#bc i thought it'd crash on me

[flowerakatsuka]

one of these days i need to sit down and write out the lore i've thought up for kuroba's youkai au bc i went a lil wild with it.

[geisttheawkwardnerd]

If I had a nickel for every time I thought a cartoony character was shorter than I was and then found out that they're actually 5' 3", I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

(this is about Dr. Neo Cortex and Pomni)

[the-summ0ning]

Obsessive/Possessive!Bestfriend!Vessel HC :(

content warnings: swearing, oblivious ves :/, aware reader, poor editing, rambling, two idiots in love

a/n: I personally have beef with this one bc my Tumblr kept crashing as I wrote this on multiple occasions through the week, and I got fed up oops (so sorry if this is a bit eh). Pt 2 perhaps when I'm less ready to throw my phone and laptop against a wall maybe a more NSFW edition?

Bsf Ves who thought it was normal to feel intense emotions towards you. He was always intense and profound about his feelings in general, so why would that exclude his best friend?

He was protective, but he was protective of all the people he cared about?!

So of course it was so normal for him to always walk you home after hanging out even if your place was a breezy block away. It was only a bonus to keep the hang out going for fifteen extra minutes with one of his, if not, his most favorite person!!!

Especially during cold nights, and you’d grab his hand intertwining your chilled fingers with his. Always telling him how he was so warm and inviting, leaning into his touch. That flush on his cheeks? Psh from the brisk weather, nothing else, why’d you ask?

Ignoring the annoying feeling of butterflies in his stomach whenever he was in your presence

and you ignored the fact you weren't down bad for him

he was the first person you showed your shopping hauls to.

His personal favorites were when you'd send pictures in the dressing rooms asking for his opinion. Not caring if there nearly 20 attachments to go through

he was simply no help, he was but a guy, and thought you looked good in everything hehe

close best friends just always were overly affectionate with one another, right?

Like cuddling casually, legs entwined, his rough fingertips slipping underneath your shirt tracing patterns on your tummy :( not bc he liked how soft your skin felt, but bc it calmed you and made you less restless

or or or when he'd be writing lyrics or gaming, he'd be sitting on the floor, and you on the couch running fingers through his hair. All solely to help him focus. You couldn't help how he'd stop what he was doing to crane his neck upwards to stare dreamily at you with a dopey smile

When you knew you'd be spending the night at his house, you'd lotion extra, and spritz a couple more pumps of fragrance on you and your things. Not bc you had hopes it'd linger on his sheets, and you wanted to get his on and off situationship you weren't fond of secretly to get the hint to buzz off finally BUT bc you just liked to smell nice and clean to rot in bed with Vessel

And he totally didn't use boys night as an excuse to stay up and occasionally glance at your location, while you went out with pals, awaiting your “just got home” text. Finally feeling tired enough coincidentally once he got the notification and kicking everyone out or going home to bed.

Or pushing past his social anxiety, to go out and make his rounds with IV or Sam to the pubs for a pint or to watch a match. He was /totally/ a big sports guy like his two friends so why wouldn’t he enjoy a loud rowdy overstimulating environment to watch a game?

He, in fact, did not care for sports like Ivy and Sam did and only knew enough to keep up with conversations.

And he definitely did not subject himself to these nights only bc he knew you liked to end nights at these specific pubs or occasionally came out to meet your mutual friends for drinks. And certainly not to see you in real time in your going out outfit, even though he looked at the picture you sent him before leaving your place frequently throughout the night

“Oh hey! I didn’t know you’d be here? Let me buy your next drink darling!”

You knew Vessel too well, knowing his disdain for these social settings. So every time you saw him at your favorite pub, you’d shoot him a look and he’d only sheepishly smile.

“The guys dragged me out of the house. So annoying.” He’d groan, and rub the back of his neck in annoyance

Yeah he was so normal about you.

Like a normal best friend would disregard every person you dated right? You only deserved the best and dating that person is settling in Vessel’s eyes?

Scowling immediately when he’d meet them, grilling the fuck out of your date. Watching how their hands lingered on you throughout the night, and how his chest tightened, knowing that should be him beside you, touching you like that

It wasn’t jealousy, never that. Just that protectiveness he felt for you—and all his friends ofc (can’t forget his other friends)

After a series of failed dates, tonight taking the cake, you showed up to Vessel’s house, disappointed needing the comfort of your best friend. You came right from the date to his place still in your pretty outfit you wore.

His chest tight and aching seeing how upset you were curled up on his couch, in his hoodie and sweats, blundering on everything you could have done wrong rather than accessing what your date did wrong

Seething about it actually, how could the person that brought him so much joy think they could have royally screwed things up?! He’s met a handful of the people you dated, they were all so wrong for you!

If they were wrong, who was right then?

That is when it smacked him in the face rather aggressively, feeling agitated hearing you ramble how you must have been unworthy and so broken for someone to love you. But he had loved you so effortlessly, it was one of the easiest feats he has done in his lifetime. Your imperfections and all were laid bare to him, and he still hadn’t recoiled because of it.

“But I love you.” It tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

A half hearted smile on your face, sniffling, wiping your stray tears with the floppy oversized sleeve of his hoodie. “You’re my best friend, Ves. It’s different.”

What he didn’t know was your miserable effort to date was to distract and repress what you knew was love that blurred that bordered more than platonic would be unreciprocated. Realizing months ago, it was always more, but rather staying friends, keeping it locked away, in fear he'd reject you. That most of the conversations on your dates involved stories with him, only tonight, realizing that was your flaw so blatantly.

He was the brightest star of your universe. An overbearing presence that made your dates uncomfortable, but you had considered him and you a package deal for anyone wanting to get to know you

And when you'd moan about your love life woes, it subtly included him as well.

“Would it be so horrible if I love you more than a best friend should?” It was a quiet confession that you thought you imagined if he wasn’t on the other side of the couch facing you. Leaving air caught in your throat, speechless. The air growing tense with the silence between you two

“It wouldn’t be horrible.” You finally willed the words out, but your nerves were clawing at you not at the realization that your feeling were reciprocated.

"So let me then." he willed, inching closer to you. "Let me show you how you deserved to be treated, and stop entertaining these lame fucks." His face now so close to yours, hand cupping your cheek

You searched his eyes for any chance he was messing with you. This had to be dream right?? The brush of his thumb on your cheekbone the only thing grounding you back to earth. Only nodding dazed at his words making him smile gently. "I need words, dove." his thumb trailed to your bottom lip, dragging it down a bit.

"That's all I wanted to hear for months." You admitted shyly.

That was all it took for his lips to be pressed against yours in a soft kiss, all the tension dissolving and encrypted into the gesture. The love, frustration, and yearning melding between your mouths, his hand wrapping in the hair at the nape of your neck to bring you impossibly closer.

"We were never meant to be just friends." He mumbles against your lips.

"Never." you agreed, crawling into his lap.

[oh-no-its-bird]

I know you already did a dungeon meshi x naruto au, but think with me

I was listening to the "I'll let the world burn for you" song and, while thinking on kakaobi, I realized that's SO farcille coded

So now I thought "crossover au where kakaobi is farcille", but idk who would be marcille bc, honestly, both would use dark magic to resurrect the other, mr. Hatake "Don't use rinne tensei even if it means not saving many lives" Kakashi and mr. Uchiha "I'll destroy this world and create a dream one to have my loved ones again" Obito

YOURE SO RIGHT WHAT THE FUCK

Mm,, alternate dungeon meshi AU with obkk my beloved,,

I think Marcille Kakashi fits best if we really wanna play off that "star student turned you're worst nightmare" angle, hes my favorite rising star prodigy who tried to run too far and too fast and crashed and burned for it

Also just Chimera Obito, cmon, come on. If nothing else, I am now committed to seeing Uchiha as chimeras, it's fun

Mad Mage Madara and ruler of the golden kingdom Izuna fits alarmingly well actually, both for the roles and like, narratively from multiple angles. Madara going mad bc of his brothers death, him turning Obito into a monster, his general monstrousness coming from a place of love. It works scarily well

Maybe Tobirama can take the role of that Yaad has, cursed to be immortal and lord of the golden country hidden within the dungeon in Izuna's absence. Madara visits him sometimes and insists it'll all be ok once Izuna is back as Tobirama calls him insane to his face

Anyways; back to the party.

So Marcille Kakashi and Falin Obito. Rin has to be on their team for obvious reasons, but I reeeeally wanna see Itachi, Shisui and Tenzo on it too bc I'm such a sucker for Team Ro.

Alternativley tho, if we make Kakashi an elf, what if we have Team Ro kind of take the place of the Canaries, and say Kakashi was once part of it but bc reasons eventually left and did his own thing? ANBU/ROOT -> Canaries pipeline or smthn idk

(I just want to see team ro somewhere around)

Anyways, Kakashi turning to black magic to save Obito, only inadvertedly managing to make him into a monster, both of them effectively dragging eachother down more and more and further and futher in their unwillingness to let eachother go.

I bet it'd do awful things to Kakashi's guilt complexe too, that'd be fun

Doing smthn fun, let Hashirama be a ghost wandering around trying to talk Madara down from his usual bullshit, but confined to the lower floors or else he risks losing himself. Now let him posess Tenzo bc they have similar magic and let it give him a cool plant magic power up, and also let this mean he can now move between floors as long as he stays inside of Tenzo. Maybe he can help guide them through the dungeon

Let Madara see Obito or Itachi for the first time and realize that his family somehow continued to exist outside of the dungeon walls, and let him feel smthn about it. Let him call him turning Obito into a chimera as something like love, something like welcoming him home, and let him try to offer Itachi something similar.

I have a couple other thoughts but Imma hit post on this bc its been sitting in my drafts for too long now, might come back to add more later but idk

[fourstarsoutofnine]

I'm so sorry if you've gotten too many Four requests already, but I SWEAR YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE I TRUST ENOUGH TO DO THIS 😭🥺

anyways! i have this scenario in mind: Four working on fixing/making a blade or he's relaxing and he's wearing a sleeveless shirt, so reader gets to see his arms and holy shit there's no way those arms weren't chiseled by the goddesses themselves so reader immediately gets a dumb dreamy smile with heart eyes and all. So while in their very clear admiration and fawning over Four (Four is the only one that hasn't noticed), when the smith approaches them they end up absent mindedly blurting out a very... not so subtle compliment of what they've been looking at on him for a while now. Feel free to decide what happens next.

whether Four and reader are already in a relationship is up to you but i think it'd be funnier if reader just has the biggest crush on him and he had NO idea gshdjshshdjsjdjsj

A/n:I genuinely think yall are mindreaders bc I’ve been wanting to write this too😭I’ve also been thinking about how he’d be literally so buff👁️👁️also thank you so much for entrusting me with this🫡four is one of my favorites and I always enjoy writing for him so don’t worry!

Forge

Four x reader

You don’t know how you ended up in this situation.

Actually, yes you do. You’re just a little foggy. I mean, how could you not be? Hot room, steam coming from the heated weapons dipped into the water….

Your boyfriend standing there working tirelessly, and doing so while looking effortlessly beautiful.

Let’s set the scene. You’re in the forge, in his Hyrule. He was beyond elated to be back in his own forge again. He figured he could finally make a weapon the champion couldn’t break, and it’s exactly what he was attempting to do now. You had a front row seat to the show, too. Blacksmithing always intrigued you, and even more so after you got with the smith himself, so you were more than excited to see him in action. You just didn’t account for how little you’d actually pay attention.

I mean, how could you? You sure tried, but your mind was so full yet so empty at the same time as you watched him work.

You didn’t understand how someone could look so perfect. All you knew was the strength that lay under his skin could only have been put there by the goddesses themselves. You were just delighted to have seen it in your lifetime.

Sweat beaded on his face, seeping into the headband he kept wrapped around him in hopes both hair and sweat wouldn’t fall into his eyes. He raised the mallet in the air and it came crashing down onto the hot metal in what would’ve been a loud bang, but you were too focused on the way he moved to care about it. Everything was muffled around you and it seemed you two could’ve been the only people in the world. Your heart pounded against your chest from either the heat of the fire or the man in front of you, you neither knew nor cared. He was like a song, you determined. The way the strength of his body was the perfect tune to the lyrics of his wonderful mind and soul would be one you could listen to over and over—and the tapestry of beautiful and poetic sentiments you thought of him was one woven so thick you’d be able to sleep under only it during the coldest of winters.

You’d been stuck in your own head about it for so long that you gained a lovesick smile. The thought of being held by him, kissed by him, or Hylia—even spoken to gave you that giddy feeling in your chest, like the butterflies swirling there wanted to fly out the moment you opened your mouth. He’d been watching you for some time, wondering when it was you’d notice he was looking at you. Finally his words broke through.

“Y/n..!” He laughed. “Hey, I’m talking to you..” he tilted his head to look at you with a quirked smile. “You alright..?”

“Huh?? Oh—yeah..” you sunk in on yourself at being caught daydreaming, face blooming a bright red with the blush extending into your ears and neck. “I’m fine…”

“What’s on your mind, dove? Huh?” He rested his cheek in his hand. “What brought out that smile you had earlier?”

Oh goddess, oh jeez— “uhm—uh—it’s-um—“ your words only became more jumbled as his smile got wider. His eyes filled with that same look yours had been only moments ago. He was just as in love. Your brain hit the panic button. You were no longer in control. “You. Your arms. You’re hot.”

His eyes widened and he leaned back in a loud laugh. Your cheeks puffed up and you looked down, embarrassed. When his laughter died down a bit, he walked over to you. “Oh, goodness, I love you.” He stood on his tiptoes and caught you up in a kiss. You melted against him and wrapped your arms around him, kissing back. His snaked around your waist and held you firmly there. When you pulled away he got a mischievous grin. “So my arms, huh?~”

“Oh shut up!” You shoved him away, covering your face. He just kept laughing. It’d be all too fun to tease you in the future, and you knew exactly what you were in for…

You didn’t exactly mind.

[achillean-knight]

Thought it'd be fun to kinda repost the original sorta mini-comic that launched my FNAF Mask Bot AU :D your honour, does this count as a belated FNAF anniversary thing lol

I figured I'd share them because admittedly, these were laying in my wips folder collecting dust. I need the storage space on me laptop, y'know :'D

I also wanted to take this chance to make a Masterlist of my Mask Bot AU's posts, to keep up to date with the story for myself incase I want to revisit it and actually finished the story bc I DO, I'm just not motivated rn 😭

MASK BOT AU - MASTERLIST

Story related posts in Chronological Order :>

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/738841793691533312/summer-of-87?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/737765171475398656?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/738460951928520704/said-i-wanted-to-do-this-sooooo?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/738585518805270528/desperately-need-michael-angst-pretty?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/743066171261239296?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/738999175133413376/ill-protect-them-ill-keep-them-with-me-its?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/741099221494677504?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/737466599824556032/part-2?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/737677329894162432/can-you-please-please-please-continue-your-bonnie?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/737919190069100544/part-1-part-2-here-you-go-the-final-part-this?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/739828472350949376/im-sorry-this-took-me-longer-than-anticipated?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/738760289983610880/safe-haven?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/738485575236124672?source=share

Bunch of extra lore scattered in posts

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/740743021601095680/horror-blood-warning-these-were-initially?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/741482538087907328/oh-yeah-i-gave-up-on-this-but-i-wanna-post-it?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/743268044516786176/sorry-the-brainrot-is-severe-for-rn-lmao-i-have?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/745887772682911744/good-lord-i-finally-finished-this-not-happy-with?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/745979873317863424/wr0wn?source=share

Random doodles and art of the AU :>

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/758333678614183936/your-puppet-gives-me-life?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/741835136588546048/before-i-crash-for-the-evening-have-these?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/745876636423110656?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/741820428447809536/oh-yeah-have-this-small-little-random-ass-doodle?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/741191656259338240/wooo-rough-henry-design-lmao-bonus-mini-comic?source=share

Character Designs

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/737389538368012288/just-for-the-fun-of-it-playing-around-with-a-brush?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/737396273936793600/you-know-what-woe-post-scooped-michael-be-upon?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/737930424197824512/guess-whos-in-a-drawing-mood-again-anyways-i?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/737559186927419392/uhhhh-well-after-the-small-comic-i-did-i-was?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/738187073870348288/as-stated-cant-draw-kids-lmfao-but-i?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/742731278199177216/wooooo-finished-a-proper-ref-cant-be-bothered?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/738293268410974208/while-my-tumblrs-still-working-on-my-laptop-it?source=share

OH and shout out to this doodle I just uncovered

https://www.tumblr.com/achillean-knight/737762958423326721/i-have-an-idea-for-my-au-i-guess-the-same-au?source=share

Once I also find the lore ask post, I'll add it here!

[unauthorized-author]

i think it'd be really cool if the Erins pulled a bristlefrost on moonpaw HEAR ME OUT okay so this is going to go along with the "ginger tabby is moonpaw's dead sibling" theory even if i don't 100% subscribe to it. BUT stay w/ me here the moonpool is threatened by twolegs, right? so, what if to save the moonpool, Moonpaw throws herself into the pool, which separates her from her sibling. her sibling is able to swim to the surface, but moonpaw drowns, thus taking her to StarClan it's already been shown StarClan can interact w/ the living world, like striking lighting and killing Mudclaw with a fucking tree, so what if Moonpaw goes to residents of StarClan, and convinces them to strike a tree into falling and blocking the twolegs path/crushing their equipment, thus saving the moonpool and her sibling meanwhile, is telling cats about this absurd plan and telling them to get the hell out of the way just in case it works. nobody wants to listen to them at first bc yk this tabby just appeared out of nowhere, but then Bay and Thift (sob) step forward like "Alderheart thought Thrift/I was pregnant with two, but she/I only gave birth to one." "yes mother and father it is i. your now dead daughter ate me in the womb" - something the Erins would do (see DOTC shenanigans) and they believe her because yeah, the Erins would do that. cats move out of the way, and BAM, the tree comes crashing down, saving the moonpool. maybe a leaf floats into the moonpool and the ginger sibling can see Moonpaw in the reflection, along with other ranks of StarClan, looking satisfied or something (this could possibly happen in the last book of changing skies)

since the ginger sibling was never really born, to celebrate, Bay and Thrift give them a warrior name. someone already had a kit named Sun- but we already have three -whisker names in ThunderClan throw a sun in there. "How do you like the name Sun?" "hell yeah" and Squilf gives them a warrior name because they've proven that they have what it takes or something. "From this day forward, you will be known as..." Name ideas: Sunsong - For being happy or something idk Suncloud - For rising through the clouds (coming back from the dead) like the sun Sunsky - Changing Skies? Hello?? The moon has sunk and in her place, the sun rose?? THE SKY LITERALLY CHANGING Sunwish - Tbh we just haven't really used this suffix a lot Sunflight - I just think it sounds neat... And they decide to give Moonpaw her warrior name too bc ofc she's worked hard throughout her apprenticeship and it all climatized in death + Bay and Thrift as loving doting parents get sad that the daughter they raised died Moonpeak - For PEAKING Moonstep - For walking among StarClan ig Moonshine - You're probably as tired as this suffix as I am, but maybe it's to always shine (like the moon) and guide the way Moonpuddle - A smaller version of the Moonpool. Kinda fucked though since she drowned Moonheart - The Erins LOVE the -heart suffix they'll find a way to shove it somewhere and obviously when i say "pull a bristlefrost" i don't mean to erase her as we know it, but yk, kill her. and her sibling comes back to life if we go along w/ this theory? a switcharoo?

OH, and I can't believe I nearly forgot, but the ginger tabby has kits and names the all-black kit after their sister because the Erins love their legacy names lately

[lily-alphonse]

Alex/Shane rarepair sporty boys bromance🙏

OH IVE GOTTA MAKE THIS ONE ANGSTY. Implied past child abuse as well. If it was to become a full fic it would have a happy ending though.

I like that they are on opposite ends of fulfilling their dreams. Shane is kind of the ghost of Alex's future ain't he?

Oooo wait okay lets take the headcanon from the SamAlex fic and have Alex returning from college after being forced to drop out due to poor grades.

Alex has been away for two years, becoming an entirely different person. He was a star athlete with a hot (albeit on and off again) boyfriend. He felt more like himself than ever before... and then it all came crashing down.

When he comes back to town, its like stepping into old shoes that don't fit anymore. He doesn't feel safe to be himself and shuts down. He puts on an act of the person he used to be. Cocky. Macho. He pretends nothing affects him and he has it all figured out.

Shane looks even rougher than when he last saw him. Worse than reminding him of where his future might be headed, he reminds him of his dad. Drinking all the time. So angry. Who would put him in charge of a kid? He's kind of worried for Jas. He’s glad she has Marnie at least. Marnie’s always been nice.

It’s night. Shane is leaving the saloon, Alex is outside sitting with Dusty. He watches Shane with contempt in his eyes, and Shane won’t stand for it anymore. He feels him watching, spins around and snaps at him.

“You got a fucking problem or something?”

Alex stands up slowly, a silent reminder of the pure mass Shane is up against. Maybe a fight could be good for him. Let off some steam. But he gives Shane a chance to back down.

“Walk away, Shane.”

He, unsurprisingly, does the opposite. He comes closer. “No. I haven’t done anything to you, so what's your fucking issue?"

The alcohol on his breath causes a long-buried fear to spike in Alex and it has him clenching his fists at his sides. He wills himself not to tremble. Not now. Not now. He feels cornered, readying to swing at him when Shane's next words catch him off guard.

"Why are you here, Alex?" Shane sounds older. More tired. His bleary eyes don't miss the look in Alex's. There's something he recognizes there.

But now Alex is terrified for a different reason. He's so tired of keeping this wall up that he's actually tempted to be honest with him. His defenses are crumbling around him as part of him thinks that Shane would understand better than anyone...

His mind balks at the thought, since that would mean they were in any way similar. So he turns it around on him, throwing a mirror up between them as his last defense.

“What are YOU doing here Shane? What happened to you, you’re a fucking mess.”

Shane rolls his eyes, waving him off as he backs away again. “Yeah, yeah, piss on the town drunk. It’s all been said and done, asshole.”

“No,” Alex says firmly, following him, corralling him back against Dusty's fence, “you started this.” He won't let him back out of this now. For some reason he can't let this conversation die. It's real and it's painful and he craves it.

Shane folds his arms and scoffs. “Technically you started it by glaring at me all the time.”

Alex grinds his teeth. "It'll get even worse for you if you even think about harming Jas."

Shane's eyes widen with fire, arms slowly moving to his sides again. "What the fuck did you just say?"

Alex steps closer, looking down on Shane now. "You heard me."

"I would NEVER hurt her you fucking--"

Shane moves to push him but Alex pushes him back harder, but the show of protectiveness for Jas seems to flip a switch in him because he doesn't want to hurt Shane.

He kisses him.

Eeeehehehe I hope this one gets enough reblogs to be included in the poll bc it'd be interesting

Send me any Stardew Valley rarepair and I will tell you how I would make them work! (Even non-marriage npcs) If youre lucky you may get a mini fic out of it. Check the list below to see if Ive already answered yours

Rarepair Masterlist

[spiderpussinc]

You know your post about divorced Peter got me thinking. A lot. Then I realized that I, in fact, never thought about this much because from the beginning I just stay in my lane rather than judging people for divorcing Peter again. I think I am really too old to care that much about what people write especially if it end up limiting other out of moral obligation.

Basically it's dumb and you're right

Ur the most normal for this. Its incredibly fucking silly discourse to me bc Peter Parker *has* been divorced for pretty much two decades now. (Not even just divorced - the marriage was ERASED out of canon. they are just ex bf/gf.) MJ has her own share of past and present different partners! There are multiple universes where she is either *canonically* a lesbian, or implied to be coming to terms with it. Peter had countless girlfriends/hookups in the meantime! I think what gets me the most is how confidently wrong a lot of these assumptions are; I keep seeing this weird "one-and-only, first and last, soulmates.." thing applied to Peter and MJ and its like...

1. Peter dated multiple people before her AND after her; Gwen wasn't the first either, but for a long time, Gwen *WAS* the biggest regret of his life and they were meant to get married. Gwen was the one based on stan lee's wife, the closest thing to a planned soulmate; and she dies bc it's not meant to be. Not ever. There is no predetermined true spider-man love interest, you're just talking about some of the adaptations you've seen. This is one of the most debated superhero writing convos of all time LOL even Marvel editorial internally disagrees on this - everyone has their favorite. That's the point!

2. Divorce is based and awesome and maybe I'm just getting old but when a marriage doesn't work **having a child** certainly isn't the thing that's going to save it. I know how that one goes! Be prepared to crash even harder once the baby glow passes and the complex shit kicks right back in! To be honest it'd be even more realistic if it crashed again post-mayday, or if MJ divorced him bc she was already pregnant and wanted to do something better with her life instead of playing second fiddle to spider-man forever or being in peril to motivate his character arc.

But the thing that does annoy me is how entitled some ppl have become. Siding with actual homophobic redditors and posting up under gay fanart with the most annoying 'umm. hes married? the sanctity of marriage???' comments. who fuckin care. It's comics. It's all fanfic. Even the published stuff. Stream:

[streamdotpng]

Omygod it's the stalker Enid animatic I promised except it's not really animatic and lowkey became a slide show near the end

Still a wip but I wanted to showcase the ones I digitalized but I could only give one vid so you're stuck with the whole thing

Anyways, there was supposed to be an intro before this where it showcases Enid's photo room so it isn't so abrupt but everything was crashing so I had to cut it

Is Enid hallucinating 🤔? Or is there a reason she got blood on her claws... Who really knows at this point. She's just pushed alot mentally bc of the family weekend and with Wednesday just brushing her off in the birthday-

Ouch.

Anyways, during the first chorus of "do you want to hurt me, are you gonna hurt me" is showing that part of the show where people theorized that Enid was used as an escape plan And thus manipulated by Wednesday. Since Enid was hurt by this, I thought it'd be a good part to show

Continuing, "please don't desert me" is a callback to stalker Enid in my other post wondering why tf Tyler is needed and her self worth gets questioned in the process

2nd part of "do you want to hurt me" where Wednesday uses the snood as an extra lock. I can see it can come off as Wednesday not caring for the gift like the bday to Enid

Obviously, she gets upset and add in how she seems more focused on Tyler, she grows more upset

Anyways I think those are my current notes rn! Thanks for watching, sorry if it's disappointing :')

[bubble-popping]

day 48! I was reminded of an au i started writing a while ago thanks to this post by @misty-doodles it's not quite what they described, but i ended up changing the whole trajectory of how the au goes bc of it

Punz glanced around the heavily wooded area, oak trees surrounding them on all sides and blocking out most of the sunlight. A good hiding place for the kind of prey he was tracking. At this time of day, the forest should be alive with the sounds of creatures in the undergrowth and birds in their nests. That wasn't the case. His prey knew he was close. A chance glance down made them pause. They crouched, plucking a white tuft of fur from the ground. Bringing it under his nose, he smelled, and grinned. Roses and carrot stems. His prey was close.

Punz let it fall back down and stood. He pursed his lips and exhaled, letting out a soft, low whistle. Bright blue eyes darted left and right as they walked. The forest went silent. Any noise there had been wisely moved out of the way.

It was a tune Boss had taught them on their first hunt, an unforgettable experience. His first kill. The awakening of their predator instincts; still sharp as ever, nearly a decade later.

A yelp echoed through the woods, reaching their tall perked ears. Their grin turned sadistic and they bolted.

Passing trees, trampling bushes, pushing branches until finally, finally.

His prey hung from one such branch by his rabbit foot. Small grunts of effort left his lips in his fruitless attempts to reach the rope suspending him. Completely helpless, no where to run and no one to help.

The feeling was euphoria. Adrenaline in his veins and endorphins in his brain. Instincts satisfied.

"I gotta hand it to ya," he started, alerting the rabbit hybrid. He struggled harder, fingers desperately straining against his own weight. "Been a while since I had to use methods like this."

His prey glanced up (or down?) to send him a furious glare--presumably anyway, since his prey wore a mask depicting a simple smile. "Fuck off! Leave me alone!"

"'fraid that's not how this works. See, right about now, all the blood is rushing to your head," Punz mused, taking his sweet time in closing the distance. "You're getting dizzy. Slow. Weak. You don't call the shots here."

"What's your problem!? Why are you doing this?!"

Punz stopped an arm's length away, hands in his pockets and a smirk on his lips. "Nothing personal. You've got a bounty on your head and I'm a bounty hunter. That's all." They shrugged.

That seemed to only make his prey angrier. He lashed out, swinging forward with claws bared. They caught him by the wrists, wrapping a thick rope around one before pulling it behind him and yanking the other back as well. The rabbit hybrid struggled against it, but, just like Punz said, he was too weak to get free.

Once that knot was secured, they walked to cut the one holding him up. He let him crash to the ground without warning, eliciting another surprised cry.

And yet, lightheaded and lethargic as he was, his prey managed to get on his feet and start to run. Punz was already impressed by how hard he was to catch in the first place, but to get up and move after that? Icing on the cake.

They stomped on the rope still tied around his ankle. When he reached the limit of the length, all that awaited him was another fall flat on his face.

Punz really wasn't usually this cruel. However, this was one of the toughest jobs he'd been given in a long time. Weeks of tracking, hunting, and his Boss on his ass the entire time made him want to savor every second of this victory.

The most elusive prey. Dozens of other hunters tried and gave up. Nothing was sweeter than succeeding where so many others failed.

They clicked their tongue, mockingly disapproving. He picked up the line of rope and began to tug, punctuating every other syllable when he spoke, "Don't tell me you thought it'd be that easy?" The rabbit hybrid grunted with each drag, visible marks left in the dirt in his wake.

Once he was back, he spoke between heavy breaths, muffled by the mask, "Fuck off... Let... me go..."

"Hmm, let me think about it..." Punz turned to face away from their prey only to step over and plop down on his spine. "No." He wrapped the rope around the long rabbit legs, leaving absolutely no room to even budge, and pulled it tighter to tie it off.

"That fucking hurts!!" He wheezed, squirming uselessly beneath them. "I can't feel my feet!"

"Well, then ya definitely can't run away."

Punz finally got up and flipped his prey onto his back with his foot. He eased down into a squat and reached for the mask. His prey instantly caught on, thrashing around and stretching his neck to avoid the hand, but it was no use. They yanked it off none-too-kindly and merely stared; just content to observe flushed, freckled cheeks and dirty blond bangs stuck to sweaty skin. "It's Dream, right?"

Dream didn't respond, too busy directing all his hatred into his stare. That was all the confirmation they needed.

"Tell me, Dream. What's it like to lose?"

"Fuck. You." And he spat, projecting saliva directly onto Punz's cheek.

He wiped it off with a flick, glancing to the bit of wetness on his thumb. "Yeah, that's about what I thought."

Then, they grabbed Dream by the waist and lifted him up, hoisting him onto their shoulder. He was heavier than he looked, and very wriggly. He'd run out of steam eventually.

"Where are you taking me?" Dream hissed.

"You'll find out soon enough."

[knickynoo]

heyyyy so. i love your blog. and i was wondering, what you think about the headcanon that marty could be diabetic? with what little evidence we have in the movies? ( for example, him turning away peanut brittle which is ALL SUGAR, always drinking sugar free pepsi, asking for something without sugar in 55 at the diner, shoving food in his mouth after the phone call with doc in the morning before he goes to the twin pines lot, etc) i have a headcanon that doc keeps a stash of candy or snacks for marty if his blood sugar crashes or goes low. ( and i know the sleepiness and implied laziness of marty was probably due to mjf being sleep deprived but i read that thats a side effect of low blood sugar?? ) and not to mention the layers he always wears, probably bc hes cold ??? idk , ive had that hc for a while and i just wanted to know your opinions and thoughts on it ??

Ahhh, the return of one of my favorite fringe BTTF headcanons. I saw this ask initially when it popped into my inbox a handful of days ago, but I wanted to have the time to sit and answer it in depth because it really is such an intriguing headcanon. I've only ever encountered it two or so times in the fandom (and one of those times was another ask I'd gotten last year), and I do enjoy exploring the less talked about theories.

I will put this under a read more, on account of I have lots of thoughts, as well as personal experience that allows me some particular insight into how this headcanon might play out for Marty. I'm not diabetic, but I do have a condition that causes a variety of fun issues, one being hypoglycemia. Basically, I have frequent episodes of low blood sugar and need to monitor my glucose level and keep it up by eating often. That being said! Some thoughts on the "Marty is diabetic" headcanon.

• My very first thought is: this kid better be prepared and have lots of supplies stuffed into the pockets of his many clothing layers because otherwise, he's in trouble. Honestly, this is the biggest barrier for me in terms of the headcanon. Marty is on a non-stop, adrenaline fueled ride for most of the trilogy. Between the constant running and chaos and sneaking around and life and death situations, he'd need to find the time during his day for finger pricks to check his blood sugar levels, staying on top of eating regularly, and injecting insulin. That means carrying a glucometer, a lancing device, lancets, alcohol wipes, test strips, syringes, and vials of insulin. He'd likely carry a bag or something that has all this in it.

• BUT! If he left his house that evening and ventured to the mall without any supplies (thinking it'd be a quick outing), one of his first priorities upon becoming stuck in 1955 would be acquiring whatever he needed. His first opportunity for that would be once he arrives at Doc's house and convinces him he's a time traveler. After getting Doc to believe him, Marty would have to be all, "Oh, and, uh, Doc? I really hope you have some medical doctor friends or something because we need to get our hands on some supplies. Like, now."

Then, on top of all the shock that came with being hurtled through time, Marty would have the additional challenge of adjusting to 1950s era diabetes management. No at home glucometer (those weren't available until 1981), and the syringes were large and made of metal. It'd be difficult, but not impossible, for Marty to manage the disease during his travels.

• For the purposes of this hc, let's assume he somehow brought along all his supplies stuffed into secret pockets in his puffy vest. Or, perhaps he uses a portable insulin pump, which became more widely available in the 1980s. It'd look something like this.

The end of the tube would have a needle that'd be inserted under the skin on his lower abdomen, and he'd be able to dose insulin that way. The device would have to be clipped to his pants somewhere. Not sure if Twin Pines McFlys would be able to access this new (and probably super expensive) device for their son. Maybe Doc makes one for him! I could totally see him doing that.

• Anyway, in terms of Marty turning down the peanut brittle, drinking sugar free Pepsi, and asking for something without sugar, it might or might not have anything to do with diabetes in this headcanon scenario. Contrary to what many think, diabetics (type 1 at least, which is what Marty would likely have) don't need to avoid sugar. They need to be mindful of sugar just as any other person should, but they generally don't have dietary restrictions. Sugar would for sure impact his glucose levels, and he'd have to be mindful of that, but as long as he balanced it with the appropriate amount of insulin, he'd be good to go.

It could be that Marty just wants to avoid having to account for extra insulin and avoid a potential spike, so he turns down some sugary foods every so often. Diabetics have to keep careful track of how many carbs they consume, as that determines how much insulin to inject, so if Marty already took his dose for dinner, for example, it'd make sense he'd say no to the peanut brittle even if he wanted it. Otherwise, he'd have to do another injection to cover the carbs from it, and who has the time for that when you're busy sulking over the wrecked car??

• Something Marty would really need to be careful about during all his adventures is making sure his blood sugar doesn't dip too low. High blood sugar isn't good, but low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) is actually more dangerous and considered an immediate emergency. Your blood sugar can be high and rise a good deal before you start to get negative health effects, but once your blood sugar dips below 70 mg/dL, you need to treat it right away. He'd need to be eating regularly, making sure his insulin is matching the amount he's eating, and ALSO factor in that physical activity makes blood sugar levels drop. And all that running he does? Yeah, he's gonna need snacks on hand.

You mentioned sleepiness being a symptom of low blood sugar, and you're right. But if Marty is at that point, it'd likely mean he'd be having a serious hypoglycemic episode. A "normal" blood sugar range is about 80-120, though meals will bring it higher for a bit before you level back out. Once you get below 70, your brain is literally being starved of glucose, which it needs to function. Very quickly, you get hit with a lot of symptoms. Blurry vision, trouble concentrating and speaking, tremors, profuse sweating, tiredness, rapid heart rate and breathing to name a few.

If you manage to catch it soon enough, you can treat the low on your own—by eating or drinking something high carb or taking some glucose tablets—but it's also very difficult to get a meal or some snacks when you're shaking like a leaf and can't even think straight. My blood sugar dipped to 49 the other week, and I went from feeling a little off to experiencing all those symptoms in a matter of a minute or two. For Marty to reach that level in the midst of trying to repair timelines would be difficult, to say the least. An untreated low will lead to unconsciousness, seizures, and even death.

Of course, if Marty is prepared, he'd know to snack during the day to keep himself stable. And I do imagine that '85 Doc's garage is stocked with snacks good for bringing up blood sugar (especially juice, which is one of the BEST ways to bring blood sugar up quickly. My fridge is filled with it.)

• I'm a little concerned about how Marty would fare in Part III, but I assume he'd be well prepared at that point. Let's assume that when Doc came to pick Marty up at the end of Part I, he already had a supply kit ready in the car (Doc absolutely would have a kit for "just in case" that he kept in his garage and brought along if they were going somewhere, and I think he'd have the foresight to bring it to the future). Marty could then have it still for his stay in 1955 while he and Doc prepared the DeLorean for the Old West, and he'd be able to have it for his time spent there in Part III. Very large kit, okay? Doc is super prepared. Although, now that I'm thinking about it, a kit like that would probably still be in the car when Doc gets zapped to the Old West, so....not sure about this one, friends. Let's hope Marty has some stuff in his pockets and that '55 Doc can then help him out in gathering more things together for his trek to 1885.

Well. I'd say I've gone on long enough. In conclusion: Diabetic Marty is a fascinating concept and, while it'd be difficult for him, he could conceivably manage it all during the trilogy if he's careful and has Doc looking out for him as well. There are lots of "missing scenes" and things we don't see in the movies, so Marty could be using that downtime for testing and injecting and guzzling down juice.

Thanks for the ask! This was a fun one.

[erazonpo3]

I'm a little late to the #webcomicday party but I still thought it'd be fun to break down my process a little bit using the latest Way Out chapter as an example!

So I have a rough outline for the whole comic but I don't go into too much detail planning each story arc until I'm about to get stuck into it. The rough outline is for jotting down ideas as they come along, acting as a skeleton for what will eventually happen, while the more detailed arc outlines are for plotting and pacing the story beats.

Planning each chapter out like this means that each one feels like its own mini-story, and more importantly, stays on track and achieves something to further the story or character progression. You'll notice that the chapter notes are still pretty barebones, which leaves me room to fine tune the smaller beats within the script.

Then, it's scripting time! I'll only have a script for the chapter I'm working on and a script for the next chapter, so as I'm currently working on Chapter 66 I have a script for chapter 66 & 67 but not 68. This is ideal for me in keeping the story flexible, allowing me to take a chapter in a bit of a different direction without feeling tied to a whole arc's worth of scripts that I'll need to rework otherwise.

Around 20 panels is the sweet spot for a chapter of Way Out; there are some with fewer and some with more, but shooting for that number makes me think about whether a scene ought to be extended or cut down in order to meet that goal. If I only plan out 18 panels then I can probably squeeze something extra in, while if I plan out 23 panels, I have a look and see if there isn't anything that can't be condensed.

The scripts themselves are pretty sparse, mostly just dialogue with basic action notes that I highlight as I finish. I'm usually pretty good with visualising things in my mind so the notes are more of a reminder to self about angles & expressions more than anything- if this were a collaborative project I'd probably put more effort into making it descriptive, but it's not.

I've never been one for thumbnailing, which is bad comic practice, I know. But once I have my script I just want to get stuck straight into drawing and don't like slowing down to jot down what is already pretty vivid in my head when I can just. draw the thing.

(a large part of why I started my first webcomic in the vertical format is because you don't need to consider variety in panelling and page flow, which is something thumbnails are very important for).

And so the sketching begins! My sketches are rarely pretty with little focus on anatomy and shape and more focus on blocking and size. I use Procreate to draw the panels and its resizing tool has a tendency to obliterate the quality, which I can sharpen in small amounts but it saves a lot of pain if I plan it all out in the ugly stage.

In some ways I often prefer the sketches to the clean lineart, but that's mostly the stylistic scratchy-ness of it that I have to do away with in favour of clean lines. I'm not always super proud of the art in the end but not every panel needs to be a masterpiece and it's all practice. I think a quantity over quality approach is kind of necessary if you want to make a comic and not lose your mind.

I sharpen up and clean any spots up as I go, but once they're all done I glue all the panels together on my desktop so that I can adjust the spacing between them, then I cut them back up again into smaller slices for posting! And that's the whole chapter process!

I also have a quick (and by quick I mean 4 minute) rough timelapse of chapter 65's coloured panel I can post, if anyone would be interested in seeing that, but it'll probably need to be its own post bc it'll crash this one.

[hopefull-mindset]

Hi I'm the anon who sent the "rambling" ask about Nagito from like 2 weeks ago. I forgot to check for a response lol.

I wanted to elaborate on what I said about Nagito's backstory bc it was vague and I have Thoughts.

I actually don't think his casual attitude towards his past makes it harder to take seriously (if anything I think that adds to the tragedy of it). I was mostly just referring to the specific things that happen. One of my gripes about DR is that I feel like some characters have unnecessarily dark/tragic backstorys. Either bc I feel like they don't really need a dark past at all (eg Akane), or it's excessive to the point of being ridiculous.

I know Nagito's backstory is supposed to unbelievable to show how extreme his luck is, and that DR as a whole isn't exactly grounded in reality, but I feel like it would hit harder if it was just a little more believable.

Like, maybe his parents die in a car crash instead of a plane crash (or just make it a normal plane crash without the convoluted "the plane gets hijacked but then the hijackers get hit by a meteor but that also kills his parents"). The cancer is fine, but the dementia is overkill. Then there's the kidnapping thing which like. I find it hard to believe that the killer would just let him go after not getting what they wanted. It'd make more sense for him to have escaped on his own. Or we could just get rid of that entirely. If you want to drive home the fact that he has no family, just have him end up in some shitty orphanage or something.

Which brings me to my next point. It's implied that Nagito just lived alone after his parents died. But I find it hard to believe that an elementary school-aged kid could live by himself and have full control over his own finances. It'd make more sense if he ended up in some kind of foster care (or maybe just on the streets). I also think him being an orphan who doesn't get adopted/gets bounced around between foster homes would be fitting with his perceived worthlessness and desire to be loved, perhaps even more so than him being totally isolated.

Ok I think I covered everything (as far as canon events go at least). Sorry this turned into an essay lol.

Oh hello anon! Thank you for clarifying, I was a little perplexed as to how I should’ve responded to your ask. I don’t have much to really say about the events themselves, but I’ll try to add my two cents.

I do agree that it makes it sadder how casual he talks about it, I think I was more talking in behalf of the people that didn’t rethink his words when he claimed he was lying because of how unserious it felt with the music playing behind it. It’s so normal for him to experience these things that his layer back attitude is very unnerving for the normal person, which is utterly tragic.

I do see what you mean about not need every character to have some tragic messed up backstory, especially when it has no actual impact in the story itself. It’s good to expand a character through side content, but it gets too much. I think it works in favor for the sdr2 cast considering it shows that all of them have the potential to turn to despair due to their past experiences, and how Hope’s Peak doesn’t actually care for the students themselves and their own feelings towards their talents, but canon kicks itself in the crotch by never expanding more with these backstories in the actual storyline and how dr3 was handled ughh.

When it come to Komaeda’s backstory however, I do think it works for him when it comes to the absurdist writing because his entire existence is drenched in the absurdism danganronpa is known for. It would probably hit harder if Komaeda was more realistic and I understand that, but ultimately that’s not what Komaeda is. He is purposefully hard to relate to and hard to believe, only with real effort you can find yourself in him, and he even rejects that effort itself. Komaeda cannot survive in a series that isn’t Danganronpa because he is Danganronpa, a clunky mess that somehow works in its accidental genius.

I sound absurd myself, but when it comes to Komaeda you can only rely on your own suspense of disbelief to sympathize with him. Sorry for being a bummer to your roll because your criticisms are not at all wrong, I just personally don’t find it to be a problem myself.

About the killer and orphan thing, I think I could try to give some insight on them? Here’s one thing you forgot: he’s canonically implied to be a rich kid. Even if he isn’t thrown into situations like being on the streets or the foster care system, he still had other family members to be dropped onto, his status would still give him privileges like a nanny to watch over him, etc.

The killer, while I did find strange that he decided not to kill the rich kid after all, he definitely did target him because he was from a wealthy family. So what could that mean? Well obviously we could go for the heartbreaking answer of nobody in the extended family wanted to help him because of his problematic luck or annoyance of his existence, we could go for another that none of them were alive to actually get anything out of him since it took place in middle school, and he did say that his luck took direct action against him right before he was eventually taken into Hope’s Peak academy because of his lack of family left. It depends on when during middle school this happened.

So I guess there wasn’t any real consequence to leaving this lonely wealthy child on his own since there’s nothing nobody could actually do to lead back to them or would care enough to do anything. Upsetting I know, the unfortunate irony of being thrown away like trash for Komaeda is… well anyway I think the point of this event was to drive in Komaeda’s feeling of being unwanted, even by the worst of the worst of society, at least that’s what I think of it.

The only thing I question is how Komaeda himself personally describes his good fortune after what happened to his parents. What would a kid in elementary really need immense wealth and freedom for??? I find myself perplexed by his choice of words because it implies a lot. I know we could go the route of “his parents were terrible” when it comes to the freedom part, but I think there’s a better answer to this.

This is an example of Komaeda justifying what happened to fit a narrative he’s formed because of, most likely, what society/the people around him has fed him and what he’s chosen to believe. I’ve already mentioned this before, but his mentality reflects specific societal beliefs to an exaggerated point because his life is exaggerated. Where any of these came from to make Komaeda think this: who freaking knows.

Sorry if this isn’t exactly what you were expecting, and I wish I could add more. I hope this was satisfying enough.

[lingeringscars]

Yj chars in t100 a self-indulgent post bc I am probably the only one who cares but I had thoughts I need to get down bc it's scratching my brain and I need to focus on hw:

Already touched on mari who I still think has gotta stay in sanctum bc she'd be so big into the primes

But if mari is not in sanctum, probably alpha station and after coming to the ground and facing near death, finds comfort in earthborn traditions and practices

Van and nat are both factory

Shauna is farm station

What we know about their backstories largely remains the same

Nat hangs around farm station a lot. Would be friends with monty and jasper.

Nat is one of the 100

I don't think...idk I'll probably workshop this but I think nat + her dad's altercation is probably less violent? As in I don't think it'd be the shotgun but him falling and hitting his head that kills him

She's still good with a gun and quickly becomes one of the hunters. I don't think she really wants to be a gunner.

Van is not one of the 100 and while it's important to me that Mel is the sole survivor of factory station when Bellamy finn Murphy sterling and Monroe arrive, i think it parallels the plane well to say everyone presumed van died with the rest but Surprise Bitch

In other words, van is found near the factory station crash alive and it's a big shock to everyone

Shauna ends up with farm station and while people are being picked off and taken, she steps up to learn how to use a knife on earth and help with food preparations and later with fighting against azgeda

Shauna was the best in earth skills class but no one knew it

Van nearly dies in an animal attack and later is supposed to die in praimfaya because not on the list but does not

By the time sanctum arrives, van is like yeah Bill Cadogan I am with you because seeking a reason for why they keep surviving when people around them aren't and there have been no shortages of near death experiences. There needs to be a Reason for this

[negentropies]

hate being a hardcore plotter with terminal writer brain because i can't even fucking like something without picking it apart like a rotisserie chicken carcass and trying to fix all the weird holes in the plot that won't let me sleep at night

so anyway, heres a bullet point essay on my thoughts on the bhaal plot bc it doesnt make any fucking sense and its been driving me insane and patch 5 was just the final nail in the coffin

so bhaal's motivations are . muddy. in the case of most durges, it seems he crafted durge as his most perfect champion, let them get a little bit of life experience, and then led them to the bhaal temple where they became its leader with the intent of ???? murdering lots of people and getting more followers ?? i guess ???? omnicide only really became a possibility after they hatched the elder brain plot with gortash, but they were very much already a cult leader by then. regardless, we establish that as of ~15 years before the start of bg3, bhaal wants to use the brain to murder everyone in the world. HOWEVER. if you just so happen to be an oathbreaker paladin durge and face sarevok and become an unholy assassin, you get this dialogue:

this suggests that bhaal's goal is to walk the planes again? which doesnt seem like it would have anything to do with omniciding the world, since gods get their power from the number and fervor of their worshipers. as i see it (ty moth) his goals seem to be as follows: expand his divine portfolio and worshiper base to obtain greater divine status -> reclaim his divinity and re-ascend to full godhood -> rebuild his church into something more coherent and structured -> walk the planes again -> fuck with bane and myrkul

if the absolute plot succeeds and durge takes control of the absolute in bhaal's name, i see no reason why he'd rid himself of a massive new worshiper base, since followers of an exarch (durge in this case) also count as followers of an exarch's god (bhaal). if anything, it would make more sense for bhaal to EXPECT the absolute plot to fail. this way he fucks with myrkul and bane and gets rid of their chosen as well as substantial chunks of their followers.

like yeah, sure, having the entire absolute cult under his control would be cool. it'd probably make him a powerful enough deity to get him out from under bane's yoke once and for all. but it's also worth noting that bhaal hates bane SO fucking much. bane poached his servant loviatar to take her as his consort and then there was the Gortash Situation, so that hatred could mean he'd lose sight of that power and make it so he'd be happy if the elder brain plot collapsed, as long as it meant he could make bane look stupid or undermine him in the process.

this brings me to the new patch 5 epilogue, which inspired me to write down my ramblings in the first place. if you either lose to orin in the duel or you embrace bhaal, then destroy the elder brain, you become this urge-crazed, twitching murderer good for nothing except crashing parties and siring more bhaalspawn. which like . doesn't make sense to me? it's outright stated that durge becomes nothing but a vessel for bhaal. bhaal has been established as extremely patient and more than capable of cooking up plots that could span centuries (see: baldur's gate 1 and 2), so i don't know why he wouldn't just use his newfound puppet bhaalspawn as a mortal avatar to restore his church and facilitate his return to power in a faerûn where myrkul (bane also, but less so) had to take a step back to recoup.

the characterization of bhaal and pre-lobotomy durge makes me a little confused in general. gortash frequently talks about how intelligent durge was and how their strength came in their intense self-control, and in the fact that bhaal let them pick their battles. going off of this, i expected durge to be kind of a stick in the mud compared to the other bhaalists, and we get SOME of that? there's a journal entry you can find from durge to orin where durge insults her for "posing [her] corpse-dollies" instead of just killing and being done with it. however, from the flashbacks and other conversations with the bhaalists we get, our vivisection-loving cannibalistic necrophiliac doesn't really have a leg to stand on here. it really seems like the larian writers had two separate, incongruous visions for durge and tried to mesh them together to limited success

now can we talk about sarevok. can we talk about sarevok? can we talk about how utterly batshit insane it is that fucking SAREVOK, who literally attempted to usurp bhaal to become the new lord of murder, would have gotten so much power and favor from his father? it's clear from durge's internal narration that they hate sarevok's guts. they straight up get inspiration for killing him. so... why did durge ever answer to him? why did bhaal let his perfect clone and champion into the hands of a son he hates and who tried to usurp him?

which all leads me to my conclusion that the baldur's gate temple of bhaal is, in fact, a heretical sect. and more importantly, that durge was led to it with the intent that after they'd exhausted the temple's use, they would off sarevok once and for all, gut the temple completely, and rebuild something new and worthy of their father from the ashes.

everyone at the bhaal temple is interested pretty much exclusively in the ritualistic aspects of murder, while in contrast, durge is (stated to be) more interested in efficiency and (apparently?) restoring their father to power and helping him walk the physical planes once more. again, this is all incongruous with other aspects of their characterization, but i'm going to chalk that up to messy writing. this would also track with durge being raised outside of the bhaal temple, ensuring that no matter what, bhaal would get to them before the temple did. sceleritas fel in particular is shown to be loyal to durge and bhaal exclusively, while not caring for orin or sarevok. the pieces are all here for a religious schism that just . never happens

so, if we pick up some of what larian is putting down and ignoring the rest, a possible version of events would be:

-> sarevok the attempted usurper establishes the temple of bhaal in baldur's gate as a niche, heretical sect focused exclusively on ritualistic murder, with no intention of expanding bhaal's portfolio beyond that

-> bhaal crafts durge, lets them form an identity outside the temple, then brings them in to lead, use, and subsequently destroy the baldur's gate bhaalists

-> durge and gortash hatch the elder brain plot. no matter if it succeeds or fails, bhaal will still win one way or another, whether it be getting a new legion of followers through his exarch or by crippling myrkul and sticking it to bane

-> orin (and probably sarevok) misunderstands bhaal's edicts, interpreting them as him wanting to use the brain to murder everyone in the world. orin fucks everything up when she lobotomizes durge but tbh, that still doesn't really matter. either she dies and bhaal gets rid of a heretical and unstable spawn or she becomes his puppet, just like durge should have in their bad ending

going off bhaal's characterization for the previous games, he is fundamentally a patient plotter with lots of foresight and also immense rizz. omnicide via elder brain is like . the stupidest scenario for him when there is so many other different ways to take this. where is bhaal sending in his perfect murder catholic spawn into a den of murder pagans !! where is the bhaalist religious schism !!!!!

thank u for coming to my ted talk