#he is rarely allowed to feel a lasting negative emotion

[robbyykeene]

Potentially unpopular opinion, but I love that Miguel was an asshole again in the second part of this season! It’s a reminder that he’s a character and not just Johnny’s main support. I mean Robby didn’t deserve it at all, but it makes sense that Miguel couldn’t help taking his anger out on him. And I love that Johnny was on the receiving end of it, because it feels like the tension between them just went away for no reason.

Sorry if I’m bothering you!

You’re never bothering me, and I completely agree! They so rarely give Miguel any narrative agency these days, and like Johnny all it does is reduce him as a character. Miguel is a whole, complicated, messy teenager. He isn’t a saint. He isn’t perfect. He makes mistakes and has ugly unfair feelings sometimes, like every single teenager does. And I love when this show actually lets him be like this, lets him be wrong, lets him be a little bit of a dick to the people he cares about who don’t deserve it. Lets him be a real person with actual human feelings. And then also lets him take accountability for what he does wrong, apologize, show how much he’s grown, that he is a good person and a good friend. I love it truly, and it feels like it’s something that in a lot of ways hasn’t really been granted to Miguel since he fell off that balcony.

[marvelmaniac715]

I was watching ‘The Well’ the other day with my mum, and she asked the rather scornful question of “what is it with this touchy-feely Doctor?” That got me thinking, so here’s my answer. On the spot, I told her “I think he’s trying to heal himself”, and since then I’ve thought about my response and I think I’ve worked out the Doctor’s current mental state.

Prior to this current incarnation, the Doctor rarely stopped, always running and trying to stop monsters, and though he had many close friends, he wasn’t always as affectionate with them. Either because there wasn’t any time, or because he was afraid that he’d do something wrong or grieve if he got too close or revealed too many vulnerable truths. Just look at what happened between the Doctor and the Master back when they were kids. Look at what happened to River Song. He didn’t think that he could fully trust himself around the people he cared about because his time with them would always end, inevitably.

But then, he bi-generated, to stay with Donna - a person who he thought he’d lost forever. For once, he wasn’t allowed to run, he just had to stay with his family and process everything he’d experienced. I’m sure he grieved, I’m sure he remembered every single death, every defeat, every time he couldn’t save someone, but beyond that sorrow there was hope, and a chance for more open communication. He’d already seen his next incarnation, who seemed so happy and fulfilled, finally coping with the ghosts of their past, so he had a glimpse of a bright future where he’d maybe be okay.

Now we have the Fifteenth Doctor. He tells Ruby his origins as soon as she asks - he probably doesn’t see the point of keeping that sort of secret anymore - he tells the Space Babies about his status as a foundling, because he’s finally been able to fully process that trauma, and he’s offering more hugs to his companions because even though he’s much more cheerful, he’ll never know what day will be the last time he’ll get to interact with his loved ones. Hence his ‘touchy-feely’ nature, and his crying does make a lot of sense in my opinion - he lets himself feel the negative emotions he’s always suppressed, finally taking his own words (or, rather, Clara Oswald’s words - we love a haunting-the-narrative queen) to heart - fear is a superpower, it “makes companions of us all”. That’s why I love Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor so much, as a person who has also had to process and heal from trauma in my past, becoming a much happier person as a result. Sure, he still has plenty of inner darkness and secrets, but his personal growth is truly beautiful in my opinion.

[fantasyforbeginners]

Hello! Do you have any tips on conceptualizing and planning character arcs? I’ve been struggling with figuring out how to write arcs that pertain to the theme. When I do have an Idea for that and how the arc ends, I have issues with how to progress the arc in a natural way in the story. Thank you!

Yes I do! (I'm a theme down kind of writer, so I think I can reverse engineer this a bit...)

While it can be useful to at first conceptualize theme as a big general idea (i.e. Power), what typically ends up happening over the course of the plot is that a more specific, centralized theme takes shape (ie. those who care for others should wield power as opposed to those who don't, as a simple example).

What your plot arcs become, then, is ways to push the character Toward that epiphany (or explain why they don't reach it, especially if they're an antagonist who represents the opposite theme).

For example, I'm working on a novel right now where the main theme is that "Leadership requires sacrifices". The plot, then, is structured around 3 places the main character goes to and forms relationships at, to push her to learn that lesson.

In the first place, she learns the lesson through a leader who sacrificed being there for her family/children in favour of prioritizing the greater good / social movements. In the second place, she learns about seeing an end through no matter the personal or political cost and what makes a good leader (i.e. prioritizing the people around you > your own personal ends, to a degree). In the third, she learns that sometimes being a leader means making tough/terrible decisions and you may lose the favour of those around you, even those you love dearly whom you made those decisions to protect.

A more specific plot example would be Aang in season one of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Unfrozen from his iceberg 100 years out of time, Aang struggles to adjust to how the world has changed. Therefore, a good chunk of his focused episodes (the Southern Air Temple, King of Omashu, the Storm, Bato of the Water Tribe, the Northern Air Temple) deal with him feeling out of place culturally or cosmically or dealing with his grief. A common episode conceit is therefore Aang revisiting or going home to a place he used to know but finding it fundamentally changed, or that others have cultural connections and relationships he is no longer or cannot be privy to in the same manner.

If we have a character in a book who's main theme is "those with power should wield it responsibly," we have to have encounters where they wield it, or see others wield it, irresponsibly. It's useful to think of it as "where is my character Starting" and "what can get them to the conclusion at the end?" i.e. what lesson do you need them to learn (or not learn, for negative growth)?

For example, if I have a character who's selfish and I want them to have a positive arc trajectory, their emotional progression is probably gonna look something like:

They're selfish and here's how

They have the opportunity to not be selfish, but are anyway

They're selfish again, and we learn more about why

They're selfish but start doubting if they did the right thing, or experience regret

Next time they make a better choice

Seeing the positive impact can make them realize they want to continue this way; seeing the negative impact could make them temporarily backslide

Something (another character or situation) pushes them to reach a Breaking point epiphany

They decide to be selfless / are, and make it clear that their behaviour will continue to consistently change and be different

This allows a little character mystery (why are they like this = backstory time) and for your character to progress forward in stages. Nobody changes radically overnight, and it's rare for characters (or people) to have entirely new thought patterns even when they decide to make changes. (A great example of this is Rayla from The Dragon Prince, since even when she decides to not be an assassin anymore, she still hasn't let go of her ideals of sacrifice based on being an assassin and just applies them elsewhere, oftentimes to the detriment of herself or her relationships/others.)

Having this kind of emotional progression also allows you to map plot events onto each stage, ie.

They're selfish and here's how = character introduction and exposition. Maybe a prince has money but not giving any to a beggar at the marketplace because they look down on people

They have the opportunity to not be selfish, but are anyway = Kingly father beseeches them to care about their royal responsibilities, but they blow him off anyway and skip their duties

They're selfish again, and we learn more about why = Upon facing consequences for skipping duties, the prince reveals that he's lonely ever since his mother died saving people, and he's directed his unprocessed anger at her for leaving him onto those same people

They're selfish but start doubting if they did the right thing, or experience regret = the prince is rude/selfish towards to a visiting dignitary that was a friend of his mother's, and the friend reflects he used to be a much sweeter boy / that his mother would be disappointed in him

Next time they make a better choice = prince decides to take royal duties more seriously to give the friend a better impression, and gives money on the street. Partially to make a good impression, but also because - why not, right?

Seeing the positive impact can make them realize they want to continue this way; seeing the negative impact could make them temporarily backslide = positive way is more straight forward (giving is good, and prince wants to make a difference by opening a new orphanage named after his mother) / negative can depend on secondary character flaws (prince has a temper and feels angry they got 'guilted' into it, lashes out but quickly apologizes this time)

Something (another character or situation) pushes them to reach a Breaking point epiphany = Building the orphanage is more difficult than expected, and someone made a careless mistake that messed things up. The prince goes to lash out or shut the project down, but realizes the person is afraid of him / thinks of his mother and what she would do (maybe after they'd made a mistake as a kid). They decide to give the person a second chance and help them out

They decide to be selfless / are, and make it clear that their behaviour will continue to consistently change and be different = Prince finishes building the orphanage, mother's friend and father proudly attend the grand opening. Prince stands at the back and lets the workers have the spotlight and is more than happy to

Ideally, our theme and character arcs are Married, and the way we get down the aisle is with Plot. Plot is just "Situations You Put Your Characters In," after all, so it might as well be for character development (good or bad) that also reinforces the messaging (bad characters are bad because of XYZ, good characters are good because of XYZ) in some manner along the way.

Hope this helps, but if not (or even if it does) feel free to send in any future questions anytime!

[quillthrillswriting]

what if jack & elsie from love, theoretically met as rival undergraduates, and were forced to co-TA a first-year physics class?

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˗ˏˋ fic summary: ˎˊ˗

elsie hannaway, famed people pleaser, hates jack smith turner with a burning passion. since the very moment she looked up the cute boy in her first year physics class excitedly, only to realize that he had been behind the paper years before that had single handedly reduced her future field of study to a subject of mockery, elsie has taken every single negative emotion that she usually keeps locked behind a carefully curated version of herself and funnelled it into unadulterated loathing. now, in the fifth and final year of her undergraduate degree, the only thing standing between her and an acceptance into her program of choice is a spot TA-ing the university's introductory physics course. unfortunately, jack smith turner will be standing beside her as her co-TA. in theory, this is an impossible arrangement, but jack and elsie are soon to discover that things are never as they seem. elsie can be a million versions of herself simultaneously, an electron can be a particle and a wave, and perhaps jack smith turner can be both a scourge on theoretical physics and the best thing that has ever happened to her.

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˗ˏˋ sneak peak: ˎˊ˗

As she stormed up the stairs to the TA coordination overseer’s office, Elsie thought to herself that this was perhaps the most anger she had ever allowed herself to feel in all twenty-one years of her life thus far. Worse than her flare of irritation at Ceecee months before for allowing her evil spikeball to eat the rare cheese collection Elsie had sprung for as a self-gifted birthday present, certainly worse than that time when that same spiny ball of fury had taken a midday nap on the seat of her office chair,  and somehow, worse than the fateful publication in Annals of Theoretical Physics that had undermined her future field of study entirely for years to come. 

Yes, all of that certainly paled in comparison to the events that had been set into motion only days before when she had, naively and idiotically, she might add, assumed that becoming an undergraduate TA in the last year of her degree could lead to nothing but good things. A boost on her grad school applications? Check. The ability to endow the incoming freshmen with a lifelong love and passion for physics? Double check. Co-TA-ing with the absolute blight on theoretical physics that was Jack Smith Turner? Who also happened to be six and a half feet of unfairly cruel gorgeousness? Who also also had sealed his fate as her sworn enemy since the faithful day he’d taken the last first-row seat in their Physics 110 class?

Unfortunately, quintuple-check, which is why she was currently storming up the stairs to the TA coordination center, only footsteps behind said long-legged perpetual thorn in her side. 

“It isn’t too late to give up and turn around, Jack,” Elsie huffed, mentally making a note to join Cece on her early-morning runs more often as she charged forward, propelled by pure indignation alone. “This is my TA spot, and we both know it.”

“Elsie, for the last time, there is no reason why we can’t just do this together,” Jack sighed, unfairly calm and unbothered-looking for someone who had remained several steps ahead of her since they’d begun climbing four flights of stairs ago. “The class is too large for one TA. You can’t run labs by yourself, an-”

“Oh, I can’t run labs by myself?” Elsie seethed, her rage peaking more steeply than a displacement verses time graph with increasing velocity- a concept that she could certainly teach better than this elitist theoretical-physics-invalidator-robot masquerading as a science undergraduate. Typically, she would never allow herself to snap at anyone the way she was now, but there was something about Jack that single-handedly managed to unravel every last one of her meticulously curated alternate personalities, and she hated him with the fire of a thousand Wolf-Rayet stars for it. The logical part of her brain knew that more likely than not, Jack was only intending to point out the obvious- that a class of two hundred plus only one TA would undoubtedly lead to disaster regardless of said TA’s competence- but something about his tone, so smooth and careful and goddamn patronizing was enough for her to allow her irritation to show quite plainly. 

“Elsie, you and I both know that’s not what I meant.” Jack groaned, halting in front of her to hold open the door, and Elsie had to bite her tongue to hold back her thanks. As she stormed through ahead of him, she thought that she saw his eyes lock onto her face for a moment, his gaze rapt with attention. His next words were a bit softer, more likely than not an attempt to placate her into not begging the coordinator to remove him from the course. “You’re smarter than deliberate misinterpretations.” 

Elsie couldn’t quite think of a sufficiently snappy response. She settled on, “You don’t know that,” which was admittedly not exactly her best scathing retort. 

“I’d like to think I do.” 

Elsie paused at the note of sincerity, her eyes flicking back to meet his, which hadn’t left her since she’d passed him at the door. “If I have even a little bit of luck, which unfortunately seems unlikely considering that I’ve been assigned to TA a year-long class with the guy that tried to delegitimize my entire field of interest when he was seventeen, you’ll never know me well enough to confirm or deny that.” Elsie’s voice was cold now, any hint of teasing gone, and with that, she pivoted sharply. If she had cared enough to see his response, she would have seen his face falling for a fraction of a second before he re-composed himself, steeling his expression once more. 

After bickering back and forth for some time in the hallway outside the heavy oak door over which of the two would plead their case first, the TA coordinator on duty (who happened to be a very underpaid and understandably irritated graduate student volunteer) eventually shouted through the door that the two of them could come in together or flirt somewhere she wasn’t. Shuddering at the thought of seeing Jack in any sort of romantic light, Elsie had pushed open the door first, with Jack hot on her heels. 

After only five minutes of the pair repeatedly cutting off one another and glaring vehemently at each other, the coordinator cut through their chatter with a single raised finger and a glare that entirely silenced both of them more effectively than the mute button on a remote. 

“Enough, please.” The coordinator, whose name according to her desk sign was Ashley, slid her head into her hands in exasperation, her irritation evident. The beads at the end of her blond braids clicked against the thick wooden desk and then her chair as she straightened, facing the two head-on. Her British accent had been more subtle when she had welcomed the pair in, but its increased intensity seemed to be directly correlated with the length of time she spent with the pair. She couldn’t have been any older than twenty-four or twenty-five, but she looked as tired as if she had been dealing with the two for years. “I can’t shuffle the first-year’s TA’s on a whim just because of some…petty rivalry.” 

Both Elsie and Jack surged forward, their words overlapping urgently as they attempted to communicate that no, this was very much more serious than a petty rivalry, but both shut up upon seeing the single finger Ashley raised in anticipation of their protest. “It’s not my job to understand the distinction between a petty rivalry and whatever layered conflict the two of you have going on, nor is it my job to mediate said conflict, but it is my job to make sure that this class is staffed. The two of you will be working together, whether you like it or not, so I would suggest making your way to the counselling office instead.” Ashley’s eyes slid between the two of them, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe they can help you two sort out all this… tension.” 

Elsie and Jack, understanding all at once that they had managed to push Ashley to the end of her rope, rose from their seats and shuffled to the door as if they had been put in time-out. 

As they began down the hallway, Elsie’s ballet flats clicking sharply against the navy-tiled floor, Elsie swore she heard Ashley add under her breath, “...Or, you two could just hook up already and stop subjecting the rest of us to your weirdo version of flirting.”

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♥ my ao3 is here if you'd like to stick around to read the rest of this multichap->

˗ˏˋquillthrills on ao3ˎˊ˗

@ever-so-ali i am obsessed with everything you've ever written hopefully i can one day join you on the other end of the fanfic writer -> published author pipeline

[666writingcafe]

Jealousy?

MC

"Would you mind answering a question for me?" Barbatos asks me once we've exchanged pleasantries and settled down in the parlor.

"Depends on the question." A faint smile crosses his lips.

"I was just wondering how you could choose to associate yourself with Solomon." The irritation in his voice is rather evident, and I'm reminded of the staredown the two men engaged in a couple days ago.

"What do you have against him?" I sound a bit too defensive for my liking. I'm not trying to pick a fight with Barbatos; I simply want to know why he seems to detest the sorcerer so much.

He sighs before replying,

"Perhaps the version of Solomon that accompanied you here has cleaned up his act--and good for him if he has--but the one I know is fiendish, a blight upon the world, and destruction incarnate. He throws anyone he can under the bus if it meant avoiding trouble for himself. Being here for an extended period of time may cause your sorcerer to revert back to old habits, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Why? You hardly know me."

"You're right." He pauses. "I'm not sure, really. I mean, you seem like a good, honest person, but what do I know? Maybe you're just as bad as him, and I shouldn't have even bothered taking you under my wing." While coming from a practical place, his words do sting.

"And yet you did." Barbatos sighs again.

"And yet I did," he repeats, taking a sip of his tea. "The decision came from a gut feeling I had, and those rarely fail me. I just hope that you don't prove me wrong."

My turn to drink some tea.

I'm not used to Barbatos being this open about his emotions, especially while he's on duty. Perhaps time has granted him the ability to remain calm and composed when he's on the clock, but still. It'll be a bit before I get used to this particular attitude of his.

"Are you ready for your first lesson?" he asks, pulling me out of my head and back to the present moment. It takes me a second to remember exactly why I'm over at the castle today in the first place, but once I do, I quickly nod my head.

"Good. We'll start with a fairly basic anatomy topic: pheromones." Interesting place to start. Is he finally going to let me ask the question I had about Lucifer?

"In a lot of ways, demons bear a closer resemblance to animals than to humans," he continues. "While their strength in the latter is fairly minimal, the former uses them as a effective method of communication. Our pheromones can tell others what we're feeling as well as mark our territory, among other things.

"Demons have a baseline scent that's present no matter what they do. For example, I smell like mint, and Lord Diavolo like old leather. Different pheromones will bring out specific notes of the baseline scent. Positive emotions tend to make it sweeter, while negative emotions bring out its bitter and sour side. If those emotions are tied to one of the seven sins, then the scent becomes more potent, sometimes to the point of being nauseating to anyone that happens to catch a whiff.

"Am I making sense to you so far?" I nod my head. I don't have any questions yet, but I have a feeling that even if I did, Barbatos wouldn't let me ask any of them just yet.

"Now, Lucifer and his brothers have stayed in the castle for the last couple months, and in that time, I've picked up on all of their scents. Lucifer had one of the more pungent ones. Understandably so, since he's probably the most emotionally scarred from the war, but it got to the point where I couldn't be around him for longer than a few minutes. And making some of my favorite dishes proved to be impossible after a while, for even the smallest amount of nutmeg would make my stomach turn.

"But the moment you returned his credit card to him, Lucifer's scent noticeably shifted. For once, he actually smelled pleasant. And then it became stronger. By the time he left my side, I was craving a giant slice of coffee cake." At this point, he stops talking, allowing me to finally speak.

"So, you're telling me that my simple nice gesture was enough to turn him on?"

"It would appear that way, yes." Unbelievable. "If I pointed it out at the time, though, Solomon probably would have run after Lucifer to tease him about it, and that would most definitely piss Lucifer off. Plus, he would adamantly denied feeling that way at all, and given his initial behavior towards you, I didn't want to see you upset by him completely disregarding your kindness."

As I mull over Barbatos' words, I'm suddenly reminded of a specific moment. One where Lucifer had his mouth covered with a handkerchief, looking like he was about to throw up.

I wonder...

"If it's not too much trouble, would you mind telling me what I smell like?" I ask, causing Barbatos to smile.

"Not at all. In fact, I was just getting ready to ask you if you wanted to know, so this works out great." He sets his tea down on a nearby table and gets up, walking around and stopping behind the chair I'm sitting in. I momentarily feel part of his face on top of my head as he audibly sniffs. I'm sure that if someone walked past us right now, they'd be weirded out by what they saw.

Or maybe not. I don't know if intentionally smelling someone like this is standard demon behavior. Maybe it is, and I'm overthinking it.

"Vanilla buttercream frosting," Barbatos announces. Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. It at least explains a few things, if nothing else. Frosting can get overwhelmingly sweet.

"That might actually work," he mutters to himself as he sits back down.

"What would?" Barbatos finishes his tea before clasping his hands in front of him.

"There's a creature on the grounds that needs tamed. He's both ferocious and extremely dangerous, so Lord Diavolo had me put a spell on him to prevent anyone from coming into contact with him. If I told you how to undo the spell, would you like to take a stab at it?"

"What makes you think I'd be successful?"

"You don't smell threatening."

"No; I smell like a goddamn dessert. The creature will probably think I'm food and try to eat me."

"And if that's the case, I'll bail you out." He pauses. "There are creatures like this one that are very selective about who they will submit to, and I believe that you fit this particular one's criteria. Plus, you'll earn the title "Ruler of the Underworld", and you can use that as a way to get people to quit treating the brothers like shit." I find myself snorting in amusement.

"Like a mere title is going to make people change their entire ideology."

"People can think whatever they like. They just have to learn to keep some of those thoughts to themselves or else face severe consequences." The grin on his face is lowkey terrifying. I don't know if I want to be on the wrong end of that smile.

So, I end up agreeing to take on the responsibility of taming this creature.

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr

[magicalcelestialgem]

Ref sheet of CatNap in my TPoJ AU! Info below!

Gender: Male

Species: Domestic Cat

Breed: Domestic short-haired cat (mixed breed)

Forms: Normal (you’re here), Protector, Monster (hallucination)

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

Parents: KnittyKitty (mother), Allen Alleycat (father)

Siblings: Catty Catwalk (older sister), FunnyFeline (younger brother), PrettyPurry (younger sister/youngest sibling)

Crush: DogDay

Friends: The Smiling Critters (Bubba Bubbaphant, KickinChicken, Bobby BearHug, CraftyCorn, Hoppy Hopscotch, PickyPiggy)

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

Personality

CatNap, as mentioned in the ref, is very quiet. He almost never talks or socializes with anyone. He is also introverted and is often seen alone, hanging around in trees or in the shade. But even though he likes to be alone, he enjoys hanging out with his friends more often. He’s even more talkative and social to them, especially DogDay (his first friend). But around strangers, he is often the quiet guy, only talking after someone starts the conversation. When he is around DogDay, however, he is not afraid to show PDA (public display of affection) to him. He rubs on DogDay like a cat, shares food with him, and even allows himself to get head pets from DogDay. He acts like this around DogDay (and only DogDay) because of his crush on him and also because DogDay is his best friend. He is also pretty overprotective of DogDay and can get jealous, but not too much. Overall, CatNap is a chill guy… most of the time.

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

Other facts:

-CatNap has many catlike mannerisms. Not only does he meow, trill, and purr, he can land on his feet (and hands), sit and sleep anywhere he fits (like a box), and even chatter.

These mannerisms also include sitting on DogDay’s lap (and not caring if anyone’s looking), cat body language, and that need to scratch his claws on something.

-CatNap rarely breathes out his red gas scent, but he does end up breathing it out when he has ill intentions, feels negative emotions (including stress), or as a last resort when lavender gas is not helping his friends sleep. 

Him being requested to breathe the red gas instead of lavender for sleep is very rare, especially since inhaling too much can cause hallucinations and nightmares.

-CatNap, like any cat, has a good sense of smell. He can smell who touched who.

[wiildwoodie]

The Six, the most influential Star Dragons in the society of their home world, Paradise.

From the top Clockwise:

Eve Naraka: The first Star Dragon in history, and by association the longest lasting member of the group. She physically represents the Universe. She’s the Tsar of Star Dragon society, sharing her power with few individuals that she “trusts” with access to her Star systems.

Mentality: Indiffrence; Eve Naraka has no regard for the life within her universe. Truth be told however, she displays apathy for life because she doesn’t want to be hurt by death anymore, something she can’t control in her universe.

Sierroux Montiplier: The youngest member of the council at 38. The child of other member Soliare (see below). She physically represents White dwarf stars, specifically Janus (or “ZTF J203349.8+322901.1”). Due to an odd birth defect, she was born without half of her left leg (down to the calf). Fortunately, Star dragon science has crafted her the best prosthetic for her lifestyle.

Mentality: Avarice; Avarice- or excessive greed- is how Sierroux lives her life. She surrounds herself with countless material possessions to feel secure. Her greed is to fill the void made in her from leaving home in her 20’s. She desperately misses her family, but knows she can’t return after all this time.

Nila Rivera: The recluse of the group; rarely ever seen out of her temple. She represents the star Sirius, or the Dog Star. She’s also known by names such as “The blue Mourner” and “Bane of the Egyptians” to fringe groups who care enough about human society. The latter name is based off real events, as one of Nila’s last seen uses of her power was flooding the Nile during the time of the Egyptians.

Mentality: Reclusion; Nila has hid herself from society, and is only seen by her followers whom she allows into her temple and chamber. She never makes public appearances, due to her shame for her past actions of cruelty. One of the few star dragons to show shame for her actions in the past, leading to becoming a complete shut-in.

Amora Amore: The most lighthearted of The 6, willing to make numerous public appearances to boost morale and spread her ideas of passion and love. She represents the Orion Nebula, thus her physical form is mostly made of stardust that takes the form of purple/pink colored smoke. A single whiff of her smoke can soothe any concerns or anxieties, thus her followers enjoy a life free of negativity and fear under her.

Mentality: Passion; Everything in Amora’s life, she approaches with great enthusiasm and passion. This usually leads to over-the-top celebrations and excess of everything positive. However, this is all so she or anyone around her never has to feel negative emotions, which she despises. Her smoke itself is a manifestation of her desire for everyone to feel as happy as her, or at least, how happy she wishes she was.

Caesar Hurnace: The radical revolutionary that not even the noblest of the nobles could ignore. He represents All meteors that form Fireballs. From the moment he was born, he was different from the other male Star Dragons. Usually male Star dragons are short (about 3-5 ft tall), but Caesar? He came out “perfect”, at a whopping 9 feet tall! This put him in a position of power among his peers, and when he saw the injustice of how male star dragons were treated as inferior, he couldn’t just let his gift go to waste. And so, he laid siege to the previous owner of the Crescent Star’s (the symbol) castle and-Claymore in hand- executed them in front of everyone. This display of violence was noticed most by the nobles, but most importantly, The 6. They felt that his actions were irreparable and heinous, but a position needed to be filled in the seat he took, and thus, Caesar Hurnace became the new owner of the Crescent Star, Lord Hurnace.

Mentality: Violence; Caesar never forgot what he saw happening to his fellow man, and so became a terror to injustice. He’d hunt and cut down anyone he saw as an oppressor or harming “the little guy”. However, his violence eventually extended to anyone who got in his way, friend or foe. Thus, often times, he harms those around him, to protect those around him. He’ll never admit his faults though, as he does not want to appear “weak” to his followers; he wants to be a source of inspiration to them.

Soliare Montiplier: The mother of Sierroux and the final member of the 6. She represents The Sun, or the Sun of the solar system specifically. Born with 5 eyes and 2 tails, she’s truly a special beast. Her middle eye allows her insight into all events in the present, but she cannot predict the future or revisit the past. Rather, she can ONLY see events that are currently happening at this very moment. She often uses this clairvoyancy to usually spot and predict potential problems for the empire. Well, that and watching her daughter from millions of light years away.

Mentality: Hyperawareness; Soliare sees all, hears all. Unfortunately however, The Six (or at least the members still on Paradise) often use these talents to spy on their citizens to make sure no crime happens. This effectively makes Soliare the “Big Brother” (or I guess Big Sister) of Star Dragon Society. Additionally, her sight doesn’t just “turn off” or go away when she wants, it’s always on, 24/7/600 (that’s how many days a year takes on their planet). Every planet revenged by war, the screams as a moon colony caught in a gamma ray burst from their star, everything. Thus, her “gift”, exploited as a tool of surveillance, has become her curse that she must bear, for the sake of the Empire.

[batbeato]

My partner keeps telling me to go on Tumblr whenever I launch one of my 20-10000 minute ramble-rants about Umineko at them so here I am AGAIN

Something that a lot of people love about Umineko (and I do too!) is how much Umineko centers its female characters: Umineko focuses a lot on the rich inner lives and emotions of these women, all of whom have been negatively impacted by ideals of submissive feminism and the needs of the patriarchy.

In general, in Umineko, there's this phenomenon that I don't often see elsewhere, where male characters' emotions and feelings are treated as less important, less interesting, etc. than female characters' are. This is interesting to me, and I think it makes sense - in many spaces and works, female characters are treated as caricatures - they are tragic dead mothers, loving wives, sexy girlbosses who secretly have a soft spot for the protagonist, etc. It's only par for the course that in a work where female characters are so celebrated and explored, it is male characters who suffer the fate of being reduced to more base qualities and have their feelings and emotions brushed off or waved over.

Umineko takes the concept of the absent dead wife, mother, lover and turns them into these complex, unknown ghosts who haunt the story: Kinzo's wife, Bice, Kuwatrice, Asumu. These are all female characters central to various plot points and aspects of the story, including thematic ones, but these women are very rarely, if at all, given space to truly express their inner thoughts. This is in contrast to the Ushiromiya women (Eva, Kyrie, Rosa, Natsuhi) who are so often able to express their innermost thoughts in these long, emotional sequences. Umineko doesn't allow space for these women to be caricatures, but instead seems to make space for them to be characters we simply don't have enough information on.

I think Asumu is the best example of this: she is a character with very little actual voice in the main story. Rudolf theorizes that she knew about Battler's true parentage and raised him with love regardless, but also worries that her death was due to his lies and infidelity. Her cause of death is never revealed. Kyrie talks about Asumu as a smart woman who played dumb and innocent to steal Rudolf from her, and there is the distinct concept that if Asumu hadn't died of Cause X, Kyrie would have killed her soon after. Battler sees Asumu as an uncomplicated, loving mother. And then, when Ryukishi released Last Note, we saw this different side of Asumu - an arrogant, jealous woman who took pride in her skill at puzzles and believed that she could have saved everyone, but also still a loving mother who loves her son, and even accepts her son's half-sister, Ange, in the end. Never a caricature, always cast in shadow, but with depths beneath.

But back to what I mentioned before - male characters being treated as those flanderized, flatter caricatures, with their feelings brushed off. It's very interesting to me, because it's not even just a case of male characters simply not having the screentime - they do. Battler and Kinzo get the most of it, but George also receives plenty of discussion as well.

Battler and George, however, are the male characters who I see the most flanderization of. Battler is a pathetic crying malewife twink bottom. George is a child predator who grooms Shannon.

George is a man who was raised by a hovering, overprotective mother with ridiculous expectations of him. She made him study every day and tried to instill values befitting of the power and status she hoped he would someday have into him. However, he saw how Battler, who was meant to be 'inferior' to him, getting along better with girls - even the one he liked - and grew jealous. His relationship with Shannon began because of this, but it also helped him to understand his own flaws, and he tried to change himself. Coming from a place of privilege, this is a difficult task. He also truly loved Shannon, even though he sometimes had a patronizing view of her due to his own instilled biases, and was even willing to go against his family for her. He isn't a perfect person, but he was attempting to change and grow.

Battler is a man with a deep empathy for others and is overly emotional at times - a trait I think is unfairly made fun of, given how men showing emotion is often portrayed as unmasculine, feminine, and shameful. He has a strong sense of right and wrong, and though clumsy and foolish at times, does his best to help others. He was raised by his grandparents for 6 years, so he is somewhat divorced from the privilege he now once again holds as a member of the Ushiromiya family, and makes mistakes because of that. He makes a lot of sexual jokes, but it's implied that this is due to being socially awkward after reuniting with the family he hasn't seen in six years. It's very difficult for him to truly despise someone, but once his trust is broken, even if he still loves them, it can be very hard to earn that trust back.

...I don't think the fandom needs to focus more on the male characters, per say. No one should be told they need to focus more on X than Y because enjoying X is more ethical, progressive, fair, etc. etc. But I would like to see people at least acknowledging the complexity of the male characters in Umineko more. The malewife Battler jokes are funny, I admit, but I'm tired of the child predator George jokes. Can we please leave people who ship Shannon and George alone? At this point, I'm beginning to worry about if they're alright... seeing a lot of hate for something they love can't be pleasant.

It's a general trend I see - liking a male character means you need to prioritize female characters more. Liking a het ship means you need to make it gay, or appreciate gay ships more. If a bisexual character dates someone of the opposite sex, this is bi erasure or erasing queer representation. But it's alright to like male characters, het ships, bisexual characters in het relationships, and so on. What isn't alright are the biases that are keeping queer media from receiving as much publicity, as much funding. What isn't alright are the biases that give male characters much more complex writing than female characters in many pieces of media. We as consumers can examine these things in the production and text of the works we enjoy, but I think there is too much focus on this ethical consumption of media.

...And that's how we end up making child predator George jokes - to reconcile the existence of a flawed, nuanced male character (who can and should be criticized of course) with the fact that Umineko is such a woman-central media. Umineko needs to be one of the 'good ones', the 'ethical ones'. So the male characters must be reduced to jokes, to one-liners. It is an overcorrection on a fandom level to reconcile with a society level issue, one that can harm fans of those characters and introduce toxicity to a place that should be about sharing love for a small universe we all enjoy.

(Whoops. This is why my partner told me to go on tumblr, huh?)

[cyllres]

Devil | JJK x Makima! Reader

a gift to those who are loyal

#3 - a deal with the devil

The moment she died, her last thoughts were consumed with an overwhelming grief. She knew she would never again be there to protect her little brother, Ryo. Her precious Ryo, who everybody else saw as a monster—a living curse. They couldn’t see what she saw in him: the innocence, the pure heart hidden beneath the label of a cursed being. She refused to let the world hurt him, refused to let Ryo believe that his very existence was a curse.

Determined to protect him even in death, she decided to make a deal, a desperate gamble with forces far beyond her control. She had always known how dangerous it was to trust the very beings that thrive on chaos and suffering. Yet, when she encountered that lonely devil, an entity as isolated and misunderstood as her brother, she saw an opportunity.

This devil, a being who had never known the warmth of family, yearned for companionship as deeply as she yearned to safeguard Ryo. In a moment of shared understanding, she proposed a deal—a deal where both their wishes could come true.

Her offer was simple but binding: the devil’s wish for a family would be fulfilled, but in return, it would protect her younger brother. Her words were laced with a rare vulnerability as she explained the condition. She would offer herself as part of this newfound deal,'no, not as a companion , but a pawn or medium the devil could use to get what the devil wants’. She offers not only her entire soul and body but also her life up to the next reincarnation. In exchange, the devil would ensure Ryo's safety, shielding him from the world's cruelties and allowing him to live without the burden of fear, without the threats of getting hurted.

The devil, intrigued by the prospect of finding a semblance of family, agreed. And so, as her soul intertwined with the devil's, she felt a fleeting moment of peace. Even in death, she had found a way to protect Ryo, ensuring that he would never have to face the world alone.

This pact, born out of desperation and love, was sealed with a promise. But the devil sure has twisted ways of fulfilling her wishes.

The cruel devil, with its powers, fulfilled the little girl’s wish by making her little brother as strong as the amount of people who loathed his existence. As the devil's magic took hold, a dark aura began to envelop the drowning boy, flickering and pulsating like a living shadow. His eyes turned a deep crimson, reflecting the hatred and disdain of those who despised him, tattoos began to litter his bruised and battered skin. Every negative emotion directed at him surged through his veins, fueling his strength and amplifying his power.

The transformation was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. The boy's once frail frame grew muscular, his skin hardened to an almost impenetrable armor. Veins of black energy coursed across his body, a visual testament to the malevolence that now powered him. He clenched his fists, feeling the newfound strength.

Every whispered insult, every scornful glance, every malicious thought directed at him from across the world now served as an inexhaustible wellspring of power. The more people hated him, the stronger he became, an unending cycle of loathing and empowerment. The boy, now a living embodiment of their hatred, stood ready and angry, ready to face any challenge, and angry for his older sister's death. His power grows with every passing second.

At the tender age of five, she understood a truth that most would never grasp in a lifetime: she had become a mother. Not in the traditional sense, but in a way that demanded a maturity far beyond her years. Her little brother, Ryo, with his innocent eyes and unspoken fears, depended on her for everything. The world saw Ryo as a monster, a curse, but she saw only the fragile, vulnerable child who needed her protection.

In those early years, the weight of responsibility settled heavily on her small shoulders. Other children played and laughed without a care, but she was different. She never knew the freedom of being called a little girl who could run to someone else for comfort. Instead, she was forced into a role that demanded strength and resilience beyond her age—a mother in every sense but name.

At the young age of eleven, she faced the end of her short yet profoundly burdened life. The pain was excruciating, but what hurt more was the thought of leaving Ryo behind. As darkness closed in, memories flashed before her eyes—moments spent comforting him, shielding him from a world that saw him as nothing more than a curse. She had always been his protector, his silent guardian in a world filled with shadows.

In her final moments, she found herself standing at the crossroads between life and death. The prospect of never seeing Ryo again was a jagged knife in her heart, but her resolve did not waver. She had one last act of love to perform: a deal that would ensure Ryo's safety long after she was gone.

She was scared of what Ryo has become but she knows it is the only way.

As her spirit faded into the unknown, she felt a strange warmth—a comforting presence that she hoped was a sign that Ryo would never be alone. In her final moments, there was a sense of victory. She had faced the darkness, made a deal with a devil, and ensured that her beloved brother would be safe. It was the ultimate act of love and sacrifice, and for that, she had no regrets.

With that F/n L/n ceased to exist, her whole entirety surrendered to the devil, her essence merging with it. In that same instant, a transformation occurred—the birth of Ryoumen Sukuna, the cursed.

[yeonban]

ᵗʰᵉ 𝑫𝑼𝑺𝑻𝒀 𝑻𝑶𝒀𝑩𝑶𝑿.

@cinderlynx asked: what do you want most in the world ? / tobias !

Silence engulfs the room once the question rolls off Ash's tongue and Tobias glances over in equal inquisitive nature, as if to pry: what's brought this on? A teasing response would normally follow, but for once there is none; the typical jokes being replaced with a thoughtful hum. He knows very well what he wants, the issue is merely explaining it adequately enough to drill it through the dozen barriers Ash's subconscious has planted into his psyche. Turning his gaze away from the blonde and setting it on the nearest wall as if gazing somewhere far away— somewhere no longer reachable yet still acting as a vengeful ghost hovering over Tobias' present nonetheless, the brunette contemplates how to go about this.

Anyone with half an intact brain would be able to discern Tobias' avid distaste for boredom after spending a few minutes' worth of time near the mafioso, yet no soul bar his own is aware of why this revulsion has taken root, much less at what point in time it has first sprung into existence. He supposes that's a contextual clue he must fill in for Ash here, lest his friend underestimates the significance of his actual answer. ❛ Have you ever been locked in a dark, empty room for years, with nothing to do and no idea when you'll be let out? ❜ Tobias' tone is gentle, no different from the usual despite the unsettling query being uttered, and he spares little time for whatever puzzlement might next ensue. It's a rhetorical question anyway, and he expects no retort to it. ❛ I have. ❜ An equally calm affirmation, one that is entirely devoid of a normal person's negative emotions which are oft synchronous with it, and his nonchalance almost gives off the impression that he is speaking of someone else's life, someone completely unrelated, than of his own experiences.

The story isn't deemed important enough to even be continued after it finishes playing its introductory role, representing merely one out of the many similar memories from Tobias' recollection— no different to him than someone else's remembrance of their playground days. Whereas other children would play with one another on the swings or dig into the sand, Tobias' version of childhood games lies in the knives he managed to sneak into the room during the instances he was allowed out, and in the goreish practices he was allowed out for in the first place. Whether digging in the sand or in someone's guts, it made no difference to him at the time, and it certainly doesn't mean anything to him these days either. There is a clinical apathy towards the details of his own past that essentially rivals the indifference Tobias feels about everybody else's suffering, and it's this void of emptiness that further exacerbates his already irksome boredom.

If there is nothing to care about, his very life included, then what can hope to touch him enough as to warrant a lasting reaction? To bring forth an emotion he isn't accustomed to (happiness, excitement, glee) is a formidable feat in and of itself, rare as it might be without requiring his direct intervention, but to maintain that state of amusement... that has nearly been proven impossible several times over the years, if not for Tobias' resolute obstinacy continuing to date. He'll either have his way, or he'll die trying; that is what the teen is dead set on. ❛ I can do what I want now, but it turns out the boredom I've felt back then is every ounce as stubborn as I am. No matter what I do, where I go or who I meet up with, as soon as the novelty wears off, I become bored again. This really pisses me off, so what I want is to get rid of this pesky boredom for good. But that's still a pretty vague answer, isn't it? I'm not sure if it's even one hundred percent possible either. ❜ To annihilate it fully... he doubts this sort of goal is truly achievable. Boredom has become such a core trait of his, a haunting latching, that Tobias figures it shall always be present somewhere inside of him (at the back of his mind if not at the forefront of his soul, merely waiting for the opportune moment to once again rear its ravenous head).

It's a war fought on the losing side, and the years spent jumping from one interest to another have only managed to stall his inconvenient yet eventual defeat. This loss, loathe as he is to admit it, is something Tobias is keenly aware of. However, should he twist the meaning of "getting rid of his boredom for good" into simply chucking it out of the way by means of attaining perpetual amusement... then, even with it still glued to his being, wouldn't he at least ensure that this never-ending struggle shall transform into a permanent stalemate (a much more agreeable thing) than have it one day end in his promised defeat? This idea has rarely been debated until recently, splendid conceptually yet impossible in practice, but startlingly enough this once unworkable option has begun to slowly take shape as of late, displaying its feasibility with none other than the teen currently sitting next to him.

With Ash, it should be possible for his boredom to become a thing of the past, he knows this to be true (he hopes it to be true; because if it isn't achievable with Ash, then it most certainly will never be with anyone). ❛ Right now I feel pretty close to achieving it, though. With you around I'm always having fun, I look forward to hanging out together every day, and I even feel excited about being alive for once— plus, unlike the other people I've met, you don't even have to try to keep me entertained. It comes naturally to you, doesn't it? ❜ Which, though it may not seem particularly important on the surface, guarantees that even without Tobias' consistent efforts (which oh, what a vast part of his days goes into the scheming required to secure him at least some semblance of fun around the boring people who always surround him), he would never have to concern himself with the possibility of his boredom returning ever again. A weight lifted off his shoulders, if he's to describe this sort of sentiment as he's often heard other people express it.

With that, Tobias turns to face his friend once more, eyes seeking Ash's while the rest of his body remains unmoving in its newly shifted position. Initiating touch while dropping what is almost certainly classified as an informational bomb on the blonde isn't bound to do well; even less so when Ash is probably still experiencing some sort of emotion or another after hearing a sad (is it?) tidbit about his childhood (which Tobias figures he is likely to be; because his emotive friend tends to feel something about everything, whether he's conscious of these sentiments or subconsciously inhibiting them)— therefore, it's best to take it one step at a time, with words coming first, then actions following later once his proclamations have been properly ingested and understood. He's sure plenty of people have previously told the blonde something of a similar ilk after all, most with less than ideal intents, so what matters most for Tobias' declaration is to expunge Ash's apprehension about what his words might mean before it even has a chance to form. Careful with the phrasing. Overexplain everything so he won't overthink your words into what he might be used to hearing. ❛ So, to be more specific for Your Highness' sake, what I want most in the world is you, Ash. ❜ Except the mafioso doesn't stop there; leaving no room for misunderstandings by immediately carrying on with the extrapolated meaning behind his wish. Although Tobias is plenty similar to the men in Ash's nightmares on other fronts, this aspect is not one they share any similarities in. Where, pray tell, is the fun in controlling someone, when it's their unshackled self that makes them worthwhile? If Ash were to bend to his will, or to anyone's for that matter, Tobias is rather certain his interest in the other would dwindle, if not plummet entirely.

In the brunette's eyes, Ash is worth everything because he is Ash rather than because he is the personification of someone's physical or material desires, as is clearly the case for the majority of the people Tobias has met around Ash thus far— and he hasn't even been around this city for that long. ❛ If you're with me, and continue to focus your attention on me like you've been doing... I couldn't care less about anything else. I don't want you to do anything out of the ordinary— just be as you are, keep giving me your undivided attention, and don't leave me. Keep to these few little requests of mine, and I'll turn the whole world upside down to guarantee your happiness. ❜ It's not the first time he's promised the gang leader one thing or another, the majority of which might sound absurdly impractical in any sane person's mind, but this is as good a moment as any to let the gang leader know what a vast promise this truly is, and that Tobias intends to uphold it nevertheless, crazy as its contents might seem. Fleetingly, Tobias also wonders if staring at Ash from this angle, from their equal positions on the couch, may become a stressor with this sort of answer suddenly sprung on him. There is no reason for the blonde to fear him (he's made sure of that all this time, for fuck's sake) but little does a voice of reason matter in alleviating one's worries if the experience of repeated abuse insists on likening the mafioso to all of those who declared they want Ash before he did. He'd rather that not happen here, not if he can avoid it.

He ponders on the thought for a brief second, before rising from the couch— not to hover assertively over the blonde as he imagines many might in his stead, but to kneel down in front of Ash's side of the couch while looking up at the other teen in a clear display of amicable submission; relaxing his muscles as to appear truly as harmless as can be. Now even if Ash's instincts are on alert, the knowledge that from their current positions Ash has the evident advantage in every sense should help ease all of the teen's tension enough to hopefully place his trust in the safety the brunette has worked so hard to become associated with. With that potential complication out of the way, Tobias' speech picks up from where it left off, and the older teen intentionally phrases his subsequent inquiry as a request rather than as a demand; as something which Ash has control over rather than as something imposed upon him. ❛ I know you're a real popular guy and all, but pick me over everyone else vying for your interest, okay? I promise you won't regret it. ❜ And if this will make Ash agree to his terms more readily— why the hell not, sure; he can beg and try to look pitiable. ❛ Please. ❜

[ask-the-diamond-kingdom]

(Art made by me)

Name: Haruto O'Connor

Age: 6 years old

Species: Ogerpon

Gender [Pronouns]: Demiboy[He/They]

Type: Grass/Ghost

Ability: Defiant (Teal Mask)/Water Absorb (Wellspring Mask)/Mold Breaker (Hearthflame Mask)/Sturdy (Cornerstone Mask)

Moves: Ivy Cudgel [Special], Play Rough, Stomping Tantrum, Seed Bomb, Swords Dance, Knock Off and Zen Headbutt

Personality: The desire to be seen has been a constant feeling that Haruto holds dear to him. It's one of the reasons why he pulls pranks and do mischievous things as a means to gain attention. Most of these pranks are harmless unless you happen to be Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti. If you are those three, those pranks are malicious as hell. Then again, considering how much those three bully Haruto and the fact they stole his masks, can you truly blame him for being so cruel to them. Regardless, Haruto is a energetic, kindhearted, and caring individual that has yet to master working out what is right or wrong. After all, he's a kid and the "Lousy Three" had rubbed off of him in a negative way. Thanks to his adopted fathers, he is learning to be compassionate and respectful to others. Ok...maybe not so much the last part. That boy has the tendency to say things a bit too bluntly. One thing that should be noted is Haruto love for combat and his desire to challenge strong opponents. He rarely shows nervousness or fear when fighting. While not arrogant in his abilities, Haruto has a tendency to be too relaxed and recklessly challenge anyone he views as strong to a fight.

Haruto lack of emotional maturity has also left him somewhat naïve, which often makes many incorrectly assume him to be somewhat stupid. His direct and carefree approach, combined with often taking things to face-value, is what leads to Haruto to be as blunt as he is. Despite this, Haruto is remarkably effective at applying himself once properly motivated. For a six year old, he is able to quickly comprehend the situation and likewise learn the basics of anything presented to him, if not master it. When taking a firsthand experience, he is shown to be incredibly perceptive and intuitive, quickly able to analyze the situation and formulate an effective countermeasure. Very methodical and tactical in his approach, this is what allowed the boy to be able to hold his own against a single member of the "Lousy Three" despite being a demi-god. The boy makes great use of his mask and is capable of flicking between them on the fly when the situation calls for it.

Other notes: 

Carries all of his masks in a hammerspace to ensure that nothing happens to them

It should be noted that Haruto has FOUR arms instead of two. However, you can better notice it without his poncho as seen here.

Has a disguise form that you can find right here

Toyhouse Link Can be found here: Here.

Stands at the height of 3'05"

[prowerprojects]

Seeing past and current discussions of Sonic characters just keeps confirming my belief that Tails is a character that most are extremely neutral on that they rarely think or dissect him on extensive level.

Or just can't outside of Sonic. (I get that Sonic is a major impact on his character, but so is the hedgehog for other characters too. And yet, he's the one that struggles to have analyses or stories done on him without Sonic being a factor or heavily mentioned.)

You can't want the fox to be independent THEN still have Sonic constantly hold his hand. You can't want him to showcase his own moves THEN downplay his mechanic skills and smarts that were ingrain since his early inception. You can't want him to have his own opinions THEN light a fire under him for disagreeing with Sonic. You can't want him to be more "youthful" THEN have a problem with him displaying naivety or negative emotions.

"What is Tails?" is a simple question, but it's a headache to find some that could answer that.

(Note- This isn't directed at you. :] Being a Tails fan is so frustrating at times.)

SAY IT ANON

You're so right. It's so dark in here.

Especially the last point. People always want Tails to "act his age" but as soon as he showcases signs of immaturity that are unappealing or frustrating (for the audience or for the other characters to deal with), well that's bad & Tails is being ruined as a character. You're only allowed to act like a kid for the cuteness factor, but don't you dare have a character flaw.

Have you ever heard the fairytale about the Peasant's Daughter? This is how it feels out here sometimes

On another hand, when people say that we should let Sonic have character flaws (which he already does have but it's a different conversation), they usually bring up the flaws that don't make sense for Sonic, but the ones that Tails coincidentally already has. But no one realizes that because no one thinks about Tails. Honestly people should just become Tails fans instead. He's a great character & has a lot going on, imo, if you're just willing to actually look at him.

[nocturnalghoul]

Coax you Overboard

Last part of that trio of ideas I had earlier this week, some Raindrop thoughts. Included in the trio is the Dewther installment and the Rulti one.

Words: 771

Summary: A midnight swim for Rain and Dew and some contemplation about how lucky they feel to have the privilege of each other's company

Rain knows how powerful it is that he has the privilege of being the sole person who Dew will go swimming with alone. Sure the fire ghoul will join in when it's the whole pack going, but Rain is the only one to ever successfully coax him into the middle of the lake for a late night swim. He never takes advantage of this though, even if he wants to. Rain would love nothing more than to spend every night out on the water with Dew. There is no use fantasizing about being able to persuade him to come out here more often though. Every second spent out in those calming waters with him is the greatest feeling in the world. The rarity of the occasion only makes it feel even more special.

Most of their midnight swims go the same way, but each time excites Rain and fills him with as much warmth and love as the first. Rain slowly charms Dew into the water with him and gets to watch as he slowly relaxes and perks up as he regains his aquatic confidence. He wishes he could claim that pulling Dew out here was entirely for selfless reasons, a way to get him comfortable with the water he clearly so sorely misses, but he knows it isn’t true. Watching Dew’s movements slowly gain cohesion and fluidity the longer they are out there as he lets his apprehension wash away is a process Rain is certain he will never tire of. There is a graceful serenity that slowly overtakes Dew’s movements that Rain only manages to find out here when it's just the two of them in the water. 

To be fair, even out of the water Rain is completely enamored with Dew. He is beyond smitten with the fire ghoul’s loud bursts of passion, the counterbalancing acts of silent compassion he shows, the rare glimpses of vulnerability he is privy to as he lays himself open emotionally. Sure Dew is a pretty face, but the most beautiful thing about him is the little facets of his personality that only the pack gets to see. Rain honestly feels like the luckiest ghoul between both topside and hell for getting to love the fire ghoul and be loved in return. He wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

~~~

Moments like these Dew is certain he doesn’t deserve Rain. The soft glow of the moonlight accentuates the loving adoring looks that overtake the water ghoul’s face as they paddle around the lake, leaving Dew feeling like he can’t breathe. There are constantly so many people vying for the water ghoul’s attention, and yet Rain chooses to spend time with a ne’re-do-well like himself. The way that he is allowed to monopolize so much of Rain’s time makes him feel selfish. He watches the intense joy overtake the water ghoul’s face as he patiently waits for Dew to relax into the events of the night. He would feel bad about the fact that Rain has to wait at all, but knows that pushing himself too quickly would also make Rain upset.

Dew is constantly surprised by the ways that Rain’s love and devotion strengthens him. Each year when the summer starts to make itself known Dew cannot help but retract a little from the pack, letting himself get pulled away from them as he fears the upcoming days on the lake. Rain always manages to pull him out of this and encourage him out into the water, just the two of them. Dew would do almost anything to chase the brightness that Rain fills his life with, and yet the water ghoul never pushes. He only offers a secure hand and a warm smile. 

Rain is worth pushing past the anxiety and fear. There is naturally something about the ghoul that washes all of those negative emotions away. Rain’s natural radiance outshines the darkest corners of Dew’s mind, leaving behind adoration in its place. As Dew feels his own muscles loosen as he gains confidence in the water, he is struck by the graceful movements of the water ghoul. If it was up to Dew, he would do nothing but watch the way Rain’s muscles shift and move as he maneuvers through the water, dragging Dew along with him. 

As much as both ghoul’s secretly love these little late night dips more than they let on, the time inside the lake is truly never the best part. The actual highlight of the night is later, once they are both exhausted, wrapped in each other's arms so tight it seems like neither will ever let go.

[stopthatfool]

You KNOW I gotta hit you with some of these...

7, but give me Iceman or give me death; 21 and 24; and 38 for the Top Gun asks!! >:)

WOODSY! thank u thank u for the ask! (so excited i'm vibrating out of my body!)

7. Do you have any headcanons about [character or ship]?

Oh boy! Do I! alrighty, here we go!

ice drinks tea! he is a tea drinker! When he gets the chance, he'll have a cup before bed every night! (Black tea, some milk, some honey/sugar!)

Icemav looovveee old country music; like Patsy Cline, some Dolly Parton here and there, Glen Campbell (!!!!!), TAMMY WYNETTE (!!!!) etc. etc.

Mav used to take the mufflers off his motorcycle to make it sound really loud and to annoy the hell out of everyone driving and existing around him! (i hate him.)

Ice can draw! He doesn't practice often (rarely) but he can draw. he knows his way around a pencil.

1990's Bradley/Rooster would have loved Jeff Buckley! I just feel it in my bones.

Ok... i'll stop.. for now..

21. Favourite helmet design?

watch out. gonna be so pretentious art student about this one. i can't help myself i might have to give an opinion on everyone's helmet one day...

FAV HELMET-- phoenix's !! we don't talk about her helmet (and her tbh) enough!! i've seen different versions of it, some without something on the back, others with. But regardless, her helmet is still the best.

The typeface????? the cards on the side?? the spades?? the red leading line going across the whole helmet?? hello people?? this is a visual masterpiece!!! it's recognizable! It's simple, but detailed where it matters! the usage of space and negative space!! phoenix u should've been a graphic designer...

and when phoenix's helmet is compared to THIS!!!???!!

phoenix's looks like the fucking Sistine Chapel or something. yale, is that TIMES NEW ROMAN ON YOUR HELMET????? insane.

24. A line you quote all the time?

Oh oh oh! One I've been quoting the last couple weeks is:

Goose! Ah no!

It doesn't sound like how Mav talks throughout the rest of the movie and I find it so funny. Mav almost sounds like he's from... New York? Or Boston? (i don't actually know. as you know I'm not American so i don't know) but it's so fun to say.

And another one I used say is this line Slider says to Goose:

Goose, you're such a dickhead.

Idk, I say them to my cat mostly. but they replay in my head more often than I actually say them.

38. Which character do you project on the most?

As I've been writing for The Jeep Universe (also thank u for coming up with that! it's so much easier then typing out the whole title!), I've been projecting the most on Maverick!

Me and Maverick are very similar in some ways (sigh, diagnosed with ADHD way too late) and i think that allows me to be more critical with him. And as I continued to explore his personality I realized that we're alike, not in the impulsive, balls to the wall way, but on an emotional regulation and "mental" level (does that even make sense) me and mav are similar. and that's probably part of the reason I can't stand him sometimes.

I'm sorry this got so long! but I was having fun so whatevs. Thank you again for the asks!! this was wonderful!

[tinybirdsupporter]

IT’S EMBARRASSING

that I still wonder where he is, what he’s up to.

Only two things are linked to his name online. That is all I could find, after time and time again of looking. First, a recent obituary of a family member. This (rest in peace), and a Prezi account with a project from one of our high school classes. I looked, and there was nothing to write home about. Yet I sit here telling you.

He never liked social media. I understand that. I am off them myself, save a private tik tok account and a economically-enforced Linkedin. Why doesn’t he have a Linkedin? Doesn’t he know he needs a fucking job?

Our fallout reminds me of a nuclear meltdown. The area will remain inaccessible for the rest of all time after the initial boom. It was radioactive the entire time, just bubbling and waiting for the right condition to incinerate. There is no “going back” for a quick photo, for a quick journey; the radiation pervades too strong to allow for any casual visit.

With him was the only time I felt incandescently happy. I was able to exist in the present moment, something I had never been inclined to do before. I used to get flashbacks of the traumatic extremities, the tremendous hysterics, the stupendous degradations, flashbacks that would enter my mind twenty times a day, and take me back to that place in a moment— with four years on me, I rarely see them anymore, the feeling is not so easily conjured anymore. The things that last are the behavioral traumas, the ways I was slapped into learning— these are subconscious, and don’t bring images with them. These will take me a lifetime to unlearn, as they don’t reside in physicality anymore, just the soft plushy membrane of my created being.

Even with the immense hurt, those images fade. I do remember purposefully turning a blind eye to these moments when I was together with him: perhaps this enforced a standard of painful memory-keeping in my brain, and continued to exist long after he was gone— perhaps the moments were too egregiously painful, that I can’t even try to feel them, without the context of being in love first. No matter what, let me state this: in astoundance to how negatively I viewed him after it was all said and done, how devilish I know him to be, the images that stay are the fleeting sensations of touch, the feeling of his arms, the sense of my head nooked into him perfectly: the feelings of perfect love, these are the only emotions I can adequately conjure. It makes me shake in contempt to know how badly he got me. He did not deserve me, and I did not deserve him, but we were there together, astoundingly in love, heart-shatteringly begotten. My brain plays these mean tricks on me, see, I feel his perfect self with my hands in my memory, I can really feel him there. I remember napping with him, and it was the only time I had ever gone to sleep without a solid attempt. I just remember how it all felt, how perfect it felt, how I would’ve done anything to stay with that feeling, with the only boy who could give it to me.

It is so incredibly cruel, to know how deeply I was in love amidst the firey destruction that encumbered the entirety of our relationship. It is so incredibly cruel, to have that feeling persist— because its persistence means it was real, true love, and that I really, truly lost it. To be so fucking young, to be there, and then to lose it. It is like hitting the jackpot and spending all the money within the first year. It is like living the rest of your life with the knowledge that there is a real perfect feeling out there, and you must live in lack, every miserable day, with the subconscious knowledge of that perfect good. It is like the cherry on top of any miserable depression: the assured inability to reach incandescent happiness. It is a circumstance only prescribed by God, a lollipop given to and taken from the helpless toddler (who can only stand barely two feet tall). They will never reach the lollipop again without your ability-granting actions.

[tanabeth]

imagine wasting all your energy hating on angel when you can spend that energy on characters you love.

ok

The “who hates Angel the most” poll was not done out of personal hate for angel, but curiosity of what other fans of the show think other characters think about him.

A lot of my posts involving Angel have to do with me thinking the dynamic (or at least, potential one) between him and Giles in s3 was interesting. For example, recently I reblogged a post and tagged it “Giles with angel.” This has nothing to do with my own feelings towards angel, more so a statement towards how I feel another character feels about him.

i don’t really hate angel as a character, my criticisms are about the narrative treatment of him (amends reminding us of how he murdered people, including a character we knew, just as an attempt to make us feel bad for him, s3 trying to acknowledge the events of s2 but rarely acknowledging how it effected anyone other than Buffy and angel, etc) and how fans treat him (acting as though characters are in the wrong for not liking him in s3/being upset about his resurrection/being upset about the resurrection being hidden from them)

Angel can piss me off at times (amends, also his crimes in s2 but I’ll exclude those cause soul or whatever) but I also find him funny sometimes. I also haven’t seen ATS so I’m not going to say I HATE him until I’ve seen the show he’s the protagonist of.

Most scenes I’ve reblogged seeming anti-Angel are scenes between Giles and Angel (because, as I mentioned earlier, I find their dynamic interesting,) specifically referring to three scenes I’ve reblogged: -reblogged the arson scene in passion and cheered Giles on in the tags (angel/us is currently soulless and also just murdered Jenny). -reblogged the scene between them from amends encouraging Giles to hurt angel (if angel has the nerve to ask Giles for help with an existential crisis after everything that happened I think Giles should have been allowed to respond by stabbing him a little. He’s a vampire he’ll be fine. Besides it’s not like he’s doing it unprompted angel if you’re going to seek out someone who hates you because you murdered their partner and tortured them, hoping they’ll help you, you have to expect that you might lose a bit of blood). -reblogged the scene right before angel/us tortures Giles and said I was going to stab angel/us (again, still soulless and about to commit torture). In none of these cases did I, to my memory, reblog a random gif set talking about how much I hate angel, because not only is that a dick move, I myself would not want people reblogging, say Fanart, of a character yapping about how much they hate them, but I’m also mostly nuetral on him in general, except when he pisses me off. (I have criticized the godawful take that people were “too mean to poor innocent angel” in s3 but pointing out that the other characters are allowed to have negative feelings towards him when someone claims otherwise is different than reblogging a random post about how they like him as a character that doesn’t use their opinion to villainize characters for having emotions, or a gifset of scenes where he doesn’t do anything wrong posted by someone who likes him, and going “actually you’re wrong he’s awful and I hate him”) I only reblogged gifsets and commented hyper-negatively when he’s doing/has done/will do something shitty, two of which, depending on how you interpret soul lore, weren’t even technically him.

I talk way more about characters I like than I shittalk angel. The last post I made on this blog about Buffy, if I remember correctly, was about how I had rewatched some assembly required and how Giles had no game. Look through the Buffy tags on my account and I think most of the posts will be about Jenny and Giles, and then some that aren’t about them but also aren’t about angel.

most of my issues are related to characters I like. I know it wasn’t technically him cause soul or whatever, but he killed Jenny, tortured Giles, tried to kill a bunch of other major characters, probably would have killed them if not stopped, made Buffy’s life hell, and tried to end the world (not really a character but still kind of a big deal.) even if it wasn’t technically him, it effects my view of him (AND AGAIN: most of my issues aren’t even because of the events, but because, in s3, those events were rarely acknowledged outside of “you should feel sad that angel is guilty for murdering a bunch of people” or “it’s so sad Angel and Buffy can’t be together (cause he murdered a bunch of people).” Which is more of a writing issue than a character issue.)

I can do what I want