#idk is that a thing folks would even want or think is neat

[aidanchaser]

I keep saying I have more fun making headers for fics than I do actually writing fics and while that's not FULLY true... I do actually really really enjoy making fic headers/title pages

[justanotherbirdbrain-blog]

A Workshop for Creating Magical/ Fictional Crystals: A Guide from a Geologist

Hi folks, its me, here to talk about fictional writing again! Today I'm just tackling the idea of magical stones/mana stones by looking at existing minerals today and some neat properties that they have, and how you can apply these things to a fictional world. The goal is mainly to help you if you are stuck trying to come up with a unique magic system, or a unique identification/characteristic of your mineral.

First Things First: Mineral Shapes

I am exhausted, petered out, down-right fatigued by seeing every mineral depicted with having the crystal structure of calcite and quartz. There are soooooo many cooler, more interesting crystal structures, don't you think you would stop and take a look at a perfect cube in nature? It is completely unsettling.

Second: Color

Color within minerals can either be really important, or not important at all! It is your choice to decide if color is going to be something that means something to your mineral. But what are some times when the color is important? Well.... there are some elements that are called chromophores, this classification just indicates that these elements, when present, will determine the color of whatever they are in. So, if you wanted to treat mana like a chromophore, you could say, "Oh everything that contains mana turns green!" This could mean that regardless of the mineral, if that mineral is a specific color, it means it contains mana. This concept is exciting because you can just stop here and use minerals that already exist! You can also use it as an indicator for a magical ore! Chromophores are typically metals, so if you are making a new metal weapon, making the ore of that metal a unique color would make a lot of sense!

However, your mineral can also just be every color of the rainbow like quartz and perhaps that's what makes identifying your mana stones elusive and create an illusion of scarcity that your character can solve.

There are other things that can change the colors of minerals, like radiation damage, and electron exchange, but I think that is beyond what would be helpful! So lets talk about some unique color properties that happen in nature that seem magical in the first place! Maybe you don't need to design a mana stone, but you want a unique gemstone that only the royal family passes down or something (IDK).

The first one is the alexandrite effect! This is where a mineral can change color in natural light vs. incandescent light. (the mineral itself is not changing, but the lights contain different amounts of different colors that then get absorbed by the stone). Even if you don't use electricity in your fictional world, you could have the colors change in the presence of light magic. This could create fun misunderstandings about what the mineral is reacting to!

Pleochroism

Pleochroism is something that most minerals have, it is frequently used to help identify minerals in thin sections, however minerals are usually not pleochroic enough for it to be visible to the naked eye! Pleochroism is just a fancy name to describe the change in how light is absorbed based on the angle of the mineral! So if you scroll up to the first image where I showed a lot of crystal shapes, most of them have angles where they are longer and shorter! This will effect the way light travels in the crystal. Tanzanite is a popular mineral that does this.

Photochromism

This is when a mineral will change color (in a reversible way) when exposed to UV light (or sunlight), I am not going to go too into the details of why this is happening because it would require me to read some research papers and I just don't feel like it. The mineral that is best known for this is Hackmanite!

Alright! These are all the really cool color effects that might inspire you or maybe not, but now I am going to talk about how you might find your minerals within a rock!

When I see a lot of magical caves/mines, typically I see them with some variation of a geode honestly, but most minerals are not found like that! Now I am sure most of you guys have seen a geode, so I will not really talk about those, but I will talk briefly about porphyroblasts which is when the mineral grows larger than the minerals around it, this happens in metamorphic minerals!

sorry random stranger, but this is an image of garnets inside a finer-grained rock at gore mountain in New York!

Another way you might find minerals is in a pegmatite! This is when all minerals are really large! This is a formed from really slow crystalizing magma!

But something else to think about is that your mineral might just be massive, it doesn't have to have distinct crystals, it may be similar to jadeite where small grains grow together which leaves it looking smooth and seamless! A note about all of these is that you would have to mine into the rock to find these, there would not be any natural caves in these rocks! Caves are only ever really formed in limestones and maybe marbles (rocks that react with acid).

How can your characters identify these minerals?

Typically when you are out in the field you will look to see what type of rocks the minerals are found in (The overall texture of the rock will tell you how it formed). If you know how the rock formed, it will narrow down the amount of minerals you need to think about by quite a bit! Next, you are going to look closely at it and observe its crystal structure, does it have an obvious crystal? if so what is the general shape? If it is broken, how did it break? Did it fracture like glass or did it break along uniform planes. Some minerals have a thing called cleavage (breaks along planes of weakness). If a mineral exhibits this habit, it will again help narrow this down. Next we can look at color. Color can be misleading, because minerals like quartz can be any color imaginable, but minerals like olivine will always be green! The next thing your character can do is test for hardness, minerals all have a specific hardness that can help identify it as well.

After you go through all of this, your mineral might have some special property! This could be magnetism, fluorescence, reactions to acid, or any of the color changing effects I mentioned above! Other than that, your character can take it back to a lab and do a number of things to identify it, but the most typical thing would be for them to make a thin section (very thin piece of the rock) and observe it under a cross polarized microscope!

On that note folks! I hope this helped in some way in thinking of new magic mineral properties! I have other guides that explore some different fictional worldbuilding issues you might run into, but if you have any topics you would like me to cover please that I haven't mentioned already, let me know!

[niichanism]

wanted to put this fic Somewhere lol it’s uhhhh that “what if ace got sold into slavery in Marie Geoise instead of being executed except long lost brother Sabo is (somehow) in deep cover as a CD there and impulsively pilfers money from the revolution funds to buy and protect his brother” logistically i run into problems w this concept but i do think like. childhood friends fake dating except it’s high stakes fake master/slave is like. 1. potential funny 2. hot 3. compelling in that acesabo are living in their own actual personal hells together shfhdd

tw: mob character/ace attempted SA, non-graphic maiming of dick, ace honorable suicide ideation ig, sabo…… just poor sabo lol, the cd slave brand thing soRRY ACE idk the usual “i don’t like spoilering much so if you’re sensitive don’t read this it’s borderline dead dove”

————-

In the span of a week, Ace had gone from being Blackbeard’s captive to the World Government's prize, and finally, unexpectedly, into the greasy hands of professional slavers. 

That was a twist he hadn't expected. He couldn’t quite get his head around it. 

Ace much preferred the rough touch of pirates or marines to this sickening cushiness, treated with care while strung up like meat. They bathed him in sea water. He was so nauseous he could barely twitch his limbs. His skin only recoiled wherever they washed away dirt or tended to wounds from the fight. He was scrubbed pink, patched, or soothed where every blemish would be. His ribs were still broken. Almost good as new, the lackey had reported to her overseers.

As confusing as it was infuriating. Then, somehow, reading the lusterless eyes of the other captives, he understood. They were gagged like Ace was. They had the faint, forlorn expressions of long-term prisoners. But how neat and tidy they were– their hair, skin, and even what little clothes they had were as well-kept as the circumstances allowed. Again, Ace’s body thrummed with a knock-out combo of adrenaline and disgust. He recalled Sabo saying that nobles don't care about anything but appearances. If it can’t improve their status, it's worthless to them. 

Ace would rather die than be some dolled up or dressed down status symbol for the rich. He'd rather jump and let the ocean take him. He’d rather have fallen in battle to a scumbag like Teach or even met his end on the navy’s chopping block, flipping Garp the bird one last time. 

Then, the silver lining— he’d see Sabo again, at least. There was always the chance that he’d find an opening once they hit landfall. If he could, he’d burn this place to a crisp and take all these poor folks to far greener pastures, one way or another. He just had to keep his wits together. No matter what, he wasn’t going to let anyone buy him. 

Or if they did get that far, he’d make sure they regretted it. For now, the issue was that all the adrenaline and disgust had nowhere to go. He kept his ears open for any hints as to when they’d finally reach this mystery destination, because the boredom was beginning to gnaw at him like rats. Eventually one of the trader lackeys came swaggering up to him. Ace had a really good fucking sense for when someone was looking to pick a fight. The guy had a bit of a beer belly and the seediest possible leer, two beady eyes on pallid sailor skin. 

“So this is really him…” he said, gruff and low. “Not bad at all.”

The man tipped his face up at the chin. Ace tossed it out of his hold, ignoring him otherwise. The man chuckled. The only other slaver in the room glanced over and growled. “Careful with the merchandise–”

“Relax,” said the first man, annoyed. “I’m not gonna do anything to damage him– if he behaves, that is. I’m just gonna feed him something.” Gag. It was worse because he was hungry. Ace set his jaw as best he could around the ball gag. If he thought of all the scumbags he’d dealt with up to now, he felt like he could crush anything between his teeth. 

The man wrenched a hand into his hair and jerked him forward. Manacles and chains trapped Ace’s knees on the floor of a cage. The man stood just outside the bars with a taunting look.  “Y’see, Fire Fist, I work hard, and so I’ve got this little game,” he explained, as if Ace gave a shit. “I get a kick out of testing the goods before we get to Marie Geoise. I get a little spin before even the Celestial Dragons get their hands on ‘em.” First, that the trader was already palming his crotch was disgusting, but secondly– Ace closed in on one particular detail. Marie Geoise? For a moment his mouth went slack, saliva pooling beneath the gag. The trader’s grip tightened in Ace’s bath-damp waves, threatening to rip hair from his scalp. His mind was still spinning: Marie Geoise. Celestial Dragons. The last puzzle pieces falling into place. If that was what they were doing, then… “Man, I could talk about it for years if Gold Roger’s son sucked my cock,” the slaver chuckled, letting go of Ace’s head. He squeezed his eyes shut. 

Fuuuuuck. His bounty had always seemed a bit suspect, shooting up when he’d done nothing of note to earn it. In the back of his mind, he’d sometimes wonder if the marines knew. 

 There was a clinking and rustling as the man popped his fly open and lowered his trousers.

 It was so outrageous, so beyond what anyone would have fucking dared to do to him, that Ace only felt a numb sort of shock first. He didn’t want to look at the filthy thing, already hard and eager. Marie Geoise. Celestial Dragons. Gold Roger’s son. The man shuffled closer to the bars, then manhandled Ace’s head low so he could smear the tip on his cheek. Ace’s eyes went wide. The rage hit him right after. “Yeah, a pretty thing like you will need the practice,” the trader drawled. “If the dragons don’t tear you to shreds first. Nasty fucks, them.”  Everyone knew the Celestial Dragons were self-righteous, inhumane sacks of crap who treated anyone else like dirt. Everyone knew that their slaves had it worst of all, beaten and broken with a snowball’s chance in hell of escaping. And it seemed that soon, everyone would know that Ace was Gol D. Roger’s last remaining flesh and blood. “You’re shaking, sweetheart,” the slaver jeered. “A big, bad pirate–? Hilarious. Not so scary without your devil fruit power, are ya?”

Off came the ball gag. The first thing Ace did was spit. A thick, leathery thumb pried into his mouth. Ace sputtered, fought, then bit down– fuck, he was hungry. The man’s glove prevented the drawing of blood, though he did make a small grunt of discomfort and tore his hand away.

 “Don’t need my devil fruit to fuck you up,” Ace hissed. He glared at the dick half a foot away from his face. Ace had sucked a lot of cock in his time. Bigger ones, smaller ones. Sometimes drunk, sometimes as a penalty for losing a bet– fair was fair– but this was something else. The man hunched over to indicate the heavy metal collar around Ace’s neck. Ace felt his spine chill. He missed a few hours ago when he was content to wonder things like when do we get there and where did my necklace go, aw. Marie Geoise meant that the game had changed somewhat.“You know about this? I’m sure someone explained it to you,” he said roughly. His hard, flinty eyes sparkled with glee. “Try to take it off, or even touch it a certain way, and it’ll explode. Splatters your fuckin’ brains on the wall. I’ve seen it before– gruesome stuff. Real shite way to go.” Ace ran his tongue over his teeth, glaring daggers. Not much to look at, though, so he checked around with some choice words in his throat. A few other gagged folks were either watching with bated breath or pointedly looking away. The only other free man in the room was halfway out the door, glancing back like this foul display was only worth an exasperated shake of the head. 

“I see,” Ace said, eyes flicking back. “Brains on the wall, huh.”

“There’s just me and you right now, Ace. Could always say it was an unfortunate accident,” the slaver said. “If you get what I’m saying, then open wide.” Ace resisted as best he could with that steel grip in his hair again. The power of the seastone cuffs had long seeped into his veins, making him sleepy. Gritting his teeth was the most force he could exert– eventually he locked his jaw and stopped struggling. “It’d be easy,” the slaver pressed. He touched anywhere he wanted, hair, lips, freckled cheeks.  Ace hadn’t felt clean to begin with, but now… now he wanted to vomit on this guy’s shoes. “Just one press of a button, one tug of that collar, and boom. World keeps spinning. I can’t imagine anyone would miss scum like you.”

A rough squeeze on either side of his jaw finally forced Ace’s mouth open. With one last grimace, he gave up. Let his tongue hang out. The man’s brutish face softened with satisfaction. Ace loathed allowing even that much.  “That’s more like it, baby,” the slaver crooned, grabbing his cock and jerking it. “Yeah. You play my little game nice, and we’ll keep your head on your shoulders. How’s that sound?” Ace scowled, but he was so visibly tired. This gave way to a slow, slow nod, a sigh– and then his stomach vaulting as he opened his mouth. Again, not the first time he’d had a dick in there. Though there was the chance it’d be his last. The trader moved with concentration, hot flesh sliding past Ace’s open lips. There was a groan, and both meaty hands pawed at Ace’s head. Ace didn’t wait a second. He didn’t suck for an instant. He moved his tongue out of the way and then bit down as hard as he possibly could. The scream was delightful. Nobody could look away after that. 

That beer belly wrenched away from his teeth as quickly as possible, whole body toppling back onto the dirty ship floor. The big idiot shrieked, holding his groin and rolling. 

 Ace had to laugh, then grin again with blood on his teeth. He raised his voice enough to be heard over those wails of pain. 

“Hey, go on and do it, you think I give a shit?” he said, then spat out the taste of iron. He tilted his head back, offering his own capital punishment with brazen ease. “I’ve got my pride. I’d rather die a man than a coward.” 

He got a lively string of expletives in response. Didn’t do the guy much good, since he seemed unable to get off the ground just yet. Ace’s head was still very much attached to his shoulders, for better or worse. 

The screaming was pretty entertaining, or at least Ace’s fellow would-be slaves seemed to think so– he searched for eye contact in the dim light and found a few sure smiles. And a few very worried looks. Well, Ace hadn’t really calculated his odds on this one. 

Morbidly curious, he leaned over to check the damage. From what glimpses he could see– yikes. “Damn, that thing’ll never work again!” he hollered in a pitying, cheerful voice. “Go on, waste me for it. Unless you don’t have the– the balls?” That seemed pretty funny to him at the moment, and he burst out laughing. 

“Should’ve bought me dinner first, asshole!” 

“I’ll fucking kill you–”

“Do it,” Ace goaded. It was impossible to stop himself. Self-preservation had never been a strong point for him. At least, he thought, he’d go out with a good laugh, doing something he loved— picking a fight. With all that blood rushing in his ears, he wanted to believe that he was content with that. 

Better to go down as a free man, without troubling anyone, and before facing a whole world that would know exactly how and why to hate him. 

With a howl of rage, the dickless wonder tried to maneuver onto his knees, get closer to the bars of the cage. Fever-brained, Ace imagined that he’d only have to yank at the collar a certain way to spark whatever demonic mechanism ended in explosions. Truly a shite way to go– not because of the gore, but the injustice. It made him angry. Maybe he’d bite this asshole again. Light cascaded into the darkness from the door. Two other slavers arrived, no doubt summoned by the screaming. The man from before walked over, surveying that Ace was still chained down– he very much was– then he tsk’d at the mess. He nudged the fallen with his boot, cross with disgust and sympathy pain. “I told you this would happen someday,” he said. “Why stick your dick in the bitey part of the pirate?” Ace laughed, breathless. His mouth was so dry that it hurt. The blood hadn’t helped.  Predictably, there was another slew of vicious threats, and Ace was beginning to realize that he’d mentally prepared himself for nothing. Nobody was getting any closer to that kill switch on his collar. 

There wasn’t any relief in that. Just dread, doubled when one of the other slavers spoke again. “Moron, we’re on strict orders to deliver that one to the World Nobles. That’s a done deal– you should’ve known you couldn’t touch–”

Eugh. The stomach ache was back. Ace dipped his head, not wanting to look at any of that anymore. There was some struggling. Whether someone approached the kill switch or not, Ace couldn’t bring himself to care. “You can’t lay a hand on him!” He squeezed his eyes shut. He had been untouchable for a hundred different reasons before all this. And after this, probably, not so much. Marie Geoise. He remembered the rage welling up in him the one or two times he’d seen the deadened-red slave brand on a survivor. Sure, he reminded himself, there were survivors. 

Self-preservation had never been a strong point of his. “Fire Fist, no rations ‘til you’re on death’s fucking door,” came a harsh voice. Ace spat again.  The door slammed shut, leaving the ship’s human cargo in the sparse light of one hanging lamp. Ace breathed out. “Whew. Fuck.” A few good-humored huffs later, he noticed something:

In all the commotion, the slave traders failed to gag him again. Little blessings. Ace breathed– slightly– more easy. 

“Sorry for all the noise, everyone,” he said. In other cages, in other chains, they blinked back at him. He was winding down, but he laughed again, near croaking. “Damn, I hope they’re all stupid enough to try that.” 

Maybe he could take out a few World Nobles that way. Justice for Sabo. He’d probably think that was pretty funny. 

—

It was incredible what you could do by shouting increasingly high numbers.

That was the kind of senseless world the Celestial Dragons inhabited. From his despicable place in the audience and with dread heavy in his gut, Sabo watched the guards yank Ace to his feet and drag him away. Sabo didn’t sit down. The auctioneer’s voice rang in his head: We have a winning bid! Gold Roger’s son, Portgas D. Ace, to Saint Robspierre! Hearing that esteemed name was like a ripple in a pond, a jerk of a trigger. It always took that extra split second for Sabo to remember that that was him, and it had never haunted him quite as much as it did just then. Currents of relief and distress canceled each other out. Sabo felt numb, heart pounding in his ears, knees locked up where he stood. On either side of him, World Nobles lifted their heads to survey him with open disdain. “Congratulations, Saint Robspierre,” a beady-eyed woman simpered, accompanied by her nodding, useless husband. “How fun for you.” “Thank you,” Sabo replied with mechanical ease, a glass smile. He couldn’t be in this space a minute longer. “I think I’ll go look at him.” The perfect balance of civility and entitlement. It was a surprise that this quaint, simple rudeness was more the norm here than not, but he’d adjusted. He felt dozens and dozens of eyes on him as he reached the staircase aisles. He ignored them, shoulders rolled back and head held high. Guards fell into line behind him. Another irritating norm.

He didn’t want an entourage if he was going to meet his brother under circumstances like these. Still, he had to go. For a thousand reasons, he needed to see Ace as soon as possible. That wasn’t slave auction protocol, but he could do whatever he wanted here. Anything except the right thing. * Keeping his face neutral when faced with his long-lost brother was more difficult than he’d thought it would be. He always hated this iciness he had to let in. At the moment even his blood was frozen solid. Of course the World Nobles’ auction house had a room for branding people. Sabo knew this was coming, but his vision was blurring anyway. He didn’t think it would be so soon. He thought he’d have more time. 

Ace was still completely naked with his back to the room. Under grease-shiny dark waves of hair, there was the clear buckled leather of the gag pulled tight. Those seastone cuffs strung him up near spread-eagle. It looked torturous. The painful part hadn’t even started yet. 

Like so many times before, all of Sabo’s fury channeled into his fists. Now, it all felt like too much for mortal knuckles and palms, even with gloves dulling the sensation. It was like his bones creaked. He couldn’t focus on anything but the pain, the red in his vision, Whitebeard’s jolly roger splayed and trembling across his brother’s broad back. He could use Dragon Claw and kill everyone else there. He searched the room for the key to Ace’s cuffs. Maybe he could break them? Even in deep cover, it wasn’t like he’d forgotten how to use armament haki. Escape the auction hall with Ace, and then– Sabo squeezed his eyes shut. And then what? Get the godforsaken “holy” land shut down, with a thousand marines and admirals on their ass? Ace probably wasn’t in the best shape to be thrown into a mess like that. And it would be a mess. His starting plan was less reckless, sure, but there was an increasing chance that it was going to make him throw up, crack open, crack something. 

The branding irons were lined up on the wall. The fire was stoked. The three or so men in the room stiffened up at the sight of him, and lowered their heads in immediate deference. It made Sabo violently ill this time. “You’re going to brand him?” he asked. One of the men lifted his head in a rush. “Saint Robspierre, thank you for the honor of your business–” “Are you going to brand him?” Sabo asked again. It astounded him how out of control he sounded.  But it was nothing worth worrying about when the men ducked their heads again. “No, Sir– of course– he will be branded, but we understand our esteemed clientele like to participate– we were waiting– but of course we can begin at your leisure—”

Infuriating. Sabo glanced over at Ace just to watch the soft heave of his back, the rise and fall that felt like his last tether to sanity. “Quiet,” Sabo said. He needed to think. It often worked to his advantage that people weren’t used to questioning Celestial Dragons on anything. So far removed from humans, indeed. He walked closer to Ace with a knot in his throat, head pounding. His approaching footsteps made Ace struggle again anew, little grunts of protest slipping past the gag. Sabo paused at his side, looking for injuries, half-afraid to look at his face. One glimpse of freckles was enough. Any more and he wasn’t sure his act would hold up. He could question the need for a slave brand, play it like he wanted his new toy just the way it was. Marking Celestial Dragon property was a law, yet laws could be overturned at a whim. The issue was not the rules but the unspoken, sick, crazed rot of this place.

 Mercy was weakness. Empathy was below them. Any significant deviance from the status quo was unacceptable. Any sign of anything abnormal hit the rumor mill and rattled it for days, down a grapevine so tense and maddening that Sabo understood it’d bite him in the ass within hours. 

If he asked to skip the branding, that would only warrant enough unwanted attention to make everything else harder. It was already going to be a tough ask to lay low with the pirate king’s son on a leash– because that was how they’d advertised it, of course, making the Celestial Dragons froth at the mouth with interest. It’d been even worse when they saw him, too, because he was– the wanted posters didn’t do him justice. No, they wanted as little attention as possible.

Sabo turned around. “I’ll do it,” he said simply, carelessly.

“Of course, Sir– if it’s no trouble to you–” He crossed the room, gliding his gloved hand down the pole of black iron with that hateful symbol at the end. Was he really going to do this? It was no question that Ace could handle the pain, Sabo thought. And if it was up to him, he could at least ensure a light touch, a lack of unchecked sadism. It made sense. Unfortunately, it made sense. He’d make it up to Ace no matter what. Beg if he needed to. Ace would understand. Ace would understand, right? “If it pleases this Celestial Dragon,” one of the auction house men said, “you’ll want to hold it over the coals until it is bright red. Press evenly over the skin– just beneath the shoulder blades is customary, Sir.” Sabo searched for the smallest possible brand and took the iron off the wall. It was much lighter than a pipe, yet it felt a thousand times harder to hold. 

“This is your first purchased slave, is it not, Saint Robspierre?” Sabo looked up to tell one of these low-class bastards to fuck off with the small talk, only to freeze in his tense, neutral expression at the joyful look on Saint Martine’s face. Three Celestial Dragons stood in the doorway. Right, Sabo could do anything he wanted under this cover only because all of these soulless elites could do the same. Ace jostled his chains at every end. Sabo even couldn’t imagine how pissed off he was if Sabo was this pissed just breathing the same air as them. Why was this suddenly a party? It seemed much more likely in that moment that he really would kill someone rather than lay a fucking finger on Ace.

This smug-faced World Noble fancied himself on speaking terms with Sabo because of the time they’d spent together. Time that had turned into deals. Deals that had turned into laundering money back to the Revolutionary Army– how smug Sabo had felt when his targets were providing information and resources toward their own downfall. 

It couldn’t come soon enough. “Yes,” Sabo replied. It was like the muscles of his face had a mind of their own: he even managed to smile again. “I couldn’t pass up the chance.”

“I don’t blame you,” one of the nobles chuckled. 

“As long as you share,” sneered another. Her nose wrinkled. “That one deserves every punishment we can think of. I can’t believe they even allowed Roger’s devil spawn to live that long. What was the navy thinking?” 

“Incompetents. Naturally, it falls to us to rid the world of that criminal’s blood.”

“Just sharing air with it is vile, really,” said the old man. The ignorant, cold disgust on their faces made Sabo nearly tremble with rage. “Vermin like that need to pay for every breath it takes until it’s begging for death–” “It would be a waste to rip him to pieces just yet,” Sabo cut in, his voice like steel. He circled haki away from his hands and let his hatred for the Celestial Dragons color his voice. “I’ll be training him first. Trash like this must be made to understand their place.” Sorry, Ace, he thought vehemently. Just a little longer, then you’ll never have to see these fucking people again. In that regard, at least, Ace was the lucky one. The trio laughed. “Of course, Robspierre. With your tastes… I’m surprised you didn’t indulge sooner. But there are finer specimen with… less abhorrent blood.”

Sabo’s blood boiled. He turned. The sight of Ace suffering was tantamount to setting his eyes on fire, but he just focused on that rise and fall. That was what mattered. These rotten bastards could yap all they want, the coddled little dogs that they were, but they weren’t going to so much as touch his brother. 

“But I indulge plenty,” Sabo replied, offering one last tight-lipped smile. He was fairly certain he understood what he was being lobbied for. “When I get bored of him, I’ll keep you all in mind, of course. It’s hardly fair of me to have all of the fun.”   Their mouths curled up. Good. They’d scurry back to their equally rotten friends and maintain Sabo’s reputation. Stay out of his hair for a while until he could figure out how to best ship Ace out of his place.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I was about to …” With a heavy exhale, Sabo wandered towards the fire, dull branding iron in hand. “Ooh!” shrilled the woman. “I want to do it.” “He’s mine,” Sabo said icily, stabbing the brand into the coals with a little too much strength. He watched scorching light engulf the metal and wildly lick at the sides of the pit. He imagined the whole of Marie Geoise inside that fire. “Now, now. Sometimes watching is just as rewarding as doing the work,” Saint Martine conversationally told his friends. “And it is Robspierre’s very first time, no?” At this point, it was better to ignore them. He didn’t want this moment to have an audience. He didn’t want it to happen at all. But according to his plan, this was the single big obstacle before he could shelter Ace deep in his assigned estate. Better to get it over with, even with those invasive, beady eyes on him. He was going to throw up if this went on any longer than it had to. He checked that Ace’s gag was still on, that he’d have something to bite into. He quickly surveyed the toned canvas of Ace’s back, taken up so wholly by that skull and bones. Sabo had a lot of curiosity about that– about his brothers in general. Just learning about them would be the privilege of his life if Ace ever opened up to him again. 

  Sabo hadn’t been so nauseated and dizzy in years. The brand was about the size of his fist. Deciding the placement for Ace’s sake was difficult. The chest would hurt. Limbs were too far removed from tradition; it’d be pointless. The jolly roger must’ve been important to Ace, so he had to leave it untarnished. On the shoulders, it’d be painful and harder to hide. 

The chains jangled. He was panting, horribly tense. Sabo winced. That was going to make it hurt worse. 

Get it over with. Sabo squeezed his eyes shut. Ace, I’m sorry. 

It lasted two seconds and felt like an eternity. He had a steady touch. The sound and smell of sizzling flesh repulsed him. His chest throbbed. Knowing that this was a brand meant to imprison the body and soul beyond help, that this was Ace being so crudely violated– it felt like the worst thing Sabo had ever done in his life. 

Ace didn’t scream. At most, there was a deep, clipped groan, almost like a throaty sigh. Sabo quickly removed the iron, frantic eyes scanning over his work. He’d at least succeeded in leaving a lighter touch– the geometric dragon’s claw was a marred light pink on the firm flesh just above his ass and below the small of his back. With any hope, it’d be barely noticeable once it healed.

 Sabo sighed, too. “You can’t be done already,” one of the World Nobles gasped behind him, dripping with sincere disbelief. Celestial Dragons were not just heartless; they were also so petty, having nothing but sick tradition to cling to. “You have to make him scream, Robspierre.” “While we’re at it, melt that filthy pirate insignia off his back–” “Delightful idea– we could also carve it up!” “Why, that mark’s far too light–” “As I said,” Sabo bit out, eyes blazing, “it would be a waste to maim his body before using it. And why darken the mark? Everyone ought to already know he’s a slave. He’s never leaving this place.” 

His throat was near painfully dry. Everyone looked at him with bated breath, shocked by the tension. He’d let his haki slip half on accident. It cramped the room, intimidating every other inhabitant who only had the barest subconscious awareness of it. “When I’m done with him, do as you please,” Sabo said. “But I’ll appreciate complete privacy to better inspect my—“ His voice went too tight; he started again. “You wouldn’t want to miss the rest of the auction, would you?” 

[buckrogers]

15 questions for 15 friends

Tagged by @steveybucky! 😘

Are you named after anyone? from what I'm told, my mother was going through a french phase and loved the name jacqueline so, here I be! though extra lore nobody asked for: because it's got so many letters, I typically go by jacqui unless it's a ~fancy official thing or I'm in trouble, hah

When was the last time you cried? it would probably be easier to ask me when I'm not crying (anxiety club cardholder)

Do you have kids? nada! I am not parental material, but I do enjoy being the fun cool aunt to three nephews

What sports do you play/have you played? uh, bench warmer if we're being literal about it I don't think I was ever picked for a team willingly a day in my life I am both short and require glasses to see anything long distance - but! I was more interested in drama and books anyway so y'know battles, pick 'em.

Do you use sarcasm? frequently and with flourish!

What’s the first thing you notice about people? I'm actually a big one for vibes, I tend to gravitate toward the folks who put out the chill, easy going vibes. I'm very cerebral by nature, I live in my head so anybody who wants or digs conversations is also a big drawcard for me, I dunno! I like nice people who are funny and a bit different and aren't terribly concerned about what the masses are doing (idk hashtag just aquarius things I suppose) but also - hands! love expressive talkers, love hands. People with big smiles and the ability to poke a bit of good natured fun at themselves and the craziness of the world.

What’s your eye color? blue!

Scary movies or happy endings? oh ya girl is a sap so give me a happy ending every time, although points if it's a scary movie with some sort of happy(ish) ending

Any talents? hm, I guess I can string a coherent sentence together! I used to really enjoy acting in drama class, does making people laugh count as a talent? I like making people feel good I suppose, I'm the biggest cheerleader for people I'm close with

Where were you born? ACT, Australia

What are your hobbies? reading, wasting hours on the internet, RPing, sometimes graphic design/website design (just for funsies), writing, cross stitch

Do you have any pets? I wish I did! can't really have them where I'm renting atm so I yearn and admire all the neighborhood cats

How tall are you? what is height? is it nice? 5'3 repping for the shorties club here

Favorite subject in school? we had a subject called literature which was my absolute jam since it meant spending time studying all my favorite authors

Dream job? well I always wanted to be a writer, or an actor possibly but my anxiety said lmao no to the latter and the former I suppose I am in the way everybody who writes is a writer, just y'know, not so much in the way that it pays my bills

do I even know 15 people stress free tag (this is just a list of people I think are neat):

@toniestank @obiwho @meidui @yourbuckies @sparkagrace @musette22 @somanywords @maplefiasco @cable-knit-sweater @voylitscope @vivelarevolution13 @fandomfluffandfuck @dharmasharks @rillils

[starryredpandawrites]

Knitted demon spawn here again- double checked the Malice and her bossfight smell thing - I wasn’t far of

Small context for I suppose folks not in the stream - Dark revival Malice boss fight where she shoots at you with a the Tommy gun, she says a bunch of lines like “those lovely eyes in a jar” (never heard that line in my life but Aurdery’s eyes are infact pretty) and a bunch of other things be it gibberish or just rage

The quote is “You Reek of Ink demon” wich like… as a non English speaking person I can’t say for sure if that’s correct or not. She also states it form a distance like, wtf woman? (Like yeah she literally dragged Audrey across Wilson’s mansion at one point, it’s not unrealistic only commenting on it in the middle of the bossfight makes me raise a brow) It doesn’t sound correct? I don’t remember what playthrew I watched it on (then there’s a new game of interests I binge so many playthrews of the same thing in bulk I don’t remember entirely who did what)

Regardless tho… even in the main game cannon the sibling connection is very obvious even for someone as manic as Malice… mayhaps even make the fic funnier? Idk it’s not a demand I just find this line so bizarre but sure got my noggin thinking lol

Hello again, friend!

That's still so funny to me that Malice says that. I mean, she probably means it as a major insult. Maybe she noticed it while she was kidnapping Audrey but chose to save it until later for whatever reason?

I'm definitely going to use it in the fic (at least, if I remember to do that). Siblink Audrey might even be weirdly complimented when she hears Malice say that, like, "I smell like him? I suppose that's kinda neat...in a weird way...huh."

The Ink Demon is just a big kitty cat at heart so I think he would be pleased to know she smells like him.

Now I'm imagining him rubbing his face on Audrey after she takes a shower or even if it rains a little too hard outside just to make sure she still has his scent on her. That's his sister and he wants everyone to know it.

[vdragon-creations]

TMayNT Day 18: Human Version of The Turtles

Day 18 of @tmaynt Prompt: Human version of the turtles!

So these took a bit longer then i expected to, but most of that was due to trying to get the skin colors right! A lot of folks head canon the turtles as POC's, mostly in reference to RISE and MM. But I could really see that in about all of them honestly. So I hope this looks good!

(Side Note: Am whiter then sour cream guys, with the most color I have in my fam is Cherokee native on my sperm donor side. I'm using this as practice for more skin colors. Any tips and critique you might have would be nice.)

But, with that out of the way, I wanna talk a little about my thought process with these designs! I wanted to go with them being mixed race, mostly Asian with either a dash of African American or even Latino in there. And I was trying to lean more on the 2003 TMNT as my main inspiration for these guys! As well as a few headcanons younger me had when I was younger about what they would look like! So let's get into each one!

Leo: I knew that with him, I still wanted to give him a more obvious "Ninja" look to him! Especially since, they're humans in this AU and not Turtles, I don't think Splinter would be HAVING to teach his sons martial arts as they wouldn't really NEED to defend themselves. Still tho, seeing how much of a father's boy Leo is, I could see him wanting to learn from him anyway. Just out of principle. He's got dark bluish gray eyes, and keeps his long hair in a ponytail! I complete his look with a scar along his shoulder and cheek. (Perhaps a childhood accident. Rough housing too much with Raph.) I also sprinkle a few freckles on his shoulders too, cause...they cute! QvQ

Raph: Now, you know this kid is a little punk. He's defiantly the rebel of the family! I knew I wanted to give him a ripped vest from the beginning, and I added a scar on his face as well. (Probably from the same rough housing with Leo, idk.) Also, you will never convince me that this boy doesn't have a piercing, or maybe a tattoo somewhere hidden. (Splinter would kill him if he ever saw it, after all he nearly did after the piecing and died hair.) But, despite all the roughness, he's topped off with pretty green eyes, freckles, and a tiny little beauty mark right on his jaw.

Donnie: Oh my baby boy! He's defiantly the most plain looking out of his brothers. Plain purple sweater and glasses, he doesn't scream outrageous like Mikey! And why should he? He's too busy with building things in his spare time to give a shit about looks! Shown by the oil stains on his shirt, really messy hair he keeps in a low ponytail, and eyebags so big that if it weren't for his (Admittedly) pretty golden eyes, you'd think he only had dark sockets on his face. And of course, cute nerdy freckles pepper his face! (Cause I'm predictable!)

Mikey: By far the most colorful (and obvious) out of his brothers! Splinter wasn't too happy when he and Raph both decided to dye their hair and get piercings, but it sure didn't stop them! Mikey really wanted to embody the "Surfer Dude" look, and he sure pulled it off! Long Blonde hair? Check! Shark Tooth Neckless? Check! Rad Shades? Double Check! (Rarely actually worn tho, gotta make sure the Dudes & Dudettes see those beautiful bright blue eyes!) He also started carrying around a set of headphones that Donnie made personally for him!

Maybe I'll revisit these guys at a later date, cause I do really dig the designs! And I think they would make they're own neat little AU! (I may even toss my OC Sasha in there some day! Been wanting to make a few human versions of her anyway. Hell, in some versions she was a human starting out anyway. So tis very needed!)

[viperwhispered]

hi hi ner!

for the character opinion bingo, i’d like to throw in jamil (just for fun hdjdj) and/or kalim :0

Ty for the ask Ian! (and for enabling me for some more Jamil thoughts because they do be coming)

Uhh let's start with Kalim tho before I get rambly.

Honestly for how entwined Kalim is with Jamil, I don't really think about him that much. Like I definitely don't feel like I have a firm grip of Kalim's character below the surface. He is a total sweetheart, though, despite his cluelessness, and being one of the faves of one of my friends definitely always earns extra points.

A precious boy, basically, who I feel like yes is in a very complex entanglement with Jamil, but does not deserve too much blame for the situation being what it is.

Now, for Jamil. Unsurprisingly he got a few more matches on the bingo sheet.

I wish I could circle that beast unleashed for an actual (almost) bingo but idk, sure you could make an argument for it for book 4 and stuff but it just doesn't seem like the right vibe (or perhaps I just don't know what vibe that square is going for to begin with).

Partial circle on the headcanon square because yes I think about him a lot but I don't feel like I go for headcanons that much? Like it's more about canon things, extrapolating from there, or just "wouldn't it be neat" kinda stuff, if that makes sense.

(Or maybe I just think my opinions are so obvious I don't even recognize the headcanony nature of them, y'all can be the judge of that).

I feel like there are folks in the fandom who do have some curious opinions about him but I've done a pretty good job of surrounding myself with like-minded folks so I'm good.

My canon denial mostly goes for the tragedy of it all, like yes Jamil's situation sucks but how about I just focus on happier things instead (yeah good luck to me with that).

Partial silly for the good old passion for dancing overtaking him and stuff like that. And when he's just ribbing his schoolmates. Because then there's also those parts of him that are anything but.

I don't think anyone would disagree that he's a bastard. I mean, book 4, masquerade, we know how much (that is, little) he cares by default.

Kiss and bite are mayhaps kinda related and do not even begin to cover the range of desirable actions but I'm just gonna leave that at that.

Also like sure red and black are also the dorm's colors, not just Jamil's, but come on, those are definitely my colors, too.

Tho I do tend to prefer silver over gold, but anyway.

And as much as I have my problems with snakes, the way the hood suggests a snake and all the other little details are just so cool.

And don't even get me started on his hair and the hoodie under the school uniform and all those little things he does with his looks to push the envelope (oop is this actually a headcanon?) and to have a more personalized look while staying within what's required/expected of him.

(if anyone else wants to grab the plain bingo card, you can find it here)

[cryptidsurveys]

Wednesday, July 31st, 2024.

What’s the most worthwhile thing you’ve done in the last year? It's difficult to pinpoint just one thing. It was more like an accumulation of worthwhile things that eventually built up to where I am today (and will hopefully continue to build up to greater accomplishments in the future). Also, this didn't all take place within the last year, but I feel like going back to the "beginning" is important for setting the foundation. It kind of started back in March of 2023. I started making art again, and I actually managed to keep up with it. Not only did it activate my creative mind, but it gave me this sense that I really could stick with something if I just put my mind to it.

Then, around the end of May 2023, I took a chance and went back to volunteering at the animal shelter again. I used to have a really hard time managing my emotions/reactions in social situations, so I was terrified that something was going to set me off and I was going to ruin it. There were things that I found upsetting or hurtful, that struck at my core fears; however, I was determined to push past them and refused to let them get the best of me. At first, I was there 3-4 days a week from about 8am-10am, but around Oct/Nov, I started showing up even earlier, staying until morning cleaning was finished (so 11am give/take), and going 4-5 days a week.

Also, it was in Oct that I started learning how to drive again. I progressed pretty quickly and began driving to the shelter. Prior to that, my dad used to take me. He'd do their laundry or write while I worked back in cattery. Anyway, some days I would go alone; other days I would drive with or get a ride with him. Then, around the end of May of this year, he had some procedures done which took him out of shelter work for a while. I continued to drive alone. By then, I was at the point where I was there from around 7am-11am/5 days a week.

I maintained that for a while quite comfortably, but just recently, I started trying out full days. Basically, I'd get there between 7am-8am and stay until closing, which tends to be sometime between 5pm-6pm. Currently, I'm doing 3 full days and 2 half days a week. I'm still adjusting, as it was a huge jump and it is pretty exhausting, especially the last push before closing, but I feel like it's something I can sustain. I'm hoping to get to the point where I can manage 4 full days and 1 half day, which would put me at approximately 40-45 hrs.

In between all that, I continued to work hard in therapy, cultivate my daily routines, carve out restful moments just for me, etc. Oh, and I almost forgot - I got back in touch with my mom in June/July 2023. I think it's mainly due to the work I've done on myself that our relationship is working out in a positive way. I don't think things would have lasted if I was still in my pre…hmm. I'm not even sure what to call it. My pre-SOMETHING mindset. Idk, but there was just this huge shift in my thinking somewhere along the way that made it possible. And even after typing all of this out, I still don't think I've even scratched the surface of the changes that have been taking place within me. It's like…for the first time in a long, long time…I have hope that I'm not broken, that I really can have a relatively normal, functional, adult life.

What foods make you want to gag? Anything overly fishy. Or seaweed. I've tried it a few times now, thinking that I'll finally like it, but nope - I never do.

Do you consider yourself to be organized? Maybe in a chaotic way. I try to be neat and organized, but I am such a forgetful scatterbrain.

Have you ever made out with someone? Yeah.

What time do you get sleepy? I'm almost always sleepy, especially these days.

What music do you listen to? I like classical, classic rock, grunge, metal, some country and indie/folk…the occasional pop song… My tastes are all over the place. If I like it, then I like it; it doesn't really matter what genre it is.

How old were you when you started to walk? I have no idea. I guess the usual/expected age.

Which member of your family do you get along with the best? My dad.

What cheers you up when you’re sad? Chatting with my dad, cuddling with my cats, making art, listening to my favorite YouTubers, trips to the Mountain Park, being at the animal shelter…and honestly, sometimes it just takes time. It's not any one thing specifically; it's just getting on with life and trusting that whatever is bothering me in the moment probably won't be bothering me in a few days, a few weeks, or whatever. I'll be bothered by something brand new by then. ;D

What do you sleep in? Sweats, a t-shirt, and a hoodie if it's cool enough.

Have you ever tanned topless? No.

Wear jewelry? I have lip piercings and I will sometimes wear several rings.

What’s something you’ve been told you’re good at? Cat whispering~*~~**~

How much can you eat? I can eat a whole lot, especially when I go out to eat, but it's not really in my best interest. I prefer to eat several small meals spaced throughout the day. It keeps my energy levels up, keeps my migraines at bay, etc.

What’s the furthest away you’ve ever traveled? East and west coasts of the USA.

Are you a cat or dog person? Definitely more of a cat person.

Have you ever done drugs? Eh.

What does your room look like? Spacious, somewhat minimal and whimsical, white/peach walls, teal carpets, lots of natural morning light… Really gives me vibes of safety, coziness, comfort…

Recommend a really amazing book. As far as relatively recent reads go, House of Suns. It's not "timelessly amazing" like some books, but I did greatly enjoy it.

Recommend a really amazing song. Idk.

Recommend a really amazing movie. Idk.

Who’s your favorite actor/actress? I don't have one.

Have you ever run away from home? Not seriously.

Do you exercise ever? Not specifically/intentionally, but I get a lot of exercise working at the shelter.

Do you like your hair, the way it is and the color? I'm fine with it. Sometimes I think I might like to get it actually styled, but…I'm lazy.

Do you have any friends named Baloo? Or is he just in the Junglebook? No.

Are you a Disney movie fan? I wouldn't classify myself as a fan, but I do like a handful of Disney movies.

Do you eat seafood? Not often.

When was the last time you cried? Oops, I had to redo this answer because I realized I was mistaken. The last time I cried was actually last Friday. I kind of already went over it in a previous survey, but it was just this defeated sense of doing my best and pushing myself so hard - really getting out of my comfort zone on a regular basis - but still feeling like a constant outsider. I don't want to get into the exact situation because it was probably just me overthinking things, but yeah.

Do you have good working habits? I mean, they're still developing, but I guess they're alright.

So where the hell do you want to go in life? At this point, all I'm asking for is a stable, quiet, and generally content existence. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy. Just the ability to provide for myself and survive.

What are your boundaries? That's…actually a really good question. Even though I'm very guarded and emotionally distant, I feel like I have pretty poor boundaries. I don't stick up for myself or speak my mind very well. I just let everything pass through me, feign ignorance or obliviousness, smile and nod, etc. I am a person without a form.

What are some of the funniest things you can think of? Idk.

What are two quirky little things about you? I don't knoOoW. I'm just weird in general. Everything about me is quirky.

Are you claustrophobic? Not seriously.

Do you like getting wasted? Ooh, that's complicated. The thinking part of my brain knows better, but the drinking part feels an almost irresistible drive to continue until I'm incapacitated. I did manage to have a few sample beers at the fundraising event last Friday without issue (and was comfortably verging on tipsy), but afterward, I was like…oh man. This is why I don't really drink anymore…because I could feel that siren song to drink to oblivion.

List three things that you look for in a friend. Compassionate, good sense of humor, similar interests.

Do you prefer Angels and Airwaves or Rihanna? Neither.

What religion are you, if any? N/a.

If your house was on fire (and your family escaped), what would you save? Do my cats count as family? If not, I would save them; if yes, then I guess I would save…idk, maybe some clothes, my phone, and a few precious items.

Do you have any sash belts? No.

What do you have on right now? Include everything, nail polish, makeup, etc. Dark gray sweats, black t-shirt, and a dark blue hoodie.

Does caffeine make you hyper? No. It can help wake me up a bit, but it doesn't make me hyper.

[longeyelashedtragedy]

get to know me tag from @heffer-wen this is a good one!

tagging: @perfectpiety @echthr0s @colorsofmyseason @kvaradonaa @protect-daniel-james @thundercrack @arsenalgbt @steeple-sinderby-wanderers @lamperry4ever (this is all optional of course!!!)

1. Do you make your bed?

I only properly make my bed when I change my sheets, but I can't stand to have the bed looking janky when i come home, so I wrestle with my thicc blanket until it's decently even and neat on the bed, and if the pillows have gone wild I'll straighten them out a little. if any of my over 9000 stuffed animals are on the floor I'll pick them up of course.

2. Favourite number?

24! my birthday, and a nice solid good number, can fit lots of other numbers into it. 17 has been an Important number for my bff and me, and I have a religion based fondness for 18...but 24 it is.

3. What's your job?

my job is very cool and specific and I love it, but it's not one I would ever want to mix with my online persona for various reasons. in fact I've always worked in an "industry" that I think should never mix with my nsfw ways on here. always happy to talk about it in private!

4. If you could go back to school would you?

oh hale to the FUCK no. I hate school. I haven't liked school since I graduated high school. my brain can't be made to think like that and do so much work to other people's specifications--and then there's sitting in class and having to listen to other people talk, I couldn't give less of a shit if I tried! I'm a voracious self directed learner--I want to learn something new like, every second--but this doesn't translate well into a school setting.

unfortunately--a job I think would be really cool to have, I'd have to get a master's and certification, and while I think I'd be great at the job, I'd be right shit at the kind of work the degree requires you to do to pass. (I could easily do the job with good mentoring and maybe like...one course, but that's how so many things are.) Maybe if I marry rich I'd go back! Frank lampard step the fuck up!

5. Can you parallel park?

I could do it just to pass my driver's test and have done it like. twice since. I'm terrible 😭 I have visual-spatial-perceptual whatever deficits and just can't do it. I also have a spot missing from my peripheral vision on my left side so parking on that side is even more confusing. my sister however is great at those things and yet she also can barely parallel park, you should see the two of us try to do it together, it's a full on yakety sax comedy. the WORST is here in the city, people stop on the street and give you unsolicited advice while you park and this gives me so much anxiety that I can't even remember what to do.

6. Do you think aliens are real?

not really? I suppose there's sentient life somewhere but is it likely to be humanoid? I'm terrified of space (I'm one of those would rather go to the bottom of the ocean than outer space freaks) so I try not to think about it

7. Can you drive a manual car?

what to heck,,,,,,,,,,,,of course I can't 🇺🇸 shamed by having to pay more to rent an automatic when I've driven in Europe

8. Guilty pleasure?

disregarding my dietary restrictions? I also have the bad habit of reading what scents my hot favs wear and then buying cheap samples. today one arrived that I forgot I'd ordered so now my wrists smell like chanel allure. I'm indifferent? it smells like Ladies' Perfume

what else...idk, I'm not too guilty about my pleasures really

9. Tattoos?

none--I have a couple of ideas, but have never been tempted to actually do it?

10. Favourite colour?

black and pink!

11. Favourite type of music?

I like things that are loud and repetitive and insistent. sometimes screechy. I like listening to other languages. my favorite instrument is the bagpipes (how do I say that in a grammatically correct way ffs) if that helps! will always go for: good rap/hip hop, 80s thrash metal, eastern european/balkan folk music, techno (the darker and more berghainy the better), other weird electronica, the beatles, most things that came out of the 80s

12. Do you like puzzles?

the kind with pieces? those are fun, I just don't have any room to spread one out. other kinds, like logic and shit, absolutely not, my brain doesn't work like that at all

13. Any phobias?

insects, and the main one: food contamination, but not the kind you're thinking--I definitely am more anxious than the average person about the food I eat being contaminated, but what the phobia actually is is more like...places where food shouldn't be being contaminated by bits of food...It's very specific and I've always had it but it's getting worse as I get older. like, imagine if you go into a restaurant and there's a couple of crumbs on the chair, or like, a bit of dirt on the underside of the waiter's tray. you'll just brush them off, right? or like, just not care about the bottom of a tray? I feel sick to my stomach and my heart is racing a bit just imagining this. what a privilege!

I'm also fucking terrified of being alone in elevators, but I'm not sure if that counts as a phobia? (I'm afraid of getting stuck in one by myself--as long as there's another person in there I don't care lol)

14. Favourite childhood sport?

swimming was my only one--I begged for lessons, started young, and was pretty good, did a swim team and everything. otherwise I am horrible at sports--I can't run (never could), and have no hand-eye coordination (did some occupational therapy at age 18 but it was Too Late), and again, those visual perceptual spatial issues! I wasn't terrible at floor hockey and volleyball in gym class I guess. footy was my worst 😭 in 8 years of gym I scored one goal--an own goal

15. Do you talk to yourself?

Not really.

16. What movies do you adore?

hmmm...I am not a huge movies person, but here's a list:

mulholland drive

mary poppins

the producers (mostel/wilder, 1967)

willy wonka & the chocolate factory (gene wilder version ONLY)

little miss sunshine

moulin rouge

cabaret

my cousin vinny

run lola run

y tu mamá también

the sound of music

chicago

kill bill vol. 1

cidade de deus

diarios de motocicleta

buena vista social club (not without its problematic side, but the musicians/music is so joyous)

the wedding singer

anklaget/the accused (weird danish movie that I don't think anyone i know has heard of?)

le dîner de cons

kamchatka

imagine me and you

ghostbusters 2016 (i will DIE on this hill)

brokeback mountain

team america: world police

rear window

amadeus

the crow

the incredibles

spaceballs

a shot in the dark

airplane!

romeo + juliet

school of rock

american psycho

uncut gems

rebecca

dial m for murder

17. Tea or coffee?

coffee! please. tea makes me feel a bit sick

18. First thing you wanted to be growing up?

I wanted to be an opera singer and a "lady mover" (we moved twice in the span of like, 2 and a half years when I was little)

[jackobbit]

What are some hobbies the gangs have???

Got this question a good amount so here we go!

E.V.I.L.:

KC: She very rarely has any spare time bc her presence is demanded everywhere by everyone for business stuff, but they like going camping! He also goes on. A lot of Tinder dates. Like. A lot. Idk if dating counts as a hobby but for him it probably is. It’s gonna stay that way too until she stops scaring dates off. Aside from that, he loves going for walks, going to restaurants and talking to friends!! (If only he had any.) Very much a person who likes to Go Places and Do Things

Eclipse: Spare time? What spare time?? With that man’s schedule?? I think the hell not! What little time Eclipse gets to himself he spends sleeping and mentally prepping for his next shift, but, if by some divine intervention he got to do more then that on any given evening, then his ass is watching soap operas and movies on his couch and watching cat videos on tiktok during the ad breaks.

BM: Their hobbies include: robbery, listening to music, committing tax fraud, visiting aquariums with their yearly pass, terrorizing fast food restaurants, making unholy food abominations that somehow include blood in them, shoplifting, terrorizing their local hot topic WHILE shoplifting, adding to their knife collection, whatever random hobby they picked up for a singular weekend that their ADHD ass then dropped as soon as the fixation ended….. oh and they draw sometimes!

SF: Can’t answer this one bc spoilers, it’s not like huge spoilers but it is gonna be a really cute and fun thing that I want yall to see for yourself!

G.O.O.D.:

Earth: She likes to play the violin! Will sometimes write new songs but she doesn’t perform them or anything. She loves clothes shopping and putting together outfits in her spare time, she’ll also happily dress up anyone who asks her to. She also likes doing her own hair and other folks hair, makeup too! She’s a girly girl! She also loves playing video games and board games with her co-workers! She’s…. Fiercely competitive….

Sun: She loves listening to audiobooks in his spare time, he also likes to play the piano! Though he doesn’t make any new music of his own unless she’s collaborating with Earth on a song. Like Earth, xe also LOVES to play board games and card games, the group has special versions of the games they use that include braille! Going for walks, knitting, and making crafts are also a thing she finds really fun, he just really loves doing more calm activities, with the exception of game nights!

Moon: This fucking nerd is modding video games in his spare time and putting in another 20 hours into Stardew Valley or Minecraft. You’d think with how many threats he makes that Moon would be into more violent video games like battle royals or team based shooters but he takes after his brother a lot in the whole ‘I prefer relaxing hobbies’ department. He also finds great joy in building things and coding, making neat little gadgets that don’t do anything particularly special but do something neat! Oh, and weapons, of course. If he’s not building a silly little device then he’s reenacting Myth Busters or some shit or trying to make a weapon that does something outrageous. “A rocket powered hammer does not exist but *could* it?” Also loves driving around the city rather than walking, clears his head.

Lunar: Lunar shares a lot of hobbies that the other members of the group also happen to have, he loves playing video games and making crafts! They also like watching dog videos! Funnily enough, he’s picked up scrapbooking, and I’ve already mentioned how he’s picked up learning braille. He also wants to learn how to play piano or the violin from Earth or Sun but he’s too nervous to ask.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Oh I think I saw the post u meam and (u can delete/ignore this is its too far from the point and shit) the "The only yusei I like is a depressed one" is so. Idk? Harsh? Hes allowed to ve happy and still be written well, he doesnt need to be shoved onto other peoples sins when the series already has him doing that. He can have an implied decently peaceful life until death. Sometimes! You do so much and oull so much weight that you become something intangible and divine to someone whos never met but still thinks of u! And sometimes its one guy and sometimes its them and the last remnants of the human race out of a desperate love for both!

Idk, just let yusei be like, not suffering 24/7, they forbid him from even entering the WGRP for fun bc ig thats bad to so many characters, let him have a scrap

YEAH. YEAH. god ive been thinkin about this all day, this is so good anon you get it you're Logged In you see the Intent of it all...

again like. if the 'z-one isnt yusei' thing isnt someone's favorite narrative choice, whatever, thats your journey, but every time i see this "well he was ACTUALLY supposed to be yusei from the future for real!!!!" rumormongering i want to groan into my hands, it just feels like this desperate grasping at straws because they really wanted Sick and Twisted Evil Yusei Real and then when that didn't happen they had to make up some grand production conspiracy instead of just taking the "welp, cant win 'em all" with this one and acknowledging that's just not the story the 5D's writers wanted to tell.

i LIKE a good protagonist corruption/evil!protag AU, they're really fun, but you're so right, this sort of Insistence I see when people are like "no, it was GOING to be true, z-one WAS dark and depressed and hopeless future yusei," i just cant wrap my head around it. there's just this sort of miserable harshness to it that i'm not personally very into. (in general i cant really vibe with this idea of "i need my favorite character to constantly be suffering." just really not my thing, ESPECIALLY WITH YUGIOH CHARACTERS??) (also. like. we already did have that. with jaden. and honestly yuma also is fucking Suffering too. it's cool seeing a different spin on things. idfk!!)

i just want to like. grab people really gungho about this thing by the shoulders and ask "why do you want a Yusei who willfully betrays and gets his friends killed SO BADLY? why do you want to see a Yusei who hurts people THIS much?" I feel like it would have just been so jarring and unearned. it doesn't feel like Yusei even in his darkest hours (which imo is part of why Z-one is such an interesting character to me--the concept of someone who thinks if they can wear a fabled hero like a pelt, if he can Become them, then that will fix everything, then They can fix everything. that's so fascinating and fucked up to me!!!! i love thinking about it!!!)

this idea that in the far future Yusei's become this sort of folk hero, this "something intangible and divine" like you said, just from saving the world and doing good and helping people, that's just SO neat and has so much merit and is worth discussing!! and it's unfortunate that you have a Not Insignificant amount of people who just wont even consider the potential narrative weight in it, who are so sore Their Trope of Choice wasn't canon theyre out here weaving madeup production stories to back up their personal disappointment. just. idk. you can give the 5D's writers a lot of rightful flak for stuff in s2, but i do very much think there was great intent from the beginning to have z-one be Just Some Guy who's rotting in a body that isnt his own, and to have him reflect yusei in ways without Actually Just Being Him.

[pumpkinstrawbrew]

Hi there,

I'm a really shy person, so it took a lot of convincing myself to send this, but I just wanted to say that I really love your art. It has a delightfully messy style to it and is also just really neat, I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. I hate interacting with folks on the Internet so just know this means a lot, haha.

Keep doing what you do cool person 👍

(ps, thanks for introducing me to scarebat!)

howdy! as someone who was merely ghosting on online spaces when i was younger an’ way-way more socially anxious, i applaud you for braving up an’ going out of your way to do this. this is very touching! after all, i’m just a random fella with niche interests. so honestly, that’s a big gesture in my eyes! esp when someone says that they like my art, out of all things! 

i'm glad you like what i make. when i post i don’t expect anything tbh. just think, that maybe someone out there might enjoy it too or just find it peculiar to look at.

hehe. oh gosh. cool. who?? me? you’re too kind! 

i’m happy, if my stuff got you interested in scarebat, casually or not. they are a very good ship, like my own bias aside. i do think that fandoms can really benefit from various niche ships. even if just idk, for exploration reasons.

thank you again for telling me all of this! here, *i’m too sickly to draw anythin’ new atm* so i hope this lil thing, that was supposed to be part of this set might express my gratitude. i wasn’t able to find a proper placement for it back then an’ eventually forgot about it. but finally, it can be useful in a way. 

so you an' everyone else, who would read it, can have batman trying new methods of interrogation, when it comes to scarecrow. basically, he just force holds him, till he gets flustered enough to give up the info.

[greyborn2]

Y'know, I think there's so much missed opportunity in (well, I mean, skyrim is full of missed opportunities but this thing in particular!!) not having the game feature the rise of a second dragon cult. As far as we know, up until we beat him at the throat of the world, Alduin isn't super interested in eating the world and Doing His One Job. He wants to re-establish his kingdom of old. Put the nords back under his proverbial thumb (do dragons in their dragonish form even have thumbs? Never checked). I think it could've been really neat to basically have it so that, as the game progresses, more and more bandit camps are replaced by Dragon Cult camps. Folks going "Y'know what. This civil war sucks. The Empire sucks. The Stormcloaks suck. The Dragons say they're not gonna eat them if we just pray to them and maybe skyrim will be better under them" etc etc etc. IDK, I can definitely see Joenjall Farmerson putting aside his farming tools, going fuck it, and joining a renewed Dragon Cult. Plus it would add some more, interesting, enemy diversity. Heck maybe you could even see them sometimes co-habitating with the Draugr.

[youve-doomed-us-all-jerk]

and finished it ,got dat true ending yes def had a great time on the game 8/10 (but yeah performance def docked some points as well as some writing threads that felt kinda dropped, but am trying to in good faith piece it together in me mind so just gonna ramble spoilers under the cut:

when people said this is what they wanted the original DD to be i can see that but like i feel like the lead up to the game kept hearing people who know more about the originals history talk about how "40-60% of the original vision was cut down" from dd1 and i feel like my brain unfortunately interpreted that as "oh cool so were gonna have 100 new vocations like the monk and 100 monsters and the parallel worlds(technically true☝🏽🤓) and the moon stuff, neat" thats on me lmao but yeah removing those expectations and seeing it for what it is, its def the spirit of the the first game but its systems deeper and more fleshed out not good at all the techny terms but im not very into or good at action games but this one made me want to be cuz the combat was fun haha hmm writing wise there was a point where i felt like everything just suddenly got dropped once the godbane stuff started happening and youre suddenly barreling to the ending while everything else just wasnt important anymore lmao, but trying to interpret the story as a story the pathfinder is weaving, i think its meant to feel like that cuz we see the pathfinder essentially write us out of problems, give us a griffin to escape slavery, gives us a clue to where were supposed to go and the big one he like straight up changes ambrosius mind about giving us the godsbane when it wouldnt make sense for him too, the old man by harve even alludes to this by saying the real world is much messier when hes telling you about how fake everything is, like the watcher said everyone there is there to play a part in a tale hes laid out and i think he wanted to get to the ending faster. It's definitely another layer they added from the first games cycle, but do wish if that is what theyre going for(and if im not delusional lmao) that they did more like the ambrosius thing just watching as he ass pulls us out of dead ends making us feel what rothais felt when he realized all his feats and hardships didnt matter, also just would have liked more sidequests with fun characters lmao.

Also did enjoy the endings of the 3 major peoples in the unmoored world and felt like their side quests really fleshed them out and led them there to their endings well,mostly, very cool idea to bring it all together like that. elves wanted to stay isolated but they needed outside influence to break tradition, to save their tree and how it all built to them agreeing to seek refuge with the other races rather than die with their way of life. Ironic that disa was half right about sven needing to inherit the throne but ofc she was also half wrong cuz she a tyrant and wants him to have it mainly cuz of blood, but he deserves it cuz his sidequests were about him getting to know the common folk and becoming self assured lmao battahl tbh full disclosure i messed up the queen nadias sidequest to the rose chateau, tried to scare the dick head shopkeeper into giving me the medicine for the beastren and got arrested so idk how that one ends(will find out in NG+ lmao) but based on the ones i did do, it seems like the nations whole thing was about always being in conflict with each other and how the unmoored quests there are about making people put there differences aside and band together, including the arisen teaming with phaesus. Also like the irony of their view on pawns being right at first but by the end of the game they end up being wrong. but yeah do feel like they didnt get into that more, along with what the lambent flame is? (googled that there was lore texts you can find that explain how an earlier emperor is deceiving the people about it and what it really does) they also dont go into the fact vermund was a nation of beastren, started by a beastren and then history was wiped?? and how theres vermundians fear of beastren and human children always look like beastren and yet wilhelmina is a direct contradiction of this?? that seemed like a really juicy plot point but they didnt really do anything with it. and lastly idek where to start with the pawn and arisen ending, found out theres slight differences in the affinity ending (got the high affinity one cuz reds my my gurl i always revive run straight to her to revive her🤗) but watching them talk about how happy they are to have their own will while saying theyd still do anything for you filled me with something, dont even know what but was crazy.

oh also before i forget another way its in the spirit of the first game for me is just like in the original i also forgot to talk to the person i was romancing and giving them flowers before the endings and got diff people appearing there just like my first playthru of the dd1 lmfao( got manela with grigori and sara in the true ending, was going for ulrika this playthru lmfao) def gonna NG+, maybe do a magic archer and get the stuff i missed and try and get the other endings. Also hoping for another expansion/dlc like they did with dd1 down the line with more vocations and monsters.

[yaspup9000]

WRITERS NOTE: THIS IS NOW PART 2 OF MY RAMBLINGS OF KATAMARI ONLINE, ENJOY

Alright, So, remember I’d mentioned the dating feature in this game? Yeah, there's a dating feature. Now, you might be wondering why that is? Well… I'm not sure myself, but I do know that due to the female player-base of the game, they had decided to add a dating feature so that way couples can be “boyfriend” and “girlfriend.” That's cute and all, however, ,it's only for hetero couples and not same-sex couples. So if you wanted to have a same-sex couple in your Katamari MMO, yeeaah…sorry they don't do that. Which, again, is rather odd since the player base was majorly female.

Oh yea, and speaking of players, let's talk about the cosmics and Cousins! Okay, so before I share my disappointment about the avatar features, I just wanna say something about all of the new cousins and cosmics and their designs: Honestly, I really like them a lot! I think most of you have already seen Mint and Melo, But i think my biggest surprise was Burda. Now I’m gonna tell you why Burda is so special, like no joke: Burda's the only black cosmic person here! I’m not kidding! Like, it really shocked me when I had first heard about her awhile back since Korea and Japan have a habit of not showing decent black representation, let alone having characters with darker skin without being racially insensitive.

(Korea, Japan, and most South Asian culture have an obsession with skin bleaching) I know in most media nowadays, things have gotten better. But for its time, having Burda as a black girl in a South Korean MMO Katamari game is really something. I'll probably talk about Burda in another post because this one's long enough. Okay, so, yeah I love these newbies and all their quirks but what made me feel disappointed about this MMO? Well, there's a lack of customization features.!Yes, I know you can give them little hats and whatnot, but that's not what I’m talking about. Like—Don't get me wrong, all of the Cousins and cosmics—both new and old—are neat. However, what really bugs me is how there's no option to make your own original character. Like, idk man…that's a lost opputinty here. I’m gonna use fer.al and even Roblox as examples. With Fer.al and Roblox, along with most other MMOs, the appeal is that you can make your own character and make up your own story. With Fer.al, you can make your own creature and design them the way you want. And if I'm gonna be completely honest, I feel like Katamari Damacy Online should at LEAST give you the choice to choose The Prince, any of the Cousins, or get creative with it and make your own character. Idk, I felt like they lost me on that.

Now, I’m gonna say that with some of the mapping and hub designs, I personally really like this bit of world-building. I know it's not a lot—but dang it! I’ll take what I can get! Now, for my harsh truth about my feelings on this lost media: Yeah, I can understand why I didn't care for it that much when I first found out about it. If I’m gonna be honest, I thought it would be gone forever and it didn't matter. Along with the fact that for a long time, I didn't really see it as canon, so I just didn't put much attention to it. However, after revisiting it again and really thinking about it a bit more, I felt like there was a lot of lost potential even with how questionable some of these choices were. Overall, I now have an open mind to this and I hope that this game will be found soon. Who knows, maybe one of the archivists might finally find the surviving installer and might turn it into a Katamari Damacy Online rewritten type beat! Also folks, if I missed anything or messed up, please feel free to let me know.

[fangtastic-vampyra]

Reaaally hate how it seems I have to be "watched" by people from the system the whole rest of my life.

It's MKULTRA MILBAS targeted individual stuff. You know the people that they go after?

Those that would stick their neck out for somebody else.

You know. Yes. So. I have to do a Stinkin' re-assessment sometime next week, ish, Im like "Im in for a life sentence. Schizophrenia gets worse when you get older. Very few people "get better" [or whatever they think] whatever that means, not understanding why I keep having to do a reassessment." I mean, I really hate Drs, of all kinds, I can take care of my Fecking self, and I want them to Bugger off in general. It was creepy asf. What is so hard to understand, stop thinking shit in my head, voices, v2k, and then, making me feel like shit with uh military, weapons? thennn tormenting me in my sleep. LIEK IF I FELT BETTER, I WOULD BE BETTER. a poisoned, drug, prescription or otherwise, filled body, with emo. pain, and trauma, and not enough healthy meals, and shit, prolly aint going to be around very long. plus parasites and what have you. I CAN BE A SCREET DR. JKKK. Just a herbal supplement recommender. :] {been studying those since I was 16, got a lot of time behind me on that particular interest, yah, thats why got me all into trouble, rebelling against norms, well if Punch Line really is my ..mm.. hear voices saying dont go out with her buut...what could i get out of it? it will probably, if i dont try, end up like harley and me, im fubar.. F.U.B.A.R.} And that? Was Mr and Mrs Smith.

And she mentions the Govt program medicaid enforces it every 6 months. I'm like nooooo. Even though I know it's fake, and thats fake, I have too much rage, to not be on meds, but I don't think they're quite ready to let me only be on one anti-"psychotic" umm Vraylar and Seroquel, are my two, and we lol we -- are doing great.

Yes Im a plural, also. DID... MPD.

Anyway-- I think I "actually am" schizophrenic.. Not just a Fake illness.. But Idk maybe it's just damage from previous incarnations. Some lady read my palms and said I was reincarnated. Neat.

Meanwhile, I've gotten into some sick sort of reminescensing/revenge thing. Prolly the first male "plague rat" -- Waheyyy. Emilie Autumn fan. They want them young, to study, and observe, if ya know what Im saying. AND. They dont like to let folks go. Once they have ya. Since these bastards, think they are some type of Woman Inspector. I dont want Pig Ass Hybrids for my kids anyway, fuck off. I am no longer young, and a Cantankerous ass bitch, and One day, THOSE Fuckers, are going to compensate me, for all my TBC, and everything else. TBC/Thought Broad Casting.

WTF..!! THEY CRASHED MY BROWSER, I HAD TYPED LIKE FIVE MORE PARA. Yes. they got access to my puter. UGH!!

WELL HOW ABOUT THAT.. AND....GAWDDAMN.

Note to self/other authors, authoresses: WRITE IN WORDPAD.

Or something similiar.. There use to be one that had a black background. White makes me feel like I got a lined loose leaf paper with no.2 in a uncomfy plastic chair. YES. UNCREATIVE. Like. In a fecking institution.

Uhm what had I said... Mum also said people get sacrificed to the devil a bunch more than most think. She's kinda uh weird. yes. Used to be into goth, and horror, and metal, when she was Younger, and witch craft, lord knows umm, now shes just, Blonde hair, blue eyes. And everything else, normal, she wants to be Barbie. IDEK, this Family wsa NOT ready. She was just another Handler, my dumb ass thought fighting, was the answer. I want to SUE the pants off MKULTRA ( and associations/etc, off them.) If you know what I mean. Abuse. Trauma. Mum says it happens to boys just as much. OHHH WELL. IDK about that. Shes just another brainwashed handler. Tho.. pretty insightful if you can actually get her to say anything. Lol we're munsters, I got out the sun synchronization, or something ugh.

Im just nursing a wound. Not caring about anything else, but trying to stop the pain. I dont uh see any point in living this way? My head is aching like someones been smashing rocks against my skull for the past hour. "Okay ill stop" Like they harass and make fun of me as AFAB UNDESIRABLE. Fat and whatever, though they did it um. And call me a he/she, they did that to. And I just uh, want to punch something in the face that something is God, Idk, until it stops moving. yes. then i can be god. >.> IDK, like whyyyy me.

Why all of this. WHYYYY.

He says we are all equal, he says his thoughts are higher than our thoughts, he says the enemies are not flesh and blood, but spirits. Yes. SAYS humans are more close to him than angels, says this and that, that we have power as humans over the animals, and the demons. idk. somethings not adding up. i think he's a f*cking rapist. celebrating the black majick curses he places onto children. a pervert, a predator. yes. i try. to calculate what is going on here, i hadnt known what i know now, i rebuke the thoughts i had as a child, the gnashing of teeth, in hell, and that, i dont want to end up there. AND? I think he's a bully. There's always been a man.. sigh.. tiresome.. voice over my shoulder harassing me.

WHAT I WANT: To be the Court leader of the Neutral guise. Or herd or pack or whatever. *LOL.*

What should my name be? Circe.

brendan used the word "blessed" in association with the amount of food we have. Im used to high quality meals, this is like, yuck, sort of. I wish I could remember shit, I want to give up. There are no plans, Im jsut saying "i want to" im tired of hurting, im tired of suffering, tired of aloneness, tired of rejection, maybe showing vulnerability will help? Why are men attacking me? Idk, i think they are scared of me.. Tbh. I will get my one desire, to be my true self. And theres nothing they can do about it." If " they try to mess it up, I have my ways.

{Wow, have the inkling of intimacy / u might be a d00d, on ur page, I MEAN, AMAB, and got scammers messaging me "hot photos" and shit lololol. Im too lazy to remove. if they're not a native English speaker, some of the messages are pretty funny...}