#also these are all free game for your muse to observe/mention/etc etc

[vtriol]

thana's bunny traits, in summary:

nose twitch. often happens when they're very focused or trying to concentrate, and is completely involuntary.

thumping. when thana is frustrated or upset, they'll stomp their left foot. also completely involuntary and they will be even more upset if you point it out.

chinning. when hugging or cuddling someone, they'll rub the underside of their chin on a shoulder or arm. this is voluntary and a show of trust and affection from them.

credit to my best friend kiki for the iconic bunny traits

[fromtenthousandfeet]

What is it gonna take for HYBE to give Jimin the support he deserves? Will it ever even happen? Because I'm tired of feeling so miserable all the time. I even wanna delete all my socials and just find something else in my life to fixate on. I feel terrible for feeling this way because it's like I'm abandoning Jimin (even if I'll still be streaming his music). I'm tired of all of this, it's not good for my mental health at all.

All this corruption and evil simply can't keep winning like this, can it? Are we just supposed to make peace with JK being BTS' "break out star"? Really? I naïvely thought that they'd abandon their sinister plans after seeing how poorly he's been performing in comparison to the crazy amount of push they've been giving him. What the hell is going on at that company?

Anon,

I'm sharing with you this poor quality video of Michael Jackson calling out Tommy Mottola and Sony because it's worth remembering that record labels using and abusing their artists is the rule, not the exception. Not even The King of Pop was immune.

At around 3:20, MJ mentions that he "owes" the label two more songs and then he's a free agent. He says he writes about 120 songs per album, so he'll just pick two songs he's got hanging around and then he's done.

I bring this up because I suspect Jimin might be doing something similar. Having as few solo songs under Big Hit as possible is smart, because he likely won't own the rights to his own music if/when he leaves. The less they own, the better. Writing and recording two albums at once was efficient. Also, by keeping his marketing budget (ads, playlist placement, music videos, etc.) as small as possible, he'll keep more of the album sales and streaming revenue. All those expensive marketing costs are deducted from an artist's earnings, so best to keep them at a minimum if the plan is to make the most money possible. Between the writing credits, lower marketing budget, and the high profile brand ambassador deals Jimin's got, I feel like he's positioning himself to create his own company or label. This is my hope even if I have zero proof.

The way FACE went down really bothered me. I knew the company was behind Jimin's sabotage immediately and it drove me crazy that it took so long for others to catch up. But look at the response to MUSE. Jimin really does have an army of dedicated fans who are calling out the company's (intentional) incompetence 24/7. In reality, it's fun to watch PJMs catch the company and create a stink. It's almost like a game. Don't take it too seriously. Plus, in the long run, who cares about charts? The quality of the music itself is far more important.

Once again I've droned on way too long, but hear me out. I think HYBE/BH is investing so heavily in JK because they have to. BTS isn't going to last forever, and if Jimin leaves, they've lost a huge revenue source. But please trust me when I say they have an uphill battle before them because JK doesn't currently have the artistry or charisma to enthrall the west the way Jimin does. Don't expect them to abandon ship anytime soon, though. And if he does make it big, so be it.

I really wish BTS fans, or at least PJMs, didn't feel so much hate for Min Hee Jin because there's a lot to learn about Bang Si-hyuk and HYBE when you follow the whole ADOR saga. There are some astute NewJeans fans out there who've sized up Bang PD so well and their observations help explain Jimin's treatment by the company. He breaks people down (the idols, staff, and fans) using the "death by a thousand cuts" method. Endless small transgressions and slights, that individually appear like no big deal and are therefore not taken seriously by the media or fans, but collectively are detrimental to careers and one's mental health.

You know what? If Jimin announced he's leaving the music industry after military service, I would say congratulations and thank you for all the amazing music and performances during your BTS and solo career. Have a wonderful life! While I don't think he'll do that, it's worth remembering that none of this is all that serious. Enjoy his music. Take a break from social media, because in the real world nobody cares about this stuff.

Anon, did you make to the end of this long post? Way to use the umlaut on naïvely!

[laughingpinecone]

Yuletide 2023 letter

AO3: laughingpineapple

(treats welcome, AO3 settings a-ok in that respect)

Hello and thank you for writing for me! I hope you’ll have a great time playing with one of these wonderful canons!

I love a wide variety of fics - from strict gen to explicit, any tense, any format, big yes to all kinds of weird experiments up to and including external povs, found documents, interactive fiction etc. In general, I love canon expansion (showing new places/events/stuff in the setting or exploring those that are barely mentioned, just outside the borders), character work of all stripes (expanding on little quirks, putting characters in situations that complement/challenge certain personality traits of theirs, just… observing these weirdos as they live their lives, for better and for worse), magical realism and adjacent approaches. I eat up emotional moments with a spoon when a fic is character-centric (pining! danger! catharsis! hurt/comfort! the nitty-gritty of attraction!) and also love abstract stuff that at most touches shrimp emotions from afar: fake academia, a wider focus, inhuman povs, anything goes.

For both romance and friendships, I love it when it’s clear (not necessarily to the characters themselves, but to the narrative) what it is that they like about each other, how they get along, if and how they trust each other. The specificity of each dynamic! I also love it when the characters are very into something that makes sense for them, be it a hobby or a kink or whatever, even if it’s something I may not personally care for.

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, pregnancies, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents and paired-up OC randos are okay!), canon retellings

Ghost Trick and Pyre are old staples, prompts and musings in my old letters always apply! There's some PJÕL too in the last two. And now, in strict alphabetical order and with the usual disclaimer that shorter prompts don’t mean I want it any less:

GHOST TRICK (Cabanela, Jowd)

I'm into Alma/Jowd/Cabanela or Alma/Jowd&Cabanela, or any Jowd/Cabanela that doesn't downplay/erase the canon relationship (anything set during the game timeline or in alternate scenarios where they don't reset, for example!), or even one-sided on Cabs' end and Jowd caring for him in a different way, or a Very (Very) Intense Friendship. Shippy or not, for me the draw is that these two are an unstoppable/immovable pair of burning determination and cosmic pessimism, big on loyalty (or at least being on the receiving end of it in Jowd's case) and being two difficult individuals who can and do get on people's nerves in record time but just fit with each other so easily… and ace the broccoli test like nbd. when they want to. which they might not. In Sissel's own words, whatever these two have got going on, warm or cold, it's "immeasurably deep" and I love to see that OTT play out in any way. And feel free to add anyone else in the tagset if your idea leads you that way, I love them all dearly. Pigeon Man, for example - we only see his grump complement Cabanela's energy, but how does he play off Jowd, toward whom he is extremely loyal? Alma, of course, what's your take on her, there are so many great possibilities - could she be as cheerfully nihilistic as her husband, when push comes to shove? Or what about Missile the little warrior with his own brand of unstoppability? Is there a supernatural/ghostly situation Jowd and Cabanela (and Alma? or Lynne? Sissel?) walk into that sees them well on top of their game thanks to their experience with the friendly ghost cat in the house? Or something eerie that's out of their wheelhouse even with Sissel's ghost tricks? What about a beach day but also a hiking trip, snowed in, anything? Dancing? Does Cabanela fail to remain spotless in any sense, ranging from oily bike repairs to more serious symbolic scenarios?

Ship-wise, Jowd falling in love fascinates me. Cabanela feels like he's been down bad for an impossible target for some time (or two, conveniently married to each other) but for Jowd it all comes at such an awkward moment. He was ready to die and hurt them all posthumously (with the music box twist) to make it easier for them to leave him behind, and now what's this? He may not even have considered being into men before, what's that like, when does he realize that that's what's happening? Then it turns out his old friend laid down his life for him??? wild. and then he's ten years younger again, with a loving family and a Sparklesue of a friend-colleague-rival, and all these memories…

Fandom-specific DNWs: Cabanela-Yomiel reconciliations, everyone having memories of the old timeline

PÜHA JA ÕUDNE LÕHN | SACRED AND TERRIBLE AIR (Ignus Nilsen)

So there's this man of extremes (even for Elysium standards) who lived and fought for the burning belief in a better world, who left his homeland with a double middle finger and somehow, in a foreign land, grew devoted to a good man and his ideals and theory, their theory, and then lost him and their hope at once, and still tried to keep going, to begin anew, and failed there too, and even after his death in exile his beliefs did not waver. Always a live wire. He loved the world, every atom of it. A man whose devotion was so intense that it had to be erased from history, giving birth to a different legend instead. As a friend once put it, the spectre of communism is real and he's a bitter old queen.

I ship him and Mazov very much (dialectically, ideologically, handholdingly, through the ages and in the eternity of the pale, everything he says about the man sounds like the yearning of a sad old lover), and Mazov himself I love in every aspect. If you go down this path, I'm good with period-typical internalized homophobia being a thing in the fic. INTENSE HANDHOLDING ACTION very welcome. Also in-universe Mazov/Nilsen academic discussion, earnest sculptors, zines etc. But also: Ion Rodionov thirdwheeling into their life like a stray cat and supporting their idea even knowing that it would fail is amazing. The fact that Nilsen indulged his whims in their exile (the orchestra, really?) and presumably got his apocalyptic moniker from him (we know that it's because he warned people of the apocalypse) paints an interesting friendship to me, especially in the raw times after Mazov's death. The Zigi&Nilsen camping trip is a delight and I'll always want more of that, and of Zigi himself, and of what Nilsen saw in him, and the other way round. Or what about the time Zigi spent with the Lund sisters while Nilsen went ballistic over teen girl mags, 'cause that sure was something canon felt the need to inform us of. Idk how to fit in Tereesz but if they met I'm sure it'd make for an interesting conversation. And rounding up the tagset IT'S AMBROSIUS WITH A STEEL CHAIR omg best tagset surprise ever. I am incredibly fascinated both by Nilsen's (and Zigi's!) opinions on the ruling Innocence, and by the possibility that bb Ambrosius may have met all the future heads of the Revolution when he was being tutored by Ion, and/or that the failure of the Revolution may have been a turning point in his beliefs. Outside the tagset, anything with Sport is bound to be terribadamazing bc Sport, and Ukhotomsky was around as another of Mazov's close friends but was the exact opposite of Ignus so that could make for interesting scenarios.

Some prompts: does his consciousness in the pale (subjectively either before or after his adventure with Zigi) meet some interesting people à la Nadia n Frantiček the Brave - "5 historical figures he met who are not Mazov + 1 long-awaited reunion" sort of thing? Some examples of Teachers Being Like That feat. him and Rodionov? Sitcom-tier shenanigans with the upper echelons of the revolution + that kid with the rancid vibes that Ion brought in? In case Nilsen's canon lil treatise on "early homebrewing" referred to tabletop homebrewing, what did their gaming look like - was it an early form of roleplaying proper or, like, reconceptualizing chess or Monopoly? What about any of his exiles, given how he was first thrown out of Katla, then Graad, then they tried to kill him in Samara too and he spent his last days in exile and according to a throwaway line he counts as one of Elysium's great disappearances (does Khan have some fun intel on all that, or maybe Ulv)? Did the various pale crossings mess him up? What about the crossing of the lungs of Graad, toward the interisolary pale, with the blood of thousands of prisoners still fresh behind them? Or how'd he take his hut era, when did those feral months in the polar wilderness happen in his timeline, what kind of weirdness can we expect above Elysium's polar circle, did he have Mazov to return to in Graad and just how emotional can we make this reunion? Any scenario like "idk, Kras Mazov was like 70% of my impulse control"? What was it like, gaining consciousness in the near pale and becoming more than Zigi's dialectic frenemy (or was there always a glimpse of him)? Did they feel uniquely cut off from the pale that surrounded them? Did they ever talk about Ambrosius? Did he ever pull off some other godly rhetoric stunt like reverting the pale through stubbornness and conviction alone? Some identity musings based on all three heads of the revolution going under new names, and considering them nom de guerre? Something about Ignus' troubled relationship with his homeland - as it goes, he fought hard to deny the Vaasan allegations and Vaasa fought harder to deny the him allegations? What about his blacksmithing skills (and what makes one an apocalyptic blacksmith, specifically - how do these two things go together)? Or any of his numerous Opinions which he penned on so many topics? Or just slap him (in person or cytoplasmically, 's not like death or censorship could stop him) in a Situation that has some weird worldbuilding in it?

Fandom-specific DNWs: that reddit theory about Målin being pregnant with Zigi's child. I'm open to a variety of options for the sisters' disappearance but should it come up I would prefer if it were their decision to vanish, a decision dictated by some kind of (non-bourgeois) ideology, and for Zigi to be loyal to all four of them. I would also prefer Nilsen's big hangup about his fellow communists to follow the translation which sees them as "prey" rather than "beasts". Relatedly, should it come up, "Failure. Failure shapes the world" rather than "Futility". And please do not excuse his grandiose shittiness. The misogyny is what it is and ditto the war crimes, etc.

PYRE (Volfred Sandalwood)

I’m so charmed by this smug revolutionary tree it’s not even funny. Make up any situation in which he can do his thing and I’ll be happy - be sort of full of himself but also sort of rightfully so, pragmatic to a fault except when he’s overwhelmed by grief, bearing the burden of taking care of the practical side of an impossible shared vision (and seeing it fail before it started and eventually picking up the pieces and starting again), long-winded and very much in love with his voice (also rightfully so) and also that’s what history professors are like, extremely charismatic, a mind reader with a higher calling which is always a dangerous combo when it comes to maybe going a step too far. I love this story set at the end of a cycle and I’m enamoured with characters who have enough historical awareness to acknowledge it and see that it’s up to them to bring about a new era. Canon’s bittersweet idealism is catnip to me.

I love him with Tariq who seems to be as charmed by him as I am (the shy, vague title of Volfred’s theme combined with its James Bond vibes are a killer combo. Tariq please) and with Oralech who’s maybe the only guy who can go “Volfred no” when needed. With oldest friend Bertrude with all the camaraderie it entails and all the Nightwings, really. Volfred & Hedwyn! & Rukey! & Pamitha! & ae!!!

I would also be interested in seeing him face people from the other triumvirates in more or less friendly situations - generally sticking close to canon for the level of danger they might pose. Volfred & Dalbert bonding and fanboying the Scribes on one end; Udmildhe maybe being a real actual threat on the other end, with Extreme Sap Drama Volfred VS Manley somewhere in the middle - Volfred haaates having to deal with Manley and what is fanfiction for if not bothering our faves? Or Volf VS Brighton for that matter, with more intense levels of annoyance and pomp and juicy ideological clashes. In these cases I wouldn’t be interested in a reconciliation, and I don’t sympathize with Manley nor Brighton but I do find them very funny and good characters in their own right and I’m just here with popcorn for the catfight. How’d it go if he had to spend some time with Ignarius? Or Celeste? And of course when it comes to the True Nightwings, things get loaded - Volfred/Oralech-wise, does Volfred get a treacherous "oh no he's super hot now" moment sneaking in between the piles of complicated feelings and hurt and confusion?

As general Volf prompts: revolutionary bonding, be it with Oralech (early on or after everything), or awakening Some Things in Tariq, or Bertie or anyone else who'll share that vision. Downside ending being a strange kind of freedom for someone who's been driven all his life. Opinions on the Scribes! Overly detailed, strong Opinionssss on tiny details like you'd expect from your average academic, and whom is he talking to? Someone who agrees? Someone who knows more than him (Tariq, ae…)? Someone who hates those guys' guts (Sandra, Oralech…)? He’s a natural schemer, does he naturally assume that everyone else is also scheming 24/7? Does anyone (my bet’s on Pam) find out that he literally graded the Nightwings’ usefulness to the Plan? Is he a chain smoker or is it a one pipe a day kind of deal?

I don’t have specific headcanons about Sap biology; if you do, please tell me all about them. With or without Tariq’s or Oralech’s involvement (whose biology is probably also delightfully weird). Capital-letter-Reading can also be involved! What’s it like to mind-meld with the actual moon, or to get permission from the guy who spent like six years hating your guts?

Ships: Volfred/Tariq, Volfred/Oralech, Volfred/Oralech/Tariq. I also like Pamitha/Bertrude and Celeste/Jodariel.

Fandom-specific DNWs: Oralech dead, Volfred and Oralech split end (I’m good with either topside or downside ending), Ignarius/Jodariel, Tariq/Celeste. The Reader being a central character in the fic.

THE SEA WILL CLAIM EVERYTHING (Any: The Mysterious-Druid, Niamh, Worldbuilding)

I got to play this game at last and I LOVE it. I'm in that starstruck-and-with-nobody-to-talk-about-it phase where I don't have many thoughts but I'd be over the moon to get anything that's vaguely in the tone of canon. Earnest, dreamy, filled with mushrooms… I'm familiar with the Postcard From Afthonia epilogue but not really with the rest of the Kyratzes' oeuvre - feel free to reference other stuff as long as it's in a way that'll make sense to a newbie reader! Or if it's something from the Oneiropolis Compendium, just drop me a line in the opening notes and I'll get caught up. In particular, I found the mentions of Oneiropolis proper very intriguing, in a certain 'classic fantastical literature' way, and I'd love to follow a beloved character like The a/o Niamh a/o anyone else on a trip there, but I don't know if there are works set there yet. An evening in Underhome, during the war? Some druiding stuff, The's addition to Underhome? Niamh's side of research (I love her so! This is what the ideal woman looks like, honestly)? Something dialectical, something marxist AND fungal? Any character visits Underhome? Or the library? Or the Isle of the Stars? I really like the Oracle, but anyone really. Everyone's really cool. If you can find a structure that'll accommodate a bunch of fun descriptions and asides, and let's not forget the mouse's opinions, that could be fun!

THE STRAIGHT STORY (Deer Woman) (technically a 5 minutes fandom since the above scene is all you need to know)

I recently caught a screening and was once again fascinated by that one standalone scene with the woman who seems cursed to hit deer with her car. Asking "so… what's up with that" felt like a Yuletide thing to do, so here I am! Please tell me anything about the woman who seems cursed to hit deer with her car! I'm open to all possibilities when it comes to the source of this peculiar predicament of hers, future developments, and her own psychological state. Feel free to get weird about it, of course - be it in a specifically lynchian, etherealwhooshy way or otherwise. Is this supernatural event vaguely & mysteriously grounded in some psychological issue of hers, reflecting her inner turmoil (what is it?), or is it a broader thing she got caught up in? Or is it a deer thing about deer? Twin Peaks crossovers welcome if that's where your imagination leads you (I'm familiar with the entire extended canon). Or Mulholland Drive or any other Lynch idk, it just feels kind of peaksy more than anything else, what with the, well, deer.

[excorcismic]

here i am . once more . telling myself three is plenty but justifying a fourth with ‘in my defense , i’ve been thinking about him for a while!’ so HOPEFULLY this goes well . A N Y W A Y . what’s up fam it’s hylia and we are back with one of my . . . my favorite video game characters of all time ; i love fire emblem so much & i’m so excited i’m finally getting a chance to write claude again !! keep in mind , i’ll try not to go too much into spoiler territory ( & it probably won’t be that hard in the sense , well , i won’t be going in depth about routes as of right now ) , but his general backstory does include a trigger for racism so please be advise while reading . other than that , enjoy the ride , and here we GOOOO !

IN A CANON NUTSHELL ( FE3H backstory spoilers ! ) : so when you meet claude in the story , he is one of the three house leaders of the officers academy in garreg Mach monastery - as the grandson of duke sovereign riegan of the leicester lliance , he is the leader of the golden deer house . byleth , the newest teacher , can choose to teach either the golden deer , black eagles , and blue lions - to which , if you choose the golden deer , you will be locked into the verdant wind path for the rest of the story . of course , that’s not all ; to the rest of garreg mach , claude is actually a mystery and a subject of huge suspicion given he’s known to be quite sly & a master but SCHEMEY tactician , even going as far as to consider dirty trickys & methods to win battles ( such as planning to get the opposing classes sick so they can’t participate , for one . ) and it’s also mentioned claude’s appearance before the events of the game . . . is very recent , like he just popped out of nowhere and suddenly the alliance was to be handed over to him . this is because claude is not actually from fodlan - claude’s not even his real name ! ( his real name is khalid ; it’s never stated in-game but an official source confirmed so in a gaming magazine ! ) it IS true he is of the riegan bloodline & the duke sovereign’s grandson ; however , his father is the king of almyra , a neighborhing country to fodlan who . . . REALLY does not like them . because that’s where his mother came from , ever since he was a child claude was subject to awful treatment from everyone in almyra - harassment , physical attacks , and even attempts on his life simply for the fact he was mixed of almyran and fodlan blood . he was given and protected from nothing by his parents ; which , that leads to his reasoning to come to fodlan - to learn an entirely different atmosphere and start his plans to create a new world in fodlan & almyra , free of evil prejudices & where people are kind to one another and don’t pay attention to anything such as skin color , background , etc . claude wants to free the world of prejudices and racism and harmful borders that allow these prejudices to fester - and if you pick his route in fire emblem : three houses , you can help him accomplish his wish .

IN AN ALUCARD NUTSHELL : like in-game , claude is not from here ; he’s the son of a wealthy technology ceo overseas , his mother born in alucard . he’s the heir to said business , but because he’s always been mistreated by other officials as the heir and his position is always getting contested , at seventeen he decided to move to alucard to try and figure out how he can use a new atmosphere to improve it from the outside . he’s been here five years now ; taking care of his ailing grandfather , he’s taken over his position at the local library and plays the role of observant onlooker . he knows key facts about anyone who enters its door , and the kicker ?? nobody knows anything about him . ah , the life .

BUT OHHHHHHHHHHHHH YOU WANNA PLOT WITH CLAUDE SO BAD OHHHHHHH

okay so for starters - frequent library people who claude talks to a lot , people he definitely probably knows some stuff about . a lot of times he also ?? reads on the job himself so he probably blends in with the crowd . probably has been called a sexy librarian multiple times bc i mean look at him and he’s got kind of a tendency to playfully flirt around . but the main focus of claude talking to everyone is , of course , to find out information and that’s probably why this is like , the central hub connection . claude is immensely smart and always planning shit and once you step into the library , he has his EYE on you .

also goes to bars & stuff frequently for similar reasons so he absolutely could know your muse from there or something !! he never actually drinks much himself - he goes to said places for the social aspect . 

people who knew claude for . . . the year he went to high school in alucard like it’s no secret that like . nobody knows where the hell claude came from before he moved to alucard with his grandfather at seventeen and he only completed his senior year here . so maybe people who always wanted to know more than what they’d learned after he just arrived ??

again , claude is extremely smart - so maybe people in high school he tutored or even people in college that he currently tutors , even though he isn’t enrolled in any classes . he always reads about shit and studies random things in his spare time ; very self-taught which helps him teach other people ! 

i want . . . kind of like a makeshift golden deer gang that hangs out of the library . people around claude’s age who come around the library frequently and they all just kind of vibe in one of the sections all the time and then they go somewhere else to hang . i love the idea of found friend groups and stuff which is kind of like how the deer house is . 

people who knew his grandfather from the library and they just kinda look at claude like “???” bc he . . . only popped up five years ago n still . seems kinda sus .

people who are just sus of claude in general for whatever reason and try to heavily look into who he is and stuff .

enemies for whatever reasons , people that claude’s just gotten under the skin of and it’s to the point where he’s onto it so he kinda. combats it with his own comeback . give me mutual bantery enemies pls

intellectual rivals bc i love it when the smart people go at war for each other

people who try and push claude to do more than just library stuff like encourage him to go to school or something but he has. his own plans. that he won’t share. so.

exes probably bc of how . . . unwilling to share information claude is . also hook-ups and stuff ; an eventual ship would be nice bt as always it’d need some development bc of how complicated claude is . he’s never been one to like . open up that much bc of his own reasons . flirtationships on the other hand i feel are frequent bc claude likes to flirt for fun but like . actual shit he can’t open up to rn and he’ll make that clear if he feels like he’s leading someone on . he’s not a fuckboy .

ANYWAY I’LL ADD MORE AS I THINK OF THEM BT HERE’S CLAUDE AHHH

[killthebxy-archive]

          PLEASE NOTE, before anything else, that this verse is based on my knowledge of the movies + my independent research only. i never read the books and possibly won’t any time soon, therefore, if you would like to discuss anything with me before (or during, or after) we start writing, so that we’re more on a same level, please feel free to --- i am always more than glad to learn more and improve my own ideas. this verse is also heavily influenced by headcanons and by my talks with @wildmoored & @ofherage (bless you both precious souls), and contains some lines of inspiration derived from the Life Is Strange video game. i purposefully leave the default timeline of this verse as vague, so it can easily fit any setting: golden trio era, Marauders era, Tom Riddle era, etc.

          with that said, in this verse, the Starks are an ancient pure-blood family in the wizarding world, well known for the same characteristics they have in the ASOIAF canon: brave and noble hearts, quick temper, honorable and ever ready both to help & for a good fight. despite their nature, though, they aren’t anywhere close to wealthy, and are known to struggle with money every now and then, especially now that their family includes six children. Jon himself was adopted, around the same time Robb was born to Ned and Cat, when they found a newborn baby abandoned nearby their home. they decided to adopt and raise him as their own, and, while Jon is aware of this, he has a very close and positive relationship with his parents and his siblings, no matter the lack of real blood ties. to some surprise, this adopted child eventually proved to be a wizard as well, but Ned and Cat treated it naturally and prepared Jon to attend education at Hogwarts, much as they did with Robb. the two of them joined during the same year, for being practically of the same age save for a few months.

          Jon was sorted into Gryffindor, as tends to happen for most Starks, based on traits such as courage, chivalry, and bravery of heart. he retains most character traits from the ASOIAF canon, still an introvert and relatively shy and very observant, though to a much lesser tragic scale --- aka not having to deal with half his family being murdered, being murdered himself, the end of the world, etc etc. for the most part, he’s as common as any other boy his age, and, while not the top student, still a fairly good one and one always motivated to learn more and improve. and, while he’s far from being a social butterfly and much rather prefers to do his own thing, he still has a few good close friends. on the other hand, and despite having a loving family and having had a very positive upbringing, Jon has quite low self-confidence and self-esteem, and falls easily to both bullying and manipulation --- for motives to be better explored in the next paragraphs.

          having grown up with magic, and with Robb as his rival and best friend, Jon has a natural liking for spell casting. he may not be the most powerful caster, but his spells are usually very precise and he can perform them with relative ease --- as well, just like canon!Jon with Longclaw in hand, he is rather graceful in the casting of his spells. because he’s also naturally curious, with an interest in learning and improving his own performance, it’s not rare to find him (even on his own) trying to master more difficult spells. he’s also decent at brewing potions, though it’s not too big of a deal for him --- more like something he doesn’t mind doing for class, sometimes for fun, but definitely nothing like a goal he’d truly invest in.

          where Jon’s talent truly shines, however, is in the art of Divination, for motives that dwell much farther into his story --- because, in this verse, Jon has a very close connection with the deathly hallows --- namely, with the Second Brother in The Tale Of The Three Brothers. please note that what i am going to state next is my personal headcanon, and slight deviation from the real tale as we know it.

          Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here he took out the stone that had the power to recall the dead, and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry before her untimely death appeared at once before him. Yet she was silent and cold, separated from him as though by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there and suffered. Finally, the second brother, driven mad with hopeless longing, killed himself so as truly to join her. And so Death took the second brother for his own.

          before this happened, however, before the Second Brother killed himself, some events took place. being driven mad with grief for his lost lover, as mentioned, he made a final attempt to reunite with her, even if in a different life, and, for this purpose, mastered the art of separating his soul into parts to be guarded within objects and entities --- creating a few horcruxes as one last, desperate hope to be able to continue existing and, this way, be able to reunite with the woman he loved yet again. throughout the sands of time, these horcruxes were either lost or destroyed; all except one --- a newborn baby abandoned in an alleyway. the same baby Ned and Catelyn Stark adopted as their own, making Jon the final recipient containing the soul of the Second Brother.

          Jon is unaware of this, as are all who live/contact with him (note: this is adaptable to thread), though some quirks in him easily raise suspicion that something is not completely regular about him. from a very young age, he would be plagued with dreams about times past that he could not entirely recognize, but that felt familiar in an unexplained way, and, occasionally, would have actual visions of events yet to happen. despite being an overall healthy child (and then teen and young adult), due to this connection to the Second Brother, he suffers from almost constant headaches and, whenever one of these episodes is more intense (particularly, the visions of the future), he will break down in a fever that lasts for a few good hours and has no bodily explanation, otherwise. these visions are cryptic and symbolic almost always, similar to Melisandre’s visions in the flames, and it takes Jon quite some effort to be able to precisely predict an event.

          another clear manifestation of the Second Brother’s essence in Jon is his deep longing for a girl he doesn’t know about and never met or saw before in his life --- the constant feeling that he is incomplete and aching to reunite with his other half, without the awareness of why this happens or where it comes from. the only clue he has about this mystery girl is the image of a long mane of fire-kissed hair. note: as default for this verse, this girl, who’s also the Second Brother’s lover, is represented by Ygritte --- however, i am open to discuss this and adapt it to different thread ideas. Jon tends to be rather secretive about this story, mainly because he can hardly understand it himself, but it is an overarching theme in his daily life. for example, he’s got a liking for drawing and painting, and the bulk of his spontaneous creations are related to this girl.

          yet another manifestation has to do with the manipulation of time-space. again, this is something that i am headcanoning out of my own musings, because (as far as i know) we do not have information about any sort of spells or anything else able to alter the time-space dimension, save for the time turner device. because the Second Brother was able to project his obsessive will throughout the centuries, however, creating a horcrux in the form of a baby in modern days, Jon retains a little bit of this gift. he cannot do it at will at all and it is a very consuming process, but, whenever his emotions are in strong disarray (e.g., very angry, very sad, very anxious), at times it provokes minor mishaps in the time-space --- such as rewinding a few minutes in time without meaning to, or accidentally warping objects or even to make them disappear.

          on the other hand, Jon’s biggest flaw as a wizard comes from a rather mundane fact: that he has severe phobia of heights. logically, this greatly hinders his skill to ride a broom, which is something he avoids as much as possible. during his first year at Hogwarts, he actually scored a very brilliant last place in Madam Hooch’s flying class and was only able to push through it by means of exceptional willpower and determination --- but make no mistake, he’s the worst broom rider ever and will cling to you for dear life & squish your ribs flat if you make him fly anything else at all with you --- this, if he actually doesn’t slip off it altogether and smacks himself down on the ground below.

          as far as his faithful companion goes, and no surprises here, in Jon’s case it is Ghost. wolves (a regular wolf, not a direwolf, in this verse) are usually not a welcome presence on the school grounds, but, thanks to the good relationships between the Starks and Rubeus Hagrid, and once the animals proved to be well trained and no threat to the students, they were allowed to live in the Forbidden Forest and to visit the castle’s outside areas, though not the castle itself.

a sum-up of general details:

default verse age: varies between 11 and 18, depending on the school year;

in post-school year threads, Jon is a professor at Hogwarts and responsible for the Divination class;

bisexual and biromantic (note: because of his longing for the mysterious girl, building up a romantic relationship with him will take time and effort, though i am not opposed to it if chemistry is present. for this same motive, unless otherwise plotted beforehand, the default, no matter Jon’s age, is that he never had a relationship before, at both sexual and romantic levels);

social drinker, more for the fun of it than anything else, and doesn’t smoke;

no tattoos and no piercings, because he personally doesn’t see the appeal in it;

is quite short-sighted and wears glasses;

sucks at winking because he cannot blink only one eye at a time.

wizarding world details:

Jon’s wand is fir wood with a unicorn hair core, twelve inches, and rigid flexibility. 

          Gerbold Octavius Ollivander always called wands made of fir ‘the survivor’s wand’, for having sold it to three wizards who subsequently passed through mortal peril unscathed. this wood, coming as it does from the most resilient of trees, produces wands that demand staying power and strength of purpose in their true owners, and they are poor tools in the hands of the changeable and indecisive. fir wands favor owners of focused, strong-minded and, occasionally, intimidating demeanor. unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. they are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner. minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may 'die' and need replacing.

          if, in any situation, Jon was to face a Boggart, it would shift into the shape of a broom --- more concretely, one actually poking at him and trying to get him to ride it. this is the symbol of his deep fear of flying and, ultimately, his deep fear of heights. to counter it, his Riddikulus spell would change the broom into a cute dancing one, worthy of any Disney movie.

          Jon’s class record goes as follows, with little fluctuation during the different years (Arithmancy was a third option allowed exceptionally to him when picking the classes to add to the core ones, based on his great talent and liking for the subject):

Arithmancy:  (O)utstanding

Astronomy: (E)xceeds Expectations

Care of Magical Creatures: (E)xceeds Expectations

Charms: (E)xceeds Expectations

Defense Against the Dark Arts: (E)xceeds Expectations

Divination: (O)utstanding

Flying: (D)readful

Herbology: (A)cceptable

History of Magic: (A)cceptable

Potions: (A)cceptable

Transfiguration: (E)xceeds Expectations

          finally, Jon’s Patronus charm takes the form of a Thestral --- more information HERE. Jon is also able to see real Thestrals, for having witnessed death before --- not in his current life, but in his past one. this fact brings confusion both to him and to those he tells about it, exactly because, in his current life, he’s never witnessed a death. it is yet another remnant of his existence as the Second Brother, and the tragic loss of his lover.

[krovscastlerpg]

RULES

Our Murder Mystery will last from March 12th through March 18th. Like always, you’re free to choose if you want to participate in the event or not.

IC time equals OOC time, which means that the investigation will last for seven whole days.

Once the event has begun, we ask you to only post starters which are related to it. Please tag all new starters with krovscastleevent. We also recommend to put your prior threads on hold, so you can concentrate on the event and other members won’t get confused (this is not mandatory).

Rules for masters, staff and slaves still apply! This means slaves who misbehave will have to face a punishment either by a master or the enforcer. Masters and staff members who break the castle rules will be punished as well.

Claims will stay intact throughout the event and all individual collars and marks will remain as well. Unclaimed slaves and staff members will continue to wear their usual collar, which can only be taken off by a master.

New applications will still be accepted during the event week.

IC Information

Something wicked this way comes…

A master has been found murdered in his suite, and nearly everyone’s a suspect!

Councilman of Latvia, Vytautas Putenis, was found dead in his suite this morning after reports of screaming and the smell of vampire blood made their way to the castle guards.

Alongside Councilman Putenis, a human slave—Micheal Newton—was found dead from asphyxiation, while Councilman Putenis was found decapitated, having been bled out before death.

Given the nature of the death-—as it was caused by a human weapon, NOT supernatural powers—it is HIGHLY suspected that the death was the work of multiple slaves and/or staff members, with many Council members estimating the number to range between four and ten. As such: ALL SLAVES AND STAFF MEMBERS ARE UNDER SUSPICION.

The Council is especially suspicious of any slaves who have a history of troublemaking, and will begin their investigation with them.

Interrogations will start immediately as well as a raid on the Undercroft. Slaves and staff members will be “asked” to give samples of their blood and finger prints, and to pass an elaborate lie detection test performed by a witch hired specifically for this investigation. Note: Claimed slaves are NOT automatically exempt, and any master who vouches for his claim will be held PERSONALLY responsible if the Council finds reason to believe that the slave was involved with the crime; ergo: if a master pleads exemption for his claim from the investigation he will be punished alongside his claim should his claim be found to have any connection to the murder; masters may ONLY plead exemption if they have an alibi for their slave’s whereabouts on the morning of the crime).

The investigation will last a maximum—though not necessarily a minimum—of one week, by which point anyone believed to be connected to the murders will be executed in the courtyard for onlookers to observe. If a certain conclusion is not reached by the end of the week, ALL suspects will be executed as a precaution, and to send a warning to anyone else involved who may not have been captured yet.

ANYONE who has any information or suspicions is HIGHLY encouraged to report their beliefs to a Council member, the head guard Min-Ki, or  secretary Halwyn

Masters are deeply encouraged not to interact with unfamiliar slaves during this time, and will be provided with a personal guard at their request; ALL Council members will be provided with two personal guards, this is NOT negotiable, as the Council has no reason to believe that this could not happen again.

The Council wishes their DEEPEST condolences to any acquaintances of the deceased, and their most SINCERE apologies to all Castle Masters, and would like to gift each master with a one-of-a-kind white gold pocket watch as a token of their apologies, and their gratitude in the Masters’ cooperation during this time.

OOC Information

This mystery will have the entire castle’s attention, as slaves and staff members are ALL suspects automatically, and the Council will not be conservative in their suspicions OR their executions, even if you’re cleared of suspicion, your friend or lover may not be… this similarly goes for masters, as��though masters are not AUTOMATICALLY suspects (though an individual master may be if there comes to be a reason for it) their favorite slaves and/or staff members are, of course participation in this event is not mandatory and nothing will happen to your muse if you decide to opt out (there’s no need to message the main).

The mystery will include a blend of actual characters, as well as NPCs, and there will be a small advantage to older members and/or members who are very familiar with the majority of the castle, as there will be some fun easter eggs revealed throughout, and a character you have a connection with may be involved more deeply than you first imagined… paying close attention to details may give you some fun surprises!

Though the primary aspects of the mystery (victim, head investigator, and murderer) have already been decided, if you wish for your character to have a special role in the the mystery (primary suspect, new Latvian Councilman- which may be applied for as a new character or a current character- friend/lover of one of the victims, etc) please message the main and we’ll work something out with you!

If your character is participating in solving the mystery, he may message Min-Ki or Hal as well as the main to have his suspicions replied to IC (in cases of the main, the ask will be posted without comment) OR you can simply mention the interaction in a post or headcanon it! There are no prizes or IC benefits to solving the mystery this time around* so if and how you solve it won’t have any real impact on the game.

A new peice of background information AND a new clue will be posted as a “Plot Drop” every day at 6 P.M. EST until the event is over, these will be important in solving the case, though beware of red herrings!

Please keep in mind that “solving the mystery” is NOT the only objective of this event (and for some, not even the main objective) as the primary objective IC for each character is keeping himself and/or his loved ones safe from the castle noose, so if you don’t like mysteries/don’t feel necessarily confident in solving them, PLEASE don’t feel like you can’t participate!! There are LOTS of other things for your character to play with.

*PLEASE let us know throughout and after the event if you enjoyed this new, experimental game, your opinions will determine if we do another mystery themed game in the future!

P.S. Don’t worry if you like darker plots but this event isn’t your thing, there will be a plot drop later this month that might just catch your eye…

[symphonyofmalice]

A meta essay on writing

Dramatic statement: You don’t need to be inspired to write. 

Essay on writing, “muses”, and the language used across roleplaying communities below the cut. I will be explaining my perspective and opinion by providing a history of my writing and roleplaying experience, across multiple platforms and forums. Through this, I will elaborate on things I have observed and experienced on the nature of writing. My central points: “Inspiration” is a myth (or half a myth) and how one talks about roleplaying influences how one experiences it.  

I first started writing in sixth grade. These were cringe-worthy stories 90% copied of off books I was reading at the time, but everyone has to start somewhere. My earliest writings were fanfiction, something I know is true for many. Throughout late grade school and high school, I also started writing original works with original characters. Throughout all of this, I believed what many people did: that I needed to be “in the mood” to  write. Sometimes I would have the mood but not the time, sometimes I would have the time but not the mood, etc. I firmly held that I could not write well if not in a state of inspiration. 

I started roleplaying in college. I joined LARP and tabletop games. I joined many roleplay forums (rpnation, flightrising, others, eventually including tumblr). This is where I had my critical revelation. Here is how it happened:

I opened a writing shop on flight rising, since after 6+ years I was getting pretty confident in my work. In the shop, I set myself deadlines for when I would write what my customers asked for (biographies, short stories, etc.). Because I was on a time limit, I couldn’t rely on mood. It didn’t matter wether or not I was inspired, I had to write. So I forced myself to, absolutely sure my work would suck.

And you know what? (I’m sure you can guess). It didn’t. My writing was (while surely not perfect) just as good as it would be in an ‘inspired’ moment. Writing was a skill. And just like I didn’t need to be “in the mood” to write an essay or a term paper, I didn’t need it to write fantasy. My writing had achieved a certain skill  level with practice, and that would remain consistent. The realization was honestly freeing. I put it as “there is no such thing as writer’s block”. One can be tired, or not in the mood, or unsure how to proceed. But one’s writing skill doesn’t magically go away. 

Now to my second point: different roleplay communities have different language. Most forums and other sites I’ve used use the terms “character” and “player” or “writer”. The phrasing of “muse” is, from what I’ve seen, mostly specific to tumblr. 

Why does this matter? I am a firm believer in the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. This is a complex theory with a lot of research, but it boils down to the fact that language affects our perception at a fundamental level. So for example, people in whose native languages the word “bridge” is feminine will describe it with feminine traits such as “elegant”, but if the word is masculine, they might describe it as “sturdy”. People with more color-words (e.g. russian distinguishes dark blue form light blue) perform better on visual color tests. 

And I see no reason why this wouldn’t apply to roleplay. If you think of your active rp entity as a “character” then they are more under your control. If they are a “muse” in the classic sense, that word is tied far more into ideas of 1. third person agency (a muse can come or go) and 2. inspiration. I’ve seen people refer to their characters in third person a lot more on tumblr than on other sites. (e.g. “my muse hasn’t been around”, “hides from muse”, “my muse is feeling ___”.)

Now, I’m not saying that this use of language limits tumblr writers more than those on any other sites. To use the Sapir-Whorf examples above, even an english speaker can still see the difference between dark and light blue. The same “problems” exist in all platforms, they are simply perceived differently. In other words, someone here might say “My muse has been gone”, someone on another website might say “I haven’t been feeling up to it”, or “I wasn’t in the mood”. Same problem, different source attribution. The muse is responsible for the writing, instead of the writer. 

So what am I trying to say with this? I’m not here to guilt you. As I mentioned, the realization was freeing for me. You don’t need a muse or a mood. The writing talent was in you the whole time. Take ownership of your skills, attribute your talent to yourself. You don’t have to force yourself to write. Sometimes you’re busy, or tired, or just don’t feel like writing something. That’s perfectly understandable and ok. Moods still exist and being in an energized writing mood certainly will help make the writing feel easier or more rewarding. But don’t let lack of muse or mood be an obstacle. It’s only a “magic feather”- the writing is yours.