#both anons should elaborate. fight in my inbox

[jessaerys]

all due respect to other anon but i have read cs capat's white person fencing yaoi and it wasn't even good :/

oh it's fencing??? i thought it was some kind of fantasy purely off the cover cause i didn't read the blurb. boo who cares about sports

[orbitfalls]

🧠 lily evans…. my tragic girl (4 the ask game!!) also bonus and not a character but pandalily if u ship ( am also intrigued by ur bartylily hc’s if u have any delicious ones >:) )

hi anon!! this ask had a little sleepover here in my inbox cuz i was on vacation, but ask and i shall supply!!!!

MY best lily hc is not a hc at all, it's a little AU idea i like to play around with in my head but will probably never write. the concept is this: harry and james are both killed that night on halloween, but lily survives, is framed for the murder, and imprisoned in azkaban instead of sirius. she manages to break out of there with a personal vendetta against both voldemort AND dumbledore (who got her imprisoned the same way he did sirius in canon) that she intends to make everybody's problem, and thereby takes her own side entirely in the war. i like to think she plays it lowkey in the beginning, infiltrating hogwarts barty-style to manipulate students and spy on dumbledore. here, she would meet barty (they both would be both quick & paranoid enough to see through each other's disguises i think), and i think their interests would align to a degree that would surprise even themselves. i imagine she'd eventually seek out voldemort through him and meet bellatrix, creating a (to me) dead interesting trio-dynamic of the three most devoted characters in canon. and i think they should destroy the world together. and take over hogwarts. anyway this is getting long but feel free to come throw me an ask about it and i'll love to elaborate more if youre interested!!!

now for pandalily, i'll admit i'm not the world's biggest shipper, but it's mostly just because theyre a little TOO different imo, and i don't find them all too compatible. i think lily is a deeply loyal and devoted character, and i think pandora is the exact opposite of that - i think she's extremely emotionally detached, impulsive and untamed. i think lily might be fascinated by pandora the way she would by a fictional character, and that maybe she might even develop some sort of projective 'this could be me if i stopped worrying what others thought' kind of crush, but i don't think it would ever get further than that, and i think pandora would be indifferent about lily entirely. imo pandalily works when both characters (tho mostly pandora) are watered down, and i do enjoy the ship, but i prefer the characters more extreme!!!

bartylily works better to me because theyre both sort of spun around the same core devotion, but still manage to compensate for each other's flaws, which i think gives them a really compelling dynamic. it's hard for me to even point at a specific hc cuz the captivating thing to me is the correlation between their characters that everybody somehow missed until the bartylily movement randomly began rising on tumblr not too long ago. i just know they would go a little too hard on the academic rivalry, everybody thinks they hate each other until one day you see them sharing a joint behind the greenhouses on the lawn and you realise that hatred is such a precise and severe emotion to these two people that it is both crucial- and entirely detached from both their characters, and whatever it is that they share, it has nothing to do with hatred and everything to do with boredom. i think they pick fights in classes and purposely take opposite stand points simply for the thrill of it, because theyre both bored out of their minds.

[anotherhumanpet]

HOW I RUN MY BLOG

TAGGED BY: No one; I'm yoinking this from another blog I ran TAGGING: @rodanish, @convenientkeystorage, @monster-or-man, @yggdrasilushxrt, @codenamesilas, @ask-human-ratchet

—  SPEED.

It can vary but right now I feel confident enough to say it takes me no more than a few days to make a reply, then maybe another 1 to 3 days for it to be posted out of the queue system (depending on how many posts are logged). Things happen though and moods change. I'm coming out of a year-ish hiatus and trying to get back into the swing of things while also juggling my other hobbies and general life. I could wind up becoming a little slower, but as long as everyone (including myself) can be patient with things then it should be fine.

—  REPLIES.

I'm not a novelist, I can't describe a scene or view to save my life, and I don't know how to write action without hating every second of it and-or myself because an old partner use to constantly tell me that my action writing was bad and the improvements I tried to make were never good enough. I haven't spoken to that person in ten years but their words still haunt me to the point I dread action scenes. So, since the ability to write scenes and things of substance is out of my roster, I tend to focus more on a character's thoughts and emotions. I'll take you through the entire thought process of my characters so you can (hopefully) understand why they're ticking the way they are.

But I'm willing to step out of my comfort zone too, both for the sake of improvement of my skills and to create a better story. I make no promises on my efforts being any good, but god damn it I will try.

—  STARTERS.

I prefer plotted starters to just random, run-of-the-mill, first-greet starters simply because a plot gives me a guideline of what's going on, what's to be expected, and what kind of playing room I've got. If there's too much from for interpretation and creativity I tend to get... stuck on what to do and wind up leaning on being more reactive with my responses than proactive.

Starters don't have to be heavily plotted for me to be able to operate though! Hell, @monster-or-man and I made a whole ass thread with the premise of "Achim and Dennis need to meet and fight because we want to make Silas sweat a little more than he already is." and have another one in the works between Jaden and Bruce that is essentially "Jaden wants to Talk™." So, in shorter words, I like having ideas to play with but they don't have to be elaborate schemes.

—  INBOX.

Don't be shy. Ever. I love answering asks - be they random or silly little questions, thought provoking questions, probes at the characters and their relationships, or even a magic anon.

—  SELECTIVITY.

To be honest, even though I have the "mutuals only" tag on this blog I'm still trying to figure out how I want to do things post-hiatus. I don't think I'll be returning to my other blogs anytime soon, which frees up creativity and time for this one, so I could perhaps drop the tag and be a little more open. But, at the same time, I don't want to dive in too deep and wind up getting overwhelmed and stressed.

I don't think I'm horribly selective though. I may have my personal credentials (which I won't go into) but generally I'm just looking for good characterization, good writing, and compatible rules.

—  WISHLIST.

Honestly, I just want to throw Dennis into anything and everything. Since coming back to the blog and reminiscing on some old threads, I'm realizing that the moments where I was having the most fun with this kid are the moments when he was deep in some mystery or adventure - or trouble! This kid was built to get involved in shit, good or bad, and that's what I want to do with him.

—  HONEST NOTE.

🎶Oh girls just wanna have fun🎵

No, seriously. At the end of the day, everything I roleplay is done for fun. I can be serious, I can tell a complex story with conflict and resolution, but ultimately I am here to do things I think are fun and I want to do them with other people because I want to have fun with them. If things keep turning up Super Serious and there's no room to wiggle around and fun then I'm out. I know everything Dennis winds up doing is bad for him and others in some way but if he didn't do anything then there'd be nothing to do. Now let me write in peace.

[makaioujiimagines]

Hi Lexie! Good to see you again! Can I ask an one like that? That William Michael son and grows up in the heaven. Samael and his demons break in into the heaven, and Samael manages to kill Michael's son almost, but Michael saves it in the last moment. Thank you

Hey, I’m 5 years late, and I’m incredibly sorry. Really, I know this has been sitting in our inbox since back in 2015 when I was still active on this blog, and I’m so very sorry for not answering this. I don’t know if you’re still out there, anon, but if you are, please take my most heartfelt apology, and enjoy my (hopefully) improved English and writing.

The loud bang echoed all through the heavenly gardens. The sky itself shook and the field of white lilies went up in flames as the light, filthy air of hell started filling the area. William wasn’t quite sure what happened. Having grown up under Michael’s protective wings, he only knew demons from stories and fairy tales. He was not even permitted to visit the human realm just yet, let alone meet any of the creatures themselves. His days were spent peacefully studying in one of heaven’s libraries, accompanying his father to the seraph meetings, and watching after some of the gardens.

There was nothing about his life that could have prepared him for his current predicament.

He was thrown back by the explosion, his wings flapping uselessly in the thin air to try and give him some kind of support or at least slow down his involuntary flight but it hardly had any effect. His back hit the pillar of the gazebo where Gabriel rested hard and stars danced in front of his eyes for a moment. There was a searing pain in his lungs. One of his pristine white wings was in agony too.

Weakly, he raised his head to the source of the sudden intrusion. A group of… humans? No, they couldn’t have been. William has seen many humans in the Garden of Eden before. Humans didn’t have such malicious air around them. Humans didn’t have horns protruding from their skulls. And he certainly has never seen humans whose hands would be spitting fire and lightning. The realization came to him just a moment too late. One of the creatures – demons – was already strolling in his direction.

His relaxed pace and posture could have brought some relief to the pitiful angel if it weren’t for the frown settled on his face, the elaborate eyepatch that served as a proof of his previous victorious battles, or the dark and dangerous claws that were more animalistic than human. His frightening aura gave away that he was clearly no ordinary demon. A cold shiver went down William’s spine. He was well versed in magic and he trained with many high-ranking angels, but could he really hope to stand up to a demon like this?

Either way, it was no time to be sitting around. The blond sprang to his feet as fast as his dizzy head allowed him to. With a quick glance inside the gazebo, he confirmed the lily on top of Gabriel’s resting place was alright. Michael always spoke about her like she was the most precious thing to him. There was no way he could allow a demon to disturb her peace.

“You don’t seem familiar.” The demon suddenly came to a stop just a few feet away from him. “But you appear to be fairly strong. I wonder if you might be the reason for the sudden shift in power?”

He spoke in an amused tone, almost as if he were mocking him. Of course, he was likely much older than William, superior in every meaning of the word. But the young angel would not let himself be talked down like that by anyone. His hands sparked with gold as he returned the demon’s glare.

“I do not recall doing anything to shift the balance just yet. Would you like to be my first stepping stone to a higher rank?”

That drew a smirk on his opponent’s face, one that looked more than satisfied. Something sparkled in his one good eye for a second before he suddenly disappeared from sight. The angel relaxed. Surely the demon must’ve got scared by his determination! He was probably on his way back to hell where he would be safe.

William breathed a sigh in relief, completely missing the magic beam that was coming in his direction.

**********

“Annoying pests…” Michael almost cursed under his breath before remembering they weren’t in the human realm this time around. No, instead those bothersome demons came to fight him in heaven, thinking they stood any chance at all. However, letting his frustration show would do no good. He let his sword disappear, looking over the last remaining bits of those filthy creatures trying so desperately to fight for their pathetic lives. He was lucky that not both Uriel and Jeanne were present at the moment. More and more he was starting to feel his strength running out. Though of course, he could still easily fight off a horde of lesser demons.

He kicked off the filth clinging to his feet and turned to Raguel who has just run up to report his findings. “So? How does one of hell’s armies get into heaven without anyone noticing them on the way?”

There was bitterness in his voice and it was obvious why. If the heavenly guard didn’t notice an entire legion of demons, there were clearly bigger things to worry about than just this one random attack.

Raguel bowed politely, keeping his distance from the archangel as he answered in a calm voice. “It appears they busted in through the lily garden. The gates remained tightly shut the entire time.”

Michael’s frown darkened. “Has anyone been there to confirm the damages?”

The slight twitch of Raguel’s wings didn’t escape him. Leaning forward, he took a hold of the brunet’s hair. His voice was calm this time around, only hiding the raging storm on the inside. “Is there a particular reason why that didn’t happen?”

“There is… a barrier. We can’t break it down no matter what we try.” The angel’s voice shook, his eyes squeezed shut tightly. “It appears to be young master William’s doing…”

All the anger suddenly dissolved. As if struck by an invisible hand, Michael stumbled backwards, away from Raguel and what he seemed to be telling him. He was tired. The fight before has exhausted him too much to take on whoever the leader of the demon legion was. Yet, there was no hesitation as he spread his wings and took off to the garden at a frightening speed.

He reached the garden protected just as Raguel has reported. But the formerly firm barrier was now flimsy and fragile. A single touch was enough for it to break. Michael stepped in fearing the worst.

The garden was silent. The light crackling of dying fire was the only sound filling the air alongside the smell of ash and the sweet scent of lilies. Dread settled in the pit of the seraph’s stomach. Has he come too late..?

Just then he saw them. William. And a demon choking him in the air in the lovely gazebo that became Gabriel’s grave. Michael felt numb. Was he going to lose another person so important to him? He drew his sword again, making his way closer. His head felt heavy and empty at the same time. Every step was exhausting as if he was using up the last bits of his strength. The demon noticed him only when he was almost right by them.

Already bruised and panting, it was a miracle he managed to dodge Michael’s slash, dropping William in the process. There was no mercy to be found in the angel’s eyes. This time, he would protect what was important to him.

*********

When William came to, he was back home in his comfortable bed. Michael was sitting next to him, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. If he didn’t know his father better, he would’ve thought the other was sleeping. He wasn’t sure what to say – or if he should say anything at all for that matter. Instead, he only silently reached out to take Michael’s hand.

The archangel’s eyes snapped open at the sudden contact and before William could so much as blink, he was being embraced tightly by the albino. For a moment, he remained tense and unsure, but finally, he returned the hug, a few tears falling from his eyes.

“I’m sorry, I thought I could stop him, I just- I wanted you to be proud of me.” He murmured quietly, only feeling Michael’s hold tightening on him in response.

The chief angel shook his head then, finally pulling away and gently ruffling William’s hair.

“Of course I’m proud of you. In your whole life, there has never been a moment when I wouldn’t be thanking God for giving you to me.”

“But I made you worry!” William frowned a little, confused about Michael’s benevolence. Wouldn’t he be right to be angered?

“You’re silly, William.” When Michael smiled at him, he suddenly felt like a little child again. Though this time, not in a bad way. “Of course I worry about you. That’s a normal thing, not anything to be scolded for.”

A small moment of awkward silence passed as neither of them was sure how to continue such a conversation. Eventually, it was Michael who decided to speak up.

“So about that barrier of yours…”

“I didn’t want him to run off and make it even harder for everyone else.” William cut him off, avoiding his look. It made the father sigh as he gently took the blond’s face in his hands.

“I figured that was the case, and you did a wonderful job at that. But you must promise me to never do it again.”

There was another quiet moment, though this time, it was filled with warmth. William gave a nod and finally, even his lips turned into a small smile.

“I promise.”

[bsdblogger]

*crawls out from dark void* CIVILIZATION AT LAST

hey there! I apologize to for not having been very active this summer! I’ve been preparing for college internships, applying to grad school, working, and fighting a nightmare of what appears to be bird mites in my home life just likes to give me all the lemons fml

I probably won’t have full-fledged posts until late December this year, but i did want to touch on an ask i’ve had sitting in my inbox for a while! (i may do a better post with coordinating panel shots and further elaboration in the future!)

What does Ranpo think of Dazai and vice versa? For example, in Dazai's entrance exam, Ranpo seems to have saw straight through Dazai's lie of what his previous job was. They both have extremely brilliant minds... but there's barely anything on their interactions. I am very curious what do they think of each other?

i’ve not had the chance to finish the Entrance Exam ln, but i’ll share my current thinking for now!

I believe Ranpo and Dazai both initially have reservations about each other. Ranpo can see past a lot, and i think (initially) he knows there is a lot unknown about Dazai and his past. i don’t think he’s able to crack far into it, even given his ability smarts. i think Ranpo does know that Dazai has a darker side and can be deceptive and manipulative. however, i like to think that as Ranpo has worked with Dazai, he comes to understand that deception and manipulation are Dazai’s modes of operation.

i believe Ranpo sees Dazai not so much as a pawn, but as a crucial piece to the agency’s success. while Ranpo and Dazai both employ amazing trains of logic, reasoning, and planning—they bring different insights to agency. note how in one of the early episodes, Dazai admitted he didn’t know exactly how Ranpo figured out everything in the murder of the pretty lady who was found in the water. note also how Dazai strategized with Ranpo before that big guild battle. Remember how one of them asked whether it should end by the mountains or the water or something like that, idk. they are good compliments, and i believe Ranpo sees this      

i believe Ranpo sees Dazai as a crucial function to the ADA maybe not most of the time because Dazai is lazy and is missing in action half the time smh when it really counts. Dazai’s skill set is almost invaluable to the agency, whether or not his methods align with Ranpo’s or the agency’s exact moral codes.

I believe Ranpo may have suspicions about Dazai’s long term goals, about his exact motivations for joining the agency, but that his suspicions have no viable, concrete evidence to rest on. for now, Ranpo is content to have someone like Dazai on hand.

I believe Dazai sees sees Ranpo in a very similar way, except that Dazai cares less about the agency’s success and more about having opportunities to strategize and bring down opponents. Ranpo is somewhat similar. he cares a lot about the agency, although I’d say much of his motivation comes from solving cases and using his ability smarts

i would also say that Dazai sees Ranpo as a good edge. i don’t think he sees him as a pawn, but he definitely sees Ranpo as an advantage. for one, i think Ranpo would suspect Dazai of using him as a pawn and Dazai knows this. he can manipulate Atshushi though a lot more easily (not letting him know that Kyouka would be saved in the end of his plan for instance)

[Source: @dazaiscans] 

ohhh it was the mountains or the ocean

i’d like to emphasize that i don’t think Dazai sees anyone in the agency as his pawn exactly. i don’t think he sees anyone as being disposable. but he does have a deceptive and manipulative way of working with people

also, in case it wasn’t obvious, i don’t think Dazai sees Ranpo as being deceptive and manipulative (or having a dark past). not that Ranpo’s moral codes are very strict either, but you get what i mean. i believe Dazai may suspect that Ranpo still has reservations about him, but that they are largely insignificant with the way Dazai has presented himself in the agency so far. at the moment, the two are content to believe that the other is on their side and that they are working toward the same goals.  

so that’s what i think right now. but after i catch up with the ln, i might extend this! great question though. i didn’t really consider how similar these two were until now.

another anon asked me further about current Dost ability theories, and i will return to touch on it as soon as I catch up with the last couple chapters! unless i’m late and it’s already been revealed lmao apologies for the late responses! 

[mulattafury]

one of the reasons i dont like to get involved in Discourse here is because the truth is i’m generally okay with disagreeing with people about stuff. i think the “queer” thing is a big one -- i dislike the use of the word and that won’t change but i dislike more how the discussion about it is treated and used to project certain assumptions on both “sides” of the argument. i’ve been guilty of it, in knee-jerk emotional reactions. it’s impossible to have a discussion about it for that reason, though I do maintain close friendhsips with people who don’t share my views on it because our opinions on this area of nuance dont make us bad people either way. words are weird and hard.

there are a lot of issues discussed here that i have opinions on, and strong ones, but i don’t talk about them because i don’t feel they’re important enough to risk alienating people who might find some support and comfort in... whatever it is i’m doing with this blog these days.

i’ve learned this the hard way. i have made some mistakes. i hate when i see blogs that are pro-something become anti-something else, because that turns a safe space into a hostile one and i don’t personally feel that is constructive.

i am sorry if i have ever made you feel unsafe.

i’ve been living alone for a few months and have just had a lot of time to think and reflect and be introspective. i’ve made big swings of being really depressed to really inspired and more and more lately i just feel at peace.

i just really want to disengage with negativity in my interactions. i think on tumblr (and a lot of online spaces) there’s an obsession with punishment and vindication, which comes from good intentions but again, creates hostility where there should be a sense of safety and belonging. 

i just really want to see more safe, pro-diversity, positive spaces, that foster learning and question-asking and growth and development of personal character. i’ve learned so much in my time here, from listening and reading and from mis-stepping and being corrected. i worry that other people aren’t going to benefit from the experience in the same way as i did, because of lines being drawn in sand in a tiny sandbox.

like, when i started posting here i was in the depths of depression hell. i was fresh out of being locked up in a psych ward on suicide watch. i had just dropped out of my dream school. i was carrying so much rage and despair.

tumblr isn’t entirely responsible for my recovery but the community and connections i’ve made here have been a big part of it. tumblr opened my eyes to the reality of a lot of social injustice, sometimes by exposing me to it directly in the form of hateful anons and direct racism, by making me navigate the way modern progressive movements still silence their most vulnerable. tumblr thickened my skin and tightened my resolve and exposed me to people who were positive, who made me feel appreciated and driven. who taught me the language to express injustices i faced, and the ways to move forward despite them.

tumblr helped me reevaluate the actuality of my mental illness, helped me name the monsters that robbed me of my future and helps me, now, as i beat them into my past.

it wasn’t callout blogs that did this, or lengthy arguments over semantics, or outrage over troll posts or elaborate takedowns of “anti-sjws.” 

It was people who posted information and education. It was people who offered me different perspectives. It was people who asked if I was okay. It was people leaving kind messages in my inbox telling me they believed in me.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t fight oppression when you see it. It’s important to keep having debates, important to uncover issues that we may not have seen or understood before, important to challenge and demand more from your environment and your peers and the world that holds you down.

but remember the people you’re fighting with and for, because the strength for fighting comes from love and understanding. and understanding doesn’t always mean “agreeing.”

there are just, a lot of areas where we really need to stop projecting morality onto a topic and just listen to what everyone is saying, because in a lot of the debate i see on here everyone is saying  a lot of the same thing:

that they are upset, that they are frightened, that they just want people to understand why.