#its actually about himself. btw. and how he had no one he could really trust. anmd pushed away the one friend he had. In case anyone gaf | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fire-emblem-drabbles · 6 months

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Pairing: Astarion x reader

Prompt: In which you couldn't convince Astarion not to become the Vampire ascendant, but still do not allow him to do the ritual.

Description: You really did fall so hard, and so, so fast. No wonder when the ground came to meet you did it hurt just as much. But perhaps its not too late to stand back up again, if someone was willing to lend a hand.

Rating: sfw

Content Warning: hurt/comfort

Word Count: 3018

Notes: I had to save scum this so much on my file that was romancing him. And well I be thinking about him a lot lately... I litterally have no idea where these words came from btw so I hope u enjoy them!

“It’s over,” Said with such disdain, such pain and hurt, directed your way. “I’m done with this, and I’m done with you.” Venom, dripping and cold. What happened to the warmth in those eyes? To the love that once shown in them, when he looked your way? “I would say good luck out there, but honestly? I hope you die screaming.” He looked so broken, so hurt.

You hardly remembered what came next, beyond your own tears. Astarion simply… left. Walk away as you crumpled to the ground, in disbelief. As you begged him to say. When you told him, over and over again, that you loved him.

Karlach and Shadowheart must have dragged you out of those dungeons, otherwise you might still be there, wallowing in your pity. You don’t remember how long it had been since then. Since you had stopped Cazador from ascending, freed Astarion from his grasp… and tried to convince him not to ascend himself. Your words may have failed, but your actions didn’t; you didn’t let him use your eyes to copy his scars. You couldn’t.

All for him to walk away.

You hadn’t really been the same, since then. Where once you were the leader of your little ragtag group of adventurers, now you couldn’t find it in you to leave your tent. Well… Astarion’s tent, actually. You never had one of your own. And when the two of you got together, it just seemed natural to share.

Gale had taken over in leading everyone for day to day adventuring on your behalf. Even though you wished it, the world would not slow down because you were hurt. No kindness spared on your broken, broken heart. Yet you couldn’t stop wondering where you went wrong. Were the two of you not as close as you thought? Could you have been more convincing, hell, more intimidating, anything to have kept him by your side?

You think, right now, it’s night. Your candle’s are all stuffed out, the bustle of the streets beyond are quiet, and you can’t hear the patter and stomps of Scratch and the owlbear cub playing around camp. Your tears have all but dried, even if your sorrow remains as fresh as a new wound. No, all is silent in this moment.

You take a deep breath. Yes, it would be best to sleep. Maybe tomorrow, you would wake up and feel like a person again. One who could attend to all her duties. And maybe even get back on the path to save Baldur’s gate.

But sleep never comes for those whose hearts are so heavy. This isn’t the first night you’ve lied awake, thoughts wondering. All for the better, perhaps-- because in the heavy quiet of the cities dark night, you hear the flap of your tent open with the utmost quietness. And you, just as quiet, sit up from your laying position. Who ever has invaded your space must have dark vision, for they pause upon seeing your form and do not move an inch.

“I can see you there.” Your voice comes out, gravelly and rough. You don’t sense your in danger, though, even as your heart beats and pounds in your chest. Who would be stupid enough to steal from a camp full of adventurers, with an owlbear lurking around no less. Still, with some trepidation, you cast the cantrip for light, and watch as your messy tent (and new guest) are bathed in cool, blue light.

“Oh,” Is all you think to say. You can’t really trust your eyes, so you rub the days of built up sleep and sorrow from them. No, you can’t even speak his name as you stare upon him. But you dare not look away. Even if it was a dream, it was him. It was him.

“...You’re a mess.” His words are soft, quiet. He seems to relax a little when he sees you make no movement.

“...I suppose I am.” You clear your throat a little after speaking, if only because a new lump seems to be forming now that you look to him. “How… how can I help you, Astarion?”

“Gods…” He heaves a heavy sigh, looking over your pitiful form. “I’ve hurt you this much, and you still think to help me? Are you stupid?” He shakes his head in disbelief.

“Perhaps.” You nod softly. “Stupid enough to fall in love with you, after all.” You can only smile weakly at him.

“I came here too…” He frowns, looking away from you for a moment. “Well it doesn’t matter why I came back. You clearly need some sense knocked back into you.” With that, he moves in closer to you. Surprised, you move in a little in order to accommodate him. You try to ignore the beating of your heart, ignore the hope that rises within you like a phoenix from its ashes.

“What… are you going to do?” You turn to him, nestled into your side like he might have been not too long ago.

“Talk, as terrible as that sounds.” He keeps his gaze down, looking at the messed up bedding.

“Talk?” You repeat. “I thought you… didn’t want to see me again.”

“Well, that was then. This is now.” Astarion looks to you. To the bags built up under your eyes. Your cheeks, still rosy and sensitive with just how many tears you’ve shed (for him, no less). Your hair is unkempt and as gross as you are, all he can see is someone that loves him… “I… said and did some terrible things during that ritual. Things that… looking back, I may not have done were I in the right head space.” He swallows hard. “I was… scared. And the promise of power, the smell of blood… it was all so intoxicating, I forgot myself there for a moment.”

The two of you sit in the silence a moment, festering in it. Words dance on the tip of your tongue but Astarion isn’t done speaking. He, too, needs a moment to compose himself. “But… you never forgot who I was.” He looks to you, something soft, something sad, something gentle written into the contours of his face. Even as he turns to you, he struggles to meet your eyes-- shining, glimmering, with something sweet and promising and loving in them. Something that he doesn’t deserve; not after the actions he took that day.

“You did everything in your power to convince me what I was doing was wrong, but all I could see then was the security that power could bring me.” He closes his eyes, taking a sharp intake of air though his nose. “I was so blinded, I could not see that with you by my side, I was the happiest I’ve ever been these past 200 years…” As he opens his eyes, he looks down to his folded hands, then over to yours. You realize that even if he is so close… Astarion hesitates to touch you. Maybe he felt as if he wasn’t allowed to do so any more, or perhaps felt he was no longer worthy… Whatever the reason, it breaks your heart just a little bit more.

“I… see.” It’s a lot to soak up. That in the moment, you couldn’t reach him but in the days sense Astarion has realized… maybe this was for the better.

“You saved me from becoming the very man I lived in fear of, and all I gave you in return was heartbreak.” He seeks your eyes, his own wide and wet and you realize he’s crying now. Tears flood your eyes as well, because he was right; you cared for him so much, though, it almost didn’t seem to matter. Almost. “How can I ever expect you to forgive me?” With that, he breaks, closing his eyes roughly and crying out, sobbing into his own hands.

All you can do in that moment is cry with him. Two, love sick idiots broken and hurt but not beyond mending-- not yet.

“It’s okay,” You find yourself struggling to say the words, even as you usher him into your arms and hold him. He does not hesitate to hold you in turn, to cry unto you as you into him. “We’ll be okay, I promise, I promise.” Your words come out as prayer as you hold him close. “Just don’t leave again, please!”

“I won’t, I won’t.” Astarion seems to compose himself more quickly than you do, but he does not let go, even as you know your tears stain his shirt. “I’ve got you and I won’t leave you ever again.” He rubs his hand along your back slowly, doing his best to try and comfort you in the same way you have for him in the past. It’s a long moment before you feel yourself begin to breathe normally again, before your tears once again dry and you find yourself staring into his red eyes once more.

“I love you,” Your words are softer than a whisper, said with a trembling smile.

“I love you too.” Astarion responds in kind, resting his forehead against yours. You two stay content a moment before he speaks again. “But you’re disgusting-- let me take care of you.” He pulls away from you and your left no room to argue. You merely blink, owlishly, as he pulls back. He moves to stand but you grab his hand.

“Where are you going?” You hold on to him with both hands now, and he has to pause to take the sudden fear on your face. Astarion had planned to leave to return with a little wash bin and rag but seeing you so distraught makes him pause. Of course, the last time he walked away from you he didn’t return…

“We’re going to get you cleaned up.” With a bit of a struggle, Astarion gets you to rise to your feet next to him. “Don’t make it more difficult than it has to be.” He adds. You nod slowly, still a little on edge from the panic that just flooded your system but nonetheless, trusting Astarion.

So, with the difficulty that comes with only having one hand, Astarion pins open the flaps of the tent (your light cantrip soon goes out as well, but the inside is illuminated but the torchlight of your camp). Some of the stale air you had been living in gets to escape, and you’re able to take a fresh breath of air you hadn’t realized you needed.

Astarion gathers his wash bin, and the rag, and with you in tow, rummages through that the travelers chest you seem to toss anything and everything into. But, avoiding unmatched boots and careful not to prick himself on all the arrows that are in there (and trying not to think about how they were likely dumped in there after he left), he finds what he was looking for-- some soap. And though the water is cold, and the night is cool, at least with a little bit of soap and his careful hand, it’s not all bad.

“You need to wash these clothes too,” Astarion huffs. “I know you have other things, so let’s get you into something cleaner.” You’re guided back into your shared tent (which is already starting to smell better, but the scented water is helping as well) while Astarion rifles though your clothing. Here together again, you finally let go of his hand but stay close to him.

“Thank you…” You pause, watching him pick out something comfortable and warm. “I can take care of myself, though.” You add, taking the clothing from him.

“I’m sure you can-- but I want to take care of you.” He doesn’t let go of your clothing as you try and take it. “So, let me.” His gaze flicks up to your eyes and you’re surprised to see him look so stubborn.

“Oh,” You let go of the clothing, surprised. “I… That would be nice.” You say it quietly, still too caught up in him being here, being real and touching you, loving you.

“Now, out of the nasty clothing, if you would.” He persists, grabbing the hem of your current shirt. He pauses before lifting it though, looking to your face. “That is, if you’re okay with me…” he trails, unsure.

“It’s you, so it’s okay.” You assure him. You raise your hands so he can take off the offending, stinky shirt, and toss it aside. Next, he removes your pants, tossing them the same direction.

“This might be a little cold,” Astarion tells you, but it doesn’t stop the flinch (nor the shiver) as the cool rag touches your skin. Still, his touch is delicate and careful.

He first wipes your face (part of it, still covered in blood and dirt from that same battle). He dips and wrings out the rag, before continuing his work. Your chest, your arms, legs-- all of you, gently washed and cared for. You realize this is the first time he’s been so intimate with you in a non sexual way. It’s… nice. To see his brow furrowed in concentration, have his hands upon you just hold you. It’s not like the two of you went entirely without touching one another in that time, but to have him initiating it, warms you.

“Now, back in your clothing before you catch a cold.” You nod at him and smile, sliding on the familiar pants and shirt with comfort and ease.

“I already feel a lot better, thank you.” He smiles softly, but sits you back down.

“Just let me attend to this rats nest, and we can be done.” Astarion reaches for his comb, and sits beside you. “Lean back so I can wet your hair,” He guides you down, with your head over the basin, and cups his hand to gather water before wetting your hair.

You let his work quietly, until your hair is wet and he can begin working out the knots starting at the ends. When the comb runs freely to your hair, he grabs the soap and carefully massages it into your scalp, scratching here in there. You let out a sigh in content, and Astarion can’t help but smile softly.

He was still shocked that you even talked to him-- let alone let him touch you. But the two of you needed this. To hold and be held, to love and let go. He truly was a fool to ever think he could be without you. But he was lucky, then, that you were fool enough to let him back in.

With your hair washed, combed, and dried and the water dumped and wash bin put aside, Astarion let you sit back up and look at him. “So… what happens next?” You ask softly.

“Well… I’m not sure.” He admits. “I didn’t think you would forgive me so… I hadn’t really thought much beyond that.”

“I suppose we get our rest, then.” You heave a heavy sigh. “I know I’ve taken enough time off from adventuring… And you have some friends who deserve an explanation as well.”

“More talking?” Astarion groans softly, but makes no move to leave your side as you lie down and tug him with you. “But… you are right.”

“You’ll be okay.” You give him a good, full body squeeze. “Everyone here cares for you. They’ll be willing to hear you out.”

“Perhaps only with you by my side.” He lets out a little chuckle. “But… that’s not such a bad thing.” He readjusts in your grasp, snuggling close and turning towards you. “Rest well, darling.” He kisses the top of your head, and smiles down at your sleepy expression.

“I will, now that you’re here…” It didn’t take long for sleep to find you, wound up in Astarion’s arms. You hadn’t slept so well in days, and who was he to wake you when you looked so peaceful…? It seemed like time passed so quickly with you in his arms, and before long he could hear the sounds of everyone else waking in camp.

Astarion couldn’t help but grow anxious as footsteps grew closer to the tent. “Solider, you in there?” Karlach’s voice called out. “I know you haven’t been very hungry lately, but I brought you some breakfast…” Unable to do anything to stop her, Astarion watched as Karlach pokes her head into the tent. With the morning light, they could only stare at one another a moment.

“Shh, just let them sleep a while longer…” Astarion turned from Karlach, and brushed some stray hairs from your face. “When they’re ready to wake up, I’ll… I’ll be ready to.” He turns from you, back to Karlach, a look of surprise and glee on her face.

“Right! Right… I’ll be quiet!” She gives him a little thumbs up and quickly retreats from the tent. But… Astarion can hear Karlach, even if she is all the way across camp. First, she tells Jaheira, then Minsc, and Minthara and Lae’zel overhear… Then Wyll, Shaodowheart and Halsin of course overhear and then Gale finds out, and now the whole camp is aware that he’s back here even if they are being remarkable polite about it….

Still, it brings a smile on his face. To know they were so excited to see him again (maybe even if it was only to see you happy again) was a comforting thought. To be among friends… That was something truly special indeed.

“Astarion…?” You wake slowly, eyes barely open as you look to him, hold him a little tighter.

“I’m here,” Astarion assures you, giving you a squeeze in return.

“Good…” You close your eyes and cuddle back into him, letting out a small yawn. “Let’s stay alone for just a little longer yet.”

“That can be arranged.” He can’t help but smile, and relax into you. Everyone else could wait a little longer yet-- you deserved what ever you wanted in this moment. And if that happened to be him, well, Astarion was in no place to say no.

#astarion x tav #astarion x reader #baldur's gate 3 fanfic #bg3 x reader #just... thinking about how alone and afriad he would feel after that #made me kind of insane

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meowmeowmeowmeow4x · 2 months

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Supersons +1 prompt answer Parte Dos

Parte Uno

Original Prompt

Jon couldn't help but take a peek at the large metal ring constructed behind the massive form of Dr Fenton, its size and shape dwarfing man and son. He couldn't watch for much longer, however, as their encounter with Daniel was expedited by Damian's impatience. Maybe he was just itching for a fight, or a supervillain to beat down. Either way, as Superboy, it was his job to make sure Daniel walked out with all his limbs intact!

"Daniel Fenton." But Damian was interrupted just as fast as he had started.

"Ew, no, it's Danny thank you very much. Only my parents when they're angry, and- bleh- Vlad, call me Daniel."

Damian scowled (he was doing that a lot today). "Daniel Fenton, we have some questions for you."

"Guess that's not gonna happen."

Time to intervene. Jon stepped between Damian and Danny, arms outstretched, with a friendly but diplomatic smile. "What Damian here means is we're suuuuper curious about your dad's research, aren't you Damian?"

"...Yes."

"If you wanna know more about my Dad's research, why don't you uhh." Danny bobbed his head at Mr Fenton's direction, the man in the midst of grabbing onto an unfortunate bystander and extolling the virtues of his next invention.

"Your father has proven lacking in his ability to explain his own work, which is why the responsibility now falls on to you, Daniel Fenton, if that's even your real name."

Wow, laying it on real thick, aren't you Damian.

Danny very pointedly ignores the death stare (hehe, death stare) from Dami to look to Jon. "And you are...?"

"Jon, I'm here with my dad too! He's a reporter, but some of this stuff's got me bored out of my mind. I mean, a flying toilet? Really??"

This manages to get a chuckle out of Danny. "You saw that too? And here I thought I'd get to see some normal inventions around here."

"I know right! I feel subconscious even with bathroom stalls and stuff. What are you gonna do, bring a flying curtain?"

"Honestly I know some folks back home who could find it handy." Danny said, a mysterious smirk on his lip. What could be so mysterious about a bunch of streakers back home? Or...

"Would you like to elaborate on that statement, Fenton?" Damian cut in. "Or the function of the garish-looking gateway erected by your Father?"

"Oh that? That's the Fenton PortaPortal."

"Porta what?" Jon asked.

"The Porta Portal. Portable Portal. It's like the one back home, 'cept it's light enough to move around."

"Portal to where exactly?"

Danny shrugs. "The Ghost Zone, where else?"

"You mean to say your parents have breached the afterlife using science?"

"Hah!" Danny laughs. "But it won't work, trust me." There was that knowing grin again.

"You seem pretty sure, Danny. Also wait, you have one of these back home?"

"Yeah, and it let in the raging hordes of the undead on my town. Overshadowing (that's possession btw), taking over the school with meat, box-based assault, replacing people like changelings, that one time a ghost tried to blow up my sister with a laser, that one time the Ghost King kidnapped the entire town and transported it to the Realms..." Danny listed out various dangerous situations like it was Tuesday, ignorant of the dawning horror upon his audience's faces. Jon himself was starting to feel a little green. Ghosts? Hundreds of ghosts? Each of them capable of possession, and according to Danny, much more?!

"How has the Justice League not heard of this kind of thing?" Jon tried, but failed to hide the slight shiver in his voice.

Danny shrugged. "Guess they dismissed our calls as pranks or something."

"Your father wishes to unleash the legions of undead upon Gotham?!" Damian stepped forward, getting up in Danny's face.

"Woah woah woah, chill out man. Mom and Dad actually learned from the last time and built like eight layers of shielding around the portal, not that it'll be necessary since it won't work anyway."

"And why are you so sure? Did you sabotage it? For whwat purpose would you tamper with your own parents' inventions?"

"Dami, maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions." Jon said, trying to pull Damian away without any obvious use of super strength.

"Yeah Dami, I'm just a kid, like you. You see an engineering degree anywhere that can be used to sAboTAgE anything? 'Cause I don't."

Damian glared at the other boy for just a second longer, before Jon was finally able to pry him off the poor kid. "I'm so sorry, Damian's just kinda intense sometimes, he really means well I-"

"It's fine. Besides, I'm bored as hell over here too. Since we're about sixty-nine million years below the average age of this place. what say we hang and laugh?" Danny got up and stretched his legs.

"Sure! Hey you seen the oven that's supposed to bake pizza in under ten seconds? Come on, Damian spotted this amazing design flaw, you just have to come with."

As Jon dragged them away, Damian muttered under his breath, deviously. "Good job, Kent, escorting Fenton to a secondary location for further questioning."

~~~~~ They spent the next hour roaming the convention centre, laughing and snorting their lungs out at the inventions, and the rich suckers lapping them up. Although Damian was initially as frosty as Superman's ice breath, Danny's mention of a glowing green ghost dog managed to gain his attention, if veiled behind suspicion and accusation. Looks like no squeezing was necessary, but the idea of a whole town of magical beings that possessed as easily as they breathed still made Jon nauseous.

"My parents actually get me keep him, without the threat of dissection, it's amazing!"

"Your parents dissect animals?" Damian spat out with all the hatred of a thousand dying suns.

"Ghosts, and they never have. Kept getting away. For some reason. Nowadays they're more into non-invasive study. and by non-invasive I mean totally invasive of things like privacy, and alone time." Danny grumbled.

"I feel you, man." Imagine having a dad with super hearing. Or growing up with the world's greatest stalkers.

"Privacy is an illusion." Damian being normal challenge IMPOSSIBLE

They had no more time to banter before Dr Fenton's booming voice echoed across the centre.

"AND NOW FOR THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR, THE SHOWCASE OF THE FENTON PORTAPORTAL AND THE LATEST IN FENTON SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY, BEHOLD!"

"Just watch." Danny said.

Jack slammed his fist upon the on button, which was thankfully on the outside this time. The circular rings around the portal spun and spun, creating an electric whirring sound building up to a crescendo...

Only for the portal to fizzle out, as the crowd's jeers reached a fever pitch.

"Told you so."

Danny's triumph lasted not for another minute, however, when his body shivered and a cold mist broke through his lips. "Shit." He muttered. At least Jon and Damian were looking away. Danny's eyes scanned the crowd. Jack Fenton's sorrow was wiped away as the sensors in his suit came to life. He whipped out a comically large ecto-gun, shouting. "I KNEW IT! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK FROM GHOSTS!!!"

Danny needed look no longer as piercing laughter filled the auditorium. A swarm of green bats descended upon the centre, causing chaos and confusion. Those among the crowd sensible enough to run for the exits found themselves halted by bars locking them shut. Jack opened fire, but was overwhelmed by dozens of ghost bats.

Danny looked for anywhere he could silp away and transform. Damian and Jon did the same. None of them could an opportunity, as two pairs of hands swept them off their feet, and bindings tied them together. Their eyes widened as they gazed upon their captors. Two men adorned with white face paint. One in a gothic waistcoat, the other with green hair and a purple suit.

The infamous Joker, and the not as infamous Freakshow, both in hysterical laughter.

"I really gotta give it to you Danny-boy, that sabotage act you pulled really put us for a loop!" The Joker gasped out between laughs. He pulled out a remote with a large red button. "But I, the Joker, have out-sabotaged your sabotage! AHAHAHAH"

The Joker pressed the buttom, causing the portal to roar back to life.

"Damian!" Bruce Wayne yelled.

"Jon!" Clark Kent shouted.

"DANNY BOY!" Jack cried out, but they were too late to stop the swarm of bats carrying all three boys through the newly reactivated portal, and were too late to follow before the whole thing blew to pieces in a fiery halo.

To be continued....

#dpxdc #dcxdp #danny phantom x dc #danny phantom #danny fenton #crack #prompt answer #jon kent #jack fenton #damian wayne #shenanigans #supersons #ghost zone #infinite realms #good parents jack and maddie #we need more good parents content where they still try to shoot danny #it needs to happen #i am an amateur writer plz forgive me #I am a stoopid so sowwy for any OOC ;-;

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sexiestpodcastcharacter · 6 months

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Sexiest Podcast Character — Unscripted Bracket — Finals

Propaganda

Glenn Close (Dungeons & Daddies):

#Propaganda for Glenn Close: one of the other PCs mentions multiple times how hot he is #Actually several characters point it out but especially Henry #Also the only person in a podcast that has to put a disclaimer about not being a BDSM podcast to have had sex during the course of the show

Young hot rocker dilf

Loyal to his dead wife <3

Does in fact smoke weed

BARD!! HES A BARD. HE WAS LEAD GUITAR IN HIS BAND (that he was kicked out of)

His band was a Christmas cover band btw.

Literally the fandom had hot Glenn summer which consisted of drawing him being incredibly hot and sexy

Anti government (ofc)

Kind of cringefail (Disney adult) (was on dilfs of disneyland)

Young and sexy not your style? Then how about HIM AFTER YEARS LOCKED IN A TIME PRISON WITH A DAMN HANNIBAL MASK ??

Lost an eye and wears a fucking eyepatch

One incredibly buff arm

Has a pet rat named after his son <3

Immeasurable amounts of trauma in this man- becomes progressively more unhinged

OH OLD HUMAN BARD ISNT CUTTING IT? FINE

HE BECOMES A FUCKING DEMON

A COOL HOT ONE-EYED DEMON WHO WANTS TO KILL HIS DAD (also sexy)

HE CANONICALLY ENDS CHRISTIAN HELL VIA CHRISTMAS

IS ALSO WAY OVERLEVELED

Becomes a demon hunter for the rest of his existence

Also nonwhite !!! We are done with cringefail whiteboys !!!!!!!!!

I can’t put into words ok just know he is the best plz love him.

Okay but Glenn made a minivan cum by talking to her so

HE HAS A BOOK THAT HE MARKS X’S AND CHECKS FOR EVERY DAY TO SEE IF THAT DAY WAS A SUCCESS OR NOT. TO SEE IF HE DID GOOD THAT DAY. ITS ALMOST ENTIRELY X’S. HE WAS CUCKED OUT OF A SON. AND A DEAD WIFE. HE DIDN’T EVEN GET TO KILL HIS DAD IN REVENGE. There’s absolutely nothing going for him except his sex appeal in his life. Nobody he loved remembers him. He lost his eye. All he has is a pet rat and friends who admit they don’t really like him that much. He was kicked out of his own band. The band was named after him. He was kicked out of the Glenn Close trio. All he could do was deez nuts the big bad and be sexy. If nothing else, then pity him. Look in his eyes. Look at his heart and soul. He did not do the BDSM episode for this I’ll tell you what. Do this for my his sake. Do it for Nick Jr, who needs the prize money to pay for his rat snacks. Do it for his son. For Morgan. Ganbatte.

Glenn is the goofiest sexiest character there is and I will die on this hill! I will ride into battle for him! what Dndads created is truly unique and Glenn is a key part of that and for that he deserves to win. I said it before and I'll say it again - GLENN SWEEEEEP

Can we talk about how he says ‘baby’ casually? Like he just calls people that?? That’s HOT. THAT IS HOT!! He’s also bilingual and knows Japanese!!!! He’s a big dumb idiot with a lot of charisma!!!!!! HE WORKED AT A BDSM PLACE FOR TWO SEPARATE ONE SHOTS. HES SO SAD BUT PLAYS IT OFF LIKE HE’S CHILL ALL THE TIME!! HE DOESN’T THINK OF HIMSELF AS SINGLE BECAUSE HE DIDN’T DIVORCE HIS DEAD WIFE!!! He’s like.. the perfect guy. We need this win.

I’d also like to add the fact I made this. Which is the first 11 episodes edited to (almost) only have Glenn in them <3 which is a level of insanity I hope to reiterate. These took hours to make. I wouldn’t do that for anyone else.

vote Glenn I am asking with the biggest saddest eyes possible 🥺🥺🥺 he is so sexy it's pathetic and also so pathetic it's sexy, no I can not possibly adequately elaborate just trust me

Mod Note: While I will still take "bad dads are sexy" propaganda and "bad dads aren't sexy" anti-propaganda, I kindly request no more discussion on whether or not he was a bad father. This is a sexypoll, not a parentingpoll. If you see a post you strongly disagree with, you can just not reblog it.

Mod Note 2: This tournament is about fictional podcast characters. Please do not vote for the real actress Glenn Close.

Gable (Campaign: Skyjacks):

7ft tall silver-haired thembo of a fallen angel. was the literal sword of god until they killed him! reasons slightly unclear but probably sure to forbidden queer love! super caring for their friends. has one friend they have known for hundreds of years who they HATE but are bound to by the red string of fate. their sword is a part of them, they can sheathe it into a tattoo. they start out indistinct at the edges but as they have continued on through the campaign they have become more and more distinct. they became a flaming engine of justice to kill their friends shitheaded older brother who was following him. they have learned enough necromancy to allow other fallen angels to die, even though they typically cannot. they fly giant birds in to battle.

7ft tall beefcake wielding a sword as tall as they are. vengeful sweetheart

Imagine now: a fallen angel with beautiful gray hair and very big muscles. Now imagine them with a 9 ft sword. Now imagine them as a helmsperson of a pirate ship in a flowy deep-v pirate shirt. Now imagine they're dumb as a fucking rock. And finally, imagine that they killed god. Here, you have made Gable Skyjacks: sexiest podcast character of all time.

7ft tall nonbinary/genderfluid thembo fallen angel sky pirate who wields a buster sword. silvergrey hair with black/gold streaks as they regain feathers/memories of before their fall. back is covered in tattoos that hide the scars of their shredded off wings. killed God. toxic exes with lucifer. they are the keeper of several giant war birds who occasionally crave human flesh. they enjoy getting rowdy/smoking rope with their boys. they collect rocks that they think are neat. When anyone admits they are attracted to them, Gable trips over their words and absolutely swaglessly ends up sounding stupider and sexier by the end of the conversation; the will they/won't they and teasing they dish out to these (un?)lucky few is palpable. Sometimes the buster sword is on fire. They are immortal, they are cringe, they are trying to atone because they believe they are the reason the world is ruined.

Okay so aside from all of the above (giant with a matching giant flaming sword, killed god, extreme dumbass), here's some more propaganda for Gable the Godkiller.

They've escaped death multiple times with their partner in... crime? Like literally they were about to be executed in the most brutal way possible and just. Escaped and killed all their captors in the snowy wastelands.

They are the helmsperson of the Uhuru and take this job very seriously and definitely haven't left it to Bowser (you know, like from Mario) multiple times. Can steer that flying ship in horrible weather and still make it to port safely.

Healed an entire fucking hospital by cutting their hair for someone they had the hots for who was also in the hospital. Imagine being on that level of myth making in some random port city because of a hair cut.

Giant bird caretaker and also took the giant birds out on their friend's bachelor party (this was like. his Xth polyamorous marriage at this point btw) and had a fucking blast getting high on some rope and fucking around. They've also flown these birds into combat and looked cool as hell doing it (see: killing their friend's shithead of an older brother in a joust).

Had a relationship with Lucifer the Morning Star before they fell as an angel and killed God. Literally the reason the stars fell was their love for each other. The world would not look the same without Gable and they are, at the very least indirectly responsible for the creation of the Church of the Slain God and everything it represents (fantasy Catholicism).

And also yeah they are regularly tripping over themself and saying very silly things. 10/10 character we love Liz Anderson and Gable in this house

I am seeing people say that this Nicky fellow is basically trans! That's very cool! Gable is actually trans. Pronouns they/them/any presentation whatever they feel like.

Gable held a bachelor party for a BFF where the attendees hunted from their sky birds, wore dresses, and still managed to keep their eyeliner on point!

Gable killed God because he wouldn't let them be queer. They should rightfully crush anyone in their path.

We are finally going up against a character I know. I can confidently say all sexy moments with Gable are much sexier than TAZ's largely off-screen romances. Mod Note: This was written during the poll versus Killian Fangbattle.

But seriously. Listen to Gable's most recent introduction. Unparalleled sexy thembo introduction! Context: The Captain's Council is at a magical tattoo/piercing parlor (which has a lengthy form and disclosure process), trying to stay below the radar, and the Captain and Jonnit are pretending to be father/son to keep up the ruse. And to let Jonnit get a tattoo, since he's technically sort of underage. Bonus: Gable's decision at the tattoo/piercing parlor and noping out of Orimar and Jonnit's acting. (You should check out the full episode! Episode 197 starts a new arc and a good point to step into the series!)

Nicky Close (Dungeons & Daddies):

One armed half-demon man with a sword (also a Dedicated, Involved, Loving Father). (Specifically campaign 2, where he is an adult)

Transmasc bisexual (or at least so widely accepted as such it's basically canon) dilf half-demon let's start with the basics

And by half-demon I mean the literal prince of Hell

But also simultaneously is Saint Nicolas get you a man who can do both specifically this man

Missing an arm cause his ex-friends tragically betrayed him and shot it off but he doesn't need two arms to show you a good time wink wink ;)

The betrayal in question forced him to be seperated from his also hot milf voice actress wife and their son which is sad but in like a way that makes him sexier

Uses his one hand to wield a flaming katana that he used to rescue his son from the FBI

Protects his family with his life very literally which is hot as hell

Big himbo energy couldn't come up with a good plan if he used 100% of his brain

When he does fail at things it's pretty cute honestly

Definitely played a variety of musical instruments before the whole arm thing happened! Maybe he still does idk he's a sexy mystery

2 in 1 deal! This man was born from the merging of two timelines! Kinda sick!!! Also two dads = twice the daddy issues

You'd think the whole being forcibly split from his family thing would mean he isn't very close with his son but nope! His son adores him! They get along great!!!

His mom is simultaneously alive and dead

His mom bagged fucking two different dudes (one of whom FOUND HER DEAD in a different timeline, both of which are demons)

HIS MOMS NAME IS MORGAN FREEMAN, HIS DAD’S NAME IS GLENN CLOSE, AND HIS OTHER DAD’S NAME IS JODIE FOSTER, AND HIS GREAT SOMETHING GRANDFATHER’S NAME IS MERYL STREEP

HIS SONS NAME IS TAYLOR SWIFT

Lifelong pot smoker 👍 (plus drug flower user!!)

CANONICALLY BOTH A POLO WEARER (and yes, has all the stereotypes of that attached with it — a nerd, which is hot) AND A LEATHER JACKET WEARER (which also has all the stereotypes attached with it — a rebel dude person, which is also hot) [<- all widely accepted as canon by the fandom even as he’s older]

A part of the SECOND BIGGEST ship of season two, (Nark) despite the two characters only having one-two canon interactions (one of which JUST happened last episode)

Man’s a himbo what’s hotter than that

So many fucking names. You try to tag him in anything and he takes up half the space. That’s probably hot. For someone out there

This was already mentioned but so very very trans. Like. It’s basically canon

Rock and roll(er)

Joined a group of thieves called the watermice when he was like 13

for a few minutes had a guitar called the Battle Axe of Hatred

definitely had an frienimies with benefits relationship with his childhood friend Lark (sorry ppl that don’t ship nark lol) (it’s canon after ep 44 hah)

Nicky also acts like his sons Pokémon! Taylor tells his dad to do things, and Nicky does it without thinking about anything else he could do!

I feel like the audio of the entire Nick-breaking-into-the-FBI scene should be propaganda, but I'm copying select bits from the transcript:

Anthony: Yeah, it kind of echoes up through the vent, like the beginning of Metal Gear Solid. You hear a voice that strikes you as ever so slightly familiar, Taylor. Saying— ??: [a deep voice] [echoing in the vent] Where is he? Anthony: You hear— Will: Uh-oh, he’s hot. Anthony: —a bunch of shouting voices. [giggles] Beth: Uh-oh! Anthony: You hear a bunch of shouting voices and people shouting for him to get down on the ground to turn off his flame. To fucking get his hands behind his back. You hear this rhythmic stepping forward— because his footsteps don't sound like anybody else's because it's almost like… y’know when you toss a little bit of water onto a really hot pan and it just sizzles like that? It's like every footstep he's taking, you can hear that— Freddie: Cool Anthony: — and you can feel some of that heat coming up in this vent, even though you can't see him at this point. And he goes— ??: [echoing] Where. Is. My. Boy? Anthony: You hear the FBI agent—the FBI in quotation marks agent—in the back going like— Agent: [echoing] He's safe for now. If you want to go ahead and make sure that he stays that way, you feel free to go ahead and step inside the suite that we've prepared for you, my boy. Anthony: And you hear the hot guy voice saying— [chuckles] The Hot Guy: [echoing] I don't think that's going to happen.

...

[a powerful rush of air builds] Anthony: You hear— [gunfire, and the air rush culminates in a burst of flame; from underneath the fire, metal music starts playing] Anthony: —plumes of flame exploding. [a person’s pained shout, gunfire and bursts of flame continue] Anthony: You can feel the heat radiating through this metal vent and it's actually beginning to hurt and burn your hands.

...

Anthony: And you hear blood— [sizzling] Anthony: —hitting the fucking ground and you hear sizzling and things boiling and burning. Taylor: That could just be coffee! That could just be coffee. Link, let's go. Anthony: And you are getting closer and closer to the elevator. And you hear that same hot voice say— The Hot Guy: [echoing] Where the hell is Taylor?

Gable and Nicky Together:

We are on a joint ticket now! This is a truly unbeatable combo. Not even god can nerf it because Gable killed him. Vote for us. Nicky Close will watch your stuff and play with your cats while Gable gives you the night of your life.

Gable and Nicky can literally be yuor angle or ur bevil.

Art of Gable and Nicky from @slightlyhopefulromantic.

#Round 6 #Glenn Close #Glenn Close DnDads #Gable #Gable Skyjacks #Nicky Close #Campaign #Campaign Podcast #Campaign: Skyjacks #Skyjacks #Dungeons & Daddies #Dungeons and Daddies

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knight-of-flowerss · 1 year

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The hobbit

Thorin x hobbit reader

Reader is bilbos older badass sister who kills anything and anybody with her cast iron pan.

So we know dwarfs don’t get pregnant much, an basically rare to have girls, so how would the others react to reader (everyone lives au) telling thorin she’s pregnant after the battle, now hobbits are small so one imagining they have have up to 4 kids at once and be ok, probably even expected.

So when the dwarfs and surprise her (and bilbo the soon to be uncle along with lady Dis) with her finished nursery, and after the excitement, reader asks were the rest of the cribs are!!!

…

The dwarfs ask what she means and she an bilbo say that hobbits give birth to more then one child, so I wanna see there reactions (including Dis) when reader says she’s pregnant with 4 children I wanna know the reactions of the grate thorin and the fearsome Dwalin!

Bounes if you add when the babies are born (3 girls and 1 boy ) and the reaction of the company

thorin screaming “I can’t hold them all I need more arms or bigger ones!! 😭😭😭”

OMG YES I LOVE THIS SMMMMM ITS SO CUTE AHAHAHHA!!!! I opened this at like 10 o’clock at night so I was tired so I’ve don’t it today after school so I had more time and it didn’t sound loopy 💀

This hasn’t been spell checke btw!

Masterlist

Happy Ending

Anyone’s name: this colour and in bold

Thorin Oakenshield x Hobbit!Reader

You’re little brother Bilbo has always really only kept to himself, occasionally having relatives (but never distant because he doesn’t trust them around his cutlery) around Bag End.

You were his daring older sister, never afraid of anything, selfless, badass. You were staying at your brothers while your burrow got a new door. You offered to help but the other hobbits refused as they were paying you a favour.

You and your brother sat in shock as twelve dwarfs and a wizard wrecked Bilbo’s house. But after the table was set you soon forgot all about it, your brother on the other hand..

When a dwarf named Thorin showed up you couldn’t help but stare at him. He was your height, had long, dark locks and eyes so beautiful that you could get lost in them with just one glance. And when they proposed Bilbo come on this journey with them you immediately invited yourself along.

The journey was harrowing, fighting off ogres, goblins, orcs. Then there was the ‘final battle’ against Azog and his army. It was tough but it was no match for the dwarves and their resilience.

They fought with all there might, defeating the army and Azog and returning home safely.

For almost half a year now, you and Thorin had been married. Half a year of pure joy. And surprises.

You felt sick as a dog for almost 3 weeks now, your body weak. Dís, Thorin’s sister, suspected something was wrong and encouraged you to go and see a doctor of some kind. It had been confirmed though that it wasn’t any fatal illness, nothing of the sort.

You and Thorin where actually expecting.

The two of you were estatic, jumping for joy, but a little bit inside of you was sacred, terrified even. You knew what this meant. You knew you had to push out multiple of the little creatures miracles. But you would go through all that pain for Thorin.

As the months passed your belly grew and grew, never stopping, even for just a moment. The dwarves and your brother offered to help build a nursery for the little lad inside you (they assumed it was a boy because of the very low chances of a little baby girl popping out), at first you tried to help them but they just brushed you off and told you to relax, so, you hesitantly accepted the offer.

While they moved everything into the nursery and decorated it, you took a nap (which ended up being like 3 hours but we don’t talk abt that-). When you woke up you saw Bilbo and the side of you, reaching to wake you up.

You jumped as you hadn’t expected him to be there.

“Bilbo! What are you doing here?!” You whispered-shouted through gritted teeth. “Uh- the nursery- um, it’s ready.” Bilbo stutters, clearly shocked that you wanted to shout at him.

Bilbo helped you up as you where weaker and your belly put more and more pressure on your back.

You stood at the doorway as Dís and Bilbo pushed the doors open with big smiles. In the room stood Oin, Glóin, Dori, Ori, Nori, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dwalin, Balin, Fíli, Kíli and stood in the middle with a soft smile one his face was your dear husband, Thorin.

You slowly stepped into the room looking around. Little toys on shelves, a play area with a fur rug, a changing station, one crib and more.

When you had finally reached your lover, you turned to him with a raised eyebrow and a cocked head.

“One crib? Really?”

Thorin looked a tad confused, “what do you mean my love? What is the babe supposed to rest in?”

“I think you mean babes.” You replied with a smirk. A bunch of ‘eh?’s where muttered around the room while Bilbo suppressed a chuckle.

Thorin sat with a half confused, half shocked face. “Whatever do you mean my love?..”, “you do know Hobbits have multiple children, do you not?”

Thorin’s eyes widened as your words registered in his head. “What-..”

The pregnancy was terrible, horrendous even, but your spirits where high when Thorin was by your side. You had given him four children, 3 girls and a boy.

(I got the last two names from a D&D website for dwarf names cus I couldn’t think of owt 💀)

Your little boy was named Thráin (III) after his father. Your first girl was called Dísa after Thorin’s sister Dís. Your second girl was named Arrin, meaning ‘exalted’ and ‘lofty’ and your last little girl was named Asta, meaning ‘divine strength’ , ‘love’ and ‘star-like’, she was named this due to her being the hardest out of them all to give birth to and that you and Thorin nearly lost her.

You and Thorin are sat on a couch in the children’s room with a fur blanket o top of yous while your four little toddlers play with eachother with wooden and plush toys.

You lean your head on Thorin’s shoulder as you look at your children and then up at your lover, who was already staring at you. “I am so grateful for the children you have brought me, love. You have made me a father, you a mother and all of us a family, I am forever in your debt my queen, I love you.”

You smiled up at your husband, tears welling up in your eyes as you wear a dopey smile on your face, “I love you too my King,”, you lean up and kiss your husband, you couldn’t ask for a better life.

An amazing husband, a gentle son and three graceful daughters, you loved them all so much, you finally had your happy ending.

I hope you like this cus i finished this while I was ill 😭

@thethreeeyed-raven

#Thorin Oakenshield #Thorin #thorin Oakenshield x reader #Thorin x reader #Thorin fanfic #Thorin Oakenshield fanfic #the hobbit #the hobbit fanfic

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moongothic · 2 months

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To be honest I can kinda see how having a hook instead of a hand prosthetic has its benefits

Hook is easier to mantain than a hand with lots of small moving pats, especially when you don't know shit about it. If something happens to it and it gets broken, it's much easier to replace a hook, even with all layers and poisons

And depending on when in time Crocodile lost his hand he may have just got used to it already

But also yeah, Crocodile is just the type of guy to choose a hook instead of a new hand because looks and aesthetics lol

(sorry for typos btw)

Crocodile's hook is kind of fun because it's a reflection of so many things in the story. Like there's the in-universe lore and character stuff we can look at, but also we can look at it from a meta perspective

Like we know Oda wanted to give certain important characters in the story the Iconic Pirate Traits; the peg leg for Zeff, the hook for Crocodile and an eyepatch he has seemingly been saving up all these years for a special someone (my money's on Mr Burns but that's a different subject). And so Crocodile having the iconic hook is a part of an old pirate-y "vision" Oda wanted to fulfill with One Piece, an OG "goal" from waaay back in the day

But another thing is that Crocodile is very much from The Olden Days of One Piece, more specifically, very much pre-what I'd call the sci-fi era of OP. I'd say One Piece started truly dwelling deeper into that genre and its tropes during Punk Hazard, but Oda didn't even really dip his toes into it until the CP9 Saga (with the introduction of Franky and the namedropping of Doctor Vegapunk). Sure, Oda did already hint at the existence of Vegapunk and his scientific developments back in Alabasta (when Miss Merry Christmas explained that Lassoo was a gun that had eaten a Dog Dog Fruit, this being "the Latest Science from the Grand Line"*), but One Piece was still very much in its more classical fantasy element/genre at this point in the story, so the science fiction that was to come years and decades later was not even present at this point

*(Thinking about it, honestly, how the fuck did Mr 4 get his hands on Lassoo if Lassoo was created by Vegapunk?? Was he a gift from Vegapunk/the WG to Crocodile, maybe????? That Crocodile just secretly gave away to Mr 4????)

In other words, in hindsight it might seem odd Crocodile wouldn't have taken advantage of his position as a Warlord and gotten a prosthetic arm to replace his hook. But Crocodile is a One Piece character from a different era in the story, when advanced prosthetics, cyborgs, robots, clones and so much more were nothing but a twinkle in Oda's eyes. So expecting Crocodile to have lived up to the sci-fi future One Piece wasn't originally going to even get to would be unreasonable.

But the fun thing is that we can actually look at Crocodile and his silly little hook, and spin it in a way that does actually complement his character. We can find in-universe reasons for him to have stuck to a hook over an advanced prosthetic, and they make sense. The most obvious would of course be that Crocodile does not trust anyone. It would be very much unlike him to go to Vegapunk and/or the World Government requesting to be given a prosthetic, because that would mean 1) Leaving himself vulnerable for a period of time so that Vegapunk could actually give him a prosthetic (dangerous) 2) Knowing the WG they would not just give out something like that for free, surely they'd want something from Crocodile in exchange. And, while we know what would become of Kuma eventually (a fate so cruel I'm sure even Crocodile could not have imagined) I'm sure he could have suspected the WG could want to use him for a science experiment or two, something I'm sure Crocodile would never have agreed to. Or maybe the WG/Vegapunk would've wanted Crocodile to pay them an obscene amount of money in exchange for a prosthetic, and/or have him do some other favors. Whatever the case, I'm sure none of these options would have seemed worth it in his mind.

And yeah, what you said.

Maintaining and taking care of a hook would be easier, like if Vegapunk's prosthetics ever broke or malfunctioned for any reason Crocodile would have to make a horrifically long hike all the way from Alabasta to Marijoa, cross the Red Line (to be fair his Shichibukai Status would allow him to go over which would be more convenient than passing through Fishman Island), go to Punk Hazard (or Egghead later on), and then hike aaall the way back to Alabasta again. And Vegapunk's inventions didn't always work as intended, the man had to refine and develop his creations to get them to work the way he wanted them to.

So if the option get a prosthetic was ever brought up to Crocodile by the WG like 10+ years ago, he might've been far more cynical about Vegapunk's ability to actually create a decent prosthetic that worked and wouldn't malfunction/have issues etc. And as you suggested, by that time he probably would have become used to his hook, to the point that he didn't mind keeping it.

And yeah, it would be just a big ol' Luffyism if he preferred the giant, golden, gaudy-ass hook

#Moon posting #Asks #OP Meta #Sir Crocodile #To be fair as a sharp pointy thing the hook IS good for intimidating people.#Like the size of it is pretty inconsistent as is the height of Crocodile in the actual art but in theory #Like. The size of just the base of that hook is fucking massive (and indeed the base is great for pludgeoning people too)#It just. Like the hook just works for Crocodile (because it's Crocodile) and I love that. Like the writing is so good there

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viluvr-archived · 2 years

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can I request where the house wardens deal with their crushes?? It's fine if u took off some of them (SORRY MY GRAMMAR IS BAD 😭😦) love ur writings btw

Housewardens dealing with their crush .

Riddle , Leona , Azul , Kalim , Vil , Idia , Malleus . | Housewarden !

Gn!reader , fluff , playlists for you that each housewarden made, (they make playlists for you) ♡

( a/n : hello! I hope this is fine :D I also added playlists for them if you don't mind. And your grammar is fine ^^ note that the playlist isn't what they'll actually listen to,, I really just like it 😜😜‼️ )

RIDDLE !

Riddle likes to keep things organized, either study, his casual life, and daily routine.

He felts so incomplete, he never received affection even as a child, he must stay strong and tough after all. What lies behind the strong exterior he puts up, he felt so imperfect.

He was caught off guard when he met you, you were so enchanting? He tried avoiding you but you were unavoidable to avoid, he gets drawn into you, was it because you were so imperfectly perfect? Every flaw, and mistake coming from you was still so beautiful.

Him spilling his feelings and burdens, letting you know he's stressed is one of the most biggest signs he trusts you, Riddle Rosehearts could never let anyone know of his weakness after all.

Studies you, your likes, preferences, dislikes, and who you dislike and like. His gifts are more on thoughts about you, and what could help you, after all its a lot more valuable isn't it? But it doesn't mean he doesn't give you your wants too, he indulges you after all!

Invites you to feed and take care of the hedgehogs, you almost took one away secretly but he took it from you saying he'd buy you one instead :( but you said you liked "that one hedgehog" literally the exact same, so he took action and tried to find the most similar one to the hedgehog you liked. (Also, gives you tea and plays card games with you, if you suck at it, it's ok! He's a great teacher)

— ( ROSEHEARTS' PLAYLIST )

LEONA !

He knows his feelings immediately and tries to get rid of them, he's more like in denial, and after a few moments he's "Yeah I do love them" and gets mad at himself for saying that, and the cycle repeats.

He's more on acts of service and quality time, he discreetly tries to show you he loves you. Like when you need something, he's on it! No, Ruggie, he's gonna do it, let him do something for one. After he gets you what you want or needs, he always sarcastically says "Yeah, yeah, anything more ya need dear majesty?" Teasingly calls you that nickname when you need something, sometimes it's "Here you go dear majesty" then sighs

He insists on walking you to your dorm, if he can't he tells you to text him when you get home and if you got home safely.

He needs time to proclaim his love, he's still securing that you like him 'nd only him, he needs to get rid of people who like you too of course!

When you hug him as a greeting, he always sleeps amazingly in those days, and no, no one can wake him up, he's dreaming about your future with him.

He also secretly likes it when you pat him and scratch his ears, tho denying it and saying "Hey, stop that" you don't listen anyway, he doesn't bother trying anymore, good for him and you!

Always asks you how's your day, he may look like he's not listening but he is! He can even listen to you while his eyes are closed, whenever he notices you stop talking he tells you to "I'm listenin', go ahead 'nd continue your story"

— ( KINGSCHOLARS' PLAYLIST )

AZUL !

Sweats, pants, when he's around you while the tweels push him near you saying it was an accident.

Azul has never had time to think of love, it was erased from his mind, yet when he looks at you he seems to remember what it is, and there's no escaping how Azul becomes clumsy around you, he once spilled a drink on you, he insisted he buys you new clothes and pays for it but you insisted it was fine. (He crumbles and curls up and thinks about what he's done.)

Like Riddle, he studies you, the difference is that Riddle stores it in his mind while Azul stores it in his mind but puts it in his notebook too! The notebook's name is about y/n, he now has the habit of writing your name and drawing hearts around it.

He'd sacrifice closing Mostro lounge when he sees you don't get enough rest, he's worried about you to the max!

He's probably one for study dates, but he's worried about staying up all night with you, it's not that he doesn't want to be with you! He just wants you to get your sleep, but then if you insist on joining him, get ready because you're drinking a lot of sugary drinks.

He's an amazing cook, it's canon. He cooks for you for free and gives you the biggest discount in Mostro lounge, yes he's that whipped, he also cooks for you so you'd save money and stop eating take-out since homemade is better he says.

When you compliment him his face is redder than a strawberry and Riddle's mad face.

— ( ASHENGROTTOS' PLAYLIST )

KALIM !

Please take care of him, he's 10x more hyper with you, he's almost glowing like a lightstick or a Christmas tree which makes Jamil a lot more tired.

He's probably in love and attached to you because you care for him so much, always reminding him not to get in trouble and he just says yes with literal heart eyes.

He tells Jamil that he's ok with not helping him much about school, saying you were gonna teach him! He eats your food more than he eats Jamils'.

Even if you aren't an extravagant person, Kalim spoils the hell outta ya! Anything for you, just say it! He's almost like a Genie at this point, he has the most expensive product you use, from the brands you like and food.

Biggest hype man and is the definition of "If y/n has 1m fans I'm one of them" and so goes on.

As much as Kalim loves, loves, loves Pda! He doesn't want you to be targeted by the ones who try to assassinate him, so he discreetly just tries to hold your hand. He protects you with his everything.

He feels bad that a lot of people overwhelm you with attention sometimes because he's the "Kalim Al-asim" your privacy matters to him 100%, your safety too.

Whenever he's away he gets little trinkets and souvenirs that you love.

— ( KALIMS' PLAYLIST )

VIL !

He'd never be with someone who sees him just for his looks nor if you think he's just mean Vil.

Vil never met someone who looked at him, without being compared to Neige, nor telling him he was fit for a protagonist role, let alone maybe Rook saw him as himself.

Vil would deny he likes you, he thinks you're just attractive, that's all he says. But as he gets to know you, it seems that the goal of not letting his feelings get the best of him sabotages him.

Once he gets over the fact that he doesn't need to deny he likes you, he starts to leave hints he likes you. Giving you makeovers and giving you something he made, like perfumes, make-up, and more! He brings you to the mall for shopping, but he's mindful of the paparazzi, so it doesn't happen too often, what happens is he buys you whatever he thinks is good for you.

As stupid as it sounds, he might indulge you (he does, in fact always), and buy you those plushies and sweets you want. He bought you a bunny plush with a crown. (The bunny was purple too)

Always makes sure to compliment you and give you tips to improve yourself! He doesn't want you feeling insecure so he's there to the rescue you whenever you feel down.

He hopes your view of him not only being mean and arrogant never changes.

— ( VILS' PLAYLIST )

IDIA !

Scared. He doesn't want you to be in danger just because of him, it's better to be safe than losing someone special to him again.

Tho whenever you'd indulge him? His rant about the newest game he was waiting for, his new SSR, and the way you didn't mind his personality when it bothers others. He thinks he met an angel, oh what did he do to be blessed like this.

He makes useful things for you, and gadgets. He says there's no need to pay him, whenever he gets a hug he gets all giddy and hugs you back quickly not thinking about it because his mind is combusted already. "Thanks, Idia! You're the best!" He swears he's about to pass out.

There's this thing where you understand Idia even if he isn't saying anything, with or without the iPad you can read him like an open book and he's grateful for that, you don't judge him for being too shy and using an iPad to talk.

He now keeps a diary and rants about you there with Ortho in the diary.

— ( IDIAS' PLAYLIST )

MALLEUS !

It's not that he's unaware of what love is, he knows what it is, platonically and romantically, it's just that he doesn't know what it feels like romantically.

He's trying his best and consulting Lilia about his feelings and how he should deal with it, he's willing to do everything.

He'd stay up all night thinking about you, he sometimes even giggles at the most random time when he remembers you, Lilia just stares at him amused.

When he consulted Lilia about his feelings, all Lilia said was "I knew it! I was right!" So he asks him what to do.

People have a hard time talking to Malleus, which he's kinda upset about, but you weren't scared of him and he loves it so much. But he's afraid of hurting you, physically or emotionally, he still wants to be careful.

He wants to be hugged and have his head patted, he does want to, but you'd have to be the one to approach him because he's so scared it's like he's holding you like you're a fragile being that's bound to break any second. (Because of that he got scolded and learned to be a lot more open, he's trying ok!)

He helps you with whatever you need help with, even if you don't say anything he helps.

He does a lot of bare minimum for you, carrying your bags, helping you with homework, etc.

— ( MALLEUS' PLAYLIST )

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beautifulterriblequeen · 10 months

Text

Layers and white lies: a Puzzle House takeaway

I'm not going to delve into too much detail on this amazing book here, but I will touch on a few themey, plotty things I saw and roll around in some angst for a while, so, behold, a cut for big ol' Puzzle House spoilers:

One of the clues that helps Claudia delve deeper into the Puzzle House - and the plot - is the little clue on the bottom of the lantern she picks up: some things are hidden in plain sight. And the deep angst and all of Kpp'Ar's intentions are some of them!

This story, like all of TDP's stories, is written to be understood at a certain level by children. And it is. But for us adults, if we slow down and study what's in front of us - another Claudia clue, which she advises Soren with - we can see more. (this works in the show too of course)

In this case, I'm seeing Kpp'Ar's entire plan - and why he abandoned it - and how it worked anyway.

There's the real angst. He set something in motion, and it became too big to stop on his own. And that's very much relevant to TDP's concept of the cycle too!

Okay, let's break down the situation Kpp'Ar found himself in:

Soren was very ill

Kpp'Ar was engaged with Viren in helping find a way to save him

Kpp'Ar knew about the power in unicorn horns

he captured a giant who was guarding a map scroll that could lead him to one

but then he realized he was not worthy to read its information, and instead of stopping to look at that, he pushed forward in a new direction

This is when things get a little dark.

When the fun cute carousel (that might be made of actual creatures turned to stone? did they all die for this performance?) carries Soren and Claudia deep into the tower, Soren sees the horrible traps and assumes he and his sister are off the planned track for their surprise. At one point he claims that what they're dealing with is literally too big for them.

He's right... but also, he isn't.

Follow the unicorns. That's what Kpp'Ar wanted Claudia to do.

They start on the lantern, and they're present on the balustrade right next to them. She was always supposed to pick up the lantern, remember the snap magic trick Kpp'Ar taught her, and head right up those stairs.

She was supposed to fail at the slide. She was supposed to find a different way to keep chasing what she wanted. Just like Kpp'Ar. When he closes a trap door, he opens a window? Sure.

Follow those unicorns, Claudia! Cutesy and bright, they led her all the way to the giant's prison. She was always supposed to push past the boundaries of "child-friendly" fun and go in there and read the map, so that her father and his mentor could go kill a unicorn for its horn, and then save Soren's life with it.

That was always the plan.

And it was always too big to just ask a child to do. So Kpp'Ar made it into puzzles for her. That way Viren could still save Soren's life, and Claudia would have fun and never be burdened with knowing what she was really doing.

She learned that trick, too, btw. Good job, Clauds.

The hidden angst of what happened to Kpp'Ar is a little harder to see, but it's there too:

Kpp'Ar realized he was dragging Claudia into the same kinds of machinations he'd dragged Viren into

he'd known Viren for years and something in that arc gave Kpp'Ar pause

he could see what Viren couldn't (until S5) - that he was hurting Claudia's future despite her trust in him

something in Kpp'Ar broke, and he had a tantrum (like Viren in S2) and a big change of heart (took Viren 3 more seasons)

he gave Claudia those snake bracelets just before he vanished because he wanted her to free the giant

she'd still have to follow the unicorns to find him - she still might find and use the map - but he couldn't control that now, all he could hope for was that she would show compassion for the giant too

And she did, because she was pure of heart. Kpp'Ar helped set things right, with one of his final acts. But he'd already put into place a whole big plan to kill a unicorn, and there was no way to separate rescuing Kruha from aiding that plan in progressing forward. He had to take his hands off the wheel and trust someone else to do the right thing. He had to give up his need to control everything, and start to trust just a little.

Themey, innit.

What's interesting is that Viren gives no clear indication to anyone - Atticus, Claudia, us - that he's aware of this big puzzle Kpp'Ar made, or its goal. All he admits is that things are complicated and the Puzzle House is dangerous. Very on brand with those layers and white lies.

Couple possibilities:

Kpp'Ar knew Viren would not allow him to endanger Claudia, so he didn't tell him about it, and Viren didn't understand the full scope until after Claudia had seen the map - possibly several years later, shortly before Viren proposed his vengeance plan to Harrow

OR, Viren knew all along about the plan to use Claudia (and was willing to risk her life for Soren's), but it didn't matter anymore, because he'd already found another way to heal Soren - possibly with (some of?) Kpp'Ar's life force - so he played dumb with the map paper and only told Claudia to keep it safe for later

Since he couldn't read the map... I lean toward him knowing all along. Coining Kpp'Ar for having a change of heart - something anyone should be allowed to do at any time - certainly added to the darkening of Viren's heart, but surely he and Kpp'Ar tested the map and found that neither of them could read it before going to these lengths.

With the comments Kpp'Ar makes to Viren in his fever dream - which now might be partially... real? - it's very possible that Viren pushed for the whole thing, trying to save his son's life. Offered Claudia up, got Kpp'Ar to give her a book so she could start studying up on magic, and then lost his cool entirely when his mentor basically said Soren should die, and coined him for it.

And Claudia never knew a bit of that. Probably still doesn't!

I wonder if she'll interact with any Kpp'Ar details in future seasons!

Alright, that's my thoughts!

Puzzle House is possibly the theme-iest graphic novel we've gotten so far. It's themes all the way down. They reach down through the PH plot, into Claudia's onscreen tactics, and they reach up to the meta level with the way that The Dragon Prince approaches the entirety of the show itself.

There is something scary in the dark. But that doesn't mean we should run. It's always better to go slow, to have compassion, and to follow your heart.

Because sometimes the solutions are hiding in plain sight.

Thanks for reading

#tdp spoilers #puzzle house spoilers #puzzle house #claudia #viren #kpp'ar #soren #tdp meta #puzzle house meta

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lnkedmyheart · 6 months

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Do you have any opinion on Kunikida and his partnership with Dazai? I feel like their relationship barely focused on...or well Kunikida himself of barely explored as a character really. It's just weird that we barely see them work together (which doesn't mean I want to see less soukoku, I love soukoku I just wish we would get some more Kunikida also)

Kunikida is an iffy topic for me. I dont know how to put it. He's not boring because the guy has a lot of potential as both a character in a story and an individual, but he is so underutilized half the time that he sort of just fades out next to the other stuff going on which sucks. I mean for 1, we got backstories for almost everyone in the agency barring the Tanizaki's and him, even Kenji got a day in the limelight episode. Kunikida got like two major parts and from them the entrance exam was completely butchered in the anime. Now everyone thinks his ideals are all there is to him, which is high key frustrating.

As for his partnership with Dazai. I think he has a very positive dynamic with Dazai. A lot of it depends on his trust in Dazai's capabilities as a detective even if he does find him to be a lazy, annoying, tiring little gremlin of a colleague. This is a dynamic that develops in the entrance exam. Which btw is the best novel to get good Kunikida characterization cause that man is a hoot. Also no, Kunikida's remark about Dazai being a womanizer are not serious because given that the azure messenger arc happens in the middle of the anime him calling Dazai a womanizer feels like an actual comment on Dazai's character when in reality Kunikida only refers to him as such seriously in the entrance exam when he doesn't know him at all and the guy is taking shots at Kunikida's obvious crush on Sasaki.

Overall I feel like Kunikida and Dazai's partnership had a lot of potential but it is mostly overlooked. They are definitely efficient as we have seen but we haven't seen enough. More often than not, despite being partners they are doing their seperate things with other people. For a series that focuses so much on partnerships and dynamics of the sort Dazai is almost always back with Chuuya in one way or another. Dazai also tends to refer to Chuuya as his partner of 7 years, not ex partner which is odd to me because Kunikida is his current partner. The thing becomes that Dazai is unwilling to let go of his partnership with Chuuya despite having one with Kunikida and that could reflect something about his sentimentality but then why is he never paired with Kunikida when the show fixates so much on partnerships? Why is it that everytime there are themes regarding the pairs its always dazai and chuuya and somehow never dazai and kunikida?

My take is that the agency doesn't actually partner up people exactly and rather assigns a handler to the new guy. Atsushi gets Dazai who gets to show him the ropes properly and mentor him and so he tends to spend more missions with him and still goes on smaller cases with Tanizaki or Kenji etc. Dazai gets partnered with Kunikida in entrance exam because Ranpo and Fukuzawa didn't trust him so they trusted their strongest fighter and most level headed man to take him out if needed and get a good read on the guy throughout the gig. While these two do work together well its possible that after showing him the ropes Kunikida basically went back to his thing and Dazai to his but Dazai latched onto their partnership cause that was a return to something constant for him.

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ruthlesscalculuss · 1 year

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I think many jc antis and some jc fans don’t realize that Jiang Cheng is not just an angry callous man. He’s arguably the most sensitive character in mdzs.

He deserves to be seen through his hard exterior, because there’s something so interesting behind it. An angry man with no deeper thought would not keep Chenqing by his side for 13 years. No man with such little depth would cry and mourn at the golden core reveal and at the temple scene. His love and willingness to die for his nephew shows one of his best qualities: loyalty to family and his loved ones.

Him trying to help raise Jin Ling and treat him better than Jiang Cheng’s parents ever treated him is honorable. To be better than the parents who hit, humiliated, and neglected you- it’s a genuinely respectable thing. That takes character growth and reflection to be a better person, which can be hard especially in a case like Jc.

Jiang Cheng rebuilt lotus pier all by himself, yes he got support from the top clans, however he oversaw that everything was reconstructed and that the place could be a bright and functioning sect, even better before his fathers rule. By himself. That takes a certain level of devotion that I admire as well, and he doesn’t do it for greedy reasons like power like JGY, he does it because he’s been groomed to be the sect leader for so long, it’s basically a part of his personality now. And that in itself can be seen as another tragedy.

Btw the man was literally begging wwx to come back with him to lotus pier and to get rid of the wens, so that he could protect him, before things truly got out of hand “if you insist on protecting them I can’t protect you” That’s fear, that’s fear of another loss, the death of someone you care about. Also can we talk about how jc always knew he was second best to wwx? And hey he never was that angry with the man, never tried to push him down and make fun of him for being the son of a servant, he trusted and respected him. And I don’t think that was easy to do.

Also another thing. Jc never tried to hunt and kill or torture wwx. When he ran into him on the streets of that inn, he whipped wwx to stun him, and dragged him back to question him. Not even touching a hair on his head. He used fairy as a blocker, and did call him over to fuck with wwx, it wasn’t right but I get why he got pissed off. Wwx had made a…insensitive comment to say the least, because he was so used to messing with jc (and jc in turn) but forgot that things are very different now.

Also, jc never actually wanted to kill wwx when he saw him again, he whipped him to expel him out of mo xuanyu’s body because he thought he was possessing him and he did lash out at lotus pier but he tried to stop before it got any worse “Jiang Cheng didn’t really want to hit Lan WangJi, and immediately retracted his whip, but it was already too late.”

My point in writing all of this is that jc is not just an “angry bitter man”, he is man capable of warmth and forgiveness like how we see him forgive wwx in the temple after years of resenting him. It’s so easy for jc to just hate wwx, but he doesn’t, he says it himself “Why can’t I hate you?! Shouldn’t I hate you?!” The anger and hurt he’s fed for years are slowly losing its roots in his heart and he doesn’t know what to do except cry. This part of him, I think is too relatable. When you survive through expressing hurt as anger, when you have to deal with “you’ll never be good enough” I can understand and I wish others would acknowledge this type of canon

#canon jiang cheng #jiang cheng #mdzs

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polyhexian · 8 months

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Btw I do feel extremely bad for eventually!Darius. I love Darius! He's a very cool character with interesting motivations and flaws! And they're all coming to a head in this one, lol.

Darius is replaying the last time he ever saw Jasper on loop, and he's reevaluating every interaction he has ever had with Hunter, and he has realized he's fucked up. Darius has realized he's been consistantly fucking up for 16 years.

Maybe he tries to defend himself to himself. Brains tend to do that. I was grieving! Okay yeah valid but no excuse for bullying a child, actually. How was I supposed to know he was Jasper's kid? Oh come on you can't say you didn't KIND OF suspect with those eyes and that face and the hair, also it shouldn't matter WHOSE kid he was you still hurt a kid. I was subconsciously upset Jasper apparently had a kid and didn't tell me. Right but this all keeps coming back to you bullying a kid. It's not like he explicitly told me to look out for the next Golden Guard! It costs 0 snails to not be mean to the child soldier.

Darius is just…facedown on his bed, groaning. He hasn't kept up with his hair or skincare routine in two days. Eberwolf is getting worried; they've dragged MULTIPLE animal carcasses into Darius's bedroom and he hasn't complained ONCE.

Raine: We're not getting Eda involved, I refuse to put her in danger.

Darius: Sure! Of course! Perfectly understandable! I'm so glad you have the opportunity to look out for your loved one! Of course if it turns out you wildly misunderstand what she wants she may never forgive you, but hey, whatever you think is best! AHAHAHAHA.

Raine: Darius are you okay.

At some point when he's on speaking terms with Alador again, it comes up.

Darius: I've horrifically betrayed the man I love. He trusted me, and I let him down, badly. Now he hates me and he's never going to forgive me and I have to see him scowl at me from across the room and call me all sorts of horrible things and the sad truth is I deserve every single one of them.

Alador, nodding: I can tell you from experience that it's an awful thing to go through, but it is possible to eventually move on.

Darius: Are you MOCKING me??

Alador: No? I'm being genuinely sympathetic and supportive.

Idk if this is a universe where Jasper and Darius would be able to work things out between themselves - the hurt runs deep, Jasper honestly thought he could at least count on the one man who befriended HIM to look out for a kid who looked like him and was stuck in the same position, and instead Darius failed at just not being MEAN to said kid. Jasper didn't even realize the bar was so low. And Darius doesn't really have much time to fix his behavior and turn things around, and Hunter's real dad is here so there's no need for Darius to become an adopted father figure, and…yeah.

Jasper's relationship with Darius is so hostile, and once Darius realizes what's up he's just miserable and resigned and apologetic even though he knows it'll fix nothing, like a dog rolling over to show its belly. It's sad and hard to watch.

But if their relationship ever DOES progress to something less than hostile, it's entirely because Hunter's willing to forgive Darius, and Jasper can't deny Hunter anything. They can maybe work their way towards cordial neutral. Romance…romance may not work out here.

…Of course, Hunter has to tackle Luz when she catches wind of the situation. She starts rambling about the Parent Trap and Friends to Enemies to Lovers and orchestrating an Only One Bed situation and he is like NOPE, BAD IDEA, THAT IS HOW PEOPLE (mostly Darius lbr) DIE.

YEAH NO IT SUCKS TO BE DARIUS IN ALL TIMELINES HDDGJIKKIFDRH

I don't think it's.... TOTALLY unsalvageable if he plays his cards right. Like on the beach he realizes that's jasper and he's ALIVE. And jasper hisses at him like. If you ever threaten my son again I will rip you limb from limb. And he poofs and I'm sure Darius is left like SON??????? SON??????

And like back at the castle he has an existential crisis in the middle of the night before like. Oh my god. I've been bullying his son. What the fuck. Son??? He had a son???? Wh. When did he do that. And suddenly he has that same interest in hunter canon Darius has but... perhaps with a little more guilt and desperation. My dude is ALREADY planning to kidnap hunter and get out of there because holy shit??? Jasper???? Alive??????? Out of my way gayboy I have amends to make

Like... Jasper loses him after hollow mind. Hunter bolted and jasper couldn't catch him. So Hunter spends nine days homeless while jasper is having a fucking panic attack. Hunter is in so much fucking immediate danger rn. There is no more fucking around in the shadows it is GO time. Maybe he hates Darius, but Darius is strong, he knows the emperor's coven and hunter, and most importantly he fucking owes him.

Jasper has MAGIC now. He has Hunter's staff! He shows up at Darius' door like GET UP SCRUBLORD YOURE GOING TO HELP ME FIND MY FUCKING SON RIGHT NOW

Ohhhh my god the drama. The two of them working together. Darius is overwhelmed with guilt and confusion. Jasper is angry and hates him. Darius keeps asking questions like "how are you alive" "why didn't you tell me you were alive" "how do you have a son" "do you like legit hate me" and jasper is just fucking ignoring him. But then!! Labyrinth runners! Darius hears over, the like-- like the fucking coven group chat or whatever, that Adrian graye has found the fucking golden guard and jasper's like AHHHHHHHHH and so they both rush over but... it all happened so fast! They're too late! But now they get the full details of the draining spell because hunter told the kids and oh my god.... oh my goodddd. Jasper is like. I have to get hunter as far away from here as humanly possible. And Darius is like you literally don't even know if that would work. And also what about everyone else??? But obviously a worked up jasper is like fuck everybody else!! Gasp. Shock. You're mad at me for bullying you're kid when you're willing to let every kids parents die?? And he's like. Gasp. How dare you

But Hunter is already gone... and jasper is ready to go look for him, but... oh no! Did you think you could beat up a coven head and not face retribution?! There is like a whole outfit of coven soldiers on the way. Like the ones with Adrian were not like combat guys. They were just here to hassle some school kids. Now the school kids have committed fucking treason. And if Darius fights then his cover will be blown! And maybe even Belos will realize he needs to look for moles higher up! If nothing jasper does works then that is the only backup plan to stop the spell and save Hunter along with everyone else!

There's only one choice. Jasper has to stay and fight off a whole army so the kids have time to escape, and Darius has to go and find hunter. And jasper is like you fucker. You go and remember how much you fucking owe me. You remember that. And then wham! Bam! Sick moves!

And we know that hunter really wants Darius's approval... he likes him a lot. At this point we kind of lose track of them for a second because Luz and king go do the Titan trapper stuff, and then they go to the knee to hide out, then they get captured and Darius and co saves them and then the next we see hunter he shows up to say Darius told him to protect Luz so... I guess he's been staying with him? It's a little unclear. But ALSO.... where were Gus and Willow and hunter hiding??? How did they run into Darius and the CATTs?

Maybe they ALSO needed a rescue mission... maybe while fleeing from the school they got captured by a unit too, and Darius swung in and rescued them and brought them to the safehouse BUT also he got a really serious injury like stabbed or something, he's not like dying yet but OWWWWW... and no one in their crew knows healing magic!!!! He gets patched up but.... and you know. He's fretting over hunter. He's been homeless for nine days. He's hungry. He's malnourished. He's upset. Time for Darius to go dad mode for the first time but ALSO hes injured and he gets to finally have a big "I am so sorry Hunter that I let myself drown in my grief and turn into a person I never wanted to be and I'm sorry you were on the receiving end of that, and you might never forgive me but I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe now" and it's all very FEELINGS!!!!!!

But where is jasperrrrr???? Poor motherfucker has lost his kid AGAIN... and the thing is that from the time eda and Luz get rescued, it's only 24 hours until the draining spell!! Jasper does not fucking have a lot of time! He searches and searches but THEN.... THE SPELL... AND HUNTER IS UP THERE.... oh maybe he rescues Alador after the kids leave and he tells him they went up to the coven heads and he gets there and Darius says they went to go save Luz... and that's when he finally pops in just in time to protect the kids from a big dramatic Belos attack. And then of course he loses an arm and nearly dies and spends a week in a fever coma lol

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zeroducks-2 · 1 year

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So I know that all the apprentice Dick stuff isn't really canon and it only happens in tt03 and that in 'reality' there was a Renegade arc... But I dont know anything about Renegade beside the fact that its a thing. Maybe you could tell me more about it?

It would be my pleasure! Sorry it took me so long to answer, tumblr ate my post and I had to rewrite it >_>

The first thing to know is that despite fanfictions/fanarts tend to portray Renegade!Dick as the "follow-up" to the Apprentice Arc, or anyway conflating the two stories (kind of mashing up stuff from tt03 and the comics), the two situations couldn't be more different from one another. They are in fact completely unrelated both thematically and narratively speaking.

In the comics, the Renegade idea comes from Dick, Dick is the one that insists on sticking around Slade, and Slade never forces/coerces him into doing anything (he has barely any participation in the whole thing). It's actually more about Dick and Rose than Dick and Slade, and in fact the "Renegade" alias itself is very nearly a thing, in the sense that Dick comes up with randomly it at some point, Rose uses it once and that's about it. Slade never even calls him that, sticking to "Nightwing", "Grayson" or just "kid".

A quick sum-up: Dick needs info about the society of supervillains but can't infiltrate them, because Slade is on their roster and he knows Dick's real identity, therefore he would recognize (and out) him easily. So he comes up with the idea of trying to convince Slade that he's a bad guy now and he can be trusted by villains - really Slade never actually trusts him, but in the process of testing him Rose grows very fond of Dick, and eventually Dick manages to thwart the society's plans and kick Slade out of Bludhaven. More or less.

That's not my favorite iteration of Dick, and especially not my favorite iteration of Slade and Rose, but all in all it's a fun, enjoyable story that's very in line with the overall mood and style of the (in)famous "Nightwing 1996" run.

Since we're here I'll go on to provide a more lengthy explanation of the plot with screenshots for poignancy (and because they're fun), but if you're already satisfied with the answer and you don't want more spoilers, go ahead and click away :)

The "Renegade" arc.

I'm going to start out with Issue #110 which opens with Dick leaving Sophia Tevis, the daughter of a mob boss, and her mother in a safe place for Sophia's safety.

Dick is having a rough time with just about everything in his life. This happens soon after the whole situation with Blockbuster and Tarantula and the aftermath of that, also he recently broke up with Barbara, lost his job as a cop and has gone no contact with Bruce. Tim drops by to check on him, and during their conversation, Dick finds out that Bruce was going to adopt Tim.

Dick is very bitter, and Tim keeps justifying Bruce this or that way, as usual enabling his behavior (no hate towards Tim whatsoever btw, that's just how their dynamic tended to function). At some point Tim goes out of his way to reel Dick back in the situation...

...And Dick gets understandably very upset

I love how he's about to yell at Tim but then tones it down. He keeps doing it throughout the whole story, swallowing his emotions and then apologizing when "he sounds too much like Bruce".

Despite everything Dick insists on doing his job as Nightwing and refusing everyone's help, at the point that he's embittered enough for it to be believable that he'd be in a "I lost everything, I want to try a new path" situation. The problem is, as I mentioned before, Dick can't infiltrate the society and uncover their nasty plans because they have Deathstroke on their payroll.

So Dick decides that the only way he has to do this is convince everyone, especially Deathstroke himself, that he's done being a hero, he wants to be a bad guy, he's been slapped in the face one time too many and he'll prove it to him. Only Dick has to talk to Slade for this to happen, and this leads to what's surely my favorite two panels of the entire story:

The infamous "message received" text on the mirror of Dick's bathroom as he showers. Dick is totally unfazed by this btw, makes me think this isn't the first time it happens

Slade, dramatic motherfucker that he is, decides to show up in the middle of the night together with Rose (I'm sharing the panels again cause they're really cool)

A fight ensues but Dick is outnumbered and in his civvies, so it's brief enough. Have I mentioned that Slade is also an idiot? I think I didn't, so here's Slade being an absolute idiot:

I love this panel. I want to print it and eat it I am so normal about it

By saying "undercover with the bad guys" Slade is referring to the fact that Dick has been cooperating with the Bludhaven mafia, fact that actually helps Dick sell the whole "I'm a bad guy now" narrative. Which is what Dick insists upon, saying that he has no more reasons to fight the good fight. Slade isn't impressed, but he still offers Dick a bargain:

Basically the idea is that Dick will prove himself trustworthy by watching over Rose, teaching her, and making her involved in his own things, and so he does; what follows is a number of short episodes in which he and Rose go around doing apparently random tings, bantering in the meantime.

The reason why I say this is not my favorite iteration of Rose Wilson is because she's VERY BABY. Which isn't bad per se but I prefer a version of Rose which is less naive. Also, "Nightstroke".

In the meantime Dick has found out that the place where Sophia Tevis was hiding for her safety wasn't safe at all - her mother has been killed by cops and the kid has been put in a state home. Dick promised to go get her, and this is what he brings Rose along to do.

They rescue Sophia and Dick hides her in yet another place, and makes Rose promise that she won't say anything to Slade about Sophia and what they did. The first thing baby does when she sees Slade is tell him everything.

Basically Rose is trying to make it so Slade will love her, or something like this. I'm actually not sure, their relationship here is a bit confusing to be honest.

So what keeps happening is that Dick brings Rose along - since he does not have a choice on that - while doing his things, pretending it's bad guys things while it really is good guys things. But, he does give her some valuable lessons and the two do grow quite close in the meantime.

The issue is that Slade isn't easily fooled, and to make sure he's got Dick under his thumb, he kidnaps Sophia Tevis to use her as a bargaining chip, and to make sure Dick won't do anything that goes against the society.

The brown haired kid is Sophia, but really this looks more dramatic than it actually is since nothing really changes, or maybe we could say it even backfires - Dick keeps doing his things, and if Rose wasn't convinced initially, now that she knows Sophia is being threatened (and she knows Dick cares for her since Rose helped him save her), she believes Dick more easily when they investigate the society's business and Dick says "it's all part of the plan I swear I'm not doing anything detrimental to your father, if I did he'd kill me and he'd kill Sophia".

And finally we have Dick calling himself Renegade: Rose insisted on calling him Nightwing since there was no alternative, so Dick comes up with Renegade just to get her to stop using "Nightwing"

Soon Dick finds out that the society is planning to use the Bane toxin to create supersoldiers or something like this, and in the meantime he bumps into Arsenal who's legitimately concerned about him (especially because there had been news circulating about Nightwing cooperating with the Bludhaven mafia, and he's been pushing his friends and family away). Dick is forced to knock him out, and eventually Roy tells Oracle, who tells Superman, and it ends up with everyone really worried for Dick.

I'm not really sure how Slade knew Superman would have been involved (I might not remember about it but yeah, Slade knew Supes was going to get involved) and devises a plan to neutralize him: He fixes Dick's glove with a radio transponder and surgically implants kryptonite in Rose's missing eye. During the following confrontation with Superman, Dick nonchalantly says "yeah I'm a bad guy now fuck you", knowing that Clark can hear his heartbeat and can therefore tell that Dick is lying - but Clark reacts in a very upset way, Rose gets scared and jumps him.

A brief scuffle follows but soon enough Superman lets them go, and Dick goes confront Slade with Rose, informing him that he uncovered the society' schemes and that his plan backfired.

Then Dick tells Slade something something along the lines of "Rose loves me and listens to me, while you implanted toxic kryptonite in her eye socket, so if you don't go away from Bludhaven I'll put her against you".

and somehow it works, Slade "admitting defeat" and letting Dick go, but threatening him with "you don't know what you're messing with".

Which actually is what happens soon after with the destruction of Bludhaven, Slade dropping chemo on it and all of that. But that's another story.

So here you have it, the brief story of Renegade and how it existed as Dick's alias for a short time. It's not much something that comes from Slade, more like it tangentially involves Slade while Dick is doing his thing. Again for whoever is interested in reading it first-hand, it spans from issue 110 to issue 115 of Nightwing 1996.

#long post #Nightwing #Deathstroke #Renegade #Nightwing 1996 #my asks #thanks for asking Anon I had a lot of fun researching this and writing it down #my meta

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comas-are-for-sleeping · 3 months

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ok you have a special interest in tma (im pretty sure) and i do not want to relisten to the whole fucking series SO can you give me liek a summary (however detailed you want) of what i need to know beofre tmp please and thank you

what gave you that impression whaaat???

ok but i love this question bc i can procrastinate on my hw without catastrophizing yippee!!

i'll do like a timeline of main events without dates bc i cannot actually remember numbers for shit

Jonathon Sims becomes Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute (im going to stop with capitals bc it is too much work) because his predecessor, gertrude robinson, died. he's extremely skeptical of anything "paranormal" so it's kinda funny in the beginning bc his whole job is recording statements people have given of their encounters/experiences. Every episode at this point ends with a, "well, it could be dismissed except for this one spooky detail."

at some point a delivery made by breakon and hope (a delivery company that shows up in statements; two guys with suspicious cockney accents) to jon. it's a table with a hole in the center (also has shown up in statements multiple times). because of its association to, like, bad things, jon takes an axe to the thing and it is left in artifacts storage.

the events of season one are basically worm lady named jane prentiss is stalking the institute in order to take it over. she traps martin blackwood, the poor sweet boy, in his apartment for a week. now he cant stand the sight or taste of canned peaches! he moves into the archives temporarily because of this. jon finds him annoying/a nuisance but is very quick to offer the archives as a place for him to stay (spoilers they kiss). sasha james, another employee, meets an entity who calls itself Michael (an icon) who takes her to see a guy from a statement where his one night stand explodes into worms bc she had an encounter with jane prentiss. he is now a worm person. michael gets a worm from sasha's arm that tried to get into her arm w his finger which is Too Long and Too Sharp. The season ends with prentiss invading the archives and being burned to death! tim stoker (another employee, promise that's mostly all of them), martin, and jon are all Traumatized and end up covered in scars from getting worms out of each other with a corkscrew :) sasha and elias bouchard (everyone's boss) attempt to get out, but sasha is separated and ends up in artifacts storage. someone else is there and then the tape cuts out (everything is being recorded on tapes because something funky happens when certain statements come in contact with digital technology). the tape goes missing.

season two is jon's Paranoia Era. he's not sure who he can really trust anymore, since if jane was out there, there must be others and they could even be his own staff (how did she get in?? what are the underground tunnels beneath the archives??). at the end of each statement there is now a "supplemental" in which he describes his suspicions (which leads to him following some of his employees to their homes and they find out and... are not very pleased) and his findings in explorations of these strange tunnels that seem to move by themselves. there is someone down there, but who could it be?

oh btw another reoccurring thing are spooky books with the name "jurgen leitner" in them

the last two statements before Shit Goes Down are both about someone who's relative changes appearance, sound, and personality, except that no one thinks that this has happened and even pictures would suggest they had always looked like that (except polaroids and tapes). jon finds sasha's "missing" tape and listens to it. and... she sounds different in this recording. uh oh!! she isn't who she says she is!! she attacks him, he ends up running around in the archives (perhaps because of michael, who has a multidimensional door that enters into a spiral of confusing hallways) and meets the man himself, jurgen leitner (who, it turns out, has been the one living in the archives). they trap the Not-Sasha in the tunnels because leitner has a book that, if he reads certain sections, can move the walls/stairs/entryways/etc. jon Obviously has questions, so they go into his office and he keeps interrupting leitner (obviously). what he is able to tell jon is basically:

he found some spooky books and decided that he could collect them all. he built a library and put his name in all the books he owned, but one day it was too much and basically the whole thing burned down, all his assistants died, and the books were yet again scattered to the winds. he explains that he believes these books, entities, and items are all part of powerful beings. he also tells jon that elias killed gertrude. jon freaks out and decides to take up smoking again in that moment, so leitner is left alone. and elias goes in there and kills him with a lead pipe. jon comes back and is like wtf. he's pinned as the murderer bc all his coworkers were suspicious of his behaviors.

so now jon is on the run. he hides in his ex-girlfriend's apartment. he decides to do field research into something gertrude seemed to be interested called The Unknowing. we also learn that he encountered a leitner book as a child which led him to witness his school bully being taken by a spider behind a door (this is an animatic of said book teehee). also that georgie (the ex) also had an encounter separate from him which resulted in her losing all ability to feel fear. jon's field research leads him to find various entities from the statements and is kinda bullied by all of them tbh. hand burned by a woman who's basically made of wax (she likes destroying people's things and fire), simulated vertigo from a guy with a lightning scar down his back, and kidnapped by a clown manequine who wants his skin (as part of the Unknowing)! oh and also almost murdered by a bloodthirsty cop (daisy tonner my beloved plus her gf basira. idr if their relationship was ever established but). he tells daisy that he wasn't the one who killed leitner and that it was elias (i think he has proof?? bc she believes him). they corner him but hes like lol no u cant kill me if you kill me you all die rip teehee!!

oh! on his adventures, he ends up in america and learns that the powers are organized into types of fears. there are fourteen of them, jon works for the Eye. jane was the corruption (rot, bugs). the circus is the stranger (fear of the other, unknown, etc).

at this point i think also the clown + her circus have gathered all the materials for this "Unknowing," (a ritual of sorts). the crew (now including daisy and basira) devise a plan to end it while also distracting elias so that he can be arrested. jon makes martin and tim stay behind (as the distraction), but tim refuses bc his brother was killed by a clown (not the same one as the kidnapper) and hes Angry. I think at this point basira and melanie (she made a statement and then got fired from her job as a ghost hunter youtuber) work at the institute also.

they enter the circus Unknowing and martin burns statements to get elias's attention. all the circus people forget who they are so it's hard to blow everything up, but they figure it out enough for tim to detonate. daisy is thrown into a coffin (also a thing that shows up in multiple statements), tim dies in the explosion, and jon is catatonic.

season four! jon wakes up six months later in the hospital and is told that he was entirely dead except for brain activity. martin is distant, elias has been arrested and replaced by peter lukas, a name that has also shown up before. he is part of the lukas family, which is aligned with the lonely (they help fund the institute). jon pulls back up to his place of work and everyone's kinda annoyed and sad bc their friends are dead. melanie is increasingly violent, most likely due to a ghost bullet in her leg from right before she was hired (this is the slaughter, which is war and senseless violence/murder). she hates jon because she is stuck working for the institute forever (you cant leave or you'll like. get increasingly more sickly or something like that). basira spends a lot of time in the institute library. jon realizes that he can Know things randomly now. he also starts needing to read statements in the way that we need food and sometimes kinda is not so great to (random) people when he's especially lacking

oh my turns out there is a word limit to these things!! whoopsie doo there is more so get ready ig

#i probably did not need to go into this much detail but i could have also gone into even more so we'll call this good #i think theres a wiki too if anything i say is confusing #plus also descriptions of individual episodes if ur rlly curious #ask #cowboypossume #the moomin to my snufkin

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cheesebrackers · 1 year

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DARK MOON RAMBLE TIME

these questions and theories have been typed down by me in the span of 4 days (4 days of info/questions)

(theory about why all possessors are heavier than gobbers)

This is very random but I was thinking about this and got two vague theories

1 the dark moon shard 2 the fact that it's technically 3 ghosts

1 maybe the dark moon shard has a spectral weight that exceeds the average weight of a ghost. Why would it have a spectral weight? No idea, the dark moon is a confusing thing, but its properties are related to ghosts, so who knows

2, Well, it's always 3 ghosts technically. There's not much to say about that but it could be a possibility

Maybe both

Also it's probably that Nintendo just thought making the bosses have more shit than other ghosts was a good idea and it has nothing to do with whatever I just said but I'm here to fill plotholes

(questionment)

How did he (a strong sneaker) go through the wall with the rotor? Ive seen ghosts go through walls with objects (ex; the 4 slammers in the gloomy manor) but ive also seen some be unable to do so, like that greenie in the old clockworks who tried to go through a door but slammed himself against it because he had a bucket on his head and for some reason that couldnt go thru the wall

(After asking myself what relationship boos and other ghosts are like, later getting two answers somehow)

Another detail i noticed that really doesnt matter at all! The english version says boos dont get along with powerful ghosts, while the french one says they dont get along with any other ghost, MOSTLY the powerful ones

I know theyre under control but i refuse to believe all boos dislike might other ghosts if you I cabt trust the old egg all the time, plus boos are very much sentient beings, so not all of them think the same Psychoanalysis of mario boos

(about boos and nebulospheres/spirit balls)

In english, e.gadd says boos probably got the ability to use nebulospheres from someone, because they didnt just start doing that like its nothing, implying they couldnt do that before (im not calling them spirit balls fuck you) (btw nebulosphere is the french name for them)

In french, its implied they could already use nebulospheres, but didnt do it as much right now

That brings me to yet another question Does the dark moon affect boos? Probably, in the way that they are most likely controlled by king boo instead of just being told orders, as implied by the nebulospheres thing. They werent harmless like other ghosts, but surely they werent THAT obedient.

But im not sure

(this one is older and maybe I've already said it but this is about ghosts and where they may come from)

I've been kinda wondering about something. I settled on the theory that non-humanoid looking ghosts aren't dead people, just made up mfs

But, in dark moon ok, Belinda, Lucinda and Herlinda aren't human looking. That's for sure. No one is shaped like that, it fits the style of the other ghosts

But. They are hinted to be dead, as shown in the haunted towers

There's three pictures, each showing a woman that fits the physical traits of each sister

And now I'm confused. again im very sure nintendo doesnt actually give a shit about logic and just made this shit for fun but listen im autistic

My friend at school said maybe king boo is the core of ghost creation because of a portal he made in the treacherous mansion that caused the "paranormal chaos" (several wave of ghosts in different locations with a timer which you CANNOT FAIL ONCE), but that can't be true, because they have been in evershade valley before kb fucked everything up

#luigi's mansion 2 #luigi's mansion dark moon #luigi's mansion #cheesebrackers says shit #J cant tag all the ghosts can i.

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allaganexarch · 1 year

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incoherent wednesday rant

god just NO thread in wednesday goes ANYWHERE and it’s so frustrating!!!! like i know it was netflix’s latest lazy nonsense but my GOD lol

i was thinking this is one of those mediocre shows that would have been improved SO MUCH by having just a simple theme. The one I was thinking would work so well with so little effort was something like “what makes a monster?” — and it almost felt like the show WANTED to go there but got caught up in its weird unearned plot twists or something?

it’s easy, and would tie so many weird threads together—gently imply that Wednesday is a monster for what she does in the beginning, even tho she’s just doing it to stick up for her brother, and then tie that into how she more and more gets caught up in her own version of events and certainty that she’s right, and actually let there be real consequences for her being wrong??? people get mad at her for using them to achieve her ends but then they stay mad for like???? a scene at most even tho wednesday doesn’t apologize or show any remorse, and it makes everything feel so unearned.

with the what makes a monster theme, the students of nevermore would be very understanding of wednesday at first bc they know what it is to be different/outcast, and gradually lose faith in wednesday as she uses them, until ultimately they recoil when she plans to torture what’s his face. that would give that moment actual MEANING—up until that point, wednesday’s friends were like, we get it, she shows she cares in her own way, we do too, but no, this is a step too far, this is a monstrous act in our eyes.

Flip side of the coin with uhhhh plant lady? thornhill! the twist would be more satisfying if literally anyone cared about or trusted her or had any sort of opinion whatsoever—this could work in SO many ways; she seems genuinely kind but everyone mistrusts her, she seems genuinely kind and everyone trusts her except for wednesday, even wednesday comes to trust her, she seems overall nice but there’s just something kinda Off about her, possibilities virtually endless. as it is the twist feels UNEARNED like everything else.

UGGGHHHHHHH AND WEEMS they almost went there with weems—she’s harsh, she’s calculating, she’s done some monstrous things, but ultimately she’s on the side of protecting the school and its students, a reveal we don’t even get to bask in for ONE GOT DAMN SECOND!!!!!!!!! i’m so pissed her character was so underutilized lol as per usual writers accidentally made a character too cool for them and didn’t know what to do

god i cannot remember a single character’s NAME ENID okay, enid was done such a god DAMN disservice, she’s a fascinating character, she has great fodder for a personal story arc, there’s an easy tie-in to “what makes a monster” re: her getting her wolfy powers at exactly the right second (which btw, stupid—needed her to struggle more w feeling inadequate, going her own way, or preferably getting her wolfy powers at a very inconvenient time)

you know i do feel as usual a lot of this was ruined by heterosexuality lol, like they didn’t really do all that much w the love triangle and xavier feels extremely pointless, i don’t mind the twist with tyler except that i think it’s stupid he went all full serial killer at the end, i think i’d have preferred “unprocessed grief as an uncontrollable monster” metaphor but you know that’s just me. and actually i think the show could have benefitted from playing with hinting that enid or even wednesday might actually be the monster.

also lol @ the worlds dumbest filler episode let me fix it for you—weems was in love w morticia and deeply resented gomez, weems witnessed morticia stab whatshisface and wanted to frame gomez for it, not realizing that gomez was perfectly happy to take the fall for morticia himself. also this isn’t super related but i think it would have been neat if the reason weems and morticia fell out is bc weems once used her shapeshifting powers for nefarious reasons (nothing too bad, just trying to gently sabotage her relationship w gomez) and morticia caught her and was very hurt and betrayed. what i’m trying to say is that episode bored me to death and justice for weems 2kforever.

okay this has been insane but my computer is in the shop so i’m unsupervised thanks for your time.

#personal #wednesday THE SHOW i should clarify lol

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aonoexpat · 8 months

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15-09-2023

The rest of the road to Ōtepoti was pretty, it was lovely to see the sun and drive along the coast with some background music. When I got to the city I tried to get some help with my gas cooker, but everybody I asked said they had no clue what was wrong with it, and sent me along to the next person. Finally somebody determined that the pressure in my gas bottle was too high, and let some of it out, which we both hoped would help. Spoiler alert: it did not ☹️ Luckily I wasn't going to need it for a while, because I had some leftovers to eat, and I was going to spend ten days house and puppy sitting for somebody a little ways North of Ōtepoti, where I'd have access to a proper stove. I was really excited about this!

I spent a day exploring Ōtepoti, and felt oddly at home there. People, again, are super kind there. The city was founded by the Scottish apparently (hence the English name Dunedin), which might explain why it felt familiar.

It has a slightly more European layout, which, legend has it, was designed with English (flat) landscapes in mind. This has resulted in Ōtepoti holding the record for the world's steepest street, because the landscape here is, in fact, not flat. It's called Baldwin street, and is a real challenge to walk up. I wasn't going to subject Elrond to that kind of an incline, there's even a sign at the bottom stating 'not suitable for campervans'. I met some other tourists there and we all marveled at Baldwin street together, and took photos for each other, which was a very wholesome experience :)

My mom and I did a quick deep dive into this street's wiki, and here's some fun facts:

At its maximum, the slope is about 1:2.86 (19° or 35%);

An 11-year-old boy pogo-stick-ed up the street in 10 minutes to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House, and got a plaque for it at the top;

When Lime rental scooters were introduced to the city, the mayor said he thought he could trust people not to ride them down Baldwin street, and within a week somebody had done it;

Less fun fact: a student tried to ride down the street inside a wheelie bin and didn't survive the ordeal 😬

Part of the street is paved with concrete, because at this slope asphalt, when heated by the sun for too long, would just droop down the street;

They installed a water fountain at the top, and had to include a little stepping stone for a young boy that couldn't reach it:

In the evening I went to the local observatory, where some really kind people had set up telescopes for the public to freely use to see the blue supermoon! It was inspiring to see how many parents with children came out to have a look, and enjoy the fun facts the staff were sharing. I'm pretty proud of the pictures I managed to take through the eyepiece:

After exploring the city, I went to meet the person whose house and dog I would be looking after for the next little while. He has a small plot of land up in the hills with 17 chickens and a tiny house, that he is still very much working on. It was a bit less finished than I had expected it to be, though. The "power" that he had said would be there was a little black box, its power cord coming in through a (thereby perpetually impossible to close) window, only putting out 12V. The "shower" he had said he would install was a loose shower head that I had to fish out of the mud, and couldn't reach the controls for from the actual shower cabin itself, that used LPG to heat up water from a 20L tank (not enough for nice comfy showers for TEN DAYS), and in the process of hooking that up he had created a gas leak that I didn't discover for another day and a half (super safe situation 👍 /s). The dog required a lot more attention than the owner had let on, didn't behave like he had said he would (as in actively squeezed himself through that one open window and knocked over everything in his path when I tried to go to the shops), and there was nothing to clean the (non-level, btw) floor with when the dog knocked over his entire water bowl. The drinking water felt unsafe to me due to algae growing inside the tanks, there was mould on the curtains, the unfinished chicken wire was painful to maneuver around, and there was little to no light at night which resulted in me burning my hand when trying to make a hot water bottle. This all coincided with me getting uterus-punished for days on end and I can tell you, only having access to ✨bushes✨ or a compost toilet in a broken shed outside and no running water is not ideal when going through that. I thought I was going to have a great time, a comfortable little vacation from my vacation, but it ended up being one of the most stressful times on this whole trip so far, and the owner was completely unreachable throughout all of it. The only upside was that the place was isolated enough for nobody to hear my frustrated screams 🥲 That, and the Wi-Fi, which was pretty fast and finally allowed me to have some video calls with home again. And when the place wasn't covered in clouds, the views could be pretty nice!

When it was time to leave, I was overjoyed to be back on my own. I had to give up on my broken little gas cooker, and found a second hand one online that I went to pick up in town. It works like a charm, and cooking has become a fun activity once again! I've spent the last few days trying to make up for lost relaxation time, chilling in the botanic garden and on the beach:

I've also found out that reddit is quite a good place to get in touch with locals, and I've been meeting up with some of them to get a drink and finally have a real-life conversation with another human being again. I had really missed that! Chatting about my adventures helped me see them for what they were again: adventures, memories and stories that I am still actively living.

I'll likely be hanging around the city for another week or so, because I have some appointments with tattoo artists to see if I can get something done 🙂

After that my path is still a bit unclear. I found that after I'd passed the 6-month mark, my mind has been pretty fixated on how I'm going to get back home, and it made me lose track of how much time I actually still have left here. It's made me realise that going back to work for a little bit might not be such a waste, so there's a solid chance I'll be spending two months working in a vineyard soon. It's also made me wonder if I really want to milk my visa to its maximum and stay until the end of January 2024, or if I would like to just go home a bit sooner. On the one hand I'm really quite eager to return to the familiarity of Europe, and all my loved ones there. I'm tired of being on the move, of being alone, of living in a car. But then, on the other hand, I can have one good day here and realise how extremely lucky I am to have this chance, and I'm not ready to leave it all behind just yet. Yesterday I went for a lovely walk on the beach and climbed a rock, and really felt like I was in a good flow again. I dearly miss all the wonderful people back home, but I think I'll end up sticking around as long as I can, while I still can ❤️

My last few days have felt much more upbeat again, I think partly because the sun is coming out more and more and I can really feel spring itching to break through. Though at the moment I'm writing this, I'm trapped in the car by strong winds and cold rain! Luckily there aren't a lot of people around, so I'm playing these three songs on repeat and singing along at the top of my lungs to keep my spirits up 🎧

#aotearoa #backpacking #van life

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