#but honestly you could substitute most fandoms on here probably

[seldomscilence16]

Whumptober day 29: What Doesn't Kill Me

Fandom: Avengers

Prompts;

Sleep Deprivation

Defiance

"Better me than you."

Me: I should branch out and use someone other than my comfort character.

Also me: lol look at this nerd

If you asked Tony, Coffee- or maybe caffeine- was the most important thing. In the sense that, if he had to do anything ever, he was gonna need coffee to do it. JARVIS would remind him that sleep could be a good substitute, but Tony would point out the fact Coffee is far easier than Sleep. Thus proving Coffee to be superior. And really he was right, what else could keep you going for days on end? (Besides spite, of course… or anxiety… insomnia…) Nothing, that's what. (Denial)

He's almost positive there's some creepy early century study about not sleeping, and he's sure if they just gave the people coffee it would have turned out just fine. Probably. Maybe…

Anyway, the fact of the matter was, he had completed his list of to dos. So no one could be mad at him for anything to do with this week, and since he was getting a head start on next week, he'd say he's doing pretty dang good. Now the problem is, he ran out of coffee, an incident with a blender and some questionable substance of some kind that shall not be mentioned. He really needed a locked room to put anything his poor child could think of feeding him into.

And see, Tony could just go to the common floor and get some more, it's just a quick elevator trip really. But he's learned that getting coffee in front of the team is a sure fire way to get at least three scoldings and a lecture. And honestly, he's tired of it, he's proud of himself for what he's accomplished, and he would like to keep that feeling thank you. So some fresh(ish) air and a quick walk would suffice instead.

He'd much rather face a bunch of strangers and coffee shop enthusiasts instead a bunch of meanie super hero freeloaders. Besides, once they never complained about the results. And never dialed down on how much they asked for. So they could deal with caffeinated Tony.

Of course its just his luck that someone chose today to rob the bank next door- by using the wall of the coffee shop- and really, who decided this was a good idea!? You dont connect walls to banks and shit. Its just asking for trouble, case in point.

Thankfully theres only a few people in this afternoon, two employees and 4 other patrons in addition to himself. They're out numbered, and the robbers are no newbs, they shoot one hostage- in the arm thankfully- to keep the rest at bay as they set explosives in the back room. Tonys eyes however are fixed on the man before him, who clutches his arm, hoodie falling from his head to expose his face.

Something niggles in his mind at the dark skinned face, but his brain seems drawn in three other- useless- directions instead of recognition. He scoots forward instead, eyes focused on the slowly spreading spot of blood on the hoodie sleeve.

"Dont move!" Assuming the one who shot first is the leader, this guy is not the leader, but he is waving a gun around like a drunk.

"Hes bleeding." Tony states simply, moving forward still.

"And you will be too if you dont stop moving!"

"And then you'd loose too hostages and be a loosy goosy." Hes next to the guy now, completely ignoring the robber like the sane person he is.

"I'll buy you a new hoodie if we make it out of this." He says quietly, tearing the ruined sleeve off for a makeshift bandage.

"And I'll, buy you dinner." A heavily accented voice replies just as soft.

The accent niggles that same part, but his attention is drawn to the gun as it comes into view. Apparently this guy doesnt care about loosy goosy,

"Get him up, youre so worried about him he'll be my meat shield." The guy growls.

"Now come on. Youre gonna pass up Tony Stark as a meat shield? Geez kids these days."

Another head pops out of the back room, the leader maybe? They're all starting to look the same.

"Get your ass over here and bring Stark. We just got us a get out of jail card!"

If Pepper or Rhodey or JARVIS had any say, it'd be a "youre lucky youre in jail." Card.

The bleeding guy grabs at his arm, a stricken look on his face,

"Don't worry, better me than you." Tony offers a small smile, as his arm is grabbed and he's pulled up.

He could really use some coffee, his head is getting all foggy like he hates, and his body seems to groan with every step like a teenager at 7am. His 72 hour work binge is gonna end badly if he doesn't get his sweet bean elixor.

He's dragged through the hole in the wall, only stumbling a little, as the group does their little speech and shooting at the ceiling, making their way through and gathering money. He can't help but wonder why they went through the trouble of messing with the coffee shop, since this place was obviously already prepared for them. No guests, and only a few tellers left, already hiding. He's surprised it's not completely empty…

Oh! Because they decided to rob a bank down the road from Avengers tower! How he forgot about the darn Avengers when they lived in his building, he'll blame it on the lack of coffee, because that's the real victim here.

"Drop the guns, let him go, and we can do this the easy way." Cap says, all authority and shit.

He's moved further in front of the 'leader', a gun to his temple, and Tony sighs.

"Well this has been a very annoying end to my otherwise good evening. So I'll let you take it from here Cap."

His arm shoots up, the gun shooting the ceiling instead, then slams his head backwards and a nice elbow to the guy's gut for good measure. Side stepping as the Team takes over. He makes his way back through the bank, through the hole, and towards the counter.

"Any chance I can get a coffee. I'll give you both like 200 dollars right now, in addition to the $5.18." Tony rubs at his temples, eyes closed so the world won't spin. He's mostly irritated at this point, interrupting his good afternoon for this shit.

"I think perhaps, you should get checked over instead." That smooth voice pipes up.

Tony looks over to find him being tended to by a paramedic, two beautifully scary women behind them.

"I'll get right on that. After coffee. You guys want anything? My treat."

"I'll get your usual Mr. Stark." One of the employees says, getting an okay from the para.

"You are an Angel." He slaps $420 on the counter right as the Avengers walk through the hole.

"Tony! You've just been a hostage, can you stay in one place for 2 seconds?" Bruce complains.

"I am literally right next door, Brucey bear."

"The last thing you need is Coffee Stark." Cap says sternly.

"If one more person suggests that, there will be a murder today." Tony grumbles darkly, leveling a glare on Rogers that actually has the man taking a step back.

The look falls away as the wonderful Angel hands him his coffee,

"You ever need a job, you find me you hear?" Tony says seriously.

The girl blinks in surprise before smiling,

"Thank you Mr. Stark. I don't know what we would have done if you weren't here today."

"You would have been fine, this is my favorite coffee shop, I'd have been here in 2 seconds tops."

His hands shake as he tries to bring the cup to his lips, his vision going blurry as a wave of nausea hits him. He's gone too long without the bean water of life it seems, as the next thing he knows Bruce is cradling his head and he's definitely not standing anymore.

"I'm donating Dum-e. This could have been avoided." Tony grumbles, glaring through squinted eyes at the ceiling.

"How long have you been awake Tony?" Bruce asks with a resigned tone.

"Your pants are finished. And the arrows. And the widow bites. And the helicarrier updates. And SI crap. And the tupperware for Point Break. And the whole list is green, I need to water the plants… and that pretty guy got shot and I made sure he didn't bleed out. But I owe him a hoodie. A purple one. With a cat pouch." He's staring at the back of his eyelids for some reason, forcing them open again to see Bruce's face looking concerned with a touch of guilt now.

"Your pants are gonna be great I promise…" he trails off again, eyelids trying to close against his will.

"I know they will Tony."

"I'll get the other stuff done too. I just need a minute." Tony continues, eyes drifting towards Cap, "just a minute promise. Then I'll get the stuff done. And be ready, promise… just a minute."

"It's okay Tony. You get some rest, that stuff can wait."

"Just a minute."

"Close your eyes, kotenok, we got you now.'

"'Ust a minu'..."

#whumptober2022 #no.29 #sleep deprivation #better me than you #defiance #Avengers #fic #blood #hostages #angst #open ending #injuries #tony deserves better #the team needs some work #T'challa is definetely adopting this white boy #less whump more implied...

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

Do not cite the deep canon to me, witch. I was there when it was collectively ignored.

#batman #dc #batfam #batkids #but honestly you could substitute most fandoms on here probably #maybe not as much as dc #what do you mean dc doesn’t stand for disregard canon #I refuse to be canon complicit

[carpisuns]

New anon, but I saw the last one and I have some thoughts. Specifically, I have been obsessing over ml for the last month or so, and I’ve only seen three episodes, and they were the three released before crocoduel. And you know what? I wasn’t that into it, it wasn’t bad it just wasn’t half as engaging as fanon and fanworks have been for me.

I’ve also done this with the Magicians, Supernatural, and a couple others. I think the reason that this works, for some people, is because it is a more familiar and in many ways, easier way to discover and become attached to new material and new characters. Fan writers and artists are coming from a place of love for their source material (no matter what issues they may have with it) and that bleeds out into their work. Time is spent developing the characters and their feelings, their relationships, in ways that canon so often can’t or isn’t allowed to, and reading that, it’s very easy to fall in love with new characters very quickly. There’s also common AUs and dynamics that make it much easier to start something new.

And also: comfort characters. So many fans find common ground with characters and further project onto them, particularly in fanfic. And because of that it’s often easier to identify with a fan’s interpretation of a character than it is to identify with the canon’s, since you have these more deeply explored feelings and relationships based on a combination of canon and the personal experiences of the fan writer. Also, with these kinds of fics it’s extremely emotionally affirming since for someone who doesn’t have much of any connection with the source material, it feels like the original, even if you’re reading a large body of work by a lot of different people. And I’m so used to fanfic as a substitute for the emotional work and character development that shows/movies/books don’t have room for or aren’t willing to get into, that approaching a fandom as it’s own original piece of media in a way, feels very comforting.

That’s my perspective on it anyways, and why I do this. I do think it is a good thing to engage with the canon to an extent, even if it’s just watching a few clips (how I found ml) but I also don’t think you need any real connection or knowledge of it to be deeply invested in the fandom. Sorry, this got very long.

you know, i totally get being on, like, the fringe of fandoms and interacting with fanon to an extent without a proper investment in canon (I have a couple fandoms like that), but i honestly just can't imagine becoming super invested in a fandom when I am not invested in the source material...maybe that's just a difference between you and me, idk.

but also, i gotta admit that i'm struggling a bit to understand the reason. you yourself pointed out that fan work is enjoyable because the creator's love for canon bleeds into it. and isn't that the reason that you would want to give canon a real chance? obviously there is fan content made out of spite lol (and sadly a fair amount in this fandom), but to me most fan content is like a love letter to canon. like, "i adore this thing so much that it inspired me to create and share with other people who adore it." and what better recommendation is there than that?? i would think people would wanna familiarize themselves with canon in order to better enjoy fanon(?)

i completely understand your point about fan content delving further into characterization and relationships where canon hasn't/can't, and that is such a big appeal of fanfic/fanart. but i don't feel like that's a reason to not engage with canon? on the contrary, i feel like you are missing something important in your understanding and appreciation of that wonderful exploration if you haven't experienced firsthand the foundation that canon set. and maybe that missing thing is just your personal interpretation of a character/dynamic.

for example, i could say, "adrien agreste is this, this, and this and he would do this but not this." and of course i will think im right because my characterization is always perfect 😌sakjdfaldjks but someone else might have a slightly different interpretation, and someone else will have another interpretation, and when you mush all those individual takes on a character together, you will get a good sense of who they are, but you still don't have the Original™️ to draw your own interpretation from. idk, to me it sounds like basing your opinion of chocolate ice cream on what other people are saying about it without ever trying it yourself? ajsldakljf maybe that's an oversimplification but i do think that without experiencing it for yourself, your understanding will always be kind of incomplete.

idk, i big agree with everything you said about why fan content is special, but everything that is a point in fanon's favor is not a knock on canon. to me fan content feels pretty inseparable from canon, so it just doesn't compute to me to take canon out of the equation? then we would have nothing.

i feel like it's almost kinda trendy nowadays to be like, "oh this show actually sucks lmao but the fanon and AUs are good." like it's shameful to actually...enjoy source material? 😭 i mean i completely understand that miraculous ladybug is not gonna be everyone's cup of tea and that's fine! but if you truly enjoy the fan content that much i encourage you to give canon a real shot. it's not that surprising to me that you watched 3 recent episodes and didn't vibe that much, since you haven't seen the 3 seasons of buildup that lead to them. miraculous has a neat way of tying a bunch of things together so if you aren't familiar with all of it, you're probably missing out.

personally my love for miraculous was kind of a slowburn at first. i only started watching the show because my sister and i made a deal that forced me to watch the first few eps lol. and i didn't really vibe either. but there must have been enough of a spark there for me to keep watching bc for some reason i did and the more i watched the more i fell in love with it until it became the thing that occupies my brain more than anything else. i started with canon and then got into fanon, but it could easily go the other way too. and if you're already invested in the story and characters, i have to imagine it would be much easier to push past the initial cringe of "this is a show about a couple of teen furries rated TV-Y7 on netflix" lol and give anything you don't vibe with the benefit of the doubt.

again, to be clear, i'm not trying to judge or gatekeep here! i'm just saying this because i genuinely LOVE miraculous. it's my favorite show. that's why i make things for it. that's why i have this blog. i want people to watch it. so maybe, pwetty pwease, try watching the show you like so much? 🥺👉👈

(source bc i was too lazy to make my own so i stole this from twitter)

#anon #ask #fandom #long post

[fumiko-matsubara]

Chiba Ryuunosuke ー The calm type of social butterfly?

So yesterday, Zaina and I had a fairly long talk about how Chiba is a lot more social and friendly than he appeared to be despite being a supposed introvert.

And no, I am not just talking about him being comfortable in his own friend group, which is a very normal thing among introverted people. In fact, if you actually read the manga and some of the extra materials Matsui had released post-AssClass, most of the students you see him interacting with the most are the ones who are outside of his friend group... well, that is if you consider his friend group being him and the art trio even though there are hardly any scenes of them actually interacting in canon but ahehe.

Zaina pointed out to me, or rather stated an unpopular opinion about how Group 2 is like the kids have their seperate group of friends instead of them being a whole friend group, which is a popular take in the fandom, and I completely agree with her. Because think about it, we have the Art trio (Sugaya, Mimura, and Okajima), Hayami is friends with Touka and possibly even Hinano as well, Fuwa has Ritsu and Hara initially, and Nakamura just goes to whatever friend group she sees and dives right in.

As for Chiba (take this with a grain of salt as this is purely based from how I generally understood his character in the manga), I believe that he has almost the same case as Nakamura whereas instead of forcing himself into random friend groups like she does, he gets pulled into different friend groups because he had gained the trust of the rather many people he had interacted with before.

I'm basing this assumption from some of the kids I've seen him interacting with in the mangaー Hinano, Maehara, Sugino, Okano, Isogai, Kimura, Okajima, and Karma to name a few. As for the extra materials like the albums and the novel parts of the lesson books (korotan and korosuu), there was Nakamura, Nagisa, and Takebayashi as far as I still vaguely remember.

I find it so interesting that despite the little screen time he had even in the manga, he still managed to be seen interacting and maybe even becoming friends with at least one member from each group, the most being in Group 1 (5 out of 7 members) which is also the group that has most of the class extroverts.

This pretty much supports my headcanon about how Chiba finds it easier to get along with people who are more talkative than he is instead of people who are quieter than him, because he doesn't feel pressured to hard carry a conversation, which is something he understandably struggles with for someone whose only source of social interaction growing up was with his family, as I have previously talked about in here.

This also explains why he struggled to get along with Hayami outside of school even though they worked so well together whenever they get paired up for training and such.

And no, I am not saying that Chiba is an extrovert. He still is not despite what I have said, not even an ambivert actually. He's just a very social introvert. Not exactly loud nor very talkative, but he finds it easy to approach anyone who is willing to look past his supposed unapproachable appearance and just talk to him without prejudice. He's not the type to unnecessarily bring attention to himself when in a group, definitely not lol. But he's the kind of social introvert who prefers to be in a friend group with extroverted people and would already be contented with just watching his loud friends having fun.

How do I say this? He likes the commotion without wanting to cause said commotion lol.

Chiba is also canonically empathetic, observant, and quietly looks after people. This was evidently shown in the Takaoka arc when he asked Hinano regarding her feelings about the situation despite the very welcoming front Takaoka had firstly shown to the class on his first day, which shows that despite Hinano's fixation towards Karasuma being considered as mere fangirling that can be brushed off, Chiba still pays attention enough that he'd consider her feelings for something as supposedly simple as substitute teaching. (The anime adaptation completely omitted this scene by the way, hence why it may be unfamiliar to some of you).

What really hit me in this panel (It's seriously just one panel lol), was that Chiba was so casual when he asked Hinano about it. As in, you could tell he probably doesn't want this to be made a big deal of, let alone accidentally bring unnecessary attention to Hinano. Because I assure you, if he instead pulled her in and whispered to her, people around them will find it suspicious at how they are huddling together and will make a big deal out of it then (reminder: more than half of Class E are ridiculously nosy).

Chiba clearly knows that and definitely doesn't want that to happen to Hinano, of all people. Especially considering what happened later in the chapter or, what nearly happened to Hinano only because she decided to be loud about it. Yikes.

I know a lot of people like to use what Chiba had subtly done for Karma in the finals arc as a popular example, since it's also one of the only scenes that had made it to the anime adaptation. But I decided to give more light to what he had done for Hinano because it fully showcases how observant and caring he is and at the same time, taking more of his surroundings into consideration.

Zaina also added how while he's the type to quietly enjoy the commotion his extroverted friends do whenever they have fun, whenever he feels that someone is likely feeling left out, he'd be also the type to try including them in and making sure that they feel belonged. Because I don't know about y'all, but unless they deserved it, I strongly believe Chiba wouldn't want people to go through what he did growing up.

Now the question is, how does Chiba get along so well with plenty of people?

Honestly, if you looked past his appearance, which inadvertently does make him seem very quiet and gloomy, Chiba has always been a friendly and happy kid. The independent, mature, and serious side of him is mostly showcased whenever he's in "work mode", which is pretty telling that he clearly knows when to take things seriously and when to have fun. Chiba is known to be very calm and gentle among the class, which is definitely the big part of his personality that drew non-judgemental people towards him (this was stated in the korosuu, @clownao please confirm this unless I'm remembering it wrong T-T).

Unless you're one of the many people who stubbornly refuses to approach him due to his appearance, Chiba's personality is what makes him naturally likeable, especially with his classmates. Like who wouldn't want to be friends with someone who's just as unconditionally kind as he is?

And to think that he still managed to turn out like this despite the social bullying he had went through growing up 💔

Just so you know, I am completely basing this from the screen time he had in the series (anime, manga, and the extra materials), as in what was shown canonically. For all we know, he's probably friends with everyone in the class and that Matsui just didn't bother showcasing them all since Chiba is just a side character who doesn't have to have many screen time.

People just either avoids him, don't bother talking to him, or straight up just wants to be his friend.

There are no other options outside of the given three :D

#this was longer than I thought lol #please let me know your thoughts about this if you have some #I would love to talk #assassination classroom #ansatsu kyoushitsu #chiba ryuunosuke #ryuunosuke chiba #meta #analysis #long post

[americachavez]

Hey! I was wondering if you mind sharing why you keep reccing asunder by rageprufrock. It's one of my absolute favorite fics of all time and i recently couldn't 100% put my finger on why when I was reccing it to a friend. Of course all media consumption is subjective yadda yadda but I really like your meta so maybe..... Thanks in advance!

thank u for the compliment I resent the implication I’ve ever written meta in my LIFE but I’ll try on this one just for you!!!

the thing that really gets me about this fic is how rare it is in the realm of normal human AUs. it does the rare thing where it takes elements of canon and incorporates them into a non-supernatural AU in ways that are not only really interesting but that actually seem grounded in reality. obviously the easiest one is the demon blood to heroin addiction translation, but there’s a lot of smaller details that pull from canon but are still aligned with the world the story is set in. which is my main beef with AUs if I’m being honest—the lack of creativity when it comes to reimagining canon irks me because if you could just swap out the cast of your modern AU with that from another tv show/movie and have no major changes to the story I’m probably not going to be interested in it. not saying I HAVEN’T read those fics or judge people for enjoying them but they’re not really my jam. but asunder is like, it feels like the characters from the show with similar baggage but they’re still actual people for the most part. or as much as characters in a fic can be people, you feel.

and honestly it’s one of the few fics that actually felt like it could just be a short story. another caveat here I am NOT one of those people who is like oh I don’t need to read actual literature I only read fic because only reading fic is one of the reasons everyone on this webbed site is brain diseased. fic doesn’t serve as a substitute for published literature which is understandable because people do this for free as a fun hobby and shouldn’t be held to the same standards as professionals! that’s not what fic is for fic exists as an important and very specific aspect of fandom and is transformative for a reason I DIGRESS. the point is that asunder....hm. I know it would lose something if the serial numbers were filed off and it was presented as a short story about a Family Drama with A History because obviously the connection to supernatural canon is what makes it so ENJOYABLE but it’s damn close. I’d watch the arthouse movie version of it is what I’m saying.

this is way longer than I thought it would be so I’ll wrap it up but ugh there’s a bunch of other stuff I love. surface level it’s fake dating for a wedding, but that’s like, the LEAST interesting thing about it?? you have this complex relationship between dean and sam which is really similar to their dynamic in s4-5 canon but again, is closer to reality since they aren’t being manipulated by demons and angels. and then that unfolds slowly while also revealing the equally complicated dynamic between dean and cas, which is more than just a “oh we’re in love but we’re not dating because of Plot” it’s like oh they’re not dating because wow yeah that’s an awkward situation. plus I love my girl ruby getting some sympathetic screen time in a deancas fic, which is especially rare in older spn fic. also dean in!!! child protective services!!!!!!! less fics where he’s a cop more fics of This!!!!!!! I AM heavily biased because I am a Dean Girl (terminal) and I know the fic is like the EPITOME of a dean girl fic and is unfair to sam in a lot of ways but I still think it’s a good exploration of their relationship. which is another rarity in destiel fic where sam is either starry eyed destiel shipper, oblivious, or Sir Not Appearing In This Film. sorry, sammy.

anyways this is all to say. fic good. good words give me nice brain chemicals thank u mx. rageprufrock

#reply tag #sternflotte #spn tag #fic recs #I am. done now

[zkfanworkweek]

ZFAW Fan Content Creator Interviews: HayleyNFoster

Hey everyone! We hope you’re all excited for ZFAW, and to honor (ha!) ZFAW’s commitment to supporting and celebrating fan content creators in the Zutara fandom, we’re going to be rolling out a series of interviews with well-known and widely-beloved content creators over the next few weeks. We’ve got artists and fanfiction authors, some names you recognize as well as a few phenomenal up-and-coming talents, and we can’t wait for you to meet them all!

For the second interview in this cycle, we have our best propaganda creator and this fandom’s hottest new artist/undisputed queen of the animatic, @hayleynfoster!

1. Tell us about how you came to ship Zutara. What does this ship mean to you?

When I was around 14 or 15 and caught Avatar: The Last Airbender on television, I was drawn in by the art style, the humor, and the wonderful characters. I caught the episodes out of order, and the first one I saw and wasn’t prepared to be sucked in by was The Waterbending Scroll. It intrigued me at that age, and the line “I’ll save you from the pirates” combined with the tension between Katara and Zuko in that whole scene was electrifying. I remember my teenage self thinking these two have so much chemistry! And when I saw a commercial on Nickelodeon that featured fanart submitted by fellow Avatar fans, I realized that I could do that to! So I set about making Zutara fanart for myself. I stumbled onto Youtube, practically in its infancy, and discovered that people set clips of Zuko and Katara set to music (And this was still in season 1 days… so people who made these amvs were the real mvps because they were able to make compelling narratives in their amvs with like practically nothing to work with!). The AMVs really spurred my interest in this couple, I remember distinctly one Zutara AMV using the Dido song White Flag utterly capturing my imagination. I found fandom shortly after, getting into deviantart and forums. But the ship really began to mean something to me when, as I was working on my drawings in the computer lab at school, a buoyant presence hovered over my shoulder noticing my Zutara art on the computer screen. The girl was someone I had never really talked to and had only seen from afar but she immediately started excitedly saying she shipped Zuko and Katara too! In this simple shared obsession, I made one of the best friends I’ve ever had and we’re still friends to this day. We would theorize and fangirl over Avatar like it was nobody’s business; we poured over bootleg San Diego Comic Con footage that showed spoilers for season 2 before it aired; we lost our freaking minds when we finally saw The Crossroads of Destiny. We had watch parties every week as Season 3 of A:TLA aired, and comforted each other when the show ended as it did (much ranting was shared). Those are some of my happiest memories from high school… all because this one pairing from this wonderful show. Even though Zutara didn’t happen, we still chat every now and then about it. Zutara will probably be a lifelong obsession, always bubbling under the surface. And without it, I would have never realized that animation was a viable career path. It really did inspire everything including the work I’m doing to this day in the animation industry. I owe a lot to this ship and to Avatar: the Last Airbender.

2. What inspires you to create zutara fanworks?

The resurgence of Avatar: The Last Airbender this year really helped sort of spark that dormant love I had for Zutara. The show’s ending still disappointed me on the rewatch, but Zuko and Katara’s relationship arc was as captivating as ever, so I turned to some fanfiction and looking at people’s pretty Zutara art and AMVs to just revel in fanon instead of getting to hung up on the actual ending of the show. But then I realized, with quarantine and my work load being pretty light, I had time to actually make all new Zutara art for myself, art I was never fully capable of making as a kid, but now could do with my 7 years of industry experience and just… life experience. And I was inspired to do some corrective animatics to satisfy my own desire for a different ending. I just really like exploring these two characters, doing different and interesting things with them, and frankly I’m inspired to make cute, fluffy, romantic art simply by virtue of living in a really sad and depressing world. Things are so crazy right now, creating art about two characters I love being in love, is comforting. And it helps to have inspiring music and amazing Zutara amvs to just sort of stir up my emotions and imagery in my head to make into animatics and art.

3. Be selfish - if you could request one fanwork based on your own art/fanfic, what would it be? What would you absolutely love to see someone create?

Ohhhh… Well, It’s always nice to have people write fanfiction that puts words to my animatics. I am not that great at coming up with dialog myself, so I’ve just chosen to indulge in visuals and emotions for my boards. But when I read things like RideBoldlyRide’s take on my Reunion Animatic, it makes me pretty giddy. (They finally have voices!) :) And this is the MOST selfish thing I could request, but I’m not shy about saying how much I love well done amvs, so I will literally kill for someone to make Zutara AMVs to songs I like… Like, most of AURORA’s songs but especially Exist for Love, Sunseeker by The Naked and Famous, Promises or Take Me by Aly & AJ, Adore You by Harry Styles, Human Enough by ONR, Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine, and/or Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier just… I can see the AMVs so clearly to any of these songs in my head, but I don’t have the tools or skill set at my disposal to make a compelling fan video. When I was in high school, I originally thought I wanted to go into video editing simply because I loved making very crappy AMVs (they were so bad you guys), but I figured out being a storyboard artist was more in my wheelhouse. haha

4. Any words for people who are new to the fandom and/or nervous about sharing their work for the first time?

If you’re new to the Zutara fandom, just have a good time! Don’t waste too much time arguing with people over your shipping preferences. I wasted so much of my teen years having pointless shipping wars with people on DeviantArt, and I’m just so much happier nowadays because I’m just making Zutara art in my little corner of the internet, and honestly, in the politest of ways, I don’t give a shit if people don’t like my art or Zutara. haha I think that’s sort of a key thing for people thinking of posting creative works here in the fandom, just make art for yourself, satisfy your own desires for the pairing, get your creative sparks flying, and create just for the joy of creating. It’s always nice to get comments and such, but simply making the art should be what spurs you on, not the external validation. And have a good time, don’t worry too much - I say as someone who worries about EVERYTHING. But honestly, making art for A:TLA is some of the most relaxed I’ve been because I make it just for me. I’m lucky others seem to like it too!

5. What’s an idea for a fanwork that you have but haven't gotten around to making?

I have an idea for a second generation storyline with my Zutara kids that involves Kya (the eldest firebending daughter) falling in love with an airbender boy (tentatively named Gora in my headcanon who’s a bit of a rabble rouser and one of Aang’s kids he had with a Kyoshi Warrior), and then they start a socialist revolution in the Fire Nation in order to dismantle all of the hierarchical societies across the Avatar world… Together Kya and Gora Fan the Flames of revolution… ehhhhh... Get it?? Oh! Oh, and then Katara, who had put in legit liberal reforms in her time as Fire Lady listens to her daughter after resisting in the first part of the story, but then realizes she can actually play a part in the dissolution of the royalty and is also active in the revolution realizing that moderate liberal reforms are no substitute for a society free of serving royalty (which she had always been uncomfortable with but had rationalized with herself that she was doing good in her capacity as Fire Lady.) I just feel like there’s a lot of cool potential for discussing these ideas and also having some aspirational change in the Avatar world. lol For aesthetics and just happy fluffy times, I can indulge in Fire Lady and Fire Lord Zuko stuff, but really at the end of the day, I take issue with the structures in a society that have to exist for monarchies to exist. Soooo, I kind of want to do my own corrective story for that… if I ever have the time or guts. On a less ambitious note, I would love to do a Zutara sparring animatic to practice doing action, but I need a good story; I am not good at doing fights just for fighting’s sake. Those are just some things I have rattling around in my head.  

6. Are you participating in ZFAW? If so want to give us a hint as to your plans?

Yes! The most I can say is I have one animatic almost finished and one that’s still being thumbnailed. The rest are probably going to be comics or emotive single pieces based on the fanfics I really like right now. :)

#interviews #zutara fanworks appreciation week #zfaw #hayleynfoster #zutara

[annaraebananawriter]

Hands

First off...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SQUID!!! 

I honestly had no idea it was his birthday until last night from twitter. I was in the middle of writing this scene, in fact, and realized ‘Hey, you know what? I could probably get this done in time for it!’. Now here we are.

Secondly...This is a scene from one of my WIP’s. It will probably take place somewhere in the middle chapters, but I saw that it was a fairly out of context scene to show that it wouldn’t really matter if I showed it now as a teaser or later. 

Obviously, I chose the latter.

That said, this is set to change a bit as the WIP develops, but it’ll be nice to see what you all think of it. Hope you enjoy!

Fandom: Undertale, but specifically UTMV

Pairings: Implied Errorink, or Pre-Errorink

Characters: Error (Who belongs to CQ) and Ink (Who belongs to Comyet)

Warnings: Nothing really. Although, again, it is a scene from a wip, which means that it is not in it’s final form. Let me know!

Word Count: 2488

~oOo~

His phone buzzed on the floor beside him. Ink paused in the middle of trying to balance a pencil on his finger, which was probably a losing battle, but since when has that ever stopped him before? That’s right, never. And it never would. Setting the pencil aside, he checked his phone and read the short message.

mommy-bear

Are you coming home for supper? It’s past 5.

Ink jumped, looking outside to see that, indeed, the sun was lower in the sky and time had in fact passed. They must’ve gotten lost in the throughs of their homework, or the casual avoidance of it, for one of them. Error seems to have made some sort of headway into the work from Mx. Alex. Good for him. He’ll be able to hand it in on Monday without it bugging him in the back of his mind while he ignores that bugging and just doddles instead of doing his work like he should until the next thing he knows it’s almost midnight on Sunday and he still hasn’t gotten it done.

But honestly, who would do that? Certainty not Ink.

Error had also noticed his jump and was looking at him now. “What is it?”

“Just a text from my mom.” He answered, gathering up his things. A glance to his study buddy showed Error blinking and setting down his pencil as well in order to listen. “She was just wondering where I was. It’s after five, y’know? I said I’d be back then.”

“Oh.” Error fell silent after that.

Once his things were all accounted for (he did lose his eraser for a minute there and partially freaked out about it, which was kind of silly as he had plenty more than just this one white one, others that were far more colourful, but he didn’t have to worry for long—Error had silently placed it on the bed for him to grab, making Ink smile in gratitude), Ink walked to the bedroom door and got to the top of the stairs before he realized another pair of footsteps were following him.

Man, Error really needed to take him up on the suggestion of bells. He was too silent on his feet, just too much like a ghost for his liking. Not that he didn’t like ghosts. He just didn’t like people being silent when their walking. It made him paranoid.

Ink turned around. “You know I can just walk myself back, right? I literally live right next door.” He held up one finger. “That’s the house right beside yours.”

Error scowled, just like he always did when Ink pointed things out like that. It was also a reason why he was determined to point things like that out as often as he did, which was rather often. “Don’t be stupid. Of course I know that.”

“Then why are you following me?”

“What if I wasn’t? What if I just decided to get some food? To do that, I’d need to go to the kitchen, which is also downstairs.” He gestured to the passageway to said downstairs. “Those are the only stairs to get there.”

Ink smirked, “You have a box on the top shelf of your closet where you keep all the chocolate you bought, stole, or stole from Fell.” This statement was rewarded with a light blush of embarrassment from Error, who looked around as if to make sure his brothers didn’t overhear.

Ink was sure that they already knew though.

He also suspected that they put chocolate in the box too, as Error was sometimes surprised that there was some there when he had said he had eaten it all.

“I didn’t even say I was getting chocolate! I might be getting something else.”

“You don’t snack on anything but chocolate.” Error’s scowl deepened. “You also sort of admitted to following me” He couldn’t help but laugh when the blush on Error’s skull deepened in realization and his taller friend looked away from him. It was always interesting to see just how much it took to get to this shade of blue, with the yellow freckle-like dots just barely seen overtop. The sight made Ink want to draw it.

He wanted to draw it so badly.

Laughter dying down, Ink tilted his head and smiled at Error. “If you wanted to walk with me, you could’ve just asked.”

For some reason, Error glanced back at him and quickly looked away again, blush deepening again, the yellow becoming brighter. He also started to glitch a little bit, which would normally spark a tiny bit of worry, but he could see that the other wasn’t in any danger, so he had no reason to worry. If the glitches got worse, then he could worry.

That was…pretty much the saying for being friends with him.

‘If the glitches got worse, then you could worry.’

Error burrowed down, like he usually would if he had his scarf on. It was, presumably, back in his room. Weird. The glitch he knew never went anywhere without his scarf; at school, at home, at the café, at the park, walking, sitting, it was always on. Well, it probably came off at home. Here he was with his family, a safe, happy environment away from the judging eyes of school and the city. He could be himself here. That’s an assumption, at least, hopefully the right one. Ink didn’t know the relationship between skeleton and scarf and never asked, never would talk about it until, or if, Error brought it up. He wanted to respect his privacy, after all.

But now that he thought about it, the scarf had been coming off around him lately. It had started off small. It started with it being up to his mouth, almost as if a way to hide or be smaller than he was. That was how it was for a while. Then one morning, it was down just a bit, just under his mouth. And as the days passed and the two talked more and became friends, the scarf would be lower and lower. Down to the chin in Math. Under the chin the next day. Around his neck a week later in English class.

It was almost like earning his trust. He had earned Error’s trust, which meant that he got to see the skeleton behind the scarf. The true, unshielded one.

It was…kind of nice, to be honest.

Ink blinked, coming back to himself and realizing that Error had mumbled something.

“Sorry, what?”

Error looked back at him and sighed a little before speaking up just enough so that Ink could hear. “I said, can I…walk with you?” His arms went in front of him. Ink guessed that it was a temporary shield in place of the scarf.

He was prepared to be rejected and just walk back to his room.

Well, Ink couldn’t have that, now could he?

“Of course!” The smile on his face widened and he started down the stairs with lighter steps. It was always nice when friends offered to walk you home or something of the sort. The walk was less lonely, even if you never spoke a word.

It’s just how it was.

They talked in the small time it took to get from Error’s house to Ink’s. Well, that wasn’t really true. Ink did most of the talking, which ended up being mostly complaints about homework and school and also talk about his works in progresses. Error just listened quietly, humming or nodding in certain spots. He would like to think that Ink could talk about nothing at all and Error would listen. It just seemed to be the way he was.

Their friendship was a good one. Maybe there were a few unbalances here and there, but overall, it was good and healthy and, most importantly, mutual. It benefited both of them in different ways. Ink had someone who would listen without interrupting, who cared about his interest and how he felt, even though he didn’t have a soul and relied on substitutes. Error had someone who didn’t pressure him into a conversation, who gave him and respected his personal space and asked before touching his things and body. It was like a missing piece just fell into place, so perfect, it felt like it hadn’t been missing at all.

That said, there were some hurdles.

Like how Ink was soulless. There was always that thought, loud or quiet, one that questioned whether the love he felt towards his friends and family was real. Or if he was just deluding himself and everyone around him into thinking that they were. This thought had always been there, since before Dream and Blue, before Error, before anyone he was with now—what if it was all fake?

It was kind of silly. The substitutes he took acted as a soul. It supplied him his soul magic, the working parts of his body and the emotion spectrum. He may not feel things as intensely as others and may be lacking a feeling in a certain way, but that didn’t mean they weren’t real. They’re substitutes for a reason, after all.

…Ah! They’ve arrived at his house.

Ink blinked, stopping on the first step and turning back to Error. “So…” he said, finding himself unable to think of what else to say. He shifted awkwardly and cleared his throat. “I’ll see you next Friday?” He tried to think back on what else was going on in school. “We have some sort of project to do or test to study for, right?”

Error nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” He fell silent too, but didn’t leave like Ink had expected. He lingered, clearly thinking about something with the way his arms slightly glitched around. He didn’t say anything, though.

“Anything else?” Ink asked, trying to prompt him.

The blush, which had died down as they walked over here, brightened again. “Um…yeah, actually.” Error straightened and fiddled with his sleeve. “Do you remember the lesson we had…I think it was a month ago? In Health?”

Ink rocked on his heels as he thought. It was times like these that he cursed his memory. A month ago…a month ago…he didn’t really remember a lot of the lessons from a month ago. But the ones that he did… “Do you mean the one about the different types of intimacy? I only recall that it was about intimacy, nothing specific.”

“Yeah…yeah, that’s the one.”

“Okay…why is it important?” Curious. Error rarely asked him if he could remember a lesson from as long as a month ago. He knew how bad Ink’s memory was, so why did he ask? And why now, of all times?

“I, uh…w-well…” Error stuttered. Error didn’t normally stutter. It was only when he glitched really badly and was on the verge of crashing that he stuttered, or lagged, as he liked to call it. Normally, though, he spoke fine, if quiet and almost echoey.

Speaking of glitches…the ones on his arms had quickened up a little. Not enough to be too worrying yet, but definitely something to watch over.

Frowning, Ink was just about to bring that to attention when Error spoke again, voice clearer. “Just…can you…raise your hand?” He slowly brought up a hand with the inside facing Ink, like he was to high-five someone. “Like this?”

Ink eyed him suspiciously.

One of the first things he had learned about Error was that the other had haphephobia. He couldn’t stand people touching him, as it usually caused a flurry of glitches in the touched spot, and sometimes it was so bad that the minute someone touched him, he crashed. Those days were few, but they have happened. Ink had been lucky that it hasn’t happened since meeting Error. But this fact he had taken in and committed to memory, determined to not trigger his friend like that.

He would hate himself, if he did.

But now Error was asking him to raise his hand? For what? He couldn’t see them high-fiving. It would be too painful for Error and frankly a bit of a reach for Ink (he hated being short like that). And because it would be painful, he couldn’t see why he had to raise his hand.

But he was curious.

Curiosity usually made his answers for him.

Just as slowly as Error did, Ink raised his hand, mirroring the one in front of him.

Error inhaled and…

Ink’s mind froze.

He could barely focus on Error stepping closer as excitement and happiness began to take over. The urge to squeal was overwhelming, but he reigned himself in as he knew that wouldn’t help Error at all. It would probably just make him run away and never come near Ink again. And he didn’t want that. So, he forced himself to stay still and stay quiet, eyes focused on the hand that started to come closer and closer to his.

He could see the black bones begin to glitch a ton and felt a spark of worry—despite what might just happen, he didn’t want Error to hurt himself. He would never want him to—he should speak up now. He should tell Error to stop and calm down.

They didn’t have to do it like this.

They didn’t even have to touch at all!

They didn’t…have to…

It was…warm.

Fuzzy.

The hands contrasted starkly and they would be stunning in a painting. The white of Inks and the black of Errors. They were different, but they looked so well together.

This…This had to be a dream.

But it wasn’t. There was a light touch to his bones, just enough to know that the hand against his was, in fact, against his and trembling ever so slightly and actually existed in the world and not just his imagination. Somehow, this made it even more surreal. He knew it was real…but he just couldn’t believe it.

If this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up.

Despite his promise to stay still, Ink shakily inhaled.

And just like that, the spell was broken.

Error retracted his hand and walked away quickly. Ink was slow to realize what was happening and so by the time his hand was up and the name of his tongue, his friend was already gone. He stood there with his arm outstretched, gazing at the house next door blankly.

He slowly looked down at his hand.

It still tingled.

Gently wrapping his other hand around it, not daring to actually touch, he brought the hands closer to his chest, right over where his soul would be.

It felt like something should be beating wildly in there.

It felt like some new emotion had been lodged in his substitutes.

And somehow, it felt like that contact, the light touch of hands, was far more intimate than a kiss had ever and would ever be.

#my writing #my fanfiction #oneshot #teaser #errorink #implied errorink #pre-errorink #error sans #ink sans #utmv #fluff #happy birthday ink!

[viviane-lefay]

Yeah, no fucks to give here!

Really not into this ship - at least not in a romantic & sexual context.

—

At this point, I think it is best, if I put a little clarification here, before I continue:

This is just about my personal opinion, theories & headcanon - and by no means lays a claim to general validity (nor does your POV, btw).

I have more of a pick & choose approach to fandom subjects, anyway, so I can customize the experience exactly according to my needs and wishes. This is fiction, after all - the realm of endless possibilities - where anything goes, and where there is a place for the preferences of all of us.

That said, I really want to point out that I have nothing against people shipping the Dr. with Agent Stone - but since I, personally, prefer m/f ships, I’d rather choose the female OC approach, as it’s also my beloved villain x heroine constellation (not the subject of this post, though).

My take on the dynamic between the Dr. and his assistant is, therefore, quite a bit different from the fandom popular one. Well, to each his own.

What this post definitely is not, is an invitation for a debate regarding character interpretation, shipping choices, etc. - and all the potential drama that this might entail. If that is what you’re after, then I’d politely ask you to leave now, because all you are doing is wasting both of our time.

Let’s just agree to disagree and move on, k!?

I do my thing and you do you, guys!

I suppose, I made myself abundantly clear now.

—

Anyway, to return to the topic …

Where have all the male friendships & professional partnerships in fandom gone!?

Because, personally, I think agent Stone rather relates to his boss on that level…

Robotnik being a role model of some sort, that is - not unlike a kohai & senpai, or a younger & older brother constellation, actually - where the former looks up to the latter due to certain traits that he admires (and Stone certainly does). Regarding the age difference of the two, this could also make sense.

I’d estimate that Stone can’t be much older than his mid-twenties at most, since he’s in the position of a junior agent and assistant - still at the very beginning of his career path. And he’s very capable, disciplined and professional, at that, which is probably why he made it as Robotnik’s assistant at all (unsurprisingly, given the man isn’t the most patient).

Speaking of whom - I think, regardless of Jim Carrey being in his late fifties at that point - he, himself, can’t be that old, actually. My personal take (& preference) here would be late thirties, which would still make a lot of sense regarding his academic and occupational career. Being this overachieving genius, I guess that he finished school in time-lapse mode, skipping one, or even more grades - same goes for uni. Therefore, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was done by the age of 25 - his five PhDs included (bet he did two at once), which would still give him plenty of time to make his way as an agent and scientific government official up to the time of the events of the movie.

Aside from that, I can’t help but see parallels to the dynamic of Piett and Vader here, as well - a mixture of professional esteem and a bit of intimidation. But certainly no outright fear, as Stone is hardly under the threat of being strangled to death by his superior, like poor Piett is.

That is not to say that Robotnik’s still frequent misconduct towards him is ok (it definitely is not), but it certainly is more mild than he behaves towards, say, pretty much anyone else. Btw, that includes the “pin yourself to the wall”, grabbing him by the bottom lip and dragging him towards himself, while glaring at and chiding him (For what exactly!? Not being perfect, or as smart as him!? Chill, man, the boy is doing his best, and he’s doing a good job!).

Fandom, of course, does what it always loves to do - construe this as “evidence” for the alleged attraction between the two, which is pretty far-fetched, imho (…although you’re surely free to interpret it this way, if you so please. As I said, this is just my pov & to each his own. *shrugs*).

Anyway, you can clearly see Robotnik displaying this type of behaviour, along with the invasion of personal space, towards other male characters as well - be it “Major Nobody Cares”, “Officer Brainfart”, the big bar dude he threw out of the window, or Tom Wachowski. So, following this line of argument, does that mean he’s into these guys, as well!? Honestly, that’s pretty ridiculous!

If anything, it is a blatant display of asserting dominance, bringing the message home that he is the alpha male, while putting his opponent / subordinate in his place - and that’s it! What this behaviour definitely is not, however, is something remotely shipping related.

Besides, there are many examples of other male characters doing this for similar reasons, too - amongst others Darth Vader (remember that scene between him and Orson Krennic!?), and Severus Snape (after Harry invaded his memories during the occlumency lessons). And Robotnik does that quite aggressively in the cases above. In fact, it seems to be a fairly consistent behavioural pattern with him (not that he actually needed that though, but that’s an entirely different matter).

As for Robotnik’s personal attitude towards his assistant, I think Stone’s one of the very few people he actually respects, and even likes, because the young man’s esteem for him is so genuine, while everyone else regards him pretty much like nothing more than an asset, or a threat.

It’s not like he doesn’t somewhat encourage being kept in that position himself, behaving like he does - aside from actively reducing himself to his intellect & academic prowess. This isn’t all that surprising, as it is something he apparently gets his entire sense of self-worth from, and likely the only thing he got any appreciation for from others, which is, perhaps, also why he constantly needs to spotlight said trait (no behaviour someone truly at one with himself & his abilities would display, btw). Then, there is his little tolerance for failure - especially when it comes to himself. He truly expects to perform flawlessly, like a machine, and when he doesn’t, that really seems to unsettle him (that face when Tom points his unsuccessful attempts to catch Sonic out to him … he was so offended, he almost looked like he wanted to cry ^^;;).

So, of course it is likely that he becomes quite attached to the sort of attitude and behaviour that Stone displays towards him, even though he wouldn’t think of it this way - because, you know, emotional bonds with other human beings obviously are beneath him (Yeah, sure, we did see the veracity of that claim afterwards, didn’t we!?).

But, then again, growing up as an emotionally starved child and adolescent, used to being brushed aside, and, later, deliberately distancing himself from other people, he actually might have no clue whatsoever how to appropriately deal with things like these, and thus brushes them aside as “weakness”, which really does make sense, especially in the context that he was bullied as well.

Same goes for him eventually adopting the habit of pushing other people away via plain disagreeable behaviour. I think this phenomenon is called “hedgehog’s dilemma”, and it is quite ironic that he is more afflicted by it than his blue nemesis.

It is so painfully obvious that this guy has some massive issues, stemming from past emotional neglect and negative experiences - so much, that he even rejects all things human altogether, along with his own humanity.

His excessive idealization of and identification with technology, therefore, comes quite in handy as a defense mechanism in order to cope with said experiences.

Machines don’t ask much of you, they do what they are told, they are predictable, and they - above all - can’t suddenly abandon, betray, humiliate, and hurt you (which, I think, is the crux of the matter here).

Even though he might claim that his robots are everything to him, and that he doesn’t need anything and anyone else - his actions, however, prove otherwise … let alone his constant spiteful remarks on the matter, which just sound so damn bitter.

We can recognize that quite clearly when he is forced into involuntary seclusion on that mushroom planet at the end. This is where we see that what he truly is missing are not his machines (I bet he could have easily built a robot to accompany him out of the wreckage of his vessel), but one of the few people (maybe even the only one at that point), that he had apparently grown to value as worthwile company - namely agent Stone.

And, yes, it is very evident that he misses him (platonically, for me - but this isn’t even the point here) - he even tries to make a rock resemble Stone’s likeness in order to have someone to “talk to”, and mimic the social interactions he had with him.

Essentially, all those objects and machines are but a substitutive gratification that he tries to use, but that never come remotely close to the real deal, let alone are ever able to replace it.

In the end, he’s still a human being, along with all the human needs that go along with it - human contact and care included.

If the psycho-social and emotional makeup of his closest known relatives is any indicator to how his own might be structured - and it usually is (I’m speaking about the nature aspect, not nurture) - then he can’t be such a bad guy, after all - at least not inherently.

Taking his grandfather Gerald Robotnik, for example, who loved his granddaughter Maria (a total sweetheart) so much, that he was willing to do anything for her, in order to heal her from the fatal illness that was afflicting her - and who literally went insane with grief after losing her - then it shows someone with a strong emotional life, who feels what he feels very keenly and deeply. Furthermore, he is also someone that happens to bond very selectively, but if that is the case, it has this virtually absolute quality about it, with a love just as intense and profund to match (which is quite beautiful, actually).

On the other hand, though, that can also mean someone that has a high degree of emotional vulnerability, and who, therefore, is susceptible to sustain lasting damage from interpersonal traumatic experiences (which happens to be the case here, imho).

More often than not, it is this type of person that is likely to cork up their feelings and harden their hearts as a result - and who use every opportunity to deride the very traits, needs, and wishes they worked so hard to push away, if they see them in others. That is, amongst others, what gives them away. It’s pure projection - which is why I think that his caustic remarks should definitely not be taken at face value.

There are many, many examples of villains (or anti-heroes) that fit this type. Robotnik would hardly be an exception.

Besides, it is nice to see that Jim Carrey seems to have a fairly similar take on that matter (not that I actually care, but still):

“… and all it really comes down to is, he wants to be special to somebody, only it’s gone megalomania for him.”  [x]

Ouch! Poor guy, actually.

He seems a lot like Ozai in that regard. No wonder I dig this dude (aside from him being hot, that is, haha) - he’s totally the type of villain I fancy.

And also, like it’s the case with Ozai, I can’t help but wonder about his past, given there is known so little about it (aside from a few hints), so the following will be about some of my personal theories and headcanons about him, his family, and his past.

These are such important characters (main antagonists, no less), yet the creators can’t bring themselves to be more specific about the most basic facts concerning their families. Ugh, huge pet peeve here! Nobody expects a huge ancestral chart down to the tiniest details, but they could at least offer more info about their closest relatives - especially the parents, who happen to have the most formative influence on a person.

How old was he, when his parents died, anyway!? That they died seems pretty much a given, as that is what being an orphan is about, per definitionem (and he referred to himself as such). But how did they die? Did he witness their death, or was he absent?

Personally, I have this theory that their demise might very well be linked with what happened to his grandfather Gerald Robotnik, and his cousin Maria. Perhaps they were on that space research colony during the military assault, and were also amongst the “collateral damage” there.

From what I read, the recruited scientists lived there, so I reckon that they did bring their families with them, which is likely, since it is said that Maria was born there, so at least her parents must have lived there for an extended amount of time, as well. Since Ivo isn’t Maria’s brother, but her cousin, Gerald must have had at least two children, who lived alongside him (… and his wife!? No info about her, either.) on that station.

While I think both of Ivo’s parents were from prominent scientist families (after all, that is what the population of this space station was comprised of), it is still unclear whether or not they remained on that station. I am inclined to believe they might have split their time between there and Earth, as Maria and Ivo don’t appear to have been particularly close, such as, for instance, her and Shadow (who was pretty much her only friend there), but I think that might also have been the case due to a difference in age.

Maria was 12 years old when she died during the military attack on the station. Since Ivo apparently seems to have no significant memory of his parents, and seems to have spent his childhood as an orphan, he can’t have been older than 3-4 during this incident.

With Gerald arrested, and pretty much the rest of the inconvenient Robotnik family gone, aside from that small child, I think the military decided to take him along, simply because of the vast potential of this child, coming from a bloodline of geniuses, that was now theirs to mold and to exploit.

They likely left the boy in an orphanage afterwards, mostly to his own devices, and without any support, or caregiver whose bonds transcended the mere duty of keeping their fosterling alive - a lonely life, largely deprived of emotional warmth and attachment.

However, they did keep him under close monitoring, so they could intervene anytime they saw fit, to stir him in the direction they wanted - like a psychological experiment of sorts. I remember that in the movie the presiding pentagon guy referred to him as “a lab rat with teeth” - which is rather telling regarding how they perceived him, and pretty nasty, considering the implication.

The Robotnik name, though, they obviously did not refuse him - a decision they would come to regret later. While this allowed him the only tie to his ancestry, their legacy, however, didn’t do him much good.

Gerald Robotnik was a disgraced man, known to the world as the genius madman, imprisoned and sentenced to death as a criminal - which was, by far not the whole truth. And yet, he was turned into this idealised picture of a hero by his grandson, who so admired his achievents and strove to become a scientist because of it, despite knowing only the official version of the story.

The tainted reputation of his grandfather would haunt Ivo for a long time to come. It would also become the lens through which he was perceived and judged by the world at large, and this turned out to be the main reason he was rejected, and, furthermore, relentlessly bullied by his peers - irrespective of his own accomplishments, which earned him at least the praise of his authority figures.

That he eventually snapped and retaliated, did not exactly improve the situation for him. While the bullying did stop for the greater part, the peoples’ suspicion had turned into fear, as their concerns had come to pass after all, and, as a result, he was shunned even more.

In the following years, he was further on groomed to become this perfect military asset - a morally unchecked scientist and ruthless agent, that the government could deploy like the weapon they undoubtedly saw him as.

Unfortunately for them, however, their experiment didn’t quite have the outcome they had anticipated, as he not only exceeded their expectations on an intellectual and scientific level, but, at the same time, became increasingly unstable, unpredictable (”psychological tire-fire”) and, hence, potentially dangerous - to such a degree that they became very hesitant to deploy him at all (despite the “perfect operations record”), and even downright terrified of him.

Frankly, I think they’d also have ample reason to be afraid of him, other than just his obviously ambitious nature. The most prominent being a possible event, where he finds out about what truly happened to his family and himself, as well as their role in this. Needless to say, that he wouldn’t take this lightly, considering all the shit he had to endure because of it, and likely seek revenge. I’d really be curious about such a scenario.

#Dr Ivo Robotnik #Sonic the Hedgehog #movieverse #headcanon #personal opinion #not interested in a debate here #that is what rl subjects are for #fictional world is purely for wish fulfillment and processing stuff #I am merely looking for like-minded ppl here and those with a similar taste

[bluerosesburnblue]

Guidelines for Submitting Asks

Hello! While answering questions is fine and I love talking lore analysis, my personal opinions, and even OCs with people, I do have limits to what I will and won’t talk about. I’ve put together a few guidelines that I’d appreciate if people could follow. These are just a few bits of etiquette, but they should help me out quite a bit

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This is nothing I haven’t said before, but I find myself having to repeat these every couple of months so to try and avoid that in the future, I’m making it my pinned post. Break these rules, and your message will get deleted. Break several at once and I’m probably going to block you

[k-i-ssmyash]

Pls I would love to hear your analysis on why those mitski songs fit each iz boy (feel free to ignore this but if you'd like do tell bcs I think it is interesting B) )

Oh buddy you've made a mistake. You'd love to hear the analysis? Well I love to talk; I hope your ready for the absolute word vomit and rambling that's under the cut. But yeah, no, i'll never turn down asks like this! Interact with me! I'm but a simple, lonely tumblr hermit.

Let's start off with the first post containing Zim and referencing A Pearl. I tie this song in with his (fandom assumed) character development and how it effects both his mental state, Dib, and his ideology of the Irken Empire as a whole. In a way, I think a lot of us over-sympathize or find common ground with our alien and it prompts us to victimize him and excuse a lot of his actions. And for good reasons honestly? It's easy to do so consider that he was born under the rule of a tyrannical society where flaws are looked down upon. He does wrong but to him it's not exactly wrong, is it? It's unfair to judge him and scrutinize him the same way we do humans. The show is slap-stick at it's core and despite the grim and black-humor based undertones, not much is taken seriously. Although it often ends up in failure, everything he attempts to do is to better the empire, to receive recognition from the beings they hail to about the same degree as a deity. The long and short of it is that he wants to make the Tallest happy. To prove that he's worth their time and that he can live up to everything he dreamed he could be, but the truth is that he can't. He loves the people that hate him the most. It's an abusive relationship at it's finest, really. So he picks up the most unhealthy coping mechanism: Denial. He can't accept the fact that he's a fake invader, or that his Tallest weren't coming to Earth, because it would genuinely destroy him. And why wouldn't it? Pleasing his superiors and contributing to the hive-collective is encoded in him. It's all he's ever known. I specifically chose the given lines "(It's just that) I fell in love with a war and nobody told me it ended-" because that's the back-bone of Zim's character. You can take it both literally and metaphorically if you'd like. He's invader Zim. He likes being an invader because it gives him a purpose. The Tallest give him a fake mission and play into his delusion of doing good and being someone important (of being loved, even) and never truly hammer in the fact that he's exiled--not counting the unaired episode or the bit of commentary mumbled under the Tallests breath-- because they find the situation funny to an extent. (also, what gets me just in general with it is that Zim thinks that people like him but he's actually just one big joke and ow goddamn it my feelings) Main lyric(s) out of the way there I similarly associate the song to Zim's uh 'character redemption' so to say. I think he'd struggle to become accustomed to Earth and the fact that he doesn't have to rely on commands to live his life. I relate the line(s): "You're getting tired of me (and all of the things I don't talk about) / You love me so hard and I still can't sleep / It's not that I don't want you / It's not that I don't want your touch / There's a hole that you fill" With his relationship with Dib-- platonic, romantic, whatever-- and the general give and take of it all. He'd like to assimilate and believe in the freedom given by living on Earth. He wants it and in a way Dib provides the stability he needs there and it would be so, so, easy to give in to it. But he can't because the Empire continues to loom over him and his day-to-day life. As it's been proven, without Dib there to provoke Zim, the little alien falls into a depression, not unlike the one he fell into in Enter The Florpus when he saw the truth in his mission. Dib is his substitute, essentially. (there's something to be said with that relationship and how I view it but this is already dragging on and this is only the first analysis, so maybe another time.) And lastly, I'd like to think that the Pearl the song is eluding to can be compared to Zim's PAK. The whole 'Pearls are parasites that live inside of mollusks' bit can relate to the PAK and it's purpose. But I see it more in the sense that the PAK is the second brain, a computer memory drive that grants Zim access to the memories he can't bring himself to forget or delete. I.e., "And it left a pearl in my hand / And i roll it around every night just to watch it glow /

Every night, baby, that's where I go" Every time he takes a step forward, he takes two back because he just can't let go of what he knows (the Empire).

--- As for Dib and I Bet On Losing Dogs, well, it's a little more complicated and I'm still not entirely sure of my break-down here because there's so many layers to apply. Originally when I started messing around with this idea, it was going to be centered on Membrane "My baby, you're my baby, say it to me" and him loving Dib despite his flaws. And I still think it could apply. While Dadbrane doesn't support Dib's paranormal bull-shit, and he shouldn't considering the lengths Dib goes through to prove it (bus hoping, obsessive behavior, the fucking trench-coat) he does support and love his son despite the absentness. Hence the "I bet on losing dogs" and you know, Dadbrane just being there to pick him up and have his back when he really needs to. But then we get to the last line of the first verse. "Tell your baby that I'm your baby" To which Dib, in all of his edgy glory, decided to stick his big-head in to my thought process. I saw it as Dib wishing that Membrane would pick him over Science. Kind of a plea for attention? Like: Put your work away, I know you love it but you need to love me more. Dib has got to have the biggest hero-complex out of everyone in the show. He also has an inferiority-complex that compels him to try and prove himself. Quite frankly, and pun fully intended, he is the underdog. The odds are always against him and he almost never comes out victorious in the end, in that way, I feel like Dib himself is the loosing dog. His belief in the supernatural is the loosing dog. No one will ever believe him, "I bet on losing dogs / I know they're losing and I'll pay for my place" but he's too stubborn to give up. Even if he's mocked and ridiculed he would never stop trying to prove himself correct and would continue to stick to his guns. "I'll be there on their side / I'm losing by their side" He ostracizes himself from his peers by not letting belief go. He is purposely sabotaging his chance of being seen as someone other than the crazy kid.

That being said, the next line is where his Hero-complex comes back into play. "Where I'll be looking in their eyes when they're down" in Enter the Florpus, his sworn enemy was in a funk that he knew all too well. Sure, in the end he wanted to use Zim for his own gain, but before that he sympathized with him. And in a way, he possibly wouldn't know how to act if he ever did actually succeed? I couldn't help but think that Dib, who has always lost wouldn't feel like exposing Zim would be a win? He'd miss the fight. Dib would miss the struggle of being beaten down only to rise up when he finally gets some sort of substantial evidence: "I wanna feel it / I bet on losing dogs" he hopes that Zim will come up with something big and bad not because he wants him to win either, but because then Dib has something to fight against. Along with that, the one time Dib actually broke away from paranormal to go along with his father's wishes he was absolutely miserable. He was successful. He made his father happy, he could have made something out of his life but he couldn't; the appeal of Zim and their on-going stalemate was too much to resist-- "I always want you when I'm finally fine / Someone to watch me die" -- Dib is ruining himself by obsessing over the truth and Zim would be going down, right there with him. ahaha, that was a lot wasn't it? It probably didn't make sense either as it's just my personal rambling here, but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts and opinions on it all.

#smoke break #Ash Answers #invader zim #mitski

[multishipperlove]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Caduceus Clay & Fjord Characters: Caduceus Clay, Fjord Additional Tags: Unrequited Crush, First Dates, Except Caduceus doesn't know it's a date, And also Fjord is a terrible cook, Food, Miscommunication, Canon Asexual Character, Canon Aromantic Character, Happy Ending Summary:

Fjord tries to impress Caduceus with a home cooked dinner on their first date, but quickly has to realise that more often then not, things do not go as planned. And as it turns out, almost setting his kitchen on fire is not the worst part of the evening. Or is it?

_________________________

Fjord checked his hair for the third time in the last twenty minutes, nervously bustling back and forth between his kitchen and the living room and somehow getting stuck in front of the mirror every single time. The table was set, most of the food was done, the breadsticks were still in the oven, there wasn't anything left for him to do, and yet he couldn't get himself to just sit down and wait. Caduceus would arrive any minute now, any minute, and his nerves were definitely getting the better of him.

His phone buzzed, but instead of the “almost there” he'd been hoping for his screen greeted him with a message from Beau, a simple “hey, you can do it” followed by a thumbs up emoji, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes a little as he put it back in his pocket. He needed more patience, Fjord told himself, not dignifying Beau's message with a response for now, and instead checking on the breadsticks again.

Not ready yet. Were they rising at all? He wasn't sure.

When the doorbell finally rang it was the only thing saving him from answering Beau after all, and in less than a second he'd cleared his apartment and was already ripping open the door, not quite able to hide the dorky grin on his face when he saw Caduceus in his usual relaxed attire. Gray pants stained from the cemetery, the long sleeves of his shirt still bearing the marks of being around fresh soil and moss and flowers all day, and the smell of the Savalier Woods seemingly following him everywhere. Perfect, in Fjord's eyes.

“Did you work overtime again?” he asked, offering to take Caduceus' jacket as he let the firbolg step inside and carefully hanging it up beside his own. “I thought Clarabelle was taking your shift today.” “Ah, you know how it is,” Caduceus hummed in answer. “Sometimes there is more work than expected, and I didn't want to leave her alone with all of it. But I'm here now, so that's nice.” Fjord chuckled softly, leading him through the living room and to the table. “It is. I got almost everything done, too, so you can just sit down and I'll join you in a second.”

“Oh, well, thank you. That's very nice,” Caduceus agreed again, and continued talking while Fjord disappeared into the kitchen once more. “You know, I'm still a bit surprised you offered to cook dinner, I know you don't do this a lot. I would have been happy to help, too.”

Blushing a dark green and rubbing his neck a little, glad that Caduceus couldn't see him at the moment, Fjord had to admit he was right. “Well, no, I don't. But I, uh... wanted to do this properly, you know?” He picked up the first two plates he'd prepared, noticing with a grimace that the food had gone cold by now. But maybe cold didn't have to mean inedible, so he took it out to the table anyway. “I stuck to the recipes, mostly, so we should be good.”

He put both plates down and settled in his chair across from Caduceus, cheeks still feeling warm, and the calm smile Cad was giving him didn't help the matter. After a moment he realised he was staring, and also that the candles on the table were still unlit, making the dim light in the room seem more awkward than the romantic vibe he had been trying to go for.

“Oh, shoot, lemme fix this real quick,” he muttered, fishing a lighter out of his pocket that had once probably belonged to either Yasha or Beau, he wasn't sure, and quickly remedied that. “There, that's better...”

“Oh, yes, much better. Now I can see what I'm eating,” Caduceus agreed, sounding amused. As he picked up his fork and was about to dig in though, Fjord could see a brief frown cross his face. He looked confused. “Actually, what are we eating? This doesn't... I'm not sure what this is.”

Fjord winced a little, feeling his ears grow hot in embarrassment. “It's, uh. It's some sweet potato appetizer thing, I... alright, yeah, the veggies might have gotten a bit mushy, but I'm sure it's still good, so-”

Before he could make it any worse Caduceus already nodded, his tone reassuring as he answered. “Of course, I'm sure it is! I was not trying to imply anything else, my apologies.”

“No, don't apologise, it was a fair question. It turned out a little gray, I suppose.” Already resisting the urge to retreat to the kitchen, maybe under the guise of checking on the breadsticks again, Fjord picked up his knife and fork as well and cut a piece off the... thing, on his plate. At least there was food to focus on.

But as they both tried the first bite he got the next unpleasant surprise. The texture was awful, the taste non-existent, and he could see Caduceus pausing for a second before actually swallowing it down.

“Well, maybe with some salt-”

Fjord waved him off, deciding he wasn't as brave and spitting it back into his napkin. “Nope, this is horrible, you can say it.”

“No salt then,” Caduceus agreed, somehow still looking amused while Fjord was starting to regret ever inviting him in the first place. “But you said this was an appetizer, right? We can just move on to the main dish, it's all good.”

“Right, right... sure, let me just put this away then,” Fjord sighed, still giving Caduceus a smile though as he took the plates back to the kitchen. Some optimism couldn't hurt, and so far Cad didn't seem to mind the chaos all that much. He was willing to take that as a good sign.

Disposing of the appetizer in the trash can with a sigh he then put together new plates, taking the vegan fish out of the covered pan (a little darker than intended), getting the rice out of it's pot (was it supposed to be that soggy?) and just forgoing the veggies completely because those had already been part of the appetizer. The lemon sauce was the only thing he had actually taste tested though, and he knew that one was okay. It was edible.

Coming back to Caduceus he placed it down with a little flourish, smiling again as it got a laugh out of his friend. “Here you go. Something salmon adjacent, with lemon butter sauce, bedded on wild rice. I hope it's better than the last try.”

“It can only go up from here,” Caduceus replied with a smile, and Fjord settled down again. And while he wasn't wrong, it didn't necessarily make the main dish taste any better.

What was true for the sauce could also be said for the dish in general. Edible, but not great. The dry salmon substitute seemed to be in a competition with the soggy rice about which texture was worse, and the sauce was unremarkable enough to count as the best part of it all. Still, they managed some bits of not-awkward conversation while they picked at their food, and Fjord was starting to feel hope again, when Caduceus suddenly stopped mid sentence and sniffed the air.

“Do you smell that?”

It took him a moment, but then he realised it too. Smoke.

“The breadsticks! Shit-” Jumping up from his chair Fjord hurried back into the kitchen, having to tug his shirt over his nose almost immediately as the air got thick and his eyes watered from the soot that had gathered in the small room. But he found his way to the oven and turned it off, glad to see that they weren't any flames at least. Caduceus, who'd been trailing after him, had enough sense to check in with him on that first before he pushed the little window in the kitchen wide open, making it easier again to breath.

Still kneeling in front of the oven Fjord grabbed for a dish towel and pulled the rack out, seeing the blackened, miserable remains of what had once been bread dough. With a long suffering sigh he rested his head against the open oven door. “Damn it. I'm so sorry, Cad. This is all going horribly wrong.”

At this point he should have offered to drive his friend home, or just let him leave, anything that put him out of the danger of Fjord's own cooking, but he was hoping against his better judgement that maybe Caduceus hadn't given up on him yet, especially as the firbolg waved his apology off.

“Don't be, mistakes happen all the time,” Cad assured him, somehow still smiling throughout this whole disaster. “But I'm starting to think you could really use some help in the kitchen.”

He almost sounded amused, and Fjord would have been offended had it been anyone else. But with their situation being what it was he just scoffed and shook his head a little. “I'd say so, yeah. But since there's no saving this, and I know the fish tastes like shit too, how about we just order some take out?” he offered. “I'll pay, of course, and you can choose whatever you want.”

Caduceus considered it for a moment, looking around the kitchen, but then shook his head to Fjord's surprise. “No, you already paid for all these ingredients, and there's no sense in wasting them, is there.”

“Well, no,” he started, “but you can't honestly tell me you want to eat-” And he gestured to everything around them. The burned charcoal sticks of bread, the soggy rice still in it's pot, the mushy veggies. “This.”

“No,” Caduceus agreed, pulling a face as well. “But I'm sure there are enough of the original ingredients left to do something else with it, and this time we'll do it together.” Looking over to Fjord he saw his sceptical expression, and just smiled. “You'll see, good food isn't all that difficult. You were trying to make bread there, right?”

“Yeah, trying being the key word here,” Fjord muttered, finally picking the blackened dough off the baking paper with a fork to dispose of it as well. “But alright Houdini, teach me how to cook. What do we need?”

Caduceus smile grew and he reached for the discarded apron hanging over the door, tying it behind his back with practised ease. The sight finally made Fjord's frown disappear as well, and his heart lightened a little with his friend's willingness to take the situation in stride. Maybe a cooking lesson wasn't such a bad first date either.

“Alright then,” Caduceus hummed, “first of all we need a mixing bowl. Do you have any leftover yeast?” Fjord checked his drawer but came up short, not that it seemed to matter though. “That's alright. How about butter milk and baking soda?”

“Baking soda's the stuff you put in cakes and cookies, right?” Fjord muttered, brows drawing together as he checked his little stash of baking ingredients. “Yeah, I have that. And buttermilk's in the fridge.”

Seeming very pleased with that Caduceus then asked for an egg, some flour, and a little bit of butter and sugar to complete the dough. As he put it all together he told Fjord exactly how the buttermilk and baking soda would interact to let the dough rise, and why, unlike yeasted dough, this one didn't have to to be set aside and rest. But all those things went over Fjord's head almost completely as he watched Caduceus' finger knead the dough in an almost mesmerising pattern.

He wasn't done after that, either. Fjord expected the lesson to be over as the bread went into the oven (and boy did it already look better than his poor attempt at breadsticks), but Caduceus just turned to him with a cheerful smile and briefly wiped his hands on one of the towels. “Time for the main dish then.”

“Wait, really?” Fjord asked. “I don't have anymore of the vegan fish, Cad, and the rest... I don't know, I don't really know of any other recipes we could use.”

“We already agreed that's what I'm here for, did we not,” Caduceus reminded him happily. “Get me whatever vegetables you have left please, and we'll see what we can do.”

With a slight shrug Fjord did as he'd asked, coming back from the fridge with some bell pepper, red beet, and a handful of mushrooms. “This is what I got. Do you think the rice can be saved?”

“Honest answer? No. But cooking new rice would take too long, so we'll use what we have even if it's going to make the texture a little weird,” Cad told him, looking surprisingly pleased with the assortment of vegetables he'd brought though. “I'll show you one of my family's favourites, wild fried rice. The improvised version, but the next time you come over I can show you how to do it properly.” Fjord blushed again, rubbing the back of his neck a little. “Oh, sure, I'd- I would really love that, Cad. Here, let me help with the prep.”

With the two of them working together, cutting everything up didn't take more than a few minutes, and afterwards Fjord was once more happy to stand by and listen as Caduceus took care of the actual cooking part. It didn't take long for the kitchen to take on a rather pleasant smell again, driving the last few remnants of smoke and misery out, and while Fjord finished his last few tasks he looked back to Caduceus with a smile.

“Hey, Cad? Really, thank you, this has already been a way better evening than I expected.”

“It's nice,” Caduceus agreed, sounding just as pleased. “Again, I'm not sure why you insisted on cooking all alone, but I'd be happy to teach you more things in the future.” Fjord chuckled. “Hey, I already told you. I wanted to do it properly, this being our first date and all. I just wanted you to have a nice evening without having to work for once.”

“Yes, yes, our- wait, our what now?”

Fjord stopped what he was doing and looked up, seeing that Caduceus had paused as well, that confused look on his face again. “Our first date,” he repeated, slowly. “I... I asked you if you wanted to go out with me, Cad, remember? I asked you out for dinner, and then suggested I cook instead. And you said yes... remember?” The confused look didn't go away, and Fjord wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry.

“Oh.” Slowly though, understanding seemed to dawn on his friend, and the confusion made way for embarrassment. “Oh. No, I didn't- that’s not really- I’m sorry if I somehow lead you on?” he stammered, and Fjord wasn't sure if he had ever heard Caduceus stammer before.

“No! God, no, I'm just-” Great, now he was stammering too, and his face felt hot again, and surely this couldn't get any worse. “I just thought, you know, all the time at the temple, and at the diner, and... God, Cad, I'm so fucking stupid.” Fjord groaned softly, putting the spices he'd been getting ready aside and rubbing his face for a moment, trying to catch a clear thought. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. Or made things more clear, or... or something. This is on me.”

“Hey now, don't,” Caduceus replied, his tone gentle again, and at least not sounding as embarrassed anymore. “Don't do that. This is just a little misunderstanding, right? But if you would prefer for me to leave now-”

“No, please, stay,” Fjord replied quickly, not even letting him finish that sentence. He finally turned to face him again, leaning against the counter a little. “There's no reason for you to leave. I mean, the bread's in the oven, we actually got some decent food now, so... no hurt feelings, right?”

Caduceus was still frowning, but before he could speak up Fjord stopped him. “Alright, hey, I might be... a little disappointed. I can admit that. But I'm a big boy, Cad, I can deal with it, I promise. And besides, your friendship means way more to me. We're still friends... right?”

Eyes softening a little Caduceus stepped forward, placing his hand over Fjord's. “Of course we are. I never wanted it to be anything else, and again, my deepest apology if-”

“No, come on, we need to stop apologizing at some point,” Fjord chuckled, lifting his other hand to give Caduceus a gentle pat on the shoulder before he pulled back a little, trying to discreetly wipe his eyes as he ran a hand down his face again. “Both of us. As you said, it was a misunderstanding. Maybe in a few weeks we can already think back to this and laugh about it.”

“Maybe. But it's alright if you need some time for that,” Caduceus assured him, and Fjord just sighed this time.

“Yeah, maybe I will,” he muttered, giving Caduceus another smile in an attempt to seem reassuring. “But for now, let's eat. I do want to try that family favourite recipe of yours.”

Humming softly in reply Caduceus picked up the spices he'd been mixing, adding them to the pan and stirring it all in before he lowered the heat. “According to my mother, you would be in luck,” he told him, his tone still gentle. “This is supposed to work quite well against all kinds of heartaches and disappointment.”

“Oh yeah?” Fjord asked, his smile turning a little more genuine. “Next time you really gotta show me how to do it properly then.”

“Next time,” Caduceus promised, which was really all Fjord had needed to hear. As long as they stayed friends, as long as there was a next time to get together, to cook, or watch stupid movies, or something, it would be okay. He could deal with the rest. And as they settled down to eat, with the still warm, home-made bread, and the fried rice that was every bit as good as Caduceus had promised him, Fjord was glad to see most of the awkwardness between them leave again.

If a good meal could really help with smoothing things over this easily, Fjord thought to himself, he needed to learn to be a better cook.

#critical role #cr2 #fjord #caduceus clay #cr fanfic #fanfiction #writing #mine #ace!Caduceus #aro!Caduceus #first date #food

[dooniwrites]

𝖌𝖔𝖙𝖍 𝖎𝖍𝖔𝖕

Read 𝖌𝖔𝖙𝖍 𝖎𝖍𝖔𝖕 on AO3 Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24957589

Fandom: Danganronpa v3

Ship: Kokichi Ouma X Shuichi Saihara, Background Harukawa Maki X Momota Kaito

Word Count: 4,889

Warnings: none!

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Shuichi Saihara rolled over in his bed and struggled to open his tired eyes. The sounds of a morning talk show came from the TV that rested atop his dresser. As he was never one to lounge around in bed all morning, he got right up and made his way to a slightly cramped bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for the day. He was mindful of the stacks of paper strewn across his floor; files he had meant to organize the previous night but had fallen asleep before he could. Once he had changed and brushed his teeth, he entered the living room with a yawn. He glanced at his phone. Shit. It’s late. How is it already almost noon? he asked himself as he saw empty cans of soda and papers scattered about the coffee table and floor. Kaito must have been working out here last night . Shuichi was knocked out of his train of thought when he heard keys jingle as the door opened.

“Hey, man, you’re finally awake! It’s about time. You never sleep this late. I was getting a little worried, if I'm being honest,” Kaito laughed as he entered the apartment. Kaito was his roommate in college. He helped Shuichi become more active and stronger, and Shuichi would help him on his assignments when he had the chance. Shuichi was always there for Kaito, and Kaito was always there for Shuichi. When they both graduated, they had both decided to stay in the city since they could both find a job easily as well as an apartment for cheap. Shuichi was currently working as a private investigator with his uncle and Kaito worked at the Dodonpachi Observatory. They were already used to each other’s schedules and had decided to rent an apartment together as it made sense for them economically.  

“Sorry about that. I had to finish up some reports last night, and I guess I lost track of time. Honestly, I don’t remember falling asleep,” Shuichi said as he yawned again, walking over to the kitchen island and took a seat. He rubbed his eyes and glanced over at his roommate. Kaito appeared to be covered in sweat. He must have just gotten back from one of his morning runs. Kaito pulled the carton of eggs out of the fridge and grabbed a cup from their cupboard. As Shuichi watched Kaito, he heard his own stomach growl. Guess I should probably eat something, he thought to himself as he got up off his stool and made his way to the fridge. He saw a bunch of apples on the counter and shook his head. Pancakes could be good, he mused as he opened up the pantry. His eyes scanned the area looking for ingredients. He placed the pancake mix on the counter and went to grab the carton from Kaito. He watched as Kaito cracked the last egg into a cup. Shuichi watched in horror as Kaito downed the egg in one gulp. He cringed at the sight. Shuichi opened the fridge, trying to see if there was anything he could use a substitute for eggs. He went to his phone and googled what he could do. He sighed after doing a quick search, realizing that he would have to go to the store no matter what.

“You good, man?” Kaito asked.

“Oh, yeah. I just don’t know what to eat,” Shuichi said as he shut the fridge. “I was planning on making pancakes, but it looks like we’re out of eggs now,” he awkwardly chuckled as he gestured to the empty carton of eggs.

“Ah, shit. I’m sorry, man,” Kaito said as he looked at the empty carton. He placed a hand on his chin and hummed, thinking deeply. He snapped his fingers. “I know! Let’s go to 𝖌𝖔𝖙𝖍 𝖎𝖍𝖔𝖕. It’ll be my treat.”

Shuichi corked an eyebrow. “Are you sure? It’s nearly noon. Don’t they only serve breakfast?” Kaito began laughing.

“Bro, they’re open all day! You know brunch and breakfast for dinner exist, right?”

“Oh, yeah. I guess people do that,” Shuichi shrugged. “Still, I don’t know. I don’t want you to have to come out with me just because I wanted some pancakes,” Shuichi trailed off. He worried he was being a burden. He didn’t want Kaito to feel obliged to go with him. It was his own fault he ended up sleeping in so late. Shuichi wondered if he should even go, given that he still had a lot of work to do.

“Dude, you’ve been working your ass off, and you know I don’t mind! Plus my Maki Roll is working today!” Kaito hummed. Maki was Kaito’s girlfriend of almost four years. They had gotten off to an awful start in college, they were both in the same *class* and had been paired together for a project. Maki gave Kaito the impression that she absolutely hated him. Kaito was infatuated from the start. Shuichi was surprised Maki didn’t file a restraining order the first year they had met. Kaito constantly insisted that they should be workout buddies since they both had a strong interest in fitness. At first, she only accepted because she hoped this would lead to him getting off of her back. Soon, much to her dismay, she began looking forward and actually enjoying their daily workout sessions. It was not long after until they started dating.

“Oh, I see, you just want an excuse to go see your girlfriend,” Shuichi teased. “Alright, fine,” Shuichi said as he reached for his phone on the counter and called for an Uber.

“Yes!” Kaito cheered as he made his way to the bathroom to freshen up.

Kaito held the door for Shuichi as they both walked into 𝖌𝖔𝖙𝖍 𝖎𝖍𝖔𝖕. They made their way to the host stand. Maki stood there wearing a short black lace dress ripped and patched together with safety pins. She was zoning out as she traced the design on the menus sitting atop of the stand with her index finger. She began her greeting as she heard the door close.

“Hello and welcome to 𝖌𝖔𝖙𝖍 𝖎𝖍𝖔𝖕. No, you may not do a wrist check. How many will you be today?” Maki looked up to see the customers. Her eyes widened. “K-kaito?! What are you doing here?” she whisper-yelled.

“I’m here to see my little Maki Roll!” Kaito cooed as he made grabby hands toward her.

“I love you, but please do not, and I mean, do not call me that here.” Maki hissed as she glared at Kaito.

Shuichi definitely felt intimidated as he took in the scenery. He was used to Maki since she was basically being herself, but the heavy rock music blasting and the skulls decorating the place was more than he was used to.

“Okay, fine,” Kaito grumbled. “Anyway, can Shuichi and I get a table?” Maki nodded as she grabbed two menus and two sets of silverware. She motioned for them to follow her. She kept her head down as she led them through the restaurant. Shuichi deduced that she was embarrassed that her co-workers could see the affection her extravertive boyfriend was trying to show, especially since the restaurant was empty, and there was nothing for most of them to do but gossip. She placed the menus and silverware on the table at their booth. “Enjoy your meal,” she huffed before she leaned down to Kaito and placed a quick peck on his cheek. “I’ll text you after my shift.”

“Aw, thank you, Maki Roll!” Kaito grinned widely as he said her nickname aloud. She clenched her fists as one of her coworkers snickered from behind her.

“Maki Roll? That’s a new one!” the voice laughed as it cleared the table next to their booth. Shuichi looked behind Maki to see the owner of the voice. His plum-colored hair curled messily at the ends, framing his face elegantly. Light violet eyes were accentuated by a rim of dark smudged eyeliner. He seemed to fit into this place well. Shuichi could see his ears poking through his hairstyle; they appeared to be covered in piercings. Underneath his apron, he wore a dark purple cropped tank top which showed off his toned sides. He had a black and white checkered bandana tied around his thin-yet-toned bicep paired with skin-tight leather pants that did not leave much room for the imagination. Shuichi mentally scolded himself for staring at that area a little too long. He made eye contact with the voice who shot him a smile. Shuichi’s cheeks began to heat up. He felt as if he could get lost in those piercing eyes. The two stared at each other longer than socially acceptable before Maki walked away with a huff, embarrassed by her coworker. He was snapped out of the gaze. “I’ll be with you two in a minute!” the voice called as he carried the dishes into the back.

As Kokichi entered the kitchen he saw that Maki was leaning against the counter. Her lips were pressed into a firm thin line. She looked unamused and her arms were crossed. Kokichi let out the laugh he had been trying to hold in. “Maki Roll! Oh my god! Who even was that dude?”

Maki clenched her hands into fists. “Do you want to die?”

“Oh, I’m so scared.” Kokichi sneered. “You know, if I didn’t know any better I’d say he’s your boyfriend, but how could anyone ever love a edgy bitchl like you?!” Maki was silent, Kokichi took her silence as an answer. “HE IS!” Kokichi exclaimed.

“Shut up and go serve them,” Maki grumbled as she walked out of the kitchen, and made her way back to the front of the restaurant.

“Wait!” Kokichi called out, stopping Maki in her tracks. “Who’s that guy with him?”

“That’s Shuichi, his roommate. Now get back to work.”

Kokichi took a deep breath as he walked up to the table. “Hello, boys! I’m Kokichi and I’ll be your server of despair today. Can I get you two started with anything to drink?”

“Oh, um,” Shuichi stuttered, caught off guard by the greeting of the man. “Just a glass of water, please.”

“Ah, so you’re one of those cheapasses,” Kokichi said without hesitation. Shuichi sucked in his breath. Kaito held a hand over his mouth, trying to suppress his urge to laugh out, not wanting to embarrass his friend even more. He was used to the service here. “I’m kidding!” Kokichi laughed as he placed a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder, causing the man to jump. “And for you?” Kokichi said, turning his body to face Kaito.

“I’ll just have an iced tea,” Kaito replied. Kokichi hummed as he wrote the drinks down on his notepad.

“Be right back!” Kokichi chirped.

Shuichi let out a deep breath as he watched Kokichi walk away. “Relax man!” Kaito said as he watched Shuichi begin to tap his fingers nervously against the table.

“Are they all supposed to be like this?” Shuichi said in a hushed voice as to not offend the workers.

“Well, yeah. It is 𝖌𝖔𝖙𝖍 𝖎𝖍𝖔𝖕 after all,” Kaito replied. Shuichi leaned back into his seat as he saw Kokichi returning. Kaito stared at Shuichi as he watched his friend try to keep his head down, fiddling with his fingers.

“Here you two go!” Kokichi said as he placed the drinks on the table. He pulled his notepad out once again. “Ready to order?”

“Yeah,” Shuichi said cautiously. “I’ll just have the short stack of buttermilk pancakes.”

“Alrighty! And would you like a syrup pentagram on top of your pancakes?”

“Um, sure,” Shuichi said. He was unsure if he made the correct choice.

“Awesome!” Kokichi said enthusiastically as he wrote the order on his notepad.

“I’ll have the breakfast sandwich,” Kaito responded.

“Would you like your eggs in the shape of a skull?” Kaito nodded and Kokichi finished writing their order.  He took their menus and made his way to the kitchen to place their order.

“Here you two go!” Kokichi said as he placed their respective dishes in front of the two men.

“Thank you,” Shuichi stammered as Kokichi placed the plate in front of him.

“Careful now, it’s hot,” he paused, “just like you.” Kokichi winked at Shuichi and placed Kaito’s meal in front of him.

“You two enjoy your food,” Kokichi said as he sauntered back into the kitchen. Kokichi took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart. He couldn’t believe he just flirted with a customer. This was 𝖌𝖔𝖙𝖍 𝖎𝖍𝖔𝖕! He was supposed to be mean and edgy. He couldn’t stop thinking about the cold, calculating grey eyes of that guy. H Kokichi found it cute how timid he was.  He couldn’t help but try to stare at the boy through the window in the kitchen that looked out to the dining area.

“That’s really fucking creepy, you stalker,” Maki said as she walked into the kitchen, placing silverware into the dishwashing bin.

“I- uh, um.” Kokichi stammered, trying to pretend Maki didn’t just give him a heart attack. Maki said nothing as she walked off.

Shuichi hummed happily as he took another bite of his pancakes. “These are delicious!”

“I know, right?” Kaito agreed. “I think our waiter has the hots for you,” he said as Shuichi was taking a sip of water. This claim caused Shuichi to begin coughing and choking on his drink.

“What?” He croaked out.

“He keeps staring at you! He’s definitely into you! You should slip him your number!” Kaito said as Shuichi shook his head violently. “Come on man! Don’t be a pussy! Do it,” Kaito’s voice was gradually getting louder and louder. Shuichi feared that the other employees would hear him. Especially him .

“Okay, okay! Just be quiet,” Shuichi pleaded with a hushed voice. Kaito laughed and they continued to eat.

Kokichi made his way out of the kitchen area, noticing both of their plates were empty. “All done here?” he asked as he approached the table. The two nodded as they pushed their plates inward towards him. “I’ll just take these, and I’ll go get your check,” Kokichi said as he grabbed the plates and made his way to the kitchen. He placed their plated in the dishwashing bin and made his way to the register to print their check. He toyed with the idea of slipping the guy his number, but now it was his turn to feel hesitation. Once the check was printed he walked back over and placed it on the table along with a pen. “Take your time, you two!”

Kaito pulled out his debit card and slipped it into the check holder and filled out the receipt with the pen. Once it was filled out he handed the pen to Shuichi. “Now’s your chance, man,” he said as he slid a clean napkin towards him. Shuchi nodded as he took the pen. He began to write his number out on the receipt. His handwriting was shaky. He took extra caution to make sure the numbers were legible. After he wrote his number, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to add his name. He saw Kokichi coming back to their table. This caused him to panic and crumble the napkin in his hand as he placed his fisted hand in his lap, mentally cursing himself out.

“I’ll just take this!” Kokichi said as he took the check from Kaito and made his way back to the register. Shuichi released the breath he was holding and placed the napkin back on the table face down to avoid Kokichi seeing it, worried that he might see him as a creep.

“Shit,” Shuichi murmured, hoping at least his number was still eligible. He pulled out his wallet and grabbed a twenty-dollar bill.

“You never tip this much!” Kaito laughed

“Oh, well, I guess you can say he was special,” Shuichi blushed.  Kokichi made his way back over to the table.

“Here you go! Don’t worry, I only charged you about five hundred extra!” Kokichi laughed. “Kidding,” he said emotionless. Kaito and Shuichi chuckled nervously. “Have a horrible day you two!” Kokichi said as he began to walk off.

Shit, what if he doesn’t see the tip? Shuichi said to himself in a panic.

“W-wait,” Shuichi stammered as he stood up. Kokichi turned around. He was shorter than he expected; Shuichi towered over him.

“Yes?” Kokichi purred.

“Um, here you go,” Shuichi said as he handed Kokichi the twenty-dollar bill along with the napkin.  

“Aw, thank you!” Kokichi smiled. He read the napkin. “Shuichi Saihara.” Kokichi read in a sultry voice. “I like how that sounds!” He cooed. “Come back anytime, pretty boy,” he grinned. Shuichi felt his cheeks begin to heat up.

Throughout the rest of the day, Shuichi tried to push the idea of seeing Kokichi ever again out of his head. He figured Kokichi must have gotten hit on by almost everyone who went to that restaurant. Shuichi doubted Kokichi even read the number, convinced he had thrown it out the moment they left, figuring he was too bland to ever catch the eye of someone like him. He tried to busy himself with the piles of paper that needed organizing.

Maki came over once her shift finished. Her and Kaito hogged the living room. Shuichi decided to board himself up in his room. He laid atop of his bed, listening to the news on his TV mindlessly as he scrolled through his phone, trying to reward himself for finally organizing all of those papers and even cleaning his room up a bit. A notification flashed across his screen

Hey Shuichi! It’s Kokichi from 𝖌𝖔𝖙𝖍 𝖎𝖍𝖔𝖕! ;) Shuichi’s mouth dropped open. He couldn’t believe it. He was already convinced that this was a prank set up by Kokichi and/or Maki. As much as he didn’t want to get his hopes up, he didn’t want to leave whoever it was on read.

Hi! Not to be that person, but this isn’t a prank, right? Shuichi immediately regretted every decision in his life he had made up to this very moment. He didn’t want Kokichi to think he had trust issues or was an extremely paranoid person. He placed his hands over his face as he saw the three typing dots pop up. He groaned, his heart beating a million miles per minute.

Nope! It’s really me! Kokichi from 𝖌𝖔𝖙𝖍 𝖎𝖍𝖔𝖕! Kokichi responded. Moments later, a photo of him was sent. He was still wearing his outfit from earlier that day, without the apron. Shuichi could see his toned stomach. He wore a grin on his face. Shuichi felt his heartbeat in his throat and he studied the features of Kokichi. Five minutes had passed and Kokichi sent another message. Are you still alive, Shuichi? Shuichi scrambled to type out a response.

Yep! Sorry, I was just looking at your photo. Shuichi cringed as he read the message over once it was sent. He is making himself out to be a creep. He wished there was a reset button he could press.

That enamored by my beauty? Understandable. You’re not too bad yourself, though. Shuichi’s brain was short-circuiting. He dropped his phone and somehow, now his phone was calling Kokichi for a facetime.

“Wait, shit!” Shuichi cried out in a panic as he tried to cancel it. Suddenly, Kokichi accepted the call. Shuichi mumbled under his breath, “fuck me,” not aware Kokichi’s video had already connected.

“Is that how you greet every person you call? But don’t worry, I will eventually,” Kokichi laughed as he watched Shuichi’s face turn red. “Honestly, don’t feel embarrassed, I was actually about to ask if I could call you.”

“Oh, really?” Shuichi said quietly. He wished the earth would reclaim his worthless form.

“Mhm! You’re a cutie, and I wanted to see you again! So I hope you weren’t hoping you could just give me your number and never hear from me again!” Kokichi cheered.

“Really? You think I’m cute?” Shuichi whispered. He tried to hide the shock he was feeling. “I’d also like to see you again if you really meant that!” Shuichi stammered again.

“Yep! How about you and I hang out next Friday? We can do whatever you like!” Kokichi winked, Shuichi felt his throat go dry at what Kokichi could be implying.

“That sounds nice. I’d really like that. A lot, actually.” Shuichi responded.

“Awesome!” Kokichi sang. “You can come to my place! I’ll send you my address later.” Shuichi let out a yawn. He knew he should go to bed soon, but he didn’t want to end this conversation with him. Kokichi may never talk to him again. “You seem sleepy,” Kokichi cooed. “You should get some rest.”

“Yeah, I know,” Shuichi groaned. Kokichi noticed Shuichi’s hesitance to say goodbye.

“I’ll text you tomorrow morning, okay?” Kokichi smiled as Shuichi’s eyes seemed to light up. “You’re going to go to bed now, right?” Kokichi asked. Shuichi nodded his head. “Good boy. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Kokichi hung up the phone. Shuichi’s head was spinning. What just happened? he asked himself. His phone was lying atop his chest as he tried to make sense of everything that happened. His phone vibrated again.

You better be going to sleep now. Goodnight, Shuichi!

T hroughout the whole week, Shuichi had trouble focusing at work. He was able to do his job but he found himself becoming distracted, constantly checking his phone, worried he was missing any message Kokichi had sent him. Kokichi had said good morning to him every day and would text him throughout the day, usually complaining about customers and/or his coworkers. Friday couldn’t have come any quicker in Shuichi’s opinion. The moment he clocked out for the day he began to feel nerves coursing through his body. He had gone home and placed his bag on his bed, not bothering to unpack it. After a long day cooped up in a hot and sweaty office he had the strong urge to freshen up

“Good luck man!” Kaito said as he saw Shuichi making his way to the door. Maki was cuddling into his side, but once she saw Shuichi she quickly sat up and out of the position she was in.

“Thanks, I’ll text you later. See you guys!” Shuichi said as he began to open the door.

“Wait! Here, catch these!” Kaito called out. Shuichi turned around to a box flying at his face. He caught the box and read the front. Oh, this is a box of condoms… Shuichi felt his face burning up with embarrassment, but he simply rolled his eyes and threw them back to Kaito.

“I think you will be needing these more than I will. Have fun,” Shuichi said as he quickly left the apartment, making his way down the building stairs to meet his Uber outside.

Shuichi was constantly checking his phone, hoping he was going in the right direction. What do I even say to this guy? Oh my gosh. What if he kills me or something? Shuichi looked out of the car window, wondering if he could roll out of this car. No, this will be fine and I will be okay , he repeated to himself. He continued to repeat this to himself as he got out of the car and made his way into the apartment building. Please be the right place, please don’t be some random person that isn’t Kokichi , Shuichi prayed silently as he walked up to Kokichi’s supposed apartment. He knocked gently three times. Suddenly, the door swung open and Shuichi felt a weight pull him down.

“Shuichi! You came! I’m so glad!” Kokichi smiled as he pulled Shuichi into a hug.

“Uh, yeah!” Shuichi laughed nervously, patting Kokichi on the back.

“Well, make yourself at home!” Kokichi said as he led Shuichi into his apartment. You could always get a sense of a person based on their house and how neat it was, the colors, arrangement of furniture, etc. Shuichi was an expert at this, especially since he was an investigator. He was actually surprised when he entered the apartment, it was surprisingly bright. Based on Kokichi’s appearance, he expected it to be dark and almost have a satanic vibe. Instead, the apartment was very neat and quite modern. Kokichi made his way over to his black leather couch in his living room.

“Thanks,” Shuichi said nervously as he followed Kokichi to his couch.  

“So, I was thinking we could just chill and watch a movie?” Kokichi asked. Shuichi nodded, “Cool! I’ll let you pick the movie!” Shuichi felt panic begin to rise in his body again. What if he thinks my choice is stupid or boring? Oh my gosh, he’s gonna think I'm lame and then never want to see me again . Shuichi’s train of negative thoughts was abruptly interrupted by the feeling of a hand being placed on his shoulder. “You okay?” Kokichi asked gently. Shuichi nodded.

“Yeah, sorry. I was just overthinking things a bit,” Shuichi chuckled. “Why don’t you pick the movie, actually?”

“Are you sure? I’m definitely going to pick a horror movie, so I hope you don’t get scared easily,” Kokichi laughed maniacally.

The two were in the middle of Evil in the Depths III. Shuichi was used to dealing with many graphic and gruesome crime scenes on a day to day basis, so he was pretty good with gory horror movies, but he could not deal with paranormal horror movies. The fact that there was so little that could be proven or disproven genuinely frightened him to think about. Throughout the movie, the two of them found themselves inching closer to one another. Shuichi felt his one hand become much warmer than it already was. He turned his head to his right, where Kokichi was sitting and noticed that Kokichi had grabbed his hand. Shuichi smiled. He did not want to seem like a maniac, but on the inside he was screaming in excitement.

“Scared yet?” Kokichi whispered in a teasing voice. Shuichi shook his head.

“This actually isn’t that bad. Usually, I hate movies with ghosts,” Shuichi explained. Kokichi cut him off by laughing again.

“Just you wait and see.”

Kokichi and Shuichi continued to get closer and closer. At one part of the movie, a scene of a girl crawling down the stairs, screaming demonically, caused Shuichi to turn and hide in Kokichi’s shoulder. Kokichi had taken his opportunity to wrap an arm around him. “You okay?” Kokichi asked quietly, watching Shuichi nod in response. They stayed this way for the rest of the movie. Shuichi finding comfort in Kokichi’s arms.

Shuichi felt as if he could finally breathe once the credits rolled. He could feel the tension in his shoulders leave his body as Kokichi rubbed his back soothingly. “Has anyone ever told you you’re adorable?” Kokichi wondered aloud.

“Um, no. Well not since I was like three,” Shuichi chuckled.

“Well, I’m calling you adorable now,” Kokichi snapped back jokingly, sticking his tongue out.

Shuichi pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. It was nearing midnight. As much as he enjoyed hanging out with Kokichi, he wanted to be able to catch a somewhat decent Uber driver. He began to sit up from the position he was in. “Thank you so much, Kokichi. I had a lot of fun tonight. I hope we can do it again,” Shuichi smiled.

Kokichi had a small pout on his face. “Heading out already? That’s okay. We should do this again. Sooner than later,” Kokichi winked as he stood up. Shuichi felt excitement rush through his body once again at the idea that he would get to see Kokichi again soon.

“I would really like that,” Shuichi said as he followed Kokichi to the front door. “Thank you again. I had a great time.”

“Me too, but I’m not ready to say bye until I do one last thing,” Kokichi smirked. Shuichi corked his eyebrow and looked at him in confusion. Kokichi reached up to Shuichi’s shoulders and pulled him down, allowing them to make eye contact. Kokichi suddenly placed his lips on top of Shuichi’s. Kokichi’s lips were surprisingly smooth, unlike Shuichi’s which were chapped and rough due to his constant toying with his teeth. Shuichi, although taken by surprise, kissed back with just as much passion as Kokichi.

They could have stayed this way forever if it wasn’t for that cursed human need to breathe. They both parted, both slightly panting in an attempt to catch their breath. “Wow,” Shuichi whispered. Kokichi nodded in agreement. “Um, does this make you my boyfriend?” Shuichi whispered, unsure how everything was supposed to play out now.

“Only if you want me to be,” Kokichi said as he wrapped his arms around Shuichi’s neck, pulling him down again for one more kiss. Kokichi teasingly nibbling on Shuichi’s lip before parting again. Kokichi’s brow furrowed. He realized he didn’t want to say goodbye yet. “Fuck it, stay the night. Please?” Kokichi asked, but it ended up sounding more like a plea. Shuichi didn’t even have to weigh the pro’s and con’s before he was nodding his head. Kokichi grabbed his arms and pulled him back into the apartment, kissing him again.

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#danganronpa #shuichi x kokichi #maki x kaito #danganronpa v3

[margridarnauds]

ronan & olympe for the ship opinions? (also please let your previous anon know that they're the funniest person in the world and i love them)

So…interesting thing, there. And something I’ve been increasingly thinking about as I think back on my last few years of fandom, my evolving feelings towards M/F shipping, and how fandom, as a whole, treats M/F ships. I’m going to apologize in advance for the length since I KNOW you didn’t sign on for 1.5k words of reminiscence. 

Also: BEAGLE ANON, YOU’RE THE FUNNIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD. 

When I first started out with 1789, in about 2015 or so, I was actually pro-Ronan/Olympe. Like, I wanted NOTHING more than fix-it fics where they retired to the country and had babies. I listened to La Guerre Pour se Plaire for HOURS, getting caught in the gothic atmosphere and the passionate, conflicted lyrics. But, at the time, the overall fandom environment was…well. Not conducive to it. And I was young, and I wasn’t strong in my opinions yet, so I stood back and kept it to myself. I think that might be part of why I ended up backing away from 1789 when I did. Yeah, I liked it, but I didn’t have a strong sense of community, and most of the attention, at that time, was in the Mozart, L’Opera fandom, and I wasn’t a major picture there. I attended streams, yeah, but I wasn’t a CONTENT creator, and it was easy for me to fade into the background, I think. Maybe because I was too afraid to be a content creator, back then, because that would involve possibly expressing my own opinions. I accepted that Ronan/Olympe was No bad, terrible, awful based on that desire to fit in, because it was so much EASIER. Just like I accepted that French 1789 was a disaster, that MOR was much better, and that, really, it wasn’t worth the effort. Just an inferior musical. (The problem, of course, was that I NEVER liked MOR as well as I liked 1789. Maybe it’s better put together, but I don’t ENJOY it as much, and imo it drags quite a bit at a few places, a problem shared by its German counterpart.) 

I came back to 1789 around…2017, with the European Musicals Streaming event, with the Takarazuka one totally stealing my heart, specifically Lazare/Ronan. Suddenly, I was IN, and I was creating content. Yeah, most of the French musicals fandom didn’t give a flying fuck that I was creating content, with most of my support coming from my friends and Takarazuka fans, but I was CREATING CONTENT, for the first time since I joined fandom. I was finally starting to figure out my way in fandom, finally starting to get noticed. In 2018……..for reasons I won’t give out, at least publicly, there was a massive rift in the old French musicals fandom, a lot of bridges got burned, and, naturally, I was far enough from the fire. But this DID give me a shot at carving out my own 1789 experience, for once, without them hanging over my shoulder. I do think that the reason why the 1789 fandom’s as strong as it is now is because of that rift, because it left a sort of power vacuum. Suddenly, there was a space for other French musicals, and we didn’t have to worry about the constant comparison to MOR. BUT. Keep in mind. 2-3 years ago, the overwhelming consensus on Ronan was pure, unadulterated hatred. There were a few Ronan content creators in an already small pool, but the general consensus was that Lazare was better in every way and Ronan was a terrible protagonist.  (I know fully well that some old members of the French musicals fandom, to this day, won’t engage with Ronan content. At all. And I can say this as openly as I do because I KNOW they don’t follow me.) As a Peyronan shipper, I was in an awkward place, especially as time went on and I realized that I actually did like the little shit. One half of my OTP was absolutely beloved, one half was hated, and, while there was definitely some content on the Tumblr side of things (I definitely did NOT single-handedly invent the ship out of thin air, I don’t take credit for it, and I’m grateful to everyone who kind of. Took me in), the fan fiction side of things still tended to lean Ronan/Olympe. If, today, it seems like the fandom consensus is Ronan/Lazare, that’s because I fought tooth and nail to get my own place in the fandom. 

I…suppose you could say that I justified my place in the fandom by tossing Ronan/Olympe under the bus. It was easier, that way. It meant that I could forge alliances with anyone who wanted Solène/Olympe instead, though I was still on dangerous ground since I still wanted precious Lazare with Ronan, and, of course, the show would be better without Ronan. (You’ll note that the VERY FIRST fic I ever published on AO3 was Solène/Olympe. Why? Because I knew it would be a safe option to test the waters. That. And I really did just write it the night before my GRE.) But, at least I wasn’t a Ronan/Olympe shipper, right? I was safely gay. (Biphobia, thy name is fandom.) When I talked about Ronan, I talked about him as gay, I talked shit about Ronan/Olympe whenever I had the chance. All properly tagged, of course, in the proper channels. I’ve never been the sort to actively hurt someone who DID ship it, I just took pains to not associate myself with the Icky Het Ship. When I talked about Ronan, I talked about him as GAY, VERY GAY, not a hint of bisexuality to him. Because if he was bi, that might mean that Ronan/Olympe had a leg to stand on, you see? You’ll note that, to this day, I almost never acknowledge Ronan/Olympe as a thing that HAPPENED in any given fic continuities, because it was so much easier if he simply fell into Lazare’s arms instead. Wiping that little spot clean. And. Well. Here I am. About 5 years after I first got into 1789. And, looking back, I wonder if it was REALLY that bad, or if I just nodded my head because it was easy at the time, since it’s only been in the last year that I really, really began to develop my own spine. (Honestly, props to Marie Antoinette the Musical and, specifically, Morléans as a ship for that one.) For the most part, I’m proud of how far the fandom’s come in the last five years, and I’m proud of the work that I, individually, have done to help get it there, whether it was streams, gifs, or fanfics. But sometimes, I do worry that anyone coming in who ships Ronan/Olympe, like I used to…might feel out of place, and I never want to treat them like I was treated back in the day. 

Do I ship it? Not really. That ship’s sailed for me (I didn’t mean to make that a pun but here we are). I’m fairly firmly Lazare/Ronan and Solène/Olympe (though I’m not as firmly pro-the latter as the former, simply because I REALLY don’t have as much material to go off of there.) Not just because of the old pressure, but just because…looking at it in, say, the French cast…there’s really no chemistry there. At all. The Takarazuka Olympe looks mildly terrified to be in Ronan’s presence at any given moment. I DO actually kind of like it in the Toho production, especially with Teppei Koike and Sayaka Kanda, since the two of them fit together SO naturally and their voices are like two pieces of the same puzzle, but I’m not sure it’s something I’d particularly want to create content for. In fact, when I tried to write Ronan/Lazare/Olympe as an OT3, my HARDEST dynamic to write and justify was Ronan/Olympe. I do think that “La Guerre Pour se Plaire” is a stunning song, musically, it’s probably one of my favorite French musical songs. I do kind of tend to see Ronan as gay, simply because Takarazuka Ronan in particular is………..forceful, to the point that I can see him forcing himself to believe he’s in love with Olympe in order to distract himself from Lazare. I feel like the French cast, while arguably realistic in it showing Ronan/Olympe’s relationship having problems, also shows a couple that, really, beyond the physical attraction, couldn’t have made it work had both of them survived. And I feel like fandom, back in the day, was far too willing to take Olympe’s side over Ronan’s in that dispute, ignoring how Olympe’s own relationship to her side of the conflict is…kind of toxic to her. And while Ronan went about it in an ass-backward way (“I will kill your friends and family! To remind you of my love!”)……..he did make some Points. And Toho Ronan/Olympe, particularly Teppei/Sayaka, are more two kids in love who just want to give it a shot. (Kato Kazuki/Nene Yumesaki were more….forceful, manly hero/prim and proper governess with a spine of steel. Which is OKAY, but not really personally as interesting to me.) I do give the Toho credit for really, really making me see that, okay, it might not be for me, but it CAN work on stage. Mostly. (I still hate that forced kiss.) 

 I will say that there are times where I find myself writing Lazare rather similarly to Olympe in terms of him going through the same feelings of guilt, shame, and duty, and I’m just like “....hm. What have I really changed? Did I just substitute Lazare’s face for Olympe because it was easier? Or copied the existing dynamic and pasted a dude’s face over Olympe’s?” (I do think that there are definitely DIFFERENCES to Olympe VS Lazare, it’s just...eerie in those individual moments.) I do think, at the end of the day, the story of forbidden love during the French Revolution....we’ve HAD it before, in the La Revolution Française musical, and in my opinion it does work best as a queer narrative. And, unfortunately, Ronan/Olympe just...isn’t developed particularly well enough on stage to justify it as an EPIC ROMANCE. 

Overall, I think that I’m fairly settled in my ways at this point, but I also don’t hate it to the extent that I once did. It’ll never be my favorite, I can’t really see them getting married and having kids, and, frankly, the relationship just isn’t as interesting to me as the alternatives since we’ve SEEN it played out on screen, and I can’t really see myself making content for it or really engaging with it in any meaningful way outside of reblogging gifsets/reading fics, but like. I don’t HATE it anymore. I’m neutral to its existence. And, when it comes down to it, I have read fic/engaged in content for it, because, at this point, it’s STILL part of my favorite musical. If I could have done things differently….maybe I would have stayed with it more, for longer. Maybe I’d have written that happy country babyfic (you know. In 18th century France. Where raising babies in the country was so painless). Maybe I’d have gone over to Peyronan earlier and not looked back. Maybe I would have written Ronan more consciously as a bisexual man instead of a gay man. Who knows? Maybe I’m just a tired bitch these days and so am hyper-dissecting everything. But I definitely never want anyone coming into the fandom to think there isn’t a place for them just because they ship Ronan/Olympe. 

#vierschanzentournee

[childish-behavior]

Choices Ratings

Alright, I’m bored and I’ve been thinking about how my opinions on several choices books have changed so I’ve decided to do a rating for each book on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best). 

Take this as you will, but if you’re new to the choices fandom/looking for books just to play for diamonds, this is my personal guide. 

Also, if you’re new to the fandom, try to avoid searching tags of books to avoid spoilers. And don’t spend diamonds customizing your character in chapter one. Wait until you read the story and see if you like it before spending diamonds.

Written: May 23 - 24, 2019

Here’s a link to all the LIs in each book cause imma probably forget some: https://chihuahuawong.tumblr.com/post/183676365060/all-mainyour-characters-love-interests-from-each

Terms:

MC = Main Character

LI = Love Interest

Paywalled = have to pay (seemingly unnecessary) diamonds

Disclaimer: Most outfits/special scenes are paywalled, but if I think it’s kinda ridiculous I’ll point it out.

Also, most books include NSFW diamonds scenes with LIs, but if they’re notable I’ll specify. And obviously choices matter, but some books tend to have more filler choices that don’t do much.

The MC you get to customize is more often than not gender locked to a girl, which really makes no sense cause gender really isn’t that big of a thing in most of these books.

Across the Void (5.5/10)

You're the new captain of a luxury space liner, and it's your job to make sure your passengers cross the galaxy safely -- in the middle of a galactic civil war! This romantic space opera is like nothing you've experienced!

I had such high hopes for this book, but I was severely disappointed. I actually enjoyed it in the beginning but once I started thinking about the book and saw what other people pointed out, I kinda lost hope.

Pros:

Choices matter (crew points, allegiance points, spaceship quality points, passenger points) during the book.

Multiple playable characters 

Crazy space adventure

Clear objective

Very diverse LIs

Diverse in general

The writing wasn’t bad, the plot was kinda all over the place

Amazing art

You can get away with not buying outfits

Alien NSFW scenes are a different type of freaky

Cons:

Literally, MC does one thing and her siblings (when you’re not playing as them) do the dumbest shit and go behind MC’s back it’s fucking irritating 

The objective is clear, but subplots divert from it (with little to no correlation)

Explanation of the war/enemies was kinda vague? I don’t remember the reasoning behind it, but I do remember thinking the reasoning being kinda wack

Rushed at times

The ending was just...boom done. Very anti-climatic.

Speaking of the ending, there was a final ultimatum choice that basically overrode everything else that happened prior to it

Overwhelming amount of information at times

I was just...confused most of the time

Diamonds are a necessity (and I’m upset I spent the amount that I did on this book)

However, I think ATV was supposed to be a series, so the writing was probably set to give more explanation over an extended time instead of one book.

America’s Most Eligible (7/10)

2 Books, with a 3rd coming

Book 1: Battle it out in a reality TV show to determine who is most eligible! Create alliances, make enemies, even fall in love... the choice is up to you!

Book 2: New season, new showrunner... And plenty of chances for drama! Find fame and win hearts in the next season of America's Most Eligible. Head back to Miami for America's Most Eligible: All Stars! Will you return be triumphant, or will old enemies drag you down?

AME is more on the lighter side, but there’s still some drama to it. I was with it but it was kinda, eh to me just because I wasn’t that interested in the plot. But it wasn’t necessarily bad.

Pros:

Boy or Girl MC

Game of wits

Choices matter

Cute LI scenes

Plot twists

Fun & Juicy

A lot of LIs

It’s a reality show, so basically what you’d imagine being on a reality show to be

You don’t need to buy the outfits

Creative challenges 

Cons:

A lot of advantages/wins are paywalled

Wasn’t bad but I wasn’t that emotionally invested

Not really much for me to say about AME. I liked it but I also wasn’t that invested either.

Big Sky Country (9/10)

a sequel is scheduled to be released I believe

When your car breaks down in rural Montana, you're stranded on the roadside... until a certain cowboy comes riding up.

BSC isn’t a favorite of mine, but it wasn’t bad. It was actually pretty good. You just have to have a taste for country/western type plots.

Pros:

Relateable MC (sis knew nothing about the country and it showed, but she was also willing to learn)

Family drama

BSC could be the plot of a western movie

Interesting characters, even side characters were entertaining

Rivalries 

Save the day storyline

Good ole country fun

Equal male/female LIs

Honestly, this book was funny as shit at times

Outfit choices don’t have a significant outcome on the plot (I never bought an outfit)

Diamond choices mostly reserved for interacting with LIs, not altering the plot (from what I remember)

I never played any NSFW scenes but I’m assuming they’re good because let’s be honest, most choices NSFW scenes are juicy

Cons:

I mean, Southern hospitality is a thing and I understand returning favors, but there’s a big plot hole as to why MC cares so much about helping the ranch and the Oakley family

Bloodbound (10/10)

2 Books

Book 1: You're applying for a job with brilliant CEO billionaire Adrian Raines... but there's more to him than it seems. Urban fantasy meets romance in this sexy vampire thriller.

Book 2: New mysteries, old enemies, and a thrilling adventure that'll unearth the dark, alluring history of vampires. Book 2 is ongoing

Pros:

Vampires!!!

MC is funny and relatable as fuck, strong chaotic energy but I live for it

MC holds her own with the vampires (not a damsel in distress)

Sis really holds her own in bed too (threesome diamond scene)

The plot is juicy 

Slow burn plot/romance (from what I remember)

Diamond flashback scenes of how vampires shaped the present in the past, also provide a further explanation of the relationships between vampires

Iconic characters, each character is fully formed

Badass females!!! 

A natural progression of the plot

Things are well explained without information dumps

Action packed

Underlying political commentary

Realistic (as much as a vampire book can be) with feelings, consequences, etc.

I can’t think of any cons off the top of my head tbh.

The Crown & The Flame (9.9/10)

3 books

Book 1: Your enemies stole your kingdom, but now the time has come for you to raise an army, master magic, and reclaim your crown!

Book 2: Kenna and Dom are out to liberate the rest of The Five Kingdoms! Can Kenna form the alliances she needs to defeat her enemies once and for all? Meanwhile, Dom's powers are growing stronger, but will he be able to stay in control? Get ready for epic battles, new weapons... and dragons!

Book 3: The Iron Empire draws near. Kenna and Dom must choose their alliances wisely to halt the grim advance of a seemingly unstoppable foe. Can enemies work together, or will betray seal the fate of The Five Kingdoms?

THIS IS MY SHIT!!!! One of the original 3 choices books/series, and it hooked me onto the game. This one is going to be biased most likely cause TC&TF has such a special place in my heart.

Pros:

You play as 2 characters, Kenna and Dominic (with the option to play as side characters during certain scenes)

One of the 2 main characters, Kenna, takes no fucking shit from anyone and is such a badass warrior queen. Truly iconic.

The other character, Dominic, as the title suggests, has something to do with fire. I’m sure you can guess based on the medieval setting but just in case, I won’t spoil it.

Diverse characters and LIs

The plot is juicy as fuck, like dripping down your chin juicy

Amazing action scenes

YOU DON’T NEED DIAMONDS for plot and some character related choices (when playing as Kenna and Dom, you can make choices that gain points then later on, if you have enough points you can substitute those for diamonds) 

Basically, choices matter

Definitely would play again, and I have

All characters are iconic, unique, and autonomous 

Queen Kenna can get down in the battlefield AND the bedroom

So can Dominic

Animal companions

Truly iconic

Cons:

Diamonds are needed to get weapons and increase your army score as well as gain some useful allies and information

A Courtesan of Rome (8/10)

Make your debut as a courtesan in Ancient Rome and plot your vengeance against Julius Caesar for his conquest of your homeland.

I’ve vibed with this book since it was first released because of the:

Badass MC

Really steamy, NSFW scenes (including a threesome diamond scene)

Amazing writing

Historically accurate, but you still influence the story

Several POVs

Backstories on MC’s family

PLOT TWISTS

9/10 times, your choices make a difference, or at least it feels like they do (little to no filler plot points)

The outfits

Seriously, MC is iconic

Diamond outfits influence the story more, but not a significant amount

Relationships matter, as in you get a slightly different story based on how you interact with people

PETS (literally I have a dog and a monkey. for what? who knows)

MC has strong chaotic energy, sis did not come to play

LGBT major character (possibly)

Cons:

Lack of diverse LIs (for most of the book you only have 4 options for LIs, and only 1 is a female. as of chapter 18, more are introduced but they are still mostly male)

The female LI is paywalled

MC is impulsive, like dumb bitch impulsive

Xanthe hate, for what????

Um, slavery

Currently, ACOR is ongoing and I hope it doesn’t disappoint.

edit: Overall, a great book, but when you look at the specifics...it gets questionable

Desire and Decorum (9/10)

2 released books, 1 upcoming

Book 1: It's court or be courted when you learn you're one of the most eligible heiresses in England! Does true love await you at the grand Edgewater Estate?

Book 2: You've been locked into engagement with **********! Can you escape his clutches to be with your true love?

It was good writing, but society limited how much you could influence the story.

Pros: 

MC gets to be an heiress

Wonderful writing

Historically accurate

Juicy plot

Beautiful art

Engaging LIs

Seriously, the female LI is such a bad bitch

What you’d expect from this time period really

Best friend goals

I’m invested in the story, but it’s frustrating to play

You can get a horse and a pug

Sometimes (if you pay diamonds) you can say, fuck societal norms and fuck your love interest (sometimes in public too)

Cons:

Seriously, social norms at the time limit your success (you want to do one thing but bc of society and whatnot doing what you really want can negatively impact you)

Diamonds are needed to get the most out of the story (gain skill, romance LIs, best outfits, best social standing)

1/4 LIs is female

Side characters are kinda just...there at times

Except for the 2-3 side characters that influence the story way more than (I think) they should

The antagonist is kind of dumb? but not dumb? He’s made out to be smart but then he’s easily fooled by MC

The Elementalists (6/10)

Book 1: A College Student enrolled at an exclusive university finds themselves being targeted by a mysterious enemy while learning that they may be one of the most powerful Magick wielders on the planet.

Book 2: Now a sophomore at Penderghast, the College Student searches for answers about a missing girl and tries to figure out why their powers are glitching out. Meanwhile, an eccentric man offers his friendship.

It’s a fan favorite, but I just can’t get behind it. Book 2 is ongoing so I might change my mind.

Pros:

Boy or Girl MC

Magical adventure

Natural skill progression in magic

Interesting plot

Relateable MC

Plot twists

Funny moments

1 side character has a noticeable character development

Cute outfits

Animal companions

Equal male/female LIs (but another male LI is added in book2...but romancing him is weird to me so I kinda don’t count him)

Cons:

You can choose to be asexual/aromantic (as in you don’t pursue any LI), but a romance subplot is still kinda forced at times

MC’s friend group at times seem like an entourage/hype squad instead of actual people

Also, if you romance a certain LI, there are times where he doesn’t even acknowledge the relationship (from what I’ve seen)

You need diamonds to learn more spells and become a better magician 

One of the female LIs rarely appears in book 1 and is paywalled, but she gets more (and free) moments in book 2

Endless Summer (9.5/10)

3 books

Book 1: Adventure and romance await in the tropical paradise of La Huerta. Can you solve the island's mysteries?

Book 2: The adventure of a lifetime continues! Saving your friends will take you to the wildest reaches of La Huerta, where truly anything is possible...

Book 3: The world has been hurled backward in time by the strange power of La Huerta! To set things right, you'll embark on your greatest adventure yet.

Once again, MY SHIT!!!!

Pros:

Unique art style

Guy or girl MC

Several LIs (i think equal male and female too)

Very compelling story

Each book has unique twists while still adhering to the overarching plot

Easy to get emotionally attached, making the final choice even harder to make

BADASS MC

Compelling side characters

Choices matter!!! (relationship choices especially)

Clever puzzles (but you aren’t penalized for not solving them)

Would recommend replaying

Seriously, the side characters are dope as fuck

A fantasy type story, but it still has logical rules

Dope action scenes

NSFW scenes are >>>>

Cons:

Diamond garbage disposal (seriously, diamonds are a MUST)

The ending is an ultimatum of 3 choices, each with their own epilogues, and they’re just heartbreaking (not necessarily a con I guess)

The Freshman Series (7.5/10)

Ok, this is literally a series following the same characters through all 4 years of college, I’m too lazy to get all of those summaries, especially when there are multiple books for each year. Also, there are several side stories too.

Pros:

Get to see MC and the gang grow through the years

Relatable problems

There’s drama and it’s juicy

Very well written for a series that long

Amazing side characters

Diverse LIs

Amazing worldbuilding

A possible deep connection to characters

Badass females

Amazing character development for MC and their friends

Shit gets wild tbh 

PETS!!!

You can create long lasting relationships

Very nice NSFW scenes

Diamonds aren’t needed, but they help

Other LGBT characters outside of MC

Cons:

MC is literally in the middle of everything, even when they shouldn’t be

Questionable decisions

Honestly, I can’t accurately rate this series because it is so long, but if you play The Freshman and love the story, just play through the whole series. I didn’t give it a higher score though bc I forgot a lot. I remember not liking it as much as Bloodbound or A Courtesan of Rome, etc. But again, this is my personal opinion.

The Haunting of Braidwood Manor (???/10)

Do you dare spend the night in Braidwood Manor?

Seriously, what the fuck??? I can’t even properly score this story because it’s just??? 

I can’t even make a proper list for this because it was just ???. There’s only a few characters, only one setting, and shit is just weird in that house. If you like horror/mystery/thriller then, by all means, be my guest and play this. But I honestly forgot this was even a book it’s just....not even bad just ???? what the fuck???

The Heist: Monaco (8.5/10)

Case the joint, assemble a crew, and make off with the score of a lifetime...

I-CON-IC

Pros: 

You get to be the criminal, the “bad guy” for once

Amazing characters

Action packed

Diverse LIs

CHOICES MATTER (especially relationships)

The crew? Iconic

You get to pick the characters you want in your crew too, and they influence your story

That being said, no matter who you pick (even if they’re the free option), they bring unique commentary to the group

The driving motivation for the MC is greed and pettiness, but it works 

Dope art scenes

Choices really do matter. The higher your heist score is at the end of the book, the more amazing your heist is

Cons:

MC is really just there

Seriously, not much would have changed without her

Diamonds are a must

Some characters are (perhaps unfairly) paywalled 

Hero (6/10)

1 book, 1 upcoming

Book 1: Take to the skies! Make friends, find love, and save your city in this action-packed adventure!

Pros:

You get to be a superhero!!!

Male or Female MC

Dope friends

Relateable moments 

You get to design your super suit and hideout

Iconic characters

MC does not magically perfect being a superhero or miraculously understanding everything once they discover their powers, it’s a learning process

A unique art style (similar to Endless Summer)

Diamonds aren’t a necessity, but they do help

Cons:

There really isn’t a female LI

Automatically forced to be the hero (which makes sense, given the title. but sometimes being a hero is boring)

Cliche superpowers (not necessarily a con)

Choices matter like 50% of the time, I just remember fight scenes being the only parts where my choices made a noticeable difference, but I could just be blanking

High School Story (7.5/10)

3 Books, 3 Spin-off books (High School Story: Class Act series)

I’m not posting these summaries either cause High School Story is basically a shorter, high school version of The Freshman Series. Also, the spin-off, High School Story: Class Act (returning for another book soon), follows a freshman through her first year of high school at the same school the original High School Story is set at (Berry High). High School Story is also a choices revived version of another pixelberry game by the same name.

High School Story

Pros:

Guy or Girl MC

Compelling side characters

Diverse characters and LIs

Feel good book

What I wish high school was like

Great friends, dope story

Diamonds aren’t needed, but there are a few diamond choices that really help

LGBT side relationship

Minor mention of real issues for high school students

Cons:

Unrealistic, high school is not that eventful, you’re not at the center of everything, and relationships are not that easy

Uncommon/unrealistic conflicts/situations 

Class Act

Pros:

Guy or girl MC

Relateable

Juicy drama (hehe)

Cool new characters

Original HSS character cameos

Diamonds aren’t needed 

Minor customization of one (1) major character

Real shit is discussed 

Cons:

Fewer LIs

1 female LI (but she’s my cinnamon apple)

1 semi-forced male love interest

Home for the Holidays (2/10)

Welcome to Winter Haven! Who will you kiss under the mistletoe... your workaholic boss, your high school sweetheart, or your childhood friend?

Oh my gosh, this book was dry. One of the male LIs was a dickhead most of the book too. 

SPOILER basically you go home for Christmas and participate in small town Christmas festivities while trying to also do unexpected Christmas work/convince your boss to have fun/publish a friend’s book END SPOILER

It was cute...or whatever, but dry. Definitely a diamond mining book. Interesting townsfolk though. I think it was not the best standalone book, but if it were a holiday side story like the Freshman Series did, it would’ve been way more investable.

It Lives Anthology (8.5/10)

2 books

It Lives In the Woods: The book focuses on a group of teenagers who have barely spoken to each other in a decade banding together in order to confront a terror from the past. (8/10)

It Lives Beneath: A College student helps their younger half-brother settle into their new life after their parents are brutally murdered. However, they soon find out that Pine Springs isn't as tranquil as it seems. (9/10)

Pros 

It Lives In the Woods:

Diverse characters

Boy or girl MC

Real genuine horror

Plot twists

Unique story

Choices matter

Several LIs 

LGBT side relationship

Animal companion!

It Lives Beneath:

The first book was unique, but the second one was REALLY unique as far as the story

A smaller group of friends, but still strong supporting characters and several LIs (male and female)

Plot twists!

Drama!

Horror!

Deception!

Cons (both):

Must spend diamonds practically every chance you get (outside of romancing LIs)

LoveHacks (6/10)

2 books

Book 1: New city, new job, new friends... Can you navigate the hilarious ups and downs of dating in the modern world?

Book 2: After quitting your job, you and your friends face new challenges in work, life, and ESPECIALLY love.

Ok, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t spectacular either.

Pros:

Feel good books

Dope side characters

2 POVs

Funny

Touches on some real issues (kind briefly)

Mostly realistic

Multiple LIs

Cons:

The whole driving factor of the first book is...morally ambiguous (it just seems wack to treat people like that for work to me), especially when it comes from a prick of a boss and his little henchman

Most Wanted (9/10)

Another one of the original 3 choices books. Currently only 1 book, but it may get a sequel just because of how popular it is.

The heat is on when a no-nonsense Texas Marshal and a Hollywood detective are thrown together to stop a deranged hitman. Can you catch the killer?

Play as Detective Dave Reyes and U.S. Marshal Sam Massey.

Investigate a mystery with twists you won't see coming.

Examine evidence at crime scenes.

Stop the killer before he can claim another victim!

Pros:

2 POVs

Your choices matter (you can earn points similar to TC&TF point system and substitute those for diamonds)

Diamonds aren’t a necessity

Crime/action book

Well written

You solve the case either way (I think), but it’s fun piecing clues together

Realistic relationship between the 2 main characters (I mean, you control most of it as well)

Cool side characters

Semi-Cons:

You can’t customize the main characters (which makes sense)

There’s barely romance (which also makes sense you’re trying to capture a killer there’s no time for frick-fracking)

Nightbound (7.7/10)

Bloodbound spin-off

Step into the world of the supernatural and encounter monsters, the fae, werewolves, you name it! But beware, nothing is as it seems...

Nightbound is still ongoing so I’ll probably edit this later.

Pros:

New Orleans!

Werewolves and other supernatural creatures (unlike Bloodbound that was just Vampires)

Guy or Girl MC

MC tries to make themselves useful...but it’s only their third day out here

Diverse characters

Mystery

Cute outfits

Iconic side characters

So far, only 3 confirmed LIs have been introduced (only 1 is female)

I haven’t had to spend that many diamonds so far (I don’t feel like I missed out because I didn’t)

Cons:

MC really doesn’t know what the fuck is going on but tries to act like they do

At times, they can hold their own but other times they do the dumbest shit

Just, a very inconsistent character, but this may be explained later on

Seriously, MC just learned about the supernatural and gets mad when Nik (their bodyguard) tries to protect them/doesn’t trust them alone

Open Heart (9.5/10)

You're the newest medical resident at Edenbrook Hospital, working under the brilliant and demanding Dr. Ethan Ramsey. Can you make the cut? (ongoing)

Once again, my shit. 

Pros:

Guy or Girl MC

Squad Goals (except for one snake)

Diverse side characters with their own backstories

Multiple male and female love interests

Bryce fucking Lahela is my the love of my fucking life

Females just, handling shit

PETS!

Diamonds aren’t needed for the best experience, but diamond scenes enhance the story

Juicy, juicy, juicy

Kind like if Grey’s Anatomy and House had a baby (idk if that’s true but it seems possible)

Not just all hospital stuff though

Cons:

You’re forced to hate another character (and your roommates agree) even though that character did nothing wrong or punishable

You really have to pay attention and just guess during medical diagnostics because the terminology and stuff is on point, but kinda useless unless you have a medical background

MC is iconic, but sometimes they’re too Lawful Good instead of Neutral/Chaotic Good (basically, MC can be annoyingly honest or limit themselves to benefit others instead of doing what they think is best and sticking to it)

Passport to Romance (2/10)

You just landed an opportunity to travel to Europe! Now's your chance to find love, meet new friends, and live life to the fullest!

I had such high hopes but...it’s still ongoing so maybe I’ll be able to bump it up?

Pros:

Travel

Cool job (minus the clout chasing)

Mostly cool friends

Cute outfits

The writing is good as far as not writing bland chapters, compelling dialogue, well-written scenes, but the plot itself irritates me

Cons:

Unrealistic

A lot of times, MC and the gang completely disregard security measures/public decency for clout (aka more fans)

One of the major characters is literally dry as fuck, and there’s some kind of sob story behind his characterization but it still doesn’t excuse his actions. It’s more of a cliche lame excuse instead of genuine reasoning (at least to me). I have no sympathy 

MC and the gang break a lot of boundaries and just...rules in general which doesn’t sit well with me. Just, respect the history of buildings, rules of being an athlete, etc.

The boss we work for is a bitch. She’s like the Walmart version of Cat Grant (from Supergirl). She’s rude for no reason (or no reason know to us so far).

You kind of need diamonds to get the best ratings and stuff on your blog...but I stopped spending my diamonds on this book early on so I wouldn’t know

Sometimes, the gang does stupid shit and when they encounter obvious consequences they get sad or whatever, like...what did you expect?

Perfect Match (8.5/10)

2 books

Book 1: A young man/woman believes that they meet their ideal partner through a dating service, but soon come to realize everything is not as it seems.

Book 2: Armed with the knowledge that ****************, you vow to bring them down once and for all. Meanwhile, a member of your team suffers from an identity crisis.

Pros:

Guy or Girl MC

Squad Goals

MC is just, relatable (dialogue/actions you don’t get control over are relatable) 

Some Black Mirror shit to be honest

Juicy, juicy, juicy

Side characters are pretty cool

Several LIs (3 male, 2 female)

Diverse characters

Choose animal lover if you want a dog to be in the story (you’ll see what I mean when you play)

Plot twists!

Really, shit’s crazy

Drama/Action/Romance all in one

NSFW scenes are legendary in the fandom (particularly, Damien’s)

Real world undertones as far as fighting The Man for the Greater Good (I’m telling you, Black Mirror stuff)

Cons:

Diamonds aren’t a necessity but you need to spend some too, you just kinda have to decide at that moment

Red Carpet Diaries (5/10)

2 books, 1 upcoming

Book 1: The series revolves around a young woman who recently moved to Los Angeles from Iowa to start her career as an actress.

Book 2: The same actress is exposed to the dark side of Hollywood where she must save her career and reputation from a self-centered agent and sinister movie mogul.

I liked RCD but as I’m reading through some stuff and remembering events I’m realizing that it has a lot to work on.

Pros:

A realistic path to fame (from what I can remember)

Cool major side characters, most of the time

Multiple LIs (from what I remember, 2 are female)

Referenced real-world events and had underlying commentary on people using the fame and influence to opress those “below” them (book 2)

Realistic Hollywood drama (I'm guessing I’m not famous)

Characters from another pixelberry game, Hollywood U, make appearances

Cons:

Unnecessary female rivalry

Your friends ignore you over some bullshit (petty!)

MC is kinda lame compared to other characters, which is understandable considering they came from Iowa, but still...undesirable

The path to fame was realistic, but the beginning of book 1 was kind of slow

You encounter several Hollywood jerks (which makes sense, but it’s still irritating)

MC is forced to quickly forgive people (except for one) like everything is fine and dandy when people were so quick to turn on her

Really MC gets so much shit for nothing, she was literally sabotaged over what

Literally MC’s friend group acts petty and immature at times and it’s up to her to fix their problems

Ride-or-Die: A Bad Boy Romance (5.5/10)

1 book, upcoming sequel

Logan isn't the type of boy you can bring home to Dad... Not when Dad's the detective tasked with taking down Logan's illegal street racing crew.

Another fan favorite that I just don’t like. I had high hopes but I was quickly disappointed.

Pros:

I love the rabbit hole plot (you know how you do one bad thing and it kind of sets you up for more problems)

Nice action

Juicy plot twists

Drama

Well written

Realistic family drama

Choices determine how other characters treat you

You can get by without spending a single diamond

The crew is pretty cool, and they get some nice characterization

Cons:

So fucking unrealistic. 

MC literally ****** and ***** her dad and best friend for people she does not know 

MC was such a dick to those who cared about her because she ******** which is understandable, but also just to the other extreme

You have to pay diamonds to learn how to drive, yet you’re in a gang of street racers where driving is a necessity. 

MC just...completely disregards school as well FOR PEOPLE SHE BARELY KNOWS

One of the most frustrating MCs I’ve ever played. 

She had the NERVE to be upset when people she DID NOT KNOW betrayed her (this bitch is Booboo the Fool)

Literally several times, she’s told she’s not cut out for the illegal, street racing shit (because she isn’t) yet she still stays

I feel like MC faced no real consequences for her actions 

Basically, the story is good (despite being cliches) and the surrounding characters are great the MC annoys the shit out of me. Like if I watched this as a show, without MC, I’d enjoy it

The Royal Romance (6.7/10)

3 books, 1 sequel/spin-off (The Royal Heir)

Book 1: A spin-off of Rules of Engagement, the story follows a woman whose life is completely turned around when she's selected to compete to be the bride of a prince from a foreign country.

Book 2: The same woman must clear her name of a political scandal that reaches to the highest levels of Cordonia Royalty.

Book 3: Now in a position of power, the woman must unite her new home against the leader of a terrorist group.

Kinda like a more modern Desire and Decorum (even though these books were published first). I liked it when I first played but now that I’m taking a critical eye to it....

Pros:

Squad Goals

Betrayal! 

Drama! 

Scandals!

Amazing side characters

Cute outfits

MC is badass at times

Animals!

I actually liked it, enjoyable to read but kinda boring to replay

You can get several pets

Cons:

Multiple LIs, but only 1 female

If you don’t romance the Prince the plot is kind of...off?? Idk it just makes the most sense if you romance the prince but there are no negative effects if you choose someone else

Kinda have to buy all the diamond outfits (especially in Book 2) to stay in favor with the press, the people of Cordonia, and the royal court 

MC is literally ripped from her home and family and her whole life becomes Cordonia. Like there’s never a moment of regret or talking to her family.

The conflict of book 2 could’ve been solved way easier than it was. they really dragged that out for drama but it was irritating when you found out what actually happened and why

MC is given..stuff at the end of book 2/beginning of book 3 but you rarely see her directly interacting with said gifts

Rule of Engagement (4.5/10)

3 books, 1 spin-off

Book 1: Your summer on a luxurious tour of Europe takes a wild turn when you learn you're in line for a multi-million dollar inheritance! There's only one catch... you need to get married by the end of the summer!

Book 2: In line to a multi-million dollar inheritance, your siblings and yourself struggle to complete your respective tasks by the end of the summer. Yours? Get married by the end of the summer.

Book 3: The end of the summer approaches, and it is your last chance for you and your siblings to complete the tasks given by your grandmother to get her multi-million inheritance. Will you be able to plan your perfect wedding, or will your aunt ruin it all?

ROE: Newlyweds (Spin-off): One year after your magical summer, you throw a housewarming party to reconnect with your family! Will you plan a reunion to remember?

Last of the 3 original choices series.

Pros:

4 regularly playable characters (I think around the 2nd or 3rd book you regularly play as a 5th character too)

Characterization for several characters

Juicy side characters

Adoptable animals

Loveable twins

You don’t have to spend diamonds (I wouldn’t)

Compelling antagonists

Cons:

No female LIs for the eldest sister

2/4 siblings are big fat LIARS, these same 2 siblings are also pretty annoying and treat people kinda poorly

The wedding/engagement for the oldest sister is rushed and realistically, a bad decision

A certain LI literally gives up his entire birthright to be with the eldest sister (which is sweet, and she’s not the only reason, but also irresponsible)

The driving factor of the plot just leads the 4 main characters to do some insincere stuff (if that makes sense)

Veil of Secrets (5/10)

1 book

A journalist investigates the disappearance of their best friend in the small town of Birchport but soon comes to realize that the inhabitants of the seemingly peaceful town have many dark secrets. All while facing off against a narcissistic patriarch, a corrupt police chief, and a revenge-driven psychopath who will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.

Pros: 

Juicy story

Plot twits

Drama

Equal male and female LIs (but one of the female LIs isn’t really romanceable until the end of the book)

Dark secrets

Cons:

Cliche small town with dark secrets setting

The whole “invite my best friend who I haven’t talked to in years” thing is unrealistic. even if best friends don’t talk every day or live close, they talk regularly. Like wtf, you don’t just get invited to someone’s wedding because you knew them in college people grow and change and drift apart

It honestly wasn’t bad writing it was just kind, eh the whole time. It really didn’t stick out to me.

Wishful Thinking (6.5/10)

1 book

You're an aspiring reporter, struggling to get ahead... until a shocking turn of events changes your life! (ongoing)

At first, I didn’t like it but it’s growing on me.

Pros:

Interesting story

Unique twists

Choices matter

Pets but on crack

MC is kind of iconic when she faces antagonists and puts them in their place

A nice plot so far

I haven’t spent any diamonds and I don’t really feel like I’m missing much

Cons:

Pixelberry took characters that are usually in the background and made them main characters (basically reused character art) which isn’t a bad thing, but it’s kinda weird to see after you’ve played as any choices books as I have. It also seems kinda unfair that Wishful Thinking didn’t get that many unique characters when most other books did 

That being said, the side characters are kinda dry

Only 1 female LI, and she’s not as easy to romance as the male LI

Once again, another unnecessary female rivalry  

Seriously, some characters are just rude for no reason (at least we don’t know at this point)

So that concludes my ratings. I tried to be unbiased and rate the books based on what they actually did and didn’t have but of course, some of my bias is still there. But this is only my personal opinion and I’m sure other choices fans have some different opinions so I’d take what I said with a grain of salt. 

#choices #choices stories you play #pixelberry #playchoices #choices books #choices ratings

[overlyobsessedgaygal]

Absolutely Not Homeless

Words: 1,757

Fandom: tua

Characters: Klaus, Ben, Five, Vanya

Summary: After they stop the apocalypse, Klaus goes back to being homeless. But this time he has someone who cares. This is pure angst for like 50% of it so enjoy it. More cursing than usual this time, so like PG-13 it please.

Klaus is wrapped around himself, head ducked as far between his knees as he could get it, hands covering the back of his head. The hail pelted down against his skin like paintballs falling from the sky.  Ben was huddling next to him, mumbling comforting words to ease his brother's pain.

  The hail wasn't even the worst of it. Not if Klaus really thought about it. He didn't think about it, of course he didn't, he didn't think of the temperature being in the negatives or that he hadn't ate in more than twenty-four hours. Instead he focused on the constant sting of hail leaving dark purple splotches along his skin.

  Somewhere in him he knew he should probably go ask to stay with someone for the night. They had promised to get closer now that the world was saved and they all had kept to that promise, except him. He didn't have a place there. He was a homeless, ex-addict, lunatic. He was weak and pathetic.

   Klaus pulled the faux fur jacket tighter around his balled up form, leaving his head exposed to the massive ice balls falling from the sky. God, he wanted to go home. He didn't have a home but he wanted to go to one.

   He could show up at Vanya, Luther or Alison's apartment. He could go to Diego's gym. He could go back to the academy with Grace, Pogo, and Five. Thunder rang out across the world, echoing off the brick walls around him and suddenly he was back in the war.

   “Klaus!” Ben shouted, trying desperately to pull his brother back. Ben had been with Klaus throughout his whole afterlife and he knew that this was not his brother's first time hiding in the fetal position waiting for it to pass. This time, though, it was different because each booming thunder could be compared to a gunshot and this alleyway felt much more like a battlefield than it should.

   Klaus pulled himself back together as Ben shouted for him. “I-I-I'm good,” Klaus alerted his brother. “I'm here again, not that this is much better.” Ben laughed a little to loud and a little to long to be sincere but Klaus felt good anyway.

    The hail was coming down with enough velocity that Klaus could feel the welts forming on impact and there was blood leaking from where skin had been repeatedly struck and split open. Klaus wished he had stayed with Five, at the academy, in his warm, safe bed, with Grace dotting on him like he was a kid.

   Honestly if he wasn't afraid to uncover his head he would go there now. No matter what disappointment he would see in his sibling's eyes at his failed life. It's not like Klaus wasn't trying, Klaus was trying harder than ever actually. For the first time in his life he had a real job, as a waiter at the new Griddy's Doughnuts. For the first time he was sober and was controlling his powers, at least enough to be sane.

    He was doing so well but he was still just as stuck and pathetic as before. The job brought in an average amount of money, not enough for rent and electricity but enough for rent at least. Well it would have been enough if Klaus wasn't seven thousand dollars deep in debt. He was paying it off though, actively trying to be a benefit to society.

   Look how well it was working out for him. Sitting in an alleyway, mother nature's bullets branding his skin as if it were paper. Maybe Klaus could make it to a dumpster, get in a dumpster and close it. The hail would sound even more reminiscent of a war torn field but at least it wouldn't feel like it.

   Klaus wanted to look up bit he was to scared that an unfortunate piece of hail would strike his face or his eyes and he would be seriously injured. “Ben?” He asked softly. His voice wouldn't have been audible to anyone else, drowned out by the demanding rumble of thunder or the angry snack of ice striking the ground. “Is there a dumpster around here?”

   There was silence for a few seconds. “Yeah, about four feet to your right,” Ben answered. Klaus felt like it took forever. Klaus took a few deep breaths. He would have to make a break for it, he couldn't sit here any longer and feel his back split open.

    “Klaus!” The voice was screaming from far away. Klaus clenched his teeth, now was not the time for the ghosts to come back. “Klaus!” The concerned voice screamed out again.

    “Holy shit!” Ben exclaimed. Klaus jumped at the noise and his back felt like he had tugged it open to expose a million crimson puzzle pieces. He hissed. “What is she doing here?”

    “Klaus!” The voice came again. Klaus almost looked comical with his eyes widened, mouth opened, head hanging between his knees. Because he knew that voice and why the hell was she out here? Ben was certainly right about that.

    “Vanya!” Klaus called and titled his head up, on hand covering his eyes. The small figure appeared at the entrance to the alleyway, a thick blanket wrapped around her like a cloak, like padding from the ice pellets raining down on her.

    “Five! Five I found him!” Vanya called out, relief filling her tone. Her voice was so soft against the thunder that Klaus was tempted to ask her to sing. Maybe once she was out of this painful mess and she was somewhere warm he would ask her to. “Klaus, are you okay?”

    She moved to take the blanket off and put it around him but he stopped her. “Do not take that blanket off,” Klaus tried to play the slight hiss of pain off as a commanding noise.

   Suddenly he heard more footsteps and Five appeared from around the corner, he was also wrapped in a blanket that covered his head. All Klaus could think was that they were lucky bastards.

    “Holy shit!” Five exclaimed, not unlike Ben. “You look awful, can't believe I have to come out here and save your ass from a storm.”

    Five stuck a hand out of his blanket fortress. Vanya grabbed onto his wrist, Klaus hesitantly grabbed onto his hand. Ben let his hand hover over Klaus’ shoulder. Then there was a shifting sensation that made Klaus scream and they were back in the living room.

   Grace rushed to their sides. She ignored Vanya and Five as they took the blankets off to reveal bruises among their faces and shoulders. Klaus wanted to yell at Grace to go help them, that he was fine, that he had been out through worse. Before he could say any of that Grace and Vanya were both kneeling by him and fussing about him. Five had left the room.

   The only thing Klaus could focus on was that Five had left the room. His brother had used his powers to come to his aid, probably at Vanya's request,  and he had sounded so annoyed when he arrived. Five was definitely mad at him, pissed probably. The little ball of murder was planning the best ways to torture him at this moment, most likely.

    He clenched his teeth as Grace worked on his skin, wiping blood away from the welts before gently putting a cream on them. Vanya was running her fingers through her hair, telling them it was okay. “It's kind of cute that they care for you,” Ben said. Klaus grimaced.

    “Shut the hell up Ben,” Klaus said. Vanya giggled and murmured a hi to her dead brother. Ben seemed more than happy to be acknowledged and if Klaus was feeling better he would have had to play translator for longer than his patience could handle.

   Then Five came back and Klaus was expecting to be screamed at but instead Five set down a mug next to him. It was tea, a herbal tea most likely since both Klaus and Five enjoyed them. “Why were you sitting outside during a hail storm, idiot?” Five didn't sound harsh, he sounded as if he was actually, genuinely confused as to why Klaus was sitting outside.

   “Where was I supposed to go?” Klaus sounded harsh. That was a change for him but he was upset at the moment. He had a right to be.

  Five scowled. “If you were homeless why didn't you come stay with me you stupid boy? Do you know how lucky you are that I checked your tracker before going to sleep? How lucky that Vanya qas here to help me find you?”

   Klaus did even know where to begin to process his words. So he decided to the most Klaus-like option of, “You had a tracker on me?”

    Five let out a short chuckle at that. “I have one on all of you idiots, although yours was in here so it didn't help much,” Five complained holding up the wallet that was meant to be in Klaus’ pocket.

     Klaus briefly remembered when the thunder started he had jumped and he swore something fell but he was to out of it to care. He is so lucky Five found his wallet, not for the tracker but for the money inside the cheap leather substitute.

    “I don't know why you're freaking out, it's not like this is new. I was homeless for years remember?” Klaus decides to be blunt as he reaches for his wallet. Five snatches of away and Klaus looks up to his face to express his annoyance but he freezes.

    Five looks downright terrifying. “You are staying here. In your room. Until you have your own place.”

    Klaus rolls his eyes. He can practically hear Vanya's pitying look and taste Grace's permanently plastic smile from behind him. “I have my own place. Nice little place over off Amo Avenue, metal walls, real cozy. No ladder to get in but climbing is good exercise. It's got a fresh coat of diarrhea green paint to, real luxurious.” Klaus had dropped all hints of vulnerability from his tone as he described the dumpster to his siblings.

    Five didn't look amused whatsoever. “Number Four, I will tie you to the fucking bed by every single limb and force you to be comfortable if you don't shut the hell up and agree with me.”

    The look on Five's face said it all. And Klaus agreed, he knew better than to argue from that point on.

#kaytikittyfanfics #tua vanya #tua klaus #tua #tua fandom #tua five #tua fanfic #the umbrella academy #pure angst

[missfinefeather]

NoBrandMinda

I love how Luna just fucking noms an entire pineapple, skin and all

MissFinefeather

Hahahaha xD she doesn't give a flip

GhastlyGhifin

and a banana peelI wonder how uncomfortable it'd be to just clunk your horn on a table like that

it's presumably pretty attached to your skull

so there's probably a ton of nerves somewhere in there

it'd most likely feel like a mix of hitting your funny vein and getting a mild headache

GhastlyGhifin

Luna does have a point. Imagine having to watch hundreds, maybe thousands, of weird surreal pony dreams every night for your entire presumably immortal life

MissFinefeather

Yeah, honestly, that would be a rough job to do

Like, you always have to have the answers

Or you could make things worse

And the whole night of just...Nightmares...

GhastlyGhifin

Plus, considering the high monster population, there's an endless supply of nightmare fuel

I do like how Luna's ink stain thing transferred alongside her cutie mark

MissFinefeather

...well, someone made a mistake...

The ink blot was still there when she lost her cutiemark

GhastlyGhifin

consistency about alicorn lore? here?

NoBrandMinda

This is probably the single most broken thing Starlight has ever done lol. I mean, these are literally gods that she's fucking with.

GhastlyGhifin

and that's with a very long list of stupidly broken things she's accomplished, occasionally (including in this case) by complete accident or just in the spur of the moment

MissFinefeather

Well, to be honest, I doubt their power level gives them immunity to a cutiemark swapping spell.

Though it would be interesting if she switched a Princess with a commoner.

GhastlyGhifin

Congratulations, Sweetie Belle, you now control the sun's path across the sky, good luck

MissFinefeather

Also, has it ever been confirmed Celestia and Luna are gods? I mean, they move celestial bodies, but Rainbow Dash can summon lightning and control the weather I don't see people claiming she's Thor.

Unless if there's a episode I missed that confirmed it, we just have the ancient Lauren Faust tweet

GhastlyGhifin

God-adjacent. They've lived for a long time, they control celestial bodies (where it took large amounts of magical energy to do so beforehand), and have their names substituted for God in turn of phrase (What in Celestia's name...)

NoBrandMinda

or at least a fandom joke ^^^

MissFinefeather

Well, I wouldn't count ponies using her name in place of god as proof, considering they have a history of overhyping the princesses.

GhastlyGhifin

Fair

Plus, Cadence isn't on the same level, despite having minor love goddess powers

MissFinefeather

I  guess it really depends what you define as a god

GhastlyGhifin

We've never seen churches or place of worship for the Princesses, at least

So that's a big qualifier not present

MissFinefeather

I mean, Celestia is very very much beatable. And she doesn't have reality warping powers like Discord.

GhastlyGhifin

Oh yeah

GhastlyGhifin

Hence my god-adjacent statement

#casual liveblog5 #missfinefeather liveblogs #casual liveblogging #my little pony friendship is magic