#((do it pleeeease))

[neon-zipperooni]

in light of the new costume implying some things.. boy howdy, here comes a hot take, the crk fandom needs to understand the prospect of shadow milk being redeemed is not the end of the world

cookie run rarely even does redemption stories, the only big example of villainous characters being redeemed is in ovenbreak with lotus dragon cookie's growth and lychee dragon cookie building up to a redemption, which while i think on lotus's end it was kinda rushed they've been handling lychee very well, so its not like redemption stories in cookie run are "overdone" (also im sick of the "nooo im tired of redemptions" argument when 1. not everyone is, i personally love a good redemption story and 2. there are plenty of villains out there who are plain evil with no redemption, it's not a dying genre)

also it would be way more interesting than the more obvious resolution to the beast storyline of just sealing them away again, i think finding a way to appeal to the shreds of.. humanity? cookiemanity? still within them is a much more interesting narrative and lends itself to more stories to potentially tell with these five very interesting characters. and there are implications that the cookies they used to be are still in there somewhere, especially with burning spice, given how he full on bluescreens for a moment when reminiscing on the first kingdom he [....] (my money's on watched over, but we dont know what he was gonna say) when talking w/ nutmeg tiger in the kingdom

i've seen a lot of people say they'll lose interest in shadow milk if he gets redeemed which baffles me because for me at least, while a decent chunk of the appeal of the beasts is how interesting and entertaining they are as villains, one of my favorite parts of them is the heroes they once were, what they could've been like during those days, and the tragedies that led to them falling so deep into villainy: witnessing the worst in cookiekind and becoming disillusioned and deciding nothing should exist, witnessing their denizens live grow and die over and over and to the point they get sick of it and end up embracing destruction to take control of the cycle, and.. whatever we end up learning about the other three and what corrupted them.

for me, i see it like this lmao

and like, don't get me wrong, i know all the beasts really aren't good people but a redemption story doesn't necessarily mean a slap on the wrist, a redemption story can be about atonement just as much as it is about changing for the better, it can be messy, a sobering moment realizing everything you've done and everything you need to do to make up for it, there is sooo much story potential in delving into their pasts and delving into a redemption story of the beasts atoning for their deeds and growing as people it's crazy.. and besides, they were heroes once before, who's to say the potential to be that again isn't still within them?

i personally really wanna see a beast redemption and i'll never fathom why so many people are so against it when it's so much better of a way to conclude their story as the current main threat than just sealing them away again, i just hope that if this really is the route the devs go they'll handle it well because it can just as easily be done wrong, i have faith though

also i've seen a lot of people say the shadow milk costume looks ugly and they're WRONG it looks amazing i love blue and gold as a color combo

[taffywabbit]

morality in fallout games

fallout 3: hmmm. is it bad to blow up the people you don't like?

fallout new vegas: every action has consequences, even actions you believe to be correct and that seem like the most straightforward way to improve society and free people from poverty and disease. war is hell and there are limits to how many problems can be solved with a revolver. every enemy you kill is someone's brother or daughter or lover, and you can't guarantee you won't meet that someone and have to stand by your decisions at some point. how strong is your conviction to do the "right" thing when you know that people you care about may hate you for it? how sure are you that your definition of "good" is more correct than someone else's? how often is your "good" really just the lesser of two evils? who are you to play god and decide what kinds of people deserve happiness more than others? would it be cowardly and wrong to remain neutral and detached when you hold the power to singlehandedly change everything? w

fallout 4: hmmm. is it bad to blow up the WAIT!!! POST CANCELED i just remembered this game has a mod that lets you replace Curie's humanoid synth form with a hot robot furry and you can date her and that kinda fucking rules actually

[womaninwinter]

oh no 🥺🥺 what if my super talented friend 🥺🥺🥺 wrote a fic about an underappreciated dynamic 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 then what would I do 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Whatever you do don’t think about the time before George moved in to Portland Row when Lockwood was all alone in that big empty house 🙃

[wisecrackingeric-2]

Serennedy Pride Week wrap-up inspired by this post by @/kod23pm!!! PLEASE please click and zoom in on everyone artwork if you can!! ((And also let me know if I’ve missed anyone!))

Artists in order (left to right): @dibukae @pikabysss @resident-silly @sxvethelastdance @euphoriumn @past31bvnn @courtofparrots @alitan99 @thegrimygrim @ekurie987 @crispy-dib @gigi-does-art @phurpurr @buffapeaks-tmblr @losrgeek @troublemakergalaxy @energon-goodies @patos-chan @raccoons-garbage-can @thecapitalistraccooninyourinbox @geddy-leesbian @mooseonahunt @allen-kunekune @mr-kennedys-elf @rainwaterapothecary @gayhorrorboy @kingflups @ruler-ofhottopic @clayderogatory @transgenderrbt @goodpointsandbadpoints @vespereargentum @thouarta @hamartia-grander

Message under cut!

THANK YOU S O MUCH EVERYONE FOR JOINING SERENNEDYPRIDEWEEK AAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!!!!!! There are literally ZERO WORDS I could use to describe how I’m feeling right now other than !!!!!!!! BECAUSE LIKE!!!! Look at all of the art you guys created!! What the hell!!!! I was SO worried nobody would join and now I’m sitting here with sore wrists from putting all this art together!!!

You guys are some of the most kindest, talented, and amazing people in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD and there’s literally nothing I could say that could properly express my gratitude for you guys joining in on this silly event and all the support and just AGDBDHBDHXHSNS YOU GUYS AND YOUR CREATIVITY AND LOVE FOR THESE STUPID GUYS IS SO <<<333 YOURE ALL SUCH INCREDIBLY TALENTED ARTISTS AND WRITERS MAN!! Like it’s honestly getting me a lil emotional with just how talented you guys all are HDNEHXHXJ

I can’t wait for the next big event like this but until then, good luck on your adventures and Thank You for joining <<<<3333

[opikiquu]

[glasskoi]

i completely get why people dont like marco/ace its a huge age gap BUT consider. i read a really good fic

[madwomansapologist]

ㅤㅤ ㅤ𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭

ㅤㅤㅤ 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞

Yuzuki Minamoto (皆本 憂好 Minamoto Yūzuki), more often refered to as simply Monster (怪物 Monster), is one of the main protagonists of the Jujutsu Kaisen series. She is a special grade jujutsu sorcerer and heir to the Minamoto Clan, being the only living member to inherit Carnivore Comsuption. Yuzuki work as a teacher at the Tokyo Jujutsu High and uses her influence to intercede against the actions of sorcerers executives.

[ 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 ] —

Yuzuki is a tall, strong woman in her late twenties. She has charcoal-black long hair, and during work hours uses long hairpins to keep it in a partially tied up bun. Yuzuki uses contact lenses to conceal her red iris and long earrings with rubi pendants.

Yuzuki wears a attired chosen by Noriyori, her mother and head of the Minamoto Clan. She sports a sash, crafted by Tengen to restrict her cursed energy, over a summer robe. Beneath it, Yuzuki wears running shoes. She has a preference for expensive fabrics and tama kanzashi (玉簪 Ball Kanzashi) hairpins. As a Tokyo Jujutsu High student, Yuzuki wore the standard school uniform with a talisman tied around her neck.

During the Shinjuku Showdown Arc, Yuzuki used a long red uchikake made of silk over a pearly-white kimono. She used a ogi bira kanzashi (扇びら簪 Princess style) hairpin.

[ 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 ] —

Yuzuki is a schemer at her core, exhibiting a calm and relaxed demeanor even during stressful situations. She is usually playful with friends and colleagues, acting gentle and careful towards her students. Yuzuki soothe elders in their presences while sharing her honest opinion near other sorcerers and students.

She is confident in her abilities and uses her reputation as a glutton for bloodshed to ensure her plans against the elders succeed. Yuzuki judges others based on their will to evolve, acting cold to those she finds stagnant and unreliable. She often lies and bluffs, going as far to spread false rumors about herself and her own abilities.

Yuzuki's ability to heal is usually mistaken by a fast RCT (Reverse Cursed Technique), making most curse users avoid engaging with her in physical combat. Her combative style is characterized by non-existent defense and close-range attacks. Yuzuki acts condescending during combat, giving advice to opponents and ignoring the loss of limbs. She tends to make cold-blooded decisions, prioritizing enemies' defeat over anything else.

Yuzuki's caring behavior and violent-methods are contradictions within herself. After being crucified by Toji Fushiguro, she realized healing and torture meant the same for her body. Dealing with a life-long extreme chronic pain due to her heavenly restriction, Yuzuki grew desensitized to pain and often forgets others aren't as resistant.

Yuzuki became a affiliated sorcerer because it was the easiest way to encounter opponents, and ignores any ideologies about duty and responsability as a sorcerer. She dreams of a world where Clans have no power, that is the main reason why she joined [ 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐉𝐔𝐉𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐔 𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐍 𝟎 𝐓𝐎 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 ].

Alongside with Satoru Gojo, Yuzuki took responsability for Megumi and Tsumiki. Protecting them from the Zen'in Clan, her calm demeanor shatters when they are in danger. She attempted to kill Naobito Zen'in when he offered to buy Megumi from her, now both Clans hostile against one another.

[ 𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 ] —

Overview

Overall Skill Level: Yuzuki is an exceedingly resistant fighter and one of only five special grade sorcerers. Despite countless rumors, little is know about her powers except that it is impossible to kill Yuzuki in combat. She possesses vasts amounts of cursed energy, but mostly uses her physical prowess and high combat insticts in order to not reveal her true technique.

Yuzuki was the one of the few Minamoto to inherit Carnivore Comsuption and survive their childhood. As student, jujutsu higher-ups observed her closely and often sent her to difficult missions alone. Yaga later regretted that, seeing this as the reason why there is no factual information about her abilities.

Yuziki is know as the best healer in jujutsu history, able to reconstruct allies' missing limbs from a long distance. As a first-year student, Yuzuki was able of regenarating Riko Amanai's brain.

Kenjaku studied Toji's experiment to determine how to disable Yuzuki. Using Mahito, Kenjaku attracted her to [ 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐁𝐔𝐘𝐀 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 ].

Physical Prowess

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Yuzuki is a formidable martial artist, damaging constructions within miles of distance without using any cursed energy. She was capable of overpowering Mahito in hand-to-hand combat as her attacks changed the format of his soul. Fighting alongside Sukuna, Yuzuki managed to keep Mahoraga trapped under her body as the King of Curses activated his domain.

Immense Endurance: Often put in dangerous positions, killing blows can't stop Yuzuki from moving forward. Yuzuki cures brain damage automatically, making it possible for her to use all of her techniques severe times. When Toji crucified her down at the barrier's core, she learned how to modify the shape of her body to escape from traps.

Immense Speed & Reflexes: As her intentions in most combats is to make her opponent hit her with cursed energy, often curses assume Yuzuki is slow to defend. She is an extremely fast fighter, equal to Naobito Zen'in. In her duel with Sukuna, after charging her technique she surprised the King of Curses by avoiding his slash attacks.

Immense Strength: Relying mostly on her physical strength against curses, Yuzuki rarely encountered enemies she couldn't defeat immediately. Healing Yuji Itadori's body, the impact of her energy sent Sukuna flying throught the school walls. Yuzuki was able to carry Ultimate Mechamaru - Mode: Absolute away from Shibuya's center.

Intelligence

Great Tactical Intellect:Yuzuki is tactical, as smart as she is resistant. She is adaptable, learning others' techniques through the pain it causes on her body. Enranging opponents with the lack of cursed energy on her attacks, Yuzuki forces them to activate their own techniques. Once that happens, Yuzuki has the upperhand in any and every battle.

The lies, bluffs and rumors Yuzuki spreads about herself confuses the entirety of jujutsu world. Often times, Yuzuki pretends to expand her domain in order to make opponents take on a defensive stance. It is still unkown for higher-ups if she even has a domain technique.

Cursed Restrictions

Heavenly Restriction: The trade-off for Yuzuki's life-long extreme chronic pain is her entire body constantly creating positive energy. That makes it impossible for her to be damaged for more than a 0.0001 second. The only moment she uses RCT is to heal others, never herself.

Yuji Itadori: In exchange for her protection against jujutsu higher-ups, Yuji Itadori is proihibited from entering a binding vow without Yuzuki there to mediate it.

Minamoto Clan: [ 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐁𝐔𝐘𝐀 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 ].

Cursed Energy

Cursed Energy Capacity: Yuzuki's vast cursed energy is restrict through a biding vow with the Minamoto Clan. Tengen crafted talismans capable of [ 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐉𝐔𝐉𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐔 𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐍 𝟎 𝐓𝐎 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 ].

Cursed Energy Manipulation: Yuzuki has total control over her cursed energy due to having spent her entire life regulating it to not break her binding vow conditions. When in a situation where she can use it freely, Yuzuki faces zero unnecessary cursed energy loss. Facing Mahoraga, she shifted between her innate technique and simple domain effortlessly.

Cursed Energy Output: Due to her immense control and beneficts from the heavenly restriction, Yuzuki can output insanely high amounts of cursed energy into her techniques. After stealing Divine Flame, she was able of using 120% of its potential to damage both Mahoraga and Sukuna.

Black flash: Yuzuki never once landed a Black flash.

Cursed Technique

Inherited Technique: Carnivore Comsumption (肉食動物 Meat-eater)

Is an inherited technique from the Minamoto family. It grants the capacity to steal whatever technique struck the user as long as they can survive the hit in its double damage. Most members to have enherited this technique died as soon as it developed in their brain, but due to her heavenly restriction Yuzuki can survive the conditions of it. Once a technique is stolen, the details for it are carved into Yuzuki's right prefrontal cortex.

Innate Technique: Shattered Mirror (砕 鏡 Frustrated Mirror)

Any attack imbued in cursed energy is reversed in 120% to the sorcerer once Yuzuki stops feeling the effects of it on her body. Due to her inherited technique, it means the damage will be double once it reaches the opponent. It doesn't replicate long-lasting effects such as poison, loss of limbs or temporary incapacitation. It does replicate inherited and innate techniques, barrier, talisman and shinikami.

Extension Technique: Sanguinory Trap (出血 羂 Tied Bleeding)

Anyone that ingests Yuzuki's blood automatically receives the same damage she does. After using RCT, the cursed techniques fade away but the physical damage continues as her heavenly restriction cannot be healed. The only way to stop it is by making Yuzuki ingest the opponent's blood.

Maximum Output: Offered Suicide (心中 供 Gifted Lover's Suicide)

It's Sanguinory Trap in its maximum use of cursed energy. Yuzuki multiplies positive and negative energy, consequently damaging her brain. Unless the opponent's RCT can be compared to hers, it means instant death. Until october, Yuzuki knew about only two other sorcerers that could survive it: Kinji Hakari and, of course, Satoru Gojo.

Maximum Technique: Ouroboros (ウロボロス Ouroboros)

Ouroboros is the maximum technique of Shattered Mirror. By attacking herself with someone else's maximum output (e.g. Satoru Gojo's Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue, Choso Kamo's Flowing Red Scales), Yuzuki can eccho the doubled wound on a radious of 200 meters.

Shikigami Jutsu: Hana (供花 Flower Shrine)

By opening a wound on her body, Yuzuki can create shikigami's from her dripping blood. Hana is an infestation of humming birds that suck the opponent's blood meanwhile ingesting Yuzuki's blood into their body. It grants her the possibility of using Sanguinory Trap and it's maximum output, Offered Suicide.

Anti-Domain Technique: Falling Blosson Emotion (落らっ花かの情じょう Rakka no Jō)

A secret domain countermeasure passed down in the Big Four Sorcerer Families. Rather than expanding a domain, Falling Blossom Emotion counterattacks with cursed energy the moment a domain's can't-miss attack makes contact.

Domain Expansion: Corroded Shrine (月宮 腐るRotten Moon Palace)

Yuzuki creates a lethal open-domain with a Meiji Shrine as an escape route, a binding vow which vastly increases the guaranteed hit's effective area with a maximum radius of 100 meters. She uses Varada mudra as a hand seal, a gesture associated with Kuan Yin. It represents offering, lack of fear and Kuan Yin's campassion to all beings. Everything that remains inside her domain for more than five seconds is submerged in blood and relentlesly attacked by any stolen technique of her choice. Since the nature of it being an open-domain, in a clash of domains Yuzuki would defeat any close-domain. She never confronted an open-domain before. Yuzuki herself and those she makes physical contact with are immunite to its effect.

Special Abilities: Soul Range

Upon first-meeting, Ryomen Sukuna recognized Yuzuki's soul was stronger than most humans. During a battle with Mahito, he mentioned her soul didn't even trembled at his technique. In the same day, after touching Junpei's shoulder [ 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 ].

[ 𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐏𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 ] —

Cursed Tool: Inverted Spear of Heaven (天あまの逆さか鉾ほこ Ama no Sakahoko)

It is a special grade cursed tool with the ability to completely nullify cursed techniques on contact. It uses an imbued cursed technique fueled by foreign cursed energy. After Toji Fushiguro's defeat, the status of it was unknown even to Tengen.

[ 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀 ] —

According to Jujutsu Kaisen Official Fanbook:

Hobby: Reading ancient poems.

Favorite dish: Fish and oyester.

Least favorite dish: Milk.

Cause of stress: The Minamoto Clan and rhinitis.

all rights reserved to © madwomansapologist

[nataliescatorccio]

PUBLIC PULLING THROUGH FOR FINLAND LET’S GOOOOO

[chodarktrash]

MANIFESTS IT MANIFESTS IT MANIFESTS IT

[alex-bumble-bee]

many happy returns

This is a short story I wrote about Maggie and Jude for a creative writing class! As of right now, it's not canon to the universe of Death is the Doing- it doesn't acknowledge the murder of Armistead (or the ~murderer~ **wink wink**), only that he dies. I hope you guys will enjoy it, and enjoy a taste of my non-poetry writing :))

Word Count: 3917

South Carolina // August 10th, 1939

Eleven

At approximately 6:30, on the evening of her eleventh birthday, Magdalena Lord found herself waiting for the other shoe to drop. It can’t happen like this, can it? It never has before.

Like every other birthday of her life, she’d awoken to the blurry form of her mother stroking her cheek and singing to her. Like every other birthday, she’d put on her glasses while sitting up, watching as her mother’s russet curls came into focus. Like every other birthday, she’d known the plans ahead of time (the dinner, the party, the dancing), but her mother had explained them to her again, striding over to Maggie’s closet and showing her the outfit she’d be expected to wear, going over the plan of the people she’d be expected to talk to. Like every other birthday, Maggie had taken a moment of silence before leaving her room, savoring the calm before the storm. It was her birthday, which meant two of her siblings would be on the warpath, not to mention her father. And it was her birthday, which meant she couldn’t hide, as much as she’d like to.

Things had been tenuously civil all day, and it was driving her to distraction, feeling her spine stretched tight like a piano wire, her father on one end, Elias and Ava at the other. The party was beginning, and still no one had made a scene. The word unnatural floated through her mind, unbidden. She could feel Elias burning with something, sucking on a secret like hard candy.

Catharine Lord had lined up the children in the private sitting room- all five, from oldest to youngest- and was presently stalking up and down in front of them like a 4-star general, the European kind that her father read about in the paper. An inspection was necessary before they made an entrance, per usual. Maggie fidgeted in her spot, second from the last, adjusting her glasses.

“Maggie, take your glasses off,” Catharine snapped, stopping in front of Patrick at the other end of the line (Patrick, eighteen, even-keeled, fawn-eyed). “They’re unbecoming.”

“Mom- ” Patrick began, scratching at the back of his neck.

“Quiet, Patrick. Fix your tie. Honestly, how you manage to mess it up every time is beyond me- you’re too old for this.”

Next to him in line, Imogen (fifteen, blonde, blossom-soft) moved to assist, and Catharine scoffed. “Don’t help him, Imogen- he needs to learn.”

Imogen swallowed and turned her eyes back to the oriental rug. Maggie watched as Catharine’s gaze swept up and down the line. Patrick, Imogen, Elias, Maggie, Ava. Ava, Maggie, Elias, Imogen, Patrick.

“Imogen, look at me.” Imogen tentatively raised her blue eyes, meeting their mother’s hazel ones through her own pale lashes. “Look at me, Imogen.”

“I’m sorry,” Imogen murmured, pulling at her skirt.

“Don’t be sorry, be better,” Catharine drawled. “You look adequate. Try to act like you’re enjoying yourself this year, won’t you?”

Imogen nodded and went back to studying the floor. Elias (thirteen, ginger, always burning) was already waiting for their mother when she turned her gaze to him, his small hands balled into freckled fists at his sides. Standing just to his left, Maggie waited, her body held in a preemptive flinch. She could feel him tensing, a coiled spring, a mousetrap boy with eyes like ice chips.

“Elias,” Catharine began, extending a long finger towards him, her eyes narrowing, “don’t start. This is not your day. You will be pleasant, you will be reasonable, and if I hear from anyone that you’ve been anything else, I’m going to personally see to it that your birthday is ruined as well.”

On Maggie’s other side, Ava (nine, green-eyed, needle-sharp) snapped. “NO, that’s not fair!"

“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?” roared a voice from the doorway. Maggie’s heart dropped as her father strode into the room, scooping up Ava with ease, who twisted in his grasp, still trying to face their mother. Ava hated being held, but she hated being quieted more. Their father called her Lady Justice, always with an eye-roll and a sigh.

“Armie, can’t you keep your children under control?” Catharine hissed, one of her eyes twitching. Maggie’s hand was seized, and she was pulled roughly against her mother’s bony chest. “You’d think they were born in a barn, the way they behave.”

Ava was promptly dropped as Armistead Lord rounded on his wife. “The way they behave?! They behave better than you ever have, you harpy.”

Catharine straightened, her hand tightening around Maggie’s own. “Are you prepared to ruin this family, Armie? Everyone who’s anyone in Charleston is downstairs in the parlor right now- do you really want to make a scene?”

“God, shut up, Cat.” A darkness crossed Armistead’s face as he made eye-contact with Maggie. She felt her lower lip begin to tremble. He had eyes like Elias (clear and cold) and she was suddenly aware that he rarely looked at her directly- it felt like a spear through the chest.  “If your mother hadn’t whored herself all over Greece, I wouldn’t be saddled with pretending you’re mine, you pathetic, knock-kneed little dago.”

The slap across the face that he received from Catharine in response to this insult echoed within the confines of the sitting room. Maggie was numb, blinking in paralyzed shock.

Greece- 

Whored herself-

Pretending you’re mine-

Patrick was looking at her, his gentle eyes pained, attempting to offer muted reassurance. Imogen already had tears curling down her round cheeks, looking mildly jealous of them as they sought escape via absorption into the rug at her feet. You knew- you already knew. Elias had made a beeline for their father, glaring at Maggie the entire time, his face redder than his hair. Ava had reached the point of no return, and looked in danger of exploding, shattering into shrapnel like in the stories they overheard about the burgeoning war in Europe. A choked, hiccupy whimper escaped the confines of Maggie’s chest. Her face was wet. Catharine had begun to wipe roughly at her face, talking again- saying something about the party, about the guests- but Maggie found she couldn’t understand anymore.

Dad. Dad. Dad. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. 

South Carolina // August 10th, 1948

Twenty

At approximately 6:30, on the evening of her twentieth birthday, Magdalena Lord found herself questioning everything. Her father had been dead for a week, and she had yet to cry. The house was full again, like it hadn’t been in years, all of her siblings having been summoned home to have their portraits painted. The artist her father had employed was one Judith Mitchell, known to all as Jude, who was rapidly causing Maggie to think and behave in ways that alarmed her. When Jude had arrived in South Carolina, she’d stepped out of her rickety old Ford with all of the attitude of someone much larger than she actually was, as if female artists from Massachusetts regularly appeared outside of Charleston wearing what appeared to be hand-altered men’s clothing. If she was intimidated by the massive Georgian-style house, with its great, white columns and its opulence, she didn’t show it. Instead, she’d slung her rucksack over one shoulder and joined Maggie on the veranda, where she’d extended a lightly tanned hand towards her.

“Jude Mitchell,” she’d said, smiling crookedly. She had green eyes, Maggie noticed, absently. Her short, sandy hair was very neat, and she smelled like aftershave, as if she’d recently seen a barber. The top of her head came up to Maggie’s chin, and Maggie was once again conscious of all five feet and ten inches of her willowy height, remembering the nights in adolescence that she’d spent praying to stop growing, convinced that if she could just remain below 5 '8”, her mother would be happy. When Jude’s hand met her own, she found it was strong and lightly calloused- an artist’s hand, with dark smudges lingering in the cuticles and under the nails. She was suddenly possessed by the bizarre urge to keep holding it, and, alarmed, dropped it like it had bitten her.

“Gotta name?”

Maggie flushed. “Oh! Oh, yes. My apologies- I’m Magdalena. Maggie. Maggie Lord.”

Jude grinned again, tilting her head to one side, and Maggie felt her stomach flip. What was happening to her? Her mother had set her up with plenty of bored young men at Charleston’s finest soirées, and nothing remotely like this had ever occurred.

“Nice to meet you, Maggie,” Jude had said, with a genuineness that had startled her, and that had been the end of their only conversation since Jude’s arrival, largely due to Maggie avoiding her at every opportunity. The sensations that Jude Mitchell inspired within her were unfamiliar, not unpleasant, and felt suspiciously like how attraction had been described to her. Jude had taken to spending her free time with Patrick, Maggie’s oldest brother, who seemed determined to draw the two women together into some sort of friendship. Had his choice of friends been anyone else, Maggie would’ve thanked him, but Maggie had already set about avoiding Jude at all costs, convinced that the sensations produced within her when the artist smiled in her direction (and, once, winked) were going to be her undoing.

And then one day she’d woken up, and learned that her father had died in the night. Such a man left behind a vacuum in space, and Maggie was rapidly spiraling into it. In the intervening few days, she’d barely eaten or slept. He hadn’t been kind to her- in fact, he’d been virulently the opposite- but the house felt too large and too quiet without him. They were all coping in their separate ways. Her mother seemed entirely unaffected (although she had hated him, she admitted), while Patrick was tired, and Imogen couldn’t stop crying. Elias was a wreck, smashing plates and windows whenever he couldn’t find a better outlet for his grief, and Ava, who had wept at first, was now steely. 

You still haven’t cried, she thought to herself as her tired gaze drifted out over the garden, sweeping over the Spanish moss that crept its silent way up the trees. Although I suppose that’s to be expected, given the way he treated you. Still, a pendulous suspense had taken root inside of her, presenting itself as a thick weight behind her sternum, pressing against her lungs. The view from the back porch was beautiful on summer evenings, the sun lowering itself with languid nonchalance towards the horizon, but it did nothing to combat the unease within her.

The clearing of a throat behind her made her jump, her hands clutching at the material of her white sundress. Turning around, her eyes landed on two poorly-hemmed, trouser-clad legs, and she allowed herself to indulge in the trip upwards to Jude’s face.

“Can I sit?” the artist asked, her expression frank. Surprising herself, Maggie nodded, then wondered why she had, then realized it was probably best if she didn’t think about it too much. Jude lowered herself down beside her, and turned to face her, eventually opening her mouth again to ask another question.

“What are your glasses for? Sometimes you wear them and sometimes you don’t, and I can’t figure out why.”

Maggie laughed softly. “Oh, they’re for just about everything- I have awful eyesight. My mother just doesn’t like me to wear them. She says they’re unattractive.”

Jude snorted. “You do know that you’re beautiful, right? ‘Cause I look at a lot of faces in my line of work, and just to tell you a secret, I do pick favorites- yours is up there.”

Upon hearing this, Maggie’s first conscious instinct was to look away, and her first unconscious instinct was to flush violently. Suddenly, however, she could hear her mother’s voice in her head, saying a handsome artist has just paid you a compliment- you will say thank you, and you will not ruin this, so she looked back, a blush spilling across her collarbones, threatening the neckline of her dress.

“I- what- thank you,” she replied with effort. Her lips twitching slightly, Jude settled back against the railing of the porch steps, pulling out her sketchpad and a stick of graphite.

“Sit for me? I could use the practice.” She flipped to an empty page as Maggie spluttered and plucked nervously at one of her dark curls. 

“I don’t know how- I’ll probably do it wrong.”

Jude grinned. “Hey, I’m here to paint portraits of your family, so you’ll have to learn anyway.”

“Well, yes, but- ”

“You don’t even have to sit very still- it’s really easy. Here, just- ” she took Maggie’s slender hand and settled it beside its twin. “Just like that. You can even talk to me.”

Maggie worked one of her lips between her teeth, tasting lipstick, and said nothing. “Mmm-hmm?”

“So, uh, Patrick told me I could find you out here,” Jude began, using her graphite to cast confident strokes across the empty page. “Happy birthday.”

Maggie felt her stomach clench. “Did my mother tell you?”

Jude shook her head and cleared her throat. “It was Patrick. Twenty years old- doing anything special?”

She looked away again, eyes dropping back down to her lap. “Not if Mama hasn’t planned anything. What with Father’s death and all, I can’t believe anyone remembered.”

Jude had nothing to say in response to this, so she hummed softly and went back to her work. Inside the house, someone started a record, and Dean Martin began singing. Maggie could feel something shifting inside of her. She had a sudden, desperate urge to explain, to say this is why I’m like this- this is why I won’t talk to you, why I keep running. My father hated me, my mother’s obsessed with me, the whole town thinks I’m better off gone.

“Things always seem to happen around my birthday,” she murmured. “The night I turned eleven, my father told me that he wasn’t my father. The whole town already knew.” As she’d grown older, she’d realized it was obvious; she was tall, thin, pale, and dark-haired, and she’d borne virtually no resemblance to Armistead Lord, who had been stocky and ruddy-faced, his blond hair fading reluctantly into gray. 

“My dad’s dead too,” Jude said by way of comfort, lifting her gaze to Maggie. “He was a prick- mostly to my mom- but I didn’t really know it at the time. All I knew was that he loved me. He was my hero.”

“My father hated me.” This is why I’m like this. She heard her own voice from somewhere outside herself, speaking expressionlessly, as if she were reading aloud a menu at a restaurant. “You met him, so you know what he was like. I wasn’t his, and I guess it was my fault.”

“Maggie?”

Ava’s voice came from behind them on the porch, and, upon hearing it, Maggie let out a very undignified shriek that her mother would’ve hated, had she been present. She watched Ava look at Jude, and something passed between them.

“Hey, Maggie?” Jude asked, slipping her graphite back into the pocket of her trousers. Maggie blinked owlishly, and Jude took this as a sign to continue. “I think your sister has some stuff she wants to say to you, so I’m gonna leave you two alone for awhile, alright? I’ll go bother Patrick in the study again.”

Maggie nodded absently as Jude and Ava switched places. “I- um, I’ll see you later?”

Jude shot her a grin, sauntering towards the French doors. “I still need to paint you, remember?” 

With that, she vanished into the house. Maggie swallowed. Beside her, Ava threw a long lock of tawny hair over her shoulder. 

“So, uh…” she began, eyes fixed on her kitten heels, “I wanted to, uh… talk to you. Yeah. Talk to you.”

“Mm-hmm?” Maggie felt her eyebrows pinch together in concern. She wanted to ask what’s wrong with you? are you alright? because Ava had never been too scared to say anything, but at the same time (six-year-old Ava tugging on Maggie’s curls, ten-year-old Ava destroying Maggie’s favorite clothes, fourteen-year-old Ava telling everybody at school that Maggie had started menstruating).

Ava’s mouth was held in a tight line, and her gaze remained between her feet. “I guess I just wanted to say sorry. I- I don’t really know how to do this. I wanted to say sorry, though.”

“Sorry?” Maggie was fairly certain she could count on one hand the amount of times Ava, fiercely proud and passionately self-assured, had apologized to her.

Ava laughed mirthlessly. “Yeah, you know, sorry? That thing you say when you realize you’ve mistreated someone your entire life.” 

“Ava- ”

“ -can I just get this out? Thank you. I… sorry. I think I just wanted a mother, you know?” She bit her lip and twisted her hands in  her lap. “When I was little, all I knew was that Mama only ever looked at you, and I was just a kid. I saw how Daddy and Elias treated you, like you’d caused every one of the earth’s problems, and I figured that’s how you ought to be treated. I was just so jealous- ” she broke off, Maggie watching as a rogue tear curled down her cheek, “and it made me hate you. Lord, it just made me hate you… ”

Maggie swallowed, hard. Then, pushing her fear aside, she reached out and took one of Ava’s hands.

“Maggie, I was seventeen before I realized that you didn’t do anything, and it took me another year to figure out what to do, because how do I even fix this now?” 

“Ava- Ava.” Ava was almost shaking, green eyes wild, and Maggie scooched closer along the stair, taking her other hand for good measure. “You don’t- you don’t have to fix anything right now, but I need to ask, how is Jude involved in this?”

Ava exhaled, chuckling. “I take it you’ve also realized that she’s strangely easy to talk to?”

“Something like that,” Maggie mumbled.

“Patrick’s right,” noted Ava, wiping at her eyes.

Maggie dug a handkerchief out of her clutch and offered it. “About what?”

“About Jude. You should get to know her- she’s a good one.”

“Hmm…” Maggie found herself gazing through the French doors into the study, where Patrick and Jude sat, playing chess. She watched as Jude took one of Patrick’s bishops, watched as she threw herself backwards in maniacal laughter, and, in doing so, managed to tip over her chair. “Yes, I think she is.”

South Carolina // August 10th, 1949

Twenty-One

At approximately 6:30, on the evening of her twenty-first birthday, Magdalena Lord found herself right back where she’d started. She had agreed to come home, back to South Carolina, after her mother had conceded to her demands of “no party, no guests,” and, after some encouragement from Jude, “no Elias.” By now, he was married, she’d heard, to some girl he’d met at Duke. She hadn’t been invited to the wedding.

Only Patrick and Ava had ever seen the studio apartment in Boston that she shared with Jude (Jude had been nervous about it- something about the apartment not being up to Lord-family standards- but it was blessedly theirs); Imogen had been invited, once, when Maggie was feeling particularly optimistic. They’d met in June for lunch near South Station, and Maggie had asked about South Carolina while Imogen nervously scanned the throngs of passersby. What’s wrong? had led to a guilty expression and a nervous laugh, which had led to Maggie asking for the cheque. Later that day, Jude had returned home to find her lying, fully clothed, on top of the duvet, clutching her handkerchief like a lifeline.

“Why do you want me here?” she’d hiccuped, while Jude peeled her out of her smartest dress- the one she’d worn because Imogen had always liked blue- and set her shoes gently by the front door. “I- I have no idea what I’m doing with myself- I didn’t go to college, I don’t have any friends- ”

“Hey.”

She looked up, sniffing, hands clutching at the silk of her slip. Jude stood over her, hands on her hips, sandy eyebrows scrunched together with concern. Through the tears, Maggie could make out a stray smear of charcoal on her forehead.

“How did it go with Imogen?”

Maggie felt her traitorous lower lip begin to tremble again. Pathetic. “She- I think she only agreed to talk with me because we’d be in Boston, and she spent the entire lunch looking out the window like she was worried someone from home would see us.”

“Oh, fucking hell,” said Jude, sitting down beside her. “I mean, Christ, I know she’s your sister, but who does she think she is? No one’s following her from Charleston on the off-chance that she might be visiting you.”

Maggie had shaken her head and wiped at her eyes. Realizing that her makeup must be running in rivulets down her face by now, she tried to turn away, to put some distance between herself and this woman, this force of nature who held her at night like she was something worth holding, who had spirited her out of South Carolina, who seemed uncomfortable with any acknowledgement of the fact that she was doing more for Maggie than anyone had ever done. Why do you want me here?

And now she was back in South Carolina for her birthday, sitting opposite her mother in the study, watching Catharine’s long fingers curl possessively around a glass of cognac, hazel eyes narrowed.

“Mama,” she began, swallowing. Catharine crooked an auburn eyebrow at her. “Mama, I- ” She was cut off by a sigh as her mother took a long drink. She stretched languidly, cognac slipping over the rim of the glass, onto her hand, before sticking two fingers into her mouth and cleaning them off.

“I think I deserve a drink; it’s my favorite child’s birthday, and she hates me.”

When I was five, I practiced hymns until I lost my voice so I wouldn’t embarrass you in church. When I was ten, you told me my glasses made me ugly. You started teaching me to feel through the world without them. When I was fifteen, you took me to a doctor to see if they could give me more curves. Mama, I know. I know, Mama. I’m too tall and I’m still knock-kneed and my nose is too big. I’m too scared to sing in church and I can’t see without my glasses and I’m not what you wanted. You are why I’m like this. I know, Mama, I know. 

“I don’t hate you, Mama.”

Catharine let out another long sigh and made eye contact again, gaze flickering with dark venom. “What do you think of me, then? You live in Boston. You don’t call.”

I live in Boston. I don’t call. I live with Jude, who cleans my glasses in the morning when I’m grumpy. She draws me more than she’s willing to admit.

“I think… Mama, I think I’m happy now.”

I have a home and eventually it will feel like it’s really mine. For now, I redecorate, and Jude appreciates my changes. She draws me a lot, and she admits as much. We help old Mr Moskowicz across the hall with his groceries, and he teaches me how to make his mother’s soup. I make it for Jude. I make it for myself.

[humanitys-last-call]

[fossilizedhysterics]

sanders art dump bc people seemed to like the forever weed post 🫶 mostly just funnies i like never draw serious shit

[shiftingstarswc]

Shifting Stars - Abilities

All characters have access to abilities (other than kits, who are too young). Each ability type has 36 levels, and every 4th level unlocks a unique perk. Everyone starts out with 0 levels total.

There is no limit to how many levels you can have in each ability, but they must be bought with EXP. The more abilities you have, the more expensive they are to unlock. EXP is gained from hunting, fighting, marking borders, completing quests, etc.

There are five main abilities: Strength, Agility, Vitality, Awareness, and Medicine.

Strength

Strength represents your character's physical power. Strong warriors are very respected in the Clans as they use their skill to defend their Clan from predators and in battle. Some cats who focus on strength instead enjoy exploring beyond the Clan territories in order to fight powerful creatures.

Cats with high strength deal more damage and are more likely to wound their enemies. They also tend to be larger than other cats.

Agility

Agility represents your character's speed and reflexes. Agile cats are swift and graceful. Higher agility makes it easier to chase and hunt down prey, so it's a useful skill for any wild cat to have. In battle, a warrior will be better at dodging attacks from their enemies.

Cats with high agility move faster and take less fall damage. The 4th level of Agility grants you the leap skill, which allows you to jump farther.

Vitality

Vitality represents your character's resilience and overall healthiness. Cats with higher vitality will last longer in battles since they have higher health. They're also helpful in raids since they can hold lots of items without being slowed down.

Cats with high vitality can withstand more damage than others, heal from wounds and sickness without needing herbs, and carry more items.

Awareness

Awareness represents your character's intelligence and perception. Cats with a higher awareness level are likely very creative and clever. These cats may make good deputies or medics due to their ability to strategize and adapt to new situations.

Cats with high awareness can craft new items and are better at tracking down prey. The 1st level of Awareness allows you to view scent trails that can be followed to find mobs or other players.

Medicine

Medicine represents your character's herbal knowledge and healing skills. Any cat can learn how to heal, regardless of rank, but, as with any skill, it takes dedication. Healing is an honorable skill for any cat to have, especially in the wild where sickness and injury are common. Some also believe their skill makes it easier to commune with spirits.

Cats with high medicine skill are good at locating and using herbs to cure others' ailments. Medicine also unlocks the ability to revive downed players during raid or battle events.

Clan Abilities

Each Clan (and Outsider rank) has their own line of abilities. However, unlike the main 5 abilities, Clan abilities only have 8 levels instead of 36, and cannot be bought with levels. Instead, they can only be upgraded by completing specific quests.

[roronoa-luffy]

[gotchibam]

Just a heads up, I might open commissions soon since I'll need extra budget for the next month! I know I still have a backlog of ko-fi doodles I need to work on but I'll try my best to do them alongside the comms 😤💪💪💪

[danielnelsen]

*For apostates part of any origin that doesn't already exist, just choose that origin!

If you want to expand on any ideas you have for any of these, I'm very interested in reading about them in tags, comments, or reblogs!