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bonefall · 1 year ago

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What are the four seasonal gods like generally? Sol seems to just be A Little Bit Chaotic, Midnight is said to be benevolent, but what about Rock and One Eye? (I know One Eye requires sacrifices? But ig that wouldn't necessarily make him malicious? Idk fsgcghdfj)

I'd like to learn more in general! Gods and mythology go brrrrr

ALL of them can actually take sacrifices, it just so happens that only Sol and One Eye have actually done it in the timeframe of BB.

It doesn't HAVE to be blood either, it can be anything of value. Sol and One Eye are just like that.

SOL

He gets bored easily.

It's not that he's evil, he's just self-absorbed. Everything is about having fun.

He really was a pretty terrible god, though. Fallenleaf comes to learn his services are in high demand, and he was really needed.

You might think he's vengeful, but he's not. If you beat him according to the rules they agreed on, that's winning fair and square.

I feel like he feels kind of bad he abandoned Harry so quickly, like he knows it was a dick move and he kiiiiinda doesn't want to think about it.

Something about him is more mortal than anyone realizes, but even I'm not sure how. He's strange compared to other gods, as if he didn't lose himself in the ascension to godhood.

Ironic for a God of Change.

MIDNIGHT

Is lonely. So lonely.

She can give you eternal life, but no one ever takes it. Why does no one ever take it?

But she's too nice to overstay her welcome or defy a request. And too cowardly to explore the world and find more people who leave eventually.

So she just stays in her den by the ocean, hosting all who pass through.

Minds her own business and draws cats to her as visitors.

Fallenleaf liked her at first, but has actually grown a negative view of her. Midnight wants something and won't go get it, using her immense power to just stare at the ocean.

What a waste!

I feel like she keeps a distance from mortals because she feels like she has some kind of obligation to not interfere. Besides, what good is a god no one wants to visit?

Shouldn't people WANT to go out of their way to seek her wisdom??

(And then she drags them towards her anyway lmao. Actually a very funny character. I have thoughts about her)

ONE EYE

He likes to see what words people use for him.

He likes to see what people call upon him, too.

This entity is not one who forces himself upon the land. He simply comes when he is called and they call him evil. Another one of his many names, he says.

At leaaaast... that's what he says. He is a VERY vindictive being when he feels slighted. If you declare war upon him, he will finish it.

"Scorched Earth" translates directly.

He can be incredibly cordial though. Surprisingly so. I actually have been thinking of having him visit each Clan in Thunderstar's Justice, meeting with its leaders, testing who would be his greatest partner.

During Hollyleaf's Century, Lion's Roar summoned him with a certain number of sacrifices.

But once One Eye moved into his body as a vessel, he didn't let go.

He was still using Lion's Roar as a vessel in DOTC. Lion's Roar had lost all control of his body, practically hollowed out.

I have a really clear feeling of his personality but it's hard to put into words. He's charming. He's well-spoken. His words smell like roses and sound like trickling blood. He asks to be invited and refuses to leave. If you offend him he will destroy you. He is interested in you. He watches hungrily like a snake.

And he ate Tom, partially because he was delicious, but primarily because he was a disobedient and disrespectful rat who did not know his place.

Star Flower is expected to know her place, too. She serves him. He is kind to her, and she loves him, but if she has to give up her life for him-- he expects her service.

As a god of war, sun, and fire, he's every bit as dangerous as you think he is.

You don't kill Gods. You trick them. Sun Shadow tricked him, seeing his body was unstable, and challenged,

"You are not the sun. Behold the sun that shines above us! It is there and you are here!"

"Haa. Your taunt shall not work. I am the sun and I shine just as bright."

"You do not shine now. I see no shine."

"Then behold!"

And that's how Sun Shadow got the guy to explode himself inside his shitty battered vessel LMAO

I have this full story in my head I just need to write it out tbh.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

ROCK

He wants to be left alone. He does not like you

He wasn't always this way. He is a god of measurement, archival, the night sky, memory. Quintessence and moonbeams, that which subsisteth, and what seems.

And once upon a time, he hosted a trial for those who wished to be his temporary vessels. Going down into the tunnels wasn't a trial for ALL warriors, just those who sought his ancient knowledge.

Once upon a time, he believed that the purpose of knowledge was to be shared, but only to those who would do right with it. He chose his vessels carefully and benevolently.

But what happened in Hollyleaf's Century changed him. It killed him. A selfish tyrant, the actions of her opposition, the senseless destruction of the victorians humans...

And then his vessel, Jay's Wing, was murdered. He felt him die and he couldn't save him; he's just a god of truth. Not of affecting it.

He's kinda got Sotha Sil vibes. His last big action was burying his vessel and casting a great spell upon a patch of Old Growth forest in what's now ThunderClan; the humans did not see it for many years, as if it simply wasn't important.

When the illusion faded, the humans simply believed they had not noticed it, or had underestimated its size.

Funfact: humans have big brains and lots of meat and are easy to disorient. That patch has a reputation for confusing people, hikers get lost there a lot.

Doesn't like people. Especially doesn't like Sol or Fallenleaf, refusing to distinguish that they are two different entities.

"You won't be, eventually. No I won't help you avoid that fate. Fuck you"

Has a softness for Jayfeather in particular and no one else. He would have let Hollypaw and those kits drown if he wasn't part of the group, that day.

But also Jay knows how to annoy him. If it wasn't for the fact he was the reincarnation of his beloved and tragically killed Final Vessel, he would have let him drown long ago.

Lightly malicious, in a way. Doesn't value mortal life. Mean.

Kinda ironic that Jay's reincarnation is more like Rock in this life than he is to Jay's Wing. Rock would lament that his influence has ruined him.

#better bones au #Spirituality overhauls #BB!One Eye #BB!Rock #BB!Midnight #BB!Sol

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house-afire · 9 months ago

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Storied Life (AU, outsider POV)

Prompt: 100 words of valets

Dennis had been excited to land a plum position like being Stede Bonnet’s valet. “Dire fucking turnover with that one,” a friend of his had said, but Dennis had gone straight ahead and applied anyway. He didn’t have any regrets. The work itself was shit—wasn’t it always?—but Mr. Bonnet could be staggeringly generous with those haphazard tips of his, and the wages were decent (when Mr. Bonnet remembered to pay them).

Mostly, though, Dennis had wanted the job because he’d figured it’d be nice to serve under a man like himself, for a change. Mr. Bonnet wasn’t exactly standard-issue aristocracy—wasn’t in lots of ways, really, but particularly the way you could tell just by looking at him, if you had any sense. Of course, Dennis soon found out that a boss was a boss no matter what you had in common—but all the same, he could have done worse.

At least Mr. Bonnet was interesting in his own sad, daft way, so that sometimes just going into the drawing room would feel like grabbing some serial fresh from the printer.

And when he was in his cups—which was often enough—he didn’t mind Dennis asking him questions.

“I heard a rumor,” Dennis said, “that you once took to sea to become a pirate.”

Left, mucked about a bit, and came back to his old life with his tail between his legs: Dennis had heard the tale often enough that he was starting to find it plausible. And Mr. Bonnet did have his whims.

“I did,” Mr. Bonnet said. “I did do that, Dennis. The Gentleman Pirate, they called me.” He looked down into the dark depths of his wine glass. “Do you know, I even met Blackbeard? Ed. I called him Ed. One of the only people in the world to ever do that.”

Dennis didn’t believe that Ed part any more than he’d believe that Mr. Bonnet had once stuck his head in a lion’s mouth, but he supposed that man could have met Blackbeard.

“I left everything behind when I came to the sea,” Mr. Bonnet said. “Everything except myself.”

(Everything, Dennis knew, included his wife and kids.

“Gone,” was what Mr. Bonnet had dramatically said of them, whenever someone asked—as if he’d shipped them off to England, they’d all fallen to consumption, or both. So far as Dennis could tell, they were still in Barbados, but Mr. Bonnet moved house like mad so his wife couldn’t find him even if she wanted to.)

“That’s one of the things Ed found so appealing about me,” Mr. Bonnet said. “I was so much myself. You’ve got to be bold, to be yourself.”

You’ve got to be rich, Dennis thought.

“What was he like, sir? Blackbeard?”

“Nice guy, really,” Mr. Bonnet said. He sloshed his wine around. “Or no, actually, probably not. He wasn’t always—wasn’t always the man I knew. He had a darkness in him, eating away with sharp teeth. But do you know what? The time I spent with him was the happiest of my life, and it was the happiest of his, too. That’s got to count for something.” He drained the last of his glass. “But everything ends. Everything dies. So, you know, why should he be an exception?”

Dennis wasn’t sure he understood all that, but he could see he’d be fetching bottles from the wine cellar all day, so he might as well resign himself to it and get a few more stories out of it.

“How did he die?” he said, reaching for Mr. Bonnet’s empty glass.

“It was brutal,” Mr. Bonnet said, looking somewhere past Dennis. “He never saw it coming. Skewered by—by some fucking traitor.” His lips curved in an expression that was nothing like a smile, and for the first time, Dennis could see why Mr. Bonnet had had such trouble keeping his servants. You wouldn’t want to stay too long around a smile like that. It was like Mr. Bonnet had sawed open a gash in his face, and it was bleeding white and red. “By the time they found him, the fire had ruined him. His first mate only knew him by his leathers. Whole face burnt right off.”

He touched his own lips, very lightly, not cutting himself on the edges of that smile. His eyes were wet.

“And that,” Mr. Bonnet said, “was the end of my career as a pirate. That was the end of him.”

#original character #stede bonnet #edward teach

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nelvana · 1 year ago

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A couple months ago now I was fortunate enough to buy a used switch lite from my friend, and even luckier to obtain a copy of Pokemon Scarlet at the local pawn shop at a very reduced price (plus a couple other things but that's not the point rn). So, we go right from the earliest generation of pokemon to the newest back to back, with possibly just as many bugs and glitches, to my gen 9 team!

Team stats and general gameplay info under the cut:

"Nila", Meowscarada, ♀, U-Turn - Play Rough - Flower Trick - Night Slash

"Quaord", Clodsire, ♂, Poison Jab - Earthquake - Liquidation - Megahorn

"Guache", Grafaiai, ♂, Slash - Knock Off - Poison Jab - U-Turn

"Stella", Luxray☆, ♀, Volt Switch - Spark - Crunch - Ice Fang

"Étoile", Pyroar☆, ♀, Flamethrower - Hyper Voice - Swift - Crunch

"Pharle", Farigiraf, ♂, Crunch - Shadow Ball - Twin Beam - Tera Blast

General Playthrough Notes:

Okay look I need to level with you all right off the bat, I don't like the vast majority of the pokemon introduced in gen 9. They feel like such first drafts to me. I normally go into these games with a team plan but this time I literally had two slots missing going in, I just could not think of what to put in there. And I already planned on using two poison-types and two normal-types! Normally I avoid doubling up on types as much as possible! After a bit I used the codes to get a bug-tera mew and a cetitan and was just thinking "I guess they'll be mainstays??"... then I immediately ran into a shiny shinx. Then a shiny litleo. They happened to slot right into the team and I've never been fortunate enough to use shinies in a playthrough (except my soulsilver randomized apocalocke but shhhhh we aren't there yet), so I put them on. But if they hadn't shown up and essentially saved my ass I would have been hard pressed to fill up a team of six (look I literally just used a mew I'm not in a hurry to use it again, at least it's been a couple years since I used luxray in a playthrough).

Anyways, despite all that, I had fun! I knew going in it wouldn't be too difficult and would have its lion's share of glitches, so I was just along for the ride. I like the friend group you form in this game! I like vibing with koraidon as an honorary team member! It's just a pleasant time.

Back to shinies for a moment, overworld shinies without any sound effects to indicate them is evil. I spent so much time staring at groups of pokemon trying to tell if one of them was off-palette. Thankfully, I never ran into any shinies other than the ones I caught.

The raids are neat, though since I don't have Nintendo Online and no frequent enough local players it isn't super interesting with just the npcs. Caught a few neat fellas though, including a steel-tera breloom and a fighting-tera azumarill.

Speaking of, when I first started playing those mewtwo raids were going on and I wanted to participate in them so bad. I barely missed my window, though from what I've heard I wouldn't have stood much of a chance anyway, haha.

I wish there was more post-game other than the raids. I've redone the tournament like half a dozen times now; I wish there was a battle frontier or something. To be fair, I haven't caught all those ruin legends yet; though the one I have caught I managed to get in the first ball, lol.

Do I have the dlc yet? No! I can't just throw around that kind of money willy-nilly. Maybe someday though.

Picnics are really cute though I wish I could pet my pokemon instead of just wash them. Also why can't I sit down on the chairs that are set up around the picnic table??? Still don't really get the sandwich hype, I might mess around with it a bit though, I want to give it a fair shot.

"Hey Nel, why haven't you talked about the Elite Four? You usually start these notes with them?" The E4 is very unremarkable, sorry. I won't bore you by being the billionth person to rag on how Geeta is objectively the worst champion. Also when I rematched all the gym leaders I didn't have to terastilize or heal my pokemon. They were a bit more impressive the first time around tbh. The gym puzzles were neat though!! Except for Tulip's. Fuck her.

Oh yeah, terastilizing is a thing. Mega evolution is still better.

I wanna hang out with my friiiieeeennnds more, both my irl friends and Nemona, Penny, and Arven. It would be so fun to do raids with them or something like that.

Cold take but the uniforms suck I wanna customize my outfit like Nemona, Penny, Arven and Team Star do

(Normally this is where I'd show a screenshot of me finishing the game, but I'm one of the few weirdos who can't use captchas and haven't found another way to transfer files from my switch to other devices. Have a picture of my cat instead; his name is Prince.)

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slashingdisneypasta · 8 months ago

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I know nothing about the DmD trio other than from your blog... But you already know how in love with the Tinman I am XD I had to send an ask for my random few thoughts.

- please- indulge me for a moment. You know that ship dynamic of the gentle giant and the overprotective short stack? That's what I've been imagining with Tinny. Him getting an S/O who is smaller than him (though that wouldn't be hard, I guess XD), but I will absolutely throw hands on his behalf. If he could without hurting them, he could pick them up and set them aside before dealing with the danger himself. Because he'll fight for them too ^^ (Also made me think; If Scarcrow got a Tinman's second in command!S/O and Lion has a Scarecrows assistant!S/O, what if Tinny got a Lions best warriors!S/O? Assuming he has his own army. Or someone associated with Lion?)

- TINMAN FEELING SO GUILTY WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY CUTS YOU AND APOLOGIZING SO PROFUSELY, EXPECTING YOU TO YELL AT HIM LIKE DOROTHY, ONLY FOR YOU TO ASSURE HIM THAT YOU KNEW HE DIDNT MEAN IT 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

- In general; Tinny knowing what it's like to be loved through you ^^ and just- realizing he's no longer in an abusive relationship the longer you two are together 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 you don't yell and insult him, you don't order anything from him, and you never expect him to commit terrible crimes for you. You just want your lovely tin man <3

- Imagine taking in interest in his crafting hobby and sitting with him, or even asking him to teach you! Even if you just want to enjoy his company and have no desire for metal bending, Tinny will be so so so happy and elated to have you here with him ^^

- KISSING TIN!!!!! Holding his cold, metal face delicately while rubbing a thumb along his cheek, maybe brushing against his sharp overbite, your guys' eyes filled with love for each other before you lean in and carefully press your lips against his needle like teeth and lips??? SIGN ME UP! 📃📃📃📃📃

- TIN BEING TOUCH STARVED TIN BEING TOUCH STARCED TIN BEING TOUCH STARVED-

(.... Uh... *cough* I'm not sure if Tinny still has the ~equipment~ or the ~desire~, but you can try to grind on a smooth part of him, or convince him to get extensions. I'm certain he'll want to make happy in bed as well 😏 ok bye-)

- hm... Ngl I'm already wondering what a Yan!DmD!Tinny would be like... I have no self control 😅 of course you know his character more than me, but I like the idea that if he truly went full yandere mode, completely love struck with someone more hopelessly than with Dorothy, he would be more persistent in gaining their affections. It feels like with Dorothy that he'll try something with her, she'll hurt him, and he'll give her some space before trying again. And was slowly realizing that she didn't love him, before Glinda stepped in. But he still hasn't given up. Can you imagine how amplified that'd be if he were yandere?? Maybe even fully deluded that you'll love him instead of just listening to what others tell him? 🤔 what do you think? If you want to comment.

All I've got for now XD as you can see, in my mind, we're already married, live in a cottage in the woods, and are raising three robot children that we built togetger XD (omg this is another example of us falling in love with partner characters(?) You have Scarecrow, and I have Tin... It sounds like we might share Lion though XD) I hope these make you smile! ^^

THIS MADE ME COMBUST.

C OM B U S T.

I- HMMMMMM *BUZZING FROM EXCITEMENT* WHERE DO I EVEN START-

Okay first of all OMG YES!! It is another Norman/Wayne / Psycho/Greasy / Granny/Big Bad kinda situation!! 🤣🤣🤣 I love this, I love that we do this XD YESS Lion is like Wheezy, we both love him and need to appreciate him more XD

And second of all- YES! TIN MAN IS GONNA GET A FIC WHERE HIS S/O IS CLOSE TO THE LION! THAT WAS THE PLAN FROM THE START! XD I love sympatry.

Okay okay okay now onto your actual points- I must take a deep breath first XD

... hoo, okay. Let go.

Gentle Giant/Over Protective Short Stack: Yessss 🥺🥺🥺 Oh boy, does he need it. He needs someone who will CROSS the throne room the millisecond that Dorothy crosses the line and curse at her like a sailor like how DARE you!?- And that second part?? Tin picking his crazy small S/O up (Very carefully, with those fingers of his) and placing them somewhere to the side (Maybe into the arms of one of his tin soldiers- yes, he has entire army fully at his command. They're tin/biology hybrids frankensteined together by Scare) before Dealing with the situation himself. I can see it so clearly it is making my heart ache. Tin scooping you up, saying 'thank you, spring blossom (he'd use all sortsa cringy cute names like that genuinely XD ), but please, please let me handle this for you. The last thing we want is for you to be hurt', and carefully passing you off to another soldier he trusts. He carefully pushes some of your hair behind your ear, then turns back to the threat; straightens up to his f u l l building-like height, and takes care of shit. And the whole time, he wouldn't let even one piece of whoever he's Taking Care Of to hit you (The man is THOROUGH).

Tin Accidentally Hurting S/O:

He was on his knees, again. You told him a million times he doesn't need to do that, but the sweet, dramatic man just cant help himself. And honestly? You don't mind it, actually- You can kiss him and fluster him a lot easier this way. But this time?? This time he was on his knees profusely apologising. And you couldn't take it!! There was no need!! He just accidentally sliced you across the cheek with one of his fingers- he didn't mean to, and you both know it! You hear Dorothy give a snigger from her throne nearby, baring witness to this. You also see the Scarecrow drops his head backwards and sigh heavily at the display- but you don't care about Tin's so-called friends. You care about Tin. You take Tin's big metal head in your hands. " -so sorry. I don't know what came over me, I can do better. I would never, ever fetter your perfect skin on purpose- " "I know, I know." Instead of insisting he don't be silly and he cant help it sometimes!!, which is what you want to do!, you focus on calming him. Because everyone is watching, and he's probably mortified. You just want him to be okay. "Please Tin, its fine. Everyone knows you wouldn't hurt me on purpose." There's a hint of panic in his voice when he speaks next, a little quieter; following your lead and acting as if its just you two, here. Just him, and you. Safe. "Someone might think they could care for you better then me." "Doesn't matter." You whisper. "I know, they couldn't."

Having a Healthy Relationship with Tin: My heart <3 Yes! I can see him struggling with that- even before Dorothy went bad he was willing to give her anything. But imagine any time he offers you something, you're like 'oh that sounds nice! good idea Tin! lets do it together ^^' and leading him off before he can protest. And he s l o w l y starts to feel so so comfortable with you <3<3

"Moon flower, could I get you a drink?" "Oh yeah, I'd love one! Thank you! ^^ Lets go, and we'll get you some oil as well, love." *connecting arms and towing him towards the kitchens* *Eyes wide* "Oh- but I'm fin- " "I can hear you squeaking. Lets go!~ " *gentle voice* "You don't need to worry about me, my love." "No, I don't need to, but I don't mind." *pats his arm gently*

Crafting Together: WAHHHHHHHH, JUST IMAGINING SITTING THERE NEXT TO HIM WATCHING IN UTTER ADORATION AND AWE AND HE DOESNT EVEN NOTICE, JUST ENJOYS TELLING YOU ABOUT HIS THING, UNTIL LATER LION MENTIONS HE SAW YOU HIM AND 'YOUR LADY FRIEND LOOKED BESOTTED, OLD FRIEND'

Kissing, Affection & Sex: Yes yes yes kissing Tin <3<3<3 Oh my goodness. Cupping his large face and stroking his cheeks, leaving feather-light kisses all over his smooth metal cheeks and underbite, gently scraping your nails down his chest or any other smooth part of him and he SHUDDERS (I don't know how physical feeling works for him, especially since Scare was able to pop open his chest and enhance his heart without Tin feeling a thing but when Amy sliced it open it hurt him, but I don't care. It works. It is all in working order because I say so XD), curling your fingers between tangled springs and wires and hearing him gasp, kissing the side of his pointy nose, absentmindedly and gently sliding your finger along the dull side of each of his fingers, etc. Him stroking the dull side of his pointer fingers under your chin when he wants you to look up so he can see your pretty face, him being afraid to touch you or kiss you himself but asking you to touch/kiss him, him raising his hips or his leg (Or wherever you've deemed it safe to rub yourself) in an effort to make it feel better for you- aghhhhh XD I'm not okay XD

And- EXTENSIONS?? Omg yes he would absolutely do that for his S/O XD You wouldn't even have to ask man!! He'd anticipate it, once you two actually got together!! XDD But like, the thing thats getting me here?? SCARECROW IS THE ONE WHO'LL HAVE TO MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS XDD

"I'm sorry, uh, old friend, let me just... let me see if I fully understand. You want to...? " "I want to make some necessary improvements to my body for the sake of my human love's pleasure. At night." "... uhuh. And that means?" "I would like to be fitted with the tool's a human man has, or something better, for- " *impatient with Tin's awkward pussy footing* "Are you asking me to attach a Dick to you, Tin Woodman!???" "... Yes. Will you do it?" "... Fine... For Science."

Yandere Tin Woodman!!!!!: Oooooookay. I'm struggling to gather my thoughts here XD To an extent, I think Woody is actually already kindof Yandere XD I mean, before Dorothy even shows her 'true colours' herself, he's doing some not-so-above-board things for her. Like forcing his people (The Winky's) to walk for days non stop to the Emerald palace to be her army. And then, when she seems displeased, letting Scarecrow do what he wants with them (He's shocked when he finds out WHAT Scare did with them, which was Frankenstein them of course (which killed a good portion of them before he got the procedure Right), but he was miraculously easy to convince that it was a good idea when Scare and Glinda said Dorothy would like it). As well as letting Scarecrow adjust Tin's own heart with magic For Dorothy. So... yeah, to an extent, Tin is already obsessed with getting her to like him. But if he was All The Way Yandere like you're thinking... oh boy.

There would be no getting away. Remember how he's got a whole army at his disposal?? And d u n g e o n s??? 👀 Yeah. He'd be like 'I know you don't love me yet, and it is painful my sunlit dandelion, but you will eventually. You'll fall for me, eventually'.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS ASK!! Aghhhh, you're really enabling me here XD

#i was about to do a horror villain thing when i saw this!... thats been thrown out the window now- XD

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cru5h-cascades · 7 months ago

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Ah... the Serafina series...

Ight so in middle school I'd avidly read the books from this series that I could get my hands on (which were only two out of the four OG books: Black Cloak, which I owned, and Twisted Staff, which they had in the school library) (I read Black Cloak more since I had easy access to it) and gah DAMN these were my bread & butter back then after I grew out of the Spiderwick Chronicles (which I might make a post like this soon because I loved that series, or at least the original 5 books). I dunno I just like the kinda dreamy feel of these books I guess. After 8th grade, I wasn't as interested in these books anymore and I didn't bother get the other two (oh boy... the stuff I missed out on...) and shoved these books into the backseat of my mind. But then a few months ago, I remembered this series out of nowhere... and then realized how weird the series was (or at least the two books I actually read), and things only got weirder after I decided to look up the series & see what I missed out on...

Here's just some of the stuff I either randomly remembered from the books I read or found out via Google:

The first & second book keeps repeating the same line (something along the lines of "she was a creature of the night" or whatever), or at least a lot towards the beggining of Twisted Staff & a lot towards the end of Black Cloak. Like we get it bro this kid's the decendant of catamounts (or, as I'll be refering to them as, werecats, 'cause that's what they basically are). Like I wouldn't mind if this line was in the books once or twice but for me personally, it feels kind of excessive.

Changing Serafina's look after she turns into a big cat wasn't that nessisary, nor did Beatty have to choose a singular, specific big cat for Serafina's big cat form. Panthers can mate with mountain lions (and the same applies for other big cats and cats in general) Serafina should have just been able to turn into a panther/mountain lion(?) hybrid and could have kept her original human form traits because people can look more like one parent than they do the other. It's how genetics work.

SERAFINA FUCKING DIES IN SPLINTERED HEART?? AND COMES BACK TO LIFE? Girl's got some major plot armor. Dare I say kid's maybe even a Mary Sue (doesn't think people will like her for her two tone hair and junk, managed to beat up two grown ass men with magic powers, got her werecat powers even if we were told in the begining of Twisted Staff that Serafina couldn't transform, and has survived near death experiences and was brought back from the dead)

I'm probably forgetting some more stuff but damn... this series was weird. I feel like some stuff should have been handled better, tbh, specifically the stuff I just listed. I liked what they did with Serafina's abilities in the first book, with her having big cat-like abilities while in human form, and I feel like they should have built up upon that concept instead of just giving Serafina her big cat form when her mum specifically says it wouldn't be possible for her to transform. But damn... not even my nostalgia for this series can stop me from critisizing the series like this. Of course, I, a teen in high school, isn't quite the main demographic for the series, so I might be looking too far into this. Like for middle schoolers, I can see them enjoying the series for what it is (I should know 'cause I was one of them), but yeah looking back on these books, they were kinda weird. I liked them, and they're fun to look back at, but still weird.

I know they made some graphic novel adapations of the series (or at least one for Black Cloak) last year. If anyone reading this has read what's been released so far, how is it? I kinda wanna know :D

#books #liturature #serafina and the black cloak #serafina and the seven stars #serafina and the splintered heart #serafina and the twisted staff #serafina series #ramblings #th1nking out l0ud #random #this series is wild bro

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iamgroundzero · 2 years ago

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munday asks!

@mightiboy asked: Every symbol that doesn't get sent to you in the next three hours. I want to learn more and get to know you better. I hope that's okay and if it's too much, we can limit it to these: ❓❤️💘🗒🎶🤗😀🎁🎉😗💯 (( Don't be mean to my friend Tyto. I will bite your cheek if you are. ))

Alright, here we go...

🌈 — name(s) & pronouns

I have a very uncommon name so I don’t give it out, just call me Tyto and my pronouns are he or they.

🎈 — gender and/or sexuality

Somewhere in the nonbinary spectrum and asexual.

🎂 — age and/or birthday

May 6th is my birthday.

💕 — single or taken?

Taken

⭐️ — sun, moon, & rising signs, if known

I looked this up just now haha

Sun: Taurus Moon: Aquarius Rising: Scorpio

💭 — MBTI and/or enneagram, if known

ISTP-T (I took a test for this)

❓ — three adjectives that describe you

Quiet, Friendly, Easy-going

❤️ — what are some of your best qualities?

I’m very easy to talk to (I think?)

💔 — what are some of your worst qualities?

I have sometimes crippling anxiety and inferiority complex issues.

✨ — what would you change about yourself, if anything?

I’d get rid of my depression.

💘 — what and/or who do you consider near and dear to you?

My fiancee, my friends.

🚗 — what vehicle(s) do you drive?

We have a Kia Soul right now but might be getting a second car.

✈️ — ever traveled anywhere interesting?

I’ve been to England twice (London and Cambridge) and Hobbitcon in Germany once.

⌨️ — what operating system(s) do you use?

Windows 10

📱 — mobile or desktop version of tumblr?

Desktop. I hate the mobile version.

🖥 — favorite platform besides tumblr?

Eeehh... I don’t really have a favorite.

🎮 — favorite video game(s)?

FFXIV, Monster Hunter

🖱 — any cool devices/tool(s) of the trade? (i.e. type of mouse, monitor, keyboard, tablet, etc)

My keyboard and mouse both light up? I think I can change the colors too but I just have them cycling through rainbow because it looks best.

💍 — any piercings?

Not anymore.

💎 — want any (more) piercings?

Nah, I had my wild phase. xD

🖊 — any tattoos?

Two. An owl on my back and my first snake on my leg.

🔏 — want any (more) tattoos?

Yeah, someday, but I’m not sure of what. I have a few ideas of the theme, just not the execution.

🎄 — favorite holiday(s)?

I don’t really have one. Any of them that I get off work.

😍 — celebrity crush(es)?

Never had any.

😊 — any career desires?

Something where I don’t have to talk to people unless I want to (so like, no retail, customer service jobs) and preferably work at a computer.

📚 — if you’re in college, what’s your level (undergrad, grad, phd, etc) and/or degree program?

Until I moved, I was working on an accounting degree, but after I moved I can’t afford it right now.

🎶 — favorite song at the moment?

I never have just one, so here’s a few;

Crusader (Are We There Yet) - BlackGryph0n & Baasik

Need the Power - Dankira!!!

Anti-Hero - Sekai no Owari

Lion - Hearts & Colors

I’m Good (Blue) - David Guetta & Bebe Rexha

📕 — favorite book/series?

Dragonriders of Pern, honestly. I also really loved the Guardians of Ga’hoole as a kid. Harry Potter (Controversial I know, but it played a major part in my youth and even if Rowling is a trash human being she came up with an amazing world that has evolved and grown far more than she’ll ever be capable of).

🧶 — any non-writing hobbies/interests?

Games.

📺 — favorite movie(s) and/or tv show(s)?

It’s been a long time since I’ve watched a TV show, honestly. My general go-to for movies is anything animated Disney/Pixar but I don’t have a single favorite anymore.

✏️ — how long have you been roleplaying on tumblr?

On and off since 2011.

✍️ — what other platforms have you roleplayed on?

Neopets. Gaiaonline. Proboards. Acornrack. Spleafnet. Avidgamers. Email. Skype. AIM. Yahoo!IM. Discord.

🗒 — what is/are your favorite genre(s)/theme(s) to write?

Hhhh... Dunno. Slow-burn romance?

🤔 — what genre(s)/theme(s) do you struggle to write the most?

Fight-scenes.

😁 — what’s your favorite part about being part of the rpc?

Meeting people with similar interests.

😤 — what do you dislike the most about being part of the rpc?

Call-out culture. Feels like so many people are oversensitive.

💻 — how many friends have you made in the rpc? feel free to tag a few of them!

Quite a few, many of whom no longer RP.

🎧 — do you write while listening to music/podcasts/videos/etc, or do you need total silence?

Either works for me. Silence or music.

😀 — are there any rpc mutuals that you’ve met irl before?

Yes, but not from the MHA community.

😳

— what was your most embarrassing moment in the rpc?

I can’t recall any.

🫂 — how many friends are in your irl friend group(s)?

Like, 5.

🎉 — what are some of your favorite things to do with your irl friends?

We all live in different states but we used to go to anime conventions, before Covid happened.

😗 — what are some of your favorite things to do when you have some time to yourself?

Write. Listen to music. Play games.

💯 — share three random facts about yourself that your mutuals may not know about you.

1. I have a large collection of plushies, including a collected set that would be worth approximately $1000+ if I sold them on ebay.

2. One of my ball pythons, Marble, is a chimera and was hatched from the very first clutch of eggs bred by me (I no longer breed, they are all pets).

3. I used to be terrified of spiders and I’m still not comfortable holding them/handling them (not that they like being held/handled to begin with) but having to care for them has helped me otherwise completely get over my fear.

#.(munday meme answers)#.(ooc meme answers)#(This post is very long)#mightiboy

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dominijoyce · 2 years ago

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Sun and Saturn!

Sun: what’s something that’s an everyday part of your life that reminds you of how beautiful the world is?

Mmmm... In general, just people. Or rather, how we tend to forget that everyday on streets alone we pass by hundreds if not thousands of different people. Each of them has a different story, different opinions, different interests, different goals and motivations. Maybe that's eevesdropping for some, but I do like sometimes listening to a group of teenager friends on a bus, talking about some school teacher they hate or some other plans; on a train stations families often talk of their plans or parents reminding the kids to keep close and to make sure to keep track of their things... I dunno, for many it seems insignificant but I just love being reminded that everyone around us exists. I love talking with people, yesterday I had a chance to talk with an older man about generosity as I was waiting for my food at restaurant - I will never meet him again and yet I might remember him and his words in a few years... I have this story I like telling people, that is a perfect example of this so this is a perfect opportunity to mention it.

So like, back in high school I would often skip sleep and because I would do it many nights in a row, I knew this was a common occurence but I kept seeing the neighbouring building to mine and every night there was always a light on. The stairway in that building is similar to mine (I know that cause I have been inside of it before) and it works by motion detection - if it detects someone moving inside, the light turns on. The window that I kept seeing the light being on from is also not an apartment window - it is definitely the window you encounter when walking the stairs to get either up or down a floor. The light turns off automatically after some time without any motion and in that case it would happen a lot - it would turn off but then soon to be turned on, I assume by someone who suddenly went into motion. Which meant that every night for more than few weeks if not months, someone, very late into the night would just... hang in the stairway - they weren't working or walking down and up or anything, otherwise the light would constantly be turned on due to detecting constant movement - they were just hanging there, every night - for multiple hours btw (back then, I noticed this happening from as early as midnight to as late as early morning, think 6 or 7 am). The light was definitely not malfunctioning as the light was mostly turned off in the day time as it should work.

I dunno... I just find it interesting and fascinating, most people wouldn't care about that, but I do - it really gives me a perspective about how there are so many people around me, at any moment, all of them have different thoughts and traits and goals - and for someone, that person just felt like spending most of the night in the cold (it was cold, it was winter season) stairway and just hanging out there for multiple hours - sometimes the full night. Maybe they had a reason for this, maybe they don't and they just liked that routine - I don't know and will never know. No one is hanging out there anymore as of over a year now. And yet. I still keep thinking of it. In that way, life is beautiful to me.

Saturn: Name 5 very cute animals!

Desmarest’s Hutia (Capromys pilorides)

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish (Cyaneacapillata)

Victoria Crowned-pigeon (Goura victoria)

Tarzan’s Chameleon (Calumma tarzan)

Northern Pinocchio Frog (Litoria pinocchio)

#answered #foxounderscorecube #ask game

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helpforihavefallen · 3 years ago

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Not surprising but Aaron T stole my mf heart and left no crumbs, tho he shared it with the rest of the 4town. Damned be them anyway-

Random headcanons of T because i said so :)

———

• Mamas boy. Let’s start with the strong one. He definitely is not the only child but is the oldest.

• He had to babysit a lot his younger siblings when they were growing up which kinda took away his freedom to goof around and actually bring his playful nature in the air.

• So now that he is with the group where he isn’t in charge anymore, he feels more free than ever before to do whatever he likes, try different hobbies and just nap whenever the hell he wants to.

• Dont get me wrong he loves his family but holy he’s happier now that he’s away from them to pursue his own life and goals.

• So T rarely gets serious. Like ever. Obviously it’s fun and all but he lacks the understanding of certain situations where he should stay quiet instead of cracking jokes which actually sometimes makes the things even worse between the guys.

• That being said he really gives full 100% from the moment his eyes open in the morning to the moment he goes to sleep.

• I’m just kidding he is a BEAST if you wake him up early in the morning on their day off.

• Likes to come up with nicknames for everyone which more or less for their liking, will be stuck with them until the day they die.

• He LOVES hugs, highfives, whatever physical touch there is. He loves being close to people and feeling like there’s some special bond between him and them so you can bet your heart that whenever he receives a first highfive, fistbump, hug (you get the idea) he will be grinning the rest of the day happily.

• Obviously he’s SO ENCOURAGING LIKE??? You passed the test? AMAZING. You survived the day? SUPERB. You just tried your best? HE IS SO PROUD OF YOU.

• Bit of a scatterbrain though let’s be honest.

• Has a dad sneeze. I know y’all know what i’m talking about. The whole house will shake under him when he sneezes.

• Plays videogames with Taeyoung whenever they are free. The thing is though, he is a sore loser and Taeyoung is unbeatable.

• He’s really good with kids! They looooove him and he loves playing with them.

• He absolutely dares the other members of 4town to do stupid crap with him or just in general.

• That being said he dared Taeyoung to zip himself inside a suitcase and he got stuck. Thats why Tae now refuses to go into small spaces.

• His hair is so soft oh my god-

• He also ALWAYS has a bed hair which looks????amazing????? Jesse is the most bitter about this as his bed hair looks horrid.

• Nothing makes him happier than seeing people smile and having fun. He’ll do anything to keep them smiling which sometimes can go a bit far but Robaire keeps him in the ground as he’s a bit more serious.

• He and Aaron Z has a secret handshake they do whenever they nail something and the others are extremely bitter about it since they want to learn it too.

• He rarely argues with anyone, but if arguments happen he will shut down. He hates it and can’t physically nor mentally handle it.

• But he also gets dared by Aaron Z and Taeyoung especially, which ended up him drinking a ketchup bottle (he was sick for the rest of the day)

• ”It was basically a smoothie bro.”

• Loses his things on daily basis.

• Oh also T cries very easily when watching a sad movie. He watched Lion King once and he hasn’t been the same since.

• He is your go to guy if you want to distract yourself from the problems as he isn’t that great at listening tbh. HE STILL TRIES HIS BEST OKAY.

• He is actually really smart even though he is a scatterbrain. He just chooses to do the dumb things as they seem to make people smile more.

• That being said...he is a bit insecure now that he’s known as the ”haha funny man” dude he feels like if he gets serious people might lose interest in him.

• Plays his insecurities off with jokes :)

• He has a bad habit of biting his nails which is most upsetting to Taeyoung as he can’t paint his nails now.

———

I have so much more i want to write down but AAAAA

#turningred #4town #4town aaron t #4town headcanons #turning red headcanons #turning red 4town #turning red #aaron t turning red #headcanons #general headcanons

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stellaluna33 · 3 years ago

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Do you think the Chronicles of Narnia are sexist? I've heard people argue both ways. (If you don't want to answer this of course feel free to completely ignore it. But your post about Aravis and assault and so forth made me want to know what your opinion on this was.

Oof. Haha! So... keep in mind that I am really REALLY not an expert, and am no Lewis scholar, so this is just my opinion. However, I have read most if not all of his books as well as some of his letters, as well as done some study of his life, so... With that in mind, my answer would be: it's complicated? Haha! I'll start out by saying this: Lewis was definitely a man of his time. He was born in the late 19th century and spent much of his life in male-dominated academic circles, and with that came certain assumptions (very widely held at the time!) about the way the world and gender roles worked. A lot of those assumptions would now be considered "outdated," to put it generously. But here's the thing, though: C.S. Lewis's views evolved throughout his life. As he interacted with more Actual Women, especially through his friendship with Joy Davidman (who would later become his wife), he rethought a lot of things, and you can really see the difference between his earlier books and his later ones. Even within the Chronicles of Narnia series itself you can see this shift happening! You go from Susan and Lucy being categorically forbidden to partake in the battle in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (I still roll my eyes at that part, haha) to Jill being very definitely involved (as well as being The Best at tracking and stealth) in The Last Battle. Did he get it perfect all the time? No. But he TRIED, and was humble enough to admit when he'd been wrong and ADAPT. And, you know what? I'm going to give him credit for that. That's far better than a lot of people do, even nowadays.

But one area in which I will emphatically answer "No!" to is in the case of Susan. I still remember the first time I ever heard the take that Susan was "condemned" because of, I don't know, being interested in "sexual maturity" or something, and it was an interview/talk with J.K. Rowling, actually (YEARS ago). I remember being just FLOORED and absolutely bewildered because I had NEVER gotten that impression AT ALL. The one comment in the book about Susan being only interested in "nylons and invitations" (or something?) was from the character Jill, who is a young teenage girl who's a bit of a tomboy (I know that's an outdated expression; just roll with it!) and scornful of that sort of thing. But that's not WHY she couldn't come back to Narnia! It's because Susan didn't want to. It has nothing to do with being "sexually mature" or being interested in femininity, it's that she's so obsessed with LOOKING like a grown-up that she doesn't want to believe that Narnia was real. And this has nothing to do with her being a woman because this is how C.S. Lewis talked about HIMSELF. In his autobiographical book, Surprised By Joy, he talks about going through a long phase where he was too embarrassed to read Fairy Tales and acted scornful about them because he was so anxious to avoid anything that might be seen as "childish." What's that quote of his? "Someday you'll be old enough to enjoy Fairy Tales again." This was about himself, and it was about Susan too. Because that's another thing: Susan's story wasn't over yet! She wasn't on the train with the rest of them when it crashed, so she didn't die! And Lewis himself, in a letter written to a fan, said that he expected and hoped that Susan WOULD find her way back to Narnia again! That it might take her a while to get there (as it did with Lewis himself), but she would. I will die on this hill. Haha! Anyway, that's my long, convoluted answer, as best as I can give it. 😊

#The Chronicles of Narnia #C.S. Lewis #Susan Pevensie #HOO boy I feel like I'm wading into a minefield with this one #😂😅

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audrey-emeralds · 3 years ago

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Past Times | Tom Riddle

Pairing: Tom Riddle x First!Gn!Reader

Summary: Your love is your poison, beautiful but deadly and leaves nothing except memories to the once who are left behind.

Warnings: stereotypes, death...

Request!!! by @aura-nightingale

A/n: I don't know much about the cursed child so this might not make too much sense, but I tried my best. This is the first reader and Tom, I decided to do another part if you don't mind, where will appear Mattheo and the second reader and where more will be said about Tom and the reader's relationship. Sorry for the wait.

Tags: @ivana-12500 | @annegrey

First-year at Hogwarts. A completely new beginning for you. Your older brother Fleamont spoke of it, but never to impress your standards. You had to observe and see it. Who better to believe than your own eyes.

Hogwarts was truly magical and interesting, but nothing new. You did grow up in the pureblood family of Gryffindors. Thought your first years the only thing that was on your mind was grades and reputation.

" Gryffindor! " When another Potter was, unsurprisingly selected to be a Gryffindor, cheer jumped from the proud lads before you. Of curse, it was a surprise to you either. Courage was in your veins, proudness in your style and strength in your mind. All traits true Gryffindor must-have.

Letters from your family members came flying in to congratulate you for being who you are, the same as them.

The witty charm of yours attracted many people, so you were quite popular. Friends from Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw. Slytherins however were a different story.

The stereotypes surrounding them drew you away from them. What else would an eleven-year-old believe if not in things that have been said to them?

They were bad. Rude, disrespectful, full of themselves... The only thing which was talked about them was bad news. Yet you admired them, of course in secret.

You admire how none of it really bothered them. They all had their pride which they cherished and no comments made by any of the other houses could put them down.

One certain Slytherin stood out, Tom Riddle.

The perfect student of House Slytherin. During your years at Hogwarts, he became your, well sort of an enemy. Rather be said rival.

You were the best student of the lions and he was the best student of the snakes. But who was the best in the whole school?

Yes, there were other great students, Lovegood from Ravenclaw, Thomas from Gryffindor, but neither of them had the desire to become the best of the best.

So you is left? Tom and yourself.

Any class you would meet it would be war or words, who first raised their hand, who made a better example...

Neither would back down, you had to win and both were sour losers. After class insults wouldn't be spoiled, however, that wouldn't last long. Tom would get bored of them and wouldn't like to waste time on " beating your ass once again. "

His arrogance teased you, challenging you to do better than him if you dared. And what you certainly weren't was a coward.

Every single chance you got to beat him in something you would, no matter how small the victory was it brought joy to your face when his frown reappeared.

He hated you for it, he despised you. And still, he admired you. Firstly you were nothing but a pathetic excuse of a wizard. Trying to compare with him, unbelievable.

The fact that Dumbledore, the professor with who Tom had the most problems favoured you, gave him something to rage about.

You were the only source of problems for him, which he took quite badly as he found himself perfect in anything he did.

But just later he found how your courage to keep going and pushing his limits, attracted him to you. Almost like he wished he could be yelling how wrong you were and you would yell back until...

Well until you found yourself in his arms. It would just happen.

Riddle then understood how he had no idea what that meant, was he experiencing the unknown feeling.

What is called?

Liking someone. Generally liking someone's character.

He was surprised how you weren't intimidated by his knowledge, maybe you were smarter than what you looked like.

Riddle could guess for days and still not know the answer. What was it so appealing to you that it bothered him?

You saw his behaviour change. He did fight as passionately as before for a correct answer, nor did he insult you...

What did you do then? You asked him if he is alright? He gave you no response, glancing at you, once, twice and left.

You decided to play games with him, if he isn't up for it you definitely are.

You couldn't go to Slytherin common rooms, you couldn't speak to him during class both sitting far away from one another.

But you could catch him in a library. You knew his spot, every single time you entered it and he was there, Tom would sit around the most isolated table, somewhere where it was dark and no one would notice him.

You did. It's like you could smell him how easily you found him. He always sat alone, finding people barely tolerate.

Without any words, you sat next to him. His eye caught you, wondering what you wanted.

" Potter. " He spoke, face covered with the book.

" Riddle. " At the mention of his last name, Tom gave you a questioning look.

And so it began, your friendship. You studied together, never speaking, just enjoying each other's presence.

It seemed odd, didn't it? You yelled many insults to another and the silence was all you needed to get along.

The silence turned into an exchange of words, then conversation.

But something didn't feel right. Every time you had your meetings, you sat opposite the other. A few feet away, for a touch which dragged your mind away from your homework.

Tom felt the same, he would never admit, but you knew he did.

Your looks would be met, starting hungrily, expecting. What are you going to do next? Should he?

And when you did make the first move he was stunned. Tom was expecting it and still, he got surprised. So you didn't continue the touch with which you connected your skin.

You ran. And he ran after you.

" Y/n! " Just when you could keep on running your legs stopped and your heart said to turn around.

Your rival Tom. Was that him?

" Y/n. " Your name rolled off his tongue easily, as if he was to sing using it.

" Tom. " Two lonely souls were put together. His and yours, which didn't even know how alone it was until you faced it.

It happened. Love without knowing, it happened. Oh, and it was beautiful. So, so beautiful. The ugly thing about it was how all of it was short.

Beauty lasts just for a second until all the ugly comes out of hiding.

Tom loved you, he really loved you. The pain he felt when your dead body laid in front of him will ache him for eternity.

You were good to him, the possible saviour of everything he will destroy after your death. He never recovered from it, he hid it.

As no one knew of your relationship, no one connected the dots and no one ever found out how the famous Y/n Potter died so mysteriously in the walls of Hogwarts.

Not until your brother's ancestors returned to your time and saw it for themselves.

#tom riddle #tom marvolo riddle #tom riddle fluff #tom riddle fanfiction #tom riddle jr #tom riddle x reader #tom riddle imagine #tom riddle oneshot #tom riddle x oc #tom riddle smut #tom riddle x y/n #lord voldemort #harry potter fic #harry potter fanfiction #voldemort

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luminnara · 4 years ago

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It’s Been a Long, Long Time | Alpha!Bucky x Omega!reader part one 18+ only

Summary: When HYDRA had their prized asset, the Winter Soldier, they did something no one ever thought was possible: they gave super soldier serum to an omega. With the sole purpose of tending to him during his ruts, she spends decades living in HYDRA facilities, denied her humanity and her life. Now, years later, Bucky Barnes has his mind and his own life back...and the last thing he ever expects is to see a familiar omega again. Bucky/OC, a little angsty but mostly smutty/fluffy/romantic!

Warnings: NSFW, knotting, abo, smut, mild dubcon

Request are OPEN! I would love to write more Bucky stuff!

Also posted on AO3

Part one | Part Two | Part three |

In a world full of massive, snarling, strong alphas, nobody wanted to use something as small and physically weak as an omega to do war. Omegas were better suited for other things, like nurturing, and giving life. The alphas were the ones who fought and maimed and killed and protected and hunted. It wasn’t even until relatively recently that omegas even had many rights in the modern world, and there were still plenty of traditionalists who stuck to the old ideals. Omegas were for breeding and claiming and little more. Though those ideas were fading, there would always be those who believed that there were things omegas couldn’t and shouldn’t do--

And fighting was at the top of that list.

Omegas weren’t built for it. They were sturdy, sure, to help them withstand the ruts of big alphas who couldn’t control themselves, but they were generally small, and, many believed, unable to fend for themselves. Their role, their purpose, was to be claimed and bred by big strong alphas, and that was that. It made sense; after all, someone needed to stay and care for the pups, or else there would be little chance of survival. Throughout most of history, survival wasn’t something that was ever guaranteed, and having a secondary gender that was intended for rearing offspring greatly increased the likelihood that pups would make it to adulthood. Alphas were bigger and stronger, natural leaders, always ready to fight and defend their territory and their pack, and omegas were always there to carry the young.

And that was that. Omegas weren’t meant to be warriors. Their only place on the battlefield was in the medic tent, where they could tend to wounded alphas and betas. It was nearly unheard of in many places for there to be omega soldiers, even infantry.

Until the twentieth century.

The catastrophic proportions of both World Wars brought with them an all hands on deck mentality. In the states, male omegas were being drafted along with the others, newly-invented heat and rut suppressants meaning that they could all work together without the danger of blunders thanks to anyone’s natural cycle. Back home, not only were alpha and beta women suddenly flooding the workforce while the men were overseas, but omegas were joining them. It was unprecedented, and began to change many minds. Maybe omegas were useful for more than incubators. Maybe they could work.

They still weren’t the best choice for hands on, tactical things, though. While there were omegas in the army, they rarely became officers, because who was going to want to listen to them? They weren’t natural born fighters, and they were hardwired to obey alphas. They were better as battle fodder, extras to pad out the numbers. They certainly weren’t anyone’s first choice for special missions or programs.

Well...almost anyone’s.

When HYDRA got their soldier and programmed his brain, they were pleased. The big alpha, James Buchanan Barnes, had survived the super soldier serum, and with his mind wiped and his old life far away from him, he was the perfect assassin. The Winter Soldier was strong, well trained, and easy to control, when given the proper commands. The serum made him practically unkillable, and he had the speed and strength to rival that annoying Captain America.

Unfortunately, the serum also made his ruts much harder to suppress. HYDRA would never permit him to settle down with an omega, of course not...but an omega was the only thing that could ease his rut cycle. Without one, he could spend a week snarling and pining, absolutely useless. With one, he was only out of the field for a few days. Until they could develop better suppressants, their only solution was to give him an omega.

Unfortunately, they weren’t very good at surviving him.

He didn’t like any of them, not really. He never meant to kill them, never really tried, but HYDRA had a habit of starving the poor things before they tossed them into the lion’s den, and they just couldn’t keep up. The soldier used them to alleviate his ruts, always mechanical in his movements, and that was that.

HYDRA didn’t particularly care whether the omegas lived or died, but they did reach a point where it was getting to be a bit ridiculous to catch so many for their soldier. Someone along the way had the bright idea to simply make a stronger omega, one who could withstand their asset’s forcefulness. Giving the serum to an omega was such a ridiculous idea that it just might work, and so they did, and oh, did they get lucky with the omega they chose.

Taking scent samples from several omegas they already had, they presented them to the soldier, allowing him to choose. It was, perhaps, the one time they had ever given him a sense of autonomy over himself and his life. It was the one time he had any freedom, despite the incredibly controlled circumstances.

While strapped down to a familiar chair, he watched the doctors pacing around. He was expecting the familiar agony of having his mind refreshed before a new mission, or maybe even the chill of preparation to go into cryo for a few years until he was needed again. Instead, they presented him with strong-smelling test tubes, each one unmistakably omega. He inhaled their scents with mild interest, none seeming to particularly stand out...until they reached the last.

Amoretta Arancini was a young adult female omega, whose file stated that she was “a kicker.” From the moment she had been captured with the intent to be given to the soldier for a rut, she had clawed and kicked and bitten at anyone and everyone who came into contact with her. She was nearly impossible to deal with, and had the soldier not immediately flared his nostrils and strained against the leather straps that held him down, she would have been finally put down.

Neither she nor Bucky knew it, but he was the only reason she was allowed to live.

The soldier was placed back into his usual cell, and the doctors set about gathering the unruly omega he had chosen. It only made sense that the big, killer alpha would go for a positively savage little monster of an omega, after all.

They administered the serum, unsure whether an omega would even survive it, and by the time their soldier’s next rut came around, she was ready. If she could withstand him, she would have a purpose within HYDRA, and they would be able to stop wasting so much time on finding new omegas for him to burn through.

She was given double the suppressants he was. They didn’t care if she experienced side effects; after all, her only job was to present herself to the soldier at the start of every rut. She didn’t need to be out in the field. If that meant she was groggy and nauseous all the time, who cared? It seemed to work, keeping her heat and fertility at bay while leaving her lucid enough to get the asset through his cycle. The last thing HYDRA needed was an unscheduled heat or pregnancy to deal with.

“The asset is entering his rut. Bring in the omega.” A voice on the intercom said.

An alarm blared, a door slowly screeching open, revealing a cold cell, bare save for the cot against the wall. It was a cell specifically used to hold the soldier during his ruts, and now, it would also hold Amoretta.

She stumbled along, a beta guard with a cattle prod stalking behind her. She was naked, having been allowed to shower before meeting the soldier for the first time, her dark hair still damp as it fell behind her shoulders. It was the cleanest her skin had felt in weeks, so she could only be so angry about it...but she was still angry.

With the threat of electricity behind her, she entered the empty cell. A door slammed shut the moment she stepped in, another sliding open on the other side of the small room.

His scent hit her like a freight train. Motor oil, earth, and cloves...Amoretta’s lip raised in a sneer, partly because she had a feeling she knew what was coming, and partly so that she could try to disguise the way she suddenly began salivating.

Sure enough, just as she suspected, the biggest alpha she had ever seen in her life came stalking in, eyes dark and wild as he searched for the omega he had smelled on his way in. His chest was heaving, sweat prickling his brow, and as his musky rut-scent wove around Amoretta, she swallowed hard. She definitely knew what was coming next.

She had never seen the asset before, but she had heard whispers and seen the other omegas they offered up to him. Before she was injected with the serum, she lived in a cramped cell with several others, and whenever someone was dragged out, it was always a toss up whether they would return or not. When they did return, they were never in good shape.

Now she could see why.

He was predatory in his movements, dark hair falling in his eyes as he stalked toward her. The door slammed shut the moment he was clear of it, and suddenly, Amoretta was trapped with him. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide from what was quite possibly the most dangerous alpha in the world. If he decided he wanted her, she would have no choice. If he decided he didn’t want her...she would probably die, either by his hand, or HYDRA’s.

She stood as still as she could, watching him with level eyes as he sized her up. A large part of her was surprised that he hadn’t pounced yet, and as a low rumble started up in his chest, she sort of wished he would. The sound went straight to her core, her thighs pressing together of their own free will while she did everything she could to keep from biting her lip.

His nostrils flared as the scent of her arousal mounted and he pressed himself up against her. The soldier was still looking her over, taking a surprisingly long time to examine the omega standing before him, especially considering that he was rutting. He slowly lowered his head, inhaling deeply, brushing his nose over the scent gland on her neck. The rumbling in his chest grew louder, and this time, Amoretta couldn’t help the needy whine that escaped her throat.

The soldier’s hot tongue swept over her gland, his hands gripping her hips. He liked how she smelled. He liked how her flesh tasted.

He wanted more.

He gave her a small shove towards the cot, but as he did so, this little omega glaring up at him actually snapped. She bared her little teeth at him, trying to tell him to slow down, and he responded with a snarl of his own. His tore through his throat, a savage noise, and while it shut her up, it didn’t get rid of the harsh look she was shooting at him.

The asset wasn’t used to anyone, especially the omegas that HYDRA offered up to him, talking back. They usually went belly up for him the moment he stepped into the cell, behaving and presenting themselves for him to take. That’s what he preferred--a willing omega, whom he could enjoy for a few days. He didn’t like...whatever was going on here. Why was this one so upset with him? He wanted this omega to relax, to take him easily. His mind, usually so analytical and tactical, was clouded by his rut, and for a moment, he wasn’t sure what to do.

Amoretta saw the way that he hesitated and she lowered the lip she had raised. So he was capable of listening, after all. That was a good sign that he had some control over himself. Ever so slowly, she relaxed, allowing him to give her a little nudge. It was impressive that he was allowing her to set the pace, especially considering that his musky scent was growing heavier by the second. She definitely hadn’t expected him to be at all interested in what she wanted, and she had been pretty sure that he would just push her down and take what he considered his.

He was almost...gentle, though. Gentler than she thought possible from such a big alpha, at least. She turned and walked toward the cot of her own accord, knowing full well that she didn’t have much choice in how all of this was going to play out. If she was going to be knotted today, then she might as well try to enjoy it, right?

The way his scent made her mouth water gave her the feeling that that wouldn’t be too hard.

The soldier watched her with predatory eyes, following every movement closely. Absentmindedly, a hand drifted down to the loose pants he had been provided, palming his already hard cock through the fabric. He liked this omega. He liked how she looked, how she smelled, how she moved...he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her hips as they swayed slightly, a pleased rumble rising in his throat. He knew what was coming next, and he couldn’t wait. He was aching to be inside of her, to fill her up, to knot her...he wanted to make this omega his, and take care of her, and protect her, and he’d be damned if his captors got in the way of that.

Amoretta climbed onto the cot, her back still turned to the most dangerous alpha on the planet. All too aware that she was completely naked, she crawled onto her hands and knees, dipping down until her chest hit the sheets, her ass up in the air for him. Her primal, omega brain was clamoring for this chance to present before such a big, strong, handsome alpha, and as the cool air tickled at her, she couldn’t help but let out a shrill, needy whine. He was taking too long, and part of her was genuinely worried that he was going to reject her. She was doing everything right, she was submitting, she was in a very vulnerable position...so why wasn’t he already on top of her?

A tiny bead of slick trickled down her thigh as she glanced back to see him standing there with his hand on his bulge. Oh. So that’s what he was doing instead of jumping on her. At least he was turned on by the sight of her...right?

Wait. Why did she care? Why did she care at all what this terrifying alpha thought about her? This terrifying, big, strong...nice smelling...alpha…

If she weren’t on so many suppressants, she was absolutely sure her heat would have started then and there. He was so goddamn handsome, standing there all shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants. Her body wanted him, she wanted him, and if her hormones were allowed to do what they wanted, they would have been absolutely raging.

His nostrils were flared as he took in her scent, his blue eyes wild and his pupils totally blown out as he finally stalked towards her. His movements were brisk, filled with purpose, the bulge in his pants clearly visible even as she craned her neck to look back at him.

“A-alpha,” she whined, warmth rushing through her as she spoke.

The sound of her voice seemed to have an effect on him, a shudder rolling through his body.

“‘Mega,” he growled, voice impossibly low. “My ‘mega. So obedient...good girl.”

His words had her trembling.

All at once, he was shoving his pants down and grabbing for her hips, rubbing the length of his cock over her lips. She keened, more and more slick running down her thighs as he pressed the head inside of her. Even though she was loaded up on suppressants, her body wanted him, her cunt already dripping wet and relaxed enough to accommodate his sizable girth.

Still, the feeling of him stretching her out was absolutely delicious, eliciting a filthy moan that came pouring from her lips as she buried her head against the sheets. He wasn’t gentle by any means, thrusting into her as far as he could go before pulling back out roughly. His pace was harsh and quick, his body immediately caging her in as his chest pressed into her back. He was possessive, trying to hide her from the surveillance cameras he knew were situated in the upper corners of the cell. He didn’t want anyone else to see his omega, especially not while she was beneath him like this. She was his, and his alone.

As rough as he was, he was still paying attention to her. Somewhat, at least. He was well aware by this point that she was tougher than the other omegas HYDRA had given him, and he took the opportunity to sink into her deeper, fuck her better than he normally could have. She could take him, all of him, without complaint. She could withstand his harsh grip on her hair as he pulled her head up and forced her back to arch. She didn’t have any problems accepting what was happening to her, her body responding to him happily.

“Such a good omega,” he grunted, forcing his cock even further into her.

“I-I want your knot,” she whimpered, her voice surprisingly demanding considering the position she was in. “Fill me up, Alpha…”

How could he deny her?

When he had spilled his seed inside of her and his knot had inflated to a nearly painful extent, he wrapped an arm around her, holding her to his chest as he laid them both down on the cot. He was happy with his choice, with his omega. She was everything he wanted, and as his rut continued for the next few days, he had his way with her again, and again, and again, before HYDRA separated them once more.

The soldier snarled and roared, refusing to be taken away, but as soon as they recited his trigger words, he was compliant. Amoretta listened and watched, eyes wide as they led him away. She had only spent one rut with him, but she was already head over heels, her heart aching and pining for her alpha to come back to her.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x oc #alpha bucky #alpha bucky barnes #abo #omegaverse #avengers x reader #avengers x oc #bucky barnes #it's been a long long time

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thecarnivorousmuffinmeta · 3 years ago

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How would you rank the Cullens based on who is the most disconnected from reality and who is the least?

Oh, oh man, excellent question, anon. And it's sad that we have such good contenders for this. Let's get to it.

1) Esme

"Disconnected From Reality" is Esme's middle name. This is one deeply, weird, vampire who at all times seems to be on a completely different planet trapped in the 1950's. Remarkably odd as Esme herself is not from the 1950's, she just somehow sucked in that era and has remained there to this modern day.

At any given moment in the series she says something completely at odds with the given situation, something purely from Planet Esme, and everyone just stares.

Such as the time in Eclipse when the family discusses who the unknown vampire in Bella's room could be. Edward, of course, blames the Volturi (he gives no sane reason of why they would lurk in her bedroom unseen and then simply leave).

Esme thinks it might be a nice vampire who wanted to become Bella's friend.

No one says a word. Bella notes that Carlisle grimaces, but can't say anything, he just can't.

2) Bella

Bella's closely tied to Esme by the end of Breaking Dawn, actually. She's Esme's second coming. She's prancing through the woods in Chanel to eat mountain lions, has a five-year-old three-month-old daughter, has a sex cabin with Edward. Bella's life is peak surreal and she does not seem to be recovering well from that. "WHEEEE, LIFE IS PERFECT," Bella screams as she frolics about.

Bella has no understanding of what vampires are, what she now is, what life in general is. Bella has left the planet. Goodbye, Bella, we'll miss you.

3) Edward

Edward lives in an Edward dimension that, while not quite as disconnected from reality as Esme's and Bella's, still isn't the planet Earth we all know and love.

In Edward's world, Bella is a saint whose middle name is Carlisle. Carlisle turned Rosalie for the purpose of making a Bride of Frankenstein for Edward (his favoritest person in the whole world), Carlisle and Esme's relationship is the greatest on the planet and one he should emulate, Edward is a protector of the coven and without his fighting prowess and mind reading abilities they'd all be doomed, the Volturi are the most evil thing to ever grace the planet, pimping out Bella to Jacob Black is not only an acceptable solution but an admirable one, pimping out Renesmee to Jacob Black is not only an acceptable solution but an admirable one that gains him a new son-in-law that a few weeks ago he loathed entirely...

The list goes on. I'm not going to even bother with links for this, just look up anything with Edward in this blog and you will find some damning evidence.

Edward at least seems to have some awareness of what's happening in the real world. Of course, his mind makes up its own facts about what's happening and especially about who people are, but he still at least seems to be somewhat present on our plane of existence.

4) Alice

Alice, per her gift mainly, sees reality very differently than we do but she does at least glimpse it. It just makes her think in such a way that the people around her are pawns instead of people, Alice has very little in the way of empathy.

However, she does accept her visions, doesn't rail against reality entirely, she just sees the world in a very different manner than the rest of us that lends itself to... interesting choices.

5) Carlisle

Carlisle's a fairly well-grounded guy except when it comes to his family. The amount of denial and doublethink that Carlisle engages in just to convince himself he's not that dog in a house on fire is impressive.

He so desperately wants to believe they're good people, that they understand the worth of human life, that he overlooks a lot. A lot. And what he doesn't overlook he convinces himself is a) in favor of human life b) not that terrible. Even when he also makes his family go to their victims funeral so that they might learn something.

They learn nothing.

6) Rosalie

Rosalie's pretty well grounded with a very large exception. Rosalie has a very rose colored view of not only the past she might have had but also humanity in general. Rosalie's beef with Bella boils down to the choices she thinks Bella's throwing away (in truth, Bella had little to no choice as the series progressed).

Rosalie sees the human life she could have lived as perfect, and not one very likely given her human life thus far. In Rosalie's mind, she wouldn't have married Royce, would never have been the victim of sexual violence, would have married a good honest man, had beautiful children, and a simple wonderful life away from the social climbing she'd done all her life.

Rosalie is not a stage where she can admit this probably wasn't the life she would have lived. More, that humanity is not a fix-all for everything and that life still very much would have been life.

7) Jasper

Jasper's also a fairly well-grounded guy with a large exception. He desperately wants his and Alice's relationship to work. He's so mired in misery and self hatred that he puts up with a lot, a lot, of garbage in that relationship and convinces himself that it's working. It's not working.

8) Emmett

Emmett's by far the most down to earth of all of them. He sees things pretty clearly, is very with it, and he might not care but he does seem to see things as they are. He notes multiple times in Midnight Sun that Edward's lost his marbles, is aware of Rosalie's emotional mess, and always manages to keep his perspective.

Emmett fully lives on our planet.

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #twilight renaissance #the cullens #alice cullen #anti alice cullen #esme cullen #anti esme cullen #edward cullen #anti edward cullen #bella swan #carlisle cullen #rosalie hale #emmett cullen #jasper whitlock

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pynkhues · 3 years ago

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i liked that connor got his moment to assert himself as their father’s oldest especially after an entire lifetime of being berated by his siblings but the ending of episode 9 rly reaffirmed to me that connor is the eldest but kendall is the big brother or at least to roman and shiv? like learning abt the camping trip, fishing trip, and almost walking shiv down the aisle all strikes me as connor filling a role of a absent father if that makes sense. especially with the age gap and connor having a different mom there’s just something abt shiv agreeing with kendall’s assessment as oldest and roman looking to kendall when logan asked him to trust him that makes it believable to assume connor was the safe haven but kendall was the protector

Anon, the way I cackled in 3.09 with the way Shiv and Roman both ran to Kendall when they realised what Logan was about to do. It was such a 'hi, big brother, fix it!!' moment which was only really doubled down on twice over, first with Kendall being the only one who understood what their supermajority gave them, and second with him grounding them both in the conflict against their father. He might have been broken, but he really was in true big brother mode in the episode too.

(This isn't here nor there really for your ask, but I was thinking earlier about why Shiv, Roman and Kendall could be a great team if they actually did learn how to work together, and it's because they really do all have skills that compliment each other's weaknesses - Kendall has the knowledge, Roman the intuition and Shiv the grit, but that feels like a whole other post, haha).

Back to your point – yeah, I think there's this real distinction between Kendall and Connor as the 'eldest', and while I think Kendall was ridiculous for framing it that way, he's not wrong exactly. Connor's role in their family is different – he's less the big brother, and more a quasi-father, like you said. The age difference means he really is from a different generation, had a different experience of their father and the family business, and he has a different mother, which is fairly crucial in the context of how emotionally abusive and neglectful Caroline is to her children, and all of that compounds in a way that shows Connor doesn't have a shared childhood with the golden trio.

He was in highschool when Kendall was born and likely college when Roman and Shiv were, and that gap matters. He could be around all he wants, and I'm sure he was tbh, but it doesn't change the fact that he was never in the schoolyard with them nor the trenches, nor in the Collingwood-Roy lion's den. For better and for worse, Connor's experience is different, and it casts him as both more and less than a big brother. At his best, he's their father, at his worst, he's their father's other son, removed from the tiny sanctum the three of them make with each other when they're at their most desperate.

Kendall was the one who was there for all of it, who has that shared experience, who might not be their father's oldest son, but certainly is their mother's. And the thing is, we've seen that Kendall often is the protector – he's the one Shiv turned to first in 1.03 when Marcia wouldn't let her see their father, and he's the one who confronted Logan about making Shiv cry in 1.07, and the one who stepped between Logan and Roman when Logan hit him in 2.06.

I think it's been this really interesting parallel though because as ruthless as Shiv and Roman can be with Kendall (and each other), I think they're also the hungriest to - - mm, not protect him, per se, but look after him over anyone else on the show too. We saw that with Shiv confronting Logan about the stories he'd planted about Kendall in 1.07 and the way Roman went and got Kendall from the meth den in the same episode, and with both Shiv and Roman knowing something was wrong and trying to bridge the gap with him, Shiv in the hug scene in 2.04 and Roman asking if he's okay in 2.10.

All of that really reached this boiling point in 3.09 where they decided to try and protect each other, and it's this funny thing, y'know. I think age order matters both more and less with siblings as you get older, and I think that's especially true in this family. It matters so much until it doesn't at all, because sometimes you're just three kids being crushed under the weight of your father's abuse while getting shanked in the side by your mother's, and in that moment, god, Connor couldn't be further away.

#i'm thinking a lot too at the moment about how shiv could protect tom but couldn't comfort him #and how she couldn't protect kendall but she could comfort him #there's something in that about love and intimacy #and shielding an innocent from abuse while only being able to comfort the abused #especially when the abuser is the same person abusing you #idk i'll need to percolate on that one i think #kendall + roman + shiv #kendall roy #connor roy #roman roy #shiv roy #succession 3.09 #hbo succession #welcome to my ama #succession meta

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wisteria-lodge · 3 years ago

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Archetypes: Sorting Hat Chats

I’ve been asked about my rationale for naming different primary/ secondary combinations. I did this originally as a tool to help me sort characters - I wanted to see how these types tend to be used, so I could more easily see what subversions looked like. I'll run through my thoughts, but know there’s a lot of variation within each category. But even WITH that variation, I do think that each one has its own specific energy that makes it interesting to talk about. An explanation of the terms I'm using.

DOUBLE LION “THE REVOLUTIONARY”

Pretty straightforward. The Lion primary knows something is wrong, they know it in their bones even if they can’t articulate it, and they’ve got to go out and do something about it. Probably charging at whatever power structure is directly in front of them. It’s unlikely you find a character leading a revolution who isn’t a Double Lion. These guys are intense, inspirational, single minded.

The villain version of the Lion primary tends to be the person who “went too far" or "became the monster they were trying to fight.'' But I think that the much more interesting Lion primary villain trope is the Traitor. Since Lions work from their feelings, and their philosophies can’t necessarily be articulated or linked to individuals outside of them - they can definitely have their head turned while still feeling moral about it.

One of my favorite examples of this Revolutionary archtype is actually Christian Bale‘s character from Newsies. He’s the spark that starts the unionizing revolution, but 100% needs his Badger and Bird lieutenants to keep him focused and keep him from defecting

LION SNAKE “THE ROBIN HOOD”

These guys are similar to the Double Lion - they will recognize a cause or injustice revolutionary style - but Robin Hood doesn’t go up and bang on wicked Prince John’s door. His move is the snake secondary one: confront the problem indirectly. Undermine the regime by stealing tax money and re-distributing it to the poor. Be simultaneously Robin Hood the outlaw and Robin of Locksley the noble, infiltrating and getting information. The Lion Snake is more likely to work within society (or deliberately separate from society) versus just breaking everything down.

LION BIRD “THE LAWMAN / THE VIGILANTE”

The fact that the Lion Bird can either be the Lawman or the Vigilante shows off the very clear hero/villain split you get with Bird secondaries. We also see this with the Snake Bird (simultaneously the Mastermind and the traditional Villain) and the Double Bird (either the Scientist or the Mad Scientist.) This is why I think I had such trouble naming the Badger Bird. I wasn’t leaning into the duality of the Bird secondary enough. The Badger Bird can be the King Arthur, or he can be the Mob Boss, and he’ll look kind of similar either way.

The Lion Bird also has that Lion primary conviction and drive, but they want to follow up on it with investigation, evidence, and plans. I actually think there need to be more stories about Lawmen turning into Vigilantes and vice versa. Because Lion Birds are their Cause no matter what external alignment gets attached to it.

LION BADGER “THE LINCHPIN”

This is my own sorting - although when I came up with this name I still thought I was a Double Bird. The linchpin is the pin-axle thing at the center of a wheel that prevents the whole thing from falling apart, and I think it's a good way of talking about the energy of this combination. The Badger secondary means they’re a lot less single minded than the other Lion primaries: their power comes from being part of a group. They become the emotional “heart” a lot, and have a way of quietly keeping things together just by existing. They can be leaders, but a Double Lion will lead from up front while a Lion Badger will lead from in the middle (if that makes sense.)

I do think it’s really funny that this is a common sleeper villain trope. Peter Pettigrew, Prince Hans, and Randall Boggs of Monsters Inc. all became integral to a group, and then exploit their position within it. They’re kind of the evil bureaucrat. Maybe that's a good trope for children’s media

DOUBLE SNAKE “THE TRICKSTER”

This is another straightforward one. Double Snakes are in it for themselves (and maybe like three other people.) They're going to be clever and tricksy about how they get what they want, and will not mind doing things backward and unofficially. And they won't mind if you know that's what they're doing. There’s something very unapologetic about the Double Snake which makes for very attractive characters. They are consistently voted the sexiest... and when they’re villains they’re fun villains. You know what they want, and what they want is not that complicated. I think that’s a big reason for the appeal of Snake primaries in general. They’re the easiest primary to understand and explain.

SNAKE LION “THE LANCELOT”

I used to call these guys “The Rebel,” which... is too generic, doesn’t really mean anything. So I started thinking about the Lion secondary as the Knight secondary, and I liked that. Double Lions are the Crusader Knight, riding for their Cause. Bird Lions are Grail Knights, riding for their own personal truth. Badger Lions are Champion Knights, here to help the helpless and defend the innocent.

And if that's that case… Snake Lions have to be the Knight Errant, the knight who rides for his lady. It is that simple. Lancelot might be a Knight of the Round Table, but he’s riding for Arthur the person, not Arthur the King. And for his lady, Queen Guinevere. I feel like his dilemma is one that’s common to a lot of Snake Lions: what happens when they’re forced to split their loyalty? It’s tragic, but Lancelot can’t have Arthur and Guinevere simultaneously.

(At least not until my awesome Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot OT3 which I will totally write at some point :)

SNAKE BIRD “THE MASTERMIND / THE VILLAIN”

The classic. We see a little more of the Bird Secondary split, and well… this is your stereotypical villain. They want power. They’re going to use an elaborate plan to get it. There’s a lot you can do with this sorting, but I actually do think it’s fun that whatever you do, this slight undercurrent of villain and/or mastermind… never quite goes away.

SNAKE BADGER “THE LOVER”

The Love Interest sorting. Chances are very good that if there is a love interest (who does not serve some other role in the story...) they're going to be a Snake Badger. Devoted to one person, solving problems by caretaking. This is the Badger secondary who is likely to have the smallest group, which is just going to make them look excessively devoted to their friends. This type is pretty gender neutral, which is fun. A lot of female love interests, but also your Mr. Darcys and Peeta Mellarks.

One of my favorite things about this trope (mostly just because I think it’s funny...) is that if you write a character who is not supposed to be a love interest, but who is a Snake Badger... subconsciously I think people are going to read them as a love interest anyway. Looking at you Jaskier, Horatio, and even Captain Barbossa.

DOUBLE BIRD “THE [MAD] SCIENTIST”

I think that (especially if you aren’t a Bird Primary yourself) your response to hearing a fictional Bird Primary’s motivation is kind of …huh. That seems random. Or oddly specific. You get your Hannibal Lecters, whose entire motivation is... wanting to eat people while drinking nice wine.

Double birds seem especially unusual, just in terms of society. They are Bird secondaries and they interact with the world through gathering data, but their Bird primaries mean that data can literally lead them to any conclusion, no matter how potentially wacky. These guys consciously build themselves from the ground up, and that can make them kind of detached - either in a logical way, or an unmoored way. They're written as either really stable, the rational mentor figure. Or really... not. And that’s how you spot a Bird villain. They’re not after money/power/safety, they’re after something weird.

BIRD LION “THE GRAIL KNIGHT”

This is the trope of Perceval or Galahad, questing after the Holy Grail chalice... which is really just meaning, and truth. It’s a personal quest. Grail Knights tend to ride alone, and a lot of the things that concern them are metaphysical, to do with identity, purpose, things like that. You can have extremely different Bird Lions, but I do think there is a sort of spiritual core there. Doctor Harleen Quinzel sees freedom and truth in whatever the Joker is doing, and then once she recognizes his hypocrisy, has to go build her own meaning.

I actually think these guys are pretty easy to spot because of that Lion secondary. When they change direction, they change direction, and there’s probably a period of despair between the direction changes. I’ve talked about how Bird Lions having a habit of falling apart pretty dramatically, and that’s where this idea comes from.

BIRD BADGER “THE SURVIVOR”

A rare sorting, but an interesting one. I call this one “the Survivor” or “the Last Man Standing” because, well, they seem to be. They seem remarkably stable. This is the Bird primary least likely to be a villain, and maybe the sorting least likely to be a villain. I think what’s going on is that they are grounded and integrated in whatever community they happen to be in (because of that Badger secondary), but they can define themselves and rebuild themselves in the Bird primary way. This makes them uniquely suited to building a new version of themselves for whatever situation they happen to find themselves in.

Maybe a better name for these guys would be “The Adapter.”

BIRD SNAKE “THE ARTIST”

Like all Bird primaries, these guys are inspired by their own projects and their own worldview, but because of that Snake secondary, Bird Snakes have a more easy-going ‘take the world as it comes' kind of energy. They are “the Artist” because everything they do is art: they want to use themselves and the world around them, put all of that towards whatever their Bird primary happens to be interested in.

You can have villains like the Nolan Joker, or the Talented Mr. Ripley, who kind of turn the world into their own personal philosophical social experiment. Or Scotty from Star Trek whose meaning is solely the well-being of the Enterprise. Maybe they just like traveling, and that's all they need. (It's a way for the Bird primary and the Snake secondary exist very happily together, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was pretty common.)

DOUBLE BADGER “THE PEACEMAKER”

Badgers are interesting, because while I think they’re generally regarded as “correct,” they’re also seen as kind of boring. That’s the case with both Badger primaries and Badger secondaries, which means it is doubly reflected in the Double Badger. They often get written as simplistic, the sweet Jane Bennet type who loves everybody and caretakes everybody and just wants everybody to get along.

They are often the targets of what TV Tropes used to call “Break the Cutie.” What could be more interesting than making this character, who wants to be happily part of a community, be forced to build protective models, be all tortured and angsty? I actually think we’re seeing a return of the Double Badger as an interesting character in their own right, with people like Aziaphale, and I'm here for it.

BADGER LION “THE PROTAGONIST”

What can I say? There are a lot of protagonists that are Badger Lions. They want to help the group - so we know they're the good guys - and then they charge and make stuff happen. Lion secondaries are very useful in fiction - you drop them into a situation and stuff just happens. I also think of this as the Starfleet officer sorting - because if you’re a Starfleet officer, either you are the sorting, or can model it really well.

I will say that this is kind of the stock Protagonist sorting, the way that the Snake Badger is the stock love interest and the Snake Bird is the stock villain. There’s just something sort of generic good guy about this one, which is why I want to see it used as a villain sorting more. Badger villains - mostly people who define ‘human’ very narrowly - are insanely terrifying.

BADGER SNAKE “THE ADVISOR”

Possibly “the Power Behind the Throne.” This is another one I had difficulty pinning down. I called it “the Politician” for a while, which unfortunately came off as a little bit more negative than I meant it to, since I think this sorting has a lot in common with Lion Badger, the linchpin of a heroic team. The difference is that Lion Badger takes on that role kind of unconsciously, while the Badger Snake does it very consciously.

Their loyalty is to the group, but their skill set is all about subversion and different ways of going around the group, which is why there’s an interesting contradiction at the heart of Badger Snake. A lot of real life Badger Snakes struggle with feeling like “bad people" and it's too bad. These guys are ridiculously powerful and competent when they are sure of themselves, and I love seeing them in action

BADGER BIRD “THE KING / THE MOB BOSS”

Another difficult one, despite (or because) I really like them. I was calling them “the Architect” because “The City Planner” sounded too boring… but that’s what they do. They’re all about the community but they problem-solve the way all Bird secondaries do, by prepping, and gathering knowledge. I talked more about this in the Lion Bird entry, but Bird secondary seems to have this villain split going on, and that’s what I see here too. This is a controversial love-them-or-hate-them sorting, and I think that’s why. There’s a lot of room in whether or not you see this sorting as villainous.

#sortinghatchats #masterpost #wisteria sorts #archetypes #writing #long post

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