#he also consistently DOES NOT SURVIVE these situations that are often of his own making

[mawsmauls]

Day seven of the @dragonaday-fr challenge! With the disposition of a feral horse and the tenacity of one, Idiom is quick to cause arduous situations and just as quick to escape them. He leaves these problems for any others present to solve, or a particularly unlucky stranger to stumble upon later.

[ambyandony]

Giorno Giovanna - Monster AU Profile

(hopefully screen-reader-friendly edition with detailed image descriptions)

Giorno Giovanna, part vampire, part... human..? and part... something else.

guest appearance from limbo because she's the only lycanthrope who was applicable to use

Preface about species type:

In the Monster AU, 'standard' vampires are a little more like traditional European folklore / pop-culture vampires. While some JoJo vampire rules still apply, so do many traditional vampire rules. Being only part-vampire also changes the rules somewhat. Usually to his benefit, making his vampirism-related weaknesses less potent against him. And there’s something else about him… he doesn’t seem to be a full 50% vampire and 50%…human.

His other behaviours seem consistent with a somewhat rare, rather misrepresented species… The Gentry.

Details related to Part-Vampirism:

Sunlight will not burn Giorno. It may slightly irritate his skin and eyes and will diminish a majority of his vampiric abilities when he is directly in it for too long, but it will not burn him.

He has little to no reaction to garlic. He’s just not that into it. This isn’t to say garlic necessarily has 0 effect on vampires (it’s mostly just an extreme irritant and deterrent, really), but it’s only about half as effective on him, and he’s lived in Italy since age four so he’s built up a tolerance.

Heightened sense of perception, especially in the presence of blood. In the presence of fresh blood, he becomes hyperaware.

Craves blood but probably can survive just fine without consuming it (he just won’t).

Automatic boost to charisma. Everybody agrees vampirism does this

Excellent regeneration ability. Stop cutting off your arms.

Has to stop to count spilt rice.

Can be around and make some contact with holy objects, but prolonged contact with them will cause him harm. He can be inside a church, but he tends to be inflicted with great discomfort or sometimes pain simply from stepping inside one.

Can be seen in mirrors! But only in some mirrors so he has to be careful. If it’s silver-backed, he can’t be seen. Silver-backed mirrors are less common nowadays (and by nowadays I mean also in 2001) but they’re still around so he has to be careful about mirrors in public places lest he out himself as a vampire.

Often has to be invited into a house. Or… perhaps just prefers to be?

Popular to contrary belief, he does have blood. His own blood usually doesn’t make him hyperaware though, as drinking his own blood would be completely pointless.

Details related to Faehood:

Seems very intent on people giving him their Names…

Occasionally steals your gender

Takes promises very seriously… and never breaks one. If he appears to do so, that’s on you. That’s something you did. You know who you are.

Sometimes looks a little… different. In a way you can’t quite place…

Seems to have an iron allergy. Which may be part of the reason he doesn’t presently drink blood despite his craving for it.

Details about Giorno:

Smug, pretentious, and a little bitch.

Snakey with wording and finds amusement when others are loose with theirs.

Is generally just proudly unfazed in most situations. He knows he’s powerful and thinks he’s invincible, in a perhaps rather childlike way.

Acts ominous, vague and mysterious but do keep in mind he is a 15 year old and a idiot

Very interested in Fugo because of the sheer audacity.

( sort of like "I like this one!"/"I would love to study you.")

When Giorno first met Fugo he was like “May I have your name? :)” and Fugo was like “no you cant have my fucking name you fucking dipshit” and Giorno was so taken aback by the sheer audacity that he just didn’t do anything about it and got attached to him

* and post part he keeps pestering Fugo like “can I have it now” “can I have your name now”

He likes messing with people. Especially Mista because he knows he can get away with it.

Doesn’t need blood but refuses to go without consuming (or complaining about not getting to) because he’s a little bitch.

Can theoretically fuck up technology by his mere presence if he’s not careful enough.

Holds people to their promises, even if they didn’t know they made one.

Good at charming people. Good at tricking people. Likes doing both.

shut up shut up shut up please shut the fuck up

Overdramatic and makes it everyone else’s problem. Occasionally sparkles, not because he’s a vampire, but because he’s a silly dramatic loser. Shimmers in the moonlight but it’s not clear if that’s possibly involuntary.

gender

[vickyvicarious]

There were even such books of reference as the London Directory, the "Red" and "Blue" books, Whitaker's Almanac, the Army and Navy Lists, and—it somehow gladdened my heart to see it—the Law List.

Me at first: I am getting cute aggression stop!

Me now: Wait, what if Dracula is studying the Law List in order to find ways around the system like what legal strings must be pulled to enter an inhabited house uninvited.

Well, he is still deeply adorable. Baby Solicitor comforted to see Law in the wild. I love it just as much now.

But yeah, also that's an alarming idea, and something I 100% would believe. Something I don't think Dracula often gets enough credit for is how innovative he is about the rules of vampirism in this book. He absolutely does some rules-lawyering of his own, and in fact his entire plan is dependent on a pretty clever move with the whole if I surround myself in my native soil then I'll be fine to cross running water trick. And he also is pretty good at thinking of backup plans and contingencies. He eventually has a bunch of those here in the castle with Jonathan, such as:

Jonathan is locked in so he can't get out

He doesn't know the exact way back even if he did

While he's lost in the wood wolves could hunt him down before he found friendly people, if he did escape

Dracula's impersonation of him turns the locals against him if he did get to them, past the wolves, lost in the woods, through the locked doors

Also no one at home will know what happened to him because of his dictated letters and Dracula's impersonation, suggesting an entirely different timeline/location for him vanishing

And all of this layers well with other goals, such as isolating and emotionally torturing Jonathan. Stuff like his multiple lawyers/homes for his multiple dirt boxes to be stashed are also really clever. Dracula can make a good plan... given enough time/control over a situation. But he consistently underestimates his opponents, because he believes he is so innately superior to them. In doing so, he leaves gaps, opportunities they can take advantage of without him even realizing (sticking to the Jonathan example: his diary, some of his more extreme snooping, the final escape. Or later on, a fantastic example is Mina turning his attack on her against him, both choosing to spy back on him, and figuring things out from his triumphant evil monologue).

He also gets impatient and stubborn. I've mentioned before how he could have played the entire Lucy situation much smarter had he been more patient/less outraged at people here figuring out a way to temporarily hold him off. And when things go wrong, he's not great at pivoting in any kind of subtle/clever way. He defaults to anger, force, shows of power. And again, that can be used against him.

Sorry, I got totally away from your point. Yes, I agree, he'd try. And it would be completely in-character for him to overlook that actual lawyers might be able to out-maneuver him in such an area, and he'd get stupid-mad should they mess up some plan by doing so. That could be a fun thing to incorporate into some kind of AU (where Lucy survives: imagine if Mrs. Westenra's lawyer insisted on putting in some kind of clause that she kept the house at least until her marriage was finalized) (preventing Mina's attacks/saving Renfield: if the lawyer characters put together the stuff with Lucy and looked into the legal documents for the asylum, maybe putting some document together that changed the wording to restrict his access unless only Seward invited him in, or Renfield's invitation only went for the main asylum, not Jack's private rooms, or whatever).

[strawbby-shortcake]

Dating Mike Munroe (Until Dawn)! ♡︎

[tw: mentions of death and psych ward.]

Requested by @pinknooniie! I hope you like it<3 I've never played Until Dawn, so I do hope this is somewhat accurate. Enjoy!

Mike, he loves relationships...without the commitment. It takes him a while until he realizes his feelings for you are solid and genuine. Even then, he's unsure about fully committing himself to you.

While he's not outwardly narcissistic, he will make it known that he doesn't need you to survive, but he wants your attention. Over time, he sheds the toxicity.

You two get closer as you spend more time together. He tells you about his dreams of becoming the president and how he was class president in high school.

He eventually accepts the idea that he does need you to survive, noting that he has a slight fear of isolation according to Dr. Hill. He does everything in his power to keep you by his side at all times.

This man is hot and cold, so don't expect him to be consistent with his behavior every day.

However, one thing he will ALWAYS do is protect you. You'll rarely find yourself in a detrimental situation without him. He would lay down his life for you.

He's always armed too with different weapons. He'll give you the easiest one to work with.

If you find yourself in a Wendigo attack you better duck because he's going to shoot that thing square in the face.

Unfortunately, his ex-girlfriend Emily is jealous of you, and so is Jessica- someone who favors Mike. Despite their differences, the two often plot your demise behind your back. So watch out.

When the group pulls the prank on Hannah, you tell them off and console her. You also scold Mike, to which he just shrugs and attempts to justify his behavior by saying: "Relax, it was just a prank."

As a Wendigo, Hannah seems to remember how you comforted her and hesitates before attacking you. She leaves you with a few cuts and bruises, but doesn't kill you.

Mike's wolf companion, Wolfie, adores you and sticks by you as another layer of protection. Wolfie is also warm and soft to lay on when you're tired or hurt.

You and Mike have intimate moments when it's just you two out in the woods. Sometimes you don't have time to fully express how much you like each other, so you exchange a few sincere kisses and that's that.

He can be dismissive with your feelings, but cares for you in his own type of way.

BONUS!! ✧.*

He lets you wear his jackets because it gets cold in the woods and the last thing he wants is for you to get sick.

You always carry a medical kit with you so you can tend to his wounds on-the-go.

You two like to have snowball fights and he always busts out with his classic, "Swish! Nothin' but net," when he manages to hit you.

He appears self-absorbed at first, but you learn about his insecurities, fears, and passions as he opens up more.

His commitment issues melt away as your relationship strengthens. There's no one else he'd rather survive with.

When his hand gets stuck in the beartrap, you help him pry it off.

Mike is super gentle with you and gives you reassurance that you will make it out alive. His hands feel rough on yours, but every touch is filled with care.

Death is always a possibility, so you two swear that no matter what happens, you'll always love each other.

There was a moment where you and Mike just barely escaped a Wendigo and collapsed behind a large tree. You didn't have much time until you needed to run again, but Mike took your face in his hands and said: "I promise we will get out of this shithole, and I'm going to marry you."

You silently agreed with him, but you had a pit in your stomach. How could you know if he'll ever fulfill his promise?

IF MIKE LIVES:

You two move far away from there after the police investigation and do get married, just like he promised.

You both have severe PTSD and have to go to support groups, therapy, and take medication if you chose to.

Mike never talks about what happened, but you see the fear in his eyes when it's dark and animals make noise outside.

It takes a lifetime for you and Mike to recover mentally and emotionally.

IF MIKE DIES:

You're never the same after he's killed by Hannah. You swore to him that you'd live on, even if he died.

So that's exactly what you do. You escape the woods and find the nearest police station. You just run and run and run, never looking back or stopping to listen to the screams of the Wendigo.

The police think you're crazy and admit you to the psychiatric hospital.

You're alive, but heavily medicated and spend your days in a straitjacket.

You break out into hysteria upon remembering Mike's death and the Wendigo's face.

[usagirln12003]

Gaara: Hogwarts AU

Gaara is a Pureblood (Lycanthrophy) wizard that was born on the 19th of January 1979 and started attending Durmstrang Institute on the 1st of September 1990.

He has a Pine wand with a Dragon Heartstring core.

His Patronus is a Raccoon.

His favorite subject was Herbology and his least favorite subject was Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Gaara was consistently warm to others during his early life. Although most of the students of Durmstrang feared and despised him, he was able to persevere due to the love that he felt from Yashamaru and his mother. His father, Rasa, believed these niceties were impeding Gaara's development as a wizard and as such had both taken from him: he ordered Yashamaru to try and kill Gaara and, if he were to fail, to tell Gaara that neither he nor Gaara's mother had ever loved him. Rasa's plan succeeded, as following Yashamaru's death Gaara stopped trying to connect with people. Rather, Gaara focused on himself, driven solely by his own desires and his own survival.

During his years of caring only about himself, Gaara becomes infamously known as "Gaara of the Sand". Though he outwardly appears calm, "Gaara of the Sand" is deeply unbalanced, completely unmoved by others' pleas for mercy and, in certain situations, driven mad with bloodlust. This behaviour is partly due to his inner-wolf, whose voice Gaara alone can hear in his head, who encourages violence at every opportunity, and who torments Gaara with threats to take control of his body if he falls asleep, thus making Gaara an insomniac. But the wolf is not wholly responsible: Gaara simply hates other people for existing, believing that so long as they are alive they are a threat to his own life. His purpose, therefore, is to kill anyone who is strong or whom he perceives as similar to himself, as only by killing them can he assert his own existence. With those who do not interest him, Gaara is typically withdrawn and silent. When he must interact with them, he does so with open disregard for their feelings and often threatens to kill them, even his own siblings, if they become too much of a nuisance to him. Due to his wand's automatic defense preventing Gaara from suffering any real pain, when he first sustained his first true injury at the hands of Sasuke Uchiha's jinx, Gaara became even more unstable at the time, completely losing control of himself to his wolf.

Gaara's background is very similar to that of Naruto Uzumaki: both have been treated as an outcast since the day they were born, both were hated and scorned by almost everyone at their schools, and both were raised without a parent's love. But whereas Gaara eventually gave up on other people, Naruto continued trying to win the acknowledgement of his peers and professors, pursuits he eventually succeeds at. Whereas Gaara seeks strength only in protecting himself, Naruto seeks strength in protecting the friends he makes. When the two fought during the Triwizard Tournament and Naruto defeats Gaara, Gaara took this as proof that his own choices in life were wrong; he had surrendered to his difficult circumstances too easily. From that point onward he starts moving away from "Gaara of the Sand" and started emulating Naruto instead, improving his relationships with his siblings, making friends within Durmstrang and without, and finding something that he's willing to give his life to protect. His relationship with his inner-wolf did improve somewhat when he told the wolf he used to hate it, but was grateful to the beast because he was able to meet Naruto due to the painful life the wolf made him endure. He also developed more sympathy for even enemies, as he pitied Kimimaro's emptiness and loneliness as a motivation to serve someone as evil as Orochimaru.

Gaara starts working at the Bulgarian Ministry of Magic, signalling the success of his emulation of Naruto. As a ministry worker, Gaara becomes much wiser than most people his age when he took on the role. He forgave his father for trying to assassinate him as he was only trying to protect Durmstrang. Gaara also gains a new purpose in life by dedicating all his energy towards serving the school and those who attend it. Although he retained some detractors, most of his former classmates adore him and will do what they can to help him reform Bulgaria's ministry and the rest of the world. Even this reform is very much inspired by Naruto, as he wishes for all the ministers to cooperate and benefit from each other in the same way that he has benefited from Naruto's influence. Gaara believes in forgiving past differences and strife, abandoning antiquated concepts of "honour" that only promote isolation, and serving a purpose greater than one's self. As at the ministry, this unity that Gaara advocates is slow to catch on, for a time only gaining support from the UK. By the time of the Fourth Wizarding War, however, all of the ministries are convinced by Gaara and this in turn starts trickling down into the larger Allied Wizarding Forces. Despite his history of cruelty and young age during his ascent to minister of magic, Gaara attains the love of his people by showcasing his idealism, compassion and willingness to reform himself. A man of few words, Gaara leads by example, an assertive, thoughtful and collected presence in the heat of diplomacy and battle, who willingly puts his life on the line for his friends and allies. Gaara's way with words, astuteness and integrity earn him the respect of the older, more experienced minister. Gaara's touching speech before the Allied Wizarding Forces produces a resounding response and is able to mend the rift between the European Countries. Gaara's superlative leadership abilities lead to his posting as Regimental Commander of the Allied Wizarding Forces.

Gaara feels indebted to Naruto for how significantly he's changed since his time as "Gaara of the Sand"; he considers Naruto his closest and first friend and believes all the tragedies of his childhood were worthwhile since they led him to meet Naruto. He takes part in the Fourth Wizarding War not simply because he believes Akatsuki must be stopped, but because by doing so he can keep Naruto safe. Gaara's desire to protect Naruto, at times, means acting against Naruto's wishes: he knows Naruto would want to participate in the Fourth Wizarding War to protect his loved ones, but feels Naruto would be safer if he were forbidden from doing so. Just like before, however, Naruto's desire to protect his friends gets through to Gaara, as he does not argue with his participation in the war after accepting he made an error in judgement. Gaara often cites his own experiences as "Gaara of the Sand" during his interactions with Sasuke and others who suffer hate and loneliness, explaining the missteps that he didn't realise he'd made until he met Naruto so that they, in turn, might realise their own. His words do not always convince them, but Gaara is able to empathise with their choices and, as with Sasuke, he even wonders if Naruto could get through to them, just as Naruto got through to him. Despite his stoic demeanour, Gaara is empathetic and in touch with his emotions, freely shedding tears at Sasuke's refusal to change his ways, and at the revelation of his mother's love for him.

As an adult, Gaara becomes wiser. When some of the current ministers expressed concerns about leaving the next generation to handle the threat they would soon face because these were peaceful times they were growing up in, Gaara calmly says each generation having little faith in the next one is not an uncommon thing. His empathy has also deepened, as he was able to understand Shinki needed love to help his out-of-control magic, hugging him in their first meeting and adopting him to give Shinki the happy family Gaara himself didn't have. Despite this, Gaara can be quite strict and blunt with his adopted son, urging Shinki not to attack Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki due to their gap in power, bluntly telling Shinki he was nowhere near Momoshiki's level.

Gaara retains some social awkwardness as an adult. His nephew Shikadai Nara noted Gaara tends to give strange gifts when he visits.

[fnaflucasverse]

Assorted Mike Thoughts

been discussing/workshopping the differences between @fivenightsatfreddysfanfiction's mike schmidt and this au's take on him (thanks to @mangleschmidt for listening to me yap 😁) and i think my ideas are solid/interesting enough that you guys would like to hear!

WHY THE CHANGE?

i've pretty consistently struggled with writing mike for lucasverse. he felt too nice, too level-headed, restrained himself too much; or on the opposite end, too distant, too hands-off, too cold. it felt like i couldn't grasp the character laid out in parlourverse. theoretically, i knew what made pv!mike tick, his quirks of personality and his tone of voice, but i could never quite put it to paper (or google docs)

so, after another deep dive into the parlourblog looking for info and inspiration, something avec said made me pause. i think it was something about listening to your characters, letting them take you where they want to go, even if it's not where you originally thought you'd end up. well, i listened! and i think i'm pretty happy with where my mike and i are. hope you like him too!

AS A SYMBOL

lv!mike started really branching off from parlourverse after i started thinking about pv!mike's "guilt of the 6th" title. pv!mike gets it from being the survivor of the bite of 87, that guilt he doesn't know he has being compounded by the guilt of him failing the night guards under his watch. but it got me thinking: in lucasverse, mike isn't the (only) one with guilt on his hands, or even the one most concerned with the weight of that guilt—it's Lucas! lucas's entire motivations are fueled and driven by guilt, past and present. with the story i have, i felt it was far more appropriate to pass the title onto him instead.

this left me with a dilemma: if lv!mike doesn't have guilt, what Does he have? this had me pretty stuck. i ended up working on other characters, figuring them out, and occasionally trying to see mike through their eyes. as i did, i started noticing one common thread—mike brought them Hope! the gears started turning and turning in my head, and then it just clicked into place. pv!jeremy is the "hope of the 7th"; for reasons i can't get into (but perhaps you can guess), lv!jeremy was never one of the intended victims. but what if mike's strength to survive brought hope to others? what if he was the "hope of the 6th"?

this revelation kickstarted a new trajectory for lv!mike as i worked through the questions in my head: what does hope mean, in mike's case? well, hope could be something that he clings to for survival—getting to buy doll a ring, for example—but hope can also be something that blinds him from danger—seeing the best in lucas and trusting in him despite warning signs. okay, so what gives him this hope? perhaps a desperation to believe in a good, or at least, better life/living situation; a need to believe in someone reliable, a shoulder to lean on when things get tough. then how does it his relationship with others? maybe mike tries to be the best for them, goes the extra mile for them, doesn't let them see the worst so they can keep their own hope; likewise, he becomes reluctant to believe the worst of the people he trusts implicitly, the people who give Him hope.

i'd like to think that this isn't so much a rewriting of pv!mike as it is a shifting of the camera, looking at mike schmidt from a new angle. even jeremy could easily have the weight of guilt on him—sins of the father and all that—which is what makes this take on mike exciting to me. hyping myself up and all 😁

AS A PERSON

another hurdle i faced was the very real fact that environment around you often changes who you become, and lv!mike's environment was certainly significantly changed from parlourverse. the first and most obvious was the inclusion of lucas—he's in the au's name after all!—and his friendship with mike. you may remember a relationship web i made where mike has, well, kind of a "nothing" opinion towards lucas. in the moment, it was mostly because i thought the contrast between their opinions of each other was hilarious (it still is), but the more lv!mike developed in my head, the more it just didn't feel right anymore.

the way i see it: when lucas and mike met, they were both extremely desperate any sort of social foundation. lucas was just fresh off of scott's death, someone he looked up to and latched onto as a friend and father, and suddenly tasked with the burden of saving his not-quite-dead friends; in my backstory, mike was disowned for his relationship with doll, a late paycheck away from being homeless, desperate to secure this job after being turned away constantly for his disability. their relationship would've been awkward and rocky at first—overeager, passionate lucas and gruff, wary mike—but to me, it only makes sense that they would've seen each other as, really, the only friend they each had. they're a team: mike and lucas, lucas and mike.

this friendship would've changed them both, for better and maybe a little worse. in lucasverse's fnaf 1 arc, mike is definitely a lot closer in personality to his parlourverse counterpart. i feel as though pv!mike's prickliness is definitely enforced by his isolation from anyone he can really talk to or trust (at least before jeremy, where he opens up considerably and his edges soften). in lucasverse, i imagine that process happening much earlier: lucas's careful restraint helping to cool down mike's aggravated temper, and mike's sharp wit and judgement giving lucas a boost in confidence.

during the start of their friendship, they take cues from each other equally, though i think the changes in mike are more drastically obvious than in lucas. for one, lv!mike's relationship with the old fazband is definitely far less antagonistic than pv!mike and his fazband. while mike never fully becomes comfortable around them, i feel as though lucas's unwavering affection/enthusiasm towards his "kids" ends up swaying mike, in that "i don't really get or like this thing that much, but if you like it, it's gotta have some merit" way. (the rest of the fazbear fanboying is still weird, though.) additionally, i think lucas has somehow gotten mike to cut down heavily on the swearing. this is a children's establishment, michael. yes, even when the animatronics are around. they're impressionable.

by the time the fnaf 2 arc rolls around, though, i imagine the balance between them has shifted from equality to weighing in lucas's favor. it's not just that he's the (assistant) manager now, it's not just that faith is in the mix—mike trusts lucas completely. why wouldn't he? that's his friend: they talk shit during breaks, goof off after hours, lucas buys him a beer now and then and grounds him when his memory fogs. and mike is the only one lucas trusts to take the night shift now, with all these night guards breaking the rules, tampering with the animatronics or running off without a word.

when you become so used to relying on someone you stop listening to yourself. you become complacent. and when you already doubt your own mind, well... all the easier to let them help you out. you trust them, right? by the time mike meets jeremy, i think he's fully in a state of autopiloting his way through life. he's comfortable. sure, he's working two shifts, but that's just extra money he can save up to get out of this place, this town, this state. for right now, he's settled in his little status-quo bubble. keep hopeful for the future; don't think about the present. don't think about what you've been sweeping under the carpet.

jeremy is the wake-up call. jeremy is smack upside the head that tells mike to pay attention. jeremy is the tearing apart of status quo. jeremy says, "is this what you want to do with your life? is this the kind of person you want to stay as?" jeremy breaks rules to get where he needs to be, stumbles and shoves his way towards the truth, lights the fire of determination because it doesn't matter how much hope you have if you don't claw and drag yourself bleeding to reach it. mike's relationship with jeremy is a stark contrast to his relationship with lucas: jeremy challenges mike constantly, is a pain in mike's ass and lights a fire under it. mike both keeps jeremy at arm's length—a trainee rather than a son—but is still driven by him. lucas tells mike what he wants to hear; jeremy makes mike question himself, realize that the person you need to trust most is your own self.

and what if your own self is the one trying to keep secrets from you? faith and mike are so inseparable and yet they never truly meet; heads and tails of a coin that can't twist to see itself. it's honestly ironic that so much of their relationship is built around faith's Lack of faith in mike: not trusting him with his own memories, with his own body, with his own life. in a way, faith is the final obstacle mike has to face before he can become fully realized as a person. ah well, at risk of spoiling the story, mike and faith will have to figure out life without the other in some very traumatic ways. but i have... Faith in them. eh? eh??? was that mike-worthy? i'm writing this all in one sitting and it's 4am

and with this, i finally come to the end of my very long series of thoughts. if you're reading this, feel free to let me know what you think! send me an ask, dm me, join the parlourverse discord to yell at me there, send anon hate, whatever! ummmm have some bonus art of side characters i haven't drawn yet. see if you can guess their names!*

*fritz, iris the journalist, and scott. you'll meet the first two eventually! rip scott

[ruvviks]

FOR RUDY... what does an average day look like for him?? what does he do to pass the time

hehehe thank you :] so for people who don't know rudy yet he's my 7 days to die oc!! it's a post-apocalyptic survival crafting game with zombies in which there's an event every seven days that draws a huge horde of zombies to your location for the whole night so you have to build up defenses and gather weapons and ammo etc to make sure you don't die, it's a very fun game and i love it so much

rudy is very paranoid so he tends to avoid other people at all costs, sticking mostly to himself in the wasteland. he wakes up when the sun rises because he's a light sleeper and sunlight easily disrupts his sleep, generally he gets up very soon after that to check if any zombies managed to break through his defenses. it's basically like a morning run to him :] after this first perimeter check he gets himself some breakfast, usually some ice cold chrysanthemum tea with eggs and bacon ^_^

mornings are always a little slow for rudy since he has to keep an eye on the weather to look for first signs of a blood moon storm; if one of those threatens to blow over he has to spend the rest of the day getting defenses ready to keep the zombies out. usually he spends his mornings doing some practical work; think of cleaning his weapons, making his own ammo, getting building materials ready, stuff like that!

for lunch he prefers to eat something cold rather than another hot meal. he has his own farm and grows a bunch of fruits and veggies so it's generally a meal consisting of a salad of some sort, sometimes he'll also have some canned fruit like peaches or pears that he eats with it. making his own bread is a little difficult with limited resources but he does often make his own flatbread!

then in the afternoon when there's no incoming blood moon that night, rudy usually leaves his base to go out on his motorcycle and either go for a scavenge run or visit a nearby trader :] he always makes a list of things that he needs (for both scavenging and a trader visit) and works his way down the list very meticulously, he knows in which locations he can find certain items or materials and he has a layout of every single nearby town printed in his brain so he never stays out for longer than necessary. on the rare occasion he gets caught out in the open around sunset, he will find a safe rooftop nearby where he can stay the night; he always brings snacks and drinks with him for emergencies, so he never has to go hungry

for dinner he likes to have an elaborate meal, very varied each night as well! especially because of his own farm and the amount of wildlife in the area he always has plenty of supplies to cook a nice meal for himself with, and any leftovers get stored in the DIY fridge he built for himself. he tries to have dinner before sunset because the cooking can attract zombies to his location and while he knows very well how to defend himself, he'd rather stay out of combat situations

while rudy loves to sleep, he also struggles with it a lot both because of being a light sleeper as well as his paranoia. every single noise can cause him to be wide awake again and he HAS to go check if a zombie got in or not, so he spends most of his nights kind of half asleep, half awake. usually doesn't get more than six hours of sleep in :( but he doesn't really mind, he doesn't need an awful lot of sleep to function normally and if anything he goes to a trader outpost during the day to rent a room there for the day hours so he can get some extra sleep in there ^_^

[redstringraven]

some lil OC tidbits using a server template! i wanna start sharing and talking about them a bit more outside of my artwork just... both as a form of documentation and also because it makes me happy. c:

---*---

Cassia Dubois five random facts:

mains boo in most, if not all, mario games. if boo's not an option, she mains peach or yoshi.

a nervous laugher; will start giggling when nervous or unsure how to handle a situation. this has mixed results.

gives nicknames to basically everyone. if you're a friend in any form or fashion, you will get a few nicknames unique to you. (i.e., mikey's nicknames are 'tangerine', 'champ', and 'jell-o').

will sometimes text exclusively in emojis. leo can never decipher it, and sometimes it drives raph up a wall (she does this on purpose).

professional french fry thief.

favorite food: snickerdoodles or pretzels dipped in cool whip least favorite food: anything with the texture of cottage cheese cause of stress: having an inconsistent friend group at school; after the triceraton invasion, she worries about her dad a lot while he travels for work (he's a train conductor) a quote I associate with them: "cooler than a strawberry shake~!"

---*---

Nyxram five random facts

would not participate in the battle nexus despite that she'd most certainly win; she doesn't enjoy "combat for sport".

can fluently speak a handful of languages throughout the galaxy and can understand/read several more.

favorite third-earth instrument is the harp.

lowkey fascinated by third-earth's older technology (gramophones, steam-engine trains, etc) but unimpressed by the modern technology.

currently training traximus; she worries that, as the rebellion's leader, he'll quickly get targets on his back from other triceratons who disagree with the shift in power or from outside parties looking to further stir the current power vacuum.

favorite food: whatever the triceraton equivalent of a warm bagel with cream cheese is least favorite food: pizza (sorry, mikey); anything fried, swimming in grease, or generally unhealthy cause of stress: her past, her future, her parents a quote i associate with them: "no one will know the violence it took to become this gentle"

---*---

Gwyneth five random facts

can mimic bilelon* bugles well enough that they'll sometimes call back to her.

on third-earth she leans into she/her pronouns for simplicity's sake but is genderqueer given liáfsini's approach of the subject, as well as the galaxy's lack of a binary.

is the 'younger twin' and, therefore, considered the parasitic spirit. she was consistently shunned by other liáfsians and forbidden to participate in ceremonies or druidic practices.

arguably a better climber than the boys due to a childhood spent in the woods and exploring old liáfsian ruins. could parkour the city in her sleep.

enjoys sketching and gardening but rarely gets to indulge in either due to consistently being on guard/on the run. her art-style is more realism leaning, and the lines weave into each other as though she never lifts the pencil from paper.

favorite food: liáfsian equivalent of barmbrack least favorite food: isn't picky; food is food as long as it won't kill her cause of stress: darach; a loss of her own identity due to survival; her unshaken determination to get ash back in a body a quote i associate with them: "the woods are lovely, dark and deep. but i have promises to keep, and miles to go before i sleep, and miles to go before i sleep."

---*---

Aislinn five random facts

will rarely reveal she's sentient before she or gwyn deem someone trustworthy; often plays 'inanimate' and is always listening and watching; it's made her a bit of a gossip.

loves watching soap operas with master splinter and discussing the episodes with him afterward.

is the 'older twin' and, therefore, considered the original spirit. despite still being viewed as an ill-omen, she was not shunned as severely as gwyn. though sometimes invited to ceremonies or allowed access to other community practices, ash refused to participate if gwyn couldn't.

on third-earth, she leans more into she/her pronouns for simplicity's sake along with gwyn but does also seem to prefer femme-leaning gender identities galaxy-wide; more of a demi-girl.

both ash and gwyn can perform a liáfsian take on kulning, which they used not only to call to the bilelon and sithóran**, but also to locate each other while exploring the woods as kids; ash's is much more in line with traditional kulning, which is to say it's higher in pitch and is more melodic. gwyn's is lower in pitch and a bit more melancholic/haunting. in the extremely rare situation gwyn and ash get separated in present time, ash will kuln as a way to signal to gwyn without fully giving away her sentience or presence in the weapon.

favorite food: liáfsian equivalent of barmbrack least favorite food: doesn't remember cause of stress: darach; being physically dead; consistently worried about gwyn's mental and physical well-being a quote i associate with them: "i was with you before we were even born."

---*---

*bilelon are a sacred fae-fauna in liáfsini; they vaguely resemble elk **sithóran are fauna in liáfsini; they vaguely resemble maned wolves

[jadeglas]

James Diesel

Diesel is a non-sanctioned super in his mid 30s. He's a newcomer in San Padua, still establishing himself, but determine to carve a place of his own in this city of supers.

Background: Diesel's early life was marked by extreme hardship and violence, which shaped him into the formidable survivor he is now. As an infant, he was left for dead in a trashcan. He spent much of his youth bouncing between foster homes and juvie halls, changing cities and states as often as he could as soon as he was old enough to figure out how. Once his powers began to manifest, the system stopped treating him like a kid and started sending him to the detention facilities that were designed for supers. It was in these brutal environments that he honed his fighting skills and developed his keen survival instincts. He became infamous for his ability to escape from even the most secure prisons, earning him a fearsome reputation among both criminals and law enforcement.

Personality: Diesel is ruthless, cunning, and utterly self-reliant, with a strong survivalist mentality that drives most of his actions. Despite his often brutal behavior, Diesel adheres to a personal code of honor and has moments of unexpected compassion, particularly towards innocents and those he considers worthy of his protection. Intelligence is one of Diesel's defining traits. He possesses a sharp, analytical mind and is a master strategist, often outthinking his opponents and manipulating situations to his advantage. This intellectual prowess, combined with his physical abilities, makes him a formidable adversary. Trust doesn't come easily to him, and he generally prefers solitude to companionship. However, on the rare occasions when he does form connections with others, he can display a fierce loyalty. His relationships are often complicated and his moral compass is distinctly gray. He's capable of great violence but also of great sacrifice. His actions are primarily driven by self-interest and survival, but he has been known to put himself at risk to save others, especially children. A notable aspect of Diesel's personality is his dark sense of humor. He often makes sardonic comments or grim jokes, even in life-threatening situations. This gallows humor serves as both a coping mechanism and a way to unnerve his opponents.

Appearance: Physically, Diesel is an imposing figure. He's tall, muscular, and exudes an aura of barely contained power and danger. His most striking feature is his eyes, which have been surgically altered to allow him to see in the dark. These eyes appear to shine in low light conditions, giving him an otherworldly and predatory look. He typically keeps his head shaved bald and often sports a short beard or goatee. His skin is tanned and weathered, bearing the scars of countless battles. He moves with a fluid grace that belies his muscular build, capable of both explosive violence and silent stealth. His attire is usually minimalistic and functional, often consisting of dark, form-fitting clothes that allow for ease of movement. He's frequently seen wearing goggles to protect his light-sensitive eyes. He's is also known for his proficiency with various weapons, but he has a particular affinity for knives and shivs, which he wields with deadly precision.

Abilities:

Enhanced Vision: Diesel's most notable ability is his surgically altered eyes, allowing him to see in complete darkness. This gives him a significant advantage in low-light conditions.

Physical Prowess: He possesses extraordinary strength, speed, agility, and endurance, far beyond that of an average human.

Combat Skills: Diesel is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and proficient with a wide variety of weapons, particularly bladed ones.

Stealth: He's incredibly stealthy, able to move silently and remain undetected in various environments.

Survival Skills: Diesel can survive in extremely harsh conditions and adapt quickly to new environments.

Intelligence: He has a sharp, analytical mind and is an excellent strategist and problem-solver.

Enhanced Senses: Besides his night vision, Diesel seems to have heightened senses, particularly his sense of smell.

Pain Tolerance: He has an exceptionally high pain threshold and can continue functioning even after sustaining significant injuries.

Escapology: He's notorious for his ability to escape from even the most secure prisons.

[yallemagne]

Thinking about dom/sub in Dracula

So, I was musing about Harkward dynamics to myself and I got the idea to expand that into general kink of the Dracula cast. This will not explore all of kink because… I am not familiar with all of kink. But I am familiar with BDSM, so I will mostly be exploring dom/sub dynamics. No, I’m not going into depth about Dracula himself. Everyone knows he’s just a shitty dom who refuses to utilize safewords. 

DISCLAIMER: not everyone falls into a category because not everyone is into dom/sub and it isn't a perfect lil binary system. And please leave your preconceptions spawned from media like Fifty Shades at the door.

Mina - Dom. While wanting to stick to gender norms most of the time, her dominance just naturally comes out, and even in nonsexual situations she has a tendency to be very stern with people, and as seen with the team, her wishes often take precedence, and she consistently uses that to her advantage. She tries to suppress herself around people she is less familiar with (again, not wanting to make any waves or be seen as a New Woman), but with friends, she excuses it as her schoolmistress persona coming out. Jack turned bright red the first time she made this excuse and no one will let him live it down. Though, Mina is open to exploring this schoolmistress persona with him if he would like. She and Jonathan don’t really engage in much role-play, they ultimately burst into laughter after the second cheesy line and just have their regular sex.

Jonathan - Sub. Jonathan is, even in non-sexual situations, a very submissive person, and this unfortunately gets him into hot water. However, it also may be how he was able to survive Dracula’s castle. He is naturally very eager to please, so he has learned over the years how to appease his superiors and fall back when it is necessary. Dracula’s abuse of him definitely coloured submission in an unfortunate light for him, but mostly in terms of fully submitting to other men, because he is completely comfortable with letting Mina take full control. There is fluidity, however. While he isn’t very sexually assertive, he will service top for Mina or others. When subbing for men (at least in the beginning) he prefers Mina to be present to moderate. This isn't kink, but I headcanon him as demisexual, so he has some conflicts about his sexual desires (at first interpreting them to be unnaturally thrust upon him by some outside force). Mina takes care in easing him into sex, encouraging him not to shy away from it.

Lucy - I don’t see her as particularly kinky, not because I think she’s a pure little flower or anything, but because she has not been properly educated about sex. What she has been taught about sex is probably very reductive towards women (the idea that sex is painful, that the woman has a duty to her husband, etc.). Since she would reasonably be very anxious about sex, I would like to see her take a more active role in dictating how the sexual experience is going to happen for her own personal comfort. It wouldn’t necessarily make her a dom because in most healthy dynamics it is actually the sub that gets the final say over how the scene plays out. I see her as vanilla but receptive to kink if her partner is interested. 

(highly recommend BlueCatWriter's fic Lucy's Wedding Night, exploring... well... Lucy's wedding night in three AUs where she survives and marries each one of the Suitors.)

Jack - hooooo boy. Sub. He carries a lot of power in his day-to-day, and I’m not saying there’s absolutely nothing psycho-sexual about his behaviour towards Renfield (not a healthy dynamic whatsoever, mind you), but because he spends much of his time in a position of power- when he’s intimate with someone, he prefers to be able to fully let go and be told what to do. To be told how well he does it, what a good boy he is. Gets fairly anxious about being dominant in bed if he ever is because he wants to perform well. Definitely has engaged in some nasty role-play. 

Quincey - Man knows how to hogtie a person. Fairly dominant and always frank about what he’d like. At least with men, it's easier for him to talk dirty with men, he's a bit more old-fashioned and courteous with the ladies. In book, he's almost ridiculously cautious about springing anything on a woman, opting to stand outside the Harkers' bedroom like an NPC while Mina was being eaten because he didn't want to burst in on her wearing a nightgown. Quincey, you prude, she's DYING. He, Arthur, and Jack have all engaged in very… hyperspecific role-play scenarios. It’s not something he thought he would be into, but he leans into a hyper-American persona because it really seems to entertain and excite his partners. Oh, sorry. Pardners. 

Arthur - I don’t see him as particularly dominant or submissive. While often using his higher status as a bargaining chip, he doesn’t seem to lord it over his lower-classed friends at all. It's possible he's uncomfortable with being dominant because it feels “icky” to him. He doesn’t like thinking that he’s forcing people to do anything. Much like Lucy, he is receptive to his partner's desires. Is super turned on by the ridiculous role-play ideas that Jack and Quincey come up with, so that’s something. But he’s embarrassed to ever come up with scenarios himself, so he opts to prompt it by asking questions like: “Can we do what we did last week? Can you do the thing with the rope again?” As such, he and Lucy probably don’t have kinky sex unless Lucy makes a move (no that is not a diss, vanilla sex is perfectly fulfilling). 

... I don't want to talk about the old men, I will be crucified (you can ask though... I suppose. But I swear if I get an ask about Renfield and I am killed the next day, I am going to haunt you).

If you wish for me to elaborate on any particular ship or go further in-depth with the characters/share your own headcanons, feel free to ask. If you want to scream at me for being so terribly wrong in my headcanons... I can't hear you, my headphones are in.

[twin-skelletons]

Did Adrian attend college?

The only formal education Adrian received was through the ISSP Academy. His mentor, Detective Michael Ramírez, forged Adrian’s credentials so he could get around the background check. Adrian’s ability to quickly adapt to any situation in addition to being highly recommended by Michael put him on the fast track to becoming a detective.

During his time at the academy, Adrian found that he was well-suited to ISSP work. He was interested in topics like law, criminal psychology, and investigation procedures and even spent time outside of classes reading about them. Instructors were surprised by Adrian’s advanced weapons proficiency which they usually only saw from Titan veterans. Adrian explained that Michael had given him lessons from a young age, laying their curiosity to rest.

The one friend Adrian made at the academy was his partner, Detective Evelyn Bellamy, though ‘friend’ is a bit generous. Like many of their classmates, Evelyn quickly became tired of hearing their instructors sing Adrian’s praises. She was just relieved that he was aiming for the narcotics department so that their paths would never cross again. Unfortunately for her, their Captain had other ideas. Assigning them both to homicide, they were forced to find common ground. Let’s just say their partnership is a constant work in progress.

What animal best represents/symbolizes Adrian?

The animal that best represents Adrian is the coyote. Coyotes represent survival, adaptability, and tenacity, all traits that Adrian has honed from a young age. Being able to think on his feet has kept him alive for this long, but it has also caused him a fair deal of pain and suffering. With experience, especially in his role as a detective, Adrian has learned to wield this double-edged sword.

Coyotes have their destructive attributes as well, such as being stubborn, impulsive, and vengeful. Beneath his officer of the law façade, these attributes are at the core of everything Adrian does. While he truly believes he has let go of his past by finding his true calling, it’s his past that drives him to seek justice and eliminate targets. Adrian can’t confront this paradox because, deep down, he knows that it would destroy the very foundation of his identity.

Due to their howling during times of transition, such as dusk and dawn, coyotes are often associated with the concept of death and rebirth. With every death of every person he considered family, Adrian has emerged on the other side as someone completely new. It’s hard to say if it’s for better or worse.

How much does Adrian care for his appearance?

Adrian is all about practicality. One of the things he appreciates about being a detective is that he doesn’t have to think about what to wear. Because of that, he owns ten sets of the same white button-up, black tie, and black slacks. Whenever he gets an injury, usually from his extracurriculars, he patches himself up. He goes into the office the next day like nothing’s happened, causing many of his coworkers to worry and insist he visit a hospital.

Prior to working as a detective, Adrian wore whatever was comfortable. This mostly consisted of t-shirts, sweats, joggers, and baseball caps - all things he still wears when he’s off the clock. Michael was the first person to make Adrian more aware of how he presented himself. His mentor stressed how appearance was an indicator of professionalism and, if he wanted to be taken seriously as a detective, something he needed to follow through on consistently.

After Michael’s passing, Evelyn took on the role of pushing Adrian to expand his wardrobe. On their undercover cases and off-duty meetings, she always has a lot to say about his casual wear. Through her incessant pestering, Adrian has slowly started adding pieces to his collection just so he could make their conversations a little more bearable.

What quote best encapsulates Adrian?

“Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald

While there are countless ways to interpret this quote, two of them are the most relevant to Adrian. The first has to do with the past. Behind every hero, there is usually a tragic event that shapes the rest of their life. For Adrian, that was losing his family. Their murders are the catalyst for him becoming a detective.

The second is more of a warning for the future. Making sacrifices is an unavoidable fact of being a hero. Adrian’s merciless pursuit of justice comes at the cost of everything else in his life. While he believes he has a righteous goal, being willing to go to any lengths to achieve it – violent or otherwise - pushes him further and further away from heroism. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and sometimes you don’t know you’re on that road until it’s far too late.

A note from the author: All questions were shared on the @bebopcrew server.

[ambyandony]

Giorno Giovanna - Monster AU Profile

Giorno Giovanna, part vampire, part... human..? and part... something else.

guest appearance from limbo bc shes the only werewolf who was applicable to use

Preface about species type:

In the Monster AU, vampires are a little more like traditional folklore vampires. While some JoJo vampire rules still apply, so do many traditional vampire rules. Being only part-vampire also changes the rules somewhat. Usually to his benefit, making his vampirism-related weaknesses less potent against him. And there’s something else about him… he doesn’t seem to be a full 50% vampire and 50%…human.

His other behaviours seem consistent with a somewhat rare, rather misunderstood species… The Gentry.

Details related to Part-Vampirism:

Sunlight will not burn Giorno. It may slightly irritate his skin and eyes and will diminish a majority of his vampiric abilities when he is directly in it for too long, but it will not burn him.

He has little to no reaction to garlic. He’s just not that into it. This isn’t to say garlic necessarily has 0 effect on vampires (it’s mostly just an extreme irritant and deterrent, really), but it’s only about half as effective on him, and he’s lived in Italy since age four so he’s built up a tolerance.

Heightened sense of perception, especially in the presence of blood. In the presence of fresh blood, he becomes hyperaware.

Craves blood but probably can survive just fine without consuming it (he just won’t).

Automatic boost to charisma. Everybody agrees vampirism does this

Excellent regeneration ability. Stop cutting off your arms.

Has to stop to count spilt rice.

Can be around and make some contact with holy objects, but prolonged contact with them will cause him harm. He can be inside a church, but he tends to be inflicted with great discomfort or sometimes pain simply from stepping inside one.

Can be seen in mirrors! But only in some mirrors so he has to be careful. If it’s silver backed, he can’t be seen. Silver-backed mirrors are less common nowadays (and by nowadays I mean also in 2001) but they’re still around so he has to be careful about mirrors in public places lest he out himself as a vampire.

Often has to be invited into a house. Or… perhaps just prefers to be?

Popular to contrary belief, he does have blood. His own blood usually doesn’t make him hyperaware though, as drinking his own blood would be completely pointless.

Details related to...?:

Seems very intent on people giving him their Names…

Occasionally steals your gender

Takes promises very seriously… and never breaks one. If he appears to do so, that’s on you. That’s something you did. You know who you are.

Sometimes looks a little… different. In a way you can’t quite place…

Seems to have an iron allergy. Which may be part of the reason he doesn’t presently drink blood despite his craving for it.

Details about Giorno:

Smug, pretentious, and a little bitch.

Snakey with wording and finds amusement when others are loose with theirs.

Is generally just proudly unfazed in most situations. He knows he’s powerful and thinks he’s invincible, in a perhaps rather childlike way.

Acts ominous, vague and mysterious but do keep in mind he is a 15 year old and a idiot

Very interested in Fugo because of the sheer audacity.

"I like this one!"/"I would love to study you."

When Giorno first met Fugo he was like “May I have your name? :)” and Fugo was like “no you cant have my fucking name you fucking dipshit” and Giorno was so taken aback by the sheer audacity that he just didn’t do anything about it and got attached to him

* and post part he keeps pestering Fugo like “can I have it now” “can I have your name now”

He likes messing with people. Especially Mista because he knows he can get away with it.

Doesn’t need blood but refuses to go without consuming (or complaining about not getting to) because he’s a little bitch.

Can theoretically fuck up technology by his mere presence if he’s not careful enough.

Holds people to their promises, even if they didn’t know they made one.

Good at charming people. Good at tricking people. Likes doing both.

shut up shut up shut up please shut the fuck up

Overdramatic and makes it everyone else’s problem. Occasionally sparkles, not because he’s a vampire, but because he’s a silly dramatic loser. Shimmers in the moonlight but it’s not clear if that’s possibly involuntary.

gender

[rebelsofshield]

Star Wars: The Bad Batch: “The Outpost” - Review

A wrenching, stripped down episode of The Bad Batch is a series high water mark and may be one of the best episodes of Star Wars animation put to screen.

Back in field duty, Crosshair is dispatched alongside an Imperial lieutenant and a small squad of clones to assist in the protection of a valuable cargo outpost on a desolate, icy world. There he meets the few surviving clones lead by Commander Mayday, who have been slowly broken down by a stealthy onslaught of raiders.

Crosshair continues to be the most fascinating character in The Bad Batch’s larger ensemble. A clone anti-hero who willingly chooses the Empire’s fascist rule due to his own value for systems, structure, and order, Crosshair represents a different perspective to the clone army. He is aware of the extent of the Empire’s manipulation, but chooses it anyways, seeing it as the ideal path forward.

“The Outpost” rightfully asks the question, what would it take to break that loyalty? For a clone that could not be won over by his closest brothers or the morality of other clones he respects, what is it that could finally make Crosshair doubt his trust in the Imperial system? Writers Jennifer Corbett and Matt Michnovetz intelligently assert that it is the full exposure of the Empire’s hypocrisy, the pure contempt that it holds for Crosshair and the people like him.

When Crosshair arrives on this unnamed, icy world he is met by Commander Mayday, a clone that has been left mostly alone to guard the Imperial supply outpost. Like Crosshair, Mayday is a clone that values orders. As desperate as his team got, he never bothered to crack open the crates and crates of cargo piled up within the outpost walls. He never abandoned his post despite how hopeless his situation might seem. Mayday does all of this while still showing empathy for his brothers, striking the tough balance of duty and loyalty that only just held together under the Republic.

Corbett and Michnovetz slowly build Crosshair’s respect for Mayday through quiet moments of shared perspective or a particularly tense and surprisingly intimate sequence where Mayday helps disarm a trip mine that he has stepped upon. As much as Crosshair may be skeptical of regs, he has always valued skill and a willingness to perform. He sees in Mayday not just a compassionate and valuable clone trooper but one that holds a perspective not far off from his own.

And while the trope of forcing two soldiers to fight their way across a dangerous environment isn’t exactly new, “The Outpost” finds a new perspective for this narrative. This isn’t the story of two men learning to respect one another, this is a man who has time and time again chosen self preservation and the perpetuation of fascism finally making the choice to fight for another’s survival.

Dee Bradley Baker’‘s work in this series is dependably stunning, but “The Outpost” is a particular standout. So much of “The Outpost” consists of the quiet moments of bonding between two conflicted men and their desperate attempts to survive a hostile world. The voice performances for Mayday and Crosshair are equally superb and a true achievement when you once again remember that this is all the work of a single performer.

Directors Saul Ruiz and Nathaniel Villanueva also must be commended for the visual language that they craft in this chapter. Even before we arrive on the frozen planet that becomes “The Outpost’s” primary setting, both directors establish a feeling of isolation and sterility. With pulled back shots of stark landscapes and minimalist sound design often dominated by an eerie Blade Runner-esque score from the Kiner Bros, “The Outpost” is the rare episode of Star Wars television that feels like it has absolute, intentional creative synergy in its production. 

And it makes “The Outpost’s” final few scenes all the more devastating. Mayday passes just as the two arrive back at their station, due in no small part to Imperial leadership’s refusal to expend the medical resources it hoards. For the first time it all dawns on Crosshair. At the end of the day, loyalty to the Empire doesn’t matter. Being a good soldier and following the orders of their superiors doesn’t amount to basic human respect. They will only ever be tools for a machine that never thinks of them, not even bothering to acknowledge their pain and sacrifice. Mayday’s death devastates, not just because he was a good man who has passed, but because in Crosshair’s worldview he did everything he was supposed to. And the Empire couldn’t be bothered to give him anything in return. It’s undeniably cathartic to finally give Crosshair a violent moment of rebellion, but it sends him into even more uncharted territory. He wakes up under an operating table on Mount Tantiss and is assured by Dr. Emerie Karr that if he simply does what he is told that he will survive. And, maybe for the first time in his entire life, Crosshair knows that this is a lie.

Score: A+

[mikkeneko]

@mikkeneko said: Laios actually has mad wis, I will stand by this claim

@bluebandedagate said: I disagree! Laios consistently demonstrates very low insight, which is a WIS skill, but beyond that he also doesn't have very good survival. His Nature skill is plenty high, but this is an INT skill - the difference between these skills is demonstrated by Senshi, who actually does have high Survival.

Breaking this out into a reblog rather than a reply because this will probably get long!

I want to preface this with, this is intended as a friendly debate and not a "you're wrong about," and I fully understand if you aren't convinced by it and stick to your own guns, but I want to lay out my reasoning.

So my position here is that Laios, imagined as a D&D character, actually "has mad wisdom" and actually has high Insight, and your contention is that he is very poor at Insight and shows no particular skill at other Wisdom skills. Here's where I disagree.

I think our main split is on what we consider Insight, and why I commented that there may be a version disparity. In modern D&D, 5E, Insight is used primarily as the skill of "reading other people's body language or facial expression and using those cues to guess what they are really thinking." And I agree that this is indeed something Laios is bad at; he (and Chilchuck, and Toshiro) would all agree on that. My contention is that this is not the only thing Insight is for, nor what it is primarily for in this setting.

Dungeon Meshi (and this could be a whole nother post on its own,) seems to be drawing more heavily from older versions of D&D than 5E, inasmuch as it's drawing on D&D at all. In older versions of D&D, the "reading people" skill is not Insight at all; it would be classed under Social or Society checks. Insight, instead, is more often used when a player is trying to read the situation at large for more clues or cues as to what is really going on, often in an exchange between DM and player; the player appeals for more information, the DM tells them to make an Insight check, if they succeed, they can be given hints or clues that were previously overlooked.

This is what I hold that Laios is exceptional at. (Manga spoilers ahead.) There are multiple times throughout the story where Laios reads the situation, discerns some information about it that other players have missed, and acts on it. Usually, though not always, illustrated with a voiceover of his thoughts as he reasons through the dangers and his course of action.

In the episode with the Tansu party, Laios determines that the tentacles can only be taken out by a ranged strike, and acts on a strategy to get a ranged weapon into the hands of the person present with the best skill at ranged weapons (Namari.)

In the Living Armor episode, he determines that the reason the Living Armors are acting so aggressively is that they are protecting something, and then identifies what they are protecting, and uses that to get around them.

In the Hippogriff episode, he is able to determine that the creature Senshi and his fellows faced was not a Griffon, seventy years after the fact based only on incomplete eyewitness testimony! (He also correctly concludes that what Senshi really needs for his peace of mind is not to bury the question and never speak of it again, but to face the truth and find closure; so while he may be bad at reading nonverbal cues, he is actually very good at considering the feelings and thoughts of others.)

During the final confrontation with Thistle, after all of his party members are slain and he is facing the Mad Sorcerer alone, Laios determines that Thistle has called up monsters that the sorcerer does not fully understand and therefore can not fully control, and is able to play that against Thistle to the latter's ultimate defeat.

This is not only Monster Facts (Nature), although Monster Facts are the information base he's starting from. (I also think his Survival is fine, although Senshi's, as a ranger on his favored terrain, is definitely better.) This is an ability to take in the situation, perceive what others don't, come to conclusions about what's really going on, and formulate a strategy to act on that new information. This is Insight.

What is the difference between Wisdom and Intelligence, really? It's a philosophical discussion, but as far as D&D is concerned, the answer must be found in the skills they govern. Wisdom's two most notable skills are Perception and Insight, while Intelligence rules over Arcana, Nature, History, et cetera. If you had to differentiate them based on that: Intelligence is the skill of recalling information you already know, but Wisdom is the art of gaining new information that you did not previously have.

Based on that, Laios' Intelligence is probably fine, if not slightly above average (he does indeed have that catalogue of Monster Facts, and he's able to pick up on Marcille's spellcaster tutoring without significant difficulty) but he is strongest in Wisdom.

I cannot, however, vouch for his Charisma.

Everyone: Laios is a generic blond human fighter!

Laios: Learns healing magic, can sense the presence of undead when nobody else can, is constantly being contacted by a higher power.

Y'all, Laios isn't a generic fighter. He's a paladin.

[aioleis]

Probable / Plausible / Preferable

In 2009, the futurologist Stuart Candy visited the Design Interactions program at the Royal College of Art and used a fascinating diagram in his presentation to illustrate different kinds of potential futures.

It consisted of a number of cones fanning out from the present into the future. Each cone represented different levels of likelihood. We were very taken by this imperfect but helpful diagram and adapted it for our own purposes.

The first cone was the probable. This is where most designers operate. It describes what is likely to happen unless there is some extreme upheaval such as a financial crash, eco disaster, or war. Most design methods, processes, tools, acknowledged good practice, and even design education are oriented toward this space. How designs are evaluated is also closely linked to a thorough understanding of probable futures, although it is rarely expressed in those terms.

The next cone describes plausible futures. This is the space of scenario planning and foresight, the space of what could happen. In the 1970s companies such as Royal Dutch Shell developed techniques for modeling alternative near-future global situations to ensure that they would survive through a number of large-scale, global, economic, or political shifts. The space of plausible futures is not about prediction but exploring alternative economic and political futures to ensure an organization will be prepared for and thrive in a number of different futures.

The next cone is the possible. The skill here is making links between today’s world and the suggested one. Michio Kaku’s book Physics of the Impossible sets out three classes of impossibility, and even in the third, the most extreme—things that are not possible according to our current understanding of science—there are only two, perpetual motion and precognition, which, based on our current understanding of science, are impossible. All other changes—political, social, economic, and cultural— are not impossible but it can be difficult to imagine how we would get from here to there.

In the scenarios we develop we believe, first, they should be scientifically possible, and second, there should be a path from where we are today to where we are in the scenario. A believable series of events that led to the new situation is necessary, even if entirely fictional. This allows viewers to relate the scenario to their own world and to use it as an aid for critical reflection. This is the space of speculative culture—writing, cinema, science fiction, social fiction, and so on. Although speculative, experts are often consulted when building these scenarios, as David Kirby points out in a fascinating chapter about distinctions between what he calls speculative scenarios and fantastic science in his book Lab Coats in Hollywood; the role of the expert is often, not to prevent the impossible but to make it acceptable.

Beyond this lies the zone of fantasy, an area we have little interest in. Fantasy exists in its own world, with very few if any links to the world we live in. It is of course valuable, especially as a form of entertainment, but for us, it is too removed from how the world is. This is the space of fairy tales, goblins, superheroes, and space opera.

A final cone intersects the probable and plausible. This is the cone of preferable futures.

Of course the idea of preferable is not so straightforward; what does preferable mean, for whom, and who decides?

Currently, it is determined by government and industry, and although we play a role as consumers and voters, it is a limited one.

In Imaginary Futures, Richard Barbrook explores futures as tools designed for organizing and justifying the present in the interests of a powerful minority. But, assuming it is possible to create more socially constructive imaginary futures, could design help people participate more actively as citizen-consumers? And if so, how?

This is the bit we are interested in. Not in trying to predict the future but in using design to open up all sorts of possibilities that can be discussed, debated, and used to collectively define a preferable future for a given group of people: from companies, to cities, to societies.

Designers should not define futures for everyone else but working with experts, including ethicists, political scientists, economists, and so on, generate futures that act as catalysts for public debate and discussion about the kinds of futures people really want. Design can give experts permission to let their imaginations flow freely, give material expression to the insights generated, ground these imaginings in everyday situations, and provide platforms for further collaborative speculation.

We believe that by speculating more, at all levels of society, and exploring alternative scenarios, reality will become more malleable and, although the future cannot be predicted, we can help set in place today factors that will increase the probability of more desirable futures happening. And equally, factors that may lead to undesirable futures can be spotted early on and addressed or at least limited. Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming By Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby 2013

[electricbluebutterflies]

JessLeto + you need someone.  let me be that person.  let me be what you need.

Early-era, PG-ish, also on ao3.

She is learning her place. Learning what she was thrown into and how to survive. Learning-

This could have been so much worse, Jessica reminds herself. A few months in and at worst that man is cold and even that rarely, nothing for her to fear or immediately correct or-

This could have been worse, but it stings anyways.

It is not personal; she does not dare to assume anything is about her yet. Or if it is… she is an off-planet unknown, apparently not as well-socialized as she or anyone else assumed, on the line of almost too young for her positions, and already something of a problem. Like it’s her fault, she thinks, like-

She’d hoped for a clearer assignment, something where she would have enough pressure to keep her interested. Instead this waiting game, an evening or two a week of being cooperative but otherwise no one asks anything of her, otherwise she has free run of the place and too much time on her hands and-

She’s learned some hiding places these past few months, different corners of the complex where no one would find her even if they wanted to, and exploring has become one of her pleasures. The place is due for a major renovation that won’t happen, her counterpart too apathetic to do so much as change the color of a curtain, and when she has more power-

When she has more power…

The idea tempts her, on a rainy afternoon she has decided to spend learning a hallway that hosts very occasional off-planet diplomatic guests but otherwise collects spiderwebs for years at a time. It would not be hard to manipulate her circumstances more than it was implied she was expected to. It would not be hard, perhaps not even requiring a shift in her voice, to become infinite here. That man would respond to her too easily, wouldn’t question her quiet desires, wouldn’t-

Oh, speaking of…

Of all people who might also be seeking quiet in empty spaces…

Jessica stands in the half-open doorway and watches the reaction she had not meant to provoke, her counterpart turning from an open window and bracing for just a moment before seeing her, before-

“I should have known-“

“I didn’t mean to-“

“Stay. Come over here. You’d like this view.”

He has tried to make this place a home for her, she reminds herself, consistently pointed out the beauty around them and she has little to compare it to but she has never seen a person so completely of their place in the world and-

She crosses the near-empty space to stand beside him, and it is a good view, almost as good as the room she’s tempted to reclaim in their own hallway because it’s pretty enough she’d abide a ghost for a roommate, almost-

On instinct, she reaches for his hand, needing the tether of it, needing something real before-

“You may not be surprised, but I am,” she murmurs. “You don’t wander as I do.”

“Not as often,” he corrects. “And not as aimlessly anymore, but… you have to understand, this has been my entire life, I know every quiet place in and around these walls and-“

“If I have disturbed one of yours-“

“I would not put it so harshly. You did not mean-“

“Exactly, and I-“

“Your presence may be an answer I did not know I needed. As you have often been in these months.”

She has pieced together the situation into which she was placed, what is said about her counterpart when he isn’t listening – a competent steward of the planet his family has held for centuries on end, an adequate link in a chain, no instability on the horizon but something directionless about him, still learning to focus, still-

If she is a solution, she thinks, then the whole place will be underwater in a year.

“Tell me what troubles you and I will-“

“It would be improper to burden you with-“

Jessica turns to face him, free hand on her hip and fire flowing through her and if she really is as fearless as her lover seems to think then let her be fearless now, let her be-

“This is what I was given to you for. You need someone. Let me be that person. Let me be what you need.”

“It would still be-“

“Is there any reason you hold your tongue other than-“

“No. You are… you have earned your place beside me, and that is why I struggle to-“

“I will not fault you. Whatever you need to say will not change-“

“What if there are not words?”

She can’t stop the eye-roll – already she has seen how he moves through the world, how his voice is all he really has, same as her but somehow so different and-

“Then let me be a comfort in the silence. Whatever you need, I am yours.”

She almost expects maneuvering, at least for his arms to wrap around her, but he barely moves. The fingers entwined with hers start tracing patterns, familiar enough already, but nothing-

“Does this make you happy?”

“Does it matter?”

“I can’t imagine this is what you thought you’d get. You seem like you were meant for something more…”

“I was not told my fate until it was aligned. I had hoped for different, but… this does balance out.”

“Oh?”

“I have not had to defend myself against you or anyone else since I came here. You promised me safety the first time we were alone, and you have not broken that promise.”

“Your standards are that low…”

“I would not describe them as such. I am meant to be adaptable. I would tolerate much worse before I would move against it.”

“I would hope for more than tolerance, but-“

“Why?”

He turns to face her better, clear eye contact and there is something hidden and haunted in that man, something-

“Because you hate everything and fear nothing, and I am fascinated by how you move through this world unlike anyone I have ever known.”

“You misjudge me. I do not hate everything. I do not hate you.”

She knows these are the kinds of words that bring pain later on, that any indication of affection will become a problem she will not want to solve, but-

“I had hoped, but… good to know.”

“Do you believe me?”

He pauses, takes a steadying breath, but still-

“Yes. Completely.”