#DEFINITELY fits the bill for this topic

[cowbell-ghuleh]

31 Days of Ghost, Part

Favourite song from: Impera

Kaisarion

To be honest my favourite is actually Call Me Little Sunshine, but I relate it to something quite personal and ultimately didn't feel comfortable sharing the Little Sunshine picture I initially did for this part of the challenge! So you get this one instead.

I imagine Hypatia being a revered figure within the ministry, their equivalent of a saint perhaps (Anti-Saint? Idk if there's a fannon term for it).

I definitely appreciate Ghosts willingness to tackle such dark topics in their music. Kaisarion with it's themes of science denialism, Misogyny and imperialism definitely fits that bill. It's also a great song XD

[fandoms-x-reader]

Goth! MC

Requested By: @fernstarsblog

Headcannons

Summary: How the OM! characters would react to an MC who is goth/drawn to the supernatural. The Sevon Demon Brothers & Diavolo, Barbatos, Simeon and Solomon Word Count: 2,504

Lucifer remains as expressionless as ever when he first sees you.

After all, you’re a new human exchange student. That’s what everyone should be focusing on, not the way you did your makeup or the way you were dressed.

At the end of the day, you were a target to lower-level demons no matter how you looked.

But, take away those formalities, and Lucifer is completely attracted to your look.

You had an ethereal beauty to you - something he had yet to see in any other human and it drew him in like a moth to a flame.

He’ll notice everything about you - your outlook on life, your interest in the dark and mysterious, etc. 

And he’ll find the opportune moments to have conversations with you about these topics. Lucifer is as much a well of information as Satan, he just doesn’t typically flaunt it the way his younger brother does.

Lucifer is particularly interested in the Gothic culture when it comes to buildings and decoration. Would you say the House of Lamentation fit the bill?

Lucifer only agreed to allow you to put eyeliner on him after a whole lot of Demonus was in his system.

And he wore it with absolute pride. 

Until he realized you took a picture of him with the makeup on and sent it to his brothers.

It’s funny that you’re attracted to the supernatural because he’s about to turn you into a ghost.

Mammon came into the assembly hall with so much confidence, ready to tell you off in front of everyone and make sure you knew that he was the one in charge.

But, when he actually saw you, he stuttered.

He still managed to get his words out in the end, but why were you dressed like that?

Mammon thinks you look great, but you weren’t what he was expecting and you definitely didn’t look like a pushover like he was hoping.

Mammon will boast about your look to others, and he’ll dare someone to comment on it in any way that he didn’t deem acceptable.

But if you’re interested in the supernatural, that’s where Mammon draws the line.

Let’s not forget he’s a scaredy cat when it comes to things like horror movies and ghost stories and whatnot.

He’ll act all brave in front of you, pretending as though he’s interested in the same stuff just for a chance to spend time with you.

But if you go somewhere scary he’ll be holding your hand and if you watch a movie that frightens him, he’ll sit closely to you and offer to turn the light on - all for your sake, of course. He can’t have his human having a heart attack!

That being said, you did notice that Mammon’s latest photoshoot was all goth-themed and he even did the makeup to perfection.

Levi knows all about goth culture.

There are so many iconic characters in his manga and anime who are goth and he can’t help but admire the way they look and act.

There’s something just so intriguing and mysterious about them!

Not to mention the fact that a ton of his video games have designs modeled after gothic looks for their playable characters, NPCs, and the overall setting of the game.

Levi has even considered trying out the gothic look himself when he wanted to cosplay as one of those characters.

But, he’s never been able to bring himself to do it, afraid he won’t be able to get the look right.

But now that he has you, he’s ready to try it!

Please show him all your tricks on properly doing the makeup. He wants to look like this character in this anime!

You’re a bit surprised at how well Levi pulls off the goth look. The eyeliner really brings out his features.

He freaked out when you told him that, but he’ll keep it in mind.

He can’t wait to play all of his favorite games with someone who can truly appreciate the gothic nature of them!

Satan was one to notice your appearance straight away.

There was something different about you than the typical happy-go-lucky and naive humans he had seen pictures of in his books.

Your appearance was something that enticed him.

There was something beautiful and mysterious about the makeup and clothes you wore.

His initial thought was that you looked like you walked right off the pages of one of Edgar Allan Poe’s books.

He even went so far as mentioning that to you and if you tell him that you knew who he was talking about, Satan would be ecstatic.

He believed that Poe was an excellent author in his own right, but he was also from the Devildom so he couldn’t be sure that humans would hold the same affection.

He’ll offer to read some of his stories with you excited to use the similarity to try and get to know you. 

And if you have any other books or authors that were similar he would be more than happy to read those as well!

If you’re drawn to what humans would consider “supernatural” Satan is the best person to turn to.

His knowledge is extensive and he will happily tell you about any creature that you’re curious about.

If you want simple information, he’ll just tell you if it exists or not.

But if you want to know more than that, he’ll excitedly tell you all of the facts he knows.

If you mention a creature he doesn’t know about, he’ll take you to the library and the two of you will do research together until you find what you’re looking for.

All in all - he likes that you’re goth.

Asmo is a bit taken aback by your appearance at first. 

He isn’t used to seeing others wear heavy make-up or such interesting clothes. 

He kept up with all of the latest fashion trends, so of course he knew about the “goth” look.

He just doesn’t typically do it on himself.

But, he loved the way you looked. So much so that he considers you his inspiration for his new look!

Asmo will be attached to your hip, asking you which makeup products you prefer and which colors you tend to use.

He liked making his own clothes and he will make up some outfits that have a gothic look to them with a touch more of Asmo.

He’ll set up a whole photoshoot to show off his clothes and he’ll ask you for help with his makeup.

He wants to make sure he does the look right!

He’ll ask you to do the photoshoot with him, wanting the world to see the two of you together.

But, if you decline, he’ll just take double the amount of photos to make up for it. 

After that photo shoot, you do notice that others in RAD have started dressing the same way.

You and Asmo have started a new trend.

Beel doesn’t focus too much on appearances. It’s all about what’s on the inside for him.

He likes your overall aesthetic, but at the end of the day, he isn’t completely wrapped up in the details of your appearance like some of the others would be.

Did you call yourself “goth”? You’ll have to explain to him exactly what that means.

He’ll ask you if goths eat the same food as other humans in a completely innocent and curious way.

Bad time for a vampire joke.

Beel thought that you were serious about drinking blood and was a bit wary of you. 

Beel can bond with almost anyone about almost anything so he’ll find a way to connect with you.

He enjoys learning more about your culture and he even lets you put makeup on him to see what he would look like.

He 100% pulls off the goth look. 

He also likes listening to you go on and on about your knowledge of the supernatural.

He’ll happily munch on food while he listens to you talk, smiling at the way your eyes lit up as you talked about something that was so closely related to his world.

Belphie is one to make witty comments about your appearance.

He’ll joke about keeping you away from garlic or keeping you inside during a full moon.

He’ll tease you about wearing too dark make-up and will ask you if you have more than one color in your wardrobe.

Basically, anything he can to hide the fact that he finds your look insanely hot.

He’s a total sucker for the goth look but you would never get him to admit it.

He finds your conversations so much more interesting than any other humans because where they shy away from dark topics, you embrace them.

He’ll feel naturally drawn to you and one day you caught him looking up how to do goth makeup on his D.D.D.

He immediately denied it but from that point on you made it a point to try and convince him to let you do his makeup.

He declined every single time and you eventually had to wrestle him and pin him down so that you could apply eyeliner to him.

It was obvious that he wanted to see what he looked like with it because he could have easily pushed you off if he really wanted to.

Belphie pulls off the look effortlessly. He fit right in with the goth culture.

And the next time you were in his bedroom, you noticed eyeliner sitting on his dresser.

Diavolo found your appearance strikingly beautiful.

As the future King of the Devildom, he was drawn to all things dark and mysterious and you fit both of those categories to a T. 

How could he not be attracted to you when you already looked like you belonged?

Diavolo is a very busy man though and didn’t have much time to get to know you at first.

Instead, he had to admire you from afar.

He noticed the way that you wouldn’t be afraid of things in the Devildom. Most humans would have already run for the hills by now.

But you welcomed those things and even looked excited while experiencing them.

When Diavolo finally had a chance to speak with you privately, he wanted to know everything about you.

He was curious to know how you perceived the supernatural and what stories the human world offered about them versus how they actually were in real life.

He wears his classic boyish grin as the two of you talk about it. It’s the first conversation in a long time that he’s been so invested in.

After the two of you grow closer, you manage to convince him to try the makeup.

But, he’ll only do it in your presence. He doesn’t want others to see him with goth makeup in case he can’t pull it off.

But, goth makeup on Diavolo is a 10/10 - especially if he’s in his demon form.

Barbatos won’t mention anything right away, but he does find your goth appearance intriguing. 

Were humans starting to become more in tune with the dark secrets the world had to offer or was it just you?

He had been alive for far too long to be able to keep up with every fashion trend that came out. They all blurred together for him.

But this one stood out. It was alluring in the best way.

It was a look that demanded one’s attention and then refused to let it go. 

And whenever you were in the same room as him, his attention was all on you. 

He would do his best to perform his tasks like normal but his eyes would find their way to you no matter how many times he tried to look away.

He can’t deny the excitement he has when you talk to him about the Devildom.

You have such a natural curiosity for dark things and Barbatos has such an affinity for talking about them.

And your perspective on things in life is refreshing. 

He’s had so many mundane conversations in his life but you find a way to always grab his attention.

The two of you would get along very well.

Simeon is a bit taken aback by your appearance at first.

He came from the Celestial Realm where everything was bright and bubbly. 

So, he didn’t know what to think when he saw you decked out in such attention-grabbing makeup and clothes.

There was no doubt about it, you looked great.

But what was it about your look that was so appealing? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Simeon does some research on the side to understand goth culture.

He finds it much easier to bond with you after knowing why you wear the makeup that you do and the customs surrounding it.

As an angel, he should have been put off by the fact that you were drawn to darker-themed ideas.

But, Simeon secretly had an inner desire to try some darker things himself.

He’s lived his whole life as an angel - don’t judge him.

This inner desire is what drove him to ask you to do his makeup. He just wanted to see what he looked like with it on. For research purposes.

Luke ended up catching the two of you and nearly had a meltdown. So, Simeon didn’t dare try it again.

But you did inspire his main character for his new book.

Being a fellow human, Solomon knows all about the goth trend.

So, there’s no need to have to sit him down and explain it to him.

That being said, you are the first person he had seen execute the look so perfectly and he can’t help but admire you.

How do you manage to get your makeup to look so perfectly? And do you make your own clothes or do you buy them online? Surely you can’t find some of the items you wear at the regular outlet store.

Oh, you want him to try the look out? He couldn’t possibly do that…he says as he’s handing you the eyeliner.

Solomon pulls off the look very well and you have him questioning himself. Why hadn’t he ever thought to try this out?

Solomon will use his new look to prank the brothers with you - especially Mammon.

They don’t quite understand the goth culture so he’ll make it a point to go out of his way to make them think it’s so much more sinister than it is.

“Mammon, let us drink your blood, won’t you?” The white-hair demon ran faster than when he was running from Lucifer.

“Satan, I think I’m having an allergic reaction to the garlic you put in this meal.” The fourth-born laughs it off until you both start hyperventilating.

Then he’s freaking out and looking for a cure until you and Solomon burst out laughing. Not funny.

Solomon would 100% be your partner in crime.

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

I know I've talked about how Mihawk sews and embroiders, and probably was already making/embellishing his clothes since his first appearance, (roger's execution pink tulip patches my belove-eds) but I'd like to emphasize that this man is 100% his own combination tailor/milliner/cobbler. He sews his clothes and makes his hats and there's whole 50s housewife-esque sewing room in his castle. Those v-notch-waistband pants are a perfected pattern and you know it. Whenever he meets up with Shanks he spends 30% of their time together fighting and the other 70% darning Shanks' shirts. He handmade Perona's glow-up fit because nothing hit right for her at the local op hot topic. Definitely monograms his towels. Gets bored in the Cross Guild one day and spends the better part of a week hemming Crocodile's pants and letting out his waistcoats. Keeps a needle and thread pinned inside his coat. Bills the WG for "upkeep expenses" when he decides to go ham on the latest silk exports.

[kisses4tom]

PT 2 OF TOM AS A DAD PLSSS

ᡣ𐭩 DAD TOM part 2!

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HEYY OFCC 🤭 SO MANY PPL ARE REQUESTING THIS ACTUALLY!! 😭 here is part 1

To be quite honest with you guys, I don't really know what else to add 😭, but I'll figure it out and make something up along the way! 💕

I hope it lives up to your expectations because, I will not lie, I ran out of ideas for a few of them 😭 yet I hope you like it either way! 🫶🏻

I also mixed various topics and scenarios for a little more inclusivity! especially because I made a lot of these hcs for a teen daughter

Obviously Tom is gonna be a girl dad 'cause what else would he beeeee 🤭🥹

───────────────

he would keep almost every drawing she's made throughout the years

HE WOULD LEND HER HIS YELLOW DOG PLUSHIE‼️‼️

when she's older he would love to get matching tattoos if she wants, but he's definitely getting one dedicated to her (did y'all know Bill and Tom have a matching tattoo with Leni? 👀)

definitely making her a photo album

if anybody says that the baby looks more like him than her mother he would act so proud istg

"Yeah, Y/n's genes said BYE!"

he would become her personal Instagram photographer

whenever his daughter brings a boy home he would be so sus of him and maybe even tell them to keep the door open 💀

DAD REFLEXES 🤭🤭‼️ so hot istg

he would get dragged into tiktoks and learn some dances together 😭

when the baby was younger, her mama would surprise Tom with matching fits and he would be sooo gitty and happy

always keeping an eye out for her in public

if he's talking to some people and he hears the smallest noise coming from his daughter, he would immidiately put everything on pause and make sure she's okay (if that makes sense idk) or he would turn to look at her

he would try to attend as many school/dance recitals as possible, but with work it's a little hard for him to find time (at times)

is she plays a sport he would cheer the loudest for her

if she ever comes out as an lgbtq+ member, he would be very supportive and just act casual after her confession

when the baby was just born and he had skin-to-skin contact with her for the first time, he got emotional

he would wake up in the middle of the night and feed her himself so you could rest (currently in between tears)

the band is OBSESSED with that child and always play with her whenever they have a chance

Tom knows he can rely on them as babysitters

why do I feel like him and Bill would FIGHT to choose who holds her

"Tom you always have her come onnn let me have her this timeee"

he's so protective of that child

when she first started walking he’d kneel down and open his arms towards her

he would also scoot back so she could walk more and then let her fall in his arms (imagine him picking her up and kissing her cheek after 😭)

istg he would bring that child everywhere (especially when she's older)

he would make sure to dedicate her an episode/scene on Kaulitz & Kaulitz where he talks about fatherhood and his story

he's veeery supportive of everything she does

whenever he's live on Instagram or TikTok with the band he would call his daughter over and prank her with filters or something like that

he loves dressing her up, but hates changing her diaper

he usually doesn't enjoy shopping, but he would bring her everywhere and spend time together

he's such a quality time dad

when texting, he would send pictures of his honest reaction LMFAO😭

he would make sure his and Gustav's daughter are like little cousins (spoiler alert: they are)

his daughter will grow up with "do you need a stepmom by any chance?" questions 😻

if Tom and the baby's mom broke up, co-parenting would be pretty hard on him, as he loves that child so much it hurts him to know he can't see her for some time

he would probably bring her to some meet and greets with fans (both now and back in the day)

fans would give him so many gifts for her

sometimes he gets emotional knowing she won't stay a baby forever, but he's still very excited to know her character and mess with her more

when she was a baby, at the beach he would dip her feet in the water

when she's older he would splash the hell out of her and push her in the water

if you have more ideas leave them in the comments so I can add them! 🤭

[abyssalzones]

C-PTSD as a diagnosis makes so much sense for Ford because he really does fit almost all of the criteria, ESPECIALLY if you take the stuff in J3 into account in conjunction with his traumatic childhood (bullying, bad dad, etc.). It just makes sense in regards to his motivations and his issues with interpersonal relationships (like with Stan). Also buring yourself in your work (like he does) is a very common 'flight' coping mechanism to trauma in adults

I'm smiling like this right now

ford's whole.... mental health deal is extremely interesting to examine because Oh my god this man is the textbook image for "reacting to ongoing, continuous trauma". intentional or otherwise (I'm inclined to believe it's both).

like. okay hang on I'm about to get very in depth with it

I feel like there's no way this entire guy's life and in some ways his lasting identity haven't been defined by and constructed around various forms of trauma, maybe the most obvious and true-to-canon-intent being peer abuse/bullying from childhood. a lot of people downplay the impact of this type of abuse but it's... responsible for a lot of social ills in shocking ways. (if you're more interested in this topic here is an article my friend mer linked me a while back, it gets into it very deeply)

(a lot of this is going to be sourced from the wikipedia page for CPTSD [and my own experience Living with it] which I realize isn't very professional of me but Whatever this is tumblr)

one of the core tenets of ford's personality is that he's Different. he owns it, sure- his six fingers become a point of pride rather than something to be ashamed of- but they make it extremely clear that from a young age he associated being different with being a social pariah. ford's generation was characterized by notoriously cruel bullying, and anything that remotely made you stand out rendered you a target. ford could've been bullied for being nerdy and jewish (and failing to perform socially, ie dating) alone, having such an obvious mutation definitely was not winning him any points.

so it's honestly no surprise, when from childhood ford feels like he has One person in the world to trust and confide in, that he would go on to form very unhealthy attachment patterns typical of CPTSD. as you elaborated on regarding AvPD (which I know far less about but seems to have comorbidity with CPTSD): if you're hard-wired to believe socializing with others results in failure or betrayal, then you're not going to make an effort. but what does end up happening is that you're going to pour all of your trust and dependency into one person at a time, one person who is "safe".

previously, that was his brother. and it's not really hard to draw the conclusion from there that fiddleford was a subject of ford's attachment style, considering he was his One friend from college, and... one of Maybe two people ford is friends with at all who he isn't related to. he cites him as the only person he can possibly trust to work on the portal project alongside him, and he still can't bring himself to tell him the full truth, because he's terrified of losing him. I love their dynamic (I do think they were mutual best friends, and there was no small amount of trust reciprocated between them. "fiddleford was weird as hell too" is something I keep coming back to) and I don't think it's built on entirely unhealthy terms, but that kind of pressure is... setting things up to crash and burn.

enter bill stage left. back to "continuous yearning to be liked and accepted"- this guy knew that and made every effort to prey on ford's insecurities to reel him in as close as possible. this is what really pisses me off about the idea that bill was just "inflating ford's ego", because it's way, way more insidious than that. throughout the entirety of journal 3 we see ford reintroduce someone to his life he has a very positive relationship with (fiddleford) and how that trust gets gradually broken down by bill's influence "winning out" over their friendship. I think it's safe to say ford was already vulnerable: from the start, he'd been isolated in his research for six years (and it's unclear for how long he'd known bill by 1982), and bill proved time and time again to be someone who wouldn't judge him, someone who would praise him for his hard work, and perhaps most critically, make him feel like being different was something special.

like that's... that's really not good!!!! and that kind of thing works wonders on someone who has already settled with the idea that they're inclined to be alone just by design.

trying to put a cap on this. in relationships like the one he's had with his brother or fiddleford it doesn't even necessarily have to be ""toxic"" (vague term anyway) or outwardly bad to be built on unhealthy attachment patterns, and considering for a good chunk of ford's life his attachment to others can be characterized as "I can only trust ONE person at a time" it feels essential to any discussion of his CPTSD or canon trust issues. That is something that happens a lot in Real cases of CPTSD (hi) and only further snowballs into More trauma by leaving you vulnerable to manipulation and abuse (see: bill.)

I've been going on for way too long now and I feel like I've only scratched the surface of the thing I wanted to elaborate on sorry. that post traumatic stress disorder can complex

[raccoonhusband]

Theory: Bill Cipher probably ate his Parallel Dimension Twin

Or should I have done an Earl of Lemongrab meme? Okay, jokes and japes aside I feel this has some real merit behind it, that I'll leave under the cut.

---

There's a lot of good ideas going around with how exactly Bill destroyed his dimension, but my personal pet theory is that he made contact with his parallel universe twin. Specifically, he consumed him. The evidence of what can happen when parallel universe copies make contact with each other is described in journal 3 by Alternate McGucket:

"As soon as they touched hands, the entire dimension began to warp and fizz with static ... In fact, that whole dimension has ceased to exist."

Time and time again, Bill is associated with static. In his "blood", attempts by the government to vivisect him, his memories of the event, his therapy notes, and depictions of his parents.

We know his goal with what ended up becoming the Euclydian Massacre was to "show everyone what they were missing," and it was enough to destabilize and destroy everything.

How'd he pull it off? I'm thinking he built a dimensional portal of his own, but honestly in this show anthyding can hadplen. It would definitely explain where the portal idea came from in the first place.

But why do I think he consumed his twin? It's all these very suspicious comments he keeps making to Ford specifically...

"How about that; you've got an inferior clone! Why didn't you just eat him in the womb? Think of how powerful you'd be!" "You can't just eat your twin, Bill." "You'd be surprised what you can eat."

And in the microscopically rare moment of honesty where he admits to himself that he's a monster, even if Ford isn't aware Bill's talking about himself yet, he follows up Ford's offer for revenge with, "It would eat you alive." You'd be surprised what you can eat.

And it's not like he hasn't consumed others after, as the page in the Book of Bill on the topic of Human skin, there's a desperate note at the bottom from a Grembley Hemberdrek of Zimtrex 9, who Bill devoured trillions of years ago and who's soul has been trapped inside forever after, tortured with "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch on an endless loop. Who's to say his parallel twin isn't in there too?

It's very possible that his ultimate goal, aside from getting revenge, opening his world's eyes to the third dimension, and the sweet sweet high of proving everyone wrong was ultimately to find a better world, consume his "inferior twin" and take over his identity in his dimension. Thematically, it would also cement his status as Stanley's dark foil, who also took over and stole his twin's identity leading to a better life, albeit for much nobler reasons.

Additionally, on top of the practical reasons for taking over Earth, choosing Ford had that bonus that he wouldn't be alone by molding Ford in his image. It's why he kept giving him so many chances to join him. By setting him up to destroy his world, betray his twin, and become monsters together, he'd finally have a companion who's exactly like him. Only fitting for the Multiverse's ultimate narcissist, isn't it?

Anyway, if you read this far, thanks! This is only a theory and tbh I'm probably going to be proven wrong in time but hey!

[butcherlarry]

Butcher Larry's thought and feelings about birds, Batfam, Batman, and Superman

I originally made this for the Superbat Week 2024 server when @blorb-el asked me for my thoughts on this topic, and I thought I would clean them up a bit more and post on Tumblr too :) Most of my bird thoughts are based off of birds you see in the Midwest United States because that's where I grew up (Ohio) and currently live (Kansas). I'll also post pictures of the birds too, with some of the pictures being pictures that I have taken myself (I took up birding a few years ago and it's been a nice hobby to get into).

Batfam and Batman:

When it comes to wing/bird head canons for wing fics, my most firm one is for Dick. That guy would definitely have swallow wings! If you have ever seen those birds fly around, you would get what I mean. They are so agile in the air! They are constantly moving and can make crazy fast turns! That just screams Dick to me. As for what kind of swallow, there are three that I'm familiar with (northern rough wing, barn, and tree) and of those three, I'm leaning towards tree swallows. They have a beautiful blue color along their back, and it's just so shiny and metallic. It gives me the the flashy bright blue vibes of the Nightwing suit. I could also see and argument for the barn swallow, because those guys have the flashy blue color, along with a bit of rusty red under the chin. And the tails! they have a neat forked tail. Again, flashy and cool, just like the Nightwing suit.

Pictures of the birds below! On the left is the tree swallow and the right is a barn swallow. These are also pictures I have taken :)

For the other bat kids, that's kinda based on vibes for me. For Jason, I can see a blue jay. Those are corvids, so they are very smart. You also see them bully other birds around, so that might play into that sibling rivalry between the bat kids. I have also seen them gang up on larger birds, like red shouldered hawks, and mob them until they go away. This is funny to me, especially if you head canon Bruce with large bird of prey wings. If you want to go in a silly bird head canon for Jason (which is how my brain is hard wired anyway), then he could also be the ivory billed woodpecker. They are an extinct woodpecker that people in the US argue about if they are even actually extinct. Some bird Facebook groups (and other online bird forums) have rules saying people can't talk about them or else the page will descend into chaos of people arguing about the evidence of whether or not these birds are extinct. Pictures of "evidence" will sometimes circulate on the web as "proof" that they are still out there, kind of like when people post blurry pictures of evidence of Big Foot. I think that fits Jason's vibe perfectly, especially post Lazarus pit :)

A blue jay! These are pictures I have taken.

Ivory billed woodpeckers. This is not a picture I have taken, lol. The link leads you to Cornell Lab All About Birds page about them.

For Tim, there are a few I like: cardinal, red-winged blackbird, and tufted titmouse. I've seen the art of Tim's costume in The Boy Wonder comic by Juni Ba, and it reminds me of a cardinal or red-winged blackbird. The coloring is pretty similar too. What I like about cardinals is that the males look like they are wearing a black mask, kinda like the domino masks that the bat kids wear. They also have a bright red tuft of feathers that they can extend up or lay flat. That might be a cool aspect to integrate into costume design! As for the red-winged blackbird, I think it's neat how they fly. I usually see them around bodies of water, and I find it fascinating to see them glide from one end to the other of a pond. When they are catching bugs to eat, they kind of just hover over where they see the bugs and catch them out of midair. I feel like that would be perfect for when Tim is patrolling Gotham, gliding from building to building, and hovering over goons to drop in and kick. The last bird, the tufted titmouse, is just because of vibes. I think they are cute, but when you look into their eyes, they are full of thoughts of malice, murder, and where to hide a body. Idk, that kid gives me the same vibes too sometimes, and I love that for him.

A male northern cardinal, a male red-winged black bird, and a tufted titmouse. These are pictures I have taken.

For Damian, black-capped chickadee. They are just little guys! So cute and so tiny! And they look like they are wearing a mask! And did I mention they are cute and tiny and flitter around from one spot to the next?? So cute! So tiny! And also full of the same vibes MURDER and MALICE as the tufted titmouse! But so cute and tiny! I just really like chickadees, ok? Damian could also be the young version of whatever Bruce is, since he is Bruce's biological child. I don't like this as much, because while Damian is Bruce's biological kid, he's also his own person! He deserves to be a murderous little chickadee!

Black-capped chickadee. I just really love how roumb and poofy the one guy is in the photo on the right. Again, these are photos I have taken.

For Duke, I'm not as familiar with him. If I had to pick off of looks and vibes alone, maybe a cedar waxwing or an American goldfinch. I LOVE the look of cedar waxwings. They also have tuft on their head and an amazing black bar that goes across their eyes, making it look like they are wearing a mask. When I've seen them, it's usually been in large groups, and if I remember correctly, Duke helped lead a group a vigilantes called "We Are Robin," so I can't help but make the association of those two groups of birds (lol). The cedar waxwing also has yellow in their plumage, which I tie back to yellow in Duke's costume.

American goldfinches are pretty straight forward. The males are a bright yellow in the warmer months, and have black wings and a black cap. Visually, this reminds me of Duke's costume. Fun fact! The American goldfinch is also the state bird of New Jersey, which is the state that Gotham is commonly located in the DC universe :)

The first two pictures are of cedar waxwings. They are borbing it up in the picture where they are eating berries because it was cold as balls that day. The picture below the cedar waxwings is of a male American goldfinch. These are pictures that I have taken.

That takes care of the bat boys, now on to the bat girls!

For Cass, I like an owl for her. They are so quiet when flying, and that would be perfect for when she's sneaking around. As for type of owl, maybe a screech owl? They are a smaller owl species, so I figure that would help her be extra sneaky. Also, looking at pictures of the gray morph of the eastern screech owl, they blend in so well to their surroundings, especially when sitting in a tree, I feel like that would just add to Cass's ability to blend in with her surroundings. I also think they look super cute with their big ol' eyes :)

An eastern screech owl. This is not a picture I have taken, I pulled it from Cornell Lab All About Birds page on the eastern screech owl. I included a link to the page as well.

For Stephanie, a finch! Specifically, a purple finch! I'm pretty sure these guys will gang up on larger birds of prey to chase them away, and just like with Jason, I love the thought of her bullying large birb Bruce around. The males are the one's that have that purple coloring, but I'm going to ignore that. Because these are my head canons and I can do what I want.

A purple finch! You normally see these guys in the colder months. This is a picture I have taken.

And for Barbara, I was thinking a small bird of prey (hehehehe), like a kestrel or a merlin. Since they are falcons, they have pretty good eyesight, which I think goes well with Barbara being oracle, being able so see everything and keeping a watch on the other Bats.

The American kestrel (left) and merlin (right). Links to Cornell Lab All About Birds pages are linked, and the below pictures are pulled from those pages as well.

All right, it's time to go on to the big guy himself, Bruce. I LOVE the idea of him being a swan! I saw a picture of a swan carrying all its cygnets (babies) on its back and had the thought of swan Bruce carrying all his children around on his back. I love dad Bruce (especially good dad Bruce) and will not apologize. I think it would play well into his Brucie-sona as well. Look at the beautiful swan! So lovely! So beautiful! No way that guy is Batman! Also, swans are protective of their young and the males will sometimes attack people who get to close to their families and/or territory. Again, perfect for dad Bruce! Perfect for Batman too, who is very protective of his beloved city.

A swan! Specifically, a trumpeter swan (left, picture pulled from Cornell Lab All About Birds). The picture on the right is what I'm imaging Bruce doing with all his children. That's a different species of swan though (that picture was taken in the UK).

But wait! How does he go around Batmanning then??? I've thought about this for a while and think it would be neat if he had some kind of armor and feather attachments for his suit. If you look at bird wings, they all have different shapes due to how that bird will be using them to fly. I can see Bruce working on some wing armor in his cave to change their shape and maybe add in some artificial feathers as well to make his flying more silent. If I remember correctly, owls have special feathers that help them be more quiet? I can see bird Bruce messing around in his cave to make something similar to attach to his wings to help be more sneaky. I can also see him adding in some extra armor to his wings and using them as an extension of his body to fight bad guys. I remember watching a play through of Dad of War God of War where Kratos and Atreus fight some Valkyries and those fights live rent free in my mind. It looks like there are knives and other heavy pieces of armor attached to their wings that they use to beat up Kratos and Atreus, as well as stabbing the shit out of them too. The fights look like a bitch to win. I can totally see Bruce having something similar too, especially since he tends to be more of a brawler in fights (I can see Jason having something like this too).

Link to video of God of War Valkyrie boss fight

Clark, Kents, Kon, and Lex:

Alright. Clark is an alien. I don't think he would have wings of any bird found here on Earth. In fact, I would love to see him have A BUNCH of wings, kinda like a cherubium (4) or seraphim (6) or MORE!!! He can fly so good with all those wings. He is the best at flying EVER! The only problem would be Clark hiding all those wings when he's not being Superman. That might be why he wears the oversized suits and cloths, to hide them.

OR, Clark doesn't have any wings because he's an alien! He can fly without them, which makes Superman a bit eerie to everyone else on Earth who has wings (some hate this more than others, LEX). As an explanation to why totally normal human Clark doesn't have wings, maybe the Kents came up with the excuse of farm accident? Such as, he went through a baler as a kid (like my great grandpa! But he was an adult.) and that damaged Clark's wings so either doesn't have them or has some kind of prosthetics instead (it doesn't have farm accident, it could be sickness as a kid or something. Farm accident was the first to come to mind for me).

For the Kents, mourning doves! I love those guys, they are so gosh darn cute! And they mate for life 💖

Mourning doves! I took the picture on the left in the winter when it was cold as balls outside. The doves were making excellent shapes that day. I took the one on the right last week when it was warmer.

For Kon, I think I think he would either inherit Clark's multiple wing trait, but probably not have as many (he is also so, so good at flying). Or if you go in the direction of Clark having no wings, Kon would still have wings because he inherited them from Lex. He would have turkey vulture wings because Lex has turkey vulture wings. Lex says they are not turkey vulture wings, they are bearded vulture wings, because bearded vultures are cool as FUCK and eat BONES. Lex is lying. They are turkey vulture wings :)

The turkey vulture! Link is the Cornell Lab All About Birds page of the turkey vulture, and the pictures are pulled from there as well. I don't know why Lex denies that he's a turkey vulture. They are cool too, why you gotta be such a hater 😔

The bearded vulture, the bird that Lex says he is, but don't listen to him because he's lying. The link leads you to the eBird page of the bird.

Anyway, these are my many many thoughts on birds, the Batfam, Batman, and Superman. I hope you all enjoyed them! And please let me know any thoughts you have on this topic! I would love to hear them as well :)

(if you liked my bird pictures, there are more over at my bird blog, balcony birds)

[phoenixyfriend]

Ko-Fi prompt from Anonymous Supporter:

For the Econ Topic, an analysis on a society that has magic and fantasy races would be nice. Or maybe how a guild of Thieves or Assassins would work in either real life, fantasy or sci-fi setting.

The former is far too varied and complicated a topic to fit into 500 words, but I can definitely make the latter work... by explaining what the fuck a guild is.

These days, the words guild and union are used more or less interchangeably, and they do admittedly have some overlap in modern capitalist society. In the historic Europe that many of these settings are inspired by, the word guild had a more specific meaning.

Let's unpack some of what the economic structure is in these settings.

Large, overarching companies engaging in multinational work are rare in those historic settings. You have some trading/merchant organizations (e.g. the Dutch East India Company) that fit that bill, work that couldn't be performed without a large, existing structure to back it (e.g. mining), and domestic agricultural lordship (you know, feudalism).

For the rest of the economy, though, you have small businesses. Technology isn't at such a point that something bigger can be done. Factories aren't a thing until the industrial revolution, but we do have division of labor, so there are people who specialize in baking, or weaving, or shoemaking, or pottery.

Many of these professions require years of training, from apprenticeship to journeyperson to mastery. Trade secrets are a big deal, you marry off your daughter to your apprentice to secure the line and prevent competition, and you try not to give up those secrets because if you do, what's to keep your lord and other rich folk from taking advantage of you, and paying you less than your worth?

That's where the guild comes in.

No matter how good you are at keeping secrets, the competition does exist. You cannot be the only baker, dressmaker, shoemaker, bricklayer, carpenter in town, unless your town is very small indeed.

Price competition isn't a great idea when profit margins are already low, and you are a small business that doesn't have the diversification or coffers to take the hit for a few weeks. If your lord tries to force you to sell low, you can't just refuse him! He's the one that pays whoever uses the swords!

If only you and all the other trained professionals in your industry could hold together and tell him, "Yeah, that's as low as the price can go. You are paying for the bare minimum of materials and labor with that. So sorry, can't go lower without taking an actual loss, and everyone else will tell you the same thing."

Joining a guild was often the only way to perform that craft or service in a given city. This prevented untrained, untested individuals from trying to peddle something that wasn't up to standard, but also acted as a form of gatekeeping that could prevent the market from becoming oversaturated with competition. The formation of a guild was often related to, or even reliant on, approval from local government or a monarch.

Guilds did absolutely have negative impacts, by the way, often through market manipulation and rent-seeking behaviors. They stifled innovation, gatekept skills, and were capable of price-gouging and price-fixing beyond the basic "this is how we keep from getting screwed over by the rich guys." While the guilds themselves were arguably intended to ensure minimum standards and protect against wealthy clientele, they were just as prone to stagnation and greed as any organization.

The guild differs from the unions in that the guild is for trained professionals that, by and large, own their business to some degree. The unions, meanwhile, are for laborers who work for someone else, and formalized labor unions only began in the mid-18th century, while trade guilds, or something like them, date back over four thousand years.

Remember how I said that factories as we know them, and that whole Big International Company format, didn't really start being a thing until the Industrial Revolution? You know how the Industrial Revolution started in the mid-18th century?

We now see the connection.

So, what does a guild of thieves or assassins mean, at its core?

Well, they have to be doing this professionally. Someone who's just killing for the fun of it isn't a professional assassin, being paid by other people for it, just like how the baker's guild isn't going to care overly much for the farmer's wife making her own bread for dinner. Thievery is a bit less obvious in terms of 'what counts as professional.' Does the person who picks pockets to pay their rent qualify as professional? Or just the ones who steal on behalf of someone else? What about burglars?

So part of what you'd need to untangle is what qualifies as professional for the thieves themselves.

Then, given that these are generally illegal acts in the first place, what purpose does the guild serve? Is the guild supported by the crown as a form of control over theft and assassination in the first place, like privateering? Does the guild institute rules on who can be stolen from, whether or not it's within guild rules to kill individuals of certain ages or genders or classes? What punishments does the guild implement on those who violate those rules?

If the crown allows the assassin's guild so long as members of the royal family are not targeted, is there a rule that any client who requests the assassination of a monarch must be reported, or killed on the spot? What government fees does the guild have to pay in order to exist? If they exist as an underground, unofficial group that is not affiliated with the government, how do they deal with the government? How do they hide? Do they dictate pricing? Do they pay off cops to stay under the radar? How do they advertise their services without getting found out?

For the thieves guild, it's even more wiggly. Who qualifies as a professional? Is it the pickpockets, the cat burglars, the people who climb into dragon's caves to locate ancient treasure and get out unseen? Is there a minimum yearly income threshold? How is that calculated? What about membership fees? Is membership singular, or can it be done as a couple, a team, a family? Are there groups that are off limits? Maybe there are two thieves guilds, one for those who can be Hired By Adventurers, acknowledged by the crown, and a second for those who work in the seedy underground away from official oversight.

There really is no one way for this to play out, and will probably vary from town to town or planet to planet in-story, but hopefully I've given you the framework to build up the various guilds you need for your story!

(Prompt me on ko-fi!)

[ahgasegotarmy116]

Semantic Error | A Jeon Jungkook Series | Chapter 1

Based off of Semantic Error (bl) by J Soori Summary: y/n is a Computer Science major that definitely fits the bill. Some call her a robot since she seems to have zero emotions or empathy for the people around her and only cares about finishing her degree. What happens when she prevents Jungkook, a Visual Arts major from graduating and finds herself in need of his help? Pairing: Techie inexperienced fem!reader x Artist fuck boy Jungkook Word count: 1.6k~ Warnings: Explicit language, corruption kink, smut, angst, trauma, idk I suck at writing warnings.

A/N: I'm planning on making this a shorter series so let me know if you're enjoying the story and I'll make it a little longer. This is heavily based off of the original bl (boy love) first chapter because I wanted to get the basic plot set up correctly but I will be changing things here and there (for example this is a straight version with a female reader). If you don't mind spoilers I would highly suggest reading the original story. I read it on the app Manta with the english adaptation being done by Angy and you can also find the kdrama on Viki :)

Walking up to the podium it doesn't surprise me to see that half of my group members aren't even in class. I look over at my professor and see the puzzled look on his face, clearly confused as to why I'm the lone presenter but I give him a nod anyway and start the presentation.

Scanning the room I see how most of the students are already asleep or aren't even bothering to try paying attention and to be honest it makes my job a bit easier, not having to deal with any nerves that might arise from public speech but if I'm honest it doesn't really bother me much.

I've heard my classmates refer to me as a robot or a walking computer simply because I speak in a monotone voice and I don't bother wasting emotions on those that I deem unimportant.

Some might call me stuck up but in reality I have no intention of making friends in this educational institution. I'm here to get my degree and hopefully never have to deal with anymore of these freeloaders that the bother labeling as students.

After my presentation is finished our professor wraps up the class rather quickly to everyone’s delight and soon sends us all on our way, except for me.

"y/n can I talk to you for a second?" he asks and I make my way over to his desk after having gathered my belongings. "I wanted to speak to you about your presentation" he starts off, showing his slight discomfort in discussing the topic.

"Was there something wrong with it?" I question not sure what might've gone wrong.

"Oh no the presentation was fine, in fact it was excellent but I noticed that your name was the only one included on the presentation as well as the fact that you gave the presentation solo. Did your group members not contribute to the project?" he asks curious as to how this whole situation all went down.

"No they did not" I say plainly giving him the bare minimum.

"Do you think you could explain the situation to me?" 

I explain not only the lack of participation but also the pitiful excuses they gave me to somehow compensate for their lack of effort.

"One of them told me about the passing of their great aunt so I was aware that he wouldn't be giving the presentation but what happened to the other two?" he prods further pinching the bridge of his nose.

"One of the others didn't send me their research on the agreed upon deadline last night so I had to write their part as well as take care of the tasks I had delegated to myself" I explain. 

"And the other?" he asks finally understanding the situation that I had been left in.

"He didn't bother showing up to any of the planned out meetings we set up" I say hoping that I can go now.

"I see that he's a graduating senior this year. He had told me that he had some sort of ceremony to attend to over seas but I see that he had attended all but the last two classes so his attendance hasn't been much of a problem. Don't you think it's a bit harsh to leave his name out of the presentation completely?" he questions hoping to level with me. 

"No, not at all. If he had shown up and contributed to the project in the slightest then maybe but he didn't lift a finger. I understand why he missed the classes but expecting someone else to do the project that he was assigned was negligent on his part so I do not see any reason as to why he should be given credit for it" I finish hoping he'll understand my point of view.

"Okay, thank you for taking the time to explain it to me, you can go now" he says dismissing me.

"Okay" I say and give him a shallow bow before making my way out of the building.

~~~~~

When the day that final grades rolls around I'm hit with a bunch of texts and calls from the free riders that no doubt failed the class because of the executive decision I had made.

I go through and block the three of them before going on my way since I won't be needing any sort of contact after this train wreck of an ordeal. As I make my way to the PC cafe I frequent I hear talks of a story that sounds very familiar.

"I guess Jungkook can't graduate because someone snitched on him for faking attendance and they also took his name off of their final project" one guy says.

"Wasn't he supposed to go study abroad this summer?" a girl chimes in.

"Well I guess he's screwed now. I don't think a program like that wants to take on a slacker like him" another guy says, openly bashing him.

"Yeah he said he's gonna kill the person that did that but he never bothered learning their name. He tried to find them but no one knows who they are" the first guy says.

"What's their major?" the girl says hoping to see if she could help find them. "Something along the lines of computer engineering".

I shiver at the thought, 'I think I pissed off the wrong guy. I guess all I can do is avoid anyone by the name of Jungkook and fly under the radar. Considering that I always do I don't that'll be much of a problem.

I log into the same computer I use day in and day out with the intention of relaxing for a bit but I'm interrupted by a text that I had thought I had been waiting for for the past few days. 

'Hey y/n it's Hana, I got an internship for the summer and it looks like I'm going to be pretty busy with it so I don't think I'll be able to help you with the gaming application you are trying to develop. But on the plus side I do have a friend that has some free time this summer and I told him about it and he said he would be interested in taking it over for me'

'Oh okay that's too bad, I really liked your art style' I say selfishly wishing she would make time for it.

'Oh he's a lot better than me and I feel like he can definitely do your game a lot more justice than I can :)'

'Oh okay do you think you could give me their number at least?' I ask hoping I can establish contact as soon as possible. 

'I don't have his number since I ended up breaking my phone and lost all of my contacts but I told him the time and place we were planning on meeting so he'll meet you there. His name is JK'

I thank her for putting in the effort to find a replacement and close out our conversation.

Leaning back in my chair and taking off my glasses I'm left feeling stressed at the uncertainty of how this project is going to progress but I just hope that whoever she's sent as a substitute is able to work on this as efficiently as I know she would've been able to.

She was kind of slow at responding and making time for this but when she had the time she would really put her all into it, really making up for lost time.

I take a deep breath to release some of the tension I can feel building and decide to head back to my place to formulate a new plan of action and prepare a new proposal. 

~~~~

Sitting in the little study room I had reserved in the library for the day this JK guy and I are supposed to meet I find myself checking the clock, watching and waiting for his arrival.

'He's late. It's four fifteen and I explicitly explained to Hana what time we would be meeting here. I could always count on her to be a few minutes late but so much for good first impressions with this new guy. Maybe I'll give him a few more minutes. He could've gotten the address wrong or maybe he got lost and is just trying to find the right room.'

Another fifteen minutes goes by and I can clearly tell I’m losing my patience.

'How could someone be this late? What if he changed his mind and Hana just couldn't bring herself to tell me? Or maybe he just blowed both of us off because he didn't really want to do it in the first place? Whatever, I'll give him a few more minutes and then I'm leaving' I wait for about five more minutes until I finally can't take it anymore 

"This is ridiculous, I'm just waisting my time at this point" I say out loud mentally exhausted from having to wait this long, not even caring if he were to show up now.

I gather up my belongings but as soon as I reach for the door handle to leave it swings open and almost hits me in the face. I step back just in time to be met with a wall of muscle barging into the room without regard for anyone else and look up to see a man two heads taller than me looking down on me.

"You're the designer?" I ask hoping that I've made the correct assumption. 

"Oh um yeah" he says as he continues to keep eye contact, almost studying me.

'Yeah?' 'That's all I get? Showing up this late and I don't even get a sorry? Who does this guy think he is?' I think to myself fuming even more from seeing the stupid look on his face. Little did I know just how much this little 'arrangement' was going to mess up the rest of my life.

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[somethinabouttwistedwonderland]

hi! hru? i'd like to request a twst matchup if it's possible!!

i am an entp 7w6, i'm often described as an eccentric, humorous, and a carefree person (it's just that i don't use my braincells that much)

i'm usually friendly, but you can get a reaction from me easily and i'll get into bickerings (i'll forget it off after 5mins in total)

my ass is quite guillble which makes me a perfect target when they lie for fun

i have a bad habit of procrastrating important matters and hanging around instead until there's no time left- i can be dense too

i'm a bit careless about myself which makes me get scolded often

so i think it'd be nice to have someone who'd put up with me-

when people around me say that they weren't in a good mood but it has gotten better because of me, like i did??? but that's the benefit from being the clown friend i see

i'm addicted to carbonated drinks

nature outings are my breather, especially if animals were in there

if someone gifts me food, i'll pledge my allegiance to them/srs

zoology is my fav topic!! especially penguins, i could blabber about them forever

my love language is quality time and sending u shitposts at 3am

i also like to gift them items that remind me of them

i am not used to affection that much (especially in words) so it always opens soft spots in me when they do yhat-

i like puns

ty!! i hope its not too long

I match you with....

ACE TRAPPOLA

This one seemed like you'd need someone who matches your energy, and Ace definitely fits the bill.

Ace is a prankster, a troublemaker, and all around a fun guy to be around, but if you don't keep up with his energy, he'll probably get bored. However, not to worry! Your gullible self will never bore him, finding it funny to play pranks.

Ace has had a girlfriend before, so he knows the basics of relationships. expect to be carried for this one if you don't know anything about them.

You and Ace can get into trouble together, play pranks together, and have an all around good time pretty much all the time. That doesn't mean the less "exciting" bits aren't just as fun, however.

Sending each other memes in the middle of the night is a love language both of you have and it will last until morning if you're not careful.

A relationship with Ace will more likely be akin to a good friendship if anything, but you'll get cute comments about how bad you look (you know that he means you look good).

To Ace, the perfect partner is someone who you can laugh and cry with, someone who will stick with you through all of the hard times. So he will be like that with you, and desperately hopes the same of you.

Ace sometimes can act a bit tsundere-ish when it comes to "true love", as shown in his suitor card SSR vignette. So if you tease him, expect a rather shy reaction from him.

All in all, I matched you with Ace due to the similar chaotic energy, and being able to never bore each other with your antics.

I hope you liked your match!! Thank you for the matchup request!!

other character(s) considered: Deuce, Kalim, Jade

[freeuselandonorris]

more thoughts re rancid vibes: I've been in various fandoms for ages and can't think of any other word that captures the feeling so well for this specific genre than rancid. Like 'hurt/no comfort' doesn't do it, 'dead dove' helps people know its bad but doesn't actually tell you the content. The genre isn't new, I've read some truly epic hockey RPF that fits the bill perfectly (also a world that suits it) but never had a name for it before! More specifically about Lando, I think he tries to be a good person but I get the sense that it doesn't come naturally to him, like his first instict is to be selfish, then he tries to choose to be good. This is very intruiging to me. Does he only 'choose' that in public? What happens if he just lets his (perceived by me) nature urges go wild?

yeah you're right, i think it's almost because it's not a trope in the same way that hurt/no comfort is, and i have quite a rigid and i guess quite old school definition of dead dove which would be that it handles very taboo topics (extreme gore/violence, CSA, assault, that kinda thing), similar to the 'archive warnings may apply' category on A03, although it seems a lot of people just use it to tag anything vaguely icky these days. but yeah, rancid is a vibe so it can cover a broad spectrum of nastiness! i usually use tags like 'unbalanced power dynamics' to give people a vague hint and i guess that's the trope rather than the vibe, because you could have a fic about an unbalanced power dynamic that is the healthiest model of a relationship ever besides the power dynamic, yknow?

god i think you're fucking spot on with that assessment of lando, that he has to consciously choose to be a good person because it doesn't come naturally to him. that's so fascinating to me. and yeah, there's so much there... we see it quite often when he acts impulsively before he can make the conscious choice, but what if he just...stopped? THE POSSIBILITIES.

[sloshys]

HI I WAS THE FIRST ANON AND YOURE SO FUCKING RIGHT. GOD.

I just think that Daan has this kinda like. Need to be towered over? I think thats why he interacts with the people who are kinda cold/uncaring/powerful most. I mean. He's found himself almost in every aspect of his life in a position where someone was constantly telling him what to do, and I feel like strong characters (like O'saa or karin) kinda fill that niche of "I need someone to boss me around and tell me what to do because I've lived my life at others whims and while I can hold my own for a good bit after a while I'm not sure what to do but asking for help would be too vulnerable so having someone be a higher up towards me gives me a sense of security but i will also kinda be a little shit about it so it doesnt seem so vulnerable" and with O'saa he's super blunt. Very much "I will do things my way wether you like it or not and you will follow my lead or get out my way." and I mean, hell he was a leader! He very much outwardly has control and leadership tendencies, even if inside he doesn't feel like he can ever truly fit the bill. Which is what Daan is looking for yknow? And O'saa, i just kinda think for O'saa its one of those things of he cant for the life of him figure out why he likes him so much, but then Daan starts talking to him about scholarly topics and they have discussions of religion, medicine, science, war, and other things and theres this draw of Daan's Intellegence paired with this strange need of "i want to see him happy, because his whole life hes been miserable and part of it reminds me of me and if i cant be happy then perhaps i can make someone else happy to fill the void" (touching on the whole joking between the two) but being as O'saa has an enlightened soul, i feel like he would be incredibly interested in what Daan has to say. If the two ever got the chance i feel theyd definitely debate between eachother. Imagine that one reaction meme image of the two scholars talking to eachother. Thats them i think. I feel like the two compliment eachother but in a way of like. They fill a niche the other is searching for. Neither are good with words, much less pda, but alone? I feel like if there ever was time alone in a different time in a different place their intimacy would be intense, passionate, and wordless. Nothing would really need to be said, just intimacy, a smoke on the balcony, and dinner in a perfect world. Other people may find their relationship seemingly loveless, but they just couldn't understand the wordless display of trust, of closeness, and of tenderness. How could they? The two have only ever really been truly vulnerable with the other, and I feel if conflict was to arise, they may argue, take a heated break, and then come back with a wordless apology and cook for eachother. Acts of service, cooking, and gift giving i feel would be something that again, if given the chance, the two would indulge in regularly. I feel if O'saa was being particularly sappy he'd maybe get Daan some expensive alcohol he'd been eyeing. As for Daan, I feel he'd get O'saa a nice clothing piece the other had been admiring. But that's in a life they'd never get, I suppose... sorry for rambling in your inbox, I care for them dearly PFT

Anon rn:

BUT FR LIKE IM SOSO GLAD TO RECIEVE THIS RESPONSE BC YOU EXPLAINED SO WELL WHAT I WAS THINKING

I put my thoughts down there i hope i was able to cover everything

Im going to start off in a daan analysis tangent real quick

Daan has been neglected by his cultist parents ever since he was a baby. He probably never got the proper feeling of security or personal growth as a child because he was always living to survive. Which worsened even more after the death of his parents, and was doomed to child labour very young. Im sure he never got to properly play or express himself as a kid until he got closer to Elise. But The only thing about himself he found worth talking about were his insane cultist parents. His life at the Baron’s mansion was everything he had, as were his studies of modern medicine. That's why he feels attracted to powerful and determined people like O'saa and Karin (and Marcoh too, I believe), who seem to know exactly what their own goals are and think they still have control over what is happening. Despite trying to do things on his own, he still craves company. He also wants to protect the younger ones, like Levi and Marina, because his ass is projecting! But the sad thing is that Daan can't be too dependent on these people and doesn't want to share too much of his past with them because it's very traumatic for him.

If the discussion had taken place, I think O’saa would have been very interested in Daan and his upbringing. Daan never followed the religions and cults of Europa and is aware of their danger. He prays to Sylvian not as an act of worship but to help those who are sick. He also ran away from Pocketcat his whole life and never wanted to give himself to him until depression hit him harder than before. This makes Daan rational, smart, and inquisitive. Which seem to be attractive traits for someone who possesses an enlightened soul.

TOTALLY AGREE ALSO ABOUT THESE TWO HAVING BIG BRAINED DISCUSSIONS O'saa proves himself to be a good listener to others feelings in the booth; Daan can be a very open-minded person; and they both have similar views about the use of magic. I agree that the way they show affection is when they’re both very intimate with each other. O’saa does not trust people lightly because, in his case, his greatest fear is manipulation due to the fact that his country is being invaded and controlled by Europa's religions, wars, and cults. So he only ever relied on himself, which is why he chose to be a yellow mage. I imagine it might take a great deal of time and trust for him to share his vulnerability and feelings with Daan. But they seem to both crave social interaction since they're both lonely at heart, so there might be a chance (we’re winning, girlies!). Either way, I agree with sappy O'saa, that's such an adorable concept and somehow fitting since he finds his own jokes funny. I hc that he’s very genuine when he talks about his emotions, and no matter how embarrassing they are, he always says them with a straight face. But Daan is so sappy too. They would write each other love letters; you cannot tell me otherwise.

Also, I thought of an ending for these two surviving the festival: Daan confessing to O’saa that he doesn’t have anything that waits for him and O’saa noticing the true meaning of those words. He feels a tinge of sympathy because Daan has lost everything to war and religion, and he can't bear to see him give up after surviving the gruesome festival. So O’saa proposes to make a deal to be his personal doctor because he plans to travel dangerously, defy the authority in his country to establish his own teachings, and rise to the top. Since Daan doesn’t have anything to lose, he agrees to it. I think that it is during those travels that they will slowly fall for each other. They might also find some closure on their pasts during those trips.

[orange-orchard-system]

hi i hope this isnt weird. saw a mut rb your 'creative folk having characters talk to them' post and now im like of like. Oh.

ive had some plural friends clock me as 'vaguely plural' / had people assume i'm a system so im like. im having a 'perhaps my experiences are in fact, not universal' moment.

ive just never felt like it fits the bill for plurality, because ive always had a pretty tight grip on 'me' being the pilot / dont have altars switch out/in to talk like i see so often. its complex definitely but i guess im asking if there's any good resources for someone like me :?

(you can answer this privately or publicly, i dont mind either way)

Hi! Not weird at all. I see this somewhat often when people come to me about questioning if they're plural, and I think it comes from a lack of information about just how varied plurality can be. So, let me go over what your situation reminds me of.

Firstly, yes, there are resources for what you're talking about – and communities, too. There are plenty of systems who rarely or never switch, and they're called specutien systems and/or systems with P-DID (Partial Dissociative Identity Disorder). These systems may not experience full switches – as in, a total loss of control followed by someone else having full control – but they may experience switches where someone else has partial control, or are otherwise "close enough" to be able to communicate/affect them in some way without taking any control. These are known as co-fronting and co-consciousness respectively, and it's specifically what "talking to your characters" reminds me of.

There's also, of course, the possibility that you are experiencing full switches and are just forgetting due to amnesia, but if you don't have noticeable memory issues (noticeable by yourself or others, I should note, since the fun part of forgetting is you forget that you forgot), this probably isn't something to be too concerned about. If it is and/or you want to cover all your bases, try keeping a regular journal and see if there's any large gaps you can't explain.

Honestly, I recommend the journal for general purpose, too. It's a very useful tool for communicating, especially if you can't or don't switch; you can write down what your alters say to keep track of conversations, making sure you don't forget or mix up what was said, and use it as a sort of "evidence book" to yourself, especially if you add in other little details that support the idea that you're plural (such as, in your case, others assuming you're plural, too). Even if you've talked to your alters before, learning to talk to them as alters can be a new challenge to get used to, so try what techniques catch your eye and don't be afraid to take your time figuring yourself/ves out.

Of course, there's always the possibility that you're not plural, in the end, but hey, you're looking to learn something, ain't ya? Whether you are or aren't plural, you'll learn more about that aspect of yourself, and probably learn more about systems along the way.

To recap: specutien, P-DID, co-fronting, co-consciousness. Those are the four things I recommend you most look into, but you may find other topics or terms that you think may also fit you, so don't be afraid to explore those. Just looking up those terms on Tumblr will get you some folks talking about their own experiences, but there's also Pluralpedia as a wiki for plural terms, and at least two, maybe three, of those terms have been mentioned in academic and clinical papers about plurality, if you want to read those.

Hope this helps! Good luck figuring out yourself/ves!

[telomeke]

MY SCHOOL PRESIDENT EP.9 – A CALL FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY

(above) Ep.9 [3I4] 9.00

This little shared moment between Tinn and Gun is also MSP playing its part in Thai BL's collective support for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Thailand. The country is moving toward it, with Parliament having ratified a bill that will make this a reality, but they're not at the finish line yet and there are still hurdles to be overcome (i.e., it could still be pushed back at any time).

With this as the context, many Thai BLs recently have made it a point not just to raise awareness of the issue, but also to keep marriage equality in the forefront of public consciousness lest support for it lose momentum.

I think Not Me and The Eclipse also did this, but I'm not sure exactly in which episodes though (let me know in the notes, if you will, and also which other BLs/GLs joined the party).

I know Bad Buddy definitely did step up to the plate for this, with PatPran spotlighting the issue of LGBTQ+ marriage when they went through their Ep.10 khan maak on the steps of the Archi Faculty (and with a subtle callback too in Ep.11 – see this link here).

So this is MSP's turn at bat, and they're doing it with a sweet little flourish by the sea (maybe nodding at Thailand's popularity as a venue for beach weddings? 😉). Tinn is expressing his hope for them to marry one day, and Gun is radiant (if a little embarrassed and cheekily dismissive) at the prospect.

And in doing so they're keeping the issue alive in the public eye, while at the same time their joyful, puppydog innocence is helping to tear down stigmas and normalize what many still seek to demonize, by showing up the baselessness of othering smears on the simple issue of two people in love wanting their union to be recognized like anybody else's. 💖

A brief note on the Thai linguistics here though – Tinn IS being irredeemably cheesy, but his comment about switching from songwriting to marriage isn't quite as headslappingly klunky as the English subtitles would have us believe.

He's playing on the word แต่ง (pronounced something like dtaeng) which has several meanings, including to write/compose and to marry.

So at Ep.9 [3I4] 9.00 when Tinn talks about switching from dtaeng phlaehng (แต่งเพลง, songwriting, where phlaehng means song/music) to dtaeng ngaan (แต่งงาน, a colloquial term for getting married), his line is not quite as semantically dissonant in Thai as it is in the English subtitles (even if it is a bit corny 😂).

I think it would have been a better fit if they'd translated his comment more along the lines of "switching from writing songs to writing our marriage vows" instead. Ah well. 🤷‍♂️

Anyway, a tip of the hat again to My School President for finding a way to squeeze in a socially responsible (albeit very subtle) comment on the weighty topic of marriage equality amid all the light-hearted gamboling in this episode.

Neither the comment nor the context in which it's delivered detracts from the other. Even though they're making a political statement, there's nothing obnoxious or in your face about the delivery at all, which is the best way for a potentially-divisive message to land.

I do love this show! 😍

[roselightfairy]

8, 10 and 19 for the fic writer asks!

Oh thank you for asking! From this list of questions:

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

Whenever I've "had" to write sequels for fics, it has been entirely because I've felt internally compelled to continue the story! Which is to say that a lot of my fics, even those that were supposed to be one-offs, already have sequels! But I do have a few fics that I've long wanted to write sequels for, but the must just hasn't moved me in that direction.

Love in a Time of Politics: I loved exploring this soft no-war AU so much, and these gentler, peaceful versions of the characters and their families. I've tried a couple of times to start an epistolary sequel to this one that is Legolas and Gimli getting to know each other better, working out a betrothal, etc., but it just hasn't had the real juice to get started (and epistolary is hard for me to write). But I would love to do it someday!

Full Moon (and by extension, Words Unspoken). Words Unspoken was actually supposed to be a one-off, and then Full Moon was already the sequel-prequel that begged to be written - but I left off the ending of the fic with a bit of a tantalizing sequel hook, and one day I'd love to write it!

Muse: Oh, the sequel to Muse is the white whale I'll never really accomplish. The premise of this story is so wild and out-there that I really wanted to try writing about Legolas from LOTR learning how to adjust to a modern life, but it got angsty really fast in my head and it also just didn't quite come together. HOWEVER! Artist @theycallme-ook did make an adorable comic series follow-up that I'm digging back into and kicking my feet wildly about, that you should absolutely check out!

10. what is the longest amount of time you’ve let a draft rest before you finished it?

This is hard to say! I've had stories I've picked up in stops and starts, and I don't know how complete a draft needs to be to fit this bill, but probably the two most notable stories for this are The Better Part of Valor and Haven. The very first scene of Better Part was actually one of the first pieces of LOTR fanfic I wrote, back before I was publishing - and it sat for four years. I assumed it was unfinished forever, but I kept wishing I'd get the right click to pull it back out and finish it, and finally that came along in the summer of 2021! Haven, similarly, was a story I wrote the first scene of back in the summer of 2022, and then finally got myself together to finish two years later after a lot of fandom journeying.

It's funny, because I'm running @goodintentionswipfest right now and encouraging people to post unfinished drafts, but at the same time . . . sometimes you really do come back to those stories!

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

You know, I'm actually not sure about this one! I don't tend to do as many research deep-dives as I know some people out there do (and definitely feel a little guilty about it). I've researched some strange things from time to time, but I'll just go with a mention that my ongoing splinter sect AU has been so inspired by my graduate work in cultural studies that it now has its own accompanying "inspired by" bibliography. It's not exactly a list of references, more just theorists and work that has inspired me spiritually, but I think it's probably the most research-intensive thing I've done. Also I read Pedagogy of the Oppressed recently for the sake of inspiration for something else I'm trying to work on within that universe (but also I should have read the book long ago), so I guess that does count as research!

Thank you so much for asking these! I had a ton of fun answering them. <3 I am happy to continue answering if others feel inspired to ask from the list!

[leftdestiny-posts]

My apologies for spamming your notifs lately but I randomly thought of this after messing up an egg recipe :’3

-

Whenever the Segments get mad at Cupcakettore, they try to sabotage his desserts. Once, a Segment snuck into his kitchen after the egg whites and yolks were separated. He then proceeded to pour all of the yolks into the bowl of egg whites, thereby wasting Cupcakettore’s earlier efforts. He even went as far as to poke the yolks to thoroughly mix them.

The next day, all of the Segments were served (poisoned) scrambled eggs for breakfast.

-

Also, ten-page ramblings, you say?? I shall make more room in my brain for Cupcakettore xD

Please, never apologize for giving me notifications!! It's a joy to see asks/messages from you :DD jkafnjkfn can you imagine my joy when I got this scenario for cupcakettore from you? While it's not quite ten pages, I definitely rambled for a while,,, so beware when you read this XD (note: I went really off topic but I added a doodle to compensate ^^;; forgive me XDD)

Before I'll drop the HCs, let me adore this scenario because <3 YES!!! (I have this lemon merengue cake recipe and I ALWAYS!! :(( mess up the eggs. I feel your (and cupcakettore's) frustration...)

Cupcakettore (quite literally) doesn't fit in the way he was designed to do, and while he is part of the hivemind, the others tend to make his life miserable whenever they can (granted, that is only possible by ruining his recipes lmao, hence situations like these).

Never before did the other segments (nor Zandik himself) understand his passion for baking (likely they never will). And while cupcakettore compares the kitchen to the other's lab and baking to experiments,,, the others just don't get it.

[Okay, I'll drop some HC's before I (hopefully) cycle back again to the scenario because cupcakettore (dubbed "DOTT" for simplicity,) has lots of lore in my head jsnldg]

• He was the first segment to be considered 'successful'. However, Dott remains far from resembling Zandik, as he is closer to becoming an 'individual' instead of a segment from the past. (let me explain;)

• While Kunikuzushi was created from wood, I imagine the current segments to be made from a combination of techniques from Ei's prototype puppet + Kharnri'ahn technology/Ruin guard parts. DOTT, instead, is a result of biotechnology --- a combination of innovative technology on human evolution + Ei's techniques for creating Scaramouche.

• ALSO!!! "Water holds memories", every segment carries a vial with blue fluid which connects them to the hivemind, and in extension, Zandik. These vials hold the memories that shape them, giving them personalities, and setting their traits fixed to a segment of "Dottore's"/"Zandik's" life (a.e. one of the 'younger' segments holds Zandik's memories of the Akademiya,, another of his first years in the Fatui,,, etc!! They all know what happened in the entire timeline [from Zandik's oldest memories to his recent ones], but if they're not in the vial, they haven't 'experienced' those memories; thus it doesn't shape their personality)

• But... Dott was only a prototype,, and thus hadn't been created with the 'vial' in mind. He was shaped to be a clone of Zandik; he got the same beliefs and ideas implanted in his mind ever since he first woke up; but without being a fixed part of the hivemind, he was able to drift into an individual (and while he's still very much a version of Dottore, he did gain some personal quirks that don't belong before he got added to the hivemind. Zandik suspects his unchained love for experiments (main_trait_1) and curiosity (main_trait_2) ended up being DOTT's downfall into a baker.)

• No one knows why this segment hasn't been deactivated (Pantalone sure questions it every time he gets a bill that consists of baker ingredients). --- Perhaps the first working prototype is a reminder of how far Zandik has come in his research, and perhaps he is there as cannon fodder, but at the end of the day, Dott does introduce a new perspective (even if most can't see that perspective).

• Everyone underestimates this segment until they remember that this segment is created in the image of the 2nd Harbinger.

• My guy created one of the most potent poisons on 'accident' (which he is currently banned from making again because of its effects). Dott also 'accidentally' created a truth serum that's now used for information gathering (although this ended up attracting a lot of rip-off serums on the market that didn't originate from DOTT. Pierro ended up having to ban this invention as well, since no one could differ a working truth serum from the cheap less-effective version of it (information intel became unreliable))

• He loves LOVES robots!!! Loves dissecting them, putting them back together, repeating, replacing parts, changing parts, and creating something new. He doesn't make many useful inventions in the field of machinery, but he remains incredibly intelligent and has a knack for remembering everything step by step, making ruin guard dissection and repairs his to go to job. (Though, if forced to choose between baking and robots... you know what he'll choose LMAO)

• One time he killed Zandik's favorite assistant on accident, but it's the assistent's fault, really!! After all, Dott did put a warning sign next to his fresh batch of cupcakes... Although, in hindsight he should've written the 'beware: poison' on a bigger piece of paper and not on a sticky note.

• He puts the most questionable things into his cupcakes. If it's not a new poison or serum, it'll likely be something worse (don't ask him)

• Once, a Fatuus was overheard laughing about the segment who baked in his free time. --- He ended up in the oven that same day, only for Dott to laugh in revenge.

• He shares his cupcakes, and while it's rude to decline them (he will turn you into his new red velvet batch), you can't be cautious enough with eating them.

• He ended up going into retirement once Zandik created enough segments. He was allowed to remain activated for as long as he delivered test subjects. So, he opened a bakery. The unsavory patrons that enter his shop end up getting delivered to his fellow kinship in the capital labs.

• His bakery is successful (to everyone's surprise)

• If you're polite (bonus points if you're a regular), you'll be safe. Contrary to normal belief, he does have a heart in the shape of curiosity and validation, so if you're a sweetheart breaking into his routine, you'll end up getting his special made cupcakes (he baked them just for you!) and the news of your annoying co-worker suddenly missing! (Tell Dott about it, he'll laugh. Just don't ask why he does)

OKAY SO!! I can 100% see (pre-bakery times) a new segment stealing one of his cupcakes (god forbid mess with his recipe and he's like;

Imagining a new(-ish) segment messing with his eggs after Dott spent HOURS on separating them (curse that Fontainian macaroon recipe,,,) --- DOTT will get revenge.

Fortunately, the segments are durable, else they would've died from that new poison he added.