#i will harp on this until the day i die

[jerzwriter]

Just here to say (again) Unreal Unearth not getting a single Grammy nomination is proof that the Grammys are full-of-shit.

That's all.

[trekkingthroughthestargate]

I want a Vulcan harp SO BADLY!!!

Like of all the merch that does or does not exist, how the HELL is the Vulcan harp not something readily available for purchase?

[a-hollow-forest]

you ever think back on your childhood and realise something was just. batshit fucked but you never really thought about how fucked it was until now and you're just like 'hm.'

[woso-fan13]

2024 Whumptober: 9 (aus)

No. 9: OBSESSION

Broken Window | Bruises | “Frame me up on the wall, just to keep me out of trouble.” 

You were frozen in fear, your eyes rapidly darting around to see all of your teammates. No one had noticed yet, but you were sure that they would be livid when they realized. There’s no way they couldn’t be- you were standing there, staring at the remnants of a broken window which scattered around your feet. 

Specifically, it was the broken window from one of Harper’s doll houses, but you still broke something that didn’t belong to you. It was your fault- you should have been watching where you were walking- and you were prepared for whatever the punishment would be. 

“You alright there, joey?” 

You look up when you hear the voice, locking eyes with Mini for just a moment before looking away. Maybe she was talking to someone else. 

She wasn’t talking to someone else. 

She clarified this by walking over to you, stepping over the now slightly damaged doll house before gently gripping your elbow and leading you away from the other girls. 

She looks at you closely, watching as your eyes fill with tears and your lip starts to wobble. The mother in her is screaming at her to take care of the scared kid, and she just does that. No questions asked, she pulls you into a tight hug. One hand stays pressed firmly to you back and the other guides your head into her neck. 

Safely tucked away, you lose your composure for just a moment, a half dozen tears slipping out of your eyes. You blink rapidly, pulling away. Mini just looks confused at the total change in attitude. 

Until Kyra appears behind your shoulder in the background, picking up the doll house and showing Mini the broken window. She looks from the window to the house and back again before popping the window back into the frame. 

“I don’t care about that stupid toy,” Mini starts, breaking the silence. 

You look surprised and confused- all feelings that you shouldn’t be currently feeling and Mini feels her heart break the tiniest bit more. 

“I don’t, really,” she insists, “Harps barely plays with it, I’ve only ever seen her use it twice. I doubt she would even notice if it was gone.”

“I’m sorry,” you say lowly, “I didn’t mean to break it, I promise. I’ll replace it.”

“For the third time, I don’t care about that toy. Besides, Kyra’s already fixed it. Everything’s good, bubs.”

You’re frozen again, but not in fear this time. You’re stuck in your place as you work to process what she just told you. 

“You could break every window in my house, and I would still love you, buddy. You’re basically my kid, got it?”

Mini pulls you into a tight hug, pulling you slightly closer when she feels like you might try to pull away. 

You’ll deny it until the day that you die, but, just for a moment, you didn’t care about that stupid toy either. 

[wc-confessions]

The way people were harping on Dovewing dying in Ivypool’s Heart gives me serious Ferncloud vibes.

It annoyed me when people justified their theory because “Dovewing hasn’t been doing anything but have kits/be a mother”. God forbid one of the female characters be a loving mother to her children. God forbid she worry about them, especially after one of her sons was almost killed and the other actually died.

Ferncloud was killed off for being the motherly type and it’s IMO some weird Deja vu that her granddaughter is being seen in the same light by the fandom.

I also disliked how people were quick to excuse Ivypool’s outburst on Dovewing’s pain not being as bad as hers because Rowankit was a baby and in StarClan whilst Bristlefrost was an adult and is gone forever. Imagine trying to justify the belief that a BABY’S death isn’t as bad as an adult’s. Both deaths are awful experiences in their own right.

Yes, Ivypool was grieving. She lashed out. She’s still wrong though and people need to stop using mental illness/distress as an excuse to hurt others. Unfortunately the story doesn’t have her apologize for it. However, the story did good when it had Ivypool realize that whilst Rowankit was a baby, Dovewing grieved for what could’ve been. Bristlefrost said her good-byes and was prepared to die; she chose to sacrifice herself. Rowankit didn’t choose to die and he suffered slowly, suffocating day after day until his little body couldn’t fight anymore. Dovewing had to watch helplessly as her son suffered and died and wait for help that never arrived. She clung onto hope that failed her. She’s in pain but trying to stay alive.

.

[allwormdiet]

Sentinel 9.3

Y'know, the irony here is that as I'm writing this post I've just started an online course with video lectures.

Solid bit of establishing characterization, an easy display of people's emotional ties and states.

Parahuman science must be so fucking hard to work with, honestly. Your subject matter is made up of a bunch of people with trauma-activated abilities that actively defy physics or other laws of reality, combination of psychology and whatever the hell you call studying outliers in how the fucking universe works.

Also glad people aren't just content to let the matter of parahuman origins end at "they just started happening." I know they haven't cracked the how or why of it in thirty years but I also know they crack it some time in the next two-ish years of canon, which should be interesting.

Also also, the inclination towards combat and conflict is... I know it's not going to be a long time until we talk about the "why" of that one either, but when we do I have notes for the designer(s) on these things

Oh, okay, so trigger events are talked about in a 100-level course, and Taylor straight up didn't know about them. Interesting? She really didn't give that much of a shit about cape stuff before stumbling into the life of a supervillain, huh.

Correlation between physical trauma -> physical powers and psychological trauma -> mental powers is interesting as well, although that leaves plenty of room for the edge cases. Glory Girl is actually the prime example there, too, brute and mover seem like the obvious tags but that doesn't cover the aura, which is I guess master? I'm less and less convinced that it was really just a foul in basketball that made her trigger tbh.

Also: I cannot even fucking imagine what the studies must be like about the New Wave families. Imagine writing your fucking thesis on the Dallon-Pelham Torment Nexus. Imagine being Victoria, Amy, Crystal, or Eric, and your family is being taught about in classes because of how "good" it is at inflicting superpowers on you. No I will not entertain the idea that either family is normal, parahuman psychology has so far shown zero signs of being healthy for anybody and it's not going to start holding back when it comes to child-rearing.

I'm not unsympathetic to what Clockblocker is stewing over, but the PRT can't let these kids dedicate every waking hour to crisis management; there will be a day where they're not dealing with a drowned city, and they might as well get ready for it now, and take time off from trudging through muck and mayhem as they do it.

Narrowing my eyes at the witch burning thing but I'm not going to harp on whatever the hell's going on there.

I think the gender divide makes sense but I don't know if it holds totally consistent in-story; the pre-Leviathan Wards and Protectorate ENE definitely leaned more male than female in its numbers, Merchants and ABB are two men to one woman, Empire is... eight men to seven women I think? I think as of right now the only teams we have that even have more women than men are Undersiders, Travelers, Faultline, and New Wave.

This is probably more math than I should be doing but whatever, don't use math in your story if you don't want someone checking it.

That's the same thing as Circus, right? Interesting that it's a known phenomenon.

He's doing his best, be nice.

Bunch of people are gonna be really annoyed when it turns out where powers come from because there's no way they could predict it from where they're standing.

Hwoof.

Oh, so that's Clockblocker's trigger event and power explained all at once, isn't it? I don't know if it's stated explicitly but "buying time in every way except for the one that matters the most to you" sounds like the kind of monkey's paw shit that powers love to do.

Now see, there's an interesting dilemma, isn't it. Family teams are all well and good (allegedly, given how parahumans work) but the moment one or more members die all of a sudden it's that much more fucked up for everybody. Even if the team persists past losing Manpower and Shielder there's no way they're gonna hold together after Amy & Vicky's Nightmare Extravaganza. One of the most notable independent teams in the setting with over a decade of experience, and in the span of a few months they're going from apex to nonexistence. I don't really have it in me to weep for the adults, see above suspicions about Torment Nexus, but I feel awful for the kids. Crystal is gonna be the last one standing until, what, Ward? That's gotta fuck you up good. Poor fucking girl.

And then the portraits. Hoo boy.

The portraits thing feels. I dunno. Do you have to put them right next to the other members? That feels like a really good way to get your underage parahumans even more fucked up about mortality if I'm being honest.

This is touching. Also fuck cancer.

Exactly what the Wards need, less open communication.

This is a hard conversation to have in a lot of ways. Weld is fumbling but he's trying, and the rest of the team needs to meet him in the middle for things to work out.

And. Ugh. I see an unfortunate side of myself in Clockblocker here. I've got an awful habit of going for low blows in an argument if I'm feeling low enough. I get mean, I say things just to make it hurt. I haven't done it in a long time, but it's still a thing I have done and can do if I don't watch it. With this at least it's an accident, or at least the extent of harm Clockblocker is doing is way beyond what he intended.

Clockblocker has the sense to fear Glory Girl in this moment, and she has the grace to forgive him.

And that's proof of who Clockblocker is when he's not at his worst. When he's not lashing out because of the active fucking wringer he's being shoved through, he's obviously thoughtful and kind; the lashing out is, uhh, understandable, but still a problem.

She's just a kid...

I talked about this with some folks on Discord, it's kind of remarkable to me that a guy with literal empathy powers couldn't hold a steady relationship with a single girl. I'm sure parahuman romance is its own special kind of fraught, but that's a little silly.

That said, it sounds like Gallant was good people.

This is very funny though

Oh hey, we have anger and futility coming back together again, haven't seen that for a minute.

Honestly I feel like the ones who try to be funny are usually the ones who've got so much shit going on in the background, anger is the least surprising thing to come from the team's designated funny one.

Good on Dennis for realizing how easy it is to use anger and how hard it can be to let go of it. Shit sucks.

Wuh oh.

This is gruesome, and a harbinger of things to come. Oh boy.

Fuck were the Travelers even doing here, anyhow?

Also crazy bold of the Wards to try and pick this fight. The Travelers have such outrageous firepower, I don't think there'd be much sense in picking this fight.

Skimming back through the fight, not a whole lot for me to say? I'm not super invested in it, I guess, it feels like there's exceptionally little actually riding on this fight. The Travelers want to fuck off and the Wards want to stop them from fucking off, the gallery fight had more meat than this.

"Oh thank god, a conflict I can throw myself into to feel useful and offset all the negative feelings that not fighting has left me stricken with."

That's not a criticism of Clockblocker by the way, if anything I'm just staring at the thing brought up earlier this chapter where most parahumans are driven into fighting each other and suspecting something of a connection.

Current Thoughts

I see some of my younger self in Clockblocker, which is ironic bc I actually had a superhero OC back in high school named Clockblock (his powers were a lot broader and his thing was more about struggling with overwhelming ennui in the face of his own significance in the grand scale of Time Itself). I hope he manages to get over that anger and hurt, but he's a parahuman, so I kinda doubt it.

Kid Win next, plus further plot developments.

[knowledgeabletrash]

I have so many feelings about the first Hunt and it’s aftermath from 2x08 & 09! Apologies for the word-vomit below this.

I never thought it would happen, but dare I say, Travis has become one of my favorite characters this season.

As an older sibling, I was right there with Travis these last two episodes. His guilt and grief in Storyteller hit very close to home for me and I just.

Right after the crash, everyone looked to Travis to take care of Javi, even when he was still trying to process the fact that he had just watched his father fall out of a fucking plane. He dug up his father’s rotting corpse in order to get a ring to help Javi grieve and remember their dad. He spent months walking 7 miles in every direction every day looking for Javi. And after all that, Javi still died. Not only did Travis lose his father, but now he’s lost his brother for the SECOND TIME. To make it worse, Javi was safe, he wasn’t picked! But then Travis decided to protect Natalie, and from the looks of it, he was ready to take her place; he threw himself in front of the door behind her and stood with a knife at his throat (for the second time oh my god these girls). I missed it before, but Travis looked to Javi and whispered his name after the Hunt went after Nat, he asked Javi to protect Natalie when he couldn’t. And doesn’t that make it so much worse? Up until then, Javi had been running away from the violence. Travis asked him to step up and take care of Natalie, someone they both grew to love. Javi became just like his big brother, and he died for it.

Side note: Travis is a better man than me because if that was my sister trust and believe I’d have done more than send them on a guilt trip, even if I was starving!! Not to soft quote Queen Ramonda here but HAS HE NOT GIVEN EVERYTHING?! His dad died while helping the girls put on their oxygen masks during the crash, Javi died so that the rest of them wouldn’t starve. His whole family died saving the Yellowjackets! Ben didn’t eat Jackie OR Javi and he’s still alive and kicking and burning down cabins, our girls SICK AND TWISTED (said with love). Even in the Donner Party, they made sure they ate in separate groups so that families would not have to eat each other or watch as their loved ones were eaten.

Anyway, I’ve seen a lot of people harping on Travis for telling Van that they should all be ashamed of what they did, and god it makes me so upset. Y’all can excuse hunting your friends and cannibalism but not a grieving teenage boy lashing out after the murder of his little brother??!! Like, the first thing Travis did when he saw his brother’s body was try to untie his hands because he’s not an animal he’s just a kid, and then cradled him like a baby, only to have his body taken from him moments later to be dismembered and butchered.

As the youngest of the survivors, Javi was someone who, by normal conventions, should have been protected by the rest of the group. Of course Travis needs them to be ashamed of what they did, he blames himself for Javi’s death just as much as he does then, if not more!! Travis was supposed to protect him and he failed him!!

I understand that Travis is not a fan favorite by a long shot and Van is one of the most popular characters in the show, which might be skewing the perception of this scene a bit, but I think the people who are dunking on Travis here are missing the point a little? Yes, Van gave him some brutal honesty and was well within her rights to do so. However!! Travis also gets to be pissed at the Yellowjackets. The fact is: they absolutely SHOULD be ashamed, but they’re not. They fully COULD HAVE saved Javi, but they didn’t. Javi was not the one who drew the card, but he died anyway. Why was Javi’s life worth less than Lottie’s, who might have died on her own? Because they liked her more? Because he was more expendable? No matter how much you justify it, Javi did not NEED to die. None of it was fair. That’s the point, that’s the tragedy of it all!

Lottie Matthews really dropped the thesis of the show: “Is there a difference?”

It doesn’t matter if there was some supernatural entity out there who “chose” Javi to die, it would have happened anyway. It’s much easier to stand by and watch a boy drown than to do the killing yourself. They were starving, he was there. Even if the Wilderness chose, the Yellowjackets chose, too.

Circling back a bit, I also want to talk about the difference between the two instances of cannibalism on this show: how they’re similar and different.

When Shauna and Travis discover their loved ones bodies (both frozen might I add), they assume very similar positions, kneeling by their heads and touching their faces. Both of their death’s were caused by the collective inaction of the rest of the group. The person who takes the first bite was the person who loved them most, thus giving permission to the others to eat and spurring on the feeding frenzy.

Jackie was an accident, Javi was on purpose. When Shauna found Jackie, she screamed and was in denial, trying to shake her awake. Travis was almost completely silent, only whispering “I’m sorry” and cradling Javi’s head in his lap. They held onto Jackie’s frozen corpse for months so Shauna could grieve her, but they took Javi away from Travis after what couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. They ate Jackie whole like vultures, but they butchered Javi like an animal. The process of eating Jackie took a long time, almost three months from her death to consumption. Hell, she was slow roasted. With Javi though, “it all happened so fast” he was dead, cleaned, and eaten all within a few hours.

Shauna ate Jackie’s ear first. Jackie was driven into the cold by Shauna’s words. Travis ate Javi’s heart first. Javi went after Natalie because Travis loved her and because he loved Travis.

I’ve seen people say that the progression to the Hunt was too sudden and a result of bad writing but I’m going to have to disagree! Just from the parallels between Jackie and Javi’s deaths alone you can tell these writers know their shit. The Hunt has been teased since Doomcoming back in S1, the bloodthirsty side to the Yellowjackets has long been set up (Not!Tai eating Jackie’s face, Misty pushing Crystal, Shauna beating up Lottie). All season, we have seen various characters talking about eating another person multiple times (Misty and Crystal with the bone broth, Gen and Melissa about Crystal’s body, Mari and Misty both threatening Coach Ben), so they’ve had cannibalism on the brain for a while before they decided to Hunt. I’d go so far as to say the first signs of the Hunt were back in 1x01 with the girls icing out Allie for the greater good so they could win nationals. Them shunning Jackie solidified that the Yellowjackets were more than comfortable singling out and dehumanising one of their own, so long as the rest of the group deemed it necessary.

Cannibalism also is probably one of those things that gets easier the more you do it? Like they definitely would have Hunted and eaten Travis during Doomcoming if they had already taken the first step into cannibalism before then. Once they ate Jackie, all bets were off. The Wilderness “refusing” to let Lottie die was just a convenient excuse, they were hurdling headfirst into hunting their friends for sport looooong before then.

All this to say the Season 2 finale destroyed me and these are only Some of my thoughts about it. I’m not even TOUCHING the Natalie stuff yet.

[gamerbearmira]

You know, I always loved fairytales, and those episodes of TV shows where the characters are part of a fairytale or in a fairytale setting were always fun for me. A fairytale AU would be super cool, where the Madrigals are all royalty, and each Madrigal is the protagonist of a different fairytale.

Alma is the beauty from Beauty and the Beast, Pedro didn't die, he was cursed and ran away after an angry mob attacked him, he hides in a dark castle in order to protect his family from the angry mob and watches over his family from a distance, whether or not Alma knows what happened is up for debate.

Julieta is the princess from the Princess and the Frog, Agustin is the frog of course, that's why he's so clumsy, the story is basically the same as Julieta helps Agustin break his curse.

Pepa is the Snow Queen, after being bullied as a child for her weather powers, she shuts herself off from others until Felix, the Kai of the story, comes along, he can only sees the bad in the world due to a shard of the cursed mirror in his eye but doesn't see fault in Pepa's perfect snowflakes, Pepa falls in love and helps Felix's sister, the Gerda of the story, break the curse of the mirror shard.

Bruno is the protagonist of The Golden Goose, he wanders into the jungle to hide from bullies and offers some of the food he has on him to an old man, who guides him to the Golden Goose, as Bruno makes his way back home, many people try and steal feathers from the goose and end up getting stuck, they are only freed when Bruno comes home and his family ignores the goose as they embrace him, as he had been gone for hours and they had been worried.

Isabela is Sleeping Beauty, cursed at birth by an evil fairy to prick her finger and sleep forever unless she is given a kiss of true love, when she pricks her finger, everyone thinks Mariano can break the curse, but of course he isn't her true love, so it doesn't work, Julieta ends up being the one to break the curse with a forehead kiss.

Dolores is Cinderella, after Mariano discovers he isn't Isabela's true love, he holds a ball to try and find his true love, Alma is very embarrassed by what happened with Isabela and refuses to let any Madrigal attend, so Dolores has to sneak out with the help of her fairy godmother, when she leaves her shoe behind and Mariano starts looking for her, she ends up coming clean to her family and admitting her feelings for Mariano so she can try on the shoe.

Luisa is the princess from The Princess and the Pea, she gets lost in a different kingdom during a trip and seeks shelter at the kingdom's castle, the Queen doesn't believe Luisa is a real Princess due to her 'un-princess-ly stature' and gives her the pea test, the next day the rest of the Madrigals show up at the palace begging for help to find Luisa, Alma and Julieta give the Queen an earfull when they're told what happened, and poor Luisa is given a week off of chores to rest.

Camilo is Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk, he trades a piece of jewelry for the magic beans, he didn't really believe the beans were magical he just didn't like the jewelry he had and wanted to get rid of it, once the beanstalk grows, he climbs it out of curiosity and takes the opportunity to cause some mischief when he finds the giant, including stealing a goose that lays golden eggs and a harp that plays itself, needless to say he gets in massive trouble when he gets home and Alma returns the items to the giant with a sincere apology.

Mirabel is Little Red Riding Hood, Alma is visiting her family who lives on the other side of the jungle when she gets sick, since she's too sick to make the journey back home, Julieta sends Mirabel with a basket of food to help her get better, the 'wolf' she encounters is actually her Abuelo Pedro, still cursed, he keeps Mirabel safe on her journey and Mirabel is able to reunite Pedro and Alma.

Antonio is the Pied Piper of Hamelin, he uses his flute to help with a rat infestation and decides to keep the rats as pets, but when people start bullying him for having rats as pets, calling the rats disgusting and Antonio himself diseased, he releases the rats back into the town until they apologize, both to him and the rats.

I LOVE FAIRYTALES TOO!!! THEY’RE SO SILLY!!!

All of these are so cool and fit so well. Tbh I like Alma, Luisa, Mirabel, Antonio and Pepa’s. I mean all of them are so rad, but those have my heart‼️‼️ They’re all so unique and. Love how some of them tie into each other. And all of them fit so well with each of the Madrigals and that is just so cool tbh. Love seeing AUs like that. AND PEDRO MENTIONED 🗣️🗣️🗣️ YEAHHHHHH

Wanted to draw Alma and Pepa but didn’t :((((

LOVE THIS AU RAHHHHHH 🗣️🗣️🤠🤠🤠🤠🦅🦅🦅🦅

[jedimaesteryoda]

Mance Rayder had always served as a mirror of Jon himself. Mance, like Jon, never knew his birth parents and was found as an infant after the members the party he was in were killed and he was taken in by his family's enemies, in this case the Night's Watch. He would go on to join the Night's Watch likely around Jon's age.

He had assumed a false identity as a bard to infiltrate Winterfell when King Robert visited, telling that story ironically as Jon played the false identity of a deserter when he came to see the King-beyond-the-Wall.

Jon noted that Mance didn't look like a king, and easily passed him over while ironically Jon himself is also a king in the sense that he is heir to the Targaryen dynasty, but he doesn't look like royal blood with his mother's dark features in place of Targaryen ones. Mance was a king posing as a bard at Winterfell while Jon was one (unwittingly) posing as a bastard. Mance singing and playing strings itself is reminiscent of Rhaegar who played the high harp.

One arrow took Mance Rayder in the chest, one in the gut, one in the throat. The fourth struck one of the cage's wooden bars, and quivered for an instant before catching fire. A woman's sobs echoed off the Wall as the wildling king slid bonelessly to the floor of his cage, wreathed in fire. "And now his Watch is done," Jon murmured softly. Mance Rayder had been a man of the Night's Watch once, before he changed his black cloak for one slashed with bright red silk. -ADWD, Jon III When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold … -ADWD, Jon XIII

Mance (actually Rattleshirt) dies as he felt the heat as his cage burns while Jon feels the cold and will likely be put into the ice cellars. Yet, we later learn Mance isn't actually dead just as Jon likely isn't.

"One day on a ranging we brought down a fine big elk. We were skinning it when the smell of blood drew a shadow-cat out of its lair. I drove it off, but not before it shredded my cloak to ribbons. Do you see? Here, here, and here?" He chuckled. "It shredded my arm and back as well, and I bled worse than the elk. My brothers feared I might die before they got me back to Maester Mullin at the Shadow Tower, so they carried me to a wildling village where we knew an old wisewoman did some healing. She was dead, as it happened, but her daughter saw to me. Cleaned my wounds, sewed me up, and fed me porridge and potions until I was strong enough to ride again. And she sewed up the rents in my cloak as well, with some scarlet silk from Asshai that her grandmother had pulled from the wreck of a cog washed up on the Frozen Shore. It was the greatest treasure she had, and her gift to me." -ASOS, Jon I

Mance ultimately left the Night's Watch after a near-death experience. A woman who had red silk from Assahi (like Melisandre of Asshai's dresses) healed him. Like Mance, Jon was attacked after dealing with a stag, Stannis Baratheon, who was believed killed by Ramsay Bolton with a habit of skinning people. Just as a shadow-cat was drawn out by the scent of the stag's blood, Stannis's apparent demise drew out Marsh and Co to attack Jon. Jon is near-death, but will likely be healed at least in part by Melisandre of Asshai and help from the wildlings.

Afterwards, he left the Wall to become a king wearing a cloak of black and red, the colors of House Targaryen, to unite his people against the Long Night.

[mimble-sparklepudding]

Cemetery Symbolism OC Questions

A little list of OC questions based on Victorian Graveyard Symbolism (obviously some of the symbols mentioned here had more than one meaning, or a meaning which changed over time, it's not intended to be exhaustive, merely illustrative of some themes). I hope you enjoy the list!

Skull - Mortality.

Does your OC often reflect upon their own mortality? Is it something which they fear?

Does your OC have a "bucket list" of things they would like to do (or places they would like to see) before they die?

Who is the most significant person your OC has lost? Have they fully processed their grief? Or can certain things trigger a flood of emotions?

Is there a person who your OC cannot bear the thought of losing? What lengths would they go to in order to keep them safe?

Does your OC observe any ceremonies or festivals of remembrance? Who do they memorialise? How does your OC feel on these occasions?

Harp - Hope.

Is your OC an optimist? Do they tend to believe things will work out for the best? Or do they prefer to anticipate the worst, in order to be pleasantly surprised if it does not occur?

If your OC could make one wish to change the world for the better then what would they choose?

Has your OC fulfilled the hopes of their parents or their community? How do they feel about these in retrospect?

To what does your OC cling to in extremes of despair or danger? A faith? A mission? Or something else?

Does your OC galvanise hope in others? How do they encourage or rally others when they fall to despair?

Heart - Devotion.

Does your OC inspire devotion in those around them? What form does this take? Adulation? Romantic attachment? Ferocious loyalty? Or something else?

Is your OC particularly pious? Do they follow a religious faith? Or did they once have a faith which they lost? If they are not religious then how do they feel about those who are?

Does your OC have an irreverent sense of humour, even (or especially) about the things which are important to them? Or do they treat such things with great solemnity?

Is your OC particularly patriotic? What does their country or other place of origin mean to them?

Does your OC remain loyal to those they love, regardless of the rights and wrongs of any given situation? Would they support them even if they were in the wrong? Even if they committed a serious crime?

Cherub - Innocence.

Is your OC particularly knowledgeable about matters of the flesh? Are they easily shocked or scandalised? Or are there relatively few fetishes, positions, or unusual uses of implements of which they have not heard - or possibly even attempted?

Does your OC swear in day to day conversation? Or only when they are startled or angry?

Did your OC have a sheltered upbringing? Did anyone educate them about sex and relationships? Or were such things not discussed? If their family did not give them this information then how did they find out?

Does your OC adjust their language or behaviour around children? Are there some topics they avoid discussing in front of them - like war or death - because they would prefer to shield them from such things until they are older?

What is something your OC has learned that they would rather never have known?

Tree - Knowledge.

Does your OC have much in the way of academic learning? If so then how useful has this been to them in their adult life? If not then are they ever jealous of those with more formal education?

Does your OC have a particular area of interest or expertise? Do they enjoy sharing this interest with others? Or is it something they prefer to keep private?

Does your OC learn from experience? Or do they seem doomed to repeat the same mistakes time and time again?

Do others see your OC as particularly intelligent? Or are they considered average, or even somewhat lacking, in intellect? How accurate is this assessment?

How well does their partner, sibling or other closest person in their life know them? Are there secrets they keep even from them?

Urn - Penitence.

What is the thing about which your OC feels most guilty?

Does your OC believe that a person can be redeemed even if they have committed heinous deeds? Or do they maintain that some crimes can never be forgiven?

Does your OC find it easy to admit when they have wronged another person? Do they find it easy to apologise?

Has your OC ever been punished for a crime or been compelled to do penance for a perceived sin? Did they feel this was just at the time? Has their view changed in retrospect?

When your OC has hurt or offended someone they care about, how do they tend to make it up to that person?

[kaitou-kid-my-beloved]

A Little Ghost in a Bowtie (@livmadart's Phantump Conan AU)

(Chapter one of... at least four)

(Next)(Ao3 link)

Heiji Hattori would consider himself a good pokemon trainer. Sure, he wasn’t exactly famous for it or anything, but his pokemon all loved him, and were happy with him, and that’s what really matters, right? He was content with that.

Heiji Hattori would also consider himself a good detective. Due to his strange luck, he ran into quite a few more cases than the average person, and they all got solved thanks to him. His inexplicable ability to speak to the pokemon involved helped a lot, he’d admit. But… he wasn’t satisfied. No matter how well he did, no matter how many cases he solved, no matter how many lives he ended up saving, there was always a name that came before his.

Shinichi Kudo.

Kudo was some hotshot teen detective from Saffron- he had famous parents and a fancy foreign partner pokemon, and the media just loved him so much. Whenever Heiji introduced himself as a teen detective, he was compared to Kudo. If he solved a case, it was compared to Kudo. If he were to dare to be proud of his accomplishments at home, his own father would say that he still wasn’t as good as Kudo.

Kudo Kudo Kudo Kudo- Heiji was sick of it- sick of that name. He swore to himself that one day he’d overcome that name- grow stronger than it, and the person it belonged to. His pokemon supported him, even if his father had scoffed and turned away whenever he mentioned his ambition.

Then of course, Kudo had turned up dead.

This monolith that had cast such a shadow over Heiji’s life for over a year now was just gone, crumbled away like it had never been there… and yet- Heiji couldn’t accept it. Sure, people had mostly stopped comparing them- after all, a living detective was better than a dead one any day, but…

Heiji had been counting on overcoming him. Knowing that his skills were sharper, and that his old man was dead wrong. But now.. Now he’d never get that chance. He was finally on top- in the worst way he could imagine.

“I just don’t get it- if he was so good then why did he die so easily?” Heiji mumbled into his pillow. He was supposed to be sleeping- but sleep had been evading him for weeks now.

“I don’t know, if you’re so good then why are you still whining about this?” His partner growled from her place leaning against the door. Lucie- a Lucario he’d raised from an egg to now, was probably his closest confidant- with Kazuha as a close second. Usually, she was fairly supportive of him, but he supposed he had been a little fixated on this for.. Oh wow, had it already been two months since Kudo had died?

“But, I mean he was-”

“So good, so talented, the detective to whom all other teen detectives are compared, yeah- I know. I’ve heard the spiel about twenty times already- you should get some new material soon or else I’ll be able to recite the whole thing word for word,” Lucie rumbled, rolling her eyes.

“...Sorry ‘bout that,” He pushed himself into a sitting position, sighing as he rubbed the circles under his eyes. Lucie sighed and pushed off the door, walking over to stand in front of him. She tended to be competitive about the dumbest things-  a bit like her trainer, and so she refused to go to sleep until he’d already drifted off- meaning that now they were both sleep deprived.

“You’re not going to stop harping about it, are you?” She grumbled fondly.

“Probably not,” He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Well then, you might as well be productive about it- have there been any updates in the case?” Lucie tossed him his phone, and he blinked in the sudden light from the screen.

“Uhhh- nope. Just the same old stuff,” Heiji sighed, scrolling through article after article- obituary after obituary…

“Run through it again- you might notice something new,” Lucie barked, like it was an order. Heiji took it as one, and clicked into his very detailed note page on the subject.

“Victim Shinichi Kudo, age sixteen was found behind the ferris wheel operations building at Tropical Land at 9:47 PM by an officer doing a routine sweep after another crime was committed in the same park earlier that day. He was last seen alive by longtime friend Ran Mouri at around 8:15 PM, only a few hundred meters from where the body was found,” Heiji read aloud, his mind flipping through facts and timelines faster than he could verbally relay. Lucie nodded, crossing her paws.

“And? Was the witness useful for anything else?” She said, sending his mind spinning in a different direction.

“Her testimony states that Kudo had a pokeball on him when he was last seen- but the body was found without any pokemon present- inside pokeballs or otherwise, suggesting that the murderers stole it for whatever reason,” Kudo’s pokemon was the second casualty in this case- most overlooked it in favor of its trainer, but Heiji felt bad for it all the same.

“And the body?”

“One injury- a blunt force trauma wound to the head, but the autopsy determined that it wasn’t the cause of death. Even now, a cause of death has yet to be determined, since it appears as if his heart just stopped for no reason. Pokemon interference has also been ruled out- no psychic, ghost, or dark type energy residue was found on the body,”

“It is a puzzling case, to be sure,” Lucie growled, running a hand over her ears in a mirror gesture to her trainer messing up his hair.

“Exactly one witness with nothing to say, no evidence… pretty much a load ‘a nothing,” Heiji growled a little himself as he scrolled and scrolled and scrolled some more- there really was just… nothing here.

It was one thing for Kudo to just die, but it was another for him to leave behind so little to solve his case. Heiji would be beyond ticked if he ended up as one of the most famous cold cases of the century- but right now, that’s where this all was headed.

“Incompetent police…” Lucie rumbled, in a way that almost sounded like a purr. “Nothing for it- suppose you’ll just have to investigate by yourself?” She grinned at him, her fangs glinting in the moonlight.

Heiji turned the idea over in his head- he supposed that maybe. Just maybe, solving Kudo’s murder would make him feel better about the whole thing? The thought of it sent a shiver up his spine. He hadn’t liked the guy. He’d never met him- but he didn’t deserve to rot without justice, and if Heiji could get it for him, and prove something to himself in the process… Well, that was his business.

It was thoughts like that that finally let him sleep.

[juniperhillpatient]

thinking about how yellowjackets portrays sex & sexual situations gender & the… not unique but certainly rare way this show focuses on men versus women & I know we’re all tired of phrases like “male gaze” & “female gaze” but I think the show almost like… purposefully repurposes the male gaze from the perspective of its female characters.

jackie’s introduction pretty much is a sexual situation but it’s not a fun hot scene. it’s uncomfortable & awkward because it’s very clear jackie isn’t being pleasured. jeff just kind of looks like a tool. then later we get the sex scene between jeff & shauna & it’s different because both characters are into it but also it’s all about shauna, & the focus is mainly on her making jeff tell her that he loves her. it sort of reminds me of the scene in buffy the vampire slayer when buffy is feeling down because she just saw her most annoying ex living his best life so she demands spike tell her he loves her. it’s not a healthy situation. it’s… concerning & toxic. and even a bit manipulative & predatory to use someone that way.

and the other thing we know due to the focused shots of shauna looking at jackie is that this is not about jeff at all. he’s just the guy who happened to be between these two girls. when I first watched the show I disliked him but more & more I’m realizing… this is all about shauna & jackie. this entire relationship between shauna & jeff that turns into a marriage never has much to do with jeff himself at all. jeff is the epitome of literally just Some Guy.

anyway. I’m getting off track. I wanted to discuss jackie’s introduction versus her death. jackie being left to die because she had sex, on the surface seems like misogynistic writing. typical “female character is punished for sex” (not to harp on buffy again but..) trope. especially because the other girls are angry when they see the blood stain from her lost virginity.

but… the other girls aren’t angry at jackie because of sex. it’s because she’s “taken what didn’t belong to her.” & it’s interesting how none of the other girls care about or are invested in natalie & travis’ romance until this point. because it’s not about that. they objectify travis to the point of seeing him as literal food.

the framing of the jackie/travis sex scene is fascinating, the way it’s shot back & forth with the girls in the forest going feral. and the way in the end, travis is disoriented & confused & immediately following this the other girls begin sexual assaulting him & hunting him like an animal. like everything about travis & his arc, it’s such a subversion of the way female characters are so often treated in media.

and that brings me to travis & natalie & how they subvert gender roles. travis starts off seeming a bit sexist but the more we learn the more it’s clear he’s just an inexperienced teenager. he’s a virgin scared for his first time & he’s falling for the experienced bad girl who’s kinda scary. we literally always see that set up but with the shy inexperienced girl falling for the bad boy. even the way travis haunts the narrative & serves as part of natalie’s pain arc is reminiscent of the dead girlfriend trope. he is to natalie as jess from supernatural is to sam winchester. he’s fridged but the boy version. & that’s why he’s a babygirl to me <3

and like… we could talk all day about the pine cone in travis’ mouth & the sexual assault blood orgy scenes but let’s move on to the most functional couple of the entire show with some of the only sex scenes that actually seem like a fun sexy time where it’s just two people in love having sex

taissa & van! their conflict develops throughout the season as van is almost eaten by wolves because taissa is busy being possessed by the wood spirit & taissa’s frustration with van’s belief in something supernatural grows but… beyond that? they’re actually just super into each other. they are constantly talking about how gorgeous the other is, being all over each other, skinny dipping & doing more typically fun & romantic activities than all the other characters. & it’s 2 women

from shauna having sex with adam who ends up dead to whatever the fuck misty has going on with ben (not to mention adult! misty’s introductory scene where she manipulates a man into coming home with her by faking insecurities - or perhaps playing them up & using them, it’s unclear) it’s just totally fascinating to me the way this show subverts expectations with gender & sex

[georgi-girl]

The Corpse Groom (Corpse Bride recast)

original meme belongs to Blaze-On-Fire. I've learned some disappointing things about Tim Burtan. But my sister tells me it's still okay to like his movie since he's not really the creative mind behind them. So with that in mind, I give you my polyamorous retelling of The Corpse Bride with characters from the Dreamworks Trolls franchise (inspired by the Tangled/Corpse Bride crossover "Live For You" on AO3) starring... Hickory in the role of Victor Van Dort. Princess Poppy in the role of Victoria Everglot. Delta Dawn in the role of Nell (she's Hickorys' sister-in-law) Cybil in the role of Maudeline (until the third movie comes out, I'm casting her as Poppy's mother) King Peppy in the role of Finis. Dickory in the role of William (Hickorys' brother, Delta's husband) Branch in the of Emily (why is the title character so far down? this is not a well-designed meme) Creek in the role of Lord Barkus. DJ Suki in the role of Hildagard (she's Poppys' lady in waiting) King Gristle Senior in the role of Pastor Galswells. Biggie in the role of Mayhew (Don't worry, he's not going to die) Grandma Rosie Puff in the role of Grandfather Everglot (she's Poppys' ancestor in this story)   King Thrash in the role of Elder Gutknecht. He and the other Rock Trolls are psychopomps (death angels) who watch over Troll souls in Purgatory. Riff in the role of the Black Widow. Chaz in the role of the flirtatious Miss Plum. Barb in the role of the Maggot (I thought about casting her as Bonejangles, but she's more like the sassy Maggot)   Conductor Trollzart in the role of the General (I wanted to us the Country Troll who SPOILER: dies onscreen, but I couldn't find any picture of him) King Trollex in the role of Bonejangles (specializing in Horrorcore Techno) And Fuzzbert in the role of Emil. 

The story is this... Princess Poppy is betrothed to Lord Creek. But she's in love with the handsome trans man Hickory Dock. They decide to elope, and while passing through the woods, they practice their wedding vows, accidently summoning Brance, a corpse who's still holding his last breath. He approaches his "beloveds" who explain that they're already an item. He tells them that he's "willing to share". He then sprits them away to Purgatory, where the dead spend their time before they're ready to move on. They're greeted by the Barb the psychopomp who shows them around, and Trollex who sings about the tragic Corpse Groom that was betrayed and murdered by his lover. The trio has a good time together, until Hickory remembers his family is still waiting for him. They go to Thrash, who gives them a haunting spell that sends them to the world of the living. They go (with Branch in disguise) to the home of Hickory's brother and in-laws. The next day, they sneak into the castle, where they overhear Creek blackmailing King Peppy for Poppys' hand. Poppy chooses to stay and help her father, while Branch and Hickory escape back to Purgatory. Poppy and Suki do some investigating and discover that Creek stole a royal family relic ~ a harp said to restore life to the freshly dead. (wink wink) Meanwhile, Branch is distraught, but Hickory comforts him with a romantic ballad. Right when they're ready to start again, Thrash reveals that the dead and the living are forbidden to marry. If they want to be a couple Hickory will have to go back to the world of the living and take his own life. Hickory agrees, and the whole dead community goes up to perform the wedding. Poppy sees the procession and joins them, thinking that her death will make her wedding to Creek null and void. But during the ceremony, Branch sees Poppy and Hickorys' families watching and can't go through with it. Poppy tries to tell him about the harp, but Creek interrupts. Branch recognizes his murderer, and a fight breaks out. Creek escapes but trips and impales himself on a thorn. And before he can use the harp on himself, he's dragged off to face judgement. Poppy and Hickory use the harp to restore Branch to life, and then destroy it. A new life is waiting for all three of them.

[leornadodabvinci]

Hello! Do you have any other Grand Chase headcanons to share on this fine day? 👁️👁️

HI HELLO YES I DO OMGGG SORRY FOR THE LATE RESPONSE I DIDN’T OPEN TUMBLR FOR A BIT BUT I HAVE A DISCORD SERVER FOR KEEPING NOTES OF STUFF AND ONE CHANNEL IS JUST DEDICATED TO RANDOM HCS AND SO UM. I have a few (that would make sense without an elaborate explanation)👉👈 they’re mostly if not all elesis and sieghart though ahahah… ANYWYA

*takes a deep breath*

(Sorry if the terminologies aren’t right im just rambling skhdjsj) (also a lot of them are sieg and elesis aha…)

- Sieghart currently is built like a dancer, lithe and flexible, because of the extra innate godlike strength he got from being a highlander. He doesn’t have to exert as much strength as when he was just a mortal, or like the weight doesn’t affect him that much anymore? Plus, i hc that the highlanders’ style is more elegant and flow-y, compared to the brutishness of the sieghart family’s. When he was younger, around Elesis’ age, he was built more like her. Body builder, bigger muscle kinda look.

- Elesis, as she grows into her late 20’s receives sooooo many “you look just like Sieghart!” Or “you look just like your father!” Comments, but as she grows past 30 and 40, they die down. Because sieghart is stuck in his 30’s, and elscud died (? Disappeared?) in his 40’s.

- sieghart is a jack of all trades, master of none kinda guy.

- Dio and Sieghart have a strange way of being intimate. It isn’t really… intimacy. They don’t do pda, they do something more nothingburger and subtle that it feels more vulgar if you catch them doing it. Its like a game? But not really? Since they’re not trying to hide it either 😭 i don’t know how to describe it. Like the Chase could be in a meeting together and Sieghart/Dio is eating something and one of them goes “blech” and instead of eating the food, they try it from the other’s mouth and then is like “oh ew ur right omg” and then the chase woukd just stare at them.

- dio and sieg are truly, evenly matched in skill. Its a battle of attrition. Though probably sieg has the upper hand since he’s immortal?

- dio’s actually also playboy, just not in mortal sense. He takes up someone every 5 - 10 years, which i hc is the equivalent of changing gfs/bfs every couple of months in demon sense of time. He tries to mean well though, and doesn’t do one night stands.

- sieghart is a one night stand enthusiast. He’s a total flirt too.

- height hc: dio > sieg > zero > ley > grandiel > werner > (noticeable drop) > ryan > lire > jin > rufus > harpe > ronan > asin > lass > edel > rin > elesis > amy > (big drop here) > arme > lime > veigas

- Elesis is a doof and lowkey rich girl coded. “How much is an apple anyway? Like $10?”

- the Chase act more like childish, more their age (more carefree, unburdened, yknow young adults/teens) around Sieghart.

- lass and rufus have the same eye shape. They both take after their mother more.

- Grandiel finds Sieghart to be the best company. They both understand each other very well, and seamlessly fall into conversation no matter how long its been since they last met.

- that’s why when Sieghart found out who Kyle and Cindy was, it stung a little. But he understood, of course. He holds no grudge against Grandiel.

- Sieghart acts like a safeguard for the Chase. He doesn’t want any of them to go through any of this alone.

- Ley, Rin and Sieghart are besties. Wine date trio.

- Lime and Dio also unexpectedly get along well. They’re optimistic people. Two sides of the same coin.

- Rufus cares about Lass more than he thinks. When Lass gets sick, he most definitely appears and lingers around until he gets better.

Okaay i think thats itttt hehe :3 Thank you for this ask I definitely enjoyed it LOL

[doyke]

i will harp on it until i die: the salt in the wound, the insult to injury of the intentionality in karen saying 'I'll miss you with all my heart', as in her entire heart was devoted to martha, not some implied part of it, not I'll miss you every day or I miss you more every day, or i'll miss you forever or some completely different grief striken sentiment or a repetition of a phrase they share like the running 'tomorrow' line. but its SO SUBTLE and so subtextual- Karen's pre-established conflict is splitting her affections between two people like its literally the name of the first movie- that then wyler hammers the fact that karen could give less of a hoot about leaving joe by showing him watch her walk away.

[kirk-says-wah]

1, 26, and 61 with guardian angel dave? It can be any pairing you want, idm, but bottom Dave pls :)

Thank you for the ask! 💕

Send me a pairing and a number and I’ll write a little something

1 - First time

26 - Wing!kink/other nonhuman traits

61 - Morning sex

James can sense him before he sees him. He always does, Dave always has a presence, like he’s looking over James’ shoulder. It’s comforting; James likes it. He’s still half asleep, and he staggers to stand, yawning.

“Dave,” he says, turning to face the angel. Dave is stood by the bed, face flushed.

“You’re an idiot.”

James rolls his eyes, slumps down onto the bed, pulling Dave down with him.

“You always say that,” James says.

“Yeah, and you need to look before you step into the road,” Dave says, referring to the day before, rubbing a hand over James’ arm.

James laughs, pulling Dave in for a kiss.

“What would I do without you,” he murmurs, kissing Dave’s lips once more.

“Well, you’d die,” Dave says, snaking his hands up to cup the back of James’ head. “Thats the whole reason I’m here.”

James smirks, pushing Dave back until he’s lying down, getting on top of him, grinding their crotches together. They’ve never gone further than a bit of fondling, but James feels ready. He trusts Dave. Dave is there for his welfare anyways.

“Hmmm,” he hums, nipping at Dave’s lip. “I love corrupting you.”

Dave rolls his eyes, hitching a leg over James’ hip.

“You’re not corrupting me.”

“You do this with everyone you look after?” James says, arching an eyebrow, his nose brushing against Dave’s.

Dave scoffs before snapping his fingers, the both of them immediately naked. James makes a surprised noise, and Dave quickly overpowers James, rolling them over until he’s on top, sit his bare ass against James’ hard dick.

“What? Are you jealous?” Dave asks, pinching at one of James’ nipples.

James flushes red, but distracts Dave quickly, spreading Dave’s cheeks, rubbing his thumb against his hole. This may be his first time with Dave but he’s no virgin.

“I just wonder what you get up to when you’re not around,” James murmurs, pulling back to grab the lube from the bedside drawer. “I mean, do you sit on a cloud or what? Do you have a harp?”

Dave squints, rolling his hips down onto James’ cock as he watches James drizzle lube over his fingers.

“I play music,” he says, planting a hand on James’ chest and leaning forwards to give James better access.

James blinks.

“With a harp?”

“It’s a good job you’re cute,” Dave says, breath hitching as James presses his finger inside of him.

James cackles deviously, thrusting his finger into Dave’s hole, lube squelching down to Dave’s balls.

Dave bends a little to kiss him, swiping his tongue over James’ lips, humping his hips down when James slips in two fingers.

“Next time,” Dave breathes when he pulls back. “Actually look in the road before you hail a cab.”

James makes a confused noise, wiggling his fingers in Dave’s ass.

“Well how do you think you didn’t get hit?” Dave says, closing his eyes for a moment when James presses against his prostate.

“You would’ve been roadkill if I hadn’t of yanked your ass to the curb,” he continues, a bit of bite to his words.

“Oooh I like it when you get all dominant,” James says, squirming under Dave, his golden hair fanning over the pillow.

Dave huffs, yanking James’ hand away before lining himself up and pressing the blunt head of James’ cock to his entrance.

“You’re so predictable,” he says, sinking down slowly, planting both his hands on James’ chest to keep him steady.

The sound of their harsh breathing fills the room as Dave finally bottoms out, his ass pressed flush to James’ pelvis.

“That’s why you’re my angel,” James says, flashing a smug grin, and Dave just rolls his eyes, leaning down to kiss him.

As the pleasure rushes through him, Dave can’t help it when his real form emerges, and thick, fluffy wings sprout from his shoulder blades.

“Fuck,” James moans, pulling away from Dave’s lips. “Can I touch?”

“Careful,” Dave says, lifting his hips before lowering back down onto James’ cock.

James’ hands filter through the feathers on his back, brushing over them, and Dave speeds up, rocking quicker on James’ lap.

James moans, hands twisting in Dave’s feathers, and Dave hisses, swats at James’ chest.

“Careful,” he growls, rolling his hips.

James doesn’t apologise but he does relax his grip, fingers instead fiddling with the white feathers, eyes blown wide as he looks up at Dave.