#and pointed out the fact that they had originally met when she was 20 and he was mid-40s

[so-long-soldier28]

my grandpa will never miss a chance to blame a woman for a man's disgraceful actions

[archduchessgortash]

Unpopular opinion...

These two were NOT manipulating each other.

They tried, at first... but it didn't work. They were too evenly matched in terms of charisma.

Default Durge is a sorcerer with charisma for their casting stat and proficiency in intimidation (from their background) and persuasion (from their class).

Pre-tadpole Durge, much like Gale, Wyll, and probably Shadowheart, was unlikely to have been level 1. It is most likely that pre-tadpole Durge was between level 9 (same as in-game Gortash) and 12 (same as in-game Orin). It is also possible that, as a Chosen, they may have had their stats similarly boosted, akin to those of the Chosen we fight in-game.

If we assume Durge was level 9, without any special boosts for being the Chosen of Bhaal, they had 2 feats under their belt, which would most likely have been invested in bumping charisma up to 20, placing them 2 points above Gortash, who has 18 charisma. This means they would potentially have had an easier time convincing Gortash to do what they wanted than many players probably suspect.

I find it more plausible that they respected and admired one another.

When Gortash greets any other origin than Durge, he is in full-on charming yet pushy, cleverly manipulative tyrant mode. He needs the help of these prism-bearers to fix the mess that he surely believes that they, alongside the Emperor, caused by killing Ketheric, given Gortash is unaware of the Absolute's manipulation at the time.

Gortash is more friendly with Karlach, but in a more patronizing, saccharin sort of way, that sours very easily if she behaves as though she is even slightly troubled by how his actions have harmed her. He clearly and sadly does not respect her, in spite of how deeply she had previously trusted him.

He is also in his sassy manipulator mode when speaking to Orin and Ketheric in Moonrise Towers, in spite of the fact that they are allies.

With Durge, however, he appears not unlike a man whose mask has been torn away to reveal his true self. He is happy to see Durge in a much softer, more genuine manner than we've seen from him with anyone else. He feels like a different person with Durge, especially if met alone. Is this not how we, as real-life people, react to our safe people, the ones we trust, with whom we can be our authentic selves?

Let's discuss 'not looking for Durge' which many cite as proof that Gortash saw Durge as nothing more than a useful ally...

We, as players, have no reason to believe that Gortash had any idea that Durge was even alive until the scene at the start of Act 3, in which Orin confirms their survival and that she caused their brain damage and subsequent memory loss. I've found no evidence that Gortash knew Durge was alive before this scene. Why would Gortash look for them if they were dead? If they were slain in a Bhaalist duel in the Temple of Bhaal, what reason would he have to believe he would be allowed to see the body? If they were slain in Moonrise Towers, they were most likely consumed by the Absolute. It's logical and reasonable that he wouldn't look.

If he knew before the scene with Orin, why did he sound surprised, pleased even?

Playing devil's advocate, let's say he did know... we'll say Orin told him what Gortash tells Durge, that she humiliated them sometime prior to the start of the game. If Durge truly valued Gortash, wouldn't they have come to him, even humiliated?

Isn't it reasonable to think that, if alive, having not come to Gortash after their betrayal, out of shame or a belief that he wouldn't help, Gortash might believe that Durge simply did not have the same high opinion of him as he did of them?

We can take it a step further and consider whether Gortash knew everything--that Durge wasn't dead, that they were tadpoled, about Kressa's experiments, and how they became the first True Soul.

If he knew all this, he is definitely a consummate manipulator, even better at it than a vampire with over 200 years of experience manipulating people. That Astarion is using the main character is intended to come as a surprise to the player as a layer to his narrative, but I, as the player in my own playthrough, saw through him immediately. I know some people didn't. I don't know how they didn’t. He was obvious to me. Why, then, does Gortash feel authentic? It's certainly not a question of attractiveness. To me, they are both attractive.

Perhaps it is my logical brain recognizing the fact that there is no evidence in the game that Gortash was aware of Durge's survival until Orin told him in the scene at the start of Act 3.

Now, let's talk betrayal...

Durge's Prayer for Forgiveness is most likely pre-tadpole. More on that later.

Ketheric's intention to betray is noted in the document Elder Brain Domination, its context indicating it was written post-Durge's impromptu lobotomy, and most likely quite some time prior to the document we find in Act 3 confirming Gortash's intention to betray the others as well.

The entry we read in the Journal of Enver Gortash is quite clearly written after Ketheric's defeat at the hands of the 'vagabonds' as he refers to them. This could mean that Gortash never intended to betray anyone, not until Ketheric failed to recover the Astral Prism.

About the Prayer for Forgiveness...

We find it in the mind flayer colony. The likelihood that Durge would ever have written down their intention to betray the others pre-tadpole is a bit suspect, made even more so by Balthazar's post-note about Orin. I know we need the note for lore, but that could easily have been accomplished by making it a memory that returned via the narrator, as many other Durge-specific pieces of lore are provided to the player. The fact that this one is only in the form of a note has always made me wonder if Durge was forced to write it after the tadpole was inserted, most likely by Balthazar before sending them off on the Nautiloid.

If anyone has other evidence, especially the contradictory kind, please comment. I'd love to look at this further.

[trexiejan]

My opinion : Babs was deaged to be with Dick.

Okay so I've seen so many dickbabs shippers try to deny that Barbara was deaged to fit Dick for the purpose of defending dickbabs or make them look better i guess. They keep saying that wasn't the reason why she was deaged. they always point to the 1st time she got deaged.

like why are they so upset when they see people say that. I wonder if they care more about the ship than barbara as an individual character.

cuz if they truly liked Barbara separately from Dickbabs maybe all the anti-dickbabs comments wouldn't be an issue for them. 🤷‍♀️

anyway i'm going to explain why it's true.

here's the thing :

Barbara was deaged more than once.

Crisis on Infinite Earths wasn't the only time she was deaged, she got deaged again in other books/continuites.

So The real question is where did they deage her to be the same age as Dick to make them work not when was she first deaged. (we all know it's always in dickbabs comics where she's written as the same age as dick, i wonder why)

The 1st time she was deaged was in Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was so Jim could be younger but they only decreased her age slightly because she's still written as older than Dick, here is a panel from Secret Origins #20 that was published in 1986 exactly 1 year after she was deaged in Crisis on infinite earths (1985) she said Dick is too young for her and that batman is always the one on her mind. So Dickbabs during this time still has a big age gap so they're still unable to work.

The 2nd time or 3rd time she was deaged is in dickbabs comics where she was finally made the same age as Dick so dickbabs can finally work as romantic pairing. 

Instead of being older she's now written as a part of Dick's generation.

From a congresswoman to someone who went to highschool prom with Dick.

Even Tom Taylor wrote them as childhood sweethearts so he can portray them as soulmates in his comics. a huge wtf moment for me because Babs wasn't originally this young when she first met Dick 😭

pls She had a PHD, has been working as a librarian and congresswoman when dick was still a young boy in gotham.

Barbara is now written as a part of his generation and his one true love since day 1. (from an independent congresswoman to Dick's childhood sweetheart and girlfriend who revolves around him)

Before Dickbabs couldn't work because of their age gap but now they can work. thanks to dickbabs comics deaging barbara again and this time for the sole purpose of reducing Babs into Dick's love interest.

So Just because she wasn't deaged to be with Dick in her 1st deaging doesn't mean she wasn't deaged to be with Dick in her 2nd or 3rd deaging 🙃

Dickbabs shippers can deny it all they want but at the end of the day dickbabs wouldn't have worked out if she wasn't deaged to be the same age as dick.

and even if they're right, let's say for the sake of their argument they're right that babs wasn't deaged to be with dick, it still doesn't change the fact that dickbabs is weird.

Regardless if Babs was deaged to be with Dick or not, It's still weird to see Dick being put in a relationship with a woman who was originally a congresswoman when he was still in highschool.  

It's like deaging Batman into a teenager (like let's say it's because they want to make Bruce appealing to teenagers) but years later they decided to give him a love interest who is also a teenager as part of the new batman stories.

So even though his deaging has nothing to do with women or shipping in the first place, it's still weird to suddenly see Batman in a relationship with women who are a part of dick's generation knowing he was originally much older than them.

Like Bruce/Raven or Bruce/Starfire suddenly becoming a thing 🤢 No amount of deaging would be able to justify those pairings.

The same happened to Barbara she was originally a part of Batman and Superman's generation.

for goodness sake she dated Superman!!!! She was so much older than Dick.

Also remember when Dickbabs was originally a pedo-like ship and it was so controversial and hated the same way Brucebabs was hated today? Because Barbara the adult woman is kissing minor grayson but now she's fully making out and having sex with minor grayson in dickbabs comics.

The reason why Dickbabs fans don't want people talking about this is because they care more about making dickbabs look good than barbara's independence. They don't care that Barbara lost her independence, her phd, her solo careers, her librarian and congresswoman job because of dickbabs shipping.

They don't view Barbara as a character seperate from dick. Barbara is trapped in this relationship because of people like them. They don't fight for Barbara's independence. The only thing they want from her is to be the girlfriend of Dick and nothing else. It is so hard for them to let Barbara Gordon be independent and not just “Nightwings girlfriend."

Barbara's real enemy is the dickbabs ship. Before, she is able to stand on her own, but now she's nothing more than just a love interest who can't live without dick and too dependent on him and his solo books to exist.

DC really needs to get Barbara some actual character building that doesn't involve Nightwing whatsoever but it's hard to do that when she won't even stop chasing Dick nonstop like a dog in his solo books and thinking about him 24/7 because of writers like tom taylor who is always busy making babs' entire personality all about dick than writing solo babs stories.

Dickbabs is unnecessary and disservice to her character, it does nothing for her independence. She is forever demoted to Dick's love interest unless they free her from this ship.

poor babs she deserves better than people who only want to associate her with dick 24/7.

[vodika-vibes]

The Daimyo's Cyare

Summary: You get to spend some time with your favorite person in the galaxy.

Pairing: Daimyo! Boba Fett x Reader

Word Count: 1356

Warnings: Tongue in cheek teasing, there is an age gap, but Boba is only 41, and the reader is, at the youngest, 30.

Songs: None

Prompt: N/A

A/N: This is my first time writing Boba, so I'm a little unsure about it. But I think I'm happy with it? Also, 3 stories in one day! I love DND Sundays~

Divider by Saradika

When you ran away from home at 20 years old, you kind of expected your story to have a bad ending. But you ran anyway. At the time, it was the only option you had. At least, it felt like it.

Your parents always expected too much from you. “You can do better” and “you’re smarter than this”, are mantras from your childhood, said daily by your parents, sometimes even hourly. 

Your parents had ambitions for you. In their mind you were going to be a doctor or a lawyer or an Imperial Officer. And they pushed, pushed, pushed…until you couldn’t take it anymore.

You ran until no one knew your family name, and then you shed their name like a second skin, and you kept running.

Eventually you found yourself on a Cruise Liner. Playing bartender to the rich and famous. People who don’t care who you were, so long as you continue to ply them with copious amounts of alcohol. While living on the cruise liner, which you did for well over ten years, you created yourself a dozen different times, until you became the person you are now.

You left the cruise liner when the Empire fell, and you found yourself on Tatooine, still as a bartender, only instead of serving drunk rich people, you were serving drunk bottom feeders.

The only real difference being the amount of credits you make in tips.

That was where you met Boba Fett for the first time.

The first time he came into your bar, he was clad in his armor, and was dripping malice. You mentally prepared yourself for a fight, and having to clean blood off the floor, but that’s not what happened.

Instead he walked over to you, and sat at the bar and ordered a drink that you hadn’t made since your time on the Cruise Liner.

You weren’t going to make it for him, originally. It’s an expensive drink, made with expensive drinks, but he swore that he could pay for it. And you decided to take him at his word.

He watched you make his drink with an intensity that made you feel like you were being interviewed. And when you finished, he pinned you in place with a stare you could feel, more than see. And then he set a handful of credits on the counter, and offered you a job.

And, well, your mama didn’t raise a fool, so you accepted the job. 

That had been a year ago, and you’ve never been happier. Never felt safer. You’re happy enough, in fact, that you’ve started considering reaching out to your family to let them know you’re alive.

“Credit for your thoughts?” You don’t even start when a calloused hand slides around your hips, instead you turn your head slightly and you smile up at Boba.

“Just remembering.” You reply lightly as you turn against him.

“Remembering what?” He asks as he adjusts his grip.

“How I ended up here.”

“Here on Tatooine, or here in my arms?” Boba teases gently, “Because those are different stories.”

“Hm. Both.” You beam at him and slide your hands up the worn material of his shirt, “Have I ever thanked you for getting me out of that dive?”

“You have, repeatedly. But you can always thank me again.”

You stand on your toes and kiss the corner of his lips, “Hm. Maybe later.” You slide your hands across his broad chest again, “No armor today, love?”

“I’m on vacation.”

You nod thoughtfully, “Fennec kicked you out of the throne room, didn’t she?”

He huffed out an amused laugh, “Maybe I should name her Daimyo, and retire somewhere.”

You laugh quietly, “Oh, love. There are less painful ways to die, you know.”

You feel him chuckle, and you look up as he bumps his forehead against yours, “I suppose you have a point.” His calloused fingers drag against the thin material of your shirt, “Did you sleep well, cyare?”

“Well, my pillow seems to have abandoned me early this morning,” You say with a playful pout, “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you Boba?”

“Hm. Sounds like we should invest in a proper pillow for you,” He replies blandly. “And then I won’t wake you up when I get out of bed.”

You drape your arms over his shoulder, “Oh, but I love my pillow. Even if you get up far too early.”

“You could always wake up with me.”

“Ew. Mornings.” You scrunch up your nose, and Boba laughs.

“Well then, you’ll just have to suffer without a pillow then, I’m afraid.”

You pout and lean against him, burying your face against him. “You could always not wake up early. That’s an option too.”

He drags his fingers up your spine and you shiver against him, “That’s not an option, and we both know it.” His fingers stop at your neck, and he lightly rubs small circles against the skin there, “So. You want to tell me what’s bothering you?”

“Nothing?”

“You had that look on your face, cyar’ika.” Boba replies, “The one that screams that somethings bothering you and you aren’t sure what to do about it.”

“...I have a look?”

“You have a look.” He agrees.

“...I’m thinking about my parents,” You admit with a sigh, “I haven’t spoken to them since I was 18. They probably think I’m dead.”

He hums thoughtfully, “You don’t talk about them much, cyar’ika.”

You curl your fingers in his shirt, “Because I know you, Boba Fett. You’ll get all grumbly and protective.”

He raises a single brow, “Did they mistreat you?”

“My anxiety is a direct result of them.” You say with a shrug, and you smile ruefully when his grip around you tightens. Boba’s helped you through more than one anxiety attack. “They were just…they expected so much from me. Perfection was the expectation, and anything less than perfect was grounds for yelling and ridicule.”

“So that’s also where your perfectionist tendencies come from,” Boba notes mildly.

“I’m not a perfectionist!” You counter as you lean back slightly.

“You once polished my armor after I did because I didn’t do it well enough.”

Your face flames bright red, and you press your face back against his chest, “I thought we were never going to mention that again.”

“I promised not to mention it in front of other people,” Boba corrects with a laugh in his voice, “It’s just us in here.”

You huff out a breath and press your still flaming face against his chest. “Anyway,” You mumble against his chest, “They’d probably be so disappointed in me. Bartender my entire life. Never amounted to anything-”

“Hey,” He grips your shoulders and shakes you gently, “You managed to get through the Empire without getting conscripted into the Imperial Army, and you managed to live well on the Cruise Liner. Not to mention you work directly under the Daimyo of Tatooine.”

You muffle a laugh.

“That’s not remotely what I meant, cyare, and you know it.” He sounds amused though, “You were my personal chef for a year.”

“Yeah. I was a terrible cook.”

“The worst.” Boba agrees, “But how could I fire you when you were trying so hard. Plus, I liked looking at you, even then.”

You smile up at him, “That’ll be a fun letter. ‘Dear mom and dad, I’m the official eye candy for the Daimyo of Tatooine, are you proud of me yet?’”

“You’re a little more than just eye candy, cyare.”

You look up at him, a would be innocent expression on your face, “I know. I work directly under you, remember?”

He huffs out an amused noise, “You’re going to be working directly under me if you don’t watch your tongue.”

You grin at him impishly, “My tongue isn't long enough to watch, though Boba.”

His fingers twitch on your hips, and he returns your impish look with his own steady gaze. “You’re going to get yourself in trouble, cyar’ika.”

“Promise?” You ask with a grin.

His grin becomes sharp, and you squeal when he scoops you into his arms, “Oh, cyar’ika. It’s a guarantee.”

[wingsoverlagos]

This is a fun collection of quotes from the Let It Be Beatles Interview with Mark Lewisohn conducted on August 20, 2018. This is mostly for @mythserene's enjoyment, but it's also a fun lil supplement to this comment by @talking-perfectly-loud on a post by @anotherkindofmindpod, which includes some revealing, deeply salty quotes by Lewisohn from an episode of Nothing Is Real.

The below soundbites focus on Lewisohn's feelings towards the Harrison estate, particularly Olivia, though Lewisohn also lets us know that he considered suing George at one point. Italics used to indicate tone; bold font is added emphasis by me.

This is from ~1hr8min into the interview, after a discussion of Mal Evans diaries. Here's a partial transcript:

"No, no, Olivia Harrison doesn't want anything to do with me at all. Yeah, so it's very frustrating because I just want to make the history better and better and better and more and more correct, especially more and more correct in terms of balance on all four Beatles, but whatever."

This is a longer clip (6:26) from ~1hr23min in the original interview. They're discussing Lewisohn's falling out with Apple/the Beatles/George in particularly, which came about because he was falsely accused of bootlegging, or something like that. He's told a few variations of this story.

The first 3ish minutes give some flavor and backstory. Some choice quotes (they're at about 2:50, 4:35, and 5:42 in this clip):

“To the day he died, George blocked me, and Olivia blocks me in George’s name, and so it still carries on.”

“I’ve never, ever leaked, and that was why it was so galling to be accused of being a bootlegger. George Harrison accused me of being a bootlegger to my face in front of a whole film crew, the bastard. I mean, really. A horrible, horrible thing to do. I really should have done him for slander, and in fact at one point I was tempted, believe it or not. Because, you know, I’m a professional, I’m on a shoot, I’ve got a whole unit with me, and he’s accusing me of being a bootlegger in front of everybody, which was- he had no evidence for because there wasn’t any, but that didn’t matter. He was accusing me without evidence, and it was wrong, and um, you just have to put up with these things. These people, they can get away with murder. Celebrities, you know?”

Lest we think George was wilding out solely because of the bootlegging, Lewisohn helpfully clarifies that it was also Paul's Fault:

“The irony of that was that I actually had started off really well with George. I knew George from ’87, personally, and we’d had nice times, and it was- one of the things that flipped it was when I began working regularly for Paul.”

This was the part of the podcast that really took me aback, from around the 1hr43min mark. There's some chatter about Let It Be (the film), and then Lewisohn goes off once again about Olivia Harrison. He's quite impassioned, and then seems to make a conscious effort to talk himself down.

“I don’t know Olivia Harrison. I’ve never met her, which makes her- just- [angry] blocking of everything I do so ridiculous, because she doesn’t even know me. But if, as it would appear, she’s taken it upon herself to perpetuate George’s wishes, which is something that you might expect a spouse to do when their partner’s died, if the partner says, ‘Don’t ever allow this’, then she would take it as her duty not to allow it.”

This is followed by some hedging.

There are several other choice tidbits in this two hour Lewisohn marathon, but Olivia Harrison was foremost in his mind. But don't worry, guys, he's not biased!

[vindicated-truth]

(Originally posted as a response to @caroldanverscanrawme's post here, which I completely concur with)

I absolutely concur with all of it, especially the point about Lee Geumhwa, because yes, that's what I've also been saying from the start: Joowon is hellbent on pursuing Dongsik because he believed Geumhwa.

The problem was the miscommunication: Joowon told Geumhwa to only text him the number "1" if she found Dongsik—because he's already a suspect to Joowon—and instead Geumhwa misinterpreted that to mean to text Joowon "1" if she finds the actual killer, who turns out to be Jinmook.

But here is the most important nuance of all:

Joowon did what most people would not do, and that is to believe the victim.

He believed that Geumhwa was telling him that Dongsik is the murderer, and that's why he was hellbent on pursuing him after she sent that text and immediately went missing, precisely because he feels responsible for what happened to her.

(Even though—and it's important to point out too—he didn't make her do anything, just made her whereabouts trackable and handed her a way to communicate with him if she happened to see Dongsik.)

And here's also an important detail as to why he's hellbent on being transferred to Manyang, and why he's certain that the killer is there:

Because Geumhwa's phone is trackable.

Jinmook of course did not know this, as he thought of it as just an ordinary phone. Jinmook brought that phone back home to his house and buried it there.

And you know what else is near the area? What is nearly next door to Jinmook's house?

Dongsik's home.

You absolutely cannot blame Joowon for piecing together that Dongsik is the culprit at the accumulation of clues:

1) Dongsik was the original suspect 20 years ago, there just wasn't enough evidence to indict him because of an alibi provided by Jeongje; 2) Geumhwa texted him "1" when he specifically instructed her to only do that if she meets Dongsik; 3) The trackable phone's last known location, had Jinmook not turned it off in time, was in Manyang, in Jinmook's house, right next to Dongsik's home.

What's fascinating about Joowon's entire investigation is precisely that he based it solely on facts and evidences, and the entire unraveling of his character came later on when he discovered that evidences can actually be manipulated.

By actual people of the law, no less.

That's why he felt so betrayed by Cho Gilgu's confession—because it had never occurred to him before then that his strictly objective investigation turned out to be founded on fake and manipulated evidence.

Imagine how shattering that is for someone who has always prided himself on logic. If he couldn't even trust the evidence, then what—and whom—could he trust?

And to address this point:

Dongsik literally does nothing to try and dissuade Joowon from thinking he’s a serial killer! I genuinely can’t even remember him actually telling Joowon “I did not kill my sister”, because that’s never worked before; I think maybe saying that is triggering in and of itself because of how he insisted for so long and was only met with disbelief and vitriol. When you try to defend yourself a certain way and it never works, you eventually just learn to stop fighting it.

The thing is, I do believe Dongsik was deliberately letting himself be framed as the murderer, because it's the only way he can force the media to pay attention to what happened to Minjeong, whom he also loved dearly, and also because of his rekindled, desperate hope that perhaps this time, people would finally once again pay attention to the case of his sister, whom the law itself had already turned away as a cold case.

This is a man who has nothing left to lose after all. He knows he's already branded as a murderer all these years anyway. What's one more accusation, if it means the cases of the victims—Minjeong and Yuyeon included—will finally be paid attention to? What's a "small sacrifice" of letting himself be branded again as a murderer, if that's the exchange he gets?

He's desperate and crazy and has nothing left to lose. That's why he deliberately let himself be photographed in uniform when he was arrested without a warrant and taken to Munju police station. And I believe that's also why he let Joowon continue to believe that he's the murderer—because it means Joowon will continue to pursue the case just to prove that he is.

And Dongsik is confident about it because he knows he isn't.

What's a "little sacrifice" of being the brunt of all these cruel accusations by this righteous young cop, if it means this stubborn cop actually solves the case? It's not like Dongsik hasn't heard it all before anyway.

That's why he was actually pleased when Joowon made the announcement on national television the revelation that this is, in fact, a serial murder.

Joowon did exactly what Dongsik wanted from the beginning:

Bring the media and public attention back to the cold case of Lee Yuyeon's murder.

[theteablogger]

Can you give me a run down of Carlanime/Necromommycon's relationship with Andy?

I'm just going to call her "Carlanime" throughout because it's easier and less confusing. This is not comprehensive; it would be ridiculously long if I tried to link everything she ever said about Andy.

On February 22, 2005, Carlanime emailed Turimel about Chris/"Rennie Gade", the Marine sockpuppet that Andy had brought into the Bit of Earth Yahoo! group in 2002. She pointed out that the originating IP addresses for one of Andy's messages and one of Chris's were one digit apart, which strongly suggested that they were the same person.

Carlanime apparently continued to follow events related to Andy over the years and posted about him occasionally on her LiveJournal (LJ).

On May 21, 2011, Carlanime emailed Turimel a copy of Andy's "eulogy" to Brittany, which he had posted publicly in the DAYD Facebook group. This is how Turimel found out about Brittany's murder and Andy's plan to make the New Zealand hike in her memory.

During the spring or summer of 2011, Carlanime started working on a murder mystery novel starring a character based on Andy.

On October 14, 2011, CFC posted "The Other Side of the Wank", a 20-point defense of Andy, on her LJ. On November 9, Carlanime commented sympathetically on this post.

Also on November 9, Carlanime posted publicly on her LJ about Andy. She called Abbey a "joiner" and cast doubt on the idea that Andy (who she erroneously believed was 17 at the time he met Abbey) had deliberately started a cult. She referred to him as a "creative mentally ill kid" and suggested that he seemed like a person who wanted to help and to do the right thing, but went tragically wrong--all of which very much fit the narrative Andy has always promoted about himself.

Andy saw an opportunity in Carlanime's post and contacted her the same day under an alias (never2late2hope), asking/demanding that she call out Turimel, victim-blaming, and downplaying his abusive actions. He also contacted her under his own LJ name (thanfiction), sending her a long message about Brittany and castigating her for sharing the eulogy, which he claimed had been friends-locked. Note that he began this message by stating that he had friended her on LJ and thanking her for friending him back. Unbeknownst to Andy, Carlanime created a filter group on her LJ so that she and her other friends could talk about him without his seeing it. Finally, Andy sent Carlanime an exchange he'd supposedly been forwarded between never2late2hope (which was, of course, Andy himself) and Turimel, in which never2late2hope was trying to convince Turimel to reconcile with Andy.

CFC also contacted Carlanime on November 9, asking her to call out Turimel for victim-blaming Brittany and perpetuating facts that CFC said were false.

Carlanime replied to Andy and stated that she didn't expect them to be BFFs or necessarily to remain LJ friends after he finished reading her older, friends-locked posts about him. She disagreed that she owed Brittany an apology and shared her opinion that Andy had "an affective disorder". Andy responded to this by offering her "the full story from [his] side", making excuses for why the eulogy didn't ring true, and giving her unasked-for validation for being "a decent human being".

In her next message, Carlanime indicated that she was interested in hearing more of Andy's side of the story, apologized to him, and joked about his not exactly being a criminal mastermind. When Andy brought up "Catch Me If You Can" in his response, Carlanime said that she had "a serious Abagnale crush". Andy agreed that he was "kind of awesome in a very twisted way" and suggested that Turimel's conception of him was partly based on Abagnale.

Within a day or so of this exchange, Carlanime added Andy on Facebook. Here, she noted that he messaged her soon after to tell her how adorable her baby was, and subsequently gifted her two unasked-for drawings of her children.

In Facebook messages dated November 15, Andy joked about his "criminal mastermindedry" and asked again if she wanted more information on "the Great Saga". When she said that she did, Andy then sent her an extremely long email containing the latest version of his life story. In another message, Andy turned the entire story around on Abbey, as if she had victimized, exploited, and abused him. Carlanime let that pass without comment, asking him about commission prices instead.

On November 20, Carlanime announced that she would pay $25 per story for stories based on her character Mina de Malfois, to be printed in a zine. Andy asked if he could contribute, "or am I a bit too scandalous?" Carlanime said she would be thrilled to have a submission from him.

Earlier in November, Carlanime had been commenting on Turimel's LJ that she felt pity for Andy. Someone took exception to the way she writes about this and ended up advising her, on November 25, to be careful in her new friendship with Andy. In a filtered post on her own LJ, she did not take this well, stating that she believed that what happened between Andy and Abbey should be ascribed to mental illness and immaturity rather than malice--and that she didn't care if she was wrong.

By December 5, Andy and Carlanime were exchanging messages about the character that she had based on him. Andy had a lot of ideas for his background and the plot. On the same day, he told Carlanime, "If you don't draw the lines, I won't try to be your cult leader, but I also won't shut up for hours."

That same day, Carlanime posted that Andy had drawn the character that she'd based on him. She endorsed commissioning art from him, adding, "I didn't get indoctrinated into a cult, so you know it's safe."

Later in December, Andy sent Carlanime a Christmas care package.

On February 5, 2012, Andy informed her in a Facebook message that he had just learned that "[he was] a symptom of someone else's psychosis and everything [he] thought he knew about [him]self and [his] past…[wasn't] true."

The next relevant bit of information I have is from March 8, 2013, when Carlanime posted on Tumblr that Andy might have a different diagnosis than what she'd been told (which was "Severe Gender Disphoria [sic] leading to Dissociative Identity Disorder possibly comorbid with Borderline Personality Disorder on select aspects"). She said that she didn't care and that it didn't change her opinion of Andy in any way, adding in the tags, "Actually I think I am a sociopath so there".

On July 9, Carlanime sent Abbey an anon ask (which she later stated was from her) about Andy's dropping/ignoring a friend and claiming it was to avoid being "a danger to [him]self or others".

On July 10, Carlanime posted on Tumblr Rules for Befriending Sociopaths, in which she stated that for her, Andy was "For Entertainment Purposes Only". She added, "I am able to enjoy him so much precisely because I don’t need him for anything. It is not a good idea to let oneself need anything from sociopaths…". Carlanime wrote authoritatively on how sociopaths relate to their friends, asserting that no cruelty is intended when they ignore or neglect them.

On April 8, 2014, Abbey posted about Andy's attempting to push her into sex work and his mean-spirited, shaming comments on her body. Carlanime told Abbey that this had made her unable to find Andy amusing anymore.

On April 13, Andy texted Carlanime, asking when she stopped being his friend and just found him amusing. He claimed that Abbey had omitted important context for his comments: that she was the one who expressed interest in sex work, that he'd been supportive, and that his only remarks about her body were to contrast her favorably with "silicone size 0 spray tan barbies".

On June 1, after accusations were made that Andy had sexually assaulted a bodypaint model, Carlanime started anonymously sharing excerpts from Andy's emails and messages to her on lol_meme.

On June 3, Carlanime shared Andy's incredibly long email to her on her Tumblr. From this point on, she began regularly posting about Andy and responding to posts by Andy Awareness bloggers.

On July 8, Carlanime responded to Abbey's post about "Fish Skin Rodeo" In the tags, she said, "never have i ever been so glad to have ended a friendship".

Sometime in April 2015, Carlanime began reading "Sluagh" and live-blogging the experience on Tumblr. Among other things, she said that it felt like recruitment material and that she wanted to wash her eyes out after reading it.

On April 13, Carlanime began sharing Andy's messages and emails to her on tf-talk and posting about them on her Tumblr.

On April 16, Carlanime commented anonymously on tf-talk that from the ages of nine through eleven, she had engaged in fake channeling behavior similar to what Andy did, creating "an elaborate fantasy world inhabited with fictional and historical figures who were 'in contact' with us". She said that the last time she remembered engaging in that type of behavior was at sixteen. (On July 24, 2018, she admitted that this was her.)

At some point after this, she deleted her Tumblr, saying that she felt it was time for her to leave Andy alone. In the summer of 2018, she created a new Tumblr and told an anon that this was because she was enraged that the lie that Andy had been underage when he and Abbey met was circulating again.

From June 25-July 28, 2018, Carlanime spent a month responding to the FAQ page that some of Andy's friends had created, calling out Andy's friend Chris for denying that Andy was a rapist, and posting more about Andy's harmful actions.

On July 7, she posted, on Andy's behalf, an apology to the people he'd wronged in Los Angeles that summer. She later indicated that she and Andy were still in contact, that she recognized that he'd been cruel, and that she believed there was a possibility he could be cruel and hurt people again.

On July 19, on her Thanfictioning Tumblr, Carlanime posted about how she first made contact with Andy: by catfishing him, basically. It is unclear exactly when this happened. She made flippant reference to “the internet diagnosis of sociopathic serial rapist”.

On July 23, Carlanime denied being an Andy Awareness blogger, though she said she supported the existence of those blogs, and admitted that the "Fish Skin Rodeo" story had not made her dislike Andy.

On October 26, on Thanfictioning, Carlanime said that she didn't believe that Andy was dangerous or was ever a cult leader, and that he didn’t do anything that much different from other people in dysfunctional relationships.

On November 4, on Thanfictioning, Carlanime said that she didn't believe that Andy was a rapist and attempted to discredit Diamond's story.

Later that day, Thanfictioning's identity was revealed. (Here are all of my posts on Thanfictioning.)

Carlanime posted on her regular Tumblr a few times in July 2019, mainly to bait and mock me, and to reiterate that none of the beliefs she'd expressed as Thanfictioning had changed. In the tags on that last post, she wrote, "it's ridiculous to feel surprised or betrayed".

[inspector-montoya-fox]

I want to rewrite/ share my thoughts on this post because honestly what the fuck did I know at the age of 20? The title was a bit overdramatic, I wouldn't go so far as to brand the series misogynistic per se, but admittedly some of its less progressive moments reserved for the female characters really have me questioning if Sucker Punch had their best interest in mind. There are only 7 of them: Carmelita, Penelope, Neyla, Mz Ruby, the Contessa, Henriette, and if we're being extremely generous, Jing King. Also worth noting that out of the 65 guards only 3 are female. That's what I call equal opportunity! I think the main argument lies in whether or not the girlboss moments outweigh the... not very girlboss moments.

Carmelita's development, not only as a character but as a woman, throughout the series is the primary point of discussion here. In Sly 1, she's mainly seen as a foil to Sly's plans, which attaches her to 3 kinda harmful notions. Firstly, the 'woman who has no chill is out to spoil the boys' fun' trope. Secondly, the fact that a high ranking Interpol officer is unable to put 2 + 2 together and see the bigger picture while chasing Sly, who is desperately trying to show her that he's not the mastermind behind the Mesa City casino or the firework factory or the evil volcano lair. It makes it seem like she's not good at her job and lowkey stupid. Thirdly, her appearances are opportunities for Sly to flirt with her. Kind of a thin line here between developing their relationship and Carmelita 100% not reciprocating the flirt. The dynamic being presented is 'goofy guy has crush on serious boss lady' but if we're being a bit realistic, it can also be received as Sly not taking this female law officer seriously.

In Sly 2 and 3, her role transgresses these stereotypes because she's given more depth: her professional relationship with Neyla, her downfall and her conversation with Sly in the helicopter all transform her into a multifaceted character. That last one also shows that, even though she wasn't reciprocating the flirting in Sly 1, she enjoys Sly's company and wants to be with him too. And when she becomes playable in Sly 3, the idea that she's the most powerful character in the series is fully realised. Her move set - mega jump and shock pistol - as well as the fact that her segments are reserved for the bigger threats serve to prove that she is the ultimate force to be reckoned with.

Penelope suffers from having the opposite trajectory. Flight of Fancy and its display of gender commentary is such a strong start for her character but all of that is immediately thrown into the garbage for the sake of turning her into yet another love interest. She's better at hacking than Bentley and can fistfight on a moving plane but instead of allowing her to be one of the boys, she's reduced to Bentley's crush and made a hostage twice. I think this is why it took me so long to understand her character. Because there's this really abrupt switch after her introduction which dilutes all her best parts, mainly how she's a tomboy who couldn't give less of a fuck.

When I was re-reading that original post, I was thinking that maybe I was a bit harsh but then realised the main point I had failed to convey was that... well, there's no nice way to put this but, the series is a product of the male gaze, exclusively. Yes. The protagonist is narrating his own story alongside his two buddies, so the entire world of Sly Cooper, as we know it, revolves around his own understanding of everything, including his perception of women. There is a lot of flirting and a lot of damsel in distress-ing, and these reflect on Sly's character. With the exception of Henriette, all the female characters are treated to either of the two, if not both: the main trio (Carmelita, Penelope & Neyla) are pigeonholed into the role of love interests, the former two also needing to be rescued, whereas Mz Ruby and the Contessa are met with flirty chit-chat from Sly (and I don't want to hear any bullshit that this is not the case again. If Sly handles the female villains with a more suave, teasing attitude as opposed to their male counterparts, guess what that means). And then there's the case of A Cold Alliance, which yay! anti-arranged marriage rhetoric and female empowerment by having the gang absolutely destroy Tsao, a total misogynist scum of the planet. Surely this harrowing experience must've had dire consequences on Jing King... oh wait. Sorry I forgot that Tsao's victim, the character whose rescue mission is the central plot of the entire episode, is not given a face and speaks only 2 lines of dialogue in favour of the pain her father has to go through... Isn't this kinda counterproductive?

I feel like, in closing, I have to reiterate that I don't think the series is misogynistic. Let's make that clear. I just think it's a bit 'one step forwards, two steps back' because its brand of feminism as well as its depiction of femininity are similar to the one in Marvel movies or Katy Perry's 'Woman's World'. Birthed by the male gaze, basically. A woman doesn't have to mega-jump and have a shock pistol to be a "girlboss", however. And, even though the majority of female characters are depicted to have established careers, it doesn't help that they have to have their gender brought up in some capacity. Anyway, I was going to close off by asking you to imagine a game where the developers have Carmelita wear a miniskirt but fuck that. Power to women.

[ncisfranchise-source]

When Gibbs left NCIS, many believed that was the end of his story. Luckily for fans of the franchise (particularly of this character), however, the story didn’t end there. On the contrary, a spin-off prequel was born, giving them a better look at how things started in the NCIS world.

Even though NCIS: Origins is a prequel to everything that happened to Gibbs before we met him, the show also explores new characters and their lives.

I recently spoke with NCIS: Origins creators Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North about how the idea for the show was born, the inspiration behind the episodes, and what could come next.

How Origins Came to Be

Creating a spin-off prequel for NCIS was an idea in the back of David J. North’s mind for a while because he always felt there was a story to be told. After being approached by Mark and Sean Harmon to tell the story of young Gibbs, he was in.

“I looked at it as this enormous opportunity to work with Gina, who’s the best writer I’ve ever known and one of my best friends,” North said.

The feeling was very much mutual as Gina Lucita Monreal jumped on the opportunity because she believes North is an amazing person and writer. For her, creating NCIS: Origins felt like coming home.

However, creating a show in an existing franchise always comes with the challenge of producing content for an already existent fanbase, people who know the stories and the characters, as well as the creators themselves. “We had a unique challenge,” Monreal said. “We wanted to create a show for our existing fanbase, honoring canon and the original show, but creating a show new viewers could enjoy just as much.”

While they worked to insert easter eggs and nuggets to honor the show’s canon, North agrees that the challenge is creating something for people who may have never seen NCIS, “if that’s possible after 20 years.” So far, it seems to have been possible

“I’m most proud [of the fact that] people can sit down and watch even if they’ve never seen NCIS before, and they’re not going to miss a beat,” North shared.

What has helped them reach their goal of connecting with new viewers is that the show is also available to stream on Paramount+. North said several friends have told him they binge-watch the show on the streaming platform because it gives them time to catch up.

“Continuing character stories and wondering what happens within the relationships of these people make [NCIS: Origins] bingeable,” Monreal added.

Even though, as creators, they’ve looked to create a show for all types of viewers, most people tuning in are Gibbs’s fans. North explained that they are excited to explore every part of who Gibbs is. Fans got to know him as Harmon’s version, but now they get a more raw version of this character.

“This version plays having just lost his family, the murder, and finding his way. We introduce how he became an NCIS agent through his friendship with his landlord. We’re figuring this out as we go, but staying true and honest to this character and having those discussions with Mark Harmon himself,” North said.

Monreal did point out that they’ve reached a natural pause in Gibbs’s backstory.

“We’re excited to dig into the other characters in our ensemble. So now we’ll get to feature Frank’s story, for instance,” Monreal explained. “All of these characters we were setting up in the front half of the season can now become a focal point for episodes moving forward.”

When we met Gibbs, what became important were the characters that surrounded him – his found family. Even though NCIS: Origins is in the past, they don’t close the door to the possibility of seeing some of the other characters that were important to Gibbs.

“We are very aware of canon, and we’re constantly checking it and making sure that we’re staying true to it,” Monreal said. “But we also understand that there are many opportunities within canon to expand our world, so we’re never closed off to any of those possibilities.”

The Essence of NCIS

While NCIS: Origins is a show that could stand alone, it is still part of a franchise that’s been on the air for over two decades. Therefore, finding what connects this show to the rest of them is important.

For North, it is about the chemistry between the actors and the writing. “After 20 years writing it, what’s special is what’s happening with the agency between the cracks. You want strong investigations and cases, but really it’s about the people solving those cases.”

While Monreal agreed with him, she also pointed out NCIS is about a found family. “I think that’s why people relate to it, because they can see themselves in that family, and we try to stay true to that as well with ours,” she said.

Nevertheless, plenty of NCIS: Origins helps it stand out from the other shows.

“We’re the first spin-off not to be based on a city. We’re based on a character, and now based on an ensemble of characters,” North explained. “Before there was so much high tech with forensics, it was all about solving the cases by putting pencil to paper, and we use the characters to solve these cases.”

But for Monreal, what helps NCIS: Origins stand out is the music. They have turned the music into the show’s focal point by using an 80s and 90s soundtrack. Monreal writes with songs in mind, making sure they make them part of the storyline. “She writes the actual songs into the script,” North said.

But fear not, even if the songs run out, the inspiration won’t. North and Monreal use each other as inspiration, writing things into the show that would make one another laugh.

They also write with the actors in mind. “I can hear their voices in my head,” Monreal said, “and that makes it so much easier and more fun to write. That is a driving force when we’re writing.”

[beanskelly]

Got any jersey devil headcanons? Especially for JD themselves?

You have no idea what you’ve done

1. Jersey has advanced healing abilities, and not only that but every physical injury done to his body makes him stronger (thus the power ups when you drop the nitro in the lab)

2. He is panromantic

3. He is a menace. He likes to pull pranks, especially on cops. He only saves his best ones for them (Jersey says ACAB)

4. He’s smarter than he’s given credit for. While growing up alone he would sneak into the library and read whenever he was bored. He has read just about every book in that library at least three times.

5. He didn’t learn how to fly until after the events of the game when he realized “shit maybe I should’ve practiced flying more”

6. He would be voiced by Tru Valentino (VA of Cuphead. In fact I imagine his voice being Cupheads but a little deeper)

7. Knarf immigrated from Scotland with his family when he was a teen. He worked multiple jobs while attending school so he could go to college (that’s where he met Reeds mother, Tara)

8. Phylis was created specifically to destroy Jersey. Knarf even fused some of her DNA with Jerseys so she had his strength.

9.After Phylis lost horribly to Jersey, Knarf kicked her out. She eventually found an abandoned warehouse and made it her home.

10. Phylis didn’t have a specific gender when she was created, but Knarf did refer to her with he/him pronouns during her time there prior to the events of the game. She didn’t even know that she even could be a girl until she found herself in the city. She befriended a group of trans women who helped her find a look she was happy with. She still hangs out with these women today

11. Dennis was eventually reinstated as Knarfs right hand man

12. Jersey and Phylis met again when one of Knarfs monsters started attacking the city. Jersey was hesitant around her at first but eventually began to trust her to the point where he started living with her in the warehouse.

13. Jersey likes redheads. Especially redheads that are a bit on the heavier side

14. Jersey can’t shapeshift, so he has to wear a disguise (courtesy of Phylis). It consists of a heavy leather jacket, a long black wig, and round sunglasses.

15. Jersey considered calling the demon woman after the fight, but couldn’t get a hold of her

16. Even though Jersey can heal fast, broken bones still need to be put back in place and cuts and scrapes still need to be disinfected

17. Jersey can’t swim. He hates getting wet.

18. Jersey can and will eat anything you hand to him if it’s food. Doesn’t matter how much or how fresh

19. Phylis calls Reed her sibling

20. Despite being nonbinary, Reed does not like gender neutral terms like “partner” or “kid”. The “kid” part especially because they find it infantilizing. They prefer to be referred to as “son” or “boyfriend/girlfriend”.

21. Knarf does try to get to know Reed as his son, even if his methods are unconventional. He also would never use Reed as a means to get to Jersey

22. Much like the original legend, JD has 12 older siblings. He has not met them yet

23. Jersey involuntarily chirps when he’s happy. He hates it.

24. He also purrs. He also hates it

I’ll update this as I think of more

[anneapocalypse]

14 and 20 for that ship meme!

14. Opinion on the importance of marriage?

It completely depends on the ship. I don't think every character would or should get married no matter how in love they are, or maybe they would get married under certain circumstances but not others. And for others, maybe marriage is extremely important!

(Spoilers for Red vs. Blue, Dragon Age Origins, and FFXIV: Heavensward ahead.)

I don't see Agent Carolina from Red vs. Blue, for example, as the marrying kind, and in my Mainelinaverse marriage is never going to be a thing. However I actually make an exception for Kimbalina, not just because I think it's something Kimball would want but because the institution of marriage even being a thing again is a sign of Chorus rebuilding and being A Society again. I still think it would take Carolina a good few years on Chorus to get comfy with the idea. But I do like the idea that she and Kimball eventually get married.

My Dragon Age OC Ilana Tabris never wants to get married and never does. She and Zevran spend the rest of their days happily and polyamorously in love and never marry. My other Tabris, Talith, is excited to get married and devastated at what happens on her first wedding day, and twelve years later marries Orlesian refugee Briala to offer her political protection and only after the wedding bells do they fall in love!

And as for Ariane in FFXIV... I do think marriage is something she's open to, though not something she'd rush into, and I think it is in her future with Urianger post-Dawntrail. (Fun/sad fact: Count Edmont tells her after Haurchefant's death that he was planning on proposing to her, which leaves her with even more heartbreak and messy feelings about what could have been--she totally would have said yes, but also never would have really fit in in Ishgard.) I think with Urianger the way it eventually comes up is probably that Ariane asks him if he'd ever want a kid (the answer's yes), and that discussion segues into "Do we want to get married?"

20. Who’s the ship’s biggest in-universe supporter?

Hah, that's a good question! Thancred and even Y'shtola both give them a nudge a certain point, but it's more in a "can you two get your shit together" kind of way. Alphinaud is weird about it at first because he's kind of had a crush on Ariane in that way teenagers do even though he knew it was absolutely never happening because he's too young for her. Alisaie is just kind of "Good for them" about it.

I'd actually have to say the biggest supporter is Ryne! (And I'm going to be so self-indulgent here and share a few snippets from a WIP because I feel like it.) Urianger has become like family to her, and he talked about Ariane so much during those three years, Ryne almost felt like she knew her too.

Minfilia had never met Ariane, but she had been hearing of her, ever since Thancred came and took her from Eulmore. It was Thancred who first told her of Ariane, the Warrior of Light. Not the ones who had brought on the Flood, but a Warrior of Light of a distant star, both like this world and different. He told her of other companions too, a group called the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, and of the one who once led them: Minfilia. The first Minfilia. His Minfilia, he called her. Then she met Urianger, who lived with the pixies. He spoke often of Ariane, calling her a "dear friend." One day, he said, she too would be brought to the First, and when she did, things would get better. Ariane was kind, Urianger said, and caring, and clever, and a skilled healer in multiple disciplines; in fact it was in part she who had inspired him to take up astrology, even in a world with no night. "Ariane sounds wonderful," she said to Thancred once, and Thancred let out a sort of laugh. "She's… quite lovely," he said, sounding as though there was something he wasn't saying. Minfilia had come to know the sound of that. "Though I dare say she sounds especially lovely when Urianger speaks of her." "What do you mean?" Minfilia asked, instantly curious. "Oh, nothing," Thancred said with a short laugh. "He's very fond of her, is all."

Ryne is very quick to notice that Urianger's fondness for Ariane is not one-sided, and she bonds with Ariane quickly too when she arrives, both because she's heard so much about her and because Ariane reaches out and treats her kindly and is clearly trying to get to know her as a person, not just as the Oracle of Light.

So when she realizes they aren't spending time together anymore after the First is saved... it really shakes her. It's like realizing something's wrong between two family members that you love dearly.

He was with Ryne at her astronomy lessons when the girl looked up suddenly, and said, “I haven’t seen you with Ariane very much lately.” “Ah…” he said, considering how to reply. 'Twould be fruitless to deny it; Ryne was an observant child. “’Tis true, we have seen little of one another of late.” He had meant to keep his voice light, but Ryne looked at him with an expression of some alarm. “You haven’t quarreled, have you?” “Nay,” he was quick to assure her, then added, “…not precisely. If we have been distant, the fault is mine.” “But you’ll be all right, won’t you?” Ryne pressed. “You’ll work it out? The two of you care so much for each other.” Urianger was at a loss as to how to reply. He longed to assuage the girl’s worries, and yet he could little assure of her of that of which he was himself uncertain. He reminded himself that Ryne could handle the truth—nay, deserved it. (As had Ariane. Had he only found a way to share it with her, without risking everything.) “Ariane hath asked time to herself,” he said at last. “There are times when another may ask the gift of our absence, and if we care for them, we must grant it. She shall return when she is ready… and until then, I shall respect her wishes.” Ryne nodded. “I see…” and Urianger could tell that it still troubled her. Nevertheless, she said no more.

[spotsupstuff]

Okay, I need to know what Sparrow's dad said about the rot because it is haunting me like Sos is haunting the narrative.

Is there a post that describes Sparrow's dad to know about him more? What is his name? (It seems he also haunts the narrative)

he is not to be really known

and really he only haunts the narrative, yes, but specifically when Sparrows (or her family) is the focus. to the Iterators he's just another fleeting life of an unimportant figure

he hasn't said anything about the Rot, good chance he's never even heard about it. what he talked about to Sparrows was his belief that the Void Sea was not to be discovered, disturbed and then used. in the Rot comic, Sparrows talks about the connection she's made herself as a Mechanic between the Rot (a thing specific to Iterators) and the Void Fluid being key ingredient for their existence

though it had to dawn on her at some point that if her dad was right about the introduction of the Void into the society not being right and therefore the Iterators' existence (including Caper's) is inherently wrong on that basis, she's not the sort of person to ignore the facts even if they hurt. the Rot is connected to Void. the Void allows Iterators to live. her husband is unintentionally hurting the spiritual balance by simply living. it hurts, but there is nothing she can do about it so she'll keep on loving him while keeping her thoughts to herself

more to Dad: • he doesn't have a name and i'm not planning on giving him one • he's native to Euros' facilities while Inkling comes the facilities of Aftertaste of Disdain • big believer in the original local pagan religion. so he prays to and believes in the Folk Gods. since he's so strong in his religious faith, he spiritualy cultivates himself a lot. that's why he's so thin and grey (the greyness in his case means that if he dies he will not respawn) • he died at 51- which is basically like dying in late 20s in human years • met Inkling when he was 20 and she 16. he was travelling the through the Eo group territory in the name of his spiritual journey when he stopped for a while in Disdain's facilities. they became good friends there and since during that time Disdain's place was facing food issues (effectively putting the lower circle through famine in the name of preserving the higher circle- as a result of the war's poorly managed consequences. they lasted stupid long), with her family's agreement he took Inkling with himself back to Euros' facilities which were stable since he was a very new Iterator unaffected by the war • they stayed friends for about 6 years. then one day Inkling started trying to hit on him by secretly putting her food into his backpack for when he'd go to work. food meant a lot to her, as someone who grew up in famine, so she thought that would carry the message across real well. poor man thought he was haunted by a food ghost until he one day caught her in the act • stayed girlfriend n boyfriend for about 4 years. got married and 3 years later had the twins. 4 years After the twins, came Sparrows • originally he was simply a farmer, but when he came back home with Inkling, he learned how to be a shoemaker so he could spend more time at home with her (since she is a tailor) • the granda i sometimes mention was the Dad's dad. he however took in Inkling so readily that at some point she just started referring to him as her dad and he likes to call her his daughter • he was a good father! often imparting his thoughts on the children for them to Consider, not blindly accept. he read them stories, took them out for trips in the district, showed them how to use the farmer equipment and so on • despite this, Sparrows has mixed feelings about him. she loves him and takes care of his grave when she's home, but she can't help but be angry at him for being... "too spiritual" and therefore removing himself from the respawn pool. if he hadn't, he'd still be here with them! but well... it's not like he Wanted to die to some lizard getting a jump on him and leave his family behind to fetch for themselves. she doesn't come to terms with this till much later, possibly with Euros' help

[jokerislandgirl32]

You self ship with the grinch? :O that’s so awesome and cool I’m happy for you guys!! Can’t wait to learn more about your ship with him! —CCFM

Thank you so much for this sweet and supportive ask! Sorry it took me a while to get to!

But, yessss! I do selfship with the Grinch!

This is a selfship I kept quiet about for a while, partly because of the strong hold Zach’s had/has on me, partly because of my ex’s reaction to finding out I liked Grinch a while back (it was not pleasant), and because I was trying to pursue an in real life relationship (haha, that endeavor is failing miserably)….But I’m now embracing my handsome green guy! So thank you, thank you, thank you soooo much for your support!

As of now I’m still in the beginning stages of figuring out the details of my ship with him. Originally, I wasn’t even going to create an official self insert, but after talking and brainstorming with my wonderful mutual and friend @creativegenius22 we’ve figured out a baseline for this self insert! Thank you so much for your help with this process and for being such an awesome friend!

So introducing….

Aurora Borealis Who

Image made with this picrew!

The tag for this s/i is her full name, #aurora borealis who, the tag for any grinch f/o stuff I post is #mr. grinch 💚, and the tag for the AU is #ribbons and bows au. I haven’t figured out a ship name for them yet, this is still in the works! If any of you have suggestions, please let me know!

Fun Facts about Aurora and how she met her wonderful Grinch are below the cut! This became wayyy too long, so consider it as something of a character ref sheet too I guess? lol, enjoy!

Age: 20s, probably early to mid 20s.

Apperance: Short, petite stature (she’s built like Donna, but is only as tall as Grinch’s chest). Long, Blonde hair styled with heart shape buns, parted bangs, and a little heart wisp; aquarium colored eyes, a cute little Who snout, earrings, pink clothing, and a white ribbon given to her by Grinch that she fashioned into a necklace.

Aurora is a fun, lovable, kind, compassionate, hyper Who that adores Christmas (like her Who counterparts).

Her parents named her after the natural phenomenon Aurora Borealis, since she was born in winter, specifically on December 22, the date of the Winter solstice.

Her father passed when she was a child resulting in her being raised by only her mother. Her other family members include, 🥁….Donna, Cindy Lou, and Buster and Bean Who! Donna is Aurora’s aunt and Cindy Lou and the twins are her cousins! They are related through Aurora’s father/Donna’s brother who passed.

She grew up taking initiative and learning to care for herself in order to help her mother out, resulting in her becoming a delivery Who for various companies throughout Whoville. Her real dream is to help take care of/teach children (hmm wonder how that might come into play later…).

This leads her into the arms, I mean clutches, I mean…into the lair…lol, of the Grinch! She is the only delivery Who that Grinch has not scared away. She persists and lets any insults thrown her way roll right past her.

Grinch and her first meet a couple years before the events of the movie when he needs parts delivered to his cave to repair some damage that resulted from one of his hating Christmas fits. After this they develop something of a friendship and he begrudgingly allows her into his cave every now and then as they grow to know each other/become friends.

When Grinch plots to share Christmas she notices an increase in deliveries to his cave, she questioned him about this, and he reveals his plans to steal Christmas because he feels he can trust her. It is at this point they start to have romantic feelings for one another.

Instead of getting angry with him she accepts it, she places her hand against his cheek and says, “if this is what you have to do to heal…I can’t judge you, and I won’t stop you.”

She hugs him kisses his cheek before she leaves, vanquishing any form of friendship they had and making them something more 🥰.

And…I think I’ll save the rest for future posts!

Their love song, by the way, is the inspiration for the AU name! It is Ribbons and Bows by Kacey Musgraves!

[quincyhorst]

Misc Trivia: François Deschamps

Original info post here.

I think he'd be into very obscure french music. In his little room he has a music player brought from home that plays some of his favorite CDs. If you're curious on his music taste... He listens to Mikado.

With the other EuroB coaches... He's on good terms with Gretchen, I guess. While a completely new face leading Germany caught him off guard, after spectating her in action he soon got an idea why. For now, he keeps an eye on her, specially even before the FR vs GER match.

With Julio he does have a clearer idea of who he is as a coach, granted he kept an eye on his plays back at both the Spain Community Cup and the posterior tournaments. However, after seeing who he is as a person... Yeah, he is not very amused.

I've mentioned he has a family on his original post, but not that they've also followed him into Liocott. When the team is on free time, he does sneak up and have fancy dinner dates with his wife, although he tries to cover himself from media and his own players.

Because he's always training at the team's field, he actually doesn't know well what his daughter does behind his back. She could easily encounter any of RG's players while hanging around the area, and he would not even be aware (????)

Michel is a character that is very fond of François. Long story short, since his childhood the gardener wanted to play as a forward; but everytime he got to play the other kids wanted him either on the goal or defense due to his body type. Michel tried to stand up all he could, but people kept stigmatizing him even around the FFI era. However, upon telling this to the RG coach, François decided to look outside the box, and let Michel play on his dream position. However what was at first a weird choice turned into a delight, as the new forward proved to be himself to be as capable as anyone else; no matter how he looked. Thanks to his Morin appreciates the coach deeply, and wants to help unite him and his teammates better. François doesn't mind, really, but he's happy to help. As the father of a non-verbal girl, there's nothing he despises more than discrimination.

RG and KOQ might not have the best relationship all the time, but both François and Aaron are in quite good terms, considering each other rivals both in the FFI and in the professional soccer leagues. Who knows, they might have gone to a cafe together at some point (?

...François doesn't speak it out much, but as he warmed up to RG he started to appreciate more his player's skills outside soccer. He enjoys Claude's baked bread, Ladji's beautiful art, Stephane's talented singing voice, etc.

When the FFI was over, Fran returned to his normal life, although without the contact of any of the RG players. This is NOT the case in the Ogre timeline. IN FACT, Fran's story on the Ogre is more crude. After the mess that was the final Block B match, he had to retire temporally from soccer as he had been ridiculed intensely by the media. He eventually came back to soccer thanks to his efforts, but the event left a huge stain on his previous records both for him AND even for his daughter. Poor girl was often reminded over how much her father flopped during the FFI :(

Nonetheless, the same way the RG players connected with each other after such a low point in life, the Deschamps family would also be able to join this group.

---

Extra info for the Deschamps family.

Isabelle Jacquet met Fran for over 20 years, yet things are still as good as they were. She has a job of her own too as a french teacher, mostly focusing her work into helping the children of newly arrived migrants get used to their new home/language properly. She is also learning French Sign Language as to communicate with Suzette, though she's aware that the written word at times can be more easier to use and understand.

As for Suzie, she's into collecting magazines, specially fashion ones. When recognizing few of the recurrent faces appearing on dad's soccer team, she became ecstatic to meet them in person. Finding out François' ban ended up being quite dissappointing for her, though she's aware she can't do much about it. At least going by herself in the french area, she gets to meet and make some friendships of her own.

[ifdenjiendedupinthetmauniverse]

Relations (1/3)

Peter Lukas:

Denji and Peter met while Denji was originally trying to find a job, so he could make sure him and Nayuta don't fucking die. Peter saw him while he was having a flashback to his life with Pochita and trying not to cry while he was sitting on a park bench after getting rejected from another job.

Peter, who was enjoying the free meal from this teenage boy's loneliness, decided “eh, why not” and asked him if he wanted to work for him. Denji who instantly got Bad Vibes™ from him told him to fuck off and that he “wasn't gonna work for some shitty Yakuza.”

Peter proceeded to laugh and clarify that it's “just an office job. you just need to do a bit of filing, which can be easily taught,” which got Denji to agree since it meant he and Nayuta could have the normal life he always dreamt of for them. Plus it's just an archive job.

Later on, aka when Denji discovers the weird shit going on in the Archives, he actively despises Peter since he got tricked into more spooky bullshit right when he thought he was done with it. but he's still kinda grateful for the cash and free cot in Storage. he would still rip his dick off if given the chance, though.

Basira Hussain:

Funnily enough, they didn't meet when Denji started working at the Archives. they met after Elias (while he was in prison) sent Basira out to look for Nayuta, since child avatar shit y'know, and she talked to both of them for a bit, before realising (with the help of some web) that it was a dead end and leaving.

when they met again in the Archives, Denji remembered her and he liked her since based on the last time (where she told him she was a cop just checking up on people) they talked she's okay, so he doesn't have to worry about her trying/threatening to kill him.

Basira is mostly neutral towards him, but is kinda pissed at herself, because she was too late to try and get him to not work in the Archives and now he's fucked. but eventually decides that he'll be fine.

Post-Hopworth attack, at that point Denji was working there for 2 weeks, and during it he sprouted out his weird bone chainsaws to help Melanie kill the flesh-bros, Basira becomes kinda freaked out about him and almost wants to let him die from the blood loss that comes with the chainsaw sprouting. but, thankfully, she doesn't and they take him to a hospital (the same one with Jon, not really important just thought you should know.)

once he comes back she's a bit suspicious of him, due to the paranoia that he's gonna fucking chainsaw her (which he's not, but you know how paranoia is) so she starts keeping her distance and leaving her gun on her person more.

Denji is now neutral towards her and feels like shit because now any hope he had of a "normal life” has gone down the drain with the blood from the flesh-bros they cleaned off.

when Jon came back, nothing really important changed between them.

during the Manuela Sun thing, she brought him along with Jon to stop Manuela. while they were on the boat, Denji watched Basira talk to Jon after he took the statement from the guy and felt like it was pretty unfair how she was treating him, he decided to wait until they were back home to bring it up. after Manuela's statement, Basira told Denji to go kill her before Helen managed to swoop in and take her.

post-Jon's intervention, after Basira threatens to kill Jon, Denji is thinking "what the fuck," and afterwards Basira tells him that if he “ever hurts an innocent person, [she] will not hesitate to put you down like a fucking dog,” he is kinda pissed off since he thought that he left the whole “do what we say or get euthanized like a dog” thing back with public safety, especially after he tried to kill Manuela.

Things do get better between them though. specifically after Basira discovers the fact that Denji is actually 17 (instead of 19-20 like she first thought.) she decided to help him buy food and clothes etc etc for Nayuta, since spooky or not, he's still a teenager that's raising a kid by himself.

they're not friends, but at least they don't actively want to murder each other, so yippee !!

[whomstsnek]

OC time!!

Introducing Silas and Calla Mathers, a lovely young couple who've made a cozy little home in a secluded cottage. Sure hope nothing bad happens to them <3

Calla is my DND character, and Silas is her darling husband. They met while he was working as a groundskeeper on her family's estate, and before long they found themselves infatuated with each other. After learning that her parents had arranged a marriage for her, the pair ran off and eloped, where they now find themselves living happily ever after :)

Calla, at this point in her life, is a half-elf woman about 20 years old. She hails from a noble family, her parents themselves participants of an arranged marriage. The household, consisting of her, her mother Amerissa, her father Jameson, and her brothers Jamie and Elron, suffered under the strict and old-fashioned rule of her father.

Silas, at this point in his life, is a human man about 22 years old. He hails from humble roots, and originally met Calla while working as a groundskeeper on the DeZelia estate. Primarily, he tended the estate's gardens, which Calla took particular interest in. In fact, it was her earnest curiosity that sparked their eventual romance.

Calla friendship with Silas was heavily frowned upon, and their romance was blatantly prohibited. When Jameson found out the nature of her and Silas's relationship he threatened to have him killed. He was able to be talked down from it, but he still had Silas fired. That didn't stop Silas from sneaking onto the property after hours to see Calla, until the two skipped town and eloped, settling down in Silas's late uncle's cottage several towns over.