#a terrible influence but the best fun uncle

[lostmidnightwriter]

How the reclaiming of Martin's tapestry went down:

[bafflement]

Grief And Old Wounds, They Too Scar. [Deaged Oz AU]

I went with emotional scarring instead of physical for this one.

Thank you @remnants-of-rwby-events for running this, I'm having an awful lot of fun.

Be aware you might need tissues ready for this.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58620715

Plain text:

As he stood at the balcony, watching his granddaughters at play, Nicolas couldn’t help the slightly sad smile. They were happy, healthy and cherished, loved. Everybody loved those girls, even if Jacques didn’t always show it. But today wasn’t about his son in law. The man wasn’t even in Atlas right now, something about another business trip. He grimaced slightly, knowing that it was Winter’s birthday tomorrow, but that hadn’t stopped him. At least Willow was still here for her daughter’s big day. He already knew what she wanted, she hadn’t been able to stop talking about a real weapon, instead of the blunted training sword she’d had the use of over the last year. Winter wanted to be a huntress and he was so very proud of her, even as he worried that if she took that path, he might lose her in the end. But it was her life, she was so sure already. Jacques hated it, of course, but he rather thought that might have at least partially influenced her decision. She wasn’t a teenager, not yet, but she was already bound and determined to go her own way, forge her own path. He couldn’t imagine that she could get less stubborn as she aged, though he had raised two teenagers, he knew what they were like.

… he knew what it was like to lose a child, too. He couldn’t bear it if he lost her, or Weiss if the younger girl continued following in her sister’s footsteps. He was thankful that Whitley had yet to show any interest, though he thought that day might still come. He blinked, realising his knuckles ached and looked down to see that he was bleeding slightly. He’d cut himself on the metalwork, mind too far away to even notice that he’d done it. That was getting more common these days, too. Being old was something he never thought that he’d truly face, though he hoped, oh how he hoped, that those girls would. That Whitley would. That Willow would. That maybe, somewhere far away, his lost youngest son could, too.

Oh, he knew that the likelihood that Winter was still alive somewhere was slim at best, he’d been told it enough times over the years, but he was still his son, still his boy. He hadn’t gone with poor, brave Nicky that terrible day that his oldest son had died and he’d live with the regret for the rest of his life. When they’d bought the body back, scarcely six months after Winter had been kidnapped…

He closed his eyes briefly against the image, against the pain. Against the knowledge that, even if the gods were kind for once, there was at least one uncle neither of the cheerful girls outside could ever meet. He felt tears well at the edges of his eyes and swiped them away angrily. It always amazed him, that he somehow still had tears to shed. If there had been an allowance, then he would have used his share long ago. Nicky, Winter… his beautiful boys. His to love, his to protect. He’d failed both of them, in the end.

He wouldn’t fail the family he had left. He couldn’t, he needed to at least try to teach them as much as he could, hope that by doing so he could at least prolong their lives. Hunters… didn’t always live long. He was well aware that he was the exception to the rule, but if two of his family could manage it, surely the girls could, too? Fria was still alive after all, and she’d often been in even more danger than he had, especially considering… well, certain pieces of information.

Knowing the maidens were real didn’t help his dread. The likelihood that either of Willow’s daughters would become one wasn’t high even though he didn’t know just how it happened. He trusted his sister not to risk her great nieces, that she would protect them once he was gone. He thought he still had several years in him, but he could be wrong. Everything had felt heavier recently, the grief that had been present in his life since his wife died, then his sons those few too short years afterwards. He fancied he might be able to feel his death slowly approaching. But he had time enough for this. Time to set things up so that they had funds of their own to fall back on, separate from the SDC. He couldn’t guarantee them a legacy after he was dead, control of the company had long since left his hands, though he didn’t think Jacques was fool enough to risk losing what he had built up. But this, days like this… memories? Those he could give them.

It had been so hard, at first. Presented with a new born granddaughter that Willow had named for her brother. It had gotten easier after the first few months, when she had shown none of the health issues that had so plagued his son. That she gravitated towards blue was helpful, too, of course. She was her own person, though the nickname he had given her those first months, while it still hurt too much to say her name, had stuck. His Storm. Stubborn, unyielding, though he liked to think there was a flicker of her uncle’s gentle spirit there, too. Maybe he was seeing things, hoping for things that weren’t there, but he rather thought Weiss might have inherited that too, below all the high society manners that had been instilled in her by her parents, that was. Maybe that might help them to grow beyond the roles that Jacques seemed already to be grooming them for. He turned his gaze briefly into the room behind him, Whitley quietly reading on a chair. His eyes itched again. He shook his head, willing the sudden phantom of Winter, doing the same thing so long ago, to dissipate. Snowflake was never that healthy, after all. If he’d been there, he’d have been tucked in under a blanket. Unlike Whitley, he would have yearned to be out there with the girls. Whitley had that choice, yet chose not to.

Whitley was so serious already. Too serious, maybe, an echo of himself instead of any of the other children he’d raised, known. He couldn’t love him the less for it, but he was too young to be cooped up inside. It was a lost cause to try to convince the boy of that, though. He’d tried, so many times, but had never quite succeeded. It didn’t help that the girls tended to ignore him, too. He’d hoped Whitley might have joined him, but though he’d offered, his youngest grandchild had just shaken his head, looking dismissive before returning to his book. The dismissive look was utterly adorable, though he knew he was biased. Willow was busy elsewhere, he needed to be here for his grandson even if he itched to join the girls in their play.

He would have done, once. He’d have scooped Whitley up and taken him with him, though he was too scared now, that he might drop him. So much had changed over the last year, he’d gotten sicker, weaker. Older. Was this what it had been like, then, for Winter? To want to do all the things he saw others around him were capable of, yet being unable to? Was that why he thought so much more about him now than he ever had before? Oh he’d never, ever have forgotten them, but recently they seemed to haunt his every breath, every second thought. Nicky’s pride, his eyes glinting with determination as he’d told him about the protest rally. His insistence that, at fifteen, he was more than old enough to join in, to fight for what was right. That Winter would have wanted him to, even though his brother would never have been able to join in.

The sweet smile Winter had given him, eyes sleepy the last night he’d ever been able to tuck his youngest son into bed. The stuffed rabbit that he’d kept so carefully, thinking it would surely be only a few days before they’d find him. A week. A month. A year…

An eternity.

All he wanted, at this point, was just one more moment with the children that he’d lost.

But he couldn’t, not yet. Not when there were living children that depended on him, when his granddaughters were only really watched by him and Klein. Just two people to stand between them and the possibility that they might be snatched, too.

Oh, the kidnapping ring was long gone, everybody was certain of that much. They’d gone dark for months before they found the first of them, dead and discarded like the trash that they were. But the children they’d snatched? There’d never been any trace of any of them. They’d searched so hard over the years, but to no avail. There was never a day that went by that he didn’t blame himself. Just like Hawke did. Like Reyne, like Simeon. Like so many other bereaved parents.

Atlas was powerful, but, in the end, even their resources had never found them. Even those he’d paid so much to use their semblances to find the children never had. Winter had been so frail, so sickly… had he even lived to adulthood? Could he have done? No aura, no semblance… unless he’d somehow unlocked it since… no. No, he wasn’t going to think about that, not today.

He felt a tug at his shirt and glanced down to find Whitley, book neatly placed on the chair behind him, standing by his side. He hadn’t even noticed that the boy had moved, though he could be worryingly silent at times. He wondered if that might be his semblance, one day, before shaking his head. There was time enough to find that out, too, if Whitley ever wanted to. He turned back to the window, his grandson now tucked in beside him as he watched the girls continue to play. There was time enough yet. As long as they lived, as Willow lived, there was still a part of the woman he’d loved so fiercely here on Remnant. Some shards of the peace she’d given him in life, that he couldn’t give her as she died.

But then, he couldn’t protect her, either. Could he protect any of them? Or would he just fail again? Atlas still saw him as a hero, but he knew he wasn’t, not really. He couldn’t even keep his own sons safe. How could he watch over these children, after he was gone?

It was days like this that he almost wished that long ago, desperate prayer had done more than just keep Winter alive, keep him breathing. If only Nicholas was somehow the wizard, could guarantee that they were safe, but no, he’d long since accepted that that sort of magic wasn’t real, not anymore. The maidens might be, but the rest? No. They were just stories and he’d held onto them far too long as it was. Whitley wasn’t interested in them, the girls were outgrowing them. Maybe it was time to stop.

If magic was real, then surely someone would have found his son by now?

[crystalelemental]

Talking about the children of Omnicron reminds me, I never shared what my wife and I talked about after the Big Reveal: babysitting Solus.

Obviously this only works in a sort of AU situation where Solus isn't living with Ulrich, and the other children are free to move about, but just imagine Deena raising this kid herself, but getting busy with the guild work or dealing with the Kroma situation, and having to ask them to babysit. In priority order:

Ulrich is the obvious first pick. Even outside of being your father figure in-game, he runs an orphanage of human children. He knows what he's doing when it comes to kids. He's calm and reasonable, but firm. He's basically made for this role, and he takes it seriously. A bit of a stick in the mud sometimes, but the easy top pick.

#2 is Fenrir. He doesn't really like kids, but he at least does the job. A bit hands-off, and easily annoyed when Solus needs something, but he's still responsive even if he'll grumble about it the whole time. He just takes things too seriously to be truly lax with this task. And Nara's asking. That's his little sister, the next one in line, so there's a bit more companionship there. He can't really say no when she asks, even if he's bothered.

Nadine would be #2, given she's pretty reasonable and exudes fun wine aunt vibes. When she's in the mood for it, she's great. Not always a good influence, but she's the kind that teaches the important life lessons that go against what's typically taught, you know? And she is genuine with praise, when it's earned. The problem is, "when she's in the mood for it." Nadine also does not particularly like kids, and unlike Fenrir, is willing to refuse Deena whenever she just doesn't feel like it, and she often does not feel like it. She's not #3 by any personal failing, but rather, she's #3 under threat of violence. Even #3 is higher than she wants, but she does understand why.

Merida was supposed to be #2. Considering she has her Surfer-sona, you would assume she can be super sweet and upbeat and fun; all things kids would respond well to, right? She'd take them on adventures to the beach and everything! Who wouldn't love that? It worked out great until Merida decided hey, if this kid's gonna be a future Sovereign, they need to be the best in everything. I'm gonna teach this kid everything I know about volleyball. And it turns out the kid picks it up pretty quick. One comment about the game being easy while they were playing against each other, and Merida got Actually For Reals Angry. She is no longer considered an ideal choice, and is banned from playing volleyball with the child.

Zetta is not allowed to watch Solus. He wants to. God does he want to. He'll ask constantly about when Deena will ask him to help watch the kid, he's put together all sorts of fun uncle activities they can do together, exactly none of which are safe or appropriate for children. Deena just laughs it off as work being slow and not needing anyone, and he doesn't really question it, thankfully. He's just eagerly awaiting the day he's asked. Deena has honestly considered leaving the kid home alone before going to Zetta's.

BONUS ROUND: Metta is actually a pretty great babysitter. You wouldn't really expect it, given his disgust for humans and how connected to them Solus is, but he is nothing if not calculating and able to plan for the long game. Babysitting the future Sovereign of Monsters is an opportunity he can't pass up, and he can use that to undo Deena's attempts to imbue sympathy toward humans. He is trying to be a terrible influence. Solus will complain about a kid not sharing their crayons, and he'll be all "Typical humans, always taking what isn't theirs. What if there were no humans? What if you could have all the crayons to yourself?" And Solus, being a child, will be like "Yeah!" and run off to take the crayons. Unfortunately for him, when Solus does use force to take them back, the other kid starts crying and their empathy kicks in, and they're able to talk through the problem and be friends again. Inadvertently and despite his best efforts, he's a very effective conflict resolution manager. He hates it so much.

[luthien-under-bough]

signature - Daemon Targaryen x Rhaenyra Targaryen

Not Rated, 1225 words, Text fic, Prompt Fic, Modern AU

Summary:

Daemon gets drunk on a boys' night out - and decides to demonstrate his love for Rhaenyra in a rather permanent way.

Written for the HotD Summer Snippets & Stories prompt event.

Prompt word: signature

Italics is Daemon Bold is Rhaenyra

friday, 3:45pm

do i have to go yes rather stay home with you im not staying home im going out with laena ;) you know what i mean brat oh stop, you’ll have fun plus laenor and the boys need an old man to show them how it’s done im having 3 drinks max then im coming home whatever you say, love and dont think ill forget that 'old' comment youll pay for that later oh im counting on it :) now get back to work!

friday, 6:00pm

how do i look? [ATTACHMENT: (1) IMAGE] oh fuck you are you SURE i cant convince you stay home?? 0:) have fun old man xx

friday, 7:14pm

im the only one here why is no one ever on time being early is very uncool im not early! im punctual! if youre on time youre early need to be at least 15 min late im rolling my eyes so hard right now oh heres laenor and harwin finally laenor is already pissed LOL laena says hi [ATTACHMENT: (1) IMAGE] tell laena she needs to teach her brother how to hold his liquor

friday, 8:10pm

this pub smells like piss and regret im too old for this shit loosen up baby take a couple shots cant even remember the last time i did a shot all the more reason to do one! youre a bad influence i learned from my uncle ;) your uncle sounds hot oh he is he does shots, too does he? mmhm cmon, ill send a pic of my tits if you do

friday, 8:16pm

[ATTACHMENT: (1) IMAGE] atta boy believe im owed a tit two, even patience!

friday, 8:21pm

[ATTACHMENT: (3) IMAGES] fuck now im hard prove it

friday, 8:25pm

[ATTACHMENT: (2) IMAGES] mm maybe i shouldve stayed home still time ditch laena say the word ill leave right now think i like the idea of u having a wank in a pub bathroom instead fucking tease yeah. what are you gonna do abt it? :) adding to the list of things to punish you for fair i deserve a firm spanking ;) youll get more than that

friday, 9:11pm

well?? did u cum? in the bloody bathroom stall? im not an animal rhaenyra tsk tsk wheres ur sense of adventure come here and ill show you wouldnt dream of crashing boys night what if i beg i do like when u beg so is that a yes...? have another drink ;) youll regret saying that when youre holding my hair back later

friday, 9:57pm

kept doing shots terrible idea think im drunk now thats the spirit! harwin wants to go to a strip club have a lapdance i like when u come home all riled up ;) dont need a lapdance for that can just look at that pic of your tits again flatterer its true. best tits in all of westeros what abt essos? dont be greedy :'(ok ok best tits in all of essos too. and sothoryos and ulthos while were at it thats more like it :)

friday, 10:46pm

see8ng naked women ujst mkes me miss you :(( aww <3 how drunk are you?? lmao im serous tour so beuatiful i miss you[MISSED CALL: ♡Daemon♡]

friday, 10:48pm

sry love too loud here were at karaoke im up next gonna sing You're So Vain is rhat about me i bet you think so ;)

friday, 11:53pm

awful quiet over there u still alive? YES yes sintbe a brat Have s durprise for you layer oh gods laena just dropped me off heading to bed xx naked??? of course probe it

saturday, 12:02am

[ATTACHMENT: (3) IMAGES] i lvoe toy youre so fuscking hot sexiedt woman on esrth goodnight&lt;3

saturday, 1:40am

[MISSED CALL: ♡Daemon♡]

saturday, 1:41am

[MISSED CALL: ♡Daemon♡]

saturday, 1:42am

[MISSED CALL: ♡Daemon♡]

saturday, 1:45am

[ATTACHMENT: (2) IMAGES] WHAT IS THAT DAEMON! OMG ??? i love you baby xxxx i love you somuh much oh my god hahahaah you are going to be SO MAD at yourself tomorrow

saturday, 12:04pm

"About time you woke up. Thought you were dead." Daemon squints, the light sending a blinding pulse of pain directly between his eyes. He can barely lift his head, but he can see just enough to know he somehow made it into his own bed. His head is swimming, his mouth tastes like an ashtray, and he can tell by the way the sheets rub against him that he's completely naked. Beside him, slightly blurred, is Rhaenyra, wearing an undeniably smug grin. "How did I—" "Harwin poured you out of a cab around three a.m."  Harwin. Right. Boys' night with Harwin and Laenor. "Fucking hells, I drank way too much," Daemon groans, shoving his face back into the pillows. "That's not all you did," Rhaenyra says cryptically. Daemon lifts his head, craning his neck to get another look at Rhaenyra. She's smiling broadly, pointing a finger vaguely in the direction of his back. That's when he's hit with a stinging surge of pain in his lower back. Oh shit. Oh fuck.  "Don't worry, love. I took a photo. The ones you sent me were rather blurry."  Rhaenyra holds up her phone, right in front of his face. He blinks a few times, praying that each one might resest his brain and reveal that he's just imagining it—but the tingling sensation tells him it's very much real. A tattoo, right about his ass, in large, curling script: Rhaenyra "Oh my god." "That's what I said," Rhaenyra says. Daemon groans. Pieces of the night return to him in flashes: doing that first shot, then another, then another. Several anothers later and they were at a strip club. Somewhere around their third bottle of Veuve Clicquot, Daemon became convinced that he simply must get a tattoo in honor of Rhaenyra. And Laenor and Harwin apparently did nothing to talk him out of it. "What I'd like to know," Rhaenyra says, unable to keep the giddiness from her voice. "Is where you got my signature from? It's a perfect likeness."  That memory returns to him, too. A fragmented image of him waving a dinner receipt around like a lunatic. He sighs loudly. "I had a receipt in my wallet. From when we went to that Dornish restaurant. You paid." Rhaenyra laughs wickedly. "Oh, I can only imagine what it would have looked like had you not had a reference on hand."  "I'm going to kill Harwin," Daemon mutters. Rhaenyra sinks down beside him, stroking him lightly along his spine, careful not to disturb his fresh ink.  "Oh, come now. I rather like it." Daemon turns his head to the side to narrow his gaze at her. "You do not." "I do!" she insists, her eyes sparkling. "It's sweet. You love me so much you're willing to permanently disfigure yourself. Quite romantic, honestly."  Daemon can't help but laugh. "Suppose I'll keep it, then." "Yes, you have to. How else will the whole world know that you're mine?" Daemon reaches out to cup Rhaenyra's face. His beautiful wife. He strokes her cheek, and her smile outshines any other thought or feeling rattling around in his head. "In that case, it's only fair..." he trails off, raising an eyebrow. "What?" "You'll just have to get one to match." 

[ao3 link]

*banner by wandanatromanova

[ijustsitinacorner]

About this blog + OC introductions

Just random posts or reposts consisting or role playing with OC’s or just general roleplay. I do write every now and then when I have motivation and ideas, as this AU consists of a cross over between Black Butler/Twisted Wonderland.

I would probably do rants too, depends.

I’m okay with role plays, they’re fun to do so I don’t mind.

Blue text - Valerie

Red text - Charlotte

White text - Mikaela

Mostly inspired by: @/liviavanrouge + oya oya!

Anyway on to the OC’s:

Name: Valerie Phantomhive

Name in katakana:

ヴァレリー・ファントムハイヴ

(Vu~arerī fantomuhaivu)

Age: 16 (was going to turn 17 during 1889).

Occupation: Lady of Phantomhive

Homeland: United Kingdom/England

Nicknames (she’s gotten from either Elizabeth or people in Twisted Wonderland): ValVal, Val, Valle

Gender: Female

Relatives: Ciel Phantomhive (younger brother), Elizabeth Midford (cousin), Edward Midford (cousin), Francis Midford (aunt), Alexis Midford (Uncle), Angelina Dalles/Madam Red (aunt)

Parents: Vincent & Rachel Phantomhive, both deceased

Height: 164 cm/5’4

Eyes: rich peacock-blue eyes

Hair: long back length grey-tinged, blue-black hair

Personality: Polite with all sorts of etticacy due to living in status as a noble. She can be relatively patient with others while remaining humble as taught by from her mother. However, this doesn’t hide the fact that her father hasn’t influenced in some type ways even she herself doesn’t notice.

Unlike her younger brother who has became undemonstrative, Valerie would likely be slightly more affectionate and show concern to those she cares about. But compared to how she acted when she was younger, there was an obvious change.

Valerie maintains the affectation of grace, however the innocents part…she doesn’t quite get. Rejecting the idea.

She is capable of wielding the sword due to intensive fence training with her aunt Francis. She began earlier than Elizabeth due to being older than her by 2 years. Despite the head start, Elizabeth and Valerie’s abilities are both equally as strong. It would be a tie if both went against each other.

With noticing her being in the 21st century in Twisted Wonderland instead of her usual 19th in her world, Valerie had to suffer adapt to many changes (obviously). It could be figured out with some time that she’s not in her suitable time period.

Hobbies: Piano playing, painting, tea time, taught herself how to bake (during/in Twisted Wonderland)

Talents: Swordsmanship, piano

Paired with: Silver/Silver Vanrouge

Name: Charlotte Evermore

Name in katakana:

シャーロット・エバーモア

(Shārotto ebāmoa)

Homeland:

Affliction:

Retrieval Division of the Grim Reaper Dispatch

Age: 19-20 (physically).

Gender: female

Species: Grim Reaper

Relatives: mother (deceased)

Height: 175 cm/5’9

Eyes: Deep red (or crimson red if you really want to be fancy).

Extra info on eyes: Her eyes change into the usual chartreuse phosphorescent color/lime green since all grim reapers have them. They change when she uses her scythe or looks when looking through cinematic records, or even when doing both.

Hair: Lower back long, milky-white hair

Personality:

Hobbies:

Talents: Ability to use huge weapons due to adapting to using her death scythe

Paired with: Malleus Draconia

Name: Mikaela Alyec

Name in katakana:

ミカエラ・アリエク

(Mikaera arieku)

Age: 16 (varies by AU)

Gender: female

Nicknames: Mimi, Mika

Homeland: ???

Species: human

Relatives: ???

Height: 156 cm/5’1

Eyes: a shade of brown so dark they appear black

Hair: Yuuka Hirasaka short black hair

Personality: Seemingly carefree individual that acts like a regular teenager. She can be energetic with friends and has a bit of a cursing problem. When it comes to honesty, she can be best at it. When it comes to humor, it can either be really humorous, terrible, or really fucked up.

Mikaela not possessing any sort of abilities can make her doubt so much so as to saying things she doesn’t mean. Mikaela hides many secrets, she’s careful to watch out and just follows when she’s supposed to.

Sometimes she has the “idgaf” personality when in reality she either cares too much or too little.

Overall, a very diverse personalities depending on who she is with. Sometimes she even gives in to acts to please others or just goes with her usual motive, complicated indeed…

Hobbies: turn based games, rhythm games, baking (believes that murder is illegal but baking isn’t), spending time with her “girlies”, and writing

Talents/Skills: Has a somewhat concerning ability to predict what’s going happen next, most often she would say it jokingly and it actually happens.

Paired with: Riddle Rosehearts

(Yes, I’m shocked too).

[self-ship-siege]

📝 and ☕️?

gonna answer for dianthus aster since I've been brainrotting over him

📝: How would your story in canon go? How would you influence the events of the original story?

Of course, Aster affects just about every arc he's in in some small way, but there's three big divergences from canon, being three brand new arcs. Yap central ahead.

The first is the Floraison Empire Arc, between Drum Island and Little Garden. The Straw Hats find themselves in a kingdom called Celosia, the center of the Floraison Empire. (It was founded by a Celestial Dragon many years ago, but they don't learn that until much later) They come into the middle of a struggle for power between two different branches of the Dianthus family for power and status as the 'main' family. Caught in the middle is a sickly 'princess' who is actually a boy being forced to present as a girl to avoid shaming their family by being a weak man. They end up getting involved in the fight, and the princess Aster stands up to his family and asserts his own identity. He gets banished at the end of the arc, which is why he decides to sail with the Straw Hats.

The second is the Ironwood Island Arc, between Enie's Lobby and Thriller Bark. It's an arc dedicated to both developing Aster as a character and fleshing out his relationships, specifically with Zoro, Sanji, and Franky, surprisingly enough. The Straw Hats come across this island that was once known for its beautiful vegetation and plant life, but is now an overindustrialized mess. Its natural resources are being overharvested by the Marines, and the project is headed by one Rear Admiral Dianthus Aciano. Aster's uncle! He was the younger brother, so he wasn't given main family status and became a Marine to earn his own status. When he hears that the weakest child of the main family is on his island, he challenges him to a traditional Dianthus family duel, with main family status on the line. Aster tries too hard to stick to tradition in order to prove himself, using a single sword despite being best with his scythe, and he gets his ass kicked for it. The Straw Hats are ordered by Aster to stand by and to not get involved, for the sake of his own pride, but Sanji can't stand by and ends up intervening just in time to save Aster from being killed. The intervention nullifies the sanctity of the duel, and Aciano retreats for the moment. Aster is upset, saying it proved all the terrible things Aciano said were true, but it's Zoro who gets through to him that he should fight how he wants, not how anyone else wants him to fight. It also lets Aster and Franky bond, as Franky gets the urge to act like an older brother to him. He goes back and starts another duel and fights his way, and kicks his ass lol.

The third is unnamed bc i haven't thought about it too much, but it's going to elaborate on how the dianthus family technically has celestial dragon blood and thus that makes aster a celestial dragon. and also how he's known that and been hiding it.

☕️: What are the most common plots of shipping fics between you and your f/o?

There'd be a lot of Zoro and Sanji trying to one-up each other in showing their affections, bickering in their typical canon fashion, as well as situational equivalents of Aster putting them in a get-along sweater LMAOO

For Aster/Sanji, there's a lot of bonding over similar traumas and caretaking fics that go both ways. They both like to prove their usefulness to others, and that manifests with each other a lot

For Aster/Zoro, I imagine there's a LOT of Zoro being the most bumbling idiot who doesn't even realize he has feelings for Aster and everyone makes fun of him for it. He's bad with emotions but he's Trying okay

[yellowvoidling]

Some others I really like (US American):

By the skin of my teeth: Just barely managed ("I passed that exam by the skin of my teeth")

It's no skin off my nose: If this goes wrong, it doesn't actually matter to me (often said to someone you're giving advice to when you're tired of giving them advice)

If it was a snake it would've bit me: The thing I was looking for is in fact extremely close by

Dog days of summer: the middle of summer when it's too hot to think/do anything

Fuck me running: exasperation/disbelief (negative)

Christ on a bike/Christ on a cracker: surprise/disbelief/exasperation (negative)

Don't be such a wet blanket: similar to "raining on someone's parade" -> don't be so negative. by being a wet blanket, you can rain on someone's parade

He got his just desserts: the well-deserved consequences of being a jerk or doing something bad

Can't have your cake and eat it too: wanting two mutually exclusive things

Cold as a well-digger's ass/as a witch's tit: Very cold

Have a nice trip, see you next fall: Literally just a pun based on the words "trip" and "fall." Usually said when someone's just stumbled

I just ate shit: I tripped and fell on my face

He/she is having kittens: To be wildly impatient/anxious

scared shitless: very scared

Pissing like a racehorse: to pee a lot (why there's a whole idiom about this I don't know)

Need to see a man about a horse: a way to excuse yourself to go use the bathroom

A snake in the grass: something that's dangerous, already there, and difficult to detect

A needle in a haystack: Very difficult to find

Thin-skinned: Very sensitive to criticism

Until the cows come home: all night long

Bumfuck Nowhere/Out in the sticks/the middle of nowhere/the boonies: There are endless variations on this, but these all mean someplace obscure and very rural

Take it with a grain of salt: The accuracy of the information is in potentially in question due to its source ("Bob says these are the best mechanics in town, but take that with a grain of salt, his uncle owns the garage")

Like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs: understandably on-edge

Like a bull in a china shop: out of control/causing chaos

Like a kid in a candy shop: someone in a place that's precisely tailored to their interests, who is exhibiting delight

Don't piss on my face and tell me it's raining: don't lie to me about the fact that you're screwing me over

A few cards short of a deck: Not terribly bright

He's got a few screws loose: unpredictable/mentally unstable

Sweating like a sinner on Sunday/sweating like a whore in church: Very sweaty. Not always related to being uneasy, just very sweaty

He thinks his shit's made of gold/like his shit don't stink: Self-deluding/self-aggrandizing to the point of thinking even his shit has value (basically Elon Musk)

She thinks he hung the moon: fully overwhelmed/blinded by love for someone, to the point of not being able to see that person's flaws

She thinks the sun shines out his ass: Like a combination of the last two, but without the romantic overtones of "hung the moon") and always directed at someone else (unlike "he thinks his shit's made of gold"). Often said about parents whose kids are absolute terrors and they seem completely oblivious to it.

She's got him wrapped around her finger: He'll do anything she says. Weirdly, "her" in this idiom can refer to either a romantic partner or a little kid, but always refers to a man being influenced easily by a woman (or girl). Usually sappy overtones. Like if a dad is completely spoiling his five year old daughter.

More fun than a barrel full of monkeys: there was a toy based on this, but I'm pretty sure the idiom came first. This phrase is sarcastic, no one actually wants a barrel full of monkeys.

Like shooting fish in a barrel: Incredibly easy, to the point of being shamefully unsportsmanlike and unfair

Tap her light: Take it easy/slow down a bit and go on your way carefully

If it quacks like a duck: Stop overthinking it; it's probably exactly what it seems to be

Call a spade a spade: To speak plainly

A mess of (food): when cooked, enough to share

Butter wouldn't melt in his/her mouth: someone's lying but they're behaving in a way that seems very innocent, so you'd never know it

Lying through his/her teeth: Lying particularly brazenly and/or desperately

Could sell light switches to the Amish: Such a good salesman that they can sell people things they don't need

Like a fish out of water: Bewildered by your surroundings

Useless as tits on a bull: Can be used disparagingly ("Bob and all his friends were standing around while we tried to jump the car, useless as tits on a bull") or to express frustration with feeling helpless ("Lisa's going into labor, meanwhile I'm useless as tits on a bull because I'm halfway across the state")

A month of Sundays: A long time (technically it would be about thirty weeks)

Splitting hairs: Pedantic attention to detail

A recipe for disaster: Has all the hallmarks of a bad idea

Give as good as you get: To match intensity with your opponent (in a fight or argument)

Hold your own: Very similar to "give as good as you get" but can be used in non-combative scenarios as well (Lisa went into one of the most competitive medical fields, but she's holding her own)

You kiss your mother with that mouth?: An admonition to stop swearing/using vulgar language

Six ways to Sunday: Very thoroughly ("She swindled them six ways to Sunday" "She checked my paperwork over six ways to Sunday")

Shat the bed: Messed up in a completely unrecoverable way, expresses disgusted frustration ("my computer shat the bed and deleted all my files")

Dropped the ball: Messed up in a way that let other people down, usually through inaction ("Tommy dropped the ball on those accounts and now we need to find new clients")

As someone who learnt english as a second language via textbook, I have to say "flying by the seat of my pants" is a hilarious idiom xD

It's the first time I've seen/heard it.

Could you share another one you like using?

Idk about idioms specifically, but there's a bunch of phrases I learned from my mom!

Lord love a duck! (Incredulous, like 'oh my god')

Lord suffer in sheep dip! (Sheep dip meaning sheep poop. Incredulous, but for annoying things- like 'are you kidding me?')

Is there a piano tied to your ass? ('Don't be lazy, do it yourself')

Someone's cruising for a bruising. (You're picking a fight.)

I don't give a rat's rip. ('I don't care'- a rat's 'rip' is it's butt crack.)

Pull up a stump! (Get yourself a chair, sit down.)

Everybody out of the pool! (Get out of the car)

I'm flying by the seat of my pants. (I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm doing it.)

Don't go blowing smoke up my ass. (Don't over-compliment me, don't flatter me, don't stroke my ego, don't tell me positive lies)

Looks like it's gonna rain on our parade. (A storm is coming.)

Sorry to rain on your parade. (I've given you bad news- can be used sincerely or sarcastically to denote sympathy for incurring a bad mood.)

Better button that lip. (Stop talking.)

Someone's gonna stick a boot up your ass. ('Stick a boot up your ass'- fight you, beat you, kick your ass.)

Stick that lip out any further, and a pigeon'll shit on it. (Stop whining.)

Suck it up, buttercup. (Stop whining.)

Dumber than a fence post. (Very stupid.)

The back forty. (The wild or forested area behind a rural home. The 'forty' being forty acres, or farmland.)

Don't go begging for a fat lip. (Whatever you're saying or doing is going to bother people and get you in trouble.)

What on God's green earth (What the fuck)

I'm sweating like a pig in a porta-potty (like a pig in a plastic outhouse- I'm very warm, it's hot here)

He thinks the universe flew out of his ass. (He thinks he's more impressive than he is.)

Your mouth wrote a cheque your ass couldn't cash. (You promised more than you were capable of providing.)

You've got a horseshoe up your ass. (You're very, very lucky.)

Taking a dirt nap. (Dead.)

Pushing (up) daisies. (Dead.)

Give me forty acres to turn this rig around. (I need time and space to move this large, heavy, or unwieldy thing. Usually about navigating a vehicle. Taken from a song lyric.)

Jesus take the wheel. (God help me, I can't handle this, I give up.)

Gone belly-up. (Has died.)

We've got a floater. (This one is dead.)

Herding cats. (Trying to organize chaos, managing an impossibly complicated situation.)

I've got a black thumb. (I am bad at growing plants, all my plants die- reference to having a 'green thumb', or being good at growing plants.)

Stop trackin' floor cookies. (Floor cookies are bits of animal shit that fall off your work boots- 'tracking floor cookies' means wearing your boots in the house; take your shoes off at the door.)

Running around like a headless chicken. (Frantic, disorganized, stressed out by many tasks or panicked by a big situation.)

Spinning my wheels. (Waiting around for something to happen, getting nowhere, frustrated by inactivity, not making any progress towards a goal.)

He's gonna blow a gasket. (He's going to lose his temper, he's going to be angry.)

They'll tan your hide. (They'll punish you severely; usually through violence. Specifically in reference to a spanking.)

He's a few bricks short a load. (He's not clever / he doesn't think things through / he's crazy)

Not the sharpest tool in the shed. (Not the smartest person. Very dumb, clumsy, or absent-minded.)

I'm not going to bail you out. (Not going to save your sinking boat- not going to help you out of your bad situation.)

Looks like things are going south. (The situation is growing worse.)

I'll start making tracks. (I'll leave now, I'll start working, I'll get going.)

He's fucking the dog. (He's not being productive, he's doing a bad job, he's made things worse, he's screwing around.)

He's making puppies. (Less graphic version of 'fucking the dog'.)

Plant your ass. (Sit.)

Playing grab-ass. (Procrastinating- accomplishing nothing, slowing people down.)

He couldn't find his ass in the dark. (He's stupid, ineffective, underqualified, or incompetent.)

He couldn't pour water out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel. (He is unbelievably, comically dumb or ineffective. He can't do anything right.)

One foot in the ground. (Dying, or half-dead.)

I'm kicking rocks. (I'm not doing anything productive.)

I'm hauling ass. (I'm running away.)

Madder than a wet hen. (Very, very angry.)

Like I said I'm not sure that these are all idioms but they're all the phrases and sayings from my childhood that I can remember right now

EDIT: Cannot BELIEVE I forgot my mom's favourite

52. Wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which gets filled first. (Wishes don't come true by themselves)

Plus some more I forgot:

53. You make a better door than a window. (You're in the way of my view.)

54. You can take a long walk off a short pier. (Go fuck yourself.)

55. He's about as sharp as a bowling ball. (He's stupid.)

56. Scoot your poot. (Move over.)

57. Not my first rodeo. (I know what I'm doing.)

58. He's built like a brick shithouse. (He's broad and sturdy and very strong, solid.)

59. I smell bacon. (I saw a cop nearby.)

60. I don't want to hear a peep. (Stop talking.)

61. You're thinking with the wrong head. (You're making bad decisions because you're horny.)

62. I'd lose my ass/head if it wasn't tied on. (I'm very absent-minded, forgetful.)

63. That went down like a lead balloon. (That situation was bad.)

[lady-cayleen]

Cayleen's Cheese Sheet pt 8. Relationships and Role in the Story

ContemplatingCheese's Very Long Character Chart, concluded.

Relationships (almost done!)

Relationship skills: Cayleen is a good listener, loyal to a fault, and always ready to share fun new experiences with others. She also possesses deep sympathy and empathy for people.

Best friend: Rory Gallagher

Other close friends: Decla Milvain, Orla Goldenmane, Magee Farthing, Grayson Duskford, Tarlock "Spitefang" Nolan 

How does the character relate to…

Friends: Cayleen has lots of "casual friends" she holds at arm's length, and a few close friends with whom she shares all her trials and secrets- that said, she shares all her secrets with no single person, and keeps their secrets one from the other in good faith.

Past lovers: doesnt have any

Family: Cayleen's blood family consists of only her mother, anymore, with whom she is very close and depends greatly upon her love and guidance.

Children: Cayleen loves and is fiercely protective of children, valuing their smiles, innocence, and safety.

Strangers: Cayleen isn't terribly fond of strangers, but more friendly than most Gilneans.

Authority: Cayleen has a healthy respect and respectful demeanor for authority, but little patience for those that abuse it.

The same sex: Cayleen does relate better and more easily to other women than she does to men, and enjoys their greater sense of empathy, but she's also keenly aware of their capacity to be frighteningly vicious.

Own Children: doesnt have any

Spouse/lover: that's new territory for her.

The opposite sex: Cayleen has been around far more men than women, in her life, who generally have fallen into two camps of either disdaining her or protecting her. She interacts with men fairly easily, if with a bit of predisposition to assume they think her incapable of doing for herself from either one viewpoint or the other.

Any secret crushes? She's getting along better with her suitor than either of them wants to let on.

First crush: someone she's long since forgotten, by now

Current significant other: she's being courted by Grayson Duskford

Past significant others: none, though she was unknowingly arranged to be married to a childhood friend and discovered this only after his passing 

People they dislike: People who abuse others

Person they dislike most and why: Sylvanas Windrunner, nuff said.

People they like: This list is absolutely massive. Her family, her friends, her people, her significant other, her mentors, her teachers, most any child she has or hasn't met…it goes on.

Whom do they like most and why: Her mother, Decla, Rory, Grayson, and Tarlock are best liked for having her trust.

Most important person in their life: her mother

Who do they admire? Her parents

Who is their biggest influence? Her father

Whom do they misjudge and how? Cayleen stereotypes other nobility quite harshly, and comes off aloof if not combative, waiting for them to prove themselves somehow corrupt and seldom expecting to be pleasantly surprised.

Who misjudges them and how? Probably not a whole lot of people. Cayleen tends to be straightforward, though some may underestimate her temper until they've tested it.

Who have they lost touch and wish to regain contact with? No one who is living to reconnect with.

Worst end of a relationship: her father, her uncles, her cousins, her aunt and uncle, and her friend Harbin Blackstead all died traumatically 

Whom do they rely on for advice? Cayleen leans most heavily on her mother, Kiandra, and Rory

Whom do they rely on for support? Rory, Tarlock, Orla, Magee, and Magee's father, Moran.

Whom do they support? House Duskford, House Harwell, House Greymane, House Wrynn, and many othersm

What type of people do they hang around with? Cayleen's social circle consists mostly of those in her family's employ.

What type of people do they avoid? Nobility her own age, noblemen in general, and the Greyguard.

What do people like most about them? Cayleen is loyal, a good listener, and hardworking.

What do people like least about them? Cayleen has, at best, been half foreigner and outsider, in her own home. She's well-accustomed to being judged for that, first, before anything else she SHOULD be judged for.

How are they perceived by…

Strangers: Cayleen is probably perceived as quiet and reserved, unless strangers happen to encounter her during a particularly exuberant or furious episode.

Friends: Cayleen's friends are constantly keeping tabs on her mood, keenly aware of her struggles with her grief affecting her already capricious temper.

Lovers: she's probably the wrong person to ask this

Enemies: she doesn't have any she knows of, besides the Horde, who tend to think of worgen as "mangy mutts". 

Family: Cayleen's mother sees her as a stifled, caged soul that she needs to get as free as possible while still fulfilling her responsibility to Sten Hartwell's people, whom he dearly loved.

Society: Noble society sees Cayleen primarily as a monetary object, and key to the resources of her family's wealth. Her people see her as the people's daughter, and a caring influence in their lives that is to be cared for in turn 

And finally their Importance in Story

Role in Story: Cayleen is a very minor and non-canon character in the Warcraft story universe. In the story of the respective Hartwell and Duskford families, she's a main central character with the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people riding on her future.

Scene where they first appear: Her introduction to Grayson Duskford

Plot involvement: Cayleen is one of two young human nobles looking to secure the future of their respective houses and peoples.

Relationships with other characters: 

Character 1 - Decla Milvain

Cayleen and Decla grew up together, though Decla is five years Cayleen's senior. Their houses' holdings were adjacent to one another, and their fathers, Lord Sten Hartwell and Lord Parlance Milvain, were the best of friends. They were each godfather to one another's daughter.

The girls spent most of the day, most every day together as youngsters, underfoot at the docks, or in the fields, in one or the other's family manors, or at the heels of Harbin Blackstead and his playmate, Rory Gallagher.

When the worgen invaded Gilneas, Cayleen and Decla both became Worgen and by the time they regained their minds, Decla's family were gone. Lord Sten kept Decla's survival as quiet as he could as his ward, hard as they were to identify as worgen, and the girls grew only closer together in their cloistered lodgings, close as sisters and sharing sleeping quarters. When Stein passed away and Aishatou became regent of Cayleen's holdings, this included Decla. Unable to protect her as Sten could if she were discovered, Aishatou hid her away within the clergy of the Church of Holy Light as an acolyte. The several months that followed were the longest the girls were ever separated. 

Character 2 - Grayson Duskford

Something just clicked when Cayleen met Grayson, if not the first then certainly the second time. Though these two young nobles did not choose one another, and have been spending time together less than a month, their relationship seems to deepen by the hour. 

Cayleen finds herself trusting her new companion with a level of her confidence it has taken others years to earn, and quickly gaining his in turn as the affection between them grows. She suspects he is not quite as open with her as she is with them, but that he's had less support to heal his raw edges than she hasn so is more hesitant to expose them.

She's eager to give him that support, but doesn't want to threaten their mutual trust before the mortar has had a chance to set by pushing him too hard.

Character 3 - Rory Gallagher

The long confinement Sten Hartwell chose for Cayleen and Decla to keep them safe as feral Worgen until the alchemical mind cure was safe as it could be was prompted by the loss of Lord Hurley Blackstead's son, Harbin, who went into an incurable rage when the mixture was administered.

Through that dark time, the girls' primary comfort came from Harbin's companion, Rory. Ejected from Hurley's employ in the lord's grief, Rory was gathered up by Sten and given a purpose and outlet to his own grief and guilt in caring for the girls. He did this in no small part because Rory had risked his life and saved Cayleen from the worst of her near drowning accidents, when they were younger.

Rory learned to handle them, to tame them as much as such beasts could be tamed, and to console them through the agitation of their confinement. Caring for needs became his whole world, and so when the girls regained their minds and later their bodies, Sten appointed Rory as Cayleen's personal bodyguard. For years they have been as inseparable as Cayleen and Decla, and Rory is in her closest confidence, safekeeper of much more than her good health. The three have seldom been seen apart in the last several years.

Aishatou recalled Rory shortly before Cayleen and Grayson met, and the separation has been difficult for both of them to bear.

etc.

Additional Notes

Cool writing blogs to follow:

F-yeah Character Development

The Fiction Tree

Reference for Writers

Writing Questions Answered

Kris Noel

Fix Your Writing Habits

The Writing Café

writeworld

Legit-writing-tips

writingbox

And a very special thanks to Kira Lerner and Toni Walker for their character sheet which was my inspiration.

[love-toxin]

ok........im a fan of Steve with a milf reader as we all know, however......Eddie......

imagine Eddie being set on wooing you, he's determined and kind and sweet and he's great with your kid, he acts like he's getting them into trouble but you know all he's doing is teaching them a fun tabletop game and showing them the music he likes, which is just adorable to you no matter what your fellow mom friends think. or the people at church, who insist he must be a terrible influence on your impressionable baby. some might even call you a bad mom for letting him be around your child, but you know Eddie better than any of them and you know he's a sweetheart above all else. especially when you start dating officially, people absolutely have things to say about that even though he makes you so happy.

but then, one day, you're stuck at home sick and can't make it to the pta meeting you had scheduled. or maybe there's an emergency at work and you can't be at the parent-teacher conference you need to be at. so Eddie goes in your stead, as your partner, and your child's teacher and/or other parents are shocked to see your baby climbing all over him, giggling, and tugging on his hair without him even flinching. he's so good with them and it's so frustratingly obvious to all those people that said he was a bad influence, a criminal, those who insisted that someone so tatted-up and unhinged could never be a good parent. plus, he's so attentive and he knows all there is to know--he knows their teacher's name, the medicines they take, the subjects they're best at, what their favourite colour is, and what they wanna be when they grow up, because he listens not only to you, but to your kid! and that's one of the many reasons why they love him so much.

and unfortunately for those few sticklers who still hate Eddie's guts, him going in your stead earns him quite a few unexpected admirers. the next time you have a parent conference or a field trip or the like, you'll spot some of the other moms whispering and giggling over your boyfriend, all scary-looking with that totally metal jacket and plastered with tattoos--and holding your kid's hand to swing them around and carry their backpack for them. being a parent becomes the new normal for him, a good normal, and even though he faces a lot more criticism this way he wouldn't give it up for anything. part of him wonders if this is what his uncle felt when he took Eddie on as his own--and that thought alone warms his heart so much, because he could never imagine letting you or your baby go whether they're really his or not.

[cherryblossom-chopper]

Hello epic writer!

Can I request some interactions between Luffy's kid and the crew(if you don't want to do the whole crew you can just pick the ones you want). Maybe some headcanons from an adventure they had together or something like that.

Cheers!

This is very cute and I had fun working on this one.

Part One - Part Two

~~

-Brook has deemed himself the Bone Grand Daddy. He's a bit too old to be an uncle, so he's more than happy to take up the Grandfather mantle, especially since Dragon isn't going to be around.

-He uses his status as Grandfather to spoil (Name) far more than they should be. Snacks, gifts, and secrets are just a few things he indulges (Name) with.

-Zoro (begrudgingly) took on a father figure role with (Name) when they first came into his life. However, it didn't take long for him to consider himself their actual parent. He came to love (Name) and is fiercely protective of them.

-The first time (Name) called Zoro "dad" was a weird day for him. No one else on the crew sleeps as much as a liitle kid, so Zoro babysat during naptime. He, of course, fell asleep too because he can't help but feel drowsy when sits for too long. Zoro's only partly asleep when he feels (Name) grasping his shirt for comfort. He peaks his eye open and notices (Name) stirring. When they make eye contact, (Name) murmurs, "Hi, dad." They rub their eyes and get comfortable again.

-At first, Zoro didn't think he heard (Name) correctly, but the phrase sucks the wind out of his chest. He never really wanted to be a parent, but something felt right about being (Name)'s dad in that single moment.

-Zoro doesn't say anything to the rest of the crew and just lets them figure it out. I like to think that (Name) calls Zoro's dad before Luffy. Luffy does not love this, but Zoro gets a good laugh out of it.

-Robin and Jinbe seem like they would be the best choice when taking on (Name)'s education. The kid needs to at least be able to read, write, and do basic math. (Name) is a good kid and not too terribly difficult, so there's nothing note worthy to bring up here.

-Oh, Gods above, Franky, and Nami are bad influences. No one can convince me that Franky didn't teach (Name) to swear. He thinks it's so funny to watch little (Name) going up to Zoro and saying, "Fuck off."

-Nami and Usopp tried to teach (Name) self-defense. Key word tried. It does not work. Stranger danger tactics don't work. This may or may not be thanks to Luffy approaching strangers all the time. If Dad can do it, then (Name) should also be able to do it, obviously.

-Usopp is a nervous wreck with this kid. Especially when they start just wandering off into crowds and stuff. He's going to handcuff this child to him one day. The best part is that when (Name) gets a little older, like nine or ten, they start wandering off on purpose just to freak him out.

-At age seven or so, (Name) learned how smoking is actually bad for people. The following conversation with Sanji ensued:

-"Uncle Sanji?" _ "What's up, squirt?" _ "Did you know smoking was bad for you?" _ "Um, yes. I do." _ "But you still smoke?" _ "Yes? Where's this going?" _ "That makes you ugly."

-That was a good day for Zoro.

[absolutepokemontrash]

MC is Half Demon and Blah Blah Blah-

Time for the Group Retreat!

Part 1 Part 2 Lessons 1-5 Lessons 5-6 Lessons 10-12 Lessons 13-15 Part 3 Part 4

I’m quite hyped for this one, ladies, gents, and esteemed readers! For simplicity’s sake, since this is before M!MC and A!MC arrive, L!MC will go back to being referred to as just MC. Enjoy the Headcanons!

Since the previous Underground Tomb incident ended much less violently, Lucifer is now more worried than angry about MC’s rampant shennaniganery.

Like... his kid was poking holes in his totally foolproof “Your cow-uncle went to live on a farm in the human world” story. What if MC somehow got into the attic and got hurt?!

It didn’t help that they were still in this weird phase of their father/child relationship. On one hand, Lucifer obviously cares for his kid, and his kid likes him... but it’s also only been less than three months and we all know how emotionally constipated Lucifer is.

MC’s also getting REAL sus of all the secrets their dear old dad is keeping... doesn’t help that they STILL haven’t went up into the attic.

Anyhoo~ the announcement for the retreat was a barrel of laughs.

“I’m proposing, a group retreat!”

Everyone met Diavolo’s announcement with the exact same confused reaction. It’s like the entire assembly hall was doing the ‘Guy Blinking’ meme.

“A... group retreat?” Lucifer repeated slowly. “For what reason exactly, Lord Diavolo?”

The Crown Prince was giddy with excitement as he explained. “MC told me about their middle school overnight trip and it sounded like it would be quite fun!”

Simeon, Luke, MC, and Solomon were all seated next to each other in the ‘exchange student seats of less importance’. Luke leaned over and whispered a question to MC.

“Why are you so friendly with the crown prince?”

MC smirked and shrugged. “Lucifer had the Demon-Flu and couldn’t go meet with Lord Diavolo last week so I went for him. Lord Diavolo’s surprisingly bad at Connect Four but has really good luck in Snakes and Ladders.”

Luke’s jaw dropped in complete and utter shock and horror.

“We’re playing CandyLand and the Game of Life next time, want to come?” MC added.

“Play CandyLand... with him..?” Luke looked at Diavolo, who was still explaining his plan for the retreat, then looked back at MC. “I’ll only go to shield you from his corrupting influence.”

“Yeah... Corrupting...” MC had to hold back a laugh at the thought of Diavolo, who during MC’s visit lit up like a Christmas tree upon being called ‘Dia’ and believed that Mood Rings were the greatest human invention ever, being a corrupting influence.

“MC! Torture dungeon or no!?” MC was snapped out of their conversation by Mammon shouting at them from his seat.

“What?”

“Do ya think there’s a torture dungeon under the castle, or not?”

“I’m not sure,” MC turned to Diavolo. “Lord Diavolo, is there a torture dungeon under the Demon Lord’s Castle?”

There is in fact, no torture dungeon. Presumably...

Everyone packed up and headed out to the Demon Lord’s Castle!

The fabulous seven all broke several speed limits and traffic laws in order to be there early. Listen, they had to get there before Purgatory Hall, it was a matter of pride.

Besides, what’s the Royal guard going to do? Arrest six of the seven rulers of hell and a kid? Ha. No. Not when Diavolo controls their paychecks.

The rooming situation remained the same, Asmo, Simeon, and MC were roomed together, and MC got to watch Asmo get psychologically profiled by Simeon. It was truly a sight to behold.

MC was nice enough to assure Asmo that they really liked him and thought he was very sweet.

Asmo, not used to being complimented on his personality, almost started openly weeping.

So, the tour of the Demon Lord’s Castle began! Asmo got yelled at by his ex in the painting and the usual batch of idiots got sucked into the catacombs under the castle.

Lucifer wasn’t terribly sure how or if he should express his concern for MC being stuck in the labyrinth.

All these new fatherly feelings of worry are very very odd. He didn’t worry this much for Satan, mainly because Satan was usually the threat.

Even as a baby...

Lucifer found himself checking his DDD every few minutes to see if MC had texted or called from wherever the painting dragged them to, never mind that if they did text he’d hear the phone ding.

“Lucifer, don’t worry too much,” Diavolo patted Lucifer on the shoulder, a bright smile on his face. “Your brothers and MC will be perfectly fine! There’s nothing too dangerous in the catacombs that they wouldn’t be able to take care of.”

Resigning himself to the fact that MC was under the care of his last choices for babysitting, Lucifer put away his DDD. “I know they’ll be fine, but I’m not overly pleased with the situation.” He shot a glare at Helene in the portrait, who rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Lucifer worrying about someone, I’m truly, genuinely shocked.” Hearing Satan’s attempt at goading him, Lucifer, flawless demon that he is, resisted the urge to throw his DDD at his brother.

“Quiet, Satan.”

————

“WHY THE FUCK IS A SNAKE DOWN HERE?!”

“ITS HENRY 1.0!”

“YEAH THAT REALLY CLEARS STUFF UP, LEVI!”

MC and Levi continued their screaming match as the group ran for dear life from a giant snake.

Yeah... nothing the brothers couldn’t handle... sure, Lord Diavolo...

They made it out of the scary catacombs... don’t worry.

Lucifer did that parent-thing where he cleaned the catacomb dust off MC’s face with a napkin.

Yay! Parenting!

Failed pillow fight attempt #1 happened that evening. Because Mammon was obsessed with being the fun-uncle and saw his brothers encroaching on his place as favourite uncle.

MC doesn’t know how to break it to him that he’ll probably always be the favourite uncle and he doesn’t have to be such a dumbass to keep his spot.

Scavenger hunt went on as canon dictates.

Asmo had his diva tantrum and stormed off, but MC also wanted to win so they didn’t go after him.

Clearly expecting someone to go beg him to come back, Asmo was very annoyed when no one went after him.

“Um, helloooo? Anyone going to comfort me~?”

“Nope.”

“Well I don’t want your comfort anyway, SOLOMON.”

It was very close, L!MC insisted their loss came from sabotage. No evidence was found but just LOOK at Satan’s face.

Time for the Formal Dance~

If you’re wondering why Luke didn’t say anything when MC was suddenly poofed into their demon form, you’re assuming that Mammon wasn’t in on the “let’s prank the chihuahua” plan.

“Mammon..? Is MC behind you?”

“Nope! Why?”

MC was able to get to the other side of the ballroom with Luke none the wiser! Hell yeah, nothing like screwing with your friend!

So it’s canon that Lucifer is like, a solid 20/10, therefore MC is ADORABLE. What I’m saying is, some of the younger demons asked them to dance.

Asmo was also being MC’s hype man, which was very nice of him. Mammon also tried to give advice on how to be cool and suave. Beel was there for moral support.

“Alright kiddo, you need to be aloof and mysterious! People love aloof and mysterious, that’s why I’m so popular.”

“Don’t listen to him, MC. He flew into a wall as a kid and it killed all his brain cells. Just be proper but not snooty, sweet but not saccharine, friendly but not annoying,”

“Ask them if they want to share some of the hors d’oeuvres.” 

“Okay, first, aloof and mysterious are the last words I would ever use to describe you, Mammon. Second, Asmo I have no clue what you’re asking me to do. Third... Beel that’s the best advice I’ve received in recent memory.”

None of that mattered anyway because MC got swarmed with dance offers.

“Well,” MC smirked and held out their hand at the demon that was bold enough to ask them to dance first. “I admire the confidence.”

The demon’s smile brightened, then dropped completely when their gaze drifted behind MC. “I uh... on second thought... I’m gonna...”

MC’s potential dance partners all quickly scattered to the snack table. The half demon growled and turned around to see their father acting like he didn’t just scare away MC’s groupies.

“Father! What was that for?!” MC huffed, Lucifer rolled his eyes and grabbed MC’s wrist and began to pull them away from the dance floor.

“You’re too young to dance.”

“That’s crazy! They looked like they were my age.” MC protested, their wings fluttering in annoyance.

“Even if they looked to be your age, MC, they’re hundreds of years older.” Lucifer said calmly.

“What about that equivalent age stuff you told me about? Like how Luke is hundreds of years old but by angel/human standards he’s technically younger than me?”

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Lucifer lightly pushed MC towards the hallway that led back to their room.

“But I want to dance with someone!” MC felt their wings involuntarily fluff up.

Lucifer turned and smiled at his dear little brat, crouching slightly to get to their level. “Not on my watch.”

MC’s face was literally this: >:0

Lucifer is out here being the dad in every comedy that involves someone bringing home their partner to meet their parents.

MC was banished to their room, they spent their time angrily reading the manga they had packed.

When Levi escaped the party slightly later MC grilled him for details of what went on after they left.

“Nothing too interesting... except... um...”

“Spit it out, Levi!”

“...lrddiavlondlucferdnced”

“I can’t understand you, stop mumbling.”

“Lord Diavolo and Lucifer danced together...”

“...”

“...”

“I MISSED THAT?!”

So yes, MC’s desire to get a picture of Lucifer sleeping stems from VENGEANCE!

How DARE their father send MC up to their room and make them miss their OTP dancing together!?

So they call up their troupe of idiots and get ready to go be menaces to society.

MC also invites along Asmo because he seemed like he could use the adventure.

And because MC couldn’t plan the prank without Asmo noticing so it was better to just implicate him as well...

“Grrr...”

MC brightened and clapped their hands. “I know that growl!”

“It’s not my stomach, I packed snacks.” MC couldn’t see this, considering the room was pitch black (it must’ve been some kind of magic because demons have excellent night vision), but Beel waved a bag of chips in the air and got to eating.

“No, I’m not talking about your stomach, Beel.” MC skipped towards the source of the growling despite Mammon and Levi’s pleas for them to stop.

Ah! There he was!

“Cerberus!” MC cooed, the three headed dog stopped growling and barked happily. “Whose a good boy? Is it you?”

Cerberus let lose a bark that would probably make anyone crap their pants, but MC giggled and kept petting him. “Yeah! You’re the good boy! You like cuddles! Yes you do! Yes you do!”

A flash of light from a camera caused MC to drop their baby talk voice and stare angrily in the direction where the light came from.

“Whoever took that picture better delete it or I’m going to feed you to the dog.”

Cerberus growled in agreement. What a good boy.

“Well, as nice as this is...” Asmo huffed. “We’ve clearly been duped because this is not Lucifer and Diavolo’s room.”

“Oh well!” MC chirped and continued to pet the three headed dog. “Look at the doggy!”

“MC, you’re crazy. Dontcha ever forget that.” Mammon whimpered as Cerberus growled at him.

So yeah, they couldn’t get out of the room, so they ended up opening up the other door and falling into the catacombs like a bunch of lemmings.

Asmo charmed Henry, and they got out of the labyrinth no problem.

Yay! No consequences! Oh no- hi Lucifer.

Lucifer gave them all the mother of all lectures. Satan showed up with the rest of the gang and brought popcorn.

Belphie wasn’t there, okay? Satan needed to be a little shit for him.

Ah yes, the pillow fight... Mammon’s crusade to be the best uncle culminated in a massive pillow fight that ended with MC, Lucifer, and Diavolo standing over everyone’s unconscious bodies.

So they uh... won the pillow fight.

MC couldn’t sleep. They legitimately couldn’t. As exhausting as the pillow fight victory had been, everyone was snoring, and MC was bleary eyed and awake at one in the morning.

They eventually sat up and looked around, Asmo was passed out in a very unflattering position, Solomon was chanting god knows what in his sleep, Levi was half hanging off Simeon’s bed, Simeon and Luke were sleeping like angels (hehehehe-), Beel was in the middle of eating his pillow in his sleep, Mammon appeared to be dreaming about winning the lottery, and Satan was... suspiciously absent.

He was there a minute ago... weird.

Deciding that this wasn’t worth it and they should just go sleep somewhere else, MC got out of bed and avoided stepping on anyone as they vacated the room.

The Demon Lord’s Castle at night could rival the House of Lamentation in terms of overall creepiness. MC had gotten used to the spirits and curses that littered their home, but they had only been to the Demon Lord’s Castle once before, so they were extra careful not to accidentally touch anything. Their stomach rumbled and they frowned.

Damn, they had the midnight munchies... they needed a snack.

MC made their way to the kitchen and on there way, noticed a peculiar room through a half open door. Taking a few steps back to peek into it, they noticed... doors. A lot of doors. And ivy covered steps. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to any of the placements, and the room was... weirdly chilly.

“You can come in if you’d like, MC.”

Barbatos’ voice nearly caused MC to hit a high note that they hadn’t been able to hit since their voice began to change. They straightened out their wrinkled pyjamas and stepped inside.

The butler himself was walking down one of the flights of stairs.

“Um...” Quickly remembering their manners, MC straightened their posture and cleared their throat. “Good evening Barbatos.”

Barbatos smiled and inclined his head in turn. “Good evening to you as well, MC.”

“How did you know it was me outside? You were up there a second ago.” MC asked.

“It’s a part of my powers. I can see possible futures, and I foresaw you passing by my room and getting curious.” Barbatos explained.

“Oh,” MC said, half nodding and continuing to look around. A the sound of a door closing out of MC’s vision made them squeak and look around for the source of the noise. “What was that?!”

“It’s nothing to be worried about.” Barbatos raised his hands in a placating gesture. “These doors in my room are gateways to different timelines and some are gateways into the past of this particular timeline. That was another version of me passing by.”

“Does this... happen often?” MC knitted their eyebrows.

Barbatos hesitated before answering. “Not really. It’s quite rare. Lord Diavolo has expressly forbidden me from using my full powers freely.”

“Ah... makes sense...”

“Now, I believe you came down for snacks?”

MC blinked in surprise. “How did you- oh... the time magic...”

“Yes, the time magic. Now, would you prefer yogurt and fruit, or apples and peanut butter?”

“Yogurt and fruit please!”

I’m sure MC’s knowledge of how Barbie’s room works will totally not come into play later. I’m sure.

Solomon and MC graced the brunch table with their cooking. I think you can guess how it would have turned out if Barbatos hadn’t intervened.

Rest In Peace to Beel’s tastebuds.

Anyway, the rest of the retreat was all fun and good.

MC may or may not have slipped up and called Diavolo ‘Dia’ in front of Lucifer. It would’ve sparked a lecture if Dia’s puppy-like excitement wasn’t so damn adorable.

Lucifer’s got a heart... somewhere... it’s probably all shrivelled up and tiny, but I’m sure it’s there.

Everyone went back home, brought closer together through... pillow fights and surviving Solomon’s cooking I guess..?

Anyway, MC got home, unpacked their stuff, watched Kakegurui with Levi and Mammon, let Asmo paint their nails, made and ate dinner with Beel, continued their piano lessons with Lucifer, and received a 100% fake smile from Satan.

It was a nice day with their new family, MC curled up in their bed and prepared to go to sleep.

“Help me!”

MC lurched upwards in their bed, whipping their head from side to side, trying to find the source of the voice. Their room was completely empty, the perks of being half demon extended to being able to see in the dark. No new smells either, they were alone in the room.

Auditory hallucinations were common before falling asleep after being sleep deprived, creepy, but not too unusual.

“MC!”

Okay- that one couldn’t be ignored. It was common knowledge that the House of Lamentation was definitely haunted in some capacity, but the ghosts never really bothered the demons living inside, MC was partly convinced that some of the ghosts didn’t even notice that the demons were there. So it couldn’t have been a ghost calling their name.

“MC! I need help!”

The voice reverberated through their head, like it was trying to hit every part of their skull to make sure it was at least felt if MC couldn’t hear it. MC massaged their scalp and got out of bed.

The House of Lamentation at night truly lived up to its haunted reputation. Cold, clammy, dark, even by demon standards. No spooky old house was going to scare MC though, they walked down the hall with their head held high.

They walked closer to walls and furniture, knowing that the floor was less likely to creak in those areas. How did they know that? Mammon had told them it worked like a charm. Well, it’d work better for him if he stopped tripping over the furniture and alerting Lucifer.

MC was much more nimble and careful, stepping slowly and lightly around the hallways until they reached the door to the attic. They reached out to clasp their hand around the doorknob, then froze. It smelled like…

Oh no.

MC leapt away from the door like it was rigged to explode if they touched it and practically dove for cover into an alcove. The all too-recent smell of Lucifer’s fancy cologne and the increasing sound of someone coming down the stairs made them clamp their hand over their mouth and crouch down.

What was their father doing up there?

He had said the attic was full of old junk and there was no reason to go up there, so why exactly did he-

The door slammed open and Lucifer stomped down the hallway back towards his room, MC presumed. They were about to let out a sigh of relief when the footsteps paused. MC felt their heart drop right into their gut when they heard the footsteps coming back in their direction.

What were they going to say to him when he found them? ‘Sorry! This isn’t where the bathrooms are!’ The last thing MC wanted was to add to their father’s ever growing list of stresses. MC was totally responsible and grown-up, their father didn’t need to worry.

MC clamped their eyes shut and tried to slow their heart rate. Demons were beings of darkness and shadow, they could blend in quite easily. They took a deep breath, cleared their head, and felt the shadows of the hallway shift and cover them like a blanket.

Lucifer’s footsteps stopped, MC heard a tired sigh, then the footsteps started up again, this time in the direction of his room.

They allowed themselves a sigh of relief before relieving themselves of their hiding space and opening the door leading to the attic staircase.

If the rest of the House of Lamentation was considered clammy, cold, and foreboding, the attic staircase was that multiplied by a factor of twelve. MC felt themselves shudder involuntarily when they stepped closer to the staircase. Every primal part of their brain was telling them to turn around and walk away, but one tiny part was holding them back. They placed their foot on the first step, waiting for any kind of resistance, nothing other than the feeling of passing through invisible cobwebs.

“MC?”

Upon hearing their name, MC craned their neck to try and get a look at what could be waiting for them at the top of the stairs.

“Are you coming, or not?”

The cascade of warning sirens that began to blare in MC’s head went ignored as they continued to scale the staircase.

When they reached the final step, they were met with a long hallway, with a single door on the right side of the wall.

“H-hello?” MC tried to instill some force into their voice, but it still ended up quavering a little.

“Down here.” Someone knocked on the wall next to the door, almost causing MC to jump.

Oh. Oh no. MC stood straight in front of the door, and when they saw who was looking back at them they nearly passed out.

“Belphegor..?”

Belphegor’s eyes flashed as he gave MC a once over. His eyes narrowed when his gaze snapped to MC’s. The analytical expression melted into a lazy grin.

“That’s me,” he said softly. “Nice to finally meet you, MC.”

[caw4brandon]

What Linkin Park Was and Always Be

When I was just a boy, I used to visit this neighbor and church friend of mine who plays video games and has older brothers. (unlike me) His name is Gary and he’s a middle child. Whenever I visit him, I would find this corner of his gaming room with this pretty looking stack of albums, arranged neatly next to the disk player. These albums were all named;

The American boy band that, instead of making fun love songs, have girls swoon and make guys to roll their eyes hard. Produced music that makes you want to scream and punch somebody...IN THE FACE!

I...may be getting a little too nostalgic recently. With my Animorphs talk and all. But anyways, I wanted to take this moment of trip down memory lane to talk about Linkin Park. About how their music affected me and the mark they left behind for a generation of teens and adults based on what I have observed.

 - It Starts with Meteora -

I’ve tried so hard, and got so far

Formed in 1996, The sound of Linkin Park is described as a fusion of heavy metal and hip hop and was later transitioned into more electronic and pop-influenced music. In their early years, the band was founded by three high school friends: Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson under the former name; Xero.

After a long and difficult journey of finding a lead singer while struggling to get a singed record deal, Xero became Linkin Park; an homage and play on words to Santa Monica's Lincoln Park, now called Christine Emerson Reed Park and on October 24, 2000. <Hybrid Theory> was released, earning the status of best-selling album of 2001 followed by is successors <Reanimation> and <Meteora> on March 25, 2003.

Things went from quiet to eleven very quickly as the band gained major stardom for their unique sound mixture of genres with lead singer; Chester Bennington's dynamic vocal range and screamo. Backed up with Mike Shinoda's raps and very occasional singing.

Very quick personal story. The actual first album that introduced me to the band was the Extended Play, <Collision Course> a collaboration with Jay-Z when I was just eleven years old. Given that there was a whole stack of albums at Gary’s and given that he’s my friend with good taste. I decided to give it a try, loving it since then. Linkin Park was not the only thing the bandmates worked on though. On the side, Mike worked on Fort Minor while Chester went on stage with the likes of DJ Letha and Dead by Sunrise.

- What They’ve Done -

Put to rest, what you’ve thought of me

At this point, I REALLY got into Linkin Park. The songs I’ve heard on that poor disk with no cover (which could have been my dad’s or uncle’s), on the radio or on good ole MTV had me headbanging, rapping and screaming in the car like a mad man which probably annoyed my mom who had to send me to school every morning. (Sorry mom)

At around this time, LP made a comeback in <Minutes to Midnight> The album that I used my hard earned pocket money to purchase and listen to. So much so that I can recite <Bleed It Out> with ease. Even till this day.

But, I won’t lie. At that time, I was moving on to other stuff like Japanese music; UVERWorld and The Back Horn or listened to something a lot more religious; Planetshakers and Everfound. All banger bands might I add.

Of course, LP never left the little corner of my angsty heart and I was surprised but listened with interest to their album <Recharged>, <Living Things> and <The Hunting Party> about a year or two later in college thanks to a fellow churchmate of mine who selflessly bought the albums to me as a gift. Which I played, in the middle of the night at my college house! (Now that I think about it, I'm a terrible housemate.)

But, eventually...I had to grow up and all that screaming had to stop one way or another. I placed my albums at a safe place in my childhood bedroom and never looked back since. But every now and again, that angsty corner would send those earworms to me and I would begrudgingly search it up and sing along with little to no problem. 

THAT was just a week ago when this post goes up.

Needless to say, Linkin Park is a name that lingers in the air and its something I like to revisit then and again. Every time I revisit, still a hell of a band!

- Why is Everything so Heavy? -

I know I'm not the center of the universe...

From my teen hood to adult hood, The sound of Linkin Park speaks a different tone now. The songs are no longer just headbangers but felt like fragments of the struggles that bleed into words from heart and soul of Mike and Chester. Accompanied by the pure talent of the great musicians of the band.

So, after all this talk. What was Linkin Park’s legacy? It surely must have created a generation of angry monsters right? Well...No. At least from what I can see. It has created a generation of people who are empathetic, a little bit intense but thought-provoking, with a layer of kindness to them and their music even saved someone from their lowest point thanks to a fan. [Story Here]

While I don’t have a music degree or anything. I could feel that no matter what form the band took in the past seven albums they’ve made, its prove that Linkin Park is not bound by genres and themes. While other parts of social media loves to use songs like “Crawling” and “In The End” for meme reasons I can’t completely understand. I get a sense that as artists, LP is far more versatile and adaptable than others while maintaining an ethos (character) of themselves.

By the time I was done with college and nearing my final year. On July 20, 2017. The news broke out that Chester Bennington lost his life by committing suicide and while I am very much more of a casual. The loss was felt and there was not much to say. It truly was a dark day.

And then, Here WE are...2021

 What Linkin Park Was and Always Be to me is STRENGTH. Even when it its hard to get up. Even when no one cares. THEY say, “we do” The themes in most of Linkin Park’s songs deals with topics that are (no pun intended) Heavy like, frustration, depression, loneliness and fear but it also builds on empathy, taking back control and allowing one’s self to occasionally tell the world to go screw itself sometimes which can be quite cathartic. (At least for me)

They also remind me of veterans. Fighters and survivors from some kind of war whom are now lowering their megaphones and taking a more gentle approach with storytelling and messaging. Change is a frightening thing, especially for a band that’s all about the angsty, rebel, punk style but change could also mean, they’ve grown, matured or developed into something new compared to their yesteryears.  

It has been FIVE years since the band and the community lost Chester and FIVE years since the band went silent after but from what I’ve heard, Mike and Linkin Park are in the works for a comeback.

What I will leave with is this, there truly is nothing like Linkin Park the themes, the lyrics or even the iconography. While it definitely won’t be the same and would certainly take time, it would surely be good to have them return.

- To Chester and to Linkin Park -

Thanks for Reading

- B -

[commonwealthoccurences]

Companion HCs: Adopting Shy!Teenager!Sole

Note: Sole is 13-14 in this, therefor it’s completely platonic! I’m disturbed that’s something I have to clarify but I’ve been on Tumblr long enough that I’ve Seen Some Nonsense. 

Cait:

She may not have her shit together at first but she’s determined to be the best parent possible and give Sole everything her parents never gave her

She takes things slow when it comes to getting them to open up and tries to moderate her tone and temper; asks them simple questions to get to know them and tells stories to them (PG ones, of course)

Ferociously protective. If anyone, and I mean anyone, comes near them with ill-intent she flies off the handle.

And maybe part of that’s her projecting the fact that she wished someone protected her when she was young, but she also simply never wants them to feel scared or upset or as if she won’t protect them

Gets them something to keep with them so she’s always with them, even when she has to go somewhere and they stay in Sanctuary, like matching hats or little charms she might’ve scavenged from a collapsed store

Hancock calls Cait mama bear when she flies off the handle at Flynn (rightfully so. Hancock tells Sole to turn away and takes care of that problem like he does canonically)

Cait starts calling Sole little bear after that

Teaches them how to defend themself right away; she never wants them to feel powerless if she’s not around

Cleans herself up to better herself for them; she absolutely refuses to turn out like her parents and therefor goes cold turkey from alcohol and chems

It’s hard as fuck, but Sanctuary comes together to support her

Cries when they tell her they love her and call her mom the first time

Also teaches Dogmeat commands for intimidation so if Sole’s alone they have someone else to be intimidating

Sole definitely grows up with a bit of a take-no-shit attitude. They also know their worth and won’t be walked over

Curie:

Delighted to help out Sole

She definitely tries to get them interested in the sciences, but if they aren’t, that’s okay

Initially she goes on walks with them around Sanctuary and asks them questions about what they like

Picks flowers with them and teaches them how to dry/preserve them

She deals quite well with their shy silence and doesn’t try to start conversations too often; she tells stories without expecting responses and makes sure to subtly encourage any talking by showing great interest

Teaches them French, which comes in handy when they’re in Diamond City or Goodneighbor and they need to let her know they’re anxious or uncomfortable

As soon as they let her know what will soothe their anxiety around other people, she does it without hesitation (buying stuff for them, etc)

They have their own little house in Sanctuary together with a small garden

She teaches them the scientific names of the flowers and what they need and gets them a journal to write everything down; loves encouraging their curiosity and gets excited when they ask questions about anything

As soon as they show an interest in something she throws herself into it with them

Tells dad jokes but doesn’t know they’re kind of terrible; Deacon encourages this and fully enjoys the looks on Sole’s face

Deacon’s the fun, loud uncle

Lots of hugs from Curie as long as Sole’s okay with it, she’s very physically affectionate

Danse:

Kind of a stereotypical dad in the fact that he doesn’t really do great at verbal affection but their trays are always loaded with food and they always have something once they show interest in it

Can vibe with the shyness. He’s quiet, they’re quiet, and he finds no reason to try and get some conversation out of them

They can both be quite awkward but it’s fine

Not great with physical affection either

If they show interest in repairing armor or guns or shooting he’s through the roof with excitement

Constantly glaring at everyone who looks at them even a little bit sideways

Honestly has scared the shit out of some people just by his expression

Builds them their own size-scaled power armor

If they gift him something, even if it’s just wildflowers they found, he accepts it quietly and once they leave he cries

If they call him dad he also cries quietly

“There’s just something in my eye.”

Desperately wants to be a good parent and is kind of insecure about it

Has check ins with them where they have a healthy discussion about if he’s upset them in some way or if they’d prefer he deals with something differently

The first time they travel on their own he’s worried out of his mind, as if he didn’t raise a soldier of a kid (not in a bad way, but they’re more skilled at self defense than most adults)

Sole probably inherits a rbf from him

Deacon:

The fun parent

He can be serious though

In the beginning he tries to overcompensate for their quietness by being his loud, bombastic self

When that doesn’t seem to work he gets the memo and tones it down and relaxes

Honestly they get to see the “real” Deacon pretty soon

He’s naturally joking and loud, however he doesn’t relax and just exist with someone very often

That’s what he does with sole, though, and they open up more after that

Unfortunately they’re exposed to the things the Railroad deal with quite early on, and the shit that goes with the Institute

He makes sure they’re capable of defending themself but it’s quite scary to know that an organization wants your family dead

He makes sure to reassure them that nothing will ever happen to either of them

When they start to open up more he allows himself to act more like he does with the Railroad around them

Takes them on fun disguise runs

They’ll come to realize that they’re low profile stake out missions, and he just didn’t want to leave them behind

Always makes sure they eat first; he’s dealt with food insecurity before himself and part of his protective nature is making sure they know he’ll do everything in his power to make sure they never experience that

Matching sunglasses? Absolutely.

BEAMS when they call him dad

Gage:

Probably the most reluctant parent out of all of them, to be honest

The raider lifestyle is the worst nightmare for a child; for a week he tries balancing things, since it’s all he’s known, but he very quickly gets them out of that situation

Changes their appearances and moves into Sanctuary. Preston’s suspicious when he avoids talking about his past but accepts them

He’s also extremely quiet around the new settlement, so they’re a matching pair

As protective as Cait, that’s for damn sure

Asks them questions quite often to make sure they’re okay: “Did you get enough to eat, kiddo?” “Those boots fit okay?” “Are you warm enough?” “She didn’t bother you, did she?” “Are you tired?”

Doesn’t take offense or try to pry when they give one word answers; he gets it

Not much for physical affection either but if they seek it out he gives and reassures them they’re not bothering him. If they hug him he pats them on the back and says “Thanks for the hug, kid.”

His first gift to them is a gun and knife

He means well

If they call him dad he will get emotional but doesn’t cry

Will cry years later when he thinks back on it; they’ve softened him up somewhat

Encourages them to hang out with Preston and learn about the Minutemen. It’s valuable experience and while he and Preston aren’t exactly friends they respect each other and he knows that them knowing him will be a good experience for them

Reluctant when they find Dogmeat but lets them keep him when they ask; they don’t ask for much and it’s never something ridiculous

Fondly refers to him as a mutt

Eventually ends every night by giving them a sideways hug and kissing them on the top of the head. “Goodnight, kid. See you in the morning.” Before they head to bed

Hancock:

Initially a disaster parent

He has no idea what he’s doing and his lifestyle isn’t set up for bringing in a kid

He cleans up pretty quickly. He doesn’t use drugs if they’re around, but he continues smoking cigarettes.

Seeks out Nick for advice

Sets them up with their own room and makes sure when they ask for something he jumps to get it; not to the point where they become entitled and spoiled but God he wants them to be happy and know he cares

Makes sure to enforce that you respect everyone unless they disrespect you, no matter where they come from

Everyone in Goodneighbor makes sure their drug use and drinking is done out of sight of Sole; their usage is their business but Hancock won’t accept them being a bad influence

Eventually almost everyone in Goodneighbor knows and takes care of Sole affectionately. They respect Hancock and respect Sole equally

They started referring to Sole as the Boss as a joke on Hancock, but Hancock, after laughing his ass off, agrees and the nickname becomes permanent

Once again, Sole grows up the opposite of entitled; they’re very hard working and respectful and that’s why Goodneighbor loves them so much

Hancock gifts them a necklace; it’s a wide circle, about the size of an American dollar coin, with a cutting of the fabric from his coat in the center, sewn tightly around the circle.

Eventually he introduces them to what it’s like to run Goodneighbor and involves them in the decision making

MacCready:

Another kid? Done.

He knows there’s a lot of kids out there he can’t help and he takes Sole under his wing without hesitation

He hasn’t raised a teenager yet, but he treats them with respect and always asks their opinion and if they’re comfortable

Adds another bullet to his cap after a couple days

He’s worried their shyness is the result of trauma; there’s no way anyone in the Commonwealth doesn’t have it, but he hurts at the thought of them going through 

something particularly horrific

Doesn’t try to bust down their walls and get them to open up

Instead, he remains quiet and lets them come to him

Smiles to himself the first time they call him dad

Perfectly open to physical affection and is quite proud of them the first time they ask for a hug

Probably retreats back to the community where he left Duncan rather quickly

His merc work isn’t somewhere for a kid and he probably turns farmer once they find the cure for Duncan

The first time Sole and Duncan bond over something he’s sobbing internally (cries externally too)

Eventually brings both Duncan and Sole back to Sanctuary; he knows the community there is good to raise them

Farmer!Mac with two kids and a small house and a dog? Adorable

(everyone in sanctuary agrees)

Uncle Preston becomes a thing and that’s his official title to the kids

Mac and he become good friends; Mac’s fond of people with good, solid morals and once he hears what Preston did/does for the Minutemen and the people they protect? Respect +100

Nick:

Good with kids, straight up

He’s lived in Diamond City with kids running around all over the place for a while, so he knows how to talk to them

Just treats Sole with respect and expects nothing from them (affection wise) other than the same back

Tries to keep them out of detective work. It’s depressing and he wants something more wholesome for them, as wholesome as things can be in the Commonwealth

Considers moving to Sanctuary and includes them on that decision

Takes on less risky jobs, he’s got someone to care for now

Ellie adores Sole as well and eventually co-parents, and takes over parenting while Nick’s out; whether she and Nick are platonic or romantic in this situation is up to you

Nick comes back one day and she pulls him aside to tell him Sole called them their parents and they both get emotional

He takes care to note what their favorites are; color, food, etc

More than happy to adopt Dogmeat, especially since he proves to be a good protector

Is worried about the fact that he can’t be around all the time. He knows Ellie’s a good parent, but he wants to be there for everything and he simply can’t be

Does have a couple talks with Sole about this to make sure they know he’s not trying to get away from them and he loves them dearly

Tells them stories about funny cases to make them laugh when they’re upset

Blows up at McDonough if he steps a toe out of line in Sole’s direction; McDonough wouldn’t dare kick him out and he knows that, he brings too much business in

Piper:

She takes one look at Sole’s face and the adoption papers are already signed, she doesn’t hesitate a bit

Overcompensates for the awkward silence by talking a bit too much, but eventually figures out they probably feel weird about that

If they and Nat get along she’s elated

Nat honestly brings them out of their shell a bit and it’s not uncommon to see Piper shouting after Nat and Sole running off, yelling for them to be careful and be back before dark

Stays in Diamond City

Sometimes asks Ellie to babysit; they’re good friends and Nick and her get along quite well

Can get a bit heated if anyone is rude to the kids

She’ll fist fight McDonough without hesitation if she has to, she doesn’t care

Not much changes in her lifestyle, she raises them the same way she’s been raising Nat and does her best

Preston:

Fantastic with people, it’s part of his job

Takes on the role of parent readily despite his internal panic

Worries he won’t be good enough; he’s never taken care of kids full time, and he knows being a parent is vastly different than babysitting

Definitely instills Minutemen morals in Sole; he won’t tolerate intolerance

The first time they get sick he’s full of panic. It’s a simple cold, but he refuses to leave them alone for even a second

Relaxes a bit

He used to be out of bed and immediately dress, promptly returning to duty

Now he’s still prompt but he walks around in his pajamas more

Relaxed with physical affection but never initiates; he never wants to make them uncomfortable or make them feel like he’s trying to force himself into the parent category

If they call him dad he’s walking on clouds for the rest of the day; the fact that they think that highly of him??? Amazing

Worries he’s not good enough but when people compliment his parenting he figures he’s doing alright

Honestly complimenting his parenting is the best thing that can happen to him

X6-88:

???????

Who put him in charge of this human and what is he expected to do with them????

Fumbles hard at first

Consults the scientists (who I’ll assume put him in charge of them) and eventually picks things up on his own

Institute scientists make the mistake of trying to instill things he doesn’t approve of after he grows attached to them and cares more for them than the Institute

Suddenly they’re missing a synth and his teenager

He knows the Institute like the back of his hand; they won’t find him. Ever.

Takes them to Sanctuary when he hears the radio and seeks out Preston

He respects Preston and the way he protects everyone, considering he feels that way towards Sole, and eventually, far down the line they become friends and platonic co-parents

X6 parents ¾ of the time, but he often seeks Preston’s advice in the beginning

Doesn’t particularly care if they call him dad; they’re family either way

Definitely asks them about and takes interest in their interests

Just wants them to be happy

Considering they’re pretty much his only family, he’s very attached to them; not in an unhealthy way but as they get older they call each other their best friends

[armandclocksitall]

Watch The Night Go Up In Smoke (Chapter 2)

Paul(The Lost Boys) x Frog! Reader (gender neutral)

Warnings: underage drinking, some mind control, puking, driving under the influence

So you get to see the guys in this chapter, very little Marko which is sad but he’ll definitely play a bigger part once the story gets rolling so don’t worry, it’s coming.

>Previous Chapter<

Mikayla and (Y/N) climbed out of the vehicle and made their way to the beach where a giant bonfire was roaring away as teenagers and 20-somethings raged around it already completely wasted and ready to have the best night of their lives.

It was well past midnight when (Y/N) was sipping on only their second drink of the night, they were buzzed but still very much coherent and aware of their surroundings. Mikayla was a completely different story, she had jumped straight into drinking as soon as they reached the party. She had absolutely no issue socializing with complete strangers either. It was like she was a magnet for attention.

(Y/N) had prayed that tonight would change their social status but with every person that walked up and sparked a conversation with their cousin, they reverted further into their shell. Nobody even took notice of them and they had to admit, it kinda hurt.

(Y/N) had almost completely lost hope when a group of four boys approached them. They walked with such an air of confidence, (Y/N) begged whatever higher power there was for them to at least acknowledge them and it seemed that that plea might’ve been answered.

“Hey, you two look like you’re having fun,” the biker with the fluffed blonde hair said. Mikayla giggled drunkenly as her eyes wandered to the tallest of the group with the flowing dark tresses.

(Y/N) stood shocked, he was speaking directly to them. They quickly unfroze and stuttered out awkwardly, “Yeah, we’re having the absolute time of our lives right now.” The teenager cringed in embarrassment as the Twisted Sister look-alike laughed.

Mikayla, who was previously leaning on her cousin’s shoulder to stop herself from face-planting in the sand strutted up to the boy she was previously eyeing and wrapped a piece of his hair around her pointer finger flirtily, “I could think of something more fun that you and I could do. My name’s Mikayla.”

(Y/N)’s face lit up bright red at their cousin’s words as they rushed over to her and tugged her away from the leather-clad biker. “I am so sorry about her, she’s definitely drunk enough for tonight,” they apologized quickly.

The four boys laughed at the two of them, amused by their dynamic. The biker who stood closest to them smiled at (Y/N), “Don’t worry about it, at least you know she has taste.” (Y/N) laughed lightly at his statement.

The first boy walked up to (Y/N) and threw an arm over their shoulder, “I don’t know about that, Dwayne. I mean how could she possibly have taste if she didn’t even throw herself at me?” he laughed before turning to (Y/N), their faces only inches away from one another. “You get what I mean, right?”

(Y/N)’s face flushed as another member of the group, this one with a platinum blonde mullet and completely clad in black, spoke up, “Leave the poor kid alone, Paul. We don’t need them fainting on us.” He gazed at (Y/N), his bright blue eyes seemed to pierce into their very soul, “You two do seem like a good time though and you don’t seem to be having the most fun here. I know a place we could all go and let loose, just a little intimate party for the six of us if you’re down for it.”

(Y/N) felt their mind go fuzzy for a few seconds as they actually considered leaving with this group of boys but those thoughts were quickly torn away as they felt Mikayla’s body next to them start to fold in on itself. She heaved over and let loose the contents of her stomach all over the sand at their feet.

The four bikers all looked shocked at the scene in front of them as (Y/N) went into protective mode over their cousin. They held her hair back and held her up by the waist as she continued to gag.

The teenager looked up at the boys, “Sorry but we’re gonna have to pass up that offer, I really should get my cousin home. Maybe we can hang out some other time?”

They all nodded as Mikayla finally managed to get a hold of herself and (Y/N) began to usher her away from the party.

David spoke before they were able to completely get away, “Nice jacket by the way.”

(Y/N) nodded, confused as to why he’d bring up their jacket at such a random time, “Uh, thanks, I guess.”

“Aww come on, (Y/N), I wanna hang out with them,” Mikayla whined as (Y/N) readjusted the girl on their shoulder and continued the walk towards the girl’s jeep.

Mikayla was leaned up against the vehicle as (Y/N) searched her pockets for the keys to the car. Finally fishing them out, they unlocked the car and (Y/N) helped their cousin into the passenger side. They walked around the front and hopped into the driver’s side as Mikayla was struggling to buckle her seatbelt.

Her head lolled to the side as she looked at her cousin pathetically while holding out the buckle of her seatbelt, “Please help.”

(Y/N) rolled their eyes and buckled Mikayla’s seatbelt and then their own and started the car.

“We totally should’ve gone with them,” she pouted looking out the window towards the boardwalk.

“Kay, you literally hit on one of them and then proceeded to vomit all over the place. I’m taking you home for a reason.” (Y/N) said incredulously.

“Well yeah, my chances were completely blown, but I brought you here so that you could get a social life. The pretty one was totally hitting on you, what was his name again? Saul?”

“Paul. His name was Paul.”

“See you care enough about him that you bothered to actually remember his name. If you two don’t hang out soon, I’ll scream. You two would be so cute together, with him being all outgoing and flirty and with you being more introverted and shy. He could finally pull you out of your shell,” she rambled obviously still under the influence. (Y/N) shook their head, letting silence fill the vehicle.

“Where did you say we were going again?” Mikayla slurred, looking at her cousin.

“I’m taking you home, your dad would kill us if he found out we both snuck out and never came back home.”

Mikayla gasped, shooting up in her seat, “No! You can’t take me home, he’ll kill me for being drunk!”

“I think he’d prefer seeing you drunk than seeing you on a missing person’s poster. He might be mad but at least he’ll know that you made it home safe, I’m trying to be responsible here, Mikayla.”

The girl slumped in her seat, scowling at her cousin and their stupid moral compass. They had pulled into the driveway of the Emerson house as (Y/N) noticed the living room light on, “Looks like you’re busted either way.” Mikayla groaned.

The two of them hopped out of the vehicle, (Y/N) passing the keys to their cousin which she fumbled terribly. They walked up to the front door which was unlocked and made their walk of shame into the living room where Sam Emerson was lounged on a recliner watching reruns on the TV. He glanced up at his daughter noticing the kid of his best friend next to her.

He spoke to his daughter in a stern voice, “You had your mother and I worried sick when we found your bed empty and window open. We’ll talk about this in the morning, now go to your room.” He didn’t give her the opportunity to explain herself. She nodded her head solemnly and stumbled up the steps up to her room.

Sam turned his head to (Y/N), “Does your father know where you are?” They shook their head. Sam nodded in understanding, “Let me get my shoes and jacket, I’ll give you a ride home.”

They were driving through the streets back to the Frog household when Sam spoke up, “Mind telling me what tonight was all about?”

(Y/N), not used to being in trouble, immediately spilled the beans, “Mikayla wanted to help me sneak out so we could go to this party on the beach so I could meet people and become more social. Everything was going fine until she accidentally drank too much. Then she hit on this guy and ended up puking in front of him so I took her home.”

Sam looked at (Y/N) with wide eyes, surprised at how easy it was to get the full story out of them. He sighed and turned his eyes back to the road before stopping at the end of (Y/N)’s street, “I appreciate you telling me the truth, so for that, I won’t be telling Edgar what happened tonight. While I don’t approve of the way you went about things, I’m glad that you’re trying to open yourself to other people. Just be careful around people around the beach and boardwalk, there’s a lot of weirdos in Santa Carla that you don’t need to get wrapped up in okay?”

(Y/N) nodded quickly before throwing themself over the center console and hugging their uncle around the neck tightly, “Thank you so much, Uncle Sam. I promise I’ll be careful and hopefully, this never happens again.”

He smiled softly at the teenager, “Good, now you better get home before your dad realizes you’re gone.”

(Y/N) quickly hopped out of the car and waved goodbye to their uncle before walking down the street and creeping back in through their window into their bedroom where the lights were still off and the door still locked. They had made it back and nothing bad happened.

It was 3 am when (Y/N) finally settled into bed. Just as they shut their eyes, their imagination began to act up. What might’ve happened if they had gone with those boys. The thought made them queasy. They were so willing to go before Mikayla got sick, (Y/N) felt like their thoughts were completely out of control. Thinking of David made their stomach churn with uneasiness. Something about him seemed dangerous, even deadly. Then (Y/N) remember him, Paul.

His hand around their shoulder, the look in his eyes, everything about him seemed to reel (Y/N). It took everything in them to not lean in further when their faces were so close together.

(Y/N) felt their stomach flutter at the thought. Maybe Mikayla was right, they could be good together.

>Next Chapter<

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Spider-Man Movie Villains

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, he does whatever a spider can. And what do spiders seem really good at? Amassing huge quantities of hatred and animosity! True to the wily arachnids that inspired him, Spider-Man has quite the impressive gallery of foes, one that I might say rivals Batman as the greatest in comic book history with how colorful, crazy, and creative they are. Even villains derivative of one another, like Hobgoblin and Green Goblin or Carnage and Venom, manage to carve out unique niches that help make them fun and memorable.

And thankfully, these qualities usually translated pretty well to film! I’ve talked about how good Mysterio, Vulture, Kingpin, and Prowler are before, so now it’s time to cover the others all in one fell swoop! From the Raimi trilogy, we have Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Harry Osborn, Sandman, and Eddie Brock/Venom; from the Andrew Garfield duology, we have Lizard, Electro, Rhino, and Harry Osborn again; and leftover from Into the Spider-Verse we have Olivia Octavius, Tombstone, Scorpion, and that film’s brief take on Green Goblin! Oh, and why not throw in Riot from Venom while we’re at it, because he sucks way too much to get his own Psycho Analysis.

Motivation/Goals: A lot of villains are motivated by the classic motivation: revenge. All of the Green Goblins manage to have this as a main part of their actions, making them remarkably consistent and very easy to discuss. The Norman of the Raimi films wants to take out his anger at being frozen out of his own company, and his son wants revenge for his death, while the Harry of the Garfield films wants his vengeance because Spider-Man wouldn’t help cure him of his otherwise incurable disaease that would kill him (a fact made worse because Spider-Man is his actual best friend, Peter Parker, who is coldly condemning his pal to death). The only one who doesn’t really fit is the Spider-Verse take on Green Goblin, and that’s more because he has extremely limited screentime and spends all of it fighting Peter and being scary as hell.

Eddie Brock/Venom is a very interesting case as both halves of the character are motivated by different reasons. The symbiote half is, of course, motivated by the fact that Peter has tried to rid himself of it via using a church bell to kill it. Eddie, on the other hand, has the most absolutely hilarious motivation ever: He wants Peter Parker to die because Peter exposed him for submitting fraudulent pictures to J. Jonah Jameson. Eddie literally breached journalistic ethics but apparently Peter’s to blame for exposing his literal, actual crime! And he prays to God for Peter to die! This version of Eddie is cartoonishly hilarious.Finally, we have Max Dillon, AKA Electro, who is lashing out at a world that did nothing but belittle and demean him, giving him a far more sympathetic motive for revenge.

Kurt Connors is an interesting halfway point between the Doc Ocks and the villains above, because he is not really evil and his whole transformation came about for altruistic scientific reasons, as he tested his serum on himself because they were going to test it out on the public without consent. While the serum drives him mad, he initially only goes after those who were going to use his formula with people as guinea pigs.

Interestingly, the two Doc Ocks contrast each other. While both of them are doing evil deeds for scientific reasons, Otto Octavius is being forced by his tentacles and genuinely wishes to make the world a better place otherwise. Olivia, on the other hand, is a gleeful sadist who doesn’t care who she hurts as long as she can get some sort of scientific knowledge from it.

Sandman is interesting case because his motivations are entirely sympathetic and despite being the man who killed Uncle Ben, it was entirely accidental and he always regretted it. He only ever wanted to get money to save his daughter. It’s really hard not to sympathize with a guy who turned to desperate measures because the American health care system sucks even in a universe where a dude dressed in a bright red suit swings around New York.

Then there are all the rest. Aleksei Systevich, AKA Rhino, is just a criminal, and has barely any screentime to establish a motivation beyond that. This is especially hilarious because the ads really hyped this guy up, only for him to get maybe five minutes of screentime, with most of it at the very end of the movie before the credits (we don’t even get to see his final battle). Tombstone and Scorpion are basically just lackeys for Kingpin, with little established beyond that. Scorpion almost shows up entirely out of nowhere, just popping in for the fight at Aunt May’s house and then the final battle. And then there’s Riot, who just wants to start a symbiote apocalypse on Earth.

Performance: Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Thomas Haden Church as Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Sandman in the Raimi trilogy are, in a word, iconic. Dafoe brings a gleeful, cackling hamminess to the Goblin that perfectly suits him and manages to steal every single with how delightfully, cartoonishly evil he is combined with some hilariously chummy moments with Spider-Man. Molina as Ock goes in the opposite direction of hamminess, where instead of making Octavius cartoonishly evil, he gives him this air of gravitas to the point where he somehow manages to make this villain with giant metal tentacles that are controlling his mind come off as sophisticated and serious as Hannibal Lecter. Church meanwhile just looks eerily perfect as Sandman, as if he were ripped straight from the comics and put onscreen, and then of course there’s how well he manages to sell the emotional moments of the character.

The Harrys are a rather mixed bag, sad to say. James Franco and Dennis DeHaan aren’t really bad actors, but they unfortunately have the problem of living in the shadow of the actor who played their dad (Franco) or being in a really awful movie with a terrible script (DeHaan). Franco at least makes up for this by being hilariously, cartoonishly evil to the extent of his dad in the third Raimi film, but DeHaan unfortunately falls rather flat. Topher Grace as Venom is a choice that seems baffling until you realize Raimi cast an actor like this on purpose because he hates Venom so much he didn’t want to give him any dignity.

Jamie Foxx as Electro seems odd at first, but I feel it’s actually a great casting choice, and despite how unbelievably stupid the script is, he’s actually able to do a fairly good job. If his character was in a better movie, he’d probably get a lot less flak (and he’ll be getting his chance soon enough, apparently). Overall, he’s the best part of the Garfield films. Rhys Ifans and Paul Giamatti as Lizard and Rhino are serviceable, but neither film they’re in really gives them much to work with. Giamatti at least gets to steal the show with his brief scenes by being an absolute ham, but Ifans is sadly a bit forgettable in his role (though not for lack of trying on his part).

Now onto the Spider-Verse ensemble! Considering how I gushed over her delightful performance as the Wicked Witch of Westview in WandaVision as well as the fact she is solely responsible for me resurrecting this series from its long hiatus, it should come as no shock at all that Kathryn Hahn as Olivia Octavius is just perfect. Controversial opinion, I know, might get some flak for this hot take. Jorma Taccone as Green Goblin, Joaquin Cosio as Scorpion, and Marvin Jones III as Tombstone all do well for what they’re given, but it’s clear most of the love among Kingpin’s henchmen was given to her (and Prowler, but he got his own review where I talked about how great he is).

Oh, right, Riot. I forgot about him. Riz Ahmed, who plays the human villain Carlton Drake I forgot to mention because he’s incredibly boring, is a really good (and sexy) actor. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get to be quite as good and sexy as an actor like him should be in his dual role. In an interesting subversion of how things usually go, he ends up being rather bland compared to the hammy, bonkers hero. This was Tom Hardy’s show, and no one was stealing it from him.

Final Fate: The Raimi films were all made during a time when, if your name wasn’t Magneto and you were a superhero movie villain, you were dying, a trend I’m certainly glad is finally starting to die off. Thankfully, Green Goblin manages to stick around and posthumously influence Harry, so in his case it’s not so bad. Harry and Doc Ock both manage to overcome the darkness in their hearts at the end and sacrifice their lives to help save the day, while Eddie dies after becoming such a simp for the symbiote he leaps into it while Peter is blowing it up. With Sandman, Peter actually has a touching reconciliation with Sandman at the end, forgiving him for the death of Uncle Ben before Sandman dissolves into dust and floats away on the breeze. And no, this is his power, not Thanos’ snap reaching across time, space, and dimensions; Sandman actually gets out of these films alive.

The other villains actually get off easier, as most of them go to jail. From the Amazing Spider-Man films, DeHaan’s Goblin and Rhys Ifan’s Lizard both end up in prison, and it’s safe to assume that the villains of Spider-Verse are going to jail alongside Kingpin. Octavius was hit by a bus, sure, but considering how popular she ended up being it would be really dumb to have that actually kill her. With Electro and Rhino though, it’s really ambiguous, the former because he’s made of electricity and the way he was defeated means it is possible he survived, and the latter because we never actually see the outcome of his battle with Spider-Man. If the film they were in was actually good and warranted sequels, we may have found out what their true fates were, but at the very least Electro is moving over to the MCU alongside Molina’s Doc Ock.

Oh, right, forgot Riot again. He dies.

Best Scene/Best Quote: I’m combining these this time just to make it easier on me, because in at least in a couple cases the two are the same.

Green Goblin has a lot to choose from, to the point where it’s easy to cop out and just say every scene he’s in is amazing. I’ve always been fond of his chummy chat with Spider-Man on the rooftop, or the scene where he terrifies Aunt May, or the scene where he attacks the parade and vaporizes the board of directors with pumpkin bombs.

Dock Ock is easy: the train battle. This might be one of the best action scenes in any superhero movie ever, and since he’s the villain in it, it almost goes without saying..There’s a reason this scene is singled out so often.

Eddie Brock and DeHaan Goblin actually have their best scenes also be their best lines. Eddie praying for God to kill Peter Parker and DeHaan!Harry screaming “YOU’RE A FRAUD, SPIDER-MAN!” after Spidey refuses to give him a life-saving blood transfusion are just so absolutely hilarious and memorable that you can’t hate them.

Aside from the powerful forgiveness moment at the film’s end, I think it’s really indisputable that the best scene from Sandman, and perhaps the Raimi trilogy as a whole, is the scene of Sandman’s creation. Words really can’t do it justice, so just watch:

Electro’s best moment isn’t even actually part of the movie, unless you want to count his rendition of “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.” No, his is from a Tumblr post, proving definitively that Electro’s power can not be contained.

For Olivia, I’d say either of the reveals for her are great. You can go with the twist that she’s the Doc Ock of Miles’ universe, or the twist that she might have fucked Aunt May. Either way, you can’t really go wrong.

The rest of the villains… yeah, I’ve got nothing. At least with Rhino you can say his entire time on screen was fun, but the rest? Nope. They’re kind of just there.

Final Thoughts & Score:

Green Goblin

Where to begin with this guy? He is everything I look for in a great villain: he’s hammy and cartoonish, he can be terrifying and threatening when he wants to be, he has a ridiculous yet memorable costume, every word out of his mouth is hilarious and memorable, and he’s played by an amazing actor. It’s hard to dispute that Doc Ock is the best villain in Raimi’s trilogy, but Goblin is definitely the most fun. If you thought he’d get less than a 10/10, you thought wrong.

Doctor Octopus

Aside from Green Goblin, Doc Ock is Spidey’s most iconic and memorable foe, nd this adaptation of him does not disappoint. By making him a more tragic and somewhat anti-villainous figure and putting him in the hands of someone as awesome and talented as Alfred Molina, they managed to make such a cartoonish villain retain that comic book silliness while still being a legitimately imposing antagonist. I suppose it helps that a director who knows how to balance silly and serous like Raimi helps. It’s absolutely not a shock that the MCU wants to bring Molina back, because really, I can’t see anyone making the dubious doctor nearly as cool as the 10/10 performance Molina gave.

Harry Osborn

Franco’s Harry has an interesting arc, but one that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense under scrutiny. Frankly, his descent into villain is handled well but when he actually gets to be a villain in the third film, things fall apart.. But at any rate, he gets to be cartoonishly hilarious while he pettily ruins Peter’s life, so I think a 3/10 is warranted just for how goofy he is.

Eddie Brock/Venom

For the longest time, I hated Eddie Brock, but loved the Venom symbiote for its fantastic design… A design hampered by the fact Topher Grace keeps sticking his face through the symbiote and talking in his normal voice. But then one day I remembered Eddie literally prays to God for Peter Parker to die, and I realize that as crappy as this version of Venom is, he’s undoubtedly hilarious. A 3/10 mainly because of how hilariously bad he is, though the design of the symbiote is unironically great. Shame Grace kept sticking his face through and that Raimi hates the character.

Sandman

Sandman is a villain who deserved a better movie. Sure, Spider-Man 3 is fun and funny, but a character with this much depth and emotional weight deserved a film of the caliber of Spider-Man 2. At any rate, he adds a bit of class and dignity to the proceedings, and Thomas Haden Church really nails it. He’s a 9/10 for sure.

Lizard

Lizard is just a very boring villain, which is a shame because Lizard is not a boring villain in the comics and other media like the cartoons. I don’t really know if he was the best choice for Spider-Man’s first outing; I’ll at least give him that he’s a more inspired choice than doing the Green Goblin again, but that doesn’t score him higher than a 4/10. As boring as he ends up being, that library fight was pretty cool and had a great Stan Lee cameo, so I can’t say he’s the bottom of the barrel.

Electro

Electro is a villain who desperately deserved a better movie. While his backstory as a nerdy fanboy who got kicked around by the world is nothing new, or fresh, or original, Jamie Foxx manages to make the character work fairly well even though almost everything around him is unbelievably stupid. The fact he managed to make “Don’t you know? I’m Electro” sound cool and badass is a testament to his skill, and thankfully he’s coming back in the MCU in some way, so I guess Electro’s power can not be contained to a single movie. Still, this iteration only manages to get to a 6/10, because while all the elements of greatness are there, he’s hampered by the abysmal writing.

Rhino

Paul Giamatti certainly looks like he’s having a blast here. His attitude is almost infectious, but alas, his time is too brief to bring any great joy, and his jarring appearance out of nowhere at the end of the film certainly do him no favors. Still, Giamatti keeps Rhino from sinking any lower than a 5/10.

Harry Osborn

This Harry is just a joke. His arc makes no sense, his actions are unbelievable, and he ends up looking like a really poor Warwick Davis Leprechaun cosplayer. The only thing of note about him is that he’s a Harry who becomes the Green Goblin before his father, something that doesn’t happen very often, and that’s not enough to score this loser higher than a 2/10. Not even killing Gwen Stacy makes him any more impressive, and that’s a real shame.

Olivia Octavius

Olivia Octavius is widely beloved by just about everyone who sees the film.. myself included. This is just a really fun, clever twist on Doctor Octopus, and it’s the sort of character you really hope gets a Harley Quinn-level break into becoming an iconic character across multiple forms of media. Kathryn Hahn’s fun performance and the wonderful design and fight sequences really make Olivia a 9/10.

Tombstone

Tombstone is a villain you might actually forget is in the movie, which is a damn shame. He’s an albino black man, a badass bodyguard, and has a striking design, but he gets a single line of dialogue and is tasked with bodyguarding a man who not only has cyborgs under his employ, but who murdered Spider-Man with his bare hands. Tombstone ultimately feels really superfluous, which is a shame because around the same time Into the Spider-Verse came out he had a very memorable and well-liked appearance in the Spider-Man video game. It’s a real shame but I gotta give this version of Tombstone a 2/10.

Scorpion

Scorpion has a lot of problems of Tombstone above, but he makes up for a lot of his flaws by having a really cool and striking design. Does it really make him a great villain? No. He’s not particularly well-characterized and he’s really just there to look cool and give Olivia backup. He’s a 4/10 at best, saved from being lower only by his awesome look. Looking cool really can get you far in some cases.

Green Goblin

Out of all the really minor villains in Spider-Verse, this version of Norman might be the best. His role is tiny, only appearing during the scene where the Peter Parker of Miles’ universe gets killed, but his battle with Spider-Man is what sets the entire plot in motion. His cool and terrifying design definitely help make him stand out enough to earn at least a 6/10.

Riot & Carlton Drake

Look, there’s a reason I kept forgetting these guys. They’re not memorable in the slightest. Venom may be a fantastic work of art, but that’s because Tom Hardy kills it in his dual role as Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote. Drake is just a boring corporate villain, the kind I hate talking about and the kind I’d only ever even bother mentioning in a review like this. And Riot is just a generic Big Gray CGI Monster for the hero to have a final battle with. Neither of these two are particularly interesting, and neither deserves more than a 2/10.

That’s it, right? There can’t be any more villains, I must have covered them all. Well, not quite. There’s one more character who is most certainly an antagonist and who I really, really want to talk about. And you’re absolutely not going to believe who it is.

You ready?

Psycho Analysis: Emo Peter

“Now wait,” you may be asking, “Emo Peter? Really? How does he count as a villain?” Well, as Schafrillas pointed out in his video on Spider-Man 3, Emo Peter is actually the antagonist for much of the second act. Peter, influenced by the symbiote, becomes a raging jackass and hurts and alienates everyone around him by being a colossal douchebag, not to mention how violent he gets as Spider-Man. This is very much an extreme case of the hero’s greatest enemy being themselves, because literally, Peter’s enemy in the chunk of the movie with Emo Peter is his own overinflated ego

Motivation/Goals: I mean, at the end of the day, it’s still Peter. He still wants to do the typical Peter Parker stuff, he’s just a jackass while he does it.

Performance: It’s Tobey Maguire busting loose and getting to act like an absolute doofus. There is literally nothing about this that isn’t amazing and I’m sorry if you can’t see it.

Final Fate: Peter eventually comes to realize that maybe the symbiote making him act like an egomaniacal tool is not a good thing, and so rebels against it, ultimately leading him to the roof of a church where Eddie Brock is praying for him to die and, well, the rest is history.

Best Scene:

Best Dance Move:

Final Thoughts & Score: Emo Peter has gotten a bad reputation over the years, but Schafrillas’ video really made me rethink why. As he puts it, Emo Peter comes off not as someone cool, but as what a loser thinks a cool person would be (which makes him still a loser). It seems fairly likely that the audience isn’t supposed to be rooting for Emo Peter or finding him cool, but instead finding him insufferable, ridiculous, and funny. We’re supposed to be laughing at Peter’s egomania, at his absurd and hammy showboating, not cheering him on and desiring to emulate him.

And that ultimately makes it more satisfying when Peter overcomes his ego and decides to rid himself of the symbiote. It might seem like I’m giving Spider-Man 3 a lot of credit here, but even Sam Raimi half-assing a movie wouldn’t leave things completely devoid of underlying brilliance. Emo Peter isn’t a villain in the sense that he’s some superpowered antagonist, he’s a physical representation of the negative impacts of fame and ego on Peter. This is Peter letting go of what makes him a hero and just reveling in being an absolute jerkwad to everyone around him.

I love the memes as much as everyone else of course, but Emo Peter is also a pretty clever symbolic foe. But even though I’m giving him an 8/10, we all know the real reason why he’s scoring so high:

Ok, but that’s it now, right? No more Spider-Man villains? Well, maybe for now. But don’t forget:

There’s gonna be Carnage.

[everyotherworm]

Heyyy! I found your blog shortly after The Arena got its big makeover and I didn’t pay too much attention to the other wizards descriptions, so do you have any info/headcanons on them? (determinedowl23)

!!!! You have no idea I have so many headcanons! First tho if u want info: scroll down to the list of arena npcs and you can click on them to get their old in game appearance, name, title, and description (the descriptions are like 1-2 sentences long.)

As for headcanons I have a bunch in the 'arena wizard blogging tag' on here already (so far I've done a headcanon post for Gina, Cameron, Bannard, Flora, Nick, Lillian, and George, but I also have a bunch of other random headcanons in the tag) but to answer your ask here's a quick long highlight reel of my favorite headcanon(s) about each wizard! Some of these are things I've shared before, but some r about people I've never talked about before :) there are 20 characters and I'm bad at being succinct, so strap in folks

Gina has bad luck, or she tends to end up as the target of every spell or piece of machinery that goes awry and she can't do anything about it because she sucks at magic too much to levitate it away lmao

Crios didn't want to be friends with Cameron, cameron just followed him around until he was worn down and just got used to having him around all the time. Now he's so used to him that despite his constant complaining about cameron, he will be even more annoyed if he doesn't have him there to be annoying and do errands for crios.

Bonus cameron one because he's my favorite: his hair is naturally curly and black, he just dyed it to look more like crios. Funnily enough, crios's hair isn't actually naturally orange either.

Mila tends to hang around young wizards more than the wizards at her level, she thinks they're more open minded (which is kind of because they don't have common sense, but she considers that helpful to 'thinking outside the box') and she has a lot of fun mentoring them.

Benjamyn is best friends with fuschia, because thanks to growing up with sisters he's always gotten along better with the girls at school than the boys. Also that leather apparel is hot as heck, but he doesn't take it off because he's just a cold lad man

Fuschia has an eye for small details and is especially good at judging whether people are kind/genuine or not. Some rumor that her pet mystyyk can sense that she has a pure heart and that that's why it chose her, but in reality it's just because she lured it I with lots of treats :3

I've said this one before but bannard is hard of hearing and has no idea what is going on half the time. He's fairly magically gifted and VERY good at scaring away monsters (it's because he never stops yelling) but he's kind of held back by not getting enough accommodations. He doesn't seem to care tho, he's just here to have a good time :)

I know the reason leena is called the metal head is because she likes rocks not metal music, but you can tear electric guitar playing leena from my cold dead hands <3

Finneas is a terrible influence on everyone he meets, he skips like half his classes lmao </3

The lunar wand was made for a werewolf, is it that farfetched to believe another type of shapeshifter might use it? Why are djinnas pets all fish based instead of ghost based if she's a spirit? Why would someone need to leave back and forth from the academy if they could get all their needs from land? DJINNAS A MERMAID PEOPLE WAKE UP-

Jess has an inferiority complex, seriously dude how's it feel to spend your whole life in the shadow of a twin who's just like you but way better and who's already finished school /lh

Flora sleeps upside down

I'm a Nick = Young Santa Claus truther but that's more of a theory than a headcanon, so other than that I think he's autistic and has a special interest in Christmas and thats why he involves it in a lot of things :) also he gives everyone gifts year round and uses Christmas decorations as fidget/stim toys

Not to do to autistic/special interest headcanons in a row buuut Lillian is also autistic and has a special interest in pets and you can fight me on that. Also Lillian lives with professor scoog (he's her uncle, don't question how that works) and they both loooove rambling about old and new pets to each other

Korathius is one of the only students who's lived on prodigy island his whole life, and him being raised by magic pets is the reason he's in the higher level ranking.

Jen has had several near death experiences.

On George's first day on the island he exploded half his hair and shirt, took apart the wheel of wonder (he tried to put it back together but it ended up falling onto gina when she leaned on it because he did a bad job), and accidentally caused a minor eruption in bonfire spire (he just wanted to see what would happen if you cast spells from underneath the lava, he thought they weren't working so he casted a LOT of light waves.)

Aurora is so mean <3 she will stab u with an icicle if you try to prank you or sneak into her house (which is a small ice castle she built on the iceberg she floated over on.)

I dont have a lot of nova headcanons, shes just a nice gal, u know? She makes really good cookies if its worth anything

Crios is a sore ass loser, he probably decided to start dueling out of spite. Also, he's the one who beat the dark tower the canon where your wizard isn't there.

So yeah! I love them, arena wizards my beloved <33 if u want more headcanons about specific characters or topics feel free to ask, although I'd guess after reading all that you'd be ready for a break LOL. Thanks for the ask!!