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#this is true btw..... source my beautiful mind
the-valiant-valkyrie · 2 months
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every year zoraxis has an annual potluck. caliente always brings stuff that he grilled. sometimes its burgers or hot dogs, but normally its chicken skewers because thats everyones favorite. hivemind brings his honey cupcakes. fabby also brings desserts but she's way more varied. she never brings the same thing twice. daniel brings two salads; a potato salad, and a seasonal salad. they taste fine, but there's clearly no love put into them. john always gets something catered and no one ever eats what he buys because he cheaps out every year. solaris can only make one dish without burning it into obscurity. that dish is stew. thankfully everyone likes her stew, so she's allowed to bring it. anna used to bring the best god damned mac and cheese you've ever eaten. post her 'death', fabby makes the mac and cheese. it's good, but it isn't the same. x-ray always made the worst, most scariest fucking jello salad and thats the reason why zor ended up killing them. are you taking notes this is going to be on the test
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alienssstufff · 5 months
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BLOODHOUNDS
ft Y.T and Tripwire
[their ‘duo name’ is Bloodhounds from now on btw… if you even care..]
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alternative title ver- it would’ve taken away the effect of the *COUGH* easter egg
notes n what not coming soon
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The sketch and the flowers used :3
The composition originally was going to be a lot different (had two in mind) where the Red King’s involvement would’ve been more prominent. Went with this one simply cuz it was just more fun to experiment, where the negative space is made front and centre focus :]
Whennnn picking out the plants ddint think for a second about symbolism- and going off of just ANY flower for flower language would have been too big of a selection pool… So in respects to SL environmental setting - native Australian plants it was.
-The golden wattle trees by its abundance and have benefited Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders for thousands of years to create various markers and tools. The plant survives harsh droughts, and its seeds have a coating strong enough that can be salvageable beyond bushfires.
-as a signifier of Spring and new beginnings hence rebirth, the golden wattle to me was also very thematically fitting for a season like Secret Life :]
-I never looked into what Illawarra flame trees (the flowers of the coat my SL!Bdubs design is wearing) before until today.. and I quote “Regains confidence and self-approval, able to make commitments with the strength of self-reliance. Clarity in life and ability to adapt to all situations. Secure enough to express and communicate true feelings. To be beautiful and strong ” [SOURCE: Australian Bushflowers] which…. Ok damn. There’s also alcohol in it.
-Eucalyptus trees in Indigenous Australian culture represent the division between the underworld, the Earth and heaven.
The selection of plants while don’t represent Bloodhounds together - but more of what Martyn and Bdubs are individually, they’re interesting in the things they have in common what they represent. And the differences they go about this loyalty throughout the seasons and why they devote - especially in LimL and SL.. Fascinating stuff.
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bylertruther · 1 year
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The end of the year is near! Give a shoutout to your favorite blogs and tag them to spread positivity before the year ends! (from: a secret anon)
an opportunity to gush over people? why, don't mind if i do :^)
this is in no particular order at all & i'm especially thankful for everyone that's been kind to me this year! <3 i DO see you all and i DO appreciate you sm!!!! thank you, thank you, thank you to you all! 🫂
(btw, you may have to ctrl + f to find your url unless you don't mind scrolling for five years lmao.)
@heroesbyler, my dearest most beloved wife 🤎 not to be a homosexual on main, but you constantly grab my face in your hands and submit me to the mortifying ordeal of being known and while that does make me feel stripped down to nothing but my gory insides before u there is a level of um. real safety and security in that and in you because i know that i'll always be safe there. you're such a genuine, sweet, funny, intelligent, and kind person. beautiful inside AND out!!! you ALWAYS make me laugh and you ALWAYS make me smile and i just . if i could, i would squeeze you n lift you off your feet rn 🫂 you're simply the Best, hogging all of the brain cells and talents and good traits (and good looks, hehe). i adore you and i am so thankful to have met you and you have a very berry special place in my heart. you deserve every compliment that you've ever received and more!!! literally where would we be as a byler nation without you and your inimitable genius tbh? i don't even want to think abt it. </3 ily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💞🥰🫶 and i am so, so, soooooo happy to have met you. @ everyone else, you will NEVER be stav!!!!!!!!! 😤💘😘🫂
@mlchaelwheeler SARAHHHHHH! my sweet & the robin to my steve. 🥺 resting my head on ur shoulder rn. <3 you were one of my very first friends in this space and one of my absolute favorites. platonic soulmates fr!!!!!! you're so intelligent, so sweet, so talented, and so funny. your love and appreciation for this story and these characters is so contagious and i love to read all of the connections you make. your brain is a goldmine and we're all so lucky to have u here. in all ways except physical, i am hugging u and squishing n pinching ur cheeks hehe<333
@wiseatom thea thea THEAAAAAAAAA! biting you and whipping my head from side to side like a dog with its chew toy (affectionate). <3 did you know... that i am obsessed with u? completely and totally. waving my pom-poms and doing a little cheer routine for u always. you are SO unbelievably kind and merciful and sweet tht it blows me away. not to be um. Peculiar^tm on main but every time u grant me ur usual thea on-brand kindness it makes my brain short circuit and i um. don't know what to do with myself or what i could say to show my appreciation which leads to me not saying anything bc every time i go back to reread and reply it just happens all over again and idk what i could say to "top" that and it makes me emotional and and and—[sniper finally takes the shot n puts us out of our misery, etc]. ur just........ !!!!!!!!!!!!! 🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤍🤎💕💞💓💗💖!!!!!!!!!!!! u know what i mean? like. i just. Do Not Have The Words to describe how happy u make me. you're SO kind and SO funny and SOOOOOOO talented it's actually insane. i read your writing and i FEEL the immense love that you put into it, that you have for the source material, and that the characters, no matter the nature of their relationship, feel for each other. no offense sorry to be #real but i feel like you have THEEEEEEE best grip on will and mike's voices, and this includes the duffers btw. i read your work and i'm like "oh my god.... that's will and mike, my best friends and best sons william and michael of stranger things fame oh my god...." i read your work and it's like ohhhhhhh so This is what love is, This is what it means to be understood and seen by another soul, This is what true human connection is okay #understood i See i Feel i Understand!!! i just. puts head in hands. i adore u and i am so thankful to have met you and existed at the same time as u. ur a fucking superstar idc sorry to sound like an elementary school teacher but i just Do Not Understand how someone can be so many wonderful things like HELLOOOOOO WHERE ARE YOUR FLAWS THEA.... WHERE ARE THEY!!!!!!!!!!!! smh. hugging u n biting u n also following u around like a puppy bc duality of man n such. nods at u and superglues us together while ur not looking bc i would follow you anywhere so long as u let me so plsdonteverleavemebutalsoifyoudowanttoleavethatsokayily <3
@miwism MAL MIWISM THE THIRD!!!! oh my god... what could i say that i haven't already... funniest byIer of all time award goes to you every year every time first second AND third place all urs and only urs or i blow this entire website up idc. you're so creative and talented (funny, a writer, AND an artist? mal for the love of god can you please leave SOMETHING to us plebeians... smh. AND UR A JOCK TOO?! SOMEONE PUT THE MANAGER ON THE PHONE BC HELLOOOOOO) and kind. how do u do it? pls, tell us where you're getting ur juice bc this is jus too much!!!!!!! you make my dash such a lovely n lively place to be and i am so thankful for u n ur contributions to this fandom<3
@willblogger IMA WHEN I TELL YOU I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF UR POSTS AND ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO READ UR TAGS NO MATTER WHAT BC I LOVE UR BRAIN SO MUCH...... I'M BEING 💯‼️ u just Get it!!! u Know, u Understand, and i am so thankful to be able to witness it hehe. ur another person whose contributions to this fandom are priceless & i selfishly hope that u have the byIer brainrot forever bc i can't imagine being here without you #rip </3 you're so, so, so effortlessly funny and real and i just. i'm obsessed with u and i am so so happy to have found you!! 🥺
@s2willbyers OMG ANOTHER BLOGGER WHOSE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE SO UNIQUE AND PRICELESS...... HI ADRIAN HIIIII OMG HEY HI HELLO 🥺🤲💙 you are sooooo so so full of Knowledge and Understanding and talent and humor and kindness and and and. i jsut. how do u do it. how are you so nice and so funny and so talented at drawing and so talented at writing and so able to share your thoughts in such an eloquent and moving way i just . your passion is contagious and so is your enthusiasm and i love it sm!!! i want to read every single idea you have and i want to hear about every single connection you draw between these characters we love and the other works of art that you appreciate and what you think about these characters and how you see them through your eyes and your worldview. ur!!! so!! talented!!! and not enough people!!! say that!!!! even if someone told u this everyday it would not be enough, i think. i Love your blog and i Love your content and ur presence in this space makes me so so happy, adrian, rly and truly 🫶
@willandmichael IZA!!! you make such beautiful gifs and i love how you've always been so honest and unafraid to say what you mean. you're a true ByIer Warrior fr hehe n i just find tht so refreshing. happy new year!! it's been so fun going through this with you hehe :)
@notebooknonbinary VEE! tbh you're so sweet and kind tht i picture u in my head as like. a gumdrop. but also human. don't ask me how it works rly jus kno tht it does <3 bhdjfbdhj. BUT !!!! i just. 🥺 you are so so sweet and so talented and i am so happy to have followed you. you always put that Scrumptious content on my dash and every fic snippet and idea that you share with us always has me on the edge of my seat wanting more!!! you're so creative and i just love hearing everything that you have to say and want to share with us. <3
@lilacline001 LILAC QUEEN OF MY HEART AND CREATOR OF WORLD RENOWN CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED WORKS OF ART NOCTURNE AND RIPPLE EFFECT... I WOULD DIE FOR U (said while getting down on one knee like a knight before the throne ofc). seriously, i start thinking about your fics and immediately i feel like i have to stand up and take my hat off out of respect. i have goosebumps right now as i write this actually. i just. Your Mind. YOUR MIND!!!!!! it's insane and i stand by everything i've ever said about it tbh. my chest clenches just thinking abt nocturne, your mike (which is the most mike to ever be mike btw, including canon mike), and all of the lines that have pierced me and sunk all the way down into the meat of my heart. you're such a wordsmith... i just have no words to describe how your writing makes me feel. no words for you and your sweetness and your grace and your unique and oh so special creative genius. you're just!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! beyond words. i am so thankful to have existed at the same time as you and so thankful that you were generous enough to share your talents with us all. and actually i may have lied because now that i'm at the end of this blurb my mind just keeps repeating "you have bewitched me body and soul" so maybe there Are words to describe how i feel hehe. i am forever and always waving my pom-poms, doing cartwheels, holding up my handmade sign in the stands, and cheering you on in all of your creative endeavors!!!!!!!!! thank you so much for Changing Me with your works!!!! thank you so much for sharing your beautiful brain with us all!!! just thank you!!! for everything!!! AHHH!!!!! ❤️🖤🦇🩸
@ki-flor pLEASEEEEE you are carrying the byIer nation on your back tbh and i think i speak for all of us when i say we could not be more grateful hehe <3 your posts are ALWAYS so unbelievably funny and i LOVE your reaction gifs so much lmaoooo you never fail to get a giggle out of me. :') i love your enthusiasm and how Cool you are and how levelheaded you are even when the fandom is blowing up over smth. never change & thank u for making me laugh so much even through all the craziness!!
@mikeandwillel SANDYYYYYYYY EVERYBODY MOOOOOVE AND MAKE WAY FOR BIG BRAIN THINKER SANDY MIKEANDWILLEL THE THIRD 📣 i love, love, loooooove reading all of your analyses. you've made me rethink what i thought i knew about so many things in this story sooooo many times and i'm so thankful for that. you have a very keen eye and i love how you stick to your guns and what you believe in, not letting other people sway you. you're a very strong figure and that's such a breath of fresh air here. :) you're very logical, very fair, and i'm always just so happy to read all that you have to share with us. thank you for making this a better place & i can't wait to see what this next year in wait will bring us!!!
@repression jamieeeeee omg i hope this is not weird and i'm sorry if it is, but i'd be lying if i didn't include u in my favorites!!! i seriously love all of your posts and reading your thoughts on fandom, the characters, and the stories. i especially love when you post your own art and make connections between these characters and other artworks. i just... your mind!!! your mind. i'm very happy to have followed you and i feel Compelled to say thank u for blessing my dash as often as u do!!! so, thank u !!! <3 :D
@padme-amidala OMGGGGGGG EVERYBODY MOOOOOOOOVE AND MAKE WAY FOR THE BYLER EDIT GOD!!! jeeeeeeeesus ur gif edits for them hit like no other. you're SO talented and creative and have such a deep and genuine understanding of these characters, their individual stories, and all that they represent. i am so thankful for all that you've shared with us and i can't wait to see what else you have in store!! following u is such a treat!! :)
@givehimthemedicine NATALIE OMGGGG ur such a big brained individual. i LOOOOOOVE your blog because you provide such an invaluable perspective that i feel is so needed. you're so observant and the fact that you can catch such tiny but Big details always blows me away and makes me feel like i need new glasses or smth dfbjhd. just so happy that you're here and that you're generous enough to share ur big brain with us all. i need to get better at replying to your reblogs to my posts but also i shan't because i can never think of anything funnier than ur addition so #rip me bhfbkdjb hehehe. <3
@blackdeathmamba MS MAMBA <3 you were my very first friend in the byIer fandom and for that you will forever hold a special place in my heart. this year was hard for us both, but i hope (and knock on wood) that this next one will be brighter and better. you're an insanely talented wordsmith and a true trailblazer in this community. your name and your works are popular on every site that this ship has a presence and it's so deserved! i've meant every single compliment i've given you and i'd repeat them to you every day if that's what it took to rid you of any doubt you may have about your abilities. i'm... admittedly extremely embarrassed and was too ashamed to pop in weeks later to reply to you, but... i just want you to know that i still thought of you and missed your presence here and hope that you're doing at least a little better. if you aren't, that's okay, too, because there's always tomorrow, you know? sending you all my love and light and warmth forever and always! you're irreplaceable & such a true gem. thank you for making this space so much better for us all. 💗🫂🫶
@estelinhabb hiii, friend!! thank you so much for always cheering me and my rambling tags on hehe. i associate you with light and love tbh with the way that you always amplify the words of others and call attention to their additions! you're always very sweet and very kind and very inclusive and that's just so lovely to see. you spread your positivity always and help to really make this space feel like a community. thank you for all that you do and all of the kindness that you've spread!! it's always a pleasure to see you on my dash. <3
@thranduel THEEEEEEEE BYLER WARRIOR OF ALL BYLER WARRIORS EVERYONE STEP ASIDE AND MAKE WAY FOR TUMBLR USER JASMINE THRANDUEL PLEASEEEE 📣📣📣 omg. seriously, your takes are smoking hot and 100% factual every time. i've never read any of your thoughts on this show and its characters and found myself disagreeing. you're never afraid to speak your mind and say what needs to be said and that's something that's so needed in this fandom. thank you for being so true to yourself and loving our boys as enthusiastically and passionately as you do!!! <3
@surferboypizzashirts CHRISTINA! omg. you've been here since before i even made a blog specifically for byIer!! if anyone deserves a veterans discount, it's you. <3 thank you so much for sticking with me through the hype, the wariness, the despair, the delusion, and the hopeless hopefulness lol. you've made me giggle countless times and offer a breath of fresh air to your followers whenever you're around. i hope that you're doing well & have a happy new year bc you certainly deserve it! :)
@stbyers SUZZIE!!! :D you're always soooooo sweet and make the cutest picrews and THE CUTEST ART EVER HELLO!! a true Artiste^tm. i love, love, loooooove your style and simply can't get enough of it. <3 thank you so much for sharing your talents with us & making my dash that much brighter with your presence here. <3
@finalgirlbyers sierra! we have been following each other for so long and i would have it no other way. <3 i love your jokes, i love hearing about your life, and i love whenever you share your thoughts with us. i think you're lovely just the way you are and i would change absolutely nothing about you or your content. we all follow you because of you, not solely because of whatever you may provide us, and what you do provide to your followers isn't lesser or "low-brow". you're really cool and really funny with good taste and i hope that you have a lovely new year!!
@crazycoven HAYDEN YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SO NICE TO ME AND I HAVE NEVER ONCE KNOWN HOW TO ACCEPT THAT BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I HAVE BEEN SO MOVED AND SO TOUCHED BY YOU AND YOUR KINDNESS EVEN AND PERHAPS ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SHOW THAT! sorry for the caps lock i jus had to get that off my chest <3 you're a miwi trailblazer and tbh where would we be without your countless contributions, hm? i shan't even think of such a scary au. you helped make this year in byIer history (lol) so much fun and i can't think of byIer tumblr without thinking of you, too. thank you for all the laughs, all the kindness, and for all that you've been generous enough to share with us all! <3
@aemiron-main em, em, em, where do i even begin....!!! i am genuinely forever and always blown away by you and your vast intelligence. seriously, i don't know how you do it. i think you have more thoughts in an hour than i've had in my entire life LMAOOO. i feel like you're a modern day sherlock holmes tbh. i bet my life savings even that you could probably crack every cold case out there if we just gave you an hour and some red bull. and this gift of yours is made even mooooooooore astonishing when you consider that not only are you so insanely sharp, but you're overall just a great fucking person!! like!!! HELLO!!!! how is that allowed. HOW is that allowed?! you're a damn genius, you're an insanely talented artist with a super unique and inimitable style, you're so funny, you're so SOOOOOO kind that it makes my brain short circuit and i have to immediately close the tab bc i get so flustered (i have issues<3), you're so unapologetically yourself, you're so HONEST, you're so... you're just. ahhhhhh!!!!!!!! (<- me screamin bc the Fan Behavior overcame me) i am sooooo happy that i came across you and followed you way back when. you've opened my eyes to so much and helped me reconsider certain things that i thought i knew and helped me to uncover things that i didn't even know i didn't know lol. i hope you have a happy new year because you very much deserve it, friend!! <3
@magentamee BREANNE! omg hewo 🥺 we have been mutuals for i don't even know how long at this point and you've always, always, aaaaaalways been so nice to me. thank you so much for being such a bright and bubbly person in this fandom. i always see you cheering others on and cracking jokes and in general just being so lovely. it's a treat to see you on the dash and i thank you very much for all the smiles you've gotten out of me and others i'm sure!! your halloween costume was BALLER and so are you and so will be your 2023 hehe <3
@howtobecomeadragon DRAGON!!!!!!! 🐉💚 before i say anything, i want you to know that i am hugging you and squeezing you and twirling you around in spirit hehe. you are so SWEET and so FUNNY and SO TALENTED?! HELLO?! leave some crumbs for the rest of us like... 🙄 dfbdjhbfjdh. i'm kidding. if you hogging every good trait ever means that you'll continue to bless us with your presence and contributions to this fandom then tbh i think that's a more than fair trade!! but seriously, i consider you to be such an important part of this fandom. your memes, your analyses, the questions you pose, your writing, your headcanons, just everything that you post!!! it's all so good and so unique and soooooo scrumptious. truly you are an Understander and Knower hehe <3 i'm so happy that i found you and i can't wait to weather this pre-s5 wait with you!! i'm sure that you'll continue to spoil us as you always have. happy new year, friend!!! :) <3
@laozuspo IF NOBODY GOT ME WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING WILLIAM BYERS, I KNOW JAMES LAOZUSPO GOT ME 😤🤝🫡💪‼️ NOW CAN I GET AN AMEN LADIESSSSS 📣📣📣 BFJHDKJHFDB. but fr fr... james... my dear tumblr mutual... you Get it. you just Get it. i would die for you i would fight for you i am getting on one knee rn to swear an oath to you like a knight rnnnnnn it's Real u are my brother in byler (real) (not clickbait). you're so funny, so witty, so sharp, so Cool, so talented, just . i enjoy your blog and your brain so much. thank you so so so much for sharing it with us and for always speaking your truth, even when people really do Not want to hear it. thank you for not apologizing for being who you are and thank you for just. well. being you, i guess. this fandom would not be the same without you and i for one feel super lucky to have you here (so pls never leave me xoxo dbfhjdbjhf). thank you for everything and happy new year, james!! <3
@ice-sculptures RAE! where to even begin omg... you give so much to this fandom and i am so thankful. your beautiful gifs, your Real and True and Factual posts, your glorious au concepts, your thoughts, your endless kindness, and your pleasant presence—thank you so much for all of it!!! i'm Shocked that you don't write fic (yet...? 👀 hehe) because omg. HELLO... you're such a good writer?! even when you're standing up to the masses and clearing the byers brothers name or waxing showstopping poetic about byIer, your words and your message is always so moving. i'm so happy that you're here and that you're generous enough to share with us all that you do. thank you, thank you, thank you!! wishing you the happiest of happy new years to you, too, of course! :D
@willelfanpage sara!! :D oh my god. actually idek why i started this out all cheery like you haven't kicked me in the face and ripped my beating heart straight out of my chest 83409830 times with your Real and Factual and Very Canon angst 😭💔 EVILLLLLL. but so good! which leads us to our next point: just how do you manage to be so kind and oh so talented, hm? what's your secret? how do you manage to Understand and Know sooooooo many characters and speak nothing but the cold hard facts time n time again? truly a marvel!!!! you share so much with this fandom and i hope you know that we appreciate everything that your beautiful brain comes up with even if it leaves us in shambles. crossing my fingers that this upcoming year serves you back as much happiness as you've so generously given us!!! <3
@strangersynth time, dear tumblr user time strangersynth omg hey hi hello 🥺🤲💙 you've always been so unbelievably kind to me in the tags and i just want you to know that i See you and appreciate you sm. it makes me smile every time! you have such an eye for design and it really shows in everything that you do. your video edits are GORGEOUS! seriously, they're soooo good. i love how you're able to find all of these parallels and similarities between characters and their journeys and present it in such an awesome fashion. your dedication and passion for your craft really shines through in everything that you do, from your edits to your words to your layout and all!! you're very cool and very kind and very talented and i am so happy to have crossed paths with you on these e-streets. happy new year, time!! :) <3
@elmaxed lumi! yet another person with an eye for all things beautiful. you're such a sweet, funny, talented, and cheery individual. you share so much with this fandom—your ideas, your fics, your art, your edits, your jokes, and your thoughts—and i love and am so thankful for each and every gift that you give us!! i used to see your posts all the time even before i started a byIer blog and tbh i feel like your popularity is soooo deserved. you're always such a sweetheart and it's always a pleasure to see you on my dash. :) <3
@themacklemorebrothers hello, friend! :D i hope you're well!! you're a familiar n welcome face around these parts and i always treasure every comment and addition you leave to my posts or my reblogs. i especially love your dedication to making this a more accessible place for us all. you've made me laugh and smile countless times and i can't thank you enough for that. i hope this new year grants you the same smiles n laughter that you've given me and more!! :D <3
@toystoryfan hi, toy!! :) i always love reading your comments on the posts you reblog from me. you've made me smile n laugh so many times and blown me away with your insights, too. i always make sure to read anything you write when i see you in my activity tab & i especially love when you add on to headcanons or ideas. i hope you have a lovely new year and continue to share your thoughts while we wait for s5! :D
@chaserofstarsandtheabyss hello, hello!! i see you in my activity tab often and it's always such a treat! i love reading your thoughts on things and when you add on to any ideas or offer a different perspective. it's always so fun and refreshing and you never have to apologize for rambling! if anything, i encourage it hehe. :) i'm happy that we crossed paths this year and i wish you a happy new year, friend!
@gmaybe666 omgggggggg ngl i do be giggling n twirling my hair n kicking my feet whenever you prev me hehe. your art style scratches an itch in my brain that i didn't even know i had! it's just so.... [clenches fist] GOOD, you know? like, it just feel so Real, so Genuine, so True. i can feel your love pouring through with every artwork that you share. i look at those two boys and i SEE mike and will as they really are! and that's so special! your art, your vision, and your talent is so special. your comic series is so powerfully evocative especially. gets me right in my achy breaky heart with how tender and true it is. </3 thank you so much for sharing your skills with us! i wish you a very happy new year! :)
@emblazons TUMBLR USER EMBLAZONS!!! did you know that you're so very smart and observant and also witty and that i cherish you and everything that you so graciously share with us very, very much? well, now you do! i love your gifs, i love your careful and powerful analyses, i love the way that you speak about these characters and their journeys both individually and together, i just... i love your passion for this art form! i love hearing your thoughts and i'm soooo happy that i came across your blog. i love seeing you on my dash and gobble up everything that you share with us. you've made me reconsider so many things and really expanded my understanding in ways that i appreciate so much. thank you for all that you do for this fandom and happy new year!! 🥳🍾
@light-lanterne hi, angel! :) this isn't the first time you've heard this and it certainly won't be the last, but it bears repeating anyway!! thank you sooooo so so much for what you've done for the byIer fandom!! seriously, no one is doing it like you!! you're a true artist with such a lovely heart. your fic rec blog is such an unbelievably kind and generous thing to do. i can't even begin to imagine the amount of happiness you've likely brought writers by not only giving their works attention but also so much love!! your edits are fantastic!! and the fact that you actually take the time to read them to get an idea before putting something together? you have such a good, good heart. please, never change! again, thank you so much. not even just for that, but even your own works!! which are so unique!! i've seriously never read anything like them. your love for your fellow fandom friends, for your fellow creatives, for this show, and for art and community themselves shows in everything that you do. i hope and pray that this new year brings you just as much happiness as you've so freely given to others and more!! thank you, thank you, thank you! for everything! <3
@chirpsythismorning we've never spoken before, but i just wanted to say thank you for my life lmao. when volume two dropped, the byIer nation was in SHAMBLES until you came along. seriously, you dragged us just like this out of the deepest darkest pits of hell kicking and screaming and sobbing and wailing on the brink of death and for that i am so thankful lol. when i was ready to give up the crumb of hope that i still had left you were there to refill my plate and get me back on my byIer feet hehe. every time i see one of your posts on my dash i always take the time to read because i know it'll be good. again, thank you so much for everything that you've done for this fandom!! i hope that this new year treats you well!! :)
@frodohaven HADLEY!! i have never spoken to you because i am so Shy but just know that i admire u from afar. in a non-creepy way ofc. your posts are always so #real and true and factual and your st x lotr posts are especially chef's kiss. i've never seen a post of yours cross my dash that DIDN'T slap and tbh i don't think such a post exists? it's just impossible. you're so funny, so smart, and i LOVE seeing you in these byIer streets. i hope you have a lovely new year!!
@wibble-wobbegong hi! :) i've already said what i'm about to say to you before hehe, but it bears repeating anyway!! thank you so much for all of your contributions to this fandom, really and truly. your analyses are top tier and i'm always so fascinated by your perspective on things. i always make sure to read your posts when they come across my dash and i've seriously never come away from one not learning something new. i love that you hold these takes and beliefs so close to your heart and how willing you are to engage in conversation. you're funny, you're intelligent, and you've always been so kind to me when we have interacted which i cherish very much. i hope you have a lovely new year and i can't wait to learn so much more from you! thank u sm for sharing your thoughts with us as much as you have! :)
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childeproof · 5 months
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doing the self insert lore questions,, but i’m not rbing op bc they’re a pr*shitter. fuck outta here. anyways just blabbing about sacha ( genshin s/i ) tbh!
Q: is there a character from their source who isn't/wasn't originally an f/o but that has lore connections to your s/i? in other words, a (potential) f/o for lore reasons?
A: i think maybe scaramouche would fit this one? but i can’t even begin to conceive the idea of sacha liking him romantically, only ever platonically as a close friend or brother figure. i imagine that it wouldn’t be purposeful, they just happen to grow close via their connections with childe + them both being in the fatui. after sacha leaves the fatui, scaramouche ends up becoming wanderer— so he remembers sacha, but because of him wiping himself out of ( basically ) everyone’s memory, it doesn’t remember him. i never intended for them to be friends, but i genuinely can’t imagine them not being this odd pair of pals now, lol.
Q: if your s/i is used for multiple f/os, how would all the timelines look if displayed together?
A: currently i only ship sacha with childe & neuvillette, so it would be like three major periods: in fatui arc ( childe ) , post fatui arc ( neuvillette ) , fatui reunion arc ( childe ) , and then maybe a poly relationship afterwards. most of the time i think of neuvillette’s relationship with him as a short but passionate relationship that ends up being a tragic thing bc neuvillette is only an “ in between “ thing for sacha. he ends up going back to his “ true “ lover, childe in a good 80% of my thoughts.
Q: do you have several timelines in your selfship? if so, describe them. alternatively, do you imagine your selfship in different stages of the relationship?
A: i have a few different timelines! the “ main “ one or the one i operate in most of the time is a timeline where sacha leaves the fatui, becomes a famous conductor, has a short relationship with neuvillette, then goes back to childe. his backstory is consistent amongst all timelines btw, so i won’t get too much into it. secondary timeline is one where sacha stays with neuvillette. third timeline is one where sacha stays in the fatui & is actually the one to kill signora in order to prove loyalty to the tsaritsa + rise and become a harbinger. in this timeline i imagine he’d hunt after scaramouche for “ reasons unknown to even himself “ ( it misses his pal, basically ). childe still loves him but sacha is a lot more intense and freaky.. naturally. more timelines on the way, probably.
Q: what is your s/i's backstory? how does it make them meet your f/o(s)?
A: sacha lovell was found in the woods of fontaine by arlecchino & was adopted into the hearth program. he basically grows up in the fatui, being known for his beautiful voice in the chorus and his willingness to bite. also, it was found eating from a wolf’s carcass. his mother was dead in the snow nearby.
Q: any major changes in your selfship lore over time? if so, compare how it used to be with how it's now.
A: not really! no major changes because i like his wolf symbolism a lot. might play around with location ( snezhnaya instead of fontaine, maybe ) and time frames ( i imagine arlecchino to be much older than childe, so sacha’s adoption comes a little while after childe’s acception into the fatui, they grow up together ) ( sacha’s adopted FAR before lynette, lyney, & freminet in my mind ).
Q: any favorite reoccurring scenario?
A: i keep thinking of sacha going on dates to the opera with neuvillette,, like that’s their spot. they frequent it so often, they have their own personal seats practically. childe wise, i like to imagine them in the fatui as two older teenage boys who don’t understand that their “ friendship “ is like actually just a gay relationship. but it doesn’t matter! they don’t need labels yknow? there’s a playful innocence with it.
Q: are you more of a "has everything written down" self shipper or a "what happens in my daydreams STAYS in my daydreams" self shipper?
A: the first until it comes to anything suppperr personal
Q:alternatively, do you have tons of s/i lore or just wing it on the spot?
A: usually lots of s/i lore! it’s one of my fav parts of selfshipping :3
Q: au time! pick an au of your ship that you have thoughts for and talk about it. if you can't decide, pick it randomly.
A: 2000S PUNK ROCK X CLASSICAL PREP AU. childe is a punk rocker in a band called the “ fatui “ and sacha is a prep who is training / learning to become a conductor! except, childe is his teacher’s nephew, so they see each other & bicker sometimes. everyone in childe’s band knows he’s whipped btw. also i imagine they’d either be juniors - seniors in highschool or freshmen in college, and they’d go to the same school or college, whatever. so they just keep running into each other, especially now that they know the other exists. childe with piercings.. yummmm. good ol’ “ enemies “ to lovers ( they don’t actually hate each other but ew punk! vs ew prep! )
Q: free pass! tell a fun self ship lore fact or just talk about anything of it that comes to mind.
A: fun fact.. if sacha was alive modern day he’d probably be wolfkin like theriokin ( ? I think I misspelled it ) and childe wld be foxkin. predator animal coded boyfriends.
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sayitaliano · 1 year
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Would you say that for you as an Italian that it's easy to understand other romance languages? Which ones are easier to get? Is there one that reading is easier to get than listening (or the opposite)? Do they sound weird/ugly/beautiful in your opinion? Do you think you could hold a conversation with someone where you speak Italian and they speak another romance language?
Ciao! I think the level of understanding depends on the specific Region/area an Italian is born in and on the "ear" a person has in relation to other languages. It's difficult to speak for everyone. Seen that you're asking me, I'm gonna share my personal experience but having studied some of those languages, I probably cannot be a good source for your curiosity (from what I get, you'd like to know as if I hadn't). :)
I have been born in an area in which both Spanish and French have been in control of, so the dialect (not just the Regional language, but my specific hometown version) has influences of both languages, French in particular. My ear has been pretty used to French sounds since when I was born (this dialect is spoken in my family), + my mother studied French (she translated me stuff at times) and I studied French as well in school (middle school) for 3 years. Ofc now I still understand French pretty well (even after having not practiced it for... years, ages prob.): I might not have all the vocabs I would like to have in my mind, I might have forgotten even some grammar rules (which prob makes it a bit more complicated for me to speak correctly), but the basics are still with me and I could survive especially by speaking it (I might wonder at least about accents for some written words, e.g.).
Now Spanish. Friends, don't hate me but Spanish is somewhat similar to Italian: we often say "you only need to add an s at the end of each word" jokingly (ofc that's not true, but it's true that we share some words and... something else too). I have been studying Spanish on my own for a while in the past and I admit, despite never having paid attention to verbs' conjugations, I still could manage to write with some online friends and basically make little to no mistake... I followed "the sound". When it comes to spoken Spanish, I still get basically everything, despite again I haven't really been practicing too much recently and I might have forgotten some vocabs. At first it only required me to practice listening a lot and form a good vocabulary through interviews and other stuff, and then I simply tried writing (and speaking a bit). Btw as mentioned in the past, my ear is a little more used to South American Spanish, but I get Spain's as well. Ofc I am referring only to "standard" Spanish here, if that is a thing: if you wanted to talk with me in e.g. Catalàn, I might get something but probably be less accurate (Idk, we can try). Same thing goes for French ofc! I meant only "standard" French, no Regional: listening to the ESC last year for example, I really couldn't get the song's lyrics too in detail (or maybe at all lol).
As for Portuguese, again I have studied it a little: at first I only could get a few words and understand some others from sentence's general meaning (spoken Portuguese was a little more intricate despite almost sounds as a couple of our Regional languages mixed together -jk), but then after understanding the sound, I started getting a little more also in the spoken language. I don't have a huge vocabulary so I'm still pretty behind when it comes to understanding, writing and speaking it (speaking always comes a little bit more difficult to me: I need to have a good amount of vocabs to start). I mean in both in Brazilian's and Portugal's ones (focused a little more on Brazilian's tbh). But I still can get something here and there, if people speak more slowly.
When it comes to Romanian, I can understand some words in their written form; not sure as for the spoken one cause I have never had the chance to try speaking/listening to it (at least paying attention to it) despite my interactions with some Romanians.
Going back to Regional languages, even just Italians' are way too different in how they're formed... I cannot get everything people say, especially when they speak fast. And especially when it comes to Regional languages that are far from the one/s I have been in contact with the most, like those from the center/south or in the north-east, or that use different languages influences (Ladino, Patois... e.g. in Patois I understand counting as it's basically in French). It depends on what they say, if I have already heard that or not. If I know the word's meaning or not (or if I can at least guess it from the rest of the sentence: but many times it's hard even to do so).
Now, I know there are other Romance languages I haven't mentioned but understanding them, for me, depends on the sounds, my vocabulary knowledge, how the sentence is buildt and if I can relate them somehow to Latin (which I studied as well for 5.5 years in school so maybe it helps me too)? To me, every language sounds beautiful honestly, exactly because it has its own sounds and rules that make it different from another. And not just Romance ones.
As for holding a convo with someone speaking another language (supposing that I don't know it, not even by chance)... Idk, probably only a basic convo? I guess I might end up using gestures or sth to help the communication at a certain point. The only way to know is to try, any volunteer? :)
Did I answered everything? I hope so!
I forgot: in general you read at your own pace so prob reading is easier than listening to a native who speaks fast, no matter the language, especially in the beginning. But it's of help in keep practicing listening in order to get to their level.
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DAY 2♡
|Pull the trigger|
I wrote this with Verbatim in mind😋
Note
!BTW SPOILER FOR KAEYA LORE!
|This isn’t canon, the lore I kinda wrote is just fully fan made for plot reasons. I barely even understand Kaeya lore so I made it up lol but I did use some aspects of canon lore so beware.|
[M/N] and Aether is reader
[M/N]/Aether uses they/them and masc titles
Character: KAEYA ALBERICH
Angst? Idk but you hold a gun to Kaeya but slight fluff at the end.
-not proof read-🤩
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[M/N] didn’t want this.
No no no, this feeling of betrayal and love burns their insides
The darkest kind of love looming up their shoulders.
Hes their husband, their love, their friend.
Yet then why did they hold a gun towards him
Why did he do such things.
“… Mondstadt is your home. So then— why are you turning your back on it?”
[M/N] gulped and sighed, they were never good at confrontation.
Their grip on the gun tightened,  their eyes looming anywhere but their husbands eyes, Kaeya’s eyes.
Yes eyes
His eye patch no longer held on, revealing his beautiful golden eye. They would be gushing over it right now if it wasn’t for the moment right now.
They’ve seen beneath his eyepatch many times, yet this time felt unnerving, nauseating.
“[M/N]…”
Oh how they love the way their name falls off his tongue, they just wanted to throw the gun away and cry into his arms.
His eyes pitiful and sorrow filled
He walked close, only a few centimeters away from the gun
“My dear husband, please. You know I wouldn’t dare do such a thing”
It was a lie
It all was
If he was telling the truth then what were the papers on his desk a yard away from them.
What was he doing with the abyss, with their sister?
Tears filled your eyes, bottom lip trembling
[M/N]’s hands started to shake
This feeling, them holding their husband gun point. Maybe you should’ve listen to Diluc.
“You wont do it”
His voice covered in guilt and shame, those eyes that once looked at them with such love and adoration now filled with plead and sorrow.
“You can’t pull the trigger.”
He loomed closer, the gun only two inches away from his chest, his eyes filled with something but doubt or worry
“You can’t pull it because you love me..”
His eyes softened and that made it harder, harder to stay strong
“It takes a very brave and a very cold person to do that [M/N], I don’t think you can.”
His chest was now touching the gun, [M/N]’s hands trembling so much the gun was visibly shaking.
They knew they could never harm their beloved husband, they loved him too much to ever cause harm to him.
But they were so mad
So mad that he knew about their sister and didn’t tell them
So mad that he dare risk the safety of Mondstadt for some stupid plan that could fail so easily.
“Isn’t that true?”
It was so quite in the room, only the sounds of [M/N]’s and Kaeya’s heartbeats were the only source of sound that could be heard
“Isn’t that why your waiting?..”
A harsh sense of guilt washed over [M/N], nails digging into their palms. Body tensing up with the slight breeze from outside the room
Kaeya’s face no longer filled with warmth and giddyness.
His eyes looked so tired, his shoulders slacked.
He looked nothing like the man they married.
[M/N]’s eyes darted towards the silver banner on his ring finger, they subconsciously ran their thumb over their ring.
Oh the day he placed it onto their finger, with his two hands. Oh how they loved that day, his eyes almost glowed with love and happiness.
This moment was so different from that day.
They unbearably loved him, they were his husband and he was theirs.
Their hold on the gun loosened, the tip leaning down towards their and his feet.
“Thats not true”
Tears escaping from their eyes, face flushing with sorrow and guilt.
Their head leaning down, afraid to face their love.
Kaeyas hands slowly caressing their face, thumb sliding over their cheek. The different type of warmth, his warmth onto their skin was so comforting.
They gently tilted their head, to face his eyes.
Yet they didn’t focus onto his eye, they focused on just his face; avoiding his eyes once again.
“Or is it that you want to watch your victory, you want my heart to constrict with agony”
Him the one to start crying, never once in [M/N]’s life they thought they would ever seen Kaeya cry
Their pupils shrinking in shock, they wanted to say that they could never want something like that for him.
“My hands to shake..”
Kaeya looked away from their sight, his eyes red and puffy like theirs.
He took his hand away from their cheek, only for them to grab it and run their thumb over his knuckles
“You want me to plea for my life so you can make a generous gesture and spare me”
Softly sighing, looked down at their colliding hands.
Their other hand placed onto his shoulders, softly rubbing circles onto his back in a way of comfort.
“Sorry [M/N], I don’t seem to be in the mood for prayer”
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m1d-45 · 1 year
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HI TEDDY WELCOME BACK I HOPE I CAN STILL BRING MEANUNGFUL THINGS INTO THIS CONVERSATION WITH MY LIMITED KNOWLEDGE ON MADELA/OTHER HORROR ANALOUGE
BUT TEDDY, WONDERFUL TEDDY ANON DO YOU ENJOY THE LAST OF US?
OKOK SO READING TEDDYS ASK MADE ME THINK OF A FINAL BATTLE AND JUST DO YOU GUYS KNOW THE ENDING OF PERSONA 5!?
ok so if you don't I hope you don't mind me spoiling it rn, in persona 5 you play as Akira (jokes guy with black hair and black coat) who in this universe is a trickster someone who can harness different powers of personas (personas are the power of your heart or a different manifestation of your soul) as a trickster you can learn to wear the masks of these personas/use them (btw this is a very brief explaination and I might even be wrong bc I haven't retouches the games ina while)
In the end of the game, the final boss you have to fight is the fake god who you've been close to this entire time but has been lying and tricking you. this final boss takes over the world essentially and the end of this fight is the result of the public's belief in you and your friend. if they believe you and think of you as a source of good, you harness their hopes and dreams and use that as your final mask as you defeat the false god (https://youtu.be/4YeklrJJbOA) okay so build up is from 38:50 to 46:00, but if you just wanna go to what I'm talking about it's 46:50 to 51:00
I love persona 5 with my whole heart so thank you for giving me the opportunity to ramble about it so even if you don't watch it it's good dw
NOW I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT SONGS THAT RESONATE WITH THIS WONDERFUL AU WE'VE BUILT
4:00 AM by taeko onuki
just the chorus in the background, imagine this song planning as the archons lay locked down and helpless, unable to do anything but pray for a blessing that will never come
and it's something so mistakable, it's something that you can't blame for ignorance, after all how are they supposed to know that the reason for their downfall is their type of prayer? how are they supposed to know that theyve been letting the coldness and wrongness into their heart by their prayers for wisdom? for hope? for a blessing?
I think I get what you mean by kaeya being more susceptible than Diluc, Diluc prays for things for himself, for other people. for material things. kaeya kneels into the night and prays for things in himself, or within himself, for guidance in what to chose, the family that loved him or the nation that abandoned him?
this gives me ideas for albedo and Xiao now, especially since I've seen what you've written about them, but I'm not sure if albedos belief in you would make him vulnerable or not
anyways onto this rq
“o holy creator, maker of light and extinguisher of darkness, the foundation of the earth… please, deliver us from this evil.”
"OH in vol. 4 a ‘shepherd’ is mentioned, somebody who acts against the alternates, so like… that could be reader. "
^ OH MY FUCKING GOD HOW DID I NOT THINK OF THIS BEFORE "DELIVER US" FROM PRINCE OF EGYPT
midas, teddy anon could I please bring you both to a romantic candle light dinner and hold hands /pos
^^Deliver us, Send a shepherd to shepherd us, And deliver us to the Promised Land, Deliver us to the Promised Land'
'deliver us, hear our call, deliver us. Lord of all, remember us here in this burning sand. there's a land you promised us, deliver us to the promised land'
the teyvat they know is gone. their beautiful home is no more, your teyvat is dead, your creation is rotting the creator they knew would never have let it come to this but that was before you decended before they felt your heavy and cold presence. before the chains they had grown so used to locked onto their hands and feet and before they realized they where tricked
but their still might be hope...you. the real you might still be out there...please, oh great grace, the true One please deliver us to your promise land once more...
- 🍄 (HOLY SHIT I JUST REALIZED HOW LONG THIS IS IM SORRY YOU HAVE TO READ MY RANTING, teddy I'm so glad you've joined us, plz give me recs on more Mandela catalogue/analogue horror so I can keep up with you and midas thank you, I love and appreciate the energy we've built in the studio today, this is great <3)
welcome back and of COURSE you bring things to the table
straight up have no damn clue about persona five and it’s 11 at night where i am so i’m not gonna watch the vid rn and just work off what you told me
#1 mc working off the faith of the people? the entire thing you summarized about using the hopes of the people as your blade? fucking ELITE and translates so well
also i didn’t mean it like “diluc prays for material things” but more like “diluc prays for concrete things.” i know i was unclear and don’t blame you at all but like:
when faced with the same situation, the way the brothers pray is fundamentally different. diluc prays for the end goal, kaeya prays for the journey to take him there. if that. makes sense. essentially diluc is confident that hell receive the desired goal directly whereas kaeya thinks he still needs to work for it, and is asking for the journey that he can take. in. a way. idk it’s the closest i can put it into words- a lot of my feelings about this are… yk… feelings… so i can’t really english it out, but i hope this cleared it up a bit.
also i have no clue what you’re referring to abt albedo n xiao BUT i do have a lot of feelings about them both so please feel free to talk abt it
re: recs on horror: monument mythos, local 48(i think?? i forget the name), uhhh teddy says gemini home entertainment (i think idk names are hard) and i say the walten files. also the backrooms if you have time. or hiimmarymary but that’s a lot of really heavy topics really quickly so be careful.
“before the chains they had grown so used to locked onto their hands and feet and before they realized they were tricked” YES YES YOU GET IT YOU GRT IT MUSHROOM
post-takeover where the new revelation is not one of a false god, but of the true one. where they all realize their fault and pray to the real god, the true creator, where they learn of their chains and the wool is lifted from their eyes- YES YOU GET IT
you, me, and teddy are all in a polycule going to dinner, holding hands and talking about analog horror. the waiter is concerned we speak about murder so nonchalantly. the table next to us is wondering why three people are holding hands. all of it is /p and we decide who pays over like. rock paper scissors or something.
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itswavelengths · 1 year
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How to Use Mastodon
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I've been getting extremely into Mastodon, a social media platform that cleanly replicates (and in some cases improves upon) Twitter's take on microblogging. I've read, watched, and listened to a lot of explainers about the service, and for some reason most begin by claiming how difficult the platform is to use. The truth is that the hardest part of using Mastodon is creating your account — and even that is about as difficult as deciding where to set up an email address. In the end, using Mastodon is wildly similar to using Twitter.
With that in mind, here's everything you need to know about getting started!
If you feel comfortable poking around and figuring things out for yourself and just want the quickest quick-start guide of all time, feel free to skip the rest of this post and just follow these steps: 1. Head over to https://mas.to and sign up for an account 2. Have fun exploring a new social platform 3. Start posting, baybee!
For those who want a bit more, I got you.
What is Mastodon?
Mastodon is a social network for posting short bits of text or images, just like Twitter. Unlike Twitter, which is an entity that relies on investors and revenue to keep the lights on, Mastodon is an open source project. It has no algorithm and no ads.
It's pretty good!
Why is that better?
It means an Elon Musk style figure can never swoop in, buy the entire platform, fire most of its staff, remove content moderation policies and user safety precautions, ban journalists who disagree with him, etc. While you can only go to twitter.com to access and use Twitter, Mastodon can and does reside on many websites around the internet. Existing through multiple communities — sometimes called "instances" or "servers" — prevents it from being owned and operated by one individual or corporate entity. Anyone can create their own Mastodon server. Some servers have only one user, some have hundreds of thousands.
If there are so many servers, how do I know which to join? What if I pick the wrong one?
That's the beautiful thing, dear reader. Every server speaks to every other server. No matter which you join you'll be able to follow, be followed by, and interact with users on every other server. Because of this, you only need to make one account on one server to join Mastodon¹.
Even better: If you don't like the server you've joined for whatever reason, you can easily move your account to another.
You still didn't tell me which one to join, my guy.
True! To make things as easy as possible, the community I'd recommend right now is mas.to. I had an account there for a few months, and I initially picked it because I liked the name a lot! It's short and it's cute!
If you want to peruse some other options, you can head over to Join Mastodon and check out servers that are based around regions, professions, ideologies, or fandoms. Whichever server you end up picking, that url will be the one you visit whenever you want to use Mastodon. Just like going to twitter.com or facebook.com, that server url will be how you log in and post and do everything your heart desires. So if you do end up choosing mas.to as your server, using Mastodon will mean going to https://mas.to!
How do I make an account?
Head over to your server of choice and click the "Create Account" button (usually on right side of the screen). If you've signed up for any website ever, you'll know what to do here. You'll also notice that your username is presented like an email address — [email protected] — and exactly like an email address this is what you'll send to your friends when you want to follow each other.
For example: My server is located at theaether.space and my username on that server is bb, so my username for the wider world of Mastodon is [email protected]!
Once you've gone through the steps required to join (hey congrats, btw), go edit your profile! Add a profile picture and a header! Add a bio! The works! All of that stuff can be found on the Preferences page.
Note: If you want to send people a link to your profile, just rearrange the order of those elements to server.name/@username. So in my case, it would be theaether.space/@bb. Hey, give me a follow while you're at it!
How do I find people to follow?
Luckily there are some great services for this already, with more popping up constantly. To get started, you can use a tool like Movetodon or Debirdify to search for your Twitter friends and find their Mastodon usernames. To follow them, just copy their whole username (which, again, looks like an email address) and paste it into the search box. Once you've followed some people, you can use a tool like Followgraph to see who those people are following and add a few more people to your home feed.
Speaking from experience, one of the more exciting things about joining Mastodon is getting a clean slate. You don't realize how many people you didn't need to be following until you're building the list from zero again. So go out there and follow people who seem interesting. It's 2008 all over again!
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Okay, I've followed a bunch of people. Now what?
Sounds like all that's left is to mess around with the site and start posting! As with most social networks, there are some nuances to learn but absolutely nothing is overwhelming. Posts can be up to 500 characters instead of 240, you can use privacy buttons to decide who can see and reply to your post, etc. You'll learn best by poking around and by doing, because what makes Mastodon different is what makes it interesting. For example, there are no "quote-tweets" on here. That means the best ways to interact with others are to reply to or boost (retweet) their posts. It takes some getting used to², but it's worth it!
Brendon, I don't always want to use Mastodon on my personal computer. Tell me about apps!
Luckily there are a bunch of apps to choose from, and it seems like more pop up on a weekly basis. First and foremost, there is an official Mastodon app you can grab for iOS and Android, and I think it's pretty good!
That said — and in the spirit of Mastodon — there are some great apps by independent developers putting their own spin on it. Just like the early days of Twitter apps, these developers are at the forefront of what Mastodon may one day become. If you're using an iPhone, the two I'd recommend at the moment are Ivory or Ice Cubes. If you're on Android, definitely check out Tusky.
All you'll need to do is provide your server url, then log in as you normally would.
A fun recent swerve: Developers are also starting to create alternate web interfaces for Mastodon that replicate the look and feel of things like Tweetdeck. Check out Elk or Mastodeck for a different flavor.
This is all well and good but if Twitter and other bigger social media platforms exist, why would I use Mastodon instead?
I think that point about Mastodon not truly having any overarching owner is the most important point of all. Servers individually have owners, but Mastodon being run on an open protocol instead of by one explicit company or person means there’s no way anyone could step in and destroy it. As long as there are people out there hosting Mastodon servers, Mastodon will continue to exist.
On a personal level, saying “I choose to invest my time in this space instead of those driven by profit” is a step towards a public good. It helps lay the foundation to make the internet a better place for yourself and for future generations, to take some control back. We've spent too much time building our online presence around and for companies who sell our information to advertisers and use algorithms to manipulate our lives and emotions.
Even if Mastodon has some quirks that make it a tiny bit harder to use than some of the larger alternatives, if there's even the slightest chance using it can help make a statement and build something better than what currently exists, isn't that at least worth trying?
¹ For the people who use and know a lot about Mastodon: Hello! I know I'm simplifying some concepts here, and I know not everyone will agree with my approach. At the end of the day, I think some of the more interesting things about Mastodon are lying just underneath the surface, and users who want to discover them absolutely will eventually. I feel getting people started and understanding why they should get started is more important in the long run.
² Hashtags are big on Mastodon, which I kind of can't believe. It feels weird to be using them again!
---
Originally published 12/29/22 Updated 1/25/23:
Added a new section with some app recommendations. There are so many out there and I've probably used at least ten over the past month or so. Ivory is great and my favorite of the bunch, but I know the subscription fee can be a bit much for people which is why I threw Ice Cubes on the list as well. On the Android end, Tusky is so clearly the best. I'd recommend it over the official app any day of the week.
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shawnjacksonsbs · 1 year
Text
I have a friend,
And although this is about him, it's not all about him. It's about the message.
Tolerance is the minimum. Love is the goal.       12-12-22
 "To change our feelings, you & I must go to the source and deal with the thing that produced them—how we think.  
Thoughts produce feelings, not the other way around. Worried people tend to think anxious thoughts, and eventually those thoughts become so automatic that, like a lingering skunk odor, we stop noticing and learn to live with it. We get used to “stinking thinking!” Our thought patterns become as habitual as brushing our teeth. We get so accustomed to thinking bitter, anxious, selfish thoughts that we stop paying attention. If we want to change the quality of our life, we must change the way we think.
. . . .
We say, “If only my circumstances were different.”  Our circumstances don’t determine the quality of our life; how we think about them does. Poet Frederick Langbridge wrote, “Two men looked out through prison bars; one saw mud, the other saw the stars.” Both men were in identical circumstances, but their perspectives were entirely different.  
One looked for beauty and found it; the other focused on ugliness and found it.  It works like this: Our circumstances in life produce certain emotions.
So how do you & I change our emotional response when we feel powerless over people and circumstances? By changing how we think about them! True change always begins in our mind.
People who live great lives are people who habitually think great thoughts." - J.D.
 He's one of a limited few that is my proof . . .
My restored faith in humanity that I tell everyone to trust.
He writes a Christian/Bible oriented meditation every day.
I am not Christian, or of faith in any religion for that matter, nor do I plan to comprise how I see and feel things in this area.
But I'm still of the belief that looking for beauty and love can be done in most places, and that most people are inherently good in their hearts.
Now throughout my life I've found a handful of Christians who actually live the light and love that they preach. The ones who . . .limit the hypocrisy most seem to indulge in, and better yet-sometimes even inspired by.
Looking for our commonalities is easier than one might imagine, and I find snippets, from him, worth sharing and expanding on, all the time.
It's hard not to sometimes.
I think it might just be easier to share or quote him and move on.
With a shared . . .altruistic attitude, mutually inclusive selfless respect, plus trying to live as examples of love and light and being of services to others (any others), we have more in common than not. And it's genuine.
It's so nice to not see so much of that hypocrisy, especially at that time of year that everyone claims as THE season.
Btw, if you can sing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", then I can sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" or "Joy to the World". Lol no lol It means a great deal to me that I can, and that you know. I know it means something to him, and I imagine it has to mean something to some you as well.
Wisdom is usually the simple answer hidden to look more complex.
Remember he said, "People who live great lives are people who habitually think great thoughts."
Just gonna end this right here. I mean it’s a bonus entry anyway.
So, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!  
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hxneydreamers · 3 years
Note
Hi! You really look like someone who truly lives by the law and if you wanted you could literally manifest the craziest of things, even things that defy the laws of nature and physics and I'm wondering how do you personally view life and existence if you can have everything now with just an assumption? If you are so above everything in the universe? Doesn't this make you feel lonely? Don't your desires feel meaningless? I'm always moved by great stories (most of which have something tragic or sad or bittersweet) and I love being moved by such things and I ultimately want my life to be a good meaningful beautiful story and my fear is that by buying the pearl of great price I'll have to give up on all that so now I find myself almost completely uninterested in my ideal life and I can't bring myself to visualise because I wouldn't feel a thing (btw do you think this will make the manifestation easier or harder?) but I still know deep down that I couldn't accept anything from life other than that perfect ideal I have for myself even though I sorta feel like cheating like... can I call this kind of experience authentic? Share some wisdom ma'am please. Can you also share some films or books or anything that inspired your idea of perfect life if you feel like it?
Hey! You make such an interesting and excellent point! Thanks so much for having such faith in me, hahah, it's extremely flattering!
I honestly have a pretty simple answer for you! Whilst I'm well aware of the law and how things operate and that I am the god of my reality, I am still human. We all are. That's what makes life so beautiful, colourful, and emotionally rich. I believe that the process of manifestation and conscious creation for many people is actually one of the most transformative and emotionally charged human experiences anyone could have, because they face their fears, overcome them, persist and stay determined, and ultimately win the best prize of all - and the prize is not just a material thing or a specific person - the best prize of all is happiness, contentment, and self-love.
I only consciously manifest in areas of my life that I feel have unfolded negatively as a result of low self-worth. The law has taught me that these things are a reflection of the way I treat myself and talk to myself and think about myself. The law has taught me that I should not let my happiness depend on a thing or another person, my happiness should come from within myself.
Our human experiences, the good and the bad, are what shape us as people, and I think that finding the law after we've experienced the ups and downs that human existence has to offer, can be really empowering. Yes, learning about the law helps us take control over our lives and create a happy and abundant life with our specific people, money, the right career, etc, but what I think the biggest thing that the law gives us is the lesson that we need to love ourselves and empower ourselves more.
I don't view life and my desires as meaningless. Just because you are the god of your reality and you have the power to shift into a new reality doesn't mean that the people around you are operating like robots. They are real people and they have thoughts and feelings. You aren't changing anyone or anything around you when you manifest, you are changing yourself and moving into another reality where the people and things around you reflect your new state of being.
The law of assumption has taught me how to speak lovingly to myself and get out of bad habits that ultimately diminish my power and worth. It has taught me to transform myself and my overall love and appreciation for myself so that I can be the best version of myself that I can be.
I personally don't subscribe to any particular religion, but I believe that somehow we were all put on this earth to have a human experience, but we are all one - part of the 'god' source, whatever that is. We all are gods and we all have the power to create the lives we want, but we are here to have desires, to feel all the emotions that come with it, and to experience life's ups and downs, overcoming them and learning from them. I don't know why, but we are all here, and we may as well make the most of it while we are. If we can learn to love ourselves fully and treat ourselves with kindness, we can experience the most lovely parts of life and live in realities where we are surrounded by a reflection of these amazing things.
Let's be real, just because I understand the law of assumption well, doesn't mean that I'm bothered to apply it to every part of my life. Who wants to have to affirm for everything in their life? With most things, I just sit back and enjoy the ride. If there is something negative in my life, I don't let it bother me because I know who I am and I know my worth. If something REALLY bothers me, then I know it's coming from an issue that I have within myself. If anything, it makes me look within and figure out what it is that is causing this.
Even when you know how to use the law of assumption to your advantage, life is still an adventure, and events still impact you emotionally and physically. Sometimes things pop up or happen in your world that come from some deep assumption you didn't even know you had. Life with the law of assumption is a journey of constantly learning about yourself on a deeper level and evolving, and to me, that is so awesome!
When you see people that have successfully manifested their desires, the story doesn't stop there! The new chapter of their lives begins following this, where they get to experience happiness, success, and everything that comes with it! Just because we have the power to change something if we can put our mind to it, doesn't mean that the things we experience aren't extremely real. They feel real, don't they?
Just because the 3D is a reflection of our imaginations, doesn't mean that the experiences we have aren't real. If imagination is reality, and the 3D is a projection of it, then that means that if we have thought of something and it is brought to life, then it is real on some level. We just have the power to place focus on what we want to stay and ignore what we want to go if we decide to.
Even though we manifest things, doesn't mean we don't feel the full weight of their reality. That's human existence. You can still feel your skin, right? You can still feel it when someone kisses or hugs you, right? So it is real to you. If you experience something that you wish you hadn't, you simply have the power to change it, doesn't mean you didn't experience it before, otherwise, where would the desire to change it come from?
Honestly, I can't think of any movies or shows specifically that have taught me anything about the 'perfect life', because everyone's idea of that is different. However, for manifesting and creation, I would recommend Neville Goddard's books. I have his complete reader, which I recommend, as well as Dr Joe Dispenza's books 'Becoming Supernatural' and 'Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself'.
In answer to your question about whether or not that perspective makes it easier or harder to manifest, it depends on what you believe, honestly. I would say that it if anything would make it easier for you to reduce resistance towards things if you truly feel and think that way. However, I encourage you to continue to feel life and to live it fully! The law simply means that things in your life reflect your inner world, and that should be the most real thing to you ever!
Don't let the knowledge of the law taint your view on life and the validity of your emotions and experiences. I, for example, know that the law is real, but I still feel every day and I still have doubts and negative moments in my life. I feel everything so real that sometimes it's too much. The law doesn't mean I won't ever experience hiccups and regular life moments again, it is very likely that I will, because I AM human, and humans naturally develop a mixture of emotions in various aspects of life. It just means that I'm on the journey of life and continuing to overcome these things, just like any other person. You can use the law to make it easier to do this, or harder.
The law is simply a reminder to stay in the state of loving myself and staying in my power so that overall I continue to experience true happiness, because that's ultimately what we all want, right? To be happy and to live in peace.
I hope I've somewhat answered your question and not just rambled on, talking nonsense hahah!
I appreciate the question because you got me really thinking.
All my love x
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gravy-killerz · 2 years
Text
Ziltoid lore rabbit hole
(with evidence)
SPOILERS
Oh lord Jesus....get ready.
I was thinking about the line:
"Theres more you have in common with humans than you realize...think back to your childhood, you must know how I know!" [1]
Specifically, I focused on:
"Theres more you have in common with humans than you realize..." [1]
Like the fool that I am I misinterpreted it as meaning Ziltoid was half human, and I was very wrong. However, by thinking about this I made a realization. Yes, Captain Spectacular is half ziltoidian. WOW GENIUS I KNOW.
All sarcasm aside there's more behind this when you take into consideration that Captain Spectacular and Ziltoid had a childhood together, but the fact that. Ziltoid doesn't remember means that he was taken from his mother and half brother when he was still very young, young enough to forget, still young enough to be assimilated into the Ziltoidian hive mind.
(( btw we know Ziltoid is full ziltoidian because of this image via www.ziltoid.com [2] we also know this is him as a baby because when clicking the photograph ziltoid exclaims "MOMMY"))
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I think this time spent around humans greatly effected how Ziltoid would develop, he couldn't be fully assimilated because he was born on earth away from it all, around humans. It all makes sense now... he was raised on earth by a mother who wanted to protect him from his father.
In the beginning of Z2 the narration says:
"Humans are a strange species, equal parts good to evil."
Ziltoid is unlike other ziltoidians because he's already been influenced by humanity. He's not a barbarian, he's sensitive.
"Back home, I was picked on like you wouldn’t believe. Sheesh, what a bunch of dicks those guys are. I was sensitive, in a race of creatures that view sensitivity as a liability. ‘Chaos and war as the path to transcendence’ and all that… yaddayaddayadda. I found myself craving silence and beauty over time.." - Ziltoid
[3] Devin Townsend: the Gospel according to Ziltoid By Merlin Alderslade ( Metal Hammer ) published October 09, 2016
The collective suspects Ziltoid to go rogue because of his individuality, which is why they keep an eye on him. They know he's been influenced by earth, so who better to conquer it?
Why choose Ziltoid as the one to save their species if they don't trust him? Surely there's others more suitable for the job, and if Ziltoid is so untrustworthy why is he the commander of a Ziltoidian war ship? I'll tell you why...because his father is high up in the ranks, possibly The Ziltoidian King, making Ziltoid a prince.
"What makes you jump to that conclusion?" you might ask. "What's your proof he's even royalty?"
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[4] Liner notes from Ziltoidia Attaxx!!
This would make sense why a "nerd" and "weakling" like Ziltoid would be placed in such a high rank with such an important task. He's royalty, and as royalty he has a specific role to fill and along with that role comes privileges.
So far we've concluded that Captain Spectacular is half ziltoidian, Ziltoid's mom remained on earth with his half brother, Ziltoid has been influenced and softened by humanity, and that his father is a more than likely a king.
Now, let's talk about Ziltoid’s father.
We only know a little about Ziltoid’s mom, we know that Ziltoid is a mama's boy as mentioned here:
"I am a puppet, and my mommy’s little guy. Ziltoid out."
[Refer to source 3]
And on the Z2 Official Website he happily calls out "Mommy!" When you select the family portrait, despite the father also being in the photo.
Ziltoid never mentions his father, however we know someone had to have taken him back to Ziltoidia 9 and we know it wasn't his mother. I propose a theory:
Ziltoid's father is the true villain of the story. Yes, I'm calling it.
[ Refer to source 1]
[Captain Spectacular:] I have something here from our mother! And she wanted you to have it. This is the universe’s ultimate coffee bean!
[Ziltoid:] Woah! Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme!
[Captain Spectacular:] Ziltoid, you were always destined to be humanity’s last hope! Now end this!
From here we can see that Captain Spectacular has remained with their mother on earth, and knew Ziltoid would return to save it, which is why she had Captain Spectacular wait for Ziltoid to return to give it to him.
We see Ziltoid as a baby with both his biological parents [2], so how did Ziltoid have a childhood with his human half brother on earth?
Ziltoid's mother must've been a rogue like he later became. She had to have left the collective where she traveled to earth with her newborn son. Why would she do that unless there was a threat? That's because there was.
Ziltoid's mother and father both knew that Ziltoid would be humanity's last hope, so his mother fled to earth knowing earth needed him, and knowing her husband would try to change Ziltoid's destiny so that he would wipe out humanity to make room for their own species.
[Blattaria:] So you're saying, his home planet is dying? … And he needs to find a suitable place to colonize? [5]
Who else would have the power to track down a singular rogue Ziltoidian woman and her baby? Who would feel the need to other than the father of the child? Who would have the authority to go to earth just to reclaim a single Ziltoidian baby, when the threat of intergalactic war, or being discovered by humans is real? The Ziltoidian King, Ziltoid’s father.
We know that Ziltoid was raised alongside Captain Spectacular, but since Ziltoid left Ziltoidia 9 with his mother, that makes Ziltoid the older brother; but probably not by much considering they were children together.
Considering Ziltoid's mom had another child on earth with a human we can assume she was planning on staying. She stayed, however we know Ziltoid didn't, because we know he'd become a commander in the Ziltoidian military, and we know that before Captain Spectacular died, Ziltoid didn't remember his childhood on earth, and his ties to humanity.
To conclude this... whatever it is...I've discovered a whole lot of hidden lore and possibly uncovered future installments to the Ziltoid series (or not).
I dunno, I'm very autistic and very tired. I wrote this on like 2 or 3 hours of sleep.
If you have any possible lore I'd love to see it in the reblogs.
Sources:
[1] Through The Wormhole - Devin Townsend
[2] Z2 Official Website
[3] Devin Townsend: the Gospel according to Ziltoid By Merlin Alderslade ( Metal Hammer ) published October 09, 2016
[4] Ziltoid The Omniscient - Ziltoidia Attaxx!! (If you have the cd you have your proof page 3)
[5] War Princess - Devin Townsend
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ready-to-obeyme · 4 years
Text
[OM!] Angel!AU Demon Brother as Your Guardian Angel
Scenario: Residing as angels in the Celestial Realm, the brothers have been assigned to watch over you to guide and protect you. How they do so is up to their discretion. (And if they fall in love with you, well...)
Note: gender neutral headcanons; if i had to choose a timeline, satan exists but belphie doesnt hate humans yet and lilith is alive 🤪, the boys retained their personalities that we all know and love -- it really just be them with guardian angel duties--- bonus angel is Lilith ;)
inspiration from [link] and their other angel!au videos (they’re all adults in this post btw) and [link] (yes just this post; apparently my guardian angel Lucifer is in awe of me... for being dumb as FUCK--)
--
Lucifer
a little affronted he has to take time to look after a human as a seraph but doesn't vocalize it as much since it's direct orders from his father
isn't one to directly intervene in your life much because he doesn't see the need to nor does he want to; a little haughty ngl about being an angel and you being a human
there is no guideline to being a guardian angel and making sure you don’t die before your time is his Main Priority 
he's not going to stop you from eating a whole family sized Dorito bag by yourself or from staying awake till 4am-- those bad decisions are on YOU
finds a little pleasure from seeing the consequences of your actions for a while, but eventually just judges you for everything you do
"why aren't you studying? isn't the midterm tomorrow?"
"when was the last time this human ate?"
"why are you dating that person?"
grumbles over you and your life choices, but is now just actually concerned and hoping you'll be able to make better choices for your own health and happiness; he is now officially Invested as Guardian Angel, don’t you dare laugh at him Michael
if he does utilize his powers to influence you, it comes in subtle hints-- the wind blowing in your hair so you look a certain direction, a sudden bright light to wake you up so you sleep properly in a bed and not a desk... maybe appearing in your room for just a moment to place a blanket over your shoulders
realizes he has… feelings when you perform a good deed or grow as a person and he feels immensely proud and happy for you; has to really keep himself in check to not intervene in your life in more menial, though still helpful, ways
humbled by your growth and change as you become a better person
finally reveals himself to you (by accident) when he has to physically come and save you from danger and then proceeds to yell at you in anger (read: worry) about safety and doesn’t leave your side
Mammon
similarly to Lucifer, grumbles about having to take time to babysit a human but quickly becomes invested in your life at record speed (typical Mammon)
unnecessarily and excessively worried at times even for things that isn't actually putting you in danger
"WHAT THE HELL HUMAN, LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE YOU CROSS THE STREET--"
"NO NO NO, BRING YOUR PEPPER SPRAY WITH YOU! I don't care if you’re just walking to the adjacent apartment, BRING IT!"
eventually just ends up storming down to the human realm and """attempts""" to be subtle
if you placed the spray on the table, you turn and it's in your bag again. weird.
pretty sure you could have done a pretty good paranormal activity video with the weird stuff happening in your life when mammon is not-so-secretly intervening in your life
attempts do not last long because mammon's patience grows thin and he suddenly pops into your life and demand you be more careful
probably meets you by slapping your hand away from buying another random but expensive plushie even though you can barely afford it and you just stare at him like he's crazy as he explains that he's your guardian angel
'My Guardian Angel as My Roommate' becomes the title of your life or alternatively 'My Guardian Angel and I are Both Idiots'
the genre of your life is now officially a rom com
his main excuse for being constantly at your side (and it's NOT because he likes you a lot) is "how else am I gonna be prepared to protect you from anything that wants to hurt you?? you would have died 1000x over without me" which is a lie but it's okay he pays rent
hold his hand and tell him it’s so you don’t get lost and he’ll blush but never let go of your hand
Leviathan
life is a simulation
or rather, your life is
once he gets assigned to you, he observes you for a while-- and it looked like he was going to leave you be for the most part, when one Bad Choice has him popping up right in front of you
he slaps away the tub of ice cream you were gonna binge eat
"human, stop eating that crap! your stats are gonna suffer!!!"
super insistent in telling you to do something that good for you and is pretty stubborn when it comes to decisions that benefit your health and career
"noob, hurry up and level up your intelligence or you're gonna fail your exams"
"is life a game to you"
"yes, and you are losing. but have no fear, I am your walkthrough."
joking aside, Levi is pretty supportive of you, in the way Belphie is to his human-- he just words things in gaming terms like stats, energy, leveling up, exp
did not expect to get gratitude from this gig, but when you express your true appreciation for his care, he doesn't know what to do (starts crying maybe?)
his advice starts veering away from just lifestyle and health but to more human aspects; he offers a listening ear and supportive compliments whenever needed
because it turns out he cares for you a whole lot more than if this was really all just a game to him and ends up caring about your general happiness and is more considerate about your feelings
Finds himself being super casual with you and talking about your favorite show and has to catch himself from speaking so quickly-- can’t have the human thinking he… adores you
Satan
has no qualms with coming to the human realm to watch over you, but is fine with not immediately being a part of your life or intervening as much as Mammon or Belphie
ironically, as a man who was originally never born as an angel, he does his duties in a manner most befitting manner of one
subtly inserts himself into small parts of your life, persisting off small interactions
he's the guy at the counter when you needed to find a book, he's the one who picks up your hydroflask and returns it to the lost and found, he's the one telling you your backpack is open before anything spills out
he doesn't know but you jokingly dub him your guardian angel, even if you don't know who he actually is but never have the courage to speak up-- also mainly because he flits in and out of your life so fast you don’t even have the chance to say “oh, by the way, what’s your name?”
Satan is content with how he is more of a passing moment in your life, so this way you can still live your life the way you want it without much interference from an outside source because he respects your choices and the concept of free will that all humans have
truly believes that the best course of action and his duty as your guardian angel is to see you live your life the way you want to-- and if can help out a little or give you a little nudge in the right way, then that’s fine by him
Prefers to be on the sidelines and watch you become your own person and-- well, it’s a bit hard not getting attached to you when he sees you trip over yourself over someone you like or help someone out with their books when they dropped them
eventually does have to step in in a more meaningful way when you accidentally endanger yourself and he wards it off or catches you before you hurt yourself
at that point it was hard to pretend not being a part of your life when he's helped you so often-- and the fact that you're infatuated with him and asked him out
(he probably doesn't even realize how suave and prince charming he looks lmao)
Asmodeus
chooses to watch over you from above more but doesn't mind just popping down to the human realm just to have some fun at the same event you're in
lives through all your moments with you; laughs when you laugh and cries when you cry and  genuinely enjoys seeing you go through life, living and learning
generally leaves you to your own devices unless there's something really pressing
utterly cannot stop himself from intervening if you have doubts about yourself or if you struggle with self-love
loves appearing in dreams to dish out advice and tell you to love yourself, forgive yourself more, and to seek happiness because you deserve it
you don't remember the dreams exactly, but you do remember the sentiment within it and sometimes the fuzzy image of a beautiful angel you aren't sure you've seen irl but you chalk it up to seeing the face of strangers you’ve seen (which is... technically true)
dreams are his main way of communicating with you, and he also just thinks the mystery and anonymity is kinda exciting-- but sometimes he just spends a lot of your dreams just talking to you and getting to know you more intimately and seeing things from your perspective
sometimes enjoys being in your lucid dreams when you’re pretty aware and you go on some really whacky dream-induced adventure
loves you like no other and truly wishes the best for you
accidentally reveals himself to you during a party where you meet face to face
"I've feel like I've seen you before…"
"Haha, well that's because I've been in your dreams! They were pretty pleasant weren't they?"
you think he’s kidding for a long time-- and honestly he’s not even trying to hide the fact that he’s your Guardian Angel, considering he tells you all the time “Honey, I’m you’re Guardian Angel” or “Of course I’m here for you! I’m your Guardian Angel!” 
but the way he says it makes it feel like that’s just a nickname, not an official TITLE
floored when you actually see his WINGS and turns out you’ve been in love with an actually angel this entire time
Beelzebub
similar to Asmo and Satan, he doesn't really feel the need to insert himself into your life
instead, he's wherever you are… but in the background, eating at a table in a far corner or walking casually across the street from where you are
very inconspicuous and surprisingly good at keeping a distance, whether he intends to or not
he just looks very natural doing whatever he is doing at any time, but often accidentally ends up in the background of a photo or selfie without people noticing
as your Guardian Angel, he watches over you by stopping anyone with ill intent from approaching you... like the obvious ones like mugging and stuff; he wishes he could protect you from bad people too but he respectfully keeps his distance and allows you to make mistakes and grow from it
it infuriates him when people take advantage of your kindness
(though if the person that hurt you emotionally meets Beel in an alley...)
is very taken aback when YOU are the one approaching HIM asking for the time or if you could grab something on the high shelf for you
actually pretty flustered when you do interact with him because he was distracted doing other stuff he never expected you to notice him
Beel is the definition of a Guardian Angel-- a sentinel, standing on guard to protect you from danger and physical harm-- and he does exactly that when the time comes
most likely to save you from something dramatic like a car incoming or a fight
doesn't really understand why you trust him so easily or so wholeheartedly even after he saved you because he thought he would look intimidating
(he did, until you asked him for the time and he spoke with his mouth full of burgers or stammered out a 'you're welcome' when you smiled at him at the library)
Beel doesn't know until much later that he's dubbed as your gentle giant
Belphegor
like some of the others, doesn't like to influence your choices as much-- not because of free will or anything like that, but because he likes humans because of who they are and what they do
(and also he’s too lazy to be hovering around you trying to control your every move anyhow)
and man are humans, especially you, interesting
why is that human drinking from that person's navel? no clue but it looks fun
why is that human consuming whipped cheese with waffles? no idea, but he wouldn't get this much free entertainment without it
has no problems integrating himself into your life as your friend or roommate just to watch everything unfold in person and to tease you for your mildly questionable decisions in life
“Belphie, why didn’t you stop me from eating that last bowl of cereal?”
“Eh, I thought it would be kind of funny.”
isn't one to go out of his way to do something to influence you, but he does encourage you to do the things you want to do, whether they be good or mildly questionable ones-- but especially the fun ones like joining a new club or going to town to have fun (which you do drag him along to every time)
does steer you away from making Bad Decisions like murder or whatever, but he thinks most choices are pretty neutral and does help you process the consequences, both good and bad, of what happened
so he's integrated himself as your friend, offers advice and supports your decisions no matter what, and subtly looks out for you… and he's surprised when one day you confess to him that you like him???
this was NOT part of the plan but he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't end up falling for you too after seeing all sides of you and watching you grow as a person
Lilith
watches more from afar, because as much as she loves humans like Belphie, she is a little shy about meeting you
curiosity does triumph over shyness eventually, and she does surveillance distantly like Beel before winding up being directly in your life like Belphie (siblings am i right)
her brothers would keep trying to give her input on how she should interact with you or guide you but she brushes them away with a huff because she thinks she's doing a fine job thank you very much!
or so she's pretty sure, considering you're hanging out with her, seriously listening to her advice, buying her gifts... cuddling in bed with her if you’re attracted to her
if you do like her and want to date her, she has to be ready to somehow defend you from the only danger in your life, which turns out to be her brothers
if not, you two live happy lives as the best of friends, though the brothers can never be too careful with their darling sister
likes updating about your life to her brothers and they're lowkey jealous
doesn’t actually have to reveal herself as an angel unless you somehow find out... or because Mammon and Lucifer come down and threatens bodily harm if you hurt Lilith (wait, who’s watching over who now??)
hold up this is setting up for exactly what happens in the canon storyline
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Here’s a pet tax!! This times he’s nuzzling against my arm!
Btw here’s your excuse to talk more about Dice. Or,,,any of Fling Posse! Have fun!
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Oh, you enabler, you. Thank you for this opportunity and for the bunny picture.
A collection of thoughts on Dice and why he may very well be the most important character to Ramuda. Put under a cut for some slight TDD spoilers.
Dice’s Personality Traits
Compared to the other two nosy Nancies that make up Fling Posse, Dice himself is the king of minding his own business. While he does display definite interest in his friend’s lives - see asking Riou about his favorite food in the ARB event “Riou’s Kitchen” or discussing Gentarou’s latest story in FP/M chapter 7 - he tends to avoid discussing topics that make others feel uncomfortable.
This can make Dice appear oblivious, but Dice is much more emotionally observant than most characters give him credit for. Let’s take chapter 14 of FP/M for a great example of this. I’ll link it here, and I encourage you to read through it again paying careful attention to his facial expressions.
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Dice begins the chapter deep in thought and adopts a solemn facial expression for the next few pages. Something is clearly preoccupying him.
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However, the moment Ramuda appears, Dice begins acting much more animated and begins playing along with Ramuda in an attempt to cheer him up. Note that Dice observed Ramuda acting out of sorts for the entire battle in the previous chapters and hasn’t seen Ramuda awake since (according to chapter 15). He’s likely greatly concerned. It is arguable that his reactions are entirely food motivated...
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... except for the fact that he returns to his previously somber state the moment Ramuda is no longer looking at him. Dice also doesn’t immediately accept Gentarou’s suggestion that Ramuda is trying to keep up appearances for their sake.
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At the restaurant, Dice begins to play up the cheerful glutton again and attempts to directly cheer up Ramuda by operating under the assumption that Ramuda is disappointed by their loss.
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When Ramuda goes to leave, the art emphasizes Gentarou’s concern, but the silhouette of Dice (and the lack of any bulging cheeks or cups carried up to his mouth) in the final panel indicates that he has once again returned to his more serious state. In this scene, Dice recognizes that something has gone terribly wrong.
Each member of Fling Posse is a performer putting on an act, and as noted by Ramuda’s reaction to Gentarou invading his privacy, Ramuda feels most comfortable when each actor plays his part. Dice is aware of this and thus acts the cheerful idiot for Ramuda in these scenes because he recognizes that Ramuda needs that stability.
If I may demonstrate another quick example, take a look at the scene from FP/M chapter 12 and compare how Dice acts without (first image) and with a visibly distressed Ramuda (other images) in the room.
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The FP/M mangaka also says (in the afterword of volume 3), “I think [Dice] might have a good poker face and be able to control his facial expressions even when he’s flat out broke. But his posse doesn’t seem to understand that.“ Dice’s poker face is a boon here when he can use it to help the ones he cares about.
For Dice does care very greatly. Dice minds his own business and doesn’t make any overt actions as long as his friends are capable of handling situations on their own. However, the moment he recognizes that they are in over their heads, he takes swift and decisive action (which, in turn, can be harmful to others).
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Take this scene in FP/M chapter 10 as a great example. Prior to Gentarou grabbing Hifumi, Dice was firmly a bystander, but he immediately leaps in when the situation escalates. Notice that he removes Hifumi from harm’s way but also serves a shield for Gentarou and focuses his attention on Gentarou’s wellbeing.
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He then offers Gentarou physical reassurance with a hand on the shoulder and an out to the situation, which would have allowed Gentarou to move on as if his mask had never slipped if it were not for Hifumi’s next comment. Dice also shuts down Hifumi before it can escalate any further.
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Although Hifumi is attempting to justify himself because he doesn’t understand Gentarou’s reaction and doesn’t see what he did wong, Dice recognizes that this statement also denies Gentarou the right to express his feelings on something which is clearly an enormous deal to him.
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By labeling Hifumi’s comments as “disrespect” and “hurting people” while simultaneously stressing that this topic is “important”, he allows Gentarou the right to feel upset at Hifumi’s comments. He also continues to use defensive posture in order to keep Gentarou physically safe (which must be an intentional choice on the artist’s part, as Hifumi mirrors this pose a few pages later as he begins to defend Doppo). Even though Dice’s reaction crosses the line when he, in turn, begins to hurt someone else, removing Gentarou from the situation, validating his feelings, and making Hifumi stop is exactly what Gentarou needed but was unable to provide for himself.
Dice is a damn good friend and an exceptional person. If you ever find a friend like Dice, don’t let them get away from you.
Saving Ramuda’s Life
Let’s switch gears for a moment to take a look at what goes on in Ramuda’s mind. As a disposable pawn for the Party of Words, Ramuda has an atypical view of the world. He genuinely enjoys the company of others and can form real bonds, but his primary motivation in life is fully self-centered: keep himself alive. Every order he receives comes with the caveat of, “Failure brings death.” The fear of death is enough to drive him to betray his closest friends in TDD, even Jakurai, who clearly means a lot to him.
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^ TDD chapter 13. Ramuda receives an order from Ichijiku to handle the Jakurai side of things in the TDD breakup and reflects on the time that Jakurai saw who his true personality and not only accepted it but welcomed it.
Bear with me if you’ve seen me talk about this before, but Ramuda’s ability to feel emotions is considered a fluke. Ichijiku describes it as a “malfunction” and a “nuisance” for his job. She also describes Ramuda himself as a “failure” and “worthless”, sometimes to Ramuda’s face.
Ramuda internalizes this. Notice’s Ramuda’s reactions to slipping up and having an emotional outburst in TDD chapter 9 and FP/M chapter 8.
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The former of these features Ramuda looking frightened (either due to concern of losing his life for revealing more than he should have done or fear that Jakurai will consider him as “worthless” as everyone else does), insulting himself, and self-harming. While the insults and self-harm are as stereotypically cute as the rest of Ramuda’s facade, the core idea remains that he believes showing his true personality is as idiotic and worth of punishment as everyone else believes. The lack of self-worth is ingrained in him.
The slightly more grown-up Ramuda in FP/M does not react as dramatically, but I really want to draw your attention to the question, “Was I spooky?” It’s worded in a deliberately silly manner because of Ramuda’s speech style, but he is asking his supposed friends if the real version of himself is frightening. Tell me, Dice. Does seeing me scare you? Do you want to run away now before it’s too late? It’s an innocent question on the surface level, but considering the about face his last friend turned after learning more about Ramuda’s real life and job, this question demonstrates that Ramuda’s view of himself has hardly changed for the positive since then.
(Also please observe Dice’s reaction. The pause is him getting into character in order to cheer up Ramuda after a clear emotional upset.)
Therefore Ramuda is a person running entirely on self-preservation but with no sense of self-worth. He sees himself largely the same way Chuuouku does and expects everyone else to do the same. This greatly limits his worldview and prevents him from considering possible other options besides, “Do or die”.
If most of the other cast members found themselves in Ramuda’s shoes, they would have the knowledge and ability to consider other options such as running away, asking for help, or fighting back. Yet Ramuda never considers any of these. He does not have the life experiences the other cast members have to consider making any of these options. He has never observed them or had an outside source present them as options to him. Once the order comes down the pipeline from Ichijiku, it is set in stone. He can hate the order - take a look at another illustration from TDD chapter 13 - but he considers its execution inevitable.
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This is why the order to hypnotize Jakurai in FP/M chapter 11 hits him so hard. Now “do or die” has become “die or die”, and his only decision comes down to the nature of his death.
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Yes, this situation could have been avoided by talking to Jakurai. Jakurai gives him multiple opportunities to speak up before and during the battle, but Ramuda doesn’t have the ability to recognize those as options for help. In Ramuda’s book, people don’t help him. “Help” doesn’t exist.
In fact, the entire TDD situation could have been avoided as well if Ramuda had trusted his friends, spoken up, and explained the situation. Jakurai (not to mention Ichirou and Samatoki after a fashion) would almost certainly have helped, and that seems to be what Jakurai was waiting for. Once he pushed Ramuda too hard by accident and caused an outburst, he stepped back and waited for Ramuda to come forward on his own terms. But that’s utterly foolish, because Ramuda doesn’t operate on his own terms either. Ramuda doesn’t have his own terms. He lives and thinks the way the Party of Words wants him to think, and if the Party of Words does not want him to speak up and ask for help, then he will never, ever be able to.
The beauty is that Dice is not Jakurai. As mentioned above, Dice minds his own business up until the point a friend of his is over their head, and it’s when Ramuda starts to pull out the True Hypnosis Mic in order to kill himself for Chuuouku that Dice finally acts.
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As is the case with Gentarou up above, Dice acknowledges that he doesn’t fully understand the situation but offers physical reassurance, advice, and the implicit argument that Ramuda’s real strength is something of value. Dice writes the word “help” into Ramuda’s dictionary with genuine love and affection.
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While Ramuda still can’t consider any option other than “do or die”, it is Dice and Gentarou’s intervention that imbues him with enough self-worth to even consider placing his own wants and needs above Chuuouku’s.
It is this that lays the groundwork for The Loneliness, Tears, and Hope of a Puppet and gives Ramuda the basic agency to even consider acting for himself and, contrarily, acting in line with consideration for other people. It’s this that allows him to avoid ruining Jakurai’s life a second time and this that allows him to accept Gentarou and Dice’s promise of friendship. In the drama track itself, once again it is Dice and Gentarou intervening and challenging Ramuda’s preconceived notions in order to save his life.
Gentarou absolutely plays a vital role in this as well, but it is Dice that chooses to make the first move. Had he not said anything, Ramuda would have used the True Hypnosis Mic and died onstage in front of the audience.
It is sometimes the tiniest of actions and the smallest pieces of support that make all the difference. Sometimes all it takes is someone being unafraid to reach out and flip a die over so it lands on a different number.
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notanacousticsetcal · 3 years
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betty - calum hood
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summary - a story based off of the song betty by taylor swift -- one of my absolute favorites from folklore and the most beautiful little story :) (y/n) in the role of the icon betty. 
warnings - cheating
word count - 3k ish
mood board
a/n - check out the other 3 installments of the song series too! this piece is kind of out of the blue because I actually started it and finished it today which is extremely rare for me but I actually really like how it turned out. hope you guys do too. :) (def listen to this song -- its amazing). (btw this isnt the calum fic i was referencing in one of my previous posts, that one is still in the works.)
Betty, I won't make assumptions about why you switched your homeroom, but I think it's 'cause of me.
Calum sat in the back row, staring at Missy Grenshaw’s head feeling the hole in his chest grow larger. He glanced at your empty seat and frowned, his eyebrows scrunched together. 
He heard Mrs. Martin start attendance and when she skipped over your name, the hole grew impossibly larger. 
Calum tried to convince himself you switched because Mrs. Martin was a hard grader, but he knew that wasn’t the real reason.
He knew it was because you couldn’t stand to see his face. 
Betty, one time I was riding on my skateboard when I passed your house. It's like I couldn't breathe.
Calum listened to the sound of a distant lawn mower and the rustling leaves and inhaled the smell of someone barbecuing in their backyard, trying to calm himself. He almost turned around and went home, his stomach grumbling at the idea of dinner waiting for him on the dining room table, but he didn’t. 
He was only a block away from your house now. He pretended like he was riding down your street because it had the smoothest road, but Calum couldn’t lie to himself. Just knowing your room was in that house and knowing you might be sitting on your bed was enough to draw Calum near. 
He didn’t let himself stop in front of the brick fronted modest house, but he wanted to. His legs ached as he kept pushing. He secretly hoped the sound of his wheels would draw you to the window. He held his breath in anticipation, but nothing. Not even a subtle shift in the curtains. 
You heard the rumors from Inez. You can't believe a word she says most times, but this time it was true. The worst thing that I ever did was what I did to you.
“(Y/n)!” A familiar voice chirped from behind you. You turned on your heel to face your friend, Inez. She was your source of gossip always, even if it was almost always speculation and barely ever accurate. 
You weren’t expecting her sad features -- it alarmed you. “Are you alright, Inez? What happened?” You linked arms with her as you continued forward, heading for first period.
She nodded softly. “You aren’t going to want to hear this, (y/n).”
But if I just showed up at your party, would you have me? Would you want me? Would you tell me to go fuck myself or lead me to the garden? In the garden would you trust me if I told you it was just a summer thing? I'm only seventeen, I don't know anything but I know I miss you.
Calum tossed the tennis ball up and caught it. He laid on his bed, absentmindedly continuing to toss the ball up and down, his mind plagued with thoughts about you.
Your birthday was a week away. Calum let his mind wander off in endless possibilities. 
He knew how much he had hurt you and the guilt ate at him constantly. A day didn’t go by that he didn’t beat himself up for being so stupid. 
Nothing was worth more to him than your happiness and he knew that now. He would do anything in his power to fix what he broke, if you’d let him.
He wondered how you would react if he showed up on your doorstep that evening, a bundle of flowers in hand and an apologetic smile on his face. 
He wondered if you’d slam the door in his face and ignore his knocks and desperate pleas. 
Or if you’d hesitantly let him come inside, your guard up, and lead him to the garden to talk alone. If you’d let him ramble on about how stupid he was. About how badly he messed up.
About how much he fucking missed you. 
Your soft smile and your positive, bright disposition and your generosity and selflessness. The way your eyes squinted when you laughed and the way your hair smelled. 
Calum really fucking missed you.
But he knew he didn’t really deserve a second chance. And he was asking a lot begging for one. But he thought he at least had to try.
Or this mistake would haunt him for the rest of his life. 
Betty, I know where it all went wrong, your favorite song was playing from the far side of the gym. I was nowhere to be found, I hate the crowds, you know that. Plus, I saw you dance with him.
Calum walked into the school alongside you, your hand in his and a bright smile on your face. You loved dances and seeing all your friends dressed up -- Calum felt claustrophobic, but he would do anything to keep that smile on your face, so he tagged along anyway.
Immediately, you tugged him towards the dance floor and he followed hesitantly. After only a few moments on the dance floor, Calum excused himself to the sidelines. He watched your expression fall, but you understood. You would never pressure him into anything he was uncomfortable with.
Calum felt like he could finally breathe properly from the edges of the gym.
He watched solemnly as the DJ began to play your favorite song. Your features lit up and Calum couldn’t help but smile, too. He wished he could go in there and dance with you but just the thought of being squished in between so many people made his pulse speed up and his palms sweaty.
He watched Dean approach you, clearly nervous, and his hands turned to fists. Calum had half a mind to go over there and punch him square in the face. 
Calum knew he couldn’t do that, but he had fun imagining it.
Dean grabbed your waist, pulling you close, and Calum’s heart practically stopped.
He couldn’t take anymore, so with one last glance at your soft smile, Calum stalked off in an angry blur.
Calum knew if he had just asked, you would’ve reassured him it was only a dance.
Calum knew if he had just asked, everything wouldn’t have gone the way it did. 
I was walking home on broken cobblestones just thinking of you when she pulled up like a figment of my worst intentions. She said "James, get in, let's drive,” those days turned into nights. Slept next to her but I dreamt of you all summer long.
The sun beat down on Calum’s back and he couldn’t wait to get home. He’d run out of water long ago, riding his skateboard in the early summer heat. 
He stumbled home, skipping happily over cracks in the concrete, skateboard in hand. 
He thought about seeing you after dinner. Taking you to your favorite tree and watching the stars. Or… looking at you while you looked at the stars. He thought about the way you danced with Dean. He still hadn’t told you how much it bothered him so he just let the resentment boil up until it stung the back of his throat.
Calum heard tires screech next to him, a familiar face in the driver's seat. Her red lipstick shimmered in the direct sunlight. Her sunglasses reflected Calum’s awestruck face. 
“Calum, get in. Lets drive,” She said. Her lips quirked up into an inviting smile and Calum swayed hesitantly. “Aw, come on. I’ll drive you home.” 
Calum looked around at the neighborhood once more, checking for witnesses, and then finally climbed into the silver convertible. As soon as he got in, his heart fluttered with guilt. His eyes filled with images of you, hurting, and he almost got out. Almost.
There was Dean again, haunting Calum through memories, smiling down at you, holding you. Calum gripped his skateboard harder, his knuckles growing white.
Her voice was so inviting and her car smelled so nice. The air conditioning hit Calum’s warm skin and soothed it instantly. Calum stayed. 
Calum didn’t just stay, though. He could’ve forgiven himself for that. 
Betty, I'm here on your doorstep and I planned it out for weeks now but It's finally sinking in. Betty, right now is the last time I can dream about what happens when you see my face again. The only thing I wanna do is make it up to you. 
Calum tossed and turned in his sleep, getting more and more frustrated with the nerves. He would face you tomorrow. It would determine the outcome of everything he had been wondering and worrying about for weeks. 
Tomorrow meant everything. He had one last night to drift into dreams about how you might react. The forgiveness or resentment. The smile or the tears. The hug or the shove. 
He drifted to sleep with images of you playing in his mind. In your favorite sweater, his hand in yours. 
Calum hoped with everything in him that you could see past his stupid mistake. But he prepared himself for the worst. You didn’t owe him anything. 
So, I showed up at your party. Yeah, I showed up at your party. Yeah, I showed up at your party. Will you have me? Will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends? If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it? Will it patch your broken wings? I'm only seventeen. I don't know anything, but I know I miss you.
Calum straightened out his button down and shifted the flowers, watching a few stray petals fall loose and hit the pavement of your porch. He cleared his throat and listened anxiously while his heart pounded ferociously in his ear. 
He could faintly hear commotion from within the confines of your home but he couldn’t make out anything they were saying.
His shaky hand extended towards the dark wood door and he knocked twice.
Cars were parked a block or two down the street -- all of your friends had already arrived.
Calum could lie and say he meant to be the last person, but in reality, he sat in his car for 30 minutes gathering up the nerve to come over there.
He could see multicolored balloons lining the walls inside. He watched as a figure appeared through the window, the tint making the figure only a silhouette. 
The door began to open and Calum thought for a moment about running, but it was too late. Before he knew it, he was face to face with you again. For the first time in 2 months, you were looking at him and he was looking at you.
He watched as confusion and shock filled your eyes, and then disappeared, filling with pure curiosity. He didn’t notice any anger yet. 
“Calum?” Your voice was like sugar. Calum’s knees felt weak.
“Yeah, hi (y/n).” Calum coughed. “Happy birthday.”
There were a million things Calum wanted to say and that wasn’t necessarily at the top of his list. He mentally face palmed. Your eyebrows knit together. “Thank you?” You looked down at the bouquet of flowers in his hand. “Are those for me?” 
Calum looked down at the flower he almost forgot he was holding, too lost in your eyes to care about anything else. “Oh, yes. Yeah.” He stumbled, holding them out to you.
You took them without a word. 
“So um…” Calum started, wringing out his sweaty hands. “I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute.”
You turned around for a moment towards the chatter coming from the kitchen and then turned back to face him with a sigh. “Why should I say yes?” You didn’t look angry… just tired. 
Calum scratched the back of his neck anxiously. “You don’t owe me anything, I know that. I was hoping to apologize, if you’d let me. I know that I’m the biggest idiot on the planet and I broke your heart and there's no way I can go back and undo that, but I owe it to you to at least try to fix what I broke. You don’t have to let me, though. I wouldn’t be mad if you cursed me out or slapped me or slammed the door in my face. I deserve it. I hurt you, and I suck for that.” He took a deep breath staring at the ground.
Your eyes softened and you sighed. “Come on.” You grabbed Calum’s hand and tugged him into the house, shutting the door softly behind him.
Calum followed your lead as you stepped through the back door into the garden.
You’d planted more of the flowers you told him about months ago and Calum thought your vision was really coming to life. You pulled him to a small metal table in the corner and sat down.
Calum looked around again, taking in all you’d accomplished since you two last spoke. “It looks beautiful, (y/n).”
You sighed, proudly admiring the shrubs and greenery that surrounded you. “I needed something to take my mind off things so I kind of poured my soul into it.” You fiddled with your rings.
Calum knew he was what you needed to take your mind off of and that made him feel even worse. “What I did to you… it was unforgivable. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done. I betrayed your trust and I hurt you in the worst way imaginable. That girl… it was nothing. It meant nothing.”
Calum watched you carefully as you took this in. Again, you didn’t look angry or sad — just emotionally drained. Numb. “I just… I guess I kinda just wanna know why. Was I… was I not enough?” Calum watched the tears well up that threatened to spill over and down your rosy cheeks.
He shook his head instantly. “No, no. Of course not. I spent a lot of time thinking about it because at first I didn’t even know. But I think I was just… jealous.”
You scoffed. “Jealous?” Calum blushed. “But of who?”
Calum inhaled deeply, prepared to completely embarrass himself. If it meant getting back on good terms with you. “Dean,” he muttered.
You couldn’t help but laugh. And not just chuckle — really laugh. “Dean? Dean Marshall. You were jealous of Dean Marshall?” You put a hand over your mouth to stifle the laughter. It felt nice to laugh after so many weeks of pain. 
Calum rolled his eyes playfully. “Yes, Dean Marshall. When he danced with you at the formal I was pissed.”
You stopped laughing, seeing the hurt in Calum’s soft features.
“You didn’t really think I was interested in him?... Did you?” You asked.
Calum looked down, playing with a loose thread on his trousers.
You let out a heavy sigh. “Oh, Cal. I never had any feelings for Dean.”
“Deep down, I did know that. It was some petty revenge thing in my head. I should’ve just voiced my pain and I know you would’ve reassured me. I was so dumb. I’ve never regretted anything so much in my life.” Calum finished with an exasperated breath and you smiled at his passion.
“Do you want to come in for cake, Cal?” 
Calum’s eyes shot up to read your face. You couldn’t be serious. You laughed at his eagerness and joy. “I would love to come in for cake,” Calum said easily.
You grabbed his hand, guiding him towards the back door and inside.
You ignored the series of gasps from your unsuspecting friends and found Calum a seat around the table. Nobody asked questions. They just smiled. If you were happy and safe, then they were happy too.
After some time, the sun was nearing the horizon and friends were bidding their goodbyes.
Calum hadn’t taken his eyes off you all night.
Your stomach tingled in anticipation whenever you caught his gaze.
Calum got a text from his mom saying she needed him home, so he begrudgingly headed for the door, his hand in yours.
“Happy birthday, again,” he whispered in your ear. 
“Thank you for coming today. It must’ve taken a lot of guts.” You laughed at Calum’s expression.
“You have no idea. But I'm so glad I did it.” He looked down at you fondly and you felt as if your knees might give out.
Before you could stop and think about the consequences, you were leaning closer and so was he.
Your noses barely brushed and the air around you was heating. It felt like everything between you two was leading up to this very moment — this very kiss. 
He stooped down a little lower, pressing his lips gently onto yours. You felt a rush of emotions. You had missed him all this time. You felt ready to try again - slowly building a mutual trust between you two again.
His lips folded over yours at a steady pace. It was soft and not rushed. It was perfect.
When he pulled away, your lips tingled at the absence of his. 
You were startled by the sudden applause.
You friends had gathered in the hall and watched the entire thing. You hid your face in Calum’s shoulder.
Standing in your cardigan. Kissing in my car again. Stopped at a streetlight, you know I miss you.
You slipped into Calum’s car and he smiled fondly. He hadn’t been this happy in so long.
You grabbed his sweater -- the one that had once been yours -- and felt it between your fingers. “You still have this old thing?” 
He smiled, his cheeks glowing a faint pink. He looked adorable with his curls tumbling down across his forehead. “It smells like you.”
You planted a gentle kiss on his cheek.
He had missed you. But he didn’t have to anymore.
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rebamacncheese · 3 years
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THSR Designer’s Notes: The Suit
This is the fourth in a series of posts where I break down the design choices I made for my illustrated Frozen 3 fan-script, True Hans Soul Rebel. Link here if you haven’t read it: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27113293/chapters/66207733
Without further ado, Marie’s suit. 
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This suit is next level. Big brain. Peak Marie, as a character. This is when she decides to live bravely - face what she actually wants for the first time in her life, and experiment with self-expression beyond conformity. 
Now, before I go much further on this vein, I should acknowledge that everyone’s gender journey is different. While I like to think Marie’s story has some universal appeal, she’s not meant to, and could never, represent everyone’s experience. Many MTF people glow up from a masculine presentation to a high femme one, and that’s how they live their truth.
But for this story, and this character, I couldn���t see her going from one box of binary expectations to another and finding much happiness that way.  With the suit, she reclaims masculinity - and begins the end of an arc about reclaiming her past actions, her life and all its contradictions. 
Lets break it down. 
The concept of the suit was one of the earliest visual ideas I had for THSR. Here’s a draft, which predates me figuring out what to do with Marie’s sideburns, and most of the plot:
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And here’s a slightly later, post-burns draft, which also predates Elsa’s ruffle dress:
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Minor color changes and shaping aside, the outline is basically there. All the same things about the fairy tale prince wardrobe that made Hans the most conventional thing in a room make Marie the least. The masculine wear is offset by feminine adjustments to the silhouette - the hair bun, the cinched waist, and the heels. On shaping, Marie’s asymmetrical lapels are a whole choice as well, adapting the boxiness of Hans’ suit jacket for something fragmented, angular, and flattering to Marie’s chest. Gnc af, no attempt at all to appear straight, or even really cis. 
A major inspiration was, of course, Revolutionary Girl Utena. Especially in the waist shaping, themes of defiance, and the palette (we’ll get to colors in a bit)
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The whole ball scene, really, is just Beauty and the Beast by way of Utena. Watch out for falling petals, folks!
I ended up changing the skirt-like flared coat tails in the final to a cut that drew more attention to fact that Marie is wearing pants. The pants are going to be a plot point, how Marie’s accidentally clocked by the trolls, so it’s important that they’re uncompromised. 
You have Captain Amelia, fellow sideburns queen, to thank for the new cut:
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You also have her to blame for the heels, likely. The heels are impractical, a stretch for the soft butch look, and are really there because I thought they looked foxy. There is some gender-significance to them, if you’ll bear with me. At ~5′10″ (my estimate), Hans was a respectable height for man, while Marie is uncommonly tall for a woman and it’s a source of insecurity for her. Wearing four inch heels anyway, which elevates her a little taller than Kristoff, is a bold flex in that context.  And in Marie’s defense, she didn’t expect to be in action scene that evening. Come the third act, I’m sure she’s grateful that she gets to spend most of the final battle with her feet off the ground. 
The hair bun was, like the best decisions, so simple and something I just did because it felt right, intuitively. But it really makes the look, the capstone if you will, and so I want to talk about how that happened. First, I was watching a lot of Gentleman Jack at the time, and though the bun is just the period, this was in my mind as Victorian Butch Lesbian chic: 
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Second, the high bun makes Marie’s profile very reminiscent of the first Disney makeover:
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The effect with the suit ends up being a mashup of Prince Charming and Cinderella, effectively Disney canon’s Adam and Eve. 
A note on hair, this is the line I had to walk. I wanted the length to be long on a man, but short for a woman - while still long enough to be bun-able. In other words, Mulan length: 
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What are buns? How does gender? Is hair a society?
Moving on. Color!
From the beginning, I wanted the dominant color of the suit to be black, or something very dark. This is in line with what makes Marie romantic to Elsa - she’s brooding, mysterious, anti-heroic. The specific shade I landed on, with midnight blue highlights, matches Elsa’s ruffle dress and ends up matching the black ice of THSR’s title cards. And it pops nicely in the green spring palace. 
The final dark-on-light scheme is an inversion of Hans’ main ensemble in Frozen 1:
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And takes the red and gold accents from Hans’ off-white ball ensemble:
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This shot is like, the rosetta stone for Marie’s characterization and ancient hansoglyphics btw. 
I see all of the Hans references in the suit design as character-driven on Marie’s end. A part of her walking right up to the line of what she can get away with. She’s almost daring Elsa and Anna to recognize her. 
Earlier versions of the suit played with warm colors more to break up the blocks of black, finding a way to rework the feminine magenta maybe. But, simpler is often better for something memorable, and the suit also has to look good with fiery wings later.
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The suit will be destroyed in the end, as it must. 3/3 outfits burned in three days - perfect score, Marie. I do think that after the dust settles, this soft butch style is what she sticks with day-to-day going forward. 
Here’s a version for a christmas special I may or may not get around to:
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THSR is a fantasy - on many fronts, including a queer power fantasy. A fairy tale - where my heroine is pressured into a classic feminine makeover, says “fuck it” and shows up to prom in tux. And then the fairest woman at the ball, a goddess in a gown like a waterfall, looks her and thinks “She’s so beautiful, I don’t know how to speak to her”. That’s what the suit is all about, to me, in the end. 
But, y’know, with all the gay, sexy, morally compromised fun we’re having, it seems somebody has gone overlooked, overshadowed. Neglected. What about Frozen’s first heroine? What about Marie’s antagonist?
Next time on the THSR Designer’s Notes, Anna gets off the bench. Watch this space :)
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angelatmidnight1 · 3 years
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hey there! so glad you're back, and happy new years btw!! idk if you're taking prompts atm so don't feel like you have to write this straight away (since you just posted a new fanfic anyway, and it was worth the wait as always), but i was thinking maybe you could write something with wattson and loba? because on this current season, loba is trying to be nicer to her, to kind of make up for the S5 accident, and i mean we love to see that character development lol. cheers!
A/N: Hi, happy (very late) New Years! I’ve actually picked up Loba as my secondary main, so I was really excited to write for both her and Wattson. This story is based on quest events from season 5 and onward, as well as the Legends’ dialogue mainly between Loba, Wattson, and Crypto (this video kind of shows the lines, but I couldn't find the one I originally watched). I was also inspired by a post from @thebliznet, which helped the story along a lot. Thank you for allowing me to mention your post and the blog! I hope this story is to your liking anon :). I had fun writing it.
Unleashing Your Inner Wolf- After Wattson’s accident, Loba has kept a watchful eye over her. This is especially true after Revenant has sworn to ruin the thief’s life. When the murderous simulacrum joined the Apex Games, Loba was hellbent on killing him herself. But, this wasn’t a job she had to do alone. Loba had all of the Legends wrapped around her fingers with the dirt she had on them, and she was pleased to have them at her disposal. The job was simple: find the artifacts she needed, locate Revenant’s source code, and end his miserable existence. So, when Wattson wandered into the building alone to retrieve an artifact, her plans literally went up in flames. Not only was she further away from what she wanted, someone nearly died, and it wasn’t the demonio. Loba secretly thanks the gods for Wattson’s recovery; the engineer has a harsher view of the world now, yes, but she’s alive. It was the first and last time that Loba would put someone in danger on her behalf. After having her as a teammate during a couple of games, Loba discovers some new, interesting information: Wattson spends a great deal of time speaking with Crypto. And, the thief finds their nervous, awkward interactions absolutely adorable. Loba decides to take the engineer under her wing to teach her the art of flirting. But first, she has to teach her the most important lesson out there: self love. Wattson finds her lessons a bit unorthodox, and is reluctant to open up. So, Loba’s first job is getting her to smile...and maybe laugh, too.
When Crypto fell on the battlefield, Loba was quick to toss her bracelet and teleport to his aid. She had a Guardian Angel backpack and there were fences set up within their hideout to deter an enemy push. She was just slipping her bracelet back on when someone else rounded the corner and ran over to the downed hacker. It was Wattson, who put her Interception Pylon in the center of the room to deny incoming projectiles. The engineer heard an angry “bloody hell” from the explosive expert outside, which made her grin inwardly. Natalie knelt down and rubbed her hands together to generate a charge. Unlike the rest of the Legends, the engineer revived her teammates by using her equipment like a defibrillator. 
“Got you Tae J---ohhh…” Instead of pulling him up, Wattson accidentally dropped him back onto the floor, covering her mouth with both hands. Crypto landed with a heavy thump and a groan. 
“Ugh, Natalie..” The hacker winced, prompting her to start the revive again, her mind still racing to finish her sentence. 
“J...Joules and Watts are tied for my favorite units of measurements. And yours?” Natalie giggled nervously after she successfully pulled the man back onto his feet. She looked over her shoulder to see Loba staring at them like they each had two heads. But then, the enemy Bangalore shot at her through the window, giving the engineer and hacker a welcome distraction. 
“...I’ll get better at this. I promise.” Wattson smiled and pushed a Phoenix Kit into Crypto’s hands. Crypto sighed and put the healing item to use, giving her a small smile of his own. 
“Thank you, Natalie.” Tae Joon huddled in the corner of the room to stay out of enemy sights. This prompted Natalie to put another fence at the doorway that would lead to them. No one was going to get in and hurt her friend; not if she had something to say about it! So, when she heard someone approaching, Wattson immediately pointed her Mastiff at the door, ready to take down whoever managed to slip in. She yelped and fired at the thief when she stuck her head in; fortunately, there was no friendly fire allowed in the Games. 
“Relax, it’s just me.” Loba frowned and walked further into the room. “The whole squad’s down and a wall of death is coming our way. We need to move.”
“Got it!” Wattson hopped to her feet and offered a hand to the hacker. Crypto reached up to take it but froze, looking over Natalie’s shoulder. For some reason, the thief was still looking at them. The engineer arched a brow and, since she didn’t see what he saw, she grabbed onto his hand anyway. “Let’s go, Crypto. Allons-y!”
Crypto stood without a word and followed the engineer out of the room. Wattson didn’t release his hand even when they were well inside the ring. The hacker cleared his throat and gave the woman’s hand a gentle, but urgent squeeze, and she promptly let go of him. But, since Loba was trailing behind them, she saw everything, and a knowing smirk graced her lips. 
Loba found the engineer in her room after the match was over. Her high heels sounding throughout the hallway announced her arrival way before she did. So, by the time the thief sauntered to her doorway, Wattson was already facing her. 
“Ah, there’s the little heart breaker in the making…” Loba grinned and leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed against her chest. The engineer furrowed her brows and pushed her organized clutter further back onto her desk.
“Huh? What’re you talking about?” Wattson appeared even more confused as she approached her. Loba glanced to the woman’s desk; besides the textbooks and random sticky notes everywhere, the thief didn’t see any obvious signs of a romantic rendezvous. No roses, no letters, and worse: no shiny trinkets. 
“I used to think hand holding was a dying art. No more lingering touches, or a bat of the eye. Nowadays it’s just sloppy grabbing, a couple minutes of heavy breathing, and then...nothing.” Loba let out a wistful sigh as stood behind the younger woman, putting her hands on her shoulders. “It’s all quite dull, if you ask me. But then, I saw you and Crypto holding hands…” 
The realization hit Wattson and her face turned pink. For a moment, she was at a loss for words, so the thief continued. “And it was so refreshing to see. It’s subtle. Innocent.  And yet...intimate. Especially with the right person.” 
Wattson hopped out of her chair and faced the thief, her pink face quickly turning red. “I...I didn’t...I wasn’t...he was injured!” She stammered, suddenly unable to meet Loba’s teasing gaze. “I only held his hand to make sure he was okay!”
“Oh, of course, beautiful. That’s kind of you..” Loba chuckled and stepped in front of her. She knelt down, “In fact, it was so kind that it must’ve stuck with him the whole time he watched you walk away~.”
Wattson looked up with a gasp and finally met her gaze. Her face grew even redder as she struggled to find her words again. “...Crypto and I...we--we’re just friends. That’s all. I’m sure he was just...um...w-watching my back. His drone is very useful on the battlefield.” She put a hand on the back of her neck; it was burning hot, just like her face. 
Loba didn’t want the engineer to pass out on her, so she took a step back to give her some breathing room. “I can’t argue with you there. But...what do you think of him?” She tilted her head to the side and smiled. “He’s  on the quieter side, I’ll have to admit. But he’s very handsome, no?”
“...Well..maybe...” Natalie toyed with the ends of her shirt as she looked to the corner of the room. There was a radio that Octane gave her a while back, and Loba caught her looking at it. This made the thief smirk again. 
“Where’d you get that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a radio like that before.” Loba strutted over to the little device and picked it up. Natalie perked up and hurried over to gently take it from her. 
“Oh! Octavio gave this to me. He spray painted it using my favorite colors.” The engineer visibly relaxed and finally allowed herself to smile. Loba’s eyebrows rose and, grinning, she couldn’t help but to tease her again. 
“Oh, so there’s two people vying for your affection. You like to have options.” Loba giggled when the engineer’s face turned a deeper shade of red. “I like how you think. There’s so many beautiful people out there...why limit yourself to one?”
“No! It isn’t like that, really!” Natalie insisted and put her radio back down so she didn’t drop it. “I mean...Octavio and Ta---er, Crypto, are attractive, yes.  But I wouldn’t flirt with them! Because...well, I...don’t know how.”
Loba wanted to laugh, but this new bit of information surprised her. She arched a brow and crossed one leg over the other. “You don’t know how?”
“Well, I know how.” The engineer corrected herself and fiddled with her hair next. “But I don’t know what to say! Plus, I don’t want to make things awkward between us.”
Loba’s eyes softened; the engineer was too cute. “Aw, it’s alright, doll. A little harmless flirting every now and then doesn’t hurt anyone. Keeps things interesting, if you ask me.” She smirked, playfully nudging her side with her elbow. Natalie stiffened and pursed her lips.
“That’s easy for you to say. You flirt with everybody.” The engineer muttered, giving her a coy smile when Loba feigned offense. 
“Oh, come on,  I do not flirt with everyone. I’m very selective in who I choose. Not everyone is worth my time.” Loba fired back with a grin. It didn’t seem like she was winning the engineer over, so she decided to switch tactics. “I suppose you can say there’s a certain elegance to flirting. If you’d like, I’ll show you. Free of charge, of course.”
Wattson looked up at the woman skeptically. The engineer didn’t know her as well as some of her other friends, but she didn’t believe that she would steer her wrong. “Er..how do you propose to do that?” 
Loba beamed at her and gestured to her closet with a manicured hand. “Put on your favorite outfit, then stop by my room.” She grinned and sauntered back out into the hallway. She looked over her shoulder and saw the uncertainty lingering in her eyes. She sighed, “Trust me, beautiful. I won’t embarrass you. I know just what you need to have whomever you like flocking over to you.” 
“...Okay, Loba. I’ll be there in a moment.” Wattson smiled and waited for her to leave so that she could change clothes. 
Natalie opted for a simple outfit with her favorite Nessie shirt and jeans. She stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her. Then, she wandered down the hall until she got to the thief’s room. She could hear music playing as she approached the door, and found the thief idly swaying to the beat when she stepped into the room. 
Loba beckoned for the engineer to come closer, another smirk on her face. “Come on in. I don’t bite.” She snickered, her cocky smirk giving way to a small smile. “You look cute.” 
“Merci. Um...so what will we be doing, exactly?” The engineer peeked behind Loba to see a pole in the corner of the room. She blinked; what on Earth was this woman planning? 
“Well, before we work on making your special Legend fall for you, I think you could use a bit of a confidence boost.” Loba smiled and strode over to her pole, hooking an arm around it. “I’m going to teach you how to pole dance.”
Wattson’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates, and her face turned a bright shade of red. Loba immediately put up her hands.
“Hold on, it’s not what you think. I didn’t say you were stripping, nor does pole dancing have to involve it. This is about doing something fun, something that makes you feel sexy. Because when you feel good, you look good. And others notice it too…” Loba smiled at her hopefully and extended a hand. “Won’t you give it a try, love? If at any point you don’t like it, we stop. Simple as that.”
“Umm...a-alright…” Natalie blushed even more as she took the thief’s hand. Loba beamed excitedly and led her to the pole. 
“Wonderful. Now, let’s just set the mood.” Loba had the best wireless speakers that a thief could get their hands on, and she switched the current song to something slower.
“Mmm, there we go. So! The first thing you want to do is take your dominant hand, and reach high above your head.” Loba demonstrated what Natalie needed to do on the opposite side of the pole. “Then you want to...ah, hold on.” She let go of her side of the pole and walked behind the engineer. “Make sure your shoulders are down and back, like this…” 
Loba took her shoulders and gently maneuvered them in the correct position. Her nails gently brushed against them as she drew back, causing the younger woman to squeak and flinch. The thief looked down at her with an arched brow. “...What?”
“Pardon (Sorry), Loba! It’s just...your nails are long, and that tickled a bit.” Natalie smiled sheepishly and rolled her shoulders. Loba chuckled and stood behind her again. 
“Oh, not a problem.” The thief put her shoulders in the correct position one more time; then, smirking, she stood back in front of her to continue the lesson. “There we go, perfect. Next, you want to stand on your toes, and take three steps with the leg closest to the pole. So, like this…” 
Loba walked Wattson through the rest of the steps for a basic, fireman spin. The engineer caught on quickly but, although she was performing the moves correctly, her overall movement was pretty stiff. It didn’t help that Octane wandered down the hallway, drawn to the music, and curiously poked his head in the room. He wasn’t wearing his usual mask and was eating a candy bar; but, when he saw Natalie pole dancing, his jaw dropped...along with his snack. Thankfully, Natalie didn’t notice him because of the music and her focus; Loba, on the other hand, heard the sound and she glanced at the door. She narrowed her eyes at the daredevil, mouthing ‘get out, or you’re dead.’ She grabbed her staff and pointed it at him to show that she wasn’t messing around. Octane held up his hands and, nudging the candy bar back towards him with his leg, he picked it up and took off down the hall. After a few more spins, Wattson stood up straight and looked up at the thief. 
“Loba? Did I do it right?” Natalie panted a bit and rubbed the back of her neck. Loba turned back around; the engineer got the moves down to a T, but there was still something missing. She looked so shy, so unsure of herself...and, perking up, Loba knew exactly what she needed. 
“You did, and I’m impressed. I don’t see many people catch on to this sort of thing so quickly.” She complimented, slowly making her way back to her side. Wattson re-assumed the position by the pole, assuming that they were going to practice again. The thief chuckled. “There is just one, tiny thing I think you need to do…”
Wattson looked up at her and stepped away from the pole. She was flattered by the compliment...but, the mischievous glint in the she-wolf’s eyes made her falter.  “Okay...what is it?” 
“...Smile.” Loba grinned and latched her hand onto her hip, giving it a quick squeeze. Wattson yelped and lurched away from her hand, but Loba was quick to close the distance. When the engineer pushed her hand off of one hip, she just squeezed the other one instead. Loba already had her laughing before she even pinned her down onto the mattress behind her. 
“Nohohohohoh! Nohohohoh Lohohohohba, dohohohn’t!” Natale panicked and tried to roll away from the she-wolf. She arched her back when Loba’s manicured nails found her sides, giggling loudly. “DohohoHOHOHOHN’T!”
“Don’t what?” Loba grinned and gently poked at her belly, tracing five manicured nails up and down her torso. Wattson’s giggles picked up to laughter and she bucked her hips. 
“DOHOHOohohohohn’t tihihihckle mehehehehehe!” The engineer squeaked and struggled harder when the thief slipped her hand underneath her shirt, clawing at her bare stomach. “LOHOHOHOHBAHAHA!”
“Oh, that tickles? I had no idea.” Loba smirked and lifted her shirt up to give her better access to her stomach. She slowed her tickles to gentle, featherlight strokes along her tummy. This still made the engineer laugh, but not quite as hard. “Why didn’t you tell me you were ticklish before? That would’ve made things much easier.”
Natalie giggled uncontrollably and sucked in her belly to try and escape the tickles. Not only did it fail, but Loba kept up the slow, teasing pace, which sent ticklish shivers up her spine. “N-Nohohohohohoh ihhihiht wohohohohuhuhldn’t!” She tittered, another laugh escaping her as the thief gave her hips another squeeze. 
“Yes it would!” Loba snickered, kneading her thumbs into the woman’s hip bones. Wattson squealed and bucked her hips, but Loba didn’t let go of them. “A smile can bring even the hardest of men, and women, to their knees, falling for you...”
The color came rushing back to Wattson’s face as she squirmed in the she-wolf’s iron-hold, giggling. “Okahahahay! Okahahahay I’ll smhihihihle MOHOHOHOHRE!” Natalie shrieked and laughed when Loba’s fingers scribbled back into her stomach. “STAHAHAHAHAH!”
“Oho, yes. You certainly will be smiling more...” Loba teased and swiped her nails from one side of her tummy to the next. She laughed at the squeal it produced, which only encouraged her to tickle faster.  “You’re stuck with the big bad wolf, and she’s going to tickle you to pieces~.”
Wattson fell into a deeper fit of laughter and increased her efforts to escape. The thief’s fingers strayed away from her stomach and scritched to her lowermost ribs. Natalie’s eyes widened and her laughter went up a few pitches as she rocked side to side. “NOHOHOHOHOH! PLEHEHEHEAHAHSE DOHOHOHOHN’T!” She begged, pulling at her trapped arms repeatedly. Loba had her arms pinned underneath her thighs and despite all of her struggling, they didn’t move an inch. “LOHOHOHOBAHAHA NOHOHAHAHAHAHA!”
Loba raised a brow and grinned, suddenly swiping her nails up the entire length of her ribs. Natalie squeaked and arched her back, causing the thief to giggle. “I think this is a good spot..” She purred, resting her hands back onto her lowermost ribs. She kneaded in between the bones and moved up her ribcage. The engineer kicked her legs against the bed and laughed louder, which made the thief smirk. “Aw, does that tickle? That looks like it tickles so much..”
Wattson turned crimson at the teasing and she shook her head, filling up the room with her laughter. Her laughter was so infectious that Loba laughed along with her, poking her fingers into her uppermost ribs. “No?” She tilted her head to the side when Natalie shrieked and threw her head back, laughing. Then, grinning, the she-wolf leaned in and repeatedly tweaked those ribs. “Are you sure?”
Wattson shook her head even harder and whipped her body around, trying to avoid her long nails. When that didn’t work, she opted for attempting to buck Loba off of her...which also failed. So, the engineer continued to laugh herself silly and make futile attempts to escape. “NAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I-I MEHEHEHAHAHAN--AH!” The thief leaned over and blew a raspberry onto her bare stomach. “DOHOHOHOHN’T DOHOHOHOH THAHAHT HAHAHAAHA!”
“Do what?” Loba chuckled and blew another raspberry, snickering when the engineer bucked her hips again. She blew another raspberry on a different spot on her stomach, and then another one somewhere else. She resumed wriggling her nails on her uppermost ribs while she continued blowing on her stomach, sending the engineer on a one-way trip to hysterics. 
“THAHAHAHAHT!” Wattson screamed and shut her eyes tight, her laughter sounding squeakier each time Loba’s lips made contact with her stomach. “STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP THAHAHAHAHT! PLEHEHEHEHEAHAHAHSE!”
Loba paused, pretending to think, only to resume tickling the younger woman’s ribs and stomach. “Hmm, what if I don’t want to stop?” She hummed, swiping her fingers back down the length of her ribcage. The engineer yelped and snorted, making Loba giggle again. “What if I find it enjoyable to make you laugh so much?”
The thief eased up on the tickling so that Natalie could speak. Wattson’s laughter died down to giggles as Loba squeezed her sides and hips. “Iheheheheheheheh ahahahahalready ahaahahahaham!” She tittered, snickering as Loba stroked her nails up her torso. Loba wriggled her nails in slow, circular motions just underneath Natalie’s ribcage, causing her to jolt and giggle harder. “I’m ahahahahalrehehehady laahahahaughihihihng!”
“So you are. But, I think I can make you laugh a little bit more, no?” Loba smirked and tickled further up her ribcage. This time, she pressed her fingertips into the bones and kneaded each rib individually. Wattson’s eyes bugged out and she squealed, dissolving back into laughter. 
“NOHOHOHOHOH! YOHOHOHU DOHOHOHN’T NEEHEHEHED TOHOHOHO!” The engineer yelled, kicking her legs out again as she laughed. She twisted her torso around, but Loba kept up with her struggling and focused on the most sensitive ribs. Her laughter and squirming grew more desperate by the second, and Loba took advantage of her adorable state to lower herself back towards her stomach. By the time Wattson noticed, it was too late; Loba took a deep breath and ducked her head down, blowing a raspberry right over her navel. Natalie shrieked and thrashed around violently, but this didn’t deter the she-wolf. “NAHAHAHAHA STAHAHAHAHP! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHP IHIHIHIHIHIHT!”
Loba was still blowing the raspberry as the engineer cackled out her demands; she made sure to empty her lungs. Then, instead of complying, she brushed her fingers against her uppermost ribs again while she blew another lung-emptying raspberry over her navel. By then, Wattson was howling with laughter. After a few more raspberries, Loba reached up further and burrowed her nails into her armpits, prompting a sudden shriek of desperate laughter. 
“NONONOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHAHA! PAHAHAHAHAHS IHIHIHCI! PAHAHAHAHAHAS IHIHIHIHCI! (Not there! Not there!)” Natalie screamed and pulled at her arms as much as she could. Loba smirked widely and stopped tickling, but kept her nails pressed into the woman’s armpits. 
“Well, well, well...look what I’ve found…” The thief purred, applying just a little bit of pressure to make her shiver and giggle. “This spot must be terribly ticklish, huh?” She slowly raked her nails back and forth where her armpits began, looking down at the engineer with a smile. “Call it woman’s intuition.” 
Wattson sputtered and giggled heavily, teetering on the edge of laughter. She gave her arms another sharp pull, but it didn’t do anything to free them. When she didn’t respond with understandable words, the thief gave her armpits a quick scribble, making her shriek and laugh. “YEHEHEHEHS! Ihihihihiht tihihihckles! Sohohohohoh leheheheht mehehehe gohohohoh! Plehehehehease…” She pleaded, staring up at the thief with nervous, giggly anticipation. 
Loba playfully tutted at her and shook her head. “Aw, Natalie. When have you ever known me to walk away from a gold mine?” She simpered, sneaking her hands underneath her arms and scratching away at her hollows. 
Wattson screeched and burst out laughing, bucking against the mattress. The thief focused on the very center of each armpit, where the muscles split. Loba almost toppled over from how much Wattson was squirming; so, for a moment, she believed that the younger woman would somehow be able to free herself. So, keeping her fingers buried in her right armpit, the thief shifted her weight so that she could reach above her bed. 
“AHAHAHAHAHAHA LOHOHOHOHOHBAHAHA NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHN!” Natalie cried out, squirming as far to the left as she could to try and get away from the intense sensation. “DOHOHOHOHOHN’T TIHIHIHIHCKLE THEHEHER--HEHEHEHEHY!”
While Wattson was laughing, Loba lifted up her left arm and slipped her wrist through a restraint above the bed frame. It was soft, black, and made out of nylon, but sturdy enough to keep her arm in place. The she-wolf stopped tickling to do the same thing to her right arm. Now, she had easy access to her armpits and torso. Loba settled back down onto her waist, making a dramatic show of wiggling her fingers in the air. 
“There we go, much better.” The thief began, grinning as Natalie paled and tried to tug her wrists free from the newfound restraints. “Now there’s nothing in my way…” She whispered tauntingly, lowering her hands even closer to her exposed armpits. Wattson’s eyes were locked onto Loba’s wiggling nails and she squirmed, already giggling.
“Nohohohohoh wahahahait! WahahAHAHAHIT!” Natalie squeaked and jumped when Loba held her nails just inches from her armpits. The she-wolf cocked her head to the side and smirked at her. 
“...Yes?” Loba chuckled, wiggling her fingers in the air again. She wasn’t even touching Wattson yet, but the engineer squealed and giggled harder the closer her fingers got. 
“PLEHEHEHEAHASE STAHAHAHAHA!” Wattson yelled, her arms twitching from how much she was trying to pull them down. The phantom tickles caught up with her and she started laughing, making the thief laugh in turn. 
“What? I’m not even touching you!” Loba giggled, barely pressing her fingertips to her armpits. The engineer screamed and bucked her hips; now, Loba was laughing almost as hard as she was. “Seriously? I don’t even have to do anything, do I? You’re too ticklish for your own good.” She smiled, letting her words hang in the air. Just when Wattson thought she was going to attack her armpits, the she-wolf switched gears and started stroking her sides. 
Wattson shivered and wiggled, biting her lips to trap the giggles. Loba arched a brow at her and, grinning, she jabbed her fingers into her ribs. The engineer flinched and grinned widely, shaking with the laughter that she refused to let free. 
“That’s not going to work, love…” Loba sang, rubbing her fingertips between the bones. Wattson gasped and let a few giggles slip out, but she was determined to hold out. Loba leaned in again and slowly started scratching her way up her ribcage. “I know you want to laugh. And, it would seem that I’m exceptionally good at making you laugh…” She continued teasing, causing the engineer to giggle even more. The thief continued tickling her ribs and even her stomach before finally descending on her armpits. Loba dug five wiggling nails into each armpit, causing Natalie to scream and cackle loudly. 
“NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHON LOHOHOHOHBA! AHAHAHARRÊHEHEHETE ÇAAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHARRÊHEHEHETE ÇAAHAHAHAHA! (Stop it! Stop it!)” Wattson shrieked and threw her body around, laughing harder when Loba tickled faster. Loba chuckled and jabbed her fingers into her armpits instead, making the engineer let out another cry of laughter. 
“Sorry, beautiful. But I never did pick up on the language of love. You’ll have to translate for me..” Loba jeered, scribbling away along the poor woman’s armpits. Wattson tossed her head back again and shook with laughter. Any words that she tried to say were lost as she desperately tried to escape the woman’s devious nails. Loba kept up the tickling for a good five minutes before slowing the scribbling down to slow, gentle strokes. “You know what? There’s something I meant to ask you..” She remembered, slowing the tickling down even more so that the engineer could breathe and speak. 
“...Whahahahahahahat?” Natalie panted and snickered, grateful for the small break, but still twitching from the residue tickles. Loba, since she noticed how especially ticklish her right armpit seemed to be, traced a nail just around that particular armpit. 
“You know, all of this talk about flirting and charming others has got me wondering...who is it you have your eyes on?” The thief inquired, taking that same nail and poking it into her armpit at random intervals. Wattson snorted and pulled at her right arm, her cheeks reddening. 
“I-I dohohohn’t hahahahave mhyhy ehehehehyes ohohohn ahahahanyoohohohne…” Natalie giggled; when the engineer looked up at her, there was skepticism written all over her face. And that one, lone finger poking into her armpit noticeably picked up speed. “I’m sehehehehrious! Lohohohohbahahaha plehehehehase!” She tried again, rolling her body to the side and frantically giggling.
“Aw, sweetie. I’ve been doing this sort of thing a long time. I can always tell when someone has a crush…” Loba purred, starting to poke all five of her fingers into that same armpit. Wattson yelped and turned her face into her shoulder, loud laughter mixing in with her giggles. In fact, she was giggling so loud that the thief had to speak up so that she could be heard. “Would you like to know what else I’m good at?”
“NOHOHohohohohohohohoh!” Natalie rejected and resumed kicking at the mattress. She was dangerously close to laughing; so, the thief positioned her free hand by the woman’s left armpit while continuing to tickle the right one. 
“I’m also good at picking out lies…” Loba muttered with an evil grin, spidering her all ten of her nails against both of her armpits. Wattson started bucking her hips again, hysterical laughter filling up every last corner of the room. 
“I’M NAHAHAHAHT LYHYHYHYING! AHAHAHAHAH I’M NAHAHAHAHAT!” Natalie argued, her trapped arms twitching in place as she fell deeper into hysterics. It didn’t matter how much she pulled or bucked; her arms stayed above her head, and Loba was having a blast tickling her super sensitive armpits. The thief decided to drag her nails along her outer left armpit while she continued tickling every inch of the right one. “PLEHEHEHAHASE LOHOHOHOBAHAHAHA  I’M NAHAHT LHYHYHYINHG HAHAHAHA!”
“Yes you are! Just tell me who it is. I’ll keep it a secret.” Loba promised and, smiling, she flicked her nail against her left armpit. Wattson squirmed to the right and squeaked, so the thief did the same thing to the right armpit. She laughed when the engineer jumped to the opposite side, so she kept on alternating the pokes, amused by the little ‘dance’ she was doing. 
“IT’S NOHOHOH OHOHOHOHNE HAHAHAHAHA!” Natalie insisted and shut her eyes, her laughter completely taking over her. “I DOHOHOHOHN’T HAHAHAHAVE A CRUHUHSHAHAHAHAHA!”
A small part of Loba believed her, but another part of her wanted to keep tickling just a bit longer. She could tell the engineer was reaching her limit, though, so she wanted to give her one last good tickling before she stopped. So, with a small sigh, Loba grabbed onto her right arm with her left hand. Then, with her right hand, she pressed her fingertips into her uppermost rib. Wattson arched her back and kept on giggling but, when she tried to pull her arm down again, it didn’t move at all. The restraints were already keeping her limbs still anyway, but Loba’s grip made it virtually impossible for her arm to have the slightest movement. Natalie froze as the panic seeped in. 
“Last chance, beautiful. Tell me who you have the hots for, and I’ll stop.” Loba demanded, vibrating her fingers against the bone. Wattson shook her head and laughed, pleadingly looking into the she-wolf’s dark eyes. “If you don’t...well, let’s just say I’m sure you’ll come around…” She continued warning, smirking as she slowly inched toward her armpit. “So? Who’s that special Legend?”
Wattson breathed heavily, her body going rigid in anticipation of the incoming tickles. She kept her eyes on her just in case she decided to have mercy...but Loba wasn’t so easily swayed. The engineer scrambled to provide her a satisfactory answer, but she took too long, and the thief wasn’t a fan of waiting. Loba kept a firm grip on Natalie’s arm as she wriggled her nails into the right armpit, scribbling along the area where the muscles split. 
The engineer thrashed in Loba’s grip, convulsing with laughter. She repeatedly shook her head and tried to get even the smallest bit of leverage on her arm, but the thief wasn’t having any of it. So, Natalie didn’t have a choice but to take the tickles and laugh her head off...which is exactly what she did. 
“AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Wattson gave up on trying to speak and resumed laughing into her shoulder. “SAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“No can do, love. I gave you plenty of chances to come clean. And you didn’t take them.” Loba donned her best pitying voice as she fluttered her fingertips into her left armpit, now tickling both armpits. Wattson squeaked and scrunched her nose up from how hard she was laughing.  “I told you what would happen…” She whispered, leaning over to resume blowing on the engineer’s stomach. 
Wattson yelled one more time before her laughter became silent. She was too tired to struggle, so she laid limp as the she-wolf tickled her. Loba stopped the tickling altogether when she didn’t hear anymore laughter, reaching above the bed frame to undo her restraints. The engineer’s arms felt heavy as she finally brought them down, trembling and giggling. 
“I’ll tehehehell yohohohu...I’ll tehehehell yohohohu..” Natalie gasped for air and sat up, pulling down her shirt and rubbing her arms together. Loba chuckled and shook her head, crawling off the bed to give her some space. 
“No need, beautiful. I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough. And I’m sure whoever it is will love hearing you laugh just as much as I did.” She winked, giggling when the woman’s cheeks reddened. Loba strode away from her just to turn off the music. Then, she returned to the engineer and sat beside her. The thief’s expression became more serious and she turned to face her. “Mind if I give you some advice on pursuing this mystery lover of yours?” She quipped and offered her a smile...but, something about the way she asked made Wattson look up. And, when she did, the smile also disappeared. 
“Yes? What is it, Loba?” Natalie put her hands in her lap and eyed her curiously. Loba sighed and stared at the wall for a moment before looking at the engineer. 
“I haven’t always been honest with you. With anyone, really. Because after I lost my parents...well, I didn’t think any of that mattered anymore.” Loba admitted quietly, frowning for the first time in the time she and Wattson spent together. “I learned that the world is a cold, unforgiving place. And as long as I got what I wanted, nothing else mattered. I had to claw my way out of the slums to get where I am now, so if I broke someone’s heart or stole some old guy’s jewelry, so what? At the end of the day, I took care of myself. Because I didn’t have anyone to do it for me.” She sighed, putting one hand over the other as she remembered her parents. Wattson blinked and opened her mouth to speak, but the thief held up her hand.
“I don’t want you to feel bad for me, Natalie. I’m fine. I’m just...what I’m saying is that once the demonio joined the Games, I realized that I didn’t have to do everything by myself anymore. I lied to you, to everyone, to get what I wanted. And..I almost got you killed. I just want to tell you that no matter who you fall for, always take care of yourself first. And do it by yourself. That way, no one else gets hurt if things go south…” Loba affirmed, looking directly into the engineer’s eyes. “And if they’re dishonest with you, make sure you walk away.”
Wattson’s gaze didn’t falter as she looked up at the thief. She took on a serious expression, too. “You did what you did to avenge your family. I don’t blame you for that..” She answered firmly, which surprised the thief. Loba expected anger, rage even….but she got quite the opposite. “If Revenant did that to my family, I’d…” The engineer trailed off, suddenly getting louder, her eyes momentarily engulfed with fury. But then, she calmed down and sighed. “I don’t even want to say it. But, I also think that people can change for the better, if they want to. I’ve seen it myself.” A smile sprung onto Natalie’s face as she put her hand over Loba’s. “So no matter what you choose to do, Loba, I forgive you. You’re a part of the Legend-ary family now, for better or worse!” Natalie giggled and beamed up at the woman. Loba chuckled and patted her hand; she wasn’t the emotional type, but the engineer’s words made her heart feel warm. 
“Thanks, Natalie. Now, it’s getting late. And I have some...things, I have to take care of. Why don’t you go break some more hearts and tell me about it tomorrow?” Loba quipped, pulling her hand free to poke Wattson’s sides. Wattson lurched away from her and laughed, hopping off of the bed. 
“Okahahy...I’ll see you around, Loba!” Natalie smiled and bid the thief farewell, hurrying out of her room and down the hallway. Loba noticed the slight strut to her walk as she left, which made her heart swell with pride. 
Aw, they grow up so fast… 
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