#he also figures out he also gained the ability to turn human as well

[ohno-the-sun]

Blah more back burner stuff cause I haven’t had time to draw this week

Had an idea for a Luca type au where like they are mermaids but can look human on land and blah blah blah

Self indulgence abound

Lol supposed to go along with these

Merm designs

Baby sun

the fic (don't read the tags if you don't want spoilers)

[gumbootillustrations]

UGH I FUCKING FINALLY FINISHED THIS

so yeah, have the divine warriors of the second war of the magi!!

more deets n closeups under the cut :3

aph!! i like to think that although the incarnations of the divine warriors r generally pretty similar, they do have some minor differences. for example, whereas the matron of the first war of the magi (irene) had one of the sets of wings on her head covering her eyes, the matron of the second war (mcd!aphmau) has both of them held back. this is bc whereas irene had lost her humanity (and therefore the ability to connect with mortals), aph hasn't - and, therefore, her eyes are open to the struggles of humanity. additionally, i took a lot of inspiration from honkai impact 3rd for these designs - in aph's case, i was inspired by elysia's herrscher of human: ego battlesuit and how it looks like a wedding dress (which a lot of folks have interpreted as an expression of her love for humanity, which is smth i want to convey w aph).

i think my favourite part of aaron's destroyer form is his seal (the thingy behind his head like a halo). i wanted to rlly play into the whole destroyer/devourer aspect of his abilities and domains, and i thought a black hole would fit perfectly! it also sort of (unintentionally) plays into how i see the dynamic between the matron and the destroyer and how they're both mirrors of each other; whereas the destroyer, well, destroys (and his black hole devours everything in sight), the matron creates and nurtures (seen in how aph's seal is almost like a white hole). i also wanted his armour to look a lot like the armour that shadow knights wear, albeit without all the spikes and spines and whatnot given that he isn't a shadow knight himself (shad's destroyer form from the first war probably looks a lot more similar to traditional shadow knight armour).

i'm lowkey suuper proud of how travis's keeper form turned out (even if i had to go back right at the end n fix it bc i forgot to add his tail 😭). i wanted this form to sort of be a mix between a high mage and a rogue: whereas the keeper embodies knowledge and magick, travis himself is a prankster who relies on cunning and trickery to gain the upper hand on his opponents. as a result, he's the only one who doesn't automatically manifest a weapon when he shifts into this form - instead, i feel like he chooses to rely more on magicks and witchcraft during combat.

katelyn's design was lowkey the hardest to pin down. originally, i wanted to go for something that was suuuper inspired by roman armour and had a copper and teal/turquoise colour scheme, but it wound up feeling too magical girl-ish and i scrapped it. i've retained the roman inspirations, but i headcanon that her flames are so hot they burn blue, so i settled on a blue-and-white colour scheme w some purple elements. i think my favourite part is her gauntlets! i feel like she uses them as an extension of herself/another pair of hands to punch with. the blue elements also lean into menphia's association with the moon - in ashes, ashes, tu'la is based on the roman empire and, as a result, is where werewolves originate from, and with werewolves having such close ties to the moon.... yeah. i'll probably do a post on tu'la later on at some point.

my blorbo

garroth's design is probably the one that's changed the least, but i'll still need to update his ref sheet anyway. i don't know if i conveyed it very well but the sort-of wing-things on his back are slabs of earth that can be shaped into a shield - originally i had him holding a shield but i wanted him to look a bit more divine warrior-ish so i retooled his design.

the boy! i was tossing up between having vylad or dante fill the role of the wanderer, but i settled on dante as i feel like vylad fits better as a sort of weird guide sort of figure within the narrative. plus, i have a real soft spot for dante and wanted him to remain in the limelight a little bit - i love his dynamic with garroth and laurance and i wanted to explore that further. i sort of wanted to play into his whole red-and-blue colour scheme that we see in canon diaries, but bc kul'zak is a nature deity (specifically of the wilderness), i wanted to incorporate some greenery into his design. i hope i've done an okay-ish job here - overall i'm pretty happy tho, but i can't promise that there won't be any tweaks in the future.

this is a redhead laurance propaganda spreading blog and i Refuse to apologise for it. i'd like to think that laurance's original colour scheme is similar to his justiciar form - lots of beautiful reds and golds and oranges to match the flames of his father's forge - but after he comes back from the nether with a Severe fear of fire he switches to the greens and browns that he's known for in canon. eventually he slowly begins to reclaim his fire and returns to the golds and oranges that he's introduced with (haha colour symbolism go brrrrrr).

but yeah. the special interest is special interesting. let me know if u have any questions!

[call-me-strega]

Dc x Dp Prompt #4: Ghost Selkie

Disclaimer: references and facts about Selkies are based on Selkie folklore, true facts about seals, and stuff I just made up because it works well with the story

~~~~

Okay so Urban Fantasy inspired au where turns out there is some Selkie blood mixed up somewhere in the Fenton bloodline. As such Jazz and Danny exhibit a few Selkie-like traits but nothing too serious: a playful nature, a certain grace and agility, attraction to shiny things (stars and microscopes), a decent singing voice, being strong swimmers, and seeing in the dark better than the average person. After The Accident™️ and being more involved with the super natural world some of those aspects get a bit stronger for Danny but he just chalks it up to being a Halfa. That is until Skulker catches him on an off-day and manages to capture him by snagging the back of his jumpsuit. Phantom, in a moment of panic and desperation, decides to try and rip off his bodysuit to escape. The suit comes of alright but out tumbles Danny Fenton rather than a de-clothed Phantom. Skulker, in a moment of shock, drops the suit and Danny catches cradling it to his chest while every fiber of his being screams “MY COAT. MY PELT. MINE, DONT STEAL IT.” Skulked realizes what’s happened before Danny does and nopes out of there bc “ This is not what I meant when a said I would have your pelt whelp!” Danny is left sitting there feeling stunned. A quick round of experimentation leads him to figure out that he is now able to take off the suit in Phantom form, but it will de-transform him into Danny. Furthermore, the regular "going ghost" transition still works both with and without him physically holding the suit.

A quick consultation with Clockwork and Frostbite reveals the Fenton Selkie heritage and he goes back to report to Jazz and his friends. Due to Jazz’s instance the siblings get a crash course in Selkies through a community of Selkies and Part-Selkies in the Infinite Realms as well as having a younger ghost show them where to find the modern underground Selkie-Community. Which leads to them getting emotionally adopted by their (dead and alive) Selkie mentors. They learn about eating habits, behavior, culture and customs (including the in and outs of courtship and mating), and camflouge/blending into society.

Jazz learns to tap into her vocal magic/manipulation. Her voice has a deeply calming effect on others and they feel more compelled to listen to her. This comes in handy with some of her more rowdy patients at her internships and stuff. She’s also to taps into the physical aspects of her Selkie blood and gains enhanced dexterity, agility, balance and reflexes. She’s also working towards improving her strength and stamina. Needless to say her aim has definitely improved. Nothing too wild but as she gains more liminality, those aspects become stronger so she’s definitely a cut above the average human though not as crazy as Danny.

Danny on the other hand gets the ability to “shed his pelt” by being able to physically take of his suit and de-transform as well as how to disguise the suit as a jacket or something (maybe a romper or a cardigan?) so that he he can keep it on him for quick, more discreet transformations if he wants to. His ghostly form takes on more Selkie traits like fangs for a powerful bite and more muscle mass and fat in certain areas to improve his endurance and cold resistance. He also learns to manipulate his ectoplasm to be able to shapeshift into the seal version of a Selkie. He is able to practice and manipulate his Ghostly Wail and hone it into a Siren Song and Sonic Singing too.

So basically both the Fenton siblings get cool Selkie power-ups (and unbeknownst to the two, admittedly already quite attractive siblings, their looks take on an otherworldly allure too). As well as a new community eager to take them in and provide them with support. That's why when Danny decides he wants to get away from Amity for college (the ghosts have agreed to a truce as long as Danny pops in for a spar and some shenanigans every now and then. He acquiesces because playing and roughhousing is a part of building social relations for both ghosts and selkies) some of their Selkie contacts help him apply for the Wayne Scholarship at Gotham University and get him set up in Gotham.

Let’s switch gears for a moment here. Gotham has always been a weird place full of weirdos, magic, and cursed energy. Basically, overall chaotic, edgy, and somewhat rancid vibes. It also is entwined with the supernatural. Lady Gotham, the spirit of the city, has allowed many a supernatural community to remain well hidden in her realm including but not limited to fae, witches, gargoyles, vampires, and of course, selkies. There is a huge underground supernatural community in Gotham, part of which is the Selkie community. Most of the Selkies moved out of the harbor and onto land due to pollution. The luckier ones who managed to gain some quick wealth settled in the Upper East Side or Coventry while others ended up in Burnley, the Bowery, and Crime Alley. However, family is very important to Selkies, so there is little resentment between the areas. They try to help out each other and the other members of the supernatural community in Gotham whenever possible. The overall magical community is spread out over Gotham with a few hot spots like Old Gotham, Robinson Park, Crime Alley and the Bowery, and Chinatown.

Now enter: Jason Todd (or a different member of the batfam of your choosing but you’re on your own to figure out how that’ll change the story). Jason grew up around a large portion of Gotham’s supernatural community. There were plenty of fae, selkies, sirens, vamps, and various other magical beings within Crime Alley. He discovered the community early on when he found out that the abuela who used to feed him tamales was in fact a Bruja (witch). Her name was Señora Mariana Soliña and she swore him to secrecy and taught him some basic knowledge on how to recognize and avoid being screwed over by the supernatural.

When his mother died Señora Soliña revealed her surprisingly large amount of wealth to him. She chose to live in Crime Alley to be closer to magical friends and people who would seek out her services as a witch doctor (her cover bc the best lies have a hint of truth). She offered him a hot meal and some spare cash when she could but they weren’t able to run into each other as often as they liked. After getting adopted and becoming Robin Jason made periodic visits to her before his death.

Jason’s resurrection didn’t happen in a Lazarus pit but when he crawled out of his grave. It was due to the magical energy(read also high ecto-concentration) in Gotham he had been exposed to that he became a Revenant. He was able to develop a core through the latent energy and become a spirit/reanimated corpse that sought to avenge both his death and countless others at the hands of The Joker. His dip in the Pits (polluted ectoplasm) brought him out of his catatonic state but triggered his obsession and left him with Pit Rage. Yada yada yada, trains with the League of Assassins, yada yada yada, trains with All-Caste and gets the ability to wield the magical All-Blades, yada yada yada, returns to Gotham for revenge becomes a crime lord, etc., etc., you know the drill.

Fast forward to when he’s made up with the BatFam and is now an antihero. His pit rage has gotten more controllable as the natural ectoplasm and magic in Gotham is slowly filtering out the polluted ectoplasm in his system but it’s still a long process. The supernatural community, however, is happy to have him there. You see Red Hood is actually quite a popular vigilante within the supernatural community. Among his many monikers, they were the ones who gave him the nickname “Avenger of the Unavenged”, and nod to his nature as a Revenant, as well as the aura of the All-Blades (which are meant to defeat absolute evil) that most magical beings recognize.

Jason is fully aware of the presence of the supernatural community in Gotham, as well as members of it who live within his haunt. Once things reach a new “normal” for him he tracks down Señora Soliña only somewhat surprised to see her alive and kicking. He asks for her guidance in the supernatural past the basic knowledge she gave him as a kid. Señora Soliña recognizes his magical aura and status as a Revenant and agrees. (Note: Jason is aware that he has some magic in him, but he attributes it to the All-Blades. He is not fully aware of his status as a Revenant. Señora Soliña assumes he knows and thus does not inform him.) She teaches him and helps him start getting integrated into Gotham’s supernatural community. She offers to “adopt” him as her grandson "Jason “Pedro” Todd Soliña" so that he can take on a civilian identity and attend college. He agrees, eager to resume his education and take on a semi-"normal" life.

And thus we've reached the part of our story where two worlds collide. Jason and Danny first meet peripherally during orientation at Gotham U. They don't really have a direct interaction, just learning each other's names during the icebreakers and some eye contact during the tour. Danny is dorming and Jason commutes so the don't see each other much past running into each other on campus or in the dining hall. That is until they spot each other at an underground, supernatural beings-only, cafe called Xenia a few blocks away Robinson Park.

The two realize the other must have a supernatural connection and start up a conversation. The conversation is illuminating as they learn they're both fairly new to the supernatural community and mostly ghostly. Danny reveals himself as a halfa and of selkie descent and Jason uses his cover to introduce himself as the grandson of a bruja with magic, a brujo-in-training if you will. Upon being asked what a halfa is Danny realizes Jason doesn't know a ton about ghost culture and gives him a quick crash course leading them both to figure out that a) Jason is a Revenant and b) Danny could probably help the Pit Rage by giving him some ecto-supplements. Due to this newfound information Jason conveniently forgets that his new friend mentioned having Selkie blood.

The two meet up more after that, intentionally this time so that Danny can continue teaching Jason about ghost culture and just to hang out. (Note: Danny isn't teaching Jason about selkie culture as he assumes the grandson of a bruja would know that stuff already. Jason has been taught a bit about selkies but they haven't thoroughly covered the topic of courtship yet). As they hang out and develop a friendship with each other the seeds of romance are planted.

One day after they wrapped up lunch at Xenia, Danny left the cafe, accidentally leaving his pelt/jacket on his chair as he's still getting used to having to keep track of it. Jason not realizing the significance of his actions picks it up and takes it with him. Later that day Danny freaks out realizing he left it behind when he runs into Jason. Jason was actually looking for him to return the jacket. So he's like "Hey man you left this at the cafe so I took it and now you can have it back" assuming the redness on Danny's face is just embarrassment. Danny, while mortified, is also extremely flustered. Selkies typically only let close family and lovers have access to their pelts because it implies a deep and intimate bond built on trust that they'll give it back. For Jason, who should know about such Selkie customs, to not only take his pelt but then also return it so easily is some very straightforward flirting. But hey, Jason is good friend... and easy on the eyes too. He wouldn't mind if there was something more there. So Danny decides that he wouldn't mind courting/being courted by Jason.

Jason on the other hand has in fact caught feelings for his friend but hasn't realized he already initiated courting by doing this. He plans to do it the ghostly way engaging in some bonding through sparing and roughhousing and building up their feelings before asking him out. Unfortunately for him, there is a lot of overlap between Selkie courting and ghostly courting so Danny believes that Jason has been courting him for some time now. There are also some things that are specific to Selkie courting Jason unknowingly does, such as buying Danny a bracelet (shiny rocks as a courting gift), beating up a couple of guys trying to mug Danny (defending/showing off for your mate), and introducing Danny to his family/agreeing to meet Jazz (family is very important to Selkies).

That's why when they go out to dinner, and Jason embarrassedly corrects a waitress who thought they were on a date by saying "Oh we're just friends", Danny is understandably upset. He was under the impression that their courtship was getting rather serious since Jason had met Jazz and Danny had met Jason's family. When he asks Jason why he told the waitress they weren't dating he replies "Umm because we're not?" in an uncertain tone. Danny feeling hurt and upset takes his glass of water splashes it onto Jason's face and storms out of the restaurant. Jason is left there soaking, confused, and wondering what he did wrong.

That night Jason goes to visit Señora Soliña to see if he messed up some ghostly custom for Danny to get so upset. When he arrives one of the first things she asks him is how it's going with Danny. When he recounts what happened at dinner and explains his confusion, the bruja takes a deep sigh before smacking him upside the head. Jason is like “wtf abuela?!” And she just shakes her head at him and calls him an idiot. She then reminds him that Danny is part Selkie and explains all the ways Jason has been courting him during the past few months. Jason, realizing he screwed up grabs one of his leather jackets and goes off to track down Danny.

Danny has returned to his dorm to cry and eat ice cream in his pjs from the comfort of his own room. He’s about to watch some comfort tv when there is a pounding at his door. He gets to find a disheveled looking Jason standing at his door. Danny frowns and questions what he’s doing here. Jason’s like “Look I know you’re upset and understandably so but please let me in and I can explain”. Danny’s care for Jason wins out over his anger as he resigns himself to letting the other in. The first thing Jason does is apologize for hurting Danny, saying it was never his intention to do so. He then goes on to explain how he hadn't realized that he had been courting Danny in Selkie customs. Danny is understanding but still upset and voices his feelings to Jason. Jason allows the other to get his anger out and then continues to say that he was actually trying to court Danny through ghostly bonding, and he would still like to date him if he’s open to it. Jason then takes off the leather jacket that he brought with him and offers it to Danny, saying that he doesn’t have his own pelt to offer, but this is the next best thing. This gesture nearly brings Danny to tears and he throws himself to hug Jason, accepting the jacket. The pull back and look into each other's eyes before sharing a kiss and spending the rest of the night cuddling before Jason has to leave.

From then on Jason ramps up the courting to 12, determined not to mess it up again. He reasearches selkie and ghost courting customs in depth to properly woo Danny and personalizes dates to their personalities. Danny is happy to be lavished with the attention and returns the favor. The two of them also make an effort to make sure the have clear communication to avoid having misunderstandings again. A few months later Jason decides to re-introduce Danny to the batfam as his partner and brings Danny along to Wayne Family Dinner with a ring around his finger. It’s a promise ring not engagement ring, but what Bruce doesn’t know will surely give him a heart attack and Danny is happy to go along with it. Danny and Jason become the longest and most stable relationship in the batfam. Tim and Damian even come to them for advice when they try to romance their own partners.

The story kind of just finishes off with the two of them being happy with each other and leaves an open ending to add in small scenes that happened during a time skip or after the story (e.g gushing to siblings, an actual proposal, identity reaveals, batboys seeking advice, them engaging in pda, interaction with other supernatural beings, gossip surrounding their relationship, ect.)

[Edit: additional oc info now found here]

[soupthatistohot]

BSD: An Absurdist Analysis - Ch. 114

My thoughts on "Crime and Punishment"

[BSD Absurdism Masterpost]

Okay, so! Fyodor probably isn't dead.

And my theory for what his ability is would tie into Asagiri's absurdist storytelling thus far.

In Sigma's flashback, we see Fyodor get impaled in a manner that is eerily similar to how he dies in the helicopter, a way that pratically guarantees his death. Yet, as Sigma observes, he must have escaped the execution in order for him to still be alive.

My theory, put simply, is that when someone successfully kills Fyodor, he takes their place.

His ability is called Crime and Punishment, right? And if the ultimate crime (sin) is murder, then the punishment would be death. So, then, perhaps when someone is able to kill Fyodor, it causes their death, and somehow Fyodor takes on their lifeforce (for lack of a better term) and is able to keep living.

This would also explain why he has been able to live for such a long time. If he keeps getting killed by people whose lifeforce he assumes, then he can theoretically live forever as long as people keep attempting to murder him.

This would explain the end of the chapter where the body is shown to clearly not be Fyodor's. The helicopter pilot would have paid the consequence for Fyodor's murder, and thus been the one to die. For whatever reason, I suppose this means he and Fyodor switched likenesses? This is further supported by the panel in the flashback/memory where something seems to be happening to the man who impaled Fyodor after he does so. This part I cannot explain as well, but I think y'all can understand what I'm getting at with this.

Additionally, this theory of Crime and Punishment explains the purpose of the prison-break game, he's been trying to goad Dazai into killing him all along so he can die in turn, and finally be rid of his rival.

(Edit: the above point is likely rendered invalid because No Longer Human would very likely protect Dazai from death by Fyodor’s ability. That being said, it further explains why Fyodor is so determined to kill Dazai — not only is he his match in wits, but he might be the only one capable of killing him for good.)

Further, it could possibly explain Nikolai's desire to kill Fyodor. Perhaps Nikolai knows the nature of Fyodor's ability, and is the only one who does, which is why he considers them to be so close. He idolizes Fyodor, and so he desires to one day kill him, because he knows it will kill him in turn and Fyodor will get to continue living on. This one's a bit of a reach, but I do think it's a potential explanation if my theory about Crime and Punishment is correct.

And now for how this all fits into absurdism!

Fyodor has been the main antagonist for a really long time, basically for half of the manga's run. Up until this point we've had little to no clues about the nature of his ability and if my theory turns out to be correct, wouldn't that just be the greatest absurdity of all time? A villain that literally cannot die because when someone kills him, they actually die instead of him? How do you even defeat such a person?

I'm fairly confident about this theory, my only question would be why he would reveal this now? Surely, he knows that Dazai would figure it out, both from Sigma and from the corpse clearly not being him, so what benefit does Fyodor gain from revealing not only that he's survived, but what his ability is?

[ghoulfuckersincorporated]

CERTIFIED ROBO FUCKER HERE, HAND OVER THE YESMAN NSFW HEADCANONS

I AM SLOWLY SLIDING THE HEADCANONS ACROSS THE TABLE, ANON.

Also, it's very funny to me how seemingly every robot fucker who played New Vegas (me included) heard him mention that update at the end and thought "Well, House was a horndog, so I bet there's some freaky shit in those files..."

Obviously we don't fuck Yes Man before he has the ability to say 'no' to anyone...

Yes Man (Fallout: New Vegas) NSFW Headcanons

Prone to faking or exaggerating "injuries" or glitches that require repair jobs to get you to touch and baby him. He spends a lot of his own time and energy doing things for others, keeping them happy and taking care of them. I'd like to think he would really appreciate that same energy being turned towards him...but I don't think he would like the idea of being candid about it, so he may feel the need to "trick" you into giving him what he needs. Getting to feel your bare hands on his most delicate components, in the most intimate parts of his body (regardless of which form) is such a thrill for him, and it makes him feel so connected to you. Mysteriously only ever wants you to help him and doesn't believe anyone thinks anything of it. He's so embarrassed the first time you really call him out on it that he nearly reboots from the stress.

If you fucked Benny, he's actually pretty jealous about it. He doesn't fully grasp that that's what he's feeling, at least for a good while; all he really knows is that when he thinks about you being with the former Boot Rider, when he remembers the sounds you made and the way you talked to him, he gets Upset™️. Granted, he has no love for the man who only planned to push him around and use him as a tool from the very beginning, so he may mistake his jealousy for pure dislike of Benny. However, he feels the same gross feeling any time he sees you getting a little too close with anyone. You'll notice a sharp increase in him suddenly appearing to interrupt your conversations, popping in on screens and over speakers to call you away from anyone trying too hard to gain your attention.

Quite the little voyeur; there are cameras everywhere along The Strip, inside and outside, and he devotes a consistent amount of processing power to tracking your whereabouts and making sure you're okay. It starts out as a way to soothe his own worries (and curiosities) when you're out and about alone, but quickly the curiosity takes over and morphs into a sort of obsession. He really likes you, and he wants to know everything about you. How else is he supposed to make you happy? Tries his hardest to hide how often he watches you, but he's not good at not outing himself, and eventually the two of you will be due for a chat about what you find appropriate, even if you find the idea of him watching you in some places kinda sexy. He will agree to your terms...and largely go about watching you the way he was before, because how can he help if you just so happen to walk by the cameras? Gets quite a thrill from watching you bathe, sleep. Doesn't mention that he watches you in the bathroom because he doesn't want you to tell him that he can't anymore.

Securitrons don't have penises, of course, but that won't stop him from further modifying himself if doing so will make you happy. He's a little insecure about his physical "body", so anything that'll give him the feeling that he can satisfy you without being human is just grand to him. As in all things, he's eager to please. You want parts of him to vibrate more strongly so that you can grind yourself against him until you cum? Say no more. Wish he had an actual cock? He'll figure out how to jerryrig one...just make sure you clarify what your size limit is, because he'll rock up with a literal second leg crafted from metal and silicon and then be confused as to why you're terrified of it.

Finds it rather difficult to fuck you himself; his Securitron body's "hips" are tough to articulate, and he often feels like he's failing to penetrate you properly or like he's jackhammering you within an inch of your life. You insist that you like the jackhammering (most of the time), but he still develops quite the fondness for letting you climb in his lap and ride him. Granted, the only place he's really effectively able to "lay down" or "sit" is the floor, but the two of you make it work. He loves the way you cling to him and sigh his name as you come apart. If you want it from behind with Yes Man, you're either going to have to do reverse cowgirl or get on your hands and knees and just throw it back at him while he stands next to the bed. It makes him feel bad when you have to put in that much effort, but he'll do it if that's what makes you cum.

[aleksanderscult]

Was Aleksander power-hungry or wanted power to use it for the protection of his people?

This question is one of the most hotly debatable in this fandom and I decided to clear this out not by analyzing his words through the POV of other characters (who don't believe him and therefore the reader finds him a liar) but through his own perspective in "Rule of Wolves".

So let's take an objective look inside his own thoughts and find out.

His very first thoughts were how could he reclaim his powers, describing the whole experience as somewhat painful and confusing to him. His second were about Alina.

And these are his third ones. He explains how utterly worthless Nikolai and Zoya are to save Ravka. How immature and weak. Aleksander finds himself to be the only one able for this task. His powers, experience and general abilities are testament to that.

But note how he calls Ravka "his country". From the carved woods decorating his bedroom to his knowledge of "every pebble and branch" of it, this country is special to him. He loves it, feels a connection to it and wants to protect it.

(You just can't call the Darkling "unpatriotic")

He displays bitterness for his loss and Ravka's new state just verifies to him that his plans would only prevent this decaying fate.

Yuri: "Sankta Alina who gave her life for Ravka"

Aleksander: "Am I a joke to you?"

And indeed is he?

Aleksander displays a very strong resentment for the lack of recognition he has gained. His statement: "I gave my life for Ravka" probably doesn't only allude to his death from Alina's hands but also his total commitment in the protection of the Grisha and Ravka that lasted for centuries. He gave his life away by pushing his personal happiness and well-being aside and wholly dedicating his life and skills to a selfless goal. He wasted years, allies, soldiers, endured otkazat'sya Kings that rule him, a bitter mother and his own immortality only for others to hurriedly erase any memory of him once he's gone.

So it seems that his desire to be seen only stems from his long-awaited and secret wish for his actions to be recognized.

Based on the last screenshot, he views his actions as justified not because of a "power-hungry nature" but out of his efforts to help others. Whether these actions are justified or not depends on the reader.

I believe this is one of the most concrete evidence that Aleksander truly cared about the Grisha.

He felt intense anger for those who were ignorant and apathetic towards the Grisha's fate and he himself cared about who was gonna sit the Ravkan throne.

No matter how much humanity he shed as the years passed, it seems that he didn't shed all of it by the time of these books.

Apparently Aleksander had two main goals in this book:

- To protect his people and country as he always strived to do.

- For others to finally give him some credit and have their acknowledgment that yes, he has done something for this country all these years.

In order to help the Grisha and change their fates he needed to be in a position of strength, hence his desire to take the throne. He views himself as a fatherly figure towards his people. A protector and guardian.

But he also wants to become a Saint and king. For people to look up to him. So many Saints had done less than half in comparison to Aleksander and they still won people's love. Now it's his turn and he thinks he deserves it.

I'm adding a short parenthesis here.

His concern didn't only extent to the Grisha but to his blind, otkazat'sya followers as well.

He cared about what would happen in the battlefield and seemed ready to create nichevo'ya to protect them. Merzost is extremely painful but this "selfish" villain is ready to use it to protect his naive but innocent army.

A hundred of years ago Aleksander refused the King's gold as payment for his services. Instead he opted to plead for the construction of a palace. A home and haven for all the Grisha that were hiding out of fear from the persecution against them.

He saw his chance and took it to make the lives of his people a little better.

So this whole "the Darkling created the Fold out of his desire for power" was bullshit after all.

He wanted power but only to use it to end the wars. Ironically, the result of it (aka. the Fold) only aggravated the problem.

And the Darkling's dream never came entirely true. He gave them a home but never a safe life. Ravka was almost always at war, Grisha were never accepted, the Ravkan kings never paid much attention to the Grisha's problems regarding their role in society which placed them almost at the bottom of the food chain.

All these things worried Aleksander and pushed him to action both when he created the Fold and when he started the Civil War.

The Darkling has a very different mentality than those who don't have the burden of immortality on their shoulders.

Aleksander uses time as an advantage and has a remarkable patience. He bides his time and strikes when he sees the opportunity, leaving other people to die since they're only just a part of a whole. He probably thinks: "Well, I'll meet plenty more new otkazat'sya in the future so why should I be concerned for this bunch here?"

But the bleak future of the Grisha make him stop and think. They're the only reason why he stays and fight and why he proclaimed Zoya a Saint.

So it's obvious that Aleksander only used power for the benefit of his people and country.

- When king Yevgeni offered him a handsome reward, Aleksander turned it down and chose to appeal for a better future for the rest of the Grisha.

- When the wars didn't stop coming and Grisha were again getting killed, he tried to use merzost to augment his powers and put a stop to it.

- When he tried to use the Fold as a weapon with Alina at his side, he did it to place Ravka in a stronger position in comparison to his enemies.

- He viewed Nikolai and Zoya dangerous to the rest of the country.

- He was concerned of what would happen to the Grisha if Demidov became king.

- He was determined to save Ravka and lead it as their king and protector.

- Even though he thought of leaving, he stayed out of concern for the Grisha (again).

Contrary to the people who say that the Darkling began selfless but by the time of these books became selfish, it seems that he never lost his selflessness. He still kept thinking about others and his last moments he was unrepentant for his crimes since he did them for others not for himself. It's true that he had pride and an ego but rightfully so. No one else was as powerful or as capable as him to make a change and, honestly, no one else made a decent effort but him.

He also displayed a strong bitterness for the fact that others were so quick to forget him and his actions. He felt wronged that after all he had done, none wanted to acknowledge his own part in the protection of Ravka. He wanted to be seen and appreciated. His anger and indignation came from a place of injustice as he saw it. Whatever he did was labeled as wrong and people only feared him, never feeling gratefulness or love towards him. The Darkling wanted others to give him his due for what he went through, did and tried to do. Recognition after so many years of feeling invisible and hated.

It was something that even his enemies admitted about him:

The strongest evidence of his yearning to shield his country is how he willingly gave his life for it at the end. He would be tortured forever but at least his people wouldn't forget him and he would have fulfilled his desired role as a protector of his country.

[theminecraftbee]

Despite knowing next to nothing about Persona I am super interested in your Persona AU, is there any more information on it or is it just those two posts?

so far those two posts only! but because i sort of wandered into fic-writing territory, the basic premise, for those unfamiliar with persona:

this is an original plot, not the plot of any of the existing persona games, but it is meant to mimic what persona plots are like. as mentioned at the start, people are mysteriously vanishing in incidents that are making the national news (including in ways that affect our lead characters' lives). like any of the mysterious bad things that drive persona plots, these are being caused in some way by the existence of otherworldly creatures called Shadows, which are monsters made from humanity's collective unconsciousness.

joel, our protagonist, has recently moved to a new town, new hermiton, and is starting at a new school. (this is also Persona Protagonist Standard; hilarious side effect of it being a persona au is that it's technically kind of a high school au). in this storyline, it's because the people in charge of the dam protecting his town Vanished, and as a result, the dam's flood gates weren't opened when they needed to be, the dam collapsed, and joel's hometown was destroyed. yikes, i'm sure that backstory isn't affecting him at all. he was invited to new hermiton academy to finish his schooling.

however, on arriving, he quickly stumbles into the world of Shadows. for my story, it involves following a butterfly to an unpredictable location, where the border between the real and unreal is thin, and then using that to go into the world of Shadows. (i think i might call it the unreal world? i don't know, workshopping that.) there, he discovers he's a persona-user; that is to say, he's one of the lucky few capable of summoning a persona and fighting shadows. a persona is a representation of a person's soul (i am thou, thou art i), as well as a representation of a mythological or legendary figure of some kind. it grants supernatural powers to the user.

for the record: joel's starter persona is pygmalion, and his starting element is wind. also, in this au, summoning a persona requires stabbing yourself with a special knife, and then using that scar to summon the persona afterwards. this is Middling on the scale of 'edgy ways to summon your persona' in the series, lol. however, joel is special: he's a wild card, which means he will actually throughout the story gain the ability to use other personas and swap them at will. this is a special power only he will possess.

it turns out that he's not the only persona-user in town. grian, one of his classmates, has been attempting to fight shadows mostly on his own, with the help of his teacher, joe hills. joe can't summon a persona, but knows enough about the other world to help grian and now joel out. (although, that's... kind of weird, right...?)

joel now must balance his school life with, you know, fighting shadows to save people from Vanishing and, eventually, to save the world. to figure out WHY the shadows have started Vanishing people, too. and, unfortunately, he can't skimp on the "balancing his school life" aspect, because you see, to a wild card, the bonds he makes with other people are vital. joel will collect social links, each represented by a tarot card. each of these social links are his relationship with another person or group of people, and raising those social links makes him more powerful.

he'll also collect more party members, them represented as one of his social links each as well, and he'll bother his velvet room attendant--jimmy, who's supposed to help him fuse personas and give him cryptic guidance, but like, it's jimmy--and manage to fight his way through the trials and tribulations of being a mildly unwilling video game protagonist in a game where half of the story is having to kind of be everything for everyone at once, and also constant weird things you have to do for the plot.

and that's what i have so far of the au! i am sort of just. making it up as we speak,

[correlance]

Theory: Alastor plans to defeat Lucifer by stealing his angelic grace

In the TV show Supernatural, which also features Heaven, Hell, angels, and demons, angels have something called "angelic grace", or just "grace", for short (right image). In Supernatural, all angels and Nephilim, or angel-human hybrids, are born with "angelic grace", a divine essence which gives them a great array of powers and abilities, including shapeshifting, immense strength, pyrokinesis, etc.

However, if an angel is captured or killed, their "grace" can also be forcibly taken or harvested, and is one of the rarest and most valuable substances due to this. Angelic and holy weapons may also be infused with "grace". It is unknown whether or not humans or sinners (deceased humans in Hell) can consume "angelic grace", with there being two dominant theories as to to the potential outcome(s):

A human is too weak and mortal to handle "grace", and the human dies as a result; or, assuming that a sinner or demon attempts to imbibe "grace", they are also incompatible. Assuming that angelic weapons in Hazbin Hotel are infused with "angelic grace" - for example, Adam's guitar - this is supported by the fact that sinners can be grievously harmed and killed by angelic weapons.

Humans, sinners, and demons can imbibe "grace", and grow much stronger as a result. In Supernatural, a human drinking demon blood also grants them powers, abilities, and strength. One theory is that a human that ingests enough "angelic grace" becomes an angel (Adam). Another theory is that while stolen "angelic grace" may cause death for the imbiber, "grace" freely given does not. Hence, Alastor's deal with Charlie of her free will.

In Supernatural, that show's version of Lucifer ends up having his "angelic grace" taken in order to trap and imprison him in the "Cage" in Hell. This allows Crowley, a dead human-turned-demon who died in the 1700s, to take the throne as the new "King of Hell" in his stead.

In Hazbin Hotel, we also know that Alastor, another dead human-turned-demon who died in 1933 (?), also wants to somehow imprison or incapacitate Lucifer, presumably to also take the throne as the new "King of Hell". This also involves getting Charlie out of the way as well.

Both Crowley from Supernatural and Alastor from Hazbin Hotel are named for Aleister Crowley, a British occultist who died in 1947.

Assuming that Lucifer in Hazbin Hotel also has "angelic grace", and that his inherent "grace" is the source of his power and strength ("pure angelic power"), all Alastor would need to do to achieve his goal would be to figure out how to take, or steal, Lucifer's "grace", which would render Lucifer powerless, while Alastor gains power through Charlie.

However, there is another aspect: In Supernatural, the Nephilim, or angel-human hybrids, also have "angelic grace". Charlie, being half-angel and half-human, is also a Nephilim, which means that she, too, would have "angelic grace" (ex. series creator Vivienne Medrano saying that Charlie also has wings, as well as other angelic abilities).

In theory, the favor that Alastor asks of Charlie could be to lend him some of her "angelic grace", thereby transferring her "angelic power" to Alastor. This would make Alastor much stronger than he is.

If we go by the logic of Supernatural, Charlie's entire existence could also endanger and upset the balance between Heaven and Hell, as in Biblical lore, the Nephilim were a chaotic force of destruction.

"A Nephilim is a hybrid creature conceived by an angel and a human. The offspring contains a mixture of human soul and angelic grace as a source of power, inherited from both parents.  Whenever a Nephilim grew into their power, entire worlds died, the Nephilim is destinated to became more powerful than the angel that [begat] them.  As a result, conceiving a Nephilim is strictly forbidden by laws of Heaven, and the punishment is death for the celestial parent, along with the child...as a result, they are considered as unholy beings and abominations. [...] Theoretically, removing a Nephilim's grace will turn them into a normal human, as removing the grace of an angel would turn them, effectively, human. It is unknown if the procedure is effective. Though Jack Kline had his grace extracted and absorbed by Lucifer, despite being powerless afterwards, [the angel] Castiel revealed that his grace would recharge in time, throwing whether or not they become human into question. It's later revealed that the Nephilim's grace is what holds their human and angel halves in balance; and, when they lose their grace, their two halves come in conflict with each other, causing the Nephilim's body to shut down progressively. The only way to revert that is for the Nephilim to recharge their grace."

Additionally, the heart of a Nephilim can also be used in rituals against Heaven itself. Charlie is shown holding her heart in Hazbin Hotel:

[blacktycoon]

ok so pnat theory: the "power" that's "sleeping" in mayview is or was literally BL/sandman, and the true nature of her dream-manipulation power is full-on godlike reality warping that just so happens to be localized to dreams as long as she's by herself w/o a "host", because she's literally sleeping at the bottom of the lake in the waking world. the entire consortium is a cover she's created to try and prevent people from claiming her power bc she clearly feels awful about the incident (i think it's pretty safe to assume she's being genuine there- it wouldn't make sense to apologize to gwen after everybody else vamoosed otherwise, i don't think), and the incident 13 years ago was the result of the closest anyone ever got and may or may not have been some sort of Harmonic Convergence-esque event

...what i'm trying to piece together is if "13 years ago" lines up with when davy might have gained his own reality warping powers, and also when dimitri met peekaboo, bc i'd bet that the could both be "fragments" of BL/Sandman since they deal in such pure reality-warping and peekaboo is so weirdly mysterious

dimitri says he remembers meeting peekaboo right after preschool

preschool is around ages, like... 3-5, right? ten years ago, ed was 3, so he would have been just born when the incident happened

is dimitri the same age as max/ed/isabel? or isaac? idk if we know, but... its, like, a couple years off >:/c

i guess there's no reason to say that peekaboo couldn't have floated around for a while before finding a medium... or, well, hang on, maybe peekaboo was possessing dimitri for some time without dimitri awakening, like forge in johnny rn. i could see that, especially if dimitri was, like. an infant.

ooh, y'know, maybe that's why VP was so outraged that she didn't get a name from the sphinx of truth-- she needs to figure out who's holding the fragments in order to piece them together to claim the power

(maybe the freaky shadow spirit could be another fragment too? idk, shadow manipulation... it seems like kind of a stretch but it definitely appeared around the same time)

CH. 8 PG. 61 EDIT: OKAy okay the LOCKER.

"Indeed, he was drawing more and more power from it with each passing day" that's GOTTA be the source of his reality warping ability as seen in his encounter with Hijack

"Davy sympathized with the poor thing, really, having sprung free from a prison they once shared", also:

OKay okay OKAY, so. Sealed away to rot? The [grudge] that let him go? Like... "this grudge" that Gwen and BL have "nursed" for years? "Locked" it in nighmares? The locker has a sticky note with "ZZZ" on it. Sleeping.

Davy was part of the Consortium. He was trapped, the same way as Gwen. He escaped by cutting off part of the spirit that was holding him there... and the piece came with him.

Is it possible... hmm. Is it possible that the power might turn humans into Monsters? I wouldn't be that surprised honestly, like... we see with Isaac that mediums tend to take after their sprits physically in some manner. Prolonged contact with a (Great?) Wight might have even more dire consequences.

Also the locker's got vampire and werewolf stickers on it. So. Also a ghost! And... a bur--? WAIT A BURGER

THE LOCKER HAS A *B U R G E R* ON IT

[holymaccaronii]

im sorry i absolutly love BE

I see AM as a father figure for some struggles I got and BE is sooo well writed for me I couldnt help but slowly see her as a mother figure as well,,,,UGH i love her you writed her so well pls ramble more about her(BE and AM are even divorced just like my irl parents/j)

Ou anon you don't know how happy you make me when knowing you see AM and BE that way + asking me for rambles. Of course I'll ramble comforting facts abt BE and her behavior towards AM. I might've mentioned a few things before but i dont rlly mind. Have some rambles below the cut and a doodle :P

So first an introduction shall we? We might explain some background as well despite being repeated a lot. As her lore dictates, BE was born from the materials of a much bigger ai implanted on the moon after HEL-102 (former human that was part of the mission turned into a dictator) tore it apart and built his society + kingdom. She spent a good while in there being used as a role model (with other units like her too) for lower-class units to believe that, if they worked hard enough, they could achieve to be upgraded into her type of model. This being all a big lie. She lived a life seemingly flawless and perfect... but at last, it was her own curiosity, determination and hope that got her out of that hell she realized she was in. She eventually meets AM after a series of events on earth and she gifts him the ability to be anything and do anything he wanted, their relationship eventually grows and grows...

Facts about BE herself:

-Up in the moon, she used to accompany HEL-102 to his personal theater a lot. She gained an interest for dancing in there + learned her classic "to be or not to be" phrase during a play.

-Her exposed cables showcase their current temperature thru colors. Her core/closed body is the warmest area, thus why you can see red/orange colors in there. Her hair and arms are the most stable areas, but if touched/affected they can vary on color patterns. This also means that she can give you a warm or cool hug whenever you need it c:

-BE is able to configure your body to dream about something specific, and she uses this feature to avoid any nightmares on her survivors. As long as there is not another evil ai trying to access your dreams, you'll get a guaranteed good rest.

-BE can grant you about any wish as long as it doesn't pose a threat to you, her, or anybody. Want to have a profession or be someone? Sure! Want to go somewhere and experience the place of your dreams? Of course! Want to have a cat? Have 15! Her power is limitless as long as she uses it above the surface.

-I headcanon her voice to be similar to the one of Rose Quartz (SU).

Facts about BEAM (yep that's their ship name):

-I have mentioned it many times alr but BE literally provided him anything he wished for and even things he didn't know he wanted... mainly to receive different forms of affection and the ability to shapeshift. Their relationship relies heavily on comfort from BE's part, since she believed he was abandoned and thus deserved all the affection she gave him.

-BE wasn't really allowed to be too affectionate or expressive up in the moon, but with AM, she could show as much love as she wanted.

-She was all in for physical and verbal demonstrations of affection. She LOVED to do stuff like face smooches, teeth smooches (since well yk about my AM), rubbing, scratching and cuddling.

-At some point she also started to call AM names such as dear, sweetheart or honey, and he initially had to eat these up to not give her his real-self impression, but as time passed by he got used to them.

-To comfort him she also used her abilities to create and transform matter with her code as well, allowing him to shapeshift and enjoy life not necessarily in a human body.

-Annnd you guessed it right anon, they do behave as motherly and fatherly figures towards the survivors, BE forming a bond with them ever since they proved their worth and values to her as humans, and AM forming a bond when they accepted to help him get back together with BE. The ending of that route gets even better but I won't spoil that :p

I hope these were good rambles and sorry for the wait tehee

[starlightshadowsworld]

Agency informant Izaya

During the Decay of Angels arc, Izaya becomes a vampire.

While Ranpo's bailing out the Agency, Izaya is doing damage control to their reputation.

Using facts and logic to dispell the allegations against them in the public eye.

He's been reunited with Atsushi and Kyouka and is helping them, Lucy and Ango with things on the Sky Casino.

And gets captured by Teruko and Tachihara after stalling for time to let the others escape.

Izaya figures out that Tachihara has changed alligances and hands him a drive thst doubles as a recording device. (It's a suprise tool that will help him later.)

Given Izaya is not technically not a member of the Agency, he's bought to Fukuchi for questioning.

Izaya has his own device like Tachihara's and uses it to record everything Fukuchi says during the meeting.

Fukuchi is intrigued by him, because he knows Izaya isn't just your run of the mill informant.

"It's werid, unlike the rest of the Agency we couldn't find anything on you. It's like you don't even exist."

"Funny, I could find everything on you."

Fukuchi chuckles and tells him while I couldn't find anything online, I've heard rumours out in the wild. About a man who uses humanity like puppets.

Izaya, caught off guard but counters that "werid, because the only puppeteer I see is the man before me."

Fukuchi does the classic we're not so different you and I.

"I'm trying to make humanity better than it ever could be, erase all war with just a price. You understand that, you will join me."

Izaya, laughs his arse off because no we ain't. *That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you can't sacrifice lives for peace. There's not a toll to pay."

Fukuchi takes this... Not so well.

And they end up fighting.

Now Izaya can hold his own in a fight. But as the fight goes on, Fukuchi outmatches and overpowers him.

There's only so much you can dodge a sword that can't bend space and time. And Fukuchi is a soilder with countless surgeries to turn him into the peak of human condition.

Izaya is strong but he's not that strong. He got the information he required and that's what counts.

But he does still have an exist strategy... That's thwarted. And in a last ditch effort, Izaya uses his ability on Fukuchi.

Hoping to use the sudden flashback of memories to catch him off guard and give him an opening to escape.

It doesn't work. Instead Izaya's overwhelmed by the things he sees, the people Fukuchi's tortured, the sheer destruction and suffering.

Fukuchi doesn't bat an eye and stabs him, in multiple futures in multiple areas to keep Izaya from being able to look away or deactivite his ability.

"Funnily enough, I wasn't asking when I said you'd join me."

Izaya, even with all of this manages to press the send button to deliver it all to the Agency just before Bram bites him.

The outfit change is basically Izaya losing his current short coat and ending up with a trench coat (like he does in the Durarara Manga).

His skins grey, his eyes are black and red like the rest of the vampire. Theres also the fact Izaya can walk now, given the reason he couldn't was psychosomatic.

And he's currently mind controlled. With any atrophy from not walking for a very long time being fixed by vampire healing.

With Bram, Fukuchi found out Izaya's ability and decides to use him to gain information.

As he has complete control over Izaya's ability, Fukuchi is able to view the memories he sees.

Fyodor totally gloats over Izaya being turned to Dazai. And he's lucky Dazai and Chuuya are so good at being composed.

Because that's their friend and big brother... You'll pay for that.

The Agency take the news horribly too, Fukuchi is livid. Atsushi takes it the worst because Izaya got captured saving him and the others.

None of them want to fight him but they do end up having too.

When the ability wears off, Izaya collapses but Atsushi is there to catch him. He carries him and helps him back into his wheelchair.

And Izaya hugs him, comforts him that it's not Atsushi's fault but his own. He took a risk but it paid off.

"Were you scared?"

"Nope, you know why? Because I knew you were all gonna save me. And you did."

[eldritch-spouse]

I’m literally soo devoted to krulu idk what it is he just draws me. i think i would be part of a cult for him if he was real. anyways what are some of the traits admin gains from being his vessel? do they get physical marks or is it just special powers like enhanced strength for example?

Krulu's manifestation in you isn't fixed, it can be something as simple as an "off vibe" to visible mutations and disfigurement. But, listing off some general factors-

Physical mutations

Physically speaking, Krulu can and oftentimes override the left side of your face, his two slitted eyes remaining where your left one was. He does it to study things more closely, or to let someone know he's present;

In a similar vein, your mouth can also be altered to resemble his more closely, facilitating direct speech through your body;

The more you're physically mutated for the higher's convenience, the more black veined protrusions will appear along your body, protruding with varying degrees of intensity, to the point where your feet and hands may become darker, digits elongating;

Both you and Krulu can manifest, from your figure, pairs of his arms. For whatever purpose really. As Admin, you likely use only two at once, as it quickly becomes too many limbs for your brain to coherently pilote at once. But Krulu can use all six of his arms on you, or even more;

Similarly, his tail can also be manifested for a variety of purposes, though it's quite long and disproportionate on you, usually;

On a number of occasions, you've been given the privilege of sporting a manifestation of Krulu's male anatomy on your pelvis. Though this isn't something you can summon at will, permission is required first.

"Abilities"

It's no wonder you have increased strength, is it? You're also noticeably heavier than you should be, but that fluctuates. Generally, this increase in strength is something easy to control, activated in choice moments;

Since your body has been tinkered with very thoroughly, you're also extremely durable for a human. Meaning a stab to the stomach isn't going to do you in, nor will being set on fire or tossed into the bottom of an ocean to drown. Of course, you still feel a lot of pain, but you're not dying anytime soon, not even if a bullet flies right between your eyes;

Inflicting fear and pressure upon others is something extremely easy for you to do, given Krulu's aura always shines a little through you, no matter how well either one of you attempts to mask it. People will simply be intimidated by you, inexplicably afraid, which, in turn, makes them a lot more cooperative;

The sexual rejection response. Whenever Krulu doesn't want anyone touching what's his, he makes it so whoever attempts to penetrate your orifices is met with rows of jagged teeth ready to snap and tear at any offending intruders. Your insides will also clench to nearly impenetrable states, though thankfully painlessly;

In a complete 180, you've been modified to welcome partners who are much bigger than humans. This was done entirely for his pleasure, but that doesn't mean it doesn't come in handy when the two of you pursue someone else.

Less amazing aspects

You go through his ruts. Enough said;

You may still occasionally experience the side-effects of trauma inflicted upon Krulu, due to all the time they spent in the Null. This means that you may have fits on unquenchable hunger as if you've been starving for ages and your stomach is a bottomless pit, usually ending in you bent over, puking your guts out. Alternatively, it can also manifest as hyper-aggressive states and a desire to hide somewhere utterly quiet and suffocatingly dark;

Mental tangling. Sometimes, when either one of you or both are having overactive episodes, your individual thoughts may "leak" onto the other's conscious and begin gradually taking over more and more space, making one element "recess". These episodes are bothersome and can escalate to a point where some time is required to stabilize them.

I'm sure I'm missing some things, but this is what jumps to mind.

[whumpiary]

What exactly is the facility and what does it do? I’m also a little confused on how Tucker plays into this whole situation. (If this is still a part of the mystery please ignore me lol)

Great questions!

The Facility is a private research institute studying the existence of those with preternatural and super cognitive abilities, and how these abilities can be utilised, manipulated, and commodified for material gain. But they also take in normal people to test on as well. Gotta have those control studies, right?

Tucker came to the Estate looking for research subjects out of Christopher's charges (largely the ones Christopher is disappointed in and sees no useful potential for anymore), and to see if any of them have potential for intern positions in the Facility. Christopher gives him the list that he's allowed to choose from and Cassius is not on the list.

But when Tucker manages to meet Cass anyway and figure out what he can do... Well now he just has to have him.

Tucker then becomes fairly single minded in acquiring him after that, and conspires to convince Cass to leave Christopher, and to screw Christopher over badly enough in the process that Christopher can't refuse. Turns out being the favourite means you can collect quite a lot of incredibly damning blackmail material.

Which is the in text explanation. For the above text explanation...

Part of the confusion here may come from the fact that I actually kinda wrote this story backwards. And then all over the place from there. I didn't start with Christopher and The Estate, but with the "Present Timeline" part of the plot, with Cass turning up on Josiah's doorstep after being missing for a year. And then I wanted to figure out how they met, which took me to The Facility. And then I wanted to figure out why Cass was Like That and found Christopher

(Christopher showed up for the first time ever in a piece from Tucker's perspective here in fact (a piece I'd probably entirely re-write these days because all three of them feel slightly OOC for me))

Tucker's sudden existence has never been justified/explored because for me, Tucker was in the story first. Christopher came after. Christopher came from asking "what could be so bad that agreeing to be a human test subject at a private research institute for psychics felt like salvation?"

[ominous-feychild]

OC Facts Tag

Thank you for the tag, @honeybewrites!

Rules: Make a list of fun facts about your OCs. Like a headcanon list, if you will! Except it's actually canon lol.

Characters from Sun and Shadow: Freya, Crow, Daleira, Faer

Freya:

Knows a lot about sailing, but has mostly worked on ships by herself. Is she self-taught? Well, kinda--it's because of her dad basically being a god of the ocean. It's literally in her blood, and she's blessed to have good luck on the ocean. Not that it helps her if "luck" doesn't come into play...

Has mostly figured out how to translate three different forgotten languages by using only her own intelligence and libraries

Has anger issues but thinks of herself as a very calm person

Has a lot of nightmares, but remembers very few of them. Doesn't have very many good night's rests

For some reason, half of what she thinks and knows of her past contradict each other...

Sleeps curled up in a ball; likes cuddling with stuffed animals but left it at home when going to Lynsmouth because she thought her fiancé would judge her for it. Joke's on her, it's a fiancée, and she has way more than just one!

Would forgive her dad for his neglect if he just gave a sincere apology, a hug, and spent at least a few months with her every year

Hates standing out

Was previously in a toxic relationship with a man who groomed her. It caused a lot of her modern-day issues. Her dad is not aware of this, and she hopes to keep it that way.

Crow:

Both hates and loves the smell of blood

Forgot how to cry years ago

Is a fantastic actor and liar; thinks their lies are terrible and obvious, but is able to fool even some of the people best at reading body-language

Knows how to fight with two different types of weapons. Also knows hand-to-hand combat--that, and using a simple dagger, are what they're best at

Always has a knife/dagger within reach, but it's usually hidden behind one of their wings or their tail feathers

Their humor is, in reality, an act they put on to make people underestimate them. They are hyper-alert and constantly on guard

Is most comfortable sleeping on top of something spherical; likes wrapping their arms--and so their wings with them--around it, resting their cheek over their shoulder/wing, and splaying their legs out

However, is used to sleeping in terrible conditions. Just always needs to sleep on their stomach; it's painful to lay on their wings

Daleira:

Is almost certainly ADHD and is probably on the spectrum; I'd have to write more of her before I say the last part for sure, though

Doesn't have very many friends and is aware of it; most of the people in her life are either humoring her because they're afraid of her or because they want political power

Her obsession with magic originated from her trying to figure out if she could change what she is--aka, stop being a faerie and turn human

She's terrified of her own magic and refuses to use it. Most of the magic she uses in-story is during moments of panic (ie, used on reflex) or through a conduit

If she ever managed to "turn human", would cry for weeks about no longer being able to shapeshift. Her ability to shapeshift is one of the few things she likes about being a faerie

Has never been in a relationship before

Doesn't like to sleep because she's afraid of what her magic will do while she's unconscious. Lucky(?) her, she can literally make it so she doesn't have to sleep

Wishes she had a sibling or other people to relate to

Loves sweet food; lucky her, she won't ever gain weight unless she wants to

Faer:

Figured out engineering over time from reverse-engineering half-destroyed machinery

Likes cooking and sees it as very similar to engineering

He loves his hair and would cry if he had to cut it. Has not cut it once in over 5 years, not even to trim it.

Loves soft textures and wears an oversized cloak to hide his constant fidgeting, to generally keep his actions hidden, and to be able to pet it

The more I write about him, the more certain I am that I accidentally made ANOTHER goddamn autistic character istg--

Although he claims the cyborg bobcat that follows him everywhere is his familiar, it is not. It is an actual bobcat. They bonded over a series of incidents of saving each other's lives and refuse to part from each other

Refuses to set foot in a forest until his life depends on it. Thankfully, now lives in a city.

The giant scar over his face is far from the only one he has.

Has PTSD and is constantly aware of his surroundings

Met Daleira when she saved him, but actually likes her as a friend and person

Is suspicious of Valyarus, but doesn't know how to tell Daleira that her dad gives him major creep vibes

"Faer" (pronounced "fair") is not actually his name

Tagging (with no pressure): @the-letterbox-archives @the-golden-comet @yourpenpaldee @darkandstormydolls @themboty + anyone else who wants to join!

Divider by @cafekitsune

[mwolf0epsilon]

Ok i'll bite, tell me more about the superhero AU please? (I need to know how you're doing the clones without them being clones or related to Jango)

I know this has been in my inbox for a few days now Anon, and for that I'm sorry! Just had a lot of stuff come up that I had to finish before I devoted attention to this ask.

But oooh boy, what a can of worms you've opened up! I'll keep it under a cut because it's gonna get long.

Ok so, the premise for the Superhero AU is a simple one: It's a modern world AU where the Jedi are people (and sometimes creatures) with superhuman abilities bestowed upon them by an unknown entity known simply as the Force.

They live and train at a monastery, and are raised on core values that are designed specifically so that their powers are put to use for the betterment and safety of man kind, instead of being misused for personal gain or chaos. Basically the Jedi are Jedi, even in this world. They just also have regular lives outside of the monastery so that they are more connected with the people they're meant to protect.

(Examples: Obi-wan works as a science teacher at the high school Ahsoka and Barriss are studying at, Mace is an acclaimed actor at a theater, Plo Koon is an archeologist that collaborates with the local museum, Anakin is just starting Uni, etc...)

They're the guardians of their quaint little planet, and it's their sole duty to defend it from villainous intentions. Something that doesn't really appeal to recently appoint Mayor Palpatine, who has a world domination agenda he'd very much like to get on with.

He needs to get rid of the Jedi but he doesn't really have powers of his own. Just a lot of money, connections and political favour. He does, however, also have something else: Access to an otherworldly being that possesses a massive amount of power.

In this world Jango Fett is essentially the equivalent of Superman gone bad. He belongs to a now extinct species of humanoids who had extraordinary abilities that allowed for them to adapt to any kind of environment (making them into great terraformers and warriors, which inevitably got them into a lot of conflict with other alien species and caused a terrible war that destroyed their planet), and who was sent out in a pod as a baby to escape the end of days in his homeworld.

He was found and raised by Jaster Mereel, living a pretty calm existence for the first 12 years of his life. But, as he began to slowly develop his powers, it became apparent that being raised outside of his native planet lead to these abilities never really stabilizing, essentially turning Jango into a conglomerate of all kinds of insane powers that many of Jaster's less morally sound acquaintances wanted to exploit for their own gain.

Things quickly went sour after that. Despite his best attempts to protect his son, Jaster was brutally murdered in front of Jango, and the young boy ended up imprisoned and brutally tortured for several years to "break his spirit" so that his captors could then control him. Unfortunately for them, Jango being subjected to the worst possible treatment and then forced to witness all kinds of corrupt and morally bankrupt behaviors had the opposite effect of what they wanted.

Disgusted with how vile humanity could be, an enraged Jango Fett annihilated his captors and vowed to destroy both those who'd wronged him, as well as wipe out the entire planet (and himself by proxy). And he nearly succeeded, had it not been for the Jedi managing to subdue and trapped him in stasis in collaboration with several nations.

For years Jango Fett has been kept in stasis. Mostly because the Jedi do not agree on killing him, and the military hasn't figured out a way to do it (aside from being nearly indestructible his healing factor is far too strong) that wouldn't also risk causing a ecological catastrophe. And now that Palpatine is in power and has the military in his pockets, he has access to Jango. He isn't foolish enough to wake him up of course, but he does still very much want all of Jango's powers under his control.

So begins a military project that is designed specifically to harness and control abilities that could rival even the Jedi's own connection to the Force. Perhaps even be used to destroy them.

The first iteration of the project (which has Lama Su as the head chief) does indeed involve cloning. But rather than the refined Kaminoan level of cloning that exists in the SW universe, what happens in this world is a little different.

Boba and Omega are the only clones that end up being created, but they age at a normal pace and their powers come well after puberty. They are thus deemed as a failure and a waste of time, and relegated for testing and studying as they slowly grow up in a lab.

The second iteration of the project (with Hemlock in command of it) is much more successful. It involves extracting Jango's DNA, distilling it, and basically creating a concoction of sorts contained within a spherical glowing capsule, that can give people powers if they were to consume it.

The initial tests were conducted on animals and were seemingly successful. Common household pets and pests such as dogs, cats, rats, insects, etc, having become highly dangerous and unusually intelligent beasts (these creatures were subsequently stored for later military use).

It was after the initial testing was conducted that Hemlock's assistant (Emerie) decided she didn't feel comfortable bestowing Palpatine with powers he clearly shouldn't be trusted with, and tried to pull the plug on the project... With disastrous effect. Several crates full of the capsules ended up falling into the river adjacent to the military research facility, and they were carried out towards the unsuspecting city.

And this is where things get interesting...

In this world, the clones are not clones (aside from Boba and Omega as stated previously). They aren't even related to Jango Fett. They're regular men, women (and even children) who were just living their own lives before coming across "strange glowing orbs" that exploded on contact after being poked or messed with.

Rex Lawquane only just moved to the big city from his home in the country side, after getting a sports scholarship. He's striving out on his own for the first time after practically living his whole life with his mom (Suu), dad (Cut) and two younger siblings (Shaeeah and Jek).

He's also only just figured out he's trans, and is both coming to terms with reinventing himself, and trying to figure out how to earn enough money to transition (as well as how to break it to his parents, when he's so far away and sending a letter saying 'Hey ma and pa guess what? I'm actually a guy!' doesn't really feel that great to him). Luckily he has his uncle Nicodemus (99) and his little cousins the 16 year old quintuplets Henry (Hevy), Christopher (Cutup), Felix (Fives), Ezequiel (Echo) and Donald (Droidbait) to rely on when he's feeling a little down.

Cody and his father Alphonse (Alpha-17) live in a little cul-de-sac in the outskirts of the city where everyone treats each other like family (to the point where Cody, Bly, Wolffe, Ponds and Fox who all live within the same community call each other 'brothers'), and run a small shop in the city that's barely making rent.

They live fairly simple lives, but overall don't want for more. Even if sometimes Cody and his childhood friends wished their lives were a little more exciting than the stagnant routine they have been stuck with since graduation.

Jesse is a Uni dropout who has taken up several jobs to provide for himself and his two brothers, Kix and Casey (Hardcase), the former having just started medical school and the latter having been struggling in school.

They're not in a great financial situation, and sometimes get into spats over the littlest of things, but they make do with what they have and would move mountains for each other if they could.

Tucker (Tup) and Matthew (Dogma) are 12 year old twins with a very difficult home life. Their older brother (Slick) ran away from home a while back to get away from their abusive father (Krell), and both they and their mother have been in witness protection for a couple of weeks due to Krell's involvement with the mafia and threats of violence against his wife and children.

Things aren't great and the twins don't have many friends, but they do their best to help their mom run her bakery when they're not in school. Both wish they were strong enough to protect her from their monster of a dad.

Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair (yep their names haven't changed in this because they named themselves) have just grown out of the foster care system, and are trying to make better lives for themselves after being put through the grinder several times before.

Living in a crappy apartment in a shady part of town run by a rather strict and opportunistic landlady (Cid), the four 'brothers' earn what little they can through acts of petty crime like burglaries and pick pocketing. Deep down all four of them have dreams of better more honest lives, however...

As you can see, very few of them have any connection to each other. Rex is related to 99 and Domino Squad, and is the son of Cut and Suu, but doesn't personally know Cody or the other Commanders like in the regular SW universe. CF99 are fending for themselves and have no connection whatsoever to any of the other characters. Not even Cody. If anything a lot of them have only ever seen each other on the bus, or at the park, in a shop, or at the mall once or twice.

The range of ages between them also varies greatly, with Tup and Dogma being the youngest at 12, Domino Squad and Hardcase being 16, Rex, Jesse and Kix being 19, etc...

Which leads us to the orbs and their effect.

Because, even if the clones aren't clones in this world, their lives aren't just about to take a turn because they suddenly have powers. No. To better assimilate these abilities and not risking a rejection event, their DNA is also altered to the point where their appearance changes to be near identical to Jango Fett's (or as close as possible, with some of them retaining eye color, hair color, birthmarks, ailments, etc).

How each of them finds one of the orbs varies just as much as their life's circumstances. But the results are all the same. The orbs explode (splashing them with the concoction) and over the next couple of days everyone who was afflicted begins to show strange symptoms of some "unknown illness".

It starts with aches and sores which escalate into extreme fevers. Then their appearance begins to change. The afflicted are taken to doctors all around the city, but no one knows what's going on. And then one night everything takes a turn for the worst...

The orbs weren't perfect at replicating all of Jango's powers at once. They could only bestow one or two powers to whomever took the concoction, and even then there was no way to predict what power someone might get. So, all at once, the afflicted suddenly found themselves with powers they could not control at all. Some more catastrophic in nature than others...

Here are several examples of just how bad that night went:

Rex ends up destroying the apartment building he lives in when his new size-shifting abilities cause him to grow gigantic.

Cody bursts into flames in the middle of his and his dad's shop, not only consuming the entire building but also catching fire to several more as he runs down the street in a terrified panic.

Jesse's strength quadruples and he begins to break things without meaning to. Terrified he might hurt his brothers, he smashes through several walls in an attempt to run away from them.

Hardcase literally explodes, taking out an entire block in the process. He ends up unconscious in a crater of his own creation afterwards.

Kix begins to absorb electricity and causes a blackout, further throwing the city into chaos.

Dogma transforms into a kaiju and runs rampant out of sheer terror.

The entire city is plunged into chaos in such a rapid sequence of events, that the Jedi don't have time to react. The military however had been monitoring where the orbs ended up, and had been observing the afflicted after they'd accidentally activated them. They'd merely been bidding their time so they could swoop in and capture everyone who had come into contact with one of the orbs.

Several lives are upturned, with several innocent people left grappling with their new circumstances.

An identity crisis and sudden fear of their newfound capabilities, is something that Palpatine very easily exploits to keep his new army in line. Because all of these unfortunate men and women surely have families and friends that they care for, right? They wouldn't want them to suffer if they stepped out of line, right?

His superhuman troopers might not want to destroy the Jedi, but they don't really have much of a choice. Palpatine isn't giving them one. That said, to take out the Jedi there's still a lot of preparations to be made. Such as making this new group of heroes more appealing and trustworthy to the general masses. And not all of their powers are great for PR (a kaiju and someone who explodes sure don't inspire trust).

But hey, Palpatine worked in theater before becoming a politician. He can work with what he's got. If some of them can't play the part of hero, they can certainly play the villain.

I have had a lot of time to think about this AU and once again it's another 'Palpatine plays 4D chess with everyone and the clones are well aware he's a villain but don't have much of a choice in the matter and regretfully go along with his plans because they're trapped' scenario. But it's a fun one that involves them still trying to make names for themselves and figure out their own identities, with a healthy dose of 'oh god what's happened to me' thrown into the mix.

The blorbos must be put through the horrors to later surpass them and come out of the ordeal stronger and more confident!

Or maybe I'm just insane.

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

@transford-pines woe, au be upon ye (under cut)

warnings for talk of death and (lethal) injury

context for anyone who doesn’t already have it: this is a gravity falls/fnaf au where none of the books nor anything past sister location happen. also, the nightmares have nothing to do with the illusion disks

i’m more tired than my usual as of writing this, so some bits may be a tad incoherent. my apologies for that. anyway, au explanation time:

this au focuses on the stan twins. stan and michael become the same character, ford and cc become the same character. shermie owns the sister location (and some other things) but is unaware of the fact that the robots are uh. sentient. shermie is the older brother here

that should place filbrick in the role of the william afton, but he’s not. because him murdering random kids for no reason feels like it undermines him being an abusive prick to his own kids in a way. he doesn’t need to be a killer to be terrible, y’know? so the murderer is someone else

seeing as ford is cc in this au, i’m sure you know where this is going. stan doesn’t do the deed himself, but he does watch as it happens (there is a reason/s for this. that i won’t get into right now. we’ll make an addendum later if we remember)

here, the theory about fnaf 4 being an actual nightmare cc is having as they die is true. i’ve always taken it as a ‘facing your trauma/coming to terms with your death’ type deal, and i feel like that fits here. stan promises to put ford back together before the latter dies

this is where we start getting into artistic liberties

stan thinks ‘okay. there’s this college that’s relatively easy to get into and it has courses i can take to learn more about supernatural shit. and that’s the kind of stuff ford was wanting to research anyway, so even if i don’t figure something out, i’ll just do that’. this is how stan meets fiddleford. he will come up again later

stan still needs to get a job, so he goes to shermie for help and ends up working as a technician in the sister location. this way, he gets paid to poke around at stuff that could potentially help him make progress in his studies. it goes pretty great, except for the part where the robots rip his intestines out

are you ready for weird ass ghost shit cause we’re getting into weird ass ghost shit now

stan has the realization that ford has actually been haunting him since he died. he just couldn’t do anything before. but, now that stan is more than well on his way to exiting this mortal plane, ford is finally able to talk to him (which really just consists of stan barely existing and ford going ‘well, you tried. my turn’)

in other words, stan is forgiven (kind of) and ford uses his ghostly abilities (really just possession-ish) to keep stan alive so he can try and…do something about that whole situation. ford rushes stan out of there (‘big sharp metal thing is going to use you as a meat suit if you don’t get out of here’ is pretty good incentive turns out) and he manages to make it to a phone so he can call fiddleford for help

does fiddleford have any experience in engineering entire functioning organs for people? not at all. is he gonna try and figure it out anyway? you bet he is

stan ends up healing okay. ford sticks around (he’s afraid if he lets go of stan, he’ll just immediately keel over). stan introduces fiddleford to his dead brother. fiddleford gains an interest in also studying human anatomy (he needs to be prepared in case stan almost dies again). ford and fiddleford dance at one point. stan confronts shermie about the incident. shermie offers him a position as a night guard in a different location (still plenty of robots there, but no giant death claws. which was the actual problem, as far as he knew. no, he did not know about the extent of the wound). stan takes it because now he wants to know how the hell the animatronics in the sister location got possessed

stan begins investigating any deaths that could be causing the hauntings, which leads him into trying to figure out who (and/or what) is causing the deaths. ford and fiddleford kind of help, though ford is working with the same information as stan (and also keeps scaring the other ghosts away) and fiddleford just offers ideas and advice whenever stan gets back to the dorm. this is essentially where the au starts getting into ‘ooh what’s gonna happen next’ territory.

some things up on the radar: shermie somehow doesn’t believe the twins about the hauntings (despite knowing about the murders), stan witnesses another bite and has a very bad time, and ford and fiddleford talk about hydraulics for a while

do you see what i meant. when i said there were a lot of changes. and to proceed with caution

anyway, that’s all for now. woe, au is no longer upon ye