#I post long lore leave me be

[moonpoolcat]

Epoch Moon Backstory (Long version)

Ya'll actually did it. Okay. As promised, here is the longer version of Moon lore. I'm not very good with rainworld lore no, none of this is tied to anything canon to the game, for the love of christ DO NOT spam my inbox trying to correct me. Everything has been written months in advance so there will be no changes unless it proves to be an obstacle in future posts. So sit back, put on some music, because this is going to be extremely long. How does this universe work? Simple! This universe takes place before the Rivulet campaign (don't worry they still show up in this timeline. All iterators are able to leave from their cans at will with no restraints. They have the ability shift into animals their creators designed them from. Their superstructures are mobile (yes i'm letting these mfs move) and are able to traverse the land long as they're close to resources such as ground water an void fluid. The cities are wrapped in a gravity that keeps it from tipping over or falling off. The rot is curable in this universe but only if cured within a short timespan. I hope this helps.

The beginning-

In the beginning, when the iterators first emerged, they served their creators known as the ancients. The ancients, who held the first generation by the throat, gave no hope for individuality. LTTM and other iterators of her generation had no concept of mentors. Instead, they were self-taught and guided by their administrators. The ancient who mentored her was named Spangled Sinking Dagger, four hundred flowers. belonging to the House of Silhouette, count of 8 living blocks, Counselor of 13, Mother, and spouse, and the true founder of the Congregation of Moderated Dedication. Also, she was a legend, and was the administrator responsible for LTTM's creation, oversaw Moon teachings. In this universe, iterators have three stages of growth, and the role of the senior respectfully. The puppets being a small part of them were meant to interact with the real world, but they can grow into whatever size suits them best depending on the conditions and environment the ancients placed them in. Moon and her creator's relationship, basically parent and child, was not a very cherished one. Spangles' teachings were very strict, keeping Moon on a tight leash and making sure the iterator stayed on course in terms of finding a solution to the great problem. This did cause trauma, as Moon only knew to obey and never ask questions out of term under any circumstances.

However, the maintenance worker, Five Webbed Clouds, a spiraling anchor, was responsible for maintaining the stability of LTTM's superstructure and would then go on to help build Five Pebbles. Five Webbed Clouds was much kinder to the iterator than Moon's creator. He was the only ancient Moon who had any real physical connection with helping Moon's personality develop. It does not come without its setbacks. The ancients believed their creations were incapable of expressing emotion, merely imitating it for the sake of communication. Moon was one such exception. Despite being one of the many first iterators created, she was not limited in terms of emotions. Many iterators hardly even noticed Moon's behavior, as they saw it as natural - until someone pointed it out. Her behavior of showing more compassion and empathy than the standard iterator, thanks to her maintenance worker who gave Moon more permission to develop her personality, drew other iterators towards her rather than away. Though some had doubts, such as an iterator that went by "Enlightened Overturned Silk," who joined Moon's local group not too long ago speculated that Moon's kindness would inevitably be her downfall in the long run, but was brushed off as harmless by the majority.

The original members of her local group were Sliver of Straw, Chasing Winds, and EOS, along with others. Later, Seven Red Suns and Sig joined the group as the youngest members before the arrival of Five Pebbles and UP. Moon worked hard to build an empire based on friendship and determination, creating a sanctuary for all forms of life. Because of this, she earned the titles "Mother Moon" and "Queen Moon," with all the fourth-generation iterators looking to her for comfort and safety. As Moon matured, she realized she didn't have an apprentice of her own, even though she was told that it was not necessary for seniors to have one. However, Sliver insisted that she should have a successor since there was no one else to become admin after her should anything happen under strange circumstances or natural causes. This made taking on an apprentice seem like a good idea? LTTM was originally planning to take on Seven Red Suns as an apprentice, but he was taken under the wing of EOS instead, with the trust that EOS would teach Suns to the best of his abilities. Overall, the local group had become a refuge for troublesome generation 4 iterators. She was more than willing to let them in, as her group was able to shape them into what iterators should be. They were then released back to their mentors, but this time with much more personality and individual freedom. This allowed them to make a significant mark, prompting all local groups to replicate these methods. Everyone agreed it was best not to traumatize the youth with what they had to endure when they were younger.

Moon's first apprentice was Unparalleled Innocence, a spirited, feisty fourth generation iterator who was spoiled yet poorly maintained by her creators. Moon, being a merciful iterator, brought Para into her local group and took on mentoring the young iterator herself. With the arrival of Five Pebbles, Moon was overjoyed, considering Pebbles as a younger brother. Pebbles was the last fourth generation iterator to be created, and their cans were so close to each other Moon was default his Admin. Moon introduced Pebbles to the local group with open arms, giving him the nickname "young prince" as she was already nicknamed a queen. She hosted a ceremony to make him feel welcomed, just as she had done for all the newest members.

Everyone reacted positively, except for Unparalleled Innocence, who didn't like the idea of the young prince taking up Moon's time. Later on, Moon found it tough to juggle work and mentoring. The responsibilities of being a senior were much more stressful than watching over a rebellious teenager. Moon couldn't manage both at the same time. The task of teaching was then passed on to Chasing Winds, who kindly offered to mentor Para until Moon could return. However, this arrangement didn't last long, as Para proved to be difficult and too stubborn for Grey Winds to handle. The young iterator saw their work as meaningless and boring, desiring more entertainment and excitement, which was an insult to their purpose, especially because it was based on pacifism. This caused Grey Winds to give up on mentoring Para after she rejected his teaching style. Moon tried her best to find someone in her local group to mentor Para, but no one was willing to take on the challenge of handling such a troublesome individual. Everyone, except Seven Red Suns, had already taken on the duties of mentoring Moon's troublesome brother, Five Pebbles, who had reached an age where he questioned everything and became rebellious. Para would be no different. Suns didn't mind, for he had already corrected this behavior through specific methods of discipline with Pebbles. They were mildly violent, yes, but Moon approved of it as it was the only way to try and teach the two their place within the local group. Moon knew Sun's silent aggression was enough to combat Innocence's loud ferocity and hopefully tame the little fox into becoming more modest and less quick to assumptions that lead nowhere.

As the great ascension began, Moon didn't have an attachment to her creators as they left for the void sea. She made sure that every last one left her city and never returned. The cycles she had to endure by her administrator encouraged Moon to do the impossible and she was the first to break free from her umbilical, standing firm before her creator as she ascended the elevator. She mocked the ancients that had spent their entire existence tormenting her. They cursed Moon's name, but it didn't matter, as Moon's act of rebellion became the reason she became an echo, forever locked in their prison to be mocked by Moon out of spite.

The maintenance worker that built her had sealed himself in a stasis pod deep within her structure, instructing Moon to never wake him up until a specific amount of cycles had passed. Moon didn't miss her ancients at all. She respected them, yes, but missed them? No. They were just parasites on her back with opinions.

Grief and healing

Moon felt proud of Five Pebbles and Innocence, for they had come a long way since unit 1, becoming very intelligent yet maturing iterators thanks to Suns. On this night, it was supposed to be a time of independence and celebrations for iterators who had finally found their place in the world, free to do whatever they pleased. Little did Moon know - this would be the last time she would ever see Sliver of Straw again. Five cycles later, Sliver would send out the "Triple Affirmative" never to be seen or heard from again. The signal shocked every local group to their core; a solution had been found, but Sliver had died before she could even explain. Moon was heartbroken. The love of her life had just died before her eyes without any explanation. She knew Sliver was close to a solution, doing everything she could to help, promising a future where they could ascend together. But she hadn't expected she would find it so soon. Instead of using overseers, Moon made the journey to Sliver's can herself, in denial that her love had truly just "died." She wasn't the only one.

Billions of iterators. Young, and old. Who saw the triple affirmative and considered Sliver a leader, inspiration, a friend, made the journey hoping it wasn't true and that they could somehow save her ignoring they were miles apart from each other. Moon was the first to arrive, but it was already too late. LTTM, her local group, and all the local groups, present or via overseer, gathered together to mourn Sliver.

Moon made sure that Sliver's puppet was taken care of, as everyone pitched in to create an altar around her body so that all of them could mourn her properly, as the first iterator to ascend. Only NSH stayed behind and helped Moon mourn. Moon had no choice but to move on; her local group needed her, for it would have been what Sliver wanted if she was still alive. That also didn't mean that she would find companionship in someone else either. Sig was more than happy enough to fill that missing hole in Moon's heart as he eased the senior from spiraling into depression.

Despite the initial challenges, the discovery of a solution encouraged many groups to continue their work as iterators. However, it also led to divisions among the groups. The Sliverest group focused on investigating the cause of Slivers' deaths, hoping to replicate a solution. Meanwhile, the anti-Sliverest faction accused Sliver of Straw of betrayal and opposed any discussion of the self-destruct taboo. Those who disagreed were silenced or removed from chatlogs. Although Moon opposed the creation of the Sliverest group, she saw value in their role. The data pearls left by Sliver were stored in a secure room within Sliver's can, and Moon was the only one with access. The Sliverest group was tasked with protecting Sliver's can from anti-Sliverest iterators. Access to the room was restricted to Moon and other trusted admins.

The incident...

Work continued, and she and Sig would form a formidable pair. They wouldn't do anything without the other. Moon insisted that Sig become an admin, but for that to happen, he needed to take on an apprentice, which he had never done before. Another local happily gifted one by sheer luck. The role could have gone to Seven Red Suns for taking on two apprentices at once while managing a large workload. However, after witnessing his crippling sanity and the banishment of EOS for malpractice and physical/emotional abuse, he was proven to be unfit for seniority due to his unstable mental health. This sparked conflict between Seven Red Suns and Sig. Moon tried her best to explain the reasons behind her decision to Suns, but they blamed her for favoritism, leading them to never trust Moon's word again. During another meeting, a fight broke out between him and his brother Chasing Winds, one that she had to promptly break apart.

What Moon didn't know was that her late wife's death would cause her brother, Pebbles, to fall into madness himself. He started bringing up very unusual topics and theories that were not aligned with the main issue, thinking outside of the box as younger generations of iterators tend to do. This behavior concerned the entire local group including his sister Moon who could only discouraged Pebbles from speaking on such subjects instead of scolding him. Meanwhile, Suns, still holding a grudge about his canceled seniority against Moon, would do something that would ultimately lead to an event that would cost Moon her life. (You already know what happens) Five Pebbles began his experiment, causing Moon to panic as he took a large amount of ground water shared within their territory. Despite multiple attempts to get Pebbles to stop, he had cut all forms of communication. Moon was unaware of why he was doing this, but it marked the start of her slow, agonizing cycles of dehydration as Moon's eternal systems began to fail. Moon pleaded with Pebbles to stop his experiment, even using her senior privilege to force a broadcast and beg for her life. However, Pebbles was merciless, with his only goal being to break the taboo and end the cycle. He ceased all contact. Moon's last message was broadcast with the help of Spearmaster, sent by Seven Red Suns to restore her communication tower. Her words were heavy an labored- begging, pleading for anyone who was listening to help her, but there was only silence. Just as Moon's legs were beginning to buckle on the brink of collapse, No significant harassment, loyal as he always had been, ran on foot with his slug Hunter to her aid. Using his virtual panels, he managed to stop her legs from breaking, sealing them together with all his strength, despite almost being damaged in the process.

But he was not the only iterator who had answered. Another iterator, Fire Epoch from the Oasis local group, the first and only of his kind whose can was mobile, had traveled for nearly 45 cycles at maximum speed after hearing her plea for anyone to help, caught Moon's superstructure (literally and physically) from hitting the ground. Everyone around the world sat in wait, hoping and praying that LTTM had not collapsed.

Moon was awakened by Hunter, who had brought a neuron containing slagkeys created by Sig, bringing LTTM back from her coma. However, for a moment, while floating in the celestial plane of nothingness, Moon was able to see Sliver of Straw. Their reunion was brief, but she cried happy tears to see Sliver again, and they shared a long embrace. Before she could even ask Sliver how she ascended, Moon was pulled back into the land of the living, with a new perspective and a new personality.

The majority of Moon's memories would suffer a fatal error, forever erased from existence. This included personal memories of her and Sig being together, tarnishing their relationship as Sig attempted to help Moon recover her memories. Yet, the damage had already been done; the only relationship she had known to have was with Sliver. Fire of Epoch spent cycles repairing the damage to Moon's legs. Even her rarefaction cell was missing and could not be found or recovered. Five Pebbles did not contact Moon once during her time of recovery... Beloved by many, other groups were willing to pitch in and help the best they could, costing them thousands in supplies and resources to help in the repairing process to fix what had been broken. The good news was a random modified aquatic slugcat Rivulet was found with the rarefaction cell in the depths of the groundwater under LTTM. No one knew where it came from or who sent it, but it had successfully brought it back in one piece. Moon named them Ruffles.

Thanks to Fire epoch, every iterator's superstructure was upgraded to became mobile. Now, iterators could join their local groups and live together, combining entire cities into empires if they wished. So that the situation of collapsing would never happen again. It was the greatest mass migration of biomechanical masses ever seen on the planet, as the earth shook under their legs. The world didn't feel so large anymore now that they could move along its surface no longer restrained to their shackles.

Regret, despair, the madness...

The situation had become critical as both Five Pebbles and UI had contracted the rot. Moons could still be connected to Pebbles and, if not cured, could spread to her as well. For some reason, UI's illness was worse than Pebbles, but Moon cared deeply for both iterators' well-being more than ever. They demanded answers, wanting to know how this could have happened? However, as NSH explained the situation, her mood turned to anger upon learning that it was Seven Red Suns who had created the pearl that caused this calamity. The truth was that Seven Red Suns had planned an assassination on NSH, not LTTM, by disguising the forbidden taboo in the form of a coded purpose organism that, upon creation, would give Sig the rot. But his slugcat was intercepted in the mix by someone else, causing both Pebbles and UI to become infected. Moon gave Suns a second chance—if he cured both Pebbles and his late apprentices' rot, he would be spared. It was a good thing he heeded her warning. As for Pebbles, she could forgive him for wanting to escape, but she could not forgive him for his lack of showing her any mercy.

He was punished with exile, (basically muted) and he had to leave the area, being denied from ever speaking in the local group. Before exiling him, Moon did her duties as an older sister going as far as to stay by his side until his rot was completely eradicated, wanting her little brother to be safe as a last act of kindness before he carried out his sentence. Knowing Pebbles would never forgive her ever again, she was not in a position to show weakness as everyone in their group now questioned her inability to lead. Cycles after she was filled with a sense of relief being notified that he was found by Chasing Winds who took responsibility of looking after him until further notice.

Moons main focus was on the well-being of her local group. However, she found it odd that, after her supposed 'death', only a few members of her local group had contacted her to express concern about her well-being? Suspicious, Moon allowed Sig to infiltrate private group chats using an anonymous ID. What Sig discovered revealed Moon's increasing insanity. The chat logs, recorded on each active date, began to provide a clearer picture. The individuals Moon had spoken to for cycles, the ones she had trusted, were all traitors. They were part of the anti-Sliverists, with the soul purpose and goal of infiltrating Moon's group to identify her weaknesses and gain information for a planned assassination. If they could get close to Moon, she would grant them access to Sliver's can, where they could destroy the archive data pearls and eliminate Sliver's puppet, ultimately getting rid of the traitor.

Their plan was halted when Five Pebbles, so-called 'completed the mission for them.' Moon was described as weak, clinging onto Sliver's death as if she were a prophet. Spending too much time protecting the traitor was considered treason, making it a reason she was not fit to be senior. There was a debate on whether Sig or Suns was the better outcome, knowing they would fight over Admin after her death.

Breaking point

Something within Moon- SnApPPed! After all she had done for her local group, this was how it all paid off. Her kindness, generosity, sympathy, compassion and endless sacrifice to provide them with a sanctuary of comfort well as safety among a sea of bitterness and envy were all in vain. To top it all off, she was nearly killed by her own brother, who had nothing to do with this, and was caught in the crossfire. Either of them almost paid the price with their lives. All because she wanted to protect Sliver's can as a last act of honor, hoping her body could be left to rest in peace.

It couldn't have been farther from the truth. Ever since UI was infected, Moon hadn't questioned a thing, for she denied the thought that her apprentice would ever dream of killing her senior, let alone attempt such a traitorous act in the first place. She felt bad for neglecting UI to focus on her duties but she hadn't forgotten the young iterator entirely an did her best to be present. Moons heart was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Seven Red Suns had redeemed himself, except he left out one crucial detail: who exactly intercepted his pearl? NSH, still being loyal as ever despite being somewhat grief stricken would go out to investigate on his own for that answer. Out of all the iterators he investigated no one confessed or knew who had done it, however not even him would suspect Unparalleled Innocence of all iterators to confess to another group member of her crimes. LTTM was distraught obviously, she had just banished her brother for no reason for a crime he didn't commit. It was UI who had intercepted Sun's pearl. It was she who had caused her death. She knew the two of them shared resources and the consequences that lay if Pebbles carried out the taboo! Instead of telling Moon of Seven Red Suns attempted murder on NSH, she instead gave the pearl to Pebbles out of jealousy while he was on a rampage searching for a solution.

Five Pebbles name was cleared of all accusations and he was allowed to return. UI however, was placed in Moon can for judgment. The soon-to-be heir was sentenced to exile, and forced to carry out the rest of Five Pebbles's banishment till further notice. UI called Moon a tyrant. Moon screamed she was a queen. Spending cycles building an empire was no easy task. To be betrayed was the worst feeling to ever experience especially from her. To think she treated UI as if she were her own when Moon had done nothing to deserve it. What did she do to make her point clear? LTTM- beheaded UI's puppet in front of what was left of her small shamble of a local group without a second thought. It hurt her, memories spent carrying for the iterator all thrown out the window. What a waste of potential. Chasing Winds was never seen again when this occurred soon leaving to make his local group disgusted by Moons actions no longer saw her as his senior, Sliver was his mentor after all and he could not obey Moon's new vicious demands on the belief that Moon's teachings were setting a bad example for younger generations straying away from the path Sliver of straws had created.

Moon regretted nothing, she was an old heart that was in pain. And yet the queen was not satisfied? She wanted ALL of them to pay for their crimes in causing harm to her family and the world she and Sliver had put their blood, sweat, and tears into creating. Those loyal to her were ordered to stay within their cans. Under any circumstances, they were not to attend the meeting at all. It rained during Moon's travel, a hellish rain that was red. Ironically this would be her an Slivers anniversary night... if she was alive to see it at all? an agonizing reminder of what she could not have. As she confronted these traitors in front of thousands of spectators the old admin could have sworn she saw Sliver's haunting ghost in the corner of her eyes. Overwhelmed, betrayed, saddened, ill-ridden in speculation, and uncertainty LTTM raised her scythe into the air in front of a hellish blood moon, there was no going back from this. She was doing this for her local group. For her… There will be blood on her hands. She was very aware of this and quite possibly no one will trust her again but she could not care less for anything else other than wanting revenge. Maybe ascension was never possible? Looking at the other Admins she wondered if they had betrayed her as well? It would mean no difference to be rid of them like the rest. Their groups would have to suffer without their precious leaders. Or did everyone want her dead? Why was the world unfair? Moon could not fathom to think of an answer for all of them only thinking of the consequences when she was the one suffering all this time. Where was her relief and prosperity? No one was allowed to leave the building, she needed- no- wanted them to watch. An urge to feel their fear watching their friends die in front of them, setting an example to anyone who dared to cross her path again. And so the traitors, the admins who played a part in all of this were slaughtered in the dead of the night. Anyone else who tried to escape met the same fate. The polished marble floor pooled with the blood of the fallen, their cries echoed throughout the abandoned city. This night was known as the crimson massacre. (All meetings have since been denied on this certain date)

[Recovery overseer surveillance feed has been removed. Seek permission from an admin before viewing contents. Viewers discretion is advised.]

Meanwhile the secondary group that was sent to infiltrate Slivers can in Moons absence never saw the light of day either. Moon an Slivers anniversary meant security was decreased. Seven red Suns, NSH, Pebbles of all iterators and everyone else who was told to stay back fought alongside Moon who had gained a profound sense of vengeance to protect what was hers. During the aftermath she was banned from gatherings for a short while. Not that she cared though. Cries of outrage from the public for Moon to be stripped of admin status were all anyone could talk about but the new admins that replaced the old ones couldn't bring themselves to do it out of fear of what she'll do. The sliverists were of course on her side, the rest wanted Moon dead. She laughed knowing none of the remaining admins who did not attend that night couldn't possible think of a better plan to stop her. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife sparking a repeatedly never ending war between the sliverist and anti-sliverist. Not a surprise there. In the eyes of the older generations ones- the innocent little Moon they had known and loved had become a monster blinded by hate. Anyone remaining was denied a moment's rest. The criticism an blasphemy she received did not matter anymore. From this day forward. LTTM showed no mercy to anyone. Not even her local group. If they wanted her dead so badly. They would have to come and rip her head off themselves.

She had sworn not to become like her creator, but she had become the monster she had tried to avoid. On long, open nights when the moon hangs in the clear open sky, you can hear her wailing into the night. She never wanted to be this way. All she wants is her sliver back. She'll do whatever it takes to keep her group safe and out of harm's way.

"Do not gaze into the moons eye's. Avoid the Moons wrath. Fear her venomous tongue, the scythe that cuts into failures. Bow at your own risk. The Moon carries the souls of the dammed, her cries shall drown the world in blood. Do not let the moon catch you. Running is all you can do. Did you make it to the end? Good job ya little gremlin you're actually paying attention.

[raticalshoez]

i'm having hyperfixation drought so i did what i did best and created a crossover episode

[kaye-go-moo]

Shapes and Strange Ciphers AU: Need a hand? Pt. 1

SaSC by me

Shapes and Pines by @/void-dude

Next Part

Bill and Ford

While exploring one of Gravity Falls’ caves, Bill stumbled upon a wall covered in ancient text. Bill recorded his findings and translated the writing to reveal an incantation to summon an oval-shaped entity. Bill hesitated to try the summoning but felt he couldn't miss the opportunity to push past his plateau and continue his research. So he read the incantation aloud.

Later that day, Bill experienced an extraordinary dream. While floating through an infinite cosmos filled with books and scrolls, Bill was greeted by the creature pictured on the cave walls. A yellow, oval-shaped being with one eye and glasses at its center–part of its form appeared chipped away. The entity, underwhelmingly named Stanford, told Bill that he was there to help expand his research by acting as a ‘mentor’.

-

Bill, though wary in the beginning, grew to trust his new friend. Ford shared his knowledge of Bill's world and the oddities that resided in it–though never enough to satisfy the man. He would always leave Bill with a tease of new information, promising to teach him more later on. Like a fishing lure, Ford would use his extensive knowledge to reel Bill in and keep him close.

Ford also fed into Bill's narcissism, telling him that he was special and different from those who had summoned Ford in the past. This gave Bill the love and attention he so desperately craved, inflating his ego just enough to keep him happy and obedient. Before long, Bill was completely wrapped around Ford's finger, hanging on his mentor's every word, utterly infatuated. Ford believed Bill was ready for the next phase of his plan, but he had to be sure.

To test Bill’s commitment, Ford asked Bill to remove his lazy eye, reasoning that it was only holding him back and that doing so would prove Bill was serious about expanding his knowledge. Bill's lazy eye–something he was teased for while growing up, but also something that he and Tad had bonded over–was an innate part of his identity. But Bill didn't hesitate.

-

A few months later, Ford revealed that it was nearly time for him to leave, explaining to Bill that he didn't have anything else to teach him, and soon there would be no point in staying. Bill was caught off guard and desperate to keep his Mentor close. He frantically searched for an excuse to have Ford stay, telling him that he still has so much more to learn, not just about his world, but about Ford’s too. Bill’s desperation grew, overtaking his mind in hopeless pleas. Don’t leave me. Please. Please don’t leave me alone. Not again.

Seeing Bill's anguish over his leaving, Ford relented before offering a solution. He explained that it wouldn’t matter if he talked about the makings of his world because Bill couldn’t experience it for himself–unless he could. Ford admitted to knowing a way for Bill to explore not just Ford’s world, but countless others, hinting that he could also continue as Bill’s mentor–if Bill was fully prepared to expand his research. Bill jumped at the opportunity, swearing that he was ready. Ford revealed his plan: Bill needed to create a portal that would open a gateway to other worlds, allowing him to explore beyond the limits of his dimension.

Bill was eager to create the portal, especially since he could work on calculations with Ford. However, they still needed to gather materials and build the machine. After realizing that it would take far too long to do on his own, Bill called his old college friends–some lent him supplies, while others traveled to Gravity Falls to help him build. But Ford was not happy. He chose Bill to do the work, not his bumbling group of ‘friends’ with their useless degrees. What infuriated him the most wasn’t that Bill had gone over his head, but that he was right–things were progressing much faster with their help. But this didn’t matter to Ford. He already knew the sting of trusting the wrong person, so he wanted them gone.

Ford couldn’t outright tell Bill to kick his friend out, so he restored to planting subtle doubts in Bill's mind, suggesting that his friends might sabotage their work. Bill, initially confused, tried to reassure Ford that there was nothing to worry about. However, Ford persisted, slowly dripping poison into Bill’s mind. Slowly, Bill began to believe him. He started double-checking his friends’ work, scrutinizing the materials they brought, and analyzing their actions. Ford's words gnawed at Bill until he was on the brink of sending away his friends. It was only after Ford confided in Bill, sharing how trusting the wrong person had cost him everything, that Bill was fully convinced.

One by one, Bill began dismissing his friends with various excuses, though it was clear that he simply didn't want them around anymore. Over time, they watched Bill twist into someone they barely recognized–cold and distant, treating them less like friends and more like subordinates. Some tried convincing Bill to let them stay, but he wouldn't budge. He told them they were no longer needed and that he couldn’t risk their shoddy work jeopardizing his project. In the end, Bill all but called them stupid before severing ties and destroying his friendships.  

However, one friend, Jheselbraum, stayed behind. She sensed something was off and wanted to keep an eye on Bill, making sure he was safe. Jheselbraum would stop by Bill's home to check on him and hang out, and while he enjoyed her visits, Ford would always convince him to send her away. Eventually, Bill banned her from coming over, insisting he needed to focus on finishing his project and couldn’t afford any distractions. But Jheselbraum persisted, calling daily to check on Bill until she finally convinced him to let her at least drop off food.

Every time she visited, Bill was either locked away in the basement or gone from the house entirely. On the rare occasions she saw him, Jheselbraum noticed how worn down he looked–becoming more decrepit with each passing day. She tried talking to him, but he either ignored her or brushed her off, insisting he was fine and too busy with his project to worry about his appearance. The more she tried reaching out to help him, the further away he felt, like an ever-widening chasm. She could scream and still, he wouldn’t hear her, her voice swallowed by the void between them. Even when standing in the same room, Jheselbraum couldn’t help but feel they were miles apart, and it frustrated her.

It wasn’t long before Jheselbraum reached her breaking point. One day, she noticed a trail of blood leading to the basement and found Bill crumpled on the floor. She managed to get him out of the basement and into her car, wanting to take him to the hospital. But during the drive, Bill woke up and demanded she take him back home. He insisted he was fine and that a hospital visit would only waste more of his time. Jheselbraum tried reasoning with him but Bill rolled his eyes and muttered, “I knew you’d get in the way.”

Jheselbraum went silent, and her grip tightened on the steering wheel. She turned the car around, helped Bill back into his house, and placed him in a chair. She patched up his wound in continued silence. When she finished, she stood up, looked Bill in the eye, and told him that she was done. She wouldn’t be dropping off food or visiting anymore. She was through with him. However, Jheselbraum couldn’t bring herself to leave Gravity Falls completely. She was angry, but a feeling in her gut wouldn’t allow her to leave. Something was wrong. Though she couldn’t pinpoint what, she knew she had to stay–lingering around places she thought Bill might go, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Her actions more akin to monitoring a suspicious than simply looking out for old friend.

-

Now that Bill was alone, Ford concentrated his manipulation into pushing Bill further into isolation. He used Jheselbraum's leaving as proof that Bill couldn’t trust anyone–except for Ford. Yet, Bill began second guessing himself, more importantly, Bill geban second guessing Ford.

Bill tried his best to remain focused on building the portal, but doubt gnawed at the edges of his mind, festering until he couldn’t ignore it any longer. What exactly was Ford planning to do with the portal? Bill hated the thought–hated that he was question his mentor–but he couldn’t help it.

As soon as this doubt bubbled to the surface of Bills mind, Ford new instantly. Ford attempted to reassure bill, emphasizing that the portal was more beneficial for him than it was for Ford, stressing that his only concern was Bills success. However, this reassurance didn’t fully take hold, and Ford knew it.

Bill continued to build the portal, doubt still lingering in his mind. He didn't want to believe that his mentor had ulterior motives. Desperately, he clung to their friendship like a life raft in a vast, empty sea–though one of his own making. He wanted to believe Ford, to trust that their partnership was genuine. But as time passed, his doubts only deepened, and he bagan to long for his old friends.

Before Bill could act on his feelings, Ford intervened with further manipulation, choosing to have a ‘heart-to-heart’. He reminded Bill of their previous conversation about how trusting the wrong person had cost Ford everything. This time, he revealed that it was his brother who he had misplaced his trust in, leading to the loss of his family and his dimension–everything. Ford claimed that his journey for knowledge was meant to help others, serving as a way to overcome his past.

Ford also admitted that he had lied to Bill in the past, but not out of malice. He confessed that he was ashamed of his limited understanding of Bill’s dimension. Having always prided himself on his vast wealth of knowledge, Ford felt inadequate and uncertain about to teaching Bill. He explained that he feared Bill would take advantage of his naivety��just like his brother had. However, over the course of their partnership, Ford had come to genuinely trust Bill and was happy to call him a true friend.

Moved by Ford’s supposed vulnerability, Bill apologized to for doubting him, realizing that he had been wrong. Ford’s manipulation had work. Sensing the shift in Bills mind, Ford seized the moment to reveal a new ability: the power to control someone's body through their mind. He asked if he could try it on Bill. More trusting of his mentor than ever before, Bill admently agreed.

-

Weeks passed, Bill and Ford settled into a routine. When Bill was awake, he worked on the portal. But when he was asleep, Ford took control of his body and did the work to keep Bill alive–ensuring he ate, drank, and rested. Of course, Ford would also work on little side projects. Using the schematics of a former interdimensional follower, he created a tool that could erase memories, hiding it from Bill. Ford knew it was only a matter of time before one of Bill's pests would try to interfere, and he wanted to be prepared. It didn’t take long before he was proven right.

_____

Lore Comment

[cornedbread]

Who here had “The reason why Asmodena is an amateur demon — despite having the life experience of 500 years + is demon royalty — is because she was lobotomised by Billy’s dad back in 1995” on their 🌽🍞 bingo card?

[thedrotter]

not-yet-dead-person

silly comic of a conversation in-game i thought was too funny not to make something proper for instead of a doodle ww

(timelapse + wip images (thus silly process commentary in read more if you like artist commentary :3)

i think the sketch looks silly and goofy and funny so i find it important to share with you the mere presence of the faces i drew on it. i drew it on top of the boxes without staying inside its borders because i find my proportions can get wonky if i draw them cropped in a restricted space. and I feel trapped otherwise and i will draw BAD!!! give me spaceeeee to go wild!!!!

the head circles are there for emotional support

very low res speedpaint because truth is the canvas was much bigger than the space where my comic was placed. i didnt account when exporting my timelapse in 720px that that tiny space would look so pixelated ... but it's able to be percieved, so its okay.

(i will now comment on my process and it is not brief sorry)

usually i would try to clean up my sketches and figure out what goes on top before jumping into linework, but since there are multiple panels and drawings i chose to jump into inking right away for the sake of brevity. i just went in with a brush that uses pen pressure and drew what was needed. i added extra line thickness and contrast in areas around the face because it helps direct your eyes there more easily that way.

according to her equipment rei has a chain belt but i only remembered it existed once I was going to color, and i did not like that discovery... I chose to ignore it to maintain my peace. i already have the color palettes for these characters figured out, and i didnt really want to think about a new element at the moment www I tend to overthink those things a lot so i skipped it

the rest is rather straightforward! not that anything else wasn't, but in here i could turn my brain off and sing. linework and sketching require mumbling so i cannot turn my brain off. just block in the characters with a solid color so i can have a mask (something along those lines,) where the color can stay inside. then just color in !!!

Base colors just had slight cell shading on the skin, and for the hair i airbrush a bit of the skincolor in low opacity near the forehead... I'm not sure what it means, but i can look at the faces easier with it somehow. i like the gentle subtlety it adds even if you cant really tell. it makes things look nice.

background was just me blocking in the color of the wall and floor, shade the wall a bit, then slap a noise and free use wood texture on top. work smarter not harder ! yet it took a bit to make it look stylistically fitting with the characters, and even now i think bottom middle panel looks odd. whatever!!!

for the middle panel i thought itd be funny if the background was a solid silly and colorful one to contrast the next panel's sketchy black one. a contrast to how the word widow is seen. on that note my handwritting is not pointy. i gaslighted my hand into thinking that it was indeed pointy in that moment so i could write "not-yet dead person" in letters that didn't seem cute. my hand did not fall for it but it complied anyway

that's basically it! I'm not sure what else i could say that doesn't feel barebones because it really is that straightforward. if you're curious I used clip studio paint for this. only special brush used was for linework (a brush named Lemon Brush), the rest used were just the default. my computer gets the least credit. it was trying to convince me a 20mb file was going to nuke it all the time and hardly let me save multiple times so i do not appreciate it

[jichanxo]

how it started:

how it's going:

[cherrylight]

hi! this is going to be a long post about my hs self insert ^_^ + with additional lore! uh, i talk as if she's a separate person, hope that's okay!

cred for sprites & picrew(s): sprite & picrew

the rest under cut !

before, hs ashley basically just looked like this !

(there's two variants because i had many ideas)

her name is actually ashley property! and it has stayed because i love it so much ^_^

i actually REALLY love the hs sprite(s) of her so very much but i want to redo it, i just been very forgetful lately and haven't really decided to redo her sprite unfortunately >_<

she does actually look nearly similar to her sprite, but there are parts that i really want to rework and sort of redo; for instance the fact she's in all black! that is NOT what she wears all the time i assure you!

another thing about the old ver of hs ashley is the fact that i decided to create a cameo guardian for her to fit the criteria, i guess. his name was jax! he was purely made because i get really interested in classpects. although, he's not really fully fledged out or anything. a part of me doesn't even want to add him in the new version of ashley actually ^^;;

another thing about this version is the fact she has literal NO LORE WHATSOEVER. in all honesty, i just could NEVER THINK OF LORE FOR HER. so she got nothing. she was just. kind of there. and that was that. and nothing else.

to be completely honest with you, she was plain even if i absolutely adored her more than anything on this planet ...

now for the new and improve ashley ^_^

^^^ ISN'T SHE SO PRETTY GUYS I LOVE HER SO MUCH

new and improve ashley my love !!!! she makes me so happy :D

i'm still working on a lot of things with this version of her ! but i'm trying to stray away from like the entire ...... typical stuff, but it's still pretty much with her as i didn't take it away or anything, just focusing more on the game stuff makes ME upset because i only focus on that and yadda yadda whatever!

this time, i actually have lore and how she ends up with everyone. but because i don't follow the comic anymore or really anything, a lot of it is my interpretation (and the fact the game doesn't really "exist" but does exist because of them having "powers"? i guess? i can probably talk about it in a different post but yeah! i just don't care about the game or the rest of the characters sorry)

so, the lore for ashley on how she got in the beta/alpha kids' timeline is this:

ashley's timeline somehow got corrupted. a lot of that is purely unknown and she doesn't even know *why* her timeline got corrupted. but she ends up in their timeline, kind of just appearing from thin air. quite literally.

although she basically FELL FROM THE SKY. long story short: she is unable to get back to her timeline. a part of me thinks that she was SUPPOSED to be in the beta/alpha timeline, but something happened for an error to occur, thus her being in the null timeline.

if that's too much for you, just know that she's unable to get back to her timeline and is stuck in the timeline she's quote on quote "supposed" to be in.

because of this happening, she doesn't know if her own family is alive or well, or they'll appear in this timeline—i'll call it the OG timeline, AKA original timeline (as it's canon and so forth. sorry for the technicalities). however, i have no ideas for her family yet, maybe i'll add jax but i also highly doubt it. i don't know! don't want to add too much to my plate, so that's in the backburner for the time being!

knowing this information, ashley being in a completely new place—new timeline—she is alone, like completely so alone and the only thing she sees is like four people. which as much as she's already wary of her surroundings and already hypervigilant on where she is, she does at the very go over to them; or they go over to her.

won't get into HUGE details on that! but i absolutely adore the betas and she will be honestly afraid to even get to close to them. i had the thought of her being this fearful to get close to people because of her ending up in the og timeline, being alone, and without really any familiar faces to see. ashley has this sort of thought of if she gets close to them, something bad would happen to *them* and she doesn't want that! considering that they seemed to offer hospitality and are cordial with her (well, for the most part, most of them seem friendly. even if using the term friendly is a stretch on talking on some), she would feel awful if something bad happened to them at her expense.

in all honesty, i didn't want her to just be a self insert for dave tbh... i want her to have her own like background and story, and lore, and relationships with the other characters! i also like doing silly scenarios with the other characters with her! it's very fun ^_^

as well as that, some other information that may be crucial later: her handle is: poltergeistBlossom, her hex colour is #FF6DC6

[familyofpaladins]

(From a post talking about how I make an au everytime I watch another movie)

Oh you're spoiling me @sonderquill by indulging me in my au's. Also careful what you wish for lol

Okay heres a list of different Tmnt Au's that I've made in my head!! :D

Princess bride au

My own tmnt iteration au =Youngest leo (and oldest Mikey, but I tend to focus on leo)

Turtleverse - not so much an au as.... a big ol crossover and filling in some gaps from canon

Pacific rim au- I was actually gonna do a tmaynt promt with this au, but I skipped it because it was giving me trouble but I might come back to it

Treasure planet/island au - set in space like treasure planet but I pull in a bit more of the plot/events from the book

brother bear au - setting and details a little iffy

Looking through my notes to double check my Au's, I apparently also had a pokemon au, but I dont really remember where I was going with it lol

And now, Princess and the frog turtle au

Longer descriptions under the cut because uh. It got long lol (most of these are personality and character based from 2003 series, but could also be from other series/general/non specific iteration as well)

Princess bride au and Youngest Leo Au have links to their own posts so I'm not gonna say much more about them on this post

Turtleverse- So this is .... mostly just a place for all the iterations to hang out and meet each other. Kinda like the place in Across the Spiderverse. Theres not much for plot, except. The turtle in charge of everything in the turtle verse is the Donatello who disappeared in Same as it Never Was (2003 series). In this au, that Don was experimenting with alternate dimensions and time travel and accidentally sent himself to another dimension. Because of where ever he was sent, it takes him a while to travel through dimensions and then spends years hopping from universe to universe trying to find home. But because of [science stuff that I'm going to blame on quantum physic even though that's probably not the right term] his body isnt tuned to his home dimension anymore, and so if he ever made it back he wouldnt be able to stay there. And/or by the time he makes it back the events of same as it never was have already happened. So instead, he "maps" out the other turtle universes and allows crossovers to happen and a big ole hang out. (Like I said before, theres not really a Plot, but if there was, itd would probably have somethign to do with Don being A Bit controlling of the different universes and them not messing with Canon Events (like Manuel in Spiderverse), because he knows 03 Don made it to his home dimension, and while 03 Don got his brothers tow work together and defeat shredder, Don's brothers died and SAINW Don holds that against 03 Don and dosnt want other turtles interfering with other universes. So the plot would be addressing... all that while probably also dealing with some other interdimensionalproblem)

Pacific Rim au- like I said, I hope to draw of this and explain it more there. But I'll go ahead and give a run down. This is a human au. The bros are 4 identical brothers that pilot the only four man jaeger. They can also pilot a normal two man jaeger in any combination. But one day when a kaiju that comes out of the rift is more powerful than they expect, it tears into their jaeger and Donnie gets ripped out. After they get their damaged jaeger back to shore and injuries taken care of. They search for Donnie but never find him and (logically) assume he died. What they dont know is that donnie miraculously made it to shore and got picked up by some locals. But Don got a head injury and doesnt remember who he is and no one else realizes that he's the jaeger pilot who was lost at sea. (The bros are fairly private and so their faces arent publicized, and after people from the jaeger program looked for donnie, they really figured he was gone ((okay actually there is debate between the brothers)) so they didnt keep up the search.) As for Donnie, he assumes he's just a person whose home was destroyed by the kaiju and that theres just no one left to look for him. A man that goes by the nickname Leatherhead, takes him in and as the years go by the work on building the wall to protect against kaiju attacks (Don does his own research on the kaiju on the side tho). Anyway. After Don is gone, they cant pilot the 4man jaeger anymore and work in teams of two. But because of disagreements about Don's fate (like how they argued in SAINW) they dont work quite as well together. So Raph and Casey are drift compatible . And Leo and Usagi are Drift compatible. Mikey probably Could drift with others (if I wanted to bring in Mondo gecko into the au theyd be drift compatible), but he's trying to make sure his bros stay together and works with them.

BUT. Mikey hurt his arm during a fight. (Maybe just broken, maybe loses it if I want to lean into the SAINW parallel) So he's benched for a while. With all the gossip of the 4 drift compatible brothers losing a member and getting new drift partners eventually photos of their faces get out there. Someone who works on the wall keeps up with jaeger pilot gossip and thinks, "hey that guy kinda looks like those pilots. Guess the jaeger program really is going to shit if one is retiring to work on the wall" and maybe jokes about it with others. Eventually a rumor starts that theres a retired jaeger pilot working there. Don, who is probably going by a different name but I havent decided what yet, doesnt pay much attention to rumors and if he Does here, absolutely doesn't think it's about him. He doesnt pay much attention to the jaegers and focuses more on the kaiju themselves. Anyway, Mikey ends up hearing the rumor (because he's bored when benched and so goes out and wanders and also is secretly working on rebuilding their 4man jaeger) and goes "well it's not me, and I know it's not Raph or Leo... ". So trying to keep his hope down in case it's not what he thinks, (because really, it's been 5 years. If it was donnie he would have come home. Right?) He goes to see who this look a like is. He goes to where the wall is being built and looks around for a while and is about to call it quits when he bumps into someone. Don does a double take at the person he bumped into because he was looking at his notes instead of where he was walking. Realizes he's probably in the way and apologizes and goes to walk around. Then Mikey, who was so stunned to suddenly run into his brother (who he knows is donnie. Even with the scar he can see peaking out underneath his hair on his temple) who has been Gone for Five Years. He stops Don and questions where he's been. Don is very confused doesnt know what to make of this person who looks such like him. Eventually they put it together that don has lost his memories and Mikey begs Don to come back with him. Don isn't really sure what to think, (could this really be his brother?), he doesn't know this guy and doesnt know if he believes the "yeah I'm your brother and you have 2 more identical brothers as well" and he has been gathering impressive data on the kaiju that he doesnt want to abandon. So mike goes, come see my brothers and you'll see and if nothing else, you can conduct proper research with other scientist there. So don says yes. (But really. After just a minute of talking with mikey, Don would have gone back with him because he could Feel a connection and he Has to figure out the truth of what happened to him). Anyway they go back, Don meets his other missing brothers, theres crying and hugs and apologies and awkwardness. They do a drift at some point and Thats what brings back all of Don's memories. Something something they end up saving the day. I havent thought much plot past the bros reuniting lol

(God that was long. sorry)

Treasure planet/island au- setting is in space like Treasureplanet, so the boys are turtles. But some plot/events and character roles taken from the book. Splinter and the bros help run an inn. Theyve all grown up hearing stories of the Pirate Krang and his hidden treasure. Someone comes to the inn with a map (I'm thinking baxter stockman. Possibly in this weird brain/tentacle form since this is space and I can use his weirder forms) and other pirates pancake the inn and burn it down with the bros barely escaping with the map. Casey is a friend of the family and they go to his house. Leatherhead is a doctor/scientist and was with the turtles at the time. Mikey and/or Don are messing with the map and are the ones to figure out how to open it. Once they realize they have Krang's Treasure Map, they set out to find it. Casey and leatherhead hire the crew. Leatherhead hires the well renown Captain April O'Neil with firstmate Traximus the triceraton. Casey hired the cook and his daughter who helped hire the rest of the crew. Oroku Saki is an utrom in an exo-suit "with a passion for cooking". His adopted daughter Karai is an excellent sailor. :) Anyway they set sail. April knows soemthign is up with the crew and doesnt trust them one bit. The turtles are slightly suspicious of Saki, but mikey likes cooking with him, Don is fascinated by his exo-suit, and Leo likes training with Karai, and is charmed by Saki's "Honor". Raph doesnt trust them at all, but has no proof for anything and his brothers seem okay with them so he keeps his temper down (as much as he can. He's raph tho lol) anyway. Leo (and mikey maybe?) eventually overhear Shredders real plans to create a mutant and take over the ship. The rest of the events are a little unplanned because it's a mix of book events and movie events and I didnt write down everything that I apparently originally thought of. But two of the brothers (originally wrote down Mikey and Raph but that might change) sneak off the ship to join the pirates pretending to think that they are still good loyal crew. They get away from the pirates and meet The Fugitoid, Professor Hunnicut, former navigator for the Pirate Captain Krang. Later 2 of the other turtle brothers (maybe leo and don?) Are trying to get the main ship back and have a epic fight with ... someone. Maybe hun or bishop and/or Karai. Idk. Like I said. Iffy plot points. Karai is the one who has a change of heart and helps the brothers. Also the pirates may not be after treasure so much as, say, a giant portal that can take them across the galaxy in the blink of an eye. Fugitoid may or may not have actually been the one to booby trap the planet so no one could use the technology again for evil.

Brother bear au- setting would probably change. but idk to what/where exactly. The brothers, when reach a certain age are given totems/amulets/soemthing(depends on setting) with a certain trait. Leo the oldest gets Guidance. Don second oldest gets Wisdom. And raph is supposed to get his. he gets Love. Gets mad about the animal he gets. (I havent fully decided if I'm sticking with the whole turning into a Bear thing and giving the eagle and wolf to leo and don. Or to turn raph into a turtle demon(like the ones from the ninja tribunal arc) because then I'm not sure what animal/creature to give to the rest of the brothers. Anyway). Mikey is the youngest and hasnt recieved his yet. things happen, Raph goes a bear/turtle monster and Leo does saving his brothers (I'm sorry leo 😭). Raph decides to go after the "monster" again, despite Don and mikey telling him not to. Raph goes out, kills it, and gets turned into said creature. Donnie who had followed after Rpah thinks his other brother has now died as well and decides he need to go after it as well. Mikey may or may not join him (I havent decided). Raph meets a young one along the way, and while I was originally thinking Tyler(? From lone raph and cub 2003) I think this would be a good spot for Spike/Slash. (I could also change it that mikey is the kid he picks up along the way, it could work. but I also like the idea of the 4 of them actually being brothers the whole time) anyway. travel shenanigans and raph realizing that the "monsters" arent monsters meanwhile Don is having A Time following the creature who killed two of his brothers.

Pokemon au- I'm just gonna screenshot what I have in my notes because I dont really remember where I was going with it lol

And then the newest addition to the Au's and what prompted that other post

Princess and the frog, I mean turtle- theres so many different ways I could go with this. But I think I'm leaning towards an au where, somehow, at least one of the brothers (who are mutant turtles) gets cursed into a normal turtle (because I think its funny). They're all trying to figure out how to break the spell/curse. They find April and think she is a princess whose kiss will break the spell, but she's not a real princess and ends up cursed too. So then they're ALL trying to figure out how to fix it. Havent decided if it's the situation from some of the original stories where the frog has to eat off the princess's plate three times, or kissed by a princess or "true loves kiss". But if it is the true loves kiss, I'm going the Platonic Love is just as true love as romantic love route.

This one hasnt been cooking in my mind as long so it's not as detailed, but I do like the idea of the turtles and april helping each other try to reverse the curse. (It could also be that casey and/or april got cursed originally and the turtles are there to help them find a solution. Or it could be that the brothers are supposed to be human and got turned into turtles/or turtle mutant)

So yeah, theres the different Tmnt Au's I have :)

[icewindandboringhorror]

Apparently I can meet my goal of roughly 400,000 words in 6 months if I just somehow write at least 2,200 words a day ghbjh... Almost 2,500 today... huzzah...

[burmese-culture-is]

Franco burmese anon here and I wanted to add this to the ask I just sent but it got too long so here: it's funny how my burmese relatives despite having kind of understandable reasons for not being supportive (because idk there's less awareness here and my burmese grand parents didn't have the best education), they're more supportive than my white French relatives could ever be 💀 I barely trust my French relatives with my sexuality while my whole burmese family knows I like women and men and my mom knows im trans (havent told the rest yet though) 😭 (I know I'm really lucky to have such a supportive environment around me and I know I'm an outlier but idk. I think we should share positive queer experiences too you know?)

When I say my burmese relatives are supportive, I mean, my mom's cousin is a trans guy. And before he came out as trans he identified as a cis lesbian and I distinctly remember being a kid and overhearing my great aunty yelling and cussing over the phone (IT WAS WILD TBH? SHE WAS CALLING THEM A DOG AND EVERYTHING 😭) and I later learned she was yelling at someone who was being homophobic to him. And when he did come out as trans, almost everyone's reaction was basically instant support and protection (like we kept making jokes about punching people who misgender him😭). Like it was a bit clumsy at first sure but I could tell they were trying and now we're all like "yeah that's your oo lay (IDK HOW TO WRITE IN MYANGLISH)" and honestly when my mom explained to me why she gendered him correctly, instead of using the "he was a man all along" argument, she said does it because she can clearly see it makes him happy and why would she go out of her way to make someone she loves unhappy and idk something about that simplistic view of queerness really resonated even if it's not the most like idk "correct" way to view it

Other funny instances of my burmese family being supportive is when we were having a family gathering and I was getting a bunch of noisey questions, one of my aunties basically said "Do you have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend? We don't judge ^-^" and I think the fact nosieness transcends bigotry is so funny to me. Or alternatively, my mom's just?? ACCEPTING?? OF POLYAMOROUS?? AND ASEXUAL PEOPLE?? WHICH IS??? ACTUALLY INSANE? I DIDNT EDUCATE HER I GOT SUCH A JUMPSCARE WHEN SHE EXPLAINED WHAT ASEXUALITY WAS TO ONE OF HER FRIENDS LIKE WHAT? Or like, my mom's friends with multiple trans women and accepted me when I told her I was trans and even took me to a small pride event this June.

My mom is a very religious Buddhist person who's the kind of person to pray every day and like go to pagodas several times a week (i know buddhists can be shitty though) and she's still supportive of me and basically tells of anyone who's kind of transphobic/homophobic that they're gonna get bad karma for being bigots. Meanwhile half of my French "progressive" "from a better country" relatives bitch about immigrants and muslims 24/7 and use their Christianity as an excuse to be homophobic and misogynistic and would rather die than self reflect 😭 my burmese family and especially my mom aren't flawless (my mom used to be homophobic) but like holy fuck do I respect their attempts to learn and get better so much more than my French relatives who keep white feminisiming into the sun and denying all claims that they're bigots 😭

i tend to leave my comments to the tags but this genuinely was such a delight to read, thank you so much for sharing!

[sea-jello]

errm uhh augh how have you guys been long time no see. annotated young morro design be upon ye

without the bg cause you can see the sequins better with the bg but you can also see the words better without the bg

[thresholdbb]

Who is Chaotica’s manicurist?

[kaye-go-moo]

Shapes and Strange Ciphers AU: From States Away

SaSC by me

Shapes and Pines by @/void-dude

Next Part

Tad and Bill

Two exhausting days of what Bill could only describe as hell had left him on the brink of collapse. He had made little progress in dismantling the portal, a bottomless pit of hopelessness dragged him into back to the idea of blowing up everything. He had all the materials—just a bit of assembling followed by a quick and painless—

Knock knock

Bill froze, his thoughts spiraled. Ford! Is he back in another corpse? Did he make a new deal? Bills mind raised with panic before he was hit with a confused realization. Why is he knocking?

Cautiously, Bill approached the door, busted torch in one hand, metal pipe in the other. He strained to peered through the frosted glass, nearly dropping the pipe when he saw who it was—Tad.

Bill wanted to throw open the door and hug him, but fear held him back. What if Ford had possessed him? He couldn't risk it. Gingerly, he cracked open the door and tossed out the torch before slamming it shut. “Stand close to the glass,” he shouted, and “and shine the light in your eye!”

-

Tad stared at the door, then down at the torch in confusion. Slowly, he picked it up and did as told, leaning close to the glass. Through the frosted pane, he could see Bill’s blurry figure, shifting slowly as he inspected Tad. After muffled sound of approval, Bill fully opened the door.

Tad’s excitement shifted into horror as he registered Bill’s state. His face was gaunt, his eyes sunken, and his hair a long, tangled mess. He wore a black hoodie that did little to hide his frail body. Tad hesitated before walking in, eyeing the metal pipe Bill had clutched in his shaking hands.

“Bill? What happened?” Tad stammered out, rattled by Bills appearance, “Bill—” Tad was cut off, startled by Bill launching into a frantic summary of the past decade. His words tumbled out disjointedly, shifting from one thought to another. It was an unsorted mess of word vomit that left Tad reeling and his head spinning. But what had left Tad truely unnerved were Bill’s fearful glances to an empty space—glaring at some invisible monster.

Tad tried interjecting, attempting to get Bill to calm down, but Bill kept talking over him. When Bill mentioned how things were for the past week, being locked in a closet, barely eating or sleeping, Tad spoke over him.

"Woah, Bill—slow down. What do you mean you were locked in a closet?"

Bill opened his mouth to speak but faltered. Tad stepped closer, extending a gentle hand, “Bill?”

Bill ignored the outstretched hand, taking the torch from Tad and handing him the pipe, before turning to walk away. “It’ll be better if I show you.”

Tad wavered by the open door, staring down at the pipe in his hand, his thoughts a mix of worry and confusion. He took a breath, shrugging off his growing anxiety, before shutting the door, setting down the pipe, and following Bill.

Leading the way with the busted torch, Bill led Tad through the broken wall, past the busted closet door, and into the portal room. He showed Tad the portal, recounting his actions from the past three days with a nervous urgency. “This is why I wrote to you. Tad, I need you’re help to dismantle it.” 

Tad stood in stunned silence, glancing between Bill and the portal before letting out a shaky breath “I—” his voice caught in his throat, his mouth felt dry. He coughed, then continued , “I think we should go upstairs and sleep. Just for now. I mean, if were gonna take this thing apart, we should be well-rested, right?”

Bill was taken aback, “What? No. Tad, This can’t wait. It needs to be dismantled now. Don’t you understand that?” He continued, trying to explain everything again but slowly trailed off, "Tad… you believe me. Right?“

Tad quickly nodded, “Yes. Yes, of course I believe you, Bill. I’m just—” He hesitated, “I’m worried. Bill, you… you look awful, it—its all just… alot.” He heaved a sigh and and placed his hand on Bill's shoulder, “Bill, please, lets go upstairs. God knows the both of us could use the sleep.” He let out rueful laugh.

Bill stared back blankly, briefly looking behind Tad before his expression twisted in frustration. He shrugged off Tad's hand and backed away. "I thought you’d understand. I thought I could trust you."

“I do understand, Bill. Honestly, I do.” Tad reached out again, “And you can trust me. I promise, you can—” Bill jerked away, a look of betrayal plastered on his face, his eyes darting between Tad and the empty space. 

“Bill. Come on, I—”

"You think I'm crazy, don't you!" Bills barked, causing Tad to flinch back before he tried speaking again, “What, no! I don’t think that, Bill. I would never—”

“Go!” Bill barked, turning away, ”Just leave.” He whispering angrily through gritted teeth, trying to control himself.

“No, Bill I—I didn’t mean to—I don’t want to—” Tad reached out to grab Bill’s shoulder, gently pulling him back before—

Tad cried out in pain as he fell into a tangle of loose wires. He pressed his hand against his stinging face. A thick liquid trickling down his cheek and the smell of copper filled his nose. He pulled back his hand, reeling away at the sight of blood.

Tad jerked his head towards Bill who stared back in horror. He… he hit me. Tad looked to Bills hands, the busted torch held tightly in his grip. Bill hit me.

Bill approached, saying something Tad was too stunned to make out. He tried backing away but the wire kept him trapped. Bill stepped closer, reaching to grab Tad. Tad reared his legs back and kicked Bill away.

Bill stumbled back and fell onto the portal switch, crumpling to the ground. He looked up in a daze and was horrified to see the portal roaring to life. He scrambled to his feet but his legs gave out and he fell back to his knees. He tried standing again, but his body was caught and pulled by a new gravity.

Tad fought to free himself from the wire but his attention was pulled away by the sound of Bills screams. He looked up and saw Bill’s floating, his silhouette illuminated by the blue light of the portal.

"Help me! Tad! Please!" Bill kicked at the air, clawing desperatly towards Tad.

Tads movements became more frantic as he ripped away the wires, "Bill! I'm trying! Bill! I—"

Bill's body disappeared, engulfed by the spinning light. With a blast and flash of light, Tad was knocked back into the wire. He scrambled to free himself, “Bill! Oh god, Bill!” he raced towards the portal, searching for Bill. But he was gone.

-----

Lore Comments

[dragonbma]

More art and writings coming soon I swear. I’ve just had a lingering headache for the past three days and it won’t let me think straight. I will be back with a vengeance when it subsides.

Honestly, what if this is what mining fatigue feels like? Like, trying to mine a block just gives you a splitting headache that goes away once you stop. You don’t take damage, but it is incredibly painful nonetheless. Honestly might use this in the AU…

[shikai-the-storyteller]

I know Quackity said "Don't stress if you can't watch every single POV and if you don't know all the lore" and all that, but it genuinely frustrates me so much that I cannot, realistically, know every single detail of the QSMP storyline. Even trying to just focus on the "main" story isn't possible since so many people are doing things tied to it, and so many unexpected things happen.

I don't really have a point to make with this post, I'm just venting my frustrations. I like knowing complete stories and knowing I can't do that with QSMP frustrates me so much.

[aces-to-apples]

wait how are zabraks black-coded if you don't mind me asking? this in good faith btw

I recall the diversity-instarwars blog having written a meta post about Dathomir and its lore but the blog is now empty so I'll do my best to be concise, though I'm emphatically not an expert or authority on racial coding. Through pretty bog standard Star Wars racial stereotyping, cultural appropriation, and exoticization, the Nightbrothers are pretty blatantly ""inspired"" by historical atrocities committed against African peoples by European colonizers, with a Star Wars-typical White Feminist Hashtag Girlboss filter thrown over it.

The men of Dathomir, the Nightbrothers, are canonically acknowledged (and it's widespread, everyone knows) to be subjugated and enslaved by the Nightsisters. They're used as laborers, defenders, and, let's be frank here, breeding stock. In the episodes where we meet Savage and Feral, it's very clear that Nightbrothers do not get a say in whether they become "mates", that they are not allowed to refuse, that they are forced to hurt each other to "prove" themselves, and that they are afraid of being chosen by the Nightsisters. None of the "tests" that Ventress demands they be put through are portrayed as unusual.

In addition to how familiar that sounds—forced into labor, forced to create children against their will, not free to leave or refuse because their bodies aren't there own—the Nightsister "magic" (despite Mother Talzin's fucking ridiculous Transylvanian(???) accent) is clearly based on white American stereotypes of "voodoo", which I understand is itself a pejorative and bastardized version of a living religion. The "dark magic" vibes, the scary green mist, the nonsense chanting, the zombification of its victims, the mind-control, etc., isn't actually anything specific but like. We all know what it's supposed to evoke, especially in a franchise well-known for stealing and twisting pieces of other peoples' culture.

There's also the hyper-aggressive, "savage" portrayal of the Nightbrothers towards outsiders when OBW and Anakin showed up, the way they live in rickety-looking shacks and huts and wear plain and rough homemade clothes, the way they're divided into "tribes" and are visually singled out by their distinctive skin markings (either natural coloring or ritualized tattoos, ymmv), the obsequious treatment of the Very White Woman who shows up to "select" a "mate" without warning or consideration... And then on top of all of that, the White Women In Charge chooses Savage as her "champion" and then uses that "magic" to non-consensually change his entire body, control his mind and actions, and then forces him to murder his family as proof of "loyalty" to her, when he only offered himself up as basically a sacrifice to keep her from killing said family in the first place.

It's all just. So bad and messy. And gross. It's so gross. And look, none of this is like, "proof" or anything. Coding as a concept is really complicated, and can be done deliberately and thoughtfully or subconsciously and without any intent whatsoever but whoops, you did a racism/ableism/antisemitism/etc.! But like, regardless of whether you think the Nightbrothers are (intentionally or unintentionally) analogous to real-life groups of people, it's all super gross and fucked up and the fact that so many people like Ventress as this empowering girlboss character when she's basically a white radfem with a laser sword and systemic power over a group of marginalized men of color that she abuses on-screen super skeezes me out personally.

*shrug*