#i do be putting those beasts in many unlikely situations

[chorodevotee]

Osomatsu-san/Hesokuri Wars staff really was like: Put those beasts in a situation

[johnpriceslamb]

heyy is it okay if u maybe due a little story of arthur morgan?? i jus love him sm

arthur comes back to camp after a job in a bad angry mood since it didnt go to plan then the reader (being his sweetheart gf) cheers him up :(🩷 -🎀

𝓐𝓛𝓦𝓐𝓨𝓢 𝓕𝓞𝓡𝓔𝓥𝓔𝓡 , ˗ˏˋ 🍓 ˎˊ˗

˗ˏˋ꒰ The obvious annoyance which swelled in his stomach almost dies instantly when he makes eye-contact with you. ꒱ ˎˊ˗

BEFORE YOU PROCEED! ┆female ! reader . hyper-fem ! reader . Arthur Morgan is a die-for 4 his sweetheart gf . OOC ! Arthur Morgan . reader is mentioned 2 be physically shorter than character mentioned below . not proof-read . 1.0k wrdz

꒰ arthur morgan x fem ! reader . ꒱

Muddy, wet, icky.

Sweat easily adheres to his already warm skin, rolling down the creases on his forehead and clinging to the ends of his hair. His clothes are attached to his sweat-stained skin, rusty spurrs jingling loudly with the leading sounds of water-filled boots. The sun glares down at him, taunting him even, to make his day even more miserable as it scorches the back of his neck because of the hat; lack thereof- lost from travelling back.

He’ll go find for it soon enough. Just not now.

It’s unlikely for a usual stagecoach robbery to go wrong, he’s done this many times before. Maybe he was starting to feel the effects of ageing. But somehow, things went south a bit too quickly and the man ended up in.. water. With many dead bodies floating around, and cash that wasn’t even worth it at the end.

Just thinking about that whole situation almost makes a vein pop in his head.

A grunt and a low huff escapes his chapped lips when entering the vicinity of the camp. The same water-filled boots squeak each step he took as he storms back to his bed-roll. Everyone knew he was in a bad mood, despite being far away.

Unfortunately for him, someone could not take the hint.

Miss Grimshaw.

“Mister Morgan.” She greets.

“..Miss Grimshaw.” He grunts, wiping the mud off his face just to seem less.. bearable to look at.

The older woman stares down at him for a while, sizing him up with narrowed eyes. “I’ve noticed that you haven’t been putting money in the camps communal funds for a very long time.” She prods at him.

She does not leave any room for him to reply back with just one simple glare. Arthur is smart enough to let out a low sigh and nod at her words mindlessly, not really paying attention. Said-woman sneers at him as she usually does with the others. The sight of the mud coated on his garments caused the wrinkles on her cheek to crease further, furrowing her brows in disdain.

“You should be ashamed of yourself!” She flails her arms around, “A grown man covered in crap like this—” Her hand is raised, but with a light tap on her shoulder from behind comes the reluctancy of lowering her hand down to peer whom distracted her.

A meek, soft voice from behind immediately catches his attention, “Miss? Ive finished folding your clothes.”

Her attitude does a huge spin. She’s softer now, bickering to herself before mumbling a ‘thank you, dear.’ You tell her that you’ve set it by her bed-roll, to which she nods and walks away, leaving you with the man whom seemed like he was about to burst from irritation. He swore you were some kind of angel in disguise, how you manage to make her soften up just a bit is beyond his comprehension.

His eyes land on yours. It was almost like a non-verbal way of saying ‘thank you’ from practically losing the beast.

You look up at him with those familiar beady eyes, a small smile etched on your face as you eagerly come closer to him. Almost immediately do you feel the aura he radiated- tired, exhausted, angry.. and most importantly, wants to be comforted.

“Oh, dear..” You pity him akin to a pup getting kicked. The way his muck-covered clothes wiped a bit of grime on yours is something you don’t question, “Are you—

You don’t have time to say your full sentence. He’s grabbed you by the waist and easily pulls you to his tent. A soft squeal escapes your lips at the sudden movements, eyes widening at how quick he was.

And you’re squished to his chest, practically glued to him as he wraps his arms around you. The muck is easily visible on your clean dress, but did you mind? No.

You loosen up in his tight hold, placing your chin on the curve of his neck. Your finger-nails drag up and down on his back, drawing little patterns and shapes. Despite being absolutely humid, Arthur doesn’t let that become an obstacle when being with you.

Your serenade-like voice pulls him back to reality, sleepy eyes staring down at yours.

“Was it that bad?” You unconsciously touch his growing stubble, noting to yourself to cut it later. He leans into the palm of your hand, nodding wordlessly.

“Bad don’t even manage to describe the hell I went through today.” He squishes you tighter like a stuffie. He buries his face in your shoulder, the faint scent of pinewood and cinnamon invading his nose- and gosh was it such an addicting smell. He notices the simple bow you adorned in your hair, and the little bow sewed to your top. He noticed every single thing, despite feeling like he’s about to burst.

Slowly but surely, did the irritation fade away from his stomach as he holds you closely.

“‘M sorry to hear,” You apologised, frowning at the sight of your beloved so worked up. Sometimes, he wondered how the hell you even manage to be apart of this gang, “D’ya wanna talk about it?”

He shakes his head with a low grunt, “Nah. Just wan’ be near you.”

The layers-upon-layers of light pink coloured frills covered his lap as you were plopped on him. He mindlessly fiddles with the pretty design, sighing loudly.

“‘M always here to talk to, y’know?” You press a kiss on his cheek.

“I know.” He sighs, cuddling you closely. You really were an angel.

“I don’t deserve you.” He mumbles quietly. You squint your eyes at his own comments, clearly not like it.

“You do.”

A moment of quiet and peace between the two of you, his hand affectionately squeezes yours as a way to comfort himself more than you.

Suddenly, the realisation hits you.

“..Arthur, think you ‘n’ I needa get a bath after this.”

[monstersdownthepath]

Herald of Besmara: Kelpie's Wrath

CR 15

Chaotic Neutral Colossal Outsider

Adventure Path: Skulls and Shackles: The Wormwood Mutiny, pg. 86-87

When one thinks of Besmara they likely think of "piracy," but her other two areas of concern are 'strife' and 'sea monsters.' One may thus believe that Besmara's Herald may be a powerful pirate captain, or perhaps an intelligent sea beast which either inhabits or commands a vessel. The most visionary may believe that Besmara's Herald could be nothing less than a whole crew of people running an enchanted ship! So when a mysterious fog rolls in and the lights of a ship that wasn't there alight from nowhere, the party may be tempted to look towards the helm, or the prow, or perhaps even the crow's nest to try and spot who's commanding the intimidating galleon... only for the skull at the front to tell you to quit eyein' its aft like some kind of pervert.

Indeed, Besmara has an elegant solution to the problem of what her Herald would look like. It's not a crew on a ship, or a sea monster, or a singular captain, it's a ship made of a sea monster which captains itself and utilizes a crew of zombie sailors when needed. Despite it's skeletal appearance and ghoulish powers, the Kelpie's Wrath is as alive as any demon or dragon, though it can passably imitate the feared ghost ships which haunt the seas at night, able to conjure ghostly lights (Dancing Lights), fearful sights (Major Image), and zombie fights (summoning a crew of up to 20 draugr) seemingly at a whim and wielding terrifying, spectral weapons and even whole ghostly creatures as though they were limbs. Many crews who've found themselves in its sights mistakenly believe its illusions and conjured zombies to be the real threats, unaware that the ship itself is their true enemy... and even if they did, it's unlikely to help.

Have you ever fought an enemy that was its own stage hazard? You don't want to, especially if that enemy can Plane Shift or Teleport with you in tow... or just immediately dive underwater. Though you have to fail a DC 18 Will save to be shanghai'd into another plane, having a ship suddenly teleport out from under you or dive a hundred feet underwater and drag you behind it is a real danger regardless of the situation, and it puts you at a huge disadvantage if you can't immediately clamber back aboard YOUR ship, fly, or walk on water. And if the phantom ship resurfaces right next to you...

Actually, what am I talking about? "If?" No, when. It's a pirate in service to the Queen of Pirates, and pirates are quite famous for never fighting fair. If you find yourselves prey to the Kelpie's Wrath, it's going to use every trick it has in the most underhanded ways it can. Let's take a look at what that entails...

We'll start with the obvious: It's an entire ship. Nearly a hundred feet long and hovering around 25 to 30 feet wide, the Wrath is a battlefield unto itself, but you absolutely do not want to stand on it to fight, because that's just asking for a terrible death. Engaging it from afar means you 'only' have to deal with its 40ft space and 30ft reach, denoting which part of itself it's focusing on defending, which is still a radius that covers most traditional battle maps entirely. Because you're only ever going to be encountering the Wrath on the high seas (regardless of what world or plane those seas are on), staying out of its reach is practically impossible unless you're using Pathfinder's rules for ship combat to engage it with a vessel of your own (WARNING: Do Not Do This), and you will inevitably be forced into melee with it... and then, unfortunately, forced onto it, which as previously mentioned is almost certain doom.

Everything within the Wrath's threat radius is subject to its trio of incorporeal touch attacks, which manifest as immense clawed hands, ghostly weapons, spectral sailors, and skeletal sea beasts of ages past, each one raking over the ship's target for 3d6 untyped damage plus 3d6 Electricity AND 3d6 Fire damage. The primary danger presented by these phantoms is that the party may not immediately know what's going on or recognize just how the attack works; the Wrath can conjure a crew of draugr to fight atop it AND it can use Major Image at any point within its reach, letting it clutter up the battlefield with obstacles which present no true danger to the party but which it can use as vectors for its incorporeal attacks, potentially making a party member out uselessly against illusions, insubstantial phantoms, and inconsequential minions.

Muddying the waters further, Wrath can use Seeming 3/day to swath its draugr sailors in magical disguises to make them appear more important than they truly are. Able to communicate telepathically, the ship can give complex orders to its entire crew at once to run baffling distractions or attack in tandem with it to make them seem like true threats, a tactic especially useful if the party doesn't yet recognize the ship is alive (or foolishly believes that only the skeletal figurehead is alive). Kelpie's Wrath thrives on sowing confusion when it attacks, and a DM would do well to remember that, describing its attacks and abilities in terms which feel ambiguous, like they could be coming from anywhere, like that one fancy draugr at the ship's helm that's dressed up like the captain or the strange balls of light dancing along its sails.

Even if the party feels like something is wrong, they'll have to go with their gut on this one; magic is unreliable when fighting the vile ship. Not because of any aura or unique ability it has, but because its space/reach means it can make extremely good use of its Disruptive and Spellbreaker feats, the former making it more difficult to cast spells defensively while in its threat radius (which is everywhere), the latter provoking Attacks of Opportunity if you fail the check to cast defensively.

Its touch attacks aren't just bad because of the damage, either. Being hit with two or more of them in a round lets it Keelhaul the unfortunate victim, repositioning them as a free action. Now, a reposition is a Combat Maneuver, which means it has to roll a CMB check versus the target's CMD. The average CMD of a 10th level Human Fighter is hovering anywhere between 25 and 35 depending on if they dumped Dex (WARNING: Do Not Do This) or got ahold of Str boosting items, and let's see what the Kelpie's Wrath has for its CMB...

+41?!

ah, right, Colossal size. This thing can juggle most players. Hope your party cohesion didn't rely on people being in specific positions!

In case you're not sure how the maneuver works: if you're repositioned, the attacker can shunt you into another space so long as that space is A) Within their reach, and B) within 5ft of your previous space... but for every 5 points the attacker's CMB check beats your CMD, that's another 5ft of movement. Now, remember how gigantic the Wrath's threat radius is? That's a LOT of potential spaces you can be shuttled into, and every 5ft you're moved from its Keelhaul you take an additional 1d6 damage because it's literally using your face to scrape barnacles and algae off itself. Keelhaul is an especially potent ability if used on the high seas, because the ability specifically states that it can use its repositions to drag victims underwater, forcing them into the ever-dreaded underwater combat scenario. Even if you've got Water Walk or Fly on, it can still shove you right into the drink if it beats your CMD by enough, forcing you to waste precious time getting back into the fight... if only to push you back down again, because pirates don't fight fair.

Also, Keelhaul specifically states "a creature hit with two or more of its attacks in 1 round," meaning AoOs and other off-turn attacks count. If you take one hit during its turn and then get schmacked because you triggered Spellbreaker or its Combat Reflexes, you're going into the soup.

If it doesn't want a victim in the sea, it also has the option to shove creatures directly into the center of its space, at which point victims are automatically dragged into its cargo hold and battered by treasure and captured supplies. This is treated as the swallow whole ability, victims taking 1d10+7 damage until they can get out, but it's not especially obvious what's going on, meaning players might waste their time trying to find an exit door out of the cargo hold or try to clamber back out the unyielding door when the 'proper' solution is to make a new door.

If the party manages to find out that swinging at the phantom limbs and illusions is useless, attacking the ship below their feet isn't exactly easy. The Kelpie's Wrath is magically reinforced, having an AC of 30 (hint: target its measly 6 touch AC) and DR 10/Lawful. It's got 30 Resistance to Acid, Cold, and Electricity, as well as 10 Fire Resistance and, of course, if you find yourselves managing to get past its defenses to outpace its Fast Healing 10, it can still suddenly poof away to rebuild, and if you think you can just use Dimensional Anchor or similar, it can still pop its once-per-minute Rush to crank its swim speed from 60ft to 150ft for one round, diving to the sea floor in a single round to give itself breathing room... and potentially taking breathing room from whatever schmucks are trapped in its hold.

And you know what? I've typed down... 12 entire paragraphs without even touching the Wrath's ranged options. This was on purpose! Because the Wrath is meant to get right up next to the ship it's attacking, and has every tool it needs to do so, including the ability to turn itself and its crew invisible 3/day or shroud its entire space with magical fog. Compared to all the shenanigans it can pull to get into melee and then make everyone wish it didn't, its ranged attacks need a little more preparation and math on the part of the DM, something they may not want to do on top of everything else it's already got. This is because its only ranged attack is using Telekinesis to hurl a storm of whatever garbage it's amassed at targets within 180ft of itself.

The Wrath can catapult up to 375 pounds of objects or creatures in a single action, not only allowing it to throw actual ammunition (which deals a flat 1d6 damage per 25 lbs; max 15d6 for a full weight object), but whatever it may have on hand or in its hold that it doesn't especially value. Since it can use Telekinesis at will and the spell itself has a tremendous range, there's no reason for it to ever run out of ammo, as it can simply dredge stones and wreckage from the sea floor and ferry it into its stores for later... but of course, there's nothing stopping it from using its enemies own cargo against it, or even lifting its enemies directly and throwing them around with nothing more than a thought. Most Medium-sized Humanoids weigh between 150 and 200 pounds, letting the Wrath snatch up two people at a time to toss around like ragdolls, including straight into the air if it wants.

There's something to be said about it hurling things far more dangerous than bricks and cannonballs, though, like casks of oil and a lantern, or barrels of Green Slime, or its own zombie crewmates. The Long range of Telekinesis also means it can get up to some pretty dangerous shenanigans if an enemy ship gets just a little too close, as it can pilfer cargo from a range, loose sails, send weapons hurling into the seas, or even spin cannons around just as they're about to fire if it readies an action to do so. Much like its phantom weapons, its telekinetic power helps make its illusions and zombie sailors all the more realistically threatening, adding to the confounding puppet show it puts on to throw people off.

The Kelpie's Wrath is one of the most dangerous Heralds a party to encounter, because they're going to encounter it on the seas (one of the most dangerous environments to fight in), AND they're not likely to even know it's nearby until it's dragging their crew to a watery grave. Even if they do, a DM can play up the possibility of it being a ghost ship for a while before any of them wise up to what they're really fighting, by which point someone might already be neatly folded and packed away in Davey Jones' Locker. It's not only dangerous for what it can do, but why it does what it does; most Heralds are only encountered if a god is offended, or has sent them on an important mission, but the Kelpie's Wrath freely wanders all creation in its off hours, attacking vessels with wild and greedy abandon. It's one of the few Heralds that an unlucky party may just randomly encounter, and thus have no possible way to prepare for.

You can read more about it here.

[stuffnthangsss]

I wonder why there’s not many deaged aus in the GF fandom? Especially, baby! dipper & mabel. I feel like that was a big part of fandom back when GF was airing lol. Maybe it was just the marvel fandom?

This made me start to write a Drabble about the mystery twins one day randomly turning into ~toddlers for some supernatural reason or another. And Stan and Ford have to deal with their niece and nephew being way younger than they’re used to lol while trying to find a solution to get them back to being 13. Maybe I’ll do some art of this too 👐.

Stan’s reaction when heading into the mystery shack and seeing two babies who look way too much like the kids…: “Oh no”

I have a headcanon that dipper was a particularly clingy baby. And that Mabel was a bundle of never ending energy hahah.

This also leads to dipper being wary of ford (bc he knew stan for longer and he’s thinking like a much smaller child now) at first unlike Mabel who’s one of those babies who’s ok w everybody. This hurts ford’s feelings :( at first!! But then it gets better

Stan is very confused why his twin bro’s mini nerd isn’t immediately attached to him and Ford rationalizes this and comes to the conclusion that the twins’ brains must be operating at the level of 3-4 yrs olds so all their memory is not there which then leads ford to be like “oh..”

But sadness aside!!:

“FORD, this one’s attached himself to me like those dang ginormous barnacles we found in the Red Sea”

“It was the Arctic Sea, Stanley.”

“STANFORD PINES I SWEAR TO MOSES.”

“Holy moly how did their parents manage to keep Mabel from killing herself, why this kid wants to eat plastic is lost on me.”

“Dip, buddy I gotta put ya down, my old man back is not liking this standing business”

*baby dipper pouting and suddenly having watery eyes*

“Oh Jesus.”

“Seriously, Ford are we sure the pines aren’t descended from a line of strong beasts or sum. These gremlins have crazy grip”

The twins trying to talk:

M: “Gwunka!!”

S: “What’s that, pumpkin?”

D: “‘Tan, ‘tan!!”

S: “Dipper, kid it’s Stan, stuh-an”

“‘Tan!” He replied with a self satisfied expression

“Jesus kid you were always stubborn huh” Stan raised his eyebrow slightly and let out a huff, smiling as he said so

“Gwunka ‘Tan!” Mabel followed her brother

Some random dialogue:

“Jeez, Sixer looks like we’re down 2 people to do our bidding.”

“Stanley.”

“sTanLeY. Seriously do you hear yourself?”

Ford huffed and shook his head explaining how to reverse the spell or whatever

Soos upon seeing the situation:

“Uh dudes, do Mabel and Dipper look a little different to you guys?”

Cue to stan and ford looking at soos with twin “srsly?” faces

Some fluff with Stan seeing the twins struggling in their sleep from nightmares:

“Are there brains even developed enough to have bad dreams??”

“Well I’ve read that-“

“Rhetorical question, Sixer”

[blackbeeno3569]

Pitch Black looked around and he was satisfied.

Half a day of work paid off; the big herd of his nightmares was ready to go and scare the world. But the shadowy beasts were much better than those he had started with many years ago. These nightmares were much more independent, prepared to run through the world on their own, to find their dreamers and take whatever shape or form to make their sleep uneasy, filled with terror.

Naturally. It was Halloween - children heads were filled with spooky images and stories, many saw movies they weren't supposed to… All that was nothing more than seeds of fear, eager to sprout and bloom.

The Boogeyman took one last contented look at his work and dusted the residue of black sand from his hands. An hour until sunset. That's a time for one last tea and then he can take all the nightmares and fearlings outside.

He turned away from the herd, to get his cup, absolutely unaware of the silent visitor. Someone crept in through the door, his soft paws silent on the rock floor, yellow eyes glowing with excitement.

Whiskers loved the nightmares. They shimmered slightly in the dimmed light of the Lair and when he pounced, they always disintegrated a little with a puff of blacksand suddenly flying in the air. Unlike bats, they were impossible to eat—but they didn't try to bite his ears off either, so that was good too..

Sneaking into the herd, the cat felt like on the greatest playground ever. He tried to catch one mare's leg, only to fly through it. The creature hopped a bit on three remaining legs, startled, before the sand returned to where it was supposed to be. Whiskers was pleased with the result, purring quietly for himself, and now he just built on that: pouncing at the legs of nightmares, trying to catch their tails, sprinting between their clapping hooves. Within a few moments the herd grew more and more restless, the dark horses snorting and neighing.

Then the cat tried to scramble up one nightmare's back, making the creature panic on spot. And in a herd, panic is never an individual indulgment.

Pitch heard the murmur of the nightmares from afar, but when he finally stood face to face to the herd, it was way to late. With pure dread he watched the wave of black sand bodies, the roaring creatures rising against him. Their glowing eyes flashing, hooves beating their neighbours. His precious creations freaking out, dissolving back into one dangerous mass. They were beyond any help: with a one resolute bitter gesture he made them all fall apart.

The black sand was slowly circling in the air, covering the floor, the rocks, Boogeyman's hair and shoulders… like a darkly sparkling ashes of regret. The cavern was dead silent, except for almost inaudible ragged meows. In the middle of that scene of devastation, the infamous tabby was sitting, watching the falling particles with great attention. Might they do anything interesting again?

Hazel came by, having heard the upheaval from the the other side of the Lair.

"Pitch? Shouldn't you be leaving by now-?," only then she took the whole view really in.

"Oh."

Pitch made few measured steps to her, Whiskers in his outstretched hand:

"Take it. Put it somewhere. Lock the door. Drown. The. Key."

Hazel's corners twitched a little, but she was wise enough not to smile upon the sheer absurdity of the situation. But privately she gave Pitch points for not asking her to drown Whiskers instead. She took the cat: "I won't disturb you then.There's still almost an hour left…"

"I know," he gritted through his teeth.

The cat purred happily in Hazel's arms, nuzzling against her cheek.

@rotg-halloween

Day 8: Talisman

…because that tabby is nothing but a good charm in shadows.

[marythegizka]

WIP Word Search Game

Tagged by @mxanigel, thank you!! 😊 I was given the words NIGHT, COMFORT, and TREE.

Now, two of those aren't actually WIPs because CTRL+F has informed me that I do not, in fact, use the word 'comfort' a lot (I'm not sure what that says about me), and the one instance of 'night' I found is honestly rather disappointing, so I'm just bending the rules for this one.

Night - From Dreaming of Home (Not a WIP), a one-shot from my Mass Effect/Dragon Age crossover series, in which the Warden who killed the Archdemon (who happens to be Loghain, because I just have to put him in unpleasant situations) wakes up in Shepard's body after their reconstruction by Cerberus.

Dark. All around him is dark, unfathomable as a starless night, or a thick coat of tar spread over his vision, and he tries to move his hand to rub it against his eyes, but his limbs are heavy, stuck under the itchy cover that traps him like a coat of ice - cold, and inescapable. There are footsteps in the distance, and as they grow closer the distorted echoes that surround him become clearer. More human. Voices. Erin and Wynne's, he realises as a door creaks open, and, though he still cannot see them, he is now certain they are in the same room. “Surely you realise another grimoire is unlikely to hold the key to our problem.” "And what would you have me do?" Erin snaps. "Tell her Majesty the truth, for one. Maker knows I have little respect for the man but she ought to know..." "That her father remains unconscious. And she does." Past his closed eyelids, a faint, yellowish glow pierces the darkness, and he tries to open his eyes once more. To no avail. "Unconscious does not even begin to cover it. The man is cold as a corpse. It has been..." "Three weeks, yes, but he’s breathing,” Erin cuts her off again. “They both are. And that didn't stop anyone from trying to cure Arl Aemon, now, did it?" "You know this is different. The Arl is… everything Loghain is not. And you cannot expect the Circle to dispatch what few healers they have to spare for the benefit an apostate and a traitor to the Crown. Not after what happened.” “Oh, trust me,” she huffs. “I do not expect the Circle to dispatch anything for the benefit of anyone. That I got Irving to relinquish this book is a small miracle in its own right.”

Tree - from The Bear, in which Tav and Astarion have a run-in with - you guessed it - a bear (no, not that bear, as they will soon find out)

Outside the tent, Scratch barks in alarm. Urgh. Of course. It's in moments like this that he curses himself for not letting Shadowheart keep the dog. "We're fine, Scratch!" Tavalyn exclaims, but the barking doesn't stop, and soon enough, a growl follows.  Astarion doesn't bother repressing a groan as he throws the flap of the tent open, ignoring the rays that prick at his exposed skin like so many ants busying themselves about a piece of carrion. He doesn't dwell on the image, blinking at the beast before him instead. "What in the Hells ... Halsin?" he hazards, knowing full well the man is half a continent away petting bunnies, feeding orphans and hugging trees. Not that he is particularly eager to have the druid play gooseberry, mind you, but the prospect is somewhat less daunting than fighting a bear naked while the sun slowly-but-not-that-slowly roasts him to a crisp. Gods, the sun... Astarion dives back into the tent, finding cover in the shade. The bear, however, does not lose interest. One roar, then it charges. Not Halsin. Definitely not.

Comfort - from Long Live the King (not a WIP either), in which Erin and Loghain join Alistair on his journey to Tevinter to rescue Maric. Things are going swimmingly (no).

“Maker damned rum,” he groaned. “I’ll be feeling this all day… A word of advice: if Isabela tries to ‘comfort’ you with a drink, do yourselves a favour and say no. I’d rather have darkspawn blood again. At least you expect it to be foul.” Loghain extended the bucket to him. “This might be of use,” he said. “But your advice is noted.” “Oh, wonderful. A bucket to barf in. Way to turn around a lousy day. Never would have thought of that myself.” Well, then. Loghain picked up the bucket and made for the cabin-door. Alistair caught his arm. “Wait! I’ll take it.”

Tagging (as always, only if you feel like it): @dairine-bonnet, @deedeemactir, @illusivesoul... and I think everyone else has already been tagged, but if you haven't and I forgot you, don't hesitate to pretend I tagged you too! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find the words: light, friend, and danger!

[princeescaluswords]

Thank you for pushing back against the description of Scott as "pure." I love Scott and I admire him greatly. He is very kind and gentle and he wants to help others. But I feel that calling him "pure" (unintentionally) dehumanizes him. Similar to how Stiles said 'not all of us can be True Alphas,' or how Jeff said Mason (another character of color) was 'too good' to be affected by the Beast. It puts him on a pedestal and it seems like a way to avoid engaging with his complex interiority.

To be quite honest, I was almost going to give this question a pass, because in order to answer it, I'm going to say some things that might offend people that I don't want to offend. There are people who describe Scott McCall "pure," or "a puppy", or "a ray of sunshine" or something of that nature, and they mean every word of it in a positive way. Just today I read someone calling him "babygirl." They see a character being kind in the face of violence, compassionate when it would be easier not to care, and courageous in the face of injustice when it would cost him less to go along, and they applaud. But there are some people who say those very same words, but their intent is not to approve, but to diminish. The difference between them is their ultimate goal: one side wishes to enjoy Teen Wolf as it is; the other side wishes that Teen Wolf was about someone else.

The problem, of course, is how to tell the difference.

The key for me, of course, is if they recognize that while Scott's kindness is a very important trait -- one that sets him apart from many heroic protagonists in United States culture -- it is not his only trait. He also exhibits courage to act in situations in which he neither has the advantage nor a significant stake, resolve to move past emotional and physical trauma, and discernment to perceive the true nature of the characters with which he interacts. Any actual fan of the show should be able to identify scenes that establish these traits in conjunction with his compassion.

But those who seek to de-center Scott from the narrative, to replace him with another character, sometimes try to turn this virtue against him, especially when they fail to magnify his flaws and mistakes into disqualifying crimes. They do this by making his primary and distinctive heroic trait his only trait, and then presenting it as a weakness.

They call Scott "pure," while simultaneously arguing that his compassion makes him soft, because it means he lacks the courage to do what is necessary to protect others. These people say things like he lets enemies go out of mercy only for them to go hurt other people. Ironically, they most often put these words in the mouth of Peter Hale, who is a coward in canon. He ambushes his own niece, attacks unarmed humans from behind, sits out important battles, runs from fights, and works with the person who burned his family alive in order to get what he wants.

They call Scott "a ray of sunshine" while simultaneously arguing that his compassion is childish, only possible because he hasn't really endured loss, and thus he cannot possess true resolve. Not only does this require ignoring repeated instances of physical and mental violation, the absence of Rafael, the disconnect with Melissa, the death of Allison, the loss of Kira, and the way his future was ripped from him. Instead, they argue that Stiles is the 'glue which holds the pack together', even though Stiles literally looks to Scott for reassurance in every single season and crumbles when he can't get it.

They call Scott "a puppy" while simultaneously arguing that his compassion is a function of inexperience and a lack of intelligence, cute but useless. Thus, his 'puppy love' of Allison blinds him to the danger she represents (even though she doesn't). He cannot truly have the discernment to be effective in the supernatural world because he is not by nature a predator, unlike a born wolf such as Derek Hale. Derek Hale, who literally got manipulated by Kate, by Peter, by Gerard, by Peter again, by Jennifer, and by Peter a third time.

Thus, they position his compassion for others, even those who are his enemies, as a luxury that a true heroic protagonist cannot afford. They'll insist that it's sweet, it's laudable even, but since his compassion is his sole virtue (it's not) and he often allows it to override common sense (he doesn't), he is not a legitimate lead for a story taking place in that setting. Thus, they justify their own efforts to take the story away from him and give it to someone more worthy.

[katyspersonal]

ALRIGHT LET’S TALK ABOUT BLUBBORNE!!

Here are a list of things to choose from <3

Chat about Logarius or Alfred!!

Ideas for Bloodborne 2 👀

What do you think about Hemwick being connected to Cainhurst?

Talk about Gilbert!! I never get to see you chat about him! Lil guy!

Ideas on Arianna’s backstory!

Ideas on Adella’s backstory!

What would a Discord with the original Byrgenwerth scholar gang look like?? xD

—

Choose one or all! It’s up to you!! <3

Oh my GOSH fjdhfds Good to know you all headed my warning to never give me a choice because I answer EVERYTHING, huh -_- xD But in all seriousness though, these topics just happen to be those I do not have 20 pages essay ready for, so my answers will be short(ish) and I think I can discuss all this stuff in compact manner!

Chat about Logarius or Alfred!!

Well, they're complicated characters for me. You know I am physically unable to 'hate' a fictional character because no matter what they did, they aren't real and can't hurt me and if all else fails they exist to make the story better. But because of some events and reflection on life and society, these two in particular put a pit in my stomach on the notion of being trademark catholic-coded purists. There are so many things that can be speculated about complexity of Laurence's or Adrich's situations, but these guys feel pretty plain for me? The black-white thinking bastards that got so tempted with the idea of abolishing all evil that it made them ruthless, blind to nuances and purist that can't see how they become the REAL evil in the end.

I think Logarius/Rogeriusz is fairly underrated though and it cannot be blamed on him being unlikeable from moral standpoint, because we've all seen how popular Alfred is despite graphically killing a defenceless woman! But Logarius has a lot to like as a villain - he is noticeably tall and menacing, he was a powerful leader figure in Healing Church like Ludwig, he has a lot of mystery to his character as to why he uses Pthumerian magic and shares theme with Queen Yharnam (and as follows, why would he turn against a kindred clan/bloodline?), and what he discovered that made him gatekeep it? Besides, there is a translation mistake calling an item 'Skull of a Saint' something else - 'Sage's Hair', and when I discovered the proper description ( x ), I realised there is a big implication that following Healing Church's saints were wearing crowns after his raid on Cainhurst - both to honor him and to boast about having thrown the local monarchy!

This is just very odd that Logarius was a pioneer of the delusion about exterminating 'impurity', and managed to hit da briks before he became hated and showed true nature of his pursuit - unlike poor Ludwig that presumably had better intentions and less freedom to see through WHAT was guiding him, yet fought long enough to become accursed by everyone. It is UNFAIR. But Logarius is such an important element in the system, as a trend-setter rather than people brainwashed into following Church's agenda! Willem is never addressed for messing with unknown too, Logarius is never addressed for being ideal inspirer of hate and murder... Guess the REAL martyr here is Laurence every time! xD

Alfred is also a hard one for me, as for someone from the country that actively fabricates history facts, encourages distrust to outer information and ignorance, and just straight up lies with agenda. Like, sure, I am familiar with how easy average person can fall for a narrative - and how easy it is to discourage any skepticism and critical thinking before it formed. If anything, I pity him.

But I've grown to feel even more tense about this character when I reflected on the fact that he is SO eager to exterminate the 'enemy' that he goes after ones who can't even CAUSE any harm (he wants to kill Annalise who is absolutely defeated and defenceless, and he is the only summon in Old Yharnam where beasts that won't go outside live). There is a difference between trying to protect people from the possible threats (since whether vilebloods DO have cursed magic effect is up to interpretation) and "cleansing" the world from anyone affiliated Just Because. I've been doing Adella dirty for a long time calling her 'female Alfred' and I had since took it back because she at least gives Arianna a 'chance' as long as she doesn't share her blood that Adella's religion forbids. Not even one - she did the "three strikes and you're out"! Alfred is ruthless tho, in a very uncomfortable way, but it took me some unpleasant experiences to SEE truth about him. I think that no matter how far up you are in a religion, but whether you have a braincell to extend minimal reasoning about WHY you are fighting the 'bad guys' is on the individual and not on the source of this brainwashing, and Alfred fails this test.

That being said, he is still an interesting character, and I really love his unique appearance! His nose is a whole BEAK xD /pos I also headcanon that Alfred never met Logarius in person and his bond with him is parasocial, based on admiring the great person of the past upon feeling like he 'knows' him! The same applies for my versions of Amelia/Emilia and Laurence!

The rest of the topics are going under cut!

Ideas for Bloodborne 2 👀

Honestly, I think the best one I've seen executing the concept was HollarityArt in their contribution for Vaati's Bloodborne 2 concepts contest! Here is the link on Twit with their concepts: ( x ).

I have very little ideas on this but I agree that part 2 would be the best placed in sea/ocean setting! But the MOST tricky thing about the sequel would be that one of the potential Bloodborne endings is our Hunter becoming the new Great One that governs the cycle, instead of Flora. And another one is them replacing Gehrman. So the sequel must deal with addressing how no matter WHICH ending player had in Bloodborne, it didn't matter! Basically, something should happen with Hunter's Dream or the current Moon Presence that would leave any ending still palatable. So, addressing the current 'queen' Great One would result in the cycle still ongoing (aka our Hunter as Great One inflicting the same cycle, so it is not possible to pin whether Flora is still active or Hunter is). And, sure, for some reason, the Hunter's Dream is broken, just so we could not see our Hunter from previous game. This is extremely depressing, but feels in the spirit of From's games.

What From would need to do with Bloodborne 2 is to add information that doesn't quite confirm or deny exist fan theories, but instead adds more to WORK with! And creates MORE questions. So, reveal extra details about what we see in Bloodborne, but in a way that didn't answer the question. As in 'yeah there was a Great One counterpart for Flora', 'yeah there was someone in Isz that did birth Ebrietas as little celestial larvae many centuries ago, here is her statue and nothing else', 'yeah look at the ruins of the waking world version of Fishing Hamlet' etc. Some characters I think should reappear but in a way that feels expected while also not REALLY telling us anything new. So, Queen Yharnam not in the wedding dress, Gehrman functioning like his hunter self (like I said, Hunter's Dream should get broken), Maria having her recollected memory from when she was a caretaker of Research Hall, Adeline in a Kin form somewhere in a secret nook of Sea location (presume she ascended with or without Paleblood Hunter).

I like the idea that Yharnam in the sequel is a ghost town that has no messenger lamps or huntsmen, only rare NPCs and enemies who are largely people and/or Kin of the type we haven't seen before. Yharnam would have a bigger layout that makes much more sense geographically, some buildings and areas would look notably different if not more civilised. So that'd return the question whether Yharnam we play in even WAS real or this sequel Yharnam simply the same but changed from the last time, so people can argue whether this Yharnam is "real" and not "dreamed" one or developers simply improved their mapping and designing skills xD Maria would be able to travel there with us by waking up in the body of the Doll that still stayed in Old Workshop, and many people in Yharnam would act hostile towards both her and the player; later in the plot turns out that Hunter's Dream breaking was the result of external powers, and roaming people and unfamiliar Kin work together and target to remove the traces of influence from Stars and Moon! They'd be more alien Kin that urged to help with grasp of Flora and Fauna had on the Earth and its mortals, but in reality more or less want to establish their order. But protesting them would restart the cycle of vices of humanity, so... yeah, again, the game would be depressing and point out how there is no choice, only diverse ways to suck.

I also think the next game should extend beyond Yharnam, and using a ship to travel between locations would be a cool idea! Maybe getting to visit Valtr's home, or whatever Loran is now. @val-of-the-north had an idea that there is a legit country known as New Loran, but it would reveal more about history and heritage than just a bunch of electric beasts and sand. If I try to describe more concepts I might get really sucked into this swamp, so I'll leave it be here, but meeting relatives of some characters we've known would be great too! I always have this image in my head about Valtr's niece that heard he chased some monster and never came back, so we meet her when she is an adult that wanted to investigate on the mystery of her uncle. Also learning more about the fuckery Micolash and Laurence did do in the past through item descriptions; again, in a way that actually doesn't disrupt anything, more like 'well we already knew they had to commit a lot of crimes, we just now know the details'. The war criminals are still here in spirit! xD

What do you think about Hemwick being connected to Cainhurst?

Well, I said that sometime before, but I do think that both Cainhurst nobles and Hemwick are mixed human+pthumerian (and sometimes just human) descendants that preserved a lot of practices from ancient Pthumerian civilisations... and matriarchal traditions, too. They have different practices, as Vilebloods use blood magic and consume blood for power, whereas Witches use magical binding rituals, necromancy and disturbing tools as well. Ironic that they had 'Blood vs Eyes' conflict of Blood vs Arcane Healing Church factions before it was cool, don't you think?

Yharnam used to be monarchy but so many foreigners and neighbouring cities rubbed in on the area, that they became practically equal with higher class Yharnam citizens, and had to count people like Willem as equal. Maybe if Healing Church didn't form so swiftly, Yharnam would never have a mayor. But yeah, basically, Witches were something of peasants in relation to Cainhurst nobles. But they cooperated enough, and Witches would often offer medical help to the nobles who entered trouble with the curse living within their blood, or struggled to control pyromancy upon first periods. Witches maybe lived in poverty and dirt without much convenience, down to having to pay taxes TO Cainhurst, but they have unspoken knowledge within themselves that they are, in fact, superior to the nobles, as they have better grasp on the arcane secrets and are waaaaay less helpless before supernatural. I believe Iosefka and Fauxsefka are from Cainhurst, and Witches were how Iosefka studied ways to purify the blood from Frenzy + Beasthood inducing effects. Why that practice never picked up? Because we live in a society, indeed.

Talk about Gilbert!! I never get to see you chat about him! Lil guy!

Ahhhh right! I just didn't have much reason I guess? I do have a face design for him, that features some facial skewing like many Yharnamites have!

Like his beasthood form suggests, he was afflicted with Ashen Blood, which I believe was not a planned action but an honest mistake by using the blood of a poisoned beast (Blood-Starved Beast crucified in Old Yharnam). However, back in the day where Yharnam was not quarantined away from the rest of the world (to the point you are not supposed to SURVIVE being there if you never had holy blood transfusion), there were plenty of people picking stuff up and illegally selling it abroad. @val-of-the-north has an idea that Valtr and his friends caught one of such groups, just when one of them transformed into a beast upon getting too much of his own "medicine" and I stealeded it xD

But Gilbert I think was a victim of one of such things, contracting Ashen Blood by consuming a poisoned "medicine". He never was able to connect the dots between getting worse after it as someone who already had his own illnesses. The more I learn about Victorian era, the more I realise how shockingly ignorant they were about medicine. I mean, they were having mercury pills for god knows how long! So, yeah, he saught Yharnam, and naturally had his strange sympthomes sustained by consuming the blood as someone who got beasthood 'activated'.

I like to think that he used to be a hatter, and it WAS what made him sick initially; they were number 1 victims for mercury poisoning, because of the materials used in their craft. However, it were not just hats that he could do well, and after arriving in Yharnam, he gladly worked to produce more clothes, sewing mostly Yharnam Hunter garbs obsessively! And is one of the rarest people who met Ludwig in person and is still around AND sane! Hence how he had his Flamethrower - the Healing Church shared one with him to help him to self-defend. But, he was out of use and got too sick before he got to kill even one. Being bedridden, he used to read books a lot, until his eyesight got afflicted too (apparently beasthood attacks the eyes the most), so he mostly entertains himself with fantasies and reciting memories.

Ideas on Arianna’s backstory!

Heh, like I said already, I love the idea that her mother ran with her from Cainhurst when Arianna was still a baby, so she never GOT to know the noble life. But, she did inherit her mother's noble dress, and vague idea about their blood being special enough to offer to the hunters. I entertain the idea that Alfred was Arianna's brother but had to be abandoned since he was older and their mother could only care for one child in the hard situation, but it is up in the air.

In either case, Arianna's mother died soon(ish), most likely from violent death. But instead of some Church fanatic killing her in "righteous" wrath, it was that her mother went insane unable to consume queen's blood or find any management for it, so she, like... had Vileblood version of becoming blood-drunk and was shot before she transformed into a bloodlicker completely. When she was about to turn on her own daughter to drink her blood dry, no less! The hunter that saved Arianna was Henryk, who picked every other orphaned child under his protection because he was aware Choir takes orphans and they are never seen again. I swear, at least once Choir had to confront him about whether his children are all 'really' his, and Valtr had to wear a dress and pretend to be their biological bother dsjfhdsfdsh

But for the most part he was not able to properly care for his adopted babies; Viola was exceptional case that stayed close enough. Most of the orphans under his protection were wandering around looking for their purpose, and Arianna was like this. She clinged to Crow of Cainhurst, trusting him as the only remaining hook with her Cainhurst past, but he did not feel qualified or interested enough to play a dad for her - something he regretted upon meeting Arianna again years later and seeing WHAT she has to do to survive.

I also think that Arianna reacting on female Hunter differently is not a homophobia (?) internalised in Yharnam, but remains of her mom teaching her that women are "superior"; she speaks from the standpoint that she doesn't pity men all that much, but would dread to 'dirty' a woman with something as questionable as a loveless sex. It is not something beyond her that men will be like animals, but she feels inferior compared to other women, and it really gets to her.

Ideas on Adella’s backstory!

Likewise an orphaned person. When she reached puberty, she was this 👌 close to attempting to sell her body, like Arianna, before she managed to get herself a place in the Healing Church. It happened on the rift when Choir fell from uhhh... "grace"?, as well as the daughter of the current Vicar, Norbert/Herbert, turned into a celestial kin together with the children she was overseeing there. As result, he was compensating by picking up every other child/teenager and raising them within the Healing Church's walls like an actually good dad figure. He saw how Adella was doing and basically dragged her in (punching the old bastard that did want to use her on the way).

The decision to become a Blood Saint and not just part of the staff was her own, though; she bought the narrative about hunters being brave and protecting people while it was choking out its dying breaths but still existing. So, she wanted to help people.

Localisation slightly messed this up, by making it sound as though Adella has severe insecurities regarding the quality of her blood, but that's not quite the case:

Whereas the religious 'we all must admit we are sinful by nature and should bash ourselves all of our lives' vibe might apply, within the original context it seems to be that she is insecure about having to do it in 'battlefield' conditions rather than in the setting of great religious reverence it SHOULD be. Like, all she does is extracts her own blood in a vial. She only talks with us in Yahar'gul if we convince her we are Healing Church staff too; so, she still thinks we ARE one of their hunters. It seems like internal Healing Church rules about 'proper' blood sharing are what makes her feel "vulgar", not her blood overall.

Adella mentions a friend she could possibly turn to during the night of the hunt if we refuse to tell her of the safe place, and I made it be a person you pick black church garb from in the alley where Arianna is. It is a shrodinger character, of course, because it is a gendered set, but I default all sets to 'male' because default Paleblood Hunter is some guy with grey hair and I love using this as "official" option! The window NPCs in this area mention "thanking" the Church in a rather passive-aggressive and fake manner, that makes me feel like the guy was killed here out of spite. I think he is Adella's EX that she still keeps clinging to, and... well, he was in this area because he wanted to help Arianna by telling her of a safe place, as he had a bad feeling about this night. Again, irony.

What would a Discord with the original Byrgenwerth scholar gang look like?? xD

Pfffft you mean if they made a small group Discord server for familiar people only? Laurence would be a moderator, that nobody asked for, because it is a small (mostly) closed Discord group and not an official server... But he'd insist on bringing some discipline and civility anyway.

Server would have expected standard channels for drawings, research notes, general chat, jokes/memes, debates, Rom's (daily) pictures of the bugs and spiders, vent and announcements... Except, they would have to create more and more debate channels all the time, because every time it'd be either Caryll and Laurence, or Micolash and Julie cluttering the debate channel so much and refusing to stop. xD Like, they'd have to spawn new debate channels just so other people could have a talk too sdfhhdfds

Damian would share health / self-care advices regularly, like "don't forget to hydrate!" or "10 advices to avoid studying burn out!" and tell others to stay safe and not overwork. Unfortunately, nobody follows his advices. He also always answers everyone in vent channel.

Rom tends to overwhelm any channel when she is online by spamming whatever she is thinking about, but nobody tries to stop her because she tends to accidentally drop something useful, like a solution to the homework, or a significant breakthrough. They have a locked channel accessible for everyone except for Rom and Yurie/Julie, where they discuss Rom's ramblings as they happen and decide what to take from her without credit :(

Micolash sometimes has mad ramblings, similar to Rom but HIS are unhinged and genuinely creepy and disturbing. They have a locked channel accessible for everyone except for Micolash, Damian and Rom, where they laugh at his wording or mock how weird he is :(

Patches is only active in the server to promote the shit he's selling or questionable links, but if anyone gets scammed and calls him out on the server, he gaslights them that he did them all a favour and showed with a concrete example how important it is to know basics of the internet safety xD And might accept their apology for getting mad at him, if he's feeling nice fhshfdhsfds

Thank you for asking! It was a trip dshfhds

[otaku-tactician]

Emiya for the ask thingy

Hello, thank you for the ask fellow fate enjoyer, it means a lot to be able to speak about this guy!!!! Ooh I never usually get Emiya for an ask (it's very rare). I am not quite sure if this is specifically for Archer or Shirou, so I made one for each guy!

Shirou

I used to really dislike this guy the very first time I watched Fate Stay/Night. I was like 'grumble grumble typical eroge protagonist' only then for Shirou to figuratively shut me up by episode 4 so that was good! His story and mindset drives me round the bend, especially the more posts I see on him being self-sacrificial and embodying other's dreams with his entire self as a result of him lacking a sense of self worth (and the story of his past and traumas are written so well tbh its heartbreaking)... he really gets me emotional and messed up inside.

I think it is because I project onto him and can relate to those particular aspects of him (which would maybe have others judging me for that). It can be easy to forget oneself in the pursuit of making others happy, but Shirou takes it up by another million cogs in his reality marble by deciding to make EVERYONE HAPPY!!!!! WHAT IS GOING ON, KIDDO?!!!

Shirou's not quite a war criminal, but jeez he is hardcore and quite disturbing at times (i will avoid how he loses his restraint and goes full battle mode in some smut scenes cuz that has me so confused sometimes). I think he is a brilliant protagonist who is both the guy who will willingly rip himself into swords for those who he loves, but won't hesitate to unleash the beast or be extremely unlikeable at times either. Character wise, I think he's an absolute gem!!!

ALSO HOW IS HE NOT ONLY SURVIVING SO MANY SITUATIONS BUT THEN THROWING HIMSELF INTO SO MANY MOREEEEEE

I do think he needs a lot of hugs and professional support. Like an endless amount of them. And a lot of professional support. But he is also a pretty great carer of others sometimes, and has great cooking chops, so I like him.

Archer

Archer. I love this man so much LMAO but I am furthest from an expert of his character. ARCHER IS THE BEST (also he is definitely a war criminal). But damn, all of that suffering. Yeah, I cry a lot whenever the plot opens up and shows all of the stuff going on beneath his tough and snarky exterior. Also can the canon stop putting him in so many situations (and can he stop doing that to himself too)!!!!!! Also I love his warm hearted, parental figure aspects as well; he has taken Shirou's caring side and EXCELLED at it to an amazing degree (I would trust him with my fridge and entire kitchen).

I like him. But there is not much to say, other than a mix between 'this guy is so ironic that hes unreal' and 'fuck, i want to cry... please let him find his own brand of happiness'. Also can he be nicer to his inner child?

I project heavily onto Archer as well, so my opinions on this guy have a lot of bias. But whenever I write about him, I feel pure joy. Archer is a staple part of my personal enjoyment of the fate franchise.

[mortifying-macaroni]

im really starting to like your ship! can I just say that I love the old man x brat trope a little too much that's going on there Andrei and Gretchen are so different from each other yet they are kinda the same in a way? Though at the same time they do balance each other out nicely like we can see that Andrei starts to loosen up around her at least a little while Gretchen starts taking things more seriously when she joins the Sabbat. Always love it when they're straight up taking the piss out of each other those are usually my favourite parts! it's giving married couple vibes haha I just love the chemistry they both have in the fanfic as well as in your artwork. You truly are talented at everything you do and i hope to see more of them. Cheers!

Anon you better get the fuck over here so I can cuddle with you and your humongous galaxy brain right on the meat couch cause I'm just- SQUEEEEE!!!! THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL AMAZING WORDS AND THANK YOU TO THE MOON AND BEYOND FOR READING MY BABY!!! 🖤💝💖🩷 DUDE, you absolutely get it! I'm telling you! I'll forever preach about the excellency of that trope!

You see, they do need each other. Andrei is someone who's not used to facing defiance from his subordinates and he most def doesn't let that go unpunished when he does face it in those rare instances, HOWEVER he lets Gretchen remain unscathed, not because she was "The Camarilla's newly lost, most prized possession with so much intel" but for the reason that her lack of fear fascinated him. Her fire is unlike anything he has ever seen or experienced in another, her young spirit and moxie entertain him. There's never really a dull moment with her. He gets a certain thrill when they argue, but on the other hand, sitting down and talking cordially about their love for the grotesque also serves as relaxation. It's their common ground. She doesn't try to "fix him" in the slightest; that's one of the many things he appreciates about her. He loves her not only for the way that she makes his beast roar, but the way she tames it when her own one comes into play. After centuries upon centuries of solitude, Andrei finally found the perfect half who can handle his worst while also recognizing his best, all while showing him that it's alright to put his guard down every now and then- that cracking a warm smile doesn't diminish his sinister nature.

As for Gretchen, she's found the perfect mentor in Andrei, despite all their squabbles, she does look up to him and tries her best to accept that the path to gaining respect is treacherous with little to no shortcuts in her situation. Her turning over to the Sabbat toughened her, hardened her heart while simultaneously teaching her how to work harmoniously with her pack. The whole trial was a catalyst to her being reshaped into a weapon of destruction that was on a quest for power, validation and freedom. With great patience Andrei helped forge Gretchen into the weapon that she wanted to be. Though she did shed pretty much most layers of her "human side", her rather lighthearted nature couldn't be purged (not that Andrei would actually want to get rid of it anyway). She achieved tremendous growth and maturity as a vampire thanks to him and his centuries worth of experience. And exactly through him, she found the liberty she was looking for and so much more: love, respect, self-improvement, partnership and she couldn't ask for anything else.

Anyway! Thank you again for reading my ficcie & admiring my art 🫶🖤 So glad you're enjoying those two grumpy bastards. I have a whole lot planned for them, don't you worry, my sweet. Hope you'll stick around to find out 😘 Bless you, love you and I hope you're having a fantastic day/evening! 🩷💘💝💖💗💓💞💕

[sunsblaze]

He was a mystery, a monster parading the streets, yet somehow no one else seemed to notice the chilling presence of such an impossible being, for her, the women he pursued, he was as if the moon itself had fallen from the sky to seek out her demise. She was only human. Her body while being more powerful, more resilient than others, could only take so much before her muscles would begin to tire. Heels would clack against creaking wood as blistered feet pushed forward, the warmth of candlelight illuminating soft, porcelain skin as the woman clad in attire that spoke of different times tried to find some solace in the presence of other humans.

Surely, someone would step up and help…

As she crossed the establishment, trying to put as much distance as she could between herself and the door, she froze, turning on her heels the moment he crossed the threshold, his movement slow and steady unlike her own panicked steps. The moment he had entered behind her the warmth seemed to be sucked from around her, an icy chill replacing the once welcoming atmosphere, the scent of warm liquor and fresh meals now seemed sickening to her as her stomach clenched.

Each step he took was a new kind of torture, it was absolutely agonizing, the sound of her heart booming in her chest with the combined thrumming of the demon’s feet upon the floor seemed to drown out the whispers of the patrons, Yoriichi could hear nothing but the blood rushing through her veins. Her eyes widened as she watched him closing in on her, his body not showing even the first signs of fatigue, his body built to perfection over the many years he had walked the lands. In any other situation she would say he was attractive, a fine specimen of the opposing sex, but at the moment she could only find those thoughts plagued with terror. She knew of predatory men, one who would ravage women, who would think to kill or simply harm someone like her, she had never truly feared them before, not until this moment for she knew she had met her match.

She would step back, one hand grasping onto the blade she had nicked, the other outstretched as a means to keep him from stepping too close, though soon she found his chest pressed firmly against her palm as he drew much to close for her liking, her body caught between his own and the back wall of the room. Could no one see her plight or were they simply too scared of this man to even speak up? For a moment her eyes would dart around the room- those who had been looking quickly averted their eyes as her gaze met their own. This was bad…really bad.

Soft shades of maroon locked with the gold laden crimson of the demon’s eyes as she took a slow breath in an attempt to ease her thoughts enough to form some sort of plan- she had a feeling that her own blade would have no lasting effect against this beast of the night so maybe she would need to use her words or charm as a defense instead.

What did he wish to gain from her? There was little she held of value, there were few things she could even guess that a man would want from her and none of them were pleasant- most would want her life or her body.

“There is nothing I hold that would be of any value to you.” That look in his eyes, it made her shiver, her body instinctively moving to step back only to be met with the thump of her back against wood. As he leaned closer she could feel his breath upon her skin, the hand she had on his chest curled into a fist at she tried to shove him away with her forearm. “What do you even want from me? What do you have to gain from harassing women like a coward?” Her voice would come out strained from her frazzled nerves- if he was to make a single move to bring her harm, she would not hesitate to spit him in twine or at least try.

Despite it all she found the whole ordeal…exciting? The rush of adrenaline and the feeling of having met someone she truly feared, it was like nothing she had ever felt before.

“I would like to see you try.”

The man was a riddle, a conundrum cloaked in worn leather and shadows. His eyes, a striking golden crimson, seemed to penetrate her very being as he trailed her through the winding streets, pursuing her until she darted into a dimly lit tavern. There, amidst the flickering candlelight, he approached her. They had been engaged in a silent game all night, a delicate balance of anticipation and caution. His physique was that of a battle-hardened warrior, muscles coiled and defined beneath his attire, suggesting a formidable strength that could be unleashed at any moment.

His presence was captivating, drawing the attention of every patron, yet he moved with a grace that belied his power. With each step he took, the tension in the air thickened, as if the very atmosphere crackled under the weight of his gaze.

Her heart raced like a blacksmith's hammer striking iron, each thud resonating in her ears. She recognized his type; she had encountered men like him before. They thrived on the thrill of the chase, relishing the fear they instilled in their victims. The kind that left a grim trail behind them, accompanied by whispered prayers from those who wished to avoid their path.

Yet here she stood, the prey ensnared in the hunter's sights, unable to escape. Her thoughts raced, desperately trying to assemble what she knew about him, seeking any insight that might grant her an advantage. But the murmurs of the tavern's patrons were as elusive as the man himself, offering only fragmented tales of his past, snippets of a dark legend that grew with each retelling.

The air was thick with the pungent aroma of sweat, ale, and a distant hint of blood, a heady concoction that invaded her senses and sharpened her awareness. As he approached, the lively chatter of the tavern faded into the background, his boots striking the wooden floor with a steady beat that echoed her racing heart.

His gaze was locked onto hers, an intensity that stripped away her defenses and left her feeling exposed and vulnerable. She inhaled deeply, attempting to steady her tumultuous thoughts, her fingers tightening around the hilt of her sword—a silent vow that she would not surrender without a fight.

When he halted just inches away, his voice emerged soft and almost tender, a stark contrast to the beast she knew lurked within.

"You possess something I desire," he stated, his eyes glinting with a predatory hunger that made her instinctively want to pull back. She met his stare, narrowing her eyes defiantly, her jaw clenched with resolve. He leaned in closer, a sly grin tugging at his lips. "Oh, I doubt you will get away," he whispered,

"I believe I’ll have to take it from you."

[stairset]

Honestly I think people really over-exaggerate Anakin and Mace’s relationship, like Mace says he doesn’t trust Anakin ONCE and he was specifically saying he didn’t think they could trust Anakin to spy on Palpatine and considering Palpatine is literally Space Hitler and has spent years secretly grooming Anakin to become Space Hitler Jr. I’d say that Mace was 100% right to not want them together, and when he goes off to arrest Palpatine he tells Anakin to stay put because he senses Anakin’s confusion and knows Palpatine will take advantage of that to turn Anakin to his side, and surprise surprise, Anakin doesn’t stay put and Palpatine takes advantage of his confusion to turn him to his side. 

And people think that Mace NEVER trusted Anakin at ALL and he and Anakin always vehemently HATED each other, ignoring that Anakin praises Obi-Wan by comparing him to Yoda and Mace, implying that he highly respected both of them, or that one deleted scene where Obi-Wan expresses concern over Anakin and MACE is the one who tells OBI-WAN to have faith that Anakin will make the right choice, or how in TCW they work together several times, most extensively in the Zillo Beast and Boba Fett arcs from season 2, where they actually make a pretty good team and seem to get along fine, and the only slight conflict between them in those episodes is that Mace initially doesn’t understand why Anakin is so close to R2, and even then when R2 saves them Mace praises R2 saying that Anakin’s trust in him was well-earned, showing that he is in fact willing to admit when he’s wrong and thus not as arrogant as many seem to think he is. But sure, Mace and Anakin totally always hated each other with a passion and Mace is totally like 90% of the reason he turned to the dark side, sure, let’s go with that I guess.

And I think this applies to Mace and Ahsoka too, albeit to a slightly lesser extent since they don’t interact as often. I made this first point in another post I made, but the idea that “Plo was the only one who apologized to Ahsoka unlike Mace” is kinda ridiculous since Plo’s own words were “you have our most humble apologies”, with the word “our” telling us that he was apologizing on behalf of the whole council, not just himself, because if they all lined up to say it one at a time that would be silly and impractical and ruin the pacing. And regarding the “this was actually your great trial” line, I really don’t think that was him trying to deflect the blame, mainly because the Force isn’t just some mumbo jumbo that the Jedi made up, it is in fact a real cosmic force that controls the universe and it DOES test people, this is a provable fact within the Star Wars universe. When the Jedi say “the Force will be with you” or any similar sayings, they’re saying The Very Real Cosmic Force That Controls All Our Destinies Will Work Out In Your Favor, that’s why it’s such a meaningful phrase to them. Basically, while it most definitely wasn’t the time or place for it, I do think Mace saying the Force was testing Ahsoka to make her a better Jedi was less trying to deflect the blame and more just him trying to put a positive spin on a shitty situation, but the wound was still fresh and she was still hurt and still angry and it just wasn’t what she wanted to hear, which is perfectly understandable, but just because someone isn’t saying what you want to hear doesn’t mean they aren’t being genuine.

And then this leads us to the infamous “citizen” line, where Mace, who need I remind you is currently dealing with Palpatine’s abuse of his emergency powers coming to a head and contemplating the possibility of having to arrest him which will inevitably cause a lot of political chaos, all while, again, Palpatine is secretly grooming Anakin to become Space Hitler Jr. behind their backs, and overall is basically having the shittiest most stressful week ever, gets a little snappy with Ahsoka when she tries to butt in the council’s conversation regarding this highly sensitive information despite not being in the order anymore, and she understands and doesn’t even seem mad about it or anything, especially since she was the one who called herself “citizen” first. And when she doesn’t tell them about Maul’s warning about Anakin people act like she did this Specifically cause Mace was rude to her. Cause apparently we decided it would be TOTALLY in-character for her to condemn the Jedi to genocide on purpose just to be petty even though she herself all but outright said she was planning to return to the order after the war ended, rather than contemplating the much more likely possibility that she simply didn’t tell them because, as established in the previous episode, she had too much faith in Anakin to believe it herself until it was too late. And even if she HAD told them who even knows how much good it would’ve done considering that as this conversation was being had Anakin was already on his way to Palpatine’s office, at which point Palpatine reveals himself and promises to save Padme and all that jazz. Even IF Ahsoka told Mace, how differently would things have played out? He’d probably still try to arrest Palpatine and still try to keep Anakin from interfering only for him to interfere anyway. But no, we can’t blame Anakin for making crappy life choices or Palpatine for setting the whole thing into motion in the first place, clearly Mace being kinda rude to Ahsoka an hour ago means that he singlehandedly doomed the Jedi Order and deserved to be thrown out the window. Sure. Why not.

In conclusion, Mace isn’t perfect because no one’s perfect but he’s not a bad guy and he’s not “everything wrong with the Jedi” or “the reason they fell” or whatever, he did his best in a no-win situation and by almost killing Palpatine he actually came closer to stopping it than anyone save maybe Fives. Just because a character comes into conflict with the protagonist doesn’t make them The Real Bad Guy, especially when said protagonist is currently in the middle of his Villain Origin Story. You are not immune to main character bias. The end.

[blackbeeno3569]

My whole Spooky Season in the Household 2024 collection. With great love to cats in general.

Pitch Black looked around and he was satisfied.

Half a day of work paid off; the big herd of his nightmares was ready to go and scare the world. But the shadowy beasts were much better than those he had started with many years ago. These nightmares were much more independent, prepared to run through the world on their own, to find their dreamers and take whatever shape or form to make their sleep uneasy, filled with terror.

Naturally. It was Halloween - children heads were filled with spooky images and stories, many saw movies they weren't supposed to… All that was nothing more than seeds of fear, eager to sprout and bloom.

The Boogeyman took one last contented look at his work and dusted the residue of black sand from his hands. An hour until sunset. That's a time for one last tea and then he can take all the nightmares and fearlings outside.

He turned away from the herd, to get his cup, absolutely unaware of the silent visitor. Someone crept in through the door, his soft paws silent on the rock floor, yellow eyes glowing with excitement.

Whiskers loved the nightmares. They shimmered slightly in the dimmed light of the Lair and when he pounced, they always disintegrated a little with a puff of blacksand suddenly flying in the air. Unlike bats, they were impossible to eat—but they didn't try to bite his ears off either, so that was good too..

Sneaking into the herd, the cat felt like on the greatest playground ever. He tried to catch one mare's leg, only to fly through it. The creature hopped a bit on three remaining legs, startled, before the sand returned to where it was supposed to be. Whiskers was pleased with the result, purring quietly for himself, and now he just built on that: pouncing at the legs of nightmares, trying to catch their tails, sprinting between their clapping hooves. Within a few moments the herd grew more and more restless, the dark horses snorting and neighing.

Then the cat tried to scramble up one nightmare's back, making the creature panic on spot. And in a herd, panic is never an individual indulgment.

Pitch heard the murmur of the nightmares from afar, but when he finally stood face to face to the herd, it was way to late. With pure dread he watched the wave of black sand bodies, the roaring creatures rising against him. Their glowing eyes flashing, hooves beating their neighbours. His precious creations freaking out, dissolving back into one dangerous mass. They were beyond any help: with a one resolute bitter gesture he made them all fall apart.

The black sand was slowly circling in the air, covering the floor, the rocks, Boogeyman's hair and shoulders… like a darkly sparkling ashes of regret. The cavern was dead silent, except for almost inaudible ragged meows. In the middle of that scene of devastation, the infamous tabby was sitting, watching the falling particles with great attention. Might they do anything interesting again?

Hazel came by, having heard the upheaval from the the other side of the Lair.

"Pitch? Shouldn't you be leaving by now-?," only then she took the whole view really in.

"Oh."

Pitch made few measured steps to her, Whiskers in his outstretched hand:

"Take it. Put it somewhere. Lock the door. Drown. The. Key."

Hazel's corners twitched a little, but she was wise enough not to smile upon the sheer absurdity of the situation. But privately she gave Pitch points for not asking her to drown Whiskers instead. She took the cat: "I won't disturb you then.There's still almost an hour left…"

"I know," he gritted through his teeth.

The cat purred happily in Hazel's arms, nuzzling against her cheek.

[maelor321]

The problem of the situation is as follow :

Hamas want to finish what Hitler started.

Hamas control the West Bank.

Hamas steal international aid to the people for their tunnels and weapons.

The leaders are safe outside of palestine.

Hamas publicly declared they intended to repeat their actions of the 7 of October until Israel is destroyed.

The Israeli government is scummy, that is something everyone agree upon.

However, Israel can't have peace with Hamas, it's not a matter of political convenience, it's a matter of "these mad butchers want to kill every jews except maybe the women they want to rape before either permanently putting in slavery or killing."

I would love that the UN resolve could actually be of help, but as it is? The only way to bring peace to the situation is the annihilation of Hamas, Desert Storm the fuck out of these beasts in human shape.

However, the UN is cowardly, so instead of destroying the terrorist group, they operate under a childish notion of "giving time out to both sides." while refusing to adress Israel's security concerns coming from how hamas constantly send missiles against them.

Israel's current government is led by an imperialist cunt, but here's the thing, Bibi can lose his office, and before the latest phase of conflicts started by Hamas, huge protests were against him.

Hamas meanwhile is a fundamentalist genocidal imperialist dictatorship, the whole group is rotten, and they don't care how their crimes can impact either the common Palestinian people, Israel's Arab population, who have its own political party and is given equal rights per Israel's constitution.

Hamas is the same kind of group as those who attacked France since January 2015 for its laic values, the reason people like Netenyahu manage to gain power and most importantly keep is because of the genocidal islamist mindset that rightfully terrify Israel's population.

Netenyahu is a traitor to Israel because he was fine with letting hamas exist to strengthen the legitimacy of his actions and weaken any chances of palestine being stable and thus potentially willing to accept Israel's existence, but this war is one of a democracy with many rotten apples against a genocidal regime.

It's not okay that people are dying, no one said that, however, Hamas purposefully use the Palestinian people as meat shields, all while purposefully targeting civilians despite Israel actually keeping the two separated unlike Hamas.

The war can only end once hamas has been wiped off the face of the earth, and the western left who isn't merely unable to get that but worship Hamas is nothing but a horde of disgusting fools.

You want israel to stop war crimes? Focus the critics on Netenyahu, not israel as a whole! Don't let Hamas survive! Criticize the Arab governments for having refused to let Israel exist for so long, thus allowing the raise of politicians like Netenyahu! Oppose any ideas of Israel being destroyed as a state, all of that is good.

But God be my witness, don't justify hamas or any other groups that want a Jewish genocide/the destruction of the state of Israel.

Seriously, the western left is so hateful of Israel and supportive of Hamas that the historically anti-semitic French Far Right managed to win a PR victory by joining a march against anti-semitism while Melenchon refused to condemn hamas! That shouldn't happen, but it does because self righteous stupid leftists refuse to have anything to do with Israel, isolating Israel's leftists while letting the Far-right plague take the mantle of defenders of Israel, which will only make te situation worse.

The thing--the absolutely frustrating thing--for many Jews is that the Left's ideals say that they should be our allies. We are a long-persecuted minority who were displaced from our homeland by colonizers, who have been the repeated victims of genocides and ethnic cleansing. Biased beliefs against us are common, and we need to be listened to. All of these things are points that Leftists say and idealize as being points they're in support of helping.

But, because antisemitism is foundational to a lot of Western ideologies and beliefs, the biases against Jews and Judaism is deep and unrelenting.

So we need to ask, and ask, and ask...

Will they live up to their ideals, or down to their biases?

[enderspawn]

Has a jrwi pokemon au been thought up. I need to give this thought to my sister so she can come up w their teams for me she's very good at it but I still wanna know if it's been done before

there hasnt been one to my knowledge, BUTTTTT i did actually. come up w some jrwi teams myself a few months back or so in early july but never shared them. ill put them under a cut for Myself to brag/ramble abt my decisions and thoughts

but also anon: even if there was one pre-established, who cares, yknow? you can make your own either way, thats kinda the fun of it. god knows i love to Make AUs then do nothing w them, bc brainstorming them is the fun for me. even if someone else already did it, you can do it too!

SO. i Attempted 6 person teams for the riptide crew and im p settled w everyones But chip's (i also Attempted to make them feel around the same power level?? you can decide how successful that was)

ALSO,

1. the first pokemon listed is the person's "starter" and 2. everyone other than riptide PCs listed will have teams of 3 bc they're much easier

GILLION ---

shellos: pretzel! she's his starter and also a pikachu situation where she refuses to evolve bc shes Perfect As She Is (and she is right)

altaria: apple! blue bird :]]]]

aegislash: sword and shield for being a paladin! specifically aegislash due to it having defensive shield unlike the previous evolutions, as well as it being either high defense or kinda glass canon feeling fitting

lumineon: by god that is a Fish! thats it

malamar: "oh its a octopus is this pretzel again?" WRONG this is dugon. dark and fucked up aquatic animal time.

cubchoo: ice representation! also being a baby to show his Caring Side as well as teh fact his ice powers are still new/developing since he learned them from caspian (likely in universe got cubchoo as an egg from caspian)

JAY ---

dartrix: jay's starter! its an archer bird, plus i feel like her having an actual Starter Pokemon as a starter is like a privilege thing from her upbringing. i chose dartrix both for balance and bc i think its just a lil cuter

zorua: hey remember the zorua line's Whole Bit. damn thats weird. anyway. zorua chosen over zoroark for balance and Personal Preference man zorua is just cute okay imagine her holding it

fletchinder: represents the ferin family crest! damn those ferins sure can be fire and bird themed

kingdra: i imagine this was Given to her by the navy? like for protection, heres your Max Evolution Water Type. also, kingdra association w hierarchy and "king" and shit.

meowstic: part balancing the team, part Someone here needs the braincells (psychic type). meowstic female chosen not only bc "haha female pc" but also bc female meowstic has a more attack-based movepool where male is support based.

skarmory: Can You Tell Jay's Bird Themed Yet. also, literally made of armor to show being protective and kinda closed off for her Own Safety thing

CHIP ---

mimikyu: chip's starter. both ghost type to represent how hes Haunted but also a poor imitation of pikachu that just wants to be loved and. :)

wingull: he's a sailor man he needs a water type. but also he sucks so its a wingull. like not even a pelipper. cringe.

absol: absol is known to forewarn disasters but bc of that is often associated w Causing Disasters and bad luck and listen i just rlly like chip as my little trauma boy. also absol cool as hell.

ampharos: ampharos is known in universe to act as a lighthouse for sailors! also chip's obligatory Full Evolution to try and balance him out w the others

dhelmise: It's A Sunken Ship Ghost Anchor can i make myself clearer

nidoran: i just think chip has a think for weak little bitch ass pokemon. like i was so tempted to give him so many Shitty Bug Types or whatever. BUT, instead as compromise i gave him a little bastard stubborn baby pokemon... who also has the potential to grow into a Fucking Beast (at least in gen 1) if you give it the time to grow and stick it out.

again, chip's is the one i feel is weakest as a team, but now onto NPCs smile.

OLLIE ---

stufful: they hate him for his Normal Boy swag. also grows into MASSIVE fucking bear w even bigger strength

poliwag: baby boy. small. water type bc they're fucking pirates. (also, can evolve to be a fighting type later)

bonsly: baby boy! again! he's just baby. but like this one cries :(

OLD MAN EARL ---

tropius: haha its the Fruit Pokemon get it

relicanth: obligatory water type plus they're both Old As Shit

swadloon: fucking look at it. they're grumpy friends. they bitch to each other. swag.

GRYFFON ---

pangoro: this is just gryffon sorry.

bisharp: looks the most "bounty hunter"-y, also dark and steel fits his general Aesthetic n vibes

gliscor: actually all of his pokemon were chosen for their power and being Strong and Highly Competent

EDYN ---

mareanie: 1. it looks Like Her in color pallete, 2. its the baby form bc i specifically wanted it to be unassuming and "weak, and 3. it being poison type could be a fun twist depending on how canon goes

goodra: just a Strong fucking dragon type, i wanted the rest of her team to kinda "shock" you w hidden strong pokemon since you'd likely only see mareanie. also haha goo.

jellicent: decent strength water type + ominous ghost typing

MARSHALL JOHN ---

primeape: hes just a fighting type guy to me (i considered the timburr line), plus primeape having the broken shackles around its wrists to symbolize john breaking out of the navy

corphish: this one's like half vibes he just has a little Crab Guy okay <trust me

lairon: strong as FUCK and also tanky, plus steel type in general makes me think of navy and/or combat? it Fits

CASPIAN ---

alolan ninetails: ice type but also design just FUCKS and looks like caspian.

frogadier: this frog is cool as hell and you know it. doesn't he deserve a cool ass chill frog.

shellos: SPECIFICALLY the blue one in a parallel to gillion's shellos! tho i imagine later on it does become a gastrodon.

CAPTAIN LIZZIE ---

salazzle: s-sexy lizard. :]. ALSO bc i feel fire and poison both work as general typings for lizzie, and salazzle being female only is haha girl power

dragonair: i goof'd it in the first one, but in general i wanted a sleek cool look for her team to show how she appears effortless and cool herself.

cubone: naughty blackrose survivors get a Trauma Pokemon for their crimes. anyway remember how cubone is the orphan pokemon? also this is specifically cubone and not marowak to show like the inner child of the trauma

NIKLAUS ---

giratina: niklaus can have a universe controlling god-like being of power. as a treat. mainly i wanted him to be MEGA intimidating, such as the only one w a legendary, as well as the fact giratina (despite its terrifying appearance + power to create dimensions) is technically there to keep balance is a nice nod to how niklaus isn't inherently some Evil Force but instead a neutral party playing both sides.

mega absol: what if i was your "this pokemon causes doom and destruction" theme but Stronger.

espeon: yknow how niklaus kinda comes off as that cat-stroking monologuing villian? this is that cat.

BONUS: PRIME DEFENDERS

DAKOTA ---

hitmonlee: he be fucking KICKIN!!!!

cranidos: headstrong as hell, plus a fossil pokemon (much like bino is part dino!)

monferno: fire type time!! it just Fits Him, plus fire/fighting! i considered combusken instead, since blaziken Kicks but i went w monferno instead bc heehee Monkey (and bobo!!)

VYNCENT ---

morpeko: ignore how this site doesnt have gen 8, morpeko has a Duality feature n shifts forms! also just fuckin look at him

honedge: me when i have a sword and i Fucking Get You. first stage pokemon to represent how untrained the PD are

fraxure: if i didnt give him a dragon id die on the spot. gen 5 just Feels right, as well as a middle evolution since they're kinda the "awkward teen phase" of pokemon

WILLIAM ---

lampent: lichrally ghost fire what do you WANT FROM ME!!!

umbreon: its his emotional support dog. also dark type bc hee hee spooky and its Popular w fans just like william is w fans

abra: psychic type w potential to become very powerful, but rn can only run away or Fucking Die

ASHE ---

spiritomb: ghost spirit tied to a specific item, technically multiple spirits in one item, can be highly dangerous and malicious at times. teehee.

absol: Listen I Just Really Fucking Like Absol's Theming Okay.

alolan ninetails: similarly, this pokemon design just fucks. also i can imagine vulpix as his actual ""starter"" until he found and got stuck w spiritomb and absol started hanging out around him (/threat).

[harbingerofsoup]

The Training Arc

Many people have considered the Training Arc to be its own arc; however, due to its importance in contextualizing the Harvest Festival and how sections of this timeframe aren’t revealed until well within the main plotline, it’s clear that this is more of a sub-arc or prologue to the larger Harvest Festival Arc. Education and reliance are major themes that can be found in the series, originally through Iruma’s perspective as he realizes that unlike what he was led to believe as a child, other people care about him and protect him. It shows how learning to rely on others goes hand in hand with a quality education. As previously established, the Harvest Festival is all about expanding the scope of focus from Iruma and his core family and friends out to the Misfits and the greater demon society, (think of this arc as a transition from narrow to wide focus) so it’s only natural that there would be greater focus on the Misfits while separated from Iruma.

The primary introduction of the tutors serves two purposes. First it establishes the unique personalities and quirks of the tutors. Second, it isolates Iruma and Lied away from the rest of the misfits. Disregarding those of Iruma and Lied, the tutors are all positioned higher up to show their power and authority, while at the same time highlighting the weakness of the misfits. As I said, these scenes introduce the tutors and their methods, so while the positioning serves the same purpose, it feels different for each tutor. Balam’s methods are easily recognizable, as everything from his nonchalance to Asmodeus and Sabnock’s beaten figures shows that he’s focusing on combat, and that it’s an area he’s incredibly skilled in. The panel can focus more on what they’re doing because Balam’s a well-established character. Meanwhile, the introduction of Allocer and Jazz’s tutor is heavily focused on his personality, with his methods left vague setting him up as someone who is chaotic and hard to read. This chaotic introduction explained why Jazz and Allocer were MIA for the rest of the training arc without it being a distraction, with the details of his training being revealed well after the rest of the groups. The rest fall in between, showing both the tutors’ methodology and personality. Agares and Goemon ended up with a tutor who’s incredibly emotional and has a focus on intrinsic abilities. The tutor for Kerori and Camui is seen to be a summoner from the myriad of beasts behind him. The chair he sits on is reminiscent of a throne showing his grace, and (paired with his penchant for dapper clothing) high class nature. The mannerisms and position of Clara and Elizabetta’s tutor leave little doubt about her charm and seduction, which is what she’ll be teaching them.

This arc finalizes the Misfits shift from the worst class to the best. While this is a common storyline, I appreciate how they get to this point not by changing, but by developing the gifts that landed them in the Misfit class in the first place. Judging from the tutors’ plans and the distribution of the groups, these inherent talents (both magic and otherwise) were already considered to be worthy of cultivating despite their weirdness as demons. Additionally, through the dedication and work that the Misfits put in honing these talents before and during their training, not only did they meet these expectations, they outperformed them. On that note, showing the Misfits to be exceptional without Iruma around was a needed development. It would’ve been easy to insinuate that it was Iruma who allowed them to cultivate these abilities, as is common for main characters in such stories. Instead, it’s clarified that the Misfits gained power through their own hard work, for their own goals, and the situations they’ve found themselves in by being friends and classmates with Iruma gave them the confidence to use what they’ve made for themselves.

Of course, since this is M!IK the training is hilarious, putting the characters in over-the-top situations that seem comically excessive for a school activity. Comedy has many purposes depending on the setting and point of the story. Prior to the Harvest Festival, the story arcs in this series have been straightforward. There’s a challenge to overcome and through hard work Iruma and the Misfits pull off amazing feats. Sure, it’s still wonderfully done and has a focus on character, but the emotions and themes take a backseat to the plot. Of course, that makes sense for the beginning of a story. The previous arcs set up the major elements of the series, with the Harvest Festival serving as the first real deep dive into the story’s themes and characters. This also means that it’s a more serious arc; more reliant on building tension and somber moments. That’s where the comedy comes in. A constant barrage of tension gets old quickly, so we need some trademarked Iruma-brand hijinks to relieve the stress (and lull us into a false sense of security before Nishi-sensei sucker punches our hearts).

In addition to comedy, there’s real heart in the leadup to the Harvest Festival, especially when it comes to Bachiko. I constantly come back to reread this scene because of how much it hits me every time. M!IK has consistently pumped out amazing backstories for its vast cast of characters, but this one is probably my favorite. It contextualizes Bachiko’s eccentric, borderline rude, behavior, makes her sympathetic and relatable, and sets up the close mentor-student relationship between her and Iruma, all while feeling organic. The repetition of the lines “It’s alright! I’m sure that one day an archer like no other will appear!” which started as baseless optimism, as she’s running towards Iruma having finally allowed herself to hope that she’s found a student that will stay gives this scene forward momentum towards some of the best images of the series including Iruma holding the bow, and Bachiko’s expression in the panel that says, “not to hope.” All of this leads to the development of their relationship by the end of the Harvest Festival. Compared to her introduction, she’s much more carefree and open, at least with her student.

Other tutors have had similar difficulties with teaching. When Balam was introduced, it was through terrible rumors spread by the student body due to his issues with socialization and appearance. His experiences with Iruma and the Misfits have made him a better teacher, and a much happier, outgoing person. Lady Vepar’s past is hinted as well. She’s clearly had students who couldn’t handle this type of training before and has a family that doesn’t support her career path, but the achievements of her students in the Misfit class breaks her out of this mindset.

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