#i know some of the cast were definitely fully adults

[dashiellqvverty]

forgot how much pelvic thrusting was in this movie...

[air--so--sweet]

So, Aidan Gallagher was the last cast member to wrap on season 4, and he wrapped several days after everyone else which I've been presuming means we're getting some apocalypse flashbacks but I've just had another idea.

We see Lila and Five travelling to what looks like the original apocalypse, what if they see young Five in the apocalypse? I think it could be really interesting as I don't think any of the other characters fully appreciate what he went through (well, Luther appreciates what it feels like to live in total solitude). Especially when he came back looking exactly like he did when he ran away, but with an adult consciousness instead of a teenage one. It makes it very easy to forget he got stranded and had to learn how to survive in an apocalyptic wasteland as a literal child. While grieving everyone and everything he has ever known.

And I think for Lila to be the character to witness that, as someone who has quite an antagonistic, but also incredibly loving relationship with Five (I was going to say though neither would admit it, but actually I feel both of them had dropped almost all pretense of hating each other at the end of season 3. I don't know if either would verbally express love for each other but in the same way I don't know if either would verbally express love for anyone) would be incredibly affecting. Especially as, unlike his siblings, she never knew teenage Five, she has always known him as an adult who looks like a teenager. I feel like for Lila to witness firsthand the brutality Five experienced alone in the apocalypse, and to realise he was really just a child, especially now that she has a child herself...well I think it would be truly upsetting for her but also giver he a deeper understanding of Five and just how important his family is to him (and family is what Lila desires and values most in the world too).

But also, it will make her realise how similar Five's experience was to her own. Because both were caused to suffer at a young age by the Handler, Lila by having her parents murdered, Five by being left in the apocalypse for 45 years when she could have plucked him out at any point, and then exploited for her own gains with little to no care given to how it sould affect them. Five says The Handler made it so he couldn't belong anywhere, that she made him a killer; she more or less did the same thing to Lila.

Most theories I write are just 'Oh this would be cool if it happened' or 'Look at this ridiculous idea I had', but, now I've imagined it, I'll be really disappointed if we don't see Lila and Five witness younger Five in the apocalypse. Damn...

Also, while writing this it occurred to me that, if the scene where Lila is crying is in the subway, which is looks like it is, maybe she isn't crying because something happened her daughter or Diego (as most of us presumed), maybe it's related to her seeing something The Handler did in another timeline. Or maybe it's just the emotional impact of seeing The Handler in the flesh again, knowing Lila loved her and saw her as her mother, and The Handler was happy to murder Lila in cold blood when she realised she couldn't manipulate her anymore. That's bound to fuck you up. (To be be clear, because I think how I phrased this suggests we'll definitely see The Handler again, I have no idea if we will or won't but with the hopping of timelines it's a possibility.)

Or maybe Lila sees what The Handler took from her, what life would have been like if she grew up with her parents. Or again, the effect of just getting to see her parents alive and in the flesh. A train always stops in the same places, it can't just change course or route like any other vehicle. Maybe the subway allows you to move between timelines/time travel but only as an observer. You can't change or effect any events and therefore can't interact with anyone as a result. Imagine the pain of seeing your parents you thought you'd never see alive again and not bring able to interact with them in any way. Or maybe she has to witness their murder again knowing she can't do anything to stop it. It would be a really interesting parallel from their relationship in season 2 to have Five comforting Lila over the death of her parents.

[dunmeshichilchuck]

For That One Guy on Tumblr part 5

Chilchuck x !fem !halffoot reader

Your first thought on waking up was to wonder what the hell you'd drunk last night to give you such a nasty hangover. 

Your second thought was "is something...breathing on me?"

You opened your eyes and stared straight into the worried gaze of an uncomfortably close and extremely blond elf.  

She sighed with apparent relief. "Oh thank goodness! You've been sleeping for hours! I thought maybe something had gone wrong with the resurrection spell and you might not wake up, it's just such an unknown area of resurrection magic as to how long someone can be dead before they're resurrected!"

You squinted, brain churning a long for a few minutes before you caught up with the fact that you had, in fact, died and been turned into a Popsicle. "Hrghhh....yeah...yeah 'm fine. Got one hell of a headache though. Why didn't you just wake me up if it's so late?"

Marcille fidgeted with her staff. "I wanted to but -" she shot a glare at the other party members. "They wouldn't let me!"

"It's not like it would make much sense to wake someone up just to make sure they still can wake up." Chilchuck grumbled. "do you want them fully recovered or not? They'll need to rest without you poking them awake every 10 minutes." 

Laois nodded. "Yeah and if something WAS going wrong you'd be able to see it right? Falin told me if resurrection magic went wrong you'd just kinda melt!" 

"You wouldn't- it's not melting! Why would you say it like that?"

You interjected before they could get going again. "Who's Falin?" 

Chilchuck glanced over at you. "Falin's his sister." He gestured at Laois. "She's the main reason we're here. We were trying to rescue and ressurect her but something...." He glanced at Marcille briefly, an odd, almost warning look on his face. "went wrong. And now the mad mage has transformed her into something else and is controlling her." He shrugged. "If we want to get Falin back we're going to need to defeat the mad mage."

Huh, that was. Interesting. 

"What...what exactly went wrong?" You asked, unsure if you actually wanted to know the answer. 

Laois opened his mouth to say something, but Chilchuck shot him a glare and jumped in. "We don't know, she'd been dead for a long time and we had to reassemble her body." He shrugged again. "Who knows with resurrection magic? Shit just goes south sometimes." 

Well that was even more interesting. With that and what you'd heard before they realized you were conscious....there was definitely some shady magical shit going down. 

You looked at Marcille dubiously. Normally you'd think some kind of black magic, but was this prim and proper cream puff of a barely adult child really capable of crimes against god? For heavens sakes she'd been so embarrassed about the bra thing even. You couldn't picture her in combat, let alone casting some kind of banned black magic. She'd probably get too anxious and not be able to go through with it, and why would she even study that? It seemed like her field was relatively narrow if she didn't know the leaving spell.

Definitely very interesting, and potentially very dangerous. If they knew what you'd heard and what you suspected this could get very dicey for you. The best course of action would be to play dumb as a rock. 

You nodded. "Oh yeah no I know, I don't know much about magic but I know ressurrection magic is one of those things that we don't know much about, right? Cause it's so new and everything. I've heard of some weeeiiiirrrddd stuff happening in other groups. People not fully resurrecting or even getting body swapped. And who knows how the mad mage is involved in that? Hell maybe he could control ANYONE resurrected in his dungeon, but he just went after your sister for some reason." 

Lies. Blatant lies too. You weren't dumb and you'd asked as many questions as you could of the mage in your old group. You could even cast some basic healing magic if it came down to it. You'd only had one mage in the party, and you were the only one not directly involved in combat every time, so it made sense for him to teach you some quick and dirty spells in case he was incapacitated. Not that you'd ever reveal that, you knew what happened to halffoots who learned magic. Resurrection magic wasn't complicated at all. No way they weren't doing shady shit. 

Laois and Marcille chimed in with agreements that sounded just a bit too relieved, but Chilchuck just shot you an indecipherable look and then turned back and said. "alright now that that's settled we need to get packed up and head out. We've wasted too much time waiting for y/n to wake up as it is." 

You clenched your jaw and firmly reminded yourself that you were already in a precarious position, and that seemed to just be the way Chilchuck talked. 

You could put up with it. You could put up with anything if it meant getting to take down the bastard that had built this dungeon. 

Tag list, ask to tag:

@night-shadowblood-writes2

@thoughtfulbelieverstrawberry

@dunmeshimeshi

@leguink 

@gh0st-spider

@reh-llik

@sy1v30n

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[sureallavnder]

No good Potter - Draco Malfoy

paring - Draco Malfoy x fem!reader

summary - you and Draco have been dating in secret from everyone at hogwarts but mainly your brother Harry, when Harry finds out about the two of you he confronts Draco but after harry runs off you take him back to the slytherin common room for some cuddles

warnings - slight magical fighting between harry and draco

a/n - so hi this is my first fanfic / imagine and it had to be about my favourite boy Draco Malfoy don't know how often i'll be doing these but hope you enjoy!!

''She's mine!!'' Draco wanted to yell at anyone who would even dare to look at you. He dragged you to a hidden corner of the castle where his lips pressed forcefully against yours but with a gentle sweetness only you knew Draco could master.

But being a Potter you knew if anyone found you things would take a damaging turn becasue deep down you were very aware whoever saw you would go straight to your brother as he never approved of your crush against the slytherin boy.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ.

You made the decision that your perfect ''the boy who lived'' brother couldnt say a word against your relationship with Malfoy as you were in your 6th year at Hogwarts and pretty much fully independent adults so 'what could he even do' you thought 'cast a stupify spell against him ... well maybe... but! im pretty sure Draco would be able to use a defensive spell yeah definitely he'd be fine'.

But he was not fine... Harry found out about the two of you from a hufflepuff 2nd year who was sneaking around the halls and down by the slytherin dormitories he saw the two of you cuddling just outside the doors before yopu headed seperate ways to go to your chosen classes. Harry found Draco outside on his way to quuidditch practice and cast multiple spells against him. Draco fell to the ground, wand out of hand.

''No good Potter!'' he shouted at the boy who disarmed him ''She's with me and she isn't going anywhere.''

''Malfoy you rotten egg! That's my sister you're using.'' Harry yelled back still advancing towards him.

Just as the two boys (almost men) were arguing you dart round the corner and disarm Harry ''Expelliarmus.''

''Now what in Merlin's name are you two doing?'' you run up to Draco and caress his face while he still lays on the ground.

Harry runs off angrier than you've ever seen him.

You hold Draco while he's still sitting and trace your hands over his facial features, he's freezing, getting him up onto his feet you rush him back to your shared common room. Settling him down on the couch you snuggle into him, sat on his lap. Him holding your body like its going to evaperate right then and there.

''No good Potter.'' he whisperes.

''Draco...'' you say gentley ''I love you''

'' I love you too stupid'' he responds

''I don't want to hide anymore'' you say worryingly

''We won't baby''

[ludinusdaleth]

i'm not interested in finishing watching c2 (first 10 episodes bored me to death) and i only know c3, so what's the deal with essek? did he have a bad redemption arc? did he have a good one? do people just not like him for some reason? because i keep seeing his fans say the only reason c3 fans are saying his redemption arc sucked is to defend imogen and her mom and that seems too shallow to be the real reason.

first of all thank you for trusting in me to give a nuanced answer. ill do my best. essek is one of my favorite characters, but also so historically loved by fandom it has led to altercations and the drowning out of pretty much any other character in fandom spaces. ill try to explain. im sorry for how long this will be.

he was already deeply beloved as an npc for a long while before campaign 2 episode 97 dropped the fact that he was working with ludinus. he had taken luxon beacons (the object ludinus used to power the malleus key, what made opal & ted, what's in ashtons head) from his people in the dynasty - these objects were considered completely sacred to them, and the realization the empire had them, and the dynasty retaliating to get them, led to the war of ash and light which permeates much of c2's plot. so, functionally, essek's action led to war. essek was also at times in charge of or allowed to run interrogations on dynasty prisoners including nott/veth's husband yeza. to keep suspicion off of him, essek shifted blame onto a man in the dynasty who he had a petty grudge against, changed his memory, and set the dynasty onto him - this man was later given to the empire in a peace negotiation, so ludinus then had all control over knowledge on essek's involvement (bar the m9).

his remorse began with the m9, and how their lives had been effected by war and what the empire had done, and there is some implication that essek realized he was perhaps groomed by ludinus (and to a lesser degree made uncomfortable by his cohort trent) - though i should note essek was a (young) adult in government when he gave his people's artifacts away. essek hated the fact that his people were religious in regards to the luxon and did not wish to research it, and thought the cerberus assembly would be able to learn more about it.

essek's arc has been long praised as a very good one, and i think it mostly is. while i cant say we really see his kindness & newly brimming empathy fully extended, he does learn to see others as more than tools. he is still smug over his peoples religion vs his knowledge of the luxon, but learns to respect his culture enough that ludinus probably would not be able to sway him from it by insulting it now. he fights at the m9's side during the last arc, defends caleb from trent & the vollstreckers, helps fix caduceus's home. he is loyal to them forever and not just a traitor any longer. i definitely see some holes in it as he doesnt show much care to anyone but the m9, it is relatively quick how he descends into self hate about his actions that hes generally comforted for, and i worry at times he sinks too much into the soft hot boy flanderization due to everyone even the cast pushing it onto him (yes, softness & being too harsh exist in his characterization and are disliked at once, i know they are opposite traits). but i think it's good when a character is still an ass after redemption and matt clearly wants to avoid him being a soft boi in c3 whilst also maintaining that he has learned humanity & love.

you can see how that would be compelling, along with his general personality and good looks. this made him so compelling that his fans got, uh.... interesting. and that is probably the base problem that sets this discourse. (be aware my experience of his fans is primarily on twitter and in chats.)

folk would get mad and call the show unwatchable without his presence as if every other character was disgusting & boring to them (as if calebs character arc is not. literally. a parralel to esseks). they only cared about shadowgast (but only cared about essek within it, not caleb) and would be furious these two deeply aloof traumatized men didnt fuck on screen after 6 episodes knowing each other, called caleb abusive for not messaging him after a few episodes, called liam (who is iirc bi) homo/biphobic and abusive to matt for not kissing essek at one point or another. when caleb & essek did bond at the end of c2 and it was said they got together for a time that was not enough for fans, who claimed it homophobic (this magically mostly disappeared when folk saw other mlm stories did and do continue to play out in cr, which they only realized when orym existed and was a gold star gay - i, as a gay man, do not care on the scale they do lol). astrid was completely slammed into the mud by essek fans for being his mirror but a woman (they magically did not hate wulf, the last mirror in this scenario, a man, as much). people were furious essek did not have merch at the point where not even many pcs did yet and said it was homophobic (this magically stopped when he eventually got a portrait and chibi). a few learned he was ace/demi and called it a cop out, or otherwise ignored any nuance of it because they were horny about wizard yaoi (im aware ace/demi folks do have sex, but sometimes folk use that as a justification for ignoring the ace spectrum part of an identity). from personal experience, essek fans can be..... very disturbing, predatory individuals with no regard for who they are deeply sexual around, but that is just who i met and i do not want to go into that experience. in short, a lot of c2 era fandom has BEEF with them. i cannot say it is unjustified.

so with all that context, where does that leave the character and why do people compare him to liliana & imogen?

it is my genuine opinion from observation a lot of fandom on here & twitter that essek/shadowgast/caleb fans can be.... sexist. it does not go unnoticed to me that imogen has an extremely similar moral arc to caleb and yet is called evil when caleb is called traumatized & struggling with demons but a good man. caleb was part of the vollstrecker (assassins for the empire) as a youth but broke, and ran, after killing his parents, and had to learn he was more than dirt, and learn to love again. imogen began easily jealous & in turmoil about herself and her mother, but has grown to be one of the most empathetic people who is constantly struggling between sacrifice and her simple wish to live with laudna, that it seems the universe wants to fight. both are aware they could be or are seen as living shit for their youth or conception and accept it. both dont really know how to find a way out of that. i think both are incredible characters. i notice when fans only acknowledge the hero's journey of one.

as for liliana & essek..... look, essek has a very defined character arc that we have seen come to fruition and end in redemption. liliana (and by extension bor'dor and other ruby vanguard folk) have not yet. essek was framed as neutral at first and liliana was framed as ludinus's ally. i get it. but it is impossible to me to not see liliana in the steps of essek at the beginning of his own arc. if anything i think her intentions (if not actions) are infinitely less selfish than esseks, as she wished to do this to save her daughter. ludinus has caught so many in his web, and essek got out, and liliana just realized she's in the webbing. whats interesting is how we see clear as day every conversation they have that liliana has been brainwashed into cult mentality & justification, and yet only had one or two conversations vaguely indicating this about essek, and yet essek is always praised as a survivor where liliana is not. bor'dor is very clearly like essek in being an oppressed young man who sees a calling made by a powerful older man, but entire breakdowns of how men of color are recruited into the far right have been written about essek where bor'dor (actual man of color) is despised by the same people. the tldr on this is i do think some folk can be so drunk on Hating Essek juice they swing too far in their assumptions, but the pattern of his fans misinterpreting everyone else to elevate him is based on precendent thats happened for years, and i think it is deeply.... disappointing? to watch such a nuanced story play out in c3 and refuse to engage with it whilst claiming anyone who wishes to analyze the way a cult breaks your brain is misandrist.

im so sorry this is so long, but i really do not know how else to describe all this without its nuance. i hope i wrote something that made sense.

[ribbononline]

Oh yeah! Since I have no clue if/when I'm ever finishing these and I've had them laying around for forever by now- here's the adult IT metaverse outfits I've made! They're all based on their ultimate personas and the concept of heros! Since these were made for an aged up p4 cast, these aren't quite what I'd put their during p4 time selves in- some changing more then others- but if you wanna follow me into design details, that'll all be under the cut!

First off to get em out of the way- Teddie is very largely the same as his p4 time metaverse outfit I made for him back here . The design is still meant to be inspired by magical girls, but the biggest change is that while the old one was meant to look like a magical girl protagonists outfit, this one I tried to lean a bit more into the older/more experienced cast member of the magical girl group type design. Overall a pretty minor change (and I will admit, largely because I'm still incredibly happy with that old design) but it felt fitting!

Chie and Yukiko were, as always when I work on them, designed to match. Their masks specifically mirror eachother with the opposites sides sticking out, and they both have a golden dragon pattern on their clothes as a reference to the twin dragons move! Chie was... honestly one where I had to sacrifice my goals a bit. Like mentioned before, these were meant specifically for an aged up cast. And while p4 era Chie I would absolutely imagine in a kung fu Chung-Li type outfit, we know what a more mature version of her action hero dreams look like; the police! And I.... really did not want to put her in a cop outfit, Ill be real. Instead I just tried focusing on making the outfit look more mature. Also tried to combine a practical and strong look with a more feminine aesthetic, since she struggles pretty badly with her femininity in p4 and I like to think she'd grow more comfortable with her own brand of it over time!

Yukiko is perhaps one of the most drastic one for changes compared to her younger self- if you asked me to design a p4 era outfit for her, it would look nothing like this, hah. Anyways, she's definitely inspired by onna-musha! Compared to Tomoe who was a full on commander of an army going out there, for Yukiko the idea was more the women taking up arms to protect their home when the battle comes their way. Fully having embraced the role she has as the next owner of the Amagi Inn and the responsibility and want to protect it, it's meant to be somewhat of an outing of that!

Fun fact: She has two color schemes! Because uhh I did not know what to go for at all. Her ultimate persona is like a single solid color and I kind of panicked and just ended up winging the colorscheme. One is more red since, y'know, thats her color! The other is more white gold to match her actual persona better. Included at the end of this post for the curious

Rise was based on a greek goddess- though not any particular one, moreso how they're commonly depicteed in art and old statues. Pretty, holy, someone you'd go to for advice and help (someone just out of reach from the general public) It just felt like a good combination of something she'd like to be seen as and percieved as as well. She gets two outfits- for scan and fight mode! Kouzeon has no canon fight mode, thats just for Himiko, but man it exists in my heart. The transistion between the two is literally just her throwing off the long overskirt, hah.

How does her mask work? Excellent question. The p5 idea of having it there when vibing but gone when the persona is out feels a little awkward when her persona's whole thing is putting a visor over her face. Quite frankly I have no idea. Sorry folks. Have all concept sketches for the outfits I've done as compensation with a bonus Noot in there that I never continued on and finished.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

I know Dolores is going to be ecstatic once she realizes she can knock Luisa into a wall with her new powers.

She breathes in heavily.

Mirabel, whom she had long pushed away, is stood nearby, a hand to her chest in horror as she takes in the village - the majority of whom had just been silenced. People should be screaming or crying or cursing Dolores’ name, but they aren’t; they can’t. There’s a part of her that knows she should hear some sympathy, but she can’t find it in herself to care.

She’s enjoying this. It’s sick. This power. Make them suffer. Basking in the peaceful reverie that falls over a hushed, small town in the middle of nowhere.

Her brother has turned his back to her, helping the adults and comforting some of the younger children, guiding them away from his sister’s line of fire. Not that it matters. The damage has already been done. Luisa is feeling a little in shock and uncertainty, one of the few who still has a voice - but for how much longer? Isabela is all sort directly in front of Dolores, she doesn’t look scared exactly, but hurt at what her sister-like-figure has become.

The Madrigal adults are too dispersed within the crowd now for Dolores to pinpoint any of them without fully trying. She clenches a fist a little in anger. How the fuck has she slipped from their attention again? Even after all she’s done?

Mirabel is trying to say something to her, but she isn’t listening. Her cousin follows her gaze over her shoulder to where Mariano has pushed his way to the front, his grandmother unsteadily following in his wake. They are both trying to put the pieces together - they hadn’t been present earlier as his grandmother had been unwell this morning.

Mariano’s eyes meet hers. He looks so pale. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was dead. A ghost finally revealed in the cast of night.

“Dolores?” He manages. It sounded pained and forced. He doesn’t know what else to say.

The townspeople around him try to demand or mouth him to take more action than simply stand while Dolores falls further to insanity.

She shoves Mirabel further aside to make space. Smiling adoringly at Mariano, she beckons him towards her.

He will understand. She’s sure he will. He is always so empathetic and devoted. It will only take a little talking and comprising of morals, whatever it takes. She is not going to lose him. Not again, she couldn’t live with that. Once everyone and everything is quiet, she will be free. Free to live her own life with him—

“Marian—”

There’s a sudden tight grip on her. Luisa. She doesn’t need to look to know, nobody else could be that strong. One arm crushing around her left arm and chest, pushing against her ribs, lungs and heart. She can hear the beginnings of cracks in the bones. The other arm catches her wrist in a vice grip, she can just barely make her fingers twitch and squirm under the pressure.

Mariano doesn’t say anything, doesn’t ask for Luisa to be gentler or make her back down. Mirabel doesn’t say anything either, though she reaches out in alarm. Mariano grasps a hold of her wrist, preventing her from getting caught in this. Luisa has it handled and, soundlessly, the village cheers.

No… No.. NO.

She screams, guttural and piercing, making her own ears bleed. The people closest to her cover their own, pulling away from the noise.

Well, she thought they were pulling away, at first. She realises... she pushed them away.

The sound waves from her are powerful, knocking Luisa off her and straight into the wall of the house behind them. The building cracks and shakes, Luisa crumbling to the ground - not severely injured, her gift makes her somewhat endurable, but definitely shocked and thrown - bruises already forming along her back.

She stops for a moment, unblinking as she comprehends this further strength in her abilities.

Mirabel cries out. It’s not quite a scream, a strangled gasp of distress. Mariano doesn’t let her go, even as she tries to yank herself free as though her life depends on it.

Isabela is at Luisa’s side an instant. Rubbing her back and pressing against her chest, non-verbally checking if she’s okay. Her sister barely gets the time to nod or answer before Isabela rounds on Dolores in anger.

[imzsuzsis-blog]

—————————

Dream ( Lando)

“Loki? Hello?"

I was in some white place, a blanket on me, I couldn't move.

“Someone? Hello? Where am I?"

I stroked my belly.

"Where are my twins?"

I cried because there was a fresh scar there.

"Hey, new mom, or should I say it quietly to dad, if you could take a break. I just gave birth, just like you, even though you're a star, even you just gave birth. So stop whining please. Us average people know from the news that they broke up with this certain Loki back in July. After that, she tried unsuccessfully with even more boys of him age because they all said that a boy can't be pregnant."

I craned my neck back, my cell phone nowhere, to look at this nonsense on the internet. Because we definitely didn't break up, I love him.

"Lando Norris, I brought some people."

"Leah, Penelope."

I took them trembling, then I realized that it was really over with Loki, I was left alone with two babies. I looked at them, they are really a mixture of Ollie and myself, they are so beautiful.

"My beauties, my God. It's a pity that the abbots aren't here either, we're breaking up with the foster abbots. Because of a grudge.”

With tears in my eyes, I started to kiss them, and I didn't want to let them go.

"But you have to, dear."

Mother sat down next to me and stroked my hair and I shook my head.

"If I've done it all the way up to now, I can do it all the way now. I am already an adult, a twenty-five year old adult. I won't give them away forever. They are my daughters and I can raise them, their room is waiting for them."

"I know, but you gave up Formula 1 because of them. You even moved from Monaco to avoid the news about you and them. Now what?"

She stroked them too, not just me.

"I will finish my medical degree and fulfill my dream."

"Lando, it's not your dream, it's your father's, it's only you who lived it, that's why you're going to the doctor's office now by mail. You don't belong there, you could become a very good actor, maybe a singer, you are talented in these. Remember the casting of the Avengers, when your friend Tom called you... How would you not like to try what you would really be like in his place, as Spider-Man. How clever you were, you wove webs, climbed walls and jumped everywhere and enjoyed it.”

Mother smiled at me, I just shook my head, I knew where my path was leading.

"My mother was with me for half a year, it was a big party, but I wouldn't try it again. I'm sorry, but it's not my way."

I looked at her and Leah as I woke up next to her sister, a minute here or there will not count, only that they grow up in love and that I find them another daddy. Who is not dismissive like everyone else towards me.

———————-

Real

"Mom, I'm going to be a doctor!!!! Leave me!!!!!"

I woke up sweaty and screaming again like the day before the race, Loki and Max comforted me. Then I dreamed that everything went wrong at home during the birth, then mother and father had a fight, then the Olivers, then Max and Pietra and all of them because the good boy suddenly became ugly.

"My treasure"

He knelt down in front of me and started stroking my face in circles.

"Dream and depression are a bit much for you, my dear. You dream up a lot of madness."

"I know, and the reason for all this is the fucking adoption papers. What Ollie throws out, saying that he is responsible for making mistakes, I want to take responsibility too... But it's not my management that won't let me, they gave me this fucking paper and I don't have much time to do it."

I opened my laptop and the first thing that came up was an email to review the ideal foster parents. In my anger, I wrote back that no, I can decide whether to raise two girls or not to leave them alone!!!!! Also, I'm twenty-four, a fully responsible adult, don't let them decide what I wear and where, who I date, where I live, who my friends are or whether I'm pregnant and whether I want to raise my child or not. I looked to my side, read the paper and took deep breaths.

"You know what, Loki gets caught."

I tore the sled apart, threw it up and started giggling.

"I'm a father!!!!"

I squealed with joy and kissed Loki on the lips, who, after taking off his top, began to tease us with his fingertips. He ran sexily into my hair and we started moaning more and more softly.

“Sex?"

"I don't know, but there's blood in your underwear."

"You're stupid, aren't you?"

I looked at him in horror and I was in pain again.

“Which? Strong?"

"How the hell do I know???? Ugh!!!!”

I stood up and crossed my palms in front of me and took deep breaths.

,.Amanda now!!!!”

"I'd rather not put my feet up somewhere."

"What's up my dear, we'll go and that's it, home practices won't help right now."

———————

Dream (Loki)

I've been a star on the internet since July, when he broke up with me. In almost every video or picture, either he or I is crying about the breakup.

"Billy, this sucks, I know it was short, but it's true love."

I told my brother that we may only be half-siblings, but we still tell each other everything.

"Loki, don't whine. You were the bastard for getting him engaged so soon. To you, because he was pregnant from her previous relationship, the guy."

"This is not about the fucking engagement!!!! And not because the guy was pregnant, but because the fucking media won't leave me alone!!!!"

"Do you still love him? Where did your relationship go wrong?”

"It must have been when he finally admitted that he was in love with Oscar. It could still be something he is holding on to from before his kidnapping, or I don't know."

Crying, I looked at Insta, where I saw that was all.

"Finally, the little ones were born, they're fit and healthy."

Burying my face in my palms, I got into my car and went to my usual place at the gas station, because it's in a nice place, I can park in the vicinity, and I can walk up the hill and I always sit on one of the benches when I want solitude.

"Be..."

"I'm not going, our relationship with Lando ended badly, we had a rough time on the open street. Millions of videos attest that it was.”

"Really..."

"Oliver, I say no. Lando doesn't want to see me, he even hates me."

I went through…

“Loki!!!! Not!!!! Ambulance!!!”

—————————

Real

"I was hit by a fucking car, fuck me!!!!!"

I just felt that Lando was prodding me and stroking my face to wake me up.

"My dear, if you could, you could even perform this screaming show on stage."

He told me both erotically and sarcastically, so that all the women in the clinic would giggle at this.

"The way you put it, it wasn't fucking funny, bitch!!!!"

"But, but Loki... You screamed, in public. Not me!!!! Where the hell are you going? My love."

"From now on, the pregnancy is your fucking business, cheater!"

"But fuck it!!!! I've said it a hundred times, I'm trying to get my lost memories back!!!!!! I am not a cheater and I would never be cheated!!!!!!”

“This is bullshit!!!!! The way you look at Oscar... You're in love with him!!!!!"

"It's not true, it's just business!!!!"

"Lando, Loki, please don't get lost here!"

"No, if you tell the truth... Oscar or me."

He took off him hat and threw it on the floor like a fucking diva.

"You, but Oscar saw them being kidnapped!!!! Are you happy now!!!!"

"Stupid whore!!!"

I slapped him, got up and left.

Or knocking on my door for thousands of years.

"Who the hell is that???"

"I'm at Lando, let me in!!!!"

I let him in. His face was teary, his lips were parted and he was shaking from everything.

“What happened? old warrior."

I let him in and he stopped at the wall and barely took a breath. He put his fingers to his mouth, on which the sleeve of his pullover was half pulled up, and it was chewed, as were the cords of his coat.

"I confessed everything to him, but we had a rough fight."

"Fuck me, Lando. But what the hell?”

"I don't know, he figured it out!!!! He said that I was looking at Oscar."

"Who, what, here we go?"

“Patoooooo!!!!! Max, help me!!!!!!"

He fell on our necks and sobbed soundlessly.

"What are you saying?"

"That I'm cheating on you."

"But, but that's not true of you, when we were together you wouldn't have done that for any money."

"I know, Pato. It's a fucking concoction he made up."

"What will happen?"

"Breakup."

He hissed between his teeth, he couldn't take it anymore and we saw him calling his mother.

"What are you saying?"

"That this is a real relationship and that we talk about it."

"Are you telling her the truth?"

"She knows in broad daylight that she was kidnapped from the open street, no, I don't give mom the truth."

"Oliver?"

"It's good that you joke about it, really not."

"Anyone married in the field?"

"Sergio? Good… Pick it up… Please!!!!”

We all saw that he cried more, he probably took Lando's side in the matter. We also knew what a jealous type Loki is, their relationship can no longer survive this.

"On the one hand, he's still here, so he comes here, on the other hand, he thinks he's a jealous dick, and he thinks I should throw him away as soon as possible. There will be another.”

He almost tore the ring from the new one with our help and threw it far away, with an angry face, but not only that, but also the bracelet he received not long ago, he threw it far away and screamed.

[honourablejester]

Adventure Ideas from Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons

I’m rereading it recently, it’s definitely one of my favourite D&D books I’ve ever bought. And the Adventure Hooks & Connected Creatures sections of each dragon’s entry in this book’s Draconomicon are so good for adventures/adventure elements involving dragons. Some of my favourites, arranged according to vague categories:

Dragon Dungeons

“Ruins rumored to hold the treasury of a lost empire are guarded by an elaborate network of ooze-based traps designed by a restless adult black dragon.”

“An adult black dragon has hidden a cache of gems in a dismal topiary maze filled with shambling mounds, traps, and noxious plant life, all for the amusement of testing adventurers.”

(Black dragons, because of their association with fallen cultures and propensity for traps, make for great dungeon builders. Also, acid is just a nasty environmental hazard to build around, and they’re exactly the sorts of sadists who’ll make full use of it)

“A deep dragon wyrmling with an experimental bent has created a "garden" of gray oozes.”

“An adult green dragon and an adult gold dragon skirmish over control of the vine-choked ruins of a floating mausoleum and its library of talking skulls.”

(I have many, many questions about this one. Starting with the floating mausoleum (floating on water? In the air?), the library of talking skulls (though there’s one of those in Sigil as well, necromantic libraries of trapped spirits are apparently a thing), and finishing with why this particular pair of dragons are skirmishing over it. Are they each looking for information? The same information or different information? Is one of them, likely the gold, trying to destroy the library? I just. I have so many questions about this set of circumstances, and it’d be a fascinating thing to have a party stumble across, especially if they have something THEY might want from the library as well)

“A topaz dragon is building a tableau of desiccated creatures and has grown obsessed with catching one treasure hunter who escaped the dragon's clutches.”

NPCs with Draconic Friends

This is just a fantastic collection of NPCs to scatter around and have parties meet. Starting from NPCs with wyrmling companions, ranging from the fun to the rather tragic:

“A gnome relic hunter looting a long-abandoned city strikes up an unlikely partnership with a black dragon wyrmling to plunder an archaeological dig.”

“A knight rescued a bronze dragon wyrmling from sacrifice at the hands of a cult, and the two now travel together in search of wrongs to right.”

“A tiefling child has secretly hidden and raised a red dragon wyrmling from an egg. The wyrmling is bonded to the child, but dangerous to anyone else.”

“A family of deep gnomes adopts a shadow dragon wyrmling, hoping to show the dragon a noble path through gloom and despair.”

“A pirate crew keeps a curmudgeonly topaz dragon wyrmling as a beloved mascot.”

To NPCs with young dragon companions:

“A child's imaginary friend is a very real young copper dragon who can cast invisibility.”

“A young crystal dragon uses dancing lights and hypnotic pattern to give an air of authenticity to a charlatan fortuneteller's act, in exchange for a portion of the take from the charlatan's clients.”

“An assassin and a young emerald dragon train together to master the art of stealth.”

To more dangerous NPCs/enemies with adult or older draconic protection:

“An adult shadow dragon and a death knight are both hunted by adventurers. In their previous lives, the two were sworn enemies, but now they join together against their common foes.”

(There’s a real romance to this, two sworn enemies who fell to separate evils who come together now for pure survival. I would TOTALLY play this for undying loyalty, have the two of them be undoubtedly evil but also genuinely, death-defyingly loyal to each other, the only ones who know fully what each other has been through.)

“A death knight and an ancient white dragon swap tales of old foes and unanswered grievances, nursing the hunger for vengeance that sustains them.”

(Not going to lie, I’m really fond of this pairing, and not just because it’s a fantastic picture of two bitter, hateful, disgruntled old fogies sitting in the bitter cold grumbling together about ancient grudges, but instead of two grumpy old men at a bar, one of them is undead, and the other is a DRAGON. If the party is good at stealth, it’d be a fantastic picture to throw at them, you’re just hiding there holding your breath while these two incredibly lethal foes just *grumble* and commiserate with each other)

Dragons Loyal Beyond Death

Somewhat of a continuation of the above, more draconic loyalty, even after the death/corruption of the one they’re loyal to:

“An adult gold dragon feels responsible for a paladin's fall from grace and sends minions across the world in search of the paladin—now a death knight—so they both might be redeemed.”

(Fizban’s firmly believes that dragons and death knights make the best thematic companions, and I will grant them this point, because it’s got some fantastic warped chivalric imagery and I love it. A nice quest to entangle the party in if they’re the sort to enjoy moral quandries and redemption)

“A renowned gnome trickster, now deceased, so impressed an ancient copper dragon that the dragon assumes the gnome's form from time to time to help keep their legend alive.”

(This is just the … the best, most loving use of a dragon’s lifespan and shapeshifting abilities. That theme from The Last Unicorn of immortality through the memory of an immortal being. And of *course* it’s a gnome and a copper dragon, of course it’s the admiration of two tricksters. I’m not sure how well it’d fit into an adventure, but having a party learn this secret and decide what to do with it, to reveal the deception or let it continue, could be an interesting angle)

“Despite repeated mind flayer attacks, a young deep dragon refuses to leave the cave where the dragon's best friend—an adventurer who won the dragon's respect and affection—lingers as a ghost.”

(… I’m crying. What’s the solution here? Convince the ghost to move on or otherwise lay the ghost to rest so that the dragon can leave, knowing that this will mean the dragon loses their friend for good? Try to convince the dragon to leave their friend even if they still exist? Try to destroy the mindflayer colony? Try to somehow hide the cave from the mindflayers, so that the two can stay together? Try to distract the mindflayers with a different conflict so they’ll focus their efforts in that direction instead (at the risk of other nearby inhabitants)? What a fantastic and heartbreaking little situation to stumble across)

Dragon Communities

Whole communities that have incorporated or built up around a dragon, for when you want dragons as an acknowledged part of daily life somewhere, and have parties decide how to deal with that:

“An adult copper dragon serves as the patron of a community of gnome tinkerers, who present their best ideas to the dragon in hopes of being funded.”

(Sidenote: gnomes and dragons seem to get on great)

“A community of seal hunters reveres an ancient crystal dragon as the spirit of their glacier home. Such worship amuses and flatters the dragon, who keeps the hunters safe and leads them to locations where seals are plentiful.”

“A clan of gnomes pays a young dragon turtle to serve as a mobile refueling platform for their fleet of steamboats.”

(I love this one SO MUCH. Starting from the gnome steamboat flotilla itself, however you want to play this, from just a great lakes inspiring shipping business to an after-the-end Waterworld type scenario, to them then having a goddamn dragon turtle cooperating with them. Fantastic from all angles)

“An emerald dragon is the headmaster in absentia of a bardic college and must be convinced to defend the school in a contest against a rival college.”

Other Cool Dragon Plots

And then just some assorted draconic plots, which was *almost* just ancient dragons causing problems, but there was also one miscellaneous shadow dragon prompt that was just fantastic as well:

“An ancient green dragon is the guardian of a lich's phylactery and extorts favors from the lich.”

(Now *there’s* a power struggle to get embroiled in. A lich attempting to use the parties as agents to unknowingly retrieve their phylactery for them from an *undoubtedly* evil dragon’s hoard, and a subtle, sneaky green dragon who is literally *holding the lich’s life hostage against it* and who could potentially just reveal that to get the party to back off. If they didn’t feel like be subtle and using their own shapeshifting to turn the party back on the lich some other way. I fucking love green dragons. They’re such fantastic bastards and I adore them)

“An ancient crystal dragon follows a pod of whales from one sea to another, having grown fond of the valuable ambergris they leave in their wake. Now whalers are scheming to kill the dragon.”

(Okay. This is just such great *imagery* to start with, the whales and the whalers and the vast draconic protector, the greed and the livelihoods and the protection of nature, the looming mercantile interests of the perfume industry that uses the product … Ambergris is such a fascinating RL substance and history. Also, great quest if you’ve got druids or other characters interested in the protection of nature, balanced against more ‘civilised’ interests and risking’s the party’s relationship with some likely quite powerful players)

“An ancient deep dragon has put the folk of a city to work building the dragon a metropolis to rule in the center of a vast underground salt lake.”

(Again, this is just such a great, eerie image for a party to stumble across. The vast white lake under the black ceiling, the salt-scarred slaves (or are they slaves? could they be working willingly, and why?) toiling to raise labyrinthine white walls, the strange, fungal, nightmarish dragon at the centre of it. Given the deep dragon attraction to knowledge and writings, there could be an underdark library involved, strange writings embedded in carved salt granting the entire edifice unnatural durability as the deep dragon’s regional effect, that physical forms of writing cannot be damaged by nonmagical means within 6 miles of the lair, mean that these white, bloodstained walls *will not fall easily*. It’s just … such an image)

“A shadow dragon hunts the descendants of the miners who, centuries ago, uncovered the Shadowfell portal that caused the dragon's corruption.”

(And for a finisher, I just really like this. This miner’s curse, this vengeance from beneath the earth, this black shadow that follows a family line for not even a crime but a centuries-old *accident*. Possibly the Miner Forty Niner from Scooby Doo stuck a little too hard for me, but cursed miners is still just a great image. Is it worth attempting to convince the dragon that the sins of the fathers should not be borne by the sons? Or do we just have to slay the dragon?)

Conclusion

I do love this book. A lot. The Draconomicon section on its own is well worth reading. But, well. I also just really like dragons. So there’s that. Heh.

[iravaid]

Oh man, now after reading your reply all i can think about is tommy in his twenties, having reached a place where he’s been through rehab and a whole bunch of therapy and has more knowledge of autism/aspergers and a greater understanding of mental illnesses and disabilities in general after having been forced to confront his own trauma and his struggles with addiction and whatnot, etc, reflecting on his relationship with simon and their childhood and all the mistakes and baggage those memories carry, and trying to reach out and talk with simon about it all, except of course simon doesn’t want to hear it at all, because the past should remain in the past, why would you go digging up things that best remain buried and forgotten?? And if that weren’t enough to send him running for the hills, tommy’s subtle comments about the autism thing would definitely get his fight or flight instincts kicking into high gear, because, sure, he might be awkward and blunt and not great in social situations, but that’s fine, that shit doesn’t matter in the military, not when he’s this damn good at his job, and it’s not like he gives a shit about playing the politics game and climbing up the ladder until he can laze about in some cushy office chair rubbing elbows with the brass or whatever, so it’s fine, he might be fucked in the head but he’s not sick or anything, he’s not some sort of nutcase, he’s not

Augh, absolutely, there's something very interesting in the concept of Tommy ultimately ending up better adjusted (relatively) than Simon by the time both of them are adults. Especially regarding self acceptance and unpacking the ableism they were raised with. I'm going to enter headcanon delusion land because we know next to nothing about Tommy so a quick warning on that lmao, but, we ball.

Although Tommy has had this immensely rough start, struggling with addiction and the feelings on inadequacy that might arise from living in his brother's shadow all his life, he's also been given the space and counselling that equipped him with better coping skills and vocabulary to both verbalise and recognise what happened to him and Simon as kids. I like to also think that, for a myriad of reasons and a myriad of people, Tommy has made that conscious effort to heal as well, to improve and try his damndest to break the cycle of abuse (even if that effort was ultimately cut short by forces far outside his own control.).

I'm not trying to say that Simon himself is actively perpatuating it, but he's had next to no guidance regarding the navigation of his own trauma, nor mightn't he fully recognise how deeply a 'bad childhood' might have effected him. I also see Simon's joining the army as both a blessing and a curse for him, because it probably did save his life: he got away from his dad, got strong enough to cast his father out of his home and life, got enough money to support the family that mattered to him and step up to be the 'man of the house', in his eyes. But it also, predictably, created a kind of situation where Simon got caught up in this machismo echo chamber/mob mentality reinforcing the more aggressive/violent aspects of himself in this wild cycle of adrenaline and dopamine and psoitive reinforcement for a mission well done. Rinse and repeat for two decades, and there's a guy with a lot of his self worth tied up in conventional but ultimately detrimental masculine qualities; where he's possibly too proud to recognise he's actively hurting from the things that happened to him as a child, let alone reach out to anyone in order to begin processing it in a constructive way. Why should he? He's Lieutenant fucking Riley.

It's a very interesting contrast, to me, that while Simon is the one who started out the more stable of the two brothers, the script is flipped between them when Simon returns from Roba's captivity. I wonder if Tommy feels a sense of eagerness to repay the debt he feels he owes Simon, for the former taking care of him during his recovery as a teen. I wonder if Simon feels resentful for 'losing' his place as the Riley patriarch/protector/provider to his younger brother, who got married and had a son and carved a place in the community for himself, all while Simon was running from his issues on some battlefield, in turn being greviously harmed by it and now has to battle with his own recovery.

They have such capacity for very deep love, they're connected both by their brotherhood and by the immense hurt their father caused. They also hold as deep a capability for harm and anger against the other, "This is my brother and I need a shovel to love him." kind of deal. Idk, ghost of their father still lingers where the skin is thin, and their shared proximity makes it seep. lol, lmao even

Augh, but I'm rambling, the thought of Tommy trying to gently broach the subject of autism/being autistic, and Simon having that kneejerk reaction of hypervigilance, aggression, anger at being 'accused' of such a thing, man. A constant cycle of trying to reach out and rejecting and reaching out and rejecting!! If only they had more time, maybe something kinder could have happened

[shellsinadune]

ok so i'm back, i've slept on it, here are some things i loved about the darlinghurst great comet (in no particular order - spoilers if you want to be surprised by the creative decisions):

the drinks were great, i don't drink so i had the war and peach at the intermission and it had glitter in it!! btw just in general love when theatres change the name of a drink for the show ('anatole spritz' (aperol spritz) tickled me)

everyone was so kind, i got complimented on my outfit and the person (usher? idk the word) was really helpful

the building was accessible in a way i wasn't used to. the accessible bathroom had those buttons to open and lock the door, idk whether the changing place was adequate for adults but it was there. there was a lift between the upper and lower ground floor so i could actually go down those half floor stairs that i usually just have to sit at the top of

the use of the (massive) disco ball was beautiful, i started crying during no one else and the little specks of light spinning like snow were a contributing factor in that

the costumes!!!! they definitely did their own thing with them. natasha's opening dress with the sleeves and anatole's crop top were highlights but the whole thing was cool. most of the fem clothes had a sort of babydoll vibe to them?? idk how to describe it.

sonya alone was beautiful, many of the solos (notably also pierre and dust and ashes) were performed as if the character was writing/singing a song rather than the actor performing the characters' thoughts, if that makes sense?? but just the spotlight on her, her playing the piano and singing..... it wasn't what i was expecting, but it allowed a nice little rest between bigger numbers and let me focus on the singing

the whole cast was so talented though, i think every actor played an instrument at some point which is super impressive. some of them had cellos strapped to them half the time and were still dancing.

the theatre was so small that i'm pretty sure the cast could fully see me sobbing in the back row at the end. that is how great comet should be.

the jumping skills were impressive. not just during the abduction but also when people were getting off the stage.

i like how opb's movements were mostly controlled by other actors dragging his clothes around. my dad and i had a conversation about whether it's symbolic of his privilege (having a bunch of yes man servants) or of his declining mental state (being controlled by his dementia (?) instead of what he used to be)

danatole rights in the duel and preparations (they are so dysfunctional <3). anatole grabbing at dolokhov's chest and kissing his neck when 'a fact known only to his intimates' *chefs kiss*

marya's actor wasn't performing and the swing was playing helene so the production manager (?) was playing marya. given that she didn't know the role perfectly (she had the script in hand) she did really well!!!!

the 2 little balconies were great, they added a lot of dimension to the stage. (for those wondering, to my memory the songs performed in the balconies were: pierre, natasha and sonya in the opera, natasha & anatole, dust and ashes, pierre in letters, preparations, anatole in find anatole, and pierre & anatole)

GENDERQUEER ANATOLE!!!!! the way they would switch octaves mid line <3333

actually multiple of these actors are trans/gnc!!!!!!!

there was no/very little ensemble so you could hear every individual voice during the harmonies

the program is gorgeous, there are little glossy constellations all over it which makes a nice texture

the choreography in charming was so neat. love those little shoulder wiggles.

no strobing in the duel (but yes strobing in the opera when anatole comes in)

they did something with the lighting during the ball kiss that sort of made it look like a veil of light and a little strip of darkness spinning around them. if i'm going to analyse it conveys natasha's confusion while giving her privacy. or something i can't figure out the words to explain it.

not really intentional but right before the bit of the opera with the show, they stopped the performance for a bit. idk why. but it was charming and helpful for me because i had to ground a bit.

i cried 7 times. my head hurt by the end of it.

the use of silence was so good. like pauses between songs, in the middle of them, idk just. you know that post about how live theatre conveys loneliness better than anything else? yeah.

i know i already said this but i kept putting these as separate points so i'll just say all the actors' performances are SO GOOD. natasha and sonya were like..... scarily well cast btw

the 'no, i am enjoying myself at home this evening' line was performed so well

i didn't get an on stage seat but they were sitting at a long table type thing that was actually part of the stage and the cast were literally dancing directly in front of them

i like the fact they didn't try to find gender conforming audience members to bring up (in this performance, mary's suitor was fem presenting and opb's 'cheap french thing' was masc presenting). they didn't change pronouns to try and match the gender presentation of whoever they called up. same with the actors during the abduction (matryoshka etc).

finally managed to id the woodwind instrument in the 'he'll come home one day and take me away, i want nothing more' bit ('twas a clarinet). that was bugging me for years.

the comet was depicted by natasha's actor holding a big lit up ball and slowly walking through the mid-audience bit of the stage. when the song ends she gives it to pierre and he holds it until it's the only light in the room. something something hope.

they didn't directly copy the recording, there were variations in the tune that caught me off guard (in a good way) and they pronounced things the way that was most natural for an australian performance instead of trying to americanise.

overall, the only thing i would want for is to have a recording for sale, because my memory is so shit that i remember something that happened yesterday about as well as i can remember being 4 years old (not an exaggeration). i'm sort of sad that i can't see it again and again, which is just part of ~the magic of theatre~ but also a sign that it's really that good.

(anyway i highly recommend it if you're in sydney before the 20th of august)

[drbtinglecannon]

NEW OFFICIAL TRAILER FOR "FOR THE FUTURE"

(I haven't watched the leaked episode, if you did, please do not post any spoilers. You will be blocked if you do.)

King!!! King is back!!! Unfortunately it comes at the cost of him obviously being the Collector's servant basically. At least he still has François.

King also reads a book about the Collector, similar to how the end of S1 he read a book about Belos. It's an easy way to add lore to the show, and it calls back to another time he did so

Not only do we get curly redhead Lilith, but she has a pixie cut now too!!! Her glasses are gone tho :(

All of the Coven Heads (but Terra?) got turned to puppets ;___; as have most other citizens including Hooty, Principal Bump & the other Hexside teachers, and some of the other student body like the grudgby players

Also Eda does not seem to have a prosthetic like most people predicted, which makes me wonder what happened to Alador

ALSO ALSO SHORT HAIR EDA 💖

Mattholomule grew the worst facial hair lol (I am certain the 😑 expressions everyone made in that last promo image was at Mattholomule). Skara is there too!!!! And Barkus (maybe we'll get a gustholomule moment)

Eda can still lose control of the Owl Beast in Harpy mode -- and I can't blame her considering the circumstances. Her eyes turn fully black in that inky drop motion like back in s1

I wonder if her short hair affects the look

Huntlow moment 💚💛

Dana was right, sparkly is a good word to describe this episode.

I'm not sure how I feel by the idea that almost all adults got captured, it does feel specifically like The Collector (a child like God) did it on purpose, but it still is kinda :/ to know most of my fav supporting cast are puppets now to conveniently write them all out of the episode so as to keep the cast from bloating. Like I get why it was done but I'm still salty about it

The Coven Heads (again except maybe Terra?? Idk why she wasn't there? Did she pledge loyalty well enough to not need to be puppetfied? Did she escape? Die? Lol could you imagine) all have slight whimsical features added to their designs, as with everyone who got puppetfied, but for once they're all moving & working in tandem haha. Raine's close up not only killed me, but gave a good callback to when they got captured by Kikimora then "brainwashed" for weeks afterwards. The parallels of Raine pretending to be an enemy vs now they are but completely against their will. Bah. I'm dying, I'm afraid to see Eda's face in that scene. ;__; I'm really unhappy to have any Raeda fluff or bonding during this special (or suggested to have happened in between KT & FTF) robbed from us, but angst is classic Raeda vibes so I'm not surprised

I did also notice we didn't see any hints of Amity, Gus, or Willow's families at all. All we know is Eda & Lilith seem to have escaped puppetfication. I have a feeling Hooty took the puppetfication blast for Lilith in that moment

I'm stoked about Lilith having red hair again, and I was not expecting her & Eda to both cut their hair short! Everyone's getting hair style changes!

This will definitely be a Collector lore heavy episode, if only for the fact King was reading that book about them. I wonder if there used to be more children of the stars, and where the others went/are if there were

And lastly I'm at the photo cap but Belos is there too. He is using glyphs to burrow into some area, and he's killing the wildlife as he goes. Y'know, classic Belos behavior. I wonder if he's trying to get to where Caleb's mangled remains are, and if so what the plan is from there. I doubt Belos will play a large part in this episode as it seems very heavily focused on The Collector instead, which I'm fine with as I figured the final confrontation with Belos was gonna be the last special, what with him being the main villain of the show.

Despite any hangups I have I'm very excited to see the special! I know Dana & the crew worked hard on it

[giantchasm]

Random Kirby Headcanon #12

When it comes to ages, there’s a pretty big variety amongst the Kirby cast. Obviously, when discussing them, it’s hard to put them into the context of literal years, though, since I’m sure every species ages differently. Still, it can be roughly mapped out about just how old each of them are equivalent to being by our standards.

King Dedede and Meta Knight are early-thirties and mid-thirties equivalents respectively. I think when the Kirby series first started Dedede was a admittedly a lot more stubborn and inexperienced— closer to a young adult at the time, but he’s since grown and mellowed out.

Bandee is one I wibble-wobble on a lot, but I think ultimately I envision him as a young teen. Something equivalent to the 13-14 range.

Rick Kine and Coo are in their ‘mid thirties- ‘ just a little bit older than Dedede. Nago is in his late twenties or early thirties while Pitch and Chuchu are probably around elevenish.

Gooey is a hard one to pinpoint. I definitely interpret him as a child, but as for how I’d describe his age? Uh. I’m not sure. He’s just kind of Gooey.

Marx, Magolor, Taranza and Susie are all in their early twenties. Peak stupid psychologically damaged young adult energies. Marx and Magolor especially are like… very irresponsible college frat bro type of guys who will light a couch on fire in the alleyway for fun. Taranza and Susie are a little bit more responsible, but still generally getting their grasp on actual adult life and what it entails.

(Similarly, Sectonia was in her early twenties when she died. She was only a year older than Taranza by Arachnid standards. She died YOUNG, the poor thing.)

Adeleine is 14ish and Ribbon is about 12 or 13.

DMK is about the same age as Meta Knight, as are all Mirror Worlders to their counterparts.

Daroach is in his early or mid thirties. About the same age as Rick, seeing as how they were childhood friends. A fully grown adult, and still plenty spry!

Francisca is in her early twenties, Flamberge is in her early-to-late twenties and Zan Partizanne is in her early thirties.

Hyness is… odd, in that he’s long lived, even by his species standards. The dark magic he was using kept him alive for an unnatural amount of time. I think during Star Allies he had the energy of someone closer to 40 or 50, but now that he’s no longer summoning demons he’s probably closer to being in his 70s or 80s.

Elfilin is a child for sure. Probably equivalent to around 9 or 10. I wouldn’t know where to place Fecto Forgo or Elfilis though. They operate on a sort of scale we can’t really comprehend.

Leon and Carol are in their mid thirties. They’re a happy married couple.

Haltmann was in his mid to late forties when he died. Seeing as how Susie is in her early twenties… uh… wow! Yipes. He actually had her kind of young, didn’t he? He wasn’t exactly the most responsible as a young adult.

Fluff is equivalent to a preteen or teen. I’d place him in the same area as Bandee and say 13-14.

And then there’s Kirby, who I’ve saved for last because… how does one really go about surmising Kirby’s age? I don’t think there’s one simple way to describe it. There’s a lot of discourse in this fandom about how he’s “not just a toddler,” and while I agree mostly, I also think he… sort of CAN be sometimes? He’s a very complicated little guy!

I think I’d describe him as fluctuating between 4 to 10 at any given time. He has the speech abilities and motor skills of a young child, but is very observant and empathetic. In some ways, he’s wise beyond his years, but in others, he really is just a sweet, silly kid.

[princehendir]

saw the post about dwarven tax/inheritance fraud where you list friends etc as nephews. would like to know more about how that works. does it only work within the context of orzammar's legal system or has it spread outwards to be used by surface dwarves etc and is varric listing hawke and co as his nephews? how does it tangle things up if anders gets listed by both brosca and varric? also when/how did oghren die? bc i feel like it was implied he was dead.

It's really more of an Orzammar thing because on the surface, it's not considered as taboo or unusual to have someone who isn't directly related to you in your will, at least not among lower-class and Ascendant families. It still happens in Kalna families though, but less often and at a much smaller scale than it does in Orzammar, because the Merchant's Guild is less likely than the Shaperate to let you get away with having A Lot Of Nephews.

anyways, there's a couple of reasons you might do this. Inheritance-wise, the reason this is done is mostly just to ensure that someone actually gets what you leave them. The contesting of wills is extremely common, especially in noble families, but it's so extremely much harder to successfully contest someone's right to what was left to them if they were a direct family member* of the deceased that most won't even try, so making someone your nephew is functionally as close as you'll get to a guarantee that that specific part of your will will go through as written.

*I'm still nailing down details on this but to be clear nephews, and more specifically your sister's sons, occupy a weird niche culturally and legally for dwarves, where in some cases a nephew is functionally the same as a brother or a son. A very direct and intimate family relation. Part of the reason that nephews are used for this kind of thing is because you can have the benefit of direct relation without having to explain why the person in question doesn't really look like you (your sister might already have a different mother or father than you and look very different, so it's easier to suspend disbelief)

Another reason, of course, is that being brought into your House may be a step up, caste-wise, for the "nephew" in question. This and the last thing are both often done in exchange for some other shady deal being done, much like adult adoption fraud in the real world. Like you pay me x amount and I'll move you up to the noble caste. You render x service and i'll guarantee you get y after my death. that sort of thing.

Another reason for adding a lot of "nephews" would be to increase the number of people in your House, which is a form of status symbol in Orzammar. Not really a thing on the surface though.

The Shaperate and the Merchant's Guild already don't cross reference very much, and a lot of Guild families are already not acknowledged at all in Orzammer, so getting listed by both House Brosca and House Tethras probably would never even come up. It's actually not fully unheard of to be acknowledged as a relation in both a surface and Orzammarian family simultaneously, though it does imply you're a skeevy person who does skeevy things lol.

Oghren being dead has been a thing in my canon for a while but unfortunately, I keep changing my mind about when that happened. He definitely died while fighting darkspawn, and it was either at the Keep in the battle at the end of Awakening (like in his one lower-affinity ending slide), or at some point during what is late act 1 in dragon age 2. Can't be more specific than that at this time.

[arcadekitten]

can we see more of the main cast their animal outfits? (or other side characters aswell) I know you had posted some before but it was a instagram story reply that I cannot find again so I hope you could repost it here with a simple tag, because I really liked those outfits aswell and would like to see them more like other characters you posted ^_^

I hope I'm interpreting this correctly? You mean like their base designs, right? That's what I call them!

Typically when I design a character based off an animal, I try to design their "base designs" (including clothes) off their animal selves first and then when I put them in a game or something, I often try to then design clothes that fit more closely into their setting.

Like Mary for example!

The first picture is her original design, and it's much clearer to tell she's based off a manta ray from it. Her Cemetery Mary design was made to better fit into the setting she's in as well as be easier to draw multiple times. It's typically the one I draw her in most now for one of the reasons I gave it to her to begin with: It's easier to draw LOL(and at this point, it's most recognizable for her). However I would like to bring back a variant of her original design in future projects where she's in a more fantastical setting, and I try to reference it where I can--like the aquarium scene in Cemetery Mary!

As for other characters like this, I'll try to grab a few examples if I'm able!

Crowven's base/original design was a lot more monochrome, with emphasis on having his legs resemble that of real corvids! Although not drawn here, I often imagined Crowven having dark feathered wings sprouting out of his back at almost all times.

Twyla's base design kinda IS her Cemetery Mary design as she wasn't fully designed before then. I think for this reason it's why so many new players are able to catch onto the fact that Twyla is an owl before realizing that everyone's an animal. I think if I were to have designed her outside of Cemetery Mary, her design would be mostly the same, just with more browns and beiges and less purples. (And maybe a coat because just LOOK at all that owl fluff!)

Ok speedround!

Recently completed a patreon request of Gunter in his (normal)adult form which I think definitely makes him look more recognizable as a puppydog, Necrotary's first drawing DEFINITELY shows off her bat features better, Acanthibar's base design was made to be a meld of a prince and frog and I'm really happy with how I captured both in it!

I think that's all I'll share for now but maybe I'll expand upon this some more in the future!

[skylarmoon71]

Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)- Chapter 3

“Good morning (Y/N), would you mind helping me across the street.”

Your eyes lifted and despite yourself, you blushed.

The second they landed on the male you could feel your heart increase against your will.

See, you might have been oblivious to a lot, but this was different. The male that stood in front of you held a cane, sunglasses perched on his nose, and a smile on his face.

“O-Of course Mr. Murdock.”

Matt was somewhat of a family friend after he helped your father with a small legal matter. Although he lived a few blocks down, you’d known him since you were a child.

Hence your stupid crush.

“He’s twice your age!”

Technically. You were probably tripled his age with all the lives you’d outlived.

“How is your family?” Guiding him over the street you reply.

“They’re fine. Mom says you can stop by whenever you’re longing for something other than Chinese. “ He laughed.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Why couldn’t I have been reincarnated into an adult body!!”

Even his laughter was a crime.

Truth is, when you first met him, you hadn’t fully recognized him. Still, that didn’t deter your young mind on how attractive he was. Then you realize just who this man was.

Hell’s Kitchen’s very own Daredevil.

That seemed to spike your interest. Now every time you saw him you would lose all composure.

When you got across he released the hand from your shoulder.

“Thank you.” You nod.

“A-Anytime. See you around Mr. Murdock!”

You were speeding off, because your heart was about to constrict.

“I still have a few months. Calm down, you cursed organ!”

He definitely knows.

After school you make it back to your home. Your mother greets you, asking about your day. For some reason it feels easier. To be honest about what you experienced. Honest about how you feel.

“Peter sounds like a nice young man. Are you two friends then?”

Sitting at the table, you look down at your plate.

“I..I guess so.”

You’ve never really had friends. Never cared for something that you would ultimately lose.

“That’s great, sweetheart.”

Whenever she speaks, you can hear the subtle hint of pain in her words. You want nothing more than to quell those fears, but there is nothing that you can say. Because the time is literally counting down. 

Several months and you’ll be nothing but a memory. A picture hanging on the wall. When you feel her hand covering yours on the table, and the smile she offers, somehow that thought floats away. You enjoy the moment, rather than dwelling on it.

After dinner you help clean up and you move to your room. You find yourself sitting by the window, just staring up at the sky. You hope that the constellations have some secret answer to your life. Your irises glow gold, and you blink at the shadow that casts over your window. The ring on your eyes disappears almost immediately.

“Still fighting crime I see.”

There isn’t a word, but then you see his arm as he pulls himself up. Leo sets himself right on the branch set outside your window.

“How did you know it was me?”

“You’re the only vigilante running around at this time of night who’s crazy enough to come back here.”

He smiles at that, and you open the window for him. He accepts the invitation, lowering his head as he steps inside. He surveys the space. He isn’t even shocked at the lack of posters or small trinkets you would expect from a normal teenage girl. Aside from the colored wallpaper and books, there is nothing personalized. 

It’s a room of someone who doesn’t have attachments.

“How much longer do you have?”

That was not where you thought this conversation was going.

“Seven months.” Leo nods.

“So I have seven months to convince you that the human race isn’t completely irredeemable."

“What makes you think you can change what I’ve known for centuries in a matter of months.”

“Well, you never met me.”

“I thought Raph is supposed to be the self centered one.”

“Hah, you’re hilarious.” You smile at that.

“I’m sure you have better things to do that waste time on me.”

Leo takes a step closer to you.

“I don’t see any of the time I spend with you wasted. Especially given the circumstances.”

His earnest responses always throw you off. You direct your gaze elsewhere.

“What exactly do you have in mind?”

He grins.

“Glad you asked, follow me.”

He holds out his hand, and for a moment you just stare at it. This isn’t just a request to venture out there. By taking his hand, you know you’re taking a chance on feeling the pain of ultimately losing all of this when it’s time to move on. It’s a terrifying thought.

But for once, you don’t feel as terrified by it. You take his hand, and when he pulls you close, it feels like just a piece of you has changed.