just went down a bit of the adhd piqued-interest/surface level research rabbit hole of ao3 invitations. I literally never knew they existed 😭 made my account back in 2016 after sitting on a waitlist for I can’t remember how long. And there are still 50,000+ people waiting for an account RIP. Anyways I have 5 invites if anyone needs one

in honor of 15’s first season finally starting (featuring jack because i’ll miss him forever)

i need people to actually stop and think logically when it comes to fictional characters. more specifically, when it comes to astarion.

it’s frustrating when people only talk about him in a sexual way and reduce him to “the hot sexy flirty vampire” or “the bear guy” (he was used as an EXAMPLE in a livestream, it’s not even canon in his lore) and view him as someone who “loves flirting and sleeping with people” when he does NOT. he canonically has sexual trauma, was forced to use his body to seduce people, got punished whenever he didn’t listen and is STILL suffering from ptsd after years of abuse and torture (already kinda spoke about this here).

it’s also frustrating when people hate on him and reduce him to “horrible evil heartless cruel annoying bastard” and act like you’re a shitty person if you like his character and must automatically agree with everything he’s done when you absolutely don’t?? he’s a FICTIONAL CHARACTER IN A FANTASY GAME, you can enjoy the complexity of his character and appreciate his character development while also acknowledging his flaws and not approve of every single thing he has ever done.

but before i continue, everyone should watch this scene. many people haven’t seen it because you have to pick very specific dialogue choices when astarion’s siblings approach you at camp. it’s brutal and heartbreaking but this is where he talks about what cazador did to him when he punished him for not listening to his orders. and yes, it’s bad. like really bad. this is just the first part, but the rest of it is more intense and it’s in the video:

“once - in the first decade of my slavery - i found a darling boy who i couldn’t bare to bring back to him. so i ran, instead of hurting that sweet man. after cazador caught me, the bastard sealed me, starving, inside a dusty tomb, all on my own, for an entire year”.

i wish people could actually just try to understand him and his backstory before reducing him to something he’s not. he’s not this one-dimensional “chaotic evil villain”. he’s not this “flirty sexy vampire red flag bad boy” he is SO much more than that. he is so complex and well-written and it’s so weird how people ignore it.

instead of constantly focusing on how he acts at the beginning of the game and saying “astarion is so mean and cruel what a horrible guy who doesn’t care about anyone but himself”, why can’t we talk about how he was forced into doing so many horrible things that he never wanted to do and how his master punished him every time he didn’t follow orders to the point where it utterly broke and destroyed him? he lost his freedom and bodily autonomy. he was forced to sleep with people and then lure them to tragic fates. imagine how sick, disgusted, guilty and horrible he felt all at once. it made him numb, empty, angry and scared even when he was far away from cazador, because that type of pain and trauma never leaves you. he was surrounded by cruelty for so many years that he responded with cruelty in many situations. he hated when people tried to be the hero or make false promises to save someone because no one ever saved him. no one even tried. he had no one and nothing. he was used to constant disappointment and loneliness. he was treated like an object rather than a person. of course he’s going to be bitter because of that. how can you seriously expect someone who only knew a world of cruelty to see sunshine and rainbows and be the sweetest person you’ve ever met? he’s upset, he’s angry, he’s hurt, he’s bitter. does that make every action of his okay? is it an excuse? absolutely not. and no one said that it is. his own life was being destroyed and he also destroyed others at the same time. it’s horrible. but everything cazador did to him explains why he became like that.

but the moment you actually start to treat him like a person, you can immediately see things start to change. that is literally the only thing he ever wanted. that’s why the scene you get after the drow interaction at moonrise is one of my absolute favourites. i know there’s a different version of that scene (if you don’t talk to the drow) where he instead admits he had a plan to seduce you but then fell for you, but the reason i prefer the drow one is because it feels really meaningful and important for his character in regards to consent and treating him like a person. like it’s just such an important conversation to have with him. obviously the other version is still really sweet when you think about the romantic aspect of your relationship and it’s nice to hear that he’s fallen in love and tells you that you deserve something real, because he’s never had those sort of feelings for anyone. it’s really beautiful. but i love how the drow version of the scene could actually work for both platonic and romantic relationships with him if that makes sense? it’s important to him because you made the decision to actually treat him like a person, defend him and allow him to make his OWN decisions (something he never had with cazador). he appreciated it so much that he decided to come up to you in the middle of the night and thank you, and then he felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable and open up to you.

at the start of act 3, you already start to see how much he’s changed. if you give an orphan child some food, he approves. when you first met him, he wouldn’t have. he probably would’ve felt bitter; angry to see someone stop for someone else when no one ever did for him. but because you showed him basic respect and kindness, he started to realise that there is good in this world and people do care. it’s not just evil and coldness and cruelty. he only believed there was because of how long he suffered with cazador. there is literally a scene where he tells you that no one has ever cared about him or been kind to him and that no one else has a heart like you. he starts to find safety and comfort in you. this is why it’s so beautiful to see how much he grows and changes and it also shows that he genuinely loves and cares for you too because he’s trying. he’s really trying. you are able to convince him that he can be better than cazador and he believes you after everything you’ve done to help him. it’s going to take a very long time for him to heal after everything he’s suffered, but the fact he has already started to try and be a better person is such a massive thing. obviously it doesn’t erase what he’s done in the past and it doesn’t automatically “fix” him, but the fact that he’s trying and he wants to be better tells you more than enough about him. i am so proud of his character development and growth and i really hope people start to understand him and appreciate him more.

the utena official art is truly some of the most extra shit i have ever seen. like what even is this

but to be clear. i love it

Marty has 3 moods towards his dad throughout the movie: Disappointment Frustration and Astonishment

I mean I get it. But he’s trying his best 😭😭😂

Me: *draws frowning Marty

Also me: that’s so Stoltz-coded

Sketchbook page brought to you by wendigoons faith stream

counting down the days until my sad little restaurant crew returns 💕

He wakes up in a sea of sweat—his incredibly old Hawkins’ Tigers tee is stuck to his belly, his curls are damp, prisoners between the warmth in the back of his neck and the pillow.

Billy hates that the memories he made in that secluded town in Indiana still manage to haunt his dreams. It’s been years. Ten years. He’s okay now, living on his own in California. Everything is good. He’s okay. He’s okay.

But that voice, it taunts him in his dreams, seeks him still, tries to pull him back to the kid he was then, to the kid he’s still trying to heal.

The voice. It’s milky, sweet. Sounds like golden honey, dripping and dripping onto pools made of chocolate.

Billy can’t understand how it’s still so clear in his mind, so sharp, so easy to hear. If he closes his eyes just now, when his mind is still drifting between sleep and waking up, he hears it.

I’m here.

Billy feels how his breath quickens at the sound.

Wake up for me, Billy.

But Billy can’t understand why the voice repeats that over and over again. He’s awake—half awake at least. He can feel the Californian sun piercing through his bedroom windows, warming up his cheek.

Please. I need you.

Billy tries to open his eyes again, to lay them on the bright sunshine, to finally get up and forget about the dreams and the voice. He needs to go to work.

But he can’t open them. They’re closed tight, as if someone had glued them shut. He has to open them. Needs to open them.

Billy. Please.

He wants to scream but his lips are sealed. He wants to yell at Steve to shut up. Shut up, shut up. I’m living my life, my new life. He tries something else but his arms aren’t moving, his legs are anchored to the mattress below him.

This is a nightmare, he only needs to wake up.

He feels something then. A drop of water, streaming across his forehead. Warm flesh against his cheek. It’s part of the nightmare. He knows.

But the nightmare is real. Flashes of neon light surround his immobile body, held tightly by trembling arms that keep rocking him back and forth.

Steve’s eyes are squeezed shut, tears streaming down his face. He keeps his cheek against Billy’s as he sobs.

“Please, wake up.” Steve mutters in a broken voice.

There’s movement around him, Steve can’t focus on anything or anyone but the boy in his arms. His boy. Max is next to him, quietly crying in Eleven’s arms. This can’t be real, can’t be happening.

But it is. Soon enough, the medics rip Steve apart from Billy. They take him away. He yells at them, Max bombards them with questions Steve can't really make out—because this is a nightmare. A nightmare—and he needs to wake up.

A ducktales OC I’ve had floating around in my head for a while that I’m starting to iron out for my 1960s AU! Will post more abt her soon so u guys can get to know her better :) in the mean time, feel free to check the tag in my blog to see the lineup so far…

Meet the Cast!

╰┈➤ Canon ☄. *. ⋆

→ Scrooge McDuff → Matilda McDuff → Hortense McDuff → Goldie O'Gilt → Jack Duckworth → Bentina Beakley → LÙ Huifen (pre-casefiles) → LÙ Huifen (post-casefiles)

Tim Drake, to me personally, is a selective genius. More accurately, he’s just an insanely fast learner when something even mildly interests him (typically something mentioned by Batman and/or Robin). Unfortunately this leads to weird and inconsistent gaps in his knowledge.

Like, for example, and referencing a post about him being unable to work computers I’ve made in the past, Tim learned all about PC hardware because Batman mentioned upgrading the Batcomputers specs once, which was then plastered across forums with the title of like “BATMAN SEEMS TO HAVE THE BUDGET OF NASA, IS THIS WHERE OUR TAX PAYER DOLLARS ARE REALLY GOING?” and Tim wanted to harness the power of the sun to create something similar. This led him down a rabbit hole, and now he can create a super computer from someone’s spare junk drawer. However, when it comes to installing software and actually using the PC beyond its basic functions? Uninteresting. The only reason he learned later on in his Robin career was because Barbra found his lack of ability to hack deeply concerning and decided to remedy it. She provided the proper motivation.

Other weird ass conversations include:

- Was able to deduce the strain of fear toxin that Damian was under, synthesize an antidote, and track Crane down to his warehouse at the Docks district within a three hour time period. (Bruce offhandedly mentioned that they should start writing down the effects of different fear toxins so that they could eventually identify which was which to make antidote administration easier, knowing it’d be an insane and labor intensive task that no one would really do because they were doing just fine currently. Tim promptly created a spreadsheet, copped the cowl footage, and got to work. He learned advanced chemistry for this, promptly bringing his barely passing grade up to an A within two months.)

- Once was able to list the entirety of Haley’s Circus lineup over the years, correctly identifying which performers had been kidnapped by the Court of Owls, yet couldn’t name a single United States president before the year of 2012. (Got embarrassingly into circus performances because y’know, Dick is his hero and so he memorized the entire history of Haley’s Circus so he’d always know who/where/what Dick was talking about when he referenced his time there)

- Word for Word reciting an obscure peace treaty for an ALIEN NATION, but wasn’t able to tell Dick what the Fibonacci sequence was. (Starfire is Tamaranian and Tim assumed that she and Dick would get married one day and he didn’t want to be insensitive so he hacked into the Green Lantern files that all the Earth Lanterns update and got to work researching. Even the stuff that only tangentially mentioned the planet and people)

probably the most nonsensical storyline in hetalia to me is the one where romano and lithuania “immigrate” to america and move in with alfred to work for him. like don’t those guys have literal government jobs. why were they allowed to just leave

oh my fucking god

enjoy the sillies

{Robin Hood BBC} Robin & Marian

Sorry if this is an invasive question, but have you read any specific fics and/or would be comfortable sharing which?

I don’t have an ao3 account so I don’t have a way to keep track of what I have read. But it’s really not that many. Probably like 10-15 in total.

Not really the person to ask for refs as ive barely read any ¯\_(ツ)_/¯