#This turned out way longer than intended

[livinginadumpster]

One thing I really like in Dead Boy Detectives is the use of blood/gore/horror. With a TV-MA rating, a show with horror themes is obviously going to have some blood and violence, and there are clear instances if this in DBD, but while it's definitely there, it's almost never gratuitous. That's because scenes like the Devlin murders or Maxine's death aren't really about those deaths, rather, they're about the characters' reactions to them and the way the story is shaped by them.

In the Devlin house, the camera focuses not on the girls being killed but on Edwin, Crystal, and particularly Charles reacting to their murders with horror, shock, and anger. The blood splatters in a meaningful way, rather than simply a horrifying one, over the TV and the popcorn and the younger daughter's stuffed rabbit, tarnishing the innocence of everything it touches. While the tragedy of the murders themselves are important, the main focus is Charles' reaction to them as a result if his own trauma. Showing the minutia of the killings would take away from that, so it simply isn't there.

Even Maxine's death, while definitely played off more for shock value than the Devlin murders, serves a purpose. Episode 5 focuses on the failure of romantic relationships, on betrayals from those you thought you could trust, and the Maxine subplot adds to that. It begs the question, who can you trust in this world? At the end of the episode, the answer we are given is your friends, your found family, because love will kill.

It seems to me that the blood in hell represents the guilt of those it touches - Simon's wounds heal when he forgives himself; Edwin loses the blood covering him after Charles turns up to rescue him (albeit by a horrifying cause); the people in the Lust room are drenched in blood and get it on Edwin when they try to drag him down. It's not just there to demonstrate the horrors of hell, but to brand its inhabitants.

There are lots of other examples. The blood when Niko dies is there obviously because that's what happens when you get stabbed, but also (in my opinion) as a visual callback to her saying that red is the color of courage. The cat king's bloody corpse and Monty's blood-splattered face show Esther's ruthlessness and disregard for anyone in her path. Lilith is covered in blood as a symbolic part of her character design. Everything serves a purpose, narratively or symbolically.

(The only example of gore that served no particular purpose that I can think of was in episode one when the WWI ghost drooled blood all over Charles' face, but it was the pilot episode and that whole scene was meant to be shocking, so it can be forgiven.)

Anyway, I really like the way they use blood in DBD, because it shows such a level of detail and care. I enjoy horror but not gore so much, and to me it's refreshing to see it used so tastefully and executed so well.

[kirasworldofwords]

Webbonso + 55. Mutual Pining (+ Oblivious)

The Webbonso crowd has found me- Ngl though, although I'm not the biggest fan of Mark for obvious reasons (I'm more of a Seb person, lmao, and yk what happened with them), I do love myself some Webbonso. 🫶🏻

Prompt 55: Mutual Pining (+ Oblivious)

How many more times did Fernando want to watch as they created a disaster situation for PR through just... existing together, knowing what the fans screamed was a deep and personal wish on his part?

How many more times was Mark willing to let it all happen without going absolutely batshit crazy at the prospect of being seen as someone more than a friend to Fernando?

How many more times would they be able to stay silent? Unknowing if the other reciprocated their feelings or not?

Fernando had tried a few times - or, well, at least attempted to try. Whenever it got too serious, however, he backed out, afraid of Mark's reaction. And the Australian would just brush it off as Fernando being Fernando - he liked to bullshit around here or there, both on and off track. That was just his personality.

But he, too, had tried spilling his feelings to Fernando at least a few times already, too. Yet every time he even so much as thought of actually doing it, bile rose in his throat and he had to physically turn away, so as to not throw up on whatever was ahead of him at the time.

In short, Mark's pride literally made him sick whenever he tried to be vulnerable with the Spaniard.

Many nights, Fernando would stay up until the early morning hours, staring at the ceiling, journaling. He had found out not too much prior to him realizing he had a thing for Mark that journaling really helped him with his emotions.

Likewise, many times, Mark would stay awake as well, writing poems pleading with the world to finally give him the mental as well as physical strength to overcome his pride and finally say what he knew he needed to say to Fernando - or he'd write love letters to the Aston Martin driver, yet he'd always stuff them away immediately after proof-reading and correcting them, for fear Fernando would make fun of him if he ever found them.

One such letter, however... made its way into the wilderness that was Mark's bedroom one fateful day. The same day Fernando happened to be over for a beer or two.

His mind had been all over the place, uncertain and confused, scared on top of it all, too. Yet it was just as lovesick as it was terrified, the secret love he held for Mark soon overpowering the fear in the very core of his heart, to the point where he'd randomly cry to himself.

If Michael had been there, he'd have told Fernando to man up already and finally tell Mark.

If Sebastian had been there, he'd have told Mark to face his fears and let Fernando know, for his own sanity as well as the Spanish driver's, who must've already noticed by then - and he must've been so worried for his friend, too.

"But he doesn't see me like that" they'd both tell themselves, trying to think in relative terms whenever thoughts of confession so much as briefly came up.

Until Fernando found one of Mark's letters.

Under the guise of needing to use the bathroom, he snuck the piece of paper with him, locking himself in and sitting down on the closed lid of the toilet to read what the former Red Bull pilot had written there.

Only when his eyes finally fully registered a few wet spots on the paper, Fernando realized that he was crying. And his heart was racing, and it ached so much, and everything was unbearable and he felt so stuffed and trapped and-

"Nando? Are you okay in there? Do you need any help?"

Out. Out, out, he had to get out, right now...!

The door to the bathroom clicked and swung open, so suddenly that it almost gave the older Australian whiplash. What did give him whiplash, however, was the sight he received immediately after his brain finally adjusted to the sudden occurrences, eyes going wide in shock.

There, Fernando stood, tears rolling down his cheeks as he held a piece of paper in his left hand, in a way that almost screamed at Mark that Fernando wanted him to see it.

The Aussie's heart dropped, down to his smallest toe.

"Fernando... I... I can explain-"

But the Spanish man was quicker, rushing towards Mark and pressing their lips together in a kiss that took both of them by surprise - so much so, Mark couldn't even respond to it in any way there was, causing him to just stand there, pale-faced and absolutely horrified one minute before blushing like crazy the next. The paper Fernando held was long disregarded, having floated to the ground already, somewhere next to Fernando's feet. The younger man held Mark's face in his hands instead, in a slightly tighter grip than intended of him, as he glared at the Australian through glistening tears.

"Cállate, cabrón."

Before he could attempt to kiss Mark anew, the adrenaline and emotions in his system running as high as they never did before, Mark held him in place, pushing his hands against Fernando's chest to hold him back and looking at him worriedly.

"Nando, you know I don't speak Spanish..."

The wildly emotional look on Fernando's face softened at the sound of Mark's voice, which was barely above a whisper at this point, one last tear of high emotion betraying the Spaniard as it rolled down his cheek.

"I said shut up, asshole. ... And let me kiss you instead."

The tone of which Fernando made use was enough to cause Mark to smile gently, yet his words only deepened it, and he retreated his hands from the Aston Martin pilot's chest to reposition them on his waist instead.

"Gladly."

This time, both went into the kiss with clear intentions and expectations, both of which were met and fulfilled, executed perfectly, one might say. To them, it felt like an eternity and a half - though in reality, it was more like two minutes of them just standing there, in front of the open bathroom of which the light was turned on, still, both of them having forgotten the world around them and simply focusing on each other and themselves as they kissed without a care.

Once they did gently break apart again, however, Mark brought their foreheads together, nosing at Fernando's nose with his own.

"I thought you didn't see me in that way..."

The Spaniard chuckled brokenly, closing his eyes.

"What a coincidence... I thought the same of you."

They fell silent. For about five minutes, all they did was breathe in each other's air, reveling in the other's sheer presence. Soon, Fernando murmured almost inaudibly.

"... So... both of us had feelings for the other all this time..."

Mark didn't do much more than nod at this, maybe he hummed in tow, he couldn't quite tell. There was a noise, yes, but his mind was so far out of it, he couldn't tell who or what it came from. Could've just been a random outside noise for all he cared.

"Does that mean... I get to call you mine...? I've been hoping and praying for so long for a miracle like this to happen someday, and for us to find our ways to each other soon..."

Fernando smiled gratefully at the carefully curated words that left Mark's mouth, pecking his lips again shortly.

"Call me whatever you want... So long as I get to call you mi amor, I'm all fine with it."

The sight of his favorite Spaniard smiling like that was contagious, Mark had to admit - because he found himself smiling just the same way Fernando was.

"You got yourself a deal there, Nando."

[splickedylit]

I know most of my new followers are for Homestuck but I just reread the entirety of Eyeshield 21 and: football manga good. So you'll have to forgive a brief interlude of "Splickedy's favorite minor character (and guests)" haha. Anyway do you think any of the gangsters Agon canonically cuckolded ever mistook Unsui for his twin brother and beat the shit out of him?? Ignore me.

...also tho relatedly I made a post about college Hiruma/Unsui in January and now I'm 26,000 words in, because,,, idk I've lost control of my life? Because "I realized in college that I'm queer and I have a million tons of repressed emotions behind a very cracked dam" is a big mood and maps onto Unsui too easily for me to resist? Because I'm still incredibly amused by the thought of how pissed off Agon would be if his brother started dating Hiruma? All of those things, lmao.

[cringefailvox]

finishing up this chapter either tonight or tomorrow but g-d willing it WILL be out this weekend

[glass-noodle]

I'm curious Connor in you're au looks quite malnutritioned and tired what would Hank do if he became exceptionally sick or weak from kamskis experiments on him

He can tell that something’s off the minute he walks into the enclosure. Connor is lying half on the deck, half in the water, his tail hanging limply off the ledge. He barely lifts his head at the sound of Hank entering, eyes half-lidded and hazy.

Hank rushes forward, dropping his lunch bag on the deck and grabbing Connor by the shoulders. “Jesus — Connor! Hey, you okay?”

Connor looks worse than he ever has; purple shadows under his eyes dark as a bruise, skin sallow over protruding bones, grip weak as he reaches up to place a heavy hand on Hank’s arm. Hank feels anger simmer to life in his gut, the urge to storm straight into Kamski’s office and punch his teeth out for allowing Connor to wallow in this state (and likely causing it) rising like a maelstrom; but he manages to reign himself in for Connor’s sake, guiding him into a more comfortable position on the deck. “Hold on, kid,” he says urgently, shrugging off his jacket and draping it over the merman’s thin, pale frame. He turns to rummage quickly through his bag. “Here, what do you need? Food? Water?”

He holds out his daily catch to Connor. Connor looks blearily at the fish, eyes cloudy, then drops his head back onto the deck, murmuring insensibly.

Hank raises his head back up. “C’mon, kid, you need to eat,” he says, trying to keep his voice low despite his rising panic. He palms the kid’s face gently, noting how it’s burning up as he sits cross-legged by the water’s edge, guiding Connor’s head into his lap.

Connor barely reacts to the change in position. His eyes are closed, and his bony ribs rise and fall quickly, shallow breaths puffing past cracked lips. Hank decides it’s probably best to start with water. He reaches back into his bag to retrieve his bottle, uncapping it and placing it against Connor’s lips. “Come on, come on,” he mutters.

Connor does respond to that, at least, throat bobbing with difficulty as he sips slowly at what’s offered. Hank’s relief is short-lived, however; Connor’s eyes slip shut when Hank pulls the bottle away, and he murmurs a low, wounded sound as he turns his head weakly into Hank’s lap.

Hank hisses a curse between his teeth. He puts a hand on Connor’s burning forehead, pushing his sweat-soaked locks out of the way. He’s just about to consider running to get help — Kamski’s wrath be damned — when the enclosure door opens.

Hank turns quickly, stiffening. One of the scientists, the small blonde one, is standing in the doorway, holding several objects in her hands — one of which looks like a syringe filled with a pale blue fluid. She gives him a strange, lingering look.

“Mr. Anderson.”

“Who the fuck are you?” Hank growls. He doesn’t give a damn that he’s been caught breaking the rules. He eyes the syringe in her hand suspiciously as she walks towards them, clutching Connor tighter. “The hell are you gonna do to him?”

She stops a short distance away from them. “My name is Chloe,” she says, soft and careful. She holds out her hands placatingly, showing Hank everything that she has in her grasp. “I work directly under Dr. Kamski. Connor is sick. I have medicine for him.”

Hank eyes the syringe suspiciously. The girl doesn’t seem all that aggressive, but he doesn’t trust anyone in this place, least of all the fuckers who put Connor in this situation in the first place. “Right. How do I know you’re not just gonna shoot him up with more weird shit?”

Chloe’s hesitates, looking away. “I understand your concern,” she murmurs finally. “But I want you to know that I really don’t mean Connor any harm. I — I don’t like seeing him suffer, either.”

Hank snorts darkly at that. “Then set him free.”

Chloe says nothing; just gives him another long, considering look. On top of feeling pissed, her light-eyed stare is starting to make him feel uncomfortable, like she’s staring into his soul and grasping at his deepest, most guarded thoughts. Weird girl.

Connor stirs in his lap, dark eyes flickering open to peer hazily beyond Hank’s hovering form. He seems to recognize Chloe; he doesn’t shy away as she approaches them, at least. Rather, he shifts, and — to Hank’s surprise — holds out one pale, scarred arm.

Chloe kneels down, keeping her eyes on Hank. “May I?”

Hank would honestly like nothing less, but he’s not stupid. Connor needs more help than he can provide, and for whatever reason he seems to trust her marginally more than the other scientists Hank’s seen him interact with. “Whatever,” he grunts, keeping a tight grip on the merman. If she got the smart notion to try anything, Hank would be there to swing his weight around, anyhow.

Connor watches her as she swabs his skin delicately with alcohol, and Hank watches him in turn. His face pinches when she inserts the needle, but he seems no less uncomfortable than he was before; no trace of the anger or fear that normally twists his expression when the scientists enter his tank. In fact, he seems almost…relieved. His eyes slip closed when Chloe retracts the needle, and he lets out a shaky sigh, curling into Hank’s warmth.

Hank strokes a hand through the kid’s hair, watching Chloe discard the needle into a little yellow container and tape a piece of gauze over the puncture site. “You done now?”

Chloe shakes her head, looking regretful. “I’m afraid we’ll have to move Connor to the sick tank. He’ll need more than a single shot to recover, and he’ll need specific environmental conditions to help him heal properly.”

Hank feels that familiar anger ignite in him again, raising his hackles and knotting dark and tight in his chest. “He wouldn’t be sick if you would just stop doing this to him,” he growls, fixing the girl with a hard, baleful stare. Whatever she’d done to help Connor just now, it didn’t make up for everything she’d helped enable up until this point. It didn’t make up for all the suffering she and her team had put Connor through.

Chloe doesn’t speak for a long moment. “I’ll pass that on to Elijah,” she says eventually, tone soft and unreadable.

[fights4users]

Sending him away

How would Yori react to Tron getting transferred? (For the sake of the fic he wasn’t copied)

Tron regrets it the second the words leave his mouth, but she had to hear it from him. He has made a choice he’s come to regret once realizing it will mean leaving her.

Touchy, angsty but they ultimately have great communication skills.

-Comments encouraged-

[athenasiuscorp]

Some skin woven dream

The drapings of skin upon shadow revenant correlates to my au- which takes place years in the future- after revenant had turned into shadow revenant- with the side effect of corrupting all life with his essence. Eventually, he became overwhelmed with the collective minds at his will- so he ceased it.

All that he had paralyzed for entertainment were now ash- they succumbed to time.

Bored, alone, suicidal, and truly immortal- he seeks out Ash, who had already been observing him within a nearby satellite for the duration of his reign. She had anticipated this, so there was little resistance on her end. He would be a fascinating subject.

Ultimately, Ash sets up her lab beneath the mountain Revenant now takes solace. He could have easily left the planet- but figured that familiar company was more tolerable than an endless squabble with the ashes of fleeting amusement. In return for his participation in the experiment, Ash would send distress signals to lure unsuspecting life to the planet for Revenant to toy with, and in turn, capture as subjects for Ash.

Ash is familiar with Revenant's... "rules" or poetics of killing- he operates on a large symbolic basis to justify most carnage- to enact a narrative of a purpose fulfilled. To keep him from leaving, she knew that appealing to this facet of expression could keep him "attached", and ultimately weave her into his narrative. Years of isolation and death games have made him difficult, almost regressive. She figures that he's already so deluded, that fostering more of it would be easy.

So, synthesizing some DNA that she had swiped from Revenant's source code years prior, she synthesized a blanket of his own skin for him to wear. Initially, he felt patronized- but eventually wove it onto himself. She knew he couldn't resist embracing the irony of such an item. Additionally, she could capitalize on his protectiveness- she knew not even he could resist a need for a familiar abomination in tandem with his grief.

Though there had been some hypotheses during the synthesis of the membrane, a small implication being that the material could make him feel more "himself" due to how the DNA material interacts with and contains his shadow. An ideal outcome would be for him to be feigned into thinking he's mortal, restricting him from the notion of leaving. Until she can synthesize some means of containing the planet without him knowing- this is her best option.

If her research proves successful, she could navigate any planetary terrain with ease, a curiosity endlessly satisfied. A purpose to look forward to past a lust for battle, which had ultimately proved monotonous in time. Perhaps a "redemption" of sorts. She isn't completely resistant to the notion of relaying her findings with humans- they would greatly depend on her, for anything that she requests would be taken as a messianic necessity. The thought that she could eventually hold such an advantage, on top of such vast means of exploration truly excited both halves of the retired simulacrum.

[total-drama-brainrot]

Hello hello ophe 👋😇

I’m doing somewhat ok these days how about you? I hope you are getting better 😇

Anyways I got a crack idea and it sounds kinda stupid but hear me out

Bank robbery or crime gang au

You get Alejandro who is the one in charge

Noah the brains

Justin the distraction for the police and just the attractive distraction

Tyler is the “athletic” one really he’s also part of distraction the other one they shove in the vents

Wayne (don’t ask no one knows why he is even here) is the getaway driver

Cody the hacker and the one they shove into the vents

Trent is the second getaway driver is Wayne is knocked out and he’s also helps Cody when he is shoved in the vents (Trent tells where Cody need to go when Cody is in the vents)

Owen is also part of the distraction team and somehow supplies the group with firearms of all things?

Harold is the main hacker

Duncan is I guess the Jack of all trades?

Anyways yeah I don’t know why I thought of this….

-Ass Stars anon

Hello hello, A.S. Anon! 👋😄

I'm slowly getting better by means of an excessive amount of decongestants and painkillers! 💊

Total Drama Bank Heist AU sounds like a fun little crack idea, I'm on board.

If I could suggest something, I'd like to offer both Noah and Harold as the groups' 'Guy(s) In The Chair', with Noah using his canonical hacking abilities to scout out their chosen heist area using it's security cameras and/or downloading the bank's blueprints digitally (pretty sure he did something similar to this in Dramarama?) and Harold utilizing some of his various Mad Skills to plan the group's course of action and probably man their comms. I say this because Noah can't stand Harold, so making them work together as the groups' off-site organizers would/could be hindered by the two of them bickering instead of actually working. (Also because I can't imagine a world in which Noah would willingly do something as physically straining as robbing a bank. Mission intelligence, however, is right up his alley; he and Harold absolutely fight over who gets to be called 'Q'.)

Having Alejandro as the main group's de facto leader just feels right, and I don't think they'd need someone dedicated to being the 'Brains' with him around (though that title would go to Harold and Noah technically). He's quick witted enough to think up plans of action on the fly and devious enough to charm his way through a tough spot, all whilst being physically capable enough to fight his way through trouble- if anything I'd say Alejandro is the 'Jack of all Trades', thought 'The Leader' is probably a more appealing moniker to him.

Justin as 'The Eye Candy' also feels natural- it's his best (only) talent! He's been shown in canon to be a bit of a schmoozer, so complimenting/flirting his way through the banks' guards/employees and working as a distraction is perfect for him, especially since I doubt Justin would want to do any dirty work and risk damaging his 'perfect face/body'.

Duncan and Tyler would be 'The Brawn', with Duncan actually being an effective physical threat whilst Tyler is... Tyler...

Though Duncan could also be 'The Wildcard', since his loyalty isn't exactly assured at any given moment. Whilst I doubt he's ever rat the others out for his own assured freedom/safety, abandoning them at the scene while he makes his escape? That's a total Duncan Move (he learned it from Courtney in TDDDDI).

I honestly can't see Owen as a heister, unless he was somehow tricked/blackmailed into tagging along, but if he was he's be similar to Tyler- though his title would be something along the lines of 'The Beefcake'- just some extra muscle who's not particularly good at being extra muscle.

Cody would be the safe cracker. He's small and "quick on his feet" (his words), he's literally built for crawling through vents and cracking open safes! He's smart enough to be a code breaker, though he rarely shows it, and I also think it's a nice nod to his bomb diffusing fear- it's a similar course of action.

Trent as the getaway driver also just feels right. He's laid back enough to be contented to just sit and wait for the others to finish their heist, and his poker face is pretty good so one one really suspects him to be involved in the others' ongoings. He probably plays indie rock songs from the 80s as they speed away from the scenes of their crimes, and he absolutely owns a pair of mirrored shades that he only wears when it's Time To Go- he thinks they make him look cool (they don't, but no one has the heart to tell him).

I could see Cody as a secondary getaway driver as well, if Trent's unavailable, utilizing his baby face and unassuming demeanour to divert suspicion from himself. "No officer, I'm not a getaway driver. I'm just a baby, don't you see the learner's plate on my Vauxhall Corsa?" He has a terrible poker face though. If they were ever pulled over or caught he'd admit to everything without prompting.

I can't really think of a way of including Wayne, given the canonical age difference, unless said age difference is lessened in this AU. If he's, say, 16 whilst the rest of them are in their early 20s, I'd suggest that he's Owen's younger cousin who's tagging along because the group couldn't find a way to dissuade him from joining without him (either intentionally or inadvertently) tattling on their whole schtick. He's got no idea what's really happening- he's aware that they're heisting but Wayne doesn't have the, uh, cerebral constitution to connect "Bank Heist" to "Committing Actual Crimes"- but he's having a Great Time regardless! Alejandro has him on lookout duty (read: Wayne sits outside of the bank, oblivious to the legality of the situation) which Wayne takes very seriously... until he gets bored and hangs out with Trent/Cody in the car.

Now for extras!

Their main opposition is a specialised group of investigators who are assigned to their case- since they mark each heist with their group's name but have yet to be caught (They probably get Duncan to tag the side of their hit banks with a crudely drawn Bull Head or something in bright red spray paint). They're not cops, but they do work with them (ew) to try and finally catch the heisters.

Heather, alongside Courtney, Gwen, Leshawna, Lindsay, Beth and Sierra, work in this special ops. group; they're all specialised agents who are dispatched to the scenes of the heists to try and catch our boys in the act.

(I think Sierra would make a really good intelligence operator, given her canonical ability to run ~22+ blogs simultaneously and dig up private information on people. She'd direct the others towards whichever bank she finds Harold and Noah hacking into.)

They occasionally enlist the help of Izzy and Eva for the extra muscle, but the duo are too temperamental to be a full-time part of their operation.

(Yes I added my girlies as a rival group. It's Gender Wars Time. S1E14 all over again but this time there's less gross food and more LITERAL CRIME‼‼)

[edwinisms]

I haven’t written fanfic for so long up until recently that I forgot the struggle of having multiple ideas and starting multiple chaptered works at the same time and then having to keep up with them grgegahhhhf

[swanhild]

hi! I did your survey! can I ask what are your own thoughts on the order of the Finwean cousins? I'm trying to decide for a artwork I want to create

Hi anon, I apologize for taking so long to answer this (the last couple of weeks have been hellish). And I need to point out that the survey is not mine, but @ceescedasticity's, so you might want to ask them. I only reblogged it to help with the sample size and because I'm a nerd who likes fandom-related statistics.

That said, this is the birth order I myself have settled on for Finwё's grandchildren at the moment (and my reasons below):

Maedhros Maglor Fingon Celegorm Finrod Turgon Caranthir Angrod Curufin Aegnor Aredhel Galadriel Argon Amrod Amras

(No Orodreth, sorry. I'm an Orodreth son of Angrod truther. It just makes both of them more interesting to me as characters if they're father and son and I enjoy the symmetry of Fingolfin and Finarfin both having four children).

I tried to incorporate what we canonically know about their ages, which is

the oldest child and birth order of each sibling group

that Finrod and Turgon are the same age (born 1300 YT)

that Aredhel and Galadriel are the same age (born 1362 YT)

The first four in the list are just personal preference- Fingon could theoretically be the second oldest (or even the oldest) grandchild, but Maedhros is firmly The Oldest (TM) in my mind and he and Maglor are so inseparable that I prefer them to have been the only grandchildren for a little while until Fingon came along (or Celegorm*, but I prefer Fingon to be born right after Maglor and a bit older than Celegorm).

They are followed by Finrod and Turgon and then Caranthir and Angrod. The latter two being roughly the same age is amusing to me, because instead of being besties like Finrod and Turgon, I imagine they were already getting into fights and throwing sand at each other if you left them to play unattended in the sandpit.

Curufin being surrounded by Angrod, Aegnor and Aredhel age-wise feels right to me as well, as he was canonically close with Aredhel (and if I remember correctly there is at least one version of events where Curufin was close with Angrod and Aegnor as well?) Both Curufin and Aredhel probably looked up to and idolized their cool older brother/cousin Celegorm. (I guess Galadriel already did her own thing even back then, or she preferred to follow Finrod around.)

I chose Amrod and Amras to be the youngest instead of Argon because Feanor would like being the one to provide his father with both the oldest and the youngest grandchild(ren) in the family (a perfect crown prince and heir to start with and a pair of adorable ginger babies to fawn over to end the Finwёan grandchild boom.) Also because I like the idea of Telufinwё ("last Finwё") actually being the last grandchild of Finwё in addition to being the last child of Fёanor and Nerdanel.

Looking at the list written out like that, it seems Finarfin and Eärwen had all their kids pretty closely together, while Fingolfin and Anairё had Fingon and Turgon, then took a little break and had another two. (Maybe Finarfin's and Eärwen's kids were all pretty easy-going for the most part, while Fingon and Turgon were little hellions a bit more difficult to handle? Sounds accurate tbh.)

*I'm not completely sold on the order above. I have considered Celegorm being younger than Finrod and Turgon for example, making him and Caranthir very close in age, which could be used to explain why Celegorm is closer to Curufin- by the time Curufin was born, he could be an "older brother" to him, while a close in age Caranthir could have been more of a rival for his parents' attention and affection growing up.

It's also possible I'm missing some pieces of obscure inforamtion that would change my mind, so if you know of anything, feel free to let me know!

[orbitaldeathwoomy]

[A few days later...]

"Hey, Urs... Are you feeling alright? You've seemed kind of off since the other day."

"It's nothing. I just thought I saw someone following me when I was on my way home from the Turf War lobby."

"Ugh, that's so creepy. If it happens again, let me know okay? I'll make sure whoever it was stops."

"Thank you for your concern, but--"

[Suddenly, there's a knock at their door. Ursula gets up to answer it, looking through the eyehole on the door... And immediately takes a few steps back, eyes wide and heart pounding.]

「N-No... It can't be...」

「Ursula? What's wrong?」

「It's my... my parents...」

「What? Really?」

[Kori gently moves between Ursula and the door and looks through the eyehole. Sure enough, there are two older Octolings standing outside -- a woman with hot pink tentacles and a beautiful face, and a man with blue rings spotting his deep purple tentacles. She can definitely see the resemblance between them and Ursula. Her voice then lowers to a whisper.]

「Okay... Okay. Let's just. Not answer it. Maybe they'll leave if they think we're not home.」

[She then moves to lead the terrified Ursula to her bedroom.. Until their door is literally kicked open.]

「Hey! The hell do you think you're doing?!」

[The two ignore Kori completely, their focus on Ursula as they approach her.]

「So this is where you've been.」

[Ursula nervously nods.]

「And your brother?」

[Ursula remains silent, much to the ire of her father. He forcefully grabs her, digging his venomous claws into her arm.]

「Answer me when I'm talking to you, traitor!」

[He slaps Ursula across the face hard, before pushing her to the floor.]

"U-Ursula!"

「Now tell me where your brother is.」

「I... I haven't seen him since I last visited Inkopolis.」

「And where exactly did you see him?」

「Like that's any of your--」

[Ursula shakes her head at Kori, effectively silencing the yellow Octoling before she hangs her head a little.]

「There's... a sweets shop he frequents, near the plaza...」

「Good girl.」

[Ursula's mother then gestures for her husband to follow her out the door, only looking back to give Ursula a wicked smile.]

「Don't get too comfortable. Once we've given him his just desserts, we're coming back for you.」

[Ursula's parents exit the apartment, leaving Ursula and Kori stunned in their wake. After a moment, Ursula shakily stands up and makes her way to the table where she left her cell phone.]

"Wait, you're father's a blue-ringed, right? We need to get you to a hospital!"

"I'll be fine. But I... I need to warn my brother..."

[ilickedyoursaltlamp]

Throwing my cent and a half in here-

If you’ve been drawing for a long time, and particularly if you’ve been drawing since you were in your early teens like I was when I started, you gotta reflect on that on the regular and examine what perceptions of different ages may have informed your designs.

For example, when I was an insecure 13 year old girl, I thought for sure high schoolers had their shit together. I would look at my sister’s friends with their dyed hair and flannels and think “wow, they definitely have it figured out. They’re so mature.” And so when I made characters, I made them about 16-18 years old, because that’s what i thought young adulthood was!

I am now 19 years old, about to be a junior in college. (I have always been the youngest in my year. I didn’t skip or anything I don’t know how it happened.) I turn 20 this year! I don’t. Fucking have it together. So those same characters, now that I see them through the lens of my own young adulthood, they’re not teenagers to me anymore.

And especially as you get older, time stops being so incomprehensibly long. You start to notice that “looking one’s age” isn’t really definable. Source: All of my coworkers at school- I’m a substitute teacher when I’m not at college- they all thought I was in my 20s. The principal of the school was going to invite me out to a bar for her end-of-year party.

What I’m saying is- you need to think often and genuinely about how you perceive time and age. The same character who I wrote as a 17 year old girl when I was in middle school has been retconned to be in her early 30s.

I’ll put her below the cut here, in case anyone wants to see the glowup.

Indie Flower, first design July 14, 2017

Indie Flower, October 22, 2023

I can’t believe I used to resent her as a representation of myself. That I thought I had to change her, that I couldn’t do that so I just left her behind. I love her so much now. She’s still a part of me, but she’s also so much more.

how yall draw 14 year olds:

[seddair]

‘

[cadaverousdecay]

🦇 fagnsfangs Follow

i dont want to start anything but @castlecrypttt has had the same familiar for 20 years and i dont think she ever intends to turn it...

🧛‍♀️ castlecrypttt Follow

"i dont want to start anything" then why did you @ me you braindead fuck?? willie has been with my family for so long because its his choice. he doesnt even want to be a vampire he enjoys being a familiar. and we take care of him, we give him as many flies and spiders and rats as his little heart desires. all you snobbish vampires who look down on having familiars dont seem to realize that its not a one way relationship. he helps us with our vampire needs and in return we protect him and give him lives. he's going to live far longer than whatever his normal human lifespan wouldve been, 20 years is nothing. and hes part of the family. keep out of our business you clearly dont understand

🩸 bloody-bloody-marie Follow

oh my g*d i cant believe there are still vampires on this site defending keeping familiars.

🧛‍♂️ fresh-blood Follow

genuine question, whats wrong with having a familiar?

🩸 bloody-bloody-marie Follow

are you seriously asking me about the ethics of keeping an enthralled servant that you force into doing your bidding...

🦇 fagnsfangs Follow

op here, i think youre seriously misunderstanding the concept of familiars. a lot of humans would love to have the opportunity to become vampires in exchange for a few years of servitude. the issue lies in when the familiar is promised vampirism and yet never gets it. and no, vampires shouldnt be using thralls to get their familiar to do its job.

🕷 blood-is-the-life Follow

familiar here, and no. i dont really care about becoming a vampire. that was never in the deal i had with my master. but yeah, do agree thralls shouldnt be used unless the familiar is okay with it

🧛‍♂️ vampire-guy-steve Follow

if you dont want to become a vampire then whats the point of being a familiar?

🕷 blood-is-the-life Follow

well for me its a sex thing.

[mary-queen-of-sluts]

I was going to write this in the tags but I ran out of space so fuck it I’m replying directly.

I would like to put a quick disclaimer that I’m neither a music nor rap nor language expert I simply listen to sounds that make my brain go brrr. Furthermore this isn’t meant to tear other rappers down but to hype idol rappers up.

I am also aware that this post wasn’t meant to be taken that seriously but K-pop and to some extent K-pop rap is currently rent free in my head and what is Tumblr if not a void to scream into?

So K-pop rap is actually really good.

(In my opinion)

First of all the Korean language lends really nicely to rapping as it’s so syllabic? It sounds really satisfying (the opposite reason of why French rapping sounds good because of the way it runs together). And although speed does not equal good rap, you can’t deny Korean being rapped at high speeds sounds cool as fuck.

And of course some people will say ‘well they could be saying anything’ and that’s true but for me I don’t fully process lyrics when I’m listening to music, especially not rap even when it’s in English and I often have to google the lyrics anyway. Fortunately there are English translations of many K-pop songs so that’s that problem sorted.

People also critique idol rappers for not writing their own lyrics. Although this is true in some cases this cannot be a blanket statement. Off the top of my head, Hongjoong and Mingi of ATEEZ, Soyeon of (G)I-DLE and Bang Chan, Changbin and HAN of Stray Kids all write their own lyrics and there’s definitely more that I just can’t think of off the top of my head.

Another thing I like about rap in K-pop is that it isn’t the entire thing. I’d compare K-pop to Bang Bang by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. People of vastly varying talents coming together to create good art. It also improves the rap verses, in my opinion it’s better to have a few really good verses and singing than having the entire thing being rap as in my opinion sometimes some songs can get a bit repetitive or overbearing (although this definitely isn’t always the case). Having these contrasts keeps the song interesting and can often improve the rap verses. Do you think Nicki’s verse in Bang Bang would be as iconic without Ariana and Jessie’s vocals before it? If it was just her rapping the entire time?

I also think this is something Western artists used to do, pop artists would often feature rappers who came in for a verse but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore? Correct me if I’m wrong I don’t listen to the radio by choice these days and when I do it’s mostly ads and whatever Lewis Capaldi song they’ve decided to overplay that month.

Many K-pop groups often have multiple rappers which keeps things varied and interesting. One very clever thing ATEEZ does is having Hongjoong start a verse and then have Mingi following him. It usually starts off with Hongjoong’s iconic laugh and then he’ll rap, his style is very smooth? Very satisfying, kinda cunty. Then Mingi will rap and his voice is a lot deeper and often more aggressive. This works so well and they’re a fantastic duo. Two examples that come to mind are Deja Vu and THANXX.

This also works with rap line songs, for example Heyday (Prod. Czaer) by 3RACHA of Stray Kids, the three of them have such distinct styles that fit well together. Another example of idol rappers working well together is in another Stray Kids’ song: MIROH. In the lead up to the first chorus Changbin and Hyunjin take the rap line about until Changbin takes over the ending to the beat drop. It’s important to note that K-pop isn’t just about the music, it’s also visual as dance and performance is a big part in it. I like to think it’s somewhere between western music and musical theatre. So when most rappers are doing their parts they have some form of choreography or they’ve just been dancing, and having shared lines like that is a smart little way to keep the hype up and the quality of both sound and dance.

Another critique is that sometimes rap verses are shoved into K-pop songs and they don’t fit and they sound out of place and although this is correct sometimes they can enhance a song. I am talking about Pray (I’ll Be Your Man) by BTOB. At the very end with the rapping and then the baby I praaaaay over the top? Impeccable. It wouldn’t be the same without.

Also concerning the comment about the background some groups are very creative with it. In the song VENOM by Stray Kids they have like a comb in the background? Like if you were to run your finger along it? It’s very unique and not as annoying as I thought it would be when I first heard it. In Hongjoong’s verse in HALAZIA you have Seonghwa’s ethereal voice, kinda like he’s in a choir? In Shut Down by BLACKPINK you have the classical music played by the violin, I can’t remember which piece it was sampled from but it’s good.

In conclusion? Rap in K-pop songs fucks hard and sometimes it misses but that’s the case with everything in music. It’s sometimes great and it’s sometimes not.

I’m mostly writing this because there are many misconceptions about K-pop, many that I had, and that put me off listening to it and I’d hate to think of all the music I adore that I would just miss out on if I wasn’t shown I was wrong at that K-pop is more than Butter by BTS and The Feels by TWICE. (This isn’t to diss them, I like some of their music just not those songs)

But I can’t defend Hamilton (/j)

I’m not sure this entirely makes sense, I’m tired but passionate and I hope even if you don’t like K-pop you can at least respect it a bit more. Just listen to what you like, life would be boring if we tried to adhere to Spotify Wrapped beauty standards and would be more fun if we were listening to Hoshi pom pom on our morning commute.

I’ll link below all the mvs/lyrics for the songs I mentioned and bonus gidle song because I didn’t mention any of theirs specifically but it still slaps

i am like jesus on the fucking cross right now for being willingly subjected to this websites music taste. however bad you think it is its worse