#and i like the handshake in the newer one!

[gaywineauntsstuff]

Sometimes I feel like us as the bat family fandom forget how starry eyed people get about Nightwing canonically.

Because with the exception of early era Tim most of the Batkids are like. lol that’s my loser older brother or some variation of yeah…he’s some guy I guess? He helps me with homework?

And Nightwing is the canonically a center of multiversal light.

When Heroes meet Nightwing they do the vigorous handshake and the “it’s an honor to meet you sir, I have heard so much about you oh my god”

There are so many character where they are literally shown giggling and kicking their feet whenever Nightwing talks to them.

Even the people who don’t have the celebrity level worship of him respect the hell out of him and call him as soon as they need help.

From raven to Starfire to Superman to Superboy to all or the flashes there is so much respect and awe given to this one dude.

And it is deserved

But imagine you are Damian Wayne and you’ve been working with what 90% of the people you’ve met (all bats) have been calling an embarrassment to your father’s legacy.

Your mother hates him and your Grandfather doesn’t feel that strongly about him.

The red hood calls him an embarrassment and a coward and he couldn’t even keep Red Robin from running away.

Your father tells him that he never should have been Batman

And you’ve worked with him and you know what you think everyone is full of shit about him and you and him the new Batman and Robin are the best no matter what anyone says.

And fuck it the fact he keeps going in a suit that everyone tells him he’s not good enough for is scratching something in your brain that you’re refusing to acknowledge because why would you feel that way? You are the circus freak have nothing in common (shut up)

And then you meet the justice league and all the extended teams.

And people are falling over themselves to listen to a word out of your brothers, your Batman’s mouth. They wait for a nod or headshake and dictate decades worth of planning on it.

Both Drake and Todd’s hero teams ask him for advice with or without their designated bats presence.

The man of steel asks for child rearing advice and wonder woman cracks a joke about a spar

Newer heroes whisper about him in the halls

He’s literally your favorite hero’s favorite hero

And it’s breaking Damian’s Brain

Because well… he kinda gets slapped around in Gotham. He’s the butt of half the jokes the other Batkids make and Dick just smiles and takes it.

The rogues have a bounty on nightwings ass and he gets leered at by goons, rogues, civilians and anti-hero’s alike and he doesn’t say anything.

He lets oracle crack jokes about a pretty face and having to do everything herself

Let’s Jason run the alley despite the fact that apparently he knows how to take it back

Apparently he’s had 12 people tailing Drake since Paris and despite being the man Ra’s Al Ghul calls detective has yet to notice. (Because you can’t tell me Dick was just magically at the right place to catch Tim falling to his death on coincidence)

And necessary to peace talks because he’s the best they have at deescalation

Like imagine you are a child who was raised to believe power is this obvious, all consuming thing. That the ones who control the board are visibly larger than life figures who fought their way to the top and cling to power by even the thinnest hangnail if they had to.

People who ignore simpler morals or an overall greater goal or good

And then you’re taken in by the man who whispers the correct answers into the larger than life figures ear.

Like I feel like that would have such an impact because Dick didn’t take power from anyone to reach his goals, it’s why his siblings don’t really defer to him unless in crisis.

Dick didn’t take power, no people just looked at him and decided he was the best option to give it to.

Everyone basically looked at this kid and went, yeah you’re the future of all heroism.

And if that dude can’t even get Bruce Wayne’s respect what chance does Damian Wayne have

[kitnjon]

I would love if you could recommend some newer modern Jonsa fics!!!!

Hi anon, Sure! Some modern AU's I am reading/read this year

You tend the ash, and I’ll tend the pine by @eruherdiriel

“Are we really never gonna talk about it?” Arya snaps. “We’re all gonna pretend everything is normal and happy when Sansa just got divorced?” “Statistically, it is normal,” Bran says. “The divorce rate is something like—” “It’s not normal! Not for this family, and not for Sansa. True love, forever and always, that’s Sansa.” “Jon isn’t the person she married,” Catelyn chides. “Not anymore.” — Sansa and Jon get divorced, but fully untangling their lives is impossible.

2. all eyes on us by @theshipshipper

Sansa is one of the biggest popstars on the planet, Jon is among the top streamers in Westeros -- and the internet goes wild when their well-hidden connection is uncovered.

3. frozen pines by @cellsshapedlikestars

It hits Jon, then - the sharp smell of ozone. A scent that years ago, he’d become all too familiar with. The aftermath of a lightning strike, the burning of wires. Electricity heavy in the air. The hair on his arms still stands on end. The scar on his hand feels tight. His heart is still pounding. It’s just a storm coming, he tells himself. He’s in White Harbor, not Eastwatch. It’s just a storm. or, the Exclusion Zone spreads for the first time in almost fifty years, with Sansa trapped inside. Jon will do whatever it takes to get her out.

4. tell me, what's the perfect time? by @prclainivrysteel

"I'm Jon," he reaches out for a handshake, "I probably should've led with that." "Yeah, probably," she replies, fighting against the goofy-looking smile that threatens to take over her face, "I'm Sansa." She slips her hand into his. His fingers are calloused, but the way he touches her is gentle. The cold press of his rings sends a pleasant shudder down Sansa's body, making her toes tingle. Jon softly repeats her name. The tips of his ears are red, most likely from the chilly, September winds. He looks away for a brief moment, as if gathering his thoughts, before meeting her gaze once more. "That’s pretty."

5. how she died by @cellsshapedlikestars

She's buried on a cold, dreary day in late January. That’s all Jon can seem to think about at the funeral. It’s too cold, the sky is too grey. Bleak and barren; there isn’t even snow. It’s an inane, intrusive thought. It could rain, at least, he thinks. The sky should weep for her. The universe should mourn. It doesn’t make sense. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t understand why anyone would murder Sansa Stark.

6. i'm on fire by @cellsshapedlikestars

“Okay,” she says, voice shaking. “I’ll do it. I’ll order an escort.” “Are you sure?” Randa asks, eyes wide like she doesn’t think Sansa is. It only makes Sansa’s teeth grind together. “Yes, I’m sure,” she grits out. If Harry wants an open relationship, she’s going to give it to him.

7. trojan horse by @cellsshapedlikestars

He’s only known her for an hour, but he’s pretty sure he’s in love with her.

8. Attorney–Client Privilege by @kit-kat21

No one in her family had ever done this before. Her parents were true soulmates. Sansa hated to admit that she partially blamed them for giving her such high expectations of marriage and love. Her brother and his wife, Jeyne (Westerling), had just celebrated their twelfth wedding anniversary. None of her grandparents, aunts or uncles had ever been divorced. Sansa Stark was the first in her whole family to have this distinct honor. So there was no one she could ask for help or advice. When she told her parents that she wanted to file first, Ned and Catelyn did what they did with all of their children when one of them came to them. They dove right in and helped the best they could. Googling divorce lawyers seemed to be the only thing they could do and from there, they read reviews because just like restaurants and hair salons, divorce lawyers were online-reviewed, too.

9. snow angels by @kingsansa

He finds, as the hairs on the back of his neck rise, as his heart completely fucking nosedives, that her voice is lower than he remembers, but unmistakable all of the same. Sansa Stark stands in the hallway of his shitty, hole-in-the-wall, egregiously outdated bar; unmistakable.

10. Later Nights by @justadram

Her husband, Jon Snow, might be in his off-season--blessedly. But with the Summer Olympics around the corner, her late-night Olympic show producer, Tyrion Lannister, hasn't forgotten about the unlikely Team USA star and their recording-setting ratings in 2022. He has his sights set on a triumphant rematch between the newlyweds any way he can get it.

11. We Run the Gamut (Let's Run Away) by @hilarychuff

Boy and girl meet. Live parallel lives. And, one day, they start to come together. Scenes inspired by all the different types of love for the Jonsa Valentine's Day Event 2024.

12. Touch me, I’m going to scream by @eruherdiriel

He’s one building away when he sees her—auburn hair in two neat French braids, a grey peacoat on, and hands in green fleece gloves holding a shopping bag that looks heavy. Sansa Stark is walking up the steps of the triple-decker, leaving a sleek, black sedan idling by the curb. Flustered, Jon jogs the rest of the way and reaches the steps just as Sansa raises a hand to ring the buzzer. “Hey,” he says, and she stops her motion. When she turns to him, Sansa’s eyes go wide. “Are you all right?” — Jon and Sansa—how touch evolves between them over the years.

[pyromainiacc]

In Defense of Magnificus

A very very long rant by me. Originally from a rant I posted in a discord server in 2022, modified to be a little more concise. I have to apologize if some of this stuff is incredibly outdated, I haven't really bothered to catch up with newer stuff about the game outside of the game itself yknow... Like twitch streams from the dev and such.

I saw a theory that Magnificus was originally intended to be the villain of the original, in lore Inscryption, but through the rush of making the game as a coverup and developers like Kaycee not making much progress on the development because of said rush, he didn't get finished. And I think if you really analyze his character, everything about him FEELS unfinished.

His character design is super simple compared to the other scrybes. His deck is weak; there are not a lot of hard hitting cards aside from the Stim Mage, and the Magiks system itself feels wonky, as if they didn't have enough time to balance it out. His tower feels empty (Specially that damned bathroom. It haunts me.) His letter stops before its completed, he suddenly disappears mid-sentence... He's the only scrybe to not get a proper 3D version, as the game was mostly deleted by the time we got to him in Act 4, and he might've been the only scrybe that never became hegemon. We don't get to finish his battle, and he doesn't even get a handshake.

And going back to originally being a villain? Maybe that's why he was made to be so cruel to his pupils. P03 is also mean to his subordinates, but they're robots, they're not mean to gain as much sympathy from the player. Meanwhile, Magnificus is established to be mean and perhaps downright evil by the dialogue we get through Act 2. Rebecha speaks about him by saying he's mysterious, stating "Some say he wants... No, it's too terrible to say." But we never know what that refers to, and if it's coded dialogue or her own speech.

Outside of the CODED IN lore behind his pupils suffering, we don't see him being evil AT ALL. In Act 1 he is practically our savior; his throughout preparing was able to get us the film roll, and if we take too long he sends the player VISIONS to guide us in the right way. In Act 2 he attempts to warn the player about P03, his paint leads around to secrets to clue in about the OLD_DATA as well as perhaps serving as warnings for it. At the end of the game he is the only one who is distraught about everything being deleted; Grimora and Leshy accept their deaths, but Magnificus REFUSES to.

But wouldn't a villain rejoice about people dying? About, in his own words, an entire world being destroyed? It's like the original plan for his villainy was there, but he doesn't WANT to be one.

Now as to why he seems to continue to treat his pupils badly. I think it's just.. guilt. I believe he didn't have a choice in making them suffer, they were all just coded into what we know of Act 2. They were all created with the pupils being in torturous states and the game code telling them "It's Magnificus' fault". I think he himself believes this. I believe he could have tried to fix it before. But the thing is that, even if he ever did fix it, if he stopped their pain, it would all be for nothing... because the game resets. The only times it doesn't do this is when a scrybe takes over, which is something he has supposedly never been able to do. And if he were to help them outside of being hegemon they'd just go back to their original state once the new game card was used. I think he simply gave up upon realizing this and instead chose to bury his own grief that comes from it by playing into the character he was originally meant to be; the villain. That, and I think he just doesn't want to look at them... It hurts him to. I believe this is why he painted bleach over Goobert's painting.

I think him being originally an unfinished villain plays into him always being prepared. As I stated before, people often forget how helpful he is- it's due to his preparations that we are able to leave Act 1, he warns about The Great Transcendence in Act 2, warns Luke about the OLD_DATA, and warns him about the fate he'd encounter if he looked upon it. I think Magnificus wants to make up for his "villainy" by being the one the other scrybes and npcs can rely on in a time of need, so he spends every hour of everyday getting ready for the worst, and foreseeing what is gonna happen next.

Thing is that, he never stops anything from happening. He prepares a way out of Leshy's hegemony, but he can't stop it from happening in the first place. It's very probable that he was the one that planned how to stop P03 in Act 3, as we see he has been preparing since at least Act 2. But not only does the P03 hegemony happen, but he is ultimately unable to stop the Great Transcendence once it is in progress. Same thing for the game's deletion, which I believe it is at that point he truly panicked, because he couldn't foresee it or plan for it beforehand. It all feels like... An unfinished character arc. He never got to do anything he wanted.

I think he feels powerless.

Magnificus is often regarded as the worst scrybe. But in a sense, there's no real reason why that should be the case, at least not compared to the others. Like... Leshy took over the game and put the other scrybes into cards. He had good intentions, sure, but that doesn't mean his actions were good. Magnificus lost his eye, Grimora lost her memory, P03.... Was having a bad time...

Hell, the reason people hate Magnificus so much so often is because of the treatment of his pupils... But Leshy isn't all innocent there either. He puts Goobert in a bottle (At least, maybe he does. It's not clear whether it was him or Mags), which we know Goobert REALLY doesn't like, and he also put Goobert's description in the rulebook as "Failure". He also threw the bottle into the river as stated by himself in Kaycee's Mod.

P03... I don't gotta explain this one we know it is an asshole.

...And Grimora deleted the game, which basically killed everyone in it. While she had good intentions, it really only led to the discovery of the OLD_DATA and the subsequent assassination of Luke.

Now, what did Magnificus do? Nothing. Like... Really. He didn't GET to do anything. People dislike him because of his treatment of his pupils, but as I talked about before, I really don't think he can do anything about that, even if he wanted to.

So why do people so easily hate him? Circles back to the theory: Because he's unfinished. Everything about him is unfinished. The other scrybes are loved because we got to finish their arcs... We get to know why they each do what they did.

P03 not so much, but... P03 is a villain of sorts, people like villains and don't need them to be "good" to like them, which I agree with cuz villains are fun! P03 does have some sympathy points somewhere, though, which I'm not gonna go into here.

I'm gonna focus on Grimora and Leshy instead. Their farewells were perfect closure:

Grimora spoke about why she chose to delete the game, and we as the player come to understand her. It was right after her doing it in the first place, so we didn't even get to really build anger towards her. She talks about it being a necessary action- perhaps something we can agree with after knowing everything about the OLD_DATA. She laments not being able to play more with us, but she accepts her death and says goodbye.

Leshy talks about just.. wanting to play. That's all he wants, he just wanted to give us a good story. The original Inscryption is rushed and weird- Act 1, his hegemony, was his attempt to make it better and enjoyable (Which, considering it is the Act people love most, he succeeded.)

The player probably misses him by this point- playing cards with him feels somber, sad, and nostalgic. At this point we consider him a friend. And then he gets deleted after complementing our past deck, speaking about how much he enjoyed his time with us, and saying farewell. It's not something that leaves us with any possible anger towards him.

Magnificus though... He doesn't get that. We never get to talk to him properly, he never speaks about how he feels or why he does things. In Act 1 he spends most of the time in the clock, in Act 2 he gets cut off when trying to speak to us, Act 3 he only speaks a few sentences, and in Act 4..

His farewell is different than the other two. Leshy and Grimora accept their deaths... Magnificus doesn't. He doesn't talk about his feelings or justify his actions, because if you have been holding in your feelings, that is something you do when you can no longer do so. You let them go when you know you're going to die soon.

But he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to die, he can't accept it.

The game he played with us wasn't complete- the scales were gone, so we weren't even supposed to play against him. It was his opportunity to just say what he needed to say before he was gone, but he refused to accept his upcoming death. So instead he tried prolonging the process by using unrealistically high numbers instead of scales (The bigger the number, the longer the game will take, right..?). Even as he felt himself getting deleted he refused to end the game, or even talk to the player properly. For once, he couldn't prepare for the worst, and he was in denial- he was completely powerless and he didn't want to accept it. Instead, he speaks to us about the game deleting. He blames the player for it. He tries to guilt us; "You even allowed my goo mage to get deleted... I thought you two were becoming friends!"

And he doesn't get a handshake. He tried to push his deletion away for so long that he ended up not even being able to finish the match or get the same, proper farewell that Grimora and Leshy got.

I think by now I've said what I needed to say, but I wanna add that... Yeah, I think he's one of the most tragic characters in the game. I think he spends a lot of time being anxious- we don't get a clear answer on if he can see the future or if he is just able to predict it, but either way he lives with a lot of anxiety because of it.

I think the worst part is the deletion of the game and his farewell. He isn't able to let go because he's scared to, and because he has spent his whole life trying to prevent bad things from happening; trying to help his friends to get out of bad situations they caused themselves. But this time he's not able to, he can't do ANYTHING about it, and he's terrified because that means his whole existence and work is just... Gone. He spent all his days preparing for the worst scenarios, only for it all to be thrown away. He WASTED his life for nothing. And it hurts me that the fandom never saw that.

Or maybe I'm overthinking all of it. Maybe this has all already been directly disproven. But I still wanted to share this.

[kalevalaknights]

What are your personal personality headcanons, on the 4 Googles? :]

My drawing request is that you draw your interpretations, of the 4 of them, too, but you don’t have to if you don’t wanna!

I know you said personality HC’s I uhh I uhhh let me tell you a thing or two about a thing or two

I like to think the four of them are ultimately one and the same. A hive mind if you will. They can all perform the same mundane or complex tasks as each other, some may have a different attitude about it. I would like to think the original Blue created the other three to spread the brainpower contained in his system.

But of course each robot still has their own mannerisms and quirks to them. The other egos in the office have given them each a variety of different nicknames.

If Google isn’t connected to wifi, the shirt goes white with a dinosaur on it. You will usually spot them playing the dinosaur game.

BLUE: Often dubbed as Ben, Bob, or simply B.

This one has a cracked lens in his glasses, often times wires have been pulled loose from areas that they are exposed. He has the most physical wear and age from a beta testing incident with the streamer Matthias. There is still dry blood in the crevices of his articulated finger joints.

His built-in eyelids and eyebrows have limited function, so his talking is often accompanied with gestures. His eyes are usually covered up by glasses with computer monitor screens for lenses. His “newer” eyes are displayed here and are much more expressive than his built face.

Think of it as your good reliable computer you’re not ready to give up yet and keep putting accessories on it so that it still works.

He has a blunt and tired attitude about him if he is doing tasks, but is generally alright to talk to. He speaks to everyone as if they are a coworker. His form of humor is denying a task, but actively going to do it anyways. Eerily nice to you if he intends to kill you. Smiles too much.

YELLOW: Often dubbed as Oliver, York, or Y.

This one has yellow eyes, and is surprisingly the second least expressive. Being the only Google that mildly tolerates Bing, he has the same amount of head trauma as him from being commanded to kick flip. He isn’t stupid, he is unable to turn down a request. This also causes him to be a bit clumsy / have a slightly off coordination.

He is the nicest one to talk to, as it looks like he’s actually listening. However his “listening” after a while sounds like he isn’t listening. Serious case of customer service voice when doing tasks. Will usually go off and complain and rip up paper afterward. Mistaken as the kind and smiley one because he’s Yellow, but really has more malicious compliance and snark to him than the others.

GREEN: Often dubbed as Greg, Grant or G.

This one has hazel eyes! He’s the most expressive of them and seems to be the only one in good condition.

He is the most compliant, speaking and acting a little more formal than the others. Seemingly the busiest one, often declaring himself the superior office assistant for fetching coffee the fastest. As if there is a contest. Opts for a tight knuckle-cracking handshake instead of a high five. Tries to casually advertise things to you in the hopes you type out your credit card number. No, he’s not going to install an ad blocker for your sake.

RED: Often dubbed Reggie, Ray or R.

He has dark brown eyes. Tends to react to things through body language, speaks a little too fast.

The only one that uses their eye cameras as cameras. Takes videos of random things, embarrassing things, funny things. Will sometimes procrastinate on a task or he will announce that he is going to do it. If you tell him to stop talking he will pull out music videos to concentrate. Or that one time you tripped on your own leg so that you go away. Walks into a room and talks to anyone to find something interesting to comment on. Often hanging out with Wilford or the Jims because they need an extra cameraman that doesn’t bleed. Puts hate comments on all of Bing’s videos.

-They all subtly pick up mannerisms and words from the people surrounding them, to appear “up to date” in conversation.

-Green believes he is the leader until Blue gives an order.

-Red is the only one that has tried to eat things. He still chews or drinks things, but spits it out right after.

-Yellow wears circular glasses. Red usually does not wear any glasses.

[writingbyshiloh]

Vampire AU headcanons for the Marquis de Gramont

CW: 18+ for the smut part, Vampires, blood, blood drinking, a brief reference to sex in a mirror, slightly obsessive Vincent, slight NSFW content (but there is a warning before it too), (minor)Vincent blames the reader for drinking their blood, GN! Reader  I read it for grammar but we all know how that goes

Summary: Hcs about the Marquis du Gramont in a vampire AU. 

AN: I had the BIGGEST crush on Angel from Buffy so anything vampire is a yes from me. I wanted this to be headcanons with a few blurbs sprinkled about. Not sure what it turned out to be, but it's long and I feel like I focused more on the vampire than MVdG. Also thinking of doing vamp!reader and hunter!MVdG. If you don't like this concept it is okay just don't read

Being a vampire hunter is your life, and not to toot your horn but you're fairly good at spotting them, luring them into a secluded place and then killing him 

That's how you first spot him. 

A friend gave you a spare ticket to a ballet she's in, you dress up and go to support her. It’s good to balance normal things and monster hunting. 

The audience is small, spread out in the large theatre. She told you it's a special performance, for benefactors and close family/friends

You go to the bathroom during intermission, but end up bumping into him

Tall, dark hair, a pale face and handsome, his dark suit sparkling under the lights.

It takes a few minutes for you to realize that his a vampire, you’re more so used to the newer ones, drunk on immortal life mostly in night clubs. 

He's a gentleman though, oozing manners. If you had to guess he’s a couple of hundred years old 

You extend your hand to him for a handshake and tell him your name. He repeats in a soft French accent. Slender fingers cup your own as he brings your hand to his lips, gently placing a kiss on the back of your hand. You’re embarrassed by how fast your mind goes to all the other places you want to feel his lips. The lights flash above the both of you, a silent reminder that the show will continue. As you make your way back to your seat, half of you hopes that you'll see him again, and the other hopes you never do,

Turns out you don’t have to wait that long before seeing him again. You want to go back to congratulate your friend, tell her how great she was etc. He sees you and “accidentally” bumps into you backstage. Every part of your brain tells you to run, fight, and get away but you don't. You want to know him. 

He asks if he can see you again and you tell him to meet you at the Louvre. It’s a public place which makes you feel safer, 

Tells you to meet him during the night. You’re not sure how he gets this kind of access to places like this, he's loaded with money, he has to be to rent out a place like this overnight 

He tells you about the paintings, pointing out details and societal context that would have been important (almost like he was there during that period hmmm)

And you really should not be alone with a vampire in the museum, and if you were you should take the time to kill him 

But something keeps causing you to trust him. Plus you have fighting experience and he doesn’t even look like he gets his hands dirty, You'll be fine? Right? You can protect yourself 

(you can't)

He tells you that you should go to his estate, he has a private art collection, which he thinks would suit your tastes more 

(Don’t go to his house, you will not make it out the same)

You protest, not wanting to be in a house with a vampire, he tells you to come during the day if it makes you feel safer 

It almost feels like a joke when he says it

So you do

He leads the tour of his house but remains fully in the shadows. As long as you’re in the sunlight you'll be fine

The tour ends with his private art collection, you notice a theme of blood, eroticism, murder, and cannibalism. 

(He has some portraits of him done over the centuries there too)

You’re so caught up with looking at the paintings of him over time (and how he never ages). Most vampires try to hide what they are, especially with a slayer BUT he's not. He knows what you are and knows that you know what he is

As you admire the paintings, he takes the opportunity to shut the blinds, the gold chandeliers casting light and shadows over his face, making his face look more angular, teeth look sharper etc etc 

You’re looking at the painting while he looks at you, and your exposed neck

You’re not making it out unbitten HAHA

Only let's get into a few NSFW ones which lead into a whole other rambling

Neck kissing, hickeys, you name it

He's trying SO SO SO HARD not to bite you but can't resist some indulgences, trying to satisfy the craving by feeling your pulse points with his lips

This goes hand in hand w the classic vampire who can’t drink the blood of a loved one because of they do they won't stop 

Eventually, EVENTUALLY he does drink your blood and you both do get into it, but you also lose a lot of blood. His fangs hurt, like a strong pinch but it also feels really good. He can’t stop drinking until he notices that your cries of pleasure are now cries of pain, you’re getting too weak and are feeling sick.

This pulls him out of it, and the last thing you remember is his arms around you and his pale face coveted in your blood 

He's so upset that you tempted him into this (it’s still Vincent c’mon), and let him give into the vampiric urges 

Would bring you to some medical person in his estate and leave (even though it's his house)

You wake up dazed and confused (unsure if it was a dream but two bite marks on your neck prove it was real) and you KNOW that you NEED to get out of there 

You’re able to escape, but he’s not going to let you go that easily. 

Okay one more NSFW idea

As prev noted vampires don’t show up in mirrors 

And you can feel his, see his hands on you. He's sitting behind you, hands snaking down your body, but you can't see him in the mirror. 

You’re literally holding onto his arm but when you glance down you can see his hand but in the mirror, you holding onto nothing 

You end up having a lot of sex in mirrors, and he never stops enjoying how surprised it makes you

[dingodad]

I like your ants a whole lot. Does Rimiduo as a planet/colony still exist? The Grazigazi were relocated to Gracilia, was there a specific reason THEY were the ant race that was moved instead of the other ant races? Was there just more loyalty to the empire in that group or were there maybe cultural factors/demographics that were more compatible with the empire or Gracilia? How different are Grazigazi from the other Rimiduot races? Do the others have Gamos or Polis or Drupes?!?

Plus from what I’ve picked out of your Gracilia tag, If I’m interpreting the info correctly there’s only confirmed references for an example member of the Wieze, Grazigazi, and Flambocca species. Where are the Frujgazi? What’s up with them! All dead? All too interbred with the Grazigazi to tell apart?? I don’t doubt the probability that it’s related to the Gracilia relocation..!

oh and I’ve got a crush on Kathlize 🐜<3

all A+ questions you have done your research well...

there is a kind of cultural narrative that when the alternian hordes descended upon rimiduo, the grazigazi lay their weapons at the trolls' feet and immediately became willing collaborators in the subjugation of their fellow rimiduot. gracilite warriors signed up to the ranks of the alternian colonial forces and earned their imperial overlords' earnest respect as highly efficient enforcers of alternian hegemony, and when it came time to establish a logging settlement on another, similar water world, the grazigazi had simply proven themselves the only right choice for the job.

whether ANY of it really happened that way, it's hard to be certain. but it's probably safe to assume that the true story involved a lot more nuance than what has found its way into folklore. if there really was an alternian-grazigazi alliance, it began and ended at the trolls' convenience; viewed as a whole, it seems unlikely that the grazigazi really suffered any less under alternian occupation than anyone else, and it's ESPECIALLY difficult to believe that the trolls ever felt like they owed any favours to any lesser races.

the trolls needed cheap labour to extract the natural resources from one of their newer colonies, and the seemingly neverending social unrest between the frujgazi and grazigazi was putting a wet blanket over the productivity of one of their old ones - one of the races had to go, with a simple handshake between colonial authorities they could kill two birds with one stone. were the gracilites really chosen because of the deal they'd made with the devil, as the version of events proliferated among the fruj dictates? or was it ultimately a coin toss? it's hard to say whether the grazigazi culture really made them better candidates, or whether their culture has been shaped over time to justify the arbitrarily-assigned atrocities of their own history. i think i'll let the audience come to their own conclusions on that one.............

as for all your other really great questions, a lot of this is still stuff i am thinking about LOL. i was going to save this ask for when i had a bit more to show but i've already gone on such a long tangent answering this one question... thank you for showing interest in the frujgazi though... i've already been cooking up an idea for some fruj content so you will just have to watch this space. for now i will just say that Rimiduo is still a highly active industrial colony, and just because they've been "left behind" doesn't mean the alternian empire doesn't have its uses for the frujgazi too...

(the main reason i haven't formally introduced any frujgaki yet is because i've spent a while figuring out how i want them to look! 2nd from left in this pic was one idea, though i also considered making them look kind of halfway between wieze and grazigazi, like the top leftmost ant in this post. when you do finally see the frujgaki you can probably expect them to look (at least to us and to trolls) pretty similar to the grazigazi, just with their own distinct antennae shape, which i think allows me to inject a lot of variety into their designs without worrying about making grazi who look "too much like fruj" or vice versa. that shield shaped head on the second sprite does look really stylish though...)

KATHY THANKS YOU FOR BEING AN EARLY INVESTOR IN GRACILIAN PALM OIL ! 🐜🍏

[unrclypirxte]

I Can't Find The Meme!

@b3ast0fburd3n said: (If you're looking for more threads! //ignore otherwise)

"Since I've met you, i've nearly been incinerated, drowned, shot at, and chopped into fish bait < and I don't even know your name." From Elias to Beth

---

Today was one of those unhinged days — moreso than usual.

She had been putting off trying out that new café type place that had opened up, even at the behest of other pirates who urged her with pulls and pushes and promises of how good it all was. Even in a rare moment of downtime, she chose the local dive over something better. Glancing around, she spotted the owner of the newer place at the bar, made a mental note to strike up a conversation.

How was she supposed to know that Rakyat would hit with a good bit of arson ( hey, molotov cocktails were HER thing! ) ? Beth hadn't even gotten to order when it happened! So, through frantic noise and panic, her and the owner of the newer place - Elias, if she remembered correctly- ended up trapped in a smaller back room, flames closing in, bullets flying. But they got out. Beth made SURE they got out.

The gunfire became even worse as they breached the outside. She made sure to keep Elias down, or let him be helpful, if he could muster it. All good! All swell! Until a few Rakyat snuck behind and managed to strike Beth from behind, rendering her unconscious for a little while. When she came-to, surrounded by water and hearing chattering, she sprung back into life.

Despite the fact that he had almost drowned ( so had she, admittedly ) , they were alive! I mean, Elias definitely almost got dismembered by a machete there, but Beth WOULDN'T let that happen. A flash of teeth and blood and gurgles signified the end of that attempt. And that's where they remained, white smoke in the short distance indicating that the bar was, in the very least, no longer actively burning.

All things considered, this went surprisingly well.

Beth sat in the shallow-enough water, a leg outstretched and the other bent at the knee, watching the smoke and steadying her breathing. It felt like hours were passing, but when he spoke, it had only been a few minutes. A laugh filtered from her, light and airy and DELIGHTFUL. For someone who didn't know her, it made her seem normal. Harmless, if not for what he had seen during the attack.

"Not bad for three o'clock on a Tuesday, no?" She flashed teeth then, pure delight and humour plastered on her face. Laughing still, she placed a wet hand over her chest in an attempt to steady herself. "You know me, mate. Or you know OF me." A hand extended itself towards him, an offer of a handshake, genuine in its appeal. "I'm Beth. You're that, uh, guy who owns that place? Elias? You alright? Any major injuries?"

God, her head was beginning to ache.

[fictionadventurer]

Let's go for an obscure one...what can you tell us about Benjamin Harrison?

Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of William Henry Harrison, who got into politics partly to live up to the family legacy, and party out of a sense of duty to live a life of public service. By all accounts, he wasn't a natural politician--his handshake was compared to "a dead fish wrapped in brown paper", and his enemies said that talking to him was "like talking to a hitching post". Political cartoons at the time showed him as a little guy (he was 5'6") dwarfed by his grandfather's hat, and there was a general idea that he couldn't live up to his more famous ancestor's legacy.

But he was also a decent, upstanding guy who was friendly with people he knew well, and who loved kids and dogs. Stories were told about stray dogs that liked him so much that they would try to follow him into his law office.

Harrison was a precursor to some of the things that Teddy Roosevelt later became famous for. He signed the Sherman Anti-Trust Bill that fought against big business, and he was heavily involved in conservation. He created the national forests, and he was the first president who was involved in trying to make conservation laws to save a specific species. He tried (though unsuccessfully) to regulate hunting of fur seals in international waters.

Harrison is the president in the middle of the Grover Cleveland sandwich--his term sat between Cleveland's two separate terms--because the elections at that time were won by narrow margins, thanks to a pretty even split between the two parties and a bunch of newer parties eating into the votes. Both guys were pretty chill about the whole thing. Supposedly, when Cleveland and Harrison were riding together to Harrison's inauguration, Cleveland held his umbrella to protect his victorious opponent from the rain.

When Harrison ran for a second term, his wife died two weeks before the election. After he lost, people sent him condolences about the election and his wife, but Harrison said he barely noticed the election, because that loss was nothing compared to the loss of his wife of nearly forty years.

One last thing: after the Presidential episode about Harrison focused so heavily on him being this boring, upstanding, decent guy, I was very amused to find this speech from him after James Garfield was nominated as presidential candidate at the 1880 Republican Convention.

I am not in very good voice to address the convention. Indiana has been a little noisy within the last hour, and, though the Chairman of this delegation, I forgot myself so much as to abuse my voice. I should not have detained the convention to add any word to what has been said in a spirit of such commendable harmony over this nomination, if it had not been for the over partiality of my friends from Kentucky, which whom we have had a good deal of pleasant intercourse. They insist, sirs, as I am the only defeated candidate for the Presidency on the floor of this convention, having received one vote from some misguided friend from Pennsylvania, who, unfortunately for me, didn't have staying qualities, and dropped out on the next ballot. I want to say to the Ohio delegation that they may carry to their distinguished citizen who has received the nomination at the hands of this convention my encouraging support. I bear him no malice at all. But, Mr. Chairman, I will defer my speeches until the campaign is hot, and then, on every stump in Indiana, and wherever else my voice can help on this great Republican cause to victory I hope to be found.

Let's just say I did not expect Mr. Boring and Straight-Laced to show up with a speech that could be read as, "I lost my voice because I yelled so much at the guys from Kentucky."

[table-turf]

THE LEGENDARY SOUP CUP DECKBUILDING GUIDE

Now with updated comments!

(This is a GIF: it changes slide every 10 seconds)

PDF version can be found at the link below

Bonus Tableturf Tips

In-game stuff

You can get a character card sleeve by defeating them at level 3 30 times!

The card bit exchange!!! It lets you swap the bits you get for card dupes for other cards or holofoil upgrades for your cards!

OCTOBER 2023 EDIT Every 5 levels after level 50 you get 20 card bits and every multiple of 100 you get a fresh pack!

You can press + after starting a match to give up. Useful if you picked the wrong deck or map, or forgot to set a timer.

Gameplay stuff

Based on a community poll, Lil Judd and Mr Coco were voted hardest AI and Sheldon the easiest. (thank you Octanoic once again)

You probably want a separate deck for Double Gemini and Box Seats due to the nature of the maps being unique from the rest. The rest can viably share a generalist deck, or you could build one for each map!

OCTOBER 2023 EDIT virtually nobody uses generalist decks in top level competitive tableturf, so once you get more confident with deckbuilding it is recommended to try and build around the shape of each map!!

Generally good deck sizes range from 130 to 160. Either end of that often ends up being too small to win or so big you have to keep passing. For my personal playstyle I like playing decks in the mid 140s. Decks in the 150-160 range are generally considered ultra large and is more of a niche.

OCTOBER 2023 EDIT the meta now favours bigger decks! 150-160 range is not niche but rather the expected norm in comp tableturf! Anything lesser may lead to a significant turf disadvantage. But for casual play or against the bots the previous advice still works!

I *may* also make a card playing basics tutorial at *some point*. But in general it's a good strategy to try and reach and/or block in early turns and focus on special later on when you have established dominance on the map and/or have safe zones to play in.

Finding other players

The pool "tableturf" is reasonably active to find random matches and is quite friendly to newer players!

The Japanese tableturf pool code is "ナワバトラー"! They seem to favour larger decks over there and have different popular/"meta" cards to the western community.

Join the Tableturf Battle Server (TBS) for casual play with higher skilled players, events, deck advice and more! I'm not affiliated with them at all*, they've just helped me a lot. There we use the pool code "tbs"!

Squidbagging, spinning around, jumping up and down in swim form are considered handshakes in the tableturf lobby

* Since writing the post, I'm now working in partnership with the TBS team to help plan some events, although I'm still not an official member of their staff. Statement was true at time of writing though!

**Since the last edit, I am now officially part of the TBS TO team

lol

Whopper whopper whopper whopper double triple whopper*

Dynamo Roller is considered such a good opener card on X Marks the Garden that it has become a meme within the community. When Gold Dynamo drops it'll be a True Dynamoment

OCTOBER 2023 EDIT Gold Dynamo dropped and it was not as funny as we thought it would be. If you don't pull them both at the start have fun with a bricked hand :(

*This is also a meme in TBS. None of us are entirely sure why

[sdr2lovemail]

I just recently rewatched the mugen train arc and fell in love with Enmu again! I forgot all about him when I saw the Hantengu clones...😳

If you write for kimetsu gakuen could I request just relationship stuff with gakuen Enmu with a really chill partner? They hardly bat an eye at all the weird stuff he does. They're also a photography teacher at kimetsu academy. Totally not like my oc 😋I hardly see writing about the kimetsu gakuen universe.

If you write this thank you so much!

Kimetsu Gakuen Enmu x (GN) Reader

Synopsis: General dating scenarios with Enmu!

Notes: Non consensual picture taking, Enmu is his own warning. Gakuen Enmu is so silly and strange. I hope we see more of him in the spinoff manga. I'm trying out a new mix of headcanons and little scenarios for some requests.

Inbox is open!

●Your first meeting was downright creepy. Despite the rocky start, you continued to talk to the man against your better judgment and warnings from friends and family. 

●Enmu himself didn’t know why he was so entrapped with you. His whole life, he only cared about a few things: photography, dreams, and trains. Maybe it started as a simple curiosity that turned into infatuation.

Sitting on a bench at the station, you waited for the train. You looked up from your phone’s screen upon seeing the flash of a camera. Standing uncomfortably close was a man with an eerie smile. He was dressed formally and had square tattoos on his cheeks. He didn’t say anything, only looking between you and the camera.

“Did- Did you just take my picture?” You looked at him with a questioning gaze, leaning away as he approached.

The man giggled. “Oh no. I was taking photos of the train. You just happened to get in the way.” He was lying, not even trying to hide that he had taken another photo.

“Oh, well, I wish you would’ve asked me first.” You shrugged. This city, especially the school you worked at, was full of strange characters. One more wouldn’t be much of a difference. You’ve heard stories about a man who stalks around train stations; never did you think you’d actually meet him.

With a sigh, the man sits down on the bench. “Isn’t this station just lovely? It’s so fancy and clean. Newer train models come through here as well!” He was ignoring anything you said, opting to ramble on. 

You hum, taking a moment to think about his question. “I guess I never thought about it. It is a pretty nice station.”

He lets out another airy laugh as a deep blush coats his cheeks. He felt spurred on by your laidback personality. Offering you a handshake, he introduces himself. “I’m Enmu Tamio. Say, do you take this line often?” 

Accepting his handshake, you introduce yourself as well. “Yeah, this route takes me to my job. I’m a photography teacher at a nearby school.” The man next to you smirks. He’d have to come by this station more often.

Enmu leaps up with a joyous grin, stepping in front of you. “You enjoy photography as well? How wonderful!” His fingers idly fiddling with the buttons of his camera. He wanted to get to know you better. To know your likes, dislikes, what you do for fun, everything. Enmu had never felt this way about another person; he was simply excited.

“Perhaps you’d be interested in my train lovers club. We specialize in photographing the rails.” Enmu hands you his business card with a phone number on it.

Soon, a train pulls into the station, and Enmu visibly perks up. “It was wonderful talking with you; we should do it again sometime. Can you hold this for me?” He shoves something into your hands before running into the train with a wide smile. Stopping at a window, he takes the time to wave goodbye. Looking down at what he pushed into your hands, it was a leather belt.

●Once the two of you start dating, you’re the one Enmu calls when he gets arrested. His club members were thankful they weren’t the ones getting called anymore. Not that they ever answered.

The police officer guides you to a holding cell, navigating with ease. Like they had done it many times before. Once the door slides open, Enmu is already by the door and clinging to your arm.

“My love, you came in record time. Always so quick to my aid, never asking questions.” Enmu sighed as he rubbed his cheek into your sleeve.

With a bleak look, the officer hands Enmu his camera back. “Please, keep your clothes on next time. We can’t keep doing this.”

Enmu barely pays the officer any mind as he continues to fawn over you, not even looking at them as he snatches his camera. “I’ll try my best. Come, my love. I must show you the pictures I got before I was detained.” 

●On the topic of the members, they often try to ask you to reel Enmu in when he’s acting out in public. Whether he’ll be trying to nap in the luggage compartment or taking his pants off, they’ll look to you for help. However, he might start taking his clothes off faster when it comes to you.

●Enmu often asks his members to take candid pictures of you; the club members attend a university near the school where you teach, so it would be easy for them to snap some photos. They decline because they’re railroad fans, not stalkers. That’s fine with him. He takes enough pictures to last a lifetime.

●Along with his photography, Enmu likes to scrapbook. Though his books are pretty barebones, he feels like too many decorations will take away from the beauty of the pictures. He has many scrapbooks dedicated to you with different types of photos. Ones from dates, ones you’re aware of, ones you’re not. Enmu just loves to flip through them. 

●Enmu would love to go on photography dates with you. While trains are his passion, he’ll take you to many scenic places out of the city. 

●More often than not, you’ll have to pull Enmu back to reality. He struggles with differentiating his dreams from reality; he’ll look for you to help ground him. However, there are also times when he prefers to be off in his own world, blankly staring off as he’s curled up against you or in bed.

●He will tell you about every dream he can remember, often calling you first thing in the morning so he doesn’t forget any details. When you’re unavailable for his lengthy calls, he writes his dreams down in a journal so he can tell you all about them next time you’re available.

[fictional-love-is-my-life]

Hey, how would bayverse autobots act with an ex boyfriend/girlfriend? Like they broke up with them for no big reason but they still like their s/o?

Going to answer this with the newer bots. But if you would like different characters let me know and I can do this prompt again for the older Bayverse bots.

~

Optimus:

He's very civil and polite. They broke up because they had different plans for their future, and nothing is wrong with that.

When they were dating he did give them a bit of special treatment. But now they have broken up he treats them the same as the others, they no longer get special treatment or relaxed duties.

He'll still be friends with them and they can share nice talks or shared interests. He still enjoys their company and sees them as a good friend, so he doesn't plan on pushing them away just because they broke up. But he doesn't get as vulnerable anymore. He doesn't delve too deeply, because only someone really close to his spark gets access to his deepest and true feelings.

Hound:

At first it was a little awkward. He was unsure how to treat them. He didn't know if he should still be sweet to them, or if he should treat them like the other bots. It took him a while, but eventually he just began acting normal around them. He would talk to them just how he would a good friend, and they could enjoy each others company without anything being awkward.

He still gives them special treatment over the other bots. It's a habit from their relationship and he can't really break it. And he probably won't. They were really close, and if he decides to do nice things for them more than others then so be it.

Drift:

He becomes detached pretty quick. Able to see them as friend and treat them as such almost straight after. He still has a soft spot for them, and he will for a while. But out of everyone, he's the quickest to recover from the break up.

He can still hang out with them, and he likes to. But now that he isn't bound to them by a relationship, he's free to do what he wants. He goes back to spending more time by himself or with crosshairs rather than with his ex.

Crosshairs:

He likes them still sure. But it's different after a break up. They were so close, he was vulnerable around them. So now it's just a little weird. At first he just avoided them, he didn't want any awkward encounters.

After a while he could be around them but he'd tease them. If they asked him for a favor he'd say 'I would if we were still dating, but we aren't, so no.'

If his ex started getting close to someone else he'd feel a little pang of jealousy. But he'd get over it pretty quick, just because it means he can find someone else as well.

Bumblebee:

Bee finds the break up the hardest. Even if it was a mutual break. He always gives relationships his all, he goes in deep, being vulnerable and soft with his partner. So when he splits from them he feels a little lost.

He switches from wanting to be around them all the time, trying to keep the friendship going, to wanting to avoid them at all cost. Sometimes taking trips away for days to be away from them.

It takes him some time, and some one on one friendship time with Hot Rod, but eventually he gets over it and becomes himself again. Then he is able to hang out with his ex and treat them normally, just like any other bot.

Hot Rod:

If it's a mutual break up then he has no problem with still hanging around them. He enjoys their company and they get along well, he doesn't see why they have to stop interacting just because they are no longer together.

He stops being physical with them after the split. When in a relationship that was something personal for him, so when they break up he is unable to touch them. Even a hug or handshake, because he knows if he went to touch them he'd miss them. So he doesn't touch them for a long time.

After the break he often puts himself into his other friendships. He has emotions he no longer gets from a relationship, so he tries to fill that hole with his friends. Most of the time, he goes straight back to Bee, and he's able to feel at ease.

[irish-urn]

For the work in progress game!

Take your pick :)

“Friends” “Season” “Jump” “Space”

And what if I'm greedy and choose all of them? Mwahaha.

Friends: from my Pacific Rim AU, "Initiate Neutral Handshake."

There aren’t many Jaeger pilots that survived the Kaiju War. At the height of the Jaeger Program, there were sixty-eight pilots active; there have been a total of eighty-three pilots. As I write this, there are twenty-one pilots alive, giving us a 25% survival rate — and I pray that they are receiving enough support from their countries, families, and friends to continue surviving. I cannot ask that we thrive, our scars and nightmares are too numerous, but I do pray that we live. We fought for this world for a reason, my fellow pilots; it would be a shame to let the kaiju win over us in this regard as well.

Season: from the newest part of kick at the darkness series, a oneshot called, "What a Good Boy, What a Smart Boy."

This is our job, Mr. Venturi, the PR guy had said. This is why the Senators pay us. You just have to trust us. He wanted to trust them. But it wasn’t as easy as just saying, I trust you. The facts were the facts, and the facts were that some wanna-be journalist had found out that one of the newer Senators who had an excellent season last year was engaged to his stepsister and thought that was the story of the decade. He’d written it all up —

Space: From another kick at the darkness story, "Wave 'Em Like You Care."

There’s something very romantic about an evening walk. And, sure, while Derek seems to be against doing anything obviously romantic, this is still a date, and he did still pay for supper, and he does press his arm back against hers and actually pulls his left hand out of his jacket pocket and lets it dangle in the small space between their bodies.

Jump: this one took me a little bit, but from a future part of the Life with Luca series, a fic whose working title is "Paging Space Cadet."

His mouth quirks up in a slight smile and he says, “That’s… So. What if… the album had a theme?”

It’s a jump, a leap of logic, but Skyler knows her father, and suddenly she thinks she knows what his idea is: “You want to produce a Casey album?”

<3 <3

[slightlyhopefulromantic]

Oooh that's an interesting premise for requests! :] May I perhaps suggest then... Uh honestly kinda feeling Terry/Nicky for this one! Also ehshsjskkwjwke maybe Jodie/Ron??????

silly little fan kid prompts

in a wildly out of character moment for me, i COMPLETELY skimmed over the rodie part of this ask fdhjgbdhb so i will ! do that next and @ you in it! BUT hey. hey. shakes a terrick kid at you

this is cameron, my new baby girl sweet daughter cameron. i like to headcanon that samantha always did terry's hair when he was young, so it was cute to me to imagine that terry would do the same to her :] and of course, nicky has to introduce cameron to all the sick ass movies that glenn showed him, including the ever famous predator handshake.

both the stamplers and the close-foster-etc families have very specific like. through-lines in their families which make this combo interesting for a fan kid? im gonna put my further notes under a cut along with some etc rambling because this is just. exciting to me. i usually make fan kids with a story already in mind, but this exercise is kind of the opposite where i have to figure out the story as i go, and thats really fun to me :D

mild spoilers for the newer episodes of season 2, but i decided to uh. Pay Attention To Biology here since terry jr was revealed to be infertile, and i think thats interesting, so cameron is adopted!! this obviously left my options pretty open, but i decided to still stick with a mixed kid, Black/Chinese, since 1. feels kinda against the point of a fan kid if i just did a random design lol and 2. considering nicky's odd genealogy as well as his severe issues with wanting his dad(s) to be proud of him and the way hes so lopsidedly attached to his family, i figured he would be the type of guy to want his adopted kid to look like him. i dont think terry would care, but he would want nicky to be happy, so it all works out in that regard ! i went back and forth a bit on if i wanted her to have freckles, i thought it could be a cute tie back to jodie, but decided against it.

she does follow the Ron -> Terry -> Ron -> Terry naming scheme, originally i was gonna go for a terry name but i figured a ron one would make more sense lol so her name is cameron! i think she would take a lot of fashion inspiration from her parents, ive always seen them as both very. emo/alternative. terry less so as he grows older, but nicky definitely clings to it, and i think that would rub off on cameron. shes not as dark and edgy as they are - i think she would be a pretty bright and bubbly kid, actually - but i kinda like the idea of her being lowkey scene/scemo. yes im biased because thats one of my favorite sub-cultures, but its CUTE. i didnt really feel like doing full outfit sketches but just know that if i did. she would be scene. and like both of her dads as teens (and nicky still into adulthood), she does dye her hair pretty heavily hehe

the only real unfortunate thing about fan kids for a series thats like. already very heavy with canon kids. is that it kind of leaves everything in a weird place where its like... do cassandra and taylor exist in this? do veronica and scary? and uhhh i dunno ghbfjdgdfhjh up to interpretation, i suppose. its easy enough to just have cassandra and nicky be divorced, but the veronica/terry of it all is murkier ... food for thought, i guess. scary would fuckin hate cameron though i think they would argue LMAO

[tending-the-hearth]

You seem cool to talk to! :D

Just got into transformers less than a week ago and Bumblebee is already my favorite yellow boy! Since you seem to like Bumblebee a lot too, what are your favorite Bumblebee moments? Also, WHAT'S THIS ABOUT HIM DYING TWICE?

(Also, I know you posted this like 3 days ago, but if you still want to talk about your ninja turtle angst, I'm also a turtle fan and I will listen!)

you think i'm cool omg giving you forehead kisses

BEE MY BELOVED <33333

favorite Bee moments!!!!

*shows up late to the big battle to save my planet* lol sorry there was traffic HE'S SO SILLY FOR THAT

also i really really loved Dylan O'Brian as Bee's voice at the start of the Bumblebee movie! Seeing as it's one of our only times hearing him within that universe, he did a fantastic job immediately adding the usual Bee mannerisms with his own twist!

all the Bee and Charlie hugs, they're soulmates your honor

the "oh captain my captain" line in the RotB movie 😭

Optimus confirming that Bee likes going to drive-in movies while he supposed to be on patrol

the Bee and Noah team up in the final battle of RotB

In Transformers Prime (one of my FAVORITE tv shows ever, and highly recommend if you're getting into Transformers!) Bumblebee's relationship with his human, Raf! They are THE big brother little brother duo

and yeah.... spoilers for the newer movies but he dies in the Bumblebee movie, gets revived by Charlie, THEN he dies in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and he gets revived then as well! my poor boy is getting put through the wringer!!! let him rest!!!

NOW PIVOTING BECAUSE YOU'RE ASKING ME ABOUT MY ANGST AU??? BLESS

the Mutant Mayhem universe becomes sort of like the "home base" for whenever the four groups get together, because they've got the biggest lair and it's very fun to hang out with all the other mutants as well without having to worry about getting hurt!

omg i have THE idea of the 2012 boys staying over in the MM universe, and ending up going to school with the MM boys, and being pleasantly surprised when they're greeted with smiles and handshakes and high fives, it's another reason they favor the MM universe

the Big Confrontation between 2012 Splinter and everyone else takes place on the 2012 boys' birthday 😌 that's all i'm saying

i want to write out a conversation between 2012 Leo and Bayverse!Splinter, because i love the idea that they click super well, so I can see Leo really opening up to him about everything that happened, especially considering the fact that Bayverse!Splinter, like MM!Splinter, was a rat before he was mutated

Because RotTMNT!Splinter was human before he was mutated, and therefore had a human history, i do think the 2012 boys take the longest to connect with him, just because they're worried history is going to repeat itself. they do have an emotional conversation with him that leads to Mikey calling him Papa Lou for the first time, and that's when that name catches on!

added angst is that Kirby died in this AU, so April gets some angst to since she's kind of always felt like a replacement for Karai, so dw my girl is gonna go through it as well!

the Bayverse boys + Bayverse!April and Casey are so so protective over everyone else, they are the most older siblings to ever older sibling, they love having little brothers and sisters, but hooooo boy during the Big Confrontation there is some cursing out and Bayverse!Casey may or may not have to be carried away by Mikey and Donnie

[lighthouseborn]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ for ingvi!

Every ⭐️ exchanges for a headcanon (or we-haven't-plotted-yet theory / plot bunny) about our characters' (potential) dynamic.

Wild thing raised outside/on the fringes of acceptable society solidarity. Ingvi definitely pulls more of Henry's more feral traits out to play, the strands in him from being a child of Shipwreck cove. She reminds him of other children he grew up with, some with similar backgrounds to hers, and the sort of pack-dynamics of the roving half-savage children of a pirate town - in a good way. Well. In a Henry-is-favored-toward-it way, I dunno know if it's strictly a good thing. Very familiar to him, very home-shaped. And I think they get into scraps more than is reasonable for a pair of otherwise fairly smart individuals, and play accomplice to each other's more risky impulses. Mischief (derogatory.)

Conversely —or maybe actually just in a way because of that— Henry doing that thing he does, where he just bypasses typical walls or defenses etc. and drawing out some of Ingvi's softer moments, when they're not embroiled in other shenanigans. These are, of course, closed-door secrets. He would never reveal or leverage them, which is probably why he's allowed to know they exist at all. Obviously he's not like, one of her crew or something - but that might be working in his favor here, in a weird way. Good to have a (metaphorical, he is in fact tall) lil guy who is from such similar avenues of the world but keeps lightness close.

Ohhhhh the death-touched handshake. The went away and came back deeply changed handshake. Do they talk about it? I expect not. Does that stop them seeing it in each other, out the corner of eyes and in moments when the other one flinches or goes too-quiet or looks very intentionally in a different direction? Also no. Maybe they talk about it, eventually. Maybe one day Henry mentions the way she feels, to that sense he has, like something adjacent to a ghost. But for now I think they're just both going to Know and mutually acknowledge this by completely ignoring it.

And you only sent three but also maybe...

God-favored solidarity? This is,,, both an old and yet newer thought because I've only recently really started committing to it but I have my reasons for believing Calypso has decided Henry is her favorite little guy. Or, maybe not favorite as in all-time, but she is definitely fond, and has her eye on him, if not always her hand. (This is. fic-in-progress canon and technically a spoiler but also technically the fic is blog canon even though it's not done soooooo I dunno. I'm yappin.)

Obviously it plays a little differently, for him -he doesn't even pray (at least not in a traditional sense)- and it very rarely demands anything of him. Mostly it just means he's got unconscionable luck at sea and near the coasts. But it also is part of that way he's just more Aware of the powers at work in the world and that sits with a person in a fashion that maybe would echo across them, you know? It's not a blessing- it's not not a blessing. Calypso has some amount of right to him, as a child born of her thrall, and he owes his life to her at least twice in the course of his adventures, but arguably in the sense that he was brought into the world at all. She's never defied the afterlife to put him back in the world, but she's definitely kept him out of it. I have started to think that part of the reason being possessed didn't kill him (as could be vaguely suggested by the 'no turning back from possessing the living' rule) might have something to do with Calypso running interference. After all, Salazar's curse bound him to the ocean, and she is the ocean.

("Wouldn't that mean she could just banish Salazar?" Yes probably but to what purpose? He's no threat to her, really, and if she removed all obstacles her little champion would have no real victories now would he? Deity rules. Interference can only take certain shapes.)

Cause this is more personal take stuff but I think Calypso is actually Amphitrite. Because she just... functionally resembles Amphitrite more than she does the Titan's daughter known as Calypso (although, yes, there is also a mention of a nymph but. She also does not have nymph energy, you know? Waaaay to powerful. And they literally call her goddess. And obviously this is a place where they just were kind of making their own lore but I'm choosing to play with it my own way.) So, in the sense that Amphitrite is a personification goddess, the sea itself diefied, I think she would technically also be Rán. (Or at least the primordial force that is recognized that way in Norwegian folklore, if not an exact representation of that mythic figure specifically.) Like she is not... I am not writing her as a portrayal of that goddess, right? But you still wouldn't be wrong, per se, to refer to her as Rán. If that makes sense? So there's just. Just a sense of a thread between them there, maybe?

[wreywrites]

Tiger Shark

Part 5: The Net

Chapter 27

None of us can believe how this turned out. Of all the ways for the reaping to go, this somehow seems the least fair. But there is nothing to be done now. And nothing is what we do. We spend the train ride in silence, we sit in our living quarters in the new Tribute Center in silence, we watch the replay of the reaping in silence. Cashmere and Gloss from One. Augustus deflates when they call his mentor’s name. Brutus and Enobaria from Two. She bares her teeth at the camera. Johanna, whose name is the only one in the District Seven female fishbowl. In Ten, the woman who didn’t get drawn—Rein, I think is her name—screams when they draw Beau. Alvan volunteers. And in District Twelve, Katniss and Peeta, and Haymitch volunteers.

Everyone goes to bed, but Finnick and I sit on the couch, watching a replay of Johanna’s Games. He reaches over, tapping on my leg, You have to trust me in there. There’s more going on. I can’t say, but you have to trust me. Stay with me.

I nod. Then suddenly, like we’ve never left, I stand up, go to the snack table, and retrieve the platter of cream cheese rolls, because of course they are there. I bring them back to the couch. Johanna goes on her rampage, and Finnick and I eat all the rolls.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

We get the fish nets. I shouldn’t be surprised. Finnick takes it in stride. I am less confident, even when he assures me with a wink that I look good. He passes me a sugar cube, just like five years ago.

“Stay with me,” he says with an easy smile. “Just stay with me.”

I nod. I know what he means. I have never wanted to slip, but I know that I can’t now. Not anymore. It’s not just my life at stake—if I go blank at the wrong moment, that’s the end of Finnick too.

He gives me another sugar cube, and we go out into the waiting area with the chariots and the rest of the tributes.

Someone whistles, and I take half a second to compose myself. I am the Tiger Shark of Four. I look off to the right, and see Gloss.

In spite of all of it, a grin splits my face and I flash a wink back at him. He laughs and waves me over.

“Go on,” Finnick snorts. “I’ll catch up.”

He starts off toward the District Twelve chariot, and I head for Cashmere and Gloss. I only get halfway there when I see someone else I have to talk to.

Alvan and I have spent enough time together to be something like friends. And no one else quite understands what the two of us went through in the arena.

He smiles good-naturedly as I approach, then extends both arms to offer my choice of a handshake or a hug.

I opt for the hug, a little awkward around the light-up belt on his cow costume, but surely that makes it no more awkward than my fish net would on its own.

“I mean this in the nicest way, but we look ridiculous!” I laugh.

Alvan chuckles, a smile lifting one corner of his lips. “Well, ya look better’n me.”

“Thanks. I’m sure that’s what Marius was going for.” I do my best Marius impression. “‘I don’t care what we put them in, they just have to look better than Ten!’”

Alvan laughs, and it is maybe the first time I’ve ever heard him really laugh. He has a nice laugh, a good strong booming laugh that is surprising at first, but fits him perfectly upon inspection.

Then he shakes his head, still smiling, and says, “Ya better get goin’. I’d hate to be the one who held up our Tiger Shark.”

“See you after, then,” I grin as I walk away, on toward Gloss, who gives me what I can only describe as a friendly up-down as I approach. I return the favor. He’s not wearing much either, and he might be approaching thirty, but he’s still in fantastic shape.

“I see you finally ditched Finnick,” he smiles, leaning against the chariot.

I shrug. “Maybe I’m looking for someone a little… newer.”

Cashmere’s bright laugh rings out. “Not sure you’ll find what you’re looking for here. My aging brother just isn’t what he used to be.” She sighs dramatically as she looks off into the distance. “Any day now the Capitol will tell him his services are no longer required.”

I snort at Gloss’s pretended offense, then he rolls his eyes and says so quietly I barely hear him, “Wouldn’t that be horrible.”

Finnick appears next to me, handing me another sugar cube. “Talked to Katniss. She’s…”

Cashmere and Gloss raise opposite eyebrows, giving the hilarious illusion that their outside halves are two pieces of the same person.

“Boring,” Finnick says after some thought. But it’s almost a question, and there’s something strange in his eyes. “Or at least not nearly so interesting as you three.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Cashmere says, reaching for a sugar cube.

Finnick pulls them out of her reach. “Ah-ah-ah.” He pops one in his mouth, then does the same to me.

Five years ago that would have had me up the mast like those stupid strawberries, but now it’s just life.

He grins. “Close your mouth, honey, you’ll catch krill.”

Absently, I close my mouth, watching Finnick smile cheekily at Cashmere.

“You didn’t say please.”

Cashmere rolls her eyes. “I don’t think you made her say please.” She jerks her head in the direction Finnick came from, where apparently Katniss is.

Finnick shrugs. “Didn’t have to. She didn’t want one.”

“Is that the first time a girl has said no to you?” Gloss raises a playful eyebrow.

“It is…” Finnick looks thoughtful. “Not a pleasant feeling.”

The rest of us laugh, and then the anthem starts, signaling us back to our chariots.

“Good luck out there!” Cashmere calls, her clear laugh ringing out as she jumps into One’s chariot.

“You too!” Finnick laughs, grabbing my hand as we hurry back to our chariot with its iron gray horses. It’s a lot easier to run in the fishnets than it was to walk in the mermaid tails.

Before we can take too many steps, Finnick turns back. “Cashmere!”

She turns just in time to see him toss the sugar cube. Face split in a wild grin, she opens her mouth and catches it easily, then turns back to face the big doors as One’s white horses trot out onto Victor’s Way.

Finnick and I jog the rest of the way to our chariot. He springs up, then offers a hand back and pulls me in beside him.

Suddenly it all feels real again.

The horses start forward. I wonder if they’re the same ones from my Games.

My head whips around to look at Finnick before we pass the doors. “What now?” I whisper.

“Smile,” he says, already grinning smugly himself. “You’re the Tiger Shark. Show them your teeth.”

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

After the Parade, we watch Johanna snag an elevator with Haymitch, Katniss, and Peeta.

Finnick chuckles. “I can only imagine what she’s going to do to them.”

“Scare them finless, probably,” I say as we get in an elevator with Mags and Beck.

“Probably.”

We get out on Level Four of the new Tribute Center. I see now what I couldn’t put my finger on about it last night. It looks shinier than the old one. Sharper. Colder. All hard edges and glass.

But the same snack table, and the same plate of cream cheese rolls.

Finnick has already eaten two by the time I return from changing into shorts and an oversized sweater. He’s sitting on the couch, watching the pre-replay of the Parade, still in just the fish net.

I sit down next to him, take a bite of a cream cheese roll, and say, “Are you really going to keep wearing that?”

He glances down, then at me. “Yeah. Do you find it distracting?” He winks.

I roll my eyes. “Something like that.”

It is only a few more minutes until the Parade replay begins, but I can barely force myself to watch it. These are my friends. At the very least, these are people I know. How do you kill someone you know?

“Finnick…”

Thankfully, he seems to know what I want to ask but can’t find the words for.

“I would love to be allies with you, Annie Cresta. I think a good strategy for people of our skill level would be to go straight for the cornucopia. In our interviews, we need to remember who we were when we won, but also show the audience who we are now, and how we feel about being reaped again when they told us we were done.”

I nod. “Alright, Finnick Odair. That sounds like a plan to me.”

Five years ago, he told me most alliances break themselves. It was true then and it is surely true now, but I’m not going to worry about it yet. I have four more days with him before the arena, so I will live these last four days like there is no arena.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

“So,” Beck says over breakfast the next morning, “any ideas on allies yet?”

Finnick shrugs. “Three’s never a bad idea. And I bet Haymitch will be shockingly useful. Ten.” He shrugs again and glances at me.

“Johanna,” I say.

Finnick nods. “Yeah, definitely Johanna. Other than them, we’ll see how today goes, I think. And you two, feel everybody out for us.”

Mags nods eagerly, Beck more reservedly.

We escort ourselves down to the Training Center.

Finnick is almost bouncing. “Think of all those shiny new toys.”

“Finnick…”

“Hey.” He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t think about that. Think about all those shiny new toys. Spears nobody’s ever thrown. Rope that’s never been tied into a knot before. Think about that. This will be just like recess.”

The doors open to reveal less than half of the tributes gathering around the same woman from five years ago.

Just like recess.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

Cashmere and Gloss are setting up hammocks. Why there is a station in here with anything resembling hammocks, I don’t know, but I don’t particularly care. I care even less when they wave me over, Gloss sitting up and making room for the two of us to sit next to each other as Cashmere lounges in the other. We watch everyone else for a while. No one seems particularly concerned with any of this. I know we are all planning last ditch attempts for our interviews. Until then, there is nothing to be done, so everyone who bothered to come down to the Training Center is either goofing off—Finnick tying a noose and pretending to hang himself in front of Katniss at the knot-tying station—or enjoying what they are already good at—Johanna throwing some axes in a manner that is much more recreational than “I’m planning to kill you all.” And then there are the three of us in the hammocks, chatting and watching the others.

When they call lunch, we drag all the tables together and sit as one big group, talking and laughing.

I cannot kill these people.

I tell Finnick as much that night as we watch a replay of his Games. There are tears in his eyes every time they show Leena. He doesn’t talk about her. He hasn’t since just after I won, when he told me how hard it is to go on, to keep moving forward, to keep living with what you’ve done and the people you’ve killed.

Beck says ever since the reaping, they have had a constant replay of the Games this year’s tributes won. Curiously absent, he and Mags have noticed, are Katniss’s Games last year, and the last Quarter Quell—Haymitch’s Games—which you would think would be their big-ticket item this year.

Finnick doesn’t answer. He blinks away more tears as he and Leena call off their alliance, and his hand drifts to my leg and he starts tapping. Won’t have to. Trust me. Stay with me, and we shouldn’t have to.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

The next day, about eight of us decide now is as good a time as any to learn to juggle. Seeder knows, and Blight, and by lunchtime the rest of us are not too bad, though my mind is preoccupied with Zalea’s interview, when she said she could juggle eight oranges.

Over lunch at the tables we have once again pushed together, Gloss jokes about juggling for the Gamemakers for his one-on-one. None of us are taking that too seriously either. They know what we can do—or at least what we used to be able to do—and none of us want to be here, so why play their game? Why not play our own?

“Think I’ll weave something,” I say, with a glance at Finnick.

He nods. “I’d tell you to weave me a hammock and then I’ll nap for mine, but I have to go first.”

“Maybe you should weave and I’ll nap!”

Seeder laughs.

Throughout the afternoon, we all discuss what we are going to do. Haymitch jokes about mixing drinks for the Gamemakers. Beetee wants to try to build something that would play the anthem backwards and even launches into an explanation of how he’d do it, but he loses me somewhere along the way. Cashmere says she is going to string up a hammock and nap. Cecelia has several children’s books memorized and thinks she’ll just recite one of them. Alvan and Kivvie are talking about walking the Gamemakers through butchering a cow, which inspires Johanna to try to make a wood carving.

I’ll be amazed if they don’t kill us all before we get in the arena, just because we won’t play by the rules. But it might not be the worst thing that could happen.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

The next day as we wait to be called in before the Gamemakers, everyone—even the people who haven’t been down to the Training Center yet—jokes about the useless things they will show off. Everyone except for Katniss, who seems confused by our camaraderie, but Haymitch says she’ll come around.

I don’t know when. We’re running out of time to all be friends. Once we’re in the arena… Well, I guess Finnick does want Haymitch as an ally. Maybe he and Katniss are a package deal.

Finnick and Johanna and I are laughing at Augustus’s expense, since he isn’t here to defend himself, when the voice calls, “Finnick Odair, District Four.”

He winks at me. “I hope they’re ready to hear the epic tale of Finnick and the octopus!” He’s out the door and I am laughing hysterically. I can only imagine him reenacting the whole story, probably with props and voices.

Johanna raises an eyebrow. “Finnick and the octopus?”

Still giggling, I say, “Yeah, you’ll have to ask him about it tonight. It’s a good one.”

Before I know it, the voice speaks again. “Annie Cresta, District Four.”

I stand.

“Weave good!” Johanna teases.

“Go get ’em, Tiger Shark!” Haymitch calls.

Someone else laughs.

Grinning, I head through the door, and spend my fifteen minutes weaving the best sunhat I have ever woven. Mags would be proud, I think as I settle the hat on one of the archery dummies. The tone sounds, and I leave.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

They show our scores, and they are ludicrously high. All of us from One, Two, and Four pull elevens, despite Finnick saying he dramatically reenacted the octopus story, Gloss’s sworn statement before he went in that he was going to juggle the little rocks that were always at the camouflage station, and me having left a woven sunhat perched jauntily on one of the archery targets’ heads.

Johanna gets an eleven, Alvan gets a ten, and Katniss and Haymitch get twelves.

Finnick swears, though whether it’s at their scores or his dropped cream cheese roll, I can’t be entirely sure.

“Here I was worried about you two having the target on your backs,” Beck says without humor. Then he and Mags go to bed, and Finnick and I settle in with the cream cheese rolls and the Game replay of the night.

When it starts, Finnick reaches for the remote.

“No.” I grab his wrist. “I have to- I have to get through it. If I can’t watch this, I’ll never survive the arena again.”

He looks at me for a minute. Long enough to hear replay-Casca call my name and then Mako’s. Then he nods. “Okay. We’ll watch it. But let me know…”

“I will,” I say quietly, watching Mako walk to the stage to stand next to me.

They are showing the scores when it clicks.

“They want us to kill Haymitch and Katniss first.”

“That is what they want,” he says slowly, emphasizing every word. There’s something he isn’t telling me. I know this, but I also know him. I trust Finnick Odair with my life and with everything else. If I needed to know, he would have told me. Maybe tomorrow he will. But tonight, it isn’t important.

I trust you, I tap on his leg.

He smiles, taps back. I love you.

What a night for confessions.

****

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