her response because my god, she nailed it: “you know when you have a concept and in your own mind you can see it clearly, without fuzziness or confusion, but you can’t seem to put it clearly into words without it turning into an essay because you need to connect all the other points that’s in the single concept you envisioned? yea.” basically, this but in spades, because i have a huge amount of headcanon and lore that i’ve either not gotten around to writing about yet or am purposefully staving off (wink wink). i have written a lot for him, though! it’s just... comparatively so little to what all i’ve thought up over-time. ]

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO [ not! often! enough!!! ]

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO [ all i know is fine dining, breathing, and adorkable starman. ]

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO / SORT OF? [ funny enough, i’m pretty damn confident in my portrayal, albeit still very modest. i mean, i am at least confident that i give depth to a character that had so little, and i feel like geno is just... real. (not literally ofc i mean like, he FEELS realistic.) he’s got character perks, character flaws, strengths, weaknesses, personal issues, ongoing obstacles, relatable themes where appropriate, interests, knowledge (or lack thereof), daily routines... i could go on. if nothing else, i at least feel good about trying to make geno feel less like some exposition character and more like a person. considering he wants to achieve personhood that most of his kind never gets to find, it’s oddly poetic lmao. ]

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO. [ eehhhhh. i mean, i guess it’s fiiiIIINE, but i often feel like i lack a certain pizzazz, something that’ll keep people interested and intrigued with what i write, giving enough material for them to adequately bounce back. on the same token, i like to babble with my prose, so i often worry about going on and on and on way too much. stale, quantity over quality, substance-less writing is what i fuss over the most. ;; ]

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. / SORTA. [ sensitive to empathy and other peoples’ emotions, yes. i’m an insanely empathetic person, and i have a lot of love to give. that said, with only few exceptions, i have a pretty iron-clad skin. sometimes, i daresay it’s to the point that i often misjudge what other people can take, and i feel i can end up being too harsh and forward. that being said, it is also a good thing at times. harsh or not, if i feel a certain way about something, i make that shit known and i make it known as loud as it necessarily should be. i don’t beat around the bush; rather, if i have a beef, i will make that beef known. consequently, if i have love to give, you damn well better be ready to swim in a pool of hearts and your favorite kind of cookie (if applicable). ]

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  as long as it isn’t complaints with lack of substance/reasoning, yes! even if i may not always agree and may take things with a grain of salt, i am insanely receptive to criticism, even over the pickiest things. it’s something i’ve grown used to due to prior rp venues being particularly harsh. i will never throw a fit or act like a child if there is something i could do better with geno. in fact, there always will be! i’m not perfect, and i love to hear about ways i can improve and do better. it’s paramount in a hobby like this.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  LET’S-A FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  sure, i’d love to know! it can make for some neat conversation!! c:

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  that’s a’ight. i’m sure there are things about my geno that won’t resonate with everyone, especially given he’s a very sentimental character for old fogies like me lol. as long as there is no disrespect thrown this way, it’s all good. this stuff is subjective, after all.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  oh, a lot of people really hate geno lol, but i’m guessing this means personal portrayal only. in such a case, i would be curious as to why, admittedly, but i acknowledge that i am not owed anyone’s reasoning. if they really, absolutely hate my geno, then it’s their prerogative, whether they want to give a reason why or not. again, it’s all good unless immaturity and disrespect rears its head. i won’t tolerate that and will ignore any such behavior.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  sure, it happens to the best of us!

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  i’d like to think that i am! i’ve often had people tell me that i’m very nice and mature, but of course, i have no right to say how i come off to other people. that is not in my territory to judge, only theirs. that being said, it’s not easy to upset me or anger me, and i’m more often willing to listen and pal around than not. i’m the living embodiment of (shrug). i am just (shrug).

#★ ; ( ooc. ) #★ ; ( meme. ) #★ ; ( headcanon. ) #WHHHHOOOOOHHHHH THIS WAS A BLST #THANK U AGAIN BLUE I LOVE THIS

[rallamajoop]

Inception: A Fannish Retrospective

For a while now I’ve found myself craving a fic of a particular hard-to-define quality – something with a bit of grit and maturity – not graphic or grim, but perhaps the kind of seedy underworld setting you might find in the better parts of Tarantino or Guy Richie’s oeuvre. The kind of fic that lets me believe that if the author toned down the slash and published it as a mainstream crime or espionage thriller, I’d still be enthused about reading it. Cord Smithee’s work is a particularly good example, for the UNCLE fans out there, but you can only reread those fics so many times, and fic of that quality has been especially sparse in the last few fandoms I’ve drifted through, and so the craving lingered.

Then it hit me: hey, you know what fandom used to be really good for that kind of fic? Inception.

And after all this time in Venom fandom, it was hardly a big jump to more Tom Hardy, so.

Maybe the bigger wonder is that nearly ten years on, most of the fic is still just as good as I remember it being. Mirabella’s Towards Zero remains one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever read in any fandom, and delires’ chav!Eames AU is better than any idea that cracked has any goddamn right to be, and (at least as long as you’re into the juggernaut ship that is Arthur/Eames) you are spoilt for choice ­­for more.

But revisiting a fandom this much later and binging this much fic, you notice things. We’ll start with…

The Film

Still holds up on rewatching today. It will never be nearly as smart a film as I’ve seen some claim: totems, for one, make no fucking sense (they’re objects with details known only to you, but if Cobb can unintentionally bring a carbon copy of his wife into a dream, why not a top that falls over when spun? And why does it keep spinning indefinitely in dreams, anyway?), and for all the exposition on ‘kicks’, why the kicks need to be synchronised to work under sedation is woefully under-explained, to the point I’m always by distracted trying to make sense of it in the middle of the third act. (Do not even get me started on the ‘it’s actually about filmmaking!’ theory – the mental gymnastics required to explain how Yusuf or Mal fits in or why we’re so fixated on the importance of the set designer, of all roles, is laughable. Some of the parallels are moderately entertaining, but don’t try to tell me you’ve unlocked the secret meaning of the film – Inception is not a movie that makes you work that hard to find its main themes.)

But the film works despite its plotholes because it’s not, ultimately, a story driven by its mechanics: the endlessly spinning top may make no sense, but film is a visual medium, and it’s such a good visual gimmick it’s gets a pass. The practical stunts are still as impressive ever, but what really lifts Inception so far beyond your typical action/heist film – for me, at least – are the characters, and the huge emotional payoffs at the end. Fischer’s reconciliation with his father is no less moving for its falseness, “We did grow old together” has gotten a sniffle out of me time and again, and the final “We’ll be young men together” scene is wonderful in so many ways I could only dream there was the Cobb/Saito fic to live up to. It’s not for nothing I’ve got Inception mentally filed in my very short list of humanist action movies along with Mad Max: Fury Road, Terminator II, and precious few others.

And then there’s…

 The Fandom

Film fandoms are always an interesting beast, peaking as they do when the film is still in theatres, when most folks writing fic are working off imperfect memories of having seen an hour or two’s worth of canon maybe once or twice at most. Fanon can go feral in far less conducive environments, is my point here – inevitably, there’ll be the details that get analysed to death or flanderised to the point of parody, and the details that get altogether forgotten. Here’s just one example that hit me on a rewatch: I have lately read god knows how many different theories on just what it means that Arthur knew Eames was in Mombasa – none of them the least bothered by how everything in Cobb’s behaviour in that scene suggests he already knows exactly where he’s going, and may even be right now leaving to catch his flight. We could talk about the artefacts of clunky exposition being shoehorned into the dialogue, or the actual intent of that exchange, but shipper-goggles give you some powerful tunnel-vision (and I say this as someone who ships it like burning).

Binge as much fic as fast as I have in the last few months, and you begin to notice trends. Common themes and popular fanon that have ascended to gospel, and facets of the original film I’d love to see explored that fandom seems to have collectively missed altogether (and the sad lack of decent Cobb/Saito is only one). Below, in no particular order, are some of those observations.

Since most of these come across as critical, I want to emphasise that I have had a ball revisiting the fic in this fandom, and there are probably multiple fics guilty of everything I touch on below which I have loved to bits. It’s only the repetition that really starts to make you sit up and notice.

1.       The Cobb-bashing, oh my god the Cobb-bashing! I had forgotten just how much this fandom hates Cobb. In the film, Cobb’s plan is the only reason Arthur and Eames ever end up in the same room at all – yet in fanfic, Cobb has been recast as the only thing keeping them apart. I’m not kidding there – fic with that exact premise is almost its own genre. In Inception fanon, Cobb is crazy and cares only about himself, and Arthur has wasted years of misplaced loyalty keeping him alive. Fanon!Eames hates Cobb for monopolising Arthur’s attention (in the film, Eames seems underwhelmed to learn Cobb is still working with Arthur at all). Fanon!Eames only works with Cobb at all because it’s an excuse to work with Arthur (in the film, they’re barely capable of having a civil conversation). Fanon!Eames never forgives Cobb for concealing the level of sedation they were under Inception job, and nor does Arthur (in the film, no-one even mentions Cobb’s deception after they leave the first level, and Eames’ main disappointment at the end is that he won’t get to see the Fischers’ big reconciliation, but why let that douse a good hateboner?) Meanwhile, Yusuf’s corresponding betrayal and Arthur’s equally-disastrous research-fail are rarely referenced. It’s not every fic, but the base level of Cobb-hate around these parts is pretty astounding. There’s nothing new about fans bashing the main character for having the gall to take screentime away from their OTP, and I’d be the last to play down Cobb’s real failings. But when one finds oneself tempted to leave enthusiastic comments on decade-old fic, praising the author for giving Cobb a minor scene or two where he gets to be a total bro to Arthur for a change… I promise you, it’s not me, it’s this fandom.

2.       For all that Eames is basically the single biggest reason I’m reading in this fandom, his fanon characterisation leaves something to be desired. I do get the appeal of flirty!Eames or pining!Eames – it’s just that once in a while, you find yourself longing for fic about the guy who was actually in the movie – y’know, the one who’s first response to Arthur’s name was, “Arthur? Are you still working with that stick-in-the-mud?” I am totally down with the idea he was feigning indifference– maybe for Cobb’s benefit, maybe he’s actively in denial himself, whatevs. But fanon!Eames characterisation typically ranges from “hopelessly in love with Arthur from the moment they met” to “a walking sexual harassment lawsuit in action,” and neither of those guys could convincingly feign indifference to save their lives. It’s also a shame we don’t see more of the side of Eames that got so genuinely, unashamedly invested in what they were doing for Fischer – quite beyond the money and the prestige, Eames loves that they get to fix Fischer’s relationship with his father and reveal Browning as the rat that he is, and it’s a wonderfully humanising side to such a shady character. There should be so much scope in there to cast Eames was a guy with a real idealistic streak, or more conscience than he’d usually admit to, or just an abiding love for melodrama – the possibilities go on and on (and if you can’t think of a dozen ways to tie any of those in as fuel for his rivalry with Arthur for bonus shippy fodder, you aren’t even trying). But that part of Eames never does seem to have found a place in the fandom’s collective headcanon, because hell if I can find any exploration of it in fic, le sigh. (Cynically, I have to wonder if it’s because it clashes with the fanon where Eames spent the Inception job furiously hating Cobb and focused on Arthur, but even that seems somewhat lacking as an answer. Who even knows?)

3.       As a corollary to the above, remarkably few fics make any attempt to deal with the fact that Arthur and Eames a) basically hate each other, b) for reasons that do not entirely revolve around how Arthur won’t put out. Obviously, this is a ‘hate’ that covers a much deeper well of underlying respect, but these are two guys who only stop taking potshots at each other when they’re being shot at for real, and to me that is 95% of the fun of the pairing – why does no-one even seem to try to recreate that dynamic in fic? Even 99% of Eames’ infamous ‘flirting’ would be better described as him pulling Arthur’s pigtails. Yet virtually no-one seems to want to tackle their antipathy head-on – even fic that acknowledges it as a past phase of their relationship isn’t set during that phase. I’m all for seeing them eventually end up friendlier, but you’ve got to show me how they get there first – that’s the good bit! Why does everyone skip over it? :((((

4.       This fandom has SUCH a thing for underage!Arthur. Fics will go on and on about how young he looks, or theorise that he was actually underaged when he first got into dreamshare, or at least looked it. Seriously, the idea of Eames having mistaken Arthur for a teen when they first met is, like, the accepted pan-fandom headcanon as to why they don’t get on (unless we’re in military-backstory land, in which case it’s that Arthur had to deal with Eames hitting on him during the time of DADT). Then there are the many (MANY) AUs where Arthur really is a teen, hitting on the much-older Eames – there’s that one semi-parody where even twenty-something!Arthur gets cockblocked by his own looks, and there’s even at least one that flips things so that Eames the one who was underage when they met, just for variety.

It’s a real Thing, and I only wish I understood where it comes from, since (to me) Arthur has always looked like the 29yo man JGL legitimately was back when Inception hit screens – I don’t think he’d even passed as a Hollywood!teen for a solid half a decade at that point. So… are there really that many people who thought JGL looked that young when the film came out, or is this just one of those fannish meme things? I may never know.

5.       No-one (by which I mean almost no-one) gets how limbo works. Fic after fic treats it as basically just a garden-variety coma, and colleagues can spend days or months moving the victim, gathering a team and planning a complex rescue. Rarely is it ever remembered the whole point of limbo is that you can age and die trapped in your own mind in no more than hours in the real world. When Eames talks about being ‘trapped in limbo until our brains turn to scrambled egg’, I think it’s safe to assume he’s being pretty literal. Basically, if you’re not treating limbo as the temporal equivalent of the Total Perspective Vortex, you’re probably doing it wrong.

6.       No-one does anything interesting with Ariadne. This, I have some sympathy for: it’s hard to know where to go with someone who ends the film where she does – her push-pull relationship with the world of illegal dreamshare is not a contradiction that can be easily resolved in a subplot, if at all. But the Ariadne who so quickly had Cobb picked as a loose canon never seems to appear in fic either, and nor does the Ariadne with the guts to sneak into his dream to find answers, or the prodigy whose last-minute moment of inspiration saved the whole job. No, Inception fic is more likely to give you an Ariadne who giggles and drags her teammates out partying than any of that, which is absurd to the point of being genuinely offensive. Seriously, that is some A-grade “all we remembered about her is that she’s female”-bullshit. Even when she’s not saddled with OOC giggle fits, fic!Ariadne also remains frustrating static: years after the film, she’ll still be doing extractions with the Inception team, despite seeming no more at home in their world. Where’s the Ariadne who embraces the underworld wholeheartedly and reaches Arthur or Cobb levels of badassery? The Ariadne whose natural gifts and overconfidence get her into Cobb-levels of trouble? Who takes the Inception job as inspiration to go into therapeutic uses of dreams? Who finds legitimate dream-related work through Miles or Saito, but still lets the old team drag her back into extractions every once in a while (because she’s easily one of the most reliable architects in the whole shady business, and there’s a part of her that still kind of loves it)? WHERE?

The obvious rejoinder to all this is that it’s hardly surprising Ariadne doesn’t get much play when you’re mostly reading Arthur/Eames fic. So (because the land of fic is still terrible at cataloguing character-specific gen) I had a dig through some Arthur/Ariadne fic for comparison – only to run into much the same frustrations all over again. No-one takes her character anywhere very interesting.

So you can imagine my surprised delight when I tried a couple of Arthur/Ariadne/Eames fics on a whim, and almost immediately found not one but two different stories willing to dive headfirst into the questions surrounding Ariadne’s future in the world of illegal dreamshare (plus multiple stories which made a very convincing case that Ariadne should absolutely celebrate their successful Inception by having a threesome with her colleagues, I mean, damn).

I have absolutely no idea what it says about fandom that I had to go looking at threesome fic to find real character development, but at this point, I’ll take it.

7.       So, I get why everyone reads Eames as queer (duh), but having discovered two quite excellent straight!Eames fic (which is to say, fic which utterly sells the idea that Eames considers himself straight or had no experience with men until long after meeting Arthur), the fact no equivalent seems to exist for Arthur baffles me. Sure, there’s one or two stories where one smile from Eames is about all it takes to make him change his mind, and one great kink meme fill that might have been just what I was looking for if it had ever been finished. But otherwise, the idea that Arthur (a guy who snogs Ariadne and is given no other obvious sexuality) -- the same Arthur whom every other fic portrays as seriously emotionally repressed – the idea this guy might not be experienced and comfortable dating men just… doesn’t seem to have occurred to anyone. Which is so weird.

Is there not enough RL evidence that Tom Hardy can and does make straight guys reconsider their preferences? Is the idea of an Arthur who’s repressed that side of his own sexuality not a juicy enough explanation for the tension between them? How on earth did we wind up with a fandom where Eames is more likely to be the designated “straight” one at the start of the story than Arthur? The mind boggles.

Holy shit, you’re still reading? Damn! Have some more recs as thanks for listening to me ramble at so much length.

Recs!

Here’s those two from the top again, because I really do love them that much

We Can Do This Until We Pass Out by delires Disturbing London, baby, we about to branch out. (The one where Eames is a chav)

Towards Zero by Mirabella Five levels down, and five to dig yourself back out.  Arthur met Eames' projection long before he met Eames.

Where the Dead Live also by Mirabella There's a monster in Arthur's basement.  Maybe he shouldn't have invited it in. It’s the vampire!Apocalypse, and this one is intense. Utterly brilliant, but equally unapologetic about the implications of its premise. So, for a somewhat-lighter take on monster!Eames, I will also throw in:

Cthonical’s demon!Eames verse Unfinished -- arguably never even properly started, just a series of ficlets from a ‘verse that never quite got written, but they are scorching hot and still well worth a look.

That’s a lot of darker fic though, probably time to lighten the mood a little.

Anal [Inception] aka Not Now Cobb We're Doing BGs also by cthonical Arthur and Eames both play WoW. They kick ass at Warsong Gulch, and when they team up they’re nigh on unstoppable.They don’t know they’re playing with each other.

Champion Sound by pyrimidine Prompt: Arthur is a DJ, Eames is a bartender.

London Bridge by sorrynotsorry Arthur loves whiskey, and maybe strippers. 

My two favourite Arthur/Eames/Ariadne fics

How to Cure Insomnia by wonderfulwrites When she called Arthur for advice on how to deal with the unexpected insomnia - okay, fine, on the pretense of asking for advice – she hadn’t expected to have to wade through a sea of bodies to see him. But then, she also hadn’t expected Eames’s cheerful but surprising, Just come, Ariadne. You can sleep when you’re dead.  Or Eames, at all, really. The Wind on the Mountain by Starlingthefool Something in her rebels against this casual, passive seduction. God knows why, but she’s sitting up in the water, taking her foot back from Eames and dislodging Arthur’s hands from her back. She stands, wet underwear clinging ridiculously to her, and says to Arthur, “All right. Your turn.”

Aaand let’s have a few more straight Arthur/Eames to round it out.

Untitled and Untitled, redux by Helenish -- two variants on a theme, and do not let the lack of proper titles put you off, they’re both great.

Unexpected Plot Twist by ethrosdemon Post-Inception -- long and (as promised) twisty, and a very solid read.

Four Corners by Mithrigil In Eames’ line of work, a first impression means nearly everything. It’s always a pity when he doesn’t get off on the right foot.

Kiss With A Fist  by cmonkatiekatie Because apparently, to find real Arthur/Eames antagonism, I have to go looking for hate sex. (Not complaining, this is some amazing hate sex.)

And also basically Everything by Wiltling There’s a darker vibe to their work, but it rarely gets oppressive -- just generally a lot of great fic.

#Inception #meta #fic recs

[fantasyfandommaiden]

ML Counsellor AU: Nino Lahiffe’s session

Carmine had met many different types of people in her life, for the most part however, she could usually divide them into one of three categories. Introvert or extrovert, people who hide emotions or people who wore their heart on their sleeves, high self esteem or low self esteem.

Nino Lahiffe was interesting to her because he was an extrovert who wore his heart on his sleeve but Carmine, who could usually pick up on someone’s self esteem level right away, was having a hard time determining if he had high or low self esteem.

“It’s just wasn’t fair to Adrien!” Nino explained to her. He had chosen a blue mug with music notes all over it and was drinking some earl grey tea with Carmine as they spoke about the Bubbler incident.

“My bro has never had a party before! Never! He’s 14 years old!” He continued “And I was really respectful to his dad, or at least I think I was... maybe I shouldn’t have called him dude.”

Carmine let out a small snort, and quickly hide it by coughing “In my experience Nino, most adults with Mr. Agreste...” she paused, trying to think of the right word to discribe the designer, that was also school appropriate “... ego, like to be shown a certain amount of respect. Unfortunately ‘dude’ is not a way they enjoy being address.”

“... well, it’s still not fair to Adrien. I mean, a party is a important part of growing up! Like, you probably had a few parties growing up too right? With all your classmates, and friends?” Nino asked expectingly.

“Not really no.”

“Yeah, so you see... wait what?” Nino blinked, looking at Carmine somewhat confused.

“When I was a child, we didn’t have a lot of money until I was in my first year of high school, so my ‘parties’ were usually just my close family members and maybe one or two friends I had.” Carmine explained to him “By the time we had the money to have ‘big parties’ I didn’t see the appeal in them. The only ‘party’ I ever had was for my 19th birthday because I was going to travel aboard here for university.”

“... dude, that sucks.” Nino said, causing Carmine to chuckle.

“To most maybe, but I’ve never been one for large crowds. The fact that you want this for Adrien so much, however, shows you care a great deal for him, also that you have a big heart.” She said, smiling warmly at him. Nino look d down at his lap, blushing slightly.

“Nah, I just... he deserves it, you know? I mean, I can picture it being easy only having Chloe as a best friend growing up, and his old man isn’t great and.... yeah, I just want him to be happy...” Nino said finally, looking at Carmine “Do you think I’ll ever be allowed into his house?”

Carmine paused, and thought about it for a moment, letting out a low, soft hum. “Hard to say, I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Adrien’s father, only Nathalie, and I imagine she would allow you in, but if Gabriel tells her flat out no, than she would have to listen to him.” She said, taking another sip of her tea, only to notice she had none left in her cup.

She frowned at that, standing up and walking to the kettle that she had on a small side table in the room “However, we are here to discuss the Bubbler incident, not Adrien.” She said, turning on the electric kettle to make more hot water.

She heard Nino whined, and looked over at him, seeing him look down in shame “Sorry about that, did you...”

“Get stuck in a bubble?” She finished his sentence, looking at him, he nodded, “Yes, yes I did, reminded me of one of those theme park rides where you going up until you drop. Luckily this ride had no drop.” She said, going back to her chair to sit down Well the water boiled. “I don’t blame you for it though, but how do you feel about the whole situation?”

He continued to look down “... I would rather not talk about it.” He admitted softly “I mean, I was mad about the whole thing, but Mr. Agreste just made me feel so... so small about the whole thing. Like he judged me before I could even state my case... I get that a lot lately it seems.”

Carmine raised a brow at that comment, starring at Nino carefully “Why do you say that?” She asked him carefully.

Nino jaw clenched and released ever so slightly that if you weren’t looking for it you would miss it, and he avoided eye contact with Carmine at all cost. “I mean... well, it’s stupid.”

“Your in a safe place Nino, and I guarantee you nothing you say will be ‘stupid’.” Carmine insisted to him, but he still refused to look her in the eyes.

“... so, before this year, I was a loner. Not that I didn’t want to hang out with people, it’s just, I prefer to listen to make music or make my own tunes and mixes, which is usually a solo job, yea know?” He explained to her slowly “I would have one or two guys I would hang out with, but, we’ll... they were kind of harsh with their critic of my music. Stuff like ‘this will never be popular’ or ‘this sounds too much like so-n-sos your just copying’, ‘dude, no self respecting DJ would play this’, and if it wasn’t my music it was my style of clothes.”

“Are they still at this school?”

“Nah, they transferred to a different school this year, but... their comments hurt. I mean, music is my life! I love any tune that gets you up and moving, make your heart pump, yeah? But they kept dragging anything I brought forward down. I still hear their comment whenever I try to make a new mix.” He said sadly, “Adrien is kind of the first real friend I’ve made in years, and I just wanted to be happy, and all his dad did was tear me down again before I could even really prove myself.”

Carmine leaned back in her chair, deep in though as Nino spoke. So, he was an extrovert who wore his heart on his sleeve but had very low self esteem... this was an uncommon combination but also a dangerous one. Extroverts get their energy from other people and interactions, and added that with showing emotions their more prone spreading themselves too thin trying to please others. Add in low self esteem, and even an off handed remark can shatter any confidence they had built up.

“Has anyone listened to any of your mixes since the last time you showed these old friends of yours?” She asked, a concerned look on her face appearing as she saw Nino visibly wince again.

“... yeah, when I was the Bubbler.” He admitted softly, causing Carmine to wince. “I guess the only good thing about being Akumatized was the fact I got give Adrien a party and to use the DJ booth.”

Carmine drummed her fingers against her desk, letting out a soft hum as she thought this over. She could tell right off the bat he was fine to return to class, she could tell within ten minutes of talking to him, but the low self esteem worried her. It had yet to be proven that you could get Akumatized twice, but from her findings so far, those with low self esteem would be more likely to get targeted.

So, Nino would have to get higher self esteem, which was easier said than done, first thing would be to get more confidant in his music.

“... Nino, do you know anyone who has a decent understanding of music that you trust?” Carmine suddenly asked him, causing Nino to look up at her finally, although somewhat confused.

“Um... I guess, Ivan? I mean, he’s the only one in class I know for sure plays some sort of instrument, he also writes his own stuff. Why?”

“When you feel comfortable with it, I think it would be a good idea to bring a mix of yours to Ivan, and ask him to give you a critic.”

Nino visibly paled at the suggestion, shaking his head “Yeah dudette, from my experience that is a bad idea.”

“Nino, there is a difference between a critic, and an option.” Carmine explained to him “An option is instinctual. ‘I don’t like this book’, ‘this music is too loud’, ‘I don’t like this food’. They are usually based on an instinct, and no actually base intellectual understanding of the material. An example of this is, I really like books, but I could tell you if a a science text book is well written because I am not a scientist.” She stated as the kettle began to whistle.

She stood up and walked over to the kettle, taking it off of its electric stand, making a new cup of tea. “I could, however, give a critic on tea, because I drink lots of it, as well as I read about different ways to brew it. If someone was trying to brew some tea, I could explain to them what they did right, what they did wrong and how to improve.”

She than sat back down “It’s easier to ask someone for a critic if they have an understanding about the subject. You wouldn’t ask Gabriel Agreste for a critic on a motor engine would you?”

Nino let out a loud laugh at that, no doubt imagining the designer in a garage, his white suite getting covered in grease as he looks inside a car with a confused expression.

“I, I guess I never thought of it like that...” he said smiling slightly “... I have been working on a new mix in my spare time, maybe I could show Ivan...”

Carmine just smiled behind her tea cup “It’s just a suggestion, but I would recommend it.” She said, sipping her tea before placing the cup down, brining out an orange piece of paper, as she wrote on it quickly, stamping it.

“Also, Nino?” She looked at him, smiling mischievously “If you wanted to throw Nino a party, you could have just asked Mlle Bustier to have some time at the end of the day during class to celebrate, I’m sure she would have said yes.”

Nino looked at her for a solid minute before face palming, letting out a loud groan, causing Carmine to burst out laughing.

He was going to be just fine.

#ladybug au #ml au #counsellor au #ladybug #miraculous ladybug #Carmine Regal #nino lahiffe

[emeraldwaves]

Title: Dance With Me (It Won’t Kill Ya) Epilogue FINAL CHAPTER Pairing:  Kacchako (side Todomomo, side Kirimina) Dance/College AU Rating: E Word Count:  2,182 Read on Ao3 Summary: When Bakugou damages university property, he’s forced to take dance lessons with the best dance student at the school, Uraraka. There’s no way he’ll actually enjoy learning to dance though… right?

Absolutely not…

Thanks to @its-love-u-asshole  and @miqitten for reading this!

"Katsuki!" Uraraka hissed, her fingers curled in her own hair. "I can't get it!" she whispered, her knees bouncing as she struggled with the small hair clip.

Rolling his eyes, he made his way to her and gently pulled the rose clip from her hair. His hand gently brushed the brown pieces back and he clipped it into place. "There you go, idiot."

She giggled, and stood on her toes, giving him a small kiss. "Thank you, Katsuki. Do you need help with your tie?"

He didn't, but something about the idea of her tying it for him made him blush. "Go ahead," he said. Her fingers held the tie in place, wrapping it around as she tied it tight, smiling as she did.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

Glancing out at the stage, Bakugou couldn't see the audience, not with the bright lights. He wasn't nervous though, not at all. Uraraka was going to be there, and when they were together, they were absolutely unstoppable.

What he didn't like was knowing Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero and the rest of his rugby idiot friends were all sitting in the audience.

"No," he said, turning back to look at her.

"I hope you're ready," Todoroki hummed, adjusting the cuffs on his shirt. "This reflects all of our work for the semester."

"Shouto, I'm sure Bakugou-san will do fine," Momo said, gently hitting her boyfriend.

"Oi, Half and Half, shut your damn mouth or I'll make sure to sabotage you and your grade only," he snarled as quietly as he could. Currently, people were performing, and it would probably be frowned upon if he was just yelling backstage. He didn't give two shits about Todoroki, but the last thing he wanted to do was get Uraraka in trouble.

"Ah yes, I'm so concerned," Todoroki sighed.

"Don't provoke him on purpose Shouto," Momo said softly. Instead, she brushed by the two boys and took Uraraka's hands. "Thank you, Ochako-chan, for creating this dance and so many this semester. I know how hard you've worked for yourself, Bakugou-san... and Shouto and I," she smiled, pulling her friend into a hug. "I'm so happy to be showcasing your work tonight."

"O-Of course Momo-chan!" she giggled softly, hugging her back. "You and Todoroki-kun deserve the best choreography. You deserved your amazing waltz win!"

"We couldn't have done it without you," Todoroki nodded.

"Thanks you guys," she smiled.

"Let's all have a good performance tonight!" Momo smiled, looking at them.

"Yes, of course!" Uraraka said, bowing her head to them.

"Up next we have a dance from choreographer Uraraka Ochako! She will be dancing with her partner, someone from a separate department, Bakugou Katsuki, as well as Todoroki Shouto and Yaoyorozu Momo from our department." Their teacher started clapping after her introduction, welcoming them all onto the stage. Bakugou could hear Kirishima's loud hollering coming from the audience. It pissed him off, he wished his stupid friends had never found out about this.

It was the last place Bakugou ever expected to find himself; standing atop the dance department stage, holding hands with Uraraka Ochako.

But dammit if he didn't love her. He would stand on any fucking stage if it made it her happy.

Uraraka turned her gaze to him, her lips pulling into a smile. She stood next to him, hand wrapped in his. On the other side of her he could see Todoroki and Momo standing in the same starting pose, and he waited for the upbeat music to start.

Bakugou was by no means good at dance yet, but he had sure as hell gotten better. They'd spent the past few weeks working on this end of the semester performance, and though it was a different style than he was used to, he had caught on decently quick. Of course, it was slightly annoying that next to Todoroki he was probably going to look like a damn scrub, but Uraraka was happy, so he couldn't exactly complain.

The upbeat pop song began, and Uraraka swayed her hips, twirling into Bakugou as he dipped her down, leaning in closer. She was already smiling her goofy smile she always had when they danced together. Even when he asked her to stop distracting him with all her faces, she said she couldn't help but laugh.

Dancing with him made her so happy.

He wrapped his arm around her waist, and they began to follow Todoroki and Momo in a circle around stage. Uraraka would swish her hips, twirling out from him as she held her hand out, the heels of her shoes clacking against the ground. Bakugou took her hips and gripped her tight, lifting her up as he spun, setting her back down on the floor.

They moved rapidly through the movements, Bakugou taking her across the stage. It felt like a blur. The way their bodies moved closely together, her hips brushing against his own. It was so different from the competition, the lights shining in their faces. The only other people there were Todoroki and Momo, so they were surrounded by far less people, giving them space to move.

It was... fun. He loved seeing how happy she looked.

He spun her away from him, and she swayed her hips from side to side, the material of the skirt brushing across her upper thighs. He knew he shouldn't get distracted.

And yet, that was what Uraraka was best at. Distracting him.

The music picked up and she turned to him, reaching her hand out. He stepped forward, swaying his own hips from side to side before yanking her back and dipping her down. She placed her hand on his shoulder and they moved backwards, while Todoroki and Momo moved in the opposite direction, the group swapping positions. Bakugou picked Uraraka up, and spun her again.

From across the room, he could see Todoroki holding Momo up as they both slid into their final pose. The boys had their legs pushed out and the girls were pressed against them, arms wrapped around their necks. Bakugou was convinced he would someday be better than Todoroki. He would make Uraraka shine as best as he damn well could.

The entire audience erupted in a cheer; Kirishima and Kaminari yelling so loud the people in front of them were probably fucking deaf.

They stepped forward, taking a bow before running off the stage. Uraraka immediately tackled Bakugou with a hug. "We did it! That was amazing!"

"It did go well," Todoroki nodded and Momo pressed her lips to his cheek.

"It was amazing, Ochako-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah," Bakugou snorted, and pressed his lips to Uraraka’s. "Stop making such cute faces."

"I-I can't help it!" she giggled.

"We were happy to see Uraraka Ochako have the chance to show off her amazing partner choreography! She's shown exceptional growth over this semester and we're happy to see where she progresses in her coming time here. Up next..." The teacher continued to introduce the students, the performance flowing by extremely fast, especially after the adrenaline of their own.

After a final bow with all the students, Bakugou and Uraraka made their way to the lobby, where they were bombarded by friends.

"BAKUGOU!" Kaminari cheered, dashing forward to wrap his arms around his neck. He was quickly followed by Kirishima and Sero, who also pulled him into a hug.

"That was amazing, my bro! Who would've guessed you're a really talented dancer?!" Kirishima said.

"Oi..." Bakugou grumbled, especially when Kirishima rustled his hair which he'd taken forever to get somewhat flat.

"You really clean up nice my man," Kirishima smirked.

"Well, Todoroki was still better, but man, you were way better than I thought you'd be," Kaminari said.

"Do you have a death wish, Sparky?!" Bakugou hissed, glaring when Todoroki smirked in his direction. Of course the Half and Half idiot had heard.

"Ochako-chan!" Mina giggled, nuzzling her cheeks against Uraraka's. "You were so good! You always look so beautiful when you dance, but tonight you seemed genuinely so happy! It was incredible!" she said, hugging her so tight.

"Thanks Mina," she said. "I really am so happy!" She pulled her teeth across her lip, smiling at Bakugou.

"Y'know," Kirishima began, hooking his arm around Mina's shoulder, pulling his girlfriend close. "We were convinced that after you guys lost the competition, Bakugou was going to quit. You know how much he hates losing."

"Oi!" Bakugou growled.

"We did get an honorable mention!" Uraraka giggled. "They liked our performance, but technically we just weren't there yet."

"Right, but when you didn't place, I thought for sure he was gonna be too pissed to ever dance again," Kirishima teased.

Mina rolled her eyes. "But I told Eiji-kun, Bakugou's love for you is too strong-"

"OI-!"

"Kacchan!" Deku's voice cut through the crowd. Bakugou whipped his head towards the mess of green hair and his nerdy blue-haired sidekick.

"Deku-kun! Iida-kun!" Uraraka smiled.

"Excellent job as always," Iida said, bowing to her. "You two work very well together as a team!"

"'Course we fucking do!" Bakugou snapped.

"I'm really proud of how far you've come, Kacchan!" Deku smiled and Bakugou seriously wanted to punch his face in. "I'm happy to see you're such a good partner to Uraraka-san!"

"OI! No one asked you, fuckin' nerd," he hissed. "But of course I'm a good partner." He glared at the two boys.

"After all those study sessions, it's just... nice to see you looking happy," Deku smiled.

"Shut up..." he grumbled, giving Deku a single nod. "Let's go." Bakugou hissed and grabbed Uraraka's hand, yanking her away from the group.

"Katsuki!" she gasped, stumbling after him.

"B-Bakugou?! Where are you going!?" Kirishima yelled.

"I gotta talk to my girl in private, leave me the fuck alone!" he snapped.

"Bye Uraraka-san!" Deku waved, laughing at the two.

"We’ll see you guys at the after party!" she waved back, pulling her jacket tighter as they stepped outside. Winter was in full swing, snow covering the ground. Light snowflakes gently fell from the sky, decorating the earth with the frozen substance.

Their feet crunched against the snow as they walked in silence.

"I fuckin' hate the cold," he grumbled.

Uraraka couldn't help but giggle as she wrapped her arm through his, her hand leaning on his arm. "Then why are we outside?"

"It's only going to be for a minute okay?!" he snapped, and lead her back towards the gazebo.

Her cheeks flushed when she realized that was their destination. The gazebo was the place where they kissed for the first time.

"Katsuki... why are we-"

He paused, stepping under the cover of the gazebo, unhooking their arms. "I wanted... I wanted to fuckin..." He walked to the edge of the gazebo, looking out over the small lake. He ran his hand down his face and turned back to her.

"I wanted to thank you," he muttered.

"Wh-What?" she gasped, surprised by the gratitude laced in his voice.

"For... I dunno all this shit," he said, gesturing his arm out. "You fucking taught me all this shit even when I was a dick to you, and then... even though we lost, I just wanna get fucking better so we can win next time... so you can be fuckin' happy."

She couldn't help but chuckle softly, stepping forward to take his hands. "I was happy losing," she said. "But we'll win! We'll keep practicing together and eventually we're going to win."

"I want to be fucking unstoppable with you," he said, cupping her cheeks. He pulled their lips together and she melted into his warmth. His lips gently pressed against her own and she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I love you, Ochako."

She hated that she was starting to cry, but she was so overwhelmed by him actually saying these words again; she still couldn't believe it was real. A few tears slipped down her cheeks and she quickly brushed them away.

"Oi... why are you crying..." He wanted her to make the faces she always made when they danced; glowing, happy smiles which made her face look like an angel's.

"I-I just... I'm sorry! You know I cry when I get really happy!" she said. "I just... I want you to be my partner. Next semester too... for... forever!"

"I thought we decided this. I better be your fucking partner for forever!" he snapped, kissing her again. "If you replaced me now, I'd be fucking pissed. Besides we have to do better than fucking Half and Half and Ponytail!"

"I know, I know," she giggled, standing on her toes to kiss him again. "I love you, Katsuki."

She stepped back from him, smiling so bright, the snow sparkling against the cold night sky. She reached out her hand, holding her palm towards him. "Will you dance with me?" she asked.

His red eyes fell to her hand and he grabbed her, pulling her body close to his as he wrapped his arm around her waist. He never wanted to let her go.

"Fuckin' always."

#kacchako #uraraka ochako #bakugou katsuki #BNHA #boku no hero academia #dance AU #dance with me #ITS OVER! #IM SO SAD!

[poppyknitt]

The Doctor’s Choice: An Evil!Henrik AU

chapter 2 (3/3)

(let me know if you want on the taglist! i’d be happy to add literally anyone)

————————

Chase Brody groaned quietly, waking up to the sound of beeping. His ears were ringing, and his head felt like a rock. The room was covered from top to bottom in bright, white or at least almost white colors, and so much so that what little darker colors there were in the room did absolutely nothing to negate the painfully bright light that the walls and ceiling tiles all reflected.

Once he could finally process anything other than the beeping and the light, he lifted his head up, and looked around. He was alone. No Stacy. No kids. Not even his parents were there.

Great. Just great. Did they ever come visit him?

Oh, who was he kidding, of course they never visited him. His wife hated his guts for no reason, his parents had essentially gone AWOL after he turned 18, and his kids weren’t allowed to see him.

He sighed, and put his head back down on the pillow. For once, he found himself wishing there was noise. He couldn’t stand this silence, even as it was interrupted every few seconds by the heart monitor. It felt so… Lonely. Lonely to the point that he would give anything to be around another person right now.

He didn’t sit in the silence very long, as he heard the door opening. He looked over to the entryway, though, his view of whoever was there happened to be blocked by the walls that made up the small hallway created by the bathroom being placed next to the door.

“Right in here, sir. We’re not sure if he’s awake yet, but it’s unlikely that he won’t be in bed.” The soft, melodious voice of a nurse said. The nurse didn’t come in, but a man around his height stepped out from where he was standing. Actually, come to think of it, the guy’s entire build was almost the same as his, just… Less dad bod, more muscle. Dude was wearing a black cape, blue sweatshirt, black pants, and a white cat mask. The mask was covering most of his face, so Chase had no clue who this guy was.

“... who-”

“Marvin. Marvin Reed. We haven’t met, but I know your name. Chase, right? Chase Brody?” The man’s tone was firm and emotionless, but he could detect a very faint trace of exhausted frustration.

“… Yeah… How did you…?”

“That’s hard to explain, and not something I’m willing to discuss in public. But the simplest answer available is I’ve been watching your channel on youtube for the past few years, and after certain… events occurred a few years in, I decided I would have to contact you. I’ll explain more once they clear you to come home.”

… Wait, come home? Not… Go home?

“… uh…”

“You’ll understand soon enough.”

Well, that’s just fuckin’ creepy, bro… What’s with this dude, anyways? He thought, doing his best to keep the worry out of his expression.

Marvin pulled a chair up to the end of his bed to sit on, with a sort of “get down to business” look on his face, even though it was the same expression as before. The magician sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and then looked back up at him, “I— Okay, we— need your help.”

…

….

Chase was finally cleared to go home, so now he was gathering what little of his possessions that this Marvin guy had brought him— per his request— or came with him when he was rushed to the hospital. He wasn’t sure how he’d get home, having no idea where he was, and being without his car, but he’d figure it out.

Just as he started to turn for the door, however, he heard a familiar, deep voice behind him.

“Ready to go?”

He sighed quietly to himself, and turned towards the magician, “Would it kill you to knock for once, cat man? Ya gonna make me have a heart attack one of these days. This old man’s body can’t take that kind of scare anymore!” He grinned as he made a joke about his age, and a somewhat amused smirk crossed the other’s face.

“Ay, wait! If yer old, then what does ‘at make me, then?” Marvin joked, letting his irish accent out for once.

“A fuckin’ fossil!” He grinned, even though they both knew Marvin was younger than him by a few months. Marvin laughed, and came over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Good lord, Marvin was a lot taller than he’d thought. Dude had to be at least 6’5. Probably even 6’6. Jesus, that size difference must be comedic. Chase was only 5’8!

“Do you think you’ll need to stop at your home to grab anything?”

His grin faltered, “… No? Why would I, bro? I’m goin’ home now, aren’t I, dude?”

“… Didn’t Stacy kick you out?” Aw, hell, he knew.

“… yeah…”

“So, clothes, and then leave?”

“Do I have a choice?”

Marvin gave him a warm, sympathetic smile, “Probably not.”

…

He got all his things together one last time, and then went out onto the balcony connected to his and Stacy’s room— okay, just Stacy’s room, not his, Stacy kicked him out— where Marvin was waiting.

“So… Where ya takin me, to? Alcatraz?” He asked jokingly, trying to deflect the negativity building in the back of his mind.

“Nah, nothin’ so wild or crazy. Just Brighton, England.” Somehow, he knew the dude would be from the UK or something.

“Huh, cool.”

Marvin put his hand on Chase’s shoulder, “C’mon buddy, let’s go.”

He cast a final, solemn glance back at the house, the house he’d bought right after his honeymoon, the house he’d found out his wife was pregnant not once, but twice, in, the house he’d watched his beloved children grow up in for the first six years of their lives in, and then turned back around, ready to leave it all at the command of the wild temptress that ruled its reaches for the last eight years. Marvin put his arm over Chase’s shoulders, and in a single poof of magic, they were gone.

~~~~

They arrived in a decently-sized home, which looked like it had only recently been moved in to, and Chase set his stuff down, looking around it curiously.

“So… Is this your place?” He asked hesitantly.

“In a way, yes. It’s listed under the name of my roommate, Sean, but uh… He’s not here right now. Had to go somewhere for a while. Not sure where exactly.”

“Huh, really…?” He responded, and went to say something else, but was interrupted by the sound of someone stumbling into one of the nearby rooms, and a pained groan. The sound caught both men’s attention, and Marvin slowly went to go into the room, so Chase followed nervously.

“Hello..?” Marvin called out cautiously. The magician slowly twisted the doorknob, and silently pushed the door open.

There, on the other side of the room, in an open entryway, stood a guy around his height, wearing a blue hoodie and black jeans, with a similar hairstyle to his. Dude was doubled over a bit, and leaning against the doorframe.

He seemed to realize he wasn’t alone in the room, and slowly turned his head to look back at them, eyes wide and filled with fear. He quickly realized he recognized the dude’s face.

Marvin’s voice called out to the man again, sounding wary, but hopeful.

“... Sean..?”

————————————————————

ah hell late again. okay, guess I’ll expand the update deadline time to either tuesdays or wednesdays. but, also, I should note that I’ve actually had my motivation for more Darkness and Desperation stories pop back up, which has, in turn, completely nerfed my motivation for TDC, so... yeah. I’m probably gonna either have to go on hiatus after this update or straight up just force myself to at least finish ch3 p1 before next tuesday/wednesday

@antis-loyal-puppet @tiny-septic-puppet @phoenix-wint3r @chaoticcrimsonrose @septic-dr-schneep @startschantingpma @insaneangel18-blog @ihaveanunhealthyteaaddiction

-

@happygamingbubbleswithmemes @sqxxddygremlin @epicfangirl01 @the-editor-is-bored @risingroseakira @alphaqwerty7

#WritersofJack #jacksepticeye egos #jse writing community #marvin the magnificent #chase brody #The Doctor’s Choice #ego au stories #The Doctor’s Choice CHAPTER TWO #Whaaaat? A story that’s not inherently gorey or angsty??? in TDC??? who knew! #Also hi yes so sad dad is an important main character in book one and that just makes me so happy #i love me some good sad dad #at least when writing #i love reading about all the egos equally #writing not so much bc some are harder than others but #sad dad is just ‘‘*hell yea man*’’

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Girls’ Last Tour 8 - 9 | Houseki no Kuni 8 - 9 | Netjuu no Susume 8 - 9 | Mahoutsukai no Yome 8 - 9 | Juuni Taisen 9 - 10

Girls’ Last Tour 8

Why do I get the feeling the girls will lose the camera soon?

I noticed the names on the drawers before the girls did. I just never mentioned it.

That snow transition to Chi was…weird…

I think at least a small part of the problem with this show is that it’s drab. Another part is that your appreciation of the show depends on how you view it as relaxing or mind-numbing when you watch it week-to-week. Yet another aspect is that it rides upon, also, your appreciation of the philosophical content that you’re allowed to wade in as part of the show.

“Pumped up” doesn’t seem to be the right word, subbers. I don’t know why (maybe context?), but I don’t feel pumped up when I see the moon. The moon, to me, would be motivating if I were in their situation, but it sure wouldn’t pump me up…

“Magic power”? Judging from the mouthflaps, the word was mahou which just translates to “magic”, and would’ve done decently here too.

Please don’t ship the lolis…

Please don’t make the lolis drunk, either…

Underage drinking! Censor it, censor it! (half-joking tone)

Huh? There’s a small after-credits segment. Keep watching…

Uhh…*thinks about a compulsive habit involving hair eating* Yeah, no thanks.

Girls’ Last Tour 9

If humans are the only living things left, what about the fi-yeah, spoke too soon.

Why did a robot want to protect a fish anyway?

Yuu has discovered the human capacity to float after kicking.

Chi’s favourite conversant is a box. A grey box. Amazing… (sarcasm dripping)

Chi has discovered the thing from One Piece known as Super Drowning Skills.

As they said in Finding Nemo, “fish are friends, not food”! Hahaha.

These robots look like something out of a Shaun Tan book, yeeps. (Didn’t see the construct-o-bot too clearly the first time he appeared.)

It’s like a mother talking to a daughter, only this time it’s in robot-speak. All 1s and 0s…

I did not come here to watch robots explode. But these robots exploding…cool! Like an action movie!

What was that last part with the robot communication circles and patterns for? I guess it made more sense with the volume on, huh…

Houseki no Kuni 8

Why do I get the ominous feeling the biting “ice floe” was Aculeatus or someone like that (and not Ventricosus, the king)?

I love how grumpy Antarc is when they’re like, “Tha failure is all mine” and they’re just holding their hand like it’s no problem. The hand really is no problem, especially in contrast to Phos, come to think of it.

It’s hard to convince someone when you literally have no hands to do it with…

“I raise my hands in defeat.” – Phos in on my level of puns. I was going to make a hand pun and then they come up with this, which is much better than what I could think up on the fly.

Notice Phos is the only colour in this winter world…

I knew gold was soft and platinum too, but…what does that have to do with-oh wait. Never mind.

It’s like something out of a horror film…it’s sheer genius.

Oh dear. It seems I’ve fallen for a sensei-only yandere. What a problem…

Hey, doesn’t this look familiar? Like a kagune, for instance?

U---uwahhhhhhhh…My boy Antarc was taken and now he’ll be Lunarian weapons…Plus with those cracks, Phos looks sadder than usual…

Huh? ED change? “Liquescimus”?...Oh, I see.

This next ep preview…is weird. Especially because you see Kongou-sensei smash his head into a wall…

Houseki no Kuni 9

When they said spring was a time for change, I’m betting they didn’t mean this…(what happened to Phos)

Interestingly, the gold looks like a rapier. Or some other old-timey sword. Then it becomes a spider lily, which is a symbol of death.

Phos’s eyes look like Antarc’s used to…plus they’ve gained a personality like theirs too.

Crying? A defect? No, no…

A bit of a mess? No, Phos, you’re more than a mess.

Phos is still wearing the old uniform, huh. Mourning clothes.

Ah, so that’s where Phos mentions it’s gold and platinum. No wonder Karandi knew…

So it’s not “with great power comes great responsibility?” Or is it just the subbers having fun?

Cinnabar seems to be a lot like Bakugo. Just without the extreme “I’ll beat you up!” stuff.

Phos’s jerk face, LOL. Haven’t seent that in a while…

Netjuu no Susume 8

I’m really unsatisfied with the fact I’ll have to say goodbye to this show in 2 episodes…It’s been my favourite for this entire season, and when the competition is strong, that means this show – with all its fluff and misunderstandings – has done itself more than enough to deserve a spot on my favourites list.

This is Netjuu no Matome (Summary of an MMO Junkie). Honestly, my translation works a lot better than CR’s this time don’tcha think?

Hayabusa (Falcon) Moving Company. Makes sense if Amazon is its RL counterpart…

…then it turns out they wrote Hayabusa backwards on the moving van (Sabuyaha). LOL wut.

The ep title seems to be “[I] took a step forward”.

Harth? Well, spoilers. You just ruined my life…sort of.

I half-expected Yuki’s hat to blow off, but hey, this is an MMO. Hats don’t blow off unless you want them to.

Notice Sakurai uses keigo.You use keigo with people you don’t really know, by the by.

Dammit! Sakurai’s hot but Harth is better! Argh, such a simple artstyle. I shouldn’t be worked up over hot guys when there’s such a simple artstyle…

The eyecatches are so good. Why would you get rid of them in this episode, of all episodes???

T-They could’ve been lying to each other, like in And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? ??? Gah, but this show is so sweet, I’ll forgive it.

As soon as Sakurai’s battery died, I swear I just heard The Entertainer in my head. As if it’s all some big dream I’m bearing witness to. But of course, it’s fiction. It’s basically a shared dream for the lot of us who know about it. A sweet shared dream we can access anytime.

Every time I look at that credit list and see Maeno as Harumi…yeah…not gonna think about it. But it seems double-Sakurai even got Harth as a role. Wowee, Sakurai!

Netjuu no Susume 9

One episode and one OVA to go before these guys are gone…

“I Call That Feeling Marble” – Why “marble”?

Sono Kimochi Ma-buru…so they weren’t quite lying when they said “marble”, eh? Sono Kimochi would translate to “that feeling”. However, ma-buru could be “marvel”, so it could be “I Call That Feeling [a] Marvel” (which makes a lot more sense).

I swore Morimori-chan would’ve asked to be partners! The fact that she didn’t was so disappointing…

There were some ducks drifting along in the foreground of one shot.

What happened to Harumi, come to think about it?

Is there an equivalent to TGIF in Japanese???

*Morimori-chan jumps out of chair* That’s me whenever I get a text, hahaha.

The show shows its Comico roots – that park background looks like it came out of a visual novel, which is a sort of trademark of Comico series like ReLIFE and it. Nanbaka, on the other hand…if you’ve seen it before, you’ll be aware of what that show’s visual quirk is.

So the woman’s name isn’t Sendai, but Yashiro? Okay then.

I want a Fujimoto-centric thing now. Please, someone? Do it for me?

I feel like Sakurai and Tenya Iida would be good brothers in an AU. They act in similar ways to each other.

Mahoutsukai no Yome 8

The shot to the head (Cartaphilus received) was so brief, I actually found it funny.

“This girl [Chise] has strange taste.” – Indeed, she does. But that’s why we follow her.

“But you don’t hate it, do you?”

Joseph…?

Mahoutsukai no Yome 9

(looks at shop sign when Chise sits down) Someone can’t spell “biscuits”…

How did Ruth learn the familiar binding spell anyway? Does Elias have a familiar, too? Or does he not have one since he’s part fairy?

It’s really hard to see what Elias’s monster form no. 3 (or is that no. 2?) looks like.

The humour in this show is somewhat unwarranted. It doesn’t always work, either. (I like a majorly consistent show best. Incongruous mood whiplashes don’t always work, after all.)

Is it Silver or Silky? I still don’t understand…

These roses must mean something in flower language…

Apparently there used to be an old trend of lesbian vampires. It’s a pretty old-fashioned trope, so it feels quite at home here. Update: Scratch that, a Leanan Sidhe is apparently more of a succubus, which was the exact vibe I was getting from her. Lesbian succubi? That’s a new concept.

That dragon!!!

Juuni Taisen 9

I think I’ve seen some spoilers saying Rabbit dies. I already knew everyone bar one *eyes Rat* will die anyway, but the game is in seeing how they die.

Were CGI models the best for this moment? Probably not, but there was some good movement from Usagi there.

Did you notice the shining light when Ox repositioned his sword (after he jumped)?

100-person…that reminds me of the SekaTsuyo “Hundred Throws” thing, but please don’t talk to me about SekaTsuyo…

Of course Kanae’s backstory has drinking in it. Her tagline has to do with “drunken rage”…(half-sarcastic)

Hey, this episode is titled after Rabbit. Isin’s genre-breaking strikes again. Also the scribbles on the faces is a nice touch, but not as good as the marionettes from Rampo Kitan.

I swear they’re relying on CGI models for the Ox and Tiger in this episode...

I’d like to headcanon Eiji is good at soccer. Not as the Ox, but just as himself.

Well, “CGI models” was definitely true right there when the Tatsumi bros attacked.

Those ice effects got put to good use, at least.

If you sit a bit of a distance from the screen, you can see they really are CGI models, the Ox and the Tiger. Graphinica’s really pulling out the stops – after all, didn’t they just say “don’t do what you’re unused to doing”?

Juuni Taisen 10

*as some insigificant sniper falls to his death* Yeah, let’s ignore the bad quality of that…

Dangit, Ushii hasn’t been given a birth year! No, why Isin??? Why??? (But does Kanae use Chrome on her iPad?)

Slicing the bridge is a bit much, y’know, Ushii - even for my suspension of belief.

Who knew a stab to the heart could be more touching than any other death in this show? Maybe it’s a stab…to my feels. (You’re all groaning now, aren’t you?)

So…no explanation for home boy Usagi, then?

I think two of the kanji from “To Treat A Man Beef From His Own Cow” (the title, not the episode) are from Gobouken (the name of Ushii’s sword, and the name also means “bayonet”), which is interesting.

#simulcast commentary #juuni taisen #houseki no kuni #mahoutsukai no yome #netjuu no susume #girls' last tour #shoujo shuumatsu ryokou #zodiac war #land of the lustrous #recovery of an mmo junkie #ancient magus' bride #Chesarka watches Juuni Taisen #Chesarka watches MahoYome #Chesarka watches Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou #Chesarka watches Houseki no Kuni #Chesarka watches Netjuu no Susume