#Of the original. but no you only looked at it from the context of the original where the knife never breaks

[kemafili]

I have been thinking about this video for a while becuasw for a little context in México back in early 2000s pirated DVDs were a huge market and inside fhose DVDs not only could you find the movie, sometimes you wouldnt get the movie at all instead you’d get a compilation of whatver the guy that sold you the dvd had on his computers drive, in many and by many I mean a lot of people got this music video in their pirated dvd, but it wasn’t with this song it was with another Mexican Dj mix by some guy named “Dj Boss”, anyways after a little digging I finally struck the original video and I tried looking for more music from the singer and alos maybe some information about the production of this video but I can’t find like, a single damn thing nowhere, if any one happens to recognize this or know what this is about, please message me LOL anyways check it out becuwse it’s really cool and the song is a banger

[schmirius]

#golden classic #i wonder if this is why their ship was called timecock at some point #<- genuine question btw. why? #this post looks like the culprit [ @schwirrymartz ]

Hello to you, and I'm going to tag in the probably-5-time-reblogger of this post @roxannepolice too! Here I am, a ghost from Doctor/Master livejournal c. 2007-2011, bringing you news about Historic Shitposting! I'm also going to tag in @nostalgia-tblr whose images these originally are.

Short answer: the name came from a bunch of Doctor/Master shippers on livejournal in summer 2007, shortly after Utopia/Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords aired. Ten and Simm specifically were "Team Timecock," as the last two time lords in existence, linked sexily and tragically by their boners for each other. The shitpost above is from one of many, many shitposts that summer that used the name for the two of them.

Shorter answer: Nos thinks it was probably Snowgrouse, specifically, and that sounds right to me too.

The name "Team Timecock" is highly post-s3 relevant, fandom-wise, because Ten/Simm were ~the only ones left~ and one of the immediate and obvious fix-its for the season was "the Master lives, they really do travel together." Or "they were alone on the Valiant all year, properly cocking it up, overly self-importantly, time lord-style." Either way, it's just the two of them and, you know, they're touching tips. Or having buttsecks, since it's 2007, and also shut up, their anuses might as well be self-lubricating because we get to use alien powers to do it.

///

citations:

First, a caveat: I came to the game a few months late, was not personally interacting with a lot of the people and communities I've cited; certainly I wasn't IMing people or emailing them (which is how you did it. back then). I was at the shallowest level for a lot of this, "leaving some comments." But my memory is good, and I know how to use LJ still. My handle was srevans back then.

Poking around LJ is hard as hell these days: the site is sloww while it's scraping your data/selling it to the highest ad bidder (and the ad provider isn't google! your adblockers aren't helping much!); and LJ hides so much from you on an entry-by-entry basis if you're not logged in. If you want to poke around to see what fandom looked like there and then, I'd suggest the following communities. I've linked to their June 2007 archives pages since the s3 finale aired June 16th, 23rd, and 30th.

slash_lords

sizeofthatthing – the general Doctor Who kinkmeme

best_enemies (my once and forever home)

and its specifically Doctor/Master kinkmeme, which is all versions of the pairing, not just Ten/Simm

new_who, who-daily – general communities

slash communities which are gone, gone, deleted from internet history: dw_slash, dw_yaoi, timecock, timeslash

ihasatardis – THE context for this image. The community was for lolspeak image macros from any and all episodes of Doctor Who. you know, because You Can Has Cheezburger.

The earliest public entry I can find for the word "timecock" specifically is a couple LJ icons snowgrouse created: (1) "twice the timecock" over a promo photo of Ten+Simm looking very srs biz and (2) a blue background with subtle Gallifreyan spiral writing whose text is merely "Timecock tiem."

///

And that's all she knows. If you're on this post and I can find anything else on LJ for you, please let me know! And anybody in the wild who knows more and wants to add on, please do.

just a reminder that nos wins at shipping.

[akanemnon]

hi!! i just wanted to say, i LOVE your art!! i started drawing my kris design with braces after seeing dubs of your comic on yt, and when i found you on tumblr i was beyond excited to see all of it in context. i’m a comic artist as well, and i was wondering— how do you choose your color palettes ?? besides obviously picking colors from the characters themselves, that’s a given— but your comics are bright and colorful and just a real pleasure to read because they’re so visually appealing. hope this question hasn’t been asked before!!

Thank you so very much!

So I really went into your question under the cut. So feel free to proceed if that is something that interests you.

The answer is honestly not that exciting. For the characters I really only do pick colors off the original sprites. Which is why they look so bright and colorful. If you try to do that yourself, you will quickly notice how SATURATED the sprites are. And not only the sprites, but also the backgrounds.

A little trick I use is that for pre-existing backgrounds I take all the colors and brighten + desaturate them just a teeeensy tiny bit. That way the characters in the foreground pop way more.

Another way to make the colors pop even more is to use colored shading AND colored lineart! That really IS what ties everything together. Let me show you..

This is a panel without the colored shading and lineart.

And this is it again WITH all that good stuff. Quite the difference, no?

But you're asking about color palettes, so I guess you also mean for the characters/outfits I designed? A lot of it boils down to color theory. I am by NO means an expert on that subject, but when looking at the Dark World designs specifically, you will notice how I did it.

For example: Frisk's Dark World color scheme is mainly analogous. That means the colors are right next to each other on the color wheel. But there is a little bit of complimentary in there.

Here, lemme visualize it...

Frisk's color scheme is a light green, darkish blue green, light yellow and a splash of pink. The red is there mostly just for lore reasons.

One thing I noticed when looking at the sprites of all the Dark World versions is that they are EXTREMELY bright and saturated.

That is something I tried to capture as well, but I think it didn't neccessarily nail it a lot of the time. Especially for Frisk's color scheme. If I stuck closer to what the game is doing, then in theory they would look more like this (using Kris' colors as a reference)

Looking back, I WOULD tweak their colors slightly more nowadays. Just so that the contrast between the colors is a little stronger and they don't blend together as much. This improves the readability of your design. Not all people are able to perceive every color of the rainbow, so readability is EXTREMELY important. Best way to see that is by desaturating them and checking the grayscale. Like so (left is the one closer to the game's colors)

Man, this REALLY makes me wanna fix their color scheme. This has been bugging me for a while now. (Though I'm kinda afraid that people point out that they look different.)

[frozenjokes]

mumbo jumbo jealousy arc

ao3 link

“Tell me everything.”

Etho was expecting to get cornered by Scar at the first opportunity, but honestly, he thought he might get more than 24 hours given that Scar had a job. According to Scar though, ‘what else are lunch breaks for?’ He cited a concern that Etho might forget everything if left for too long, which seemed dramatic, but it was true that Etho never had the best of memories. However, most of Etho’s memory problems were due to an issue of Chronic Spacing Out, and there was none of that happening at the beach yesterday.

“Mumbo didn’t understand what Grian did with his face. Mermaids also shave. I don’t know why he was so confused. I just don’t think he liked it. That was his biggest concern yesterday.”

Etho knew that would get him, Scar cackling so hard that Etho was truly shocked he could manage to dial Grian’s number at the same time.

///

‘And while I was away? What did you talk about then?’ Mumbo was dying to know, and while he had planned to leave Altas and Etho alone while he tended to the humans, he couldn’t help checking back in on their conversation, needing to know every tidbit of information and human knowledge shared between them. Mumbo was just so curious, and learning about the humans from his original sources was great, but there was a certain catharsis in learning directly, having Atlas ask the questions and receive clear, direct answers.

But Atlas had been cagey in the few days that had passed after Etho’s visit, and while Mumbo had been hoping they would gain enough confidence to interact with a real human face to face, Atlas only cringed away at the sound of Scar’s voice above the water, more touchy than they were in the first place. Mumbo didn’t understand why. Sure, getting Atlas to change their tune about humanity as a species was a grand notion of optimism that Mumbo was not naive enough to play into too much, but this change was almost more unexpected; pure aggression to more of a.. discomfort? Disgust, maybe, like the smell of rot or infection.

Despite this, whatever was bothering them was kept tightly sealed. Though perhaps underestimating the power of human eyesight, Atlas did surface a couple days later to watch Scar and Mumbo in the shallows. Scar was playing some kind of game where he chased Mumbo’s tail, grasping at the fins. Scar’s grand move was a hearty leap to grasp his quarry, but a miss left Scar momentarily immobilized as he inevitably face planted into the sand. A perfect opportunity for Mumbo to batter Scar’s head with the very tail fins he was chasing. It was a good game, Mumbo quite liked seeing Scar flail and scream a little. As much as human noise could be a headache, something about it in the context of play made everything much more satisfying. Though, without this context, it probably sounded like Mumbo was ripping off Scar’s scalp with his teeth. Was Atlas wondering if Mumbo finally snapped?

Scar must have had a secret sense for when mers who hated him were around, because despite his engagement in active warfare, he noticed almost immediately, breaking off their game to wave, then deflating when Atlas retreated in the next moment. Scar sat in the swallows after that, arms wrapped around his legs with his chin on his knees looking distinctly sad, and despite Scar’s obnoxiousness when it came to Atlas these days, Mumbo couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him. Humans were social and loud, and this one just really loved making connections, even if he didn’t always know how.

“I don’t mean to scare him off..” Scar mumbled, and while Mumbo didn’t know what he was saying, he got the sense the human was referring to Atlas, “I just want him to come around, right? To know it’s okay.”

Mumbo didn’t know how to help him. He couldn’t explain, though with how pushy and nosey both humans could be, Mumbo was sure they had already heard from Etho about Atlas’s distaste for their kind. However, Mumbo could sing, and that quiet comfort was the best that he could offer for a downcast heart. It brought Mumbo peace to see Scar relax under his song.

…

‘I just don’t understand how you can be so comfortable with it, let it so close,’ Atlas had started, the words coming out of nowhere, hours after Scar had left. This wasn’t the first time this sentiment had been expressed, but judgement was not at the forefront of Atlas’s concern tonight, the mer shrinking in their discomfort. ‘I don’t think it’s natural behavior for humans either, it should be afraid of you, not interested like it is, especially not in me.’

‘They’re curious things,’ Mumbo whistled simply in response, and while he was a little tired of this line of conversation, he really did want to be patient. This was deeply antithetical to everything Atlas had known back home, and honestly, without the harsh edge to their questioning, the repetivity of the matter bothered Mumbo far less. ‘Scars especially is a very curious thing. You won’t have the same problem with Red.’

‘I don’t like it. Your Scars. I don’t like the way it regards you.’ Atlas’s clicks carried an emotion Mumbo couldn’t quite parse. He communicated this with a small flick of his tail and fins, asking for elaboration. Atlas was quiet for some time, deliberating.

‘Ghost had a few things to say about that human’s interest in us.’

Mumbo’s curiosity was instantly piqued, though Atlas only looked discomforted when Mumbo goaded them on, like they were hoping Mumbo would pluck the answers right out of their mind. This was distinct in its oddness; Atlas was not the type of mer to talk in circles. Finally, Mumbo had to prompt them vocally.

‘Say what you mean?’

‘It has..’ the hairs on Atlas’s shoulders prickled, ‘Courting motivations.’

Mumbo imagined that if the humans heard this, they’d laugh so hard that their lungs would fail to support them. He himself let loose a delighted trill, much to Atlas’s alarm.

‘Did you know? Does it not disturb you? Why didn’t you warn me!’

Mumbo waved them off with his tail, ‘Scars is not interested in you, don’t be ridiculous. Their fascination with mermaids mirrors my own curiosity with humanity. Whatever Ghost told you, they exaggerated.’

Atlas was not to be persuaded. ‘They seemed certain.’

‘Human emotion is difficult enough to read on a human-born. Ghost is particularly difficult to decipher, and they do nothing to make it easier. If your intentions are to study the basics of human language once Ghost returns in their proper form, you’d benefit from spending a little time near the beach. They’re expressive creatures, Scars especially.’

Atlas didn’t need to say a word for Mumbo to know they hated the idea of that in any capacity. ‘That one worries me.’

Mumbo couldn’t help but snort. He hadn’t been intending on telling Atlas this as he knew he’d never hear the end of it, but Mumbo figured it would be worth it to quell this ridiculous anxiety.

‘If there were to be any courting between human and mer, it would be between Scars and I only. If Ghost was feeling snide, that’s what they were referencing.’

It looked like Atlas didn’t know if they wanted to snarl or flee. Mumbo got the message loud and clear, though a deep satisfaction turned his tail inward in a soft curl. He was pleased, even if the status of whatever relationship he and Scar had kindled was unclear. Mumbo didn’t particularly care! He quite liked the human casual, the relationship without commitments. He liked having Scar’s attention, far more than he’d ever cared for a mermaid’s. It was novel. Special. And honestly, human or mer, Mumbo had never known anyone else to hang off everything he did and said with such keen interest.

‘Surely you’re not serious,’ Atlas finally said, to which Mumbo purposely misconstrued the meaning.

‘We won't be trading scales any time soon, no, no.’

Atlas seemed to short circuit at the suggestion that this was even on the table, then clearly chose to ignore the sentiment, shaking themself off, ‘That human is not to be trusted. This- Practicality aside, this is deeply disturbing.’

‘If courting is all about practicality to you, I recommend you never find a lover.’

‘You can’t just exclude semantics from these discussions! What is it expecting of you? You of it? You can not mate, you can not occupy the same spaces comfortably- even besides the concept of interspecies courting being entirely antithetical, there is just no way something like this could work long term!’

Flippantly, Mumbo turned away, ‘I can do whatever I please.’ He could waste his time responding to all those questions, but what was the point when Atlas didn’t care for the answers. It wasn’t like Mumbo cared for the answers either, his interest solely in living freely and indulging in whatever was currently sparking joy. So what if he acted on fleeting whims, it’s not like he was hurting anyone.

‘I don’t trust it,’ Atlas said when they realized Mumbo would not be humoring them anymore, ‘Ghost spoke of an interest in the sea. Anything with fins, scales, and sharp teeth. They made it sound fickle.’

‘Ghost’s own disinterest in courting infects every word they speak about it, mermaid, human, or otherwise. Scars does not care for you; they will be too busy looking at me.’ Mumbo gave a pointed flick of his tail, all his fins now twitching in annoyance. Scar was outgoing, he went out of his way to put himself out there, but Mumbo would not consider him fickle. Whatever Scar and Grian got up to was none of his concern; as far as he knew humans were just like that, fighting over each other and mating with reckless abandon. There was still so much that Mumbo did not know about humans, but these weren’t the things that would keep him up at night. Mumbo was experimenting! He was having fun! As far as he could tell, so was Scar! It wasn’t- It wasn’t fickle! Fickle. Ridiculous.

Mumbo abandoned Atlas on the sandy floor, withdrawing in a huff to the burrow where he kept his things and slept.

His mind wandered. It took him down a path he hated to travel, though his thoughts lingered on the end of it all, defending Scar from the monster he seemed so eager to befriend. No one had been pleased about this, but Scar didn’t care at all, and while Mumbo had struggled to glean the meaning of everything he was doing and saying, Grian had admonished him for.. Scar had been chasing a monster whose scale had already been traded (metaphorically, at least. Mumbo had looked, and he saw none of Joel’s dark scales etched into theirs.)

Mumbo had been so startled by the question of mermaid monogamy that the implications hadn’t fully set in. Not that he was bothered if humans took multiple partners, honestly, that surprised him very little, but..

What if Scar really was only interested in fins and scales? It didn’t matter who they were attached to or the things they'd done to hurt someone.. Mumbo’s gut coiled. Was it so simple? If Etho had said it, insisted that’s really all Scar cared about- once Scar learned of Etho’s condition, had he pursued them as well?

Maybe Mumbo was the novelty.

///

“-one hundred years, Mumbo, one hundred years! The whole team got cursed by that goat, that’s why the Cubs never won a World Series for that long, but they pulled through! The curse is broken! Well, that specific curse at least. Apparently the Cubs have a lot of curses, like, a lot, Bdubs and I were looking that stuff up for a while last night, just all sorts of baseball stuff- sports fans are very superstitious it turns out! Who knew? One hundred years. Pretty cool!”

“Your ice is gonna melt, bud,” Grian called from where he was fiddling with his fishing gear; Mumbo was thrilled to see him back at his hobbies! Scar jumped to attention, looking mildly sheepish before babbling on.

“Well, I just wanted you to know where the name came from. Cub. Cubby Cub Cub. Cubby Wubby Cub Dub. Bdubs and I couldn’t stop with that last night, just Cubby Cubbing for like an hour, Etho just about killed us. But I was thinking about it, and I was like, huh! If this mermaid is sticking around for the foreseeable future, he needs a name! He- it- they- ohh, I don’t know what to call Cub actually! I wish you could ask them what they’d prefer..”

“I doubt it cares, Scar,” Grian said again, answering a question Scar did not ask. “People pronouns probably don’t mean anything to mermaids. Etho said gender was different for him, right? Probably the only reason he calls himself ‘he’ is because that’s what Joel started calling him.”

“Well I don’t want to call them it.”

“Then don’t.”

Whatever Grian had said must have made perfect sense, Scar shooting up like he’d had some great epiphany. “Great point! Anyway, I’ve been a little down because I know your friend doesn’t like Grian and I and that’s okay, but selfishly it's also extremely not okay to me and I need them to like me. I need it. But clearly my current methods aren’t working, so I was like, what else can I do? And then I didn’t come up with anything. So I called Grian! And Grian suggested delivering a gift through you, which was a great idea, but I was stumped on what to give them, y’know? I figured no human stuff, you like the humans stuff but- oh! That reminds me, I’ve got a trinket for you, don’t let me forget it- Anyway, I asked Etho, and Etho told me to stop calling him, but then after I called five more times he told me that Cub would never like me which was rude and also sad. After that though, he told me it’s really hot on the surface compared to the deep water, and that you guys have to travel a little ways out to actually hunt, and I thought well, why not give you a frozen treat! At first I was just gonna bring some still frozen fish in a cooler, but Grian, genius Grian, suggested I let you have the ice too! I got you a biodegradable bag for it and everything, but I hope you don’t try to eat that too. Do you like to eat ice? I do. Dentist said it was bad for my teeth and I had to stop, but sometimes I just can’t resist. Whatever kind of ice they put in your drinks at restaurants, that’s the good shit. Can’t let it go to waste.”

Scar retreated back to his and Grian’s bags, where he heaved a new container up off the sand, waddling back with it in his arms. Must’ve been quite heavy; Scar had never brought something like this to the beach before. Mumbo’s interest was piqued, though Scar never left the box’s side, making it frustrating to investigate. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to pull it off the beach and right into the water, then he could have his way. Scar seemed to anticipate this though (it’s not like Mumbo had a history of stealing! This was blasphemy!), using his body as a shield from Mumbo’s grabby hands and positioning his weight strategically so that he could fall on top of the box if Mumbo made a break for it anyway. Foul human, Scar never had any fun.

“Now, most of this is for Cub, but I have some for you too of course. Not even portions- I’m just trying to make a good impression here, I hope you understand.” Carefully, without turning his back on Mumbo, Scar opened the box, pulling out a- fish. Oh. Well, Mumbo was a little underwhelmed, he wouldn’t lie. It was quite stiff too, and almost shiny? Actually, now that he was seeing all this together, he recognized this box. Scar used to bring it often when Mumbo’s tail was busted; did he think he needed to provide food again? With all due respect, Mumbo hoped not. He wasn’t trying to be rude though, Scar must have hunted very hard for this fish! He took it, but nearly dropped it at the revelation that it was cold.

Now, this wasn’t entirely new, and fish given by the humans had always been a little cold, but never to this degree. The fish was nearly frozen solid- no wonder it was so stiff! Mumbo was utterly perplexed, but he didn’t want to give Scar the impression he was ungrateful, so he proceeded to devour the whole thing. It wasn’t unpleasant, not by any means, but seeing Scar’s delighted smile made all the strangeness worth it.

“Gift.” Scar started, and Mumbo perked up, paying closer attention now that Scar was actively trying to communicate with him. “For Cub. Gift for Cub.” Scar pointed across the lake, which was rippling in the light breeze. “For Cub.”

Was.. he trying to give something to Atlas?

“Gift for Mumbo.” Scar produced one bag from the box, handing it over gingerly. It was tied tight at the top, and cold. Holding from the bottom, Mumbo felt a lot of loose pieces inside. Scar pulled another, larger bag up as well, struggling to point over the weight of it. “Gift for Cub. Cub.”

Cub. Mumbo had never heard that word before, but Scar had been saying it quite a lot today. Is that what he’d decided to call Atlas? Mumbo gave him a thumbs up, relatively sure he understood Scar’s intentions, and briefly set down his own gift so that his and Scar’s hands would not have to touch in the exchange. He couldn’t help but notice that Atlas’s package was bigger than his own, but it was possible this was on the account that Scar had given Mumbo part of his gift early, showing off what was inside.

“Go now,” Scar said, almost shooing Mumbo back. He got the idea, though was a little confused why Scar wanted him to leave so abruptly.. it’s not like the fish were fresh. Regardless, Mumbo dutifully delivered the parcels, waking a sleepy Atlas on the lake floor.

Immediate suspicion was a given. ‘What is this.’ However, Atlas sensed the cold, sparking interest as they drifted closer.

‘I think Scars has realized they can’t reach you on the surface. This is a new method it seems.’

‘Scars..’ Atlas repeated the name, distaste prickling across the hairs on their shoulder. Whatever intrigue they previously possessed seemed to die, repeating themself. ‘What is it.’

‘Fish, I think. Can’t say I know why, but it’s not poison.’

Atlas’s tentacles twitched in their suspicion. Mumbo couldn’t blame them, clicking, ‘You don’t have to eat them. They’re odd, frozen. Not inedible, just different.’

Mumbo couldn’t tell if the gesture Atlas lent him was amused or mildly incredulous, ‘You’re crazy.’

‘Not the first or last time a mer will call me that.’ Mumbo made to undo the ties on his own bag, only to be frightened as tiny shards of ice floated up and out in every direction, along with one or two fish. Even Atlas looked surprised, though Mumbo was silently delighted at the little trill that left their throat.

‘Stupid, stupid animals.’

‘Effective at least!’ Mumbo tried, all in good humor.

‘I’ll just sit on mine in that case.’ Atlas curled around their own gift, melting over the cold with closed eyes. Mumbo hadn’t planned on speaking, but Atlas intercepted before he could have anyway. ‘Not a word. And don’t let that human trash float away, they’re always shitting up the water.’

And with that, Mumbo was quite pleased for a while. He didn’t care either way for the ice, though he did enjoy chasing and eating the floating pieces. However, Atlas really seemed to be enjoying the cold, which was great! Mumbo was quite pleased Scar had found a way to get through to them, even if the human didn’t know it yet. When the two mers first arrived here, Mumbo had really been getting fed up with Atlas’s whining, but this was the hottest place Atlas had ever visited by far, and Mumbo felt for them when Atlas was still suffering in the heat after Mumbo had long since adjusted. Mumbo was very glad he happened to bring them here at the start of the cold months.

Mumbo left them like that, returning to his humans. Despite the fact that Atlas would rather be skinned alive than tell any human they liked their little offering, Mumbo couldn’t help but give Scar a thumbs up. Scar’s expression of unbridled delight was worth the wrath of Atlas if they ever found out. Mumbo had to hand it to him, it was thoughtful, even if the ice wasn’t supposed to be the main event.

Mumbo felt less good the moment he realized how much bigger Atlas’s gift was than his. Atlas didn’t notice; at least Mumbo was pretty sure they didn’t, they weren’t even interested in the fish, but they certainly noticed the next day, and the day after that. It was absurd, honestly! And maybe it didn’t matter, it didn’t matter, this was such a stupid thing to get caught up on. Scar was working harder to befriend Atlas because they were the one he needed to prove himself to, it made perfect sense! Atlas benefitted far more from the ice anyway, Mumbo was glad they got more of it- he gave all his to Atlas anyway! Atlas wouldn’t even eat the fish, but- he didn’t know! It was about the principle!

He tried not to let Atlas see he was bothered. This was impossible, every itch of irritation painted clearly in the picture of his constantly flicking fins, but Mumbo did try. Atlas might’ve been nearly as uncomfortable with this as Mumbo was; the last thing they wanted was Scar’s attention, and they wanted even less to get between them, especially if this was courting behavior. Honestly- Mumbo really didn’t know!

It didn’t matter.

At first, Mumbo attempted to remedy his own insecurity by bothering Scar incessantly for the next few days. When this didn’t work, Mumbo ghosted him. But then Scar got sad, just wailing at the beach for hours (minutes), and Mumbo caved to a day of typical activities. Scar did not take well to being ignored, and not in the way Mumbo wanted either; he was just persistent, deterred by nothing but straight up aggression, and Mumbo wasn’t trying to be aggressive! Scar just needed a healthy dose of his own medicine, to have his feelings minorly hurt or feel like some kind of replaceable commodity or- whatever. Mumbo only wanted to stop feeling like Scar would be perfectly content with any other- No!

This was so stupid!

Mumbo would show him. Humans could be expendable too- Mumbo could love just about anyone as long as they had legs!

Wait a minute. Grian had legs. Yes. Yes! Grian had legs! And he would be back soon- oohhh this would be perfect. Sure, after shaving Grian had gone down a couple pegs in terms of attractiveness- not that this mattered, but come on! He looked like an infant! Something about the death of that mustache which sparked Mumbo’s original inspiration was so deeply tragic, but he would persevere for the cause!

Mumbo would break Scar, he would regret ever- ever- Scar would surely regret!

[lottielovelace]

technically

(Valeria Garza x Reader)

summary: You're working as KorTac's reserve medic on an assignment in Mexico, leading you to a "nameless" woman.

You don't know her name. You don't know what she's done and who she's killed. All you do know is that she is very dangerous, very powerful, and you're going to have to do surgery on her. In a bikini. No pressure!

Prior context if you haven't read the prior installments: Reader is König's long-lost half sister. Code name Prinzessin (Sinn for short). Recently graduated from Med school. There is more, but it's not relevant to this specific fic so I'll leave it unspoiled in case you end up reading the series. For people who have been following the series, Ghost x Reader is still endgame, but they aren't together yet and I think Reader's life shouldn't solely revolve around him. Plus she's going to go through the wringer later, so let her have some fun now. And in case it's not obvious, since this is in second person and you don't know Valeria's real name, you know her as Bravo-Three for most of this fic.

originally posted on ao3 (wordcount: 2.2k)

Rating: E

Relationships: Valeria Garza x Reader

Ao3 Tags: Improper Medical Procedure / Cunnilingus / Flirting / One Night Stands / (though actually more like a two night stand)

this is a part of a series

Many thanks to @xstanceh3x for beta-ing!

Technically, this was a work trip.

Only technically.

In everything but name, this was a reward. Your reward for graduating with flying colors: a trip to Mexico.

Now, technically, you were a reserve medic for König, Horangi, and their allies. But you weren’t working in the field—not yet at least. Instead of being in the thick of the action, you were nicely holed away in the villa of their contractor. Not half-bad.

Hell, so long as no one got hurt, it was a free vacation.

So of course midway through your pool lounging, your radio crackled with Horangi’s voice.

“Sinn, are you there? Over.”

“Loud and clear. Over”

“Bravo-Three got hit, I’m taking her to you.”

“How bad is it?”

“Stable, but needs immediate care. I could try taking the bullet out myself, but I figure your stitches will leave the smallest scars.”

“I’m not afraid of another cicatriz,” an accented voice drawled out. Bravo-Three. You didn’t know her name—it was redacted from the files assigned to you—but you knew her face. You’d been briefly introduced when you arrived at the house—her house. The files didn’t say it, but your brother privately divulged that she was the one bankrolling this entire operation.

She was beautiful, stunning in a way that kinda made you forget everything for a second (just enough time for her to gut you). She had a quiet confidence to her. If you looked close you noticed that, while lacking the bulk of her male compatriots, her frame was bound with muscle. Not that you’ve been staring at her, of course. 

Horangi made good time. You were barely able to get out your equipment before the elevator dinged.

Shit, you didn’t even have time to change. You hastily slapped on a mask and gloves. A bikini may be impractical, but so long as it was paired with other PPE, it wasn’t the end of the world.

Horangi stumbled in, Bravo-Three leaning on him. He gently deposited her on the sofa. Her forehead was slick with sweat, messing up her normally immaculate hair.

“This is your medic?” Bravo-Three sneered through gritted teeth.

“Graduated top of her class,” Horangi reassured.

You smiled at her, “I would offer my hand, but I think it’s best for the both of us that these gloves remain sterilized.”

Bravo-Three’s eyes traced your attire with an unimpressed eyebrow but an appreciative gaze.

“I see you have proper scrubs on.”

“Well you did catch me a little off guard.”

“You should be better,” Bravo-Three reprimanded. “This is a job, not a vacation.”

Her tone was firm, but she was not being nearly as harsh as she could be. You remembered overhearing her dress down a subordinate last night (something about some “product” being missing, you weren’t sure, you didn’t speak Spanish). It’d been terrifying (and a little exhilarating). Bravo-Three could be very cruel and very scary when she wanted to be. This was neither. Maybe she had a soft spot for you. Or maybe she was just taking pity on you (or the piss).

“If you want me to change, I’ll change. But I would rather treat this wound immediately.”

“Fine,” the woman relented, a shark’s smile emerging on her face. “At least it’s a nice view.”

You couldn’t stop your blush. You know she saw.

She takes the bullet extraction like a champ, barely wincing as the forceps pull the metal out. It lands onto the living room ashtray with what feels like a deafening clatter.

Changing your gloves, you allow yourself to breathe. Step one down.

Antiseptic in hand, you cleaned her wound before beginning to suture. Even though you were scared out of your mind, your hands didn’t shake. You were too well-trained and practiced for that. Still, your anxiety was noticeable.

“You’re nervous,” Bravo-Three all but purred.

“You’re kinda a big deal. I wouldn’t want to screw it up.”

“I already told you, I’m no stranger to scars chula. No matter how big or small it ends up being, it will be in good company. As long as it heals, all is good.”

She pulled the neckline of her tank top down to give you a visual demonstration. You paused your work to look up and scold her for moving, only to be struck dumb by the sight of bare skin.

Tattoos and scars crisscrossed over her tanned skin. She still had her sports bra on—just as clothed as she would be in the gym—but something about this felt incredibly intimate. Maybe it was the way her dark eyes stared into your soul.

You bit your lip, forcing yourself to focus on the task at hand.

“Just don’t take it out on my brother and Horangi. No matter what happens, pay them in full.”

“Don’t worry, I keep my promises. How did you know, I’m—”

“Your body armor. It’s the good stuff.” A half-truth. You weren’t going to rat on your brother, and her body armor was expensive (your time at the KorTac base taught you that operators had THOUGHTS on armor brands and styles). “Done.”

She looked down at your handiwork.

“Not bad… Princesa, isn’t it?”

Your call sign rolled off her tongue in a way that made you shiver.

“Yes.”

“Nice, very nice.” The woman leant in. She looked even prettier up close. “You know, I don’t like being indebted. I ought to repay you.”

“You don’t need to do that,” your voice was breathless. “Just doing my job.”

“Let me thank you.” Her hand found its way to your waistband. It rested there like a promise. “Would you like me to show my gratitude?”

Want thrummed through you, but your tongue refused to comply—still shellshocked that someone like her would want you. You settled for a nod.

The woman sank to the ground.

You still didn’t know her name. You didn’t know what she’d done and who she’d killed. All you did know was the following three things:

She was dangerous. She was powerful. And she was on her knees for you, wanting to make you feel good.

She parted your legs with one hand, untying your bikini string with the other.

Her touch was gentle but firm. She had a job to do, she knew how to execute it, and she was damn well going to see it through.

You hated to interrupt her but, “Wait, what should I call you?”

“What do you know me as?”

“Bravo-Three.”

“And nothing else?"

“I’ve heard… whispers,” you conceded.

Bravo-Three looked up at you, intrigue now mixed with her lust. “Yes?”

“That you’re known as… the nameless one? I don’t know. I don’t speak Spanish. Either way it doesn’t really roll off the tongue, especially in the heat of… the moment.”

The woman thought about it for a moment, before deciding: “You can call me V.”

“V,” you tested the name on your lips. Clearly another pseudonym, but you didn’t mind that. It was yours to use for, yours alone.

You had only one more request before you surrendered yourself completely.

“V, please don’t tear your stitches.”

----------

She started with soft, little licks. Exploring the way your body reacted. Learning what made your breath hitch and insides clench. She didn’t want to break you, not yet at least.

As she began to get a feel for you and the way you… tick, her movements increased in both speed and confidence. You always prided yourself on being able to keep your mouth shut, but V had this… unpredictability to her that allowed her to pull moans and gasps and other little sounds from you with embarrassing ease.

The noise seemed to embolden her. But you know what they say about cockiness.

She’s skilled. Obviously. Undeniably talented and experienced. But slightly and frustratingly off target.

She’s so damn close to where you need her, but ever so off.

“Harder,” you moaned out.

V’s tongue didn't move. 

But after you add a desperate “Please”, her lips do.

With a jolt you realized that she was smirking. She knew damn well what you needed and was pointedly refusing.

You couldn’t help but let a groan of frustration slip out.

Fine. Guess you have to do it yourself.

You began grinding your hips, rocking her tongue into your cunt, riding her face .

V paused her gloating for a moment, reveling in your movements.

She made a muffled noise. It rumbled against your lips, tantalizing vibrations that only brought you closer to the edge. A laugh, you realized.

Teasing you was fun, but she’d had her fill of it.

Lifting you with ease, she pinned you against the wall—tongue still buried in you. Safely against something sturdy, she started writhing her tongue like a woman crazed. It’s intense, setting every nerve of yours ablaze. Scrambling, practically getting fucked silly, you reach for something— anything to steady yourself. Your hand winds up tangled in V’s beautiful locks, much to her apparent delight.

In the end it’s her canine—not biting, but instead—grazing against your clit that does you in. The shock of cool enamel, the reminder of danger, of the sharp teeth hidden in her plush mouth… your brain went numb.

Your head snapped back and for a second everything was blinding white. For a second you didn’t feel the wall behind you, or V’s grip on your waist, or her arms holding you up. All your body could even comprehend was euphoria.

When you finally came to, it’s to those same goddamn teeth, smiling at you through lips covered in your slick.

----------

You do end up having to redo her stitches. V has enough self control that they remained intact while she went down on you, but when you returned the favor she got… carried away. Arched a little too quickly and they reopened. When you said you wanted her gushing, that wasn’t what you meant.

“It’s a compliment, cariño,“ she reassured as you fixed her up again.

“Yeah, yeah.”

----------

“Well done, the wire transfer should process in two to three business days.”

“That’s good to hear.” Even though your absence perturbed Horangi, the fact that El Sin Nombre was walking around and discussing financial details—relaxed and fully stitched—was a good sign. “How did Sinn do?”

“Nicely. She’s very good with hands. Talented.”

He didn’t like the smug smile plastered on Valeria’s face.

“Where’s she now?”

“Resting. She worked hard. Very hard.”

Horangi thought about it for a moment before deciding, “I don’t need to know the details as long as she’s safe and on the flight home tomorrow.”

Valeria rolled her eyes.

“Yes sir.”

Her words held neither ire nor deference.

----------

You woke up to V’s voice. You groggily opened your eyes to find her on a phone call. Even though she didn’t seem angry with the caller, her voice was sharper than it ever was with you. This was business. Talking in rapid fire Spanish, you didn’t understand a lick of what she was saying—and judging from her ease at discussing such sensitive information with you present, she knew it.

You sat up, eyes still half lidded. At the sight of motion from you, V hung up, redirecting her full attention to you.

“Looks like someone’s a dormilona.” You groaned in response. “There’s some breakfast in the fridge.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You had quite the appetite yesterday.”

“That’s not…” you began to nod off before a gentle nudge from V woke you up once more.

“Come on, I know something that’ll wake you up.”

She ends up leading you downstairs, dressed in her pajamas, still half asleep. You two wind up at a door. V barked something at the guards down the hall. After getting acknowledgement from them, she opened it and flicked on the lights. Blinking away, your eyes adjusted to the brightness revealing a private shooting range.

“What are—”

“I’m not a very popular woman. I have enemies, enemies who’d like to hurt me through any means possible. Even if I never see you again, you’re still in danger. I would like to ensure you can defend yourself.”

“You do care.”

“You have such a pretty face. I’d hate to see it ruined. Can you shoot?”

“Long distance yeah, close range no.”

Her eyebrow leapt.

“How’d that happen?”

“Sniping is a family tradition. Plus the boys aren’t the biggest fan of the idea of me being in close combat.”

“With a chica like you, it’s a matter of when, not if that will happen. You know how to load a gun?”

You demonstrated for her. She tsked.

“Needs to be faster. While you’re fumbling for a round, someone else will have unloaded one into you. But speed only comes with practice, which we have no time for right now. Though when you get home… Anyway, let’s see what you can do.”

You tried your best to get into position. The handgun’s weight felt so unfamiliar, center of gravity completely different.

“This isn’t sniping. You can’t wait for the perfect shot to align. You need to make do. Your enemies already see you. You won’t be giving your position away.��

Her hands made their way to you. One landed on your waist, the other on your shoulder. After she noticed that “Dios you’re stiff,” she let her lips rest in the crook of your neck, accompanied by a simple order: “Relax.”

BANG

Even with noise protection, the gunshot and its recoil were more than enough to wake you up.

“Not bad, cariño. Again. Faster.”

Several rounds later V declared, “I think that’s enough for today. You have a flight to catch. And you should probably shower, I don’t know how your brother would react to you coming home smelling of me.”

You smiled at her from under your eyelashes, “All by my lonesome?”V chuckled, “Eres una chica muy traviesa, ¿lo sabías?”

[safetycar-restart]

So I was doing a deep dive on your account cause your stuff is gold 👌🏻👌🏻and I found this post

https://www.tumblr.com/safetycar-restart/716054638514896896/hey-shels-i-hope-you-are-feeling-much-better-now

And the farm au! Oh my god it lit up my brain like nothing else… and cause I too love angst…

Bunny Charles and Arthur being used to being spoiled bunnies, living the high life, all luxurious life but then their dom realized just how needy and dependent and expensive keeping two bunnies are and they do the equivalent of dropping them off on the side of the road in a box… so now poor bunnies are out in the cold harsh world and just don’t know what to do…

They just start walking back in the direction of home because maybe Dom made a mistake? and forgot them? But it’s a long cold walk and when the sun sets they see a warm light in the distance - your little cottage and farm, gardens full of yummy food and a welcoming warmth.

You wake up to two bunnies curled up in front of the fire place, covered in dirt with tear tracks

Or maybe you have a stall in the local farmers market and one day you hear just gut wrenching yips coming from the nearest alley and when you check it out — cat!max is there hiding and nursing a broken tail. Maybe his dad was yanking on his tail as a punishment and it broke/sprained it and max lashed out and ran away. Obviously you can’t leave poor kitty by himself, so you grab some of your supplies and spend the day slowly getting max used to you to allow you close enough to bandage his tail up. When you finally do that, he’s just curled up in your lap purring and out of his mind on catnip and genuine love and care and he just follows you home when you go to leave

Or maybe your farm is in an area with a lot of hunters and you’re taking a small hike cause it’s a gorgeous day for when you hear pained howling. Wolf!pierre and Carlos are caught in a bear trap or up a tree in some netting and it looks like they’ve been there for a while. You quickly get to work in getting them free and coax them to come to your house to fix them right up.

Or maybe you finally feel that you’ve settled nicely into your new farm and decide that it’s time to think about finding a hybrid for company. Maybe it’s luck or maybe it’s fate but you meet the pair of cat!oscar and dog!logan - they’ve bonded and won’t be separated but everyone they’ve tried stay with only wanted one not both…

(Like I said ☺️🙈 this ask sent like fireworks through my mind (love love love your writing!!!) -🦚)

I've had this ask in my askbox for months and oh my god every time I read it I get obsessed. I hadnt answered it yet because I knew I needed to set aside quite a bit of time because I knew this would be so long 😂

Here is the link to the original post so you don't have to search the URL, I'd suggest giving this a quick read for context if you're confused. It's very short but does explain it all :))

Right okay so the general premise is this: you own a farm in the hybrid!au with all sorts of drivers that come along and join. We can do this as a poly type thing or we can do it just as you run a farm and one driver comes along, whatever you guys would like to discuss! I think I'll tag everything with 'farm!au' but then also add 'poly!farm!au' to any posts that involve any sort of poly situation.

All of the stuff discussed by the anon above are just so so so perfect!!!! I'm gonna discuss each idea in a bit more detail each under their own heading and then we can go from there :))

BUNNY!CHARLES AND BUNNY!ARTHUR:

Aw poor little bunnies!! My immediate thought was that maybe their original caretaker/owner had died and they were handed over to whoever their dom has chosen and that was very much the wrong choice. They do try to get along with their new caretaker, of course they do. But bunnies are by far the most high needs of all hybrids, they're social creatures and they need constant attention or else they'll get sad and lonely.

Maybe bunnies need attention from people who are not bunnies as well? They need caretakers who are gentle and attentive and when their new person cannot do that and they start acting out (they can't help it!! They want attention!!), yeah they end up on the side of the road.

I definitely think for these two you wouldnt even get an option. You sort of just walk into the living room and two bunny hybrids are sleeping next to the fireplace.

CAT!MAX:

I love the idea of finding Max outside somewhere like at a farmer's market. I think maybe his dad left him there not to abandon him but to teach him some sort of lesson? Max is just curled up trying to keep quiet and waiting for his dad to decide he's had enough punishment and come fetch him. You manage to convince him to come home with you, promising him that you just want to get him into some nice clean clothes and get a good meal in him and then you'll call his dad for him.

Except well... Max feels so safe with you? He keeps on forgetting himself and purring or gathering blankets. He's never felt this warm and cared for. You offer to let him stay the night and the next morning you're supposed to call his father like you promised but well... Needless to say that never happens.

WOLF!CARLOS AND WOLF!PIERRE:

I feel like these two would have started out as enemies but they were forced to stay together? Like maybe they got separated from the rest of their pack and only had each other. They became much closer and got used to just the two of them. They don't trust anyone else. They manage on their own and are almost feral?

But then one of them gets caught in bear trap. The one not trapped tries to free the other of course but they can't. It's the fear of losing their only person that leads them to come into your yard. Maybe they had seen you quite a few times? Like you live on the boarder of the forest and they often see you walking in your garden and in the forest and you always seem calm, so the one not trapped comes to find you.

You follow him to the other one and help free him. They try to scurry off but the one is too injured. You convince them both to come back with you and let you care for their injuries. And they just never end up leaving?

[miriadalia]

Kwon and Draco Malfoy's character archetype and why it makes fans go crazy

(Warning: this post contains spoilers from both stories)

Like it or not, Kwon Jae Sung has become one of the most beloved characters in the Cobra Kai series, and he only needed 15 minutes or less of screen time to do so. Here's my analysis of why his character traits are so interesting to many fans and how this reminds me of the "Draco Malfoy effect" in the Harry Potter fandom.

Cobra Kai and Death Eaters

The first time we see Kwon, he's a student at the Korean Cobra Kai dojo, a place that not only condones but actually encourages young people to be violent, offensive, and merciless. We see how this teenager eagerly absorbs every one of these teachings and puts them into action.

Sounds familiar? In the HP universe, Death Eaters were an elite group created for the sole purpose of terrorizing and eliminating those they considered "the weakest and unworthiest": Muggle-borns and Muggles. They convinced (or forced) very young people to join them in their "mission": Draco, Snape, Regulus… All victims who then became perpetrators of the same crimes.

This scenario is SO attractive from a fictional POV. You have this dark group of adults that use and manipulate these teenagers or young adults for their own selfish purposes, and you begin to wonder: what are these young characters going to do when faced with the real consequences of their actions and way of thinking?

Draco realized (slowly and painfully) how his family's ideals were turning him into a monster forced to torture and kill innocent people. Kwon wasn't given enough time to do that… But I'll talk about this later.

Bad Boy trope and the King of Ships

Now, we can't deny that a huge part of both Kwon and Draco's attractiveness stems from their charisma, quick-witted remarks, and their inflated sense of self-importance, believing themselves untouchable and incomparable. They feel empowered to say and do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want.

All this, combined with their appealing and recognizable looks, creates the perfect formula for your next fictional Bad Boy crush™. And it also makes them so easy to ship with other characters, especially if their interactions can be interpreted as flirtatious when taken out of context (ahem, Dramione, ahem, Drarry, ahem, Kwon x Tory).

"He's just a boy"

At the end of the day, both boys were just that: 17-year-old boys trying to fit into the world they were raised in, be the best in their class, and achieve great things in life. And this is what makes them so endearing to many fans like me.

Both tried to impress the father figure they kind of idolized.

And both suffered when they faced the reality that they were just as powerless and insecure as any other normal teenager.

But in Draco's case, this moment of realization became the start of his regrets and redemption arc.

In Kwon's case, he was fated to be consumed by rage and die… due to a questionable plot and chain of events.

Now, I'm not going to debate the last 15 minutes of Cobra Kai Part 2 here. I've already written about it, and this isn't the point of this analysis anyway. I respect the people who think that Kwon's death was necessary and that it will help other characters' growth in Part 3, even though I strongly disagree with how the Cobra Kai writers handled it all.

However...

The infinite possibilites of the Redemption Arc

Not giving Kwon the possibility of a future redemption arc was a real waste of his character's potential.

Draco Malfoy wasn't truly redeemed in the original books, but at least in the epilogue, we see him raising a beautiful family, far removed from his racist past. And if you consider what happens in Cursed Child canon, you'll see how much he has grown and how good he could have been as a teen, too, if he hadn't been fed the wrong ideas and morals.

Imagine how cool it would have been if the "There's no such thing as bad student, only bad teacher" theme was applied in a drastically different way than what they decided to do in Part 2.

I'm not saying they should have shown us Kwon's redemption arc in Cobra Kai Season 6. That wouldn't have been good because we only have five episodes left, and it wouldn't have been believable that he changed so fast... But if he hadn't died, then all possibilities were open (for future spin-offs or even just to be coherent with the tone the CK series had until season 6, that is: no dead kids, just adults and only because of an illness).

Sunshine Actors

Lastly, it can't be denied that Brandon H. Lee and Tom Felton have played a crucial part in making their characters fan favorites.

They both have amazing acting skills, portraying charismatic yet tragic characters. And Brandon's stunt and martial arts skills are truly fascinating to watch.

But there's even more to their casting as Kwon and Draco. And even though I can totally separate the actor from the character, I won't deny that the actors being handsome, gentlemen, and the nicest people behind the scenes plays an important part in fans loving their characters.

If you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading!

I often post more character analyses and plot reviews, so if you like this, feel free to follow me and message me with any questions you may have :)

~miriadalia

[sillyandquest]

So I had an idea

To be completely honest, I mostly drew this as a treat for me. We don't see a lot of Roll outside of a cutscene or manning the shops and it just makes sense for her to be the player 2 in-game. Yeah we got Protoman and Bass, but c'mon!

I wanna see this lady charging in, full throttle, wooden chair in hand, and smack Wily's newest machine around like a piñata.

So yeah, player 2 au I guess? There's more info below the cut if you wanna read. Be warned, it's a long one.

First I had to ask myself why would Roll even want to fight when Rock does just fine on his own.

Roll's a coward canonically, but she also has a big heart and is willing to fight if she has to. Maybe after the first Megaman game, Rock came back far more damaged than Dr. Light expected. While this does convince him to build Rush, Roll also volunteers to join Rock in this fight.

Dr. Light was super hesitant, but Roll's reasoning was that if Wily was willing to kidnap the Light Numbers to one up Light, who knows what else he would do? Rock already had a hard time fighting them by himself and the Numbers weren't even built to fight. If Wily was smart enough to reprogram civil servant robots, why wouldn't he reprogram robots built to fight?

Eventually, Dr. Light relented and built Roll her own set of armor and a durable broom. She has a shorter attack range, but in exchange she deals way more damage. She doesn't have the copy chip Rock does, so her armor doesn't change color, but her broom does and can change shape/color depending on which weapon is equipped.

Now onto my thought process during the drawing.

When I was drawing the armor, I wanted to keep a couple things in mind. Specifically, what makes Roll so iconic by herself. She has her hair, the green bow, her dress, and her broom/cleaning products.

One other thing I kept in mind was the various depictions of Roll in combat armor. Many fans have made their own and they all look amazing, but I always thought Roll was more of a heavy hitter up close. Most equip Roll with a buster like Rock, which is a good direction to go in, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. Then I looked at Roll's"official" armors, specifically the armor she wore during the Upon a Star movie and the armor she dreamed of from Megaman 11.

I basically put a chest piece and shoulder armor over the Megaman 11 armor, I removed the buttons on it, both of them had a heart motif on the chest which I thought suited Roll very well so I added that. I also used her hat from the Megaman Fangame Perfect Blue. You may notice her arms don't have the bulky arm guards most robot masters have... Yeah, I have no excuse for that, but Splash Woman doesn't have the guards either sooooo.....happy accident?

They're sisters so they matching!!!

I think the colors were the hardest part. I colored the dress to be more red with a pinker red for the heart and middle of the dress. Originally I had the skirt be a solid pink color and the rest of the armor be red and white, but it looked off to me. I knew I had to add her bow which meant adding green and I think that's what threw off the whole thing. The first draft only had a green bow, and I felt I had to add it somewhere else to make it look more appealing and I immediately went to color the buttons on the heart green. A small callback to Zero that doubles as a parallel.

That kinda makes me wonder if Zero was modeled after Roll and Protoman in this au. Also, what would the Megaman timeline even be like with Roll as a fighter alongside Rock? It's always better when someone has your back and Rock and Roll were always meant to be a pair.

They're twins in this au, not a couple. Just had to set the record straight.

Anyway, speaking of Blues. It makes sense why Protoman wouldn't show up as much in this context. Roll is right there, why would Rock need Protoman's help? I imagine he usually shows up only in situations where Rock and Roll are forcibly separated or shows up to both of them individually. Whether it's because he wants to help them be more independent or test the strength of their bond remains to be seen.

I have more to say about this au, I'll try drawing some expressions and go into more detail regarding Rock and Roll's personalities in the au.

[breadvidence]

@ineffable-gallimaufry asked in the tags "#okay but quick question. i thought that in... well hapgood titled it vague flashes on the horizon i don't have the number exactly#i thought it was specified that his mother had gone to jail for fortune telling?? which was what i was basing the assumption off of#maybe i misread it or it was a weird translation i'm just wondering how that fits in"

Good question! You're right and you're wrong and you've been misled by some stereotypes. The line you are thinking of is in 1.5.5 and opens the paragraph which contains the quote I wrote this post around, and goes: "Javert était né dans une prison d'une tireuse de cartes dont le mari était aux galères". Tireuse de cartes is translated as "fortune-teller" by both Hapgood and Donougher, which is not a weird translation at all, it's sensible. The term more literally is "drawer/puller of cards" or more naturally in English "card reader", and refers to the practice of telling fortunes based on variously laying out or picking cards from a deck (Javert's mother wouldn't have been using Tarot cards in the occult sense you might be imagining--what the pagan girlies are doing now wouldn't be popularized until around the time Javert was born, when the European occultist fancy weirdo movement got rolling; his mother's deck you could probably turn around and use for a quick hand of the 18th c French version of Texas Hold 'Em). This is also called cartomancy.

While fortune-telling is part of the mystical, magical, satanic prejudicial associations with Romani people in Europe, there's two things to know: humans really fuckin love telling fortunes and have been doing so globally pretty far back in the record of our species crafting special objects, and also telling fortunes can be really really profitable. This combination means that Europeans of all ethnic origins were paying for their fortunes to be told and getting paid to do so. So, historically, there's not a meaningful racial/ethnic implication in this being Javert's mother's profession. The reason it seems like there could be can be laid, to some degree, at the feet of those occultists: in order to pump up the prestige and mystery of Tarot and fortune-telling, they whole-cloth fashioned histories having to do with origins in Egypt (and recall the Romani were also called l'égyptien) and other various ancient places "abroad", when in reality Tarot is from 15th c. Italy and fortunes are made everywhere. From a business perspective, you also get fortune-tellers making up personal histories having to do with foreign or exotic origins as a way to bolster their cred, further distancing the modern popular perception of this as a thing that white Europeans do. Hugo himself would've been very familiar with Parisian street fortune-tellers and is unlikely to have had a specifically Romani woman in mind when making this Javert's mother's profession, though we do have to acknowledge that he was influenced by that popularization of the falsified occultist history and stereotypes about Romani, too, rather than having a 100% accurate knowledge of French profession demographics.

It's unfortunately focused a bit later than the period we're most interested in if we're talking when Javert's mother would've been jailed (around 1780), but this article provides good context for Hugo's personal milieu, since I doubt he did research into the legal and cultural minutiae of cartomancy prior to his birth, and also it popped up near the top of Google when I looked for a reference to offer + is free: https://academic.oup.com/fh/article/37/4/379/7310795

As an aside: note that Javert's father is only said to be in the galleys--we don't get a specific crime or whether he was a lifer. While my fondness for writing and reading about Javert having a homoerotic dalliance with Jean Valjean means I like to think of his father being some kind of thief or other peasant-style criminal for maximum daddy issues, there's no textual evidence in any direction, and you could hare off on a fun alternative thought process about whether he was some kind of clerk doing labor because of fraud or another bourgeois crime.

Hope that helps!

[ETA] To be clear, this is still very much a socially questionable—and specifically legally liminal—profession, and I would personally infer from the itinerant/vagabondage implications of race de bohème that mama is fortune-telling because she doesn’t have the means or domicile for a more respectable profession (like Fantine’s sewing). Also? The fact that we’re told “breaking her ban” (not reporting appropriately to the authorities while on parole) is a specific crime Javert would not flinch from persecuting her for makes me realize I’m sleeping on his relationship with Valjean being centered on mommy issues.

" [. . .] il se sentait je ne sais quel fond de rigidité, de régularité et de probité, compliqué d'une inexprimable haine pour cette race de bohèmes dont il était." [LM I.V.V]

What did Hugo mean by this phrase? This is a question with a clear answer, in my opinion. Also in my opinion, this does and doesn't matter: it matters to understanding how Les Mis engages (or fails to) with the literary tradition of race and ethnicity in Europe through Javert, and it doesn't because most of my readers here are bent fannish in their style and do as much enriching of the text as reading of it. What I'm saying is: Javert is not a Romani man in the Brick, but there's no damage to making him one in your fanwork.

Hapgood translates this line as " [ . . . ] he was conscious of an indescribable foundation of rigidity, regularity, and probity, complicated with an inexpressible hatred for the race of bohemians whence he was sprung"; Donougher has it as " [ . . . ] he was conscious of some underlying inflexibility, steadiness and probity within him, compounded by an inexpressible hatred for that gypsy race to which he belonged."

So, bohème: at the time, you have this idea that the Romani people in France came from Bohemia, from which also bohémien, right? And because white Europeans had (and have) a complex, hateful relationship with the Romani people, caught up in exoticization and prejudice and xenophobia, unsure whether they were (or are) more enamored of the idea of free travel and "unconventional" lifeways (from which the entire "Bohemian" art movement) or repelled by stereotypes of criminality (for which see the modern American slur-derived phrase "to gyp"), by the 19th century the word is tied up in complex dual set of associations and is so frequently used in those two-steps-removed senses from the ethnic group it initially described that you can't in any specific case know which of those three meanings is intended without context cues. This is why we have Magloire relate the people of Digne calling Valjean a bohémien--in this case, this means "criminal, itinerant", not "Romani". In contrast, when in I.III.IV we are told "toute une bohème de papillons s'ébattait dans les achillées", these aren't Romani butterflies or imports from Bohemia, the intent is to evoke that positive (so to speak) set of associations.

What cues do we have here that point to the derogatory meaning rather than ethnic?

Within the chapter itself, Javert's hatred is elaborated on as "la haine de la rébellion", where rebellion is crime: this use of la haine, to my reading, is the same la haine as referred to in the earlier sentence, and the phrase "tout ce qui avait franchi une fois le seuil légal du mal" describes the same people as "race de bohèmes". In the header quote for this post, Hugo describes Javert's perception of himself; in this later section, the narrator elaborates and confirms the point. There's no ethnic specificity in the narrator's phrasing. Further, when we get to which class of criminals are particularly terrified by Javert, we're told it's the "gens sans aveu", rendered by Hapgood and Donougher as vagrants: an itinerant class associated with criminality; the point isn't re-iterated that he shows particular antipathy or suspicion of an ethnic group, but of a specific criminalized class.

Hugo never mentions it again. For how Hugo talks about Romani characters, we quite helpfully have Notre-Dame de Paris, and when I say that he cannot fucking stop talking about Esmeralda being la bohémienne, l'égyptienne, fille bohème: he cannot. A search for these word pulls up hundreds of hits for the novel. It's more than central to her character, it's central to how the narration refers to her, and it's key to how she's conceived of bodily and in temperament. Now: you could write Javert as so vigorously working against what it means to be a bohémien that none of these come into play in the narration, or that he wasn't raised in that culture and thus doesn't have any of those influences on his attitudes or habits, but (1) this is not present in the text (2) the reading "his mother is Romani, but this has so little impact on him outside racial hatred that it never comes up again" doesn't really do it for me (3) I would be surprised if Victor Hugo could parse the idea of being ethnically Romani and not temperamentally Romani.

While race and ethnicity are obviously an inextricable part of societal power structures, Les Misérables? It barely fuckin' cares about that (and to be quite honest I'm glad Hugo didn't try harder than his sort of confused gesturing with Thénardier's slave-trading in the end; he's not the man for the job). Javert's character is centrally about Law as an artificial, immoral tool that maintains a bourgeois power structure to the detriment of Society as a whole and the misérables in particular: introducing the question of race/ethnicity alters that one-note to the point of needing to be nested in a different novel. The topic of criminality and race is a whole fucking rodeo, and if it would be an interesting addition to the concept of "society does not include criminals; criminals are a class you can become by committing crime; criminality is an ambiguously heritable trait" that's going on here, it's not in the text. The fact that the idea of criminality as heritable has faded in our culture (it's certainly no longer considered scientific or acceptable to be explicit about, in any case) means that Javert's focus on the idea of being somehow constitutionally impacted by the crimes of his parents reads a bit through modern eyes as racial, but in my opinion that's crossing two streams that are related but not in fact identical.

A minor point, and one I'm less confident of, but: Donougher's use of the slur with a lowercase g feels sharp, precise, and deliberate in this context, particularly given she's European. In my experience, Americans tend to be far less sensitive to it--hell, I've got a friend of a friend who named her tortoise G****. Our racial hatreds focus elsewhere. The implication, here, feels the same as the blanket use of the n-word to refer to anyone dark-skinned. It's a matter of denigration, not a way to identify someone's ethnic/racial background.

Again: fanwork exploring what it would mean for Javert to be a person of color is both a fair place for the fandom to have hared off to based on the multiple meanings of the word bohème and a deeply intuitive step to take given how race and criminality are intertwined in the modern consciousness. What there isn't is textual support for the idea.

[mishy-mashy]

I said this in a whole reblog, but just copy-pasting to a separate post because I think it'll give some reading comprehension and reblogs don't show up in the search feature.. again, I'm reiterating what I said in another post.

Go check out @demidokuriya 's post for this; OP's post made me put this all down in like. 20 minutes. Mind went vroom vroom cuz HEY THEY'RE ONTO SOMETHING.

(They also reblogged the post with some hint to some behind the scenes of what led to the ideas if you wanna check that out)

Look below at how, when Mineta told AFO to spare Tokoyami, AFO specifically went "..."

He remembers Jirou and thinks, The braying howls of the weak...

He was going to take Tokoyami's Quirk. He took Hawks'. But after Mineta pleaded with him, AFO just straight-up left and didn't take anyone else's Quirk.

AFO saw Yoichi in Mineta.

These scenes are near-identical to each other.

Mineta and Yoichi (at that time) are both much smaller than the normal person at their age

They're both hurt, yet dragged themselves up from the ground to throw something at AFO, to get his attention and make their voice

Both are considered weak, even if they have a Quirk (Mineta's Pop-Off and Yoichi's undeveloped Factor)

The fact that Yoichi got AFO's attention here by throwing a can at him, while Mineta got his attention by throwing a Pop-Off ball; and it stuck.

Mineta's call for his attention landed and actually stuck to AFO. This is unlike when Yoichi and his can bounced off, and AFO kicked him, not listening to him; AFO listened to Mineta and left Tokoyami alone, technically doing what Mineta wanted—to not hurt this person.

AFO just went on to hurt more people away from Mineta's [Yoichi's] eyes so the small weakling wouldn't see.

Yoichi and Mineta both cried to AFO to not hurt in his ways, when AFO was intent on stealing people's Quirks

AFO even stole Hawks' Quirk during this time.

He had time to steal Hawks' Quirk, and though he could've tossed him to the side, he let Hawks stand in his way.

He had the energy. Right after this event, he flew off and left the scene. But he didn't go for Tokoyami immediately.

And this let Mineta play his part, and remind AFO of Yoichi.

"A putrid, festering Quirk Factor."

That sounds like Yoichi, AFO.

".. such garbage."

Hey hey hey, what did Yoichi throw at him when they were kids?

A discarded can. Garbage.

This chapter (385) where AFO listens to Mineta is literally called [A Youthful Urge].

Mineta told AFO to take his Pop-Off (hurt him) instead. But last time, AFO hurt Yoichi by kicking him; this time, AFO not only listened to Mineta to not hurt Tokoyami, but didn't touch Mineta at all.

Even though this time, Mineta [Yoichi] offered to take that place of suffering.

Yoichi didn't do that back then. AFO just turned on little Yoichi anyway.

Yoichi through his whole existence is literally [the braying howls of the weak]. AFO acknowledges he's weak and idealistic, yet he still loves him.

Side note about this panel, I think it's interesting that in this vision, this was the first time we saw Yoichi's eyes: when he was being defiant, despite being pushed down by someone much stronger than him.

Really characteristic of him, honestly. Yoichi's soft-spoken and frail, but it's always reiterated that Yoichi had a powerful will against his stronger big brother.

Mineta at this moment reminded him too much of Yoichi, because the two scenes are near-identical to each other. Parallels, really.

Reiterating something from OP's post that I reblogged this from;

"The reminder of his brother made him uncomfortable, so he hurried away."

AFO didn't want to hurt Yoichi again.

[maulfucker]

Random thing that annoys me for no reason is when people make human au Maul and they make him white. Why would you do that to him. What do you have against brown punks who kill.

[forcedhesitation]

this is... interesting. If I'm not mistaken, the list of people banned from the waning moon is supposed to be a bunch of devs, but gerringothe thorm obviously isn't one, and the "unknown elf" sounds far too much like astarion to not be him.

if you have a companion interact with the magic mirror, they have unique wishes they can share. the first wish always seems to be their deepest desire, past all the fear, pride, anger, regret, etc. that they may feel. wyll's, for example, is wishing to see his father extending his arms in forgiveness to him (wyll. pleeease pleaase pleease your dad was the one who was wrong T____T).

astarion wishes to see his home. his real home. after reading this line, I was reminded of the note in the waning moon...and well...what if astarion's real home was originally reithwin town? or somewhere nearby it? the timeline checks out, the shadowcurse has been around for about 100 years, according to halsin. astarion's been a spawn for around 200 years...

the only thing I can think of that might contradict this is something mr. stephen rooney (his writer) said in an interview, about not being sure what direction to take astarion's story in act 2. but given that this was said of the astarion made for the 3 act story we know, and that there still exist many remnants of old ideas since reworked in the live game, it's not impossible that the original story might have included something about astarion's real home being the shadowcursed lands.

sad too, because if it is true, it means that it's very likely that his family was lost to the shadowcurse. and his family wouldn't have ever known that they lost their son to the shadows long ago....

[tstain-is-an-idiot]

CU, except I swapped the genders and changed some minor story details

So basically it's a more magical girl-ish version of the story instead of a normal superhero one (she still is, but just more... magical, I guess?)

[dykesynthezoid]

Was v lucky to get to see a screening of a new documentary about casteism and brahmanical patriarchy in India but also I’m supposed to be discussing it in class later and if I’m being honest the fact that the last ten minutes of the film were basically one big advertisement for Hindus to convert to Buddhism means I’m like hmm well I do have some stuff I could say about this but I don’t want to overreach

[cospinol]

TODAY’S EPISODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Koku you amethyst time!!!!!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 And it’s apparently the moment that the show’s staff have been waiting for just as eagerly as I have because it’s the best looking episode not just of this season but maybe… of the entire series since its inception…????!! I genuinely can’t think of another one that has Multiple dedicated cuts of detailed action in a row like the sequence from kyou kai snapping on the mountain road to the encounter between shin and kyou kai + rai do and koku’ou at kan ki’s camp, and certainly not one anywhere near as good looking, it’s such a treat…!!!!!!!

[quick aside, before I forget I want to add that rai do is addressing shin as ‘obocchan’ in the last cap above :DDD truly the gift that keeps on giving]

And anyways that’s without even touching on how good this sequence would be regardless of looks because it’s still Amethyst Plot time 🥰❤️💞❣️💓💍💘 Bi hei giving in to peer pressure in just the kind of moment of weakness that you can’t actually detest him for (of course you would want to believe him when he tells you it wasn’t a civilian village..), kyou kai absolutely fucking snapping, the cool head ten maintains between trying to hold shin back and immediately pivoting the hi shin unit to a defensive formation for the real possibility that shin and kyou kai actually start pvp against the kan ki army , and of course shin and kan ki putting their cards on the table :)))))

^ my favourite panel of him ever now animated!!!!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 and my favourite moment in the exchange between them, shin’s is still yet to come (I think all his talk in this week’s episode about kan ki not being equipped to handle sei’s dream of unification *is* sweet and sincere but it’s also dumb and that’s why kan ki is able to refute him so easily; the point that really matters and where his moral stance becomes unassailable, for me, is in the fact that it’s all for hyou’s sake. there’s no counter-argument about what you may or may not be turning a blind eye to there, it’s the mandate made absolute and incorruptible instead…) but this is maybe my favourite line of kan ki’s ever… he’s just following through on the promise he made you; these are the rules you agreed to play by! 🥰🥰🥰 i don’t even need to go into the premium emycore aspect of ever part of this sequence lol, the indulgence of it all…

also I was pleasantly surprised to see that they preserved just about all all of the gore from the scenes covered in this week’s scenes; there are some minor changes (the zhao soldiers kan ki is having the saki clan interrogate early in the episode are shown a little less mutilated than they are in the manga, and there’s no nudity) but they really are minor which bodes pretty well for the saki clan artworks coming up soon :~) I think there’s a chance we might not see that scene until the week after next since next episode’s primary focus will of course be Bi Hei And The Hi Shin Unit as per the ep title, but i’m so curious to see what they do with it since the anime has *always* omitted saki and saki-adjacent activities in the past. but I won’t get ahead of myself when we still have all of bi hei’s crisis to savour first :D

also, in shin’s speech telling kan ki off, we got a little additional visual of ran dou from sanyou campaign! always on the lookout for scenes from s1-2 appearing in flashback in the current art style <3

and i really had forgotten what he looked like lol even though this is another scene I absolutely adore for similar reasons to the one in the camp in this episode - though there’s no mou ten around to step in and defend shin this time, of course… :)

[boypussydilf]

& a thing with the whole…. “that’s not the character you like that’s your oc committing identity fraud” yknow is… there’ll be characters who kind of got the short stick from the writers, so people wanna Fix them, make them more three dimensional, write them with depth and make theories and headcanons to build them up and that’s okay but it’s like. Say you have a female character who is thinly written and got dealt a lot of misogyny from the writers. And you like her and want her to be better written so you take her and come up with details about her life and her family and you add to her personality to give her more depth. But she was also portrayed in canon as like… Insecure about her appearance, or. Other things that I can’t think of but like, stuff that “Women Care About” (and like, stuff that many women do care about in real life but it’s because of Societal Pressure while in fiction it’s just portrayed as Well that’s just how women are! Inherently! Always!) and you take that part of her and entirely remove it. Erase it with nothing left behind.

And that’s not. Bad? You can just not want to work with that stuff and that’s fine but. It’s also not bad for a character to have that kind of a trait? Even if the way it was written was sexist (or whatever else you may have) the trait existing is not the bad part, it’s the way it was written. and sometimes those traits… are a real part of the character even if they were done badly, and you don’t always need to change Who They Are to make them a better character, just How Who They Are Is Written.