#day one: au of choice

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Listen i don’t…. I don’t have words I just have vibes to present okay i just have vibes

[jade-of-mourning]

sorry sometimes i think about mako and my heart hurts so much. this kid raised himself and his brother on the streets in homelessness and utter poverty from eight through fifteen, promptly after seeing the violent death of his mother and father. he turned to the triple threats because they couldn't survive as a pair of wretched kids without any adult support, and the environment forced him to turn into the exact character that killed his parents in a terrible twist of irony. and after sheer-fucking-luck hits and they aren't homeless anymore, their livelihood wavers on the outcome of what's a literally game to everyone but them; and after things are finally starting to look up and their team is going places and things just might be okay, his gradually stabilizing world unceremoniously expands and everything goes to shit.

and the city that chewed him up and spat him back out, ruined him as a child and took away his ability to stay afloat in a true sense of normalcy as an adult — when it's on the verge of destruction and falling to pieces before his eyes, he gives himself to save it with the full expectation to die. he went from the kid who didn't and couldn't care about anything outside of himself and his brother, to finding redemption for his younger self in his police work despite its injustice against him, to willingly sacrificing himself to a world that had never loved him.

he's a desperate people pleaser, socially and emotionally stunted for the adult he had to be as a kid, unable to navigate interpersonal relationships easily yet still trying his damned hardest. he's intensely and entirely devoted to the things that matter to him and for so long it was only him, bolin, and ensuring their survival — yet by the end, that devotion has expanded to protecting the rest of the world. he starts out entirely self-reliant and ends in trusting the people he cares about to know their own needs, to be able to take care of themselves, to be okay without him despite having spent so much of his life defined by his role in others' well-being.

just. what the fuck i'm such a big fan of this fictional guy and i'm unashamed about it at this point. also let him cry please (if you won't i'll do it i'll let him cry)

[nocofamilyau]

total drama moment (4/8)

[tennessoui]

wine party au!!!!!!!!! god i love those snarky assholes so much! and their three thanksgivings. so perfect. i imagine obi-wan has a wine pairing for each course and anakin has a 5-gallon bucket of sangria from whatever half-drunk bottles of wine he found in the fridge mixed with whatever fruit was on sale.

oh for sure obi-wan takes it all very seriously as if one of the people he invited was going to do a full new york times write-up of his thanksgiving preparations. meanwhile anakin, in his mind, takes the important stuff seriously which is that everyones there and everyones fed and everyone has enough to drink should they want to and as host he has to do the least amount of dishes possible, etc etc

he probably crafts a thanskgiving delicacy cocktail that's just purple and red koolaid mixed together with a shit ton of vodka and with a cranberry garnish. obi-wan has never been so hungover in his life, which suchs cause anakin's thanksgiving comes before obi-wan's, so obi-wan is very hungover and trying to carve a turkey while thinking very meanly about stabbing anakin with this big long knife instead

and also like. just imagine their christmases lmao

[bonefall]

what’s up with BB! Puddleshine? been having thoughts about him recently lol. i find it funny that rowanstar grabbed this random child from the nursery and was like ‘bam here’s our brand new doctor and spiritual leader everyone’

(*shaking twelve year old in the background*)

You know what's pretty cool about AVoS, buried underneath the slog of it all? The thing I keep going back to about this arc, in spite of how annoying it is to be forced to say in ThunderClan as everything interesting happens off-screen?

The way that so, so many young warriors are horrifically traumatized by both the structure of the Clans, and the Kin that they turn to.

It's a shame that the Erins were so committed to the idea of the Clan social structure NOT being the problem, because this whole arc is a perfect time to show how flawed it structurally is. LET these kids have a point, that maybe they were rebelling against something broken, but Darktail was a malicious actor who exploited their naivety to serve HIS ends.

A recap of what's happening in BB!AvoS before I explain my intentions with the Puddy Boy;

The big problem that I want Rowanstar to display is a problem that ALL the leaders of this time period also have. Commitment to Clan rivalry.

After Firestar was killed in AVoS by Dark Forest warriors, Bramblestar considers diplomacy secondary as a tactic. "ThunderClan will not be bullied any longer. We have been too soft with the other Clans for too long; and they have humiliated us by taking advantage of our kindness." (Note: Harespring and Breezepelt being part of the assassination patrol is not revealed until TBC. For MAXIMUM drama reveal.)

He escalated a border dispute that Firestar had worked closely and intimately with ShadowClan to resolve; a fight for a knoutberry patch on their border, just before Winter.

After Russetfur died in this painful battle, Blackstar backslid hard from his redemption arc. This caused the Thunder/Shadow alliance to dissolve towards the end of OotS, ending a friendship between the two Clans that had lasted through all of Po3.

He was open to Sol's manipulation, and while Tawnypelt was trying to fight the Dark Forest trainees who took over ShadowClan in the meantime... Rowanclaw became deputy by organizing a patrol of cats to remind Blackstar how much he means to them.

So Rowanstar inherits the Clan with this in mind. ShadowClan solves SHADOWCLAN'S problems. "ThunderClan had a quarrel with WindClan, but decided that we were their enemy. Leaving ourselves open for betrayal was a mistake; if we cannot handle our own problems, we will inevitably succumb to them when our so-called 'allies' don't come to help." (Note: he isn't completely wrong. His words are borderline prophetic for what's about to happen.)

Onestar has a smug chuckle at this. Since taking leadership, he's been appealing to the strongest, hardest members of his Clan. Those who once tried to kill him for his "weakness" in the Civil War. The "lesson" ShadowClan learned is one that he's known since the day Onewhisker died and Onestar was born, on the night of that sabotaged muirburn. "That so-called peace was always a farce. We are warriors of the four Clans; it was always going to come down to honor, and putting ourselves first. My WindClan isn't foolish enough to pretend like ThunderClan ever acted in anything but their own, hidden self-interest."

And Mistystar respects the direction Bramblestar has taken his Clan in, and approves of the "honesty" that the Clans are now showing. "As the branches of the honeysuckle fight and win the light for themselves, sometimes there are beautiful flowers that die in the shade. We can mourn the end of an era, and prepare for a future that will be made all the sweeter for our shared struggle. This is the way of the Clans, and StarClan's solemn light shines upon us all." (Note: god I love writing Misty's speeches)

In the family tree reworkings, Rowanstar is now the brother of Littlecloud. Sons of Brokenstar, honor-sired for Newtspeck.

Littlecloud... is suffering from early onset Alzheimer's.

He didn't want to choose an apprentice after Flametail's horrible death, heartbroken and stressed out, especially when he couldn't reach his nephew through contact with StarClan.

He can't remember, anymore, that Flametail was freed. He keeps forgetting this, over and over

He keeps ending up in different times of his life, where he's best friends with Cinderpelt and still calling Leafpool by her pre-Honor Title name, where he's inventing a mobility device for Wildfur, where he's still escaping the plague and before he knew his mentor caused it, where he's on the Great Journey...

Rowanstar is in a lot of pain, watching his brother forget so many things, scared and confused half the time. He doesn't want to believe that this is really the end, or that... many of these cats are now so young they can't recognize the various eras that Littlecloud is finding himself in.

Puddleshine and Slatefur are going to remain in Pinenose's litter. Either Lion or Birch MIGHT get shuffled to another one; and ALSO the shuffler might survive the Kin. (SO voice which one you want to survive, if you have a preference!)

SO, Violetshine has either two or three adopted siblings... plus another.

Pinenose's oldest surviving child is Happypaw. Happy is the half-sibling of Puddle/Slate-- the death of Weaselkit in the Great Battle caused his parents (Pinenose and Owlclaw) to break up.

(this is why I'm thinking about just reducing the litter to Puddle/Slate, so Violet has three major adoption-siblings to remember instead of four.)

And now we're ready to talk about Puddleshine.

He isn't the first young cat to be shoved into an extremely high-pressure position because of a Cleric becoming incapacitated. Kestrelflight was also forced to become the holy speaker of his people when he was far, far too young, after Barkface died in TNP. He dealt with this obediently, with only Jayfeather ever really being able to get him to think about it in a different light.

Unlike Kestrel, Puddlekit did voice that he was interested in becoming a Cleric, in BB. But he was too young to be properly making that choice, to know what he was getting into. He mentioned it practically offhandedly, and BOOM Rowanstar had rolled him into the position.

But Puddlepaw has a deep sense of responsibility. "Wise beyond his years"-- likely because of how tumultuous his home life was.

His mother's oldest child, Happypaw, was openly a bully of his half-siblings. Pinenose distanced herself from him as a result, causing Happy to be closer to Owlclaw, who was still not over Weaselkit's death.

But Puddle's Ba Spikefur is not a cat who handles his kit's emotions well. Instead, he encourages ambition, tells him to get back at his half-sibling by being more influential than that twerp could ever be.

Puddle will often go to Violet, the new POV, to vent about these things.

And one thing he mentions to her is how amazing Kestrelflight is, when he gets to meet him at the half-moon conferences. He learns SO MUCH from him, it's like he GETS what he's going through...

Puddle doesn't even feel sure that Littlecloud knows what he's doing anymore. If he's learning the right information at all.

But Rowanstar won't DO anything about Littlecloud-- and he CERTAINLY isn't about to let Puddlepaw go train under someone else's Cleric.

As a result of this, Puddlepaw becomes a VERY important member of Sleekpaw's little group. He wasn't one of their friends to begin with, buuuuut...

When he sits to chat with Sleekpaw and Needlepaw, with Happypaw good and far out of earshot, she makes a lot of sense.

A LOT of it.

ShadowClan is run by old men who don't know what they're doing. Rowanstar is too emotional to make good choices. Puddlepaw, barely even old enough to begin apprenticeship, is running all the medicine for an entire Clan.

And, sure, he doesn't have much in the way of a connection to StarClan, no, just a little more spiritual than the average cat...

But who can point this out? If Littlecloud is slowly losing his mind anyway?

"It's not right, how much pressure's on you," Sleekpaw growls, "And it wouldn't be this way if we could challenge Rowanstar. You should be training with Kestrelflight right now."

"But we're dealing with the shells StarClan dealt, and the Clan is looking to you now," Needlepaw points out on behalf of her friend, "You have much more sway than you know."

This time around for BB, Sleekpaw starts as a young hero. She's right. Rowanstar should be challenged, his emotions are affecting the ENTIRE Clan, and Puddlepaw is in a bad position because of it. Needlepaw is like her best diplomat, surely to become her deputy someday.

They would have made an excellent set of leaders for ShadowClan. But they trusted the wrong person, and were exploited. When Darktail and The Kin came to the lake, they were swept up by it, and WindClan began an embargo.

Puddlepaw eventually oversees the Yellowcough Outbreak, and at first just thinks it's Greencough. He has no idea about strains, or the special types of Color Cough that Clan cats have historically dealt with. Even when he finally does learn it's not JUST Greencough, he's powerless to do anything about it. A lot of cats die because of the lack of mullein.

After that, with ShadowClan so weak and the Kin so strong... he's one of the cats who calls for the merge. The most important one, in fact, leveraging his position to say that this is StarClan's will.

Sleekwhisker and Needletail were right all along, and he's happy to stick it right into everyone's faces. Onestar's tantrum of an embargo killed his Clanmates, Rowanstar stopped him from properly training, he's been under pressure from the time he was small with Littlecloud not fit to be a mentor, and he's ready to welcome in ShadowClan's new era as something that is not a Clan.

...unfortunately, it turned out to be the wrong choice. Not because his thought process was wrong. But because Darktail had other plans in-mind.

[jessamine-rose]

*lovingly tackles Aine*

Read my Yandere! Pierro longfics first ♪( ´▽｀)

Last week, my beloved mutual @ainescribe surprised me with Savior! Darling fan art and AHAI9232@2-!/! CRYING SCREAMING I WANT TO LOOK AT THIS ART AND WORSHIP YOUR VERSION OF SAVIOR THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BLESSING ME WITH YOUR ART—

*clears throat* Anyway, now that I finally have the time to properly sit down and comment on the fan art, I’ll do just that. Feedback will be in the tags and it will be unhinged. Once again, thank you so much to Aine for drawing this <3

[didderd]

(some middle of th night suggestive and mild nsfw)

hhhhhhhh these were supposed to all jus be mild spicy like th first two but then.. th horror drawing hh

(anyways i. need to go back to bed lmao)

[petz5]

i DID figure out the origin i want for river's (ranma) curse in the doggy au. i think. subject 2 change but at the moment i like the idea of the moon being a deity (followed primarily by wolves and coyotes but dogs are somewhat aware of it) that, if asked properly, bestows a small blessing upon a pup that has grown old enough to hunt with the rest of their pack. usually something relevant to them in some way, like if they really like hunting rabbits they can follow a tunnel network intuitively from above ground to figure out where they might peek to check if its clear. river's "blessing" is his curse and he assumes he just pissed off the moon bc he was a showoff during the ceremony

tentatively the "cure" would be something like being able to ask for- but not necessarily receive -one additional blessing of their choosing if they meet some sort of requirement. and ofc he ultimately uses it to bring pepper (akane) back to life instead. i toyed around w the requirement being the head of the pack but thats basically already what i did in the warrior cat au 💀 so maybe you just have to like.... be noteworthy enough to catch the attention of the moon again

[spotaus]

Late Night quick thing (New Age Sillies)

Bad news: That joke post about including Reset + Orchid is definitely not canon. (I legit got sad thinking about Reset being in a universe where Orchid isn't- because their stories are so so intertwined- but Nightmare 100% would NOT risk the whole twins exploding Error's soul thing.)

Good news: This means I COULD include Kane (Reset's older brother who usually dies in timelines where Reset is born) and use it to develope his character a bit more! Also! Perhaps a Blue × Dream kiddo is finally in the stars for me to design?

[sonknuxadow]

sorry i dont really like the shadow is silvers dad theory/headcanon/whatever and part of the reason for it is that people keep presenting it as an actual thing that could be possible even though it makes no sense and all "evidence" people use to back it up is easily disputed

[caffernnn]

Makoto is not a stranger to trying to care for something beautiful beyond boundaries, an outsider who admires and loves despite the distance between aquarium water and where he stands. It’s a world he isn’t privy to, one of being sustained by complete submersion, but his curious eyes and careful hands are drawn to the glass all the same. It becomes a routine during different chapters of his life: tending to these glimmering creatures, feeding them, watching them swim without knowing how often he’s really seen in return, but still choosing to look and care anyway.

He can’t pinpoint exactly what it is about goldfish that draws him in, after all this time. Maybe it lies in how they’re flecked in bright ornamental scales, compared to and admired and coveted like gold: readily, greedily. Maybe it lies more in how all of that admiration of beauty falls short of genuine care, how it’s loved insofar as it is flashy, or how it gets forgotten how natural and mortal the interior of them truly is. Beneath shimmering armor is flesh, is sinew, is a weaving of organic life like everything else alive and beloved.

Makoto extends a hand over the lip of the aquarium to drop some food flakes in.

He remembers the devastation of losing his first two fish, all of the guilt that blended with his grief back then. It felt personal, like failing, to try everything he could manage to extend care across an insurmountable divide and still be left with an empty tank in the end. He’s had to sit with that fear, that reality: he can’t protect everyone from the inevitability of Change or Time, but he’ll try to over and over again.

Makoto looks at Haru and remembers something he read about goldfish being considered an invasive species. There are warnings about how detrimental it can be, to release them into an environment and destroy its balance. Despite that warning, Makoto still gets stuck on the wild goldfish itself, what it looks like when set free. They’ve been reported to grow beyond any tank, swim vast distances, lose their ornamental oranges over generations until they return to their green-gold ancestry that lets them blend into everyone else… almost ordinary.

His eyes watch something, someone beloved circle their tank and wonder, not for the first time, how long they have left together. If he looks away for even a second, will they break out into a radiant future far beyond his gaze, or will they float in the water lifeless and beyond his reach? He’ll drive himself mad if he thinks about it all for too long.

Makoto sets his eyes on the present moment, on the fish seemingly content in the tank in his room, on his best friend sitting warm and close to his side. What matters more than any imagined or inevitable ending is that he’s been entrusted to care for them all anyway. Haru’s hand slips into his own and he doesn’t have to look down anymore to know that he’s being seen and cared for in return by someone far more precious than gold.

[greyedian]

uh oh besties, it might be time for my (almost) annual Dishonored replay again

[oifaaa]

100 years later do you think Ras would still be around? That he’s only person who MIGHT (100 years is a Long time after all) remember Jason?

Otherwise I imagine that whoever has taken up the mantle(s) has to deal with a teenager who’s claiming to been Robin (which, pfff, yeah RIGHT. They’d remember a Robin like that in the stories) and then they have to deal with the worlds most homicidal teenager whos gotta grapple with the fact that he’s not even remembered enough to be passed down in stories.

Nah I don't think ra's would be around I know he's already lived for 600 years bit for some reason in my head I just think something would happen to him and he'd stay dead for good

I am struggling to figure out as well how Jason would react to finding out hes completely alone in the universe like would he react in anger and if so who would he direct it at would he go after the descendents of his family or would he have to actually face his feelings and the source of his emotions so many thoughts

[psychotic-nonsense]

(TW for body horror)

I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing

Roman cavalry choirs are singing

Be my mirror, my sword and shield

My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason, I can't explain

I know Saint Peter won't call my name

Never an honest word

But that was when I ruled the world

- "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay

[achillesisnotcomingdown]

The brainstorming I've done so far for my cod x Iliad

As I just arrived on vacation I can't work much on it for now, but I've got some thoughts. (I've written all of that in about 24h so it's very very much still a draft)

Characters from one franchise won't be associated with specific charas from the other franchise (bc except for ghoap/odydio I can't think of anything). It's just the Iliad guys in CoD setting.

So the Achaeans/Trojans would be like Specgru/Kortac

Agammenon is captain, obviously. Nestor is retired from going on operations, but still works with them.

Ody's callsign is Nobody, even more obviously (I need to look at others' epithets, but it's a bit tough bc callsigns r usually just one word...)

Achilles and Diomedes are both very young (for their rank) and killing machines. The main difference is that Achilles is dangerously unstable while Diomedes is very obedient to his superiors.

Maybe the gods would be some higher ups ?? (Idk the actual world) That the guys rarely ever see but their orders can't be dismissed or questioned. ("Wtf that's practically a suicide mission" "The orders r direct from Zeus. He says the potential losses are worth it")

If I ever write about it I'm thinking of doing a format, like, each chapter is a mission (or shenanigans on base(or a bit of both?) to introduce the setting, characters, dynamics, ect... And then maybe after some chaps going for an actual plot or a few subplots (ykw's gonna happen to Pat)

Please guys do tell me what u think of it so far :3 and don't hesitate to help me a bit (ex with callsigns and ranks lol)

[theanoninyourinbox]

While I’m working on -REDACTED-