#but then some guys exist and my mind goes blank

[jujutsustraycats]

I have no idea why but Karasu thoughts are eating at my brain rn

@someprettyname a little help??

[unyandere]

Yandere kidnapper x cringe reader who reads THAT kind of fan-fiction - pt. 1

Tw: mdi, yanderish behaviour (kidnapping), mention of omegaverse Fanfictions, mention of NSFW acts, good ending (?)

Part 2

✨Yandere kidnapper who at first kidnapped people for a ransom or to traffic them since he didn’t really have money

✨Yandere kidnapper who was actually planning on kidnapping your bestie to sell her to some of his clients, but, while stalking your friend to decide how and when kidnap her, sees you and his mind gies blank

✨what makes him lose his calm the most is your smile while you talk with your friend… You have such cute expressions and from now on he wants to be the cause of all your happiness

✨at first he just steals some of your clothes and uses them to please himself while thinking about your smile, but it’s not enough

✨So… He kidnaps you

✨When he brings you on the van you’re first surprised, then your mind decides to make you think about all the Fanfiction you’ve read (and written) and you start asking the guy questions in the most cringe, japanenglish tone

“Ara ara kidnapper-kun when are you taking someone as kaway UwU as me?”

✨the Yandere kidnapper needs to remind himself of your smile to NOT kick you out of the van

✨ He finally arrives to his house and brings you to his room bridal style, needles to say that you tell him in an even more cringy tone

“Oh my, kidnapper-kun, are you taking me to your room to sell me to the alpha mafia boss lead of a boyband to pay off my father’s debts?”

✨the (poor) Yandere kidnapper just looks at you with a puzzled expression, sighs, puts you on the bed and goes out of the room to smoke a cigarette and ask himself wtf you meant with alpha mafia boss lead of a boyband

✨so he searches it on the internet… and gets to read the most traumatic smutty omegaverse x omega reader Fanfiction that has ever existed

✨Yandere kidnapper who now looks at you like the degenerate you are, but still likes you… somehow

✨But after three months of living together he can’t stand you anymore

✨You’re the epitome of the worst roommate. You eat food and don’t clean you plate, you don’t flush the toilet, you never clean, in the bed you always take all the blanket for yourself, you verbally assault him, but when he makes you notice things you tell him to stop being the victim, you always talk about Fanfictions and force him to read the worst works that have ever seen the light of day… he still likes you, but he’d prefer if you two never saw each other again, he has abandoned his obsession to make you his and just wants you to leave him alone

✨So, one day , he decides to make the video to ask for a ransom to your parents… but your parents never answer

✨He feels bad for you, but he can also understand your parents… so he tries to give you some comfort and buys you some mangas

✨You both continue to live at his place, he doesn’t want to sell you, since he still cares about you, so he thinks of punishing you to make you stop talking… but then he remembers the Fanfictions you read and decides against it

✨so you two start living as roommates from then on

[resart]

Wrath of the Righteous features a roster of splendidly written and enjoyable companions, but the majority of their interactions are, sadly, easily missable on individual playthroughs. A collection of camping banter made by the amazing @neverwintrians remedies this issue to some extent by making some of the dialogues easily accessible for all the players. Since the characters’ input goes much further, a good while ago, I started a project to record all their comments and interjections. The idea was to copy-paste them from the localization file into a convenient spreadsheet. Since a new wave of players pick Pathfinder games after playing Baldur’s Gate 3, and we have more DLCs on the way to reignite the interest of the old fans, I figured it’s about time for me to share the results so far. Whether you want to use it for all sorts of analyses, as an inspiration or a reference for fan content, are simply curious, or want to get a few laughs: here you go.

Now, a few notes to keep in mind.

The data is still incomplete. My current playthrough goes very leisurely, and I only finished Act 3 recently. Almost everything past this point, save for some crucial parts of the story I revisited, comes from the run during which I wasn’t yet using Toy Box. I intend to continue slowly patching the holes as I go on, but please take what you see in the later chapters with a grain of salt for now (and don't expect to see Ulbrig's lines there).

Having that said, the branching, especially in later acts, gets crazy, so naturally, I wasn’t and won’t be able to find every last bit of dialogue on my own. What you see is based on my Angel playthrough, in which I haven’t even activated most of the romances. I managed to cheat my way into some interactions that normally would be unavailable to me, but the results were mostly confusing. Cells highlighted in yellow contain dialogues that I found via game files but either have some of the information missing, or I simply wasn’t able to trigger them while playing. There are also red cells that include lines that, to my knowledge, might not have been implemented since I found them in localization files, but the blueprints folder doesn’t confirm their presence in the game.

So here’s where I have a request for you all. If anyone can help me fill in the already existing blanks or spots a dialogue is missing and can provide a screenshot or a transcript of it, please contact me. I will add it to the document and credit you. All I need to know is when and where the conversation occurs, what/who the companions are reacting to, and if there are any specific requirements to see it.

The areas of special interest are:

mythic path exclusive interactions,

romance exclusive lines (especially in Acts 4 and 5),

Greybor’s, Arueshalae’s, and Lich companions’ lines during the celebration in Heaven’s Edge

late game dialogues for corrupted Arueshalae

I also want to thank GardathWhiterock from Pathfinder reddit, who advised me to look into the blueprints folder. Once I figured out how to work with it, filling up the majority of the blanks became super easy.

I will most likely edit this post in the future to note some important updates and milestones. For now, I just hope you guys will find anything of interest in what I have gathered.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

I've got a strange question about Zeus' affairs... Do Ancient authors elaborate on these supernatural seduction stories or do they just day "Zeus seduced her taking the form of X"...

Like, do they tell us if, after catching the girl's attention Zeus goes back to a more human form, or does the "deed" take place while Zeus has an animal form (that would be more weird)?

I don't want to seem offensive / graphic, I'm just curious about how Ancient writers and storytellers tell this stories, a story can be very different depending on how you tell it and I suppose "a beautiful swan caught my eye, then turned in this handsome divine man and I wanted to bed him" is a much more compelling version of events than "a strange swan flew where I was sitting and assaulted me, that's why im pregnant".

I love your posts on Greek Myths, especially the oned related to Perseas and Medusa. XOXO

Hello! Thank you for the good words! I like those posts as well xD

Well, Greek myths were not meant to be taken that literally, or given so much thought. The deed takes place when Zeus is back in a more human form, usually, except in the case of Leda where he was in a swan form, and she birthed eggs that hatched.

But even in Leda's case, it's implied that there was some type of.... affection on her part?? Which is definitely weird because when you like a swan the next logical step is not "I want to bed it". But from what I read the coupling was more... divine in nature and beyond human logic. Like, Leda didn't bed an actual swan and she knew that it wasn't a swan. I'm just trying to explain it. I definitely don't mean that humans and swans should do anything else than look at each other in the park 😅😂😅😂😅😂

Usually, when the deity has an animal form, the children also have animal forms. (Poseidon raping Demeter as a stallion comes to mind)

Again, we are not meant to seek the logistics of these couplings. They were more like explanations than stories, and one needed the context of the time to fill in the blanks. So the story goes "Zeus wanted this woman, he seduced her in the form of X and from their coupling, she gave birth to our Hero and King. The End." It's often that simple, and the focus point is the result, aka how the hero/god/king/deity/genealogical line came to exist. The other details are unnecessary.

Sometimes we might get an extra story about how the hero/deity etc had to defend their mother from Hera or someone else's wrath which is only a means to another explanation of why a mountain/river/sea/animal exists. Again, the focus is on the result.

Which makes sense if you think more of it like this:

Imagine if, in the tale of Snowhite, we started asking "Is there an economy of magic mirrors? Is there a theme of exploited labor when it comes to The Mirror? Does the court system work in favour of the mother or father? And can we assume there is welfare for Little people in the Snowhite universe?" These are... possibly related questions to the story, but the story chooses not to explore them, and - let's be honest - we don't ask ourselves about those. Because they are so beyond the point.

Finally, the stories weren't probably created by one random guy who wanted to entertain the kids around the fire. The stories were most likely the result of divination or oracles and visions since they were about the gods. That's why they don't have all the characteristics of a traditional tale that is meant to entertain.

The first paragraphs from this post will answer your question additionally, I think!

[sevensoulmates]

Greetings, I really want to know your opinion about this topic I saw. Something about metrics, so my friend was saying there's is a shift big enough in the fandom favorite characters because the buck/tommy ship is the most popular pairing now than buddie is and abc was waiting to see the fans reaction to decide the future story of buddie and the possiblity of buck tommy is bigger now. Are tv studios really measuring this data? I knew they did this with ratings but not this, how exactly fans get this kinda info and statistics? And shows like this one usually listen to the audience this way? I just thought it was interesting but don't know if is true.

If networks only went by what fans trend then buddie would've gone canon back in season 2b/3. That's when they had their first big surge in numbers like right now. Buddie was so popular it was beating out seasoned pairings like Destiel!

And yet...the networks did what they wanted and buddie stayed just platonic friends. Regardless of how popular and profitable buddie was/is.

And I don't believe bucktommy is more popular than buddie. There's a surge in popularity, yes, because they're brand new and Buck is confirmed queer for the first time, so of course there's gonna be a lot of new and excited eyes on it. It's the shiny new thing everyone's curious about. They're almost ENTIRELY a blank slate that people can project all of their desires for a canon pairing to have. It's far easier to trust a pairing that has two confirmed queer characters than it is to hope that the show will do the same for Eddie. There's a lot of factors that go into it, that make it seem like bucktommy would suddenly be the new fan favorite, but you also gotta keep in mind....it's only been a month. It's still fresh in people's heads. Buddie has survived seven years. It all goes down to infatuation vs. love. A crush vs. commitment. You'll see.

And yes, some cynical buddie people or people who just want Buck to get with a guy period and don't care about a love story will jump ship easily. But they are NOT the majority. They're just being super loud right now (which makes sense again it's huge news!) so it FEELS like there's a lot of them.

Myth: eVeRyOnE'S jUmPiNg sHiP to bUCktOmmY

Reality: Most bucktommy shippers are also buddie shippers and are just enjoying a new cute ship while it lasts and multi-shippers are allowed to exist. Just because one ships something doesn't always mean they want it to happen in canon. Two things can exist at the same time.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I don't think they would've taken the leap to make Buck queer in the first place if they weren't AT LEAST strongly (and I mean strongly) leaning towards making buddie canon down the line. Majority of fans are going to EXPECT it now, and as Tim said, he tries not to let fans dictate what happens in the story, but he IS aware of what fans want. If he's making a decision like this, he is committing to being hounded literally non-stop about buddie until they actually become canon. I don't think he would do that unless that was the end goal, even if it's not for another x amount of seasons.

Yes, networks do keep track of fan metrics because it directly correlates to views which earns them money. BUT just because they know something is popular RIGHT NOW doesn't mean they're gonna just jump and immediately do it or scrap other plans. Especially when those other plans might be something that earns them MORE money down the line. I've talked extensively already about how buddie would be extremely profitable (more profitable than bucktommy sorry).

Fact of the matter is Tim and Co. know how loyal and dedicated most of the buddie fans are. They know they can weather any storm and still come out of it annoying as hell badgering them for the same thing.

Finally, despite Tim Minears many many flaws, I do have faith in him as a writer that he at least TRIES to do right by these characters. He's flawed, he has bosses that he has to adhere to. The same goes for the Kristen Riedel seasons as well. BUT, I think that Tim knows his characters well, and at least has SOME kind of vision of where they need to end up. I trust that Tim is going to be true to his word and is not going to let fandom trends dictate where he takes his story. I hope Tim knows what he wants, and with the approval of the networks, does it.

Edit: You can also think of the Bucktommy vs. Buddie popularity like Spotify monthly listeners. Just because a new popular artist with a trending song suddenly has more monthly listeners than someone established, like say Beyonce, doesn't necessarily mean this new artist is more popular than Beyonce or has more dedicated fans than Beyonce, it just means that person is the hot new thing and is trending so they have more listeners than Beyonce AT THE MOMENT, but not long term. Does that make sense?

[porchlightfairy]

Shoot for the moon part 3

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

rockstar!eddie munson

a/n: I might be second guessing myself after this part. It feels like it's dragging so hope you guys are enjoying this series and continue reading future parts.

wc:1.7k

summary: efforts are being made.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

“It’s his?” Wayne sits down with you on the couch in his trailer. He hands you a mug of tea he brewed for your visit.

“It is. I haven’t been with anyone else since he left.” You hold the warm cup in your hands but don’t take a sip. You don’t think you can stomach it right now.

“Have you told him?” He watches you fidget.

“No.”

“Why not?” He leans forward in surprise.

“He’s in California, living his dream! We just saw him on the television! If I tell him now, all that goes away, and he’ll be right back here. Struggling to get by as we take care of the baby.” Your voice cracks as you feel overwhelmed.

“But you don’t deserve to struggle by yourself, sweetheart.” He sets the mugs down and holds your hands. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

“Wayne, I can’t ask you for help. Eddie…”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. And I want you to know that I’m not doing it for the sake of him. I’m doing it for you. It takes a village to raise a child, I know.”

“Thank you, Wayne.” You hug him tightly, “I don’t know what I would do without you here.”

。·:*˚:✧。

Eddie sits in the front seat of Wayne’s car as they drive Jupiter to school. She looks absentmindedly out of the window. “This is where your mom and I first met. She knocked out my last baby tooth in the sixth grade.” Eddie says.

He gets silence in return. It was her first day at school since her mom had passed. He pursed his lips as Wayne speaks, “Eddie and I have some business to take care of after we drop you off. But if the day gets to be too much we will come and get you okay?”

She nods, “Okay.” Her voice is meek and trembley. She gets out once they park and heads for the entrance with the other students.

“She’ll be okay. She’s a tough cookie.” Wayne reassures Eddie as they drive off.

The business they needed to take care of was your will. The thing on the front of Eddie’s mind was Jupiter. Would she stay here in Indiana or go to California with Eddie? He would hate to make her leave home but he doesn’t want to leave her and Wayne behind. His head starts to hurt as he thinks about how complex the situation was.

“Thank you for meeting with me.” The lawyer speaks, “She did write a will before passing and it does begin the discussion of custody over Jupiter. However, what is written here is not the final say.”

Eddie leans in as the lawyer goes over most of her things. She wanted most of her things donated unless Jupiter wanted keepsakes but not too much. The lawyers goes on and on until finally, “And lastly, I wish for Jupiter to remain in guardianship of Wayne Munson, her appointed grandfather although not biologic. I want my little girl to live a normal life and I don’t think Eddie is fit to parent. He doesn’t even know she exists.”

Eddie chokes back tears and nods. You didn’t even think he would have shown up. Wayne and the lawyer continue to talk but Eddie’s ears burn hot. He was mentally drained. He wished he could talk to you. Hear his side of things. It hurt how bad he wanted to tell you, he would have stayed.

Back at the house, Eddie sits in his room staring at the blank wall. Wayne went out for a bit so he was alone in the house. There wasn’t much to do, Eddie packed on a whim so he brought nothing to occupy himself. He sighs and deflates before falling back on the bed. What now? After everything, what does he do? His band, his image, his PR, what would they think of Eddie?

Before he could come up with an answer the house phone rang. Eddie gets up and rushes for the living room to answer the phone. “Munson’s”

“Grandpa?” On the other line were Jupiter’s sobs.

“It’s Eddie. Are you alright?” He says worriedly, “Wayne’s out right now but if you need me to, I will come get you.”

“...please, “ Is all she says in response. Eddie hangs up the phone and grabs the only other keys in the house. The keys to your car. He takes a deep breath before jumping into the driver's seat and speeding to the school.

Jupiter slips out of one of the side doors and gets in the car as soon as she sees it’s her mom’s. Eddie smiles at her as they peel out of the parking lot. “Not your first time sneaking out I assume?”

Jupiter laughs, “I’ve seen the other kids do it.”

“Right, you’re a good student.” He drums his fingers against the wheel. “It’s still a little early to go home, and if Wayne finds out I snuck you out of school instead of him getting you out ‘legally,’ my ass is grass.” Jupiter giggles, “So, why don’t we go to the interstate for some ice cream? That’ll kill some time right?”

“That sounds good.” She smiles, “Thank you for getting me.”

“Of course. I would hate to think you were being tortured in there.” Eddie smiles but it soon fades, “I was about your age when I felt on my own. All I had was Wayne.”

Jupiter turns to look at him as he continues, “I want you to know that you don’t just have him. You have me too. I know I wasn’t around back then but… I’m here now.”

Jupiter feels her chest warm with delight. The rest of the car ride is filled with the sound of your music. Like you were in the car with two of your favorite people.

When the two arrive, they order their ice cream and sit on the curb to eat. Eddie chose rocky road and Jupiter chose neapolitan. “Let me guess, your mom told you her secret.” Eddie smirks.

“When it’s hard to choose for just one serving, neapolitan will be there to catch you.” Jupiter laughs.

“She would always get it but never say it was her favorite.”

“What is her favorite?” Jupiter asks, “She always got neapolitan with me.”

“I don’t know actually. She would get it with me too. And when she finished hers, she would offer to help finish mine.”

“Sounds like her.”

They sit in silence, the sound of the highway exists behind the woods. Offering some ambience to the silence as they ate.

“So, will I be going back to California with you?” Jupiter asks.

Eddie stops eating and sighs, “Nah, you wouldn’t want to stay with me. Your mom thought it was for the best that you stay here.”

“Oh.”

“I think it’s a good idea too. You shouldn’t have to rip up your roots and move across the country. You’ve got it good here with Wayne.”

“Right.” Jupiter mutters.

“Did you want to move to California?”

She shrugs, “I don’t know.”

Eddie was in the same boat. He felt helpless, not able to give her a definite answer to anything. He could tell Jupiter was having a hard time. He just had no idea how to help her. After they finish their frozen treats, they head back home.

When they arrive, they see Wayne arms crossed in the kitchen. His notorious frown on his face. “I just got a call from your school saying you weren’t in class after 5th period.”

Jupiter looks down at the floor, “I’m sorry, Grandpa.”

“It’s alright, I know today was going to be tough. It’s just…”

It’s just that I don’t want you to fall down the path Eddie did. That’s what he was going to say. Eddie felt the sting of those words, even if they weren’t spoken. Eddie’s bad behavior started when he would cut class. First it was the tardies and the absences, then it was flunking classes, then selling drugs. Wayne had been around the block a few times with Eddie. Losing a parent is tough in all circumstances. 

 Jupiter looks down at her shoes. Wayne sighs, “I’m glad you’re okay now. How about some ice cream? Your mom has some rocky road in the deep freezer in the garage.” 

“Rocky road?” Jupiter and Eddie look at each other in confusion.

“It was her favorite. While she was pregnant with you, it was all she craved for about a month. She kept some around in the deep freezer as a secret stash. A little treat for her to enjoy.” He heads for the door to the garage, “So, y'all want some?”

“I’m up for some more ice cream.” Jupiter smiles.

“More?” Wayne chuckles.

Later in the night, Jupiter heads off to bed and Wayne tucks her in. She was too old for that but Wayne wanted to make sure she was okay. “Goodnight, sweetie.”

Just as he stands up to leave Jupiter asks, “Do you think Eddie will forget about me?”

“Forget you? What makes you say that?” Wayne sits back down, his brow knit together in concern.

“He forgot about mom. Who’s to say he won’t do the same to me?” 

“Eddie was young when he left your mom. And both of them have made very young and dumb decisions.” Wayne sighs, “I think he’s learned a very hard and troublesome lesson. And I don’t think he will repeat that mistake again.”

“Do you think mom not telling him was a mistake?” She asks.

Wayne pauses and thinks to himself for a moment, “I do. I understood why she did it but Eddie deserved to be a part of your life in some way. It doesn’t make her a bad mom for her choice. Eddie is my son and seeing him like this hurts my heart. I see the way he acts around you. He wants you to like him. He’s trying really hard.”

Jupiter nods as she listens, taking in all his words.

“Now, will he forget you? Never. Never, never, never. Now that he knows he will never be allowed to forget. Heartbreak is what pushed him away, but he can’t ignore this. He can’t pretend until it goes away. Okay?”

Although harsh, Wayne’s words brought comfort to Jupiter. He turns off her light and closes the door, leaving her in darkness with her glow in the dark sticker stars on the ceiling.

[zmediaoutlet]

okay first of all. Lovee the takes on each character/ship dynamic. second this one is kind of a given so I completely get it if you don't really have any opinions at all about them but I was wondering what your thoughts are on Sam/Jess. Obviously most people just think about them in the existing dynamic of the show but idk! Personally I find their dynamic to be really interesting in the context of what Jess is representative of to Sam. Especially in that time of his life. So I guess it's more of a question of if Sam/Jess is interesting to you, what makes it so and your thoughts on that.

As a backup question to that, thoughts on Dean/Jess? Dean/Jess/Sam?

eyyyy continuing the wine party into post-workout saturday morning tea party --

sam/jess:

to be honest friend, I'm falling into the "most people" category here because my real opinion about Jess is that she... basically isn't a person. And I love that for her, sincerely. Some characters really are tools in a story to spin in forward, and I am soooooo tired to death of all the carrying on about "fridging" and whatnot. Some characters are characters and some characters are narrative tools and, yes, bad luck to the angry ladies out there, spn is a show built on super classic-traditional bones about men who are getting revenge for the dead wife and what they learn along the way. That's good and fine. I'm into it.

with that aside, and given that she is a tool, I just -- don't... care about her. Like I thought about writing a fic one time as a demonstrative exercise called "Five Personalities Jessica Moore Could Have Had," because she's such a blank-slate (again, correctly!) in her like five minutes of screen time. We can't even count the djinn dream of Jess, because that was a pretty vision dreamed up by Dean to hurt himself worse, lol.

but as you say, her being representative of something to Sam is legit interesting -- he didn't fully engage in the relationship, he was gonna marry her without telling her the truth -- like a gay man desperately hitching himself to a nice wife in some misguided attempt to "fix" it. Like if he just tried hard enough he would be someone other than who he is. Which is the whole Sam-at-Stanford story, really. And it's an important part of his story -- the hero has to go away from home and return to it with a better sense of who he is -- but it makes Jessica entirely figural and metaphorical instead of being, again, a person. Like when Sam says in whatever late season ep that he "still thinks about Jess," I'm left going... really? Because even by late in the first season he's reoriented into the family revenge story, not specifically the for her revenge story. But if we reorient that to "I still think about the life I could have had" -- that, I believe. And she'd be part of that. Whatever her actual personality was. Apparently she made cookies. How... fridged wife of her.

WITH all that said, what I'm most interested in with stories that circle around Jess are stories that completely ruin that relationship, haha, because the whole point of it in the larger frame-story of Supernatural is that it has to end so Sam can get back to his real life. So -- if it's an AU where Sam for some reason stays at Stanford and they do get married, I'm only interested if their marriage kinda sucks and they get divorced by year five. (e.g. maybe, like his mother, he pretended he could be 'normal' but he keeps sneaking out on hunts after all, and Jessica thinks he's cheating, and they end up dead bedroomed, etc etc.) Or, if it's set during Stanford, I'd go for an almost horror-story dramatic irony fic where she's introduced to this tall hot guy by her smiling blond classmate Brady and we can see fate rearing up to grab her by the neck, and she feels almost compelled to stay, and she doesn't know why when Sam keeps obviously not telling her things but she forcibly dismisses it from her mind and goes he'll tell me someday. And then it's November 2nd. :)

Dean/Jess similarly I guess I'd only be interested in from a symbolic sense -- Dean attempting to get closer to Sam any way he can in the period of not-talking. I have no interest in Jess living -- her job is to die -- so it'd have to be still at Stanford, and it'd be a really tight window to make it work in a way that wouldn't screw up everyone because Dean isn't a piece of shit and Jess (being a figural Nice Girl who Dies) can't be a cheater. Maybe in the very early Sam and her have only gone on like one date but they're not an 'item' yet, Dean sees her at the bar after Sam leaves and decides he'll take her for a spin...? Eh, that's too mean. So, I guess not for me. And I never like ot3s so the other one is not for me either. But if you can make it terrible and Jess dies at the end anyway, maybe!

[blade-liger-4ever]

RWBY X Transformers Partnerships 4: Optimus Prime and Mercury Black - Peacemakers

"It's just....after everything I've done, it's still hard to believe a chance to change exists for a guy like me."

"There is always hope for redemption, Mercury. However, I believe you are missing one crucial factor regarding your past."

"Man, you talk in the most ancient way. Alright Boss Man, I've told you about myself, no lies. I was trained to be an assassin, made to kill others, and steal, then killed my own father. What 'crucial factor' am I missing?"

"The fact that you were an innocent child born into a hard life. I do not deny that you were forced into committing vile acts, or that, in some aspects, you perhaps enjoyed it. However, I know that you had no say in the matter, and that until you befriended young Ruby, you felt you had been caged in the occupation of an assassin. But by choosing to escape that life, and proving your reliability since then, you have shown to be capable of changing for the better. I believe you were meant for more, Mercury Black, and if you are willing, I would be grateful to help guide you on your new path."

".....You mean it? Even though we just met like, what, a month ago?"

"I refuse to lie to you on such matters, Mercury. In my spark, I am certain that you will achieve more than you could dream is possible."

"I...well, Ruby believes in me, but I - I never had an adult give me a chance like that. Until Tai and the others, but even then, they're..."

"Cautious?"

"Heh, to put it mildly."

"I assure you, Mercury, that such caution will not be exercised by myself. Should you need anything, you can always speak to me."

"....Thanks, Optimus."

Mercury is used to adapting. As an assassin, you have to be ready to switch tactics on a dime, or create a new plan on the fly when your old one goes up in flames. It'd been drilled into him (he had the scars to prove it), and even when his perspective on life had been shattered and reconstructed by Ruby, Mercury was able to pull himself together and adapt to the change in time for the Fall of Beacon.

However, living in his sort of/definite girlfriend's house with her family and now having to deal with the revelation of giant alien robots bringing their war to Remnant is more than probably even Marcus could handle.

In order to process this curveball, Mercury decides to keep by Ruby's room, detach himself from the world, and analyze the residents of Patch while this new pattern settles in his brain.

Tai is a kind man, and though he's surprisingly tame, Mercury has caught glimpses of the senior Xiao Long's fire that has been passed on to Yang. Speaking of Yang, the fiery blond is returning to her old self, albeit more restrained than before. To be completely honest, Mercury is grateful for that progress; seeing Yang in a shell-shocked, blank state had actually hurt him. Her boyfriend Neptune has perked up on account of this, and although he gets along with him, Mercury is still confused about how he's so accepting of the existence of literal alien robots. Then again, this guy's dating the Sun Dragon, so he shouldn't be surprised that Neptune was actually excited to hear that Qrow had brought home over-sized guests.

Oh, right. Qrow Branwen.

Although the Huntsman's reputation precedes him by a wide margin, and though the hairs on the back of his neck still tingle when Qrow's eyes land on him, Mercury's initial fear of the man has morphed into suspicion and a deal of resentment. Tai can claim he was adopted into the family all he wants to, but Mercury had been taught to look for patterns and anything unusual. And the uncanny facial resemblance between Qrow and his "honorary niece" is blatantly obvious. And the scythe weapon? Please, it takes a genius to build something like that, never mind maintaining and operating it with the ease he and Ruby exercise. So yeah, the chances of two unrelated individuals having the same genius to build an intricately designed scythe weapon are a million to one - and those odds have already been stolen by the 'Cybertronians' who'd fallen through some portal onto Remnant.

Mercury is still trying to understand that, but between monitoring Ruby and the house, he's getting there.

Wheeljack is similar to Qrow, which Mercury automatically associates with the words "dangerous" and "unpredictable". He's a good engineer, judging by the doo-hickey he's cooked up on the island, but the scars and sparky look in his eyes tells Mercury that the...'Wrecker-scientist', is just as capable of destroying as he is of creating. Ironhide is what every drill sergeant wishes he could be; the giant 'Autobot' barks orders and gives assignments at great speed, usually practiced as he takes over a task from one of the others when they move too slowly. Despite that, he's surprisingly careful when dealing with Miko - and Mercury does his best to avoid her and her explosions. She's innocent, he knows that, but by Remnant, she has too much energy for his liking.

Sideswipe is...loose. Mercury can't quite put his finger on it, but he knows that Sideswipe, in spite of his bravado and snark that rivals Yang's, is fast. If he had to bet, the younger Autobot is used to moving at speeds that allow him to dish out pain with little detriment to himself. Good qualities for sure, but the way he acts like a twenty year old and carries himself like that hits a little too close to home for Mercury's comfort. As for Smokescreen, it's obvious he's the team baby - the short Autobot has the same kind of energy for justice as Ruby, as well as the excitableness and easygoing nature. Because of that similarity, Mercury's willing to spend some of his free time with him, though there are moments of eerie silence from Smokescreen, as well as a distant gaze, that makes him wonder about the guy's inner thoughts. However, the kid brushes it off with swagger, and Mercury's too deep in his own concerns to bother trying to coax an admission out of him.

However, the one he can't seem to pin down is their leader: Optimus Prime.

The Autobot commander towers over them all, with only Ironhide standing even remotely close to Optimus' height. Optimus walks steadily, with a silent strength and confidence that Mercury has never seen in anyone else's stride. Moreover, he can feel the guy's power when he enters a room, almost as if it were a supernatural sensation. Heck, even when he's standing still, Mercury can sense that power at rest, waiting to be used and capable of unleashing itself in a breath if Optimus wanted to cut loose.

But that's not what boggles his mind the most about the Autobots' superior.

It's the way he speaks.

Optimus' voice is deep and carries far, easily putting every other male's baritone and bass to shame. And yet, despite that, despite the sheer force in his voice, Optimus always speaks in a calm tone. He always uses full sentences, never utilizes slang or contractions (That's wild), and not once - ONCE - has Mercury heard his voice rise beyond an octave. It should be intimidating, should make him question this guy's status among the Cybertronian race.

And yet...the absolute warmth in Optimus' voice reaches something inside of Mercury. It reaches in and stirs something, something like a small child, to consciousness, and makes the child want to reach out to Optimus for something like comfort, and safety.

The only time Mercury can actually remember doing that is a time when he was eight, shortly after his mother had died. And his plea for consolation had been answered with a severe punishment from Marcus.

That memory makes all of his instincts scream to stay away from Optimus emotionally. Ruby understands him, accepts him, and so far her opinion outweighs the realistic worries of her family, which has given Mercury more time to continue improving himself and showing that he has changed from his upbringing. But since he's gotten to know her, he's become friendly with the other people in her life, although he can't help but keep some of them at arm's length for a while yet. Tai lets him roam the house free, Yang's willing to spar with him while Neptune cheers and mediates on the side, while Mercury and Qrow keep their distance based off a mutual, silent understanding of Ruby's true parentage between them.

So finding himself almost unconsciously following after Optimus whenever a meeting ends is more than a shock for Mercury.

It happens to him three times. The first time is when they meet, and Mercury had still been processing the Autobots' arrival. He'd all but locked himself in the guest room, and stayed in Ruby's room for a week to figure things out. The second time was when Wheeljack had finished half of the doo-hickey out in the woods, and required new equipment that required everyone's presence. Mercury had all but run back to the cabin from the shock of that lapse, and seeing that Ruby had woken up had kept him occupied for the next five days, and given him a reasonable excuse for avoiding the Cybertronians, their leader especially. However, his time with Ruby, while relieving and rejuvenating for them both, came to a head when Wheeljack stuck his metal foot in his mouth and openly identified Ruby as Qrow's daughter when they were working on Branwen's scythe.

He knew she was going to run, knew she was going to be too fast for him. But Mercury still tried going after her, mildly surprised that Smokescreen shifted into a sporty racecar to take after her as well. It seemed that he reacted instinctively too, as the short Autobot drove off without thinking to offer him a ride, and Mercury found himself chasing air and dirt before logic made him stop.

As he stood there, Optimus entered the area from the side, and Mercury's whirling thoughts consisted of one realization that the Autobot had been nearby when the fiasco began. To his surprise, Optimus asked him what had happened, and with a quick scan of the place around him, Mercury saw that Qrow and Wheeljack had disappeared - whether to chase down Ruby or not, he had no idea.

Resisting all his better instincts, Mercury summed up Ruby's real parentage and how he and Qrow had been trying to avoid it until Wheeljack ruined it. To his immense surprise, Optimus listened with keen interest, and once he'd finished, the leader thanked him and advised they let Smokescreen find her, as (apparently) the kid had ways of bonding with "human youth". Mercury quietly scoffed at the phrasing, then mumbled about the strangeness of this alien leader.

That dour sarcasm evaporated when he looked up and saw that he was trailing Optimus' moving feet.

Certain he was losing his mind, Mercury froze and tried to think of a way to leave without being spotted. However, Optimus paused and spoke his name, the patient, quiet underlying command of "stay put" rooting him to the ground. Turning around, Optimus revealed that he was aware of not only Mercury's unconscious tailing of him, but how he'd been avoiding him for the past two weeks as well. Optimus told him that while he respected his privacy and actions, he wished to know why Mercury fears him, as he only wants to be a friend to him.

The words make everything that's been building up inside of Mercury snap, and he can't help it. He yells at Optimus, blurts out that no one can be as good as he is, that adults aren't as inherently kind like him and that anything like those qualities are destroyed somehow in short order. He lashes out that he can't figure Optimus out because he's so different, so good, and honest-to-Remnant heroic, and that no one can - can...

"...Make me feel like a kid. A defenseless kid, who never....never had what Yang has with Tai."

Mercury stuffs his hands in his pockets, then stares at the ground and hopes against all reason that the world will just go back to making sense. Optimus takes two careful steps forward, bends down, and to Mercury's shock, picks him up. His hold is gentle, and he brings the hand holding him to his chest, where Mercury notices a pale glow emanating from somewhere behind the glass before the comforting warmth of his metal body distracts him and makes Mercury relax. As Mercury processes this, Optimus quietly speaks, telling him that many people are too weak to be either good or heroic, and that yes, many can be good, but will have their better qualities destroyed. Oftentimes, the latter is a personal choice, such as the Decepticons' leader Megatron, who Optimus once considered a brother before their war broke out. As Mercury detects a faint humming inside of the Autobot's chest, Optimus adds that many can and do choose to be good, and that while some possess those qualities to greater degrees than others, it does not make the entire adult world cruel.

"Life itself is cruel, and I feel you know that better than many your age do. However, if you will allow me to, I would be pleased to help you heal and learn to trust others again, Mercury."

Mercury's not sure if this is how it feels to have a father, but even if it isn't, he's gonna fight to keep it the same way he'll fight to keep Ruby safe.

Optimus and Mercury form a close bond after this, with Optimus often making sure Mercury is both safe and emotionally well after a long day. He knows when Mercury needs a push to go to bed or otherwise take care of himself, but more times than not, Optimus can tell when he should speak sternly to the boy over his sleep schedule, as well as when to put his foot down over Mercury's regular time of training, reconnaissance, and other habits. Similarly, Mercury has learned tricks of getting Optimus to take a much needed break, usually by asking for some alone time that he's reluctant to admit he needs. They make a strong team on and off the battlefield, with Optimus helping to refine Mercury's techniques while Mercury tells him about Remnant's stars and history. The Autobot leader's fascination with learning their culture softens Mercury a tiny bit, and - perhaps - leads him to learn of Optimus' past on Cybertron....

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lord Almighty, last year drained me more than I realized! Sheesh, I thought for sure I'd get them done sooner than this!

Anyway, I had this team up in my head almost from the get-go. Mercury needs a real father, and Optimus is the manifestation of Team Dad, so it only made sense to buddy them up. For their name, I chose Peacemakers because Optimus wishes and fights for peace, while Mercury needs to find peace - though I admit, I was partly inspired by the weapon of the same name.

Pray I get more done sooner than this, folks! I love these two franchises, and I want to get back on track for this series I started so long ago. See you around, and remember the wisdom of the greatest Prime in history:

"Hold on to your dreams. The future is built on dreams."

[fisheito]

friend fish!!! do you have any super specific headcanons for nucarni you'd want to post about? like from the serious to the silly. im talking from like how did little yakumo deal w humans and snakes hating him and then his grandparents loving him to who are the left handed mfs and who are the right handed mfs. how did kuya handle huey disappearing vs can garukaru wink. i like your brain and i like the very specific little things that come from everyone's brains and just wanted to see if you wanted to post any sillies or seriousies :3

why, friend anon, it seems like You are the one bursting with ideas... if u wish to share with the class i shan't object ohoho

MMM>....UUHHHHH boy ain't it just appropriate that once u hand me the microphone, my mind blanks hmmm........ ............(leaves ask and comes back in several hours)

OH I got one!! yakumo and chickens

s o one day, i wished to draw yakumo holding a chicken. just snekboi holding an absolute buff orpington orb of chicken, because it would be, how u say,... grotesquely adorable, yes??

but before i could, i wondered.. is that possible? do chickens like yakumo? or would they sense his snakeyness and hate him? was it ever discussed in the story?

my immediate thought was of those chickens who get hypnotised into a catatonic state when u draw a straight line in front of them. u know all those gifs of the chickens that just go [plop] with HARD FOCUS on the line? and as soon as line was erased, chicken blinked back into existence/Killer Peck mode?

i remember ppl hypothesising that it was bc the lines reminded them of snakes and the chickens were like shhhhh play ded the snakes will want nothing to do with us.

i can;t remember if they ever actually found the answer to that behaviour. i wish i knew. but i don't. so instead i imagined eiden placing a 🧍‍♂️yakumo horizontally in front of a chicken to see if the trance could be replicated

the whole thing made me think about yakumo's relation to animals, especially farm animals, bc idk if his grandparents ever farmed animals or if it was JUST produce. the story so far seems to say vegebls only but *I* want *FARM ANIMALS* and *YAKUMO* ***toGETHER*(*(***** so we continue the train of thought

yakumo has pulled Princess-Snow-White-shenanigans in the past (Idol Fest). those forest animals didn't have a problem rolling up to yakumo just to listen to him sing. i don't remember if exact animals were mentioned in the story, but i'mma assume it was lil guys like rabbits, birds, rodents, deer. i mean... snakes have been known to share habitats with these guys... so it would make sense for some of them to be scared if yakumo's energy is more snake>human.

but then KUYA??? he's a fox. yet he's got parades of adoring forest worshippers everywhere he goes, regardless of predator/prey status. so maybe the vibe of Yokai overrides whatever trophic chain dynamics are supposed to exist in this world. So instead of EEK! A SNAKE/FOX! the animals be like Yokai=cool nature powerbeing let's hang out ?

but then i wonder if the Yokai Vibe is moderated by Yokai expertise. bc kuya of course has way more experience as yokai... he's more likely to embrace his foxy traits than yakumo with his snakey traits (what is this.... a competition of self acceptance now??).. so maybe the animals all trail after kuya bc of his confidence,,, but would they do the same for yakumo who hasn't yet transcended to that Power Strut Aura?

which relates to childhood yakumo. to surrounding animals, what was his vibe? snakey? human? yokai? did it matter? he mentioned that the other snakes used to bully him .. and that people also used to chase him away... so his vibe was. what? like the king cobra who eats other snakes, and can bite people? at this point, it's not like yakumo has the self-control or self-acceptance to consciously manipulate his outward appearance. his vibe is his vibe.

so, in this unsure, untrained, scared snake-self stage of his life, he still appeared as a Threat to other snakes (and probably other animals that typically fear snakes). i imagine that if i were to introduce yakumo to farm animals at this point, they would react like they saw a potentially dangerous snake. chickens angy. cows might stomp u. goats might eat u

and yet Grandma and Grandpa , like many humans, promptly threw convention out the window and went [lol what threat?? he scared. let's give him some soup]] -> for further proof of ppl being like that, look at. any dangerous creature. cute as heck. i'll fawn over apex predators. angry bear incapable of empathy? deserves my respect. sure i'll share my room with a snake if it looks like it's crying . self-preservation? why would i care about that if i have the chance to make the snake less sad??

i mean, farm animals are domesticated so they're supposed to be pretty chill. i like to think that once yakumo spent more time on the farm with a loving family, his energy became more stable and more human. and surely with daily exposure, those farm animals would acclimate to yakumo's presence. maybe even grow to like him if he takes care of them.

THAT IS TO SAY even if the animals initially shun him or treat him like Danger... they eventually associate his energy with the good times. and yakumo would learn how to act around each specific animal so as not to upset them (just like any good zookeeper!!). As both parties build upon their experiences, the likelihood of positive interaction between yakumo and another animal goes up up 🆙☝!!!

IN THE END, ALL THIS MEANS is that, simply bc i like animals, i'm gonna pretend that yakumo's grandparents also farmed creatures (dang, an undertaking for 2 elderly ppl. i know. but this is gay fantasy isekai). ok, maybe more believably, a neighbour farmed animals and yakumo was the only young'n around to help. and because of all that, yakumo has experience dealing with animals.

according to my made-up timeline (😄) if i drew him at human age ~7, it would make sense if it was a pic of a cow chewing on his hair (being bullied by ungulates. he's crying), or chickens pecking him en masse

and if i drew him getting ALONG with those same animals, it would more likely be a yakumo at human age -- well- older than that. he's got some working experience at that point.

(slams fist on table) SO I CAN JUSTIFIABLY Draw A FLUFFY CHICKEN RESTING HAPPILY IN YAKUMO'S ARMS AND IT COULD BE IN-CHARACTER.

i crave interspecies friendships. humans do nonsensical things to befriend other critters. why can't the chickens override their snake fear for this one special boi. it is what i want to see and i will twistturn canon until i see it.

[choicesmc]

okay i've been dying to know about fiona

12. Open the notes/note-taking app on their phone. What’s there?

15. Describe their computer. Is it a sticker covered laptop? A high-tech gaming computer?

16. Let’s look at their search history. What are the last 5 things they searched?

also how is his 'process' like? say he's looking up info for a case online, where is he usually inclined to start the discovery process? and how is his research process like? chaotic w/ 7 million tabs open? slow and steady - one tab at a time, collecting links in a docs or taking notes by hand' person?

ahhhh, glad you’ve taken an interest in him!! Fiona is very very pleased xD 

12. Open the notes/note-taking app on their phone. What’s there? 

First things first: there are so many of them. And none of them are blank, they have writing in them. There’s a couple of shopping lists/item orders he has jotted down but those are droplets compared to the amount of memos he has in them. 

The memos can be literally anything: Gigi’s new outfit is stellar, Beau wants to check out a new restaurant, Gabe’s wearing his best suit, he found some music Aislinn might like, a briefcase Martin would adore etc. 

It’s really an observation log of anything and everything Fiona notices. Sometimes he reminds himself to tell the other person whatever it is he’s noticed. Sometimes his observations live and die in his memos.  

On slow days at the office (so a blue moon day) he goes through and sorts all his notes into folders for easy access later! …He has so many folders. Enough that it defeats the point of sorting all his memos into folders. (but he doesn’t mind.)

15. Describe their computer. Is it a sticker covered laptop? A high-tech gaming computer? 

Beau picked up his laptop case, weighing it in hand, “It’s a really nice color.”  Fiona glanced over from his meal, the soft green never failing to put him in a better mood, “Yeah, it’s why I bought it.”  Cracking a smile, Beau chuckled, “Fair enough man. Who’re the makers?” Fiona leaned back, “Hah, wish I knew. Literally can’t find anything on it. It’s like it doesn’t exist anywhere but in my house.”  Beau fell silent for a couple seconds before speaking again, “What’s this flag?”  “Which one?”  “The green and white one. I know the others: the bi flag, the trans flag, pride, but I can’t place that one.” “The green-white-green one?”  “Yeah.” “The Nigerian flag?”

Fiona has two laptops 1) for work and 2) personal. His work laptop is clean and sleek. While he doesn’t decorate the laptop itself, he did switch out i’s case for a sweetgreen one (hex: A5D56E –it's really pleasing to look at!) and he hangs small knitted flags from it.  

His personal computer is an older model. He was close friends with one of the IT guys at the university Fiona used to work at who let him have it. Said they were planning to throw them out anyway. 

So his personal laptop has been with him since a little before quitting his job as a professor, going through law school, and his first couple years as an actual lawyer. 

Safe to say, it’s had better days. It’s covered in stickers, mostly from his teaching days (he doesn’t add more these days). And he mostly hooks it up to his tv anyways so he can watch downloaded movies on full screen 👍 

Fiona really doesn’t do much with his personal laptop. He already looks at laptops/computers so much at work that he is all laptop fatigued when he gets home. 

16. Let’s look at their search history. What are the last 5 things they searched?  

explaining gunshot wounds 

hibiscus flowering season 

ugh, food for bad moods 

name of 2nd circuit judge 

gifts for shameless men 

*based heavily off where he is in this series [don’t let this be the last time] 

If Fiona’s memos are observation logs. His search history is a damn diary. He’s got a process going on: 

have a thought -> search it up -> thought satisfied -> go back to serious stuff 

Though, he does this stuff on his personal phone. Even he’s not confident enough to search half the stuff he thinks up on a company issued device. 

also how is his 'process' like? say he's looking up info for a case online, where is he usually inclined to start the discovery process? and how is his research process like? chaotic w/ 7 million tabs open? slow and steady - one tab at a time, collecting links in a docs or taking notes by hand' person? 

Mads, can I just say I love your questions? Like they make me think and consider stuff I hadn’t considered yet. (and it’s also why it takes me forever to get back to you 😭)  

His method definitely falls into slow and steady territory. Everything done in order from top to bottom, do not disturb the order –it’ll distress him. 

Every case starts with one tab, a legal pad, and a nice, dark pen. He takes his first notes by hand just free-guessing potential ways to approach a case. It’s real messy with tons of things scratched out and asterisks and arrows pointing nowhere. Anything that might help gets placed down regardless of how possible or helpful it’d actually be. This is all just brainstorming. 

Then he goes back in red ink once he’s understood what he wants to do. Circling and starring the important stuff that he actually wants to keep/can make use of. It helps him double check his work along with making sure everything seems like a reasonable game. 

Finally he puts his ideas into a memo that he can share with whoever else he’s working with, if any. Even when he’s not working with someone, Fiona finds that memo writing helps him think through everything and ensure he’s not making any logical jumps.

[chaoticgremlinbrainspace]

For the character rating: Yosuke Hanamura Go crazy :)

ok ok ok so basically I sent you a buncha Yosuke Hanamura stuff lmao bc I misunderstood how the thing works but this will be so awesome and evil >:)

How I feel about this character I feel a lot of things about this fucking goober I relate to him a lot in the ways he interacts with others and just his generally low self esteem lmao. I rotate him in my mind a lot. currently playing the game to dissect him for myself lol. hes got an interesting character that can get exploded fairly easily, though I feel like this applies to almost every character in existence, I know im not even in the top 100 most unwell about Yosuke Hanamura or even persona 4 but I really like it alot. I want to make an insanely self indulgent power point about Yosuke Hanamura to show to my friends lol. hes just really relatable to me especially me as a younger guy. and hell even now I find myself in him lol. its a bit cringe but I am free as they say. I do have a tendency to project on characters a bit so it might be a bit of that lol...but hes just really neat to me his whole deal is interesting.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

I really like the Yosuke Hanamura/p4 protagonist ship which is yeah. I also just really enjoy their dynamic tbh. they have each others backs through thick and thin, like even not as a romantic thing tbh I just really enjoy them being goofy teens together this applies to all their friends btw. the thing with shipping is im pretty open to what ever as long as its fun and not like weird bad. I like weird good stuff (like crack pairings, or fun rare pairs). i also have a tendency to latch onto a pairing I think is neat, which yah. it's Yosuke/p4 protagonist for me njofwreg. its fun to explore that I think. uh thumbs up I guess I dont know how to explain myself 💀

My non-romantic OTP for this character

im a silly goober and I like seeing the entire investigation team interacting with each other, I like it when they get to hang out. like sure they end up being lil shits to each other sometimes but its not like actively malicious, its like play fighting to me...im still reading the manga and playing the games so im excited to see more interactions between everyone lol. I do like it when fanfics explore different dynamics between the gang it's fun. I feel like im talking in circles lmao. but I will say Yosuke and Chie fighting can be funny reminds me of my younger siblings mauling each other to death lol. Yosuke and Teddie are a goofy duo, rip Yosuke, he tends to be the butt of the joke. Yosuke and the portages relationship is always fun regardless of if its a ship or not lol...I wish I was bettering at remembering things im drawing a blank even though I had more to say dang it.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I dont know if I even really have an unpopular opinion about this guy? ill be honest most of my thoughts about him come out sounding like growling and barking bc words aren't real lol. I just think hes neat... i dont really talk to other people about him who are also into persona 4 that often, one person told me they call him "poor straight Yosuke" lmao. I dont know it's an unpopular opinion to read him through the lens of a closeted individual? I usually only hang out in a small space and do my own thing, with some other people's stuff I like because I think it makes sense...ourgh I'm kinda bad at this </3 writing things down in a cohesive manner...im sorry ya'll 💀

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I would like to be gay with him when I am playing the game lol. like even just the option to do so. I do not trust Atlus with it tho lol...outside of that? I would like to see him as an older person and what hes been up to. where hes going. I wanna see his charater arc progress lol. I guess more Yosuke. same really goes for the cast, I just have a slight bigger soft spot for Yosuke.

the overall rating is

I make animatics about him in my mind at work/10

I hope this wasn't too bad/cringe fjnoemnowf im really bad at just putting my thoughts and feelings out there in regards to anything. i hope it is satisfactory 👍

[calliethetrekkie]

Star Trek TOS S01E10: Dagger of the Mind

Original Thoughts

"Overall good episode. The Neural neutralizer is both fascinating and horrifying. It’s another episode that got my attention based off concept alone, the planting/removal of emotions. Pretty sure this thing would be VERY unethical in the mental health field, but still. Also, nice to finally see Spock use the Mind Meld since that’s something I was waiting on. Feels like Kirk having had a fling with Dr. Noel was an necessary point to add aside from still having feelings for what was essentially a one night fling just didn’t add anything, though the planting of the emotion by Dr. Noel and then exploited to painful levels by Adams was again fascinating and horrifying. Overall, a good episode that again has interesting ideas that are played well enough to keep my investment."

(Original Post)

Rewatch Thoughts

So fun fact, my mother is a LCSW and works as a counselor. While I myself am no professional, due to it, I look at stuff that handles mental health and psychology with a pretty close lens. I also enjoy mind control/hypnosis/mental kind of plots for some weird reason. IDK, it's a good way to explore a character and see different sides to them and how they cope with it. So to say that this episode interested me is no exaggeration.

Now... I know that this came out in the 60's. Thus, our knowledge and ability to understand and treat mental health was NOT all that great. I will give the episode credit in showing that something like the neutralizer, a device that implants suggestions, as a bad thing. Again, I am no therapist, but I am almost positive that having this kind of device in today's world would be incredibly immoral. Even for just therapeutic reasons, to implant or remove emotions for any reason... that's not how it works.

But again, different time, and again it is portrayed as a bad thing. God, I feel horrible for all the people who had to endure that thing. We see how many of them are just blank slates and Gelder, the one person who managed to get away, is in constant pain as he tries to warn the Enterprise. Dr. Adams is terrifying, seeming like a perfectly kind and pleasant doctor, but abusing people who need his help, all without losing the kindly attitude. People like that do exist among doctors and therapists, and it's sickening. Thank God that McCoy is actually a good doctor and went with his gut by convincing Kirk to investigate. Otherwise, they'd have likely returned Gelder and Dr. Adams would have been free to continue. It sounds like Gelder was able to at least start recovering at the end, so hopefully the rest who Adams tormented will be able to as well.

So the main plot has Kirk beaming down to investigate along with a psychiatrist named Dr. Helen Noel. Apparently they had a fling at a Christmas party and while Noel is still interested in him, Kirk isn't and/or is in Captain Mode, so nothing like a fling matters. I'm almost positive that McCoy did it on purpose as some sick joke based on Kirk's reaction, haha. Honestly... I don't know why they needed Dr. Noel in this? She does barely anything from a psychiatric point of view and to implant suggestions into Kirk until Adams finds them. I don't want to say she was useless, she DID cut the power and even electrocute a guy in an admittedly really cool scene. And I get why they couldn't have McCoy go, since they need him on-board the ship to tend to Gelder. But otherwise, Noel just feels like she's there because they needed Kirk talk to somebody and have some romantic tension. I read that it was originally going to be Rand, but since the actress was on the verge of leaving, and it wouldn't make any sense for a Yeoman to go, they made Noel. I guess that's just how it goes.

Also, not sure how I feel about Kirk here. He not only brushes off Bones' concerns until he sees the facility for himself, but he decides that it's a great idea to have Noel test the neutralizer on him. Like... really Kirk? Really? That was NOT one of your brighter ideas. I will give him credit, he holds out FAAAR longer than most others likely would have. Even when brainwashed to be in love with Noel, his mind is on being a Captain and saving their hides, despite how much pain it causes him. I guess that Starfleet training really came in handy this episode. I also hope that he had some kind of therapy from McCoy or some kind of counselor (NOT Noel) after this, because even at the end you can tell that he's not fully recovered from the torture. Then again, it's unlikely he'd seek it out for himself... ah Kirk, you're such a mess. I love you, but you're a mess.

This episode is also notable for being the very first instance where we Spock perform the Vulcan mind meld. Apparently they were going to use regular hypnosis, but the network said that either they had McCoy do it since he's... you know, a doctor, or they think up something else. Leonard Nimoy came up with the meld, and thus an essential piece of lore was established. It's hilarious tbh how Spock is reluctant because the mind meld is a private affair, and he's never done it on a human... and proceeds to do it in front of multiple people on various other humans throughout the franchise. Guess he got over it pretty quickly XD

Still, it was nice to see it since I'd heard about it, but I had no idea what a mind meld actually was. I guess this also helped establish Vulcans as touch telepaths, at least in fanon since IDK what's established canon and what isn't anymore. We'll have more fun with melds and such later on. The whole scene is superb, with Spock uncertain with McCoy pushing him because Kirk's life may very well depend on it. Gelder has given his consent and Spock does his thing as McCoy keeps an eye on Gelder's vitals. Considering Spock saying how private it is, we do see a little bit of how he must trust McCoy if he's willing to do it in front of him. I'll blab about that more on my main blog. And of course both are motivated due to, once again, Jim's safety. Want to make Spock and McCoy get along? Throw Jim in danger XD

And I need to go into fangirl mode for a second, but McCoy is really good in this episode! Like I said, if it weren't for him, they never would have looked into Adams at all. He has no proof of anything being wrong, but decides to voice it to the captain and push him to investigate anyway. Kirk clearly thinks that he's holding onto an old stigma regarding penal colonies at first, but turns out he was 100% correct. I almost wish that he did get to meet Dr. Adams because I can only imagine the interactions that we could have gotten concerning medical ethics. Now that would have been awesome to have seen, but alas. IDK, McCoy doesn't get the recognition that I feel he deserves, and I think that despite not being the most in-focus, he has some of the best material here.

So yeah, this episode was good! Fun concept, some nice establishment of lore, and it's certainly thought-provoking. Especially with how Adams ultimately dies, literally dying of loneliness via his own device. It's scary, but IDT anyone will argue that it was more than deserved. It's not perfect by any means, I could have done without Dr. Noel and I almost would have preferred Rand. But that's more nitpicking than anything. It's a solid episode and one that I enjoyed.

Original Rating: 4/5

Rewatch Rating: 7/10

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[ofgentleresolve]

@wellfell sent in: drenched in sunlight , waves are peacefully brushing over the soft sand . she hates sunlight with the same passion she's been hating momoko since middle school . her beach party was loud , unlike what they thought of her , akina wasn't keen to exist in crowded places like these but at least she looked good . under the shade , sipping her cool berry juice with her pink sunglasses on . pissed , bored , and exceptionally aware of the fact that her old friends hasn't forgotten about the scandals that had her name on it . . . all went smooth until lamon approached her — she was peacefully brooding and glaring at the sea until he sat beneath the cool shadow of the shade beside her . and smiled a little . ❛ did momoko got tired of eyeing me and send you to check on me ? if she keeps calling me miss dracula i will break her jaw . go tell her that . ❜ of course momoko didn't send him , lamon doesn't listen to anyone . she didn't even know with such thick walls of ice between him and his friends , why exactly he appeared . maybe the same reason she did , to see him .

Here’s how life goes: it happens and then expects you to act like it never did. Is that how they think he should act? What, with the way they disappeared into thin air in the aftermath of the accident, only to reappear two years later with some kind of squeal like ‘oh my god, I haven’t seen you in like forever, how have you been my guy?’. Those were the same people who didn’t even bother to visit him in the hospital, let alone send a text. And now they come crawling back like nothing ever happened? Like he’s still the same shadow from two years ago, the naive lamb who would take everything said to him at face value.

Yeah right.

Momoko’s beach party sounded like a drag, from the very beginning. For one thing, the more Co*caine Don*nald’s new roommate talked about, the less it sounded like a meetup so much as a frat party, but copy-and-pasted onto a beach. Why would he go when his roommate already drags him to the beach ( in the middle of the night too- some would say it’s sketchy, but again, who cares, it’s four in the morning, no one should be giving a shit at this time ) anyways? This is just the same, except now he has to put sunblock on if he doesn’t want to burned.

But he’s here anyway, half-tuned out to whatever the hell Momoko and the others are saying. The only reason he knows her is because she was friends with Robin back in the day. ‘Was friends’ because he’s pretty sure she’s not taking the time to go see her up north. He has a red solo cup holding some mysterious blue liquid, which he has no intention on finishing. It’s easy to see how strong the punch is just by the sheer amount of time it took for people to get plastered. Why did he change his mind again?

“Why would she ask me that? She can do her own bidding.” That and if she did ask Lam that, he’d cuss her out instead. At the very least he’d say if she’s so intent on harassing someone she invited, she damn well better have the guts to do it herself. He takes the seat next to the only tolerable person at this party. If the others are busy getting smashed, heating up as hot as the summer sun shining down on them, then Akina is the SEA BREEZE. 

( The wind, day or night, has always been his favorite part of the beach. )

“If you’re Count Dracula, then she can be a WEREWOLF- loud and furry.” Which would be fitting for her, he doesn’t add. Knees brush against Akina’s bare ones. In all technicalities, she doesn’t have to be here either, doesn’t have to hang around these people who smile to her face but give back-handed comments behind her back. 

So why did she go?

( He could ask himself the same question, really. When a mutual friend mentioned that Akina would also be invited, he looked up from his phone for a long moment- she always does that to him, making him stop what he’s doing and listen. He has her number so he could’ve asked her point blank if she would be going. That would be the easiest way to know and to see her.

But then again, for all the times they could be direct with each other, they…aren’t. And besides, if they can just keep ‘meeting up by circumstance’ then it’s all the more convenient, isn’t it? People will talk either way. )

He motions towards the water and the shoreline that stretches in parallel. “...Wanna ditch? They won’t notice if we’re gone for a while.”

[scuba-divers]

Grave Brigade: The Great Info Dump Thus Far.

Okay, so Grave Brigade- What, exactly, is it, and what am I planning to do with it?

You may have heard of Grave Brigade if you lurk around my page. It's usually in the tags of art posts I make related to Terraria [typically Terraria's enemies] or it's mentioned in the text I put in a post. Well, here's what it is, summed up and compacted into a rather large nutshell.

Grave Brigade, nutshelled. [A tl;dr]

Basically, Grave Brigade is an Alternative/Alternate Universe, or AU for short, of Terraria. Now I expect that if you've seen this post, it's likely because you're following me, so I'm going to assume you know at least a bit about Terraria. Now, why on earth do I call this an 'AU' and not just 'my interpertation of the Terraria lore' if Terraria's lore is so open? Well, you see, that's the neat thing, it isn't focused around lore change or anything. It's focused around enemies, but not just any old enemies.

Now, I know what you're probably thinking: "How can you make an AU based off of enemies??" Well, it focuses around the unique enemies, specifically the main three linked below:

Of course, there are other unique enemies that'll likely be included [Eyezor, Nymth, Tim, Rune Wizard, ect.] but these three are the main cast. Why? Well, it's just because they're my favorite enemies in the game.

My project plan for GB

So, what, exactly, am I even doing with this AU of mine? Well, it could just float around in my mind and sort of exist, but no, I'm taking it a bit further. I'm not making a comic or a written story, however; I'm planning on making this thing into a series. An animated one, to be exact. I've been building up characterization for the three I mentioned earlier for months, and since little is actually known about these guys, they're basically blank slates for headcanon characterization. Using Blender for effects, IBISpaintX for sprites backgrounds, Google Docs for scripting, Ableton Live 11 Intro [along with my mediocre composing skills] for a soundtrack, the possible help of some others and more, I'm going to attept to make a cartoon series about my versions of these wacky undead people that I'm obsessed with, infused with the worst possible mixture of headcanons, headcanon personalities and awful animation because almost everything I know about Blender was found out by fucking around while making VRchat avatars.

What's up with this series?

Grave Brigade [The Series] follows the wacky and sometimes [usually] dangerous adventures, situations and shenanigans that a trio of zombies get themselves into, and that's basiaclly all.

Who are the characters, and what are they like?

Well, putting it simply, the characters are my versions/characterized versions of the unique enemies from Terraria.

The Main Cast

The main cast is composed of my characterized versions of the three I mentioned before:

Doctor Bones, or, as everyone just calls him, Bones, an undead archeologist who unfortunatley lost all of his memories from when he was a human. The only thing that remains of his past self is his obsession with anything regarding nature, archaeology and/or history. Outgoing, energetic, uncannily physically strong and lacking common sense, this guy can easily unintentionally [or intentionally] cause trouble wherever he goes. [Yeah, I'm aware that in the canon game he's supposed to be a reference to Indiana Jones but I have always and will always disregard that fact because he's at very least 20x cooler than the original source.]

Victor [A.K.A. The Groom], an awkard guy who doesn't like talking to people he doesn't know [or even being around people he doesn't know for that matter] and would much rather wander around pouting about his afterlife choices than go on a rampage for human flesh. Obviously the husband of Angela.

Angela [A.K.A. The Bride, A.K.A. Angie]. She gets bursts of rage and pissed-offness every now and then, but she's usually pretty chill. She's always the first one to choose violence in any situation, because despite the fact that she's typically pretty chill, she always thinks it's the easiest and fastest answer [She isn't always wrong with this view, but but I'm gonna say that ~65% of the time, she is]. Obviously the wife of Victor.

Why am I putting actual effort into characterization and a series?

I just felt like I had so many ideas and concepts for these undead dorks, and I wanted to do something with them. Not a lot of people in the Terraria fandom/community even aknowledge these guy's existances, so I thought that since I'm the one big fan of these guys, I need to make something! And boom, Grave Brigade was born.

Conclusion

So basically, this freakishly long post is just to provide information on my Terraria AU. That pretty much draws a conclusion to my current plans for it, so I'm done writing.

[witchcraftingboop]

So, I've been reading A Little Life, and I'm about 400 pages in. First of all, it's not sad in the way people said it would be. It's sad, in my opinion, in how terribly thin the character portrayals are, how absolutely malnourished and cartoonish they seem.

JB, for instance, is just another stereotypical black man, who on the side and sparingly is pointed out to be gay. He's racist, which would be considered original-ish (and really just barely), but it stems from him not feeling "black enough" due to his mother being successful in life. His dad is dead. He was raised by 3 generations of adoring, fan-like women, and he gets addicted to meth really randomly. He is also a blatantly self-centered person who idolizes poverty and lashes out at those he sees as weaker than himself when upset. What are his motivations? His own self-interest, the sources of which are all related back to his "inadequate" blackness, his aversion to being seen as feminine (something Hanya has so far attributed nearly all negative habits/traits to being - feminine/womanly), and his despise of being seen as less than his peers. Very moving.

Malcolm is a terrible caricature of what Hanya imagines a well-off black man might struggle with: sexuality, "inadequate blackness" / biracial image issues, and struggling between hard work and nepotism. All of which are never fully addressed and made into props rather than actual driving forces or influential matters in his life. His only real personality trait seems to be that he's a wealthy follower rather than a leader and has anxiety about making decisions (something that vanishes without a trace when he applies himself as an architect).

Willem feels like two character tropes blindly mushed together: rural farmer wants to be an actor and moves to the big city and somehow-sunny child of neglectful parents. He arguably has the most apparent personality of his little "friend" group, but his social awareness and stubbornness seems to, like Malcolm's indecisiveness and anxiety, vanish without a trace whenever he is confronted by a problem with or involving Jude. The story is about Jude, so the emotional whiplash of seeing Willem go from "fierce, stubborn protector" in one scene to "frozen with fear and cowardice" in all surrounding ones is... well, let's be honest, it's just for the plot. This leaves Willem feeling hollow to me, yet another prop in an underwhelming novel.

Jude himself is an odd mix of "witty and charming" in dialogue and public moments and "paralyzed with fear, cannot so much as talk back to or touch a man, nothing good will ever exist in my life, cannot make eye contact with others, etc etc." and "brutal, terrifying lawyer." It honestly feels like the author hasn't decided which of several mannerisms and personality types to give this guy. He picks up and drops mannerisms in the middle of chapters. He acknowledges the good in his life in one paragraph and then goes on to say nothing good ever happens or will happen for him, as if the author is forcibly trying to cram him back into her ideal "a character who never gets better" goal. And then his legs. His legs are sometimes described as being so full of dead tissue and pus (after a single cut opens out of nowhere) that it bubbles out of his skin. His legs would be amputated, like point blank. And he could afford that but for some reason she chooses instead to have him randomly fixated on plastic surgery for a few chapters only to drop it without ever reflecting on other possible options to better his life. Which, btw, wtf? A character who won't take pain medication or go to therapy because he feels his traumas and scars and wounds are all earned and deserved... wants to get plastic surgery?? Pick. One. Hanya!

That all aside, all of her characters seem to have "womanly" (her word) flaws when it suits the plot. They pick up traits and drop them the moment it no longer fits the chosen narrative, and it's utterly mind boggling to me how so many people claim to adore these characters - even the racist. Hanya's blatant sexism and anti-therapy views aside, her characters just feel like flat paper puppets moving before the fire and casting shadows onto a sheet for an audience. There's no rhyme or reason to their many and varied characteristics beyond her avowed need to write a story about a life that never gets better.

But who knows maybe my opinion will change once I finish the book, though I doubt it.

[brick-a-doodle-do]

I've shared Ezephr before! But tw for very slight and badly drawn blood!

This awesome dude! Fun fact, he's the only character I've drawn without any references or guides for drawing a shape I couldn't (like hands but I did it without a tracing tool to give me an idea)

Warning: He can face an entire army of magic users and tanks and come out unscathed while everyone else is suddenly dead, do not provoke

He attacks and traumatizes Irza when the dragon is just 16yrs old and then has a fascination for the dragon that never goes away again so sometimes he stalks or randomly attacks the guy but somehow doesn't know his actual identity and just knows him as Voidshire (SO lucky for Irza)....he's absolutely awesome but would kill everyone in the room, including me, then sit on the bodies after moving them to form a throne while eating some pie/cake

This guy is a villain and kills because he *wants* to. There is no goodness in him left (bc his backstory is even WORSE than Irza's and he killed people when he was 12)

He's an angel but his wings are red for several reasons, mostly from his slaughtering of people

THANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSE ON MY BLURB THAT WAS A COOL RESPONSE!!!!

I'mma get to that in just a minute bc it's a lot to write but yaaayyyyy

OH YEAAH SORRY MY MIND TOTALLY BLANKED! dude with the knife wings, i remember completely now >:D

seriously? that's actually awesome for not having a guide!! :0

also i love his hair color, does that come with the getup or is it everyday for him? also do we get a real name? or is that his real name?

jesus he sounds like a god--how close to one is he? does he have any connections to like actual gods (if any exist in this universe). is there any like..origin to his powers? does he come from a bloodline of op people orrr? :D

teenage trauma at it's finest :) does any kidnapping happen? does irza ever find out about ezephyr's stalking habits/eze's obsession with him? this dynamic reminds me a lot of discduo and i gotta say i'm enjoying it--

jeez that is really lucky,, i'm impressed that's even managable,,

that is..psychotic and i love it.

villains who kill for fun are always fascinating. i've got a killer!tommy au (which tbh....probably isn't my best idea) who does pretty much the same thing---he kills for the exhilaration so yeah those guys are never fun :')

.......backstory explanation? donate to the poor pls 🙏

several reasons? list them. right now, don't be a pussy /j/j/j

mhmmmm i had a lot of fun with that! btw turning asks off as i get a project done so bear with me here,, it'll probably take abt 10-15 minutes if i'm lucky, 20-30 at the most :]