#because coal looked weird with my style

[thelampisaflashlight]

Tying The Knot

[Get your head out of the gutter, this one is actually a wholesome one. RainDrop.] Below the cut.

The day he met Dew, the ghoul had been a stiff breeze away from crumbling away, shaking like a leaf as he tried to remain on his feet.

He'd learn much later the reason; That he'd fought tooth and nail to keep his packmate from tearing him apart in a rage, and that the shiver, that terrible, persistent tremble of his body, was it trying to stay upright.

At the time, Rain had not seen the hand splayed across his back -a sister of sin steadying him-, had not seen the way Terzo had eyed him from across the room, the last remnant of his old pack, barely holding onto life, but alive.

More than anything, the thing Rain noticed about Dew was that he was alive.

Were it not for the raspy hiss of his breathing, it would have been easy to liken him to a corpse.

It had bothered him for so long, the idea that Dew had been forced out of bed to witness not only his summoning, but that of the others, who poured out of the pit, half feral and lost, snapping at anyone who got close, but he hadn't been.

This had been an indulgence.

Dew wanted to see them.

And when coal black eyes gazed upon them all; Rain could feel him staring through them, through him.

It was then that Rain knew Dew was a creature born of spite, of persistence...

He remembers his first approach.

Unfazed by the chatter of teeth or swipe of claws.

With his fingers dipped in a mixture of ash and blood, he aided in anointing them all, and, now, when he sees Dew in his robes during one of Copia's sermons, it's all he can think of.

Dew stands now at the head of the chapel, back to him, long white hair tied back into a careful braid, the one Rain remembers practicing late at night.

It's done in a style from the pit, the kind you have to learn from an elder, impossible to find on youtube, even if similar patterns exist.

His hands twitch, wanting to drag through the strands and tug it loose, to undo all his hard work in a single pull, because if he knew how seeing him like this would make him feel, he'd never had tied those knots in the first place.

Each cross is a promise, woven to remind the wearer they are loved.

Rain watches the little ribbon he tied to secure the braid in place peek out; A bright, joyous red that contrasts heavily against Dew's pale hair.

Bolder than he thought it would be, and now Rain can feel eyes on him from among the pews.

His packmates know they didn't tie that ribbon, and all of them know such an intricate braid could not be done by Dew's hands alone, no matter how skilled he may be with his fingers.

Rain swallows, mouth suddenly dry.

It's...

It's a little too obvious what he's saying with all of this.

He's embarrassed, yes, but more than that...

He's nervous that Dew won't understand the meaning of this gesture.

Dew may be a ghoul like the rest of them, but, much like Swiss -who was born and raised on the surface- he has no memories of the pit.

The soul inhabiting his vessel is a mix.

An even blend of demon and man, but his consciousness solely belongs to the entity that lived topside.

He doesn't understand their culture.

Let alone the niche courting habits of an oceanic subspecies of water ghoul like Rain's.

At best, Dew thinks it's just a cool hairstyle.

At worst, he thinks it's lame or weird, or-

"Rain." a shockingly gentle voice calls to him, and when he looks up...

Dew looks down at him, standing above his seated form, his expression softer than he's seen it in a long time.

"You look terribly sad for a man who's just proposed."

Rain stutters, covering his face with his hands, looking as if he's about to burst.

"...You knew?"

"I guessed based on how much you were sweating while tying my hair back." he replies teasingly, "And Mist told me, ages ago. Not about you doing this, but about the practice in general."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh."

Rain tucks his head between his knees.

"Are you okay??"

"...Gimme a year to recover before you tell me yes or no, I don't think my heart can take it."

Dew grins.

"If I say 'yes' will you die on the spot, or-"

"Can y'all be mushy somewhere else, it's putting me off Papa's sermon about pre-martial sex." Cirrus groans, "Congrats, but also, fuck off!"

"Boo! Boo, Cirrus! Ruining our moment..." Dew sticks his tongue out

"...The sermon was about sex? Was he for or against it??" Aeon frets, "I wasn't listening!"

Everyone turns to the other ghoul, frowning.

"W-What??"

"Do we look like Christians to you-"

[toomanytookas]

The Gift

Dieter Bravo x f!afab!reader

Rating: 18+ only please

Summary: Dieter designs a special room for you in the house that you are building together.

Important note: This is set in the world of @schnarfer’s If Wishes Came True trilogy. If you haven’t read it (where have you been? Go! Read it!!) you will likely be a bit lost.

Word count: ~3k

Content: Angst and fluff, the angst is pretty much all in the past but we do sit with it for a while here (this is dedicated to Al, after all), consumption of food and alcohol, references to/presence of drugs but they aren’t consumed on screen, oblique references to the reader and Dieter's sexual proclivities, blink and you’ll miss it moment of smutty touching, lots more sensual and casual touch as well as kissing, swearing, bathing, cats, I wrote this for one person but she’s invited you to the party

A/N: A version of this fic was gifted to my beloved @schnarfer on the occasion of her birthday last week. It would have never actually been possible for me to have the confidence to send it to her and not just throw it straight in the bin without the very gentle hand holding of @pascalssbabyy (Beth, you are an angel).

I say a version because after being the most gracious recipient of a fic of her fic (wtf was I thinking?), Al not only encouraged me to share it more widely but was willing to give it a beta and helped to refine my attempt at an ode to her style into the much punchier, emotionally charged (we do love torturing our boy a bit...) thing you now have the opportunity to read. This is absolutely the product of two minds and I could not have had more fun working with her to reach this final version. Any remaining errors and weird bits are my own, feel free to lmk if you see anything funky. I hope you like it!

I don't know what it is about you that makes the bathwater blush, why I want to ask for your hand forever around my throat;

- Megan Falley, "Your Bathwater > Wine"

When Dieter adopted Chairman Meow from the shelter, the sign on the tom’s cage said he had been wandering despondently around the property his last owner had vacated, unable to stray far from the place where he had last known a comfortable life. Abandonment issues, the profile warned. Looking for a home that will provide constant affection.

Having been driven to the cattery by a deep yearning to be the centre of someone’s world, Dieter thought he recognised a kindred spirit. I’ll be your friend, bud. He stuck a thick finger into the mog’s enclosure and wiggled it against the soft fur. When the cat had budged up even closer in response, he knew that it was love.

After you left, when he would wake to that furry face rubbing against his chin, a paw tapping his cheek to ask to be let in under the covers, Dieter was grateful that he had someone who understood why—despite Pete’s encouragement—he could never quite go through with leaving that fucking fishbowl of a house for good. Not when he no longer had you.

The wretched, destructive thing that lived inside him conjured constant reminders of how your brightness had seeped into the very walls of the house. It dangled flashes of your smile in his periphery when he made his morning coffee, replayed echoes of your laugh when he reached for you in the middle of the night. They were glimpses of lost happiness that in those brief moments still radiated joy. The glow sometimes burned like hot coals, but he gathered every memory of you tightly his chest. The searing ache was worth it. Staying put was worth it. How else would he remember so clearly how much you had made his world come alive? And how else would you know how to find him when you decided to come back?

But when you did return to him, when you came home, Dieter’s dedication to remaining in that bastard house until his end of days vanished. He was climbing the walls to be rid of it as fast as humanly possible. Why would he want to stay there when it was a constant reminder of the destruction he had wrought? Without you the house was a lifeline, but with you it was a curse. It could never be the home he wanted to give you now that he had a second chance. Despite what his trusted energy worker suggested, a ceremonial disposal of the bed and a few rounds of sage burning would not have been enough to fix it.

So he called his realtor. Sold the house. Said goodbye to all its awful energy. Hoped that maybe all the worst versions of Dieter Bravo managed to be left there, trapped behind the glass. Waiting to be discovered and dealt with by whichever sad fuck bought that Hollywood house of mirrors, blissfully unaware of the demons they were to inherit.

The Dieter menagerie moved in to yours.

The Chairman and Dolly Purrton both quickly found their favourite new spots to snooze in puddles of sunshine, but as much as he longed to join them, Dieter could never quite settle.

The longer you shared the space and began to rebuild some of the trust and respect that needed to layer on top of your burning, incandescent love; the clearer it became that your house was also too haunted.

There was too bitter an aftertaste on both your tongues whenever you would pull into the drive, remembering the pleading eyes of past Dieters who had turned up unannounced at all hours of the night begging for forgiveness, desperate for a second chance. It was too jarring, the pangs of Dieter’s jealousy over plastic, perfect Brandon, who once upon a time happily wandered those halls, pressed you hungrily against those doorframes, laughed with you over a lovingly prepared dinner made in that kitchen. What a fucking prince.

The discomfort of it all, the continued haunting that he had thought escaping his former house would resolve, left Dieter lumbering through the house, wrapping himself in a moveable den of blankets and keeping a hand braced against his tummy or a cat cradled to his chest in an effort to soothe the roiling thoughts.

After he spent a full week between shoots wandering despondently from room to room, only able to feel grounded when you were somewhere in the house, you put your foot down.

This was meant to be a second chance, D. Not us climbing back into the coffin. This house was no longer your home, you told him, if it was responsible for the tension in his jaw and the ache you felt when either of you found reminders of all the past hurt.

And so Dieter set out to build you both a house. A home that would reverberate with the joys of love and the laughter of friends, and never, ever know the monster inside him that he was working so hard to put to rest. A sanctuary for the two of you, tucked against the hills in an area where the neighbours don’t care a single bit who either of you are, only that you look out for the community and pitch in a baked good or two for the annual block party.

It’s the house of your dreams because it represents your shared commitment to making a life together. It’s the house of his dreams because, somehow, you want to live there with him.

Given a blank check, the architect and interior designer work with the two of you to identify the exact touches that will make you feel beyond comfortable. The kind of upgrades that aren’t flashy, but make enjoying the pleasurable things in life even easier.

The new bed feels like you’re being cuddled by the softest clouds. You spend your free mornings tucked in under the covers together, letting him sneak peeks over your shoulder as you gleefully trade quips with your friends and read the naughtiest and most delicious smut before rising to start your day.

There’s a gas fireplace that can be lit at a moment’s notice when you want to curl up in one of the the divine plush chairs, which you picked out together after spending an afternoon in a high-end showroom, half focused on which were the most comfortable to read in, half on which could reliably sustain both of your weights in motion.

These are just a couple of your favourite things amidst a near embarrassment of riches. They make you feel as though you’ve won the lottery, and the lottery’s name was Dieter (just Dieter, your dear love Dieter, no Bravo in sight).

Picking out features and facets for the house was so much a shared project between the two of you—the thing you could work on through trading pinterest boards and voice notes, even when projects kept you physically apart—that it was a bit of a surprise when Dieter informed you that there was a room he wanted to build that he wasn’t going to share the details of. Not until it was done.

He took infinite pleasure in making a big show of the secret, whipping out a blindfold that may or may not have originated from your toy chest when you were set to do walkthroughs during construction, curling his broad body around you and nudging you forward with one foot and then the other until the room was far enough away from view that he could restore your sight without worry of ruining the surprise.

It’s going to be magnificent, angel, he would breathe gleefully against your ear.

The contractors were always thankfully far enough ahead of you that you didn’t feel embarrassed by the heat that flooded your face at the tickle of his words and the firmness of his chest against your back.

You had some sense of what the room might be. Dieter wouldn’t reject your idea for a vintage-inspired clawfoot tub in the master unless he was going to make it up to you somewhere else in the house. He knew how much of a comfort a soak in the bath was for you, there was no way he was going to deny you the luxury in your own home.

But what exactly this room looked like remained a mystery. Sometimes a package would arrive that he would eagerly squirrel away behind that closed door, disappearing for a while to set up whatever newest addition he had imagined on the road to perfection. Piece by piece, Dieter was building a dream, one that he specifically dreamed of for you.

In the meantime, the two of you moved into the house and set about truly making it your space, fit to burst with the vibrancy of your lives.

There was nothing like being able to wind down from the heights of the energy on set, the frenetic hustle that you loved so much but demanded that you be at a constant eleven.

Nothing like ending a chillier evening by the fire. Your feet tucked under the fluff of the Chairman’s rotund rump where it was perched on Dieter’s lap, your thumb idly tracing the drops of condensation on a bottle of cider.

Nothing like welcoming friends at the weekend for a hearty roast and glowing conversation, getting to show off the fruits of your beautiful gas range and indulge in the delight of warm bellies and full hearts.

Nothing like your Dieter, flush with a new aura of happiness and love and the therapy-influenced acceptance that he was allowed to have all of this, to have you, to know joy.

On the night of your birthday, when your body and head already feel floaty from a delightful evening featuring a steady flow of cocktails and sushi, Dieter sneaks away as you are bidding goodbye to your final guests.

Once the last of your friends are out the door, he places a pair of oversized scissors in your hands and herds you like an eager collie over to the soon-to-no-longer-be-secret room. There’s a velvety ribbon across the door and he has you make the ceremonial opening cut before placing one of his warm palms over your eyes and the other at your sternum, holding you to his chest and guiding you both over the threshold.

You feel a wall of steam envelop your body and your heart leaps with anticipation. Your bathtub. You were right.

Dieter removes his hand, “Open your eyes, angel.”

Immediately, your vision is flooded with ochre and gold. Candles flicker playfully on almost every possible surface, their dancing light filling the room.

It is clear to you right away that this oasis will become a peaceful near holy space, a sanctuary that you can retreat to when you need to shut out the rest of the world. Despite the many, many acts of sin that are bound to occur inside these four walls, there is something bright and pure about the energy that Dieter has curated.

Lush ferns and orchids are mounted to the walls, bound to flourish in the tropical climate that the frequent steam will create for them.

There are massive geodes of your favourite crystals that sparkle on pedestals, radiating deep energy and glistening in the candlelight.

Two skylights open the room up so you can see the heavens, as though from your watery cocoon you might be able to ascend to the stars.

The bath itself is cavernous, currently filled nearly to the brim and softly crackling with lush bubbles that are being stirred by what you assume must be underwater jets.

On the far wall, Dieter has painted an abstract mural that makes you think of the moments of calm that you feel when he wraps you in his arms after a long day. Soft, warm, safe.

As he follows your gaze, eager to ingest your every reaction, he directs you to look at the title that he’s lettered just next to his signature.

Angel’s rest.

Your eyes are misty, “Oh, D. It’s magic.”

“Everything for my girl. Everything.”

His voice cracks slightly through the whisper, his hands come to your waist to turn you in his embrace, strong eye contact boring into your soul with the depth of how very much he means those words, beyond this gift, beyond this house.

You have to kiss him. Your heart can’t take not fusing your mouth to his in this moment.

It’s a soft kiss, a tender kiss, one you could bask in from now until the end of time. It makes you so bright with love.

You can’t help but let your lips curve into a grin. You think he must be able to feel your cheek muscles twitch from how widely you are smiling against his lips.

He breaks from you, but immediately returns once, twice, and then presses a quick and cheeky peck against your jawline.

“Come, angel. Before the water gets too cold.”

Slowly, reverently, he helps you slide your sparkling birthday dress over your shoulders and down to the floor. Pressing gentle, open mouthed kisses to your collarbone and lace-covered breasts as each inch of you is revealed.

He kneels before you to remove your panties. As soon as they are at your knees, he nuzzles his face against your mound, the tip of his nose nestling against your clit.

Fuck.

You hear him exhale happily when your stance softens, hands ghosting up and down your thighs, but instead of taking his first taste of your cunt for the evening, he draws back and tips his head toward the bath.

Pouting, you nod and let him help you out of your slippers, large hand cupping each ankle in turn. When your bare feet touch the floor, you can tell that there is some sort of heating system beneath the tile. It’s heaven.

You grasp his forearm for balance as you ascend the steps and then slide into the steaming hot water of the bath. You let your grip linger, playing with the flexing muscle that you feel ripple as he wiggles his fingers playfully. He knows you're a bit loony for the feel of his powerful arms.

Then he's pulling away from you again.

Despite the near-trance the water and this moment is sending you into, you let out a soft squawk of disapproval.

"Just for a minute, angel. I want to go get your present."

More gifts? Well, an indulgent Dieter is often the happiest Dieter and it is your birthday. And Dieter firmly believes that birthday girls deserve to have some lovely treats.

You let yourself doze, still tipsy and buzzing from the joys of the night, cradled by the bubbles and the soothing warmth of the water. The next thing you know, gentle but thick fingertips are lightly dragging their way from your knee to your hip and then up the flesh of your stomach, a mild and delicious friction. Before those fingers can reach the swell of your breast, your hands come up to halt their journey. Intertwining your fingers with his, you bring Dieter’s now somewhat bubble-covered hand up for a kiss, avoiding the worst of the soapy aftertaste by pressing your lips high on his pulse point.

When you make eye contact, his gaze still looks wild with love.

"Relaxed, angel?"

"Ever so."

You look over at him and find he's set a tray down on a bar cart that has appeared from somewhere in the room. On it, a box of four pralines from your favourite chocolatier, a chilled bottle of champagne, and a joint resting on the edge of a beautiful glass ashtray. It must be new because its colours are too perfect to not have been picked out lovingly by Dieter to match the room.

You sit up slightly. Happy birthday to you, indeed.

"May I join you?" The reverence in his voice feels it’s been magnified by the room.

"We've talked about this, baby. Water makes for horrible lube."

"I just want to cuddle with my birthday girl."

This Dieter, so tender, so vulnerably in love in a way that he never let himself be before you. You sense in this moment that he truly feels he needs permission to be allowed to just be in your space for a while, a hesitance fueled by past regrets and insecurities that even the promise and protection of this new house have not fully squashed. No matter. You are more than happy to affirm just how welcome in your arms he will always be.

You smile, nodding sleepily, and he sheds his clothing. You're so relaxed, so enveloped in warmth, that you almost forget to admire his bare body as he climbs in to join you. Almost. Thank goodness the part of your brain that always wants him, is always drawn to his form, isn't actually taking a holiday so you can admire.

When he's settled with his back against the side of the bath, Dieter pulls the cart over so that everything is in reach. He pops the champagne, handing you a glass, then brings one of the chocolates to his mouth, holding it in his teeth and wriggling his eyebrows playfully in a suggestion for you to take it from him.

You giggle and indulge him, using your hands to grip the edge tub on either side of his body and pull yourself through the water until you are practically chest to chest, nose to nose. Too close for true eye contact, but you can't help but pick one of his eyes to focus on, letting yourself go a bit crosseyed to try and send him every wonderful thing you have been feeling this evening directly through your gaze.

Slowly, gently, you close the remaining distance and bite the praline in half, letting your lips drag against his as the chocolate begins to melt on your tongue. It's perfectly bitter and smooth.

Dieter consumes the rest.

"Mmm. A not too sweet for my not too sweet."

The snort that leaves your body firmly disrupts the headiness of the moment, the exhalation forming a crater in the bubbles and making you further devolve into giggles when you have to bring a hand up to brush away a clump of the soapy fuzz that sticks to his cheek.

You press your forehead against Dieter's damp shoulder and feel the rise and fall of it as he joins you in mirth, arm coming up around you so you don't slide away from him as you once again relax into the water.

As the wave of laughter subsides, your breathing synchronizes with his and you let yourself soak in the quiet. A perfect christening of this tub. He presses a kiss to the side of your head.

"I love you, angel. Happy birthday."

[nealsbian]

as a fan who watched older gmm a lot i have to say if i just saw a picture of link i wouldnt think he was attractive. but watching the videos endeared him to me SO MUCH that i started to see the attractive side?? i mean when you get over/used to the weird look you start noticing the pretty face in movement lol. but more than that he got me hooked immedietly first couple of videos i was barely paying attention to rhett unless he was doing something outrageously funny/weird etc. (this is kinda the only reason why i can remember my reaction to one of my first gmm videos i watched ''Taking a Dust Bath - Experiment'' and how i became a more dedicated fan. i kept thinking why am i so fond of this dork on the right?? tbh at some point he removes the big fugly(imo) glasses and his hair gets messy but his attitude is still what makes the ''it'' factor lol) also the bangs looked good sometimes when he let them get a little shagy/messy/fluffy (what it is supposed to look like tbh) especially even earlier times like "the mythical show" and on the great american road trip etc. he also had the smalled office style glasses which complemented that corporate/IT emo-adjacent look of 2000s better imo. its just as he got older he started to put too much gel or whatever which made the hairstyle unusually stiff/shiny (i used to call it the lego affect) and that paired with the big square dorky glasses it was an off-putting combo to say the least. buut i was still so endeared by all of him it didnt bother me much at the time? like i would watch it and still be into his vibe. he just has some kind of attitude that is magnetic and "cute" at the same which somehow doesnt get fake/over the top? idk im still fond of shagy hair but it definitely ran its course way before it was gone. what i personally truly hated was the shaved sides with the intense and stiff high quif even worse when he was dying it poorly to coal black which absorbed all the life and moevement out of it..that was my true nemesis. the close shaved sides/fade is such a basic fuck boy cut i cant believe people used to want link to go back to that

halfway through reading this I did understand the appeal of his old cut haha so congrats on painting such a good picture. I did hate the shaved sides too, think we can both agree that no matter how he styles it his hair is the best when there's more of it. but in the end no matter what he looks like his personality is what shines through. I don't think I'd be so drawn to him if he wasn't in this era though, just because his current look is sooo appealing to me rn, but at this point I'm already hooked so... he's just extremely charismatic, and i kinda love how he's such a - you either love him or hate him - kinda person. what you see is what you get.

also everybody is welcome to talk about Link in my askbox just so you know

[coyoteprince]

more of an open question but what are some fun worldbuilding things you can think of off the top of your head? I want to hear more owo

Sorry for this novel

Waite has a grey (the kind that looks white) mare named Seraphim, who will make a minor appearance in comic. She's based on a Suffolk punch and Narragansett pacer.

All horses within Widderwood story have a dorsal stripe, no matter if theyre earthly or fae or whatever breed.

Likewise, almost every fae within Widderwood have ear tufts

Degare got his hat in a trade for sex from a Darlington priest, though it is a farmer's planter hat. His shoe style is also called a winklepicker.

Every person's soul is represented by a flame and each person has their own lantern (or lamp, or candle holder...) in Sandman's garden. From a design point, his garden has two principals: the light must always be a flame (no electric light), and time doesn't matter so modern lanterns are okay to depict, but only in this space.

Widderwood is technically steampunk, but I don't think it's going to be super obvious in comic unless you look super closely? Time rules are also funky: I've delayed invention of something yet moved up other things. It technically takes place during the 1880's, but plenty Edwardian and even modern day things pop up. No cars, but gramophones will soon be released. Coal is starting to die off in use and steam and some electricity are quickly becoming king. Prosthetics & aides are heavily decorated and become a hot tool to customize and be proud of. Women wear pants (though high society finds this disturbing) and can own land. Queerness & gay marriage isn't outlawed but its pretty weird to traditionals and queer identity is refered to as "the third sex" as is historical for that period. Those sorts of things

Primary community of Darlington is Caucasian, Black, and Native American, but all manner of people pass through thanks to the nearby port city

What is equivalent to the americas in Widderwood is made up of "territories", which I've been leaving vague because I cannot manage to care about building political empires, I just want two dogs to kiss. Either way, Darlington is ruled by English-equivalent, but original England-equivalent got overthrowed and wiped off the map. Southern state-equivalent, Eastern Canada-equivalent and some of the plains are under similar but different self-governing rule. Much of the western territories are aboriginal-ruled and the entire continent is much smaller than our world. These territories are all mostly on good terms with each other because this is just background flavoring. I'm trying to figure out a naming system for these territories or if it even matters since this story is pretty contained.

My partner bought me a vintage prosthetic leg from a firehazard of a thrift store just so I can use it as reference for Simon's false leg. It literally floats about the house in different spots and we just call it "Simon's leg"

Speaking of Simon, partner also bought me a Victorian book all about prosthetics which surprisingly is very empathetic and includes sentiments from actual disabled people of the time. I used this book to help me figure out what exact style of prosthetic Simon has, as well as his injury. His amputation took place mid calf and despite some mobility issues and how he looks, he's decently strong and has good endurance.

Waite is an Aries with pisces moon & taurus rising, Degare Gemini with scorpio & leo, Simon is Capricorn but idk his moon and rising. I don't give much thought to astrology but I think using it to build character personalities is very fun.

Widderwood mermaids are a combination of selkies and mermaids. They have front & back flippers and inhabit the same role as selkies in that there's many stories of marrying humans and their spouse stealing their skins.

Nuckelaaves are essentially slenderman to fae and no one knows what exactly they are

Darlington is known for their abundance of daisy wheels as a symbol of protection, which comes directly from my colonial cemetery special interest. They often top the margins of colonial tablet graves and have been historically used as a protective symbol against magic worldwide. In my personal practice, I've reclaimed them and they act as my main "religious" symbol, much in the way a cross or pentacle works, and despite the fact they were once used against witches

Darlington & Sullivan Forest geography is set in fantasy Massachusettes with influence from the entire region of New England and forests in Northern Georgia. Locations & buildings in the story will be based on a variety of locations I've visited and documented in person including: Salem Witch House, Bulloch Hall, Root House of Marietta, Atlanta History Museum Gardens & internal exhibits, and Allen County Historical Society & House Museum (the most important museum in my life and the reason why I am the way that I am today). I'm still picking the cemeteries I want to base on, but will likely be a mix of a cemetery I accidentally ran into outside of Salem and a variety of local Georgia + Ohio cemeteries from my childhood. I am hoping to visit Colonial Williamsburg as well as Historic Westville as further reference for town scenes. Yes I am really that intense that I've traveled states wide just to gather research for my gay dog boy webcomic

I have much more I could give, but I need to be careful with what I share to avoid spoiling all my work.

[lediz-watches]

Hazbin Hotel: Season One

Because I basically implied I was gonna do it.

I have watched the first season. If you've found my fics you know I had a lot of fun with it. So now let's talk about it for what it is... so far. Because Alastor's semifinal scene... -gestures vaguely in mild frustration-

That annoyed me more than the end of Squid Game season one, now I think about it. But let's come back to it after we talk about the show as a whole.

Because I did really love it!

So the basic story, as per the pilot, is that the Princess of Hell is sick of Heaven killing her people every year, and so dreams up a rehabilitation centre, with the idea that sinners can redeem themselves and get into Heaven. But unfortunately, Heaven has their own agenda, and has actually decided to completely wipe out every sinner instead. The first season covers six months as the princess desperately tries to prove her hotel works before the next time Heaven's exterminators arrive. Spoiler that isn't a spoiler because the trailers said so: she does not.

And the fact that's not a spoiler is ultimately the flaw of the show. In eight episodes, they couldn't afford for that to be a spoiler - it was just an inevitable fact.

The long and the short of it is that the story of Hazbin Hotel's season one should have been at least eighteen episodes. I'm not saying that as a hater - I understand that this show was a risky, expensive sell, and eight episodes would've been tough to convince anyone to produce. They did great with what they got.

The animation on this show is genuinely amazing for its style. They skip the details in weird sections, but there's movement when it matters, there's character work, there's gorgeous little DETAILS. The soundtrack is great. There's only a few songs I didn't love, and the actual voice work is amazing. This was a well produced show.

But it was too short for what it was doing.

We needed an episode for each individual character, instead of sharing each one between two. I actually didn't mind Alastor not being in half the episodes, because of his whole deal, but when he was, we should have learned more about the overlords and gotten more foreshadowing. But we just didn't have TIME. So we got these snapshots of amazing characters and I just honestly couldn't bring myself to care about them.

Like Sir Pentious. I actually loved his story, and especially his final episode, but I'm pretty sure we spent like ten minutes with him IN TOTAL, so like... who the hell cares?

And I said in my post about the pilot that the show was going to hinge on Charlie for me, and... it didn't. It really didn't. Because she's... not developed enough. I simply didn't understand her motivation - or perhaps the word is 'believe' her motivation. She's this all-loving princess... from Hell. She loves her people... and wants to kick them all out of her kingdom? Not once in this series did I genuinely see an example of Charlie LIKING Hell. She LOVES Heaven when she goes, and she SAYS she loves her people, but... frikking show it, woman.

And the annoying thing about that is that because we didn't have enough time to develop her character, I don't know if that was intentional. Because there are a couple of instances that make me think it WAS. There's a subtle sort of cruelty in Charlie that could have been very, very interesting if I could trust that it was intentional. She rakes Angel Dust over the coals without noticing, she lovingly goes along with Alastor tearing strips off her Dad's already fragile emotional state, her way of saying that Heaven is going along with her is to gleefully point out "they're at each other's throats!", she's got nastiness in her, and... yet no one mentions it. So maybe it's not supposed to be cruelty, maybe it's just the writers are kind of nasty, and maybe I'm just looking for something outside her physical form that marks her as the princess of Hell.

Instead, I was sold on Hazbin Hotel by Vaggie, of all characters. Who in the pilot, was just THERE, as far as I was concerned. But her story of redemption and being saved by her ability to love, and having to confront who she was versus who she wants to be? That was lovely. I bought that. I would have liked more time with her to see how she used that love, but it was beautiful for what it was. I enjoyed Vaggie's character.

Husk and Angel were a nice little love story, but as I said in the other post, I wasn't there for it. I respect their episode, it was technically amazing, and I am in awe of everyone involved in the creation of the Poison sequence, while Loser, Baby has joined multiple of my spotify playlists, but... yeah, that's all I have to say about them. Enjoy, fandom, I know you love them. But I don't care. Their contracts are way more interesting to me than their characters, I'm sorry.

Niffty, the little darling. I love her. I love what she did. But she's comic relief and that's it. I have no further feelings about her. I am actually okay with that, as long as that's all the show wants me to feel about her.

But then... Alastor.

Oh, Alastor. You fucked up sacrifice to Heaven, Hell, and Fandom.

I mean, obviously I love him. Amir Talai is amazing, Alastor's design choices are fascinating, and the titbits of legitimate character we get from him, verbal or not (THOSE STITCHES) are sweet ambrosia, but... But.

I wouldn't mind if Alastor wasn't actually important. If he was just there to provide world building - if his whole deal was just sitting in the radio tower to introduce and close off each episode like the Greek Chorus, occasionally descending to connect the characters with people outside the Hotel, I would be very happy.

I would also be happy if he was actually a main character, working either for or against Charlie. I loved his scenes with Vaggie, and Charlie, and his duet with Lucifer was amazing, BUT.

He's NOT. EITHER. OF THESE THINGS.

As of episode eight, I'm not even convinced Alastor is actually a character! At this point I wonder if Alastor isn't actually a mask that Eve, of all people, is WEARING, and the man we think we've been getting to know sold himself to her to protect someone he cared about and hasn't been sentient since the day he died. GOD I hope that's just a crackpot theory borne of frustration because I AM FRUSTRATED with the hints and bits and pieces. And THAT is how I left the series as a whole. Frustrated.

Because just as the show IS amazing despite its pacing, Alastor IS a great character. I love Chaotic Neutral chaos goblins that save the universe because they're one of the idiots that live there. But by episode eight, I wanted some kind of closure. By the end of that episode, I wanted to be sure of whether I was rooting for Alastor to knock Hell out from under Lucifer's depressed feet, or for Charlie to save him from himself.

And like I said, right now, I'm no longer even sure he's REAL. And if all this just turns out to be Charlie's legitimately good intentions against Eve's revenge scheme... That's... egh.

That's less interesting to me. That's not a story of choice and redemption, that's just yet another love conquers all story and guys, I grew up on Sailor Moon too, but... can we try a new one?

Give me Charlie being confronted with her own motivations, and learning how to actually LEAD. Not just... repeat Vaggie's story of fighting for the people she loves on a grander scale.

(Oh god... I just realised how much that would cheapen Vaggie's story. Oh god, please don't do that!)

There's a theory that I saw that I'm a little in love with, about Alastor actually having been sold to Heaven AND Hell by his mother and father respectively, and that his arc is legitimately about him trying desperately to free himself from both. And THAT is an interesting story, and an interesting way for Charlie to grow, as she has to learn to realise that sometimes you get put in crappy situations and you can dig, and fight, and struggle, and all it does is drag you down deeper. Recovering from THAT is rehabilitation.

And that's the story I want at this point.

And I just don't think we're gonna get it in another eight episodes. Not when the Huskerdust nation must be appeased and Lilith's whole story needs to play out, and...

But. Whatever. I did love this series, and I will be watching it again, and if they release the soundtrack on CD I will be buying it, and if the show gets a DVD release I'll be buying that too.

But yeah. It was not long enough to be deep enough, and I end it frustrated.

...I'm gonna go listen to the soundtrack again.

[fawnfulart]

would've sent you some prompt but i literally have no imagination so instead a lil fun story i'm currently playing a horror visual novel called scarlet hollow and it's REALLY great, you should check it out if that's something of interest. there's this character, one of the first ones we meet in the game, tabitha, and she gives off SUCH fem!travis vibes, but like if his family owned a coal mine instead of being catholic. damn, she even looks similar. and i, lesbian disaster, took a liking to her, because for some reason i just love fictional angry(=sad) traumatized women. but here's the catch - she's our cousin. so i can't romance her 💀 my suffering is immense

I want to do 50 trashy AUs but I'm always secretly a little gun shy about my ideas. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I just wait until sb else has the same idea as me so I can pretend it was their idea. Flawless plan, what could go wrong?

I'm pretty booked rn so I havent been playing anything new lately but if I get caught up soon I might take a look. We love a weird indie title :) Art style looks pretty cool

[mostlygibberish]

I liked the part with the coal.

Basically more of the first movie, but improved by the removal of the yellow piss filter and the addition of significantly more Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) killing people while looking like the most ethereally beautiful woman alive (Golshifteh Farahani). Even the marvel style putting-a-team-together ending failed to dampen my enjoyment because she (Golshifteh Farahani) was there. She (Golshifteh Farahani) had better have equal or greater screentime to Chris Hemsworth in Extraction 3.

The prison break sequence was easily the most fun part of the movie, but the rest of the action was pretty solid too. Still a lot of weird, blurry CGI. Still consistently great sound work. I am taking miniguns away from hollywood and putting them up on a high shelf they cannot reach. As far as I'm concerned they have abused their minigun privileges for the last time.

A little silly, but it delivered all I asked of it (Golshifteh Farahani). Very good.

[ledenews]

Robert Villamagna: ‘Found Objects’ of Life Inspire this Tin Man’s Heart

It’s the way he sees it. And when you say something like that about Robert Villamagna, you mean there’s more than what meets his eyes when he interprets what goes into his works of art. And no one sees it the same because, when it comes to this artist’s imagery, it all makes sense in a different way never considered before. Take his “Old King Coal” piece as an example. Once upon a time ago, coal was king in West Virginia, and for decades fossil fuels ruled in Kentucky, too. In Appalachia America not so long ago, if a kid quit high school to work in the mines, he was simply following in his daddy’s footsteps into coal country. Not only was it acceptable, it was expected, but it’s different these days and that’s why Villamagna’s coal king is crying. "Old King Coal" hits hard with folks of the coalfields in Appalachia America. He honors people with his art, and his work speaks to social and commercial issues, too, and from his first step to his final step, the process proves a mission of imagination on every occasion. Sometimes Villamagna “sees” it first and then builds it, and sometimes this tin man’s heart is inspired – literally – by discarded junk. No matter what prompts his projects, Villamagna’s mixed media style is fantastically distinctive, and his work is in high demand, too. After more than 20 years as an associate professor of art at West Liberty University, he’s now a full-time artist – with office hours, to boot – and these days his work often is described quite simply as “It’s a Villamagna.” And ain’t that just cool? Combining the lithograph metals, vintage photos, and, as you describe, “found objects” … how – and why – did all of that come together for you as “mixed media”? For much of my life, I have been attracted to “junk” and collected a variety of things. I just love the look and feel of old objects. I think about who made them and who used them. Years ago, I discovered a used book about artists using found materials. The idea of taking these various materials and using them to create art had never occurred to me. What a concept! The switch was pulled. About 10 years later, (my wife) Chris discovered another book titled “The Fine Art of the Tin Can” by Bobby Hanson. That introduced me to using repurposed metal in my work. Villamagna is vigilant when searching for what he calls "found objects" for his work. Please explain the process of finding “found objects.” First of all, let me clarify the term “found objects”. We usually think of art being created with paint, clay, crayons, pencil, etc. Sometimes artists make art using unexpected objects … things we don’t normally consider as art materials. These objects had another function or purpose and are referred to as “found objects”. These found objects can be manufactured (a bicycle seat, a discarded vacuum cleaner, an old photo) or from nature (stones, bones, leaves). The materials I use in my work cover a wide range, but primarily I use repurposed metal (from old signs and cans), old photographs, parts of things such as from old toys, oddball machine parts, broken clocks, etc. Most of the time I purchase these materials at flea markets or on eBay. There are times when I actually “find” materials while walking. You just have to be vigilant. Occasionally, the tin fairy will leave an old potato chip can or piece of cool metal on my porch. It’s nice when friends are on the lookout for materials for you. Christmas can happen when you least expect it! Do you collect your materials before you have the artistic idea, or do you go searching for very specific items to create a very specific piece of art? I’m constantly on the hunt for materials. My search is not specific to individual items, more in general categories: printed cans, doll houses, old photo albums, pieces of weird junk, etc. The items I acquire fill shelves and bins until I pull them for a particular piece of work. Sometimes one object can kickstart an idea, such as piece I did this past summer that began with an old pennant from Myrtle Beach. Other times I may have an idea I wish to pursue, so I rummage through my materials to see what might work. Do you have “office/studio hours,” or is your work created in a more happenstance style? I’m usually working in my studio Monday through Friday, sometimes Saturday as well. I’m guessing I average 40-50 hours per week in the studio. Most days I’m up at 4:35, but I usually don’t get into the studio until 9 am. One of my favorite quotes is by artist Chuck Close: “Amateurs look for inspiration; the rest of us just get up and go to work.” The "Tin Man" honored the Jamboree tradition in the city of Wheeling with one of his recent works. How do you describe the soul of Appalachia? When I think of “soul”, I think of something not in its physical state, but rather the experiencing of deep feelings and emotions. So, while I may envision Appalachia as a mountainous area in the central-southern part of the Eastern US, it’s soul is it’s music, followed by its literature. I would love to say its soul is it’s art, but that would not be the truth. Not that art doesn’t contribute, but I feel it’s the music that is the true soul. The Irish/Scottish fiddle music combined with African American blues music (banjo, guitar). When I work in the studio, I listen to a huge mix of what I label folk-blues, covering such artists as John Prine, RL Burnside, Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, Guy Davis, Guy Clark, Jimmy Duck Holmes, and Tim O’Brien to name a few. I know I’m leaving some out. This music inspires me, and for me it’s the soul of Appalachia. Villamagna honored American veterans with this work of art, and it helps that American Legion Post 1 is the oldest post in the United States. At times, Villamagna makes simple statements about society with his artwork. Read the full article

[panged-lin]

The monkey's paw curls a single finger

There are around 74-75 monsters in the Slime Family in the Dragon Quest series. Possibly more. Definitely more because the wiki is scattered beyond belief and there are some WEIRD entries.

This includes classic slimes - bear with me there are a lot of them - Slime, She-Slime (which aren't strictly female they're just a weird colour), Metal Slime, Mottle Slime, Mottle She-Slime (which looks like a regular slime with pink spots, don't get confused), Mottle Mendslime, Angel Slime, Dark Slime, Cyber Slime, Dark Slime (which is different from the other Dark Slime and is only found in DLC for DQ:VIII), Behemoth Slime, BeSHEmoth Slime, Mime Slime, Flan Slime, Marble Slime, Cutie Slime, Jade Slime, Lime Slime, Lemon Slime, Pink Slime, Electroslime, Snow Slime and Cream Slime (those last two look very similar to one another but I promise they're different). These all share the classic slime design of a teardrop-shaped body, beady eyes and a goofy smile. The eyes and smile carry over to pretty much every slime so keep an eye out for those.

There's a few stacked slimes - Slime Stack, Metal Medley, Gem Jamboree, Slime Sisters (which aren't she-slimes, don't get confused) - basically three slimes stacked on top of each other. We'll come back to Gem Slimes in a sec they're their own little thing.

Melty, bubbly slimes like Bubble Slime, Liquid Metal Slime, and Slick Slime. There's also mouldy fungal versions - Dank Bubble Slime, Metal Truffle Slime, Pickled Slime and Slimeshroom. The bubble slimes don't actually bubble, mind, the bubbles just hover in the air above it for no discernable reason.

Jellyfish-type slimes - Healslime, Cureslime, Medislime, Sootheslime, Metal Healie, Magic Slime (which looks like a wizard's hat and is adorable), and for some reason the Man O' War which looks identical to them but is an aquatic monster.

A few shelled versions; Seaslime (SEAslime, not SHE-slime, don't get confused), Shellslime, Snail Slime, Slimecicle and Coal Slime.

Knight-style slimes like Slime Knight, Metal Slime Knight (which is nothing like other metal slimes and is probably just painted chrome), Snooty Slime Knight and Pâtissier Knight. A more potent "dudes on slimes" variant including Slionheart, Prime Slime and Shogum (which wins my award for favourite name ever).

Some dragon-style slimes - Dragon Slime, Drake Slime and Metal Dragon Slime. They are not as fearsome-looking as their names would suggest.

Another category I like to call "Slime Royalty" and there's quite a few of these: King Slime, Queen Slime, Slime Princess (no prince oddly), King Cureslime, King Bubble Slime, Metal King Slime, King She-Slime (DON'T GET CONFUSED-), Dark King Slime, Halloween King (not called a slime but we know better), Mottle King Slime, Liquid Metal King Slime and Crème Caraslime (which isn't strictly royalty but falls under "giant slime with a funny hat" so I'm keeping it). Two additional bearded ones called Grandpa Slime and his metal cousin the Metal Kaiser Slime.

GEM SLIMES AT LAST and they are very fancy lads indeed! Gem Slime, Emperor Slime, Darkonium Slime (which... is different from the other dark slimes too...), Platinum King Jewel (the BIGGEST xp bag in the games he appears in) and Diamond Slime. Oh and the Gem Slime looks very different from its stacked variant, which just looks like a recolour of the standard slime stack.

Alright, this is where it gets weird. It'll be tame to start with and gradually slide down into "what the hell am I looking at" territory.

I'm not entirely sure if I should include the plant slimes here? There's Tree Slime, sure, but plenty are under the Plant family. But for the sake of completeness since they all share the characteristic Slime face: Tropic Gel, Sprite Bulb, Wight Bulb, Fright Bulb, Weedie and Seedie Weedie.

Bad Egg and Mega Egger also fall into the Slime family, both being able to hatch into slimes or other monsters. Bad Egg itself... sigh... ALSO has a host of variants with that characteristic eye and grin. Eggcelsior, Glorious Eggcelsior, Egg Royale, Speggtre, Foliegg, Dreggon, Deviled Egg, Hard-boiled Egg (which is made of bricks, very fun design) and Egg-en-ciel.

Let's get weirder.

I don't have a category for these next slimes besides "Weird". The Box Slime and Master Slime are probably the most normal of them, along with Pearl Gel (which is just a cute idea)... ...but then we have Aqua Slime which is just a fish-shaped standard slime (and looks kind of creepy). And Wild Slime. And Snowmangler for some reason who is just a snowman. Rubble Slime and Magma Slime are slimes made of rocks at various temperatures. Wing Slime. It has the jellyfish-like body of the Healslime category but also has wings on its back. I don't know why this one bothers me so much but it just does. Though not as much as Slabbit. The name speaks for itself.

And now my absolute favourites. Ultra Slime and Nemeslime. These aren't standard slime monsters. I don't know if I can do them justice but I can try. They are. Full-suited. Power Ranger-esque knights. With a slime motif. These two have no god damm right going as hard as they do, they're so stupid that they loop right back around to being amazing.

Did I mention the slimes have a TANK? The Famed Schleiman Tank, in fact. It's from a spinoff called Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime where - as far as I can glean - the slimes have fucking militarised. These guys have the enginuity to build a tank that looks like it doubles as a moble military base as well.

And finally, to cap this insane journey off...

Trode.

He isn't a classic slime. He's listed in the Slime Family page but is humanoid and lacks the distinct slime features. So what is he doing there exactly? Well... you'll see.

This is what Trode looks like, for reference. He's a cursed king who's daughter was turned into a horse but that's not what I want to highlight here.

What I DO want to highlight is that he makes an appearance in Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2. I want to believe I'm missing a lot of context - and I probably am - but this game involves you taming monsters on an island and doing battle with them. This game has a breeding chart for what monsters are compatible with what other monsters. Trode here. Has a breeding chart. Which lists the Gem Slime of all things.

I'm not sure if the Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker wiki page stating that Trode here can't be bred means that he can't breed with other monsters or he can't be obtained VIA breeding (called Synthesizing in the Joker version of DG:M) and I'm also not sure if the chart means he can procreate with or produce Gem Slimes. All I know is that he's listed under the Slime Family page and investigating further has raised more frightening questions than it answered.

There's another equally weird entry on there but it is marked under spoilers, so... I'll leave that up to curiosity.

And. Yeah. That's where my Dragon Quest wiki diving got me. I am dead certain that there's a slime or two I've missed but there are a LOT! There was a "why" to this at some point - some combination of nostalgic triggers that compelled me to venture there - but it's long since been overshadowed by whatever the hell is happening in this strange, beady-eyed family of iconic critters.

Hi, would you like to know how many species of slime there are in Dragon Quest?

[thedailycampix]

Your icon seems to be getting pretty nervous.

“See, there! That nervous sweat thing you’re doing! Knock it off!”

@occasionallyarcanine ‘s Coal gave me a Pokébean way back when. I feel it’s only fitting to film him in his best element.

[bloopsalot]

The Scrybes as Mentors

so the au is from my doodle post yesterday where its like "Act 2 ends where the scrybe you picked becomes your mentor figure instead"

so like all four scrybes have a different teaching style, right?

Leshy, scrybe of the beasts, has a pretty kinesthetic teaching style of "lets go out into the woods with our special cameras, make some cards, play some games where I’m the player and you’re the dm. Here’s the rules for playing as the dm and here’s what I would do differently" kinda stuff. Probably calls the apprentice his cub partially because the card grows up to a higher form, partially because mans massive so the apprentice is tiny by comparison.

Grimora, scrybe of the dead, is an old lady there’s no denying this, so I like to think she would teach her apprentice like how schools worked back in the day where after school you’d go into the coal mines and get rocks in your lungs. She gives you a desk, (its a tombstone) some parchment, and a quill and makes you practice your calligraphy because goddammit epitaphs and obituaries have to look NICE for pity’s sake. Probably calls the apprentice Deary because Dearly Departed etc etc. 

Po3, scrybe of bitc- tech It’s just a reluctant "fiiiine i guess i gotta show you the meta" older brother-like figure that Really doesn’t want to lose its precious x-box time trying to teach you how to make a card. But when it sees you finally beat it, it Acts like it's not proud but it is. For a computer its very hard at keeping a poker face. Has an assortment of demeaning nicknames because of course it would.

Magnificus, Scrybe of Magic,,, is weird he already has students who want to be immortalized into cards I don’t think his scrybe-apprentice would be thrown down the same track??? Partially because track to being a card is a form of torture literally. But to be the scrybe of magics means they’d have to wield his paintbrush so maybe its just a ton of art classes but it's a very wax-on wax-off type of teaching style that to the apprentice doesn’t make sense, like Never leaving a foundation class and constantly having to do still lifes that just get more and more complicated. 

[strangebrainrot]

IM SO EXCITED FOR YOUUUUUU!!!!! 🎉🎉

little hcs that i’m pulling out of my brain just for you:

-steve likes coffee but only the really expensive ones directly from italy or spain when it’s not even processed and he has to grind the beans himself. billy thanks that’s pointless and would rather eat the bean whole then go through the process of grinding it and steeping it and everything

-tommy and billy are nap partners. like steve only sleeps at night because he needs that structure for life but tommy and billy are little goblins who knock out if they stand still for too long. it’s also the reason they’re so close: an acccidental nap can change everything

-billy mixes gold and silver jewelry and it drives steve nuts. he wears his gold necklace and his silver earring and steve just doesn’t get that (and with the double denim? really??)

- tommy’s skin care routine is to forget to wash it for three days straight then take a shower and rub the shampoo a little farther down his face when washing his hair. steve has a 8 step process for what he puts on his face in the morning and a slightly altered version for night. steve gets pesky pimples all the time but tommy’s skin is the smoothest and least pimple-y at school. steve holds a not so secret grudge

-even tho steve’s a little rich boy, it’s tommy and billy who splurge on pointless items even when they don’t have the money to do so. steve feels like a mother when they go grocery shopping and they try to buy half the candy shelf at checkout

I love all of these! Thank you for them. Sorry this took so long for me to get to!

-Steve is definitely the type of person to drink fancy expensive coffee and dress it up so it's barely coffee by the time he's actually drinking it. Billy takes his with 2 creams and 4 sugars and can tell when it's not those exact amounts. Tommy takes his coffee like a mostly normal person, but practically collects coffee syrups. He's got all kinds of weird flavors that Billy and Steve insist do not belong in coffee like raspberry or root beer or gingerbread.

- This made me think of the episode of Friends when Ross and Joey did the same thing. I imagine it went down exactly like that the first time. Tommy is a nap king and takes one almost every day and Billy just doesn't get proper rest so these two kill the nap game.

- Billy has a great sense of style on the surface, but if you look at him a bit longer it just kinda makes you go what the fuck and that is exactly Steve's reaction. Until Billy gets dressed for a date, in which case you will never hear him complain ever

- Tommy has such naturally great skin and even a lot of the girls ask him for his routine and make the most horrified faces when he tells them. They usually turn around and ask Steve because he puts in the work to look that good.

- Tommy and Billy are still kind of stuck in their ways of having the emotional competence of of a brick wall. They just don't know how to tell people they care about them. They communicate more in gifts, even if it's like a literal hunk of coal that one of them found on the side of the road. Tommy also has a major sweet tooth and very little self control and Billy doesn't really get that kind of stuff super often, so they both find themselves going nuts whenever they pass it. It's also very important to never take Billy shopping before or right after a workout because he will buy so much food and eat half of it on the way back.

Some more for you!

- When Steve is washing dishes he'll just turn the water to a temperature and rinse them off, using soap in there's something visibly on it and then just putting them in the cupboard. Billy, however goes all fucking out. I'm talking specific water temp, soaks them first, rinses anything off of them, washes them with soap, rinses them of again, washing any that he feels need a second go, and then letting them air dry or towel drying them if he's gonna use any right after.

- Tommy loves blowing bubbles and finding fun ways to catch them

- the three of them once pooled money together to buy a cake to just eat for no reason and they were definitely high by the time they got around to actually eating it so you can bet the cake was gone in half an hour. They later agreed to do it on a regular basis

- Despite being a swimmer, Steve gets swimmers ear every summer without fail and it's the worst thing. It gets even worse when he and Billy hang out and he finds out Billy's only had it once and never again

[womenofwonder]

RWBY characters races for AUs set in our world.

How I’m going to do this: three things. The first, the city they live in Remnant. This is the least important because that leaves us with only five…maybe six places compared to our world’s hundreds of countries.

The second will be the original of their names, which they’ll have to keep in the AUs, meaning that they need some culture background for them.

The third will be their fairy tale origins.

So to start, Ruby Rose:

She lives in Vale, which is similar to France (I’ll explain why in another post maybe), but technically grew up in patch, a small island off the coast of Vale. I have no idea about Patch’s culture as we hardly ever see it, so I’m going to skip this one. We also don’t know if either Summer or Taiyang was originally from Vale.

We know Taiyang is Chinese from his name, so I’m going to say she’s half Chinese. I also wrote a western au once and really love the idea of Taiyang being an Asian Redneck…so I think I’m going to say Ruby is very, very southern just because that would be adorable.

But if you don’t want that idea I generally see Taiyang being either Asian-American or Asian-French, or Asian-British if your doing a HP AU. Summer is harder to pin down, but Red Riding Hood was originally an Italian fable, so I’m going to have her be Italian or Italian-American.

Weiss:

Weiss is German, although making her simply white America/British would work. I could see her being Russian too in some AU because Atlas fits well as Russia. For American works, Pennsylvania has quite the German population and coal mines, so that works pretty well for her.

Blake is really complicated. From Remment Australia which is culturally SEA (south East Asian), has an English name but parents with a Hindu-inspired names, but neither looking vaguely Indian. I’m going to assume her family are immigrants (as they are in cannon I think) to Australia, maybe even changed their name to help them fit in. Immigrants from where? Well, India is an option, but I like to think Malaysia. They have a large Indian and Chinese population, and I like to think Blake is a mixture of Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnicities, from Malaysia and immigrated to Australia. And if you think this is crazy or unrealistic, you haven’t seen anything yet. The sheer mix of cultures I’ve seen growing up as an ex-pat is insane. This isn’t too crazy.

For Yang, we already have Taiyang as an Asian red-neck. Or at least I do. Raven and Qrow are going to be a little harder to pin down, but I’m think bandits getting replaced by mafia. Which mafia? I don’t know, take you’re pick. Branwen is Welsh, but I can’t think of a Welsh mafia. Coming from Mistral I would see them as being Triad, not Yakuza because Raven’s gang is famous for being less than coordinated.

If you need a logical reason for Yang having blonde hair, Taiyang could be only half Chinese, half blonde (blonde is race right?).

Either way I see Raven operating in an American city like New York or Detroit.

This would mean Yang is fully Chinese ethnically.

JNPR:

Jaune’s name and inspiration are all French. However his mother does come from Mistral (I think), so I do see him being half Chinese, but nationally French. It’s also funny to imagine him with a French accent.

Pyrrha: she’s Greek or maybe Greek-American with her parents being recent immigrants. Argus seems to Remnent-Greece and her name and fairy tale are greek.

Nora: she should be Scandinavian. I feel like in a MCU AU she’s Thor’s daughter. But she also grew up as a street rat in Mistral, which is hard to fit in our world. Therefore I’m going to have her in America, the great melting pot (and also America seems to be more like Mistral than any other Remnent king with our state system), and she going to ethically Scandinavian but knowing nothing of her culture due to her upbringing.

Ren: obviously Chinese, but I might have him be American-Chinese to fit his story nicely in with Nora’s.

Others:

Coco: we’re all ignoring that she’s based off Coco Channel, so let’s make her a LA girl

Velvet: Australia, because of the accent. Or maybe English because that is her story origin

Fox: he’s difficult, because tribes are pretty rare in modern AUs. But his story could work for various things. He’s one of the few black characters so he could come from practically any African tribe (I’m currently going with Hausa because it’s one of the few I know anything about). His name is based off ‘the fox and the hound’ which is a rare American story, so he could also be from a Native American tribe if you want the AU to be more American-based.

Yatsuhashi: Japanese, this one is thankfully easy.

Sun: Chinese. He comes from a tribe as well, but I can’t think of any nomadic Chinese tribes except the Uyghurs. Making Sun a Uyghur doesn’t make much sense but it will serve to piss off certain people on the internet. And now this is going to be taken down, isn’t it? Oh wait, this is tumbrl. This is anarchy. It won’t. Forgot why I liked this place for a second.

Scarlet: sorry for the rambling there. Anyway, Scarlet is definitely English. “I hope I don’t get sand in my shoes.”

Sage: well, he’s black, but other then that we have nothing to go one. He’s also from Mistral but that doesn’t really work? If Mistral is America as well as China I guess we can make him African American. Or whatever else works best for the AU. He might be Indian too now that I think of it. Or even Maori. Really options are limitless here.

Neptune: Yeah, so probably just American, but does have both a French last name and an Italian first name. So probably ethically American (aka white mutt). Also he lives near a port, I think I’m gonna gone with him being from Tacoma Washington because I am.

Flynt: African American

Neon: Japanese-American because of her meme (it started as part of Japanese pop song on YouTube, the latter of which is America summed up in one invention)

Oscar: Hispanic-American, he just looks it. And I’m guessing he lives in Kansas for obvious reasons. His last name isn’t Hispanic but their could be a lot of reasons for that. Or he could be Native American (Pawnee, Cheyenne, and Osage are all Native American tribes in Kansas).

Penny: well if she’s still a robot she probably stays white, but if you want her human in this AU she might end up being half black as Pietro is, although she also could just be adopted. I guess the later makes more sense, huh? I figure she’s American, with her dad working with a ‘well meaning’ but ultimately corrupt government. Probably living in DC, as that has both the government and the poverty issues.

Emerald: oohh, boy. This is hard. Sustrai is Basque, and Aladdin is a French addition to an Arabian story, she herself is dark skinned with anime features that are super unhelpful for this sorta thing.

I have three ideas. Brazilian, mostly as there’s no South American themed RWBY characters I can think of, and it’s diverse enough that someone looking like Emerald would fit. Secondly, for American centered stories she’s just an orphan with no idea of her ethnicity. Or she could be African, Indian, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic or some mixture between those four. It’s honestly really hard to tell. In my fanfic she’s from Suriname and ethnically 1/4 Indian, 1/2 Creole, and 1/4 Javanese.

Ilia: Sioux (Native American). Ilia means a lot of things in a lot of different languages, and Amitola mean rainbow in Sioux, so I decided to just stick with that.

Mercury: American, white mutt American. I’m guessing New York or Philli for where he grew up, it seems like a place where he’d be comfortable

Neo: the new novel reveals her father lived in vale (btw I haven’t read it, I’m just getting this off the internet) and her mother was a assassin who’s origins aren’t known. She doesn’t really have a fairy tale. So I’m going to go with British or French (thank RWBY thoughts for the first one) although in an American AU she works as just a white American.

Robyn: depends on what Atlas is in this AU, but probably German or American.

Qrow: I already mentioned he’s probably Chinese due to being from Mistral. It’s a bit weird to think of him as Asian, but not as weird as it to think of Raven as white, so I’ll take it. Although I do like the idea of him being American Irish, that’s fun.

Winter: whatever Atlas is in this AU, German or American, although British and Russian would work well too.

Maria: Mexican

Salem: If you want a AU where she’s just a normal person then New England or Italian for her story origin

Watts: British

Tyrian: uh…I have no idea, but he looks white. And he kinda has a British accent? I want him to be southern for the accent tho. Probably just another crazy American

Cinder: her fairy tale is French but her origin is Chinese. Also, Cinderella doesn’t really have an origin, it’s an ancient story with every culture having at least one Cinderella story. So I’m going to say Chinese.

Hazel: American, from the Midwest. He’s darkish so maybe he’s a POC? Part Native American or Hispanic? Idk or really care I can’t stand Hazel

Roman Torchwick: American-Italian, he runs/works for the mafia

Ozpin: American because of the whole wizard-of-Oz-thing or French, because he seems to have come from Vale.

Glynda: American or French for the same reasons Ozpin is

Oobleck: Jewish American (because Dr. Seuss was)

Professor Port: Russian, due to his fairy tale, or English, due to his style

Taiyang: already said he’s a red-neck Asian.

Raven: depending on whether you want her to be white or not, either Chinese or Irish American, like I already said.

Cordovin: Karen

Ironwood: again, depends on Atlas in the AU. Either American or German…maybe Russian

Clover: Irish-American (or German, obviously the ace-ops depend on where Atlas is. I’m just going to do the rest of them assuming Atlas is American because Germany isn’t that diverse)

Harriet: African-American, I guess. It kinda messes with the story because Harriet is supposed to be privileged, which doesn’t really work in this AU, but she’s also obviously black.

Elm: Just normal American, maybe greek-American because of the Aesop fable themes

Vine: Tibetan based on his design

Marrow: either African-American or Pakistani/Indian-American. (I’m personally going for Pakistani)

Klein: english. All butlers are English. It’s a rule.

Pietro: African-American

Johanna: Pakistani or Indian American

Fiona: Jewish-American (kinda random but while she’s obviously white she also needs to be a minority for the Faunus thing to work)

May: normal upper glass American/German

Ghira: Half Malay, Half Indian, from Malaysia but immigrated to Australia later in life

Kali: half Chinese, half Indian, but also from Malaysia

Adam: much like Fiona I’m going to assume he’s Jewish due to him being white but still needing to be a minority. German or American, again, depending on where Atlas is. Or he could be Chinese, even though it doesn’t work with his name, due to the theory that he was trafficked much like Cinder. I’m going with ethically Jewish though

Sienna Khan: Indian

Huh, I actually finished that. I’m pretty sure I was accidentally racist multiple times and apologize in advance,

I’m exhausted and starving and not thinking straight. But anyway, here it is. Your very messy guide to modern RWBY AUs. I swear this was insane to sort out.

[gffa]

I know I've brought this up before, but how much of the fandom reception of the prequels do you think stemmed from the genre dissonance? That the prequels, genre-wise, are closer to high fantasy, while the OT is more an adventure/space western/underdog triumph story.

The prequels also have elements more reminiscent of a romantic period/court drama/Shakespearean tragedy, while if you consider the underdog angle of the OT, the OT also seems kinda similar to some of those inspirational movies about sports teams or something, or a shonen anime with the "Power of Friendship".

I'm just saying, these are rather disparate genres that tend to attract different demographics of people.

And not many people tend to be... great about understanding why they don't like something, much less putting it into words, or understanding that they can dislike something without that something being actually bad. (For example, instead of "I just don't really like [thing]," the usual statement is something along the lines of "[thing] absolutely sucks.")

So the usual response is trying to find (and gather) solidarity while putting down or being condescending towards any dissent, and trying to justify their own dislike. (*gestures vaguely towards pineapple on pizza*)

And historically, it's not uncommon for people to... react strongly towards things they find... different or abnormal, which they judge based on themselves, their emotional response to something, and what they're used to.

Looking at kids, this behavior is... fairly normal. "You're weird," "ew, why do you like that, that's gross," "that's stupid," and so on. A lot of kids/teens/young adults also get defensive really easily. And let's face it--adults are basically just older, taller kids who've had to deal with more of life.

(To be honest, I also get defensive really easily. A lot of people do, and it's... it's normal. The defensive reaction can be lashing out, denial, or just being passive-aggressive or staying silent and tuning it out or mentally rolling your eyes at it. But I'm trying to work on it, because just because it's normal doesn't mean it's a good reaction.)

So, what I'm wondering is whether some fans dislike the prequels simply because it's a different genre...

...but instead of realizing that, they try to defend and justify their dislike by pointing fingers and criticizing whatever stood out or looked different from the OT or cherry-picking details/taking things out of context or making negative conflations (that can be refuted).

Because it's not about logic, it's about how they feel. And people want to feel justified and validated, and we want to feel like we're right and we enjoy staying in our comfort zones. So... yeah. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

LOL, okay, this response is going to be really disjointed because I went off in like a dozen different tangents and even then it's not enough to cover everything, so just kind of read this in a Scattered Thoughts Nerd kind of tone, where I'm staring off into the distance because Navel Gazing Gets Me Going Sometimes. 😂 In my experience, it's sort of a mix. I don't hang around a lot of people who dislike the prequels (in the sense of dismissing them/not being fannish about them) because, well, that's the heart of my interest in Star Wars, so our areas of interest basically don't really overlap that much, so I don't have a chance to talk to a lot of people and find out their reasons or even how they dislike the prequels, in the bigger trends of fandom. I do think there's an element of what you're talking about, that sometimes people can't just dislike things because it's not their genre of choice, that's absolutely a part of it. Mostly because that's how a lot of people react to anything they don't like (and it's something I and literally everyone else has to work on), there has to be a reason for it that it's objectively bad and, like, I have experienced a lot of people getting mad because I like something in a different way than they do. And I don't mean just in Star Wars fandom, but in almost any given fandom--if someone likes something in a way someone else doesn't, if they talk loudly about it (even within their own space), then there's always a contingent of people who have to find a reason why that person is objectively wrong (or even try to make them morally wrong), rather than just shrugging and going, "We see things differently, my view on things doesn't overwrite theirs and their view on things doesn't overwrite mine." It gets more complicated in instances where fandom attitudes genuinely can be hurtful, especially when they're overlapping into the way real people are treated, likes/dislikes don't 100% exist in a bubble, especially when it comes to queer fans, fans of color, disabled fans, mentally ill fans, etc. But that there are a lot of instances where fandom culture has always been--and is increasingly so--contentious and it's hard to chill out when someone is always screaming at you, when the atmosphere of the fandom is always so intense. Further, there's also an element of how fandom has always been--and also is increasingly so--about personal resonance, personal emotional investment, interpretation, and meaning. That sometimes we identify with something so deeply that we feel attacked when someone else likes or dislikes something we feel so strongly about, something that we feel is a reflection of ourselves, and I see a lot of that as well. And this, too, often crosses over into lines of how the context of how we treat characters can be reflections of how we treat real world people, but that there's no monolith here as well. For example: I make fun of Anakin, this angers some people, because how dare I not take this fictional victim 100% seriously, despite that I have repeatedly said that Anakin is the character I most identify with, that things I make fun of him for are ones that I resonate with personally. I'm not disrespecting mentally ill people, especially considering that Anakin is not bound to a single interpretation on this front--he is not canonically mentally ill, no matter how easy it is for us in fandom to map much of that onto his character or, in my case, feel that so much of what I see in him are things I struggle with myself. By and large, the majority of the people I see (at least on tumblr) who make fun of Anakin are doing so within the same vein, that they're being silly about him on things that they personally relate to. (My experiences on this are not universal, I cannot speak for the whole of even any one part of fandom, only my own sphere of experience, but this is what I've seen.) As always, it's fine if someone doesn't vibe with my style or they find that it's not their thing because they do take him more seriously, but that preference does not make my jokes

suddenly not have the context that I relate a lot to what I see in Anakin. In contrast, the way some of the fandom treats Mace or Finn isn't just personal all the time. Not liking their characters isn't inherently racist, but the way they're consistently, consistently treated sure as hell speaks to a larger pattern of racism in fandom and doesn't come without that context. It's the same with Rey--is there a huge vein of misogyny when it comes to her character? Abso-fucking-lutely there is. Things Luke and Anakin get a pass on, Rey is raked over the coals for. Is everyone who dislikes Rey a misogynist? Not even close. Some don't like her because Finn was used as a prop for her story. Some people don't like her because she got sucked into Kylo Ren's story too much. Some just don't care for the way she was written for other reasons. Some just don't vibe with her. It's fine. Nothing is a monolith. And to circle this back around to what you're talking about--it's hard to judge, both because no part of fandom is a monolith in their reactions, but also because we're only hearing from a selection of the fans. How do you know how many people who aren't fans of the prequels, who just don't care for them because it's not their genre, but just go about their day? You don't hear from a lot of them because they moved on to things they do like, so it seems like they must not exist--except, they do, and they're just out there doing things they like more. We only hear from the people who feel the need to tell others they dislike the prequels for this reason or that reason, some valid, some less valid, etc. Ultimately, I do think there's probably a fair amount of genre dissonance for why people dislike the prequels and channel that into "they're objectively bad" and get defensive when people like them and say they were great, but only because that's true of anything anywhere. But that it's only one small slice of the bigger picture (and there's a lot of stuff that I had to eschew in the writing of this response as well because it can be a pretty sprawling topic), where there are tons of reasons and reactions that people have, as well as they're perfectly free to dislike the prequels for whatever reason they do or don't have, it doesn't really affect my opinions, unless they're trying to shove it in my face or are being a dick to those who disagree with them.

[writing-prompts-for-friends]

Questions to Help World Build

I’ve realized I have a big problem with my writing. I am awful at world-building. Like, I just start writing without thinking about the world. And since I write fantasy. Well. That’s pretty no bueno and leads to all kinds of problems down the road. So I did some brainstorming with my friends and we created a list of over 100 questions to help think about our stories’ worlds and make them more concrete. Thanks to everyone who chimed in and gave me a hand! 

A traditional Japanese clock, wadokei, that counted hours from 9 to 4, starting from sunrise, and then starting once again from sunset. (1-3 were not used for religious purposes.) They’re super interesting and confusing. You should definitely check them out.

Temporal

Is your story set in the past, present, or future?

Specifically, what year(s), month(s), day(s)?

Are days 24 hours? Or does time pass differently in this world?

How many months are there in a year? Is it a seven day weekday? Does the concept of weekends exist?

Have most existing societies developed a timekeeping device?

Is there a way to communicate across long distances?

The concept of time zones is still relatively new to our world. Prior to the late nineteenth century, timekeeping was a purely local phenomenon. Each town would set their clocks to noon when the sun reached its zenith each day. Do standardized time zones exist across the world?

Geographical

From a planet perspective, is it Earth? If it is not Earth, or an alternative version of Earth, what is it like? Is gravity the same? Does it have a moon or multiple moons? Can you see other planets? Is it closer or further from the sun? If so, what impact does that have on the climate and passage of time?

What town, state, region, country, continent, planet does this story take place in? What are its bordering/nearest neighbors? Draw a world map if you want.

What kind of land is it? Landlocked? Mountainous? Along the sea? Desert? Tundra? Tropical forest? Plains? Agricultural? Industrial?

What kind of plants and animals are common to the area? Are there any that do not exist in the real world?

What are the most common crops and livestock in various regions? What geographic features influence certain regions ability to grow/raise their crops and livestock (positively and negatively)? Are the regions diets strongly influenced by what they are able to grow themselves, or do other circumstances (like strong international trade) allow them to have more varied selections? How does religion influence what is considered ‘normal’ to eat?

What, if any, natural disasters are common to the region? Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, monsoons, blizzards?

How many seasons does it have? Are any longer than others?

What is the typical weather like for those seasons?

Does the region have any unusual geographical features that set it apart? Perhaps there is some weird thing like Devil’s Tower just chilling out. Or hot springs because of volcanic activity?

Is it easy to travel from place to place within the area? Is it difficult to travel because of terrain/technology issues, or because travel is strictly regulated?

Main Locations: Cities

Many stories take place within one city. In Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, a character remarks, “So, if a city has a personality, maybe it also has a soul. Maybe it dreams.” What personality does this city have? What soul does it have? What does it dream of when it slumbers? If your story takes place within a settlement, town, or city, give these questions some thought.

Exactly where is it located within the lands you conjured up in the above Geography questions? Does it have a bay? A river? Does it butt up against mountains? Draw a map of the city.

How big is the city? Is it compact, or sprawling?

How old is the city?

What is the history of the city? How did it come to be? What tumults and triumphs has it seen?

What is the population? Is it currently increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same?

Does the town have any claim to fame? Any tourist attractions? What are they? What’s the story behind them?

If it’s a big enough city, how many and what kind of districts does it have? Residential, Commercial, Industrial, etc. Where are they?

Are there any areas that are deemed unsafe? If so, where are they and why are they unsafe?

Is there public transportation? What kind, bus, tram, train, subway, monorail? Is it good?

How do people get around this city if not by public transportation?

Are the roads narrow or wide? Crisscrossing in a methodical grid or higgledy-piggledy?

What are the buildings like? What materials are they made of? If they’re wooden, are they new wood, old wood? If they’re painted, what colors? If they’re stone, what stone? If they’re brick, is it new red brick or blackened, crumbling brick? If they’re glass and metal, are they sparkling with new hope or dull and jaded?

Are there many skyscrapers? Or are most buildings 1-3 stories tall? What does the skyline look like?

Are there many parks?

How is the city powered? Coal? Hydroelectric? Wind? Nuclear? Has it always been so?

What is the city’s main source of revenue? Agriculture? Tourism? Manufacturing? Mining? Something else? A combination? Dive deeper into this. If it’s agriculture, what do they grow? Tourism–what is famous? etc. This will help to determine what a lot of people do for a living.

What are the demographics? Ethnicity, age distribution, distribution of upper, middle, and lower class, etc.

How many schools are there? Universities? Are any of them good? Do they specialize in anything? Do schools even exist? Perhaps there are clans that teach their children everything they need, for example, or education isn’t viewed as important.

Are there any particular landmarks within the city that standout?

How many and what kind of restaurants are there?

Are there supermarkets, open air markets, or both?

Where do young people go to spend time? What about adults?

Do people there bustle or do they amble?

What are the nights like? Does the city grow quiet, or does it grow rowdy?

What does the city smell like?

If you had to give your town a color, one that represented its personality, what color would it be?

Main Locations: Houses (or buildings, but mainly houses)

There are many stories that have a house or headquarters or hospital or some sort of building as their main setting. These questions will mostly be geared towards helping you figure out a house, but you can apply these to other buildings too probably.

Exactly where is the house located within the city or outside the city? How does your character usually get there? Draw a map. 

What year was the house built?

Was this house built by the current family or their ancestors? Who else lived in the house before the current dwellers? What were they like? Did they leave their mark on the house somehow?

What style is the house? Bungalow? Cabin? A shed? A cave? (makes the following questions mostly useless if so lol)

How many stories is it?

What is it made of? Wood? Brick? What color is it?

Does it have a lot of windows?

Are the curtains usually open or drawn? Are thee curtains at all?

What does the front door look like? 

Is there a porch?

You enter the front door. Or maybe you don’t. Maybe you use the side door because the front door is for show or something. Anyways. You enter the house. What room do you step foot into?

Draw out the floor plans for each floor. How many rooms are there? Where are they? How big are they? How are they connected? What color are they? What style of decor?

Is there a basement? Is it used or is it just a home for spiders and darkness and unwanted things? How about an attic? Crawlspace?

How many bathrooms? 

Are there any rooms that only certain people are allowed to enter? If so, why? 

What is the flooring? Carpet? Wood? Tile? Linoleum? 

What does the house smell like?

Government/Military/Economy

In other words, “the boring stuff,” if you ask me. But this is a very important aspect of any world. 

What sort of government is in place? Democracy, oligarchy, etc? Is it a just or corrupt government?

How are goods exchanged? Bartering? Money? Coins and bills? Credit cards? A specific kind of sea shell? Lol

What are the police like? Strict? Lax? Is there a curfew?

Do taxes exist? If so, do the people feel as though they are heavily or unduly taxed?

Where is the intersection between theology and law? Is it common to have religious leaders in positions of power? Are laws based around religious ideology, or is there an effort to keep them separate?

Is there an organised structure devoted to halting criminal acts? Are they corrupt? Who runs the organisation? How does their reputation change based on demographic? What is the history of the organisation, and how does that history influence how it operates today?

Regarding potentially criminal acts, what is the elgality of prostitution, sex work, ect.?

What about drugs and other illicit substances? Alcohol, illicit drugs, recreational use. Legality, festivity, age limits, etc.

Underbelly. How prevalent is crime, what sort of crime (scaled from pickpocketing to human trafficking) is there? Are there areas that have bad reputations because of it?

Regarding war, are there currently conflicts in the world? Are they international or civil wars? How common is it to have an active war? What is the history of war? What does current warfare look like (Is it dudes in metal suits swinging swords? Have longbows been invented? Gunpowder? Tanks? Missiles?) Is military service mandatory or voluntary? How is the military seen? Is there a sense of patriotism for the military, or does the common man fear it?

Is there stigma around certain genders entering the military? Are come genders regarded as better recruits than others? Is it illegal for some genders to enter the military? Does a person's sexuality affect their ability to serve?

How has religion influenced war? Have there been holy wars in the past? Do any religious institutions hold their own military forces?

Cultural/Historical

I’ve put these together because events in history lead to cultural change. You can apply these questions not only to the world/country, but also the city or even the neighborhood, workplace, or school that your story takes place in.

What is the history of the region? Who was it settled by? Was another group of people displaced? After that, did any new cultures come in? Did they get along?

Were there ever any wars or serious conflicts in the region? What was the cause and what was the outcome of the war if there was one?

In our world, the internet, social media, and film/tv are massive cultural drivers. They determine the latest fashions, jokes, topics, and expressions. What are the big cultural drivers in your world? Books? Plays? Radio? Oral tradition?

Is it a collectivistic or individualistic society?

What languages are spoken by your characters? Is multilingualism common?

What sorts of cultures can be seen? Do any clash? Do any mesh?

What sort of foods are most common?

What superstitions do people hold? Is there a version of “knock on wood” or throwing salt over your shoulder after a funeral? What are the roots of these superstitions?

Are there religions? If so, what are they? Do any conflict with each other? Are zealots or extremists an issue?

Does slavery or indentured servitude exist?

Are there any class or caste systems? If so, what are they, and what does an average day look like for a member of each class/caste?

How does a person's appearance change from country to country? Do certain countries have very distinct fashions? If so, are the fashions influenced by religion, surrounding countries, the cultural majority or international trade partners?

How does a person's clothing relate to their social standing? Is it very easy to assume someone's roll by appearance alone? Are there punishments for dressing above or below your social standing?

Does the society place a great deal of importance on a person's presentation, or is the society more lenient on such things?

Is there an emphasis on conformity to a dress code, or is individuality encouraged? How strictly is clothing regulated by gender binary? Is it commonplace to see a man and a woman walking down the street in the same cut of clothes? Is there a social stigma when a person does not conform to the most common form of dress for their gender?

How are sexual rights viewed? Does the LGBTQ community have the same rights as people outside the community? How are sex acts between people of the same sex viewed? Is it legal? Taboo? Are there cultures that encourage those relationships in some circumstances (like how the romans were down with guys with guys in the military)?

Are there any groups of people that are victims of prejudice? If so, who are they, who holds these views against them, and what views specifically are they?

In regards to gender, do certain societies hold differing beliefs? Is there a commonly accepted number of gender identities or does it change regionally? Is the most common gender spectrum a binary, or do certain racial and cultural differences allow for a wider range to be seen as the baseline?

Are children raised by their biological parents or are children considered to be in the care of the wider community? Is it common/acceptable for extended family to raise children, such as parents needing to study, work, or serve time in the military? Is adoption a common thing in society? Is there a stigma around adoption/being adopted? Do cultural or religious views impact how adoption is seen by the wider community? What is adoption like for a single perspective parent? When adopting, is interracial adoption accepted/common, or is it seen in a negative light? Are some societies more open to adopting children outside of their own race?

How is sex and virginity viewed? Does religion influence it? What is the age of consent? What is appropriate on a first, second, third date? Is sex something that is talked about openly, or something taboo? Are you supposed to wait until marriage? Do couples stay monogamous while dating? Do some regions place higher importance on virginity than others? Do some place higher importance on one gender’s virginity than others?

How is marriage viewed? Are arranged marriages a big thing, or are people free to choose? Is monogamy common? How is a marriage symbolized? A wedding ring, or something different?

How is divorce viewed? What is the divorce rate? Can people remarry?

Magic and the Supernatural

If magic or spooky stuff doesn’t exist in your story, disregard this section.

Does magic exist? If so, who can use it? What are the limitations to their magic? What things are they capable of using their magic to do? What things are they incapable of doing?

Are there laws against what kind of magic can/cannot be used? What sort of laws? Who enforces them? What are the punishments for breaking said laws if they exist?

How does the existence of magic affect religion? Are there religious institutions that infuse magic into their worship? Are there religious sects that see magic as immoral and in direct opposition to their faith? Have there been conflicts in recent or ancient history between religion and the supernatural? Do some sects employ people to hunt and/or enforce law over the supernatural?

Assuming that magic does exist, is it taught? Are there different schools of magic? Is there a system of ranking for magic users based on their skill level?

Do non-magic users look towards magic users with respect or fear?

What role does magic play in this world? Has technology not advanced because magic solves many problems? Or has technology advanced and the use of some magics has become unnecessary?

Are there any mythological creatures/monsters, such as vampires, demons, skinwalkers, dragons, or other creatures of your own creation? Are they common? Do people believe in their existence? Do people worship them? Where can they be found? Do they interact with humans? Do humans fear them or try to put up with them as they do nature?

Do the dead continue to exist in some form, such as ghosts or zombies or the like? Can the dead be summoned or brought back to life?

Are there human/supernatural hybrids? Perhaps a half-demon half-human, for example? How are these people viewed by their peoples, and by society as a whole?

How has the supernatural influenced war? Do armies tend to have a mix of regular and supernatural soldiers/weapons? Have there been wars between the supernatural/magical and those without? How does magic influence a person standing in a mixed army? Is it more likely for a magical being to be promoted than a non-magical being? Conversely, are supernatural being forced into service and seen as pawns?

The End!

Please feel free to reblog and share, and add on any questions you think should be added!

[spectralscathath]

Bulldogs (Adam/Marrow) headcanons, owo?

Okay I don't think I've recently reblogged any ship headcanon ask meme thingies recently, but let's use that general idea as a sort of base. So. Bulldogs. Let's go.

My headcanon for Bulldogs is that they're childhood friends in Mantle, who both worked in the mines together as children. Marrow worked as a trapper, specifically, look that up if you want to get really mad at coal miners in the 1800s, and Adam pulled carts through areas adults couldn't fit in. Life sucked for them both, but that's what forges strong friendships that, unfortunately, do not get to prevail due to the SDC being The Worst.

Years later, after everything Happens, Adam is arrested. Marrow decides 'I can change him' because he feels like he kinda owes the guy after the event where Adam got branded, and so now we have uneasy roommate rehabilitation.

There is a lot to sort out. Like, a lot a lot. On both ends. Going to couples therapy before you even become a couple ftw.

They don't talk about the brand.

Marrow: when you have to live with your best friend who you loved before you even knew what love was and then spent the rest of your life pining and then they come back all in black and red and angsty and murdering people and it's not good morally but it's also really not good when that crush you tried to forget comes back with a vengeance and then you're living together with all that unspoken stuff, that's relatable, right? Harriet: Marrow what the fuck.

I like to think Marrow confesses first by accident, likely during an very emotional moment where the words 'I love you' slip out, it's probably angsty because we're not here for the fluff yet. Adam is poleaxed, moment over immediately, they're just left staring at each other.

Marrow jumps out a window to avoid unpacking all that.

But anyway they have another emotional moment eventually, and they start working through Emotional Vulnerability too.

Relationship get!

Now we can talk fluff.

Adam is a morning person by force and not choice. Now that he doesn't have to get up for mine shifts, survival, or white fang duties, he will sleep in til, like, noon. Marrow is just as bad when he doesn't have work, what is a morning.

They subsist only on the goodwill of Elm and takeout. Elm is a marvellous cook who has kept Marrow alive with a variety of bakes, casseroles, and soups for years. She now makes them all vegetarian. Adam is grateful. Marrow is not.

They're not really allowed have roadtrips until, like, 5 years in when Adam's been a Certified Good Noodle TM and his parole is lax enough that he can have supervised leave of the apartment. In order to prevent arguing they made a shared playlist and it's all punk, death metal, hip hop, and despite Adam's best efforts, a little bit of bubblegum pop. He maintains a great stoic face when those ones play.

They eventually talk about the brand.

They both do campaigning for faunus rights still, Marrow by using his Ace Op status, Adam by being a bitch to racists online because he's not actually allowed near any active faunus rights demonstrations due to his parole.

Sparring matches only ever happen hand to hand, because their weapon styles are so different, and it's generally a tie who wins. They're also both ridiculously competitive so there's actually no chance of sparring turning into makeout sessions, they spar to WIN (it also decides who cleans the tupperware).

Adam is already a crafts guy. He liked engraving, embroidery, all that sort of stuff. Then he suddenly has a lot of free time on his hands due to Mandated House Arrest. The hobby becomes a Lot More Integral.

There are many handmade ceramics and embroidered cushions and Weird Sculptures. They multiply. They've taken over what used to be Adam's bedroom. They're expanding into the main apartment like an infestation. Adam is proud of them. Marrow is quietly dreading whatever may come next. Jokes on him, it's Adam's Windchime Era.

They don't ever get married because they're cheap and also valid, but they do eventually change Marrow's address residence to say 'Amin-Taurus' on the apartment button buzzer sign. Marrow tried to put forward 'Taurus & Amin Co.' to make it sound official. Didn't work.

They eventually foster, way off in the future, when Adam has somewhat reintegrated into society and because Marrow is definitely a family person. They'd specifically try take in troubled faunus teenagers who got bounced around a lot and try to help them out, give them a home. Marrow is Nice and Adam is Stern, it works out better than expected. Lots of weekend visits. They feel content with life.

Marrow wears a scarf Adam embroidered everywhere. It always feels like a piece of home.

And here's what I got. Hope you enjoy, smols!