#This was prompted by a specific thing but it is also about dozens and dozens of things

[captainofthetidesbreath]

is that piece of media actually bad, or is it just not following the blueprint you projected onto it? is that work actually not good, or are you just demanding something from it that is absolutely antithetical to its themes, genre, tone, and narrative goal? is that story actually poorly written, or do you just dislike that it is not the specific things you wanted from it that it never set out to be, never was, and never is going to become? is it actually bad, or is it actually well-executed and you just dislike the story it chose to be because it isn't catering to your specific desires and expectations?

[starflungwaddledee]

which ocs in the fandom do you find the most interesting? also, which ocs do you think have the most aesthetically pleasing designs? finally, which ocs have you only heard of but would like to know more about?

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nooooooo ha haaa noooo i can't possibly answer this because it would be soooo unfair to have favourites wouldn't it's comet knight by @kittenvirus

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 266

Back on my Danny & Ras frienemies/rivals/maybe-lovers-nobody-can-tell-their-signals-are-very-mixed train. 

See, Danny has gone through time a lot. Often. It comes with being Clockwork’s charge-son-thing and honestly he finds it fun. And several times he’s used this time travelling to get some training in. Enter Ras, stage left, also a teen at the time and also learning swordsmanship from the same person. 

And they… utterly despise each other. They would kill the other for an apple slice, if the other one would die! But also, only they can kill the other, as it is obviously their right! 

And well, they keep running into each other. It has been a hundred years, surely the other would die by now? But of course their rival would live through utter spite. Probably to spite them specifically. 

The amount of times they have ended up sparring- trying to kill each other or not- the moment they see the other is actually ridiculous. But time is also passing. And… Danny understands, not having another to talk about things people are forgetting, or have already forgotten. 

How they ended up actually talking without a murder attempt was a long story that included a demon, a dragon, a pair of fae, some bandits, and a lot of alcohol, but it happened. And then it happens again. And again, and now it’s just kind of normal to share a drink after their spars, talking about things that no longer exist, and things they miss. 

Sure Danny can go back in time again, but he knows better than to do it willy nilly. He’s matured, he’s been an adult for a hundred years now, he knows there’s consequences for messing with time, even with Clockwork’s blessings. 

The first time they got married was technically for an undercover assassination. Well, Ras was there to assassinate someone, Danny was there to grab an artifact that should Not be in the realm of the living. And they got divorced after, it was fine. 

They just, also got married again when they met a few years later, for another job. And… okay, so maybe they have gotten married over a dozen times now and only divorced like half of those times. Half of those were for the bit or while drunk! 

And even if technically they’re married or shared a bed, it’s not like they're exclusive! As Ras’ daughters’ existences attest to (adopted in one case or not). They don’t exactly have a label for their relationship, despite others asking for one or trying to put a name to it themselves. 

Now Danny knows Ras isn’t exactly a good dude, or at least on the side of ‘good’ as he’s a literal assassin. But he also knows that good? Bad? Rather relative. He had gotten labeled as a villain when he was just trying to help all that time ago after all, and really who was he to tell someone else how to live their life? 

Which brings him to now, where he’s run into his old frienemy-rival and his youngest daughter. Who has a braindead teenager and a small toddler. Which is fine, really- but also, Talia dear, why are you using a brain dead teenager to guard your three year old son? 

…

Okay, Talia dear, Ras (Derogatory), why are you using your brain dead son and grandson to guard your younger son and grandson? Do you not have the Pits, which you were soo proud about Ras? Yes, he will spar with you, but for Realms’ sake, heal, what’s his name? Ah yes, go heal Jason and he’ll actually stick around for a few years, deal? Good. 

[heck-theo]

TMayNT Day 14: Favourite turtle movie.

The Rise one :P

Ok SO I disappeared because when I saw this prompt I wanted to finish this. Now to try and catch up, or at least continue TMayNT. If anyone would like to guess at themes and motifs I'd love to hear it because I remember putting a lot of thought into the initial concept ^^

More info about the creation of the video below:

So a lot of this isn't up to my personal standards BUT I'm proud of it because: I have started dozens of projects like this and almost never finished any. I am fighting my perfectionism and sporadic ADHD motivation. I believe I conceptualised this at the end of 2022 or early 2023 and reanimated/redrew the storyboard at least 3 times over the first half of 2023 before it was abandoned. Until now. Also I've never had a "camera" to play with before so I'm very inexperience with that.

It's a bit inconsistent: 1. because it was partially an experiment using Moho. It was my first time properly using it and I definitely need to look at some tutorials because I' strong armed it and made things a lot harder than I'm pretty sure I am not making the most of the features lol. Its also a vector program, which I'm not used to. 2. because I redrew the storyboard multiple times (and kept various aspects of it for the final ver) and then redrew it a final time after like a year.

So I credited those artists for popularising the meme but I actually have no idea where specifically I got the idea. I do not remember referencing any other "Is It Cold Outside" memes. I'm like 99% sure I sat down and wrote out a plan/script in word but it's possible I was inspired by or referenced someone specific and don't remember, so if anything is ringing any familiar bells please let me know.

I can't find the original sped up audio used in these memes but I believe this was the original original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KorGLK9VXcU (If anyone can tell me more info about the audio used in this meme, let me know). Storyboarded on Clip Studio, animated on Moho, minor editing on Kdenlive.

[five-rivers]

If you're still doing prompts, may I suggest Danny learning about the legends following his time travel (what the Romans thought was up; the Buddhists, that one kid, etc

Physics and engineering major or not, Danny still needed credits in the humanities. Comparative Mythology and Folklore was the obvious choice for that. All through high school, Sam and Jazz had been on his case about knowing so little mythology, on account of his ghostly enemies and allies sometimes being mythological figures.

(Also the constellation thing, but they didn't bring that part up all that much, funnily enough.)

At the time, Danny had figured (see what he did there?) that there wasn't much point to it. Pandora wasn't all that similar to her mythic version, Medusa didn't turn people to stone, and winged horses were, by and large, not friendly.

Recent events had made him reconsider that stance.

Anyway! The class was a "two birds, one stone" sort of deal. He got both credits and practical knowledge. Theoretically.

So far, they'd covered creation myths and etiological stories, gods and goddesses, the monolith and the hero's journey, and now, in the tiny slice of time before they had to start studying for the final, they were looking at weird minor similarities without clear causes.

"Now," said the professor, "this next one is probably my favorite, because it's so specific and so widespread. Of course, the most obvious reason for this is that it's a story that traveled, much like how the pre-Indo-European gods traveled. However, the times and locations involved make that very unlikely, at least in my opinion. The other end of the spectrum is, of course, aliens, which are even more unlikely."

There was a soft smattering of laughter throughout the large classroom. Danny started to get a bad feeling about this.

"The other strange thing about this particular similarity is that it comes out of seemingly nowhere, with regards to the larger culture. There have even been several instances of it in this century - although, given modern information infrastructure, those instances may not be entirely organic. But Imperial Rome, China, Colonial America, just to name a few… That's weirder. Any guesses about what I'm talking about?"

No one raised their hand, and after a couple of minutes, the professor used their remote control to go to the next slide of their presentation. Danny sank down in his seat as he stared up at a collage of himself in a dozen different art styles.

"All around the world, there are stories about a young man or boy with white hair and dark clothing coming from 'distant lands' to either fight off 'monsters' or to retrieve unspecified objects. As you can see, despite some of these pieces being from cultures that never had any contact with one another, the resemblance of the figures is striking. The– Yes, you have a question?"

"Will this be on the final?" asked a student a few rows down from Danny.

The professor sighed. "As a general rule, if I'm teaching you about it, I'll be testing you about it. Moving on–"

Danny forced himself to start taking notes. He couldn't believe he was going to be tested on himself. Especially when he was pretty sure he hadn't even been to all of those places yet.

Clockwork must be laughing his head off.

[stealingyourbones]

Not sure if this has been suggested before but what do you think about a DP x DC Cross where the JL discover Amity because the "It's Not Gay if he's Dead" joke escapes containment into mainstream? Also I love your blog! You're awesome.

aaaaa thank you sm hun! I really appreciate that :D I'm glad you enjoy my funky lil blog!

And now, I threw this idea at a fellow who is simply me with prompts but even more unhinged and they wrote a thing. I present to you, This:

------

Escaping containment implies that the content got leaked somehow. 

Maybe after so long with dealing with ghosts on their own, especially with ghosts that can control and use tech the people of Amity Park decide to self isolate. Phantom and Red Huntress are considered the only main heroes allowed in Amity, one out of pride and two out of concern of a ghost possessing an foreign hero. 

There was a fight and the tech isolation software glitched or a satellite picks up something on accident, letting a small leak occur. Nothing major, just a small joke. 

A blurry photo of a white haired teenager with a fancam like edit around him and the words "It's Not Gay if he's Dead." 

Which on its own wouldn't have taken off very much on the internet, but someone pointed out that the teenager was wearing what was very obviously a hero outfit. Leading to people wondering just who exactly this hero is or was. 

So they dig, and it turns out the “one” leak wasn't the only one to happen. 

The internet finds out there's not just one meme. There's hundreds of them. All originating from a single midwestern city and mostly focused around one person, the white haired teenager that is referred to as Phantom in most memes. 

Theres edits of a female musician with bright blue hair with text saying “that moment when a dead girl is your bisexual awakening” and “Its not a crush on a villian if shes not alive.” 

There's even photos of these slime-like creatures. With dozens of different memes referring to them. Varying from calling them green pigeons, to talking about tossing them like a sports ball.  

Theres even a photo of Dash and most of the football team are wearing group shirts that all say “It's Not Gay if he's Dead” with Phantoms logo on it, half as a joke and half because some of them would definitely date Phantom if they could. 

It's not even the Justice League that finds the jokes first, it's the younger generation of heroes. 

(It's how Tim asks Kon for a date. He sends a meme with Danny getting flunged in the worlds most tumbling superhero pose with the below text "It's not gay if he's dead." Tim immediately sends another text "But it is gay if he's an alien, 10pm picnic date?")

The different memes get passed around, none of them taking them that seriously, until it gets to Batman. One of the memes is sent in the bat group chat by one of the Bat kids to ask Jason about getting group Batburger later. “If your hero’s dead its not gay, it’s just hero worship, even if you want to meet him behind the Nasty Burger.” 

It's the hyper specific wording that gets Batman to look into it. He only finds the memes, nothing else. No town called Amity Park, no hero called Phantom, no trace outside of a reference to a defunct and wiped completely clean government branch and references to a nonexist law. 

This leads him to contact the Justice League, including the JL Dark, for a meeting. 

Surprisingly quite a few members recognize the teen outside of the memes. Flash, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and some of the JLD. The Flash refuses to say anything due to timeline continuum dangers. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter mention someone like him appearing in ancient texts, but nothing beyond that. The JLD that know are physically and contractually unable to say much beyond Phantom being a hero and very important. 

It’s Captain Marvel that genuinely knows anything about him. “That's Danny, he's pretty cool. He's even helped me out a few times!”

The rest of the JL are surprised, Marvel gets more questions and answers some of them. He doesn't share the knowledge that he's helped Billy at handling the whole secret child hero thing, and that he's welcome in Amity. Just enough information to make the League stop looking into Phantom, Ember, Cujo, all of Amity. 

It works, mostly. 

Batman has never been one to let sleeping dogs lie…

-From Bones’ GhostWriter, S.

[sprintingowl]

Tales Of Crystals

Hey in the early 90s Hasbro put out a tabletop roleplaying larp for tween girls called Tales Of The Crystals, and there's a lot going on here, so I want to talk about it.

First, I want to give credit to @riseupcomus on twitter for doing a thread on it first. Riseup's thread is linked at the bottom, right after hasbro's pdf of Tales Of Crystals.

Now, what is Tales Of Crystals? Well, it's a journaling game. And it's an indie TTRPG. And it's a larp kit. And it's an audio game. And it's a cryptography kit.

It comes with its own map, rulebook, a cassette tape with multiple scenarios, a non-dice-based resolution system, four player roles, and a ruleset that's split up so that each of the four players is in charge of a different part.

If feels like a high concept, big swing indie title from 2024, but it's got thirty years worth of jump on the modern scene.

The basic premise is that the players are crystal bearers in the court of a fantasy kingdom, and there's an evil nation in the goblin swamp next door, and they have to guard the nation against treachery and ensorcellment and whatnot. It's not super duper fresh, but with how many things the game is juggling it's extremely reasonable that the plot's a little plain.

Each player's crystal comes with a power, and the powers are asymmetrical. The Leader gets the Crystal Of Shimmering Ice, which lets you oneshot enemies (nonlethally, by freezing them for a minute.) The Protector gets the Crystal Of True Sight, and can see through all lies and enchantments and mind control enemies for a minute (tbh this one is just better). There's a healing crystal and an invisibility crystal as well---and interestingly the invisibility crystal is given to the role responsible for journaling everybody's adventures. The game recognizes that at least one player of a fantasy larp for tween girls in the 90s is probably going to be a wallflower writer, and deliberately enshrines that role.

Tales Of Crystals has a solid core loop, with a deck of cards for prompts and a cassette tape for scenarios and a little circle with YES and NO marked on it that you can scatter your gems onto to get oracle answers to questions during play. It also has a LOT of gimmicks.

There's a tube of powder you can sprinkle on things to disenchant them. There's a mirror you need to read script that's been written backwards. There's three cryptographic cyphers at the back of the book. There's a box specifically for confining the evil Spider Crystal (after you've sprinkled it with powder to neutralize it.) This is a game of dozens of components, and it's a miracle the design is so tight that they all loop together so well.

Now, I don't have sales data (riseup might,) but I suspect maybe this thing didn't sell amazingly. It requires you to set up six or so distinct locations around your yard, pretty much needs a group of exactly four friends to play it, requires you to give clue elements to your parents---you'd have to be cool with it, your friends would have to be cool with it, your parents would have to be cool with it, and you'd have to have a big suburban yard in order to get a proper intended game experience. That said, its larp design is really stable, its gameplay is carefully thought out, and it includes a section at the start to encourage you to play safely and a section at the end to talk about your game together, journal your experiences, and to clean up the game components as a group when you're done.

This is good tech! And it even specifically recommends having a snack and relaxing afterward.

Tales Of Crystals doesn't use terms like bleed and session zero, but it's a good ways ahead of the curve on larp and ttrpg safety.

I didn't find the designer's name (they're listed as uncredit on BoardGameGeek, not mentioned in the PDF, and missing from the wiki page,) but they knocked this one out of the park. There's stuff in here that modern indie ttrpg designers could learn from---myself very much included.

So if you like ttrpgs, 90s magic, and stuff like Tamora Pierce and Sailor Moon, give riseup's original thread a look, and definitely check out the PDF link.

I'm thrilled this thing exists, and I hope more designers get to look at it.

[ptn-imagines]

Sorry tumblr is being a butt! Anyways, if I may, I'd love to read or hear any headcanons or imagines involving reader/f!Chief with either Countess Chelsea, Hamel, Eleven, Sumire, or Garofano. Whichever one(s) inspiration strikes for you. If I could be a tad bit more specific, maybe the prompt could be something like "the ways you and the specific Sinner(s) are kind and affectionate with one another"? Could be SFW or NSFW. Sorry if this is too much, been feeling kinda down with ennui and current state of the world and all. And please, take care of yourself and write at your own pace :)

I, uh, felt inspired. To say the least. Anyway, this has made me realize that it'd probably be faster to list Sinners I can't see as autistic... Also, in hindsight, I realize you may have meant this romantically. I mean, these can be read romantically, but they can also be read platonically. I hope you enjoy either way!

The ways F!Chief and her Sinners are affectionate and kind with one another

Countess Chelsea

It's a given that she'll shower Chief in dozens of gifts. Literally dozens. Whether Chief wants it or not. You know how she is. It technically counts as an act of kindness?

Also, with all the money and influence she has, she's definitely able to get Chief invited to many exclusive opportunities. The best seats at the theater, private movie premiers, exclusive, high-society galas, you name it; Chelsea can and will get it for Chief.

Honestly, Chief does accept these invitations from time to time, because not only are they a way to get away from the strain of her work, Chelsea is able to provide a nice buffer against her usual Mania magnet tendencies. In that she can help contain any disaster that breaks out, not that she can prevent the Mania from being drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Chief is pretty sure there's no Sinner that can do that.

Finally, the most lowkey way Chelsea shows affection is by letting Chief cuddle with Sitri on those days when she's tired. Sitri may be a terrifying big cat made of gemstones, but Chief has long since found that when it comes to cuddling, Sitri is a fairly nice substitute for a fluffy, domestic housecat. She also has the perk of being big enough to be able to curl around Chief, which is comforting. It's just a matter of getting comfortable, since gemstones are not the softest thing to lay against. Luckily, Chelsea is always willing to provide ridiculously ornate (but functional) blankets and pillows.

Honestly, the number one way Chief shows kindness to Chelsea is simply spending time with her. Though it's true she can be overbearing, Chief knows her heart is good, but deeply lonely; it's why she keeps asking Chief to be her sugar baby, after all. She doesn't seem to realize that Chief prefers spending time with her just for the sake of doing so.

Also, whenever Chief does wear a piece of clothing or an accessory Chelsea bought for her, you can count on the Countess being absolutely over the moon about it for the next week. Chief feels like it should be harder to make Chelsea happy, but… it's not, it's just not. The lapidarist is just too kind-hearted, too full of love and too earnest to be difficult to please, if you know her. And Chief knows her quite well.

Finally, when Chief has a spare moment, she helps Chelsea take care of Sitri sometimes. While she doesn't have the same needs as a flesh and blood cat, she still needs a form of grooming and brushing in the form of polishing, and unlike regular cats, that is a task best suited to human hands. Countess Chelsea is always diligent in this task, but nevertheless she has yet to say no when Chief offers to help, enjoying their bonding time.

Garofano

Like Countess Chelsea, Garofano has one really obvious way she shows affection to the Chief, and that is through mending and tailoring clothes. Half of the Chief's non-work clothes were handmade by the assassin.

Garofano is also really experienced with people and the human heart. If you need a shoulder to cry on but not a flat out therapist, Garofano is pretty much the go-to, and for the Chief? She's always willing to lend an ear. One time, an exhausted Chief actually passed out on Garofano during one of these sessions, and the assassin didn't move for hours, simply holding her close.

Finally… The younger Sinners in the Bureau tend to demand Chief's attention, a lot. While there's no doubt Chief would love to spend time with them around the clock, that's not feasible… So Garofano doesn't mind stepping in to corral them. Her warm, motherly vibes draw the kids in with ease, and they love spending time with her too; Chief is eternally grateful for the breaks Garofano has gotten for her.

When it comes to returning the kindness, Garofano isn't as easy to please as Countess Chelsea, but she's also far from difficult. She has a fairly mild temperament (usually), not tending towards either extreme.

Returning favors to Garofano seemed difficult to the Chief at first until she realized that Garofano was often so busy doing acts of service for others that she neglected herself. From then on, Chief did her best to help Garofano out in small ways such as assigning someone to tidy her cell when it got a little too haphazard, or bringing her meals when she got so engrossed in a project she forgets to eat. These little things go a long way with Garofano.

Most of the Garden would like to receive flowers as a gift, and the seamstress is no exception. It can be difficult knowing which flowers which assassin prefers, but Chief's got it down to a science: for Garofano, flowers symbolizing other members of the Garden (such as poppies and cherry blossoms) are best, but purple carnations, symbolizing Garofano herself, should be avoided.

Finally, Garofano's nature is that she very rarely finds herself in a position where she herself needs to vent… But she is still only human, with her own problems and feelings. When they all become too heavy of a burden for her to bear alone, she knows she can always trust Chief to take care of her.

Hamel

Hamel doesn't enjoy being touched – which makes the fact that she allows Chief to do so a gesture of deep trust and affection. Chief is always careful not to push Hamel's boundaries with this, but even on the days where this simply means being able to stand closer to Hamel than normal, Chief is grateful and honored.

Hamel is also a very withdrawn person, but she has a very vibrant and imaginative mind. While happy with her own company, it's human nature to seek companionship, and Hamel will almost always seek it from the Chief; if there's something interesting that has caught her attention, she can actually be quite excitable in conversation.

As long as it's what she truly wants to do and not being forced upon her, Hamel loves to dance on stage for an audience; however, she's a lot more hesitant about letting others see her practice. Yet, she often invites Chief to watch her rehearsals, seeking out her opinions on each movement. Chief, Hamel feels, is not only a safe and trustworthy person, but someone who can feel the emotions of her dance just as well as she herself can.

Compared to Countess Chelsea and Garofano, Hamel is probably the hardest to read and return kindness to. Still, Chief figured it out, and it was absolutely worth it to see Hamel's rare and precious smile.

First of all, Chief makes sure that Hamel can always find a stage – and an audience that'll appreciate her. While she's not against letting Hamel perform in Eastside if she feels up to it, Chief is quick to scare off anyone who might try to exploit Hamel. She respects her dance as an expression of the self, not a cash cow, and though she doesn't always have the words to express it, Hamel couldn't be more grateful.

Secondly, Chief makes a point of checking in on Hamel a lot. The dancer has an unfortunate habit of getting lost in her own mind, forgetting completely about the outside world and sitting still and quiet for hours. It's not exactly healthy for her and often leads to spikes in her M-value, so Chief always keeps an eye out for these moments so she can “wake her up” with the shackles.

Finally… It turns out, Hamel really loves stuffed animals. Chief never imagined she'd form a habit of buying sealife plushies, but here she was; besides, the noticeable brightening of Hamel's mood when receiving a new one was worth the expenditure. Hamel's bed was covered in plushies she'd received from the Chief, though her favorite was the first one she'd been given, a stuffed jellyfish. That one has a place of honor by her pillow, which it only ever leaves to be held by Hamel.

[toskarin]

While it is definitely possible to manually filter out Glazed or Nightshaded photos if you're working on a small scale model, those methods were always meant to specifically target automated web scrapers. Its not gonna stop somebody from making a LORA but it will mess around with web crawlers from large companies like OpenAI.

I do understand the premise there, but even with webscraping leading to contaminated datasets, I think people underestimate just how much those larger models have developed their datasets at this point

if it makes people feel safer posting their work online, I'm not begrudging anyone for using it, but visual and written art are currently slamming head-first into a really inconvenient aspect of the digital medium

I get the sense you understand this pretty well and also that we probably agree, so all of this is less, like, an "argument" directed at you than it is a very general "turning towards the unknown reader who might be less informed"

for every dozen guys who get in people's faces to argue about their prompts that can fit in a twitter character limit (the "I'm not touching you!" of IP law), there's a couple users with 2000s visual novel usernames* quietly updating their github projects and scrolling tumblr

it's easy to notice the loudest ai guys because they've made it into a culture war thing in their heads, but the majority of developers are more normal people, and their job is to find out what's getting stuck in the wheels and make sure they keep turning

*: controlnet was literally developed by someone with the username illyasviel lol

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 11: Animal trap, Captivity

*thousand yard stare* I have not slept much these past two nights and we’re getting to the abundance of days where I don’t have anything planned. At all.

...it’ll be fine!!!

Read on ao3

Warnings: blood & injury, note the prompts accordingly.

————————————————————

Wild was feeling pretty stupid right about now.

Or at least, he would have been, but he was a bit more preoccupied with the fact that his leg was trapped in the jaws of a metal trap, hurting more by the second, and also the fact that he’d been captured by monsters.

He let out a hiss through his teeth as his leg was jostled, hoping really, really hard that the metal wasn’t penetrating as deeply through his skin as it felt.

Of all the moronic ways to get captured...

He’d literally just been out in the woods trying to hunt some meat down for their food supplies, right out of shouting range from camp. A meaty looking boar had crossed his pat, and Wild had given chase when it bolted, getting further and further away from camp. He was right on the heels of the boar, and was just about to take out his bow when it happened.

One moment he’d been running through a pile of leaves, the next he’d fallen to the ground with a cry, pain searing into his leg, and he realized he’d walked right into an old hunter’s trap. Which was still very much operational.

Wild had only just begun to try and get it off, blood making his fingers slip, when there was a snapping of branches, and all of a sudden he was surrounded by a bunch of monsters he didn’t even recognize. He managed to fight off a few, but they soon took advantage of the fact that he couldn’t move, and captured him.

And now I’m going to miss lunch, Wild sighed to himself.

The arms pulling him along were suddenly removed, and Wild yelped as he put weight on his foot and fell to the ground, the pain he’d been trying to ignore now back in full force. He raised his head and looked around, and felt a flicker of worry at the cave he’d been brought to, flickering torchlight making it difficult to see.

But he could make out the dozens of glittering eyes all staring at him in the murk.

A monster dragged him to his feet again, and Wild couldn’t help but yell as the trap around his ankle was shaken. A few hissing laughs went up, and something suddenly pulled on the trap, sending the jaws deeper.

Wild cried out and tried to kick away whatever had grabbed him with his good leg, but nothing connected, and stars burst into his vision as the metal was tugged at again.

“Stop, I want him able to speak,” a voice hissed, and Wild was dropped to the ground again, panting against the pain in his leg. His head was abruptly yanked up by his hair, and he found himself looking into the face of an ugly lizard-like thing, beady eyes narrowed.

A face only a mother could love, he thought, curling up his nose at its rancid breath. Wait, do monsters even have mothers? Or... wait, is Ganon their mother? Er, Father? How does that work?

“You have the smell of the Vessel on you,” the lizard-thing hissed, its tongue flicking out, and Wild quickly checked back into the conversation. “Where is the one who’s blood can revive our Master?”

Wild blinked, and gave the lizard the most unimpressed look he could manage with the steel trap still around his leg.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific than that,” he scoffed. He honestly had no clue what they were talking about, but even if he had... feigning ignorance had gotten him out of more than one tight spot.

“The Vessel,” a different monster spoke up, more croaky then the first. “He travels with you, I have seen him.”

Wild frowned. So one of us, then. “That’s not really helpful.”

The lizard-thing let out a frustrated snarl, and grabbed his face, claws digging in to his skin.

“You lie,” it hissed, tail lashing. “You cannot be this stupid.” Can too. “Where is the Hero who’s blood can bring back Ganon?”

Wild froze at the name, mind stalling. One of us’s blood can bring back the calamity?!

He blinked at the monster, and frantically went through all of the heroes in his head, wondering which of them it could be.

Not Twi, he would have said something, and these aren’t his monsters. The old man maybe, but same with him on the monster thing, and Warriors too, I know these aren’t his. Wind would’ve brought it up, Four barely knows who Ganon is, same with Sky, so that leaves...

Hyrule or Legend?

“Look, I’ve never heard of blood bringing back anyone,” Wild said, trying to keep his thoughts off his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, so why don’t you just... let me go?”

That made all the monsters laugh, and Wild felt the claws in his chin and hair sink in further.

“Foolish hero. You should have told us what we wanted to know immediately,” a different monster snarled, but the first waved it back when it approached.

“You are not the Vessel, but perhaps you have... other uses,” the first monster said thoughtfully, and Wild felt something cold drop into his stomach. “Take him away until he is willing to talk.”

“But I don’t know anything!” Wild shouted, then cried out as his leg was sharply jostled.

Pain exploded up his leg again, and all he could focus on for a moment was the monsters laughing at him, then the cold scrape of the floor as he was dragged away.

(...)

Wild woke up to a pounding in his head, and agony in his leg.

Sweat trickled down his brow as he dragged his eyes open, and he looked around blearily at the dark cell they’d dropped him into earlier. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he must have since he was waking up...

There was something crusty on his hands, and he flicked his eyes down at them, catching sight of dried blood on his fingertips.

Oh. Right.

Wild exhaled, his head pounding. He’d been dumped in the part of the cave the monsters had turned into some kind of cell, and immediately started trying to get the trap off his foot again, but his hand had slipped...

His leg throbbed, and Wild groaned. He must have knocked himself out.

...How long had he been in here?

His stomach let out a growl, and Wild closed his eyes again, pain throbbing through his entire body. Why did these things always happen to him? He should have been watching where he was going, should’ve realized there were monsters nearby, shouldn’t have gone off alone.

But no. He’d gone and gotten himself injured and dragged away by monsters who wanted blood or something, and his leg hurt so much he wasn’t even sure he’d be able to escape if he got a chance.

He hoped Hyrule and Legend were staying away at least.

At least if I’m here, it means they haven’t gotten whoever’s blood it is that brings back Ganon.

Wild tried to shift himself a little, and gasped, trying not to be sick at the feel of the metal still crushing his leg. He fell still, and couldn’t hold back a whimper, dried blood making the floor feel even colder under his body.

He just hoped somebody was coming for him.

(...)

When Wild woke up again, it was to monsters prodding him to his feet, a choked gasp escaping his lips as his leg was moved.

Based on the empty feeling in his stomach, he guessed it had been somewhere around a day since they’d first thrown him in, and he shivered, his body trembling with pain and blood loss. The monsters dragged him out of his cell and down through several tunnels, bringing him to the same cave room as earlier.

They propped him up, and Wild watched dizzily as the same lizard-monster from yesterday approached, snout twitching at the smell of his blood.

“Now that you’ve had some time to think, tell us: where is the Vessel?” it hissed.

Wild took a steadying breath, his mind flashing towards Hyrule and Legend, and looked the monster in the eye.

“I have no idea.”

Clawed fingers smacked him across the face, and Wild reeled back, as much as he was able to.

“You do know, you merely refuse to speak,” the monster snarled, and the beasts holding Wild threw him onto his back, Wild just barely holding back a scream as his leg smacked the ground.

The monsters pinned him as he reeled, stretching his limbs out. Once Wild could focus again, he tried to free his arms, able to move those without too much pain, but the monsters grip was tight. A clawed foot suddenly rested on top of his trapped leg, and Wild froze, heart thudding as he watched the monster slowly raise its foot.

Then it slammed it back down on top of it, and Wild’s vision went white.

There was a distant scream in his ears, and Wild eventually focused through the pain enough to realize that it had been his own, his cry petering off into a stuttering sob. His leg felt like it had been nearly sliced in two, and Wild closed his eyes, trembling as another wave of agony crashed over him. Something was trickling down his cheek as he tried not to wail, though he wasn’t sure if it was sweat or tears.

Maybe blood. His face did sting quite a bit.

Something sharp was pressed to his throat, and Wild just barely managed to raise his head, looking at the monster holding the spear to his neck.

“Perhaps our Master would be appeased by the blood of any Hero,” the monster mused, giving him a poke. “And if not... well, at least we’ll have one less obstacle in our way.”

Wild could only watch, shaking and dizzy, as it raised the spear up to run him through.

“NO!”

The spear went flying as a howl rang through the cave, and Wild closed his eyes as there was a bright flash of light. The monsters holding him down suddenly released him, but before Wild could do anything, something kicked his leg.

He screamed again in spite of himself, the agony increasing, lava pouring into his ankle and searing up his entire leg. His mind flashed back to being shot by the guardians, burns ripping across him, tearing him apart.

Something cool gently grabbed his face, but Wild barely realized it, drowning in pain. He wanted it to end, he wanted it to end he wanted it to end—

The cool thing at his face patted his cheek again, trying to get him to open his eyes, and Wild forced them open, colors smearing around above him. They eventually organized themselves into something resembling shapes, green and red and brown.

“Hh...” he stuttered, and the cool hand brushed over his forehead.

“Hold on Champion, we have to get it out. You’ll be okay.”

Wild heard what sounded like a countdown, and then pain, another scream ripped from his throat, things shifting in his leg and hands grabbing and holding him down. Wild thrashed madly to be free of them, giving up on trying to stop the pain and holding still and just wanting to get away.

Something sparkled in his blurred vision, and all of a sudden a soothing feeling began to work through his ankle. It was cool and warm, soft and prickly as it swept through his leg, and Wild abruptly fell limp, still trembling as the pain slowly eased.

“There you go, you’re okay,” the same voice said, and Wild could finally pinpoint it as Twilight’s, a hand brushing through his hair. “Take it easy, Link. We got you.”

Wild forced his eyes open again, looking up at the heads surrounding him.

“W... wanted... b-blood,” he breathed, and the red blur and the green and brown blur exchanged looks.

“We know Wild, it’s okay. We beat all of them, they didn’t get anyone’s blood,” a different voice, Hyrule maybe? said, and Wild closed his eyes again, too drained to reply.

Good.

Somebody gingerly pulled him towards themselves, and Wild stiffened as he was lifted up, then settled onto somebody’s back, multiple hands making sure his leg wasn’t jostled as he was moved.

His head fell onto something soft, and Wild relaxed into it, a faint musk of animals drifting into his nose.

“I’m so sorry this happened Wild,” a voice at his side murmured, wracked with guilt. Wild cracked his eyes open to see Hyrule standing beside him, watching him with a grieved look, and he blinked.

Ah. So that’s who’s blood they’d wanted.

Hyrule opened his mouth again, but then Wild leaned over, just enough to touch their foreheads together. Hyrule stared, and Wild twitched his lips up into a smile.

“Kept you safe,” he breathed.

He felt a hand squeeze his, and then Wild relaxed, letting himself rest as Twilight carried him out of the cave and into the sunshine.

[wildjuniperjones]

Juniper’s Massive World-Building Resource List

(Shamelessly cribbed from a dozen different sources)

1. The Checklists

These are the kinds of things that present you with a list of questions about your world, that you then answer as creatively as you want to. I find myself continually having to go back and add to them, because goodness sometimes I just want to write and not think about stuff that isn’t directly relevant to the plot...until it is. And then suddenly I have to think about the ramifications of that.

CRV’s Worldbuilding Checklists (originally from btot.de) - obviously more fantasy-focused Patricia Wrede’s Worldbuilding Lists - a good balance between fantasy and other genres

2. The Masterlist

This link has nearly everything you can think of. It’s not the be-all-end-all, because nothing is, but it’s damn good.

r/Worldbuilding’s Resources List

3. The Visuals

Yes, there’s the ever-present AI-generated images, things such as Artbreeder or Wombo Dream, but sometimes you need something more concrete. Like maps. Or people.

Also, pay artists to make beautiful things whenever you can. AI art is designed to remove the actual humanity from the creative process, and while it’s fine for face claims or inspiration, I would never ever use it as, say, my book cover.

Alsoalso, learn a little something about graphic design. Please. Color theory. Rule of thirds. I beg of you.

Things I have used for maps:

Inkarnate - Browser-based, but almost entirely fantasy-focused

Wonderdraft - Large-scale mapping for countries/continents/worlds

Dungeondraft - Smaller scale mapping that shines when doing smaller areas, especially interiors (both ‘drafts are from the same creator, and are desktop only) There is not, as of yet, a Towndraft, although the community is ravenous for it!

I highly recommend the art packs from Cartography Assets, although if you’re going to use them in a commercially released work, do be a good human and pay the artists for their work! If you want to do sci-fi or modern maps, this is where to get your assets!

Things I have used for people:

HeroForge - A 3D tabletop miniature creator with a vibrant modder community. The free version lets you create as many figures as you want, but their Pro deal lets you organize them into folders, which I absolutely love. It also lets you save specific colors/materials to use across multiple figures, which saves a lot of time when creating folks with a shared uniform. You can even import people/outfits/poses from other figures! I’m told that facial feature modification, clothing patterns, and kitbashing are coming this year! (I’m a little addicted, as you might’ve noticed.) Best on desktop, but you can get a quick “sketch” done on mobile.

Picrew - A truly massive collection of portrait creators. The Discord associated with it is really helpful, in that you can frequently get links to creators that meet your specific requirements, like ‘must have elf ears and POC skin tones’ or ‘must have heterochromia and vitiligo’. This site got me through the roughest parts of 2020. Great for mobile.

Meiker.io - Similar in scope to Picrew, Meiker has a few treasures, including a lot from the now mostly defunct DollDivine, which relied entirely on Flash. There are a few that I return to again and again, but not many. Best on desktop and very easy to create your own creators.

Neka.cc - A Chinese-based site with a lot of similarities to Picrew, although a lot less diversity, both in skin tones and bodies. Great for mobile.

Storior gets an honorable mention because it has a ton of potential, with a lot more options in some respects, but precious few in others. Best on desktop. Can you tell I really love these things?!

4. The Organizers

It helps to have somewhere to store all this information, right? Preferably in an easily accessed database? Perhaps with links or prompts?

These are the ones I’ve used:

World Anvil - Browser-based, incredibly detailed and complex, even for the free version. I found it to be too complicated to figure out, but maybe it’ll be your cuppa!

Campfire - Browser-based, mostly focused on writers, and has a suite of options that you can opt into or out of. This also wasn’t as useful to me, since there’s nowhere to put an outline!

Kanka.io - Browser-based, and just this perfect sweet spot between bare bones and overloaded. There are specific modules you can enable or disable, like in-universe calendars, dice rollers, character journals, etc. It’s my preferred option for organizing my world-building, outside of things like Google Docs.

I also understand a lot of writers like using Scrivener for their work, but as I have Linux, I don’t have any experience with it.

5. The Rest

So, a lot of world-building comes down to how well you know our world. I love world-building because it means I get to use all my education and interests together to create something that feels realistic to my readers and players. This is a time when ADHD is absolutely useful! Chase those squirrels! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ended up reading an article on, say, rivers, only to end up with an idea for how leylines function in my world!

So here are my top 5 recommendations for figuring out how our world works:

Sociology! - If you want to know how different cultures interact, why certain customs come about, or just how a population reaches a decision, learn about sociology. It’s probably my favorite subject, and most useful to very culture-focused world-builders.

Geology! - If you want to know how your world fits together, what it’s made of, where things like mineral or gem deposits might be or how they might form... in addition to how rivers, lakes, and “strange” geographical features form, geology’s a great place to start.

History! - Okay, maybe this one is cheating, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read about something in history and thought “what if it went this way instead?” BAM, there’s a premise for you. (I have an entire novel idea built around that, told mostly through a writer interviewing a famous figure in this alt-history for their biography. After seeing the popularity of Dracula Daily, I almost want to release it like that...)

Ecology! - Oh man, if you want to figure out the botany and zoology of your world, ecology is a great place to start. It builds very nicely off of geology, and covers such a broad range of topics and how each of these pieces interact with one another - like how hydrology affects meteorology affects climate affects plant distribution affects animal distribution... which of course then affects culture!

I’m going to be sacrilegious in the eyes of some of my fellow world-builders here and NOT put linguistics - not because it’s not useful, just because it’s not a field I know much about. Instead, I’d suggest looking at world myths and religions. Yeah, it’s technically part of sociology, but if you’re developing a world from scratch, the creation stories that the sentient species tell themselves can inform a lot of their culture.

For instance, the world that Starcrossed, Amongst the Goblins & the Fishes, and The Silver Hand are all set in is an alternate Earth where magic never left the land. The creation myths in this world are much more centered around humanoids living in harmony with nature, rather than dominating it. In fact, some of the human societies have a specific taboo against desecrating the earth that is taken to such an extreme that other species, like elves and dwarves, occupy that niche instead, acting as stewards of the forest and mountain because they don’t have that same taboo. Part of these myths explain the existence of ley lines, and why they wither and die out (because of excessive logging, destructive farming/mining, or large-scale slaughter of creatures). Will this ever come up in Starcrossed? I highly doubt it. But it figures into the other two VERY prominently.

Phew! That was quite a tangent. Anyway - did I get any of your favorites? Do you have something you’d like to add? Should I make this all a separate page so it’s easy to access and update it regularly? Tell me things! Ask me things! I am an open book and love talking about world-building! Tell me where you’re stuck and maybe we can figure out a way forward together! (Also hmu on Discord, I am so mediocre at Tumblr.)

[mariacallous]

A week after its algorithms advised people to eat rocks and put glue on pizza, Google admitted Thursday that it needed to make adjustments to its bold new generative AI search feature. The episode highlights the risks of Google’s aggressive drive to commercialize generative AI—and also the treacherous and fundamental limitations of that technology.

Google’s AI Overviews feature draws on Gemini, a large language model like the one behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to generate written answers to some search queries by summarizing information found online. The current AI boom is built around LLMs’ impressive fluency with text, but the software can also use that facility to put a convincing gloss on untruths or errors. Using the technology to summarize online information promises can make search results easier to digest, but it is hazardous when online sources are contractionary or when people may use the information to make important decisions.

“You can get a quick snappy prototype now fairly quickly with an LLM, but to actually make it so that it doesn't tell you to eat rocks takes a lot of work,” says Richard Socher, who made key contributions to AI for language as a researcher and, in late 2021, launched an AI-centric search engine called You.com.

Socher says wrangling LLMs takes considerable effort because the underlying technology has no real understanding of the world and because the web is riddled with untrustworthy information. “In some cases it is better to actually not just give you an answer, or to show you multiple different viewpoints,” he says.

Google’s head of search Liz Reid said in the company’s blog post late Thursday that it did extensive testing ahead of launching AI Overviews. But she added that errors like the rock eating and glue pizza examples—in which Google’s algorithms pulled information from a satirical article and jocular Reddit comment, respectively—had prompted additional changes. They include better detection of “nonsensical queries,” Google says, and making the system rely less heavily on user-generated content.

You.com routinely avoids the kinds of errors displayed by Google’s AI Overviews, Socher says, because his company developed about a dozen tricks to keep LLMs from misbehaving when used for search.

“We are more accurate because we put a lot of resources into being more accurate,” Socher says. Among other things, You.com uses a custom-built web index designed to help LLMs steer clear of incorrect information. It also selects from multiple different LLMs to answer specific queries, and it uses a citation mechanism that can explain when sources are contradictory. Still, getting AI search right is tricky. WIRED found on Friday that You.com failed to correctly answer a query that has been known to trip up other AI systems, stating that “based on the information available, there are no African nations whose names start with the letter ‘K.’” In previous tests, it had aced the query.

Google’s generative AI upgrade to its most widely used and lucrative product is part of a tech-industry-wide reboot inspired by OpenAI’s release of the chatbot ChatGPT in November 2022. A couple of months after ChatGPT debuted, Microsoft, a key partner of OpenAI, used its technology to upgrade its also-ran search engine Bing. The upgraded Bing was beset by AI-generated errors and odd behavior, but the company’s CEO, Satya Nadella, said that the move was designed to challenge Google, saying “I want people to know we made them dance.”

Some experts feel that Google rushed its AI upgrade. “I’m surprised they launched it as it is for as many queries—medical, financial queries—I thought they’d be more careful,” says Barry Schwartz, news editor at Search Engine Land, a publication that tracks the search industry. The company should have better anticipated that some people would intentionally try to trip up AI Overviews, he adds. “Google has to be smart about that,” Schwartz says, especially when they're showing the results as default on their most valuable product.

Lily Ray, a search engine optimization consultant, was for a year a beta tester of the prototype that preceded AI Overviews, which Google called Search Generative Experience. She says she was unsurprised to see the errors that appeared last week given how the previous version tended to go awry. “I think it’s virtually impossible for it to always get everything right,” Ray says. “That’s the nature of AI.”

Even if blatant errors like suggesting people eat rocks become less common, AI search can fail in other ways. Ray has documented more subtle problems with AI Overviews, including summaries that sometimes draw on poor sources such as sites that are from another region or even defunct websites—something she says could provide less useful information to users who are hunting for product recommendations, for instance. Those who work on optimizing content for Google’s Search algorithm are still trying to understand what’s going on. “Within our industry right now, the level of confusion is on the charts,” she says.

Even if industry experts and consumers get more familiar with how the new Google search behaves, don’t expect it to stop making mistakes. Daniel Griffin, a search consultant and researcher who is developing tools to make it easy to compare different AI-powered search services, says that Google faced similar problems when it launched Featured Snippets, which answered queries with text quoted from websites, in 2014.

Griffin says he expects Google to iron out some of the most glaring problems with AI Overviews, but that it’s important to remember no one has solved the problem of LLMs failing to grasp what is true, or their tendency to fabricate information. “It’s not just a problem with AI,” he says. “It’s the web, it’s the world. There’s not really a truth, necessarily.”

[swiggity-swexual-i-am-asexual]

Danny Phantom (and technically optional crossover) Prompt

Imagine, if you will, a not-aging Danny Fenton. There’s about a dozen ways to do this, but in this case—Danny still has a human lifespan, he just looks human (though, I won’t argue against any immortal Dannys). As Fenton, he’s just stuck at fourteen. Phantom, being a ghost whose appearance is based on what he sees himself as, does look older. By this point, he’s probably retired from superheroics—I just find unphased and jaded 18 year old Danny to be hilarious. So, he’s just like ‘I wanna go to college’.

So he does. He just. Always looks 14. His hair grows, he can build muscle, and he can definitely have dark eyes—but otherwise? Short ass 14 year old. He constantly has to prove that yes, he’s the real Danny Fenton, and no, this is not a scam. He eventually has to get meta-specific paperwork filled out—no need for the genetic test if the power is fairly obvious. (Of course, it’s possible to do this AU as not crossover, but then you’ll have to do the legwork of making it less odd that someone has superpowers, and whether that means everyone knows he’s Phantom, which might change some of the issues. It also doesn’t have to be DC, for instance, you could use Marvel or even My Hero Academia—ultimately, up to the writer.)

Anyways, he gets his degree(s), enters the workforce, and by the Ancients is it hard to be taken seriously. Even people who see his paperwork and know for a fact he’s a full fledged adult are just like, aw, poor kid, can’t even reach the top cabinets without stretching or climbing. So, while he could just keep being the most qualified 14-looking-adult, he’s quickly getting sick of it. He can’t even be a school teacher, none of his students will take him seriously! Not even the younger ones, cause even the other teachers aren’t respecting him.

There are about… three options available to him, up to whoever wants to pick up this sort of prompt.

1-he gets into acting or modeling. Or perhaps, stunt acting. And everyone is just a bit unnerved about how absolutely none of the nonsense seems to get to him, and he’s just… a little *too* bendy sometimes. He’d make a great scare actor, if he wasn’t terrible at scaring people.

2-he goes into the work force as Phantom in a cheap wig and terrible contacts. Half the time, he forgets at least one contact. Cue mystery of who the hell this guy is, because, for ONCE, someone actually paid attention to the paperwork and knows that he DOESN’T look like THAT.

3-he tries to get work in a slightly more remote position, where his colleagues are few to none. Of course, that is, until some hero or another such professional has to meet him in person, and gets one hell of a shock about who their expert on the computer has been all this time.

There’s of course the undercurrent of Danny’s experiences as a teen hero, so sometimes absolutely wild situations show up, and his stories are like, super weird. He thinks at least SOME of his experiences must be universal, and they’re… really, really not. The outlandish stories don’t help the whole ‘not taken serious’ thing, but then they turn out to be true. Bonus points to rogues or ghosts showing up to say hi and everyone is like WAS THAT A FUCKING DRAGON?! And Danny’s just like ‘yeah she was a beauty pageant coordinator in my hometown, we kept in touch. I helped put her brother in jail’. As if that did NOT just raise more questions than before.

Of course, use or don’t use what you want (such as, he does keep a public-ish position, or he just goes full villain to prove a point, or even somehow starts working undercover at schools and summer camps for xyz reasons, whether or not the Justice League finds him, what his degree(s) weee even in, etc etc), I just think that Forever Teen Danny stories are interesting.

Basically… it’s reverse Shazam, haha.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 232

Once more thinkin of These Series of AU/Prompts, where the Class pulls a Tiamat. Becomes Giant Hydra Dragon. But with some inspiration from @radiance1's Blob King AUs. Specifically also the dragon ones.

Now, the nine of them are admittedly far older than they once were. Far older than most of the people outside the cage they were tricked into all those years before, exhaustion seeping into their bones as their ectoplasm was siphoned away.

Yet no matter how much the GIW drains away- if they're even called as such anymore- they never run out. If anything, at least from what they've noticed, unable to do much of anything else in this pit, this tank of green and red, they seem to be making more.

Their recollection of being separate, of having separate bodies have long since slipped away in exchange for keeping memories of their families and friends long gone now. Perhaps they're in the zone, as ghosts, but perhaps not.

Days feel like both seconds and years, words falling away as their Core hums as one. Sometimes a Blob ghost manages to find its way inside- the trap designed not to stop things from getting in, but to prevent them from leaving.

They always disappear whenever the ecto is taken away, not having enough to continue holding on to a physical form. But... the blobs don't stay gone. Their own ecto brings them back, tiny forms almost mimicking their own.

It's something to distract them, something to actually do besides growl at the figures beyond the barriers around them. The blobs don't speak, don't make more than squeaks, but it's something. Almost like dozens of toddlers floating around, becoming more and more draconic in shape with every siphon.

Do their captors realize, they wonder, how they've made them all stronger than they were even before? Do they realize what they've done, creating this loop of ever-growing power?

No, Star giggled, pink and gold scales shimmering as she bobbed her head in amusement, Paulina's darker purples following.

They don't know, Wes agreed, dark amusement echoed by both Sam and Dash, fangs flashing amidst the liquid. The trap would not be able to contain them for much longer, they all knew. They could feel it, how the siphon stuttered with every run.

It wouldn't be long now. They had waited three hundred years for the chance to escape- they could wait for a few days more.

...

Though they won't complain about an early prison break if those alarms are anything to go by.

[sunwarmed-ash]

I love you, friend! 💕

A couple of my headcanons for your amusement:

1) Connor likes to spend his free time playing video games (esp. farming sims) because they trigger the Mission Successful reward system in his brain

2) Gavin has quite the collection of fantasy dildos 😈

first off i love BOTH OF THESE. Very canon to me imo, I wrote the second one first, I hope you enjoy!

*NSFW warning*

Secret Box

This thing, between the three of them, that started small and innocently enough, turned into something so much bigger, stronger, and honestly sexier than any of them initially intended. So much so they closed on a three bedroom house last week and Hank, Sumo, Connor, and Gavin are moving in together. 

But moving is also greuling, at least to the two humans who complained about aches and pains every free moment they could. It's why Connor offered to bring everything in in the first place. Connor would not get tired. He was specifically designed for advanced stamina. But Hank and Gavin were two of the most prideful and stubborn men Connor has ever met. 

It took them a while to agree, but after Hank’s back popped in a way that was more bad than good, he threw the white flag and thanked Connor for his help before going to pass out on the couch. 

Gavin lasted a little longer, but once he and Connor carried their king sized mattress up two flights of stairs, he threw the flag too.  

There aren't too many more boxes, under half a dozen, and most of them headed for the same floor. He should be done and ready to lay down with his exhausted humans in about 15 minutes. 

Connor moves another large wardrobe box containing some of Hank’s old suits exposing a time faded blue, 15x15x10 box that he doesn't remember packing on the truck. Or seeing before honestly. 

Written all across the slightly yellowing cardboard is handwriting that matches Gavin’s, the words, 

DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU ARE GAVIN

I MEAN IT DICKHEADS

MY STUFF, HANDS OFF! *

Over almost every surface. 

A padlock opened in Connors vision and a prompt to 

Open the box? 

Had him biting into his lip so hard it bled, in strain to do the right thing. 

Because, well it's not his stuff. It’s very obviously Gavin’s. But whatever is in there, it's obvious he wants to keep it a secret. Under plenty of warfare in fact. 

What's the phrase Hank always says to him, curiosity killed the cat? 

Well, Connor isn't a cat, he’s an android. But he’s also not an idiot. He won’t open it down here, in plain view of everything and everyone. He will take it upstairs, into their shared master bedroom and open it there. 

~

Connor hasn't felt a choice impact him this strongly since he deviated. It's weird. It's just a box, he shouldn't be afraid of the damn thing. But it wasn't necessarily the box that was scary. It was the potential of everything that could be in there. 

What could be in there that Gavin didn't want Hank and him to see?

Maybe it was something super rare. Like the world's only albino guinea pig. 

Or maybe Gavin’s a master jewel thief and it's full of diamonds… 

Or maybe Gavin’s a deranged maniac who keeps his victims severed heads in a box!

Or worse….

What if its an embarassing snapshot of Connor from the DPD Christmas party?!??!

His fans whirring in his obvious anxiety attack has him shaking his head and clearing all of the ridiculous thoughts he just had. It’s just a box. And he knows Gavin better than he knows most people in the world after nearly 2 years. 

But once he opens the lid of the long traveled box, he instantly wished he hadn’t. 

Mostly, because in that moment, someone had come into the room behind him, exposing his crime. And even worse, that person was Gavin. 

“Hey! What are you doing!”

“I'm sorry!!” Connor panics, slapping the lid back onto the box so hard its sides folded under his force. He didn't even get a chance to look at everything inside, he was too scared of Gavin’s much deserved, wrath. 

“Ey, easy!! Those aren't cheap you know!” Gavin says, genuine worry in his tone and Connor’s hands pulls off the box and steps back. 

Hank and Sumo are on Gavin’s heels, barging sleepily into the room to add to his humiliation. 

“What’s- oh shit. Ha! I see you found Gavin’s collection.”

Connor and Gavin’s cheeks boths flushed in embarrassment.

“Hank!” Gavin scolds at the same time Connor asks, 

“What are they?”

“What do you mean what are they? They’re fucking dildos” Gavin says hotly, temperature matching the blood boiling under his cheeks. 

Connor looks at the box with the busted lid again, though he doesn't need to. He has the video feed already saved, he can bring up every inch of his first glimpse in high graphic detail. 

“But, they don’t, look like our other ones,” Connor says carefully, reading Gavins stress levels and adjusting his particular phrasing. 

“Cuz they’re not modeled after human dicks,” Gavin says again, and Connor thinks about the one on top. The one that didn't look like a dick at all. More like a tongue, easily as long as Hank’s cock but curved and shaped drastically different. 

“And that feels good?” there wasn't any judgment in Connor’s voice, just genuine curiosity. He thinks that's what really gives him the upper hand and reduces some of Gavin’s stress. 

“It feels phcking incredible. All of them do.”

“Some of those are big Gavin.”

“I’m well aware.”

Connor’s eyes glazed over, imagining Hank using any of them on Gavin, or vice versa. It was enough motivation for Connor to then ask, with the biggest, softest eyes he can, if he can fuck Gavin with one. 

~

Gavin’s knees shake as he struggles to take the ninth irregularly bulging inch, but he begged for it deeper, his cock still stiff and spitting fluid all down the shaft.

“Phck,” he can’t keep the pant back as much as he wants to. It hurts, but in the way he loves, and the fact that Hank and Connor are both so obviously getting off to it only adds to it. 

“You’re doing so good Gavin,” Hank praises, and Gavin feels more fluid fall off the tip of his cock onto their mattress below. He felt like he was about to lose his mind, so he’s glad at least it looks more polished than he feels. 

“Con, don’t stop, please.” 

Connor’s hand squeezes his hip before twisting the bulging dildo in his ass. 

The pleasure that rocketed through Gavin’s body at that particular action knocks out his knees and Gavin is barely holding his face off the mattress by his elbows. “Oh my god.”

“It’s actually Connor, but I appreciate the compliment,” the robot sasses and if Gavin wasn’t so desprate for an orgasm, he might have shot something back. Instead he shuddered, and pulled his tired legs back to their original position. It lined one of the bumps of the dildo up with his prostate and Gavin was putty in Connor’s hands. 

“Are you gonna cum?” Hank asks, sitting on the bed beside him, running his warm hand across Gavin's face to get the sweat out of his eyes. 

Gavin nods in Hank’s hand, and then Connor’s thrusts becomes relentless. It doesn't take much at all, and then Gavin is screaming through a painfully strong orgasm. 

~

AN: I'm sorry for the minor crack, but I just had to with the spongebob reference. It really wrote itself. You can blame Daddy Clancy for the melding of fandoms in my brain. 

As for the sex toys, use your imagination or alt the links I got the inspo from 1. 2.

* do I have a box just like this? Wouldn't you like to know weather boy.

[shelbgrey]

Can you do one where the reader is Gabe's soulmate and they have a breakdown cause they were hiding all feelings, good and bad. They break down in Gabe's arms and whilst venting say “I gotta say, I'm not doing so great. I keep trying to start over, but I can't get anywhere because I'm lost.” Then Gabe comforts them?

Love this request. Glad I got to write for my favorite angel again.

Love of a lifetime (Gabriel)

Paring: gabriel x Soulmate!Reader

Prompt: 1.1) “I gotta say, I'm not doing so great. I keep trying to start over, but I can't get anywhere because I'm lost”

MasterList

Call Gabriel what you want. He can be manipulative or harmful to humans if he really wanted to. But one thing is for sure he'd never lay a hand on her or even put her in danger. He'll play all the practical jokes he wants on her brothers or send them to any univers, but when It comes to her no harm will come.

Gabe didn't know how to discribe it. When he first met her and her brothers were after him. Of course he was pissed but when he first saw you all anger seemed to dissolve. He didn't know why... Actually he did but he didn't want to admit it.

Arc-Angels are supposed to have Soulmates or they'll be assigned a person to watch over. Unfortunately God didn't trust Gabe to be a Garudian Angel so he was surprised when he felt the love sick feeling his whole body was feeling when he saw her kind eyes.

That day he voved to always protect her even if she never found out about his unconditional love he felt for the the hunter. He's all jokes and partying but when he promises something he keeps it. When the mystery spot becomes known to her and her brothers, Gabe made sure she didn't get sucked into the time loop Sam and Dean were in.

He knew how much y/n loved her brothers so while Dean was dying and sam was losing his mind y/n was completely clues. But she wasn't too clueless, she started slowly putting the pieces together and soon she had a dozen questions for the so called Trickster.

The third time she was sucked into TV land, but like he promised there was no harm to her. He would put y/n in the same reality as her favorite shows to impress her. But after the Winchesters Cracked the case once again she finally asked her unanswered questions while he stood in the holy fire.

“call I ask you something?” she asked after brothers left. His brooding face soften and he simply shrugged.

“Sure Sweetheart”

“Why us? Specifically why do you target my brothers but not me?” he stifled a laughed and put his hands in his pockets.

He weighed out his options. He could either tell her the truth and get rejected or he could lie and not only protect him but her. He also knew he was bad news and even dangerous. And even if he promised to always protect her its not safe for an Angel to be with a human.

“... Just wanted to see how it would play out” he lied right through his teeth. She slightly nodded with disappointment. She couldn't explain why she had a soft spot for the Trickster or she started to notice how handsome he was.

“see ya around Gabriel” she nodded putting outt the holy fire and walking to the impala. She never breathed a word to her brothers about the conversation she had with the Angel.

--------(1st pov)--------

“GOOOOOD MOOORNING!” my alarm clocked shouted. I sat up suddenly and heard Gabriel's voice shouting through the speaker of my alarm. I sighed and tried to shut it off but his voice continued in a broadcasting voice.

“it's a beautiful day in Kansas with 80% chance of a vengeful spirit flying around, but don't worry the Winchesters are on the case... I'm your host T Rickster”

I sighed and ripped the corde out and tossed the alarm clock to the side. I sighed finally getting some quiet.

“that's not very nice Sweetheart” I jumped at the suddenness of his voice. I looked and he was leaning against the was of my room. I rolled my eyes and got out of bed. I opened the door of my room.

“if you don't mind” he rolled his eyes with a smirk and with a snap of his fingers he was gone.

This happened for months. I woke up to the sound of his voice everyday. And everyday turned into him coming to the bunker to heal whatever scratches or bumps I got from a hunt.

As the months went on we got closer. He always knew how to make me laugh or smile. I also noticed how pretty his wisky colored eyes were and how adorable his smile was. But the harder I fell for him the scared I got.

Then one drunk night I got something I never knew how badly I really needed it. Once his lips met mine it felt too good to be true... I guess it was. He started to distance himself for me. Is voice wasn't heard every morning and it slowly turned to maybe three days a week.

It hurt... I guess it wasn't all his fault do to the fact I was scared to tell him how I felt. Scared of what my brothers would do if they ever found out. After about a week of mopping(as Dean would put it) I admit it to Sam. I knew I could trust him and he didn't get angry like I knew Dean would.

“we can't help who we fall in love with” he told me.

After a particularly hard hunt I ignored my brother's worries and went to my room. As soon as my door closed I let out a sob. Everything seemed to be hitting me all at once. Every possible negative outcome happened tonight. I felt broken and tired, I felt even more pain when I realized Gabe didn't show up like he usually dose.

Dispite the pain I fell backwards on my bed and chocked down a sob. Feeling the acke in my back a rolled over to my side. As I moved I was face to face with Gabe's leather jacket that was just carelessly crumbled on a chair near my bed. It was right where he left it... Right before he started distaning himself from me.

I winced as I got up and wrapped myself in the jacket. The smell of his colone and what ever candy he ate invaded the my sences the closer I pulled the piece of clothing closer. I crawled back into bed trying to get some rest.

“you look like shit” a all too familiar voice said destroying the quiet. I quickly set up and saw gabe leaning against the wall with his head down.

“thanks” I grumbled and slowly set up. He sighed and walked up to me. He raised his hand getting ready to heal me. I slapped his hand away before he could.

Gabe gave me a sorrowful look and pulled his hand away. I looked down not wanting to meet his sad look. “I'm sorry” he said just above a whisper.

I scoffed then looked up at him. “What did I do wrong?” I asked him as tears pricked my eyes. He tilted his head like he didn't know what I was talking about. “you were my friend... Then you just disappeared... Was that kiss so awful?”

“What? No! No... T-that's...” he scoffed and shook his head as he became lost for words. “it's just... I'm not right for you... You need to start over and find someone who will treat you the way you deserve” he said quietly.

I gulped thinking of all the pros and cons of what I was about to say. I thought of the negative out come of it, but it's now or never I guess. “I gotta say, I'm not doing so great. I keep trying to start over, but I can't get anywhere because I'm lost”

He looked up at me and gave me a soft look as I continued. “I'm lost without you... Everyday I woke up to your voice and everyday I fell deeper and deeper for you” I said feeling my chest tighten.

Gabe gently pulled me into his arms. I was engulfed into the smell and touch I missed so much. I finally let the tears fall as hid my face in his chest. “I'm so sorry” he mumbled and kissed the top of my head as he held me closer.

“I love you... And it scares me” he confessed. I looked up at him with watery doe eyes. He softly smiled and placed his warm hand on my cheek. “but I don't plan on giving you up again”

He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my lips. It wasn't like our first drunken one. It was softer and longer. It felt like it was supposed to be our first. It felt like forever was in our favor.