#at least we have blood and gold tho

[jurassic-cunt]

watching mael and marius scream at each other on screen would do so much for me... you have no idea

[deqdwinter]

FOREVER IN YOUR FAVOR: 001 - sincerely yours

pairing: yasushi takagi x chubbyfem!reader

summary: as written lies tie these two by contract, a destined fate will lay between the walls that our tragic lovers have built to keep themselves grounded without crumbling of disdain.

warnings: slight angst, kind of boring in the beginning, mention of minor character death, profanity, kind of ooc ig? smoking (mostly cigs tho tehe), slight violence, ion know man i think that's it

authors note: after the longggg wait I’ve finally decided to start writing again 👅 this is also a pretty long chapter so… heh

Hate is a prized possession. Basking in all its glory as if it were gold. Cherishing it like a faded memory that now lays in the back of your mind. Hate controls the people, the minds, the blood, the senses. Hate controls our emotions that are held captive through our bruises and traumas. Until we have no choice… But to give in and break…

Bits of your hair stuck to your forehead as you pulled your gloves off, along with your surgical hat and mask while exiting the operating room. Trudging your aching body towards the sink to wash your hands. 

Your job as a doctor and veterinarian always kept you busy, which was fortunate for you since you hated being home. Your mother was a businesswoman. A good one at that. Along with your father. Leading the company to increase in popularity, including your family name. 

But despite your families’ fortune, you still believed you were unlucky. Your mother had always been hard on you, being the only two women in the family, with you being the oldest out of three children, you were next in line for the company. 

In your honest opinion, you never wanted to be like your mother. She was always working, had always critiqued herself and the others around her, which made her a difficult person to get along with… At least for you. Your two youngest brothers, Ciel and Silas, were the ones she really cared for, who she focused on. Silas, being the second oldest and 3 years younger, and Ciel being the youngest and most favorite, was 5 years younger. Both equally as aggravating, and equally as pampered. 

You sighed as you walked out of the utility room. You ran your hands down your face in frustration before weakly smiling at all your coworkers while clocking out. Your day consisted of over 14 different emergency room patients, almost 6 being a case of worried parents/individuals who unfortunately believed everything they searched up on the internet, and 5 surgeries that lasted over 4-9 hours. Your muscles ached, pain cascading through your body as your bones creaked like rusted metal as you hopped into your car, your dark cherry red Aston Martin rumbling to life as you turned the key and drove out of the parking garage, the cold breeze rolling across your face as you drove through the streets of LA. The 2am street silence was the most calm you had all day, your engine being the only minimal noise as you revved across the road quickly. 

Times like these felt like a breath of fresh air, an escape from all the chaos. Your body finally being able to melt into a state of relaxation without a worry in the world, for just a moment. But with a moment of calm, came the heart-wrenching reality. 

You rolled your shoulders as you walked up the stairs towards your apartment building, sending a small wave to the night guard as you entered the elevator and pressed the top floor, resting your head on the wall behind you with your eyes closed. Your head was clouded with everything, anything, all at once. No chance to cycle through or even zero in on one thought to spare you the headache. It was then that times like these, that called for desperate measures of comfort.

You sighed as you opened your eyes to start rummaging through your bag for the little box your fingers had ached to grab ahold of the entire day, whether you wanted to or not. You felt the familiar cardboard against your fingers before pulling it out and examining it. Despite being a certified doctor and veterinarian, your main source of solace had been the cancerous addiction. 

Your eyes scanning all around the front of the box before the elevator door ‘dinged’ softly before you exhaled deeply and exited the elevator, making your way to your apartment and unlocking the door before locking it quickly after. Your penthouse was dimly lit as you entered, though the polished marble floor glared against the lights as you threw your keys into the glass bowl on the side table. Your shoes clicked on the polished floors as you slowly swayed towards the living room and scoffed. 

“What’re you doing here?” You mumbled as you stood in front of your mother who was sitting on your living room couch. 

“You’ve been ignoring my calls all day, and it’s 2:00 am.” She spread her arms across the back of the couch as she looked up at you, her head tilted to the side. “You also missed the appointment with the wedding planner. You’re lucky Yasu came in your place.”

“I’m a doctor, Mother. I’ve been in surgery all day so I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to be present for the cake flavor testing. My apologies.” You mumbled sarcastically. 

“You should be. This is an important event in your life, and you’re missing it. All because you decided you’d rather save the lives of people who are below you.” She stood up tall as you took a few steps back, the backs of your legs softly hitting the glass table behind you. Her fox-like eyes pierced into yours as she continued to stare you down, like you were prey caught in her line of sight. “You are not a hero. Stop acting like one.” She tilted her head to the side before her eyes caught the cigarette box in your hand. “I told you those were bad for you.” She eyed you with half lidded eyes. 

“Like you know what's good for me.” You snap back before trudging your way towards the balcony, pulling out a single tobacco stick and popping it between your lips before cupping your hand over it and lighting the butt of it with your lighter. 

“Don’t be a smartass.” She scoffed lightly before ghosting past the door leading to the balcony and swaying towards the door. “You have an appointment with the wedding planner at 2:45 tomorrow. Don’t be late.” She purred before walking out of your apartment. 

—

Yasu wasn’t a god, despite the internet having to say otherwise. Their whispers of the journeys throughout his life being one of the main platforms of his upbringing. With his studies of law and the help of his own knowledge, Yasu was able to overcome the obstacles of gossip. Because of his delinquent background, many had believed he wasn’t fit to take over his father’s company. 

The Takagi Empire was destiny in the form of money. With the success of its reputation, (and its owners) the empire had made a massive impact on not only Tokyo, but all of Japan. And along with Yasu’s increasing popularity, came his possession of the Takagi Empire… And his marriage. 

Yasu tightened his tie as he walked into the building, his tall figure ghosting by as he smiled softly at all the gasping employees. Pulling his glasses off his face as he reached his destination.

“Yasu! How wonderful to see you again.” Y/N’s mother cooed as he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek with a smile. 

“Hi Mrs. L/N. I apologize for the delay. Tokyo’s streets are quite busy today.” He mumbled softly as he pulled away. His eyes slowly trailing to the woman who was observing the table toppers.

“Well at least you were willing to join us. Unlike someone…” Y/N’s mother glanced at the woman behind her before sighing and fixing Yasu’s tie. “She’s in a bit of a sour mood today. She would rather be cutting people open instead of planning her own wedding.” She joked before smoothing out the clothing that covered his shoulders. 

Yasu smiled softly before slowly walking towards her, pushing his hands into his pockets while he stood behind her. “Haven’t seen you in a long time.” He spoke softly as he trailed one his hands along the table cloth. “It’s been about… What? 7-8 years?”

“13. We haven’t seen each other since we were 13. The last time we spoke was the day my father passed.” Y/N mumbled before looking up at the tall man. “Hi, Yasu.”

Yasu’s eyes widened at her statement. It had been exactly 13 years since they last spoke. 13 years since her father passed away. “Hi, Y/N…” He trailed off before painting a smile on his lips. “You look-”

“Different? That’s what my mom says-” 

“Beautiful. I was gonna say beautiful. Very grown up, if anything. Though, your height definitely hasn’t changed.” He tilted his head to the side with a grin as he teased. “You’ve been the same height since you were in 7th grade. Kinda’ sad dontcha’ think?” He smirks as he leans down to her level. 

Y/N looked back up at him with a soft expression, her supple cheeks warming at the compliment and teasing from the man. “That’s only because you’ve been a giant since you were 12. Leave some of those veggies for the rest of us.” She joked with a small chuckle. 

Yasu smiled softly back at her, his eyes glistening in admiration. “Thought ya’ never liked eating your veggies. That’s why you’re built like a cabbage patch kid.”

Y/N rolled her eyes playfully before her entire aura flips like a switch as her mother made her away over to them. 

“These are… Decent. Doesn’t really fit the theme though, does it?” Her mother mumbles as she eyes the table toppers. “I believed me and Yasu settled on red and gold, correct?” She said as she looked at Yasu.

Yasu’s eyes stayed glued to the woman whose expression turned sour at the mention of the wedding. Facing away from her mother and her soon-to-be husband and walking away with a scoff. Her sudden change had Yasu pondering if he had said something wrong. 

“Yasu?”

“Huh?” He turned to his soon-to-be mother in law as his eyes grazed over the decorations. “Oh uhh yes, those look great.” He nodded dumbly before looking back to find Y/N nowhere in sight. “Where did-” 

“Have a look at these ones. I think these will go well on the tables.” Y/N’s mother pulled softly on his arm towards another table of decorations, as Yasu continued to wonder where his bride-to-be rushed off to…

—

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think your mother was the one marrying Yasu. With the way she was completely invested in making sure everything for the wedding was perfect, you wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one standing at the altar. 

You pulled the cigarette out of your mouth and blew out the smoke with a sigh, leaning against the building's wall as you looked around. The city you grew up in had begun to change right in front of you, all the things you had surrounded yourself with slowly starting to fade away brick by brick. As new buildings, businesses, and even people began to change. You included. 

“That brand tastes like burnt cardboard. I don’t know how you can smoke those.” A deep voice mumbled as you looked to your left. Yasu’s tall figure walked towards you as the sun glistened against the side of his sunglasses. “Never knew you were a smoker, Short Legs.” He joked as he pulled out his own pack of Seven Stars and picked out one of the sticks and popped it into his mouth. 

“Like you said, I grew up.” You smiled softly as you took out your lighter and lit his cigarette. 

“Yeah, no kidding.” He chuckled as he took a drag and sighed. “You don’t seem to be very interested in this whole… wedding thing.” He glanced at you through his glasses as he took another drag of his cigarette. 

“I’m not. If anything, the one you’re marrying in the end, is my mother. She’s more excited about this than I am.” You grumble as you take a drag from your own cigarette.

Yasu frowns softly at your words, a small pang of hurt in his chest. “Well… You could always tell her that you’re just… not ready. I mean she can’t force you to-” 

“She can, she will, and already has. There’s no fighting against her. She’s already made a decision for me. No matter how many times I say no.” You shake your head softly before dropping the cigarette onto the floor and stepping on it with your foot. “Look, Yasu. I appreciate your consolation, but this relationship is strictly for business.” The tone in your voice is apologetic, but firm. “I do love you,” you continue…

“I just can’t bring myself to be in love with you.”

© all work belongs to deqdwinter. do not translate, repost, or claim as your own without permission.

[lindalofbroome]

original sketches

DELTORA FASHION CONCEPT ART V2

hello i have finally coloured some rough sketches of some deltoran fashions, a redraw of some really old sketches from ages ago.

im a pretty amateur concept artists and i hate designing clothes so truly was a challenge for me hahah BUT it has given me plenty of time to think of headcanons. im not sure what i've already posted about or not so im just gonna go ahead and rant

these characters were originally just models for me to draw the clothes on, so i didn't need to draw a new person every time; although in some of my earliest sketches of different people groups i did a bunch of people. but naturally these characters have developed a little and some of them are my beloved adin-era OCs <3

[about 4,500 words]

⬜ JALIS

since the jalis are reknowned for their warrior prowess and their signature gold armour, i thought it'd be neat that even if when they're not wearing the full set, they are always wearing their arm guards. it's a sense of pride and identity, they probably receive them as a rite of passage into adulthood. not every jalis is a knight, but they value a heart of courage and great feats and they all have them, and would wear them always (or at least special occasions if one prefers not).

i headcanon that jasmine was gifted her own set of arm guards as an expression of their respect and admiration of her. her relationship with glock grew so much and was cut off, but she earned her "heart of a jalis" and we didnt get to see much of jasmine and gers together, but theres plenty of time post-DQ3. i think my jasmine and the jalis thoughts should be a separate post though, otherwise this post will never end 😂

i dont imagine that the jalis had special party clothes, i think they just turn up in their usual clothes and get drunk and dance their hearts out maybe start a brawl thats none of my business

i cant remember why i've been giving them this geometric sort of pattern tbh. i think i drew someone at some point and wanted it to look different to mcbride's design but im not sure if i like it or not. the plus is that i can make diamond motifs though!!

i also cant really remember how my brown skin gold hair came to be 🤔🤔 wait backtracking i think what happened is that i decided to draw del people as black latinx inspired, so it wasn't that big a step to make jalis also dark skinned since they're both in the south (deltora geography is weird tho so like it's not that deep) and then i think i made them blonde as i "why not??" situation but tHEN i thought maybe it's connected to their jalis gold?

my headcanon is that their armour is made of a unique metal that can only be found in diamond territory, it's super hard, tough, and light etc. so maybe whatever is In The Ground is also in them and their blood and shows in their hair????

🥳 fun fact 🥳 wasn't until i had to draw steven and glock side by side that i had realised what i'd done?? i.e. steven canonically has brown skin gold hair too¹. which now forces me to think about whether it should be a coincidence (like it is) or shall i headcanon that steven and nevets' father was jalis² 🤔 ¹ pretty sure it's about the dichotomy, to show contrast but connection between the brothers. i have many steven and nevets thoughts but that should also be another post ² i am.

🟩 DREAD GNOMES

these characters are adin-era, so unfortunately this would be when the gnomes still hunt the kin. whats weird is that i realised that i was picturing the caramelly brown fabric that this gnome is wearing was the kin pelt and not the big furry parts?? i usually picture the kin as more like velvetty. idk what the thicker fur parts would be though?? literally any other animal i guess 😅 i dont know it doesn't make sense and it's only occurring to me right now i shall have to think about it lmao

anyway made them green because why not. maybe they come in different colours idk. this gnome is pre-gellick so does go out in the sun, gellick-era gnomes would be waaaaay more paler they probably looked white. this could be similar to the jalis and like theres something in the grounddd

gla-thon claims that the dread gnomes knew that lesser gems had weaker but the same powers of the great talisman gems (sots), but im not sure if they knew it before adin. would be interesting if they did 🤔 and how they figured it out?? (side note but now im wondering about how withick knew what to write about the gems??) would imply that if they got the great emerald than they could deduce there are others surely. unless they thought it was a freak accident/miracle. anyway we know they love gems and gold etc etc so they obviously decorate themselves with heaps of jewellery

triangle motifs in homage to their mountain 💚

i gave them a sort of war paint ritual. i'm not sure if they all do the same markings, but this one was specifically to symbolise a bow and arrow (arrow going up the nose). you can see it a bit better here lol. i also decided that sometimes they wear it for purely cosmetic purposes. im not sure what the substance is exactly though. i think in my head i was imagining something similar to kohl, but maybe not.

🥳 fun fact 🥳 bre-tak and az-zure are lesbians (i make the rules)

🟦 MERE

oooooh baby this is my guy my babygirl my everything

okay so i think this headcanon developed recently when i last drew sky of rithmere and i thought that mere superstition encouraged them to wear their charms in random spots to avoid them cancelling each other out. it could be construed to be they were inspired by the night sky and the pattern of the stars perhaps. this led them to prefer asymmetrical fashions, mostly prominent in the armour i put badr in

🥳 fun fact 🥳 badr means "full moon" 👀

i think i originally decided the mere had leather armour just to give them something different iirc but the mere characters we see are usually the lithe, speedy, crafty type, so maybe light, mobile armour does work for them lol. anyway the main reason is that i had the image of studded leather, and i was like ohohoho STARS

i generally think of them with muted colours but sometimes they have a bold blue for their prized garmants. like zillah and co, the leaders of rithmere in adin's time were described with bright blue and starry cloaks. (i checked the wiki just to check zillah's name lol and apparently it's actually canon they have leather armour?? so not sure why i thought otherwise) anyway i do currently have minecraft brain but i did vaguely remember that people made ultramarine pigment from grinding lapis lazuli into a powder and im not sure if thats something the mere would do or if there's some strong blue dyes they can get from plants or something native to their territory 🤔

actually im liking that idea now? it would be incredibly time-consuming and labour-intensive but that would add to its value?? real world lapis lazuli has a horrible yield rate of 1kg lapis to 30g of pigment apparently, but it's a strong pigment (unless i misunderstand). alternative name for ultramarine is "permanent blue" apparently so. anyway ultramarine irl is more of a paint pigment, but in roddaverse maybe the mere make a lucky blue dye to use on cloaks and scarfs and shawls etc for good fortune?? me frantically checking that i put badr and luisa's wedding garb in bold blue lmAO oh i did but it's a little muted. they mix in oils and stuff to make the paint, so it doesnt seem like a stretch that they can mix different ingredients or ratio to make a cloth dye (to my very amateur understanding).

so im imagining now that they have a special (probably secret within the mere) process to create bright blue thread speckled with white (also gold to me. im pro deltora lapis with gold) and weave it into their beautiful starry night fabric. the amount of labour and the use of their prized lapis lazuli makes it very special, and maybe some people think it's the lapis that makes the fabric lucky or maybe some people think it's the work of love and time that makes it lucky, maybe both.

🥳 fun fact 🥳 i forgot that "bless your lucky stars" is like a real saying until recently lol

a starry cloak is probably something only the really rich could afford, but i think that they are more like heirlooms and states of office? im not sure if these pieces are things that one would purchase or something they would receive. bit hard to imagine people doing it for free but maybe it's one of those staple things that they revere and everyone else works to support them as well etc like the cooks in noradz are prized. idk. but yeah like a poorer family couldn't get a new one, but they would have one that has been in their family for generations you know? and i think that there would be something about like. idk youre meeting up with your doctor or something and youre nervous and you put on your family's best clothes (the most lucky ones) and maybe youre cynical about the whole good fortune stuff but there's something comforting about wearing the cloak your mother wore and your grandmother and your great grandmother wore, who also had to do such things. something something gives you the confidence to make your own luck because youre no longer pessimistic and allowing avoidable mistakes to happen

this means that the mere giving adin a cloak was a REALLY big deal because they definitely dont just go throwing those around and they would probably only give it to an outsider in trade for a steeeeeeeeeeeep price. which of course means that there would be knock offs with bad quality dye. lmao thats perfect actually. like 10000% there would be merchants in rithmere trying to sell cheaper versions to people that are expensive but still affordable to the average person. some would be different shades of blue, but the more crafty might have dyes that are strong but not lasting.

oh also i headcanon that palace fashion was a conglomerate of aspects from all the tribes but this should be it's own post i think. but i just remembered that i put gold thread in badr's braids in the formal wear sketch. i did that to tie in with the veins/flecks of gold (technically pyrite) in irl lapis lazuli. as such, people at del palace were inspired to weave gold into their hair too.

also gives me another thing to ship badr and luisa lmao. badr can wear some gold and luisa can wear some blue as a treat for me <3 moon and stars ocs beloved

🟨 DEL

alright. okay so del is definitely very white western patriarchal coded (most just a bias of living in that type of society i reckon) but it sucks and i'm passionate about making del NOT that. i think i've said this a million times now but this should be it's own post too, but most succinctly del is a very vibrant, curious, and daring sort of culture (e.g. their recklessness, exploration, trading). they were already marrying non-deltorans before adin (i imagine that some might have dared to marry outside of del, but it would have been way more politically complex so it was rarer and often kept quiet and rural). people of del were moving to other countries (like dorne) and people were probably moving to del, so del is definitely a big mix of different people and languages and superstitions and stuff.

but anyway i wanted to set a sort of base for before that. i've had art on the wip pile for YEARS about this and i'd flesh this out properly when it's done lol (hopefully we see that day) but since the topaz has the power to summon spirits, i really wanted to develop an aspect of del culture around that? i was inspired by Día De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and i still want to do some more in depth research and explore it more properly, but i like the idea that del will celebrate their lost loved ones life, coming together to remember, if they were lucky the got to see and even talk to their spirits. maybe pre-talisman they did know about topaz properties and they had a big deposit of gems that they would wheel out for the festival and the huge pile under the full moon would be enough to allow the spirits and people to interact? anyway this is a longwinded explanation of why my sketches of del fashion could be latinx inspired.

circle motifs in homage to the moon. the trim decoration on luisa's scabbards are based on moon phases :D

i also arbitrarily decided that del people love swishy clothes. they're all about the drama of cloaks and twirling in sundresses etc it's fun. not sure if i will actually follow through with that lol or maybe that can just be luisa.

🥳 fun fact 🥳 i think hearing luisa laugh would heal me

there's no particular reason for why i've been drawing a lot of del people as black, other than maybe spite lol. i think i drew jasmine and that got the ball rolling. del is a blank enough slate that they can be anything. im tired of white people being the front runners asldkjfhalsdf. bUT again del is multicultural, so there isn't a particular look for anyone in del. being del is more a state of mind and being part of community i think. you move to del and you participate in their society in one way or another and boom youre del now they adopted you.

🌈 PLAINS

hiran attire inspired by french aristocratic fashion. i cant remember who posted about it but pretty sure this was something that circulated around the fandom at least a little bit at some point.

added some subtle rainbow to harlow's outfits because he's the strong silent type. but i suppose there are so much more gaudier and extravagant outfits.

i was going to say this was just hira fashion and not like, rural plains fashion but i guess this is the same for all of them. it's just like a general direction for what someone might wear.

the swirly patterns?? i dont know. i drew them when i did adin's pre-battle speech as the last supper but i dont think there's a particular reason. i remember that i was trying to do something unique because lief recognises the cup in the city of rats as the same/similar to the one in noradz, so there had to be something to be recognisable lol but i probably just did it this way because it's relatively easy to doodle, just takes a bit of time.

🥳 fun fact 🥳 harlow was a cook before the shadow invasion. out of desperation, he and many others had to train to defend hira. he's big with natural balance and reflexes so he excelled and is a pretty adept warrior, but he will always think of himself as a cook first, warrior second.

now the armour!! freshest headcanon piping hot. yesterday when i was colouring i was sitting there like wow you look like a tin can man and you are so boring. we went from pretty colours to blank. im almost certain the hiran soldiers were described as silver with white plumes, so i was planning on doing that but they had intricate details on their armour because they are Extra, so it has the swirly patterns you can see on harlow's coat.

but then suddenly i was like. what if. pearlescent.

and honestly i loved it so much i didnt care i was setting myself up for some difficult work ahead lmao. but my general idea was that they're armour looked like it was silver, but if the light catches it at the right angle it exposes the rainbow in it. most of these headcanons i've had baking for at least a year, but this is very new so i dont any hard details yet. kira mentioned enamel or ceramic and lowkey interested in having a look into that so that theres another armour material. maybe it's gonna be like special jalis gold and special plains silver. maybe something else. i also just remembered bismuth exists (same boat as gold as very heavy and soft) but i think maybe it's too loud, i think im liking the more subtle pearlescent thing aLTHOUGH it's a good metallic rainbow reference 👀 maybe there is an esteemed plains warrior with a rainbow sword

ANYWAY pearlescent armour really hit my heart because oh my god once upon a time the plains had a shore and they could visit the sea,,,, lowkey ocean vibes without an ocean [screaming crying cat spinning in a void.gif]

🥳 fun fact 🥳 i have NO idea what food harlow has made. i think i had ratatouille on the brain at the time????

🟥 RALADS

⚠ PROPAGANDA ALERT ⚠

ruby territory best territory. ruby symbol of happiness. warns of danger AND antidote to poison. double helpful. ralads are so sweet and so smart. architectural and engineering marvels. living in harmony with the land and beasts. D'OR!!! manus and nanion friendship underrated and so special to me. horse girls. AND. broome. god theres so much i could say about broome that i cant say anything. anyway you guys know im normal about broome yes of course. separate post etc etc

i think technically this is a headcanon but it's not that big a stretch surely but as above i always picture ralads as in harmony with nature. never take more than they need, know how to work with not against, theyre not the main attraction but an equal part of the bigger picture.. this isn't even about how smart they are with engineering and their perfectly round houses with bricks that are cut perfectly. im thinking about their knowledge of their world is so strong and wide and diverse. they have the most vibrant and potent dyes and pigments around, they have the most colourful fabrics and clothes around. the plains has many colours but it can't compete, and they have different styles. i think that the hirans would trade for the dyes though (maybe undercutting pre-adin, maybe more equal post-unification). i think that they would also have a pretty decent blue dye but it is still inferior to mere lapis lazuli blue. it is probably a dye that could be used for a mid range mere garment?

maybe it's the anime fault but i do usually imagine ralads as barefoot but i also drew iris with construction tools and just the idea of ralads walking around a construction site barefoot was not fun to me. but it could be a hobbit tough soles situation. anyway i drew some shoes so i had a vague reference if i wanted to draw ralad shoes.

obviously had a problem drawing warrior attire for a non-war race. but i thought what if i leaned into the stories the hirans tell about how the scouts and soldiers they send into the ralad wilds never returned and were often found dead with broken bones or whatnot. definitely big watching but never seen vibes imo. so i decked iris out in some camouflage lol

🥳 fun fact 🥳 im sure the ralads can whistle and whatnot to make birdcall signals, but i thought it was fun for iris to be able to make birdcalls with her flute

HEY ALSO headcanon about ralad hair. i was making some dragon art from a doran pov that i was going to save for that but i cant wait now. but we know from Tales that the ralads had a good relationship with the ruby dragons, could even summon them (unless im misremembering and it was more like a premeditated calling) but i was thinking about how they nest with .. human? hair. and i was thinking what if they grow out their hair? and then they offer it to a dragon when they are ready? i dont know if there's a nesting season for dragons but it could be something like that? ralad-dragon ceremony and party time. this isn't a rite of passage type of thing, just something that they like to do. not everyone does it probably, but most do it once, some people do it several or many times in their lifetime. it's an honour, but not really a sacrifice to them. it's part of the world balance and theyre willing to serve the dragons as the dragons serve them as they water the plants and the plants feed them and they feed beasts and beasts feed them.

also dont remember why i did the hair so bright and orangey??? genuinely perplexed lmao. probably was leaning into irl ginger but like THEYRE BLUE so i could probably make them actual red. not sure if this is also like a "theres something in the ground" situation also that makes their hair red but maybe 😂😂

side note but it's lowkey so wild to me that rodda was like yeah these guys are blue-grey with red hair, and then everyone else is like an average person, BUT the mountain people are short. like they're all just some guy basically???

it does make return to del so so funny because fallow is like AYO look at these MONSTERS they are UGLY and WEIRD

but i guess thats part of the motivation to give the deltora tribes some basic unique traits.

🟪 TORANS

okay so toran robes as inspired by japanese fashion is definitely something that's floated around the fandom for ages. i can't remember if it was before or after seeing posts about it that i started my first concept sketches but i think it probably had a hand in helping me visualise what rodda was talking about when she described their robes as butterfly wings when they speed-travelled. like yeah big deep sleeves and floor trailing hems WOULD probably look like colourful butterfly wings in the wind,,

🥳 fun fact 🥳 azami be always hungry. if only she knew someone who liked to cook 🤔

i don't have much to say design-wise, kinda just did various doodling. they would probably be second in extravagance to the plains, but it's a different sort of detail? they are probably a bit more refined and elegant than the hirans who are probably more bold in their designs. torans grow to be vain and selfish (it's already started by adin's time) so they probably have a high value on the beauty of their belongings, and it probably began with imagery of beasts and plants and dragons in amethyst territory, "true" pictures. but as time went on it probably distorted a bit and became idealised and/or fantastical etc.

OKAY SO my brain bluescreened just now for a moment trying to figure out how a people who use magic to make life easier, were also the ones known for their weaving, a manual hands-on task (lief's cloak is praised as being worthy of toran looms, implying high grade; pretty sure this was supposed to be a hint that his mother is not who he thinks she is also). some conclusions are 1) they weave with magic (sad, horrible), 2) they weave as a past-time, for fun etc (okay) but i took it to a third option

for a long time ive been thinking about toran magic as like, a balance and an energy thing (because i like that stuff lol) they cannot create something from nothing, only change things. they couldnt summon a fire, but they could change a piece of wood to fire and start a campfire, or those more advanced could even change the air into fire. but honestly it's left me a bit unsatisfied. like how does that explain the tora-del highway? hELL tora itself? what happened to the marble that got carved away? also how can that mountain have been so perfect there was no cracks or seams?? or did they carve those bits out lol. questions for another day.

anyway i was thinking about how hobbies are good for you, you dont have to be good at something but it's good to do stuff for fun and when you do crafts you get a cool thing at the end of it that you made. but it's also like skills you can develop? and i wondered what if weaving is a starter skill that they learn, some of them at least. maybe there are different activities, and they do the one that speaks to them the most. there were other types of artisans in tora, just not as talked about (i guess they're robes are pretty iconic so it's easy for people to go wow robes wow weavers who made fabric for the robes so soft) like i distinctly remember barda remarking about how tora was untouched and why bandits wouldn't have stolen the carved box that ended up holding the auto-reply letters from the palace.

so what im thinking is that maybe this builds a foundation to help torans visualise and perform their magic?

it actually solves a problem ive had in my headcanons i feel like ive got seven eyes open rn 😂😂 but in relation to del culture and traditions, i've been thinking about there being a physical and spiritual realm of course, and maybe it's the comfort of threes but it felt like something was missing.

i dont know what to call it yet, but im thinking the third thing is like the glue, it connects all things, it's in everything. it's like a third realm but also more of like a medium maybe? kind of sappy but we can just call this the magical realm for now. i actually used to think of toran magic as being like a subset of the greater deltora magic, but now im thinking it's more like torans are more receptive to the magic realm, as del are to the spiritual, and the ralads to the physical; theyre the experts in these things, which is why unified deltora is important 😂; likewise dread gnomes specialise in gems, jalis in combat, mere in cunning, plains in hope perhaps? literally never thought about it quite like this so maybe i will process it different later and designate different specialties.

so when the torans are young, they learn a craft and these skills help them sort of "tap into" the magical realm. so in the case i first thought of, when a toran weaver starts to see and interact with the magical realm, the easiest way for them to engage with it would be to think of it as weaving. they might see the magical realm as threads that connect everything, and weave things together to get what they want. a potter might see it as a malleable mass and sculpt what they want. a carpenter might see it as something to carve, something to break and put together.

the magical realm is not a concrete thing at all, up to interpretation, perhaps a unique experience to anyone who could glimpse in; don't strictly have to be toran, but they are perhaps naturally receptive to it or it could even be entirely a knowledge thing and that they are taught about it more; someone like verity who had her eyes opened to this realm, and learned to interact with it on instinct. does open questions to what the hell is up with the plains lmao but i think thats another post.

__

sorry about all the "i'll tell you in another post" i was attempting to stay on track 😂😂 also there's a 90% chance im gonna forget to come back and write about them so if anyone is dying to know feel free to send me an ask or something???

also if you want to know more about these OCs let me know 👀 i can find an ask game or something maybe. it's a case of i know a lot but will forget it all if asked to speak freely, i need specific questions. i have also developed the first four a bit more, but the last three are not without character so they can still be included. maybe it will be a group effort and they will have Background.

[corruption-special-au]

Chap 1 🎭 Fool's Folly

Surprise! I came back to continue the prologue fan fic for the Masked Special AU plotline.

Here is the prologue told from Silver's perspective 👉

This one however is from Gold's perspective and starts off a few days after the prologue 🤙 take care! have fun! have some trigger warnings before hand tho.

⚠️ minor violence, mention of blood, threats and themes of manipulation and kidnapping

Days had passed since the event at the local research lab. So many changes in such a little amount of time! Not only had Gold found a new addition to the family, he also uncovered a goal. Tracking down the thief who stole Exbo’s friend. Clearly the little fella was worried, and even with all his mother's expert methods of introducing a Pokemon to a new home hadn't seemed to work thus far. The little fella still only seemed to peck at his food and separated himself from the rest of the group. By the second day, and no word from the local police; it was decided. He would take things into his own hands! Of course his mother didn't really have to know exactly why he planned on going, just to visit Violet city and return the morning after.

Besides, this crook couldn't have gotten far. He made sure to prep well for his journey, if the two were to battle again Gold was going to be sure it was on equal footing this time. He had made another journey to Violet City just this past spring, accompanied by Aibo and a few of the other rescues kept at home. So he was somewhat familiar with the city, or at least his pokemon were. With these guys behind him, there was no way he would lose again! Typically trainers only carried six teammates with them, but his mother made it very clear she felt a lot better if the family accompanied him this time.

The incident at the lab must have freaked her out…

He was used to scraps and squabbles, after all most of his time was spent around Pokemon. And his mom never seemed to pay any mind to the numbers of bruises and bumps he had somehow managed to obtain over the course of the day roaming the town and woodlands. However this time…. Perhaps it was just the involvement of the police that had her on edge. They never were a fan of them anyway, the handful of cops in New Bark often referred to Gold as “little trouble-maker".

It was nearing noon now, the sky painted with stunning hues of pink and orange as the sun drifted down over the horizon. He flipped open his Pokegear, still left on the map. Not too far now. “You hear that Poli?" From his backpack, the small tail of his poliwag sleeply shifted in place. “Once we get there we'll find a pond for you to cool off in." Summers felt like they were getting hotter and hotter each year. The rest of the gang seemed to be just as eager to find a stopping point soon. But Gold knew not a single one would retreat to the comfort of their pokeball, not after mom had sent them to watch after him. Sheesh, she has no faith in me huh? Not many people in their town did, how could he blame her.

“Just a bit farther and we can rent out one of those sweet inn rooms and get some snacks from the stall! C'mon guys!” With the promise of food a few in the pack seemed to perk up with glee. Onward the group trooped, only arriving at the gates of Violet City by nightfall. Good thing too, he would never in his life would admit it, but walking the trail at night gave him the creeps. Not to mention, the entire way up the path he felt as though he was being watched by something not too terribly far off in the trees. Probably just a curious wild creature from the area, nothing more.

Yawning, he gazed around the street, lacking the city folk he was used to seeing fill this place. Well I guess it is pretty late… Sleep gnawed away at him, growling from his stomach following after. Right. Food, inn, and tomorrow he would begin his search. He was positive the thief was lurking about in this area. The pack wandered corner to corner in search of a stall still open for business. Sadly with no luck.

Man this blows…

It seems they had gotten here too late in the day, partly because of the late start this morning. He wasn't much of a morning person, who gets up before 10 anyhow? Aibo tugged at the disgruntled boy's hoodie, gesturing towards the Pokemart illuminated on the other end of the corner. “Ah! Good eye Aibo!" Barreling towards the doors, the group was stopped mid cheer by a hand. "Eh?” Before him, the shop keeper, a rather jaded middle aged looking man glared down at him. "I just mopped up for the night, no way are you bringing all these critters in here to rummage up my floors again. The pokemon stay outside if you're coming in to shop.” Rummage? Who uses the word rummage anymore? What a prick… But his urge for a warm cup of soup and the pitiful eyes of each of his pokemon overpowered his annoyance, and with a huff he agreed. They wouldn't be out there long anyway, he just needed to grab a few for the gang and pay. “I'll be back, just wait here ok? Aibo is in charge."

Inside the store was quiet, with only the soft mart music playing overhead and the squeak of his sneakers to fill in the silence as he searched for the food aisle. Smells like a doctor's office in here. Various snacks decorated the shelfs as he scanned in search of the instant ramen cups. Ah, there near the bottom. Maybe he outta grab five to share between all of them. Just to be sure. From the other end of the store the door dinged once more, and he could hear the disgruntled worker from before set down whatever box he was carrying and make his way to the front. “Hey kid, I said no pokemon!" Eh? Is he talking to me? Before he could even reach the register, Exbo skidded into the side of the shelf in a panic, racing towards him. Something was wrong. Concern creeped over him as the small monster tumbled into the boy, obviously panicked. As they fell backwards, a few items were knocked from their spot and went rolling across the tiled floor. “Hey! What's wrong with you? Where is Aibo?” As if to answer his question, the eerie distressed yet familiar growls of multiple Pokemon echoed from the door outside. Abruptly stopped as the glass doors shut back on themselves.

Without a second thought he jolted from his place on the floor, tucking Exbo between his arms as he sprinted for the exit. Brought to a halt as he raced outside to an empty street corner, void of any life. Some kind of grip wrangled his heart as he anxiously looked around for any sign of his family. “Where-where did they go? Where did Aibo, and Poli?” An uneasy shakiness had riddled his voice, and caused his feet to go numb as the reality of the situation started to set in. What? What just happened? He felt frozen in place, stunned by the suddenness of it all. Only the distant echo of some kind of fight snapped him from his trance, they were still here! As if his legs moved on their own, he rushed towards the sounds. Struggling to pinpoint exactly where they were coming from. Yet as soon as he thought he had found it, another cry from a completely different direction sent him scrabbling down another walk way. Where are they? Why can't I find them?

Blood started to rush in his eardrums, and panic took hold of his mind as he continued this little charade until… silence. The various cries of fear and anguish all at once stopped. And nothing but the cold night breeze whistling away filled the disturbing quietness. His eyes, stuck to the concrete ground, traveled upwards until they finally landed on some kind of tower just over a small bridge. Swaying back and forth in the wind. Something about this place, it didn't feel right. From his arms, Exbo wiggled loose and took off towards the old wooden tower with an unusual determination, “Hey! Wait!"

Just as they entered through the all but withered away door; something rather heavy came slamming down mer itches behind them. Encasing the pair in complete and utter darkness. It was cold in here, freezing actually. A shiver was sent up his spine, it felt as though needles were prickling his skin. “Ex-xbo, you there?" His voice didn't even sound like his own. Chittering and full of worry. The flicker of a flame that grew bright enough that he could see the small creature in front of him, standing alert against something further off into the darkness. The short fur from its head standing on edge, unnervingly still. “Exbo?" It did not seem to hear him.

The floorboards nearby creaked, causing Gold to snap his head towards the noise in surprise. It was hard to see but he thought he could make out the shape of a rather tall and lanky figure looming from the shadows. “When Silver came back, empty-handed…” Slowly, a pale white mask came closer into view. Spikes protruding from its jawline, and rugged hair draping from its head. “I expected a more formidable trainer… Not some nosy little brat.” There was a wicked smile carved into the wooden face, despite the bitterness the tone of the man carried. “And here you are. Still poking around in matters that don't concern you. What a fool."

"Buzz off creep!” Exbo flashed the wave of flames from its backside, a low growl rumbled from the small pokemon. Their threats were only met with a chuckle before the figure disappeared back into the darkness. “Exbo, now!" At his command, cyndaquil took a deep breath in and let out a hefty ball of fire. Only to be blown away by a powerful blizzard wind that sent the pair flying backwards, smack against the wall. The cold in the building had gone from frosty to stabbing in the matter of seconds, nipping at his skin. As he scrambled to get up, his legs gave way and only then did he notice the various slashes he had received from the attack. Shit! “Exbo!" His voice sounded very wheezy, and foreign even to himself. With Exbo's fire extinguished, Gold found himself stumbling through the darkness in search of his friend. Once he felt the limb body of the small creature, came the scattering of multiple different enemies surrounding them. Circling the two just beyond his line of sight. Not often was it that Gold found himself fearful of his situation, it was not something common to him in his hardheaded nature. But as the deep growls and grunts of monsters drew closer and closer, all he could think of was how badly he wanted to turn tail and run.

Under his feet frost crackled, infesting the area around him. Where was he supposed to go? Where could he go? “I'm not afraid of you!" Clutching Exbo in his arms, he prepared for the worst. Ice had begun to creep along the sides of his shoes, gluing him to this spot. Even as he restlessly shuffled in place, hoping to knock some of it off, it held. Strong as steel. Just a few itches in front of him, honed fangs and embers from a houndoom. Nearing him with eyes narrowed, locked directly onto him. Even in this gloom, he could see the beast was ready to jump at any given moment. “You live in New Bark. Just a small ways from the kanto johto border. These pokemon you brought with you live there too I suppose? ”

“Where are they? What did you do?"

From his right, a lantern from the wall brightened the atmosphere around them. From both sides, lurked two hondours accompanied by the same houndoom from before. Gold tucked Exbo deeper into his arms, eyes moving from one snarling beast to the other. Heavy boots strolled forward, and before him stood the towering figure from before. Dressed head to toe in a dark cloak, torn and aged. A gastly smog had started to drift around them, making the air in the room feel thick. “Do you have any idea what you cost me with your little stunt?”

“I don't even know who you are." Gold muttered through gritted teeth. He could feel a faint yet present rise and fall of Exbo's sides. This brought him some sense of relief, minuscule though it be. An uneasy silence fell across the two. Their eyes locked in place, Gold waited with baited breath for even the slightest hint of movement. “Still. You somehow managed to get the best of one of my students. That is nothing to scoff at. You have some kind of potential, it would be a waste to see it end here." Very faintly behind the cloaked figure, Gold thought he spotted two ghostly balls of smoke and vague yellow eyes revolving around the room. Sinister and inhuman laughter accompanying the mysterious ghouls. He began to feel rather lightheaded. “I'll make you an offer. Help me correct the mess you've made of my work, and I'll give back all those little weaklings you seem to be so fond of. After I have what I want, you're free to go.”

"And if I don't?”

Irritation coincided with his words as the masked man took a few steps forward, each step causing the floorboards to grate. “If you don't… Well I suppose no one wins in that case. I can't have you just skipping off down to the police station to open up a case now can I? And of course I'll have to take care of all your little buddies here you brought along for the ride. And that poor mother of yours…” At the mention of his mother, his throat tightened and his mouth ran dry. “Well, she would be left to fend for herself. A shame really, a kind person like her who rescues and cares for strays off the street.” Vile anger and insults burned in Gold's chest. Who did this guy think he was? Threatening his family? His mother? However, the situation was not at all in his favor. As loathsome as it was, he was at the mercy of this worthless scumbag. With not even the slightest idea where the rest of his Pokemon were being kept. On top of that, the room began to feel like it was spinning. Purple fog growing thicker and thicker by the moment. Struggling to keep his eyes open, he could barely hear his own voice. “... Not much choice in the matter, is there?"

"Glad to see you've come around." And with that, his eye lids finally gave out. Everything faded to black, the world sucked away as he slipped into unconsciousness.

[i-only-want-endless-happiness]

Since Riordan attended the Eras Tour let's talk about pjo swiftie characters (according to me ofc)

Annabeth= you can't convince she isn't a swiftie i know she is, but not many people know cause she thinks it's lowkey embarassing to be into Taylor, but she's totally a Speak now, 1989 stan she was screaming "Better than revenge" every day and every night when Rachel was into the picture, also she totally made Percy listen to "You are in love" cause it reminds her of them. Also also "New Romantics" is her anthem. She also loves "This is why we can't have nice things" cause it remindes her of Luke. I could actually go on forever but i'm gonna stop here now

Piper = duh of course she is, she is a Lover and Red girly, confused, romantic, hopeful in true love even after being hurt, she's on the "Paper Rings", "Me", "Lover" the song, "The Man" "I think he knows" ecc side of Lover and on the "The moment i knew", "Begin again", "Everything has changed", "The lucky one" "Stay,stay,stay" side of Red

Frank= i know in my heart, soul and mind he's a swiftie too, he actually takes Hazel to Taylor's concerts and randomly sends her Taylor's songs that reminds him of Hazel, he's the kind of guy who proposes during "Love story" cause lowkey is an hopless romantic. He was screaming crying every liryc of "You belong with me" at night in the Argo II when he thought Leo had a thing for Hazel. He gifted Midnights to Hazel cause the album is so her according to him. To me he is a Speak now girlie

Will= he's one of the biggest swifties at chb, there's literally nothing you can say to convince me otherwise. He's into her country albums more but actually lover all of her music, Taylor is his comfort singer (besides his mom of course) he's a Fearless girly and listens to "Fearless" the song, during long operations cause it helps him, "Hey Stephen" makes him think of Nico as well as "New year's day" cause he's a simp and "Dancing with our hands tied" cause that's literally his pov in Tartarus,idc, and of course "The best day" makes him think of his mom. "Change" and "Jump then fall" are some of his favorite Taylor's songs ever. I know my boy cries to "Mirrorball" and "This is me trying". You can't tell me he didn't sing "Our song" to Nico at least once

Percy,Hazel and Nico are Taylor enthusiasts, not quite fans but their s.o introduced them to her so now they appreciate Taylor too

Percy= he's a 1989 girlie, he loves "Welcome to New York" and thinks "Bad blood" is one of her best songs ever. After Annabeth made him listen to "YAIL" he fell in love wih it and it's now their song, he screams to "Haunted" when he feels disappointed by his father or by the Gods in general. He loves "The great war" too cause it reminds him of Annabeth as well as "Mine". And he loves "Long live" cause it just fits him and his story

Hazel= she's into Midnights (not only cause Frank gifted it to her, even tho that definetly made the album gain some extra points) "Bejeweled" and "Karma" are some of her favorite songs of the whole album but she cried the first time she listened to "You're on your own kid" so it has a special place on her heart. She dedicated "Lavander Haze" and "Sweet nothings" to Frank and it made him a bit emotional. Also she loves "Paris" cause she has taste. She absolutely adores "The outside" and the Debut album in general

Nico= i know what you're thinking hes a Reputation supporter but i actually see him more as a Folklore/Evermore girlie and a Lover one too, unlike Piper he's more on "The archer", "Cruel summer", "It's nice to have a friend" and "Soon you'll get better" side of Lover cause u know my boy is a little bit of a mess, and of course he loves "Daylight", "Cornelia street" (actually this song is his religion we know he has low self esteem) and "Aterglow" cause they make him think of Will. He thinks "No body, no crime" is probably Taylor best dark bop and obviously he loves "Gold rush" but i think he relates it back to his old crush on Percy, "Evermore" the song, is one of his favorite on the whole album, as well as "Long story short". I know Nico secretely cries to "Tolerate it". He dedicated "Invisible string" to Will (actually if you read TSATS without being a fucking hater, you'll know this is lowkey, very lowkey tho, canon) he loves "Peace" and "The Lakes" cause he relates to them deeply. I still think he loves Rep too like "Look what you made me do" it's totally his jam "I did something bad" is his go to song when he wants to be in a good mood and of course "Gorgeous"and "Delicate" cause he's secretely a romantic and down bad for his boyfriend.

If you don't know Taylor this won't make sense but if you have time and want new music give those songs a go, cause they're really good trust me u will not regret it

Just few lyrics to some of the songs to let u know what i'm talking about

BETTER THAN REVENGE= The story starts when it was hot and it was summer and, I had it all I had him right there where I wanted him she came along, got him alone, and let's hear the applause she took him faster than you could say sabotage

YAIL= One night he wakes strange look on his face pauses, then says you're my best friend and you knew what it was he is in love

NEW ROMANTICS= We're so young but we're on the road to ruin we play dumb but we know exactly what we're doing we cry tears of mascara in the bathroom honey, life is just a classroom

TIWWCHNT= It was so nice being friends again there I was giving you a second chance but you stabbed me in the back while shaking my hand

THE MAN= I'm so sick of running as fast as I can wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man and I'm so sick of them coming at me again cause if I was a man then I'd be the man

TLO= And they tell you that you're lucky, but you're so confused cause you don't feel pretty, you just feel used

YBWM= I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night i'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're 'bout to cry and I know your favorite songs and you tell me about your dreams think I know where you belong think I know it's with me

FEARLESS= And I don't know how it gets better than this you take my hand and drag me head first fearless and I don't know why but with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress

HEY STEPHEN= Hey Stephen, i know looks can be deceiving but i know i saw a light in you [...] cause i can't help it if you look like an angel can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain, so come feel this magic i've been feeling since I met you

DWOHT= I loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would divide us so, baby, can we dance through an avalanche? And say, say that we got it i'm a mess, but i'm the mess that you wanted

MIRRORBALL= I'm still a believer but I don't know why i've never been a natural all I do is try, try, try

TIMT= They told me all of my cages were mental so I got wasted like all my potential and my words shoot to kill when I'm mad i have a lot of regrets about that i was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere fell behind on my classmates, and I ended up here

Bad Blood= Now we got problems and I don't think we can solve 'em you made a really deep cut and baby, now we got bad blood

TGW= We can plant a memory garden say a solemn prayer, place a poppy in my hair there's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair and we will never go back to that bloodshed, crimson clover the worst was over my hand was the one you reached for all throughout the Great War

BEJEWELED= Best believe I'm still bejeweled when I walk in the room i can still make the whole place shimmer

KARMA= Ask me what I learned from all those years ask me what I earned from all those tears ask me why so many fade, but I'm still here

YOYOK= Everything you lose is a step you take so make the friendship bracelets take the moment and taste it you've got no reason to be afraid you're on your own, kid yeah, you can face this you're on your own, kid you always have been

THE OUTSIDE= I've been a lot of lonely places i've never been on the outside

THE ARCHER= Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay? Dark side, I search for your dark side but what if I'm alright, right, right, right here? And I cut off my nose just to spite my face then I hate my reflection for years and years

CORNELIA STREET= And I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends id never walk Cornelia Street again that's the kind of heartbreak time could never mend

AFTERGLOW= I blew things out of proportion, now you're blue put you in jail for something you didn't do i pinned your hands behind your back, thought I had reason to attack, but no [...] Sorry that I hurt you i don't wanna do, I don't wanna do this to you i don't wanna lose, i don't wanna lose this with you

TOLERATE IT= I wait by the door like I'm just a kid use my best colors for your portrait lay the table with the fancy shit and watch you tolerate it if it's all in my head tell me now tell me I've got it wrong somehow i know my love should be celebrated but you tolerate it

INVISIBLE STRING= Time, mystical time cutting me open, then healing me fine were there clues I didn't see? And isn't it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me

PEACE= All these people think love's for show but I would die for you in secret the devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

LWYMMD= But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time i got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined

[swallowtail-ageha]

Malenia for the ask meme!

Responding to this ask late because i have just come home fjvididksk but its here!!

Favourite thing about them i am so insane about the whole bodily autonomy rights surrounding her. You never had a choice in what you were born as you want to desperately run away from it but your body never belonged to you from day one and in the end you fall to your origins and hurt yourself badly. I also like the whole kindred of rot thing bcs its deeply sad like. They are both victims of it malenia who never wanted to host the rot and to whom the kindreds represent her falling to her worst impulses while the kindreds actively do something that malenia hates not out of malice but because they were born from that. *chefs kiss*

Least favorite thing about them uuuugh i feel like the promised consort battle of aeonia stuff has really cheapened her and the whole conflict and i think her whisper being "miquella awaits thee o promised consort" just sucks

Favorite line My flesh was dull gold...and my blood, rotted.Corpse after corpse, left in my wake...As I awaited... his return.

Its just so *froths at the mouth* it embodies perfectly her feelings about the scarlet rot and the shame that came from actually blooming for the sake of miquella and grappling with the fact that because of it she killed several hundreds of people and i am *aaaagh*

brOTP while i have started to headcanon their dynamic as being incestuous in the last few months, i think her and miquella's story also really works well as just a normal if tragic sibling relationship. I also see well a malenia and godwyn dynamic where well. Ok he wasnt the number one mother and father figure at once but i think he did rly care about her and in my headcanons he did a lot of legwork to include her in activities that she normally wouldn't be able to do by making them more accessible to her disability

OTP Malmiq lol. Its funny because i at first didn't even ship them, but dlc enabled me to ship it out of spite. I just. Really love the whole we are incestuous children of an incestous god angle of it and the fact that they influenced each other's lives and goals and personalities so much

Aside from that, finlenia. Like holy shit i am not normal about it. Imagine just being so loyal to/in love with your military leader you not only accept part of her curse but are also willing to drag her unconsious body for the whole continent in the middle of a civil war just to save her life. Fucking cinematic. Fucking beautiful

nOTP i dont even have anything against the ship per se because i find it really interesting dynamics wise but malenia/radahn has been ruined for me thanks to all the fucking violent rape porn revenge fanart of it

Random headcanon i think that she developed a very marked gallows humour. Like... since her childhood she expected to either die or turn fully into a vessel of rot so after a while she's like "oh well until i fix it i will just Joke About My Missing Limbs" which was very jarring to people who were personally meeting her for the first time

Unpopular opinion idk how unpopular it is but i think her devotion to miquella was. Unhealthy. I do think he loved her wholeheartedly (and didnt charm her opposed to what some people on some website say), and i don't even blame her for being so codependent with him (girl was neglected BADLY), tho

Song i associate with them least a song and more of an ost, but Divine Service from the Lies of P soundtrack! Its very melancholic and full of longing and nostalgy, which just

Favorite picture of them the one in the shaded castle! It is a pretty basic portrait, but the area building up to it is fantastic and elevates it in my mind

[underratedandoverit]

Like It Matters, You Can’t Escape

kip sabian/orange cassidy (can be read as gen)

~3,5k words

just angst. hurt/comfort. there is blood tho its not excessive, but its mentioned multiple times and someone is bleeding. based on the belt corruption arc, so unreality is present. also kip says fuck once. boop @midnightpretenders0

no proofreading apart from what docs pointed out to me, we post like we’re dying who cares (sorry)

read on ao3

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The lights hurt his eyes.

It had been this way for a while now. People thought he was pretentious, trying to hide his hurt and hold his head up high to cover it with pride when he kept wearing sunglasses all the time. That the loss and humiliation he went through in that title match were the things he was trying to cover up, to recover from.

But that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Kip could barely remember that match. He was living through it mostly with replays that he saw, his own mind was almost entirely blank. He remembered walking out there, or the sensation of it at least, knowing that there was no way he could lose it. He hadn’t lost before, he sure as hell wasn’t going to start doing so that night either.

If it only hadn’t been for that dastardly Orange Cassidy.

He would still be champion. Still holding that sweet, sweet gold that made everyone fearful of him, made people finally respect him. Gave him the edge, the power over them. Made him the face of the company, gave him the bragging rights, made him more than just a shooting star in the eyes of the people.

The only vivid memory Kip had was Cassidy standing outside the ring, staring at him. The words of hatred, venom, vitriol spilling out of Kip, raving and screaming at the lazy man in his sunglasses to leave him alone. That whatever mind games he was trying, they weren’t going to work on him. That this was his time, and Cassidy wasn’t going to take it away from him.

That he was stupid. Useless. He was making a pointless effort. He would never be a champion again.

And then Kip got pinned.

A shiver shot through his entire body at the thought, the memory still so vibrant in his head even weeks later that it ached his entire being. He could feel his body hitting the mat as he was picked up and slammed down with force, his shoulders forcefully pinned down for a count. How he couldn’t get up again as soon as the ringing of the bell reached his ears. How it felt like all the power was drained from him in one fell swoop, the mat being the most comfortable yet cold and hard place he had ever laid on.

The lights on the ceiling were so bright even through the eyelids that had finally fallen shut after what felt like months of being forced to stay open.

Kip slowly sat up on the couch. The hand brushing over his tired face was stopped briefly as his fingers hit the bottom rim of the sunglasses; he couldn’t ever remember that he was wearing them to prevent the constant headaches. They were basically on by default at this point, whether he was awake or asleep. Watching the world through the dimmed lenses helped a little bit, but honestly not too much. It was all still a lot to take in, to actually watch it through his own eyes again, and to try to make sense of it all by himself.

He carefully lifted the glasses from his face, wiping his eyes with his free hand. When was the last time he had slept? Most of the time Kip just laid down whenever he could at that moment – in the bed, on the couch, sometimes on the floor when the effort of existing became unbearable to him. Sometimes that could lead to a short shuteye, but mostly he would just lay there, unable to pick himself up again, losing energy staying awake, refusing to move until he absolutely had to.

He was tired, growing more and more weary every day, but refusing to admit to anyone but himself.

Kip was especially refusing to admit it to the one person constantly asking him about it.

He slowly put up on his feet, steadying himself slowly against the armrest of the couch. Kip refused to look, but from experience he already knew his fingers, even with barely any strength in them, were holding onto the armrest like his life depended on it. It honestly might have as well, if he lost his balance in an already fragile state, who knows what he might break when he hit the floor.

Stopping to think for a while, Kip shook his head. No, that wasn’t true. He wasn’t weak like that. That wasn’t him, it was the lies being fed into his head. The lies told to him to poison his mind, taking him as a fool on face value, someone they could tell absolutely anything to, thinking he would believe them.

Maybe he had fallen for that stupid trick once, but he wasn’t going to do it again.

Pushing himself on the move, his hand slowly letting go of the armrest, Kip slowly wandered his way out of the living room. He needed something to stop the aching, to stop the trembling of his arms, his feet, his entire being. To stop the pounding of his head, the itch in his throat, the racing beating of his heart. He needed…

He just needed it to stop.

Kip found himself leaning against the kitchen sink. In the past few moments he didn’t even remember coming into the room, everything felt like a blur. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears, the world spinning behind the dark glasses, making it even harder to see. Hand reaching up to his face, trembling as he pulled the sunglasses off, flinging them to the floor.

The sound of the metal frames hitting against the hardwood floor made him want to throw up.

Ever since he had gotten out of what they referred to as “the haze”, every sound, every action, every flash of light, every color, everything felt like it was upped to an eleven in his mind. Everything hit so much harder on the inside, making him twist and turn, aching on places he didn’t even know existed before then. And yet, at the same time, physically everything felt so distant, every touch was barely there, he could barely feel the pain attached to him, he was growing so numb to it all.

Closing his eyes, Kip’s hand reached for the closest cupboard, muscle memory still remembering where the dishes were. He pulled down a glass, lowering it into the sink, the collision of glass against steel that was caused by his shaking hand ringing in his ears. He slowly lifted his hand up again, turning on the faucet, just barely enough for something to drop out of it. The sound was soothing, thankfully, but it still hurt his ears.

It was all just so much.

Impatient dark green eyes opened up, staring at the glass slowly filling up. It didn’t look appetizing in the slightest, but from what Kip could remember, it was going to help. That’s what he had been told, that’s what he had experienced before. It was a very temporary solution, but if it helped even a little bit, he was going to try to make the effort.

It was about halfway full when he turned the faucet off. Watching the last drops of water drop from it and hitting the surface of the water already in the glass, Kip winced a little. It barely made a sound, but to his head it felt the same as if someone had just slammed a door shut right next to him. It rang in his ears for as long as the surface of the water vibrated with every new drop hitting it.

Was any of this actually worth it?

He picked up the glass. It felt heavy, his fingers barely grasping it tightly enough. It was okay though, all he needed was a sip, just one. Just enough to make him be capable of something again, to make the nausea go away, to hold him on his feet for a moment longer.

Inhaling deeply, the glass met with his lips. The sensation of the cold glass was burning against his dry lips, clutching onto them like it never wanted to leave again once it landed there. Kip tilted the glass carefully, with hands shaking so hard he wasn’t even sure if he was doing anything. The effort was there, but was it enough, he wasn’t sure. Only after the first drops of water hit his parched mouth did he truly know.

For what felt like the first time in forever, Kip was able to hold up on his own, and do something for himself. Finally --

The cold water fell past his lips, on his chin, droplets falling against his chest, wetting the shirt he was wearing while slipping under the garment. The cold immediately hit him, making Kip flinch, trying to get away from something that was already on his skin, with no way of escaping the burning feeling that was trying to dig its way into his lungs.

He dropped the glass.

The sound of it shattering bringing him down on his knees on the cold floor.

Kip’s hands were faster than his mind, starting to collect the tiny shards of broken glass into a single pile. He couldn’t feel the glass breaking his skin, the blood trickling from his fingertips into the pool of water on the floor. Kip felt numb, working on autopilot, just wanting to make up for the mess he made. This was his fault, he had to fix it, this was the one thing he could fix, it was his fault, it was his fault, it was --

“Kip?”

He was breathing so heavy he could barely hear the voice. His hands stopped, only now noticing the trails of blood pouring from his fingers. Eyes widening Kip just sat there, staring at his own doing, his own actions, his hands that he still couldn’t feel, making the panic slowly rise in him at the thought of numbness he was going through.

Slowly a figure crouched on the floor next to him. Kip spotted it from the corner of his eye, but couldn’t bear to look at the other man, wide eyes still staring at the blood dripping from his hands. The glass that had been in his hands was in shambles on the floor, looking very much like how Kip was feeling on the inside of his mind right now, with no way of saying any of it. His eyes drifted from his hands back to the floor, to the bloody pile of glass he had tried to sweep together with his hands. It was incomplete, he thought, hand reaching down to it again.

“What are you --”

“It’s my fault,” he whispered, almost in trance continuing to sweep the rest of the broken pieces of glass into the pile he had created. He could finally feel the glass puncturing his skin, the tingling sensation making Kip bite his lower lip as he was trying to hold himself from trembling further. “I have to fix it.”

“Kip, it’s glass, you don’t --”

“I have to fix it!”

The sudden outburst clearly staggered Cassidy, the man leaning slightly backwards away from the other man. Kip didn’t look back at him, just continued to swipe the glass on the floor. “It’s my fault, I have to fix it.”

Cassidy looked at him from behind his sunglasses, but didn’t try to stop him. He knew exactly what was running through Kip’s head at that moment, and trying to intervene wasn’t going to help it. He could clean up his wounds afterwards, when Kip had calmed down and wasn’t trying to prove to himself that was capable of doing things himself. Taking care of himself. Fixing up his own mistakes, making him believe in himself to be capable again.

Kip’s hands stopped. Cassidy turned to look at the floor, seeing the good pile of glass on the floor. It surely wasn’t all of it, but for now it seemed to be enough for Kip’s mind to believe he had completed the task. He was still staring at the pile of broken glass, his bloody hands hovering over it, slowly but steadily droplets falling from the tips of his fingers every few seconds, hitting a random piece of glass. Cassidy could still see him trembling, carefully reaching a hand towards him to give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“Okay, come on --”

Kip snapped out of his trance, almost violently whipping himself away from the other man, with the most force Cassidy had seen from him in what felt like forever. Unfortunately it happened in a situation like this, with Kip backing himself away from him until his back hit the door of the cabinet under the sink, forcefully stopping him in place.

“Don’t fucking touch me!”

Cassidy’s eyes behind the glasses darkened, him knowing that wide eyed, bewildered look way better than he should have. Kip was in shock, staring back at him, breathing heavy, looking like a wounded animal. He might as well have been one by the looks of it, being shoved into a cage against his will, just trying his best to both fight and flight at the same time. He was trembling visibly so much Cassidy wasn’t even sure how he had been able to hold himself together to get this far, if he was being honest.

He had to admit, Kip looked terrible. The days, weeks of insomnia and migraines had developed cruel dark circles around his eyes, the remains of the layers of unwashed eyeliner still visible, the shaky lines barely clutching to his lower lids. The silver color of the hair had faded a long time ago, leaving behind a messy blotchy bleach job mixed with his natural dark browns poking out here and there. The shaved sides had grown out a long time ago, and his unkempt beard was probably the worst Cassidy had ever seen it be. He wasn’t even sure when Kip had last showered, let alone changed his clothes, being stuck in the now wet dark t-shirt and pyjama pants for days on end.

And now he was sitting here, eyes wide, looking like he was on the verge of bursting into tears at any moment, bloody hands tainting the canvas of the pants he was holding them against, staring at the one man trying to help him like Cassidy was here to only hurt him, to pull him back to the depths that Kip had just barely managed to escape.

“I don’t need your help!”

As much as the words stung, Cassidy didn’t let it show. He knew Kip both meant it and also didn’t mean it. It was the heat of the moment speaking in him, the strong man he wished he could be again, not relying on anyone, especially on him. Cassidy knew this, this wasn’t anything new to him. Kip had yelled at him before, trying to make this exact same point.

But he kept forgetting that Cassidy knew what he was going through. This had also been him at a moment in the past, almost in this exact scenario. He had been that same animal ambushed into the corner, forced to accept help, everyone else around him knowing that he needed it, no matter how much he insisted otherwise. It had been the only thing that had actually kept him going, that helped him further, on the way to recovery.

“I can do this myself.”

His voice was noticeably quieter, Cassidy watching as Kip slowly leaned his head back against the cabinet door, closing his eyes. He was still tensed up, but he seemed to have gotten some sort of a hang of the situation. The thoughts in his head were racing, trying to find a place to put themselves into, trying to make sense of the sharp tingling all over his body. It wasn’t just the hands pierced with glass anymore, it was everywhere now that Kip was aware of. He shivered slightly, trying to level his breathing after the sudden outburst that admittedly had eaten up a lot of his energy.

But he needed to do this himself. He could do this himself. He had to, he couldn’t rely on a mortal enemy as his help for the rest of his life.

“I can…”

Kip swallowed the last word hard, biting his lip. The metallic taste slowly crept in, honestly not surprising him one bit. He inhaled deeply, feeling himself slipping, slowly starting to fall back into the numbness that had become so familiar, so uncomfortably comfortable to him as the days went on.

The light was still hurting his eyes.

He could hear Cassidy shuffling, but at that point Kip didn’t care anymore. Sure, whatever, he thought to himself, preparing for the touch he didn’t want to experience but he knew was inevitable. He had to accept it at some point that this was how it was going to be from now on, whether he liked it or not. Cassidy was there for a reason, after all, and he refused to go away as long as Kip was like this.

And who knew how long he would have to stay like this.

As the touch he had been loathing for didn’t happen, Kip slowly opened his eyes, head tilting back forward to observe the situation around him. Much to his surprise, instead of Cassidy going directly for him, the other man was on his knees on the wet floor, wiping the glass shards up with a towel, trying to clean the mess on the floor to the best of his ability. Kip watched him quietly, a part of him seething at him that he let Cassidy do his work for him, yet again, but… A part of him just let him do it. Kip was tired, exhausted, he was ready to give up.

What was the point of fighting it anymore?

As Cassidy finished, he pushed the towel to the side, getting back up on his feet. Kip watched as he glanced around the floor, walking up to the sunglasses Kip had thrown away earlier, picking them up. He quickly wiped the lenses with the hem of his shirt, before shooting a look from across the room towards Kip. He hadn’t moved, he barely reacted as he locked eyes with Cassidy.

The stare down continued for a brief moment before Cassidy finally walked back to him, handing him the sunglasses. It had been his idea after all, if someone knew how to handle the excessive lights, of course it was going to be the man that seemed to wear them every single hour of the day. As Kip didn’t react to him handing them over, Cassidy crouched in front of him, carefully sliding them on his face.

The metal frames pressing against the sides of his face made Kip hiss a little, but as the sunglasses settled in their place, the familiar calm washed over him. It wasn’t a lot, but it definitely helped the situation.

“Can you stand?”

Kip looked at him for a moment, but didn’t reply. Cassidy nodded, standing up and stepping back a little, giving him space. Kip slowly shifted on his spot, trying to get his legs under him. As he quickly came to the conclusion though that it wasn’t going to help him as there was practically no power left in him, his hand instinctively reached for the edge of the sink to help pull him up.

Only for Kip to yelp in sudden pain at the force being put on his hand, as the shards of glass in him sunk in further.

Cassidy acted faster than even he thought possible, already on Kip’s side as his legs gave out again, falling against the other man. Cassidy’s arms were tightly around him, holding him up, the whimpering mess of Kip leaning against him, barely standing up as his hand tried to find something to grasp onto, leaving bloody hand prints on Cassidy’s white shirt as he eventually grabbed it in an attempt to try to steady himself.

“You’re good, I got you.”

He helped Kip steady on his feet, throwing one arm around his shoulder as Cassidy steadied him with a hand around his hip. Leaning against his shoulder Kip had to admit that it helped – he didn’t like to say that, but it was at least a step further. It was a step away from the floor, from the kitchen, from this whole goddamn mess he had gotten himself into.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, okay? You’re going to be fine.”

Kip didn’t reply as Cassidy started to direct the two of them out of the room, pacing his steps slowly so Kip could follow along easier. The hold Cassidy had of him was the most steady Kip had felt in ages, even though he was still a trembling, bleeding mess. He didn’t want to admit that he needed the help, that it actually did help to have someone there for him in situations like this. He wanted to say he could handle himself, that he could do all this by himself.

But he also knew that all of this was his own fault.

[general-marzipan]

hello i have le question. who is your favourite tf2 mercenarie

Hello Heough! My favorite for quite some time has been the Engineer! I love the emotion shown in his Meet the Team short despite his laidback nature. I love his newest cosmetics from the summer update - they really suit him well! Even with the development of my oc Darnell, I get to think about how Dell is written as a character and how he and Darnell would interact on the job (i think about these two constantly!). AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT LIL POOTIS SEASON 2 PREMIERE!! I think about that specific Engie all the time, how it took a completely different interpretation of Dell and still made it believable to the actual character (Dell is such a versatile character i love it).

Though I do think I’m going back to liking Scout again as my favorite merc. I’ve seen a lot of SFMs and other memes and shorts with him lately, and its so funny to see how people would interpret in modern day. The accent is also a plus! I love quoting him at random points of the day - the accent is just so fun to do! You even feel like a Scout when you’re doing it!

However, I’m slowly starting to realize the potential of Sniper being my favorite. Throughout the years, Ive fallen for each class at least once, but somehow never could see myself liking sniper as my favorite. Sure, he’s super cool and professional at his job, you cant deny that, but something was always missing. I’d see every go crazy for him, and i just wouldn’t understand why exactly. Id see sniperscout shippers thirsting over sniper and wonder ‘whats that all about’ (in a good way tho). After rewatching the Meet the Sniper short a bunch of times tho recently, I felt a sort of realization, and a little more of a connection to his character (not much, but enough for me to like him a little bit more than before). Something about his standoff nature always perturbed me before, but now Im slowly starting to unravel the mystery of his character. (Not to mention im also starting to see more SFMs with him in it). Maybe also one day finishing the comics will help me to better understand his character, but for now i just think he’s pretty cool.

Similar to sniper, I’m also starting to realize the potential of medic. Yeah, i kinda liked him before when i first started getting into tf2, but i think that was bc most content was made about him and being shown everywhere. Like you’d find fanart online and it’d be a chibi medic or a medic with slicked back hair or something (lol the 2 genders of fanart). Still, in a way, i never could understand the character more than what people thought of him at the time: “sexy doctor that is covered in blood but also kawaii when heavy is around”. Though, once again, im going through content again and love seeing the character development within all sources of media (i think emesis blue also made me like it bc of his struggle with the events going on around him :p). Still, babysteps when it comes to liking characters i suppose. (The recent SFMs ive seen with him tho are amazing).

But if we’re talking about Soldier, oh man oh man. HE IS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST AND MOST COMPLEX CHARACTERS IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY. Every day i learn something new about him. I love his gruff voice, similar to scout, you’re just compelled to do it all the time cause its so fantastic and comical. I ALSO JUST READ THE SCREAM FORTRESS COMIC FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR HALLOWEEN AND HE’S HILARIOUS IN IT HELLO?!?! Love his dynamic with everyone in that one, he’s such a fricking man child i love it. For the past few days ive been thinking about his scenes in that. Absolutely love it. The SFMs and memes of him are super funny, AND THE RENDITION OF HIM IN EMESIS BLUE IS SO COOL, I DIDNT EXPECT ALL THAT TRAUMA TO HAPPEN TO HIM. Not to mention the workshop taunts i see of him are absolute gold, star spangled strategy will always live in my head rent free. CAN WE ALSO TALK ABOUT HIM IN EXPIRATION DATE PLEASE?! He is so funny in that one, every scene with him in it is hilarious, people are even pointing out new things i havent even noticed before years later. If i could, i would be Soldier tf2. I wanna be him so bad.

Uhhhh the other mercs are also really cool, but i havent made that much of a connection to them, though i will say when they have their moments, they truly shine through. Every day I learn something new about tf2, and it always throws me for a ride.

Lol sorry about the long post, can you tell I like these guys a lot?

[relamune]

Kael'thas for the ask meme thingy please i need

favorite thing about them Okay I'll try not to write a novel here but there's so little I don't adore about Kael'thas & it's hard to choose just one thing for this lmao. Like you can tell he cared/cares about his people a LOT, he just made some very poor decisions. I love that despite everything he tries to put the blood elves first, he definitely shouldered way more responsibility than he really needed to even for their leader imo, he had other people he could have relied on to share that burden! but he didnt!

Even before the scourge or the outlands, kael had SUCH an interesting personality? Like hes sometimes this bratty childish prince that can be stubborn as hell if he doesnt get his way but he's also easily one of the most powerful mages at the time, even getting on the council of six seemingly relatively easily because of it. So he may be a bit spoiled but he definitely clearly knows how to reign himself in & be serious when he needs to be & that makes him such a fun character with depth beyond just leaning into one trait or another.

Blizzard really shafted themselves when they tossed him away, I would have LOVED to see him progress through the expansions beyond being forgotten about until Shadowlands. least favorite thing about them how blizz threw him away :) I will never recover from the knowledge that they used him PURELY to fill a raid boss slot. He had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. I guess on the other hand we probably wouldn't have nearly as much content with the triumvirate as we do but I'm still not happy about nerfing Kael like that. favorite line "This is your brain, say hello brain. (brain says 'Hello!') And this is your brain on fel magic: (fel magic burns)(brain cries in pain) Any questions?"

(Honestly any of the HoTS quotes are gold this one just made me laugh the hardest) brOTP Hot take perhaps? Sylvanas pre-scourge. I like to imagine he kept trying to play matchmaker with her & lorthemar at that time & both of them hated the concept (but unfortunately kael is a stubborn bitch) but otherwise their friendship was equal parts business and jovial (as much as Sylv could be anyways) OTP honestly a BIG tie between Kael x Rommath & Kaellidan nOTP Controversial take in the Kael fandom probably but Jaina. I like them as friends or friendly rivals but don't really understand why there would be romance between them. random headcanon okay idk if this is gonna make sense & this is more of like a character study headcanon rather than a legit "this is how I think he goes about life" sort of thing but i have a big hc the triumvirate are just...sections of Kael. His laidback/care free traits being Hal, His leadership & determination & drive to protect the blood elves being Lorthemar, & his passion for magic & everything scholarly being Rommath. Idk maybe I'm looking to far into it but the fact Lor has reminded Rom of Kael on more than one occasion & vice versa really has me thinking on this.

If you want like a legit headcanon tho I definitely think Rommath got his humor and love of puns from Kael back from when they were younger. Kael said one (1) pun once, Rom laughed his ass off (& still refuses to admit it), & has come to appreciate the crafty wordplay of puns ever since.

Also another for you as an excuse to put it somewhere :: his title "the sun king" was actually from Illidan, back during one of their first meetings. Illidan meant it more in a derogatory way towards kael but kael thought it was brilliant & adopted it unpopular opinion i,,, actually dont like his VA in TBC. Nothing against the guy personally, imo it just doesnt fit Kael? I liked the one they used in Heroes of the Storm & SL (which i...THINK is the same person? idk im bad with remembering names but they sound similar so im sticking with that assumption) song i associate with them I have way too many actually that are just ship songs but I do associate this one specifically with Kael

Glass Animals - The Other Side of Paradise favorite picture of them his hearthstone battleground illustration does very gay things to me

[superanimepirate]

PJO Live Reaction Episode 8 Finale Time

Minor spoilers for the books/possible upcoming events

Wait hold a rephrasing of the opening lines by Luke?!?!

Be still my beating heart

Luke and Percy practice scene! Oh the foreshadowing. Yeah Luke. When will Percy ever need to learn how to fight another swordsman? Ok. The rules speech is good.

Percy you impertinent cute little badass.

Fight scene fight scene! Not much to say on fight scenes tbh

C'mon Percy! Control that water! Let's go Son of Poseidon!

First blood! Percy won!

I think that was faster than in the books, but eh

Oh. Ares didn't curse him? But that comes back to bite Percy later doesn't it? Kinda missing out on the curse...

Well they got the helm at least.

Oh? Sudden cute little bungalow? Oh wait. It looks like the Montauk cabin, doesn't it?

Hi Alecto

Poor Annabeth is so out of the loop

Percy does have some manners

I kind of like Alecto tbh

So....how do they get the money for the flight if there's no crowd to feed a sob story to and raise money?

"Zeus will never let you leave alive." "I'm done running from monsters." OOOH Get rekt Zeus. Honestly, the Olympians should be groveling to Percy to not join Kronos

Oh, Annabeth's necklace does have the college ring on it. I think i missed that in a previous episode

Grover. "This could have been an e-mail." Underwood Everybody

Oh so we just magically get to New York? What? How? From California?

Percy is so fucking done with this shit

#letpercysayfuck2k24

Olympus is beautiful tho. I love the gold accented Corinthian columns

Luke comparing demigods to spiders? *Chef's kiss*

*Manifesting bi!Percy and a crush on Luke* I'm Percabeth all the way, but them both having complex feelings for Luke is too good

*One thousand steps later*

Hello Zeus

Oh sweet Percy. Zeus does not want to hear that. He doesn't believe you. He doesn't want to. Wait. He's admitting Kronos even has any power? But...he's continuing this war. Of course he is.

Percy. Zeus doesn't listen to reason....

Oh boy... Percy spitten facts Zeus isn't going to like

Thank you Poseidon! Oh this is good.

Is...is Zeus actually gonna do shit about Kronos? Or just pretend to make himself look good?

Ooh, Father Son meeting time!

Its ok Percy, you'll get better at ancient Greek. And Latin, if I remember right, he's surprisingly good at it for a Greek.

"Do you ever dream about mom?" Just stab me

And back to CHB!

Have I mentioned I like how the have Thalia's tree in the vague shape of a human? Nice touch

Baby Percabeth Hug!

Oh guys. Clarisse didn't steal the bolt

Luke is taking full advantage of this

Oh I don't like this splitting of the party...

Oh no Oh no Oh no

Percy. That's not the oracle line you should be remembering right now

There you go. Worry about the Betrayal line

Oh wait he figured it out

Lame

I mean, the shoes were kind of a giveaway

But still

Oh good. I always wondered why Luke didn't try harder to recruit Percy

Oh ok. Hi Backbiter?

Still not sure how he does that. The sword just, opens doors?

I like how Luke's scar looks more like a tear track than anything else tbh (yes yes, there still a whole discourse about scarred villains. i don't wanna touch that right now. Luke looks good ok?)

Annabeth! Oh that's a fun change

Not sure if it's a good one yet. But interesting

I do like how they changed Luke's betrayal to just after the quest, it feels more like how the prophecies usually play out, that is, all happening within a short time frame rather than months (besides the great prophecies of course)

Y'know, I wonder if we'll get an adaption to Luke's Diary/Demigod files story with Luke, Thalia, and Hal in later seasons? I hope so

I can't wait to see the reactions of all those fans who never read the books and were gushing about Luke and being so sure he was NOT the traitor (Not in a mean way, just in a let chaos reign way)

Chiron is worried about Percy being kidnapped/defecting? Fair

Percy. Yes. You are Very stubborn.

Ah! The proud comment from Chiron!

Dionysus is killing me here

Annabeth looks cute with that hair. Oh her commentary about Disney World is adorable!

Grover got his searcher's license!!!

Oh ok, so Grover is planning to go to sea?

Ok the pact to meet back is cute and all. But uh. Well. I'm not so sure about Grover...

Sally's back! Reunion hugs!

Ok, are we gonna get Gabe's death?

OH wait hold up what

Oh no

What

Hi Kronos? Why do you look like the grim reaper? I thought you were Thanatos for a second...

Oh ok Sally is actually back

Oh, dream journal for Kronos. Kind of smart actually

Percy you adorable little shit

So....no turning Gabe to stone?

Is he gonna be in future seasons?

Divorced?

I want Paul....

I mean, the ending is sweet and all, Percy and Sally are adorable. But...Gabe? Hello? Not gonna tie up that plot?

Oh. Ok. End credits Gabe scene

Oh bitch got the locks changed on him

Good for Sally

Oh! Hello Hermes Express!

Opening someone else's male in a crime gabe

Get fucked

Do I like that it was an accident instead of intentional? I'm...not sure actually

Overall thoughts:

I really liked the finale! Some of the changes made sense, some did not. It feels like a lot happened, pacing was a bit weird. The father son reunion could have gone better, but could have been worse to. Might have been better as two eps but eh. Sally and Annabeth were great, Percy was adorable, I was so scared for him when Zeus nearly killed him. He was really going off tho, good for him I really liked Luke this ep. It was a lot of good set up and foreshadowing. I like that Chiron caught on that well Luke isn't entirely wrong and Percy would be very dangerous if he worked with Kronos.

I really want a season 2. I loved Sea of Monsters, and I'm exited for Tyson! He's one of the best characters. I also really like Clarisse so that will be good. Not to mention Thalia's revival!

I've seen a few comments about how the kids are just figuring everything out, and I kind of agree. I would like to see them bamboozled a bit more like with Clarisse as the thief. I also would have preferred if their disabilities were a bigger part of the story/plot/characterization. It was a big part of the books, and it was why they were written in the first place, so I wish it was touched on more

Overall, there were some good part and some not so good parts. I'm still hoping for a season 2. Hopefully they can tighten up the pacing a bit, and work on some more tension in the plot.

I am so hoping we get all 5 seasons, and maybe more but I doubt it. I really want season 3 and the di Angelo siblings.

Also. Where is my Magnus Chase series????

[froms8nsashes]

Joey hid behind her, looking around at the seadweller club the humans disguised as trolls found themselves in for jeevik week. The venue seemed to change just as they had gotten used to Cridea's hive party and were mingling with some trolls with Xefros' help. Of course, everyone's favorite friendly clown Marvus made sure that they weren't getting in trouble at the party, mostly he just wanted to look out for his lowblood friends.

Jeevik week day 2 had brought them to a club, Finz, located somewhere in the seadweller district. Everything was so fancy. Sometimes there were things made from solid gold. Cridea had handed them a bunch of cash before she disappeared into the partying crowd, apparently the dollars marked high were the only thing worth trading. Xefros was more anxious about the hundred bills, making Joey take them because she was so laid back about it.

"Omg! Cridea told me about You guYs! Love the horns bY the waY, theY reallY are blending in prettY well!"

"What! These- These aren't fake!" Xefros' eyes widened. He looked petrified.

"Dont worrY! Trust me when I saY this, no one cares. At least not here, people care about paryting and the music. It's not like in Outglut where You have to worrY about the heiress bombing us." She looked so laidback.

Isabel stole a look around the room noticing how all trolls from the hemospectrum mingled with one another. No one was terrified, no one was scared. It was convival.

"Even if someone causes a problem, we have some people to deal with." She giggled and put her hand on Xefros' shoulder. "MY matesprit is prettY strong." She nodded at the bar behind them. "Oh, You can call me Zilvie bY the waY. I'm a co-owner of this fine establishment,"

"Oh! I'm Joey, and this is Xefros, and my friend Isabel!"

"I... Still don't understand half of the things happening around us right now," Isabel whispered to Xefros, idly playing with the ends of her pink hair.

"Wait, co-owner? Does that mean the heiress owns this too?" Xefros asked.

"No, sillY! MY moirail and I own this place together, our whole deal was to create a place where people could mingle and feel safe,"

"Wow, that's not what I expected..."

"Wait, what did you expect?" Isabel looked around at all the grey-skinned trolls with candy corn colored horns. "Was something supposed to happen? Is this where we actually die?"

"Well... No one really knows what seadweller's are like, violet and fuschia kind of stick to their own crowd." Xefros was sweating and fidgeting alot, glancing at Zilvie every one in a while. Was he expecting her to cull him?

"The culture is fairlY different between the lower bloods on the spectrum, let's be honest." She chuckled. "AnYwaY! I hope You enjoY the partY," As quickly as she appeared from the crowd she had disappeared into the crowd again, although she was taller than most trolls she still blended into the sea of colors. With no idea where Cridea went Xefros and Joey looked a little lost. The trio were standing there, just standing without doing anything else.

"hey, wazz up lil rusties"

"Marvus!" Joey's face lit up and she relaxed.

"(oh no we're going to die)" Xefros whispered to Isabel.

"I ain't gon cull u wym" Marvus chuckled and ruffled his hair, towering over the three of them. "I saw u three bored so I figured I'd say hi lol :o)"

"It's just a little overwhelming is all, I mean, all these... trolls everywhere."

"Crowds get a lil easier more u be with 'em" Marvus shrugged. "Don't worry tho I could get you some seats" It surprised Isabel when he flashed finger guns and then waved for them to follow him.

For a juggalo and a purpleblood Marvus was the kindest they've encountered so far, even if he let Chahut hold Xefros and Isabel while Joey played his murder game. He was still very kind and very forgiving. The larger than life troll had sauntered over to table quite literally in the middle of the club. It was situated to face the stage where some lowblood seemed to be performing.

At further inspection there was someone sitting at the table. Another troll-- obviously cause why wouldn't they be a troll-- with violet colored hair. Their horns leaned toward another with a piercing connecting them at the pointed end. Red sunglasses covered their eyes and headphones hung around their neck. They wore a black hoodie over a dark violet turtle neck. Like the rest of the trolls there was a violet-colored symbol smack dab in the middle of their hoodie.

"/\Mmarvus I told you I'mm busy with sommethinng here./\" The troll didn't look up, just typing away on their husktop.

"yea I kno" The clown sat down and his eyes flickered to Xefros, Isabel, and Joey. "jo an her friends need somewhere to sit an this is the only open table"

"Oh, hey, that's the guy with the eye patch thingy up there." Isabel pointed at the mustard blooded troll. "What was their name..."

"Cirava." Xefros answered all too quickly, following suit as Joey sat down with the violet-blooded troll.

"So, I'm Joey and this is-- "

"/\Yea yea. I donn't have timme for mminnglinng./\"

"So, you're like some fish DJ?" Isabel asked.

Marvus' still looked pretty laidback but she noticed he tensed up a bit, looking the other way rather quickly. Xefros also looked like he was silently panicking, but he always was silently panicking.

"/\I amm nnot just a *fish DJ* actually callinng mme a fish is also derogatory./\"

"Well, aren't you a fish? I mean you have the webbed ears and I can see the gills poking out of the turtle neck." Isabel looked at Marvus and Xefros for a second, confused, then turned back to the other troll.

When the troll finally looked up they sported angel bite piercings and some pretty prominent fangs. The light of the husktop glinted on the red shades occluding their eyes from view. It was impossible to tell their reaction, mostly because the shades also covered part of their eyebrow. They really were too big.

"/\Get inn linne if you wannt to fill out mmy black quadrannt./\"

"I'm sorry what- "

"(I Xplained this to you on the train)" Xefros mumbled.

"Yeah, okay? I still don't get it." She said offhandedly to her companion. "There's no need to get worked up over some stupid nickname, you are literally a fish."

"/\Say that onne mmore timme.../\"

"Ok ok I kno things be getting rough especially bcause of the high energy but y don't u take it down a notch Chekrit"

And just like that Marvus was somehow able to smooth things over.

"Cehkrit? Like Cehkrit Fiahes?" Xefros' eyes lit up. "The faceless DJ that has been blowing up all over grubtube?"

"/\Yeah I'mm your faceless DJ kid./\"

"I didn't know trolls could have DJ's." Joey tilted her head. "Guess our planets really are similar,"

"Are you two moirails? You seem to listen to Marvus a lot." Joey asked.

"/\What nno mme annd Mmarvus are nnot mmoirails. Zilvie is mmy mmoirails./\"

"So then- "

"Joey! You can't just ask that!" Xefros threw a hand over her mouth quickly."

"/\I donn't have the ennergy to fill my red quadrannt or anny of mmy quadrannts at the mmommennt./\"

"I don't believe you at all, if you didn't have the energy then why- "

"I'm so sorry about her! Joey, let's go get something to drink!" Isabel moved so that Xefros and Joey could scoot out of the booth. She laughed at how protective he was being because she swore he said something about how cerulean's get protective of the people in their quadrants. Maybe that was all trolls?

"/\For ann alienn you still have a lot to learnn./\" Chekrit was back looking at his husktop.

"Wait, you two know I'm- "

"It's p obvious yo ur skin ain't gray" Marvus added a honk, leaning back on the side of the booth he took over completely.

"/\You also have traffic connes onn your head. I donn't knnow how people took that seriously./\"

"Do you get out, even a little? That is not how you talk to people."

"/\. Seadweller's are seperated fromm the the land-dweller's. Annd there is nno way I would talk to annother violet blood. All they wannt to talk about is cullinng./\"

"Why are you seperated?"

"Cuz we all b seperated" Marvus answered.

"Then how do you visit each other?"

"/\That's... *commplicated.*/\"

"I still don't get it,"

"/\You donn't get a lot of thinngs./\" Chekrit looked like he was rolling his eyes.

"hey play nice"

"/\This is starting to feel like ann ashenn quadrannt./\"

"Mayb it is mayb not"

"/\Sommetimmes I hate how laid back you are./\" Chekrit lowered the husktop screen but didn't fully close it. "/\You both are pitifully innfuriatinng but I also like it. Are you suggetinng ann ashenn quadrant./\"

"A what?" Isabel looked between the two trolls curiously. "What is going on right now? Am I being courted by the two of you or- "

"/\Technnically yes. I tennd to like the innsufferable onnes./\"

"Insufferable?!"

"/\What's this. What's that. Pick up a book. Clearly you havenn't./\" Was Cehkrit smiling?

"I don't mind the hate flirting but those lil rusties might" Marvus just sat there watching them like it was a show, or was he waiting to jump in when it got too intense?

Understanding quadrants and the way of relationships on Alternia was hard. It was weird. Most of all, where the hell do pails come in with all of this?

"Hate flirting? This isn't- What?!" Her face went red and she hid it in her shirt collar.

"/\I cann sennd you a book about quadrannts if you're really that clueless./\" Cehkrit chuckled.

"It might go 2 jo"

"/\Eh I donn't thinnk I care right nnow. I figured I swore of quadrannts but I guess I was wronng./\"

"You're so unenthusiastic."

"/\Annd you read like ann openn book./\"

"hey hey no pailing on the table we eat here"

"Butt out Marvus!" / "/\Butt out Mmarvus./\"

"aight just trying to loosen tension" He couldn't hold in his laugh and there was a hint of a smile.

"/\I'll take it you donn't knnow auspustice./\"

"Wha- "

"/\The ashenn quadrannt inn which conntainns three people. Let's say you me and Mmarvus for exammple. Mmarvus mmakes sure we donn't actually cull each other, but sommetimmes cann joinn inn onn the hating./\"

"So basically just enemies to lovers with a polyamorous twist?"

"/\What to what with a what twist./\"

"I'm not going to explain it." Isabel chuckled awkwardly. "So basically we have hate sex and sometimes Marvus watches?"

"tf yo" Marvus rose a brow.

Clearly these two trolls wouldn't understand speech from Earth.

"Nevermind."

"/\So technnically we're datinng annd Mmarvus is like the wisdomm or advice personn./\"

"Oh, okay. That makes sense."

Joey and Xefros were sitting at the bar. The redblooded troll couldn't help but keep glancing over at the trio sitting by the stage. He was anxious. Wringing his hands together worriedly as he sipped on a water. Well, barely actually touched the water. Joey was waiting for him to say something first. Happily drinking her water. It tasted very fruity. Better than the tap water back home.

"I can't believe she didn't get culled."

"She is naturally charismatic," Joey giggled. "It make sense how she can make friends so quickly.

"I was getting the vibe that he wanted to form a quadrant with her."

"But didn't he say- "

"Sometimes trolls don't say what they mean."

"Which quadrant?"

"Auspustice."

"Doesn't that mean they hate each other?"

"No, well yes. It does. Like I said, all relationships are different. Our quadrant is not a one size fits all. X("

"So auspustice can be like polyamory?"

"What?"

"Dating multiple people."

"Maybe,"

[ionianwanderer]

Headcanon Questions

What are your muse’s most negative traits? how do these traits influence their lives?

I tend to see Yasuo as not only someone who struggles with addiction but also with a lot of bottled up anger that tends to explode if left unchecked. Unfortunately for him that goes hand in hand with his drinking. So we can pin him down as aggressive but not outwardly, to an extent, you know what I mean? This manifests in a way that when he’s having a hard time he’s just a bomb waiting to go off every single time. And while it can affect his relationships with people (trust me it does) he tends to explode more in a self destructive manner, like a punishment to himself. Granted, you see a friend/acquaintance of yours losing their damn mind and struggling so hard you wanna help out right? Yasuo is unfortunately the type that turns the anger he’s holding inward on the person trying to help. It branches from both ego and his stubbornness and a whole other cocktail of fucked mental health issues that he’s not ready to admit himself. Raising also his recklessness and placing it on the table. A man who has nothing left to give, after losing everything, tends to live a life so carelessly that he could give less of a shit what happens to him. It’s something that he clings to in the back of his mind and while he has waned away from it, a presence is still found in the way he picks up his current work of being either a bodyguard or an assassin or what have you. He takes risky jobs for whatever gold he could get just for a thrill but also the off chance it might be his last. :)

[ More below ]

Does your muse consider themselves a good person? why or why not?

At some point he must have. I would say now… it’s a little more gray for him. It isn’t like he doesn’t go out of his way to help others as best as he can. People were so kind to him when he was on the run, at least a majority of them, that he does his best to repay the favor-- indebted in his mind from the love of strangers in his homeland. But he can’t shake the amount of blood that stains the very core of his being, as much as he tries to come to terms with it. There’s just no way he could see himself as a fully ‘good’ person with that amount of carnage on his hands. Because in the end-- a good person would have just turned themselves in to face consequences in the name of honor, correct? But he stood by his own words, his own experience and he’d rather die than admit that his ego was the reason he had to run away from everything, and eventually, lose it all.

Has your muse ever been arrested? if so, what for?

Bar fights are this mans fucking kryptonite for real. He’s been thrown into jail for that the most because he’s certainly a type of way(™) about them considering a lot of his scars are from duking it out off his ass. He should’ve been arrested for other things but we won’t dwell on that.

Does your muse favor nonviolence? will they be violent if needed? do they revel in violence?

After having a loooong period in his life where he’d strike first ask and deal with the consequences later, he really only pulls out his sword if he really fucking needs to now. Part of him has become almost disgusted with it I think, but he does it because he has to-- like duty, a really fucked up duty tho. He already has a blood stained blade and no matter what he can do to cleanse it-- it will continue to be used to cull one way or another, you feel me? But like circling back to one of his negative traits being aggression, Yasuo can definitely fly into blind rage sometimes (once again manifestation of bottling that shit the fuck UP) and that kinda veers him into the direction of he’s doing this cause he can and has the ability to. I wouldn’t say he relishes in violence but there is a part of him that knows that violence is an easy way to end something and that he doesn’t have to worry about certain things if he just gets rid of them. 

Does your muse have any specific fears? is there a reason why they fear these things?

I love, love to talk about how he’s scared of spiders. It started off as a “funny haha” sort of headcanon back in 2014 but it ended up spilling a little bit into this full fledged thing. Ionia tends to have a lot of flora and fauna that HATE YOU for existing so I always thought he had to have had the worst type of experience when he was a kid. A more secluded Ionian village has no shortage of bugs from those he enjoyed catching (lightning bugs, dragonflies, butterflies) to those he’d rather avoid (spiders, centipedes, crickets/grasshoppers)-- so I like to think that part of his fear of spiders stems from 1) his mother being the one scared of them in the first place and Yasuo’s little baby brain being like “ohh… these are Bad And Scary” but also! 2) There was a moment as a child (6-7) where he was playing by this little stream behind their home, he’d done it a million times but this time he’d disturbed a burrowing spider that jumped out at him which made him bust his ass in the water. That, plus getting a bunch of scrapes and cuts from the rocks in the stream, did not help with that whole experience. From then on it's just been arachnophobia central with him. As a teenager he’d yell so hard for Yone to take spiders out of his room that he was borderline hysterical about it, fun times.

[notallwonder]

Alright. We are here. At the end(ish). CM 16x10 "Dead End".

Spoilers and whatever my addled brain wants to express under the cut. This may be a long one.

I don't know why this show makes me so happy despite its many deficiencies. tbh I think it's bc I am job hunting and this at least gives me a lil shot of dopamine or seratonin or whatever the fuck. Also Paget Brewster.

The things I want out of this season finale: Prentiss. I hope she gets to smile and smirk and not just be mad/sad/worried. I wanna see some good moments for Luke, though I'm less hopeful on that front. I want to see something good for Tara. What that could be...dunno. As for the rest - I don't think I even care that much? I suspect it will end in some sort of cliffhanger.

Okay, now that I have unwisely embarked on this journey in the wee hours of the night...

I wonder who will get to wear the Brown Jacket this episode?

oh boo the black & white flashbacks are still here...I hate that choice.

it's a pleasure to see Krystall again tho. I always liked her.

laying on the ol' "FBI behavioral analysis heroes stop real monsters" schtick real thick there guys. it's funny of me to get annoyed about this on this, the "FBI are real heroes" show. but I do.

good onya Dave, found the mood lighting. LOL at the oxygen meter. LMAO even MORE at Dave finding the wifi router.

it's still so stupid that Will is there lol

this is the first time I have truly hated Elias Voit. who would rather speak to Bailey when Emily Prentiss is right there on the phone? only a stupid little man apparently. although - Bailey would be way easier to manipulate so maybe not so stupid.

omg incredible forehead moment there. ma'am your eyebrows (what have i become)

love the implication that Dave just recites quotes to himself. kinda tracks

this situation with Bailey makes me go *grimace emoji*

has Bailey been a gold star lesbian this whole time?

t's so stupid that Will gets lines and Luke still gets shafted. I don't hate Will, but...really?

god now JJ says "wheels up"? sorry, hate it

WOW okay. So Gold Star is a secret program of some kind. And now we're talking "legal" and "extralegal" options with the AG. boy. whew. god why did I get attached to this fucking show.

though - AG slaying in that black suit/purple blouse situation.

"they would see through it, the BAU" - because the BAU are the good guys, not involved in (implied unethical?) secret shit? what the ever loving shit is this.

Adam Rodriguez just doing the most with his beautiful face and voice. thank you sir

bummer that I have to watch most of Joe Mantegna's acting from a weird vantage point and on a phone screen on a TV screen.

oh wait now we get a Badass Marine Rossi Montage

absolutely incredible, the bizarre combinations of ads I get when I watch this show. After Rossi's explosive moment, I just got served an ad about a disease that causes curvature of the erection due to scar tissue. what the fuck paramount plus

is it just me or did the audio get weird now that we're back in Emily's office

"politics" there that is again

Ghost of Krystall Past! Welcome to the shitshow! you look fabulous

"we were just getting started" I wish they did this echo thing with lines that actually were interesting

I do love Emily being constantly like "WHAT tHE Frickle FRACKLE" but I worry for her blood pressure. can she ride along. I want her in every scene, not just stuck at the BAU on Chicken Roaster time

Elias please tell your wife you want to wear the Moose dog collar and that's why you saved it. whoops missed opportunity babe

Emily. ma'am. you are beautiful, gorgeous, smokin'. etc.

what are you Bailey, a vampire

I mean...I am intrigued about what the fuck this is all about. they've got me on the hook. can they reel me in?

the implication here is that Voit has knowledge/dirt that they want kept secret. So he's a little bit in kind of a Snowden position?

OH SHIT BAILEY DEAD

WILL BEEN SHOT (saw that one coming, why else would he be there). dont worry he's fine guys. no stakes

YAS Tara. There's that steel. I missed that steel.

JJ and Sydney. Classic mom to mom interview, right?

LOL they're begging Sydney to help them find David Rossi, that annoying old dude that accosted her in the cereal aisle.

in my opinion this episode has a weird denouement energy. like...it didn't feel climactic even in the shootout scene. maybe on rewatch

it's really too bad that me and the CME showrunner(s) have such a disagreement on what parts of this show/world are worth expanding upon. the emotional beats/storyline with Elias and family are fine. They are kind of interesting even. More interesting to me than plenty of the 300 some previous unsubs. but...a simple 2 minutes scene of Emily Prentiss in her own home? I would dine on that for weeks, months, years. it's all about priorities. I get it. I've been thinking about that - about the fact that I have not been watching the same show they've been making. I mean...literally I have. But that's how art works in some sense. someone creates a thing, and I encounter that thing, engage with it. I bring whatever I bring to the encounter, and walk away having had an experience that the original creator *might* have intended in and might not, depending on how you define that. maybe we're ships passing in the night. i'm sure i'm not articulating this very well. it's almost 3 a.m. here.

good news for the Tyler dislikers out there

Rossi now that you're back at the BAU the first thing you better be doing is groveling at Emily Prentiss's feet and apologizing for your behavior sir.

oh, BIG HUG! *heart eyes*

oh my GOD I am just CACKLING WITH LAUGHTER. Emily Prentiss big embrace to Mr. JJ, Will Lamontagne Jr. INCREDIBLE. IN-CRED-IBLE!!!!!!! this kind of comedy is...I don't have words for it. it's like...a teeny tiny version of what I imagine that Supernatural Nov 5 Emotion was like. I witnessed but did not feel that feel. but this might be a related feel.

aw Bailey. you join the dead agents wall. aw Emily - big sigh. sweet sad face. couldn't love you more.

yesssss, I have collected yet another line spoken between JJ and Emily that is not case-related!! (I think I am up to 2? 3?). "your eulogy was beautiful". classic jemily right there!

Prentiss cogs still turning

LOL calling Bailey a "comrade-in-arms" sorry it's just funny that this is supposed to have real emotional weight. I get it that it has weight for the team; but the audience...we barely knew ye Doug Noodle.

not lost on me that we're winding down on the "couples" here. Pen & Luke; Will & JJ; Tara & Emily lol

JJ's line to Will "I have a confession to make...I liked it a lot better when I didn't have to see you in the line of fire." Wow, groundbreaking confession there. I mean...we already know this. Not only is that, like, a very normal sentiment regarding someone you love, but also remember Hit/Run? I do really enjoy JJ insulting her husband. "yeah, well next time don't get shot [idiot]" I like that as part of their dynamic. it feels authentic to JJ in some way. she does that sarcastic thing.

GOD I wanted SO HARD to see Voit's shoes, which I assume were government issued dirty orange Crocs

y'all, so help me, I liked this season. I like that it's given me more raw material to work with, I guess. I LOVE that it gave me silver fox Prentiss. The ham-handedness and bad writing and pacing issues and all of that are clear weaknesses that are also pretty clear carry overs from the original run. No shock or surprise there, and I am (too) forgiving, especially because they have genuinely tried to do something new-ish. Did they succeed? I mean. yeah. Did they succeed *well*? Not really.

As for the ending...they set themselves up for the new season, enough intrigue to get me to keep watching (I would have anyway because i somewhat embarrassingly have ONE priority). It feels like some secret spy shit, which I can only hope means *something* in terms of call backs to Emily's secret spy shit days (it won't since this isn't the Emily Prentiss show, which I will always be sad about).

I cannot bring myself to be mad about various choices like Garcia's characterization, the JJ and Emily situation such as it isn't, even Rebecca. I think the door is still open for Rebecca to be part of the story moving forward. The Garcia character assassination is...well it is jarring and still feels oddly simplistic to me, though I think they are aiming for complexity. I am still waiting on some real consequences / real accountability for her and I'm not sure I'll ever be satisfied in that arena. She admitted in the finale that she fell back into old patterns, and Luke joked that if people didn't do that they'd be out of a job, with the hilarious implication that PG's bad relationship habits are comparable to...serial killer shit. Adam Rodriguez stays giving a really enjoyable performance as a man who loves this woman honestly more than seems wise - he is getting his heart stepped on but won't abandon her. And I don't know that he's necessarily pining, so much as he is committed to being her friend despite her carelessness. I am mad that Luke didn't get much of anything of his own this season.

I hope the folks creating CME take some time to do a critical post-mortem. I hope they're not just patting themselves on the back. I generally appreciate what they're trying to do, but I want them to figure out how to do it better.

[house-of-mirrors]

18, 26, 28 👀

I'll be ambitious here and answer for everyone since you didn't specify hehe

18. a memory that still makes your OC angry?

Orsinio: Since he's gotten tenure at the university, whispers have died down, but he still knows how much people at Summerset resent him, and he doesn't forget what they said to him even if they're pretending to like him now. More than almost anything, he hates his competency being questioned because of disability and origin. If ur mean to him, prepare to get poisoned, have your scandals published in an exposé, or both

Lucretia: The murder of Orsinio's brother Horatio, whom she had unresolved feelings for. It was unfair and needless violence, she'll never quite be over it, and she's great at repressing feelings till they boil over. Orsinio was the one to do Nemesis, and she feels he deserved to because it was his brother, but sometimes she wishes she'd done it.

Samuel: In his days as a zee captain, anyone who insinuated he didn't actually care about his crew because he's aloof got promptly thrown into the water. Now anyone who hurts his loved ones becomes public enemy no. 1

Miles: Standing across from their father's desk while he told them that they would never amount to anything, which led to the decision to come to the Neath. The fact that no matter how hard they try, they still can't forget him or stop caring about his approval. This festering anger and loathing is what sent them on the path North

Skies Captain M.: uhhhhh whatever tf is going on at Brabazon

26. least favorite food and color?

Interesting! I never really thought too much about this, new OC lore being developed as we speak. Hmm (on a related note I would not survive the Neath because I hate mushrooms lol)

Orsinio: Color: the rotten orange of the Parabola sky. He really doesn't like being there, it holds mostly bad memories for him, and it's a pale imitation of what can never be returned to. Food: he doesn't like chocolate because I don't like chocolate.

Lucretia: Color: red, she's a doctor so sees lots of blood, the stains are impossible to get rid of, and it's a reminder of suffering and sickness. Also Nemesis related trauma. Food: She grew up with great food insecurity so tbh she'll eat anything. She doesn't strike me as a seafood person tho, so uh good luck being in the Neath

Samuel: Color: green and gold, haunted by the lure of the East. Food: hmm he's got the autism so there's probably lots, strikes me as the kind of guy to live off the same 8 things forever. He's a bartender, but I think for a specific example of something he doesn't like, it's fruity drinks. Fruit can be tasty but fruit flavoring... that is a minefield

Miles: Color: their family made its fortune in textiles, so everything was garish bright colors. Miles avoids that and tends to favor dark and neutral colors, earth tones. (Good thing a certain Professor uses that pallet) Food: They strike me as picky about vegetables. Autism also

Cap: Color: that horrible beige-grey-white that permeates the Blue Kingdom. Sapphir'd King can ssuck their ass. Food: you know what? congrats Cap, you're vegetarian now, they're not a meat person and completely lost their appetite for it with all the weird settlers in the Reach that eat people. No UP in this house! Not doing it!

28. is your OC a dog or cat person?

Orsinio: dogs

Lucretia: cats

Samuel: birds

Miles: crawlies (slugs, snakes, yeah)

Cap: inadvisably big dogs

[thesmithsbackyard]

hey all. anyone wanna know my top five favorite episodes per season?? too bad, here we go!!

First off: the season counts are weird. Season one either has 7 or 23 eps and season 11 either has 3 or the normal count and the episodes on the fanwiki have 22-23 per season and thus there’s 17 but other sites have the weird count and thus there's 19 and…we’re going by the fanwiki. SOOOO:

[the christmas eps, and ten other episodes that i have...painstakingly decided are top-tier, are not on this list. gotta give the rest of the show a chance]

Season 1: francine’s flashback finances with wolves a smith in the hand con heir not particularly desperate housewives

dear god already making HARD CUTS. oh these are not in order of preference by the way. my brain would Actually break actually

Season 2: the american dad after school special dungeons and wagons joint custody black mystery month when a stan loves a woman

Season 3: stanny slickers 2: the legend of ollie's gold spring breakup office spaceman widowmaker tearjerker

Season 4: 1600 candles the one who got away one little word jack's back choosy wives choose smith

WAAAAAAHHH THERES SOOO MANY GREAT ONES NOW I AADFHDFDSGDFG GDSGFDSHFS HFHHF GHGNDGMG

Season 5: great space roaster bully for steve man in the moonbounce moon over isla island in country…club

Season 6: 100 AD son of stan jenny fromdablock stanny boy and frantastic school lies

seasons 4-6 are PEAK to me i think. hardest eps to decide between. which is weird because i still love 99% of this show i swear

Season 7: hurricane! the unbrave one stanny tendergrass wheels and the legman and the case of grandpa's key the kidney stays in the picture

Season 8:

adventures in hayleysitting national treasure 4: baby franny, she's doing well: the hole story da flippity flop blood crieth unto heaven the full cognitive redaction of avery bullock by the coward stan smith

Season 9: steve and snot's test-tubular adventure poltergasm vison: impossible she swill survive news glance with genivieve vavance

Season 10: now and gwen the shrink a star is reborn manhattan murder mystery tour holy shit, jeff's back!

Season 11: standard deviation n.s.a.: no snoops allowed the devil wears a lapel pin the unincludeds mine struggle

Season 12: portrait of francine's genitals the witches of langley camp campawanda the long bomb the bitchin' race

Season 13: paranoid frandroid shell game death by dinner party one woman swole the legend of old ulysses

Season 14: rabbit ears the long march pride before the fall enter stanman downtown

uh oh. first season where personally, love one or two, the rest is 'eh.' still not awful or anything tho

Season 15: ghost dad 100 yrs a solid fool into the woods roger needs dick tapped out

Season 16: russian doll stan & francine and stan & francine & radika mused and abused henderson dancin' a-with my cell

Season 17: last but not least??? dressed down smooshed: a love story echoes hayley was a girl scout? gold top nuts

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh dear god lmao

there are eps that are my faves that didn't make the top five per season. especially between seasons 4-6. rabble rabble hubbub hubbub we're stopping now before i change my mind again

[missmitchieg]

I like Jade Waters and at least she's more interesting than Cat and it sucks we won't see her again since the actress has other projects and Messer says that everything gold star related is done. Watch them bring back Pete just for being Bailey's brother but not Jade tho

Oh, if they fucking bring back Pete just for being Doug's brother, I'm gonna be pissed. I liked Jade (Damian as well, to an extent, and I was sad when he gave the signal to shoot him) and I'm gonna miss her. Emily could've visited her in Prison and taken the poor girl under her wing. They had a whole Moment about "some man holding you down". Like, come on.

I feel like if Liana Liberato didn't have other commitments, I could've had more fun watching her bond with Emily than watching Tyler be an agent. At least this way, Greencia really can't happen ever again. I mean, not without giving Emily another migraine and probably Luke popping a blood vessel because "HIM? AGAIN?".

(I still kinda want Tyler to meet one of Garcia's exes so they can just get in a fist fight over a disparaging comment about her that fuels Tyler's be better thing. Don't care the context.)