#//Finally posting this to flesh her out some so I can actually try to use her with other muses instead of being discord only.

[protectivemusesmoving]

[OC Bio] Ame Haitani

PERSONAL Character's Full Name: Ame [undecided] Haitani Reason or meaning of name: Ame meaning "Rain" , Haitani meaning "Ash Valley [Hai: Ash, tani: Valley] Nickname: Sumire [Only by Ran and Rindou] , Reason for nickname: To blend in with the flower theme of the brothers [Ran with orchids and Rindou with bellflowers] Birthdate: April 24th, 1991 Astrological Sign: Taurus

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE Age: (2023) 32 *Age varies depending on timeline/verse* Eye Color: Violet Hair color: Black Typical hairstyle: Straight with two braids in the front Height: 5'3 Weight: Type of body/build: Rectangle Nationality: Japanese Skin tone: Pearl Distinguishing Marks? Scars? FAVORITES Color: Purples (Mauve, Periwinkle, Iris, Heather, and Orchid primarily) Music: Rock, Softer music ("Little Talks" , "You're somebody else", and "Water Fountain" as examples) Food: Tri-color dango, Ichigo Daifuku, Kakigori Expletive(s) (swears): Shit, Fuck, Bitch, Ass BACKGROUND Hometown: Roppongi district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan Most important childhood event that still affects him/her: Her father leaving her as a child Why?: When her mother left her, she still had her father for the first years of her life, but when he had enough and up and abandoned her home alone one day as a young child, she grew up to feel that she couldn't trust anyone to not turn and leave her when they grew tired of her. Booksmart or streetsmart? Booksmart, only knows what she does about the streets from her cousins ("brothers")

FAMILY Mother (name): Kazeka Haitani | Status Unknown Relationship with her: None Father (name): Unknown | Status Unknown Relationship with him: None as of age eight Extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.): Cousins (Ran and Rindou Haitani, who become like brothers to her) Close to family? Yes

CHILDREN *Primarily striked out because this information varies based on ship partner* Does character have child(ren)? How many? Are all children with the same partner? Yes If no, why not? If no, what is the custody arrangement? How does character relate to his/her child(ren)? Which child is character's favorite? Why? Character's most favorite memory of his/her child(ren)? Character's least favorite memory of his/her child(ren)? Is relationship with children good? Is relationship with children important to character? Yes

PERSONALITY Greatest source of strength in character's personality (whether s/he sees it as such or not): Fighting for what she stands for, Protecting others Greatest source of weakness in character's personality (whether s/he sees it as such or not): Trying to push anyone away that she doesn't think will stay around Character's soft spot: Animals Biggest vulnerability: Anything to do with the brothers (Them being used against her for someone to get what they want, for example)

TRAITS Optimist or pessimist? Pessimist Introvert or extrovert? Introvert primarily, extrovert when required Drives and motivations? Making Ran and Rin proud, Proving she doesn't need anyone other than her "brothers", Showing her "parents" that she never needed them after they abandoned her Talents (hidden or not)? Singing, Gardening Extremely skilled at: Gardening and handling flowers Extremely unskilled at: Painting

GENERAL

Jewelry?: Spider necklace Other accessories?: 3x Upper Helix piercing (Left ear), Faux Rook (Left ear), Daith (Left ear), Tragus (Left ear), Low helix (Left ear), High lobe (Left ear) Where does character live? Roppongi With anyone? Yes, with the brothers Does character like animals? Yes Any pets? No Likes music? Yes What kind? Rock, Pop, EDM (Only songs Rin has shown her so far)

Other information (previous bio)

↬ Temper ↫ Her temper is usually patient, except when it comes to anything to do with things like a guy laying a hand on a female or someone dissing either Ran or Rin. Then those are fighting words for her.

↬ Discipline ↫ Ame only follows rules if breaking them has a consequence of prison time, or if they're set by one of the Haitani brothers. Otherwise, it's a hit or miss.

↬ Strengths ↫ Despite seeming cold on the outside, Ame has a bigger heart than she lets on although is selective to show it in order not to be taken advantage of. If you're close to her, she'll give you the shirt off of her back. Physically strong from being taught how to fight.

↬ Dislikes ↫ Cockroaches, Wasps/Bees, Sour tasting food, Bras, Thongs, Hiking, Appearing weak

↬ Habits ↫ Leg bouncing, Cracking her fingers/knuckles, Staring off into space, Cooking too much food

↬ Age 0-12 ↫ (what happened in their lives at that age range?)

Ame was born as a result of her mother thinking that if she gave her husband a baby, it would be a way to fix their already rocky relationship. When it failed, her mother abandoned Ame as well as her husband, which led Ame's father to attempt to take care of Ame as a single father. After years passed, he decided that he couldn't handle it any longer and instead simply left her alone at home with no one to watch over her. At the age of barely eight years old, she was left to wander around in the streets alone until she just happened across her cousins, who weren't in much of a different situation as far as little to no parental supervision/care so they took her in rather than leave her out on the streets for who knows what to happen.

[theillustraitor]

Finally finished revising my ideas for post-AGIT Dan! It's under the cut, and it is similar to what I wrote out before(so if any of y'all read that much of the below will probably sound familiar).

The chart is so y’all can see the Dan ref next to Danny and Vlad. He’s meant to be a pretty even mix of them design wise, and I'm pretty proud about the blend :]

If there are any questions I’d love to answer them(whether about the specific story stuff below or if there’s anything else y’all are curious about with my ideas for him)! In spite of my fixation on the college trio, I think about Dan a ton lol

(This takes place in the range of about 2.5 weeks to 3 months after AGIT)

Dan’s clone body started destabilizing pretty soon after AGIT. With some convincing Danny and Dani agreed to use the ecto-dejecto to stabilize him(Dani still needs it so that’s why she had it/had to give permission. She sympathized with Dan melting.) Vlad was also hiding that Dan didn’t really mean anything he’s said about improving, and Dan was of course himself lying about it. That’s why Danny/Dani agreed to help(Dan does eventually become genuine, but this blurb will mostly focus on why Dan looks the way he does instead of his character development).

It worked, but Dan destabilizes so frequently that he goes through a lot of dejecto. His ghost form is really different from the clone, and has a lot more power than the clone can handle. The dejecto is also unable to be reproduced because 1) Vlad could not crack what tf Jack did to make it in the first place, and 2) There’s no way Jack would agree to make more(not that he even would remember how to replicate a failed experiment that would help ghosts). Giant problem for both Dan and Dani, because if they use it all, that’s it. They’ll melt into nothing.

This led Vlad to try another method to hopefully permanently stabilize Dan or at least reduce the amount of dejecto he needs(Vlad figures his ghost part should theoretically make up for the original stability problem of the Danny clones). Vlad started working on editing the clone to both age it up, and create a stable mix of his and Danny’s DNA that would allow the clone body to more closely resemble Dan’s ghost form and hopefully increase its capacity for ectoplasmic energy.

This was actually going pretty well and was slowly reducing the amount of dejecto Dan needed, but it wasn’t going fast enough. Vlad feels enough guilt over Dani by this point in time to be concerned for her well being, so once again is trying to find another alternate way to stabilize Dan faster. He comes to the insane conclusion to convert the ectoplasmic nature of Dan’s clone body into flesh. The bodies not matching wouldn’t matter then, and it obviously couldn’t melt anymore(note, the reason he doesn’t think to do this process directly to Dan’s ghost is because he still needs an anchor to not disappear from time. Being made of meat won’t fix that, so the best option is to keep him inhabiting a body. Even that aside, there could possibly be irreversable/undesirable side effects).

By the time Vlad is successful enough with testing to implement it with Dan’s body, he looks like what he looks in my design. He’s roughly 17-18, and really hates the idea of being stuck that age. However with a lot of convincing from Jazz and Vlad he finally agrees to allow Vlad to convert his clone body(convincing includes that he could finally go in public without any worrying(Jazz), he could have a bit of youth/being a kid to have fun with(Jazz), the obvious fact of not destabilizing(Jazz/Vlad), he’ll get a longer life(Vlad), and Vlad secretly mentions that Dan could get away with a lot more if he is young).

Vlad then goes ahead with it(Dan temporarily moves into another body to ensure only the clone body would be affected). Vlad is left pretty exhausted, but the conversion was a great success. Dan finds that it’s a bit tingly and is still like he’s possessing the body, however otherwise it feels pretty great.

Some later stuff:

- Dan finds that unlike before, he can turn into his ghost form halfa-style(not for too long though as he’ll start destabilizing time-wise).

- He eventually attends Casper High(of his own volition, though Jazz encourages it). Vlad puts him in Danny, Tucker, and Sam’s class. This is also when he gets his jacket; he joins the football team, but seeing as he still despises the popular kids he gets Sam to dye it black.

- He’s honestly a menace at Casper, especially to the popular kids, but Dash still thinks he’s cool 😭

[louisoffline]

FINALLY FINISHED THE REF SHEET PLUS OTHER DRAWINGS YAAYYY okay so i had the ref sheet done basically two days ago BUT i wanted to draw some more because my ref sheets look so......just stand there kinda scary so MORE ART !!! also skip if you are seeing this when i say our mcs twin bro......we are so mind connected with the skeleton sweaters my lord when i logged on and saw that both step 2 designs had them..........my goodness..i think we might just be the same person....

I want to try and flesh out relationships and dynamics more i think thats something i kind of struggle with with ocs so..that is what the rest of this post will be backstory, character traits, etc etc if you chose to read i will love you forever

Step 1: Gosh...I love making characters really reeaaallllyyy awkward and that's exactly what Lenae is. Her awkwardness is really just stemming from anxiety or nervousness. Qiu and her's dynamic is so sweet to me I love characters being to nervous to say things and then another saysit for them omg im weak yeah thats so them. Lenae and Tam on the other hand....it's not like Lenae doesn't liker her she knows she means well and is extremely sweet but Lenae just can't understand why she is so loud and energetic all the time, she finds it hard to keep up. She IS the sweetest kid you would ever come across though, she will do anything to see you smile. Her earmuffs are a constant, everyone else may think it's just a comfort thing but it is in fact a noise thing we just don't know that yet guys(undiagnosed autism is craayyy)

Step 2: Still being that same shy, sweet kid while looking emo AND TRANSGENDER?? not for the weak. Still shy and reserved maybe even more so but no one really expects anything else. I think meek is a very good descriptor, they get freaked so so easily like has never had a peaceful day in their life. However, Halloween IS their favorite time of the year, it's an aesthetics thing i guess. If you pass by Lenae in the halls you would probably think that they were on their last few threads of patience by the sour look on their face but no, they could be having the best day of their life with that face on. They found it tiring to keep that placid smile on their face all the time when it wasn't always real. In this stage Lenae has definitely started expierimenting with different art mediums like dabbling in painting, poetry, music, you name it. Qiu and Lenae are still the bestest friends ever(bestest crushes ever???) and it's actually kind of nice to have someone by your side who knows what you're going through with your gender identity struggle and everything. Lenae for sure feels bad for how they treated Tam just because they thought she was a little much, I mean it was kind of hypocritical, so they've been trying to make it up to her by being kind of everyly nice?? oh boy oh boy

Step 3: I really don't know a lot of what I could write for step 3 since like nothing of it is out in the actual game SO were just gonna go like personality kind of wise y'know? I think they've definitely mellowed out AT LEAST A LITTLE...like omg guys they can sometimes order for themselves at restaurants!! They're very opinionated and has a strong stance on what they believe but like not in a mean way they just don't understand why others would think differently. Building on their creative abilities, they probably have plans to go to a college for art or fashion. Or maybe they'll start their own business who knows! It's okay to not have everything planned out anymore, some spontaneity is welcome in their life. Now that they've finally been able to be more open, mainly around friends, they'll say something a little too...unsettling or freaky??? to be normal, it's a little weird to get used to oopsies

AND THATS ALL if you read all of this i appreciate you becasue this has been drafted up on my computer screen for multiple days I just did not know what to say siigghhh yeah i love this kid and I hope you guys do too teehee

[skimmoons]

I was thinking about the Percy Jackson TV show and it just occurred to me that a few of the changes they made in season one, even though didn’t exactly please me, will allow the following seasons to be more book-accurate and in depth.

One example is the fact that we already have Luke’s background. We know why he left home, so now the show can actually SHOW us Luke and Thalia’s life on the road by flashbacks, instead of Annabeth telling the short version (how it is in the books). They can actually dive into Luke’s character and make him more three-dimensional, something that the series lacked up until the very last book when Rick had a “oh my gods I’m about to kill this character and I didn’t even give him a last name” sort of moment.

By fleshing out Luke’s character so thoroughly they can also give Thalia a greater importance than she had in the books. I was never particularly sold to her and Annabeth’s relationship because Annabeth never actually TALKS about her except for very few and brief moments during SoM. They now have the perfect excuse to show more of her (again, in those flashbacks about their time on the road) to build up her character so people will actually like her and understand why she is the way she is during book three. I’ve known plenty of people, including myself, that didn’t vibe with her during TTC for this exact reason: we were never given context about her. We don’t even know what made HER leave home until Heroes of Olympus.

Sally’s relationship with Poseidon being explored will make Paul even more important than he already is. For Sally to finally open up to a man again, to finally be able to love and trust someone other than Percy, is a HUGE deal now. Because we know she carried those unresolved feelings for Poseidon for the longest time and meeting Paul is what finally makes her let go of him.

I also think the show is building up the gods little by little. At first it would seem like they’re all bastards that hate mortals and should be guillotined, but then we get Hephaestus helping them because he wants to be different. Then we have Poseidon helping out Percy even though he wasn’t asked (in the books, Percy prayed before jumping from the arch) AND even helping out Sally by giving him an extra pearl. We will probably have, through flashbacks, Athena guiding Annabeth when she left home, and Hermes wanting to help Luke escape his fate is already a big deal. Instead of first seeing the gods as perfect creatures and later finding out they’re just as flawed as mortals, we’re doing the opposite: at first we think they’re trash and understand Luke, but little by little we are shown that, flawed as they are, most of the gods still try to do their best for their children. Except Ares, the little fucker.

All this long ass post to say: maybe we shouldn’t criticize the show so harshly before being able to see the bigger picture. Maybe we should give them some grace and time to cook.

Also: I know some people think they're being too forward with Percabeth, and to those I say: reread the books and use your critical thinking skills. But that's a subject for another post.

[a-secret-bolton-vampire]

CW: Rape, incest, CSA

This is actually not a strictly A Song of Ice and Fire post here, but it overlaps in some ways so I figured I'd write this.

Anyone who has not read the web serials Worm or Ward and wishes to avoid spoilers, don't read this post:

Disclaimer out of the way, I've found striking parallels between fandom reaction for both A Song of Ice and Fire and Parahumans regarding how characters who survived sexual abuse view their abusers, in a dangerously disturbing way.

For this I'm going to specifically be using the examples of Aeron and Theon Greyjoy from A Song of Ice and Fire to compare and contrast to Victoria Dallon in Ward. All three were psychologically and sexually tormented by their abusers during the course of the series. Theon is a young adult by the time Ramsay gets his hands on him, but Aeron and Victoria were both children when they were molested by family members so they will be the main two characters to compare.

In the case of Euron and Aeron, there are a (sadly very vocal) minority who are ready to dismiss Euron's danger to others by specifically using Aeron's abuse against him. Sure, Euron is evil and horrifically abused him and Urrigon when they were children, and it is understandable that Aeron would be mortified of Euron. After all, he tries to warn people about Euron repeatedly, only for his attempts to stop him to all fail.

The response by this section of the fandom to claims of Euron being built up as a major threat are essentially that Aeron's trauma is in the way of his ability to perceive Euron objectively. Is Euron actually as dangerous as Aeron claims? You can say the same for Theon and Ramsay. After all, Theon is half-mad warning Stannis about Ramsay, and Stannis is bringing some Rational Realness to the forefront by saying "what do I have to fear him for?"

Since GRRM is never releasing another A Song of Ice and Fire book it's hard to say what he intends but he could definitely intend for this to be the case. That said, there is a story featuring a similar character that is completed. Ward!

Victoria Dallon's sister, Amy, is a cape with healing abilities, though as the series progresses we know that healing is just the tip of the iceberg; she can change the biological makeup of living things. Amy is adopted, and has never felt any love from anyone other than Victoria. Amy develops deep romantic love for her sister, however, and then begins a series of bad decisions that just serve to deepen her already deep mental breakdown.

Amy proceeds to; alter Victoria's brain chemistry to give her compulsive romantic thoughts about her, then following healing Victoria after a battle, she spends several days alone with her, during which she repeatedly rapes her, erases her memories of said rapes, until her mental health deteriorates even further and she is unable to use her power properly and turns Victoria into the Wretch: a mass of flesh and limbs and heads, rather than anything actually human.

Then Victoria spends 2 years in a mental institution, stuck in a body she hates, all the while fighting the compulsions Amy left in place. When she finally returns Victoria to normal at the end of Worm, it is actually against her will and not because she had a change of heart or got more confident.

Then we get to Ward, where Victoria is the main POV. As is very obvious, Victoria is struggling with extremely intense PTSD, mentioning Amy is enough to trigger a dissociative flashback, and she wants absolutely nothing to do with her anymore: and fucking rightfully so.

Victoria also warns people about Amy. She warns her therapist to try to reach out to Amy before she hurts someone else, she warns literally anyone who will listen about Amy and what she might end up doing. We may not know what it is that Ramsay and Euron end up doing, but we do know what Amy does.

She refuses all help and doubles down on bad decisions, enslaves people with her powers, later imprisons and torments and touches Victoria again against her will, and becomes the dictatorial monster in charge of an entire planet. Victoria's warnings prove to be extremely prophetic and extremely real.

Now lets get into some discourse shall we?

Despite Amy being a rapist who rapes her sister, enslaves others via mind control, and literally never once improving as a person or acknowledging that her actions even caused harm, there are still those who think Amy isn't at fault. Some might find this post, but I don't really care. Amy is at fault for things Amy did. Victoria is not at fault for hugging her sister like a normal human being when Amy is upset, Amy didn't do her a favour healing her because then she just raped her and then really couldn't fix her back to a human body, and Amy isn't absolved of these sins because she healed a lot of people.

Essentially, Victoria is sometimes blamed for being raped by her sister, the rapist, despite Amy canonically being a manipulative lying liar rapist.

Okay so that doesn't seem to related to what the fandom says with Euron and Ramsay, right? After all, we don't really blame Aeron for being molested and Theon for also being sexually tortured and abused by Ramsay, do we? There are factors as to why that is (mostly that Aeron and Theon are men and Victoria is a woman; if you don't buy this argument look at people who say Cersei deserved to be sexually assaulted by Robert or try to use "the times" as an excuse to overlook Daenerys also being raped by Drogo) but there is an overlap here.

Amy being able to get away with that she did only to go on and hurt so many other people is a meta-commentary on the way survivors of sexual abuse are disbelieved or blamed for what happened to them. Naturally, those real like abusers end up going to abuse other people too. Fuck, even in the fandom, Victoria is still fucking blamed for things that she had absolutely no choice in the matter.

Which leads back to Theon and Aeron. Yes, trauma impacts the way you remember traumatic events, and that means objectivity can get lost at times. It can for Victoria and Theon and Aeron. But that trauma, the dissociation, memory problems, all of these together, are there for a reason. And that's because someone came along, ruined another persons life for their own pleasure and satisfaction, and then got away with it.

Victoria warned the world about what Amy would do, and she was unfortunately correct. Theon and Aeron warned others about Ramsay and Euron. Survivors should be believed, and not be dismissed. After all, it isn't our fault that we got abused. People may hear things about Euron or Amy or Ramsay, but the people who truly know who they are---what they are capable of, what they are actually like---are the people they abused.

So yeah, it's kinda fucking lame when I hear someone go "Stannis gonna prove Theon wrong with facts and logic" as if he doesn't, I don't know, have insight into Ramsay's psychology in ways Stannis doesn't. Same with Euron. Same with Amy.

Also fucking read Ward it hurts as intensely as it kicks ass.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Unexpected 49

Warnings: non/dubcon, pregnancy, pegging, Lloyd being the worst, post partum, csection, suicidial ideation, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

It's as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Just the one. You still feel the nagging tug of resent and anger around your nape but that pit in your stomach lessens. Enough for you to wake up without dread at the sight of sunlight.

You can smell the fall setting in as it wafts in through the screen. You sit up and stretch, groaning as you stand to check in on the bassinet. Luna's never slept so peaceful as that night. She must love her grandfather already.

You rub your shoulders as you stand and pull on the thin linen robe and tie the belt tight. You hate to wake the baby so you creep to the door and listen to the house. It's quiet still. Your fellow denizens must be asleep, or hiding.

You back away and near the bassinet. You flip up the brake with your toe and carefully wheel it closer to the open bathroom door. You lock it and make sure you can see it from inside.

You slowly twist the faucet and flick the switch to trigger the showerhead. The water rains down behind the frosted door and you let it run until steam rises. You go to look in on the baby one last time as you undress. A ten minute shower can't hurt.

You leave your clothes on the floor and step into the shower, sliding the door shut but leaving it open a crack. You sigh as the heat seeps into you, the water slaking down your flesh. You close your eyes, tilting your face up to the hot stream, hands wandering down to the ripples etched into your hips and stomach. You lost some but you'll never be like you were before. Not inside or out.

You focus on the warmth, mourning your previous self in the fog of the moment. Let it drift away with the humidity that surrounds you. You only need to carry your own guilt around, you can't torture yourself for Lloyd's misdeeds.

You take your time, forgetting the urgency you had when you stepped in. The scent of the soap soothes you and when you finally turn the tap off, you feel ready to face the day. Whatever it may hold.

You slide open the door and grab your robe, wrapping it around your body without drying off. You use the sleeve to dry your face, a flicker on the outside of your eyelids sending a thrill up your spine.

You snap your eyes open as you see the figure looming over the bassinet. Your fright turns to rage as Lloyd coos into the basket and reaches his hand down. Not only is he intruding in your space but he is near your baby.

He looks up with his brows high, a thoughtless grin on his face. Almost as if he expects you to be happy to see him. You storm forward and shove him away from the bassinet with a snarl.

"Get out!" You sneer.

"Hey, hey, I knocked," he says as you try to usher him out.

You don't reply. You won't waste the breath. He needs to go and not come back.

"She's my daughter!"

You nearly explode at those words. Your serenity is broken. He's always there to ruin everything. He thinks he can just waltz in and receive a warm welcome. He thinks he's entitled to every single thing in this world.

You push him so he stumbles. If he really wanted to, he could override you. You both know it. It's almost as if he wants you to beat the everliving shit out of him. You won't give him the satisfaction.

You herd him through the open door as you hear Luna start to babble and you slam it. You spin and hurry to the bassinet, your chest full and pulsing. You take the baby out and bring her with you to the bed. This is going to be a lot harder than you expected.

Lloyd hits the door and you hear a 'hey' boom from down the hall. Harlan's footfalls march down towards your room as you calm the baby as she fusses at all the noise. You hush her as you listen with one ear to the voices without.

"Leave her be, boy, or I'll put you on your ass again," Harlan growls.

"Fuck off. I took it easy on you, old man," Lloyd retorts.

"Don't act like you didn't learn it from me," Harlan snarls, "leave the lady alone. It's damn well the only thing you've proven yourself skilled at."

There's a huff right before you hear a stomping retreat. You easily assume it's Lloyd. A gentle tap comes at the door.

"Y'okay?" Harlan asks through the door.

"All good," you call back.

"You need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thanks," you say as you focus on getting Luna to feed. This is all a mess, you don't know why you were ever worried about Lloyd coming back. He should've stayed gone.

🍑

Harlan brings you breakfast as you maintain your reclusion. He holds Luna as you find something besides old sweats to wear. You think a walk would help ease your nerves. Or hope for at least a moment you can escape the tense chokehold of this place.

You get Luna in her stroller and your father helps you take her down the front steps. You head out in the opposite of your normal direction. Not towards the park or Andy's house, but to the other end of the street. You distract yourself with the details of the houses you'd never passed before and stop to admire the stone fountain amid the carpet of autumn leaves.

The symptoms of the season changing and time passing add to your disappointment. Lloyd's return had snapped you out of purgatory in a way you never expected. You'd resign yourself to staying, after Colin, after the positive test, after you laid in the grass and beckoned the end…

Now you don't want to settle for any of it. But how can you ever escape this trap? Set as much by that man as your own indifference.

"Hey, hey," Andy startles you and you turn to see him jogging towards you in his full get-up; sneakers, jogging pants, and a zip-up, "hey, how are things?"

He stops just on the other side of the stroller. Figures, you go one way to avoid him and he shows up. You look back at the fountain, gripping the handle of the stroller as you think.

"It's fine…"

"About yesterday…" he begins.

"Forget it. Forget everything. We never should’ve–"

"What? Come on, it's no biggie–"

"It is, I can't… I have a daughter I need to worry about."

"I can help–"

"Andy–"

"Dickwad," Lloyd shouts from the other side of the street. He's geared up in black joggers and a thin exercise hoodie. Boy, is your toming still impeccable. "Why don't you fuck off away from my wife? Can't you see she's trying to enjoy a walk in peace?"

You roll your eyes and wave off Lloyd. You give Andy a look that says 'not now' as his brows furrow with concern and surprise. He nods and glances at Lloyd.

"No worries, gotta finish my run," he pushes off and runs past the stroller and Lloyd, sure to hit his shoulder with hit.

"Sorry to crash your little rendezvous," Lloyd looks in the stroller as he nears and you steer it away from him, "actually not fucking sorry. Daddy's home so–"

"Leave me the fuck alone," you sneer, "how many times do you need to hear it? You sure didn'thave a problem doing it before so kindly go back to wherever you fucked off to–"

"What? Or you'll go sniveling to dear old grandpappy?" He reaches for the stroller and you put yourself between him and Luna, "Peach, that's my daughter. I don't care how many times you fucked that cuck. You both belong to me and you always will."

You puff and back away from him, shielding the carriage behind you. You stand, speechless for a moment. Of course he knows, you knew in the back of your head he must be watching like he always did. You wanted him to see.

"Tell yourself whatever you need," you snap, "but you own nothing. You will always be an empty, spineless shell of a fucker." You turn as quickly as you can and redirect the stroller, "you being back won't change that. Or me. So you have fun with your hand and I'll be doing the same with Andy."

"Don't fucking walk away from me," he barks as he goes to follow.

"I will scream, then the baby will scream, and you know people will hear," you hiss without looking back, "finish your run. Do us all a favour and don't stop running this time."

[jp---v]

Part of me wishes that Midoriya never received One For All. As a disabled person, it always seemed like Quirks and the lack of Quirks were (in some ways) a metaphor for disability. The whole "Can someone be a Hero without a Quirk" just read as "Can I be Someone if I am disabled". And the answer was no. The answer was "You're useless, but I can fix you". I know that it would make so many arcs and part of the story either way more difficult or probably just impossible, but I wish that Midoriya stayed quirkless. He was built up as being incredibly smart and I wish we got to actually see that instead of. Big Punch. Big Kick. Fight Win. I wish that instead we saw him be resourceful and intelligent, I wish he was a bit more like Eraserhead or Nighteye, where they have weapons to help them fight. I wish we saw him fall behind physically and get support from teachers in the areas he was failing, see him go from just barely scraping by to succeeding because he has support, anything other than just handing over the cheat code to being a "Good Hero". I wish Midoriya's story was actually about if it's possible to become a hero without a quirk, and I wish the answer was yes.

Sorry for the big chunk of text, I've been thinking of this for. A while.

Ok, first thing first. Minor notes.

Paragraph breaks are your friend

You probably could've made your own post and more fully fleshed out your thoughts without having to worry about the ask character limit.

Now onto answering.

Yes. The series would've been completely different if One for All wasn't in play. Several arcs would have been impossible for Midoriya to participate in the Big Final Fight, and an action series where your protagonist can't join the fight, isn't set up for success.

But there are different avenues that could've been taken. A bigger focus on Underground heroics. Behind the scenes info gathering, undercover work, stake-outs, and all the dirty side of heroics people don't get to see. Eraserhead is an Underground hero himself, there's no way he couldn't have done with a quirkless Midoriya what he did with Shinsou and more, because he's his homeroom teacher. Weapons, tactics, Underground contacts. Then there's Midoriya getting to use his brain to design support gear and strategize his way around his opponents. Why set him up as this super analytically-minded person if it rarely comes into play? He's just another 'hit 'em till they stop fighting back' hero in the end.

But him losing One for All sucks too because he never even actually got to master it. The thing he's been trying to do since he got it. The series set this huge, important goal with easily trackable benchmarks(the percentages) and tosses it to the wayside, only for him to still fail at saving Tenko(because Tenko's been gone for years. A memory isn't a person).

On a wider scale, the series could've explored the themes of discrimination against quirkless people instead of brushing them away almost entirely. The fact that by the end of the series everyone was acting like quirkless discrimination never existed, and were instead focused on heteromorph discrimination, may have partially come from the fact that Bakugo is a 'fan favorite' gag me and Horikoshi didn't want to acknowledge him being the bigot he was pretty clearly shown to be early on. So it all got swept under the rug and "never happened." Because that would also require recognizing Midoriya's trauma, and the series has never once acknowledged it or taken Midoriya's pain seriously. Like honestly, Midoriya being so starved for human contact that he let's Uraraka call him Deku, even after explaining that it's an insult with years worth of weight behind it(and her still calling him that after he explained it), then making it his hero name? This terrible insult you've been called for pretty much your entire life, that's what you want to be known as for the rest of your life and beyond? And after Bakugo's alleged "apology" he switches to the overly-familiar Izuku, as if they're actually close friends and he still isn't violently screaming and insulting him like he has for years.

And as far as "support from the teachers" goes... UA actually sucks, just, as a school. He couldn't get support when he had more power in his pinky than most teachers have combined, even when he kept breaking that pinky. Eraserhead doesn't want 'students' to make into 'heroes' he's making paranoid little child soldiers. Despite having high grades, a 'saving people' mindset instead of wanting to be a hero for fame or money, which should put him pretty high on favorability compared to most of his classmates, but no, he's the Problem Child because he can't control his quirk. But does he ever get any actual help? Extra training? Quirk counseling? Nope! He gets thrown to the fucking wolves until Gran Torino sees what's happening and comes out of retirement to help this poor child no one else is helping. Crazy how Midoriya spent a couple of months at UA and his control never got any better, but just a week with someone actually training him and he can finally use OfA without hurting himself.

I forgot where I was going with this tbh.

Anyway... the story could've been completely different if Horikoshi acknowledged Midoriya's trauma, showed the effects of quirkless discrimination, and actually let the teachers teach in a series with the word 'Academia' in the name.

If Midoriya had had any kind of suppprt from anyone in his life, and was less hyperfocused on quirks specifically so he could think about support gear, then yes. He could've been a hero. Not the bright, shining spotlight kind of hero, but still a hero.

[flightfoot]

Marinette Completed Angst Fic Reclist

I know some people really like this genre, so I figured I'd make a list for it! These will obviously all be completed, and none of them will be bashing fics, and PLEASE don't rec any fics on this post that are bashing fics, I don't want to see them.

Some of these will have my own commentary about the fic attached to it, for if I've put them on a previous reclist where I had that commentary written out. But a lot of the older fics won't.

For a fic to count for this, the angst Marinette goes through can't just be her being upset about what someone else is going through, though the angst of the fic doesn't only need to be hers, so long as she has her own angst which is a decently prominent part of the fic.

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one does not love breathing by @wackus-bonkus-maximus

All of Paris watched as Hawkmoth murdered Chat Noir, taking the Black Cat Miraculous for himself. Ladybug swears revenge, but her enemy—and every miraculous in his possession—disappear without a trace.

Six years later, a new team of villains launches an attack for the last remaining Miraculous: Volpina, armed with new powers; Queen Bee, with questionable loyalty; Argos, the new holder of the Peacock Miraculous; and Cat Walker, who Ladybug hates the most.

Takes place after S4 - Strike Back.

This is a simply phenomenal fic. You get to explore a lot of different perspectives, like Felix, Kagami, Marinette, and Adrien’s, just to name a few, and see their different thought processes and plans and priorities, and how it can cause their plans to collide with each other, even when they all ultimately are aiming for a good outcome for everyone. The characters are pretty complex and can mess up at times, even when they’re doing things (or not doing things, looking at you Luka) with the best of intentions. It was a joy to read and a real nail-biter the whole time, I actually wrote a fic for it halfway through just to resolve some of the tension for myself, One Does Not Love Shadows.

It also features the version of Luka I’ve connected best with to date, as he feels like Luka, but also is a lot more fleshed out, and can make some major errors while simply trying to avoid missteps. It’s helped me get a better handle on a character who I’ve generally had a lot of problems with really understanding.

It is an M-rated fic, though I think Wackus is being overly cautious on that front. There’s no sexual content and I wouldn’t put the violence or gore above a T-rating, so I wouldn’t let the rating scare you off.

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you don’t even know me at all (but I was made for loving you) by @ladyofthenoodle

They didn’t remember each other. The hospital told them there’d been an accident—brain damage—but Alya had told them the truth, later. Who’d they’d been to each other. What they’d given up, and why. But even with their memories of each other gone, Adrien and Marinette are still inextricably tied together—by law, by their social circles, and by their hearts. And in the apartment they share, there’s only one bed.

Yep, it’s the “there was only one bed” trope XD! I especially love how it was used here, how Adrien and Marinette are strangers now but they had a whole life together, and they pine for each other even without remembering, and how Marinette just can’t believe how in love with her Adrien is even though he doesn’t remember her. I loved the emotional turmoil the two of them went through together in the fic, and the resolution, it’s great!

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fine line by @bbutterflies

“Catwalker?” Loveybug asks. “Hmm?” “Do you remember… what happened before us?” “What do you mean?” “Before we were heroes. Was there someone else?” Catwalker goes quiet for a moment. “I don’t know,” he finally says.

This is a surprisingly angsty take on the Loveybug AU. Here, since the Loveybug and Cat Walker transformations are so unnatural, they’re having negative side effects on Marinette and Adrien, causing them to be constantly exhausted and even to get amnesia the longer they continue using them.

---

do you think I have forgotten about you? by @roseinaugust

Based on the song ‘About You’ by The 1975. Memory Loss. Told in alternating time lines, one leading up to and one dealing with the aftermath of Marinette relinquishing the Miracle Box and the guardianship. Marinette struggles with her life after losing her memory, though there is a persistent voice that calls to her that always seems just out of reach in her memory.

Beautiful memory loss fic here, with seeing Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s relationship before she gave up the Miracle box, juxtaposed with the present day, when Adrien is only a stranger to her. I could really feel how Marinette was struggling with navigating these new circumstances, with her friends seeming to expect her to remember, to be who she was to them, to Adrien especially, before, and her just… not knowing whether she can do that. It’s got a happy ending though, for those who are concerned about that.

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Our Tales Are Endless (That’s Why I Tell Them) by @joonapeach

Marinette lives a simple life - one surrounded by pretty dresses, fresh macaroons, and the calming view of Paris. It’s a life she thinks she has always fit in. And yet sometimes, when a certain boy comes by her shop with a flower and a new adventurous story, she can’t help but wonder if there’s something else she’s missing.

This was a truly gorgeous story. It’s the classic “Marinette gives up the Miracle Box and loses her memories” storyline, exploring her life two years later. Even though she’s had time to heal and recover, she still feels like she’s missing something, something big. At least Adrien’s stopping by regularly to tell her stories about Ladybug and Chat Noir, even if she doesn’t understand why they resonate with her so well.

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I (Wish I) Knew You by @buggachat

University has been hard on Marinette. Making new friends and maintaining her grades is a lot easier said than done when she has to disappear at odd times to fight akumas. She's struggling, and with Alya away with family and Adrien painfully out of reach, she's never felt lonelier.

If only she could talk to someone who really understood her struggles... but it's not like Chat Noir would know anything about loneliness. Right?

Nice aged-up Ladynoir fic here! Marinette’s struggling with losing friends and lovers because of her flakiness due to her superhero activities, until at last she breaks down. Thankfully, Chat Noir’s there at least - and it soon turns out he’s got problems of his own that he’s been hiding.

There’s some fluff and angst, it’s mostly just the two of them navigating life, dealing with their feelings and talking things out.

---

If I Let Myself Love You by @uptoolateart

It’s hard to be a normal girl with a normal life when your mother has terminal cancer. And when fashion model Adrien Agreste moves back to Paris and wants to be Marinette’s friend – or maybe even more – her life is turned upside down again.

How can she risk opening her heart to love when her whole world is falling apart? Especially when Adrien is hiding a dark secret of his own….

- COMPLETE FIC – updates on Sundays

*** No kwamis AU - 100% Adrinette. About half of it is fluffy and half heavy. Please read tags for trigger warnings. ***

This fic can be rough, definitely pay attention to the tags. There’s no villains in this story, it mostly centers around themes of dealing with illness - both being sick and having a loved one who’s terminally ill - and death, grieving someone who’s lost, and how difficult that can be. It can get pretty gut-wrenching at times, especially as you slowly discover more layers of what’s really going on, what both Adrien and Marinette are hiding, both from others and from themselves in order to help cope with their circumstances. But they still move forwards together, regardless.

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Between the Heavens and the Embers by @readersmoon

Everyone in Paris remembers the fateful night of January 16, when the city was attacked by the most powerful and destructive akuma ever created. The assault, which lasted for hours, resulted in the death of 439 people.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was among the casualties.

Years later, Adrien hasn't been able to move on, haunted by the memories of her broken body. So, when the opportunity to leave Paris for a while presents itself, he doesn't hesitate. But this trip might end up giving him more than he ever dreamt of.

This is a fantastic fic, though a serious and a dark one - make sure to mind the tags, and it’s M-rated for a reason. Vee - or rather, Marinette - is going through a horror story here. Imagine finding out that your life is a lie, that everyone you thought you could trust was manipulating you, that you were just being continually gaslit for years. 

As for Adrien, Alya, and Nino... well, none of them took Marinette’s “death” all that well, especially Adrien. Finding out that she’s been alive all this time, in these horrible circumstances, and they had no clue... it’s hard on them as well.

I love how this fic goes into how much trauma everyone has even after the immediate danger’s dealt with, you don’t just walk off this kind of experience, especially with how many years this lasted.

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in case you don’t know me tomorrow by @thelibraryloser:

“We live in a crazy world where pieces of our lives can be erased like they never even happened. I just wanted to memorize this moment so… so I could keep it, if that makes sense.”

Adrien’s heart gave a little flutter. She wanted to keep this moment, meeting him. She wanted to keep… him.

“I understand exactly what you mean.“

In a world that has created a way to selectively delete memories, no moment is truly safe. So how do you hold on to something when the memory of it is gone? And how do you keep fighting for someone when you’re the only one who remembers?

This is a SEVERELY underrated fic. It’s got some shades of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” in the world, though the plot is very different - the memory erasure ain’t willing. 

Basically, the first few chapters are establishing Adrien’s and Marinette’s romance, and then the rest of the fic is dealing with Gabriel being an absolute DICK and using any means at his disposal to break them apart. It’s fantastic and I highly recommend reading it!

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hella enchanted by @xiueryn:

Years ago, Marinette’s father died and she was left with her awful stepmother. With magic forcing her to obey every command, she lived as a servant and gave up hope. When a man appears, searching for the very fairy that blessed her, Marinette decides to give life one more try. AU.

(a different ella enchanted au.)

Even though it’s a one-shot this one is pretty long, clocking in at over 30k words. Absolutely worth a shot, though. The first third is basically Marinette dealing with being pushed around because of her “blessing”, and the other two-thirds is just some adorable fluff of her and Adrien touring the country together. 

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Echoes of You by kittinoir

In the day time, she's Marinette - a normal girl, with a normal life. A normal girl, with a normal life. A normal girl, with... Not Season 4 Compliant; please, no spoilers

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balancing act by fictionalinfinity

“Besides, being Ladybug always came first. It came before school, friends, and sometimes even family. Now it had to come before her health. Marinette had a duty to Paris. She wouldn’t let them down.” Or, being both Ladybug and the Guardian starts to take its toll on Marinette. - the epilepsy au literally no one asked for

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Some Days by @merrygreenie

Some days are worse, and others are a little better, little by little and day by day. Marinette Dupain-Chen is learning how to live her new normal after living in confinement and being tortured by Hawkmoth. She is thankful to have her friends and family to support her. And a very special Chat who loves her very much. *This story contains scenes of violence and torture this is a whump fic*

This fic has some great angst, but be warned, it's not kidding about the violence and torture. Honestly, it should probably be rated M instead of Teen, given that while the fic mostly takes place after Marinette escapes and while she's recovering, we do get a detailed flashback to her torture.

[sashi-ya]

月が綺麗ですね > 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚒𝚝?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬 ᴅᴀʏ sᴇᴠᴇɴ > ᴛʀᴀғᴀʟɢᴀʀ ʟᴀᴡ x ɢɴ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

♡ request: Anonymous asked: May I request day 6 or 7 w/ Law for your event? I'm afab and use she/her pronouns. If you wanna go with something more gender netural and use they/them, that's cool too 👍. ♡ tw: a spinoff of my first ever fic posted in tumblr! so I hope you all enjoy this ittle story. Sweet. nothing triggering really. perhaps Law being a little sick ٠wc: 905 ♡ masterlist ٠taglist: @zella07 @jin-supremacy01 @alexkanroji @jenwooly |

Law shivers. His temperature is way over the normal numbers. He sweats and tosses in bed. A fever has put the best surgeon out of the game, and you, his personal nurse, is there to take care of him. 

You change the wet towel over his forehead from time to time, and he flashes his sweet golden eyes at you in sign of being thankful for it. But he is drenched in sweat, and you are worried he might be going through a severe infection rather than "a simple flu" as he said. 

"Law, your fever isn't going down… we should call Marco" you suggest, whispering to your best friend. 

"No! I'm fine! It's just the flu!" He protests, with nothing but misery in his speech. 

You try to convince him that this isn’t ok, but he is reticent to it. And you are used to it, he will always take care of others but never of himself. In any case, you have a plan; waiting for him to fall asleep to finally call Marco -his colleague- to assess him. 

But, as Law seems to be finally asleep, and you stand up to go call dr. Marco, he pulls from your hand. “Stay” he murmurs, pulling as hard as he can, even if the snatch isn’t strong enough to stop you from walking away. 

You sigh, it breaks your heart to see him so miserable. “Law… Do you need something?” you ask, biting the inside of your mouth. He has been your crush for so long, but he doesn’t know… he mustn’t know. 

“Stay… I need you to stay” he begs, pulling you to sit right next to him. “Fine, I’ll stay…” you whisper, helping him snuggle back into the bed. You softly caress his cheek, noticing that they aren’t as hot as they were before. Maybe the fever is going down after all. 

Law closes his eyes, as he crawls up to your lap. His face pressed against your leg, his hands squeezing your flesh. He doesn’t want you to leave, and he will grip tight to you to prevent it. 

“I’m sorry (Name)-ya, I know I look weak… but I need you” he moans. And you simply smile, you wouldn’t leave him even if he asked for it. And, with soft circular motions on his back, you lull him to sleep back again. He is, at this point, like a little child and you are glad to be the one taking care of him. 

You take a look through the window, the snowflakes become bigger the more the night approaches and as the temperature outside drops. Both were on vacations at the mountains, and Law didn’t wear proper clothes the first days resulting in his current situation. 

You think of how many people asked you already if you were a couple, because being on vacation with your male best friend alone was something unbelievable for them -or maybe it was just the fact that you two actually looked more like a couple than friends- 

The buzzing of your phone pulls you out of your thoughts. A message from Bepo lights up the screen. “How is the captain doing? Is he feeling better? Do we need to send an ambulance?”  the white haired young man asks. 

You suppress a laugh. Bepo has been friends with Law since forever, and, for some reason he still calls him captain. Apparently, that was the name he got when playing pirates back in the day. “It’s ok, Bepo. He is doing better. He is asleep now, I’m trapped by him so I don’t go away from him” you type, and just when you press send, Law pulls you down as hard as he can. Your phone flies away and you end up on top of him.

“L-LAW!” you scream, trying to stand up. But, his tattooed arms trap you against him. He grunts and nuzzles on your hair, breathing your sweet perfume like the last drop of oxygen in the air.

You shiver, you can’t move. Whether he is awake or not, you notice how hard he is hugging you. And so much he does you end up curling next to him. You move so that you finally face him, and he allows it. Noses so close, feeling the other’s warm breath against your lips. 

Blinking fast, as fast as your heart has begun to beat. Why does he have to do this to you? He doesn’t know how much you love him, or does he? 

Law’s inked fingers search for yours, you let him hold your hand. “I- I… I like- you” he mumbles, still a little sweaty but definitely better than before. 

You gasp. And then, take your free hand to his forehead. He isn’t running a fever any more, but you decide to play dumb. “L-Law? you are delirious because of the fever, you a-” 

His lips, that suddenly find yours and crash against them with passion, shut you up. The first kiss with the man you love, and it’s been totally stolen by him, as he did with your heart… that’s why you call him, Dr. Heart Stealer. 

A kiss that goes from a simple peck, to a more intimate one. His hands pressing the small of your back against his weak body. The taste of his tongue, and the way you couldn’t stop from keep going… 

He flashes his golden eyes, once both decide to take some air in between so many kisses. “I like you, (Name)-ya…” he mumbles again. “And I know you like me too…” he finishes, this time showing pure red on top of his cheeks. 

You smile sweetly, of course he knows. Law always knows. And all of this has been, after all, part of his plan…

[windmaedchen-oceanhorn]

Happy Sunday, friend! I’ve been kind of making an OC and have been thinking about this, so I’m curious…

If Lavinia was in the game, what would her deploy, ultimate, victory, upgrade, defeat, and recruitment lines be? (Basically the lines in the voice over section, bonus if you want to include her resonance page line!)

Happy belated Sunday to you, too, friend! Thanks a ton for the ask, this is tickling my creative senses! 🥰🤩

If Lavinia was in the game, huh? Hmmmm, let's see… what would her lines be? Find out below a quick doodle of her (coloured lines of @mochiandturtles)

Deploy "Let's get this problem sorted."

Ultimate "Observe this and try to evade it!"

Victory "This should be an easy report to file."

Upgrade "Glad to see my efforts have paid off."

Defeated "Why couldn't I … do better?"

First Recruitment "I shall stand by your side!"

Resonance Hall 1 "Pay attention to the little details. Your life may depend on it."

Resonance Hall 2 "A healthy mix of action and reservation will yield the best results."

BONUS

While not fully fleshed out, her skills would include these (some of which are seen in the fanfiction, too).

Distraction Force (Ultimate) Summons a shadowy Hypofiend version of herself to draw enemy attention. Will then move behind the strongest enemy to deal a heavy blow against them, making them more vulnerable for some time.

Swift Strike Lavinia uses her sword to deal a couple of swift strokes at the enemy.

Shadow Dodge Being permanently infused with small parts of Berial's powers, Lavinia can evade a certain number of final blows by moving into the shadows, changing tiles as she does so.

I don't think her actual attack powers are very remarkable, though, I just think she might be a warrior that's a little harder to kill than ... Valen. xD So she's more someone to use if you're hoping to work against the game clock.

And now that I said all that, I am also looking forward to seeing your OC work! 👀 Please @ me when you're posting anything! 💕💕

[canon-can-fight-me]

TFONE s/i lore dump 🫶

There might be TFONE spoilers so if you’re planning on seeing it, skip this one!

Okay so you know that post I made a few months ago where I explained that some iterations of my TF s/i are a reincarnation? Well…meet Karina! You’ll be seeing more of her when I learn how to draw TFONE OP who is on the backlog because of all the other versions I’m learning to draw.

Lore dump under the cut!

Aaaanyways, currently Karina only exists in two continuities, one of which is the Oneverse. So this applies to the film only, though there are similarities between her and TFP Karina.

- Despite Kaiyo being her reincarnation, she and Karina and quite different. Karina is an alien from other planet (don’t ask me the name I haven’t thought about it too hard 😭). Her appearance changed drastically as when her was on her home planet she was one of their top soldiers, and even went by a different name. She had short, cropped black hair.

- She didn’t really enjoy her life there, as she was mainly a soldier because of her natural talent and because she struggled to think of anything else to do with her life.

- She is jaded and pretty closed off, using snark as a defense mechanism basically because her feelings were always shut down.

- So basically how she meets OP is she becomes part of a travel program (think like studying abroad) and absolutely falls in love with Cy.bertron’s inhabitants and environment. Finally, a chance to start anew on a different planet, one where she can leave her past behind!

- However, unbeknownst to her, she is part of an effort to form a military alliance with other planets, so the seemingly innocent travel program is darker than what’s on the surface. Also she has a complicated relationship with Sen.tinel that I haven’t flesh out quite yet it’s very toxic.

Anyway, enough angst, let’s get into how she meets/gets together with O.rion! ☺️💖 (again, some minor TFONE spoilers)

- Okay so the film starts with O.rion sneaking into the archives, right? That actually happens to be where he and Karina meet in both continuities (under different circumstances). Karina was given partial access to the archives, so she was able to bail O.rion out one time when he was sneaking in there.

- At first, she was very blunt and closed off with him, but he quickly wore her down with his cheery and genuine personality. Like that chair video I rbed yesterday is their dynamic. She’s relucatantly charmed by him and finds him refreshing. Finally, someone who isn’t just interested in her usefulness. Someone who doesn’t ask for anything in return for kindness.

- He, being the curious guy he is, is fascinated to meet someone from a different planet and offers to show her around, and they quickly become friends. She also becomes close with D-1.6 (which makes his betrayal hit even harder because she considered him a good friend too).

- Once they start dating, O.rion is always trying to do sweet things for her, which Karina is not used to. She tries to reciprocate in her own way, but she’s not used to it. Agh I don’t have everything fleshed out right now but they’re both really cute at the start of their relationship.

- I’m not sure how their relationship changes once he becomes a P.rime, so stay tuned for that because there is only tragedy ahead for Karina. It’s okay though because they’ll find each other again in a few millions years ☺️💖

[kurizeria]

I love Ateris!! His design is so cool, maybe you can share with us some headcanon you have about him and queen feraada?? 🥰🥰

Thank you so much aaa <33 I do have plenty of those! I realize I actually don't talk about the details much despite the story being completely fleshed out, I just post art of them sometimes jfkldgj. To make up for it, I wrote down quite a few!! :D

Faris headcanons hooray!!

When they first met, Ateris absolutely STANK omg... like wandering around in Evenere did not do him any favours and his clothes were already old and tattered and who knows when bro had bathed last. He was just kind of vibing. One of the first things she did when she took him back was get him a bath and change of clothes LMAO. Once they were friends, she later ends up commissioning someone to tailor him a new set of clothing, which is his main outfit in his redesign! Besides decorating him with obvious Evenerean fabrics, she intentionally had the hair accessory referenced off of her own crown as an extension of her authority (essentially telling her militia to back off / he is not a threat).

Early on in their friendship, Ateris protected her from an assassination attempt since he happened to be with her at the time and their friendship was a secret among a select few, so the assassin never had intel for such an anomaly. He realizes that he actually would prefer that this human does not die, so he swore he'd accompany her for her lifetime (not a big deal for him, since he's essentially immortal, but in hindsight she found it quite romantic LOL). Fareeda is a beloved and kind queen, so who would do such a thing? This is an overarching plot in their relationship as they try to uncover the would-be usurper and discover the moles among her queensguard, and it gets covered a little bit in my OCs main story (so it will be included in my upcoming webcomic). She does end up getting tutored by someone else in improving her self-defense (personally I headcanon that she was at least somewhat trained with weapons already simply due to Evenere's environment seemingly almost requiring self-defense, but she wouldn't be as familiar with assassin's dirty tricks). At times Ateris would help by acting as a would-be assassin since he's skilled with blades, though he never uses his magic against her. Obviously that training was not in preparation for an unrelated smoky assassin though oops

She introduced him to a lot of Evenere's culture, from their foods to the arts and their way of life in their isolated kingdom. He especially liked the food part! There's a little twinkle in his eye anytime a meal is served.

Because of the above though, he ended up learning to enjoy the downtime of reading with a snack. He still finds some of the fiction novels strange though. Fareeda loaned him her favourite book to read while he was overseas in Xadia (after her death, he could never bring himself to read the final chapter).

Besides some of Fareeda's closest queensguard learning of him after the earlier assassination attempt, Ateris' existence is largely unknown in Evenere and he keeps to himself. There were rumours that Fareeda had a possibly elven friend, but most assume it's unfounded (I headcanon that Evenere is more lax with elves due to their isolation (low influence from other kingdoms), so they typically don't actually care beyond curiosity. Though it being a Startouch elf is a well-kept secret).

She fell first, he fell harder. They have a bit of a will they, won't they relationship that ends up being unfulfilled due to events in canon, but his time with her still influences him greatly once they're apart.

While she just came to love him over time, there is actually a specific moment that Fareeda realized that she had fallen in love with him, which I will eventually illustrate <3

Ateris is always very gentle with her and gives affectionate gestures, but he doesn't really understand that he does these because he has romantic interest in her, since he's never fallen in love before (and for reasons in the past, it used to be impossible for him). Much like Fareeda having a moment where she knew she really loved him, there is a moment Ateris realizes what his feelings for her were as well, though it was far too late.

Fareeda knows most of Ateris' personal backstory, even if she doesn't quite understand all of it, especially about his "former self".

Over a couple centuries, Ateris amassed quite a few antiques. Fareeda just so happens to love trinkets and baubles, so many of them finally found a home with her. Notably Mira's amulet was given to her, though whether or not it helped her the way it did in the animatic depends on the timeline (though personally if they never do anything in canon that makes the animatic's story impossible, I might make the animatic's story part of my canon timeline).

Fareeda loves the Evenerean wildlife in all its terrors and wonders, even if some are very unapproachable in which she will appreciate them from a respectable distance. Ateris happens to be able to connect with quite a few of them (especially if they are connected to the Earth arcanum). This is great for Fareeda because he soothes critters and she gets to hang out with them win/win

When Ateris had to leave her side to go to Xadia for unfinished business, she gives him an heirloom of hers, a dragonfly necklace that he may return to her once his journey ends. It ends up being his most treasured belonging.

Since I don't know how long Fareeda has been queen or her exact age, I keep the exact year they met a bit vague (I like to think they would've met in her earlier years as queen, but if she became queen as a child then uhhhh no LMAO). However, they've spent a long time together. Unfortunately, though they were close to finally saying "I love you", their time was ultimately cut short.

[bidisaster-peanut-romano]

soo hi everyone!! i'm back on my bully essay/meta/something writing!! sort of. i did this.

anyways anyone who's been on this page for some time know how from time to time i have insistently mentioned the parallels between lola and peanut, right?

welp! that was a joke but the time has finally come!! a super-pretentious essay just for the fun of it!! (and also bc i haven't been writing actually argumentative texts in like months perhaps a year, so. yikes, i really need to practice again)

word count: 2.2k WOAH. IM SORRY

i, in my corner, with my monstrous needs. — susan sontag, as consciousness is harnessed to flesh

take this quote both as a title and an anticipation of what is to come. the essay will be distributed analyzing first the dependence of each of them on johnny, to then draw comparisons. i'll make sure to steer as away from headcanons as possible, sticking closely to the source text. obviously, some things' interpretation might be ambiguous, but, you know. your usual occupation hazard.

also, a disclaimer before we start: while they are psychologically complex and there is always a mimetic intention in developing them, these are fictional characters, and, as such, their primary function is to be vessels for different themes, questions and so forth. therefore, i will prioritize meaning and themes over moral implications and similar elements.

i. peanut

for how much i can adore talking about him, the way peanut depends on johnny is very much on the nose; worn on his sleeve, even. in 11:11 minutes of voice lines, he mentions johnny 30 times.

many interpret this as the caricature of a boy crush, but i have reasons to believe it is much less cute than that.

the problem is that, really, more than trying to identify specific situations... peanut seems to rely on johnny for a significant part of what he does. when he does good at dodgeball:

Look at me, Johnny, look at me!

almost like a child calling for his parent's attention to be praised. he calls johnny's name when he's going through hardships, when he's scared or when he's sad.

more than someone he just loves, johnny is a point of reference. whenever there's something going on, whenever he does or has to do something, his first thought goes to johnny; vice versa, what johnny asks of him is his priority.

I gotta tell Johnny! No time. I gotta see Johnny now. Gotta help Johnny. What can I do next to please Johnny? I mean Lola! I mean…

(this also goes in a "negative" direction, envy being the other side of the medal to adoration. especially because, in some way, this reliance on johnny might be felt by him as emasculating, and, being johnny his model of masculinity, adding it to the napoleon complex thing, it's not hard to guess why it can be so unpleasant. we can see this manifest through some of the things he expresses in regards to lola- not as much an interest he has towards her, but the interest he wishes to have from her- which are a bit more different than it might seem at a first glance. but this is a mouseketool we'll need later. still:

Last time I saw her, Lola made eyes at me, not Johnny!

do we really need this part? heh. i'm not sure, but it's always good to point out)

(also, just because, for the purpose of this analysis, it might be useful to specify: while these sentiments are very much implied in peanut's canon quotes, we have no evidence in canon in what measure they are reciprocated by johnny. the fandom has universally agreed that johnny also views peanut as his Best Friend In The World; while in some measure, they must be at least a bit close, i think it is even safe to say, given the caricaturist nature of bully's characterizations, that johnny holds peanut in less consideration that peanut deludes himself into believing. quoting another post of mine, the kids who show some level of obsession towards their leader mention him on average ten or less times (gord mentions derby eight times, parker six times, kirby mentions ted five times). the leaders don't usually make names at all, that much is true; however, peanut mentions johnny 30 times, and, even in front of this proportion, johnny mentions peanut 0 times. just to make that clear)

overall, what undeniably shines through his voice lines is a feeling of general inadequacy, whether about his height, or his strength in front of a bigger adversary. the audios in which he tries to show off range from being disingenuous, to straight up improbable.

crossing what we have until now said, it is not hard to come to the conclusion that he really tries to make up, to fill this empty feeling of inadequacy by taking pride in his role as johnny's second in command.

while i am a big fan of bully's characteristic of having left much content out of the main game, leaving the gamers to dig it up for themselves, i do believe that scrapping some of the stuff that was prepared for peanut is a loss. we have a number of voice lines coming from chapter 3, in which it was heavily implied how important peanut's role as johnny's right hand man was.

for example, much like... all other seconds in command, really, he was to be followed and then fought in the rumble, before you could get to johnny, with the specific duty to cover his back. even his very first scene, the opening cutscene of chapter 3, i believe, is not to be underestimated. most of the other people, as far as i recall, call you when they need it in person; johnny, however, sends peanut. making him, de facto, an extension of himself, almost.

again, you choose the motivation. what is important, from a narrative point of view, is that peanut clings to johnny through these acts of service, almost making it the foundation of his personhood.

basically, he makes it so that, if he can't be of help to johnny, his whole self is fundamentally annihilated, giving himself completely to johnny.

ii. lola

with lola, reading between the lines gets a bit more difficult; first of all, because lola is much less transparent than peanut, her insincerity being a supporting beam of the whole chapter 3. secondly, whether she was done dirty by the creators or not, it is undoubted that being the perspective that of a teenage boy (namely, jimmy, but we certainly, as viewers, are brought to sympathize more with johnny than with lola) with all the prejudices it can bring with itself.

however, it doesn't mean that there isn't anything to work with- quite the contrary, actually. the issue with lola is that there is a certain amount of layers to get through before gaining a satisfying perception of her as a character. still, we're here to try our best, aren't we!

even behind the muddiness of her intentions and the manipulation she shows herself a master at, it is clear from the second we first meet her that what she does is in function of johnny.

to get through this mess with order, we'll start from an easy, measurable numeric information: lola mentions johnny in her audio files 19 times. which, we're assessed, IS a considerable amount.

we have extensively talked about the way her cheating patterns are a strategy not to succumb to the passive role of the girl in the heteronormative, patriarchal prototypical couple (there's a post here breaking down a lot of this stuff, if any of you is interested!!), so, instead of this, i want to focus on what lies beneath that behavior.

ultimately, the whole point is that lola expects and wants johnny to fight for her. whether is it because she feels taken for granted, or just because he can't perceive it if not through grandiose gestures like the rumble- your interpretation will work; she wants to see johnny fighting nail and teeth not to lose her, she wants him to show her that he wants her.

she's all about that attention, and she knows exactly what and how to do to get it. and i think this is especially clear when you compare the moments in which she knows there's no advantage she could go for; when she has understood that jimmy won't fall for her manipulation, when algie and chad leave her unsatisfied, when norton openly accuses her and antagonizes her - she loses her temper, lets go of that sweetened and/or flirtatious voice tone, abandons that specific kind of gesturing. she doesn't care anymore about obtaining something. she was actually angry, and she was actually upset that johnny had disappeared.

in some of her audios, she references johnny with some amount of fondness, as well:

Johnny and I were on the best date ever.

(there is also a voice line in which she says "He told me he likes me because of my personality. Isn't that sweet?"; due to it being a general chatter and not exclusive to one chapter, i assume it is relatively safe to assume she is quoting johnny. however, as i said at the beginning, we're trying to stay as close to canon material as possible, so, do your thing- and i'm open to arguments!!)

a considerable amount of audio files, however (which will lead us to our final point) is about her... calling for help for johnny, or stating, confidently, that he will come save her, or avenge her later.

Someone get Johnny! Johnny's gonna get you for this. Johnny is gonna kill you!

but wait... i have some sense of déjà vu...

You're gonna be sorry when Johnny finds out!

iii. two faces of the same medal

if i had to pick an effective image for a metaphor, i'd say that the thing about lola and peanut is that they are both dogs looking for someone to take their leash; we’re talking here about an exclusive relationship with someone they can rely totally on, someone we’ll call the Other (with a capital o, distinguished from just other. yes it is unnecessarily complicated i’m sorry).

for what my professor would call accidents of history, it happened that both of them found that Other in johnny.

each of them attempts at creating an exclusive relationship with the Other, one foolproof and fundamentally… perfect. perfect in the way that everything works like oiled gears, in the way that every next move is predictable, in the way that any accident will not break the created equilibrium. (even if, in the general sense of the term, lola and johnny's relationship is everything but perfect, it is in the connotation that we have established here. lola is aware that, no matter what she does, johnny will come back around. hell, the very thing that she does is aimed at keeping that balance; specifically, keeping him a bit on the edge, pushing him into a corner where he has to actively make an effort to keep her close.)

they both hide something they are ashamed of, regulating not only their actions and reactions but their very way of existing in the world, in order to keep that gear working, in order to remain in johnny's hand. lola hides that craving for a genuine and stable affection, dissimulating it with the cheating and the fatuous physical demonstrations of closeness; peanut hides his sense of inadequacy and complex of inferiority, by being the tough and reliable second in command.

basically, what they mean to achieve is a sense of security, the safety of not really being the one to lead but, at the same time, finding a purpose, other than a shield from the outside world that they are not willing to concede themselves to. like a... symbiotic relationship?? i was going to say parasitic, but, yknow. the Other does get some advantages, which are, respectively, peanut's acts of service and lola's capacity to boost johnny's pride.

now, of course, johnny is not aware of either of their play. which makes it even better, since, as we already said, both of their approach to the relationship needs some degree of insincerity.

like, i don't deny that johnny might be a good friend, or a loyal one. but he is an oblivious, prideful fuck who can't see past his own nose; he's got a tendency to make it all about himself - which of course goes perfectly with what we said about both peanut and lola making the Other their center, taking up, in a certain way, a passive role in the relationship.

this way, both of them aim at creating with johnny a relationship that is, in a way, codependant and conditional, in which the do ut des (their respective "service" ↔ johnny's guarantee of stability) creates the foundation of the very relationship.

this, of course, brings up the problem of exclusivity; on which, however, i prefer not to delve into too much, as this would bring us to the topic of their antagonism which... isn't really what i wanted to go for, at least not here. (it would risk bringing us a bit too close to my subjective interpretation and too far away from the canon, which i PROMISED i wouldn't do. however, someday i might elaborate on that??? idk , please do lmk if someone's interested around here)

i will, however, show you a diagram (it looks like a triangle- i guess it is, but it is VERY important that it is a pyramid, with a top and a larger foundation) and a quote, to wrap this up bc i think it is already WAY too long and ramble-y lmao. let me know what you think anyway, my ask box is always open <3

it almost feels like a joke to play out a part when you are not the starring role in someone else's heart you know i'd rather walk alone (i'd rather walk alone) than play a supporting role if i can't get the starring role -- starring role, marina and the diamonds

[roxtron]

So I wanted to try to make a theory/analysis post on something I've wondered for a while: What the fuck are the Krang made of? Yeah that's literally my intro to this. Can I make smooth transitions? Absolutely not.

So starting out chronologically with their introduction, the majority of their animation shows smooth movements from their tentacles, basically like tentacles irl lmao. But further into that fight scene..

We can see their tentacles also strong enough to double as blades, able to stand up against (and nearly overpower) Leo's swords, and able to stab through Raph's shell. The material isn't exactly consistent in how solid it can be, able to go from the fluid movement of the tentacles, to sharp enough to function as a blade. This leads me to think their flesh is able to shapeshift in some minor ways, especially considering the way the tentacle shifts to become sharper as the Krang's leg is about to stab Leo.

And considering how goopy Krang 2 looks after being.. basically melted by April, it does show that at the very least their natural state of flesh is more fluid. Another interesting detail about this scene, and the way Krang 2 is animated after the attack that sort of feeds into the shapeshifting theory..

Back in the finale we're shown the skull of one of the Krangs. Yet after Krang 2 has her eye melted off, we see no hint of the skull. That could either just be from not wanting to add that much detail into the animation, which to be fair it would've likely given more extra work to animation that's already amazingly detailed as it is. OR- It could be from the flesh melting around the skull to keep it from being exposed. If we can see their bodies practically shift states of matter, and see Krang 3 use his own body to expand the portal, is it that much of a stretch to say they can shift their state of flesh to cover vulnerable parts of their body after being injured?

And another thing this screenshot helps to show, their bodies don't seem to all be made from the same material specifically. Normally I'd assume all the pinks/purples are the same type of flesh but I actually don't think it is. Their tounges specifically are shown to always be sharp, a slightly darker shade with the sort of lines and stripes covering it. Keep this part in mind.

After the Foot Clan get transformed into these creatures, it actually gives us further evidence on how the krang's flesh functions. When possessing humans, the Krang pieces sort of fuse and meld with human flesh. Whether it's adding on pieces, or, like with the stomach here, changing its shape entirely. But notice how they have those additions while still keeping the same colors their skin and bodies used to be.

But when Raph gets possessed? The Krang flesh doesn't fuse with his body at all. It's more of an add-on, especially with the way his arm back there shows the original shape of his hands, while still being covered in the Krang's pink. That, and his body isn't even the same color of pinks either. Some pieces are darker, and some don't even seem to be the same shape. Like I mentioned with the Krang's tounges earlier, I think those spikes on his arms and back are made of that same material. Darker color, lines and stripes, permanently spiked.. Sounds right to me.

Even in this scene, the colors of the tounge seem to match up, a lot of pieces attatched to his body fit into that, maybe that fleshy state inbetween transforming from fluid to solid? His tounge seems to be the only part of those spiked pieces that's able to mimic fluid movements, the rest seems to be solid in place. It definitely seems to be a different type of flesh, considering how the flesh around it seems to part instead of melding together.

As for the Krang's armor.. I was confused about it before but now that I think more about how the Krang themselves are built it's starting to make more sense. Essentially I think there's 3 main components to pay attention to. The darker gray of the chest and shoulderpads seem to be simple armor plates, made of some type of alien metal I assume.

The darkest blacks of the armor seem to just be the base pieces of the suit. I've seen theories it's partially organic, with the way it bleeds black liquid after Leo stabs into it, and honestly, that seems like a really good answer. I'm not sure if it's flesh with the black suit on top of it, or if that dark black with the markings is actually its natural state. (Though, side note, it makes me even more curious HOW they would've aquired or created this armor. Their tech is mostly made of flesh, sure, but with another theory about the Technodrome having a mind of its own, willing to let Donnie merge with it and control the ship.. It does make me wonder if their armor is made from the corpse of another being, or if they simply know how to create and generate flesh, and were able to mold it for their purposes.)

Anyway- The white pieces of the armor seem to be bone to me. What with the head looking like a skull, the tail having bone-structure and being animated that way, less smooth than everything else, jerking around each piece. But here's what makes it confusing, the gloves.

There's a couple scenes where the hand has folds on it. Yet the rest of the arm seems pretty solid, and the material must be solid enough to form claws at the end, so, what the hell is it?? This is what stumps me the most, it seems to be made of fabric and bone at the same time, I really don't understand it. The only real answer I have is that the material is comparable to the base body of the Krang. Flesh that's able to mold between different states, able to take that solid, bone-like appearance, to form claws at the end.. While still being moldable enough it's able to bend and fold like the tentacles can. Potentially, it's mostly solid and bone-like, but the pieces that need to be able to move are more flesh-like. The wrist and hands have more folds because they move more, and tend to get stuck in that state to move with the body, while the plates, spikes, and claws are able to be stuck in their solid states.

I dunno how to write conclusions, but that's most of what I'm able to observe for what the Krang are made of, and why pieces of their body function the way they do. Not only are they futuristic, they're also alien, so it's natural to assume they're just advanced enough to be capable of breaking these rules materials in our world have to stick to.

[thehollowprince]

THE ORIGINALS would have been better without The Originals.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that I think this spinoff would have worked better in the long run without the Mikaelsons in it. I also fully admit that it's partially my own bias against that damn family, but my favorite aspect of the show was the turf war between the various supernatural factions of New Orleans and as the show went on, it took more and more of a back seat to the Mikaelson Melodrama.

I understand the need for a grounding aspect of the story, in this case, that being the Mikaelsons at the center of everything, but as anyone who's seen my posts before knows, I particularly revile that family within this shared universe.

So this is my pitch for a potential rewrite of The Originals

I am also fully aware that I am writing this with the benefit of hindsight.

First off, we'll keep the time-table the same, having the story kick off after season four of The Vampire Diaries, when their high school story ended, and they all went off on their separate summer adventures. Which would lead to my idea. We'll keep the vampires in Mystic Falls, which seems appropriate given that the show is called The VAMPIRE Diaries. That means Elena and Caroline, Damon and Stefan will all remain in Mystic Falls and continue the story of Silas and the Doppelgangers, but without the characters that the narrative often overlooked or often times, forgot about entirely.

That being the characters of Tyler, Bonnie, Matt, and Jeremy. And without the Mikaelsons, that leaves just Hayley, Davina, Camille, and Marcel as our New Orleans characters in their established roles.

Obviously, this wouldn't include a magical miracle-baby.

In all honesty, this would actually be very easy to set up, especially if we factor in the ending of season four of TVD. We'll start with Tyler Lockwood, and this would also factor in Hayley Marshall.

At the end of season four of The Vampire Diaries, Klaus ran Tyler out of town after he attempted to take down the Original and finally be free of him, ironically due to the decision of Hayley to sell him and his pack out for her own purposes.

So, when we last left Tyler, he was on the run from Klaus, and we know from the beginning of season five that he was helping out some werewolf pack and didn't come to Whitmore to join Caroline for college. Let's stick with that and have him go a little further south. He heard about a pack around New Orleans (the Crescent pack) being terrorized by a local vampire who labeled himself king, and he goes to help out. There, he learns about Marcel, a vampire turned by Klaus, who acts like Klaus. Except this isn't an invincible vampire who would take an entire sireline's worth of vampires down with him if he was killed.

This is a version of Klaus he can fight.

Of course, while he's down there, he runs into Hayley, who is looking for answers about her family and her ties to the Crescent pack, which brings her into direct competition with Tyler, as they're both trying to do what they think is best for the pack and both distrust the other, leading both to fight for the position of Top Dog, creating a kind of civil war within the pack.

You add in the stuff with Francesca Guerrera and Jackson Kenner, and you have a pretty fleshed out werewolf story.

I also think you could have a pretty cool use of hybrids here because I always thought it was incredibly stupid that ONLY Klaus could make hybrids, and ONLY with doppelganger blood. It doesn't make any sense, especially given what we know about how vampires were made. But, on the other hand, I also really hated the idea of hybrids, so I'd be okay either way.

Next up, we have Matt Donovan, who was never given any kind of storyline on TVD until the final season when they finally shoehorned in his ancestry at the last second because they realized they were closing shop and they should probably do SOMETHING with him before the end. So, for my idea, he goes on his Eurotrip with Rebekah, and when he comes back, he decides he's done with Mystic Falls and the Salvatore Brothers and all the unpleasantness that comes from living in a vampire town, so he packs up and leaves.

He's trying to find out who his father is, so he goes looking based on the few details he managed to get out of his mother over the years. Maybe he even calls his mother, and she sends him an address in New Orleans where she met him, and that address turns out to be Rousseau's, where he meets Camille.

We'll find out over the course of a few episodes that they're cousins and that his father was either a part of the O'Connell family, or maybe Father Kieran himself, once again dragging Matt into the middle of things he doesn't want to be involved in. But this time, with Kieran's collection of Dark Objects, he can fight back and protect the regular people from the tyranny of the supernatural citizens of the city, leading to him getting involved with the Faction.

And with Cami, aside fromher being a therapist to the supernatural vitizens of New Orleans, will bond with Matt, both being alone after the deaths of their siblings due to the direct actions of the supernatural, with Matt trying to warn Cami away from Marcel because he's seen what happens when a human loves, and is loved by, a vampire.

Next up would be Bonnie Bennett.

Instead of Bonnie dying to resurrect Jeremy, she lives and actually goes on that road trip with her mother she faked to hide her death. Abby may not be a witch anymore, but she's still in touch with some witches, and to make up for all the years she abandoned her daughter, she introduces Bonnie to them, letting her explore and get in touch with her witch heritage. While she's on this spiritual journey, she learns about the Nine Covens of New Orleans and decides, since she's graduated highschool, she might as well continue her sabbatical from Mystic Falls and head down to the Big Easy to build connections with a whole community of witches.

Except, when she gets there, she finds the Quarter in the grip of Marcel, who forbids witches from practicing magic under penalty of death. She obviously doesn't know the full story of the Harvest and just assumes it's a vampire terrorizing witches, just like she's used to, except now she's beefed up (magically speaking) and isn't going to stand for it anymore. She sides with Sophie Deveraux and the French Quarter witches, bringing her into direct competition with Davina Claire.

Davina is the final Harvest Girl, containing the full power of the ritual and the ability to sense and interfere with any witch who attempts to access the Ancestors for power, but Bonnie is a Bennett witch, with a legacy that goes back centuries. If it comes to a magical showdown, who will win? And when the Reaping happens and an unseen enemy hijacks the power for themselves, will Bonnie see that the witches of New Orleans aren't the victims she's been led to believe and reevaluate her loyalties?

Also, as the story progressed, would we see Bonnie warming up to Marcel? Maybe even in a more than "just an ally" way?

And last but not least, we have Jeremy Gilbert.

Bonnie used the last of her Expression to resurrect Jeremy while the Veil to the Other Side was still down. And while Jeremy was grateful to be back, his sister did kind of burn his house to the ground and the entire town mourned his passing. So instead of him attempting to reintegrate back into society, he thinks it's better that everyone thinks he's dead. Whether or not that would include Elena is a matter for debate, but know that he's not staying in Mystic Falls and instead goes out on how own journey, embracing his nature as a member of the Five and hunting vampires.

Which is what brings Jeremy to New Orleans.

He's hunting a vampire, and maybe this vampire is a part of Marcel's inner circle, so he tracks him to New Orleans and kills him, much like Rebekah did to those vampires she ran into at the beginning of The Originals when she finally came to the city to look for Elijah. So Jeremy lurks on the outskirts of the city because he might be one of the Five, but he can't take on a whole army of vampires, so he bides his time.

This could also give an opportunity to bring in Rayna Cruz, but not as "The Phoenix Hunter." Just have her be one of the Five, and she and Jeremy team up only to end up enemies in taking down a vampire: Marcel. Maybe Bonnie talks Jeremy out of it, and Rayna won't back down. I'm even thinking of a plot where the power of the Five could be channeled or pooled into one person, making them stronger and faster, putting them on more of an even playing field when it comes to fighting vampires.

Rayna could even be a potential love interest for Jeremy

I think this would have worked great as a story because it not only gives us a glimpse of what the wider supernatural world is like, but it grounds it with characters that we already knew and that weren't used much. It also makes it that much more interesting when you have characters that have grown up together dealing with the supernatural and the ramifications on their life, suddenly in a city and on opposite sides of a conflict. Do they come together or come to view former friend as new foe?

And obviously, we would bring in other characters like Josh and Vincent and Jackson and Keelin, with appearances from the rest of the Mystic Falls Gang, and possibly flashbacks to when the Mikaelsons had passed through the city. As well as the series staple of turbulent and inappropriate romances.

The downside would be interesting concepts like the Trinity and The Strix being relegated to TVD to bother the Mikaelsons, but we could still have Lucien terrorizing New Orleans with his killings so that he can frame Cami to get to her Dark Objects, setting up a nice crossover.

The only think I can't figure out, for the life of me, is what to call this. Someone suggested FACTIONS, which could work, but, at least to me, it doesn't have the same umph to it.

[loremaster]

BOBA AU - CHAPTER 1 EXTRAS

I had actually drawn a few more things than could fit within the 30-image-per-post limit. Here are the ones that didn't make the cut, with commentary!

(tw: mild animal abuse, n*zi mention, suggestive themes)

Zilch's animal companions. I named Carmina Burana and Tortellini, Gucci and Bosch were named by my friends - though Bosch was supposed to be called Hieronymus, it just didn't fit on the nametag lol

I wanted to illustrate some examples of Zilch casually mistreating/neglecting the animals but this was as far as I got. I don't think he would be a full on animal abuser, just... the type of person who likes having a bunch of pets to show off but doesn't really think about properly caring for them. He likes the aesthetics of animals much more than the logistics.

This was gonna be the chapter cover and I forgot. Oops.

This was just practice drawing the church characters from their sprites.

Zilch: I must say, it's an unexpected pleasure to run into another kindred spirit around here. I'm Zilch~

This scene was actually cut deliberately. I drew it before I decided exactly what the Nun's issue with Zilch would be and then once I did, I felt like it didn't fit anymore. Zilch is still excited to see someone else with ears and tail like him, but in the final version, he's a lot more derisive about it.

I imagine the Nun is, like, an actual animal-human hybrid whereas Zilch is a furry with a wallet that can afford bioengineered bodymods. (One day, my friends... one day...)

Zilch being flippant and Halara being dismissive/tsundere. Couldn't really find a place to put it but I still like the drawing - even if I did accidentally give Zilch human ears.

By the way, you might notice Zilch hasn't been wearing his cap. There are two reasons. One is to show off that his ears aren't actually connected to it. If I had the time to go back and redraw the prologue with him wearing it - so Halara's "holy fuck" reaction makes more sense here - I would. (Not really worth trying to fix though, not until the rest of the story is done.)

But the other reason is that upon looking closer at Zilch's original design, I thought it was a little too evocative of Nazi imagery and wasn't really comfortable with it. It's not really the same style of hat, sure, but combined with the swastikas in his eyes??? yeah no way is that not intentional. (I redesigned his eye symbols to be catlike slit pupils instead.)

I get he (or, the hitman, I guess) is supposed to be a villain, and a minor one, in the original game... but here I'm gonna flesh him out a bit more. So I guess in that sense the removal of the hat symbolizes his growth as a character beyond his terrible awful fascist upbringing lol (more on that in the Gumshoe Gabs soon)

If I were making this an actual game it would be fun to have Yuma get a fun little added gameplay element of using Zilch's Forte like he does with Halara's. He gets some little animal friends!!!

I imagined Zilch would ask to be carried, but Halara won't do it without getting paid an exorbitant amount. And then Zilch forks over the cash on the spot. Yuma screams internally. If he had that the whole time why were they even trying to negotiate over the coat???!? Why does he still have his own debt to pay if Zilch could just cover the whole thing up front????

Halara has to pretend not to be enthusiastic about this opportunity.

Shinigami is... there, I guess.

Martina my wife driving around her little parasite of a boyfriend. Ms Electro please call me

Was originally gonna have Seth say that out loud but then I remembered he doesn't want to lose his job. (It's okay, he loses it anyway.)

(Also yes this is pre-Vivia-DLC.)

And then the mystery is solved!

Zilch feels indebted to Halara for saving him from the Nail Man, and wants to follow their example, turn it around, treat his animals better... his act of goodwill here is extremely performative, though. But, hey, everyone's gotta start somewhere!

Ultimately I cut this scene after coming up with the cat bed idea. (Was very tempted to have Halara cruelly taking the coat from the boy, but just decided to skip it instead.)

So Zilch kinda idolizes Halara now... which is fine... but then the morning after he really lets his simp flag fly.

Congrats on your furry boyfriend, I guess?????

A doodle from the margins of this comic way back when.... which finally has a place to belong! \o/

Zilch's fursona. His "zursona," if you will.

Thanks again for reading! I love everyone's comments in the tags and I'm so glad you all like my version of Zilch especially. Excited to develop him some more in future chapters >:)