#i know i could get a generic doll carrying case

[fashion-foxy]

Look, my favourite EAH and MH playsets are the big clunky cases that unfold into a room that come with a ton of accessories and an exclusive doll, but JUST ONCE I want a normal carrying case please

[imagine-silk]

omg could i request nick, piper, preston and hancock with an gn s/o who has a chronic illness/immune disorder? thank you!!

》You're welcome. (Also I always make Preston the General so that will be there)

【Nick】 "Hang tight, pal/doll. I'll be back."

As the only one pre-war he understands how different the medical practices are and how subpar they compare. When ever you get sick he goes for medicine immediately in case it gets worse. Because he knows it's going to get worse. But he doesn't let you see that. It wouldn't be good for morale if he acted as if you had a death sentence. Dr. Sun is down the street and he knows the drill.

【Piper】 "Come on. Some soup will make you feel better."

Sickness was never something she's had to deal with. Nat never got sick and she never let herself lay down, giving her the world's strongest immune system. She knows you feel like crap. She knows you can't travel... but that's so inconvenient. When you start getting sick she tries to keep traveling for as long as you're able. But when you're done you're done and you hold up in Diamond City.

【Preston】 "Okay, I'm back. How was your day?"

Being the General is a full time job so when you start to get sick he stations himself at either the Castle or Sanctuary to let you rest. Nonnegotiable. You're kind of restricted to the house and if you do leave you need to have some kind of support like a chaperone or a wheelchair. And every single spare second he has he rushes to see you and showers you in domestic love.

【Hancock】 "I'm not going to leave ya. You can't get rid of me that easily."

It's really is dealer's choice. If you wanna lay down and rest he'll keep you company. If you want to keep traveling he'll carry you on his back. And anything in between is also on the table. You have access to medicine so he figures it's fine. The most important thing to him is that your safe and happy so everything else is just something to work around.

[joohanisms]

hiii i'm sick rn and i think i deserve some shameless selfish fanfiction

xdh + you're sick :-( 💭💫

cw: being sick in general, mention of vomiting, boys being really lovely

gunil

you're not lifting a finger.

he's got Everything covered, don't worry. don't even THINK about doing anything, he'll do it for you.

carries you around the house so you dont "tire yourself out" (?? you have a sore throat)

keeps you nice and warm <33 wraps you up in the blankets like a burrito. like a little shawarma sandwich. like a little cigar. like–

HOLDS YOU!! you know when you're so sick you feel like you're going to fall apart? he wraps his arms around you so gently and holds your pieces together so softly :-(

cooks nice healthy meals for you <3 makes sure to get all nutrients you need even if it's by going to the drugstore and buying supplements

showers with you because he's lowkey scared you'll faint with the heat – not that you mind having a strong body to prop yourself up against

jungsu

oldest child. takes care of you .

he's on edge for as long as you're feeling shitty. probably cussed jooyeon out for being too loud and then felt so guilty about taking his frustration out on him that he cried a little

Responsible!!

gets you gatorade, makes sure you drink plenty of water and eat light snacks through the day, will open every window so the room gets some air, takes your temperature, tells you to nap so your body has the energy to recover, gently wipes away that disgusting balmy feeling that only being sick brings

softly sings you to sleep :-(

if you're having stomach issues, he's holding your hair up and only cringing a little bit (also probably gets something soft for you to kneel on in front of the toilet – will camp out on the bathroom with you the whole night if needed)

jiseok

good entertainment + nearly makes you forget you're sick

talks a lot. tells you all about his day his week his month goes into tangents, talks about science and music and things you can barely understand just because he wants to take your attention away from the discomfort

puts his forehead to yours and says if i could i'd take the pain away :-( he's so sappy and he's half joking but you can feel how much he loves you and hates seeing you like this :-(

takes care of you as best as he can. tries to remember what his mom used to do when he got sick

has amazing sense of what to do due to being a science nerd. he might be gambling his luck but he's correct most of the time

if you're puking he's holding your hair and petting your back but he's NOT looking unless he wants to join you on the toilet

seungmin

gets everything you could possibly need and stays with you ;-(

if it's contagious then the windows are wide open he's got a mask on nothing could stop him

you need tylenol? he brought some from the bathroom when he entered the apartment!

you need a little cold patch? dw he bought one of those stick-on patches to save you from the mess of wet towels/cold compresses!

you're a little hungry? here he brought some light snacks in case your tummy wasn't feeling well!

uh oh the snacks didn't sit too well on your stomach? he has a gameplan already he's grabbing your little trashcan and brushing your hair away from your face!

you're feeling shitty after all of this? he brings you your toothbrush and water to wash out the aftertaste and he's settling beside you to pet your hair!

you still feel terrible? come on, a shower will help! he won't be able to shower with you seen as he's not keen on getting waterboarded by his mask but he will help you wash up even if his shirt gets soaked with the spray!

brushes your hair and dresses you up in comfy pajamas like you're his favorite doll afterwards :-(

hyeongjun

my lovely :-(

the best at keeping you company, be it sitting beside you with your fingers intertwined while you watch soft slice of life animes, be it laying down with you for emotional support cuddles, be it making you food and insisting on feeding it to you, be it telling you every thought that pops into his head so he can entertain you

lowkey loves when you feel like a cooked noodle and have jelly limbs because he gets to get everything for you, do everything for you, hold everything for you :-( don't count on him to carry you around though his limbs are not very .. uncooked noodle-y

will do Anything you ask him to. he might not know 100% what to do but yourself + google are good guides

brings his earbuds not to make any sound in case you have a headache, takes naps with you all day, lets you watch whatever he's doing on his phone (usually games or tiktok) (with very low volume!!)

forehead/temple kisses!!!! does the little "mm you have a fever" thing where he presses his lips to your forehead to gauge your temperature

if you want him Away from you because you're contagious, he's on the other side of the room doing his own things while you rot away in bed thinking what have i done i should've accepted the cuddles when i had the chance

jooyeon

cuddler!

if you have tummyaches he's rubbing your tummy!! if you have headaches he's massaging your head!! you have a sore throat?? do not worry he's keeping it warm because he has his face buried into your neck!!

pets your hair to sleep

he runs hot and if you have a fever he'll just sit by your side looking like a kicked puppy and holding your hand :-(

loves to help you wash up – will wash and condition your hair, soap you up, dry you with a fluffy towel afterwards, put on mosturizer all over you, will even brush your teeth for you if you let him (he's really touchy and adores caring for you and helping you feel like a human again)

definitely has the "well you got this Plague AT THE VERY LEAST yesterday. and we slept on the same bed and kissed on the mouth. if you're contagious, i'm getting sick anyway. i'm NOT being shooed away from my beloved when they're ailing." mindset

nevermind his dramatic ass. he's even more stubborn than he is theatrical and he WILL be by your side whatever anyone tells him

but gets sick too most of the time and acts like he's on his deathbed

[bluebirbo]

time for me to scurry out of my nest and talk about Hazbin Hotel! just kidding, I’m here to discuss a possible way to actually incorporate chickens into Mimzy’s character after Viz dropped that bomb of a fact on us

obligatory warning that I haven’t seen Hazbin after episode one and I’m not well versed on the 1920s so take what I say with a grain of salt!

first let’s start with how we have to reconstruct Mimzy as a character to actually mess with her design

Mimzy is supposed to be a sinner from the 1920s, particularly a flapper. I honestly don’t hate this idea but the execution of the flapper area isn’t as clean as I think it could be

flappers are often associated with being the politically rebellious, sexually liberated, free girls of their century. while that’s a pretty generalized and stereotypical way of portraying them it’s still a start. Mimzy does have some of these traits, from what we can tell she’s a heavy party person and drinker. However, I’d like to see her dip into what she did in her past more. Case in point, maybe have her and Husk get along as Mimzy acts as someone who points out the inhumanity of Alastor’s acts to Husk. OR keep that tension between them, have Husk point out how Mimzy is supposedly a fighter of freedom (referencing flapper’s fights for women’s rights during the 1920s) but she side eyes Alastor’s treatment of Husk. Mimzy can get all serious and say “hey I fought my battle”, it makes it her a bit of a jerk but if everyone in the main cast wasn’t so weirdly nice for hell it wouldn’t!

alright I hear you, let’s ACTUALLY a talk about the chicken thing!

I think instead of Mimzy being based off chickens she should just be a woman who likes chickens. it’s stupid but hear me out

Mimzy could have had a pet chicken in her human life, think 1920s boudoir dolls. like an obsessive pet owner Mimzy surrounds her whole aesthetic to this chicken. her flapper outfit has it’s feathers and she makes sure it has a little bow on. personally I’d vote for it to be a silkie chicken, they’re often pets and they feel like something you would see a girl carry around in her purse like a crusty little white dog

I’d like to see Mimzy as this once great flapper. she was a spunky, women’s rights activist, party girl with a statement pet chicken who now enjoys more laidback club activities in hell. she knows Alastor may not be the best guy but he showed her support at some point and who’s she to shame a friend? I get that’s what her character is supposed to be but she sounds way to active and insincere in her lines to seem remotely genuine about much of anything.

sorry, this kinda just turned into a Mimzy rant instead of a Mimzy chicken rant! I hope my point still came across, give my girl a chicken! as always I’ll say that your entitled to your own opinion, if you like Mimzy or would do a rewrite of her differently that’s great!

[ithaquasbbg]

Just thought I’d dump this to give people a better understanding of my writing! This was really inspired by @/turbulentscrawl (I don’t know if tagging is fine with them, but I’ll link the original work below!!) after this I’ll get back to requests!

Original work linked here

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Oletus manor - General Headcanons

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Tw : none

Extra : I’ve been doing a lot of fun writing on Freeform topics recently, and have gotten some fics to 3,000 words. Perhaps I’ll share them here someday.

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|🩷| The size of the manor can be quite shocking to people. It appears large on the outside, yes, but not large enough to house over 40 residents. (I think the total is currently 43 at the time I’m writing this?). Inside, there’s some sort of reality warping magic going on (for lack of a better word) that allows the manor to extend as much as it may need to inside without it expanding on the outside.

|🩷| Hunters and survivors do reside in the same manor, but are divided into two separate wings.

|🩷| The east side houses the Survivors rooms, a gathering area, kitchen and dining area among other necessities. This side of the manor is significantly larger and more tedious to get around due to the amount of residents.

|🩷| The hunters side of the manor has all the same basic elements with a smaller size. Though they may have slightly larger rooms.

|🩷| Dual faction residents can choose between which side of the manor they would prefer their room to be in.

|🩷| In the center of the manor is a large shared space, including yet another kitchen and dining area, a ballroom, the garden and a large gathering area among others.

|🩷| Outside of matches, the survivors do not have their doll like appearances. The reason they look like dolls in matches is simply because it’s easier to repair a doll than to heal serious injuries on a person.

|🩷| I’d like to say that the hunters appear more human outside of matches. There’s no real reason for this, other than the fact that I doubt anybody is going to date a giant talking lizard (.. if you are I’m a little afraid /j)

|🩷| There are long periods of time without matches, sometimes there’s matches daily, while other times the residents can go weeks or even months without matches. They’re randomly selected as well.

|🩷| The manor has people from varying times in history, and each residents room reflects the time they were alive. Say there was a modern era resident, they may have electronics in their room! The rest of the manor could theoretically be updated with more modern items as well, but any updates are usually kept to the kitchens and bathrooms. (Televisions may scare the older era residents too much.. Ithaqua)

|🩷| The showers are heated by several water heaters but are unfortunately not unlimited. Because of this, there are instances where the hot water will run out, and arguments ensue.

|🩷| The weather is typically predictable and can provide the residents a sense of time they may otherwise lose track of. There is no threat of serious weather like tornadoes, but the storms can still get quite violent and unnerving for some of the residents.

|🩷| Injuries sustained during matches do not carry over to the survivors or hunters real bodies (hence the dolls!!) but all the pain that they feel during the matches is very much real.

|🩷| Unfortunately, the manor residents do get sick from time to time. This mostly occurs when a new resident joins the manor, as most peoples immunity cannot protect them from the diseases. But they are unable to die from them.

|🩷| Survivors and hunters can access the match locations when matches are not taking place (for example they can play at moonlight river park)

|🩷| Since everyone is going to stuck together for an indefinite amount of time, relationships do form.

|🩷| Survivors who had health conditions or disabilities before coming to the manor do still suffer from them in the manor (but in cases like Joseph’s, the mental effects of mercury poisoning are not as prominent, and they are left with the physical effects like tremors, weakness, ect.)

|🩷| Some npcs are also in the manor (the ones that lore has confirmed, like miles, or the ones that have been dragged in through costumes like Nathaniel. Im really desperate)

|🩷| Food items and other necessities such as hygiene products are refilled or restocked whenever needed.

|🩷| Each room comes with decorations of the residents preference, and also has a small bathroom with a shower or bath inside. This way, people don’t have to share showers.

|🩷| Wardrobes are not limited to just in game skins, but they are included in them. Casual and sleepwear is also included!

|🩷| Skins from other franchises are debatable. If the skin is still the original character (like Joseph and Emma’s hello Kitty crossover skins), then they are part of the residents wardrobe. But if they’re another character outside of the manor residents, it is only cosmetic (same goes with truth and inference)

|🩷| Same goes for skins from other universes, like Coa or Morningstar essences, for example. Once costumes where a character is reverted back to childhood don’t translate either, like blind spot. But if they’re adults in their once skins, they can translate and have effects on the mental status of the wearer, such as Joseph’s hangover skin

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….THIS WAS SO LONG- but I do enjoy dumping Headcanons down, and maybe you all will enjoy them as well.

[struungout]

Resin Rose Thoughts

As I mentioned the other day, I got Opinions about what I did experience of the convention. In my case, I was kind of a failure in regards to the socializing part of the con and primarily trolled through the vendor’s hall and shopped ‘til I dropped before me and my friend went off to goof off at Target and our hotel room (the one place I didn’t feel like a walking sweat puddle).

So yeah, I didn’t go to any of the panels because I was busy shopping and, frankly, none of them grabbed my interest. It was a lot of stuff for newbies to dolls or crafting, neither of which was applicable to me. xD There was a general meet-up scheduled, but by the time 6PM came around, I was at capacity for being around people and was completely drained due to walking around so much + the heat.

That said, I did have some thoughts about the vendor’s hall and the big swap. I will attempt to keep my usual blunt mean-ness to a minimal since I know a lot of people enjoy Resin Rose and had a good time this year. That said, if you don’t like to hear critical shit about things you like, what’s below the cut ain’t for you.

Registration

Registration/badge pick-up was a chaotic mess, to be frank. For one, what a choice to have check-in to the right of a vendor table at the entrance. Badge pick up and con merch should be front and center and the first thing you see when you walk in. Also, for the love of god, get those poor people a laptop or tablet + keyboard with a spreadsheet or something for checking names instead of those physical paper lists. Opening for general admittance is chaotic enough without adding extra steps that hold up the line and cause walkways to be blocked/clogged at the LONE ENTRANCE/EXIT*.

There also didn’t seem to be anybody checking for badges at the door or anything so it feels like there’s not a point to making 2-day and 1-day pre-registered pass holders to wait until Saturday to pick theirs up. Anybody with the audacity could just peruse the hall and buy shit without a pass. Considering how chaotic just purchasing from some vendors could be, checking if someone is wearing their pass would be the last thing on their mind lmao. Coloring coding passes would likely help close up that particular hole if you’re genuinely worried about not getting paid for someone to check the Vendor’s Hall out.

Back to the lists—they couldn’t even find my name (I was supposed to have had a helper badge through my friend Rae since she was vending at RR) and I had to pay for my badge. On top of that, I didn’t receive an envelope that I guess had raffle or scavenger hunt information in it? Didn’t even realize I was supposed to get that until my friend asked me about it ten minutes later. Not even mad about paying (planned to pre-register before Rae said she’d take care of it), but the chaotic mess was a really rough beginning to my visit. Mayhaps just have everything in an envelope and organized by badge-type.

*Yes, there really was just the one place to come and go to this room because the door to the pool area of the hotel was blocked off by vendor tables (how is that not a fire hazard lmao). Also…Monarch Hotel, why the fuck would you give a room this big a single door entrance? That fucker needed double doors and you know it.

Vendor’s Hall

The general layout seems pretty run of the mill for conventions from what I’ve seen online, but there just wasn’t good space between tables. People were wearing big backpacks to display their dolls in, plus got swag bags they’re carrying, and then stopping to check out what’s for sale. Shit clogs up quick, especially when there’s a popular vendor. Saw one poor woman with a walker nearly take out the wheel thing the raffle tickets were in because something hanging on her walker handle caught onto the wheel’s door, and that was at the entrance area of the hall. If two people in wheelchairs can’t comfortably pass each other, there isn’t enough room.

The outer ring of tables were basically a dead zone, even with the chaos of the hall opening to 2 and 1-day pass holders. Most everyone buying stuff were concentrated in the middle and alleyway type tables because that’s where the well-known sellers were. It’s already a hard time being a vendor that may not have a huge and viral social media presence where they can hype people up for a convention appearance, but it’s all the worse when you’re out in the boonies. Plus I feel like the eyes just don’t get drawn towards the outer corners of these kind of set ups—there were several tables I completely glazed over the first time because they got huddled away into some dark corner.

Speaking of the outer ring, in one corner, they were right there with the air vents and were keeping nice and cool, and in the exact opposite corner diagonal from them, the people were fucking slow roasting next to the windows. I didn’t see any sort of box fans or anything set up for them to help keep them cool, just papers and handheld fans they either got from the freebie table or brought along themselves (or purchased from someone else). That really isn’t acceptable and I feel it’s on the convention and hotel staff for not looking out for them. That’s such an easy way to give someone heat exhaustion or heat stroke. The gift shop I work at temporarily got moved to what was essentially a shoe box with no real heating or cooling and we had one of the hottest summers at the time and just one hour during peak heat in that hot box was fucking horrid. I would have refused to come to work if my boss and her assistant hadn’t gotten me a box fan to keep my work area cool. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Portland was getting hot weather; there should have been contingencies in place to keep people safe and comfortable.

Generally, there just shouldn’t have been vendors set up by the windows, particularly ones that’d get a lot of sunlight. Instead, you should just cluster the contest tables (preferably with backdrops that could block the sunlight so the dolls don’t get potentially damaged), raffle jars, freebie tables, and sitting areas for that space. Basically stuff that isn’t going to draw consistent crowds (people generally drop by the once and then off to shop).

For the raffle stuff, that all should have just been photographed and put on like…a big poster board or a QR code to a dedicated web page to show the prizes and just have the prizes themselves stored away somewhere safe until they’re actually getting handed out (think that was primarily at the closing ceremony?). Then you got several tables freed up for vendors.

Overall though, enjoyed shopping and seeing all the stuff. Just felt very awkward to attempt to stop and chat with other people about their wares or dolls in general and whatnot. Managed to spend 3+ hours in there on Saturday, so my hermit and socially awkward ass managed to survive well enough. Only left because my stomach demanded food. xD

Got to see Rae, take a picture of my dolls with Shrimp, and spent over $500. 8/10

The Swap

So bad it was embarrassing.

The space between tables was hellishly tight, there was absolutely no direction in traffic flow, which just made things worse. There was also one person I remember with two luggage bags ON THE FLOOR IN FRONT OF THEIR TABLE alongside all the shit they had actually on the table. I don’t know who the fuck told them THAT was okay, but they clearly don’t know what a fucking tripping hazard is.

There really should have been HALF the amount of tables in that room than there was. If you’re gonna have that many people with swap tables in a room that small, then you need to make it an all day event and cycle people through. I managed to put up with one walk around the room to see if there were any dolls that were on my wishlist, bought a pair of boots, and then got the fuck out of there.

Couldn’t get out fast enough, 0/10.

Other Thunkin’

Didn’t go to the closing ceremony since by the time me and my friend got back to the hotel from our day trip to the Clackamas Town Center, we were hungry and exhausted and there just wasn’t enough time to have the nice dinner we planned and then go to the ceremony, so we just did our dinner, made a trip to a convenience store + Target and went back to our room. Heard it was crowded and warm tho, so I’m not too broken up about enjoying a steak and drinks instead. xD

Overall, I don’t regret going, but it was definitely uhh…underwhelming, I suppose? Maybe if I wasn’t sweating my tits off because the hotel’s air circulation sucks and I was actively talkative on the likes of Instagram and the RR channel on the BJD Discord server, it’d have been easier to meet up with people I’m actually acquainted with to chit chat and all that shit. It was really nice to get to see Rae in person for the few minutes we got, but she was busy keeping an eye on her table and I was busy shopping and oogling stuff, so we didn’t get to hang as much as I would have liked.

I’m not likely to go to another doll convention anytime soon since just the flight down south is expensive on top of saving my money all year to make sure I had plenty to splurge on what I wanted and still have some in case of any emergencies. Put off a lot of doll plans this year for Resin Rose, and while that was fine this time around since I had my attention on other hobbies, I can’t do that on a yearly basis haha (and if I’m gonna be leaving my small ass town, I’m GONNA be buying shit).

[mad-hunts]

details about ocs! // 🤍 WHITE HEART — what are three of your oc's neutral/questionable traits? (and/or) 🍝 SPAGHETTI — what is/are your oc's favourite food(s)?

ASK MEME - details about oc's!

hello, hello, @oculusxcaro! i really appreciate you sending me this meme through my inbox — allow me to first address three of barton's more neutral / questionable traits. so, this may not be a surprise, but barton is definitely a bit... eccentric. i mean, especially to outsiders who do not know the true inner workings of his 'family business,' as he does actually make normal dolls as well. and so he does live up to his moniker ( the dollmaker ) in more ways than one. as to why barton makes actual dolls as well as his more twisted creations, part of it is because the cloth dolls seem to serve a role in his grotesque dollmaking: he came up with the idea to insert hidden messages in these dolls with information about the main victim that the prospective cloth doll is 'modeling,' so to speak ( so they'd essentially be a carbon copy of the doll he made using a real person, except while they were alive ) because some of his clients started to express a desire to feel more connected with the 'doll.' and he thought this would be a good way to keep their business. though, now he does it for everyone who purchases a ' doll. ' which is absolutely horrifying to think about, of course, but barton has also taken to creating cloth and / or different kinds of dolls as a hobby since winslow ( his surrogate father ) was a toymaker and it reminds him of the man.

plus, winslow was the person to teach him everything he knows regarding how to make the dolls in the first place, so he feels somewhat guilty for just using them for his own... less than savory purposes. but yeah, that is one way that barton is eccentic, and another would be that he can be surprisingly playful sometimes. however, if you are a stranger or if he doesn't know you very well in general, you aren't very likely to see this side of him. his playful / teasing side is mostly reserved for his closer friends, his family members and his romantic partner. like, just imagine the kind of playfulness that comes with completely catching someone off guard by suddenly saying ' trust fall ' out of absolute NOWHERE and letting yourself fall backwards, which leads the other person into a state of panic but then barton catching himself at the last moment. and him being like, ' ahhh, you really thought i was gonna fall back in hopes you would catch me only so i can crack my head open, didn't you? i wouldn't do that. i mean, look at those stick arms. we're gonna have to start calling you skelly if you don't get any meat on those. ' ( lol... )

so, there's no malice behind it, he really just jokes around with the people in his more tight-knit circle sometimes. as for what i'd say a second neutral trait of his is, is that he's a very ambitious person. barton strived for nothing less than A's and maybe the occasional one or two B's whenever it came to high school because he wanted to get into the best medical school that he could in the future — and this carried on into his premed years, though he might've suffered from an extreme case of burnout because of this during his junior year. this was also around the time that his past girlfriend, auriel, disappeared however. so that kind of added onto the situation and made it worse. anyhow, barton has always tried to strive to be the best at his job, despite it being completely wrong morally and has grown somewhat of a reputation with gotham's underground for being one of the best people to go to if you can't go to the hospital ( either because you have committed a crime or a myriad of other reasons ) , but you still want top-quality medical care.

thirdly, and last but certainly not least, is the fact that barton is bold. he is the kind of person in which, if someone tells him not to do something in a bad situation because it's too dangerous or what have you, that he will do it anyway. and despite him generally not being a good father as a rule, he has demonstrated a desire to protect his children over all else in a few situations. which is a rather fearless thing to do when you're being held at gunpoint or outnumbered. his former boss, in particular, had wanted to kill one of his children as punishment for trying to leave him but barton said ' nope, that's not happening, ' and hopped right in front of them. needless to say, they both ended up getting out of that situation alive, but yeah.

another way in which barton is bold is he will stand up to people if they try to hurt his friends and although his definition of friends is... a bit different than normal, to say the least. and this is because barton can very well feel cognitive empathy towards them even if he has difficulty with empathizing with them on an emotional level. once again, it just kind of depends on how close you are to him, but barton has this funny way of appearing as if he doesn't care about someone at all but will turn around and scare off any people who attempt to torment certain people in his life. but anyhow... i'm getting a bit off-track here. i hope this was very informative as to what some of barton's neutral traits are!

[ronnie-quinn]

Bye-Bye, Butterfly

CG! Jin Lee and Regressor! Ming Lee 🍼

Plot: Ming and Jin watch the monarch butterflies at Point Pelee National Park.

Prompt generator by @buttercupagere

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Toronto.

The air was getting cooler. The leaves were starting to change color. It was late September, and autumn was approaching.

Jin was making breakfast when the radio that was playing announced that the monarch butterflies were migrating from Point Pelee National Park. The radio said that anyone can go watch them migrate to Mexico.

Jin thought it was a great way to celebrate the end of summer and beginning of autumn. He knew that Ming loved butterflies in both her big and regressed headspace.

After he finished cooking, he went to the bedroom so he could wake up Ming.

Jin gently opened the door and and smiled when he saw Ming sleeping peacefully with her pacifier in her mouth. She was also hugging her Celine Dion doll and baby blanket. He quietly walked over to the bed and softly shook Ming’s shoulder to wake her up.

“Ming, it’s time to wake up and say good morning to the sun,” Jin whispered.

Ming yawned as she woke up and rubbed her eyes with her fists. She then reached her arms out to Jin.

Jin happily and gently picked Ming up. She then wrapped her arms and legs around him while sucking on her pacifier.

“Morning, Dada,” Ming sleepily babbled as she rested her head on Jin’s shoulder.

“Aww, is someone feeling tiny this morning?” Jin cooed as he rubbed Ming’s back and rocked her from side to side. “Is Dada’s little panda cub feeling tiny, hm?”

Ming nodded as Jin continued rocking her. After a few minutes, he gently laid her back down on the bed. He changed her out of her pajamas and into a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans with embroidered flowers and butterflies on them. He brushed her hair and then carried her to the kitchen. He sat her down at the table and began serving breakfast.

“Hey, Ming, guess what? There’s a monarch butterfly migration happening at Point Peele National Park today. Do you want to go see it?” Jin asked after he sat down to eat.

“Migration?” Ming asked as she tilted her head.

“Yes, that’s when some animals like birds head to warmer places during the colder months. In this case, the monarchs are flying to Mexico for a while.”

“Go bye-bye?” Ming asked again as her voice began to grow quiet.

“They’re going bye-bye for a while, but they’ll come back in the spring.”

“They will?”

“Yep. Do you want to go watch the butterflies migrate today?” Jin asked.

"Okay," Ming said quietly and nodded as she continued eating.

After breakfast, Jin took Ming to the living room and turned on the TV for her, surfing the channels until he landed on Treehouse TV. He then left the living room to get everything ready for their trip. He packed up Ming’s regression bag and a cooler of food since the trip would take a while and it would be lunch time by the time they got to the park.

Thirty minutes passed and Jin finished packing. He walked back into the living room, where Ming resting her head on the couch’s arm. She had a sad look on her face, as if she was about to cry.

Jin noticed this and walked over to Ming, crouching down to her eye level.

“Are you alright, Ming?” Jin asked.

“Butterflies no go…” Ming muttered.

“You don’t want them to leave?”

Ming shook her head as tears began to form in her eyes.

“How are you feeling right now?” Jin asked.

“Happy to see them… but sad to see them go…” Ming sniffled as she sat up and the tears finally fell.

Jin gave Ming a hug and she began crying.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Jin comforted as he softly shushed her and patted her back. “It’s sad for me to see them go, too.”

“Dada sad?” Ming hiccuped.

“Yeah, I’m going to miss the butterflies, and it’s okay to miss someone that’s going away for a while.”

Ming continued sniffling and crying as Jin patted her back.

After a few minutes, Jin let go of the hug and wiped Ming’s tears away.

“I know it’s hard to watch the butterflies leave, but I promise they’re not going away forever. They’re just going to take a nap in a warmer place for a few months and they’ll come right back,” Jin reassured. “And you know what? I bet the butterflies are thinking about you, just like how we’re thinking about them.”

“They are?” Ming asked.

Jin nodded and kissed Ming’s forehead.

“Let’s take a few deep breaths to help us feel better,” Jin said. He began slowly inhaling from his nose and slowly exhaling from his mouth. Ming followed along, breathing deeply as her tears slowly stopped.

“Come back?” Ming asked after taking a few deep breaths.

“They’ll come back in the spring. And when it gets warmer, we can head back to the park and see them again.”

Ming gave a small smile and nodded. Jin smiled back and gave her one more hug.

“Come on, let’s get your tuque and jacket on and we’ll go,” Jin said.

~

The trip to the Point Pelee National Park took over four hours, but Ming was happily occupied with her coloring books and storybooks that Jin packed, along with her baby blanket and Celine Dion doll. She even fed her panda and played with it in her Tamagotchi when it was hungry or needed playtime.

Once they got to the park, they walked in and found a picnic area to eat their lunch. Lunch went by in a blur and they cleaned up their area. Jin held Ming’s hand as they walked down the trail that led them to the monarch butterflies’ roosting site.

They arrived at the roosts and Ming was astonished. Monarch butterflies were flying and fluttering all over the place! Ming grinned from ear to ear.

“Look, Dada!” Ming exclaimed excitedly.

“I do see the butterflies!” Jin smiled. “Aren’t they pretty?”

Ming nodded as she and Jin watched the butterflies fly around them. A butterfly landed on Jin’s tuque and Ming began giggling. Jin chuckled at this, glad that Ming was feeling better.

After a bit, some butterflies began flying away.

Ming began to tear up again. Jin gently squeezed Ming’s hand to console her and remind her that the monarch butterflies will be back soon. She smiled back as she and Jin continued watching them fly around and migrate.

[amplifyme]

@randomfoggytiger

Let's talk about Walk Slowly. This episode wrecks me. Every single time.

Vincent's walk as he carries Cathy's body back to her apartment; and his vigil until dawn forces him to go.

And that's where the tears start for me. I often think about the Classic fans who never watched S3 and all they missed out on in just this single episode. They never got to see Vincent kiss his Catherine good-bye, or experience with her loved ones the grief they shared over her death, or hear Vincent's eulogy. Oh well, their loss.

Vincent finally seeking out Father, and Father knowing Vincent's grief and guiding him through it... wow. Vincent's fight with the Other, Catherine's necklace, remembering her words, shocking Father to death with the revelation. Joe and Jen and the FUNERAL-- all the people Above and Below.

Yes, yes, yes! Nothing to add here.

DIANA. DIANA, DIANA, DIANA. I love her. I never would have imagined her so serious-- for some reason, I read her voice as fast talking, higher pitched-- a far cry from measured and deliberate.

She's very deliberate and very introspective. As I told you before, she lives in her head. And I think she has the type of personality that once she figures out you're okay and she decides she likes you, there would be times you wouldn't be able to shut her up. She just generally plays things really close to the vest. She doesn't like to give any part of herself away until she feels like you've earned it.

I adore that Diana "met" Catherine first, and really connected with her through her little doll. (I also noticed that she seems to get flashes or insights by touching objects... hmmmmm.)

Though I liked her from the get-go, this scene in C's apartment sealed the deal for me. From the second she shoved the cop out the door, shut off the lights, and just stood in the dark soaking everything up, I was hooked. "I bet you had a name, didn't you?" Oh, my sweet Diana, I adore you.

She absolutely gets insights and impressions by touching things. She's a touch-sensitive empath, just like Vincent.

Did you notice the parallels between her stepping out onto the balcony for the first time and how it mirrored the shot of Cathy doing the same in the intro the first two seasons?

Mark took me by surprise, wonder how long he's going to be around.

Not as long as he'd like to be. The boy's got some stiff competition coming his way. 😉

Her interrogation of both Joe and Elliot was spectacular.

Really gives you a nice insight into how she works and her ability to cut through the BS and get down to business. Loved her asking Elliot to at least tell her whether she's looking for a dead man or not, cuz she hates wasting her time. The implication being that Elliot might've located and taken care of Vincent already. And her unrelenting questioning of Joe and the whole "Who makes you jealous?" tact. She's very good at what she does, which goes a long way in explaining why she gets to pick and choose the cases she takes on.

Oh, and another thing I just thought of. Elliot definitely knows about Vincent, and lies to Diana when she asks him. He's still keeping Cathy's secrets, even after her death.

Diana observing everyone, marking their pictures with question marks (and Father with the most.)

This was cut out in editing but during the funeral she notices Elliot exchanging looks with Father (remembering each other from when Father was locked up at Paracelsus' and Elliot first heard Vincent's name) and that's why he has three question marks on his photo instead of just one.

The children hugging Vincent while the others are at the funeral....

How heartbreaking was that?? He needed to allow himself the comfort the kids so wanted to give him. And they needed to grieve too. Read the script when you have the time. It was originally written quite differently, but I love the quiet simplicity of this better.

I had to watch Vincent's eulogy several times before I could actually pay attention to what he was saying. I was too busy picking out all the familiar faces at the funeral. I finally closed my eyes and just listened. Perlman delivered, and then some.

There was a moment when the way was still new, and I was afraid to hope. You put your hand on mine. Nothing had ever felt like that to me... like your touch. I wanted to weep. You turned and looked at me, your eyes were filled with dancing light. And I was bathed in your warmth. And I believed in that moment that even for me, all things were possible. In that moment... in your light... I felt what it is to be beautiful. How many lives were touched by you? How many lives were transformed by your courage to give... and to love? How many became beautiful in your light? Oh, we promised, always, to share the truth, always. But, Catherine, there was a truth beyond anything... beyond everything I had ever known, ever dreamed. It was the truth of all you gave, of all you sacrificed, for me. The truth of your love humbled me, silenced me. And the truth I could never share with you was the truth of how deeply I loved you. I will remember. I will remember every moment, every word, every look, every touch. Our love lives. It will live forever. Nothing will destroy us. Love does not die. You're safe. You're safe now. Sleep, my love. 😭😭😭

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system, let's close with something a bit more shallow. This is my favorite Vincent outfit EVER. The leather, military-like vest is perfection. And it beautifully foreshadows the battle he's about to wage.

[after-perfect]

Something crossed my mind earlier about der Tod's relationship with Rudolf in Elisabeth, and why der Tod tosses him aside in Mayerling, but later lays Elisabeth down quite gently or even carries her offstage. I'm not sure I agree with this idea, but I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts on it.

Under the cut, because I'm going to talk about suicide, and it's possibly even darker than most discussions of the Mayerling scene. So - warning for that.

Most of my Elisabeth interpretations depend on the actors involved, and I tend to stick to analyzing my 3 favourite Tods (Uwe, Máté, and Mark). For this one, I'm mostly talking about Uwe's and Máté's Tods, whom I generally read as actual beings or gods of death. Mark plays it quite differently and I don't think this interpretation fits him, though I may make a separate post at some point.

There's plenty of debate about how der Tod feels about Rudolf - is he mostly using him as a means to get to Elisabeth, or does he care about him for his own sake?

What if it's both? Or rather, what if it's one, then the other?

I definitely believe that der Tod feels some kind of obsession/desire/whatever for Elisabeth that he considers to be love, whether or not most humans would call it that. And because he's Death and not used to feeling this way about anyone, the ways he goes about expressing his feelings are - well, not what most humans would want a lover to do (e.g. interrupting her wedding dance to manhandle her; killing little Sophie).

Maybe der Tod's initial interest in Rudolf is purely because he's Elisabeth's son, and he shows up for Mama, wo bist du? just to get the ball rolling for his future manipulations. But then he actually talks to Rudolf for a minute and discovers that the kid's kind of interesting (is this mostly because of the cat? Or does he see a lonely little boy and feel something like sympathy?). First of all, that would suggest that der Tod has the potential to be interested in and to care about many other humans, but that Elisabeth and now Rudolf are the first people he's paid much attention to. And there's a whole lot to build on with that possibility, but that's not my main point. Second, the result is that he really does stay close to Rudolf and become increasingly attached to him, in his own strange way.

If that's the case, what's going on in Die Schatten werden länger? Some form of seduction, certainly. Is he trying to induce Rudolf to kill himself then and there? Is he encouraging him to do things he knows will lead Rudolf to despair and desperation (greif nach der Macht, etc.)? Is he giving him a very twisted sort of pep talk for what he thinks is Rudolf's own good because he actually kind of likes the guy?

After that, their next onstage interaction is Mayerling, and what happens with the gun is interesting. For most of the scene, the Todesengel are basically playing keep-away with it, passing it back and forth between themselves while Rudolf frantically chases after it. And the thing is, at any point in this scene, Rudolf could stop chasing the gun. He could walk away; he still has a way out. But he doesn't. He chases that gun right into der Tod's arms. Even then, he still has a chance to change his mind. Elisabeth has turned away from der Tod when she was inches from that final kiss, and Rudolf could too. Der Tod may put the gun in Rudolf's hand and (in some productions) even push it towards his head, but it's Rudolf's finger that pulls the trigger. In other productions, Rudolf has even more agency as der Tod simply holds up the gun; it's Rudolf who reaches for it and puts it to his own head.

Even though he spends the Mayerling Waltz either flailing after the Todesengel or being jerked around like a rag doll by der Tod - which makes him look as helpless as he probably feels at this point - Rudolf is actually being given one big long opt-out. And if that doesn't perfectly express what it's like to be on the brink of suicide, I don't know what does. The feeling of being powerless to fight whatever's brought you here, the feeling that you've passed the point of no return. You may not even be aware at this point that you still have other options or that you're the one making this choice, but you are.

(Note: I don't mean to blame or disparage those who attempt or complete suicide. That feeling of powerlessness is very real and very overwhelming, and it's incredibly difficult to see any way out when you're in the middle of it. Not to get too personal, but - firsthand experience on this one.)

Rudolf, consciously or not, makes that choice all through Mayerling. He chases the gun, in some cases he puts it to his head, and he pulls the trigger. It looks to the audience - and probably feels to Rudolf - as though der Tod is the one forcibly kissing him, but in a less literal sense, it's the opposite.

So assuming that der Tod does in fact care for Rudolf, and gives him the best part of a full dance sequence to change his mind, why does he then just drop him on the floor? And why is he more gentle with Elisabeth later?

It's kind of awful to think about, but what if it's disappointment? Disappointment that Rudolf didn't resist his seduction, or take the opportunity he was offered to turn away. It says something pretty dark about what he calls love. This is - not a nice way to love someone, to say the least. It's a very egocentric-god view of people; once they've disappointed him, he's done. He either doesn't understand that if he keeps pushing and testing them they're eventually going to break, or just has no sympathy for what he sees as human weakness. In der Tod's eyes, Rudolf gave in, or was weak, or whatever you want to call it. And so he tosses him aside and moves on to Elisabeth, who has so far resisted.

And are times when she's tempted to give in - Elisabeth, mach auf; Die Maladie, Totenklage (The near-kiss in Wenn ich tanzen will is different, but that's for another post) - but she never quite does. Even when she begs for death during Totenklage, she asks him to come and take her; she doesn't try to go to him - though he still treats her with scorn for it. She may welcome her eventual death and run happily into der Tod's arms, but she doesn't cause it. He wants her to come to him willingly, but not by her own hand. Again, it's not exactly a reasonable demand from a human point of view, but der Tod isn't looking at it from a human point of view. And that's why he's more gentle with Elisabeth than he was with Rudolf.

Whew, so that was a ride. As I said at the beginning, I'm not sure I actually believe this interpretation. In a way, I don't want to - obviously, both Rudolf's and Elisabeth's relationships with der Tod are going to be dark, but I don't think I want them to be this dark. It's something that occurred to me, though, and what's tumblr for if not for sharing random disturbing thoughts about media?

[valentinoappreciator]

okay, okay, okay!! <3

so, valentino… my darling dearest, my most beloved and beloathed <3

like you said, he is very possessive n obsessive over you as a lover!!

i feel like he might get vox to plant a cute little tracker into your phone or something that you always keep with you, so that he can always know where his most special girl is <3 and he definitely wouldn’t tell you about it! now, if you did find out about the tracker, valentino would be ready with some kind of excuse about protecting you; “you know how dangerous it is out here, baby doll, daddy just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

i’ve also been thinking about valentino collaring you to make sure that everybody knows that you belong to him, and him only <3 maybe if he’s feeling nice enough, he’d let you pick out the collar yourself! of course, the collar alone brings many new possibilities, like being able to have you on a leash so that you physically can’t drift too far away from him <3

love, love, love the idea of valentino claiming you as his by coming inside of you <3 not too sure how big valentino would be on a breeding kink or such, but… listen, if he got you pregnant (even though sinner can’t reproduce) you’d be all his, no buts about it <3 i mean, you’d be carrying his child inside of you, how could you be anyone else’s?

omg imagine if you didn’t really like how possessive and obsessive he is- like maybe you start being away from him for longer and longer, maybe you even go as far as leaving your phone at the v tower, so that val can’t track you… oh, he’d be so pissed :( <3 i’m immediately thinking about the worst-case scenario on how he’d punish you for this, and like… what if he just locks you up in his room? <3 or even better, in some room that only he knows exists c: he’d get to have you all to himself, you’d be for his eyes only <3

also!! “meant to be yours” from heathers fits pretty well with all of this, i think <3

-🫀

YOUR MIND!!!! UN-FUCKING-PARALLELED omgggg 😭😭😭😭😭 holy shit, I am LIVING for this kinda shit, and you certainly do not disappoint 👀 😍 🙏

I aaaabsolutely agree with the tracking device on / in your phone! And if he does collar you, the collar could also have a tracking device 👀 of course, since he's nice and generous and lets you choose the collar yourself, it's only fair that he makes sure it tracks you... right? 😌

I'm not big on pregnancy, but indeed, if you did end up carrying his child, there would be no doubt as to who you belong to, and who owns you 😌😌

hgngnfmngmnsdmndfmd I want him to lock me in his private room and just... do whatever to me 😭😭😭😭

Aaaahhh, Heathers my beloved 😭 haven't watched that musical in FOREVER... I should get on that 👀

[lajulie24]

1, 19, 42 (for 19 - I don’t remember the title, but the spooky fic where Anakin/Vader possessed the doll, please 🙏🏻 )

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

Ooh, this is a tough question! I think if this person had read nothing of my work (and I didn’t know how they felt about the sequel trilogy era, but they’re interested enough to try a Han/Leia fic), I would probably pick something set between Star Wars original recipe and ESB, with a bit of romantic tension but also more of the missions, Han and Leia working together, that sort of thing. For that, I’d likely go with A Betting Woman or Tear Down the Walls because they give you a sense of Han and Leia’s growing friendship and attraction, see that blooming into romance, and some of the essentials of why they work together, in my opinion.

19. If you wrote a spin-off of All the ghouls come out to play (the spooky fic where Anakin/Vader possessed the doll), what would it involve?

Ha, ha, this was fun to think about. I think there’s a few different options for spin-offs that could be fun. One would be to follow the doll after it ends up at the Alderaanian Museum, in case there are further shenanigans with it, or to see Leia attempt to come up with a reason why she decided to donate it. Another one would be if somehow after the incident Leia is comfortable enough to hang out with Force Ghost Obi-Wan (who was a big help getting Anakin out of the doll) from time to time, and somehow even though Han doesn’t have the Force like Leia does, he can see Obi-Wan too, and eventually Force Ghost Obi-Wan even gets to meet Han and Leia’s baby, so Anakin is even MORE jealous because Obi-Wan gets to hang out with Anakin’s family and Anakin is definitely not invited. (It even takes a while after the doll incident before Luke will talk with Anakin again — Luke’s one of those people whom it takes a lot to make mad, but once he’s angry he tends to stay that way for a bit. And he’s very protective of his sister.)

42. Have you ever received a comment that particularly stood out to you for whatever reason?

Oh, yes, definitely, many that stand out for me. Many generous commenters out there! A couple I will mention: I had someone write me a long beautiful comment thanking me for writing Epic Love and giving Han and Leia the characterization and relationship they felt was missing in TFA. But I think one that especially stands out was a comment where someone told me I nailed Leia’s voice and characterization, that they could hear Carrie saying those lines when they read my fic. Which made my little heart very happy for quite some time. Still does, really.

Thank you so much for the ask!

Questions for fic writers

[mariacallous]

hmmmm, I wonder about the wider and long term impact of Harry Potter on YA and middle grades books.

I mean hers was really the first such book to make all the money in the known universe, gain mega super unstoppable popularity, that lasted for years and years and years, everyone from age 8 to 80 read them, my grandma read them (she was a big reader and was thrilled her grandkids were reading and wanted to be able to talk to us about it) did that have the effect of focusing more punishing attention on YA? did its cross over adult appeal as well as long term cultural staying power cause more people who are adults now to feel comfortable staying in YA?

I mean, yeah, at least to a certain extent?

Plus, like with the Marvel movies (but done, to a certain extent, less blatantly, at least initially, in the HP case), there's that continued and built-in buy-in that makes you keep coming back because you have to know what happens next and you have to take advantage of the latest offering. But it was executed and done more creatively and, dare I say, enjoyably.

Plus there was the same phenomenon where it went from being kind of a niche underdog thing (you're reading a book about magic? from britain?) to this mega mainstream popular thing but a lot of people didn't accept or see how it had shifted and so it became totemic, on top of the appeal it already had (like in the Christopher Hitchens review I shared last night).

But because it hit in the right sweet spot both developmentally for a lot of people but culturally (the late 90s into early-to-mid-2000s) it took advantage of (and helped create) shifts in pop culture and media consumption (plus at one point it was the progressive/liberal option since it was targeted for promoting witchcraft and satanism by a lot of the Concerned Parents and right-wing groups, so it was able to coast on that cachet for a while). I could also argue that in a post-9/11 world there was the ongoing appeal of a relatively simple message about generic good triumphing over generic evil which cuts across age groups and ideologies and which was an element of stability - yes there are individual (sometimes lots of individual) pains and suffering but the overall arc goes to a positive result.

The thing is, YA (or books that would be considered YA) have always been popular - it's never not been a profitable genre. What HP and all that did was do, in a lot of cases, what Marvel/Disney did to movies, and sort of fundamentally reshape much of how it operates and what it promotes, and the specific type of book or book series matters less as long as it can follow the general path and rules that have been laid down.

Plus, nostalgia is also always profitable (it's why a lot of trends never go away and just get cycled back - it's one of the reasons why Barbie, to use a particular example, really kind of took off in the late 80s into the 90s, because the kids who had grown up playing with those dolls in the 60s and 70s were now old enough to both have kids of their own to introduce Barbie to but also had the money and ability to indulge themselves and start collecting) and HP has that mixture of general ("timeless" I guess could be a better word) and specific appeal which continues to carry forward in a way that other stuff doesn't.

[1800duckhotline]

madonna 2, 5, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16 !!!

GET TO KNOW THE OC ASKS

YAYY Madonna time!

Sorry it took me a bit to get to this. I've been busy but here we go. Madonna lore just for you. You know the drill, this is gonna get long.

2. Is your OC a loner or a social butterfly? Are they satisfied with how they come across to other people?

Madonna is like if an extrovert and an introvert had a baby (unfunny joke but it explains sort of). Due to her past job as a pharmacist and having been part of a corporate environment, being a social butterfly was more or less a requisite, which means through the years she's built up a "social stamina" strong enough to withstand social events that last well over 3 hours. This carries over as Kindred, however, her unlife also warrants a very much welcomed sense of tranquility since she decides when she wants to be social, usually in the context of feeding from willing blood dolls she meets in clubs or with fellow vampires she has an alliance with.

I think you could categorize Madonna as an extroverted introvert, since she definitely treasures her time alone and enjoys distancing herself from socializing for the sake of her own interests.

5. Does your OC have a signature weapon and/or attack? How long did they train to master it?

As Tremere, Madonna has a vast array of Thaumaturgy skills that can aid her in battle - her favorite spell to use is Blood Theft as it is extremely convenient in situations where a lot of spells need to be cast. That said, she tends to make sure she uses as less Thaumaturgy as possible in context where the supernatural isn't involved - and thus relies on her marksmanship skills, which are fairly impressive.

She didn't know a lick of fighting before becoming kindred, so go figure - she has always been a fast learner, so it no doubt helped her in this case.

9. Is your OC laid back or do they thrive on drama? What role do they play in their group of friends/associates?

Madonna is 35 years old in body and spirit and to be fair, she is a woman with a job, even if undead, so she really does not care about drama at all. She's got other shit to do!

Even before the embrace she kept the same kind of attitude whenever it came to her associates at work and outside; people generally regarded her as the aloof cool girl that wouldn't be phased by anything... when, truthfully, Madonna just prefers minding her own business rather than gossip... Like, unless the gossip is necessary for her to complete an important task, she tends to skip it entirely.

10. Is your OC sentimental or pragmatic? Do they keep mementos or only what they need to survive? Have they always been this way or did something happen to make them change?

Before the embrace, Madonna used to be extremely pragmatic. Not entirely to the point of lacking any whatsoever sentimentality but a corporate job will do that to you - it was sucking away at any energy she could dedicate to her feelings, and it really showed in how she behaved whenever something factually exciting or mortifying happened (not necessarily to her, but something like maybe one of her co-workers having a baby, or one of them losing a family member... she used to react very matter-of-factly, not out of malice but because she didn't really have it in her to commit to her full emotions). Her job tended to come first and it was also something of a problem in her familial life, as before becoming a corporate pharmacist she used to be very family-oriented, that with having 3 siblings and elderly parents.

Becoming Kindred turned her way more sentimental. Free of the shackles of her old job, Madonna regained the range of emotions she'd closed herself away from for about the last decade or so... which makes for some fun situations where she reacts immaturely for her age, but makes complete sense when you consider that for her this is like a second adolescence!

Unfortunately, though, even though she truly desires it, she feels like she cannot go back to connect with her family as Kindred. She fears of putting their lives at risk, and especially of compromising the Masquerade since some of the changes that come with being Tremere wouldn't go unnoticed by her family; not to say that they are fairly religious people at heart, and she doesn't wish to destroy the image they have of her as a darling hard-working angel who can do no wrong. This makes her sad, but this is where her pragmatism comes in clutch and reassures her there is simply no way to go around this. Which isn't wrong... though there could be ways, if she put her mind to it!

12. Is your OC cynical or optimistic? Who or what shaped their outlook on life?

I would say she's right inbetween, with a healthy sway towards optimistic. You would think studying medicine would've made her more cynical, which it did at the time, but as a vampire she found things much less grim than she thought they were before.

In general she's always been taught by her family not to look at things with rose-tinted glasses, and it is something she stood by for most of her human life. While they didn't outright encourage her to look at things negatively, they tried to remind her to be objective when it came to most things, especially as she studied medicine. Desmond somewhat reminds her of them in that way, with her special interests revolving around algorithms, mathematics and chess; and while Madonna doesn't think this belief system is wrong, she's found now that being a little more optimistic and carefree never hurts as long as you don't slip into excessive naiveté.

15. What places hold significant meaning or memories for your OC? Do they have a positive or negative association with those places?

So I haven't gone in exact detail in my exploration of Madonna's past yet, though I know she's based in LA originally (as she was made for the VTMB setting), and I would say that besides obvious important places she's likely been with with her family, a specific place that holds significant importance to her as Kindred is probably Confession, the club, because that is where she started seeing Desmond and becoming acquainted with her. They may have differing opinions on some stuff but, well, they kind of still have somewhat of a 'whirlind' kind of romance-not-romance going on, so it's definitely a positive association... LOL

16. How does your OC make money? Do they have a respectible profession or work a series of odd jobs? Are they a criminal? Or do they get creative in the pursuit of coin?

I wouldn't say Madonna is a criminal but the legality of some of her operations as an underground pharmacist can be dubious at best. She sells black market pharmaceutical drugs and also substances that aren't for the usual... public use. She also sells concoctions she came up with for other Kindred, as a way to make use of her Thaumaturgy in a similar context to her old pharmaceutical job. So it's... kind of... shady but not straight-up illegal most of the time?

Desmond 100% helps her keep a front so she doesn't have to deal with most legalities even though her chantry likely prohibited her from interacting with Madonna too much (this is Desmond we're talking about though... she has many of her fingers in various different pies).

[majorxmaggiexboy]

One of Us is a Ghost, pt2

1845:

It’s like encountering your childhood imaginary friend at a traffic light, except you weren’t friends, they weren’t imaginary, and you had involuntarily stalked them without their knowledge. 

Wednesday blinks. 

Tall- Jopson does an uncanny impression of a demonic doll being electrocuted. Silently, somehow. A double-take, another, he’s spun around and shut the door before Wednesday can raise an eyebrow. 

Something is different. Not drastically, but noticeably. 

Wednesday is nearly seventeen. Jolly Sailor Bold here doesn’t look ready to yell back at furious geriatrics determined to use expired coupons, but he has to have, as Enid would say, “Seen Some Serious Shit”.

 A temporal exchange rate is at play. 

Curious. As is this reaction to seeing her. Goody hadn’t been the least bit surprised to discover an interloper in her timeline. She had also known she was dead. This is different. 

It has to be handed to the poor Victorian sailor. He’s clearly doing his best. It’s a lot to process. An unexpected presence on the ship, suddenly appearing no less. Sneakers. A woman, in general. Not something the Royal Navy offers much training for dealing with. He is at a disadvantage; Wednesday has done this all before. This could be his first time experiencing psychospiritual communication between layers of temporal reality. 

The proverbial band-aid has to be ripped off at some point. They’ll never get anywhere otherwise. A demonstration of a lack of ill will, in the form of an innocuous greeting, might soothe the nerves enough to properly adapt. 

Wednesday raises a hand in imitation of Thing; nothing more than an upward flick of the wrist. 

“Howdy, Pilgrim.”

***

Thomas Jopson was twenty-five and had never been superstitious. 

When, in the course of his duties, he encountered a girl in the Captain’s spirits-store, he didn’t immediately remember dark eyes staring from the shadows as he slipped into addled dreams. Truth be told, he scarcely remembered that night at all. 

Well, he remembered the Captain calling him a brave fool after- - -the ‘fool’ part had never seemed dreadfully important. 

The only recollection he had of the girl was the ribbing he caught about it from Icemaster Blanky, whose commentary on the matter was colorful enough to redden cheeks, which only made the man laugh harder. 

Captain Crozier had had jokes, too. Mainly in the vein of, “Honestly, Jopson, if you needed time off, you could’ve asked instead of getting shot full of shrapnel.”

As it was, Jopson’s first thought wasn’t that he’d ever seen the girl before, but that a stowaway had gone unnoticed for months on end.

He didn’t know what he hoped to accomplish by shutting the door, leaving himself alone in the room with her. On reflection, this was extraordinarily improper and he ought to be ashamed of himself. But there were more pressing matters at hand. Namely, that he should report this at once, but dreaded to do so for the girl’s sake, and more importantly, the Captain’s patience was already tried from every direction. 

Wracking his brain for a solution satisfying decorum, protocol, and propriety, it was only slowly that Jopson noticed the girl’s strange mode of dress. She looked like an actor in a Pantomime, or perhaps as if she intended to visit the Theatre. What in God’s name she was doing aboard Terror if that was the case, though-

“Howdy, Pilgrim”

Foreign? Her voice carried an unfamiliar accent. She didn’t sound threatened, either. Didn’t mind being found. That could make things easier. While the girl held up one hand, he presented both of his, slowly. 

“Miss,” he tried, “Are you aware that this is a navy vessel?”

The girl nodded. “I couldn’t be sure, but suspected as much.”

Right. 

“May I ask, then,” Jopson began, “What exactly you are doing aboard, and how long you have been so?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet,” she replied. She was pacing, in a way, looking round the room and at the bottles with a sort of muted curiosity. “This time, it’s been about ten minutes.”

Ten minutes? This time?

“I’ll cut to the chase,” the girl continued, in a tone like a man of business. “I don’t know how, but you are a relative of mine. And I don’t mean in the illegitimate offspring capacity, so you needn’t take offense. I am here as the result of a psychic vision. I don’t know why, and you might or might not be able to assist with that. Are there any Outcasts on this voyage?” 

The solution Jopson had been searching for crept up on him as the girl spoke. He remembered, then, seeing her before. There was no stowaway, only a vivid dream. 

That he should have such a dream while very much awake was concerning, but who on this voyage wasn’t overtaxed? Icemaster Blanky would have a laugh. Not that Jopson would ever tell him of this. 

It would be another several hours before he could retire to his bunk, but a few hours of sleep would handle the ‘stowaway’ problem without any further upset on his part or the Captain’s. 

Relieved, Jopson looked again at the mirage before him. Of all the images the mind could produce...he could start writing novels if this kept up. 

***

She isn’t sure what she expected, but a beat of silence after which her relative reached over her head to retrieve a bottle and then left without a word, was not on the list. Immediate cooperation and the revelation of useful information might be a stretch, but it would be a nice change of pace. 

She follows him through the door, out into the main room. Perhaps she should have followed Goody’s example and been cryptic. But Goody had had the advantage of an immediate threat to mutually face. In this case, no mystery had presented itself to be solved, past or present. 

It might be time to get creative, if this strand of visions continues. That or start sharing knowledge from the future just to see what mayhem might ensue. That doesn’t sound like good terrible, though. 

The captain enters eventually and Wednesday doesn’t bother hiding. The brief, doubtful glance the steward flings in her direction is mildly satisfying. He would have had a stroke had it turned out anyone else could see her. It might have been fun. 

Visions with no discernable purpose, Wednesday finds, can be extremely boring. If that’s the mystery to solve, she’d sooner go another round with the undead.

[basiccortez]

My Forever - R. Wheeler 

Pairing: Rip Wheeler x female!Dutton warnings: pregnancy, horseback riding while pregnant, protective papa Rip word count: 1.3k Note: my Yellowstone and Outer Range requests are open. If you saw me post this yesterday. . . ya didn't.

It has always been a dream of yours to become a mother. From the time you were a little girl, running around with Kayce and Lee on the ranch, you had always played “family”, your old brothers playing along with you. Every doll and teddy bear that you had gotten became your baby and you treated them as such. Your mother wanted more for you than to become some rancher’s wife and raise the next generation of Duttons, but it was what you wanted. 

Rip knew that that was your dream, and he was more than willing to help you achieve it. First thing though, was marrying you. John put the fear of god in him on what would happen if he knocked up his little girl before marrying her. So Rip did right by him, and married you in a small ceremony on John’s front lawn. You wore a simple white sundress and your boots. Kayce stood by your side as you exchanged vows with the love of your life. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time until you were sharing the news that you were pregnant. 

You were currently six months along and were bursting at the seams with excitement about the little girl you were carrying. Rip was terrified when you told him the baby was a girl. He didn’t know the first thing about raising little girls, and prayed that if she turned out anything like you or her aunt. . . God save the man who pisses her off. But there was one thing that you missed the most since becoming pregnant, was being able to ride your horse. 

It wasn’t that you couldn’t go ride, it was just strongly recommended that you don’t. You had asked at your first OB appointment if you could, and your midwife advised against it. And Rip took that like it was the word of God. Anytime he saw you getting anywhere close to the bunkhouse or the stables, he was directing you away. He was already protective of you, and now that you were carrying his little girl, it was amplified by a thousand. 

But somehow, you had managed to get around his ruling, and found yourself in the stables before anyone else, well besides Jimmy, who was cleaning the stalls. Your boots clicked on the cement as you walked by the horses, getting to the stall where your first baby was. The brown and white Appaloosa that had been gifted to you for your 18th birthday, stood up from his lying position and made his way over to you. 

“Missed me, huh,” You smiled and pet his nose, “I missed you too.” 

“Uh, are you supposed to be-” 

“Jimmy, shut up,” You said, “Saddle up ol’ Jesse here.” 

“Rip told us not to-” 

“Does it look like Rip is fucking here,” You turned and put your hands on your hips, “Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to piss off a pregnant woman? A pregnant Dutton woman, at that?” 

“N-no, ma’am.” 

“So stop fucking stuttering and saddle up my horse, Jimmy!” 

Jimmy nodded and moved quickly to get Jesse out of his stall. You sighed in content and fixed the hat on your head. You were at the point in your pregnancy where wearing Rip’s jackets fit better than your own. You knew that when he woke and looked for his classic black Yellowstone jacket, he'd start cursing up a storm but you couldn’t be bothered with it. 

“Horse is saddled ma’am, where should I put him?” Jimmy asked. 

��In the arena,” You said. Jimmy nodded and followed you out to the arena with Jesse on the reigns. The horse seemed excited as they neared the arena, knowing that he would be able to stretch his legs and get a good run in, “Alright,” You sighed, and took the reins from Jimmy, “Stay near.” 

“Why?” 

“In case I fall off this thing or Rip comes down,” You climbed up on the fence, giving yourself a little extra leverage to get up on Jesse’s saddle. You couldn’t swing up on him like you used to, not with a growing belly. Jesse let out soft huff as you mounted and adjusted yourself in the saddle, “Alright, easy now boy.” You kicked his belly softly, “Precious cargo on board.” 

As if Jesse could understand you, the horse started to gently trot around the arena. It wasn’t like you were used to, being able to take off with incredible speed and ride him up through the mountains and valleys of the ranch, but the soft, gentle trot was enough to bring a smile on your face. You let out a laugh as you felt your baby kick within you. You pulled on Jesse’s reins, stopping him. 

“Good boy,” You cooed and pet his mane, “Soon enough you’ll have another little handler who will be begging to take you for a spin. Come on,” You kicked his belly once again, getting the horse to start to trot. 

Jimmy watched you amazed, how easily you took all the turns and led Jesse around the ring. He didn’t notice that the rest of the bunkhouse had woken up, or that Rip was storming his way up to the arena, looking for both his jacket and his woman. 

“What the fuck is she doing?” Rip asked, seeing you in the arena, “Jimmy, what the fuck is she doing?” 

“Uh,” 

“Oh!” You stopped Jesse’s small run, “You’re awake.” 

“Yeah, I’m fucking awake,” Rip said, “What the hell are you doing on a goddamn horse?” 

“Well, what does it fucking look like?” You sassed back. 

“Ryan, get her the fuck off that damn horse,” Rip ordered. You rolled your eyes as you watched your husband walk away and back into the stables, but not before stopping and thumping Jimmy upside the head. Ryan gave you an apologetic look and grabbed Jesse’s reins, pulling you over to a ladder that Colby had brought out. 

“Sorry, miss,” Lloyd said, giving you his hand to help you off the horse, “You know how he is.” 

“A stubborn asshole,” You said, your feet hitting the steady ground, “If this kid pops out with his stubborn attitude. . . so help us all.” You squeezed Lloyd’s shoulders before walking into the stables to find your husband pacing the ground. You sighed and leaned up against the wall of an empty stall. 

“I told you to stay away from here. From the bunkhouse, from the stables and from the-” 

“I can not stay locked away in the foreman's house any longer, Rip!” You yelled, “I’m losing my fucking mind being in there all fucking day. Between you, and my dad and my brothers being so god damn over protective I am losing my fucking mind. I just wanted one second of freedom. Just one.” 

Rip felt a pang of guilt and took a step forward. Before he had met you, he never thought he could have anything good in his life. He had seen all sorts of evil, he had been a part of that evil. But you showed him that he could have something good in his life. You showed him what it felt and meant to love someone unconditionally. And Rip was going to fight for that until his dying breath. 

“I can’t lose you or her,” Rip said and gently placed his hands on your growing bump, “You two, are my forever. My everything. And everytime you leave my side, I think the worst. I almost lost you once,” The memory of the day the whole family got attacked plays in his mind every time you walk away from him. He spent hours trying to get ahold of you, wanting to know if you were dead or alive. Your dad was barely alive, your brother had been shot, your sister nearly blown up, and you had been run off the road by a semi. 

You grabbed Rip by the back of the neck and brought his lips down to you. You pulled back and Rip rested his forehead against yours, “You’re not losing us. We are right here, forever. You’re stuck with us now, baby.” 

“And there ain’t no better way I’d have it.”