#anyway i've corrupted a wholesome ask

[soaps-mohawk]

Is there anything else that the reader can do on the base aside from training and reading and her sessions with the doctor 🥺🥺 or are we not exploring that

Yeah absolutely. The reader probably has lots of hobbies, I just don't really get into them for the sake of ambiguity and allowing people to imagine the reader having whatever hobbies they want. I just throw reading in as my own little nod to my hobbies (plus it gives her a point of connection with Simon). You can imagine the reader doing whatever you'd like in her downtime.

[factual-fantasy]

Good day Factual! Hope you're starting to feel a bit better- colds that just refuse to go away are the worst! Glad you've been having some fun playing and drawing Pokemon in the meantime though- and thanks a million for giving us all that great art of Grimace! Him and Sylvester definitely have a wholesome, brotherly bond, and it would be sweet to see some more of them someday, though as always, draw whatever you wish! In the meantime, as a little side Ask- could you tell us how you met them perhaps? Both in game and in "story"? Did you catch them like usual Pokemon, or did they join willingly?

And as for my main Ask- I thought I'd inquire about two of my favorite lesser known Mario enemies, and their places in your AU- starting with the fire spitting, three horned menaces, the Reznors!

Despite them essentially just being chibified triceratops, I've always liked their designs, their pack mentality, and the goofy noises they make! Sadly, Nintendo hasn't used them for much other than a couple gimmicky mini bosses, but I figure if the Bowser of your AU had a few, he'd put them to much better use! Just spitballing here, but you've come up with some cool ideas of how the Koopas use various other creatures- what if they used tamed Reznors as battle mounts, like how humans have used elephants! Imagine the Koopas armoring them up, loading troops on to their backs, and then charging into battle, bullet bills a-blazing! ( Just my idea- what do you think? )

And then the other enemy I wanted to mention, is the rarely remembered, deadly dino from w 1-1 of Super Mario World- the Rex!

They were powerful, speedy critters with a nasty bite- and while Nintendo rarely makes use of them nowadays, many fans still hold them and their lore implications close to their hearts- due to their uncanny resemblance to Yoshis... Because of this, many have theorized they share a common Ancestor- though others fear that perhaps a form of evil magic was involved- which, I think would be a perfect fit for your AU! Since your Kamek has showcased powerful, corruptive magics in the past- what if he created the Rexs, either by mutating captured Yoshis, or enchanting stolen Yoshi eggs before they hatched!? Either way, id imagine they would be just as large and aggressive as your yoshis- and serve the Koopas well as guard dogs, or perhaps as alternative mounts- being weaker, but more nimble and agile than a Reznor. But what's your take? Would either of these guys make the cut? Or not be included at all- ( which would be fine too, I just wanted to ask, and pitch some ideas! )

(Grimace and Sylvester art in question)

Hey there! Unfortunately I'm going downhill a bit, I think my cold is really startin to take me down. Which is just wonderful 🥲 at least I have Pokemon Scarlet to keep my mind busy!

Speaking of Pokemon, Grimace and Sylvester actually do have a story to them..

Starting with Grimace, I actually kinda got him on accident due to a 3 day long brain fart. Let me explain- <XD

So picture this. It's early in the game and I spot a Duskull. I think "Oh cool! Dusknoir is my favorite pokemon! I gotta catch one so he'll eventually evolve into a Dusknoir! :D" So I catch one and name him Dusty.

I ran around with Dusty, training him, loving him, feeding him sandwiches, the works, for 3 days or so. 3. Real life. Days.

It's only when I'm a about to go to bed and I'm thinking about him that I realized..

Dusty is a Gastly. Not a Duskull. He will eventually turn into a Gengar. Not a Dusknoir.

I still can't figure out how I looked at a Gastly and had my brain go "catch one! It'll turn into a Dusknoir! :DD"

So anyways, I didn't really want a Gengar.. but by the time I had noticed my mistake, I had already gotten attached to the big guy. So I accepted defeat, renamed him Grimace and gave up on my dreams of having a Dusknoir. I'll get a Dusknoir in legends Arceus anyways it's fine- <XD

Now Sylvester...

I knew right when I started the game that I wanted a female Sylveon. That was a big goal of mine. And I knew of a place early on in the game where there was a chance for Eevee to spawn. So I ate a sandwich that increased my normal type spawn rate and hunted for a while.

It was quite the drag since Eevees we're still a rare spawn.. but I was able to find some and catch them all. Though there was one peoblem. Every single Eevee I encountered was male! I wanted a female eevee!

It was a few hours into Eevee hunting that I went and Googled the female to male ratio on Eevees. Females have like a 12% spawn rate... Whoops. Looks like I'm not gonna find a female eevee this early on in the game....

But I still wanted a Sylveon.. 🥺

So I did some thinking. I imagined my trainer as a character. I picture them catching a male Eevee and loving him just the way he is. Saying that he doesn't have to evolve for them. Classic Eevee/trailer relationship. And I imagined the Eevee being so happy with this trainer and loving his team so much, that he evolved into a Sylveon. And he's not ashamed at all! His form is the ultimate expression of his love for his friends and his trainer!

I also pictured tweaking Sylvester's body type to make him apear more masculine. Changing the shape of his bows and ears to look sharper. Making his eyes a bit smaller and making his paws pointier.

Point is, the story I built in my head and all the drawing ideas this gave me... Plus my inability to catch a female eevee.. resulted in me adopting one of the male Eevees and evolving him into a Sylveon XD

Anyways XD as for your Mario questions...

I'm actually unfamiliar with those enemies <:0 though having a little more diversity in the Koopa kingdom would be good.. perhaps I could look into the Reznors a bit more and incorporate them somehow.. like you said, making them battle mounts or something similar..

Now the Rex, what an odd critter.. definitely haven't seen that guy before- :00 he really does look a lot like a Yoshi.. I'd have to look into those guys a bit too before I decided what to do with them.. but I'm liking your ideas! Kamek corrupting Yoshi eggs or something similar to make more mindless drones.. that's something he would do! 😅 But I'd probably takes away the Rex wings.. Yoshis can't fly! ☝️

Aaaanywho, thank you as always for the ask and interest! :}} This distraction came at a very good time 🥹💔

[rockybloo]

hello!! (love your art btw it scratches a part of my brain in a good way) apologies if it's already been asked or something else but who are your oldest oc's? I'm just curious

THANK YOU

And I don't think I've really answered this before (or at least not in a good long while) so excuse this essay dump here...

If we are talking "Who out of the lineup you actively use now are the oldest", it'd be my Beanstalked cast. But I never truly get rid of an OC. They all live on forever and occasionally get reinvented into a newer being. So if we are talking about my OLDEST OCs in general, they are actually none of the ones you guys have been seeing me post on this blog frequently.

Before Glitter and Guilt, Bondwidth, Beanstalked, literally EVERYONE you see as part of my main story lineup, I had a entirely different cast of Rockstars.

Off the top of my head, I recall one story being called Mythical Mayhem and the other being called Zodiac Fighterz. Both of which were made during my middle school days (though Zodiac Fighterz might have been near the end of elementary as I recall one of my first days of middle school was me drawing the main character on the whiteboard for class...the memory still haunts me)

Mythical Mayhem was about a friendly demon named Spike (who was basically the Jack of my old OCs: a very good boy who could do no wrong and made friends with everyone) who wanted to become a guardian angel...but as a demon. A guardian demon basically. But he kept running into folks that didn't trust him due to being a demon-so it was basically a never ending journey of him winning people over by being wholesome and collecting pals.

The cast was filled with OCs based off mythical creatures. I had a whole map of the world and regions and flags and EVERYTHING before I just dipped out mentally from it.

Zodiac Fighterz was basically my magical girl series before Glitter and Guilt. It was made when I learned about the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals as a wee kid. The story was about a random group of teens who had been marked with one of the 12 zodiac animals fighting crime under the guidance of a talking cat and having to use their animal abilities to fight against a group of evil cat people and the corrupted animals they'd make using blood magic...let it be known this is what little baby me was writing and drawing after getting home from elementary school.

I do not have the original designs from baby me's times of drawing them as those were literally on paper with colored pencils and are currently buried in my notebooks as, just like with my OCs, I rarely ever throw out my own physical art. That sounds so deep but...it's just bc I live in a constant state of "but what if I need this for reference later".

HOWEVER I do have this 2017 pic I drew of some redesigns for everyone.

Both of these stories are retired but I do plan to recycle some of these characters into my new stories. All my OCs live in the same storyverse so no one is truly gone anyways.

[icharchivist]

Because the Granblue people are fine with giving us playable Lobelia (which nobody asked for) but not Belial (which everyone is asking for, especially me) (COWARDS), I just have to imagine what his holiday lines would be. What horrible totally-safe-for-work things do you think he would tell the captain on Christmas?

LITERALLY. LITERALLY. We have the choice between two garbage men and we get to get the only one who wears clothes. I think it's really mean and - wait why are you focusing on what i used as a reference point, this is not the point, also i'm right, so,

I definitely think Belial would try to give "gifts" while MC is extremely wary of every single one of them. With Belial laughing, y'know, his mocking laugh, about how there's no need to worry, he wouldn't hurt his preeecious Singularity like that <3 (bonus point if his lines culminate just as much as the Seraphic quests, with the first year seeming like an innocent gift, and each year it gets slightly more fucked up until you wonder if he tried to corrupt MC, AGAIN)

Anyway, i totally think he would also offer up Captain to "warm up" with him. Oh, silly us, he meant by the fireplace of course! that said if we want him to warm our bed of course he'd be happy to oblige... "ahah just kidding", you know the type.

how about looking at a pine tree and mentioning he tried to help with it but "your crew didn't see too kindly at me erecting the pine. :)." and "what do you think Singularity, would you like me to put you on top of my erected pine? [very long pause] i set up a tree in my room i mean, of course :)"

Eventually there would be a wholesome line near the end, completely overshadowed by him saying something fucked up. There'd probably be lines about how he wishes Lucilius was here to look at the lights too.

He'd probably offer a gift down the line. Probably make some winky wink comments at what's in the box.

Listen. I'll be honest. I've written this whole ask while stalling the fact this was the only thing in my mind: let's be real if granblue wasn't still censoring him this is what we would get:

... Maybe that's why Belial is not playable while Lobelia is. They can see this vision just like me and know it would be out of character to stop Belial from doing just that. And the censors would not look kindly to it, but somehow, "serial killer offering the sounds of people he tortured because he thinks it's a delightful gift" is passing through them.

We're being robbed, i say. Robbed!

[trashyslashers]

I saw your requests were open and I’ve read some of your posts so I figured I’d ask something? Anyway how do you think Michael, Thomas, and Jason would react to a s/o who bounces on their tip toes when excited! :)

This was cute....

Apologies it took so long - I hope you don't mind that I added a couple little examples of things that might've made you/someone excited in such a way! I went a little nuts for Tommy's because I've been such a simp for him lately.

Thank you for sending this in!

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【Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Thomas Hewitt with a partner who bounces up and down/on their tip toes when excited】

Michael Myers:

He's looming in the doorway of your kitchen the first time he sees such a display from you, his immediate reaction being only that signature head tilt of his. You're hopping up and down out of pure excitement just because he dropped by your house? Michael doesn't entirely get it, but then again, it had been about a week since he'd last been around - and so, you were almost literally through the roof to see that he finally returned to you, as you had phrased it.

It's this sort of thing that really gets him hooked, over time; this sense of innocence and joy. There's a sort of childishness to your choice of expression that Michael finds both so adorable, but also so, so damn corruptible.

And you're with him, of all people - Michael Myers, the damned Boogeyman. Rarely does he understand why someone who appears as wholesome and innocent as you do would ever want to be with him. But it's almost enigmatic, and he likes that.

Still, something about it prods at that tiny, tiny spot deep in Michael's heart that can feel warmth. He finds himself hoping that such a reaction is one reserved only for him to see - and watch out, because I wouldn't put it past Mikey to sometimes pull a disappearing act - just to see your excited little hops once he turns up. Again.

Jason Voorhees:

Jay already thought of you as one of the most innocent things on the planet, but now? He knows you are. It's one of the sweetest things he's seen, and all it does is amp up his love for you - if that's even possible.

He hangs around, looming peeking around corners or trees whenever you're in a particularly good mood, hoping something will excite you so he can catch a glimpse of your excited bouncing. You and your mannerisms are pretty much the only things that make his cold, dead heart feel warm and alive again.

Would LOVE it if in the midst of your hopping, you sprang into his arms. He'll always catch you, and having you love on him out of excitement makes his heart swell. He's always wanted, even if for quite some time he wasn't aware of it, that sort of love and affection, and you fill that need perfectly for him.

He can't help but feel a tinsy bit possessive of you, once he's experienced this; happy that you're staying with him, safe and secluded in the cabin, away from the nastiness of the world.

Thomas Hewitt:

This sweet man absolutely adores this about you. If there's one thing Thomas craves, deep down, it's softness. Less blood, less brutality, less anger and screaming - and you and your little mannerisms like such are just the perfect dose to counteract the roughness that typically makes up his life.

The first time he saw you react to something in such a way, the way you leapt into the air made the poor guy think something startled you badly enough to make you jump. Tommy is extremely protective by nature, and thus was immediately concerned that something was frightening you - but what he absolutely was not expecting was for you to turn to him, hopping up and down on your toes as your hands cupped the small flowerpot you'd been checking on for the past week. You'd been nurturing a small, nearly dead plant of some sort that you found, and after days of careful tending the little thing appeared to be back on the mend and recovering, its newfound liveliness exciting you in a way that he hadn't seen occur in the Hewitt household before.

Needless to say, his heart skips a beat each and every time you bounce over to show or tell him about what excited you. Knowing that you trust him and feel safe enough around him to not only show that side of yourself, but to also show him (and in a way, share with him) what's made you so happy makes him melt inside, and he wishes that more things would happen to draw such antics out of you.

Tommy, though, won't always want to just wait around for something to happen and hope he's lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it, no - Thomas is well aware that not much excitement (or, at least, excitement of a positive nature) happens very often in the house, and so he'll find himself becoming mentally preoccupied at times, wondering what he could possibly do to get you all bubbly and hoppy more often.

Please, share more wholesome moments like these with Thomas. Show him that you trust him enough to let your guard down in such a way with him and that you want to share the excitement with him. Not a whole lot else in his life, prior to you (apart from Luda Mae), has made him feel as loved and cared about.

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[fitzefitcher]

I kinda want a list lol. I love seeing what kind of pairings people come up with, my favorites right now are Jaina/Rexxar (who doesn't love massive height differences) and Jaina/Dal'rend (I could see it going from trying to get under Thralls skin to "oh no I have real feelings for her")

you asked for it, so fair warning, it's not Exactly NSFW but I wouldn't exactly call it Good and Wholesome either wheezes

in no particular order, here is the full list (or at least what I can remember) of my preferred warcraft ships that are considered crack, either naturally or made so by time and retcons:

thrall/jaina/garrosh: I have nothing to say for myself. I will not defend myself nor will I apologize for anything. anyway jaina and garrosh being super into thrall but being petty rivals for his affection is extremely fucking funny to me. some points explaining the appeal:

playing legend of zelda and shipping link/zelda/ganon shaped my undeveloped child brain into having a predisposition for triads of good boy/bastard man/bastard girl. yes zelda and jaina are bastard girls do not question me on this

all of them have very Stealable Genders, especially when placed next to each other

thrall and jaina are besties, thrall and garrosh are besties, and jaina and garrosh very very slowly go from barely tolerating each other (mostly for thrall's sake) to realizing that they're kind of both in the same boat in terms of "someone has to watch out for this fucking idiot" (read: thrall) and also in terms of Being The Black Sheep Of The Family, getting shit for Doing Things Too Differently, and going largely unlistened to and unappreciated, even if it's within their field of expertise, so then they begin to grudgingly respect each other and catch feelings that way whoopsie doodle

thrall gives them both support, and hope for the world and what it Could be, and they've basically reached a point of "if anything happened to him I would kill everyone in this room and then myself"

thrall, meanwhile, enjoys whatever attention they'll give him, and uh. probably enjoys them fighting over him wayyy more than he should lmao

thrall/neeru fireblade: I don't know how I landed at the belief "thrall kept neeru fireblade in line by pretending to be a fucking idiot so he'd underestimate him and didn't realize how 99% of orgrimmar and tbh the horde as whole are violently attracted to him, neeru included, so now neeru thinks he's a himbo and thrall doesn't realize he's batting his fucking eyelashes at him but he is and neeru Would Very Much Like To Smash" but here we are

this is entirely onesided on neeru's part and entirely lust-and-pride-based and I do not know why I find it so goddamn fascinating but here we are

thrall/rend blackhand: see above. same basic principle of, "thrall doesn't realize he's attractive to the point of making people fucking insane, rend has never known basic kindness bc the blackrock clan is just Like That and thrall being nice to him one (1) time is enough to make him obsess over the man"

to be fair this is set entirely within the realm of my fel orc AU so they're actually kept the same basic age group, and they've actually like, met, and befriended each other lmao

aggra/zaela: at some point brain went from "I think they actually deserve a chance to be individuals," to "yeah, that, but now Together," because like. idk they deserve to be fiercely independent and to have their accomplishments not be overshadowed by their partners and Aggra Should've Been The World Shaman, Not Thrall, and Zaela Wouldn't Have Stayed With Garrosh during the first siege of orgrimmar if she was the same fucking zaela that overthrew her corrupt chieftain back in the twilight highlands BUT WHAT THE FUCK DO I KNOW, I'VE ONLY BEEN PLAYING THIS GAME FOR FIFTEEN FUCKING YEARS,

ner'zhul/arthas: you know there's only so many times you can say "arthas is ner'zhul's sugar baby and ner'zhul picked him as his champion bc he's a dumb jock fuckboy horse girl and ner'zhul was very very lonely" before it stops being a joke

sylvanas/lana'thel: at first it was strictly in the context of DK AU but now I'm like "okay but what if Lana'thel DID bring the san'layn into the embrace of the horde though" so that's just where I am now, apparently

sylvanas/calia: "haha what if sylvanas just Married calia for lordaeron's throne, that'd fix the problem so fast" was a joke, too, once

sylvanas/nathanos/cromush: something something "all the queen's men." anyway I just want sylvanas to actually have people that give a shit about her and actually see her for who she is, and Cromush remaining in Lordaeron during the legion invasion event and also being on sylvanas' fucking boat during BFA made me have too many thoughts

sylvanas/zul'jin: this is. also within the context of my fel orc au. they're still enemies and sylvanas grudgingly and furiously throws herself at his mercy in order to save silvermoon from arthas and zul'jin thinks an elf asking him for help is about the funniest fucking thing. no they're not romantic yes they can't stand each other. I am here for them making each other insane and being forced to work together shipping is not inherently romantic do not @ me

azshara/anasterian sunstrider: fel orc au but also she's taller than him and also her naga "true form" is kaiju-sized also despite her being in "disguise" anasterian knows who she is at all times and also she wants to make him her sugar baby no I will not explain this yes kael'thas is extremely distressed yes they have a horrible brood of aquatic eldritch horror children

sylvanas/varian: licherally had more chemistry in the entire 30 seconds they looked at each other in the stupid legion announcement cinematic than any other straight pairing WoW has done on purpose ever

anduin/med'an: listen,

tyrande/vol'jin: I read exactly one (1) ficlet of it and have been fascinated by it ever since. consider this:

wombo-combo military and [non-Light-based] religious leaders with a taste for hunting and stalking

they should have a hunter's rivalry. they should have a hunter's rivalry and it should maybe end with them hunting each other. and by hunting I mean one somehow ending up pinning the other on the forest floor, bruised and breathless,

do not @ me

sylvanas/vol'jin: see above

garrosh/varian: I Shipped This As A Joke Once And Then It Wasn't A Joke And Time Made A Fool Of Me

nazgrim/taylor: see above and also taylor should've been a horseman. give them the thassarian/koltira treatment.

gul'dan/khadgar: Rivalry is a form of Orcish Courtship No I Will Not Budge On This

jaina/literally anyone & everyone in the horde: I find it extremely fucking funny that most of jaina's potential beaus in fandom spaces are horde-aligned and I Agree With The Notion Wholeheartedly, You Are Not Immune To Jaina Proudmoore

jaina also has the power of "makes people insane just by Existing near them and Being Nice" but it's only super effective on horde and actually you know what

thrall/literally anyone & everyone in the horde: See Above

talanji/anduin: can't a bitch have thraina 2 electric boogaloo in peace and can't a bitch also have somebody taller than anduin who will Put His Stupid Holier-Than-Thou Ass In His Place

arguably if varian was alive for this and anduin proposed a "but if I married talanji we could have lasting peace between the horde and alliance" it could turn into an ariel littlemermaid "BUT DADDY I LOVE HER," real fucking quick lmao

illidan/maiev: yes they hate each other yes they want to kill each other yes the lust for violence eventually turns to genuine lust I am here to watch the trainwreck of toxicity and mutually assured destruction no I will not apologize or deny this

this is also the appeal of varrosh tbfh

hilariously the best characterizations I've seen of illidan are typically in illidan/maiev fics bc like. his flaws and failures are actually addressed which is more than what can be said of WoW itself lmao

darion mograine/any (& every) DK: I just want him to be bullied. I just want them to bully him. it's what he wants, and it's what they want. they're fine. it's fine.

dia darkwhisper/gurtogg bloodboil/blademaster jubei'thos: it's the triad. it's the triad again. don't look at me.

dia accidentally cementing herself in my fucking head as a cassandra and/or "truth comes out of her well to shame mankind" type personality did not help this at all

and, lastly, apparently:

thrall/jaina. because time has made me booboo the fucking fool, and I am now old enough to see fandom youngins saying that it's Weird And Creepy To Ship Them Because Thrall is married and it's like. what are you, protestant

[oh-three]

For the oc asks 2 and 8 for all of them and 3. 22, 23 and 28 for my three favourite age mates

Don’t mind me bombarding you with questions, I love hearing about them 😂

2. Do they have any scars?

Rakesh- definitely. He's always been reckless in combat, and more than likely has a collection growing beneath his outfit. Not to spoil too much, but it's going to get much worse later on.

Brakan- any scars he has are small and of his own doing, like papercuts, etc. No one would dream of harming him.

Vori- most likely similar to Brakan. I see her being a bit clumsy (but not very) in comparison to the others.

Loktof- also definitely, though none that part his fur.

Jurr- also not visible, but he has so much experience that he has to have scars.

Tindri & Linaleh- they've done a lot of stupid stuff and have many scars that sane people wouldn't have.

Not gonna lie, I never really thought about them having scars other than what happens to future Rak. They all have their mental scars though, I'll tell you that much. No one can escape that.

8. What's something that will always make them smile?

Rakesh- the others doing things wrong and having them backfire. On a more wholesome side, Vori. She annoys him, but he spent the first decade+ of his life with her, so there's a certain bond between them.

Brakan- he smiles a lot, though usually the soft ones that make people want to hug him. It's the moments that the others get along best that make him smile the most.

Vori- literally anything. She's so smiley. It's sad the others are far too gone for it to rub off on them.

Loktof- Rakesh misery.

Jurr- about the same as Brak, really, so long as the others aren't getting into trouble. He's warm and gentle to them all, and I see him as a father figure toward them. As long as they behave, he'll smile.

Tindri- the others' reactions toward her teasing them. She really likes to see their reactions. But she also smiles when things go well for them, as she's not a complete psychopath.

Linaleh- she smiles the most when the others are happy. She is very protective of them and seeing them in pain leaves her in pain. Though, she is also like Tindri and finds it entertaining to tease the less fragile members, such as Rak and Loktof.

3. Do they have any bad habits?

Rakesh- taking extra shifts so that he doesn't have to think, brooding when he's not on shift, hoping that Jocasta Nu will let him have unrestricted access to the Archives. Also, taunting Lok. That never is a good idea.

Brakan- nope! Not that I've yet come up with, anyway. In the future, who knows.

Vori- picking on Rak because of how close they are. He may have once threatened to bite her over it.

22. Do they have any regrets?

Rakesh- many things. Especially many of the harsh remarks he makes, even though he couldn't stop making them if he tried. It's rooted deep in him and is basically just who he is. Luckily, the others have accepted this and usually don't take most of them to heart.

Brakan- has no regrets. He's pretty content with how his life is going so far.

Vori- only that she can't convert the others to being as happy as she, Jurr, and Brak are. She tries to be happy for them instead.

23. What do they fear the most?

Rakesh- political corruption. He fears the way the Order is changing as it evolves with the war. In a more amusing sense, sparring with Loktof, since he never wins.

Brakan- combat, even though he participates in training and knows every lightsaber form. He and Jurr are some of the most peaceful pacifist people in the entire Guard.

Vori- having no one. She's a lover and a talker, and being all alone would be the absolute worst thing for her.

28. How do they break bad news to someone?

Rakesh- flat out says it the next time he sees/has the ability to contact the receiver. He isn't afraid to have to deliver bad news, though he isn't fond of it either.

Brakan- would definitely wait until the very last moment, when there's no choice. If he was dying of illness, he wouldn't mention it until he was laying in the Halls Of Healing getting treated. (Out of nervousness of how they’d react, not stubbornness, I might add.)

Vori- would definitely cry with the person receiving the news. She has so much heart and could never take bad news well. If Rakesh was to die, she'd be probably not move for a week and that's how people would know.

[sebastianshaw]

Hi! I wanted to ask you that do you think Selene is queer? I have seen people talking about this, but I can't really find official sources.

There are no official sources on her sexuality, but I've always seen her as a lesbian, maybe bisexual, depending who is writing it and when. Unfortunately, the reason is because Claremont really enjoyed Predatory Lesbian villainesses who tried to corrupt young girls---see how he wrote Sat Yr Nin/Courtney Ross and Kitty Pryde---into being their proteges or prey. Which is. . . .not what you would call good representation. Claremont *did* do great queer rep with Mystique and Irene, and he tried really hard to push other wholesome, healthy same-sex relationships like Rachel/Kitty in a time where he couldn't be blatant about it, but the man also had his kinks.  When non-Claremont writers are writing her, though, I think she’s straight. Because, since she’s not a real person, that can change; Marvel characters personalities, sexualities, powers, and histories all can change depending on the author, as we fans know. But I think Claremont wrote her as gay, and he created her, so I see her as gay, even though textually she’s had sex with men, and only men, when OTHER writers wrote her. You could just say she’s bi, but that isn’t textual either. Anyway--- So, to give you sources as to what I'm talking about, and why I interpret Selene this way-- (under the cut for length and lots of images) and you can decide for yourself what you think!

We first meet Selene in New Mutants #9, not as a dark sorceress or the Black Queen, but an ordinary woman. . . albeit one living in Nova Roma and married to a Senator, Marcus Domitius Gallio. Yup, she was married to a man, and that's where the oft-quoted surname "Gallio" for her comes from. . . and why it bugs me tremendously. Gallio is a dead and forgotten character, who Selene likely married only for power in the patriarchal Nova Roma society, and I don't see why she would keep his name hanging on to her like a remora. Especially since I doubt this was the first time she married a powerful man before in order to influence society from behind the scenes while keeping her true self secret. Either way, there's never any affection between the pair, just a mutual desire for power. Speaking of her true secret self, it's revealed in New Mutants #10 that Selene is not just the witchcraft-practicing wife of the Senator Gallio, but The Black Priestess, the fabled object of a death cult's worship who abducts young girls who are then sacrificed to her in a volcano. It's never really specified why she specifically wants young girls. . . nor why, before their sacrifice, she has them dressed like this:

Now, none of this is TEXTUAL homosexuality. It's an evil lady trying to kill the heroines by tossing them into a volcano. But the imagery and the way it's presented---the specific choice of nubile teen girls only for her prey when there's no reason for it, the fact they're placed in skimpy attired and hypnotized (mind control was also a big kink for Claremont) , the way Selene looms behind Amara with the grasping clawlike hands as she talks about how she "knew you would someday be mine, to take as I did your mother" is very subtextual in its queercoding of the scary lesbian preying on scared young girls. Then Amara's mutation awakens and the girls fight back in New Mutants #11

"Soon, Danielle, you'll be able to do this too. And in time, you'll come to love it as much as I." So, Selene doesn't just want to prey on girls, she wants to make them like her. This was and still is a very common homophobic belief, that gay people want to make other people, usually younger people or children, gay as well. Now, it would be a HUGE REACH for me to say that Selene is queer-coded JUST from this single page, but it's not about this single page. It goes on. For instance, taunting Magma at a Hellfire Club party: "You look as delectable as ever, my child."

If that statement seems innocuous, please imagine if a MALE villain said that to a teenage heroine. Speaking of the Hellfire Club and male villains, I've found a surprising amount of people seem to think Selene and Sebastian Shaw were an item. I guess it's due to their titles as Black King and Black Queen. But they were NOT. Selene actually tries to kill Shaw upon meeting him, and the two loathe each other. There's not even any sexual tension, they just despise each other. And throughout the entire 80s, Selene shows NO INTEREST romantically or sexually in ANY man. And the 80s are the time that her creator, the aforementioned Claremont, was writing her. She DOES show interest in men later though, and is in fact downright rapey on at least one occasion, such as Marvel Comics Presents #78 with the Hulk of all people. So I guess she went from a Lesbian Predator to a Bisexual Predator, which is. . .not any better. But back to girls, it's not just Amara she's fixated on (which could be attributed to her claim---assuming it's true and not just to fuck with Amara's head---that she's Amara's ancestor) She's also pretty into Rachel. Sometimes at the same time as Amara. This starts in Uncanny X-Men #190

As you can see, Selene looming over younger women in skimpy costumes is a theme. And again, the theme of her making young girls her proteges. Which she desired of Rachel in Uncanny X-Men #184

She literally jumps out of a dark alley, cups Rachel’s chin, and tells her to “yield to my dark embrace!” to which Rachel screams and runs. Again, TEXTUALLY, Selene is not trying to have sex with her, she’s trying to recruit her as an heir. Subtextually. . . .again, she’s a literal predator who targets young women and attempts to make them like she is, usually involving them in skimpy outfits, and says stuff like “’yield to my dark embrace” and “I knew you would be mine” and “you look as delectable as ever” and LITERALLY COMES OUT OF A DARK ALLEY TO GRAB A YOUNG WOMAN LIKE THE ULTIMATE RAPIST CLICHE Like, it’s subtextual, but it is THERE. And again, imagine if a man did this, I don’t think we’d be debating if he was creeping on these girls.  Also when a young man rescues the fleeing Rachel and takes her home, Selene comes into the apartment and kills him, make of that what you will. Textually, it’s probably for functional purposes---feeding and getting rid of witnesses---but idk I think you could read it as jealousy.  In Uncanny X-Men #189, reprinted in X-Men Classic #93 (the copy I own) she catches Rachel and Magma invading the Hellfire Club in order to kill her. . . .and she proceeds to mind control them and walk them on chain leashes while they wear sexy maid uniforms.

Of course, it should be noted that: 1) She didn’t put them in the maid uniforms, those were part of their disguises 2) She offers them to Sebastian Shaw (who fucking glowers at her and does NOT take “the gift” don’t worry!!) which I don’t think is very lesbian of her, y’know? But the imagery is still very. . .there. Like whatever is actually going on, she’s still being depicted with these two young girls, AGAIN, mentally enslaved to her and in sexualized outfits. Which is, as I’ve said, a repeating theme.  Selene’s interest in Magma, Rachel, and trying to menace or recruit teen girls in a suggestive way MYSTERIOULSY waned off when Claremont stopped writing her, as far as I can tell . . .and came back when he returned to Marvel. In Uncanny X-men #454, Selene interrupts a romantic moment between Rachel and a man, once more insisting that “we are fated to be one” while turning herself into living shadow that constricts around Rachel’s body. Make of that what you will. 

Selene is then defeated. . . by Rachel kissing a boy

Literally, I can’t make this up.  Honestly, given how hard Claremont ships Rachel and Kitty---he’s literally described them as soulmates and wrote them as married in one AU-- I am kinda surprised he did this, but I guess he figured that there was no better way to show that Selene Is A Big Evil Lesbian than to have her defeated by the power of some m/f smoochins And then Rachel never calls poor Red Lotus back, lol (he’s the dude, he’s an obscure fave of mine) When Claremont ISN’T writing Selene, she’s. . . .friendlier to guys. Under Claremont’s pen, they’re treated as foes (Sebastian Shaw), stepping stones to power that she doesn’t even PRETEND to have affection for (Senator Gallion, Friedrich Von Roehm), or just food (though she feeds on lots of ladies too, she’s equal opportunity). She only makes creepy comments to women, she only tries to recruit women, specifically, again, teen girls, usually Rachel or Amara. When someone else is writing her. .  .again, she was overtly sexually interested in the Hulk and would NOT take no for answer, and in X-Men Unlimited #33 she and Emma are both clearly attracted to THIS POOR FELLOW. . . she also recruited Sunspot as her Black King in the 90s but I don’t think she was interested in him romantically. She was shown as sexually involved with Wither, whom she recruited in Necrosha. So basically, she’s interested in men when non-Claremont writers write her. Also, Claremont is NOT the only writer to queer-code her, though! I almost forgot her 90s fling with Madelyne Pryor! Which I can’t believe, since it’s a big part of my headcanon for Maddie being bi too! Okay, so it’s the 90s, and Madelyne Pryor is mysteriously resurrected, with no memory besides her name, and is companions with Nate Grey. Guess who has her eye on her in X-Man #7?

So, even if we take Selene’s interest in Maddie as purely platonic power-hungriness. . . .give me one heterosexual explanation as to why she has her maid dress like that? Anyway, Selene pulls the “Imma come out of the dark alley” trick with Maddie like she did Rachel, but with a bit more success, perhaps because she offered her some jewelry (shaped like an apple---symbolism for temptation much?) and Maddie is intrigued

Selene vanishes and Nate returns to Maddie’s side, but Maddie takes off, running into the night in search of Selene. She finds her, and Selene promises her that “at my side, you will rise up to a new height” and when Maddie asks “What about Nate?” Selene replies “What about him? He’s only a boy.” Selene then convinces Maddie that Maddie is dangerous to Nate anyway, and the two disappear as Nate runs after them futiley calling Maddie’s name. We don’t see what become of Maddie for about ten issues, then in X-Man #16 we find out she’s been living in Selene’s wonderfully uber-gothic spooky mansion, with her every need attended by the maid Ella (including in the bath!) and she at last discovers that Selene is an energy-vampire, who greets her like this:

Oh, she wants to make Maddie her “heir apparent” what a shock!  Alas, it’s not to be---Maddie switches teams on Selene, and becomes Sebastian Shaw’s lover instead. Which you’d think would be awful, but actually they were a pretty normal couple, he was good to her, he didn’t try to use her in any evil schemes, he never compared her to Jean or confused them, he actually recognized her INSTANTLY as not being Jean, which is. . .interesting. But yeah, sorry, Selene. So, was Selene trying to put the moves on Maddie? It’s not at all as overt as Claremont’s stuff, to the point I think that, unlike Claremont, the writer might not have even intended it, but I felt like it was worth including. Especially with Ella the maid. Cuz really.  So, is Selene queer? Textually, no, we have no confirmation on what Selene’s sexuality is, but she has engaged in sexual relationships with men onscreen and expressed attraction to them, and never with women. Subtextually. . . .well, you read this post, you decide for yourself based on the evidence presented. Since it’s open to interpretation, I don’t want to tell you what to think, but I can tell you that this is why other people say that. And why I do personally interpret Selene as a lesbian, problematic and predatory though she is. Or, more specifically, I believe she’s a lesbian when she’s written by Claremont, who is her creator, and she’s straight or bi when written by other writers. I guess you could split the difference and say she’s bi, but it’s ultimately up to you. Thank you for the question, and I’m sorry the answer took me a bit! I wanted to gather all the sources so you could decide for yourself and not take my word for it ^^

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Hayley Ask in good faith: How do you imagine that would start? Like once they're both graduates n stuff

Just a moment, I need to put my flame shields up, as well as a metal detector. That should stop anyone with pitchforks from getting through.

Anyway, I actually have no idea, but let me try and figure it out real quick.

So Luca's career is something that I tend to go back and forth on. I've ultimately landed on two final ideas that suit them the most. I could imagine them going into Healing because that's just their nature, as well as going into Magizoology, since they love creatures n critters. Still not sure where they would wind up for certain, but I think that's an important question to think about when tackling relationships that begin in an adulthood epilogue. (So Jae would be expanding his business, Skye would be going professional, etc.) The same would go for Beatrice I suppose, and actually that one is easier for me to determine. My head-canon for her final career is that she becomes an Unspeakable. I feel like that suits her interests without going too far. I dunno, it just vibes with me.

Either way, something else that occurs to me is that Beatrice's final year at Hogwarts would be GOF. So she leaves school in the wake of Cedric's death. That can't be fun. She starts her post-school life with the rumors about Harry Potter being a liar, but those in the know whispering that it's true, that Voldemort has returned and the Ministry is corrupt. Given that R had people within the Ministry, and that Beatrice is generally smart, I think she'd know what was what. Luca might have a little more trouble believing it because they don't actually know Harry at all and as a rule, they distrust the word of Albus Dumbledore. I head-canon Luca and Beatrice writing each other a lot after Luca graduates, and they could still do so at this point, maybe hanging out more in person and talking about what's going on, as well as mourning Cedric. Cause see, being emotional about his death is perfectly natural and not at all annoying. (Side-eyes Harry with Cho.)

I feel like this would be one of those mutual pining situations. They don't go out for conventional dates or even if they do, they don't call them dates and both try to set the boundary that it's just a friendship thing. That is, if we want to go for drama. If one wants drama, look no further than Luca second-guessing their feelings and experiencing guilt for them. If one just wants wholesome fluff, then forget the pining and just have it be something that kind of happens with time with neither of them really overthinking it. But by the time Dumbledore dies, everyone can tell. Really makes me wonder how Penny would process that...eh, the point is, Hayley is a ship that could just as easily be a friendship. I just quite like the dynamic these two have and they're definitely close. Whether it becomes a romantic thing eventually or not.

[padawanlost]

I've never really been able to tell what Count Dooku's motivations were in the clone wars. Did he just want to rule the galaxy like Sidious? Or did he have another reason for doing what he did? And did he have any idea about Sidious' plans for turning Anakin?

Dooku is areally interesting character but he never got the development he deserved. Themovies barely scratched the surface but the EU give some interesting pieces of information. Here is what we know about him (and how it influenced him and his lateractions as a Sith):

He had apretty normal upbringing within the Jedi Order, he was considered talented andwas well liked. But he knew about his birth family and the power and fortunethey had. I don’t know how much that knowledge influenced his personality, butDooku is portrayed as more haughty than the average Jedi. valuing things likepower and birth over skill (that’s why he had such a problem with Anakin butmore on that later).

[Dooku] did not think of it as pride, anyway. It was assurance.Assurance of his abilities merely grew with each mission, as it should. Yoda had mistaken sureness for pride, whichis exactly what he had warned Dooku not to do. And if it was pride for Dooku tothink of himself as wiser than Yoda in this instance, Dooku wasn’t concerned.Yoda was not always right. [Jude Watson’s Legacy of the Jedi]

Dookubecome a Jedi and decided he would train a talented and powerful padawan calledQui-Gon Jinn.

Now he was a Master with an apprentice. Qui-Gon Jinn had been the most promising ofthe Padawans, and Dooku had maneuvered to get him the first time he saw him inlightsaber training, at ten years old. Dookuknew that a Master would be judged by the prowess of his Padawan, and he wantedthe best of the best. When Yoda had given his approval of the match, Dookuhad been satisfied. Another step had been taken toward his goal — to surpassYoda as the greatest Jedi ever. [Jude Watson’s Legacy of the Jedi]

“Your flaw is your need for connection tothe living Force. Qui-Gon, the galaxy is crowded with beings. The Jedi Order ishere to support you. Nevertheless you must carry the following knowledge inyour heart,” Dooku said. “Youare always alone, and betrayal is inevitable.” [Jude Watson’s Legacyof the Jedi]

During hisJedi years, as he witnessed the failings of the Jedi Order and the corruptionin the Senate he became more and more disillusioned with both. One of theturning points was the Battle of Galidraan (where a lot of Jedi died and killedon the orders of a corrupt politician working with the Death Watch).

It was a massacre; and the Jedi had carried itout, pawns of the corrupt Galidraangovernor, who had set up the Mandalorian army for his own agenda. Lookingback on it, Dooku saw it was the tippingpoint that had changed his life. It was the moment he had started to think. Ibelieved my Masters. I didn’t think for myself. They didn’t question, either;they took the governor at his word. They just believed. And we killed people.We killed them on the say-so of a criminal. [Karen Traviss’ the Clone Wars.]

He tried to change things, he told people abouthis fears but it all went ignored. When the Naboo Crisis started he wasdone with both the Order and Republic. Once he heard the news of Qui-Gon’sdeath he picked up his things and left.

 His discontent hadcontinued to grow and fester; his frustration with the Republic Senate,with ineffectual Supreme Chancellor Valorum, with the shortsightedness ofthe Jedi Council members themselves. A Trade Federation blockade of Naboo,rumors of a Chosen One found on a desert world, the death of Qui-Gon Jinnat the hands of a Sith … How could the Council members not seewhat was happening? How could they continue to claim that the dark sideobscured all?

Dooku had said as much to anyone who would listen. He wore hisdiscontent on the sleeve of his robes. Though they hadn’t enjoyed the smoothest ofstudent–teacher relationships, he and Yoda had spoken openly of the portents. ButYoda was living proof of a conservatism that came with extended life. Dooku’strue confidant had been Master Sifo-Dyas, who, while also disturbed by what wasoccurring, was too weak to take action.

The Battle of Naboo hadrevealed that the Sith were back in the open, and that a Sith Lord was at worksomewhere. The Sith Lord: the one born with the power needed to take the finalstep. Dooku had given thought to seeking him out, perhaps killing him.But even what little faith he placed in the prophecy was enough to raise doubtthat the death of a Sith could halt the advance of the dark side. Another wouldcome, and another. [JamesLuceno’s Labyrinth of Evi]

Here is his final letter to the Jedi Council:

For many years, I have served the Jedi Order and done my best to honorthe traditions of the Jedi. Today I am compelled to announce that I am leavingthe Order. It is not unreasonable for anyone to wonder why I have decided toleave at this time. Yes, I am aware of various allegedly discreet queries fromthose searching for a reason. Therecent, tragic loss of my former pupil, Qui-Gon singly corrupt Senate? Some ofmy contemporaries have suggested that seeds of discontent were planted twelveyears ago, at the Battle of Galidraan. While I cannot deny that these eventshave left their mark on me, I will only allow that the time has come that I canno longer be a Jedi. As most of you are aware, financial resources are atmy disposal on my home-world, Serenno. While I would like to think my manyyears of devoted service to the Order disavows any notions that I am yieldingto economic circumstances, I will enlighten those who don’t know me so wellwith a certain piece of wisdom that I have always found true: money creates asmany problems as it does opportunities. It is my plan to return to Serenno andserve my people as a philanthropist. It is my last request as a Jedi Masterthat you respect my decision, as well as my privacy. Good-bye, old friends, andmay the Force be with you.

Dooku and Palpatine werefriends. He was the one who told Palpatine about Anakin’s chosen one status.Palpatine was aware of Dooku’s unhappiness and he knew he would be looking forhim so he approached Dooku with a proposition to “save the galaxy”:

As it happened, therehad been no need to hunt for Sidious, for it was Sidious who had approachedhim. Sidious’s boldness surprised him at first, but it hadn’t taken longfor Dooku to become fascinated by the Sith. Instead of a lightsaber duel to thedeath, there had been much discussion, and a gradual understanding that theirseparate visions for how the galaxy might be rescued from depravity werenot so different after all. [James Luceno’s Labyrinth of Evi]

“depravity” - keep that word in your mind!

Dooku’s goal was to “savethe galaxy” by removing the Senate and the Jedi. Once they were gone so wouldthe corruption and he and Palpatine would be free to build a better world. In away, Palpatine played with his hopes the same way he did with Anakin. hepretended he shared Dooku’s feelings, offered a solution and used him as his pawn.

Which brings us to Anakin andObi-wan. Dooku knew Palpatine wanted Anakin but he still believed Obi-wan was abetter choice:

“May I suggest, Master, that we give Kenobi one last chance? Thesupport of a Jedi of his integrity would be invaluable in establishing thepolitical legitimacy of our Empire.” “Ah, yes. Kenobi.” His Master’s voice wentsilken. “You have long been interestedin Kenobi, haven’t you?” “Of course. His Master was my Padawan; in a sense,he’s practically my grandson—” “Heis too old. Too indoctrinated. Irretrievably poisoned by Jedi fables. Weestablished that on Geonosis, did we not? In his mind, he serves the Forceitself; reality is nothing in the face of such conviction.” [Matthew Stover’s Revengeof the Sith]

“But I must ask, my Master: is Skywalker truly the man we want?”“He is powerful. Potentially more powerful than even myself.” “Which isprecisely,” Dooku said meditatively, “why it might be best if I were to killhim, instead.” “Are you so certain that you can?” “Please. Of what use is powerunstructured by discipline? The boy is as much a danger to himself as he is tohis enemies. And that mechanical arm—”Dooku’s lip curled with cultivateddistaste. “Revolting.” “Then perhaps you should have spared his real arm.”“Hmp. A gentleman would have learned tofight one-handed.” Dooku flicked a dismissive wave. “He’s no longer evenentirely human. With Grievous, the use of these bio-droid devices is almostforgivable; he was such a disgusting creature already that his mechanical partsare clearly an improvement. But a blendof droid and human? Appalling. The depths of bad taste. How are we to justifyassociating with him?” [Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith]

Dooku is ableist. He doesn’tcare about Anakin’s power at all. He’s far more interested in the lesspowerful but “wholesome” Kenobi.  And thataffects his view of a “better galaxy”:

A government clean, pure, direct: none of the messy scramble for the favor of ignorantrabble and subhuman creatures thatmade up the Republic he so despised. The government he would serve would beAuthority personified. Human authority.[Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith]

Dooku’s ideology is disgustingand he hides it worse than Palpatine. He wants the save the galaxy from those heconsider subhuman creates so he can enjoy peace for those he deems worthy (theclean, pure ones). He wants to end the depravity! That’s why he is so interested in Obi-wan and why he loathesAnakin. Dooku is motivated by his prejudices and his own arrogance.That’s all he truly wants: a world where humans rules and everyone who doesn’t look or sound like him is considered inferior and treated as such.