#i could write you love letters

[feroluce]

For some weird reason, I've always been fascinated by how wildly different Sampo operates in the Underground vs the Overworld.

Sampo is present in both places and even in official sources, he's not really counted as one side or the other- now that the theory has been confirmed in-game, he's generally just lumped in with the Masked Fools.

But there really is a big difference!

Probably the most obvious and well known instance of Sampo's...business practices *cough burglary and fraud COUGH* in the Overworld is from the Belobog Museum event. In it, you don't find out Sampo is the main culprit until near the end, because Pela has to set up a sting just to catch him in the act. And that sting is necessary all because the initial suspect they arrested, Norbert, had pretty much no idea of his partner's identity. Sampo wouldn't even speak to him face-to-face.

And whereas Sampo is normally very pleasant and friendly with the trailblazer...when he thinks he's talking to Norbert here, he straight up says that they are NOT friends. Like he really shuts that shit DOWN.

There's also an Overworld NPC, Chavez, who heads the "Dark Blue Scam Support Group." And he. Really really really does not like Sampo fjkdasjklfdj

Chavez clearly wants Sampo caught, and has literally no positive feelings about him. So. Why call it the Dark Blue Scam? Why not just out him by name? Chavez obviously doesn't give a single shit about Sampo's dignity or privacy. But he never once refers to him as "Sampo," and even the pamphlets he passes out make no mention of it. No one in the entire support group seems to know how to identify him or how to refer to him except by his hair color. If the trailblazer says his name, Chavez reacts as though he's never heard it before.

(I've seen people say this means Sampo Koski is an alias and not his real name? But Ray pointed this out, and honestly I agree; even the Fools call him Sampo, after all. I think it's just that Chavez never knew Sampo's name in the first place, and given his immense distrust, immediately assumes it's an alias.)

And then there's his characters stories, where he proceeds to pull off a heist in the Overworld while in disguise as Brughel Poisson the entire time. Literally his own stories don't mention Sampo's name even once.

So anyway, all this shows that when he's up in the Overworld working cons, Sampo is incredibly slippery and secretive about his identity. The only people who seem to know him are Pela, Serval, and Gepard. He doesn't get close to anyone else, and is even surprisingly unfriendly. Nobody knows his name. No one knows his face. He has zero qualms about backstabbing or double-crossing, and even plans for it in some cases.

Meanwhile, down in the Underground, I'm pretty sure literally the worst thing we hear of him doing is scalping tickets in front of the Fight Club. Which isn't even illegal in a lot of places (although it's certainly a dick move).

In Hook's companion quest, a vagrant miner steals Fersman's equipment and tries to sell it to Sampo. Even before the trailblazer and Hook jump in and out the vagrant as a thief, Sampo hesitates to buy it because it sounds like stolen goods, which he doesn't want any part of.

Even knowing that a geomarrow detector is rare and incredibly valuable in the mines, Sampo makes no attempt to double-cross Hook or profit off of her loss, and even tells her who to go to to get it fixed.

And my favorite example of Sampo in the Underground is the Survival Wisdom adventure mission. In it, Sampo starts up a business with Peak, another miner. And like. In wild contrast to all the cons he pulls above ground, Sampo is actually super nice and helpful here.

Just the same as with Hook's quest, Sampo talks to Peak face-to-face, with no disguises or barriers. When the trailblazer finds them, they're just in the Great Mine, no secretive meeting places. Peak knows Sampo, is familiar with him, and calls him by name. It's not even a con! There's nothing illegal going on; it really is just a business partnership. Peak is more than happy with their deal, he's even pretty enthusiastic about it, because thanks to Sampo he can now make enough money to get by while also accommodating his chronic fatigue.

The only person Sampo lies to in this whole ordeal is the trailblazer, who he manipulates into getting Peak's mining equipment back from the vagrants that stole it in the first place. And when it's done, he rewards them with a legit treasure map.

So when he's working in the Underground, Sampo is MUCH more upright and lawful. Part of this is probably to do with his "business" model- Sampo only takes advantage of the wealthy, and poverty runs rampant in the Underground. When he charges Peak an extra 30% (the same percentage he charges Norbert as a consultation fee in the museum heists- Sampo seems to go by percentage instead of a flat rate, which means his prices are more fair for lower incomes) for carelessly losing their supply, Peak literally starts counting out pocket change.

Dude's working for pennies and good will down there dknsmdmd

And you can twist this into a Robin Hood thing if you want- Sampo IS technically working to feed orphans and heal the sick. He says himself he's more than happy to make up the shortfall between the greedy and the marginalized- I mean he says it in the shadiest way possible, but I doubt the people benefiting from his work really care that he's a slimeball if it means they can survive another day. Even the two heists he pulls in his character stories are literally just him stealing absurd amounts of food.

Personally though I think it is solely because of Natasha, and Sampo is hilariously well-behaved specifically for her, because she keeps him on a short leash JSKZJMSMSKS

[entitiesandeggbutts]

so i just finished episode 22 of worlds beyond number (bring them to me) and i just want to say

i know Things Happen though i’ve thankfully forgotten specifics. but. can i still say how much i fucking Love suvi as a character

i know you must get so many tags a day but genuinely thank you @quiddie for creating and bringing this character to life. you so rarely get to see and feel for the characters that know and grew up in and benefit from The System. you don’t get to look past the caracatures and see how it can benefit benefit the people you love. and godDamn am i not ever going to be a sucker for a character who is like. “i will burn down the world to save what i love. i can’t help that i love multiple things. why are you so scared that im doing what i said i would now that i have the power to?”

[hitorimaron]

Inspired by By Any Other Name by @shanastoryteller

Summary:

Wei Wuxian wakes up in Mo Xuanyu's body and heads straight for Lotus Pier. Wu Yingtai is the newest member of the Jiang Clan and rumored to be the future wife of Jiang Wanyin.

Lan Wangji is not in love with her.

[curlybinghe]

i love tgcf because fancreators took hualian and a pen and produced some of the most poignantly romantic images and writing i have literally ever seen

[rootsmachine]

jackie & shauna // the book of goose, yiyun li

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

genie in a lamp

write a poem. write another poem.

write a song. write another song.

write words that aren't songs but could be and write poems that don't make sense. write another poem.

turn it into a song. concentrate and ask again.

maybe it will make sense this time. maybe it isn't supposed to. someone will understand anyway.

write another song, or a poem, or both or neither. will it work this time? is there a way to survive?

reply hazy, try again.

write another poem. call yourself a poet, even though you don't think you are one.

write another song. don't let anyone see it. let someone see it.

write a book. write a poem. write a song. try again.

do we make it?

without a doubt

~xoxo, Love yoU

[qtubbo]

I think tubbo and fred should go gallivanting off into the sunset and stop getting bothered by strange men wanting to kill them ☺️

[okaywhatabouthades]

The thing is you could marry someone else, have kids.

You could make sweet little promises to me, break them all.

You could never know anthing about me or even me.

You could hold a knife at my throat, run it through me.

You could hate me, always stand against me or love me.

And I'd still love you.

I'd still love you.

But, because there's always a but, I wouldn't let you do it twice, knowingly.

Because I know where to draw the line, I spent five years teaching myself all the places I would need to draw the line because I am so afraid, so afraid of the power you hold over me.

I hope you don't break me.

[boxwinebaddie]

rip in honor of an anon who asked me to have ravenstan and jerseykyle write them something cute ( smh jk )

this never fails to be funny to me

[bottombaron]

wait.

if Nandor knew that the only way to reverse the transformation was to kill the vampire that sired Guillermo...

he was going to travel the world...with his best friend...go back to his home...turn Guillermo at the banks of the Tigris

in s3 finale, after Guillermo had cornered Nandor, proving he can have violent intent towards him, Nandor says, "yes, yes. this is what I've been waiting for. you've passed the test"

but he wasn't talking about being a vampire...

he was talking about what he would have to do after...

[letterful]

— CANDY DARLING, from a letter written shortly before her death from lymphoma at age 29.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Thinking about your dreams/fire post which led me to “you paint dreamscapes on the wall” and then as always I come back to Coney Island of “do you miss the rogue who coaxed you into paradise and then left you there” because he was drawing these dreams and making her think they were possible and then didn’t follow through

yessssssssssss!!!!!!

tbh I think I had the dreamscapes line in a previous draft of it too haha.

And it's not to get into the ~discourse~ of it, but that's just the crux of it: someone convincing you that you could build this life together, where you take steps to make that happen and put all your trust in them, only for them to reneg? It's such a blow. It's why the double-whammy is so painful because that's what BOTH of the main muses did (and why I think it's so easy to see both of them in so many of the songs but I don't want to annoy people about that on main because at this point we all have our own thoughts about things and I'm not here to convince anyone and in any case it doesn't even matter because it's all just art after all ANYWAY) in very different but equally painful ways, with a secret third party being the one to do it first as people so eloquently put it when the album came out.

I don't know if this makes sense, but it's like the difference between "stars meticulously glued next to the ceiling fan" vs "impressionist paintings of heaven turned out to be fakes": to me, one is like, a concrete life that was once built albeit doomed from the start and then destroyed (intentionally or not) vs. one selling a lie from the get-go. One is painful because is was once so close they could taste it and it crumbled under the weight of their problems, vs the other one that preyed on those dreams and never intended to follow through. (But then again I can also see other interpretations of that line but I digress lol.)

This is a tangent, but it's why the "bravery" theme is so interesting to me on TTPD. Because yes, on the surface it's about the conman who she sets up in the epilogue as carrying a sword he couldn't lift (...), but underneath it all is the one-time prince who promised these things she believed, and we see it across multiple albums. Part of TTPD to me is her saying, "I wasn't crazy to believe this, right? Because it happened. You promised these things. But you didn't follow through. So why am I the one in the wrong for setting these expectations?" And yes, she says that outright about the conman, but it's also the larger story of the hothouse flower, too.

(I actually saw a clip the other day of an old interview -- I think from Red era -- where Taylor says she's trusting to a fault, and I think that plays a role in all this along with ~all the things~ at play.)

It's not to get into the muse discourse, but one of the most heartbreaking things really is this idea of the person you pinned your hopes on, who you love and believe loves you back, promising you the things you long for most in this world and at the time saying they'll be by your side through it all, only for them to cut and run (whether physically or emotionally) when the going gets tough. It's devastating, because what are you supposed to do when the person you love and trust the most, who's world you shaped yours around, ends up pulling away? And what's worse, leaves you feeling like it's somehow your fault? You're left with all these dreams unfulfilled, but no clear exit route on how to make it out or sense of self in some ways.

I could speak about this forever and add another tangent about the epilogue but I fear this is already long enough haha.

[ismyteadoneyet]

How fortunate am I to have so many Things to love and be excited about, to appreciate and look forward to?

Things I feel so strongly about that they stumble into my mind, univited, at random times of the day? Things that spill into my speech and vocabulary without me noticing? Things that impact my vision to the point where everywhere I look, everywhere I go, I see ghosts of them?

How lucky am I to have so many Things I love and cherish enough for them to reshape my very person, change my beliefs and make me grow? Things that make my own loved ones see the Things out in the wild, and go out of their way to make sure I see them too?

How wonderful is it that I have Things that I love so much that the very act is deemed and dubbed "not normal", making my love for them seem like it's more than they are supposed to recieve? An out-of-the-ordinary and above-the-norm appreciation for the Things that make the people around me shake their heads, call me "silly".

My dear, beloved Things, may I always stay silly for you ❤️

[aplatypusshapedkite]

Whumpuary January 5: Do you trust me

Context/ Au under cut

Context 

This is for an Au made by me and @paradoxlemonade a long while ago. 

Red leader is not ‘our’ Tord, he's a clone that managed to escape during Spares. Tord left to go back to college but gets kidnaped by the clone to design weapons for the army. Clone! Tord was more than capable of doing it himself–getting the original was merely a time saver. During an attack by the Resistance he manages to escape unseen. He cuts and dyes his hair darker like he had during his early twenties in a gas station bathroom to avoid anyone looking at him too closely.

He finds his friends and tries to explain what happened.They have no reason to believe Tord. Tom does not believe him and openly despises him. Matt and Edd really want to believe him. Matt voices this, but Edd does not and cannot. He is the resistance leader. If he makes the wrong call, the results will be devastating and deadly. Tord tries to prove his story by helping with pointing weak points and creating counter measures. The resistance had bodies but not a lot of power or training. Tord can give them firepower which in turn buys them time.

Edd eventually plans a full-on assault on the Red Army’s main stronghold. Its risky but he’s out of time and soon resources. Tord knows that it will probably end the Resistance if this goes as planned. Tord comes up with a plan-Taking out the Red Leader. Any fingerprint scanners, password deduction, retinal scans—if Red Leader is in the system, then Tord can get in. Its a suicide mission but its the best chance they’ve got. No one trusts him enough for him to put his plan into motion, all except for Matt.

Matt is the only one who believes that he’s on their side and can get him the tools he needs. Matt also trust’s Tom and Edd’s judgment. He has to make a choice.

Matt arms Tord and breaks him out of the resistance compound, driving him to a drop location near the Red Army’s main stronghold. If Tord was telling the truth, he would drive away safely. If not, he will be dead before the sun sets.

He drives away safely. No turning back now.

Edd and Tom are pissed when Matts returns without Tord, but the plans for their assault on the compound are already in motion and they can’t afford infighting. If the mission succeeds, they will deal a heavy blow to the Red Army. If not, well, at least they won’t be alive to regret it.

They arrive to the base already in chaos. It’s still wasn’t an easy battle, but it’s a steamroll compared to previous fights. They breach the inner sanctum. They find two corpses–Red Leader and Tord. Tord gave his life to take him out. With the Red Army’s power so centralized, it struggles to regroup after this massive blow and is pushed back by the resistance before falling. They won. They know what it cost them.

[pardonmydelays]

what do you love the most about twenty one pilots?

i fucking love this question, but there's no easy answer to it. i guess i'm gonna have to try tho, because sometimes i feel like maybe some of you don't really understand WHY i totally changed my entire blog when clancy came out (it's kinda like me loving this band was my biggest secret for such a long time, idk. i still remember how a few months before it i've mentioned something and anix literally yelled at me like "WHY THE FUCK YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU LIKE TWENTY ONE PILOTS" lmao. anyway).

first of all, no one has ever made me feel so seen and understood. there's real magic in tyler joseph's lyrics, you might hate me for what i'm about to say right now, but speaking of tortured poets - for me it's not taylor, it's tyler. and the scariest part of it all is that i very often relate to his lyrics. but that's also beautiful - it's therapeutic in a way. so when clancy came out and i realized i relate to pretty much EVERY song on this record, i just thought to myself, oh lord, how did i survive this long without their music. it's always been them for me. i will never abandon them again, i swear.

second thing, the lore. you all know i'm a slut for stories told through music (*cough* musical theatre *cough*). also, if the plot of the story is complex and weird as fuck, there's a pretty big chance it will become my favourite thing in the world. the entire lore is an insane metaphor for mental health struggles so, obviously, i can find a part of myself in it. i would die for their lore, honestly. it's all i can think about. and clancy will always be my fucking blorbo.

another thing i love a lot about them, and it's something you don't really see if you don't watch their interviews or live performances, they are literally just two dudes. both josh and tyler have always been very anxious and awkward and weird and that's what makes them more human in my opinion - just two fucking idiots who are best friends, lmao. they are so relatable in every possible way. they are also the funniest dudes in the entire world. and their friendship is so fucking beautiful. the only difference between us and them, truly, is that they are extremely talented and they have their own band.

also, they care about the clique so fucking much, this was probably mentioned on my blog before (maybe even today in a previous ask). they don't care about the charts, about awards, about anything really, all they care about is their music and fans. they don't do it to be the best band in the world. they do it to save lives - our lives as much as their own (if it wasn't for this music i don't know how i would have fought this). and that's what makes them different and honestly, better than the other artists.

they are also pretty much unproblematic. i wasn't really sure if i should mention that, but i feel like i need to. tyler joseph made one stupid mistake a few years ago - the way people reacted to this still breaks my fucking heart. he realized he was wrong tho, he apologized. the other day i saw a post here on tumblr about how he's fucking problematic and racist and the worst man on the planet etc etc. can we... fucking stop, please. it was just a stupid joke and he knows it was dumb and unnecessary. most people wouldn't even apologize, but he did. end of story. i will defend him with my life (not saying he is perfect, but shit, if you want to cancel him for one mistake maybe you should look at yourself first).

i feel like there are thousand different reasons but i'm just gonna stop here, because it's too fucking long already and no one will read it anyway.

[mizzfizz]

toji fushiguro and 2 for the character ask game 🤍🤍

favorite canon thing about this character?

OKKKK I LOVE THIS QUESTION!! i had to think abt it first bc i'm gonna go big and say my favorite thing is that toji doesn't have ANY cursed energy. he just has MAJOR skill and has this fuckin 6th sense + his 5 other senses are heightened which makes him on TOP.

like he is SOOOO op and he doesn't even have the number one thing you need to be a jujutsu sorcerer— it's all skill and pure power.

like he so could have killed gojo, he was right there but out of luck, literally just luck and what adrenaline? gojo is like blessed with reverse cursed technique that screws his head back on, which results in toji's death. i love gojo, don't get me wrong, but toji is gonna be my #1 baby

and what i think is so funny is when he marches into the cave? with suguru and the stargirl, bro just shoots her and suguru is like horrified and is like "how did you get here?" and this crazy bastard just goes "what? like it's hard?" and drops this major bomb on him that he killed gojo and beats the SHIT out of him 😭

bro if i was suguru i would hate everyone who coudnt use jujutsu too LMFAOO. toji is just so OP it's funny.