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#this is unironically one my best pieces

cinnbar-bun · 4 months

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Watching Reality TV With You (Various One Piece Characters x Reader)

Characters: Zoro, Sanji, Trafalgar Law, Luffy, Perona + Mihawk, Nami, Kizaru/Borsalino, Eustass Kidd

A/n: Sorry I’m a huge fan of Real Housewives so take these silly headcanons!!!

Note: GN reader, the relationships with the character(s) and reader can be seen as platonic/romantic depending on what you prefer :) Mihawk + Perona’s relationship to each other is also not stated just for your personal preference. These are all just very silly things, don’t take this too seriously since it’s crack!

Zoro

“The hell? Why are you watching this crap? It’s not even real!”

He just sighs and grumbles about how this is dumb the whoooooole time.

Tends to sharpen his swords or try and nap while it’s on.

Until lowkey he starts peeking a bit like ‘did she just say that?’

Suddenly has opinions on it and tries to deny he’s interested but his eyes are GLUED once they start arguing and the suspenseful music is playing.

“Well, if I was her, I think I’d just kick them. Or maybe cut their car in half.”

Sanji

Opposite of Zoro. The man is probably a bigger fan than you and most likely is reading the gossip online.

It’s your weekly night hangout where he brings snacks and cozy blankets for you two to sit and enjoy while watching.

Gasps audibly and loudly.

He’s both the best and worst to talk about this with because he respects all women and he forgives them for everything, so they all get passes from him.

“Yes she may have talked badly about [name] and stole [name]’s house and maybe crashed a car. But we all do that. We need to show forgiveness. She’s having a tough time- her dress came in the wrong color.”

Law

Like Zoro, he’s very disturbed by the very prospect of reality tv.

But he’ll try. Let it be known he’s trying.

He doesn’t get interested in it but he does try to follow along so he can discuss it with you.

Not gonna lie though he’s the guy who’s focusing on their plastic surgery or illnesses.

Will literally pause the show just to examine what they may/may not have done and if the surgeon botched it up.

Imma just manifest this, he’s prolly a Terry Dubrow stan.

“Who’s your favorite Housewife so far?” “Terry.” “But… Terry isn’t-“ “It’s Terry.”

Unironically would drop a horrible quote from whichever show you’ve been watching and he’d say it so seriously that everyone’s jaw will drop and it takes him a sec for him to realize what he said.

Luffy

Imma keep this short for you- he ain’t looking.

He ain’t caring.

No thoughts.

He only cares when there’s a party and food is being served.

“Woooooah! Look at all that food!!!”

Doesn’t even recognize who is who and will just mindlessly wait for food to come on screen.

Perona + Mihawk

I’m putting this as a two for one they’re my everything <3

You and Perona are the ones who watch it lots. Perona does complain about how much they argue but she loooooves looking at the houses and clothes of the women. Makes comments about wanting to fly first class or visit the beautiful places they go to.

Mihawk is reading.

Perona is biased as hell and only defends the people that are wearing cute clothes. Otherwise? Shit list.

“Ugh! What is that dress?! It’s so hideous!” “Is that all you’re focusing on?” “I agree with (Y/n), Perona, she just had gotten into some relationship troubles with [name], so I think [name] is wrong.”

You and Perona are gasping and shocked that Mihawk 1) talked and 2) had an opinion on this???

Turns out the man had been listening the whole time (he’s quite the multitasker).

If Perona is the most biased viewer, Mihawk tries to remain objective and impartial. He's always listing out the nuances of a conversation.

“I think [name] is just jealous.” “Well, if we remember in season 4, episode 14-“

He’s a smart ass sometimes, but it’s okay, he’s our smart ass.

Perona is always enthusiastic about marathoning the shows again and watching it. She tends to do dress up requirements for watching it.

Nami

I’d hesitate to call Nami a “fan” of reality shows.

She’s aware of them, yes. Does she particularly care for it? Nah, not really.

They’re more background noise and eye candy for her.

She just likes putting them on and glancing every once in a while to gaze at the beautiful houses and trips.

“Oh that’s so expensive… imagine what you could do with all that!”

Sometimes has a fun game for herself to estimate the cost of an outfit, accessory, or house. It’s scary how accurate and detailed she can get with it.

Tends to mostly focus on fashion and get new ideas to steal- I mean, incorporate.

Doesn’t have strong opinions on the cast, but she isn’t too crazy about the louder members.

Kizaru/Borsalino

He’s heard of it, he thinks.

And, well, since you’re so into them, he’ll give it a watch.

“Oh my, these ladies are incredibly wealthy and beautiful.”

He’s not even ogling them he’s just amazed at the way they dress, behave, and/or decorate their spaces. It’s almost like being starstruck???

The guy who will pause the tv at certain scenes to point at random decorations or outfits and be like “darling, would you like that?”

He does get sad when they start to fight.

“Aw… I was just liking the party… why are they arguing now?”

His favorite cast member is your favorite one <3 he’s just a cheerleader like that, dear.

He could listen to you talk about it for hours if you wanted, and he’d be amazed by your knowledge.

“You know, if you’d like for me to have you be on a show like this, I could probably pull some strings!”

Kidd

1000000x worse than Zoro

I cannot recommend putting it on in front of him.

“The hell is this shit?! Turn it off!”

You refuse and now he’s stuck watching grown women argue over dumb things (in his mind).

Complains the ENTIIIIRRRRE time. Nonstop commenting and complaining.

Okay but he’s hooked after a bit, the drama is just too good.

But now he’s WORSE cuz he’s got OPINIONS and THEYRE ALL SHITTY!

This man is an instigator. I swear to god he’s just saying shit just to rile you up and be contrarian.

He's stanning the biggest menaces on the show.

You two will probably get into (very silly) arguments about some of the situations and people.

And unlike say, Sanji, who tries to defend a person, Eustass will just say you’re wrong and then add something unhinged to it.

“Naw you just don’t get it. If I was her, personally, I think I’d just burn their mansion down and then slash their tires.”

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lucvly · 4 months

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hi, how are you doing ? i was wondering if can you do christmas head canons with matt ?

— christmas headcannons with matt. ⸰ 𖥔 ͙

warnings: just fluff & a slightly suggestive one if you squint.

a/n: hii omg ?? is this Thing on ?? 🎤

— leaves the christmas lights up till january type of person. either a) he’s too lazy to take the decorations down, or b) he just wants you to help him take them down so he avoids it until you bring up the idea of helping him LMAO.

— this man knows how to wrap presents mhm. he’d a hundred percent do that stupid ass trend that’s like “wrapping gifts as something not even remotely close”.

— LOOOVES baking cookies with you aww. he doesn’t even like the baking process itself he just likes the decorating part.

— his presents are definitely well thought out. you offhandedly said you wanted a certain something five months ago? best believe he bought it for you for christmas.

— every single present he gives you includes a handwritten love letter. you love it because it’s always at least three pages long and it’s so cute :(.

— he’s such an attentive boyfriend i’m melting ugh. always has a spare jacket for you in the backseat of his car. he’ll say nick or chris left it there for some reason which is most definitely not true, he keeps it there especially for you just in case you get too cold.

— he doesn’t really like visiting malls on christmas because of the crowds but if you wanna go for some reason he’s absolutely following you around.

— he tries to be secretive with gifts but ends up being a major fail LMFAOO you’ve found out what your presents are on multiple occasions. one time he just left them in the car accidentally and you saw them before he could even do anything about it.

— which leads me to my next point, you and chris have an unspoken secret agreement to tell each other what matters got you for christmas. you tell him his present and he’ll tell you yours.

— this went on for a while before matt actually found out and all hell broke loose Oops.

— a perfectionist when it comes down to gingerbread houses. he eventually gives up though when some of the pieces don’t stick together.

— matching ugly sweaters are a must, duh. sometimes it’ll deadass just be mid june and you’ll catch him wearing one of the matching sweaters. it’s so funny but unironically he loves them, he can’t even figure iut why, he just does.

— he gets chapped lips during winter SORRY !! so you’re absolutely gonna catch him with cherry flavored chapstick and he doesn’t gaf. ( taste tests in the car <3333 )

— he’ll never admit it but he Loves christmas scented candles. he acts like the smell is way too strong or something but light one of those snickerdoodle scented candles and he’s Melting.

— lots of christmas themed pick up lines. deadass texts you in the middle of the night just to be like “can i take your picture? i gotta show santa what i want for christmas.”

— his favorite part of winter is the fact that he gets to spend most of his time cuddled up with you under a fuzzy blanket watching movies.

— expect tons of late night drives with him. he loves seeing how people decorate their houses, and for some reason he loves late night talks with you with soft christmas music playing in the background.

— he would be so serious about kids and santa. i feel like chris would be the type of guy to tell kids santa isn’t real but matt would get so pissed, literally raging.

— gets the worst case of sweet tooth during christmas. cookies, cakes, literally anything sweet idc.

— due to that, he’d a hundred percent get sick during the holidays LMFAOO (constant stomachaches because of the amount of sweets he’s had.)

— he’s definitely very considerate as to who you wanna spend your christmas with. he’s thrilled when you wanna spend christmas with him, his brothers and the rest of his family but he also understands that you wanna spend holidays with your family.

— to get to a fair arrangement, you both agree on: one year celebrating with your family, and another year you celebrate with his.

— though when you celebrate with your family, matt, chris and nick end up crashing at, like, the middle of the night HELLO??

— he loves showing you off and posting with you during the holidays. posting your matching outfits, posting vlogs / videos and hauls of what you got for christmas. it’s soo cute.

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irisintheafterglow · 9 months

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some bonus hcs about dating volleyball captain!gojo while i finish up the next few parts of end game. hope you enjoyy !!

his lockscreen is of you sitting on his bed wearing one of his jerseys with no pants on

he'd just made you laugh really hard and it's a candid of you smiling

your lockscreen is of him standing in front of a tree that had "penis <3" carved into it with his thumb up

you'd literally teared up laughing when he begged you to take a photo of him with it

his homescreen is of you trying to wrangle megumi and yuuji to take a proper photo without getting distracted (the photo, therefore, being them getting distracted)

your homescreen is a mirror picture taken after you'd run around in the rain and were both soaking wet

he's holding you from behind and burying his face in your neck while you take the photo

if he wasn't protective of you before, he is the definition of protective now that you were officially together

other players that dare to hit on you before a match are humiliated by the honored one beating them at barely half of his full power

he'd blow you a kiss and then serve straight into the net because he's stupid <3

he likes to leave little notes in your pocket with the most OBSCENE things written in them and you have no idea how they got there

"your ass looks incredible today"

"call me mater because i want you"

"kachow i want you NOW"

he goes absolutely FERAL when you wear his clothes, especially his volleyball gear

doesn't matter if it's a jersey or his track jacket or a worn out tee-shirt from training camp

"you look better in that than i do, baby"

"though i do admit you'd look better in nothing at all"

you could wear his SOCKS and he'd get all giddy

if you're wearing it and it's not yours to begin with, he's a smug motherfucker

would unironically get you two those lego piece necklaces that create a heart in the colors of the school (i was thinking black and purple)

he always has to be touching you

doesn't matter the place or the time or the scenario

whether you like it or not, a part of this man's body will always be on yours

leaning against your shoulder, linking a single pinky with yours, touching your thigh with his under the table

it grounds him and reminds him that he's not alone

he love love loves it when you fiddle with his hands

you're laying down together with his arms around your shoulders looking up at the ceiling you'll trace the lines of his palms with your fingers and play with his hands and he literally melts

he's incredibly adamant to mention to eVERYONE that he has a partner including but not limited to: cheerleaders, fangirls, classmates, girls' team players, and other boys' team players (man can pull idk what to tell you)

at all times just

"i have a partner."

"sorry, i'm taken."

"i'm not single."

"i don't want you."

he'd never dream of giving up a love like yours because you see him just as satoru

not the powerhouse captain set to lead your school into its second volleyball golden age

just your best friend first then boyfriend satoru

whose bloodstream probably contains sugary green apple soda that you taste whenever he kisses you

"i taste that shitty fruity energy drink on your tongue again"

"so you admit you like my tongue"

"i just called it shitty, satoru"

"i'll start drinking a different flavor then, and you tell me which one you like"

he still doesn't convince you to call him captain

yet ;)

#gojo x reader #gojo x you #jjk x you #gojo satoru x y/n #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru x you #jujutsu kaisen #suguru geto #satoru gojo #jjk volleyball au #gojo hcs #jjk hcs

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duskymrel · 8 months

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TWST characters as different people i've seen at school

yes most of this is slander

Riddle: The kid who treated being line leader as though he had just been elected President of the United States of America

Ace: Would stand up in class and shout "FOR KOBE" and throw a piece of paper at the trash bin. Would completely miss.

Cater: Filming a fucking TikTok dance in the middle of the school hallway during class transitions. Fucking MOVE, i got places to be. (I walk directly though their tiktok and ruin it)

Trey: That kid who's birthday you know by heart and eagerly await every year because he brings in the BEST desserts. The good kush.

Deuce: Says the stupidest shit in class unironically. Other guys are confused as to how this makes him more endearing but girls fawn all over him.

Azul: Passes by his crush (Jamil) in the hallway and thinks blud will stop and fall madly in love with him at first sight and will declare his love to Azul and it'll be something straight out of a teen girl movie. It ends up playing out exactly like this video: https://www.tiktok.com/@irljigsaw/video/7232906141385215274?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Floyd: Kid who only likes Chemistry because he's crazy excited about mixing chemicals and setting things on fire. Anything he makes in a lab he loudly comments on how badly he want's to take a bit fat slurp/bite out of it. (it's me i do this)

Jade: One of the mushroom core girlies. Wears mushroom jewelry, has mushrooms patterns on his clothes, draws them for art class, draws them on his notebooks and binders. It's almost obnoxious but he's forgiven by everyone because he's hot.

Leona: Literally doesn't give a shit about school. Shows up in pajama bottom's and takes the fattest nap right in the middle of Geometry.

Jack: The only nice guy on the football team, girls LUST for him ❤

Ruggie: The only class this kid liked was free and reduced lunch (real)

Kalim: Guy who refuses to eat school food. He's probably got the right idea, that nacho cheese sauce probably causes cancer. Brings the most banger lunches and makes people jealous. (Lunchables, the GOOD fruit gummies, chips, a cookie, and a Caprisun.)

Jamil: In classes where you're not allowed to eat, he's the kid who sits in the back and makes a 9 course Gordan Ramsay approved gourmet meal.

Idia: This was so easy this guy was the anime weebo who wore anime merch every day and sometimes even wore anime wigs to school. He won't admit it but he would Naruto run through the halls in middle school.

Ortho: The cute little innocent babey schnookums who the girls all doted on. Hurt him and you'll get jumped by every girl in the student body. Fuck around and find out type shit.

Vil: Bozo who would literally paint their nails in class and would be doing their eyeliner while the teacher was trying to explain mRNA.

Epel: YEEHAW REDNECK KID. you know who i mean. the one who wears a hat with the American flag on it every day and whenever the teacher tells them to take it off they go on a rant about how unpatriotic the teacher is.

Rook: The only kid who actually liked French class. Tries to rizz people up in the hallway and asks for their Snap but always fails. Maidenless behavior.

Malleus: The tall quiet emo kid who slumps in his chair on his phone, with the bottom resting on his belly. He looks like he's listening to edgy emo music but it's actually tooth rotting cheesy pop music

Lilia: The manic pixie dream girl who will spew the most wise sage advice when asked.

Sebek: Literally one of those girls who's attached to her boyfriend like a parasite. You cannot separate her. Overly loyal and won't stfu. Is like a mix between a golden retriever and a chihuahua.

Silver: I swear on my life he's one of the kids who's been adopted by his entire friendgroup. People love him he's just a likeable person. He makes a new friend and BOOM they've adopted him. You're my son now, boy.

--------

@heartscrypt i thought specifically of you while writing Azuls

anyways all of these are people i've known i've got irl sources for this. no i won't apologize for all the slander because it's funny.

#twisted wonderland #twst funny #twst #twst dorm leaders #riddle rosehearts #malleus draconia #azul ashengrotto #vil shoenheit #kalim al asim #idia shroud #dusky writes #leona kingscholar #floyd leech #lilia vanrouge #disney twst #twst slander

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writingmia · 8 months

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i really liked your pjo headcannons post. i thought it was interesting, since most people always put physical touch as some of the main ll for the characters, esp leo n percy. do u have any other headcanons for either of them? it can be generic things, like what they would do with a s/o, or it can be weird shit idc? i swear ive read lit every single post to exist on tumblr n i need more

Oh my god thank you so much! This is so sweet. I'm surprised my first ever post is doing as well as it is. I expected to pass as pretty unnoticed in the beginning. I do have a lot of headcanons for the characters, but I'm going to do Leo in this one since he's my absolute favourite

Note: I haven't read the HOO books in a while, but I just finished my reread of PJO, so if any 'headcanon' is actually canon, please just pretend that I'm Uncle Rick himself.

Warnings: none

Leo Valdez Headcanons - loves sweet&spicy. If that's an option in the menu at the restaurant he went to, he will absolutely get it. He's kind of obsessed with it to the point where one might get worried about his taste buds

- if he had to choose between sweet and sour, he would absolutely pick sweet any day. That's not really the best considering he's very ADHD, even for a demigod and his intake of sugar doesn't really help much, but he just loves sweet. He doesn't care if it's chocolate-type sweet or sugar-sweet, he just likes it. You can bet that when he comes out of Bunker 9 after a long day, his tongue would be all types of colours because his 'meal' for the day was whatever candy was in his stash of sweets

- now if you made the choice between sweet, sour and spicy, he would struggle to pick

- he hates coffee. he's simply not a coffee guy. he thinks it tastes nasty, since we established he loves anything sweet and coffee is definitely not sweet. and he doesn't need it anyway, he's hyper as is. if anything, coffee makes him more tired

- i feel like he would get pretty into anime if he tried watching it. from the trending shonen, chainsaw man would be his fave, but in general he would be such a fan of one piece imo. he is that person who has unironically watched the whole thing like three times - he feels guilty when he isn't doing something productive since he feels this need to constantly be creating something, but he also loves to just get distracted by something and do his own thing for hours, even if there's no 'productive' outcome. so he 'wastes' his time and feels guilty the entire time, but the enjoyment he gets out of it evens out the guilt (what do you mean i'm not projecting on my favourite character... at all...)

- secretly a good singer. piper once caught him singing in the shower and then dragged him out and forced him to sing out loud because she was not expecting such an angelic voice to come out of him

- his go to karaoke song is 'cake by the ocean' by dnce

- i feel like he would learn how to play the guitar and he will be shockingly good at it. like he learns a song so fast and because his fingers are always doing something and tinkering with things, this is the perfect way for him to get his energy out while also having lots of fun

- i also feel like he would purposefully not tell anyone he learned the guitar and one day he just whips out this new talent of his and everyone's like '????'

- honestly, leo is just good at everything. if he wasn't a hephaestus kid, he would be a son of hermes, because he is such a jack of all trades. he is incredibly intelligent (which is canon, btw, and if it's not yes it fucking is have you seen the guy, he is borderline as smart as Annabeth, if not smarter, just in another flavour), but also anything he attempts to do, he succeeds in. he can draw, he can play the guitar, he can sing, he absolutely is a great dancer. you would expect he sucks at cooking but nope, there he goes, making a gourmet meal like it's nothing. he isn't much of a fighter, but if he needs to hold his ground, he can. he's just so versatile, you can barely catch him off guard with something he can't master in a few hours

I fucking love Leo, can you notice this from my post?? Anyway, I got too lazy to edit this after I wrote it, so if it's not grammatically perfect or things don't make sense, apologies and please let me know. I will post more headcanons because I frankly have too many. And a lot of AU ideas. I'm preparing one rn actually so... stay tuned? Maybe follow if you're interested in seeing more shit by me. - mia

#leo valdez #leo valdez headcanons #percy jackson headcanon #heores of olympus #heroes of olympus headcanons #leo valdez x reader #heroes of olympus x reader #headcanon #hoo

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idialover · 8 months

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!!NSFW!!!

My friends and I have a tradition of playing "does this character have sex" whenever we get into a new piece of media, because we always enjoy everything together, and today we spent a few hours discussing TWST charactrs. They found out that I now have a Tumblr blog and told me I should "post our very scientific findings for the interwebs" (Note that we are all between the ages of 16-17, so in the same age group as the characters)

Heartslabyul (general judgement): The virgin one

Riddle: no, and he somehow doesn't even know what sex is. You'd think he'd know with how much he studies about everything you learn in school, so even sex-ed but no, he doesn't know

Ace: gray area, no bitches respectfully, except maybe Deuce, but we couldn't agree on that, he would treat it as "it's just a prank bro, no homo"

Deuce: yeah, sure, I mean he's pretty okay looking, not often tho

Cater: he seems like he'd be a dicord kitten or an insta-thot, he tries but doesn't really succeed, maybe once or twice.

Trey: no, because he actually wears a fedora, unironically. "he's as bland as the flour he uses in his cakes"-my friend#2

Savanaclaw (general judgement): Gahdayumm!!

Leona: YES! absoulutley 100% just look at him, but he'd be one of those lazy tops, is very casual about it, there isn't a lot to say because it's just so obvious that he is 100% a sex haver

Ruggie: Hard to say, he has an Italian souding name so maybe no, he hasn't yet discovered that he can earn quite a lot of money that way, or maybe he has (we couldn't agree on this)

Jack: gay wolf boyfirend fantasy so yes, big buff man go brrrr

Octavinelle (general judgement): ehhhh, fish go brrr

Azul: this was a very hard one to decide but in the end no, no real reason just doesn't seem like he would have it, he's on that alpha buisness grindset

Jade: Yes becazse friend#1 said so (she's a strong Jade stan) and everyone decided to let her have this one, but everybody else generally thinks he is Asexual (friend#1 is also ace)

Floyd: yes, he is bisexual in wicked and scheming ways and everybody is aware of that. Chaos bi, him and Jade are two side of a coin, all or nothing. He flirts by messing with people, mostly Riddle but as I've already said Riddle has no idea what's going on and just thinks Floyd has it out for him

Scarabia (general judgement): This was the hardest one to discuss

Kalim: He is very lovable, but no, for unknown reasons, boy has 0 rizz

Jamil: yeah, ig, normal 17 year old guy, he isn't basic like Trey, but he just doesn't have time because of Kalim

Pomefiore (general judgement): slayyy!

Vil: Yes, and his standards are surprisingly not as high as you'd think, we got very heated about how people often mischaracterize him as a very vain but he just wants people to be themselves and best version of themselves. Good for cardio

Rook: yes, in freaky kinky ways (see Rook alchemy card) he sometimes has touble finding people who are into the same stuff as him

Epel: no, beacause he is an "alpha male" in the worst ways possible

Ignihyde (General judgement): you'd think they be reddit mods, but they actually tumblr sexymen

Idia: yes, he has that disheveled rizz, the more they look like they haven't left the house since 2015 the better. We stan broken men in this household(blog), only on halloween tho that's when his confidence get's a bit better and he becomes and active member of society

Ortho: he is a robot based on a young child! NO!

Diasomnia (General judgement): oooh spooky~~

Malleus: yeah sure

Silver: gray are (they demanded I make that pun, pls forgive me)

Lillia: He is the most slay character, an old vampire/fae obviously yes. He has a lot of experience, best sex haver he's so amazing, Lillia for the win

Sebek: no

Staff (general judgement): a very mixed bag

Crowley: someone somwhere slept with him, he is kinda usless but he gets laid, look at his vacation outfit

Crewel: Definetly, high standards but he is correct, he gets to have high standards, he is the perfect man, not a DILF but also not not one

Trein: yes, loyal to his wife (rip tho), good husband 10/10 would trust him, good man

Vargas: Yeah, he's a typical good looking guy, he has never had a long term relationship but he doesn't want one

Sam: We debated for a long time and decided that yes he does have sex

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kyoriis · 2 years

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HIGHSCHOOL AU ? ! ☆

featuring !! — luxiem.

synopsis !! — if the luxiem members were in school. like which type of students they would be lmao.

format !! — headcanons.

warnings !! — cursing. not proofread sorry :(

kyori's note !! — this has been sitting in my drafts for wayyy too long. anyways tysm for 100+ followers <3 !

VOX AKUMA ! ☆

two words : everyone's crush.

he's like those senior students yk? like the ones who are good at almost everything.

like they know their shit.

his locker is full of love letters too.

mr attractive here definitely has his way with words. ✧\(>o<)ﾉ✧

like he'll cover up for you with his smooth talking skills for sure.

i'd say he has never lost an argument.

he's not loud but he's not quite either.

but he's not fond of the student council, like they might as well have asked him a hundred times but he said : no <3

literally everyone would gush over him, even the teachers because of how well he performs.

his grades definitely are good. i'm talking about straight A's and B's.

his favorite subject is prolly chemistry smh. mf has a big brain.

but once you become close friends with him, oh boy he changes sfjshw-

only his close friends get to experience his goofiness lmfao.

he will make unsieso jokes for sure. and literally the next second he'll answer the question the teacher had asked. pog.

so basically : hot nerd but not really ???" ( he has def pulled some pranks on some teachers with mysta and always got away with it. )

IKE EVELAND ! ☆

pretty boy.

like literally, everyone calls him that.

he basically plays almost every instrument.ヽ(｡◕o◕｡)ﾉ

his favorite subject is either english or history.

has never skipped a single class. never.

prolly never dated anyone.

he won't talk to you unless you talk to him. ( i'm calling myself out- )

once you become close, he's still the same but definitely more talkative.

ike's definitely every teacher's favorite. no doubt.

he's not really a fan of attention.

obviously he gets amazing grades bestie, like straight A's. has never gotten a B in his life.

like he manages his time so well, like he gets good sleep and also submits everything before the deadline.

has never been late either.

younger students definitely look up to him.

however he hates biology with a burning passion. ( same. )

idk why but i feel like he dresses really nicely too. he wears very aesthetically pleasing outfits.

definitely in the student council.

he also tried to wear eyeliner once. and oh boy.

everyone fell in love with ike that day.

SHU YAMINO ! ☆

a certified nerd. in the best way possible ofc <3

he's good at everything. help.

he loves maths sm it hurts.

part of the student council too cause his parents forced him into it lmao.

only has like some close friends.

shu isn't the biggest fan of school events either. so he definitely has lied some ( multiple ) times that he's sick and can't make it.

says "ayyyyyy" unironically whenever he gets something right.

he has the weirdest sense of humor.

he drinks wayyy too much tea.

like literally shu please stop and drink some water ffs. Σ(ಠ_ಠ)

he likes art but sometimes ends up goofing off by drawing balls on the canvas. but like it's abstract so you wouldn't know it was intentional lmao.

and then when the art pieces are displayed he's trying his best no to laugh.

he submits his projects like the next day they were assigned. like mf you have an entire week. no need to pull an all nighter.

shu isn't really that popular. but people who know him call him a meme god because of his extensive knowledge on memes.

he has like 273989 hoodies istg.

LUCA KANESHIRO ! ☆

himbo. duh.

he's "that" jock yk?

people are simps for him. they're so down bad but luca is so innocent bro i can't.

he loves sports a lot. plays basketball, soccer, literally anything. you name it.

he's definitely a rich kid.

istg luca wears the most expensive colognes in existence.

also his fashion sense is immaculate.

he tries his best in other subjects but he's an average student.

like constant B's sometimes an A, he tries his best tho. ʕ ꈍᴥꈍʔ

the type of guy to help you when you can't reach anything.

he's really dense when it comes to romance as i've mentioned before.

"luca i love you !"

"awww i love you too" :)

obviously he uses pog wayyyy too much.

literal sunshine. the classes are gloomy without him.

idk he has this friendly ( golden retriever ) aura that just makes everyone love him. you can't hate him, it's impossible.

doesn't like maths. has skipped loads of math classes lmfao.

buys ppl lunch wayyy too often, like sir i know your rich but please. that money could've been spent on c6 kazuha vdjsj-

MYSTA RIAS ! ☆

he's wild. ofc he is, he's mysta snjskdk-

epic prankster. literally his brain is so big when it comes to pulling pranks it's kinda concerning ngl.

obviously all of that big brain energy shrinks when it comes to maths.

but he's a pretty average student too.

according to mysta "it shouldn't exist since calculators are a thing".

i feel like ppl don't realize he's actually about to graduate because of how he acts sometimes ( º _ º )

but he's surprising mature when it comes to group projects. like sir where's the screaming child that we all love?

man's got drip.

mysta the type of person to leave class the slowest and then miss out on lunch and be like "AYO WTF?!?"

he needs to stop chugging down literally every fucking energy drink.

so about the pranks i mentioned earlier, yeah he's never been caught.

he writes and doodles random ass stuff on his notebooks.

"hey mysta ! can i borrow your notes ?"

"sure !" :)

and then there will be a terribly drawn dog on the pages hyusjs-

it's cute tho <3

mysta fucking rias also needs to sleep because holy this bottom does not get a wink of sleep.

oh and yes, he sometimes listens to literally the most weird music in existence.

one time his earphones got unplugged and oh boy.

#✍🏼 — dua's works !!#vtuber x reader #luxiem #nijisanji #nijien #nijisanji en #vtuber #vox akuma #luca kaneshiro #ike eveland #mysta rias #shu yamino #iluna #noctyx #luxiem x reader

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idkijustlikev0caloid · 24 days

Text

Madoka magic aheadconnaons because it’s been too long since I saw a head cannons post

Madoka

THE GAYEST OUT OF ALL OF THEM

Owns at least one piece Sanrio merch

My melody

Cat person

Loves vocaloid

Loves kawaii fashion

Doesn’t actually spend that much time online

Homura

Listens to malice mizer

Everytime ma Cherie or baroque plays she thinks of madoka

Kuromi

Cat person

Loves gothic Lolita and vkei fashion

Allergic to almonds

Sayaka

Has tried MANY times to get kyoko to listen to classical music just to fail everytime

Everyone asks her if the blue is dyed and multiple people have pulled her hair thinking it’s a wig

Both/lizard person

Spends too much time online

Nerd behind closed doors

Needs glasses but too lazy to use them

Kyoko

Listens to limp bizkit unironically

The best ddr player ever

Even if she wasn’t a magical girl she would still be ridiculously strong

Dog person

Has never been caught stealing somehow

Doesn’t understand fashion at all

The first time she heard the phrase ‘headcannon’ she thought it was about a literal cannon

Mami

Randomly breaks out into song when she’s alone in her house, has forgotten multiple times that the others were over and just started singing abba

Loves watching really bad and fake reality tv

She and bebe still get along great

Bebe person idk

The only one that dyes her hair

Adores gyarus

Clueless with technology

#madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm #headcanon

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drunkenskunk · 5 days

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Welcome to another Drunk Skunk™ rant!

So.

I've had some time to sit and stew on the Fallout show, and I think I've finally figured out exactly what I want to say. Because kids? I got Opinions™ about this fucking series. I sincerely wish I didn't have all these Opinions™, because that would almost certainly cause me significantly less stress.

But here we are.

The Fallout show annoys me, but not for the reasons you think.

Let's get the good out of the way first. And by "good" I mean "damning with faint praise."

The Fallout show, as a piece of entertainment and experienced in a vacuum with no prior knowledge or context of the rest of the series or any of the other video games, is... fine. It's an entertaining television show. It's not great, but it's not terrible. It's okay.

The best part of the show is, unquestionably, Walton Goggins. Which is probably the coldest take here, everyone agrees that he's fantastic in this. And it's true! Granted, he doesn't look nearly as gnarly as he should, as the makeup is really giving Ryan Reynolds Deadpool Hugo Weaving Red Skull vibes, but I can honestly give that a pass. He steals every single scene he's in. He has all the best lines. Plus, all the pre-war flashbacks with him are excellent. That first scene when the bombs drop is fucking harrowing.

SPEAKING OF THE BOMBS!

The big reveal that Vault Tec were the ones to kickstart the apocalypse. My initial gut reaction to that was... Not Great. I didn't like it. In fact, I kinda hated it. I thought it was an answer to a question that nobody asked, because nobody cared, because it was never supposed to matter who shot first. The original point was that the end of the world was the inevitable outcome after so many years of war, so many years of stockpiling nuclear weapons, and so many bad decisions from everyone in positions of power on all sides of the conflict.

But the more I think about Vault Tec being the ones to destroy the world... I dunno, the more I... kinda like it? In a fashion. Sort of. As you can see by the remaining length of this fucking rant, I have Complicated Feelings about this!

See, Fallout has never exactly been subtle with its themes, but the show drops all pretense, and openly embraces a staunchly (and honestly, extremely surprising) anti-capitalist narrative.

The Fallout show pulls a Garth Marenghi unironically, and it honestly... kinda works?

Vault Tec were the ones to drop the bombs because they wanted to recreate the world in their image of a capitalist "paradise" free of any and all government regulation. The inevitable end result of the "great game" of capitalism is the literal end of the world, and the capitalists will do everything they can to destroy any attempts to rebuild any civilization not explicitly under their direct control. Because that's what capitalists do: they pursue an ultimately self-destructive goal that is not, and never was, sustainable, and will destroy everything else in their pursuit of endless, infinite, exponential growth, forever. Nothing else matters except Make Number Line Go Up.

Side note: it is extremely funny to me that Bethesda - a hollow shell of greed and excess who have been releasing the same game with different wallpapers over and over again since Oblivion - and Amazon - which is fucking Amazon - bankrolled a show where the villains are greedy capitalists who explicitly destroyed the world because of fiduciary duty to the shareholders. Like... guys, you do realize you two are Vault Tec in this scenario, right?

Ah well. That's capitalist realism for ya.

Anyway, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes that Vault Tec were the ones to drop the bombs.

HOWEVER.

Maybe this is just me being a cynical, drunken asshole here, but... it feels like this was a decision that was made, not because it was the best way to take the narrative, but instead as a means of enforcing the Status Quo of Bethesda Fallout.

See, the thing I liked about the west coast Fallout games was that it showed a world ravaged by the apocalypse, but it also showed that world beginning to heal. 200 years after The End, and civilization was returning. It was a natural evolution of things, emphasizing the post part of "post-apocalypse." It showed us a world that really sucked a lot of the time... but also gave us a small sliver of hope that, no matter what nightmares existed after The End, things could - and would - get better, so long as we put in the work to make it better. It was a world that showed us that nothing was ever so broken that it couldn't be repaired. We just had to fucking EARN that happy ending.

Bethesda Fallout, on the other hand, is just Wacky Wasteland Adventure Time. They are not interested in showing a world evolving or changing or growing, they just want a blasted hellscape that looks like it was freshly nuked yesterday. Why? Because that's the surface-level Aesthetic of Fallout. That is what is recognizable. And Aesthetic is all they know how to do. That's the mother fucking Brand.

Doing something different would risk changing the Brand, and if that kind of change happens, then it's no longer easily marketable. So they just keep with what's familiar: freshly irradiated hellscapes, caps as currency, makeshift weapons, psychotic raiders with no purpose or goals beyond Fuck You, and more of the fucking Brotherhood of Steel. It's all the stuff we remember, so we can point at the screen and go "I recognize that!" instead of allowing the setting to evolve and creating something new.

And that's what annoys me the most. Because even though Vault Tec destroying the world in 2077 makes a certain amount of sense, it also feels like it only exists as a means of artificially enforcing the status quo of the setting. Which means that nothing will ever matter in Fallout ever again. It doesn't matter what happens, or what changes in the future, or who wins the next ideological conflict between the same factions that keep reappearing over and over again like radroaches. Because whenever something strays too far from the established setting, Vault Tec (or, more accurately, Bethesda) is just going to nuke it again, like what happened to Shady Sands.

And, y'know, Shady Sands getting nuked like that really does rankle. Not because I ever had any attachment to the NCR, but because destroying it in the way that they did just felt so fucking lazy. If they wanted to get rid of the NCR, there were easily half a dozen other things they could've done that would've made far more sense. The NCR was a fantastically corrupt government, making the same mistakes as the same governments that (up until the show) were responsible for destroying the world. California was running out of food and clean drinking water because of gross negligence and mismanagement, public unrest was high because of excessive taxation and the "stop tolls" of corrupt border guards shaking down people, and both the military and bureaucracy of the NCR was spread fucking paper-thin, due to their policies of violent imperialist expansionism trying to take far more territory than they could reasonably hold, far more quickly than they could ever manage.

And did any of that matter? No. Not at all. Pursuing any of those plot threads would've required the writers to actually come up with some new ideas. So, instead, it was destroyed because of a cryogenically frozen Vault Tec middle manager with family problems. It was such a fucking lazy solution to a problem that should never have existed in the first place. It felt like the Fallout equivalent of "Somehow, Palpatine has returned."

That's why this show annoys me so much. Because this show that exists without subtlety or subtext, is telling us, to our face:

Don't hope for a better future, because it will never come. The world of Fallout is a destroyed, irradiated hellscape, entirely devoid of hope, and it will never, ever change, ever again.

Because that's the Fallout Brand, and that's what fucking sells.

#drunk skunk rant #Fallout #fallout show #fallout tv show #fallout show spoilers #it took me three hours to write this #what the hell am I doing with my life

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abhainnwhump · 2 months

Text

IMYM Chapter 22: Mind Sickness: Dream

(Content warnings: Referenced tortured, referenced abuse, inaccurate medical procedures, very brainwashed Ink, nearly 10k word chapter. I need to stop torturing Dream so much in an Ink-centric whump story.)

<- Previous Chapter || Masterlist || Next Chapter ->

Dream’s joy and happiness faded as soon as he slammed into a wall of black paint. They fell onto the broken road, rubbing their head and staring at its height. The wall shook and splashed over him, Fresh, and Epic like a waterfall.

Dream spit the thin bitter paint out of his mouth. He resembled his twin more than he liked. He looked up with shock. “Wha- what was that for?”

Ink broke into laughter, except . . . it was all wrong. Not just because he played a cruel joke, but his laugh didn’t sound like his. Ink should have snorted and sounded carefree. Instead, he had a quiet giggle and he hid it behind his hand. Laying on the ground, Dream started to notice other strange things.

Ink showed no signs of being in pain. No limping, no bandages, no bruises, no scars, not even fear of his captor. He appeared more uneasy about Epic, Fresh, and him.

Even with his positive aura, something else was amiss. He was too healthy with the circumstances. He also looked more diminutive than Dream remembered, at least with a thinner waist. Was he shorter or was Nightmare taller? Ink stood in perfect ballerina stance with an uncanny smile that never faded. In fact, his entire face was too round and soft. And the artist’s outfit . . . Nightmare had to have forced him into it. Ink would never wear those lavender bows and that lacey white dress unironically. Dream didn’t process it at first since all he saw was his best’s friends face. Only one person in the multiverse had that cheek mark. Maybe Ink had scars and bruises under the white fabric. He had to be hurting somewhere.

Then he saw the worst of it. His eye lights. The lilac hearts and white pupils replaced them. Lilac, pink, bows, the bows around his waist and on his head.

Wait, bows . . . oh stars. Bow. Bow.

Dream went cold and he felt like an idiot. Everything clicked into place. It was like working on a puzzle but not knowing what the picture is until you find the last piece. Core warned them about this not long ago. Killer lied and faked Ink’s death, he was with them all along. But yet, he was left with more questions. Most began with Why?

He turned to Epic for his input, but he disappeared. Fresh was as stunned as he was, hiss aura was almost heartbroken. Dream prayed to the Creators that Epic had some common sense and ran through the portal. The guardians should handle this, not a mortal who isn’t experienced. He looked back at Nightmare and Ink. Nightmare crossed his arms and a smug smile plastered across his face. Dream scowled at his vanity and cruelty toward Ink.

Dream blinked to make sure he didn’t imagine this. “Ink, your clothes. . .”

The artist looked hurt, picking at his frilly sleeves. His voice sounded different too, higher-pitched and soft, it was adorable. “Is something wrong with them?”

“Of course not, my little doll.” Nightmare reassured. He ran a hand down his skull. Ink closed his eye sockets in ecstasy, leaning into the touch. Dream cringed. “You look adorable. Dream is just dense and doesn’t understand the new you. Nor what we have.”

“New . . .” The Guardian of Positivity trailed off. He refused to believe what the last sentence implied. Fear filled his mind, shutting down all logic. He barely held his anger back. “Nightmare, what have you done? What did you do to him? WHAT DID YOU DO TO INK?”

Ink answered for him. “He fixed me!” His smile didn’t match his words, as if his twin did a good thing. Dream went nauseous. The sleep deprivation had to be affecting him. Yes, this had to be a bad dream. This couldn’t be the real Ink. He couldn’t be in love with Nightmare. He couldn’t have killed for him. He took him prisoner!

It’s true. A dream wouldn’t be this detailed. It’s an undeniable aura., but he can be saved.

Dream took a deep breath and held out his hand. He hoped for him to see it as a sign of peace. “Ink, listen to yourself! I don’t know what Nightmare told you, but he’s lying! He’s messing with your head! He’s using you! Look what he’s done to you!” Dream gestured at his . . . everything. He tried not to cry. “He didn’t fix you, he made you worse!” It came out harsher than he intended it. Ink lowered his head and stepped behind Nightmare, taking hold of his tendril. His little whimper broke Dream's heart. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

Nightmare pinched his nasal bridge. “Now do you see why I kept you in the castle? I told you they’ll hurt you for being my partner.”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” Dream protested. “What I'm trying to say is that you’re not . . . his. You’re your own person. Nightmare has no right to treat you like this! You’re not a doll! Oh stars, Ink please! Snap out of it!”

His brother shook his head. “More lies, for shame. Is it so hard to understand-” He paused and gained a malicious grin. “Oh, is a demonstration what you need? You always were a visual learner. Come here, my angel.”

The artist obeyed with a smile and stood in front of him, bouncing on his heels. At first, Dream didn’t understand what was happening. Nightmare wrapped his tendrils tight around Ink and lifted his chin to face him. He caressed Ink’s cheek. Otherwise, he stood still as stone. His eye made contact with his twin’s, conveying a thousand words without uttering one.

Now show Dream who you belong to.

Ink threw himself at Nightmare, cupping his captor’s cheekbones and kissinghim. Nightmare pulled him into a low dip, still locked into the kiss. Any possibility that Ink may have been feigning vanished. He wouldn’t fake his happy aura. Nightmare wrapped his hand around the back of the artist’s skull. He hadn’t stopped glaring at Dream, smirking as he fed from his disgust and horror. It was like a car crash. The guardian couldn’t look away, no matter how much he wanted to. He gripped his swords and Fresh followed with his bat.

They stopped when a sound resembling a lightning bolt crashed in the distance. A Gaster Blaster appeared behind Nightmare and Ink. Purple flames flicked and flickered in its eye sockets. Jacket blowing in the wind, Epic stood on top of the blaster’s skull. He gagged and looked like he wanted to vomit.

“Are you kidding me, bruh? You destroy my home, kill my friends, and I leave for eight minutes only to come back to you snogging Inkblot? The hell . . .” Epic shrugged. “I got other things to worry about. See ya.” Epic snapped his fingers and shot the blaster. Nightmare wrapped his arms around Ink and he melted them both into the ground. Dream’s heart stopped as he thought he had taken Ink away again. But then he sensed a strong negative force behind him. He turned around and slashed Nightmare’s tendril aside with his sword. Nightmare retracted his tendril, glaring him down as he kept an arm tight around Ink. Ink clung to him like he was the last good thing in his life.

“Inky brah, let go!” Fresh shouted. Dream could have sworn he saw a purple tendril peek from under his glasses. It vanished and he snapped his fingers. Four furbies surrounded them. Nightmare blocked the explosion by covering both of them in a shield made from his tendrils. Dream still didn’t understand. Was Nightmare protecting Ink? His arms were tight around his frail form.

Scowling, Nightmare snapped his fingers. Ink twitched as if a button was pressed in his mind. He flipped his parasol into a fighting position. He looked to Nightmare, who pointed his finger at Epic. “Fight that one, I’ll humor Dream. You can do it, my sweet Ribbon.”

Epic paused at the name. “Woah, woah, what did you just call hi-?”

Before Epic could finish, Ink charged with the parasol. Nightmare melted into a puddle of sludge and mixed with the shadows. Dream held his daggers out as he watched for any sign of movement.

Ink and Epic clashed. Ink danced, staying light on his feet and gliding around Epic. It would have been beautiful if not for the circumstances and the blood on his dress. Epic brought down his rubber chicken and Ink twirled away. The chicken squeaked.

Fresh launched his first attack at Nightmare, who shot at him from the shadows. A hurricane of rainbow paint and confetti pushed Nightmare back. Dream combined their swords and fired an arrow at their brother. Ink had a strangely potent amount of positivity as he fought Epic.

Nightmare waved his hand and harnessed the malice surrounding the area. The monsters corrupted in the Code Purple rose from the dead and crawled close. Dream slashed them aside, muttering apologies as he cut the heads off each one. Fresh bashed them with his baseball bat.

Ink blocked off paint and blaster beams with his parasol. Epic jumped on broken building parts and eyed Ink. Ink kept watching Nightmare with a nervous glance. Epic found the highest platform he could and jumped off with a scream. He had his rubber chicken ready and close to Ink’s head.

But in the last second, Nightmare threw Epic aside and blocked Ink off. Epic made a safe landing. Nightmare turned around and cupped Ink’s cheeks. Dream, Fresh, and Epic took the chance to duck behind the debris of the building. They panted and looked at each other.

Epic peeked up from the rocks. “Hm . . . ooo-kay, bruh. I see a good shot. I can throw a bone and it should go straight threw Nightmare and we can grab Ink. I don’t know what’s going on in his head to stay with that guy. Look at them!”

Epic sharpened a bone attack and watched for the two. Nightmare didn’t notice as he fussed over Ink, cleaning grime from his face and cooing. Dream leaned over to Epic and whispered. “Now, please.”

Epic threw the bone with all his fury. Ink looked up as Nightmare tended to him and gasped. “Nonononono, Nighty look out!”

Jumping in front of Nightmare, Ink blocked the attack with his body. The bone lodged through his chest. He didn’t make a noise as if he couldn’t feel it, but he stumbled and twitched. Nightmare caught him before he hit the ground, sitting down and holding him. He lay his hand over his head and used magic to put him to sleep. With extreme gentleness, Nightmare sat down with Ink in his lap, stroking his skull. Dream, Fresh, and Epic ran over. Nightmare glared at them, but he turned it into a charming smile.

“By the way, I forgot to ask, do you like him so far?” Nightmare readjusted Ink so his arms wrapped around his waist. “It took a fair bit of trial and error, but he’s a fast learner. He was so fun to break, both physically and mentally. He’s adorable when he begs, you should hear him.” He brushed his cheekbone. “Not a single defiant thought in this little head . . .”

Epic stared with an unreadable expression. “Bruh, what is wrong with you? I mean, what is actually wrong with you?”

Nightmare frowned. “How rude, you didn’t answer my question. I assumed you would love the new Inky. He’s gone from a pest to a sweet, obedient doll. I washed away all his annoying habits and replaced them with polite manners. I recall you hate how arrogant and loud he was. Well, now he’s humble and silent. He loves being my servant. He- oh, I have an excellentidea. I will allow you to keep him for a few days and see how much better he’s become. Once that time is up, I will return to bring him home.” He lifted Ink with his tendrils and dropped him at Dream’s feet.

Dream kneeled and rested his sleeping friend’s head on his femur. He wondered what kind of torment or spell Nightmare put him through to make him so submissive. He glared at his twin. “Whatever you did to mess with his mind, we’ll free him from it. We’ll tell him you handed him over. We’ll tell him what you truly see him as.”

Without turning around, Nightmare said, “And who do you think he’ll believe? The love of his life? Or the person he believes abandoned him? You should be more grateful, brother. I usually hate sharing my toys.” With that, he melted into a puddle of darkness.

Fresh eyed the shaking beams. A pipe snapped and whistled. Rumbling sounded from the ceiling. “Come on, brahs! This joint is going down!”

Dream found he could lift Ink with no trouble at all. He never could before. Epic grabbed Dream and Fresh’s arms and snapped his fingers. He teleported them to the Omega Timeline portal. The building they were in collapsed not a moment later, dust covered the air in a black and gray blanket. Black negativity devoured it. Fresh reached his arm out and twisted it, changing the location of where the doorway would take them. His portal abilities were stronger after becoming the Guardian of Creativity. They jumped through the entrance.

The four skeletons appeared in a small white waiting room with wooden bookshelves. The Omega Hospital. Core and Blue chatted at a round table. Blue’s left eye socket was bruised and forming a small scar. Core’s hair was burned at the tips. The knight caught sight of the skeletons and waved, pausing mid-greeting as soon as he saw the mess.

“What happened to you guys?” Core peeked up at the unconscious body in Dream’s arms. “And- oh my stars, is that Ribbon?

“Ribbon?” Epic and Blue asked at the same time.

"He's Nightmare's most recent hi-" Core stopped. Dream’s fingers slipped, revealing Ink’s paint mark tattoo. Core went pale. Their aura was consumed in shame and guilt.

“Oh, um . . . so why are you covered in malice?” the child asked, looking everywhere but at the three skeletons.

“A lot happened . . .” Dream admitted. They were hiding something, but it wasn’t important right now. Ink was in critical condition. “Don’t worry. This isn’t malice, this is paint.”

Epic took Ink from the guardian’s arms. Ink shifted so he nestled into his jacket. “We’re going to need to heal him and check for extra injuries. Most of the scars seem psychological, but who knows what else that creepy octopus bruh did to him.”

Core nodded and the two talked over medical procedures as they entered a hospital room down the hall. Dream and Fresh joined Blue at the table. “How did saving Underfell go?”

He perked up when Dream mentioned his mission. “Not bad! They didn’t believe me at first. Red thought Core and I were looking for attention and cussed at us. But once he saw the corruption, he helped me out! But forget about that, what happened with Ink? What did Nightmare do to him?”

The three skeletons summarized their adventures. Underfell Frisk gave Blue a cinnamon bunny as a thank you. Blue and Dream split the treat, Fresh didn’t want it. It tasted and smelled like spice, butter, and brown sugar. Dream didn’t realize how hungry he was and devoured the snack in seconds. His magic was running low. Despite that, he still healed Blue’s bruise.

“That’s . . . wowie.” Blue said once Dream and Fresh finished their story, exchanging parts. “When Core and I were fighting the Murder Time Trio, they said something about a ‘special surprise’. I thought they were messing with us. I never would’ve guessed they meant Ink! Bow is Ink?”

“Mm-hm.” Dream ate the last of his cinnamon bunny. “Nightmare did something to him. Toture, or some magic. He was acting so strangely and. He acted like he loved-”

The screaming started from down the hall.

Dream shot up and was about to check it out as Core ran down the hall, bracing themself on the corner. They panted and rubbed their arms. “Dream, Blue, Fresh, we need your help. Now. It’s Ink. He woke up, he’s strangling Epic, nearly broke half the bones in my body, and- don’t stand there, get in here!”

The Stars shared a concerned glance and followed them into an emergency room. Epic and Ink wrestled on the concrete floor. Anti-Magic cuffs around his wrists forced Ink to rely on physical strength. Epic huffed as he pinned his back to the ground. The artist struggled as much as he could, yipping and tearing up. Epic made his movements quick. He flipped around, lowered Ink’s wrists behind his back, and brought them both standing. Ink tried to kick him. Epic forced him on his back onto the hospital bed. Core held his arms to the banister, which turned out to be a laboring task.

“No, no, NO! Please, you don’t understand! I’m not Ink! I’m Ribbon! I’ll do anything you want, just give me back to Nightmare! Please! I belong to him!” Ink wailed and kicked. His face dripped with tears. His aura burned with agonizing fear, but strangely, he didn’t stop smiling. “Nighty, save me! HELP!”

Dream watched, paralyzed. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It stung his golden apple soul to see his friend suffering this way. Blue found his strength first and summoned two magic wristbands to hold down the artist’s arms. Fresh snapped his fingers and used confetti-infested paint to hold down his legs. Core exhaled in relief. Ink wailed louder. The sound helped Dream refocus. Ink needed him; Dream would worry about his obsession with his twin later. Removing his glove, Dream rushed over and placed his glowing hand over the artist’s foreskull.

“Shh, it’s okay. No one is going to hurt you. You’re safe now, it’s okay, it’s okay. Calm down, that’s it. Breathe in, breathe out, nice and slow. I’m sorry, I know it hurts. Deep breaths. Focus on the sound of my voice and nothing else. Relax. Go back to sleep.” Dream rubbed Ink’s cheek with one hand, trying to soothe him.

Ink stopped thrashing and began to settle down. But he fought against the magic and Dream was weak, so he sobbed harder at the touch. “Stop . . . stop it. Hands off, liar.”

Liar?

His negative emotions pulsed strong enough so Dream couldn’t put him to sleep. Thankfully, Core was three steps ahead of him and wrapped a clear gas mask over his face. Ink tried to fight the sedative too, squealing in protest. His attempts fell fruitless as Core turned the machine on. “I’m sorry, Ink.”

He fought, his eye sockets fluttered, and his arms slumped against his sides. Even if it was only for a little while, he was at peace.

The sudden silence was haunting. No one spoke for a full two minutes, instead sharing looks of question and worry. Fresh didn’t look away from Ink. Dream had imagined what Ink’s return would be like before, even in his wistful fantasies. None of them involved this level of fear, horror, and crying.

“Phew.” Core’s voice was quiet. They wiped their forehead with a sleeve. “What in the world was that about? Why was he crying for Nightmare to save him?”

“This is what I meant by ‘long story’. Nightmare . . . brainwashed him. To what extent I don’t know, but he’s madly in love with him,” Dream said.

They looked over at the artist. Now that he was up close and away from danger, they could see some of the physical effects of his brother’s ‘care’. His face was beautiful, along with the rest of his body, whether he wanted to admit it or not. And that made Dream clench his teeth. He doubted Ink consented to having his body mutilated like this.

Dream took a white towel from the counter and gently wiped Ink’s face. He intended to dry his tears, but the surface revealed itself pink. A streak sliced across his left cheekbone, blush. “Why is- is this makeup?”

“Bruh, if Nightmare’s got him in dresses, why are you surprised he went for the full sugar-and-spice look?” Epic brushed his fingers against his bruised neck. He flicked the heart charm around his neck. Dream thought it was part of his dress. “We’re going to need some permanent restraints, at least for his arms. Otherwise, he’s going to kill someone. Seriously, all I did was try and hook him up with an IV and his murder mode was on. It wouldn’t go in for some reason.”

Blue released his magic. “He does have trypanophobia, but that can't be it. I think I have something that could work! I'll be back." Blue ran out of the room, his smile twitching the entire time.

Dream finished cleaning Ink's face, but not before he heard asound like a china plate against a table. He tapped Ink’s eyelids.

Clink clink.

No . . . no, Nightmare couldn’t have been that cruel.

Dream forced the tip of his finger under Ink’s left eyelid and lifted it. It was certainly plastic. His whole face glimmered with a porcelain covering, not bone. He ran his hand down his neck, resting on a pull-string charm again. Dream gave it a pull and his snores became more audible.

Core's face was grim. "That’s a voice box. I don't know how he even managed to do it, it should be medically impossible."

"Only one way to find out." Epic undid the buttons on Ink’s blood-stained dress, adjusting and lifting his body to slide it down. He tugged at the bone through his chest. “Could someone lend me a hand and fetch the magic stabilizers? They’re clear and in little vials.”

“Of course.” Dream walked across the room and found the medicine. Core helped him. Fresh stood between them, watching Epic and Ink. His aura was a mix of disappointment and sadness, not too different from how Dream felt. Epic pulled Ink's dress off and shimmed it down to his waist. He paused.

“Holy. Shed.” Epic’s voice sounded tight. “I figured out why the IV didn’t work.”

Dream carried the syringes over and Fresh peered over to view Ink’s now-exposed body. His breath caught in his throat; it was so much worse than he was expecting. No wonder the bone hurt so bad and he had such a little waist. The attack didn’t hit his ribs, it broke through thick plastic and porcelain. Ink had a feminine human-like torso, not a skeleton’s bones. Fluffy stuffing fell out of the battle wound like blood would. In the center of his chest was a dark crescent moon brand. Nightmare turned him into some twisted arts and crafts project.

Core stood on their tiptoes to see better. They pushed their hand to their mouth and gagged, turning away. “Oh my stars, I’m going to vomit.”

“I don’t blame ya. Oh, thanks, bruh.” Epic took the vial and opened Ink's mouth, slowly pouring it in. The stabilizer medicine was usually delivered in syringes, but they couldn't do that. He took off one of Ink’s white lace gloves. A ball-jointed plastic hand was underneath. “I’ve never seen something like this, same as you Core. This type of body modification shouldn’t be possible. He should be long dead. Back in medical school-"

“Ya went to medical school?” Fresh interrupted.

“Yeah, I have a medical degree and a robotics degree. I went a few years ago for personal reasons.” Epic grinned mischievously. “Okay, where was I . . . oh right. Back in medical school, we learned a bit about artificial limbs. But this is something else. There's gotta be some magic involved in keeping him together. He should've died from blood loss when he cut off his arms."

"Nightmare must have found away around that . . . I don't know how." The guilt returned to Core's aura and they looked out the window instead.

Dream noticed Core’s strange behavior. “Core, you looked nervous earlier. Why was that? No one is angry, we just need to know. It could help him. Did you know Ribbon was Ink?"

"No, I didn't." The child hung their head. “Two weeks ago . . . I went to this show outside a Mafiatale variant. I could sense the unnatural activity and it was Nightmare showing Ink off. He called him 'Ribbon'. He gave a speech and then made him sing. I knew there was something off about that whole thing, but I didn’t know it was Ink! His paint mark was covered and he didn’t look like him at all. He was wearing a dress like that except it was blue and more revealing. His voice was so high-pitched it sounded nothing like him. Nightmare made up this story about how he found 'Ribbon' in an abandoned timeline. I feel bad I didn’t do anything but watch."

Dream set their hand on their shoulder. "Don't feel bad, none of us would have known either. Nightmare tricked the entire multiverse into believing Ink was dead and we believed him. We're not calling him Ribbon, we won't let Nightmare win like that." He looked at Ink with his hand still on their shoulder. "But just to be safe . . . can you check Ink's mind? In case Nightmare put any spells on him to hinder his healing."

"Sure . . ." Core removed their hand from Ink's head. They looked at the others. “The test worked. . . . do you guys want the good news or the bad news first?”

Dream tried for a hopeful smile. “The good news first."

“The good news is that whatever Nightmare did improve him. Ink has stronger abilities, senses, and stats than he did before. His ATK and DEF are up almost twenty percent.”

Fresh grinned. “Dat's all great! What’s da bad news?”

Core looked guilty. “Everything that isn’t that. It says his mind has a history of spells, but it does not say which type. Nightmare could be seeing through his eyes for all we know.”

Epic glanced at Ink before tearing off a spare piece of bandage and wrapping it around his eye sockets.

“He was weirdly weak." Epic pondered aloud. "I’ve arm-wrestled Ink before and we were an even match. He won too. That was the night we went skating and he went missing. But I crushed him this time. His arms have almost zero muscle on them. And not just because we’re skeletons, bruh.”

Dream rubbed Ink's head and crouched down, pressing his skull against his. "Can you fix this and make him himself again? Or . . . or is this permanent? Will he live?"

Epic leaned back and crossed his arms. “That’s what it looks like, bruh, he'll be stuck as a weird porcelain doll. But if he’s made it this far and can fight as well as he did, he’s going to be fine. Now the conditioning on the other hand, that needs to be rid of as soon as possible, once he calms down a little.” He snapped a pair of medical gloves on. “Let’s get this taken care of and I’m going to see my brother and check on my girl buddy, Undyne. Her girlfriend, Alphys, died in the corruption and she’s not doing well. Also, I could use a cookie break, I'm still not over my AU getting destroyed."

==============================================================================

Dream hesitated with a breakfast tray in his arms. He’s volunteered at the hospital several times before, but this was the first that made him nervous. He opened the door to Ink’s hospital room, only a crack. Ink was fast asleep. Dream dropped his defense and the corner of his mouth perked up. Ink always was the one who slept in the longest. He could almost imagine everything was right again.

His wrists were bound with the white plush straps Blue brought. So far, they succeeded in keeping him from fighting and/or injuring himself. His legs were also tied to the bed with matching bands. The guardian disliked they had to restrain him at all, but they were soft enough and tied with comfort in mind. It was the best for everyone.

Setting the tray aside, Dream took advantage of his sleepiness to check on his bandages. The ones on his torso were secure and healing nicely. Little smiley face bandages covered his arms and neck where he was test-injected. Dream made the mistake of shifting his t-shirt to see his torso better. Ink’s eyes flashed open. He hissed and Dream pulled the heart string so he could speak.

“B-back off!” Ink cried. His struggle was weak and slow from drowsiness. “Please don’t touch me, sir!”

Dream did as he asked and retracted his hand. Ink shuffled away as much as he could. Fear and anger clouded his aura. He didn’t like anyone, but he had extra apprehensiveness for Dream. He wished his friend wasn’t so scared. Dream shivered, though his jean jacket and sweater should have kept him warm.

“Okay, I won’t touch you, I’m sorry. You don’t have to call me ‘sir’.” He thought he saw a look of confusion cross Ink’s face. Despite the outburst, Dream tried for a bright smile to increase his positive aura and calm his fear. “Are you hungry? The croissants are fresh-baked!”

He shook his head. “No thank you.”

“Just one bite? Please? You haven’t eaten anything in days! You’re going to get sick!”

Ink stared at the food for a long time, ravenous hunger shining through his eyes. He flicked his head away.

Dream sighed and left the tray on the side table. Ink refused to give up his hunger strike. A nurse tried to spoon-feed him the first time he awoke and the only thing he consumed was a panic attack. Crying, flailing, and all. He wouldn’t take any painkillers either; the medicine terrified him more than the food. Core has also tried to force-feed him and he bit their hand hard. Dream thought of using a tube, but with Ink’s new clockwork organs, it would be too risky. They didn’t know how they functioned. Since nothing worked, he decided it was best to wait for Ink’s permission. The guardian pulled up an armchair from the wall and sat beside his friend.

“If you want to help me, I kinda want these bands off.” Ink tugged at his wrists. “I swear, I’ll be good! I won’t fight this time. Please?” He gave him puppy-dog eyes, which were both cuter and more uncanny with the body modifications. “Please?”

Dream looked away. “I can’t do that.” He wanted to. He wanted to so badly, but he knew Ink was lying. He’d make a break for it, run away, and harm someone in the process, maybe even himself. “I’m sorry, it’s for your own good. Once the pink paint wears off, we’ll remove them. I promise. You’ll be able to see clearly.” Ink’s sad smile made Dream feel guilty. “But if you want, I could bring you your sketchbook and some crayons so you could draw while we talk. Blue and I kept it and the rest of your drawings. That way, you would be free and have something to focus on, but I can still keep an eye on you. I would also need to put the restraints back when I leave, sorry. I know you must be bored from doing nothing in this room. I would be too.”

He laughed to lighten the mood, but Ink didn’t join in. On the contrary, he looked more miserable. “I don’t want to draw, all I want is Nightmare.”

Dream stopped laughing and Ink sunk into his pillows, his aura miserable. The two remained quiet for a long time.

Dream carefully planned some questions. It may have been for nothing. Ink remained silent every time he was asked a question, especially if it was about Nightmare. But he had hope with the paint losing effect. One of his old village friends once said something like, ‘If you want to sell a lie, tell them what they want to hear’. Could the same logic apply here?

With a deep breath, he broke the silence. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is it you see in Nightmare? I know you love him, but how can you fall in love with someone who kidnapped you?”

The artist looked offended. “Nightmare didn’t kidnap me! He asked me on a date. He offered to let me live in his castle as his boyfriend and I said yes. As for why I’m in love with him . . .”

For the first time since his rescue, Ink’s eyes sparkled, filling with life. “Everything, he’s a masterpiece. He’s smart, caring, handsome, mysterious, has an amazing voice . . . I could go on forever. Sure he’s a bit overprotective, but he only means to keep me safe. He made me better and stronger, he wouldn’t protect me if he didn’t care! And he makes me feel special and understood like I’m the most important person in the Doodlesphere. Then there’s his aura. Sounds weird with it being pure negativity, but it’s addicting to be around. I can’t get enough of it! No one else makes me feel the way he does.” His eyes frowned and he looked away from Dream. “I miss my Nightlight.”

Dream froze. He hadn’t heard that nickname in years. Technically centuries, but he didn’t count the time he was frozen in his stone prison. ‘Nightlight’ was the nickname Dream gave his twin when they were children. Nightlight and Daydream. If Nightmare told Ink about the nickname, he must have put a lot of trust in him. Maybe he did see him as something more than a weapon. He didn’t know which option was better. It wasn’t even close to the worst aspect of his answer, but it was the part that disturbed him the most.

Dream decided to keep getting answers while Ink was talking, not risking the chance. “Did he ever hurt you?”

Ink narrowed his eyes, which looked more sinister than angry. He seemed to panic. “No! He never hurt me! Not once!”

Dream’s expression turned firm. “Ink, I know you’re lying. This all started after I didn’t push you to talk, I won’t make the same mistake twice. I’ll even take a yes or no answer. Did. Nightmare. Hurt you.”

“. . . he’s hit me a few times, but not recently! And I deserved every single punishment! I was too dumb to follow his rules even though he made them easy to understand. And my name isn’t Ink, it’s Ribbon!”

“He hits you?” Dream’s heart hurt. He pressed his jaw together. trying to keep his temper calm. He would let his anger toward Nightmare out in another way, not in front of a traumatized Ink. “Ink, you don’t deserve to be hit by your partner, no matter what you did. You’re not a masochist, I know you. You sometimes joke about pain, but you don’t want it. And for stars’ sake, you are not dumb! What about the dresses? Did he force you to wear them?”

“No! I’m a doll, and dolls must wear dresses, otherwise I’m doing something wrong. He likes it when I wear cutesy things. I like them too, they’re comfy. Nightmare says I look my best when I’m in skirts and bows.”

Dream fiddled with his thumbs. That didn’t sound like Nightmare’s taste at all. Nightmare loved the gothic aesthetic. What twisted game was he playing? “One last question.”

Ink squirmed in his spot. His aura was full of shame. “On that first day, when you were crying and fighting, you called me a liar. Why is that?”

Ink raised a browbone like it was a joke Dream didn’t understand. “You- you know why.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t.”

“You do,” the artist said with gritted teeth. It wasn’t in an angry way, more fearful. “Can I ask you a question, sir?”

Dream smiled. “Of course! You know you can ask me anything.”

“Why do you care so much about what happened to me? I don’t get why you’d think twice. Nobody cared when I disappeared, you left me. ”

“Nobody care- that’s not true at all! We stopped searching for you because Killer gave us your scarf and told us you were dead!” All the built-up stress from the past few months tumbled out of Dream. He raised his voice. “I thought you were being used as a living training dummy or kept as a slave! But I never could’ve guessed that you- that you became so . . .” Dream gestured his hand around, unable to find the words. He eventually gave up. “Everyone misses you and we need you. The Doodlesphere has been falling apart without you protecting it. no world is safe from Error or Nightmare. Fresh, Core, and I are patrolling it, but it’s getting more difficult each day. So many monsters and humans are losing hope thanks to the constant Code Purples! They’re getting worse and more violent! Come on, Ink, I know you’re still in there. Buried under brainwashing and lies, but something in you has to hear me. Please. We’re friends, remember?”

For a brief moment, something in Ink’s expression changed. Regret? Realization? Embarrassment? No matter the emotion, the artist was lost in his mind, his eyes resembling a child who made a grave mistake. Then he hit himself against the headboard again, hard with each word. “Idiot! You’re so weak-minded! Gullible! Bad doll! Bad doll!”

“Stop that!” The guardian took the round pillow from his armchair and set it between Ink and the headboard. He’d need something more permanent if he was going to keep this up. “You’re not any of those things! You’re just confused right now, and that’s okay. We’re going to help you get better-”

“I’m stupid for believing the lies of a brother killer!” Ink halted as Dream went still. “Nightmare told me everything. I know all about that mysterious past of yours. Your naivety and selfishness got him bullied and turned him into a monster. And then you were using me to get stronger by taking advantage of my magic. And-and everyone took advantage of me! Everyone knows I’m as dumb as a rock. Nightmare rescued me from you!” He shook with a crazed look. “All of you . . .”

Dream was speechless. Nightmare had to have exaggerated the story, he knew he did, but it still stung. He couldn’t believe Ink’s self-esteem was this low. “I-”

“Don’t answer that! I hate you, Dream! I hate you so much! You don’t care about me! You just want to manipulate me like everyone else!” Ink thrashed in his restraints and started to wail.

The Guardian of Positivity didn’t know what to say. He wanted to take his pain away but didn’t know how. He couldn’t fix this problem. He slowed his breath down and sighed. He stood up and trudged toward the door. The handle was freezing in his hand. He resisted the urge to look back at Ink. “I’ll check on you in a few hours.” He opened the door and crashed into another skeleton.

Dream and Fresh both fell into the white hallway, Dream on top of Fresh. He rolled off. The parasite rubbed his head and Dream readjusted his jean jacket. He had no disdain towards Fresh, but he was hoping no one would be out here so he could have a good cry. His head pounded and he rubbed his eye sockets.

“Sorry ‘bout dat, Dreamboat! How’s Inky-brah?” Fresh asked as he stood up. He kept his word and didn’t tell anyone Ink was alive, other than the nurses, doctors, and a few of their friends. The artist’s condition was too unstable to be known to the public.

“Um . . .” Dream peered back into the room. Ink still shook, cried in hysteria, and muttered something to himself. Something with the word monsters. If he kept his behavior up, he would need to be sent to special care. Dream shivered at the thought of Ink in a straitjacket. He would hate it, it would terrify him more. Dream turned to Fresh. “He’s not doing well. He doesn’t want to talk to anyone, sorry. We had an argument and . . . we were both hurt.”

Fresh frowned and he stared into Ink’s room. “Still? Geez, he’s been a real downer . . .”

Dream sensed his aura and set a hand on his arm. "He'll get better. Core and I are working on getting him therapy so he can remember who he is. He's just a little confused right now, it will be fine. Come on

Fresh looked back at Ink's room one more time and decided to follow Dream. Ink would have likely started crying again at the sight of him. They walked through the hospital hallways. A few doctors and nurses walked past, continuing business as usual. Their footsteps echoed through the sterile hall.

How could this happen? How could everything go so wrong? It was all too much. First Ink’s disappearance, then the drop in positivity, then the corrupted worlds, and now this. Dream wanted everything to return to normal, for his brother’s sick game to end.

And it was all his fault.

He was the reason Ink was abducted, tortured, and brainwashed. He was the reason all those worlds and innocents died from corruption. He was the reason everyone was suffering. It was all so Nightmare could steal the last golden apple. If he gave him what he wanted, would the darkness go away? He looked up at Fresh.

No, he had to stay positive. Smile for the others, give them hope.

He and Fresh made it to the hospital lounge. It was white with a few black seats and small tables. Visiting hours have been restricted since Ink showed up, so it was empty except for one person. Core Frisk sat alone on a chair, sipping a cup of hot chocolate. They read a book written in Wingdings. As leader of the Omega Timeline, they had special privileges. They sensed Dream and Fresh before they opened either of their mouths.

“Is Ink still- oh no, something happened,” Core noted, wiping a spare chocolate drip from their face. Bandages wrapped around their right hand where Ink bit them.

“No, I-” Dream sighed and wiped his eye sockets as he sat on the chair beside Core. They were met with a wave of dizziness. “Yes, something happened. Ink hasn’t stopped asking for Nightmare. I coaxed a few answers out of him and he said some . . . hurtful things.”

Core set their book down, suddenly looking concerned. “What did he say?”

“He explained the dresses and why he loves Nightmare. It’s because . . .” He felt sick remembering Ink’s worshipping look and couldn’t finish the thought. “Stars, he has Ink wrapped around his bloody finger. He can’t think about anything else but him."

“And he was shakin' and cryin' in dere. I'm all up and talkin' with him, but he didn't make a peep, so I dipped!" Fresh leaned against the chair with his hand on the armrest. His arm grazed Dream and he paused. Fresh patted the sides of his cheekbones. "Hol' up. Dream, ya burning hot.”

"I am?” The guardian placed a hand on his forehead. “Strange, I’ve been feeling cold all morning. Now that you mention it, I’ve had this weird dizzy headache too. Maybe I should drink some water.”

Core watched him with concern. “I can get some for you if you want to lay back a while. You’ve been working non-stop.”

“Thank you, but it’s no trouble. You shouldn’t need to-” Dream collapsed onto the floor, barely catching the table. His head swam and ached; his throat hurt. The whites and grays of the lounge merged. His teeth chattered from the unknown source of cold.

“DREAM!” Fresh and Core each caught one of his arms and dragged him back toward the couch. The guardian didn’t resist as they pushed him on.

“I can sense your magic is unstable.” Core said, clenching and unclenching her hands. Dream didn’t argue. "I need to grab a thermometer so you-"

"No need, gotcha already." Fresh snapped his fingers and a painted thermometer. He tossed it over to Core. They almost missed it, but they caught it.

“Oh . . . thank you. Dream, open up.” Core stuck a thermometer under Dream’s tongue. A few seconds passed before they pulled it out. Their void-like eyes went wide. “Holy stars, you have a fever of a hundred and seven! Dream, you're very sick! Why didn’t you say anything?”

Dream heaved air and tried to steady himself, preparing for a dizzy spell. “Because . . . I didn’t think it was that bad. And it isn’t. Ink and Nightmare are much more important, especially Ink. He needs us, he needs me.” He sat up with his cape loosely hanging over his shoulders. “I don’t have time to rest. I have so much work to do and-”

“Nuh-uh!” Fresh pushed him back down. “Ya can’t get any sicker than ya are now. Da multiverse will be fine, I can watch it! Y'all keep forgetting I'm a guardian and have radical superpowers now!”

“That's true . . . okay.” Chuckling, Dream had to admit, he was quite tired. He lay on the couch and let sleep take him within minutes.

He awoke to a dark hall. A massive glass window graced the back of the room and showed a rainy night. The decorations of flowers and white silk banners suggested a party of some kind. Or an event. A glimmering chandelier dangled from the ceiling.

But despite the breathtaking interior, signs of a recent battle littered the place. Bones stuck out of the rubble from the walls and ceiling. Blood and clothes were scattered about, even a broken Gaster Blaster head. Nightmare's malice dripped across the room. Dream realized he was standing in his castle. Muffled screams sounded from the hall behind him, but he couldn't make out any voice in particular.

Core Frisk stepped through a white portal. Their face was frozen in shock like they witnessed a traumatic tragedy. They weren’t paying attention to where they were walking and almost hit one of the bones. They frowned until they saw what was hanging on it. A dark blue scarf. Core took a shaky breath as they stared at the scarf in their hands.

“Core . . . help!”

The child looked around the room and spotted Cross trapped under rubble and sludge. He shivered, beaten and bleeding. His body was covered in scratches, scars, and burns. His left hand was caked in a hard layer of malice. Dream fought as hard as he could to reach for and comfort him, save him. But he couldn’t move or offer help.

Core ran over to his side. Cross’s ribcage was broken open and he lay in a pool of blood and grime. His fingers twitched.

“Cross, where’s everyone else? Where’s Dream? Where’s Epic? Blue? Or Error? Is he . . . dead?” Core asked as they crouched down beside him. They held up the scarf.

Cross groaned and tried to shift under the rocks. He moaned and fell back down. “They . . . Nightmare took Blue and Dream. They said something about Error, but I didn’t catch what they said. Sorry, kid.”

Core stood still, their dark eyes staring into nothing. Their coordination was off as they tried to lift the fallen pillar off of Cross. Their nine-year-old arms couldn’t lift it. Glancing between Core and the archway, Cross gritted his teeth. “Leave me here. One of them is going to be back any second and-”

A clatter rattled from behind Core. Core looked up and before they could react, they were slammed against the rock with blue magic. Horror held his hand out and chuckled. He wore a ripped black suit, unlike his usual jacket. Core struggled and pulled for their freedom, but it was no use. Horror slammed them down again and knocked them out. Cross screamed.

“Lucky . . . day.” Horror grinned. He breathed heavily. “Boss . . . is goin’ . . . be happy about this . . .”

The scene changed. The ruined castle was gone. Instead, five skeletons and a human child were held in a dungeon. They all wore silver Anti-Magic cuffs on their wrists, pulsating with purple magic. Blue tried to lockpick his way out of the cage. Cross kicked and punched the stone wall, not caring about his bleeding knuckles. Epic tossed a scrap of paper in the air as he lay on the floor. Error paced around in circles, occasionally grabbing his bars and shaking them. Core sat cross-legged on the ground, tracing lines on the floor. In the final cell, Dream saw himself, lying in the corner, thin, and bruised up. His eye lights were dim, losing strength from the negativity in the place.

“Bruh, you’re going to break your knuckles. Calm down, you’re not getting anywhere.” Epic scolded Cross.

Cross dropped his hand down to his side and sighed. He looked down at it, covered in blood and scratched bones. He slumped down on the bench in his cell. “I don't care, it's the one thing keeping me sane right now."

“Cross, please.” Dream’s voice was quiet and monotone. He barely looked up. "Don't hurt yourself more than you are now. You have to save your strength, you're already weak."

Error's fingers scratched the bars, echoing across the entire dungeon. "Don't pull that 'oh I'm so selfless and so worried about everyone!" crap on me." He spoke in glitchy falsetto to mock Dream's voice. "This is all your fault. You got everyone involved when you couldn't wait one more day to rescue stupid Ink. I could be in the Anti-Void right now laughing at this but noooooo, you needed my help."

Dream narrowed his eye sockets. "I didn't make you! And I didn't mean to screw this up! I said I'm sorry a hundred times! Again, I'm sorry!"

Core stood up. "Stop arguing, all of you. It won't free us. You both have points. Nightmare will either become bored and kill us or let us go with a twist. We need to stay patient and determined."

They stayed silent and went back to their former activities. Blue almost broke his lock, but then he stopped. He cupped his hand to the side of his skull and listened.

The floor broke open beneath them, and they all fell through the floor of their cells into portals. Instead of finishing, the dream changed. Nightmare stormed through the door of what appeared to be the Omega Hall. The colors faded into monochrome black and gray. It was dead silent with only the occasional whisper of wind against the banners. He opened the door to the meeting hall. It was as empty as the rest of the desolate building, but someone was there.

Dream gasped as he recognized the variant from his hallucination back in Candytale. The other him stared out the window with a blank stare. The Omega Timeline was barren and lifeless, only zombies created from malice wandered. Dream scrunched his face at the sight of his home destroyed. How could something like this happen? The fake Dream turned to Nightmare and bowed at his presence. "Hello. Can I help you, Your Highness?"

"I do. Come here." Nightmare pointed at the ground and the fake Dream kneeled before him. The moon mark glowed brighter. Nightmare pushed his hood down and his chin up. "Did you find them, yet?"

The fake Dream shook his head. "No, but I have found some of their group members in captivity. They're set to be executed tomorrow morning. I have troops surrounding the timeline. I found out from one of them that they're after your baby doll. They're going to torture him until you step down from your throne."

Nightmare's expression tightened and his tendrils waved, almost sending the banners down. "Thank you for the information. I'm not ending my rule, but I'll keep Ribbon inside the castle until they're taken care of." He turned around. "A progress check was all I needed, you may continue your work. But next time there's noticeable gain, report to me immediately, do you understand?"

"Understood, Your Highness." Dream said. The real Dream sensed the bitterness in his voice. He didn't like that version of himself. He couldn't feel hate, but it was close."

He left Dream alone. Nightmare opened a portal to his bedroom and lay on his bed. He pinched his nasal bridge and took a deep breath. A while later, the door opened, and Ink stepped inside.

“Nighty, is everything okay? You look sad.” Ink looked like he did in his hospital room, only his outfit was different. He wore a pastel pink and white dress and a pink beret with a bow on it. He held a baby skeleton in a blue onesie in his arms. He had black star markings gracing his skull.

Nightmare sat up. He smiled at Ink as if nothing was wrong. “I’m fine, my sweet doll.” He kissed his foreskull and then kissed the baby. “How come Crescendo isn’t in bed? Is Aurora?”

“I couldn’t get him to sleep, so I thought walking around and rocking him would do it, but Aurora is sleeping. It’s working.” Ink rocked the baby. "Maybe he was worried about you!"

Nightmare watched him with pure adoration and kissed his cheek. Dream could sense the emotions in his soul, but he wouldn’t call them love. No, this was something much darker, more dangerous, more toxic.

The scene changed one more time. Dream looked around and touched a soft white cloud. The sky was a pleasant pink with droplets of purple and blue. His back felt strangely heavy. He found out he could move when he turned his head to the left and stroked the feathery gold wing.

“Daydream?”

The guardian spun around. The voice had the same British accent as he does. He turned around to a skeleton not much taller than he was. He wore a purple vest over a white dress shirt. His eye light matched his clothes. The right side of his face was a gash of melted and broken bone. Atop his skull was a gold crown with a moon symbol in the center. Dream teared up, but this time, they were tears of joy.

“Nightlight!” Dream ran to his twin and threw his arms around him. The long-lost brothers hugged each other, neither wanting to let go. Dream’s fingers traced over something velvety. Confused, he removed them to a purple feather lodged between his fingers. Nightmare had wings. Angel wings, just like his, only far larger.

“Even after five hundred years, you’re still a crybaby,” Nightmare teased. He laughed, and Dream didn’t realize how much he missed the sound. He drew back once “Hey, what’s wrong? We’re together now.”

Dread and failure consumed Dream’s thoughts, though the latter was confusing. He thought of several failures, but none of them felt quite right. “I’m dead.”

Nightmare sighed. “You did your best. I watched the whole fight, that monster overcame you. But you were brave, really brave. He tricked you, that wasn’t your fault.”

"Which wasn't my fault?" Dream panicked. He didn't know what Error spoke of, nor Nightmare now. "Please, tell me so I can fix it before it happens."

“You don't remember? Oh, well it will only hurt you if I say it. Speaking of saying . . . um . . . there’s no way I can put this lightly. Your friend, Ink was it? He doesn’t exist. His mind is so far gone that even if he falls in battle, he’ll still be Ribbon in the afterlife." Nightmare looked guilty and stared at the ground.

Dream's smile faded. Nightmare noticed and kept talking. "But not all is lost. You still have a chance to rescue him. You can do it, brother. I believe in you. Don't lose hope yet."

Nightmare stepped away from him. His boots faded into wisps of air as his voice began to trail off, slowly growing louder. Dream . . . Dream . . .

“Dream! DREAM! Wake up!” Cross shook his shivering body awake. “It’s alright, wake up. It’s not real.”

Dream’s skull dripped with sweat. Seeing he was safe and not in that horrible dungeon with bloody knuckles made him cry. He hugged him with full force.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright. Shit . . . that must have been a worse nightmare than I thought . . .” Cross spoke mostly to himself. He returned the hug and rubbed the back of his skull. His aura was perplexed and worried. “What did you dream about? I thought you couldn’t get nightmares.”

“I can’t.” The fact scared him. He never had a nightmare in his life, only pleasant dreams or none at all. Through the tears, Dream explained the vision to his boyfriend. He left out the part about seeing Nightmare pre-corrupted. He told Cross about Nighty a few times prior, but it hurt too much now.

“If it makes you feel any better, I doubt Nightmare would keep you in a fancy coffin for all of eternity, that’s not like him at all. I could handle a rock falling on me too.” Cross sat down and laid an arm across his shoulders as he drank it. The corner of Dream’s mouth curved up. “Everyone’s fine. I talked to Epic and Blue about five minutes ago and they told me about Ink’s . . . condition. The Stockholm Syndrome hit him hard, didn’t it?”

Dream nodded. “It’s not even that alone. Nightmare made him believe he’s a doll named Ribbon. He dressed him in cutesy dresses, altered his body, changed the way he speaks and acts, and Ink is obedient to a tee. It’s so . . . creepy. Ink thinks it’s love, Nightmare thinks it’s duplicity. But he didn’t break him, yet. I know it. The real Ink heard me! Even if it was for only a few seconds.”

“Are you sure? Dream, I believe you, but I also believe you're taking on too much negativity. You can't handle the Code Purples, Nightmare, Ink, and your mental health at the same time. It's killing your soul and we can all feel it." Cross touched Dream's chest with his finger. He pulled out his soul. It darkened from the pure gold to a dim gold, yet it still shined.

"But . . ." Dream gasped as a painful tingle vibrated through his body. The same feeling he had whenever there was a strong source of negativity. Whenever . . . him.

“Nightmare!” The Guardian of Positivity jumped as if he was shocked with electricity. “Nightmare’s back. He’s in the hospital. He has to be close to Ink.”

“This is exactly what I mean. You have that shield around the base, it's impossible for Nightmare to get in here. But if it will make you feel better, I’ll check it out. Besides, I want to see this ‘dollified Ink’ for myself. I’ll be back.” Cross grabbed his daggers and ran out of the room.

Dream stood up to follow him, but he was met with a wave of dizziness and sat back down. He put his hands together and prayed to the Creators that it was a mishap. And that he would get better so he wasn’t useless like this.

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casualheizouenjoyers · 1 year

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“don’t forget to like and subscribe!”

genshin youtubers au

characters included: childe, xiangling, nahida, 5wirl (aether, venti, xiao, kazuha & heizou), & kaeya

Childe (can be read as platonic or romantic)

100% a sweaty gaming streamer

he unironically owns a minecraft themed bed im SORRY

is really sweet to the fan artists in his community and hypes them up IMMENSELY

would wear a maid dress for a sub goal

i feel like his community would be like medium size with people who donate a LOT of money and subs

mainly on twitch, uploads complications from streams on youtube but no original content

streams late at night or super early in the morning even though he has nothing to do during the normal hours of the day, his neighbors hate his guts

would definitely be the type to show you off to chat

if you’re dating this man say goodbye to a normal sleep schedule you’re never getting it back

would unironically give you his merch for christmas

posts the worst takes on twitter, for the love of all that is sacred take control of his main account

unironically has called you his little pogchamp

Xiangling (platonic)

has a really cute cooking channel with a cute like animated chibi intro. gouba is the channel mascot and the design on every piece of merch

has the most aesthetic kitchen and posts a new tour/tutorial whenever she renovates it

occasionally posts videos from the kitchen of her dad’s restaurant and/or videos with her dad and they’re the most wholesome thing ever

being her friend or roommate instantly means being in at least one video to taste test

if you can’t cook she definitely tests out tutorials on you and asks for your advice on how to explain stuff

and if you can cook she definitely asks you to participate in friendly cooking competitions or challenges with her (her food is always better but she’s a sweetheart about it)

Nahida (platonic)

wholesome toy review channel

in my soul she has a hyperfixation on toy production so despite her young age her reviews are lowkey mad informative and oddly insightful

especially favors puzzle games and those fake pet toys (i had one of a cat growing up and i loved mr whiskers with my heart and soul)

tries to edit her videos herself, but eventually her big sibling (you) edits them while she watches and makes suggestions

you manage the ‘business’ side of the channel, like helping decide which toys to review and where to get them and manage any sponsorships and explain what those mean (she picks it up real fast though)

i imagine teucer also has a two review channel so the two would become friends while reader & childe are jokingly in a rivalry (or at least reader takes it as a joke, child is very 50/50)

Aether (romantic or platonic)

wholesome travel blogger who people keep trying to beat in subscriber count before deciding to become his friend

i imagine the abyss is like a company that tried to sponsor aether but he refused because the company was against his morals, and like the fauti are another company that has the same situation going on

enjoys showing people the best places to go in different countries and how to save lots of money while doing so

paimon is definitely his younger sister or like close enough friend that they’re basically siblings who goes with him and is really good with languages so she helps aether out

didn’t really have a set house anywhere and would just edit in hotel rooms or friends’ houses until he formed the youtube group 5wirl and they live together in a big house

people were worried about what his content would be during quarantine so he switched to making content with 5wirl and playing variety games while also still making content about how he plans his next destinations and stuff

definitely plays geoguesser he’s been everywhere he’s a god at it

literally collabs with everyone he’s so friendly, being with him would be a bit frustrating because at least before 5wirl you’re always going to be moving around but he treats you like royalty

most aesthetic instagram feed in the UNIVERSE, has to be convinced to post rare pictures of himself

venti (romantic or platonic)

first member of 5wirl! he’s a cover channel and his wind spirit form is his channel icon

either does the most beautiful cover you’ve ever heard or the most cursed parody in existence it’s always a toss up

LOVES fan artists and always commissions different artists to do the thumbnail for his covers and they’re gorgeous

another person to take twitter away from he only posts when he’s drunk

keeps forgetting to post when he’s about to go live so update accounts have to do it for him and his stream always crashes from the sudden influx of people

does drunk streams with kaeya and has a separate vods channel

chat first finds out about your existence during a drunk stream and you just awkwardly come in like “hi” 🧍🏻

first interaction with aether was when aether raided him on twitch and eventually they exchanged discords and became friends

dvalin is venti’s editor who remain anonymous

if you even jokingly mention you want venti to sing/play a song he’ll drop everything to do it for you

only plays any sort of video game on stream or in a video with xiao

xiao (romantic or platonic)

was convinced by venti to join 5wirl

xiao & venti first interacted with each other at a convention like vidcon and venti made up an intro song to go with his starting soon screen and they started to talk more

the first youtube person xiao would talk about you to is venti but he doesn’t let venti talk to you until he has to convince venti you’re real and not just an excuse to not hang out or call-

mostly plays horror games on stream, literally nothing startles this man he’s always sitting there like :| while venti is screaming his lungs out

he used to be in a youtube group with the other yakshas but they all decided to quit doing youtube or streaming and therefore xiao was super hesitant to join 5wirl but you & venti worked together to convince him to give it a shot

fucked up sleep schedule, has a really cool stream setup

kazuha (romantic or platonic)

1/2 of a buzzfeed unsolved true crime style channel with heizou, the two joined 5wirl at the same time

it’s a little different of a format, basically heizou does research of unsolved cases and presents his theories while kazuha does research on solved cases and heizou tries to figure out who the culprit was

likes to play music games as well, i headcannon that he has perfect pitch so he likes to do perfect pitch tests on stream (he has ‘beef’ with venti because they both have perfect pitch and do perfect pitch contests on stream and shit)

very aesthetic instagram, he occasionally collabs with aether to do some travel style stuff every once in a while to take a break as to not get burnt out from just doing the same content style

does solo content on the shared channel with heizou where he plays survival style games and shows off his fencing skills

kazuha has a fucked up sleep schedule but it wouldn’t affect you since he’s always mindful of his volume

tomo used to be the channel editor until he decided to go to film school and didn’t have anymore time so kazuha & heizou take turns editing with your aid

likes to play animal crossing on stream with you or team survival games like raft and always makes sure that if only one of you can survive it’s going to be you

likes to play minecraft on stream but only with other people, prefers survival to creative

heizou (romantic or platonic)

1/2 of shared channel with kazuha, it was originally his idea and he brought it up to kazuha because they were friends in highschool and thought at the very least it’d be a nice way to reconnect

when kazuha is on break for solo content he likes to play murder mystery games or invites you, xiao & venti (since heizou & aether are out filming travel content) to play clue with him. does he always win? yes. but it’s still really fun since venti likes to get very into his assigned persona/character and you do the same :)

also likes to do quizzes on the internet of like reading facial/body language and is INSANELY good at it

gets easily distracted from researching unsolved cases so you always help him stay focused and do research and he’s eternally grateful for that

doesn’t particularly enjoy playing jackbox games or any group variety stuff unless it’s with you & anyone from 5wirl

doesn’t really collab with sara but the two are friends and hang out at cons

always ropes you into acting in videos with kazuha that give people tips to remain safe in any sort of situation and not get taken advantage of

kaeya (romantic or platonic)

when not doing drunk streams with venti and occasionally rosaria he’s a fashion youtuber 100%

loves roasting subscriber outfits and also covers the history of trends

lovingly makes fun of his friends’ fashion sense but it’s all in good fun

makes sure whenever you go with him to cons y’all are the best dressed

the knights of favonius are a talent/management agency and aether is called an honorary knight because while he’s not part of the agency he does collab with a lot of their members

most stylish and lowkey youtuber merch

claims to be diluc’s brother, no one believes him and think he only says that so dawn winery can sponsor him and send him wine

usually has a good sleep schedule, but all his drunk streams are always at like 2 am so good luck with dealing with his hangover

the morning after drunk streams are always hell for the both of you

#aris writes #genshin x reader #genshin impact #nahida #kaeya #xiangling #childe #5wirl x reader #venti #heizou #aether #kazuha #xiao #genshin youtuber! au

198 notes · View notes

rainbowsky · 1 year

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GG Esquire Cover Story

A lot of people have written me about the cover story GG did for Esquire magazine. There have been some interesting responses in my inbox, many of which have baffled me a bit, to be honest.

People have asked me for my thoughts on it all, so here they are! 😊

I've been picking away at this for ages, sorry it's coming so far after publication of the article. I have a few things like this in my drafts that are taking me a while to finish writing. I don't have the sustained resources to work on things for very long at a stretch these days.

Disclaimer: Please remember that this is an OPINION piece - my take on the article. I have no special insight, and everyone is free to form their own perspectives and responses. Don't take what I say as fact. It's just one opinion among many.

The photos

I have to start out by talking about the photos, because they truly set the tone for (and perfectly illustrate) the article.

These are not the typical magazine spread photos that a lot of fans are used to seeing. Here GG is practically unstyled. The GG you would see in his downtime. His hair is tousled, his clothing is very casual. His poses are also very casual. He looks like he could be just hanging around his hotel room scrolling through his phone.

These photos are such a gift. They feel so fresh and candid and relaxed. Total Boy Next Door. I absolutely love them.

What a relief to see these photos. Nothing ostentatious or overstyled, nothing aggressively brand-forward (some of what he is wearing is his own personal clothing). Just GG. I nearly fainted. 😅

The article

The original article can be found here, and there is a fan translation here.

My relief in seeing these sweet, casual photos of GG was matched only by my relief in reading the article.

To be honest I'm rarely very excited about the sorts of interviews or stories that accompany these types of magazine covers. They are generally fan servicey puff pieces that cater to a certain type of reader - the kind of people who want to become more invested in an idol fantasy.

They tend to be fairly overtly PR pieces, aimed at positioning the idol in an appealing and often romantic, personable way that makes them more accessible to their fans.

I have often been dismissive of interview statements that other fans have taken to heart, which has caused some friction at times, but what can I say? I think a lot of what's typically covered is awkward, fake and fan servicey. I talk a little bit about that in this post.

I didn't go into reading this article with any particular expectation, except that my expectations were low and I wasn't expecting any surprises. But, much to my surprise, I found a smart, interesting, poetic, uncompromising look at a side of GG that we've rarely seen.

My biggest takeaway from this article was that GG wanted to dampen, rather than fan the flames of, fan fantasies about him; to give people a more realistic sense of who he is and what he's about.

I have rarely been prouder of him than when reading this article. It feels like with this interview he is setting boundaries and putting his honest self forward despite expectations and even demands about who he should be and what he should represent.

Sidebar Rant About Fan Culture

Sometimes I see GG's life as being like an episode of Black Mirror. He is a protagonist who has been strangled by his own fame, in some ways held hostage by people who believe that they made him who he is and put him where he is (despite the role they've frequently played in holding him back).

The situation for stars at his level is pretty crazy. Fans genuinely believe that they know better than their idols what is best for them and their careers, and they will - totally unironically and with a straight face - deliver lists of demands and conditions to their idol and their idol's management team that they expect to be met if the star hopes to maintain their love and support.

These demands can be quite detailed. How they want the management team to be structured, the types of projects they want the artist to take, the types of statements they want their idol to make, etc. It's insane.

And GG's fans have been especially difficult, because they are very deeply invested in old school ideas about fan culture that are no longer viable in the current climate. Pushing traffic, 'comment control' and 'clarification' (aka fan wars), attacking anyone they perceive to be a rival or opportunist or anyone they believe isn't treating GG how they think he should be treated (despite having no access whatsoever to verified information about how he's being treated - i.e. it's all based on their assumptions). Using dirty - even dangerous - tactics to try to harm rival fandoms, regardless of how much that puts GG at risk.

Despite the fact that their behavior has caused problems for him in the past. Despite the fact that he has repeatedly begged them to stop behaving the way they do. Despite the fact that his career has nearly been killed by this type of behavior. Despite the fact that there has been a seismic shift in how fan culture is being treated in China, and despite the policies that have been put in place to curtail some of that behavior. They just don't seem to have gotten the memo.

They have learned absolutely nothing from their past mistakes.

Increasingly, they do not seem to have his deeper interests at heart. At times they appear to be supporting him for their own vanity, clout and sense of accomplishment rather than genuinely loving him for who he is. They seem to take more pride in their ability to bring traffic, out-vote other fandoms and move brand merchandise than in who this sweet, smart man is and what he does.

They actively push some of the most toxic, hateful ideas you can find in fandom. They are some of the key drivers behind the whole 'desperate illiterate' hate campaign against DD, and in so doing put both GG and DD's careers at risk. They are constantly spreading hate and lies about DD and trying to bring scandal upon him. Any time an anti-DD campaign surfaces online, they jump on it and fuel it to the best of their ability.

These are people who have had so many opportunities to grow and change, and emulate GG's kindness and maturity, but have repeatedly failed the assignment.

Being a star can't be easy

I often wonder how GG really feels about his fans. How much of the fan culture mayhem he's fed up with, and how much of it he's taken in stride as part of the job. I know it drives me crazy, but he's obviously got a better perspective on it all and would be a lot more accustomed to it all.

As I said in a previous post, I think we need to treat the idea that he absolutely adores his fans with some degree of skepticism. There's a very real noose around his neck, and that can't feel great. I personally believe he wants to loosen that hold a bit.

With this article GG seems to be saying, "Here I am. Support me or move on, but this is the real me."

He seems to be setting some boundaries and giving fans a glimpse behind the curtain at the real him. He is challenging them to accept him for who he really is, or move on.

I feel like he is taking cautious steps toward loosening some of the stranglehold fans have over his career.

GG is a smart, savvy person. I have no doubt that he is well aware of the assumptions about him. I don't think it was an accident that this interview broke down some of those assumptions.

I love him so much. He continually blows me away with how sharp and tough he is.

Disillusionment and growth

Of course, that's not the entire story of the article. There is some alienation and loneliness here. Frustration and struggle with identity.

One of the most powerful lines in the entire article was when he said that he works for this Xiao Zhan guy as well. When he talks about not knowing anymore which GG is real and which is the persona.

"There are two Xiao Zhans, one of them is here, that’s me. There is another Xiao Zhan, the Xiao Zhan in quotes, but he is probably not me anymore. We are all working for him, including myself."

I admit I was surprised by how fractured he sounded. Not surprised that some of this has happening - that is totally to be expected given his fame - but surprised that he'd talk so openly about it. He's not normally so candid about his personal experience of fame, or about its emotional/psychological impacts on him. In his post-2/27 interviews he brushed off any notion of the emotional burden it was placing on him, for example, even though it would have been understandable had he admitted it.

What stands out to me in all of this is how powerfully he is distancing himself from his idol image and showing a mature, serious, in many ways ordinary person. How boldly he is reminding the audience that there is more to him than meets the eye.

Some might read that as cynical and jaded - the star who is playing the game by performing a role that's separate from himself. I read it as the opposite. I read it as self-actualizing and self-preserving. He doesn't believe his own hype. He is just doing a job, working for this persona, while maintaining his own integrity and independence despite all the pressure to perform and be perfect.

The mountain was such a powerful image. Climbing the mountain as a child and seeing it as this nearly insurmountable ordeal, and then later as an adult feeling like he can take a couple of long strides and be at the top. It is such a metaphor for his career and his success. And that speaks of a certain amount of demystification and disillusionment surrounding his dreams.

It was reminiscent of the line, "Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true" from The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell.

Certain jobs, when taken on, become something completely different from what we thought we signed up for.

I have often been asked why I don't open a restaurant. I always jokingly give them this very earnest and serious answer, "Because I like to cook."

If I were to open a restaurant, food would be among the least of my concerns every day. I would have to deal with marketing, I would have to deal with staff and the day-to-day running of the facility, supplies, vendor relationships, finances and management. Food would be very low on the list of things I'd have time to concern myself with.

I feel like the same has happened for GG. He thought he was becoming a singer or an actor, when it turns out he was becoming a celebrity instead. Those are totally different jobs, with totally different demands, activities and limitations.

He enjoys taking on new roles and learning new things and expanding on his skills and working on interesting projects. I doubt very much that he enjoys managing a persona, or navigating fan expectations, or addressing yet another fan-created scandal. I doubt very much he enjoys being held to the standards the top traffic star position puts him under. I doubt he enjoys the restrictions it places on his career or on his personal life.

I doubt he enjoys the limitations on what he is able to show of himself in that job.

Having the kind of job where you have to hang up your personality at the door like an overcoat every day when you walk in - that's a lonely, lonely world to be in. Soul-destroying.

I have long felt that this situation isn't sustainable for GG over the long term. I have wondered what he will do to shift things into a more comfortable, more stable existence for himself. I feel like this article gives me some ideas about that. And it is a relief to read because I get the sense that he is fully aware of that problem, and working to address it for himself so that he can continue doing what he most enjoys - acting and performing.

We have all had these theories - I'm sure most of us have, anyway - that he is trying to shed the idol image, the 'traffic star' image at least to some degree so that he can be accepted as a serious actor with a serious career.

This is a common career path for idols who want to stay in the industry past their idol shelf life. But it's one thing to believe GG might be working on that, and another to feel like I can see him taking brave steps in that direction.

Some surprises, some not

There were some things that surprise me from this interview, and some things that I was not surprised by.

One thing that really stood out to me is how much his real personality shines through. The smart, witty, intense GG we've all seen in The Untamed BTS and in some of his XNINE activities. It was a surprise. I guess I was expecting to see the persona GG - not the real GG. It was so good to see him that I nearly got choked up.

This is the GG that is very no bullshit; blunt and honest. This was the GG who outed DD for using his own meme pictures or for sending him too many selfies. This is the GG who firmly stated he wanted the het scenes deleted. The GG who was very forthright, clever and affectionately prickly with his XNINE brothers.

GG has said in the past that he is not as sweet and sentimental as his fans think he is, that behind the scenes he can actually be ruthless and demanding. This is the GG we've caught glimpses of and that he is talking about in that statement. The real, unvarnished GG.

I didn't dare hope that he would be so candid. He is usually so image-conscious. Not 'fake' by any means, but conscious of how he is coming across and careful not to offend. But in this article he has brought himself unapologetically to the forefront and for that I love and applaud him.

Another surprise for me was when he was talking about how he handles his inner struggles. I was surprised when he said that he doesn't like to talk through his problems. I had always assumed that - as a very authentic, emotionally intelligent, compassionate, personable person - he would be the kind of guy who would reach out to others during times of need.

Instead he said that he doesn't like to talk about his issues. He had such clear and rational explanations for why that even though I can't relate to his approach, I can understand it. This approach can be interpreted as self-contained, self-sufficient and pragmatic. 'If it can be fixed, fix it. If it can't, set it aside. No point talking about it.'

There's something very Zen about letting go of what you can't immediately change, rather than dwelling on it or digging into ruminations about it.

I also found his rationale for avoiding other people's confidences interesting. He 'doesn't want to be a suspect', he 'doesn't want to be burdened by other people's secrets'. I can definitely see how his approach could prevent people from getting caught up in each other's drama, and his mindset reflects healthy boundaries that can help preserve friendships.

I can see GG's characteristic cautious self-protectiveness in this approach. He's smart, strategic and - based on many things he's said in this interview - quite introverted. This approach serves all those aspects of his personality.

There's that old saying, "loose lips sink ships" and that is especially true for someone so much in the public eye. It's good that he has the sense to keep his mouth shut about personal things.

There is wisdom to that approach. It reminds me of the old nursery rhyme about the owl:

A wise old owl sat in an oak, The more he heard, the less he spoke; The less he spoke, the more he heard; Why can't we be more like that wise old bird?

Having said all that, I don't personally share the same view or the same approach in my own life. I am very much someone who likes to talk things through, and who likes to be a listening ear and a support to others as well.

I think there is a lot to be said for the way this type of communication can deepen relationships, help people better understand each other and become more bonded. Sharing burdens, sharing feelings, sharing confidences. It's riskier but the rewards can be significant.

A lot of the biggest problems in the world come from lack of communication or from crossed wires. Talking with others face to face is a great way to clear up confusion and help people stay connected and bonded.

Being the sort of person people can confide in and who talks about things that are on my mind - this really enriches my life. Although I feel like GG has done a great job of making his approach make sense to me, and even seem appealing in ways.

I want to caution people from over-interpreting these statements from him to assuming GG is uncommunicative with DD. As someone who lives with a partner who is exactly like GG when it comes to 'talking about things', I think it's highly likely that GG has a different approach with those few people who are closest to him. There's a pretty big difference between being emotionally and socially open with friends and colleagues, and being emotional and intimate with a partner.

An ordinary boy

The article focuses a lot on his childhood and some of the nostalgia and memories of his past. It's so interesting and illuminating to read about where he came from, and about the parts of that ordinary boy that survived through to adulthood. The geography of the city and the buildings are used as a metaphor for the changes in his life.

He started out in the factory district, in low grey concrete buildings full of vibrancy and activity, passed through a rainy uphill commute and ended up among shining glass skyscrapers. What a journey he has been on, and he's only 31 years old!

The fact that he's been able to maintain his integrity and authenticity and avoid being devoured by the persona - that's such a testament to his character. He really is the whole package. Smart, strong, determined, sweet, compassionate, ruthless, creative, introspective, pragmatic, down-to-earth, cautious. I have always appreciated his breadth as a person. He is very multi-dimensional.

I've talked about that a bit in the past. It's part of why I feel so frustrated sometimes when fans have really shallow, superficial, fan-fictiony takes on his personality. The sweet, soft-hearted aesthete. The tragic beleaguered victim. The playful, cute, dorky romantic. The sexy, saucy, light-hearted, effeminate artist.

None of these takes can even scratch the surface of who he really is. The more I know about him the less I think I know, but I at least know one thing: he's so much more than fans give him credit for.

Florist GG AU

I wasn't remotely surprised to hear that he sometimes thinks of quitting. Even fans sometimes daydream about him quitting. Getting his life back, getting his freedom back. Living a quieter life. Surely there are many times when he is reminded of everything he is sacrificing to do what he does. Times when it feels like too high a price to pay.

But reading this article, I can honestly say that I feel he is up to the task he's taken on. He really does know who he is and what he wants, and he has all of the integrity, emotional and psychological strength to make the most of this career.

My hope that he will start to shed some of the toxic traffic fans and build a stronger, more enduring, more rational fanbase. That he will begin to break free of the shackles of stratospheric popularity and settle into a more stable, satisfying career as a respected actor.

AND SINGER. PLEASE GG! 🥹

It was such a great article, and I feel like I got a glimpse of something new about him that I did not know, which is so rare. I feel like I've been gifted more insight into him, and I have so much gratitude for his willingness to share that with us all.

Regarding candy

A few people wrote me in a big panic over 'what this article meant' for GG and DD's relationship. They had worked themselves up into a state where they felt that if GG and DD were in a relationship, GG wouldn't have said or felt the things he did in the article.

Glass-hearted turtles will need to transform themselves into tortoise-shelled turtles, or they will not survive this fandom. And frankly, those kinds of takes on things sometimes reflect a lack of life experience or realistic understanding of GG and DD as ordinary humans in a relationship.

Some turtles seem to view everything from or about GG and DD as either proof that they're a couple, or proof they are not, with no neutral content and no in betweens. In short, they look at everything GG and DD-related to see what kind of candy it is. And the thing they need to get through their heads is

👉🏻 almost nothing from or about GG or DD will actually be a candy. 👈🏻

Anyone who has ever been in a serious long term relationship knows, there's actually very little about our day-to-day lives that revolves around our partner. My interests and hobbies, most of my social interactions, certainly everything about my work has absolutely nothing to do with my partner. He almost never comes up as a topic or factor in any of it.

And yet we are happily married, and have been for a long time.

As I am frequently saying, GG and DD are individuals first, a couple second. We need to love and respect them in that same order.

This article is about GG and his career. It's an important article about his inner life experience as a celebrity. It has absolutely nothing to do with DD. I find it baffling why anyone would expect it to.

If you are looking for candy, most of the time you will find no candy. If that causes you pain, you are in the wrong fandom. GG and DD aren't here to give us candy. They aren't here to prove anything. Nor should we be. They don't owe us anything. Certainly not 'proof of life' in their relationship.

If you read that article and didn't get that message, then you missed the entire point of the article. GG was saying to everyone, "I'm not just what people think they see, I'm not just what people expect or what they want me to be, underneath I'm a real human being."

Turtles who remember that, and who are able to love GG and DD as individuals, will be longer-lived and happier.

GG and DD's relationship is for and about them. It exists for each other, not for us. I've no doubt they appreciate the love and support turtles give them, but it's not their job to feed us. It's not their job to be trained ponies prancing around for our amusement. They don't owe us anything. Certainly not any candy about their relationship.

More on fan expectations and black-and-white thinking here.

#ggdd interviews #king gg #personal #fandom reflections #solos belong to moling su sect

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monpalace · 10 months

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Okok, so my brain is not working with writing rn BUT i will finish that “reader and time pinning” thing that i was doing I PROMISE

BUT for now imma just share some thoughts of Time because he is THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND I NEED TO RANT ABOUT HIM

*ahem*

Ive said before (on my blog) that Time uses really old and kinda cringey petnames because 1, he genuinely loves them and 2, because he LOVES making the boys squirm in second hand embarrassment. SO, have a few more of those nicknames :D -> snookums, sugarplum, baby cakes, muffin, foxy, and toots

Young time (like teenage/young adult) was an absolute bastard BUT when he falls in love with someone, he is an absolute sweet heart! Think the ‘i hate everyone but you’ trope :3

Young! Time did not know romance AT ALL! That boy was raised by a tree and a bunch if spirit kids, he has know idea what a ‘date’ is. This leads to him just acting the same around his crush but being a little nicer to them

Is then very confused as to why they dont know that he likes them. “It was so obvious? I gave you a piece of my apple pie! I was so clear with my signs 🙄🙄”

He THEN reads all the romance novels he can get his hands on (legally and illegally) just so he can impress them! Completely misunderstood everything and now he just has to straight up tell them, cause how their hair is on fire…somehow

(Modern) Time is totally the type of guy that ‘doesn’t like drama shows’ but if his lover was watching one, he’d stand behind the couch and watch. But when his lover offers to move so he can sit hes like ‘no, im not even watching it. I was just bored’ and the proceeds to watch the next 3 episodes while standing.

(Modern) Time has a leather jacket that he LOVES!! Like he will cut someone for that thing, do not fuck with it. No one is aloud to wear it expect him….And his crush/lover but SHUSH!

Time enjoys polishing his armour/sword while you read a book out aloud. You both find it rather relaxing. Until something dramatic/a polt twists happens, all if the sudden the armour/sword is dropped to the side as Time is BAFFLED by this. “They killed Aaron?! Wh-what? Why!? He was the best choice for Max!” (Hes so invested, his duties are now discarded until you two finish this chapter)

I wanna do more but this is kinda chunky :3

I love dis man so much 🫶🫶

THE WAY I PHYSICALLY AND VERBALLY CRINGED AT FOXY??? bro's the type to say "hey foxy mama" when you walk into a room unironically, he literally has no shame whatsoever whenever someone points out how dated that sounds to

time would fit the secret admirer trope so well though? but he wouldn't even be secret about it?? the lon lon sisters def gave him the advice to "just be himself" and that gave him the idea to take stuff from his woodland-spirit background

"link, why is my house filled with flowers from floor to ceiling."

"that's not a declaration of adoration here? huh."

AND HIM TAKING THE ROMANCE BOOKS? personally, i feel like he's the type to sneak into the library when (supposedly) nobodies looking and just taking whatever he can carry before sneaking back out-- but in actuality it's just that nobody cares

someone asked zelda if he was allowed to take the books because they've been coming back in a damaged state (it's not bad, but while he's workshopping how he's gonna bring words to reality, he messes up a little) and she just says its fine so long as he isn't committing crimes with them (which he has done. several times. no one knows)

ofc there are questions as to WHY he's taking the romance books specifically, but the guards and librarians just chalk it up to him entering his weird boy phase ™️ and not because he has an interest in somebody because him?? having a love interest before half the other people in the castle??? Nah.

you catch modern! time watching a (raunchy) reality show once (like love island, or jersey shore-- maybe even teen mom) and he swears up, down, to the golden three, and to the sand goddess that he just kept it on for noise and that he's paying all his attention to his work even though you caught him ON VIDEO having the most expressive reactions to certain moments

BUT THE LEATHER JACKET ONE?? someone walks up to you while you're wearing it (your relationship with time isn't common knowledge yet) and they make a joke about him burying them alive if they mess it up-- no less just because you're wearing it.

time pops up out of literal thin air making excuses that you were cold (you were not), he was hot and didn't feel like carrying it (his goosebumps say otherwise), he thought there was a tear and he wanted to try and fix it (.. yeah, okay.), he only gave it to you because you said it would go with your outfit (that is not the only reason he'd give it to you), and everything else just to try to hide the fact that he's soft

(also, bonus points if you made it??? now not even the goddesses could touch it. he's about three seconds away from giving into the inner ferality of his childhood self and biting someone if they even look at it)

but tell me why i just imagine time getting ready to like, get in a fight or something, you read something so earth-shatteringly shocking in the book, and he's immediately like "the battle can wait. [opponent] was gonna lose anyways. we have to figure out what the devil is about to happen"

i'm literally scooping ur brain from ur skull, putting it on a table, and i'm gonna examine it for the rest of ur ideas mwah

#the palace answers #stargazing in the palace #loz x reader #legend of zelda x reader #lu x reader #linked universe x reader #loz link x reader #legend of zelda link x reader #time x reader #linked universe time x reader #lu time x reader #loz time x reader #legend of zelda time x reader

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pebble-of-gold · 1 year

Text

WOO 2023

Lets talk about my top 10 films that came out in 2022! I watched a lot of films last year!

1. Everything everywhere all at once

I could write essays on this movie but putting it simply I watched this film in theatres 5 times. There was nothing in this movie that dissapointed me. Its an incredible example of nihilism vs existentialism and I cried 3/5 times i saw it. I now own it on dvd.

2. Bullet train

Bullet train I saw ever so slightly less coming in at 4 cinema visits! Fantastic visuals and soundtrack. Wonderful casting and a fabulously written script! One of my favourite examples of a film that is just fun to watch. I'll be honest on the 3rd and 4th time I was a bit bored but theres not as much going on to rewatch as EEAAO.

3. Black panther: Wakanda forever

I started crying and I dont know if I stopped? An incredibly touching tribute to Chadwick Boseman and a heartbreaking reminder of who we've lost. I think this is the best marvel movie since endgame honestly.

4. The unbearable weight of massive talent

Nick Cage is unironically one of my favourite actors and him and pedro pascal have created an amazing piece of media here. It is so funny and thats all it needs to be! Its just 2 guys getting to know eachother. Fair enough theres some action and spy shit going on but with that removed it is just pure fun.

5. NOPE

A slightly controversial one I know, However, I will never get over the wacky inflatable arm tube men. Im not even joking. They are what made me want to see the film in the first place! No but an excellent example of terror vs fear and a perfect film to discuss questions like "how far should you go for the shot" and issues like exploitation of animals.

6. Three thousand years of longing.

First and foremost its Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba enough said. This movie is gorgeous. The cinematography is beautiful and the costumes the makeup the set design the props my word they did not dissapoint! The message of the film is largely isolation but also behind that theres a sense of love is eternal and how much would you do for love. I couldn't recommend this film more.

7. Matilda

Ok this one is the music and choreography for me. It's a fun film and i loce the set design for it. The costume for mrs wormwood is to die for and I want it all. Theres not a huge moral like the others on the list its a good example of what goes around comes around and good prevails. The camerawork is amazing too.

8. The Menu

Everyone in this film is an awful person EXCEPT Anya Taylor Joy's Character and I live for it. The pacing is wonderful, the camerawork again fantastic and the characterisation!!! There is so much tension and it keeps building until you reach the climax its a wonderful. I like to think the film is about anti capitalism and the death of creatives due to the preassure of critics.

9. The banshees of inisherin

My favourite type of media is where nothing happens but SO MUCH happens. (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead is a wonderful example of this) and Banshees is an amazing example of that. At its core its about loss and lobelyness. Plus It has a RELATIVELY ACCURATE autistic character and thats my favourite part.

10. Don't worry darling

DON'T BOO ME DON'T YOU DARE. OK I ENJOYED IT. SOMEONE HAD TO! HARRY'S ACTING WASN'T EVEN THAT BAD YES IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER BUT THERE WAS SO MUCH SHIT GOING ON CAN YOU BLAME HIM! plus I was living for the drama of DWD and no it was not at all about feminism or the female orgasm but it was about control and it was a fantastic film to showcase that.

Honorable mentions go to:

Where the crawdads sing, Batman, The bad guys, Sing 2, violent night, JJK:0, Multiverse of madness.

Thor does not get an honorable mention and I will not see avatar 2 because I want it to flop.

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reiningsoral · 24 days

Text

reverieverse oc?? self-insert time???? self indulgence??????

omfg please ignore how horrid the hands look they were giving me so much trouble

ya so here's all the little things i decided about them:

i decided on cat shifter after a quick hey-guys-what-would-i-be-between-these-two-animals to my friends

wears cat ear headband unironically

constantly has one earbud in and is probably listening to emo music

every piece of paperwork has doodles on it

earrings

just. so many earrings

hair is awkward to pull into a ponytail but we ball

resting face always either looks pissed off or totally head-empty-no-thoughts

freckles

doesnt actually need glasses (they don't do anything they're literally just plastic lenses) but they're cute

fidgety

usually looks like they just rolled out of bed but "it's the aesthetic I swear"

singing constantly. humming, whistling, mumbling lyrics

pencil behind the ear so often they forget that it's there

"where the fuck is my pencil I just had it"

✨memory problems✨

hair twisting and skin picking are a constant issue. it bugs others when they tug at their eyelashes

cyril probably finds them infuriating but in the way that someone finds like a sibling infuriating?

i tend to have that effect on people idk

cyril and i are like. very similar. but not in the way youd expect

talks loud. very loud

volume control? never heard of her

✨temperature regulation issues✨

would be best fucking friends with dove do not even question me on that

stays up far too late, and the whole having-cat-traits thing really isn't helping

has, on more than one occasion, accidentally shifted when startled

usually looks like a one of those pathetic wet cats when shifted

the worst fucking handwriting on the planet

more reverieverse oc content to be expected. a masterpost might even be made

first post

#reverie audios #reverieverse #reverie cyril #reverie dove #reverieverse oc #art #oc #oc art

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